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Show ' DAILY HERALD Swday. September 7. 2003 Know the difference between boardroom and a bored room I understand it is my job to write for you. Your job is to readBut if you quit work be- Harvey Mackay Positive Struggles fore I do, I hope you'll let me know. I always stress not to be boring and predictable. Life is too short. Dont make the mistake d a preacher once made. The preacher was going on endlessly one Sunday when he saw one of his parishioners get up and walk out of the church before the sermon was ended. The preacher was very annoyed, and when next he met the parishioner he asked him why he had walked out. "I went to get a haircut," the parishioner replied. "WelL in heaven's name," protested the preacher, "why didn't you get a haircut before you came to church?" "Because, Reverend," said ( the parishioner, "when I came ' to church, I didn't need a haircut." Lately, I Ve seen several stories on boredom. I remember reading a story last spring by Roy Rivenburg of the Los Angeles Times. He quoted experts who said boredom is wreaking havoc on society, fueling suicides, depression, school dropouts, crime, addictions, health problems and car accidents. Boredom is profoundly destructive, especially at work where ambivalence and a lack of creativity can v bring down an entire off ice.' One scholar concluded: "When we are bored, our attitude toward time is altered, as it is in some dreamlike states. Time is endless; there is no distinction between past, present and future. There seems to be only an endless present." Curiously, boredom seems to be a modern ailment. The word didn't even exist in the English language until after 1750. Even though we live in an age with more entertainment than ever before, there seems to be an epidemic of boredom. Everyone gets bored, but usually only for short periods of time. If nothing is done to avoid or overcome boredom, a person can slide deeper into a state of mind that can lead to many bad personal decisions, such as those mentioned above. What can you do to snap out of boredom? It's different for everyone. Some people like physical activity, such as a game of basketball or a brisk run or walk. To others it might be to relax and watch a good movie, maybe a comedy. Find out what works best for you. Your life outside of work has a direct effect on your professional life. When boredom spills over from one aspect of your life to another, everything suffers. I asked some of my friends recently what they do to keep from getting bored. Here are some of their suggestions: v long-winde- 1 Cf 4 , 1 rr lf . QINO DOMENKOThe Associated Press Evelyn Robb, owner of Evelyn's Chocolates, poses in her store in New York, Robb is among the owners of small businesses located former World Trade Center who had to cope with the drastic changes caused by the terror attacks two years ago. near the Two years after 911, businesses still m recovery cause she lost customers from the Trade Center and surroundAP BUSINESS WRITER ing buildings whose corporate A block from tenants fled after the attacks. NEW YORK the site of the World Trade Cen- And tourists no longer visit as in the past. ter, Evelyn Robb still worries. "It was a very difficult time Sales at her chocolate shop : were devastated by the Sept. 11, to go through and it still is," said Robb. A Small Business Admin2001, terror attacks, and they istration loan helped but hasn't remain down as Lower Manhatassured her future. "I've been tan struggles to recover. here for 40 years and I really "It still hasn't really imwant to stay," she said. proved," Robb said. "I wonder what's going to be in the fuA few miles north, in sales at Arnold Green-berg- 's ture." travel book shop have reA continent away, in Rancho bounded but, like Lusi, he has Cordova, Calif., Tom Lusi's data storage business has had to remake his business. As Americans canceled vacations changed, probably forever. Afin the months following 911, ter 911, he lost millions of dollars in government contracts as Greenberg was forced to give money was reallocated to up selling recently-publishehomeland security; he had to books and guides and focus on switch to digital video storage antiquarian volumes instead. "I can't say it was a good or see his company fold. He has new government work and thing. It really broke my wife's heart. ... But we had no choice," sales have rebounded, but his ; said Greenberg, owner of The payroll is half what it was bethe attacks, Complete Traveler Bookstore fore i "What we've done is, you Bck He said some customers were angry, but without the change, .your wounds and get on with he would have ended up in it." said Lusi, chairman of Re-movable Media Solutions Inc. bankruptcy court. Whether they were located Greenberg's store is faring near the World Trade Center or better now because "the antiquarian book business didn't Pentagon or hundreds or thousands of miles away, small busidrop to the same extent as the new book business. ... But I nesses have had to cope with drastic changes caused by the don't think it's ever going to go to the point where we would attacks. Two years later, many still struggle, while others have start to carry new books ' found ways to rebuild. Some again." have recovered with the help of The business owners, even if government loans. they've weathered the two Robb, who owns a shop called years relatively well, sound weary, even chastened. Evelyn's Chocolates, suffers be Joyce Rosenberg ; mid-tow- n, d ; ; to customers in the metropoliGerry Ehvood, owner of The tan area if they ordered via its Maids, a home cleaning frane chise based in Red Bank, N.J., Web site and number. said her business is "more than Friedman said it was able to back on track," but she had to make up for the loss of walk-i- n double her territory to accomcustomers. "We've been open 32 years plish that. and have a very 1 jyal customer Elwood's business took a series of blows, starting with the base. They've been cheering us on and sending us encouraging grim fact that several customers died in the trade center emails," she said. Some of the companies faring attack. Other customers canceled cleaning appointments out better said they would have of depression failed without loans. The SBA, "everybody : which originally made economknew somebody" that was or because ic injury disaster loans available killed, she said to the areas around the trade they feared having outsiders center and the Pentagon, ofcome into their homes. People who lost their jobs or whose fered loans across the country because so many businesses small businesses were hurting stopped her service, because, as were affected by the attacks. "I would have closed the busiEhvood acknowledges, it's a ness," said Lusi, the Removable luxury. Media Solutions chairman. Then the anthrax scare comy Inc., an auto replicated advertising: People were afraid to open her firm's conditioning company in solicitation letters.- Fontana, Calif., would have had "It was pretty ugly for severto let some of its top workers al months," Ehvood recalled. go without the loan, She had to rebuild because "I'm Jim Perod said. The company, not doing this to be a hobby which mostly services the auto this is my life." rental industry, had about 70 Some companies persevered workers before 911 and because they had a solid cadre dropped to a staff of 38. of loyal customers. J&R ComNow the company is doing puter and Music World, a retail- well, but its payroll is still at about 50. Perod says that's actuer near the trade center, was shut for six weeks and lost its ally a good thing the firm is inventory while it was used as a more profitable than it was becommand center, post-91- 1 fore. Rachelle Friedman said. The loans, however, are not a "We had to figure out a way panacea. Among the concerns not to lose our customer base of Robb, the chocolate shop owner, is the money itself . during that period of time," Friedman said. "It's still something to pay So J&R off ered free shipping back," she said. -- toll-fre- Dent-Olog- V co-CE-O . Lawsuits threaten to unplugjunk fax industry Jeremiah Marquez 'I ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER , d V TQIJ lOrirjrl SIVUOTIHI I Harvey Mackay is author of the New York Times best seller "Pushing the Envelope' (Ballantine Books). He can be reached through his Web site: www.mackay.com; or Mackay Envelope Corp., 2100 Elm St., Minneapolis, MN 55414. C0RDA CORDA Continued from El Technologies Inc. product it launched in February that allows data to be presented geographically by county and state. That helped the company secure more contracts with federal agencies including the National Cancer Institute, the Environmental Protection Agency, Social Security Administration and Medicare. "NCI wanted to use maps to show cancer rates in the nation by its patients' demographic Our tools allow them to generate maps from that data," Williams said. "And in the EPA's case, our software helped them to monitor expense reports on their big projects and eliminated their need to hire a person to chart that ' data and also enabled them to get that data in minutes rather than days." Legislation that requires federal agencies to make electronic and information tech-- : nology accessible to people with disabilities also helped i generate business for CORDA. Section 508 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits federal agencies from procuring, developing, maintaining or using electronic and information I Owner: Neal Williams I Founded: 1996 I Industry: Software developer I Location: 350 S. 400 West in Lindon I Work Force: 30 employees technology that's inaccessible to people with disabilities. That legislation was passed because technological advances, while making it easier for people to use computers, often created barriers for people with disabilities. For instance, software that required someone to issue commands by pointing and clicking using a computer mouse became inaccessible to those who could not see the icons on the computer screen. CORDA has a patent application pending on its "screen reading" software. That software allows people who are blind to use the same word processing software package as sighted people, with help from screen readers which read in a synthesized voice all the text and punctuation that a sighted person would read on a computer monitor. non-disabl- ' cnnnnopnAcrnc AUTOPLEX A America's Offered to the public by Edison Stanford Labs 777 N. 500 W. Suitt 005, Docton Park Pmvo, UT Mackas Moral: The only thing worse than being bored, is being a bore. nn STNlCONSUMIMCflDtTO: Free 24ps9 Guide compares ,30 major brands. Get a copy: e drug information to doctors. don't know anyone who enjoys being woken at 3 a.m. to the sound of a fax tone." Hotels and cruise lines use it to reach travel agents. I LOS ANGELES Graphic By contrast, junk fax compa; nies blanket consumers with designer Sheridan Obrien is fed Steve Kirsch ads without their approval ; up with the flood of ads for va--! entrepreneur cation cruises and penny stocks They are normally hired by small companies and get paid a that routinely emerge from her fax machine. The unsolicited few cents for each fax. million through a settlement, Protection Act of 1991, which pitches use up her toner and paMaury Kauff man, a consulsaid Harry ReveU, an attorney tant for the $300 million indusper, and wake her late at night. bans faxing advertisements 1 feel very invaded, and very without prior consent from re- for the plaintiff. try, said a handful of renegade In addition, attorneys general firms are making it difficult for cipients. It lets consumers sue angry and very helpless," said in Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, two dozen legitimate companies Obrien, 53, who works from her senders of the ads for $500 to home in Orange County. New Jersey, California, Kenthat "would tike to see these $1,500 per unsolicited fax. In March, the 8th U.S. Circuit That kind of frustration has tucky, Missouri and Texas have other firms go away." Court of Appeals in St. Louis sued companies in recent years. In its fight against junk faxes ; ted to dozens of lawsuits and ruled in support of the act, overand illegal telemarketing, the .two major court rulings in the "Hopefully, the junk fax in1 Federal Communications Compast six months against faxed turning a lower court ruling . dustry will get a clue ... and get ; ads, The that held the law was an unconout of the business," said Nick mission has issued nearly 200 industry's days could stitutional restriction on the fines and citations since 1999. ;. be numbered Connon, who represents plaini "As a mass medium of adver-- ! First Amendment rights of fax In addition, consumer comtiffs in an $8 million lawsuit that advertisers. was revived after last month's tising, fax could be dead," venplaints against telemarketers Calif ornia appellate decision. The judgment was echoed increased from about 1,300 in tured John Kamp, a marketing last month by a California apthe first quarter of 2002 to A suit filed last year by Sili, industry attorney who repre- -' sents several fax companies. pellate court decision that essen- con Valley entrepreneur Steve nearly 4,100 during the first The legal wrangling reflects a tially gave state residents the Kirsch seeks $2.2 trillion in quarter of this year. FCC of :. broader backlash said the figures could reto sue over unsolicited compensatioa Although seemagainst such faxes. the figure rep- flect greater efforts to inform advertising nuisances as preingly recorded phone messages and About a hundred suits targetresents an amount Kirsch says consumers about telemarketing issues. .telemarketing calls. ing unwanted faxes are pending consumers are entitled under list that .,' Meanwhile, the FCC has aparound the country. They range the Telephone Consumer ProI A national blocks phone sales pitches has from small claims to about two tection Act for unwanted faxes proved a rule requiring compadozen class actions. sent by just one company. nies that want to fax advertisegrown to more than 48 million In one case, a judge in Geornumbers since it began accept"I hate junk faxes," Kirsch ments to obtain written permissaid. "I dont know anyone who sion from consumers. Compagia ordered a Hooters restauing submissions on June 27. At feast 32 individual states also rant to pay nearly $12 million in enjoys being woken at 3 am to nies would heed permission laws. 2001 for sending unsolicited even for faxes sent to cus1 have their own the sound of a fax tone." faxes through a local telemartomers who already might have At issue in both court deck There is a legitimate market sions targeting faxes was the for mass faxing. It helps pharketing company. The award requested that information be s was later reduced to about $9 .federal Telephone Consumer sent to them. maceutical companies send ! I Find an interesting job or make your job more interesting. This is a big one, since we are at work at least a third of our lives. Try to take on some additional duties that win stretch you. Change is always good for perking up your brain. I Adopt hobbies you love. It could be woodworking, gardening, knitting or fishing ... whatever turns you on. I Volunteer, Do something good for someone else. Use skills that are different from those you use in your job. Join an organization you're about. I Read. I don't think people read as much today as they used to even though there are more magazines and more books than ever before. Our brains require exercise. I Listen to music or learn to play an instrument. Music opens up different parts of your brain. I Pick fun, uplifting friends. We all have friends that make us laugh more than others. Hang around with the people who make you feel good. I always try to pick fun, positive and uplifting people to spend time with. I Play games. It might be cards, board games or getting outside to play golf. I Give yourself a little kick in the pants. If you're bored frequenthy, maybe it's you or your lifestyle. Examine why you're always bored and change it. I Think about what's important in your life. It could be your faith, values or family. Count your blessings. You'll be amazed at what it will do for your psyche. I Have a positive attitude. Our attitude determines our altitude. I .sTgrasis&.-- j . '523 West Main American Fork 1 UTAH'S AUTO and WORK DQURY CLINIC Warrantyl Utah 84003 ( 8014921210 785-941- 1 |