Everyone needs a place to call home

Recently, I have been traveling the country.  I have been to Northern California, Inland Empire (southern California), Denver metro, Oklahoma City metro, Tulsa metro, Stillwater metro, Las Vegas metro, and all of middle Tennessee (from Martin in the north to Ooltewah in the south). 

I recently moved on from my job at Stylecraft Marketing.  I really enjoyed my time as the turnaround leader and general manager.  The company was ready for the next leader.  There is often a semi-steping diagram where time is the x-axis and number of changes is the y-axis in a companies lifespan.  There often needs to be a change in management or leadership because that change levels off over time.  (The step part of the stepping chart.)  When new management comes on board, they often are able to jump back to changes and shift into another riser of changes.  I learned a lot about people.  I believe my people acumen is up substantially.  I learned more about people and the relationships between them.  My business acumen improved as well.  

So why have I been traveling?  First, let me tell you that I have been doing the normal activities.  I have put out my resume again, but I think that will take some time.  I'm not so sure I'm ready to work for someone else again, but I am open.  I have been traveling looking for mobile home parks.  I enjoy finding good parks, talking with managers about problems, reviewing financial scenarios, and putting deals together.  There are some heavy analytics involved in buying a mobile home park.  It also takes a tremendous amount of people acumen to understand what people should be working on what parts of the business.  What contractors, managers, repairmen, real estate agents, and many other people involved need to be assessed and the relationships between them understood.

I need to raise some money.  So my communication skills will improve in my opinion.  I think they are weaker than they need to be.  It is very clear to me what needs to happen I believe, but I must sell the idea to a banker, investor, partner, friends, girlfriend, family, and other.  They have to believe in me.  They have to understand what I am trying to accomplish.

One thing I do know is that "everyone needs a place to call home."  Not everyone can afford a single family home.  Mobile homes are very nice these days and I think there is a perception gap between it and reality.

Scott Chapman

-Entrepreneur

www.scottbchapman.com

To the north and beyond

Martin Luther King, Jr said it best, "There is nothing more dangerous than to build a society, with a large segment of people in that society, who feel that they have no stake in it; who feel that they have nothing to lose. People who have a stake in their society, protect that society, but when they don't have it, they unconsciously want to destroy it."

Have we grown to this mental state?  Do we want to destroy that which we do not feel part?  We need to travel.  I have been.  I have seen many people and the mirco-cultures in our country.  I cannot claim to know everything, but simply we must travel to see the world.  We must become more familiar with its lines.  We must become familiar with its feel.  We must become familiar with each other.

Scott Chapman

-Entrepreneur

www.scottbchapman.com

One must always practice

I know that there may be some disagreement about how we go about the art of practice.  In sports and the military, we almost always practice and then play a little.  The ratios are often 90% practice and 10% real live competition or war.  I am constantly faced with the growing amount of information.  I don't know where to spend my time.  I don't know where I should place my bets.  In the meantime, I read and practice.  I have in the last 10 years or so relied solely on the mental and emotional sides.  (IQ and EQ).  I have let my body die off for these games.  Even now, I wonder what is real any more.  People often think they know as much.  They often can play the political games to offset any intellect.  I am left with only one conclusion.  Your outside must reflect your inside.  I must not let them get out of alignment.  I must look the part.  And so I need to shift into a more physical realm or chapter in my life and forego the learning.  I think this is the right path.  I think this is the right course.  Balance to me is not a matter.  I can never be balanced.  No, I am not crazy just not successful with the balanced approach to things.  So I move forward in my efforts.  I spent the weekend killing.  Yes, killing.  I am a horrible life form or am I?  I shall not want that anyone but me bares arms in the time of need.  And so I practice.  My uncle, dad, brother, friends of my uncle and myself all traveled to Surprise Valley, CA.  The infestation of ground squirrels in the agricultural areas means loss of crops for the farmers.  We take care of that problem.  We practice.  We train our bodies to simply do.  We must prepare.  We must live on.

Scott Chapman

-Entrepreneur

www.scottbchapman.com

My life as a digital signal

Do not take lightly your digital identity.  It will become one of the most important thing you can do.

I recently started networking on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com).  I will not make this an in-between thing.  A realization hit me while attending a conference in Las Vegas March 9-14.  The conference was Exhibitor 2008.  There was a speaker who was a sharp older gentleman.  He was talking about Second Life and his character.  He was talking about how virtual meetings and Web 3.0 will be.  I started realizing that my digital identity was 0.  In fact, I don't even exist, because people cannot google me.  I was among the digital dead.  I immediately set out about to fix this issue, a big one in my book.  I've always been out in front or at least I think I was on the cutting edge of technology.

Here are 10 things I have done so far:

1.  I setup a photoshoot to get professional headshots.

2.  I signed up for myspace and revitalized my LinkedIn (still no Facebook).

3.  Got my name url (http://www.scottbchapman.com)

4.  Started working on my website.

5.  Started posting questions and answers on LinkedIn.

6.  Started blogging (here!) and will copy posts to website once up.

7.  Updated my resume and posted it to several sites.

8.  Put in all my posts links and keywords I want associated with me.  You can get your results to show up higher if you use words people commonly look for or high ppc words.  (Find on google ad words)

9.  Signed up on Spokeo.  (Not done Twitter yet.)

10. Started managing my name daily (then weekly, then monthly) on google, yahoo, metacrawler, and msn.  Just type in your name.  Type in your name and some key words.

Results:

In a week I moved on the the 3rd position on the LinkedIn list of names from the near bottom.  I have not been sighted with any posts or any other links.  The LinkedIn result comes up #3 on the list for Google.

Scott Chapman

-Entrepreneur, turnaround leader, and deal maker

http://www.scottbchapman.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/chappie

A reliance on outcome

In time, all people arrive at a question of time.  We ask ourselves where we should spend it? How we should spend it?  And mostly, will we spend it in a worthy cause?  Time is really the only true consideration.  I am one who constantly cheats time myself.  I borrow from the future.  I forgo in the present.  So you want to change the world?  I have not sadly and embarrassingly.  It is the world that has changed me instead.  I imagine a world where we do not have purpose, but for the moment.  This world to me seems impossible and yet real.  What happened to our future?  Have we sold out our children's future for our own pleasure?  I do not think we are getting much pleasure as so much another shot, another hit of short term satisfaction in a short term world.  I do not condemn those who live these lives nor do I agree.  There is but a system that is to be used whether we like it or not.  The majority I dare say have bought into this lifestyle.  Commitment prevails as a human condition and so we continue on with our ways.  Why even have kids?  Is it not all about me anyways?  I purpose a new way of thinking.  I purpose a new purpose.  

We must be brazen, bold, and relentless in our pursuit to create a future with children whom are better than we are.  We must sacrifice and enjoy our purpose.  This must be in practice as well as thought.  We must believe in our purpose.

That is my challenge to you to change the world.  So you want to change the world?  Do you really think you can in your current capacity?  I ask simply that you look at your life and choose more.  I ask you to make your life matter.  Today is gone, yesterday is gone, tomorrow is gone, but our future marches on armed with preparation and opportunity.

Scott Chapman

-Entrepreneur

http://www.scottbchapman

http://www.linkedin.com/in/chappie