RE: Lake Worth's International Appeal

I was delighted to meet Mr. Winston Smith, CEO of the Hummingbird Hotel, here in Downtown Lake Worth yesterday - he bought the hotel about a year ago and has been refurbishing it to meet a variety of traveller's needs - including hostel style rooms (a hostel is a budget style accomodation, often with shared bathrooms, sometimes dormitory stye). I was delighted to learn this - my travels, for business and pleasure, particularly internationally, involve staying at hostels. Hostels draw a unique, dynamic international crowd that fits Lake Worth. Our international tourists have the luxury of staying downtown, renting bikes, walking to the beach, taking yoga classes, taking the tri-rail to Miami and enjoying the uniqueness of Lake Worth. Lake Worth is home of the ONLY hostel style accomodations in Palm Beach county. Well done Winston for identifying this unique niche here in Lake Worth and thank you for choosing Lake Worth.

Here's the link to our new hostel:

http://www.hostelworld.com/availability.php/HummingbirdHotel-PalmBeach-25812

Many people use www.hostelworld.com to book hostels and inexpensive international accomodations. Below are a few hostels that I've stayed at to give you an idea of this type of travel if you are not familiar with it:

http://www.hostelworld.com/availability.php/Eurohostel-Helsinki-1912 - stayed here for price, location – I was in Helsinki for a conference – hotels were more than 200USD/night. 165 rooms or so in this hostel and BOOKED SOLID – very clean and nice. Great experience there. Free sauna, of course in Helsinki.


http://www.hostelworld.com/availability.php/ItacaHostel-Barcelona-1279 - stayed here in Barcelona with my daughter – gothic location – walk to everything – near beach and downtown – no a/c but worth it because of location. 86% customer rating.

http://www.hostelworld.com/availability.php/CatsHostel-Madrid-6657 - 81% cust. rating – OLD building – very cool – I didn’t like that they had a bar – but it turned out okay – I would stay there again because the place is so unique. It was a 400 year old Arabic style castle.

Please read today's cover story in the Palm Beach Post titled, New tourism strategy pushes county's diverse diversions - very appropriate to our new niche in Lake Worth's tourism strategy.

RE: Quote for the Day

"All you have to do is be willing, you don't have to figure anything out."
Marianne Williamson

This is another of my favorite quotes - not having to figure it all out. Sometimes that can be our tendency. I have worked with many clients who have tried to figure out things and the more they tried to figure them out, the more they stayed stuck. I, too, have had to learn to come to a place of willingness. I have learned that willingness is "unlimited", whereas "willfulness" is limited. One key example from my own life was when I was working on my bachelor's degree is social work. My "plan" was to work in the field of social work after I got my degree. So for two years while I was in school, I looked at what kind of social work job I would have when I graduated. I was going to be a social worker, period. I spent many Sunday's reading the help wanted section and circling potential jobs for my future. Well, I never worked a day in the field of social work. I did a 400 hour internship at South County Mental Health and graduated with my bachelor's degree in social work in 1990. That internship was one of the most challenging times in my life. In fact, it changed the direction of my life. I decided to go into the field of business after graduating and have travelled down a path that I didn't even know existed when I was working on my social work degree. I love the mystery of life. Stay open to willingness and to new possibilities in yours.
Sincerely,
Suzanne

RE: Quotes of the Day

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. Henry David Thoreau

Adversity is the first path to truth. Lord Bryon

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.
Abraham Lincoln

And another favorite...by Charles Schwab...A man can suceed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm.

These quotes are starred and highlighted, among many others in one of my favorite books called the Dale Carnegie Scrapbook. This book was very instrumental to help me shift my thinking when I was transitioning into becoming my own boss, but more importantly, these quotes helped free my mind from blocks that were limiting my thinking - such as fear and feelings of insecurity, particularly about money.

The following quote I stumbled on online while preparing this post that I thought was relevant to exemplify the importance of how/what we think.

As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives. Henry David Thoreau

Enjoy your day.
Sincerely,
Suzanne

RE: Quote for the Day

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Begin it now!

Johan Von Goethe

What I love about this quote is that it was written hundreds of years ago. Think of it for a minute, no lights, no electricity, no banks and yet a quote to help us take action on our dreams. This is one of my favorite quotes and I have "used" it many times. Be bold today - take an action that you've been wanting to take.

Enjoy your day.
Sincerely,
Suzanne

RE: Red-light cameras

A resident forwarded me the following link in response to the discussion of the installation of red light camera's here in Lake Worth. In Philadelphia, more than 4,000 people will receive refunds for being inappropriately ticketed by the cameras. I personally, am opposed to the red-light cameras.

http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etMailToID=1899139046&pt=Y

RE: Crime and Community Health

A resident sent me the following links. I found it to be rather interesting to see how other communities deal with and overcome their crime challenges. Coincidently, this is the same city I wrote about in an earlier post whereas they cut their crime in half when they began to address the immigration challenges in their community.
http://www.itvs.org/NewCopOnTheBeat/story.html
http://www.itvs.org/NewCopOnTheBeat/community.html

Crime stats for New Haven are worth reviewing:
source: http://businessnewhaven.com:443/businessnewhaven/crime/FMPro

Year Population Total Crimes % of crime/population
1995 123656 16123 13%
1998 123189 14020 11.3%
2000 123626 10427 8.4%


I came across the following article titled, Connecting Communities with the Fight against Crime. The following was recommended:

• Raise community confidence in local agencies
  
• Lower the fear of crime

I found both of these concepts interesting in ways to reduce crime. Interesting that reducing the fear of crime also plays a role. We have a definite fear of crime in Lake Worth - and it is valid. I wonder, "how will we reduce our fear of crime?" I have met residents while canvassing who have been robbed three, four and five times. Scary. One thing I saw very clearly, in our community is how residents look out for each other. Many residents shared their strategies for helping each other feel and be safe. We watch out for each other. Stay aware, ask questions, stay connected. I realized that we have a community bond and as we continue to work together towards common goals in our community, it will naturally be strengthened.

If you have time to do a google search, I would like to suggest that you google crime and community health and see what you find. As we all get educated about the challenges in our community, we can become a part of the solution.
Have a nice day.
Sincerely,
Suzanne

RE: Quote for the Day

"At times the world can seem an unfriendly and sinister place, but believe us when we say there is much more good in it than bad. All you have to do is look hard enough, and what might seem to be a series of unfortunate events, may in fact be the first steps of a journey." Violet Baudelaire.

RE: Regional Advantage

There is a book called "Regional Advantage" that compares East and West US and is supposed to be really good. Below are points highlighted in an article about the book with a few of my own thoughts. Feel free to share your own thoughts and/or comments.

1. Most successful communities are:

a. Locally enriching and global in character. - Is LW global in character? How do we measure/evaluate this?

2. The more international you are, the more you enrich your local community. LW has MANY international citizens. How do we leverage this knowledge base?

3. Open mind to ways different regions operate.

4. Learn to grow together.

5. The choice is to focus or to allow self to be influenced by diverse ideas.

6. Maximize the brain circulation of people - how do we do this?

7. Adopt a resource-based view of the community - meaning to rely on human sources and sourcing from around the world.

8. New models of internationalization - FLOW - and gradually accumulate knowledge.

9. Network approach to internationalization - developing international partnerships. Idea for LW... drawing on our strengths such as our fishing pier and target marketing fishermen from other cities worldwide who also fish on piers.

10. Value creation - how does LW help its citizens create new value and generate ideas and learning? How do we develop our knowledge base? What is LW's vision?

RE: Cut Crime in Half

New Haven, Connecticut has cut its crime in half. It also struggles with about 10% of its population being illegal immigrants. But instead of just wanting the problem to go away, ignoring the problem or expressing hatred, this community embraced their illegal immigrants. I know, it might sound absurd = but you know, Albert Einstein said, "If at first an idea is not absurd, it is not worth pursuing." This community has stepped out into unknown territory and has made great strides - which includes cutting crime in half.

I often talk in my seminars about stepping out in the unknown. I used to be afraid of the unknown - I stayed in a job way longer than I wanted to simply because of fear of the unknown - fear of not knowing what I would do without the job, fear of not making enough money somewhere else, fear, fear, fear. Fear does not serve us. It didn't serve me - and if we can start taking steps in the unknown, and take calculated risks, we have a great chance for a renewed spirit in Lake Worth. I began my personal venture into the unknown by doing something different every day. Try it - just one thing different per day for say one or two weeks.

Is our community bound by fear? Fear of change? Fear of the unknown? Perhaps. Feelings of apathy and helplessness often come from giving up. Many people I've met during this campaign, and I mean MANY, have said, they are tired of fighting, and have given up. Or they are moving away. Sad. It doesn't have to be this way. Hope inspires hope. We can rekindle our hope and restore our sense of community. We can inspire each other. We can change.

There is a saying that we are either, "Stepping forward in growth, or stepping backwards into safety." We, as a community, have an opportunity to step forward in growth - yes, change is filled with uncertainty and the unknown. But as the saying goes, if we do what we always did, we will get what we always got. Let's change and grow together.

Here are a few links - to what New Haven is doing to change and grow, reduce crime, etc.

http://www.bos.frb.org/commdev/necd/2008/issue1/elmcitycard.pdf

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/16peoplect.html

Have a nice day.

Sincerely,
Suzanne

RE: Empowerment for our Community

Many people I am meeting in our community have shared of frustrations and challenges in the city. Some people have even given up or want to give up, please don't. We need to believe again and restore our sense of community. I acknowledge your pain and difficulties. Your challenges are valid.

Below is an excerpt from my book, Empowerment for Entrepreneurs, that I thought you would enjoy. To the gentleman who suggested I share this excerpt in my blog, thank you.

I have made many changes in my life and have found that I've had to break through my own resistance to change. As a professor told me years ago when I was preparing to do a 400 hour internship in my last semester of college, "There is resistance to change, so expect it." This internship was one of the most difficult times in my life. She was right, I wanted to change my major after starting the internship. I learned a very important lesson during that internship - that I could get through difficult times and be happy again. I also learned that resistance will stop us if we let it - and extend our suffering if we let it. The way to break through is to know that change is possible and to just get through the difficult times. Keep going. Push through it. Believe in the good. As Alanis Morrissette says, " The only way out is through."

Breaking through your Wall

When we think of hitting a wall, we relate to the feeling of
frustration, disappointment and even helplessness. Sometimes
we run up against our own wall.

If you have a wall that you cannot get through, envision it
first. See what it looks like and what it is made of. If you can
move it, move it. Discover what is blocking you from going
through it. If you feel like you are being taken advantage of
by a boss, customer or vendor, set a boundary, say no, say yes,
do something different. Make one small change at a time to
break through your wall.