tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65645778899059314652011-11-27T18:37:24.921-05:00A March to a Different Drummer Point of ViewAlison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comBlogger691100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-48429805551009960682010-07-04T14:58:00.000-04:002010-07-04T14:58:53.919-04:00

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-53446771643897046832010-06-26T16:15:00.002-04:002010-06-26T16:15:00.809-04:00

Layoffs are still going on, although the economy as a whole is improving. In advertising, when accounts are lost, heads often roll because there is less money to pay people. In other industries, layoffs are caused when two companies merge and there are ‘redundencies’ of positions, so one is eliminated. One company in every merger is the dominant culture and more of their employees tend to survive

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-50757604455009673852010-06-24T13:10:00.000-04:002010-06-24T13:10:00.496-04:00

Do It Now - easier said than done sometimes. When I was a child, my grandfather (and sometimes my mother) always told me DIN DIN DIN about doing homework or chores. I thought it was complete nonsense because I wanted to be reading, playing or watching TV instead of doing what I was SUPPOSED to be doing. As I look at my 500 emails a day, my job responsibilities, real estate and online businesses,

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-71789835591051159382010-06-22T22:20:00.000-04:002010-06-22T22:20:56.879-04:00

Dis words like disempowered, disrespected, dismissed and disregarded go right along with mis words like misunderstood or misrepresented. So recently, I was feeling dissed at work and by my family and I had a lot of stories about what was happening and whose fault it was. Not mine, of course. I was being affected by other people’s actions and attitudes, real or perceived, and began seeing myself

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-75676755243734913872010-06-20T22:07:00.000-04:002010-06-20T22:07:25.614-04:00

Everybody has 1,140 minutes in every day, no matter what their economic status, race, religion, national or political affiliation. What are you doing with yours? Are you enjoying most, if not all, of those moments? Take a look at how you are dividing up your time. For me, some of its passing is unconscious. What percentage is used up by sleep, work, family, relationships, volunteering, fun,

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-54069273213368611842010-06-02T22:58:00.001-04:002010-06-03T00:16:01.019-04:00

First, identify the activities, environments and relationships that fire you up and those that drain you. What are you passionate about - your work or business, family, friends, hobbies, travel, education, investments, sports, what? Next, examine specifically what is exciting for you and try to figure out why. For example, I tutor in East Harlem at a middle school and we were talking about

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-79562826016460446102010-05-31T15:45:00.001-04:002010-05-31T15:46:14.264-04:00

Mindset. I was struck last week by how drastic the difference between how an employee and an entrepreneur think. It affects their actions, comfort level, what they value and their risk profile. Although I love my job for the aspects that have to do with creative relationship and systems building, I have strong entrepreneurial tendencies as a freelancer, real estate investor, network marketer and

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-34767272440398515352010-05-29T19:27:00.002-04:002010-05-29T19:27:00.170-04:00

I went to an amazing seminar put on by the New York Entrepreneurs Business Network (NYEBN) in NYC about how to have our vendor table crowded with clamoring customers. Jessica of Shani Marketing gave specific tips about attraction marketing so I tried them out AND THEY WORK!!! Among other things, I made up a questionnaire about people’s lives asking specific questions to see if what my partner,

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-92080877238370260802010-05-27T16:30:00.001-04:002010-05-27T16:30:01.100-04:00

Partnership at its best… my business partner, Janet Cook, and I complement each other in that we are like and unlike each other. We are alike in our passion for helping people, learning new skills, being entrepreneurs and loving life. We both appreciate how magnificent people are and look for it. For us, the glass is always half full, even in the face of circumstances that might say otherwise,

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-90253087507304642212010-05-25T09:30:00.001-04:002010-05-25T09:30:01.690-04:00

Bills to the left of you, paycheck to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you… OK, so I changed the song a little. Have you ever had a time when you stacked up the bills (lots of them) and the single check that’s meant to cover them and, despite your best efforts, there is just not enough income? Me too. What is the solution? Consider getting another job or two, online or work from

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-39506530449633782122010-05-23T19:13:00.000-04:002010-05-23T19:13:14.202-04:00

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-35260510867331402052010-05-23T14:30:00.001-04:002010-05-23T14:30:00.733-04:00

“Only where love and need are one and the work is play for mortal stakes. Is the deed ever really done for Heaven and the future’s sakes.” Robert Frost wrote that and I have been thinking lately about what it means practically. My grandfather, whom I love dearly, is 98 years old, sharp as a tack, so I am very aware of mortality these days. Need drives many of my actions and probably yours too –

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-40497470760923270492010-04-11T21:51:00.001-04:002010-04-11T23:48:53.091-04:00

Are you defined by your job, your status or how much you earn? By the quality of your relationships? By your age or looks? By where you live or who you know? By your commitment to organic living or environmental sustainability? By your entrepreneurial or internet skills? By your level of education or what schools you attended? Historically, for men, they have been defined by job status and

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-8023319536162659762010-03-19T00:52:00.001-04:002010-03-19T00:53:43.068-04:00

Has anyone else ever imagined a conversation going badly before it happens, whether it's about a romance, a business negotiation or a job? I notice that fiction sometimes gets bigger until I am ignoring entirely the fact that the conversation hasn't happened yet, the negative outcome isn't real unless I make it so. The tone of my interaction when it happens can change the outcome. Seth Godin

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-5451424407627143452009-11-13T09:37:00.001-05:002009-11-13T09:38:16.146-05:00

Many times in my life, I have heard, "Words have power!" But, practically, what does that mean to me and you? A famous scientist named Masaru Emoto researched the power of words on water in his books, The Hidden Messages in Water, using loving or hateful words, spoken or written down, and peaceful or jarring music (words or melody) played to the water and observed with a powerful microscope. He

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-10653936707045753932009-11-08T22:10:00.000-05:002009-11-08T22:10:01.784-05:00

Don't walk, RUN and join Ilana's NYC Business Networking meetup group and Andrew Ran Wong's NY Entrepreneurs Business Network (NYEBN) meetup group at meetup.com for FREE. They have several great events every month that are worth attending at no or low cost. Moxiein the city.net is another that has lots of social events. Please look back to last week's listings and check out meetup.com yourself

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-24452710941481130842009-11-06T00:43:00.000-05:002009-11-06T00:43:38.199-05:00

I keep hearing stories of employees in the same job for 10, 20, 30, 40 years being laid off. They thought they were safe - great at their work, well liked and vital to the team. At the top, some executive says cut $1,000,000 or more from your staff budget and suddenly none of the value that employee brings to the company matters. Fired, laid off, downsized, rightsized... So what effect does

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-21588511814227988112009-11-01T21:29:00.001-05:002009-11-01T22:37:39.822-05:00

Consider what you are looking for and find a group that matches that need. This listing of events demonstrates the rich variety of education, information, networking and fun available in NYC. I recommend www.meetup.com in any city as a start place to find great resources. NYC folks, many of these are meetings I attend monthly and I will not list those every month so make a note of meetings that

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-16752766416851131342009-10-31T08:15:00.001-04:002009-10-31T08:15:00.681-04:00

When I tutor or lead my book group at EHS, my biggest challenge is showing relevance. What does the material being taught at school have to do with the student's experiences in life so far? Why should they care? One recent assignment had to do with Barack Obama's surprise win of the Nobel Peace Prize, why he won, what the committee's reasoning was for their choice and who else historically has

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-20551503107559327422009-10-30T23:47:00.000-04:002009-10-30T23:47:21.722-04:00

"Work with all your intelligence and love. Work freely and rollickingly as though you were talking to a friend who loves you. Mentally (at least three or four times a day) thumb your nose at all the know-it-alls, jeerers, critics, doubters." by Brenda Ueland. Any action has consequences. Working with everything we have in us or holding back... which are you and I doing today?

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-11815746391004963382009-10-29T09:00:00.016-04:002009-10-29T09:00:01.021-04:00

When the human element disappears from bank service departments with foreclosures rising, something needs to change. When I lost all work for seven months, off and on, in 2009 and was relying on unemployment to pay my bills, there simply was not enough money so, right or wrong, I used some of the funds from the rents in the investment properties to supplement and fell behind on mortgages. Once

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-3370009471290454472009-10-27T15:00:00.000-04:002009-10-27T15:00:01.301-04:00

Real estate investing long distance was much harder than I expected in real life. I have known for a long time that being a real estate investor, business owner and entrepreneur was my chosen direction in life. In today's economy, it is essential for every individual and family to build a financial net for themselves because working for a company in a job is a potentially precarious situation. I

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-70591039545741354252009-10-25T20:47:00.000-04:002009-10-25T20:47:45.319-04:00

I keep running into people who are actively networking and building businesses but don't know about all the incredible networks and information readily available to entrepreneurs, network and affiliate marketers, salespeople and business owners. Of course, there are also social, food, exercise, entertainment meetings and more. I look at the mission statement for content, agenda and to get a sense

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-24238115694728651872009-10-23T16:10:00.002-04:002009-10-24T01:03:36.163-04:00

Unemployment rates by state for September 2009 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Geographic Profile of Employment and Unemployment, highest to lowest, and population projections for 2010 from the U.S. Census Bureau, "Table A1:Interim Projections of the Total Population for the United States and States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2030; published April 21, 2005. Michigan - 15.3%

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-38391814695902351482009-10-22T09:00:00.004-04:002009-10-22T09:00:04.513-04:00

When somebody says, "Pace yourself," what exactly does that mean? Is it the opposite of "Pick up the Pace" or are you saying the same thing? In a physical sense, it could be walking the length of your stride. Or walking the ley lines of the earth and feeling its rhythms. Or being true to yourself. In The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron encourages writing morning pages, three 8 1/2" x 11" sheets of

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-75625964106146504502009-10-21T16:00:00.003-04:002009-10-21T23:06:59.990-04:00

I just read an astounding book called, Why She Buys by Bridget Brennan that I highly recommend to any individual or business marketing solely to women OR seeking to add women to their market share. Let me share with you statistics from Why She Buys (pages 36-40) about the percentage of direct buying power or influence that women in the US and globally have or will have on purchasing decisions in

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-14910180084451865402009-10-19T09:10:00.001-04:002009-10-21T00:12:43.845-04:00

Does all the new technology connect or disconnect us or does it depend...? I got on the subway this morning and saw no less than twenty-two Blackberrys, iPods, Gameboys, Kindles, electronic phones and organizers. Many people were listening to music - sometimes audibly from five feet away. My thought was, "setting themselves up for hearing loss later," and then I felt very old for even thinking

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-24914466311251177022009-10-17T23:27:00.000-04:002009-10-17T23:27:19.409-04:00

Volunteering is, for me, a way of giving back to my community and my world in gratitude. It make my life richer along the way. I believe that giving money alone is great but not enough so I give of my money and my time. It keeps a balance and everything in perspective, whether my life is easy or hard in that moment. Today was NY CARES day when volunteers go into the schools and paint murals and

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-82768938429582296202009-10-14T13:08:00.001-04:002009-10-14T13:09:03.874-04:00

In building my business, I KNOW what to do to make it successful. The question is, am I doing those things, or am I making excuses about why not? 1) Set written goals - numbers for the business (USD$ amount in sales;# of customers/referrals/downline members, etc.). Make a specific plan to make them happen. Be clear on the tracking and financials. Act and correct, keeping goals in mind daily,

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-63311232639226221522009-10-12T15:10:00.001-04:002009-10-21T00:17:37.560-04:00

A feast for the senses... NYC Polish Day Parade on October 4, 2009. Julia Cameron uses the term, "filling the well," to mean going out of your way to see, touch, taste, smell, hear something outside of your normal routine. She claims, and I agree, that doing so stimulates the creative imagination to make us more hopeful, more vibrant, happier, healthier and more prosperous. Below is what I

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-78367279566681880952009-10-09T19:57:00.000-04:002009-10-09T19:57:38.882-04:00

Moods are infectious, good or bad. Have you ever noticed that, not only can a mood color the entire day but it appears to shape the circumstances of that day? Yet they don't really. The circumstances can be exactly the same but how I interact with them varies. In a good mood, I observe different things than I do in a bad mood. I am looking for people, events, circumstances, colors, smells,

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-59181779400565246202009-10-07T11:37:00.002-04:002009-10-07T11:38:10.776-04:00

What a curious idea... "FAIL FASTER." I have heard the phrase many times in sales positions where it means to introduce whatever product or service I am selling to lots of people or companies in order to find the ones who want and/or need my offer. Let the rest go. The temptation for me with a "yes" is to congratulate myself and rest, wait for the sale to complete. With a "no," I want to heal

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-22746264728940046072009-10-06T16:20:00.000-04:002009-10-06T16:20:35.961-04:00

When all your hard-won skills make no difference... It's the economy, the job market, the unemployment figures, the housing market, downsizing/rightsizing/layoffs, the budget, whatever. I have worked steadily as a freelance proofreader and copy editor for over ten years. I have added to my skills as I saw markets shifting from legal and financial proofreading to publishing to medical copy

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-72661648898528353652009-10-02T11:28:00.001-04:002009-10-02T12:43:14.331-04:00

Have you ever had a day neatly planned out to accomplish your specific and essential goals (work, family time, exercise, leisure, writing or reading, volunteerism, whatever) and you have eagerly begun BUT your phone or Blackberry/iPhone rings or texts you suddenly? EMERGENCY! ...and your perfect day is derailed. What happened? Your child threw up in the lunchroom and needs to be picked up NOW.

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-48820284856685532732009-09-29T11:28:00.001-04:002009-10-02T13:00:19.610-04:00

Time Management "He who every morning plans the transactions of the day and follows out that plan carries a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life... But where no plan is laid, where the disposal of time is surrendered merely to the chance of incident, chaos will soon reign." by novelist, Victor Hugo. Risk Evaluation "How do you judge whether some activity is

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-66209330762784464872009-09-28T16:12:00.010-04:002009-10-02T13:01:18.347-04:00

I read a book by Scott Fox called e-Riches 2.0 that I thought was exceptional so this is a clip about creating a basic business plan from his blog at www.ScottFox.com. Enjoy! My Easy 10 Question Free Business Plan Template by Scott Fox Last week in my new Click Millionaires Forum, a member named Tony asked me for a free business plan template recommendation. My response? Most entrepreneurs spend

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-37362419473968613702009-09-26T22:48:00.001-04:002009-10-02T13:01:38.363-04:00

I came across this quote in a book I'm reading, Power Networking by Donna Fisher and Sandy Vilas and loved it so here goes... "If you want to be prosperous for a year, grow grain. If you want to be prosperous for ten years, grow trees. If you want to be prosperous for a lifetime, grow people." Proverb Fantastic! It set me to thinking about who I am grateful to for my own growth and nurturing

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-72191276628415476412009-09-25T13:17:00.003-04:002009-10-02T13:01:59.741-04:00

Two Choices You are either listening to them, whether they are a home buyer, house seller or investor, your husband or wife, friend or colleague, or your boss, or you are listening to yourself. Who they are and what they are concerned about drives what conversation and action happens next. If you are truly listening with focused attention to what they say (not just the surface words but all

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-50233955883807045552009-09-22T15:29:00.003-04:002009-10-02T13:02:17.271-04:00

I went to Tavern on the Green for a networking event but there were many fewer people there than were advertised. The DJ and music were good, the lanterns were lit, the topiary King Kong towered next to the bar and the dance floor was empty. My feet were tapping, my head was bobbing in rhythm to the music and I wanted to dance but I was alone. My husband was still at work. Surreptitiously, I

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-16056993153659279242009-09-21T15:37:00.001-04:002009-10-02T13:02:32.297-04:00

When you join a network marketing company, consider your purpose FIRST. Will this network marketing opportunity be your part-time or your full-time business? How much time and money are you willing to spend building your business and for how long? What return on your investment (amount of money you expect to make) do you need for it to be worthwhile starting? COMPANY Does the company have a

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-54915662931053212392009-09-19T13:08:00.004-04:002009-10-02T13:02:47.319-04:00

Everybody looks for answers but it is questions that shape lives. What questions are you asking to direct your job/work/career, relationships, retirement, giving back, etc.? Good questions allow you to dance with life. Bad ones and you will probably be pushed around by it instead. 1) Should I Ask Narrow or Broad Questions? a) Narrow questions are for choosing between two to three options you

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-37504096885923097252009-09-10T08:52:00.003-04:002009-09-10T08:55:27.595-04:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-2470888146344271592009-08-15T18:38:00.007-04:002009-10-02T13:03:01.895-04:00

I have been thinking about this viral videos idea. The advantage and drawback for me is no pitching the businesses I am involved with. On the other hand, that opens up a world of possibilities so it frees me too. There are topics I am passionate about and would like to speak about globally: financial literacy money and money attitudes surviving unemployment whole balance between work and

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-9224186329987308092009-08-14T18:35:00.007-04:002009-10-02T13:03:26.967-04:00

This social networking stuff is fascinating to me but, as one of the almost-50 set, I have a significant disadvantage over, say, a 10-year-old. I'm not really joking when I say that. Like any learning, the earlier you start, the easier it is. So, as usual, I ran to find a book, e-Riches by Scott Fox which was published in 2009 (because 2008 is antique already) and read it cover to cover twice.

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-9696439951881570962009-07-30T15:29:00.003-04:002009-07-30T15:34:34.615-04:00

Since I was a child, I wanted to be a multimillionaire philanthropist but I'm not there yet. So I began speaking, "I am a multimillionaire philanthropist" before going to sleep and when I get up. Then I wondered what multimillionaires do and what they have and visualized that too. By this time, as you can imagine, I was having a GREAT time! I could really see it all. Try it...

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-42479613170348224202009-04-03T07:50:00.005-04:002009-04-03T07:55:27.198-04:00

Come hear this San Francisco a capella group sing Leonard Cohen original arrangements this weekend 4/3-4/4. My brother, Tim, will be! there and lots of friends and fans. It will be a fantastic good time. Enjoy

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-84238025994395022282008-11-02T13:00:00.001-05:002008-12-26T00:27:02.982-05:00

Out on the fire escape in El Barrio (110th Street) at the 19th mile, the shouting begins as the first runners, the women come by. We watch on TV as they get closer and then I climb out on the fire escape with my bare feet cold on the metal slats and my camera in my hand, and look down First Avenue. The sirens sound as the escorting cars approach in a V-shape. The shadows are so long and dark

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-64517957961426782672008-10-19T11:39:00.000-04:002008-10-21T01:15:02.318-04:00

Here are the lyrics for the song Amy Poehler did on Sarah Palin, SNL 10/18/08. Great!my name is sarah palin you all know mevice prezzy nominee of the gopgonna need your vote in the next electioncan i get a 'what what' from the senior sectionmccain got experience, mccain got stylebut don't let him freak you out when he tries to smilecause that smile be creepybut when i be vpall the leaders in the

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-68193018299249235872008-10-18T00:10:00.002-04:002008-10-20T00:30:51.047-04:00

HURRAY! As you can see, I'm consumed with the upcoming election but this thoughtful conversation on MSNBC with Colin Powell was amazing. The interview covered the characters and issues facing the two candidates very clearly and well, I thought. The division in the country between red and blue was so stark and discouraging, in 2004 especially. The movement of people towards Barack Obama,

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-81999248276217646862008-10-17T23:57:00.005-04:002008-10-20T00:06:47.928-04:00

Tina Fey apparently was unwilling to even be onstage with Sarah Palin but when they passed each other, the likeness was uncanny. I would feel the same way. Amy Poehler's song was howlingly funny and we've watched it many times already. Sarah Palin behaved with quite good humor and the roast was actually pretty gentle, in my opinion. I watch the polls every day to make sure Obama continues

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-91851013497181618392008-10-16T22:11:00.002-04:002008-10-19T22:18:05.882-04:00

I worked with a father whose son killed himself with a gun he had in the house. The young man's fiance called off their wedding. I don't know why. In despair, the boy went home and the gun was just there, loaded or he knew where the bullets were kept, in the house. There was no time to reflect, to pull out of that sadness, to talk to somebody and feel hope or joy again. The young man took the gun

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-72341844331097520822008-10-15T21:46:00.001-04:002008-10-19T22:11:03.481-04:00

What's your opinion? Is TV a waste of time? I don't like to turn it on because I can get hooked into a storyline or a character easily and I just don't have time. I LOVE watching House, that testy genius doctor. I would say 'maverick' but John McCain and Sarah Palin have sullied that great word's meaning. When my nephews are watching TV or clamoring to watch TV and I speak to them three times

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-63876995403842467822008-10-14T21:34:00.001-04:002008-10-19T21:46:27.032-04:00

I am stunned at the number of social networks that exist online these days. MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tagged, Twitter, FriendFeed, YouTube, ning networks, blogs, RSS feeds and more. Younger people navigate all this much more easily than I do but still I must learn. I keep hungering towards designing my business as automatic- and online-based. I can see that it is possible to streamline

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-31335231322099028412008-10-13T21:22:00.001-04:002008-10-19T21:33:19.086-04:00

I feel like I'm in a tizzy with so much to do and not enough time to get it done. So here's what's going on... 4 days a week of freelance work, returning professional and personal phone calls late, selling the Philly house, figuring out what to do about rents on the Syracuse duplexes and the Syracuse property manager, doing research for Philly Connected, talking to my accountability partners and

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-31698772200887647122008-10-12T21:07:00.001-04:002008-10-19T21:21:05.247-04:00

I went to see my Grandpa and we walked out near the road. We passed pods of seeds clinging to the rough open husks, ready to fly away. The seeds were attached by silky white parachutes of fluff, light enough to catch the wind and be carried to root near or far away. I pulled two overflowing handfuls of glossy, vivid seedlings and brought them to my Grandpa to stroke over the top of his hands as

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-41126016207495018132008-10-11T09:28:00.002-04:002008-10-11T11:53:34.360-04:00

I have been reading three books recently about marketing, Blue Ocean Strategy by W Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne, microtrends by Mark J Penn and Marketing to the Affluent by Dan Kennedy. My conclusion is that success or failure in marketing is all in how you think.Blue Ocean Strategy basically makes a distinctions between red and blue oceans. Red oceans are markets everyone is competing for,

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-54240695258019052002008-10-10T14:02:00.001-04:002008-10-10T21:19:01.341-04:00

Why are older people and children treated almost the same? It's a mystery to me. I am very close to my 96-year-old grandfather and my two nieces and three nephews so I have had many opportunities to reflect on this.Children hear, "No", more often than any other word. Their opinions are disregarded as other people make important decisions about their lives: foods, activities, exercise, schools,

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-22512978543897328472008-10-09T12:33:00.007-04:002008-10-10T17:09:59.896-04:00

I've been freelancing for more than 10 years, proofreading and copy editing in advertising, medical advertising, publishing and legal. Being a freelancer has its pros and cons, however. By the way, I've been at the same place now for going on four years so it does not always mean jumping around.Pros: flexibility to pursue outside interests, exploring the workload and culture of a company before

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-72599706676842807182008-10-08T21:50:00.003-04:002008-10-08T22:08:49.438-04:00

Today at work, I heard something that knocked me back and made me sad. A coworker who is younger than me (early 40s, I think) had a stroke on Monday. He is in ICU at a hospital in Brooklyn. He has no health insurance as I didn't for over 10 years. He is a freelance proofreader too. This is the second person I know who had a stroke and no health care this year, younger than me. The first one was a

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-48140669376198028692008-10-07T12:16:00.006-04:002008-10-07T13:09:03.337-04:00

I just read an article on the Internet by Anthony Balderrama of CareerBuilder.com on the Best and Worst States for Jobs which was very interesting. The article claimed that the best places to find jobs are where unemployment stats are lowest (Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), January 2008) - makes sense. Of course, he quoted a national average of 5% and it's higher now (6.1% from the news

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-82758423027977592592008-10-06T23:01:00.004-04:002008-10-06T23:48:47.811-04:00

Treasure Mapping is an old idea with a lot of incarnations. I came across it when I was reading a lot about visualization and abundance. This Unity Church minister named Catherine Ponder talked about creating a treasure map to make dreams come true and I've been making a map most years for the last 10 years. I spend several weeks collecting and cutting out pictures and words from magazines I like

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-87899654609581387132008-10-05T16:03:00.004-04:002008-10-07T13:12:41.252-04:00

I thought this article from Slate, Moneybox was important enough to include in my blog and besides, my friend, Roy, is quoted in it and I know what great work Accion does. In financial crunch times, what happens to philanthropy, tithing, reaching out to others?More Subprime Loans, Now! Why the world needs cheap loans at insanely high interest rates. by Daniel Gross. Friday, Sept. 19, 2008, at 5:

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-45717236146001873692008-10-04T11:21:00.014-04:002008-10-08T21:49:32.572-04:00

As we all know, getting money from a bank for ANYTHING is pretty close to impossible these days, especially if your credit is less than pristine. So buying a home is very difficult if you have less than A credit (over 680). What this means for someone selling a home is fewer buyers, less competition for houses so lower sale prices, and a longer, more challenging timeframe to a successful close.

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-17708779320102207452008-10-03T13:09:00.001-04:002008-10-03T13:23:16.527-04:00

I am visiting my stepmother in the country. A friend was coming over for dinner so she asked me to go out into the garden to cut a cabbage for our meal. Off I went with a big knife. I was surprised at how tough the stem was as I hacked away, wishing for shears. Finally it came loose. I moved over to the tomatoes and, collecting about 27 small ones, piled them in the center because I forgot to

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-40315595028124829662008-10-02T19:00:00.000-04:002008-10-02T03:39:39.613-04:00

I went to a meeting this evening of a real estate investment group I belong to called Philly Connected LLC. Our aim is to provide green affordable housing in Philadelphia. So we members have been working on creating business lines of credit, expanding credit card lines, and fixing our FICO scores so that we have the credit scores and funds to be able to invest in real estate.So people I know who

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-91416554735454879812008-10-01T17:00:00.001-04:002008-10-07T13:11:11.594-04:00

It would be nice to think that we have complete control over our own lives. It just ain't so.We have no control over the economy, banks failing, companies going bankrupt, downsizing and lost jobs, government regulation, taxation. In NYC, we are feeling extreme pain right now with Lehman Brothers bankrupt and AIG in deep trouble. Our local economy is more affected by Wall Street turmoil than

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-48827263831211841342008-09-30T22:25:00.005-04:002008-10-02T02:31:43.292-04:00

In 2004, I traveled to South Africa to participate in a spiritual healing campaign organized by South African friends who are also meditators, teachers and healers of the Sacred Merkaba Techniques. They arranged for us to visit preschools, high schools, community centers, AIDS centers for children and a hospital in the townships in and around Jo'burg, like Soweto, Alexandria, Randfontein and

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-11418643895384217062008-09-29T01:47:00.000-04:002008-10-07T13:42:07.715-04:00

Every morning when I wake up, I meditate. What I practice daily since I learned it in 2000 is a combination of prayer and meditation. I would consider myself more spiritual than religious although I have friends in many countries, practicing many religions. I can learn something from anyone who follows a path of light. There is no one right way, in my opinion. This road just suits me and as

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564577889905931465.post-74432167036649987612008-09-28T14:45:00.000-04:002008-10-07T13:44:51.321-04:00

Hi, my name is Alison and I am in my late 40s. I live with my husband, David, on the top floor of a 3-story tenement walk-up building in East Harlem in NYC. He is a fantastic artist of portraits, landscapes, cityscapes and flowers. One of my favorite activities when we travel is to sit behind him reading when he paints and look up from time to time to see a stroke of paint, a misty image, into a

Alison Penahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423762234200625927noreply@blogger.com