Attitude is key.

I once got arrested because of my attitude.  How important is your attitude?  I believe it's huge & really makes a difference in your results.

Haiku for perspective & comic relief

Be here now.
Be someplace else later.
Is that so complicated?

My brother, the doctor has been know to space out at the dinner table. Once when asked, if he had gone to the Golf Course after one of these moments, he replied, "yes, but sometimes when I am at work, I come home."

Wherever you go, there you are.
Your luggage is another story.

Whenever my children ask "where are we?" The answer they receive is "right here." They now answer their own questions.

Accept misfortune as a blessing.
Do not wish for perfect health, or a life without problems.
What would you talk about?

This is Alice's favorite.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Forget this and attaining enlightenment will be the least of your problems.

Fall Colors

It has been a fabulous week for colors in the Chicago area. Tuesday it was raining again, just lightly & there was very little wind. As I coming home there were carpets of leaves covering the area under many of the trees. Some were reds others were yellows & a few oranges too. It was a very pleasing effect & I was thankful to be there to see it.
Last night was "The Taste of Randolph Fulton Market." Brody's donated the balloons. We asked Bill & Teri from American Balloon Company of Glen Ellyn to create & install the decor at the event. The event is held at the Galleria Marchetti an excellent venue for this type of networking.

It is not easy to photograph this stuff, but I believe these images give you a feel for how they looked. The RFMA Taste was very successful this year. The balloons were a hit & of course the food was exceptional.

Frosty Morning Walk by the Creek

It was cold in the Chicago area today, I suppose that is why it was so still & quite when I woke at about 7. The Salt Creek runs about ½ a mile from my house. I have enjoyed many hours walking, skiing, biking & boating in & around this visionary resource over the 20 plus years that I have lived in Westchester, IL.

In college I was a Photography Major, but I burned out my junior year, & never pursued photography professionally. I have an recurring fantasy of working for National Geographic, or Sports Illustrated, which I nourish by having this saying next to one of my many desks "It's never to late to be what you could have been."

On one of my walks last year I was awed by the frost crystals on the plants. I did not have a camera with me & must have made a pact with myself to revisit this place at the proper time. This morning I was disappointed as I walked the trail. There was no frost, no ice in frozen puddles, the ground didn't even crunch under my footfalls.

I did find some nice mushrooms.
These mushrooms made me think of the "Omnivore's Dilemma" which is; they sure do look good, but will they kill you if you eat them? There is another part of this dilemma too, being a true Omnivore one will eat anything, therefore we have morals & ethics.

Well I kept on going & lucky for me I wandered into the back side of the sledding hill. The open prairie like space was frosted! You may not realize but you must have very special conditions to have this kind of frost or even dew. If there is any wind at all they will not form.
What does any of this have to do with balloons, you ask? Well everything & nothing at all.

A Call to Action From Our Commander-in-Chief

This arrived in my inbox this afternoon. I think it is wonderful!

From: President Barack Obama [mailto:info@barackobama.com]
Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009 4:15 PM
To: Lee Kaufman
Subject: A call to action

Lee --

This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

That is why I've said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won't all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it's recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.

This award -- and the call to action that comes with it -- does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better.

So today we humbly recommit to the important work that we've begun together. I'm grateful that you've stood with me thus far, and I'm honored to continue our vital work in the years to come.

Thank you,
President Barack Obama

Do You Speak BALLOON?

Balloon-A-Paloosa 2007

Round, Non-Round, Foil, Latex, 260q, 160Q, 350Q, 646, 321, 418, 524, Flat, Packaged, Bag of ???,Link-O-loon, Mega-loon, DSSS, 60/40, hi-float, magmover, arch, column, canopy, pinch twist, bubble, twist, bend, soften, release, drop, size, double stuff, weave,

Questions?

The Art of Balloons

Larry Moss the man behind BalloonHQ is a driving force behind the push to have balloons seen as a true artist medium. Please visit this link http://bit.ly/14Evpm to learn more, also go herehttp://www.artprize.org/artist/id/3750, then come back to leave your comments.

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Bring Balloons

Slacker that I am, I have not spread the word about

the IBA's industry "catch phrase"

It is Bring Balloons click to learn more.

Safe Balloon Practices For the Health of The Industry & Our Customers

In recent years our industry has been in dangered by public safety issues. As a reaction to these issues many resources have been developed to have us protect the perception & value of balloons. Below are some of those resources.

The Balloon Council:
You can carry out smart balloon practices to take care using them. Some tips:

• Keep balloons secured to a weight. A helium filled balloon should be tied securely to a weight that will keep it from releasing into the air.

• Do not release foil balloons into the air. After the party is over, many people will want to take the balloons home, but when you’re finished with them, pop the balloons and dispose of them properly. Do not release them into the air, although it is very very rare, they can cause problems if they are tangled in power lines and can turn into roadside litter if not disposed of properly.

• Keep deflated or popped latex balloons away from small children to avoid risks of choking. Children under 8 years can choke or suffocate on uninflated or broken balloons; adults should always supervise young children with balloons.

• Latex balloons are made of natural rubber latex and are biodegradable, but may cause allergic reactions in people who are allergic to natural rubber latex.

RETAILERS: Click here to download an image about smart balloon practices to post on your Web site or in your store.

More later. Lee

Investing for better times ahead

Sure the economy is a mess for many of us right now. I recently was talking with my daughter about what she saw in her future. She is starting her third year of undergrad studies at Purdue this fall. I was shocked when she mentioned how bad the economy & the job market looked. I brushed that comment aside & tried to remind her that her job right now was to get the necessary skills to be marketable when she is ready to enter the marketplace. Judy is a remarkable kid, who has done & will continue to do great things for herself & those she comes in contact with.

As a Yoga practitioner I know it is critical to be fully present in the moment, and to be fully aware of the larger context of our lives. This is the only moment we have, we can use it to worry about what is, or what will be, or we can use it to prepare. There are so many ways do this. Learning new skills, exercising both our bodies & minds will certainly serve us in many ways going forward. Here are a few things I have done at Brody's 800-4-Balloons over the past few months to be ready for the opportunities ahead.

8004Helium.com: We formed a partnership to distribute Helium. It is up & running with many happy customers. It hasn't been easy & we have had our share of setbacks, but we have continued our efforts, expecting to succeed.

Adding Item Numbers to our Category Pages on Brody's 800-4-balloons.com: This has made getting this information easier for our customers & ourselves too.

Refining our warehouse & information systems: Seems like this job is never finished, which of course speaks to job security, for everyone involved in the process.

Of course there are many other thing I would like to get done, & setting priorities is a completely different subject for perhaps another day. But I would like to download those idea here & now.

Sending out emails to customers.

Creating postcards to mail to existing & prospective customers.

Building Kiosks for customers to use in our showroom.

Installing a new phone system.

Fixing up the building inside & out.

Adding new products & product lines to the offerings.

Having sales meetings.

Spending time with the staff outside of work.

Training staff for future positions.

Calling customers we have not heard from in a while & asking why?

Sending out surveys.

I firmly believe that "luck is what shows up at the confluence of preparedness & opportunity." I like this quote I read recently "opportunities are easily missed because they come knocking looking dirty & dressed as hard work." You can spend your time worrying about how you will meet your next payroll, or you can prepare to take advantage of the next opportunity you spot. I encourage you to prepare. Lee

Please, Do Not Use The "M" Word When Speaking About Balloons!

The balloons in this image are made of FOIL. Over the short, 25 years or so, life of the FOIL balloon, a large misuse of the "M" word has been going on everyday. Looking back at some of our older catalogs, I see that I too have been guilty of this atrocity.

I do not believe this use is a negative for the makers of "M". I believe it actually helps to build their brand. The balloon industry has made efforts to avoid & even eliminate the use of the "M" word, however; it is very difficult to change an ingrained public habit. I have caught most my staff using it, in just the past few weeks.

Why would the balloon industry, let alone the maker of "M" want to make this change? For the industry, so the "M" guys can leave us alone?


I received an email from a watchdog group hired by "M", to examine our industry & our use of the "M" word. I was very pleased when I did a little research on the Brody's 800-4-Balloons web site & found only 17 public uses of the "M" word (F.Y.I., we have over 8,000 items on our site). I was even happier when none of those uses, was associated with BALLOONS! I immediately replaced the "M" word with FOIL in each case. The watchdog's email also noted some 400 plus times where Brody's 800-4-Balloons had the "M" word in our meta tags. We are removing these! So, if you search "M" balloons you won't find us! Brody's 800-4-Balloons is a good corporate citizen thanks to these efforts.

My web research into our industry speaks volumes about the wide-spread misuse of the "M" word. Companies have the whole word in their names! They are using it in their descriptive copy and are even purchasing the search phrase "M---- Balloons!" I would suggest the "M" people go after Google & make them stop selling anything to do with the "M" word & balloons. I am sure there is a big difference between the foil material balloons are made of, & the "M" stuff. So let's respect those differences. Our recent presidential election was all about acceptance & change, I see an opportunity for unification in the balloon industry. We do not sell "M" balloons, "warm fuzzies" & "happiness" is what we sell, no matter what anyone calls the material!


I suggest we all expand our vocabularies with better descriptive words; such as, Foil, Metallic, Reflective, Silver, Holographic, Magnificent, over-the-top, WOW, Supra-Foil (You go Qualatex), Xtra-Life (by Anagram). So get out there and sell the "H" out of these wonderful balloons, but remember, call them FOIL balloons, please. Thanks for your cooperation. Lee