Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Weeks 3 & 4; January 4 - 17; Not enough hours in the day

Weeks 3 & 4; January 4 - 17

Optimizers Program; I have devised a way to 1) think (use imagination), 2) plan and 3) execute my intentions in order to pursue my dreams. We all do #1, some of us get to #2, and some of us even get to #3, but we fail to keep doing it. The program is simply a way to measure my own key performance numbers and follow my progress. This blog is also a way to show how my progress is moving along and to describe the unique lifestyle that is for a foreigner living in Japan. I wish to share these experiences and my progress with you. The program is becoming a monster and I will eventually publish all my reasoning and results but the reasoning will also be revealed here.


Maximum Points Available for two weeks:

50 points per day x 14 days = 700 points

The intention is between 500 and 550 points, below is how I fared on those intentions.

Optimizers:

Weeks 3 and 4





























Full program, this graph represents everyday I have been in the program, I did track my points while I was in the doldrums of my normal life and was usually between 0 and 20 points per day, I am now averaging about 30. I can only explain that life is so much different, my game, my points I know but the system does work. Still waiting for the big breakthrough though. It may not come like that however, it may just be a gradual difference and when I look back I will have achieved my original goals, it will be fun though (hopefully) whatever way it goes.


Top to bottom

Green - Connect

Purple - Spirit

Light Green – Mind

Red – Temple

Blue - Economic
















Graph Above

The pink line represents the last two week leading up to January 17, this was actually a great pair of weeks for optimizing my life. The goal should be to stay in range, and not worry too much about days that drop. Just have to keep it above a minimum line ( 50%) and keep going, have a win everyday and just keep plugging away.


Week 3 and 4: Overall 105% 525.2/500 Points

Pretty well overall, I have so much to do and am getting tired of declining to go out but I just have to keep pushing. The intentions were lowered, but this may change as soon as I can get past a few economic hurdles. It is all moving along, sometimes bumby but when is it not like that?


Economic Weeks 3-4 116% 116 Points

Stabilizing: Humble and spending very little.

Moving Ahead: Launching oneself into other’s businesses can be tough. My advice is to ensure you have it clear who you are doing business with and have an agreement before you start. It will just simplify things once you get going. I am quite confident that Mr. Hedden and myself can get the GDI Exports going in the next two weeks and we shall start to see results. Send me an email if you are interested in finding out more about how to buy a car from the auctions here in Japan or how to import or export to your home country.

GDI Email


Personal Email


Econ 1: GDI Exports: GDI Colin

Beginning the year strong and with our new beginning I would like to talk about our new Mission, we have moved away from the old industry's way of doing things. We are moving towards a way that we think will win us new business, that is, we have decided to open ourselves up and show what we pay for the cars and charge a modest commission on the sale price. We will not use several different profit centers because we know that buying a car from an agent from across the ocean can be a daunting task and we understand that you the customer needs to know what you will be getting and what are all the costs that need to be paid to get your car to you.


We want you to know. With that, first in our BTO promise is Best. We are only offering the Best cars available, we will aim at cars that are 4.0 – 9.0 on a scale of 9, in actual fact the Japanese testing system is the world’s leader in reliability (click here for more details http://bit.ly/7bpuFB ) where a 9.0 is new off the lot and there are no cars that come up ranked between 5.5-8.5, the best cars are usually ranked as a 4 or 4.5, these are mint cars that are in excellent condition.


This means that you go from a rather low looking number which is 4.0, to a 4.5 or possibly a 5, (out of 9 points). In reality if there is anything that is above next to new, meaning new, it jumps from a level 4.5 all the way to a 9, anything in between (4.5 -9) basically means zero km but the number would depend on the quality of the brand or possibly an a new but unsold model (possibly tied up in foreclosure proceedings) In this you can see how the Japanese people value used equipment, either it is new or it is worth less than half of a new vehicle’s price, with this you also see how and why the Japanese vehicle is so low in price vs. what other nations would value it at, this is of course due to government taxes and fees and a much lower general opinion of used goods in the populace (difficult to quantify but from someone who has lived here for over ten years I can only offer you my experience, that is that the Japanese tend to hold less love for used equipment and products once unwanted). You often find great used stereos or video equipment just discarded because it holds very little value for re-sell. Now of course there is more recycling with city recycle fees involved but this does not change the fact that used equipment still holds less value, it is just more difficult to discard.

The lower down the scale the progressively worse the condition, many dealers will sell you 2.5 or a 3.5 stating that is in good condition and when you get it off the boat you are disappointed. Some, not all but some of these dealers don’t care because they are off to the next customer. They are not in it for the long run, this is sad and it will come back to bite them. We believe that if we offer you the very best cars from the auctions and back that up with our in house testing procedure then you will see the difference and you will be very surprised at just how great the car is and that it actually comes as we described and matches the full testing procedure that we do. It is a huge leap of faith to order a car from us all they way over here in Japan and to send large sums of money to secure your car at the auction, we understand that, and we will follow up with you every step of the way.

Mission Statement:

GDI Exports / GDI Car Exports mission is to provide you the Best vehicles and machines through Transparent pricing with Open, and sincere service.

Only the best products are pursued on behalf of our clientele through low mileage, Japan standardized testing and in-house best practices. Our transparent pricing comes to you as part of our ongoing initiative to be honest about our operations and who we are. First-class service is our team commitment, we promise to be open and honest and go beyond your expectations, last but not least is how e wish to give back to our communities, either through volunteering for the Tokai Japan Canada Society (http://www.tjcs.jp ) or through Santa & Friends Japan, Nagoya (Click to find out more!).

BTO Standards Always! Our #1 Goal is to make the purchase and delivery of great vehicles and machines stress free! Guaranteed!

We have many channels to reach us but please send me an email and I will put you on my exclusive emailing list of customers and potential clients that get updates from me, in addition please join our website and join up for our newsletter!

Twitter: @gdicolin


colin.walker@gdicarexports.com

www.gdicarexports.com


Temple: Week 3 - 4 109% 109.2/100 Points

Fitness: Did Ok with this area, having a weekly run over 7km now. That is quite a lot now that I think about it. I have been sticking to my plan but still missing 1, 2 or 3 days of exercise, this is one of the risks we run now that I am getting so much done. Time has become an issue with everything happening and so much to do. Loving it but I have given up going out to the bars and watching tv or movies. Now I run or lift weights at 11pm so that I can get my daily points in.

Nutrition: Interestingly enough I have been very strong at having my 5 meals a day, however I have been dropping the ball (the red item in the table above) instead in the past this was much higher with smoking and drinking and eating it has been reduced to the occasional once per day devouring of a chocolate bar or something with cheese. This is OK for now but I realize that it is slowing my weight loss and body fat % drop. Must keep pushing with the 28 day diet planning.

Environment: Overall again this is one of those areas that is just about building good habits of being organized and while you feel good about a clean room or home you are often right back at it with cleaning the next day, the gratuity comes here with the pride in consistency.

Mind: Week 3 - 4 64% 64/100 Points

Muuuuch better, although the numbers don’t reflect it I have begun to do more reading everyday. I have to continue to work at this. Reading Awaken the Giant by Tony Robbins and I have pulled the Japanese textbooks off the shelf.

Connect: Weeks 3 - 4 110% 132/110 Points

Family: This foundation remains strong and I think the efforts put forth towards my in-laws and my family back home has helped me take this to a new level. In some of my relationships I don’t think they have ever been this good.


My good friend; Mr. Chris Oostyen, bound for a new beginning. He will surprise us all soon.


Friends: It becomes even more evident that you should spend more time with people who want you to do well and you feel the same. I recently had dinner with my good friend Chris, who is somebody I have known for a long time and with only a short meeting one time long ago he changed the course of my life.

We often attract people into our lives that I think actually represent what we don’t want or resemble the opposite of what we hold dearest. The law of attraction is strong and proves tricky yet I know it is there. It is this odd energy that even having some pretty wild proof of it’s existence I found myself forgetting key principles which drove my ambition early last year. The key again to improving your life all around lies mainly in consistency and surrounding yourself with people who will help you move forward as you want to help them.

TJCS: Looking forward to another year of building the Tokai Japan Canada Society.


Again with volunteering, you only get out of it what you put into it. I hope to see more volunteers out this year.


Spirit: Weeks 3 – 4 119% 119/100 Points

Doing great here, even having some very intense experiences while meditating every morning. I am mostly getting up everyday at 5 or 6 and taking an hour to think in peace with a meditative soundtrack.


The Optimizers: The program is simple, but takes time to understand how to implement. The last program segment was started on December 21: Winter SOULstice 2010.

I will be going it alone and will keep you posted, the program needs to be refined and simplified before I publish how to do it.

Email me at positiveattraction@gmail.com

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Winter SOULstice 2010 Weeks 1 and 2

Winter SOULstice 2010

Weeks 1 & 2; December 21 January 3
Optimizers Program; I have devised a way to 1) think (use imagination), 2) plan and 3) execute my intentions in order to pursue my dreams. We all do #1, some of us get to #2, and some of us even get to #3, but we fail to keep doing it. The program is simply a way to measure my own key performance numbers and follow my progress. This blog is also a way to show how my progress is moving along and to describe the unique lifestyle that is for a foreigner living in Japan. I wish to share these experiences and my progress with you. The program is becoming a monster and I will eventually publish all my reasoning and results but the reasoning will also be revealed here.

Maximum Points Available for two weeks:
50 points per day x 14 days = 700 points
The intention is between 500 and 550 points, below is how I fared on those intentions.















Weeks 1 and 2



Week 1 and 2: Overall 88% 437/495 Points
Weeks 1 and 2 were quite interesting. As I spent a great deal of time creating a bigger version of this program, I also had a few days of holiday time where nothing was accomplished in some of the foundations. This should be looked at in advance when setting goals for certain foundations i.e. exercise and economic. 88% is quite good but it might be a good idea to lessen my goal in points so that I can reach those limits and move ahead as the program progresses.





















Above is a graphical representation of the first two weeks of my program in terms of percentage of maximum 50 points per day, the two lower areas were due to a couple night out and Christmas and New Years holidays.

Economic Weeks 1-2 96% 95.5/100 Points
Stabilizing: I have been doing very well with this, unfortunately it is due to low funds but it is still teaching me some humbling values. Be grateful for what you have. Be hungry to move ahead!

Moving Ahead: This has all been about planning and getting on track, most of the plans have been laid, I plan on finishing all plans by the end of this weekend and the background work to get them off the ground. It is now time to start pushing ahead with the plans and be open for changes to the plan but to keep pushing forward. We have some ambitious goals and now is the time to show ourselves what we are made of.

Optimizers: This has been the bulk of my time, as I can’t move forward without a plan, re-doing this program has helped me become extremely organized. The next 75 days will tell if it has been worth it. I have decided to go back to what originally made me so successful, that is to decide overall what my intentions are for the entire 90 days, then bring those intentions into weekly and daily actions, this is with money, my body and health, my connection to family, friends and the universe as well as my studies. I now sit back looking at a massive spreadsheet which by the time I am done may prove to be the beginning or may have to be completely re-written, however for now I am starting to increase focus and should be able do some real good in the next 3 months.

Temple: Week 1 - 2 85% 89/105 Points
Fitness: Well the first week was a bit of a write off but the 2nd week proved to be quite good. I worked out as planned for the week with the exception of one day. The problem remains to find new interesting exercise routines which can be done at home with no or minimal weights. Any ideas send me an email positiveattraction@gmail.com

Nutrition: Again with the holidays and all the traditional foods all over the place this was tough to follow. The program is now becoming a monster again and as I want to have every single meal planned and prepared for the next 28 days this will take more time to develop. Anyone have any great food ideas please let me know by dropping an idea below.

Environment: Wow, this has been quite successful, while we didn’t get the full house cleaning done, I believe that if I follow the plan as I have laid out we should have all the house cleaning projects handled by the end of the month and when we come up for our next monthly organizing we can start to manage other bigger tasks such as all the home ownership documents, making the wedding albums and filing and organizing all our personal life files. For now though these will have to wait.

The following are the tunes that will push me through my exercises, please let me know of any great tunes for exercising or what motivates you.

Music List
Under Pressure - Queen & David Bowie
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow - Rooney
Another Way To Die - Jack White & Alicia Keys
Mississippi Queen - Mountain
Somebody To Love - Jefferson Airplane
Be Aggressive - Faith No More
I Believe in Miracles - Eddie Vedder/Zeke
Fix You (Remix) - Coldplay
Dream On - Aerosmith
When the Levee Breaks - Led Zeppelin
Sweet Emotion - AeroSmith
I Believe I Can Fly - R.Kelly
New York, New York - Frank Sinatra & Tony Bennet
Who Wants To Live Forever - Queen
Should I Stay Or Should I Go - The Clash
Bachman Turner Overdrive - Taking Care of Business
Hey You Bachman - Turner Overdrive
You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet - BTO
Shes So High - Tal Bachman

Mind: Week 1 - 2 74% 67/90 Points
Relatively weak as I didn’t do as much studying and still have not cracked the Japanese textbooks. These intentions simply must get stronger and will do so as the routines of the main new business become more established and I can easily set aside 30 minutes.

Connect: Weeks 1 - 2 91% 109/120 Points
This was again the true strength for me, of course during the holidays this should be. While the graph shows lower numbers for some foundations, this can be forgiven as it is one of the time of the year where we should be mainly thinking about our family, friends and community.

The next year will see me increase my intentions to connect to family but will also see renewed emphasis with the Tokai Japan Canada Society (TJCS) and Santa & Friends Japan – Nagoya with another great volunteer idea that actually gets me quite excited thinking about but it will have to wait.

Spirit: Weeks 1 – 2 87% 96/110 Points
Quite good, this is also key to continue to get up at 5:30 am and sit in the pose to meditate properly as well as continue to have a feeling of gratitude every day, this should never be a chore but a good part of my day.

Business:

GDI Exports: GDI Colin
With a new year come the promise of a fresh start and a chance to do what we wanted to originally. That is, we aim to actually provide what the customer wants, we aim to do this in an open and transparent way, we want everyone to know what we are up to, we will only succeed in this business our way if we can show the customers what they need to know, how much we are actually charging them and for what. This business is unfortunately soiled by sad and untrustworthy people, I have seen it and heard it. Our customers will receive what they deserve. Honest and clear communications and a true understanding of what they will receive.

We created a new mission which reflects our personal missions and our professional goals, that is in order to satisfy our clients with the best products and service in the industry we will: provide the Best vehicles, with Transparent pricing, and Open and sincere service. By Best vehicles we aim to only go after cars that we know will bring a smile to the new owners, cars, trucks and machinery that is in great condition and will bring no headaches (through higher quality rankings and lower mileage), this only makes sense as a business that is aiming for long term sustainability, we want to make our customers happy, this will bring them back, I think this is so obvious yet is so missed by so many. The newer idea of Transparent pricing aims to show our customers that they will always get the price that they expect, there will be no surprises and everything they are paying for can be explained and is understood. We stand by our cars and know the owners will be more pleased with the results. Our cars will re-sell faster, because they are good, but they also won’t come back to the re-seller as the quality will keep your customers happy with their new purchase.

President Hedden, (James) Ms. Kitamura and myself are also happy to offer Open and sincere service, this of course sounds easy, yet why is it so many businesses really don’t offer open service? We want you to understand what is happening and what step of the process we are in to provide you peace of mind, this is crucial as you may be trusting our business from a different continent and the only way for you to trust us in the beginning is for us to go out of our way so you understand who we are and how we aim to help you.

Lastly, As we do move toward the new year and a new beginning , I felt you should understand where James and I met and how we came to be in business together. We both joined our local Canada friends in Japan group otherwise known as the Tokai (region in Japan) Japan Canada Society (TJCS) back in 2004 and 2005, I started as a founding member and James joined a year later. WE both ended up becoming Co-chairs of the Social committee and to shorten the story we both fed offer each other and we started to really succeed and making things happen. We applied this synergy to the business committee this last year and we hope to continue building on our successes, please have a look around the TJCS website and you may see for yourself what we have been up to. http://www.tjcs.jp) James was also busy creating a Christmas present giveaway to orphaned children in the Nagoya region. This was recently a huge success as the mayor of Nagoya can attest, his newly named Santa & Friends – Nagoya group delivered 269 presents to children with no parents this past December 21. Please have a look at our fanpage (Santa & Friends – Nagoya http://bit.ly/7sI5BA ) on facebook or the blog http://www.nagoyaorphans.blogspot.com

All in all we have built a business around our volunteer activities, someone I respect once said ‘You get out of it what you put into it’ with that mantra our success with these volunteer endeavors gave us tremendous planning and preparation experience and helped us create the new look GDI that will push forward in a down economy by building networks with people who want to be treated well, and look for good service and can expect it.

We are looking forward to a new year and a year where the customer will have more to choose from, as they should, the power is with the customer where it belongs and the winners in this economy will be those who can serve these educated consumers, we want to serve you in this way, and we will all look back on this 2010 as the year it began to change for the better.

Humble and Best regards,
Colin Walker
Sales Representative
GDI Exports

Mission Statement:
GDI Exports / GDI Car Exports mission is to provide you the Best vehicles and machines through Transparent pricing with Open, and sincere service.
Only the best products are pursued on behalf of our clientele through low mileage, Japan standardized testing and in-house best practices. Our transparent pricing comes to you as part of our ongoing initiative to be honest about our operations and who we are. First-class service is our team commitment, we promise to be open and honest and go beyond your expectations, and we aspire to give back to our community as part of our work responsibilities.
BTO Standards Always! Our #1 Goal is to make the purchase and delivery of great vehicles and machines stress free! Guaranteed!

Making progress and the next step will be reaching out to all those interested in earning more income with high quality vehicles by importing into your home country or if you live here we can assist you in exporting vehicles to your family and friends.

Email: colin.walker@gdicarexports.com
Website: www.gdicarexports.com
Blog: http://www.gdicolin.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gdicolin


Power English:
A slow end of the year has actually forced us to put more effort into this for the beginning of the year, we have a few new plans that are moving ahead and I will be teaching English in various ways for those who would like to learn more about our new plans please send me an email or check out Power English:

Website: http://www.powerenglish.jp/
Email: positiveattraction@gmail.com

The Optimizers: The program is simple, but takes time to understand how to implement. The current program was started on December 21: Winter SOULstice 2010.
I will be going it alone and will keep you posted, the program needs to be refined and simplified before I publish how to do it, please keep watching and I will let you know how it is going.
Email me at positiveattraction@gmail.com