USING PEOPLE

BE YOU- THE WHOLE TRUTH – John Herrera

by aileen on December 3, 2010

John Herrera

John is the owner of JuuJ Coiffure on Kaliste Saloom. He is one of the coolest people you will ever meet, and I’m not just saying that because he often has scissors just inches from my throat. He is one of those people who is doing exactly what they are meant to be doing, and I love people like that. John manages to combine a mischievous grin with a total air of calm. He is professional but never predictable and that makes me smile.

What was your first job?
My first job was at Baskin Robbins as a senior in high school. I can make a mean banana split.

Describe a typical day in your life.
I usually start with a 5:30 WOD at CrossFit Lafayette. Then I take my daughter to school for 7:30. I get to my salon by 10 AM and take anywhere from 8-12 clients till about 7 or 7:30 PM. I’m home just in time to hang out with my wife and 3 kids for about an hour, then we say prayers and tuck the kids in around 8:30 or 9. I try to get to bed before 10:30 so I can wake up and do it all again.

What advice would you give the younger you?
Live like you were dying.

What values do you live by?
Family, balance, passion,

What living figure most inspires you?
My wife. She challenges me to live “eternity-minded.”

What was the best advice you were ever given?
“Know when to hold ‘em, Know when to fold ‘em, Know when to walk away, Know when to run” Kenny Rogers.

What book would you tell everyone to read?
Power of a Praying Husband, Wife, etc. by Stormie Omartian

What is the best thing about where you live?
Hospitality.

How do you “let the good times roll”?
Cow tipping.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a surf shop owner.

What is your motto?
Right is right, even if no one is doing it. Wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it.

How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who made a difference in at least one person’s life.

What do you say to yourself when you doubt yourself?
Just keep swimming! Picture Dory on Finding Nemo.

What three things are vital to being you?
Music, Laughter, and Ambition.

Which words or phrases do most overuse?
Seriously…I use it as a question, a statement, and an exclamation. Seriously? Seriously. Seriously!
and Ridonkulous.

What is your favorite word?
JuuJ. The proper spelling is tzsuj; it’s a Yiddish verb that means to tweak, finesse, or make better. It’s also the name of my salon, JuuJ Coiffure.

What do you collect?
I would like to have a watch collection someday, but I have too many mouths to feed at home.

What food could you live on for a month?
Mexican, but the kind you get from any place in California with ‘bertos in the name-Alberto’s, Filberto’s, Roberto’s, etc.

What would you change about yourself?
I probably would get rid of my tattoos. I’d be bringing wholesome back.

Describe yourself in five words.
Blessed, amicable, independent, optimistic, fun-loving.

What is your idea of happiness?
Spending time with my children.

What is your favorite movie?
Pulp Fiction, one of the best quotable movies EVER.

What music defines who you are?
I’m a huge fan of DMB, but I grew up on punk rock and reggae.

What do you most regret?
I regret some of the things I did in my life, but what I regret most are the things I did NOT do.

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A CHALLENGE (or two)

by aileen on December 1, 2010

I know it’s only December 1st – but it’s a great time to get a head start on those New Years Resolutions…

Challenge 1

By reading on you are agreeing to accept at least one of these challenges (us writers are tricky like that). I am going to be doing it right along with you

I challenge you to pick one of your new year resolutions and start it today. Think how good it will feel to celebrate Christmas and already be fitter, or slimmer, play the piano better, start using Facebook more, give up cupcakes, stop smoking, start taking singing lessons or whatever it is you are planning to start next year.

Whatever you are going to do use December as a ‘practice month.’ Practice is great — there is no pressure to be perfect, you can’t fail, and whatever you do, you are ahead. You will also have proved to yourself that you can do it, and that’s going to feel great on New Year’s Eve. Whatever you do is lagniappe. Extra. A bonus. A slip or two doesn’t matter because it’s only a practice month.

I am going to get back into my exercise routine. I have let it slip a bit lately and need to get refocused. There now you all know, you can all hold me accountable. It’s here in black and white. It helps if people know, share what you are doing with your family, with your co-workers or you can email me and tell me. You are not in this alone. We are all practicing together.

The only rule is you are not allowed to give up, this is a rehearsal. You can have slip-ups and bad days but you are just practicing, you just get back on track and practice some more.

Challenge 2

Find at least one thing you want for Christmas that isn’t materialistic and encourage your children to do the same. It’s only one thing on your list but it may turn out to be the most important thing. Something you want to do, or learn, or experience. If each member of your family came up with one thing imagine the fun you would have together helping them get what they wanted. Would you like game night at your house, a walk in the park on Christmas day, a family photo album, homemade decorations, to start a new tradition, a once a month dinner club with friends. Pick something and put it on your Christmas list.

Challenge 3

Yes I know I mentioned only two challenges, but while I’m on a roll I may as well push my luck. Think of something you want to do next year, just for fun and make some plans. I want to go paddleboarding. You know, where you stand up on a surfboardy looking thing and paddle. I am already excited. I’m thinking spring in Florida. Find something that makes you smile and plan to do it.

Yes I know it’s only the beginning of December but there is only one time to start living your life, and that’s now.

This article appeared in my column “That’s what she said” in The Advertiser on 30th November 2010

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BE YOU – THE WHOLE TRUTH – Terry Butts

by aileen on November 26, 2010

Terry Butts

Love him or hate him, you know when you meet Terry Butts. He is larger than life, highly motivated, and he doesn’t care who knows it. In the last few months he has taken part in 136 mile kayak race, completed the Everest Challenge, the hardest 2 day USA Cycling race (over 29,000 feet of climbing) and is currently training for the Rouge Orleans, a 126 mile run. A former special operations marine, Terry does all of this while running four businesses, and planning others. He doesn’t just walk his talk, he runs it while carrying others. You may be surprised by some of his answers.

What was your first job?
i had my own little business shoveling snow and raking leaves. I was in the 5th grade. 10 years old

Describe a typical day in your life.
My alarm goes off at 3.45, coffee,out the door by 4.30. I teach my first class at SEPI at 5am. Then I run 8-14 miles or workout. Then the day is either working with personal training clients, being at Tri-Running, Lake Charles (the new store), working on schedules for online clients, or training high school and college athletes in sports performance. I love it all.

What advice would you give the younger you?
l would tell him, your life is gonna be unbelievable.

What event in your life most shaped who you are now?
The birth of my children. Joining the Marines.

What values do you live by?
Christian values.

What do you most appreciate?
The unconditional love of my family.

What is your favorite journey?
I would like to take a year off, homeschool my children and travel the country in an RV to show my children what an awesome country they live in.

Where is your favorite place to be alone?
On my bicycle, on a long ride.

What living figure most inspires you?
I am continually inspired by our wounded military, who despite their injuries and disabilities, continue to push themselves to live great lives and who continue to be an example for us all.

What was the best advice you were ever given?
BE YOU.

What book would you tell everyone to read?
The Bible

What is the best thing about where you live?
I can jump on my bike and go for a ride.

How do you “let the good times roll” ?
Being with my family and friends.

How would you like to be remembered?
Driven, honest, inspirational, a great father, a great husband, and a great friend.

What do you say to yourself when you doubt yourself?
I don’t doubt myself.

What three things are vital to BEing YOU?
Coffee, discipline and motivation.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
“Wow” and “Take all the time you need, just hurry the hell up” – I say it to my clients all the time.

What is your favorite word?
Daddy

What do you collect?
Experiences.

What food could you live on for a month?
Ice-cream.

What literary, movie or cartoon character do you most identify with?
Johnny Bravo

What is your idea of happiness?
Helping people change their lives.

What is your favorite movie?
Without Limits – the story of Steve Prefontaine.

What music defines who you are?
I grew up surrounded by country music, but these days everything has it’s place.

What do you most regret?
Not graduating from college because there are people who judge you by that piece of paper – it’s not really a regret but a limiting factor.

What question do you wish I’d asked?
These were more than enough

The BE YOU questionnaire by Aileen appears in The Times of Acadiana every Thursday.

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Do something..

by aileen on November 24, 2010

I don’t know how I missed it but last Wednesday was Guinness World Records Day. All over the world people attempted strange things in order to hold a world record. A 90 year old man in England became the oldest man to wing-walk, in Germany they broke the record for the most nationalities in a sauna, and in the USA they gathered together the most dogs in costumed attire. Records were also created for juggling (both underwater and on land), catching arrows, making mosaics from rice, standing on one leg and of course I can’t forget the new record for the most stairs climbed while balancing someone on your head or most concrete blocks broken while holding a raw egg.

People all over the world are wonderfully strange. I haven’t met any of these people, and although I would love to sit down with them and find out what makes them do these things, I know one thing for sure. That each one of them went home happy that night.

You only have to spend a few minutes on Facebook to see people’s accomplishments. There are photos or status updates that show people at 5 and 10k races, winning honors, playing in sports teams, passing tests, and generally sharing their news. It is human nature to strive for more. I’m always proud when I see one of my friends achieve something. It pushes me to want to do it too.

In the early 1920’s when George Mallory set out to attempt to climb Everest he was asked why, and he simply answered “because it’s there.” He didn’t make it but his quote has become “the most famous three words in mountaineering” and applicable to so many things we do in our lives even today.

We are human, we strive to be better. It’s easy at the moment to be discouraged. Ten minutes listening to the news, or dwelling on all the negativity around us and we can start to wonder. I know everything will be fine. Better than fine. While people are still pushing their own comfort zones, while we are attempting new records and trying new things we will all be just fine. If you ever doubt that, just go and check Facebook. Or even better find something that you want to achieve and start working on it. You don’t have to climb Everest, just take a few steps in a direction you want to go in. You will feel more alive and more positive.

If you followed last week’s advice and surrounded yourself with positive people then this should be easy. If not, do it now. Find those that are pushing themselves and join in. It’s never too late to start.

As we get to Thanksgiving we start thinking about Christmas and tend to plan a lot of the next month away, don’t put this off until next year. Don’t tell yourself you’ll make it your New Years Resolution. Do something, and do it now.

You don’t have to break a record, just expand your comfort zone.

This article appeared in my column “That’s what she said” in The Advertiser on 23rd November 2010

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Technology Tuesday… square

by aileen on November 23, 2010

I love square.

It’s a great way of accepting credit cards on your iphone and ipad.

You sign up for an account and they send you a little cute white square thingy that plugs into your microphone jack. You can then swipe credit cards straight into your device (I believe it works with droid too).

It saves me having to jump through hoops to get a merchant account and the fees that brings. It’s like paypay, they take a %, for me, its worth it. Every sale that I would have lost if I couldn’t take credit cards makes me smile.

So far it has worked seemlessly, the client signs on screen and enters their email address to get a reciept. Simple and secure.. and beautifully designed. I’m a fan.

This review is purely my opinion. I was not paid for it, nor do I have an affiliate relationship with the company (although I would jump at the chance)

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The best advice I was ever given…

by aileen on November 22, 2010

(about speaking)

Your speech doesn’t begin with the first words you say, it starts way before that.
The moment you are in sight of a member of your audience your speech has started, whether that be when you enter the building, when you get out of your car, when someone meets you at the airport or the day before when the conference begins.

You should look and sound confident the whole time, not just when you are on stage. If you have sat at breakfast looking nervous and scanning your notes, you have already made an impression on someone. If you sit through the speakers before you but ignore them, and reread your speech, you are not only missing out on some great stuff that you could be referencing, but you are giving an impression to the other speakers that you don”t care about them, and telling your audience that you are not prepared.
If your audience knows that you are confident they can relax and listen to you.

You may have already guessed that I believe that your speech doesn’t end until you leave the venue. Be confident, BE YOU.

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BE YOU – THE WHOLE TRUTH – Tracy Wirtz

by aileen on November 19, 2010

Tracy Wirtz

Tracy is the co-anchor of Good Morning Acadiana, on and off screen she oozes good vibes and is usually wearing a huge smile.
Tracy is one of those people who is so herself that she relaxes those around her. What you get is what you see, and in Tracy’s case what you see is a woman with a big heart and her priorities in order.

What was your first job?
A babysitter. I was 13 and I was awful at it… after that I fried chicken.

Describe a typical day in your life.
I get up at 1.45am and am in the office by 3.15. Yes, I do my own hair and make-up. Then I get wired up (with a microphone) and smile a lot

What advice would you give the younger you?
I would say two things – Be gentle with yourself. Recognize the speed bump between your brain and your mouth.

What event in your life most shaped who you are now?
There are so many, of course the births of my children, but it’s really about paying attention to all the moments, they add up.

What values do you live by?
Every single person has a purpose, a reason for being in your life. Nothing ever happens by accident.

What do you most appreciate?
Time – without it, you have nothing.

What is your favorite journey?
Work to home, and home to work. My ramp up and my decompression time.
The journey to 40. I’m so much more comfortable in my 40 year old skin than I was in my 20 year old skin.

Where is your favorite place to be alone?
In my bed at home, or in the bathroom at work (it’s my dressing room)

What living figure most inspires you?
My mother, she inspires me to this day, she’s 64 and she doesn’t stop, she amazes me.
My Grand Daughter – when I look at her I see hope, the future.

What was the best advice you were ever given?
BE YOU! Early in my career I tried to emulate people, I was told to find out who I was and be that person. I have to be me.

What book would you tell everyone to read?
Using People by Aileen Bennett (of course).. and I would tell them to read fiction. Other peoples imaginations fascinate me, it’s a real escape.

What is the best thing about where you live?
That even before I was on TV, everybody knew who I was.

How do you “let the good times roll” ?
With a remote control and a DVR

How would you like to be remembered?
As somebody who make people happy. There are not enough people like that in the world.

What do you say to yourself when you doubt yourself?
I’m very hard on myself, I’m very mean to myself. I don’t talk myself out of a bad time – I just keep going.

What three things are vital to BEing YOU?
My children. My job. My sense of humor.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
“Awesome”, “Dude”

What is your favorite word?
Serendipity. I just love saying it, what it means, everything about it.

What food could you live on for a month?
Steak

What literary, movie or cartoon character do you most identify with?
Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink

What is your idea of happiness?
Peace. For me, for my family. Oh, and lots of smiles.

What is your favorite movie?
Pretty in Pink.

What music defines who you are?
I love country music, but I listen to whatever strikes me. My music reflects my mood.

What questions do you wish I’d asked?
What things do you DVR, my DVR is stacked. Greys Anatomy, Private Practice, Cop Shows and of course, Swamp People.

The BE YOU questionnaire by Aileen appears in The Times of Acadiana every Thursday.

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What if they ask me to talk about…

by aileen on November 15, 2010

It’s one of the main questions I get.. What if they ask me to talk about (insert name of something you know nothing about). There are a number of answers to this:

1. Why would they ask you to talk about something you know nothing about? If it is something you really should have an opinion about then get one! Remember they often want your opinion, they may value what you think. It may be that you just get to ask questions… “I like others, have found the talk about this very confusing, can you outline the main reason we are doing this.. “.

2. You can practice impromptu speaking. In fact I love to do it. You can think around a subject if you know you are to be involved in a discussion about it, ask yourself every question you can think about it. If you want to be confident about talking about any subject then join your local toastmasters club. The tabletopics session, where you are asked to talk for a couple of minutes about any subject without notice. It is a fun, safe way to learn and with a bit of practice you will improve quickly.

Never be scared to give your opinion, people like to hear different points of view, and you may mention something that they haven’t thought of. If someone asks you what you think, they probably want to know what you think. They don’t need you to be clever or entertaining, but they do need to hear your views.

If you are generally nervous about speaking up, and terrified of speaking out you may want to work with a coach. I know a good one!

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TWSS – we are all in this together

by aileen on November 10, 2010

This week has been a strange one, full of reminders that life doesn’t always go as we plan. It’s all very well people like me telling you to find your passion and follow it but sometimes it seems life has other plans.

We don’t live our lives on pieces of paper, we live them in the real world where things go wrong, where people lose their jobs, family members suffer, accidents happen, children get sick, and we sometimes need to put ‘making a living’ above living a dream.

It’s a scary world out there sometimes.

It’s times like these that bring out our strengths and show us who we really are.

This week I attended a funeral of an amazing local lady who, although I didn’t know her well, has left a lasting impression of lessons on how to live a life. She lived life to the fullest, she spoke her mind (oh boy, did she speak her mind). The stories that people told were full of acts of humor, of incredible compassion, and most of all, of an unrelenting passion for life and love. I know people always speak good of the dead, but this was different. No one had to exaggerate a tale, no details needed to be changed to make her sound better, the stories were the same as they told when she was alive.

It was a wake-up call for me. If I wanted people to be that honest about me when I was dead, I had better make sure I lived the life I wanted them to talk about.

Following your passion or going after your dreams doesn’t mean that life won’t get in the way. How you live your life is just as important as what you achieve, the way you approach the things you don’t plan for is often who you really are.

In today’s society, we tend to think the bigger the goal, the more valid it is, but that just isn’t true. It’s about living the right life for you. It’s about following your own instincts and passion and not anyone else’s. Yes, there will be times when you have to adjust your plans, times where you feel like giving up, but you never get to give up on being you. It’s just too difficult to be anyone else.

This week is just as important as every other week in your life. Whatever you are facing, you get to be who you are. Something you do this week may well create a story that someone will tell after you are dead, something that they thinks portrays who you really are. It’s the things that test us that show us our own strengths.

As you go through life this week, remember, we don’t know what people are going through any more than they know the stresses we are facing. Lets look at the bigger picture, that we are all just people trying to live our lives in the best way we can. We all have different dreams and goals, different passions and different personalities but we are all in this together.

“That’s what she said”, a communication column by Aileen Bennett appears in The Advertiser every Tuesday.

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BE YOU – THE WHOLE TRUTH – Floyd Willis

by aileen on November 5, 2010

Floyd Willis

Floyd Willis opened Americas Coffee House, downtown on Buchanan Street in August this year. I was immediately impressed with his easy going manner, his way of introducing himself to each and every customer and his uncanny knack of making you feel like Americas is your personal coffee shop.

Many of the people who come into the coffee house recognize Floyd from his days at Spectrum Photography in Lafayette, he’s not someone you easily forget. I missed out on those days and so was delighted to get to sit down with him and go through the new BE YOU questionnaire. You should read them with a smile, because he answered them all that way.

Describe a typical day in your life.
Meeting people and having interesting conversations. Oh and I sell coffee too.

What advice would you give the younger you?
Graduate from college. Higher education gives you great opportunities.

What event in your life most shaped who you are now?
Learning to trust people.

What values do you live by?
Treat people with respect and they will respect you.

What do you most appreciate?
Being able to create something from whatever exists.

Where is your favorite place to be alone?
My childhood house.

What living person most inspires you?
Muhammad Ali. He gave so much of himself. Even to this day she shows up to help charities and people. He still gives.

What was the best advice you were ever given?
It’s real simple advice. My mother said, If you want something and you work hard enough you can get it. She was right.

What book would you tell everyone to read?
Half Past Autumn by Gordon Parks. He is a director, photographer and author. A lot of people don’t know about him. He’s a pretty inspiring person.

What is the best thing about where you live?
The support of the people. It’s overwhelming sometimes. The coffee shop isn’t always packed but each person that comes in is supportive enough for 10. It’s the kind of stuff that you don’t believe really happens until it does.

How do you “let the good times roll” ?
The good times roll with me all the time. It’s not a defining thing. I’m excited about so many different things about life.

How would you like to be remembered?
For seeing the world as a progressive experience. Getting stronger with every day you live because every day you live you have more experiences.

What three things are vital to BEing YOU?
Being Visual, to be able to create and putting a plan into action.

What is your favorite word?
Great.

What food could you live on for a month?
Beef.

What literary, movie or cartoon character do you most identify with?
James Bond, of course.

What is your idea of happiness?
Being able to smile. That’s a lame answer, but it’s true.

What music defines who you are?
Miles Davies. Without a doubt. He’s just cool. The way he walks, the way he talks, the way he plays. It’s all one.

What question do you wish I’d asked?
What’s your favorite movie? The answer would be “Heat” with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. Its cops and robbers but it’s all about the psychological chase.

The BE YOU questionnaire by Aileen appears in The Times of Acadiana every Thursday.

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