Baldo Minaudo’s Blog

1. Picture in your mind exactly what you want in complete detail, including colours, smells, sounds, texture, etc.
2. Be thankful and grateful for what you have in your life, for the fact that you’re alive and are a creative being.
3. Be aware of negative feelings and energies around you and remove or insulate yourself from them.  So, if you come across humbuggers and those that only complain about the Holidays, get away from them.
4. Recognize, cultivate and share your own positive feelings, such as creativity, abundance, joy, optimism, possibility, respect, cooperation and friendship.   The more you live and share these feelings, which are heightened during the Holidays, the greater will be your ability to manifest your wish.
5. Own the picture in your mind of what you want and hold the feeling of what it feels like once you achieve the wish.

It sounds simple now see if you can do it.  Fully engage yourself in the season of giving, love and peace.  Leverage the Collective Creative Energy which comes from this wonderful season by participating in the gratefulness, friendship, sharing and positive intentions and actions that come from the season.  The more you give, the more you spread the energy, the more abundance you will attract.  Live the energy of giving and receive your bounty from the universe.  Let me know how it goes for you. From myself and everyone at MetroActive Lifstyle Network, we grant you a Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Baldo B. Minaudo, M.B.A., President

Dec 9/07: Are You Afraid To Commit?

In today’s world it seems all too easy to live a life of non-commitment. As evidence, recent statistics show that 51% of Canadian adults are ‘single’. However, commitment isn’t restricted to personal relationships. Commitment is defined as ‘An agreement or pledge to do something in the future’. So, based on the above statistic, is commitment phobia rampant in our society? Or has what we commit to changed? Maybe people aren’t committing to marriage anymore. Then what are they committing to, if anything? Let’s take a look at other aspects of our lives, such as events. According to event organizers in the Greater Toronto Area, for most meetings and networking events where attendees were given the option, only about 50% of the attendees register in advance. And of those that do pre-register, most of them do so in the last two days before an event. Curious as to why, I spoke to many individuals and explored their reasoning. Though they struggled to give an explanation, here are the reasons they gave for not pre-registering for events:
- ‘I wanted to keep my options open’
- ‘I was hoping for something better to come along’
- ‘I wasn’t sure what kind of week I would have’
- ‘I didn’t know what else was happening’
- ‘I hadn’t planned my schedule yet’

There were other comments given, but underlying these are 4 critical conditions that significantly affect one’s level of effectiveness and success:
1. Inability to plan,
2. Not knowing what one wants,
3. Lacking specific goals, and
4. Always looking for more or better.

The way I see it, it all comes down to a fear of not being able to take advantage of an opportunity. Which is really a combination of fear of not knowing what one really wants and fear of not being able to make the right decision. Think about it for a moment, if you knew without a doubt what you wanted, you would not only be able to recognize it when you saw it, but you would commit to it without hesitation. As a personal coach, I can say without a doubt that most people do not know what they really want. So, if most of us don’t know what we really want no wonder we can not even commit to an event. Hence, most people will end up attending an event by sheer default of not having anything else, or better to do that day. How sad is that? On the other hand, there are some individuals that are so clear on what they want and so specific in their goals that they have absolutely no problem committing to everything from a simple meeting to a long-term relationship. I will go further to say that if you draw a line and put those that can commit on the left and those that make last minute decisions on the right, that the most successful in our society will stand on the left side of the line. This observation holds true among my friends and my clients.

8 things you can do to better commit:

1. Know what you want in all areas of your life.

2. Make sure that want you want in life is consistent. If you want to travel, but your job has you at the same desk every day forever that may be a sign that you’re in the wrong job.

3. Have a vision on what your life will be like with everything you want.

4. Create a plan on how you can achieve the life you want, both personally and professionally.

5. Research the activities that will support your plan.

6. Schedule the activities that support your plan one month or more in advance, while leaving room in your schedule for the unexpected.

7. Always follow through with your commitment because if you don’t then you won’t take yourself seriously and therefore why should anyone else?

8. Know when to say ‘No’. If you apply these 8 things then you won’t be afflicted with the constant feeling of there being something better around the corner.

Imagine what your life will be like knowing that you have made the best decision and you are doing the best thing at any point in time to achieve your goals. One last thing, do you know what the benefits of being able to commit are? There are many, many benefits of commitment and if you want to know what they are, I suggest you chat with someone who has been in a life-long committed relationship. You will be surprised at just what you are missing.

So, are you afraid to commit?  If not, happy commitments!

Baldo B. Minaudo, M.B.A.,  President

Dec 2/07: The Secret To Prosperity for The Holidays and New Year

I almost titled this article ‘˜The Season For The Reason’.  But I decided not too because there are many people that get turned off whenever they hear anything that may be construed as religious or even sounds like something that may be construed as religious.Well, guess what?  If you’ve read this far, then congratulate yourself because what I wrote is ‘The Season For The Reason’, not the ‘Reason For The Season’.  You see December is a great time to examine what you’ve accomplished during the year, how you’ve lived your life, how true you’ve been to yourself, what you’ve learned and what you’ve forgotten.  It is also a time to look forward into the future and plan, yes plan, as much as destiny will have it, your future.Now December also comes with Christmas, which means there many things that need to be tendered to as well.  I’m not just referring to the sharing of gifts, but also the sharing of time and participating in the wonderful commercial aspect of Christmas, such as watching your car’s fuel gauge move southward as you circle the mall parking lot looking for a parking space.So how does one juggle the opportunities and challenges of the season in order to enjoy prosperity during the Holidays and New Year?  Just remember that December is December for everyone, but some of us seem to prosper and grow in every aspect through the season, while others seem to dwell in a stalemate of a humbug state.   Therefore, if some people can prosper through it then with the right decisions and actions so can you.

7 Tips for a prosperous season:

1.  Attitude!  Begin with the right attitude. If you have a humbug attitude from the beginning then that is what you will end up with.  So, be grateful, be happy, be optimistic and accept the positive energy of abundance and attraction that comes with hundreds of millions of people around the world preparing to celebrate one of the most important days in their year.

2.  List all the opportunities that December brings to you, such as: visiting family and friends, having time (even in line ups) to contemplate, speaking with your boss in an informal environment, getting to know your co-workers on a more personal level, have a break from the regular routine at work to be able to re-examine your projects.

3. List your priorities and goals for both December and all of 2008 and then prioritize them.  For some a priority may be to get a promotion or salary increase.  For others it may be to find a life partner to share their life with.  Everyone has goals, and when they list them and prioritize them they become more easily attainable.  The key here is to be as specific as possible in terms of what you want.

4. Decide on how you’re going to spend your time during December based on your goals/priorities.

5. Schedule your whole month of December.  Do it now if you haven’t done it already.  This doesn’t mean making sure all your time is filled, but it does mean making sure you make time for your priorities.  And remember that time alone or down time is also a priority that should be scheduled.  Other activities to schedule are: visiting family and friends, gift buying, job reviews, transportation, contemplation, exercise, socializing, and planning.

6. Just say ‘No’.  The great thing about having goals and priorities is that you now know when something doesn’t fit your plan so that you can say ‘No’ when appropriate.

7. Check your attitude.  Whenever you come across a challenge, whether a long line up or incompetent co-worker remember to check your attitude.  Keep the situation in perspective by asking how does this relate to your objectives and then look at where the opportunity lies.  Those that live by the philosophy that there is opportunity in every challenge seem to do better in life than the pessimists.

By planning now for your December and using the above tips you can have a wonderful, happy and prosperous

Nov 26/07:  Don’t Burn Your Bridges

When I first started my career, I was fortunate enough to have worked at the Canadian Organization of Small Business with a very wise woman by the name of Mary Flemming.  As my mentor Mary shared much wisdom with me, which resonated strongly with my values and personal beliefs.  One of my favourites is “Never burn your bridges”.That is the first time I recall having heard this phrase and Mary was referring to managing our relationships with our small business clients at the Organization.  But, the phrase seems to be used more often when referring to career success, which I will discuss later in this article. Having been raised as an Italian Christian the idea that we are all connected and together in this journey on earth was familiar to me.  But, that was in personal life and I was still green to how the whole professional relationship with individuals that I only meet occasionally worked.So, I pretty much treated the clients at the Organization, well like family and friends.  I was interested in how they were doing both personally and in their business and was anxious to help them in any way I could.  And of course I would follow up and contact them regularly, which is something they were not all that used to, but it was refreshing to them.  This turned out really well for everyone and management quickly recognized whatever I was doing was working, so they gave me more responsibilityMy approach was based on the premise that everyone needs some kind of help.  So, I’m going to find out what they need and then help them.  Where did I get that approach?  Where else, but from my parents, aunts and uncles.  It just came naturally and it probably comes naturally to everyone.  If you think about it, when we were first born we all nurtured in one way or another and helped along to develop and grow, otherwise we probably would have died.  Well then, that is one of the first things we as humans learned…how to take care of others.So, how is it that some of us do it better than others?  Is it in our nature or is it in our conditioning?  This taps into the ongoing debate of nature or nurture.  Let me just say that in watching children and whether they’re nurturing, I’ve noticed that the most nurturing children tend to come from the most nurturing parents, or at least one parent.  And let me also say that spoiling children with unlimited gifts and satisfying their every desire is not nurturing and may also create the opposite effect of nurturing children… selfish children.The reason I diverge to discussing what may be the cause behind some of us being better, or at least different at taking care of others is because it may be connected to your career success.  The most successful careers have been developed by individuals who have focused on developing their long-term relationships with those in their field. During the 1980’s, many corporate individuals bought into the hop along theory of career progression.  The idea was that you got into a good company with big responsibilities, meet lots of people, start lots of bid idea, high profile projects and before the results came move onto the next higher paying job.  Recruiters were the biggest driver of this type of strategy, which many of us never bought into.However, many did buy into it and it worked.  They were making more money than the rest of us, had better titles, and a more exciting career life.  They even grew their network of contacts and met all kinds of people in different organizations.  Oh yes, it worked…for a while.  Then came an economic downturn and guess which professionals were stuck without jobs? All the moving around, large network of contacts and high salary didn’t help these individuals.  In fact, it probably hurt them.  Those that kept their jobs were those whose salary level had not surpassed the long-term equilibrium of the market and those who had the strongest relationship with the specific individuals that had influence over their specific job.What does this have to do with burning bridges?  Well, let us say the Vice President of a major corporation hires you because you’ve worked on many high profile projects with different corporations and need you to do the same with our corporation.  You come in, take 3-6 months to get settled in orientated and start planning various initiatives or projects.  You get the Vice President’s buy in and that person gets the buy in from the Senior Vice President or the President.  Everyone is excited and your Vice President is thinking this can really help his/her career.Well, within the year the first of the initiatives are launched and at best it’ll be another year before you start to measure the results.  Sometime at about the year and a half mark, you are offered a higher paying position with another company, which you accept.  Your Vice President is taken by surprise.  He/She thought everything was fine, but all of a sudden you’re leaving.  Not only does the Vice President feel that you were not being totally open and genuine with him/her, but is also left holding the bag with the unfinished projects and his/her career maybe affected if the results don’t materialize.That is an example of burning your bridges.  Regardless of how nice you are about it, the fact remains you left your Vice President out to dry and that person, along with the other senior management and even many of your co-workers will not forget it.  So, next time you cross career paths, what do you think will happen?On the other hand, you can move around between corporations and still maintain your bridges.  When I was at the Bank of Montreal, many of my co-workers had left to go work with other banks and some of them were welcomed back – with open arms.  The difference between those that left and those that returned, is in how they did it and whether they had burned their bridges.So, here is my advice to you - be careful how you treat those that you meet in not just your career, but also in life.  No matter how poorly they may act, what character flaws they may have or how problematic they may be, treat them as you though your lives will continue to be connected because they will in one way or another.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying to not be confrontational or to be passive, in fact I’m saying hold them accountable and show them that you’re serious if necessary.  But, do it with the intention of pursuing what’s in everyone’s best interest, rather than trying to make any one person wrong.I don’t know where Mary is today, but I think of her from time to time and carry much of her wisdom with me.  Mary if you’re out there…thank you.

Baldo B. Minaudo, M.B.A., President

Nov 12/07:  I Have It!

For years I’ve been hiding this sensitive information. Yet, my mother has it too and it was okay for her to talk about it openly with family and friends. In fact, others sought her out because of it.What is it I have? Okay, here it comes…I have the ability to put ideas into the minds of others and also to receive thoughts from others. No, really. I have it. And I admit it! Am I crazy? Well, that’s beside the point. Oh, by the way, you probably have the same ability but unless you accept it you’re not allowing yourself to use it.So, when did I first discover I could do this? I was in high school and as a class project I decided to study the paranormal. I read all sorts of books and then designed several ‘scientific’ experiments to test whether paranormal activity actually existed. So, as any good scientist does, I decided to start experimenting on my mother. God bless her soul. I had her sit down for long periods of time shooting dice over and over again so that I could track the results. The idea was for her to control the dice with her mind so that certain numbers would appear face up.Now, let me mention here that before I looked at her ‘abilities’ in a scientific way I used to think that she was just influenced by folklore and superstitious beliefs. So, I really wasn’t expecting to find anything ‘abnormal’, or should I say paranormal. Anyway, after forcing my patient mother to role dice until we had several times as many observations as was required to obtain statistically significant data, I was then confident of my findings.” Aspetta, non po essere.” I mumbled, which roughly translated means “Wait, it can’t be”. Turns out the results showed that my mom was able to influence or control the dice at a level of over twice the probable average. So put another way, an average person should be able to hit the target 1 in 6 tries and she was hitting her target at least 1 in 3 tries.That’s when I started paying more attention to what my mother was doing and things that were happening. Until then, everything was a coincidence.After the experiment I realized that everything was connected. My mom would say to me, “I wonder what your aunt is doing” and two minutes later my aunt would call.So, I started doing the same thing. I would picture a friend or relative in my mind and then picture them picking up the telephone and dialing my number. It took some practice, but after a while I was able to get almost everyone I sent the mental image to, to call. I realized there was a technique. It involved visioning and being able to transmit with I call ‘the energy behind the intention’ and actually hold it to be true. When I did this I would get a certain feeling and know that it had worked and then the results were quick to follow.I even did this with a draw and won the first prize.Well, as life would have it I got busy and forgot about this technique.Now with all the talk about ‘The Secret’ I realize that I was actually practicing the secret. I think one of the biggest reasons I was able to make it happen back in high school was because I was very much into daily praying and meditation. This regular exercise of the mind, intention, belief and faith (which are the exact components of The Secret) sharpened my tools of manifestation.Come to think about it, my mother prays a lot and has all her life. There is definitely a connection between praying and The Secret. Exactly what the connection is, is for each one of us to uncover for ourselves. But, could it be that it is about faith?What is your secret? Baldo B. Minaudo, M.B.A., PresidentOct 21/07: Managing Your Relationships

Our relationships define who we are, how we live our life and the degree of our business and personal life success. Over the years that I’ve met personally gotten to know many of the MetroActive members I’ve noticed that our more successful members are different from our less successful members in their perspective towards relationships. In the process I’ve realized that anyone can these perspectives and techniques, including yourself.

4 Relationship Secrets of Highly Successful People:

1) Highly successful people establish mutually beneficial relationships. They make sure that both parties receive something from the relationship. It could be financial, emotional or some other type of benefit.

2) Highly successful people are selective in their relationships. They chose the relationships which are consistent with their lifestyle, philosophy, values and goals.

3) Highly successful people are communicate clearly and define their boundaries. They are masters of establishing expectations of the other person and knowing what to expect from them.

4) Highly successful people manage their relationships on an ongoing basis. They do little things that continues to strengthen their relationships and keep them top of mine. 

10 Things That Build Relationship Equity and Keep You Top of Mind:

1) Telephone. Whether to wish a happy Father’s Day, Valentine’s, Christmas or just say hi a telephone call says that you’re thinking about the person.2) Coffee, lunch or drink. No matter how advanced technology gets meeting face-to-face scores the most points and has the greatest impact. Of course, hitting a round of golf or going to a ball game has even more impact.3) E-mail. Although everyone is now overwhelmed with emails and they are so easy to send that people don’t place much value on them, sending an e-mail is still better than doing nothing at all.4) Sending a letter or greeting card through the postal system (snail mail). Let us face it, even with all the technological developments, everyone gets excited when they get a personalized greeting card in the mail. It shows that someone has gone through the effort and expense of sending the message. There is a great services available that allows you to send out greeting cards quicker and more affordably than if you were to do it the old-fashioned way. Recently, I was chatting with Nick, one of our MetroActive members about Christmas cards and how long it takes to send them out. I realized that it takes me a lot more time than I though to send them out. Based on 130 cards and accounting for buying the cards, buying the stamps, writing them out, addressing and stamping the envelopes and then mailing them it takes about 4 hours and costs me about $3.00 - $3.50 each (not including my time).A Better Way! So, as I’m realizing this Nick is smiling at me. Apparently, he had gone through a similar realization. Turns out Nick had found a better solution. There is a system out there that allows you to not only send out cards at only a fraction of the time, but also for as little as $2.50 each (or less and postage included). Imagine being able to send an post card or greeting card from your desk without having to go to the post office or write it out by hand every time? This system even allows you to pre-schedule greeting cards so that the system will send a personalized card from you with handwriting font to whoever you want on whatever date you want without having to worry about missing a special
occasion. You will never have to worry about missing a birthday, Mother’s day, Valentine’s day, Christmas, or anniversary date again. Imagine how much stress that takes off of your hands? Plus once you’re friend’s or client’s contact information is in the system you don’t have to keep re-writing it on the card. The system does it for you and you pay on a per card basis. To Learn More About This System Visit www.MetroActive.org
or email me at baldo@metroactive.org.

Live well and prosper!

Baldo B. Minaudo, M.B.A., President

Sept. 1/07: Why Talk About It When You Can Just Do It?

One thing I notice about highly effective and usually very successful people is that they spend more time doing, experiencing, learning, achieving than thinking about what they should do.  That’s not to say they don’t plan.  Actually, highly effective people plan rigorously, but they limit it to certain times and do it with a focus.  Most highly effective people plan their week Friday afternoon or Sunday evening and their next day before they leave their office. Once they make their plan and decisions the rest is just implementing them.  So that works out to be 15 minutes of planning for every 8 hours of work.  How productive is that?   However, if one doesn’t have clear focus or goals then it is difficult to have a plan, or at least an effective plan.  Picture what it would be like to start your day not knowing what you need or want to accomplish, how you’re going to do it or how you’re going to utilize your most valuable resource for the day - your time.  So, you sit down at your desk and check your emails responding to them based on some undetermined criterion and before you know it, there goes an hour or two.  Meanwhile, the telephone’s ringing with the occasional call and before you know it you’ve spend another couple of hours reviewing opportunities, answering questions or just entertaining individuals who themselves don’t know why they called you. It doesn’t take long for you valuable time to be used up with no real progress towards your goals. The old saying applies here, if you fail to plan to plan to fail.  And in that respect it is those that have developed the habit of quick weekly and daily planning that are highly effective people.