Jer Blog

Being a leader takes a lot of work and comon sense. In today’s world many of those who have the ability to “make or break” a business, or even a nation, are lacking some, or all of these 10 qualities that any leader should posess:

1. Have vision. Leaders have a clear sense of where they want to go and how they intend to get there. They see the big picture, then create a strategic plan for achieving their goals and are not afraid to share these goals with the rest of the team. 

2. Make decisions. Leaders aren’t afraid to make difficult or unpopular decisions because they have confidence in themselves and in their abilities. They know that indecision wastes valuable resources, time and opportunities.

3. Take risks. Leaders have the courage to act in situations where results aren’t assured. They are both willing to risk failure but also learn from that failure.

Okay, everything is going up. Gas, groceries, electric, you name it, the price of living is rising so much faster than our pay checks over the last few months.

If you are like most people, you are finding that you are less likely to “fill her up” at the gas station; less likely to buying the extra “junk food” you are accustomed to buying at the grocery store, and you are probably being more frugle with the electric around the house.

It is a no brainer that we need to cut corners, and “tighten our belts” during this economic crises.

Unfortunatley, there are a lot of people that are already stretched to their limits, and have been doing cutbacks long before everything was rising in price. Most people only get paid every other week, and they are finding it is hard, if not impossible, to stretch their money over a two week period. Well, fortunately, there has been an influx in small, realtime loans called “Payday Loans”, that are taking the world by storm…

President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first official Mother’s Day on May 9, 1914. This proclamation was a proclamation was particularly meaningful to Ana Jarvis, who several years prior had started a campaign to establish a national Mother’s Day holiday to remember her own mother who had recently died. Jarvis wanted a day where all mother’s - past and present - could be honored.

Today Mother’s Day is a popular holiday, where gifts and cards are sent around the world.

The official flower for Mother’s Day is the carnation. Pink carnations are for living mothers, and white carnations are for those who have passed on.

Check your smoke detector at least once every six months, if not more frequently, as it may not even be working.

Although the average life span of a smoke detector as long as 15 years, they could easily go on the blink and you would not even know about it.

About 30% of smoke detectors fail after 10 years according to a recent report from the National Fire Protection Association. The report also states that 50% of them shut down after 15 years.

Although it may emit a beep when you test it, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will alert you to smoke or fire.

Americans never cease to amaze me, as we seem to make a holiday or observance for just about everything and anything. Here is a unique list of observances and holidays that I would be willing to bet you never have heard of most of them:

Alcohol Awareness Month
Amateur Radio Month
Autism Awareness Month
Cancer Control Month
Celebrate Diversity Month
Couple Appreciation Month
Emotional Overeating Awareness Month
Financial Literacy Month
Fresh Florida Tomatoes Month

Americans are buried in debt…

According to the Federal Reserve, consumers had racked up $944 billion in revolving credit debt by the end of last year.

If you run debt up so high that you can only make the minimum payment and you will soon find yourself in a situation that you cannot get out of.

For example, if you have $17,000 of unsecured debt, like credit cards, the first $400 you send in each month won’t even reduce the $17,000, it’s just taking care of the interest. What’s more, if you miss a payment, you may get hit with the “universal default” clause that is included in most credit card agreements - which gives your credit card issuers the right to raise your rates in any way that they see fit. This can cause your interest rates to soar and, in some cases, can double your monthly payments. Penalty rates can run from 19 to 24 percent, and folks with bad credit could see a rate of 29% or more!

Okay, growing up there was a popular saying around here among men. “If I could get prgnant, I would be rich”. I’m sure you heard it? No? Well anyways, we have a winner, by a man named Thomas Beattie, who lives in Oregon and is married to his wife Nancy.

Thomas is a transgender, legally male, and legally married to his female wife, Nancy.

Unlike couples in same-sex marriages, domestic partnerships, or civil unions, Thomas and Nancy are afforded the more than 1,100 federal rights of marriage. Sterilization is not a requirement for sex reassignment, so Thomas decided to have chest reconstruction and testosterone therapy but kept his reductive organs.

Thomas claims “to have a biological child is not a male or female desire, but a human desire”.

This could be the weirdest news story to ever break on the planet, and I definately do believe Thomas and Nancy will become very wealthy if the birth is a success.