Podcasts about around may

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Writing about my job: Operations Specialist, published by Jess Smith on March 12, 2024 on The Effective Altruism Forum. In the spirit of Aaron Gertler's post about writing about your job on the forum, and to help promote the people and business ops roles 80k is currently hiring for, I decided to write about my job as an Operations Specialist at 80,000 Hours. (I'm currently spending ~35% of my time in a chief of staff role, but this post just focuses on the ops specialist part, which I spend the rest of my time on, and did full time for the first ~year I was at 80k). This post aims to give a picture of what my role looks like and how I approach it - ops roles are super varied and this post just aims to represent my experience, so you should take everything with a pinch of salt. This post might be especially useful for people who: Are interested in exploring ops roles (particularly the ones at 80k) Are fairly early in their career I don't really touch on the impact I think I'm having in my role here, so if you're looking for this you might want to check out 80k's operations management career review instead. I also really liked Jonathan Michel's botec about the impact of his office manager role at Trajan House, even though this is a different kind of ops role to mine. My background Before joining 80k, I had a medium amount of experience with EA: I was involved in my uni's EA group, was on the committee of the One For the World chapter there, and read a bunch of EA things. During my undergrad, most of my time when I wasn't studying was spent playing badminton and volunteering on the badminton club committee. This helped me get my first full time role role: After graduating, I was elected as the Athletic Union President at my university - a full-time, student representative role which involved a bunch of ops-style work like marketing, policy writing, budgeting, and event organisation to support student sport in St Andrews. You can read about how I used this role to test my fit for ops roles, and what that was like, in an 80k newsletter I wrote here. During my year as athletic union president, I applied to lots of ops (and some comms) roles at EA organisations, as well as some civil service roles. Around May 2022, I applied to the Ops Specialist role at 80k, and started the job in July 2022. What is my ops specialist role like? My ops specialist role is closer to the people ops role described here - involving responsibilities like maintaining our HR systems, running social events, and helping with hiring rounds. When I joined 80k, it was a fairly open question what my areas of responsibility would be - we experimented with a few different things as the year went on. The broad strokes of my role include identifying problems and trying to fix them, helping to run the behind-the-scenes system which makes life easier for other team members, and project managing larger events and projects. But, to get more concrete, here's a list of some of my ongoing responsibilities and projects that I've worked on: Ongoing responsibilities: Checking staff expenses and annual leave Onboarding new staff and offboarding staff who leave Coordinating with EV Ops on HR systems Helping to write and project managing our quarterly supporter update Updating the 'about' pages of our website Organising and promoting team socials Troubleshooting problems, like "what scale makes sense for our feedback round?" or "what's going on with pensions?" Contributing to the ops team (like reviewing other team members' work or helping with quality assurance) (Previous) responding to emails which come in to our info@ inbox (Previous) organising food and logistics for team events Projects: Running our team retreat - finding a venue, organising logistics like transport and catering, choosing and facilitating social act...

Bear Claw Billie will say and do an awful lot of things for money! On today's episode of Fix My Carcast, they have to compose a wordless piece of music to represent the topic of films set around May Day!Submit topics for the podcast (attached to your donation) at the show's GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/fixable-auto-donate-3000Vote on episode gimmicks (and access bonus episodes & behind-the-scenes content) by signing up for Billie's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bearclawbillieIf you're already signed up, you can find the next episode's poll right here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/fmc-ep-97-poll-92360702Get FMC shirts, mugs, and other merch over on Billie's TeePublic: https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/33636950-fix-my-carcastContact Bear Claw Billie thusly!bearclawbillie@gmail.comtwitter.com/bearclawbillieinstagram.com/bearclawbillie

Also, why might a hospital put you in a room for a couple of nights and call it "observation"? Contact me at: DBJ@MLMMailbag.com (Most severe critic: A+)   Inspired by: "MEDICARE FOR THE LAZY MAN 2023; Simplest & Easiest Guide Ever!" on Amazon.com. Return to leave a short customer review & help future readers. Official website: https://www.MedicareForTheLazyMan.com

This morning on The Bat Around, the guys discuss the setbacks faced by John Means and Dillon Tate, as well as Jorge Mateo's struggles at the plate. Stan "the fan" Charles joins the program at 10:25 to check in about Grayson Rodriguez, injuries, and much more. Then, Orioles banter where the guys break down early trade deadline options for the O's. Connor Newcomb, from the Locked On Orioles podcast joins the program to discuss the shelling of Grayson Rodriguez on Friday and where the rotation stands as of the weekend. Take to Rake and The Bet Around to close out a fun show! That and more on The Bat Around!

The Bat Around is back with another installment and boy do we have a lot to cover! Cyclin' Ceddy stole the show last night, homering in his final AB to capture the 7th cycle in Orioles history! But don't let that distract you from the fact that Kyle Bradish was a dog! Bob Haynie from 105.7 The Fan joins us at 11:40 to talk all things Orioles! Plus Take to Rake! That and more on The Bat Around!

Casey is headed to Florida Atlantic to join Tom Herman Pius X Baseball will be looking for a new Head Coach Youth Sports rantAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Who's the best athlete you've been around?Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This morning on The Bat Around, the guys talk about 11 straight series openers wins for the Orioles and the team now carrying 3 catchers. Stan "the fan" Charles joins the show at 10:25 to talk Dean Kremer, Mike Baumann, and much more. Then, Orioles banter where the guys discuss Cowser vs. Westburg vs. Ortiz, and who might make an appearance next in MLB. Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com is on at 11:40, to talk about everything O's and where the starting pitching stands. Take to Rake and Final Thoughts to close the show! That and more on The Bat Around!

Tipsy Tinas has LLAMAS The Iowa Cubs and minor league gamesAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

I'ᴍ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ɢᴏɴɴᴀ sᴀʏ ɢᴏᴏᴅʙʏᴇ, ʜᴍᴍ Nᴏ, I ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴡᴀɴɴᴀ sᴀʏ ɢᴏᴏᴅʙʏᴇ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜ I'ᴍ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ɢᴏɴɴᴀ sᴀʏ ɢᴏᴏᴅʙʏᴇ, ʜᴍᴍ Nᴏ, I ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴡᴀɴɴᴀ sᴀʏ ɢᴏᴏᴅʙʏᴇ Sᴀʏ ɢᴏᴏᴅʙʏᴇ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜ 2022 not my year to be honest. On the 2nd of January i received a phone call that i need to go to the hospital as quickly as possible, Because my mother was dying. On the 5th of January she passed away.

Tracy's 35th birthday really changed things for her. She was working as a substitute teacher and wasn't really enjoying it when her husband suggested that taxes may be a way to go. She stumbled upon some videos put together by Ben Robinson, and she decided to jump in with both feet. [4:20] Tracy learned most of her bookkeeping skills by going through Ben's course, in addition to some minor experience in high school and college accounting. [5:40] If you don't have clients you don't have a business - you have a hobby. Once Tracy completed the course she dove in to trying to secure her first client, and she actually connected with her first client through a Facebook post. [8:45] You can't give away too much for free. Giving value always seems to come back to you. [10:00] Tracy is currently serving 18 or so bookkeeping clients plus another handful of tax clients. [11:00] The first year was the hardest. Tracy was studying for her EA and some other exams at the time and combined with some personal issues she faced a few challenges. Around May of 2018, things really took off, largely due to a mindset shift and a snowball of referrals. [15:40] Tracy's vision is to start hiring some help and growing her business while still maintaining her family time. Our business needs to fit into our life, not our life into our business. [17:30] Entrepreneurs never arrive, but it is important to stop and take stock of what you accomplished. Overcoming challenges builds confidence. [19:50] Time management is crucial. Keeping up with the momentum Tracy has built is a challenge. [23:20] The STEP Framework is key to getting stuff done. Time management happens across the whole Framework, but Execution is what needs to happen right now. What do you naturally gravitate towards that you're happy to do? For Tracy, it's the client interaction. [25:50] Where do you add the most value to your business? The goal of hiring someone should be about optimizing that work. Even the thing you love can wear you down though, if that's all you do. [28:20] Tracy also enjoys putting together the processes of the business as well as blogging and video creation. As bookkeepers, there aren't many ways to be creative. What you want to do is maximize the things you like to do while at the same time providing value to your clients and helping you feel fulfilled. [32:10] You have to schedule time to be creative and dream. Be intentional about putting the things that are important into your life. Start off with just 15 minutes and you'll find you have much more energy when you're done. [34:50] Time management isn't the thing you need, it's what time management can bring into your life. [35:15] Bookkeeping is first and foremost a relationship business. If you build your business on relationships and not the transactions, you will be job secure forever. [37:50] The repetitive tasks are starting to get tedious for Tracy. That doesn't mean it's trivial, but they are not important and not the best use of Tracy's time. List the tasks you do in your business and then ask if they fall under your Unique Ability. [41:50] What is the hourly rate for your Unique Abilities? What about your competencies? If you can less than the dollar equivalent for those tasks you're making money. Look at your business tasks and ask is this something to continue doing, stop doing, outsource, or delegate? The point is to free up your time so you can focus on what you do best. [43:40] You shouldn't be looking to hire a specific person, you should be looking to outsource a specific task. Don't throw people at a process problem. The tasks you're competent at but don't really enjoy doing, are the first to outsource. Time efficiency is all about saving 15 minutes at a time, those 15 minutes add up fast. [48:30] You can do the work and set up the process by recording those tasks. Videos are a powerful way to offload the tasks you don't want to do anymore. Dissect the task and show the logic behind it. Upwork is a great place to find freelancers that you can offload your tasks to. [54:15] It's going to cost you time at the beginning. The first task you should offload is something that is not going to directly affect a customer. Start with the admin or support work, the lowest hanging fruit. [57:50] Processes before people. You build the processes then you bring in the people to run them.     Contact us about the show: hello@ilovebookkeeping.com

Everest is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, reaching a towering height of 8,848.86 meters or 29,031.7 feet. Around May of each year, people from all over the world flock to its base camp preparing to make the climb to the top for a chance to make history. However, a dark side looms on Everest's peeks where the dead remain frozen in time. Join Kaitie and Rhiannon in the chilling tales of some of the many bodies that remain on the mountain today. References for this Episode at: https://sites.google.com/view/haunting-cases-podcast/episodes/episode-24-the-bodies-on-everest

This week on The Bat Around, the guys discuss Mountcastle's trip to the IL, and the imminent Rutschman debut. Stan "the fan" Charles joins the show at 10:25 to discuss on Cedric Mullins, Kyle Bradish's excellent performance, and more. At 11, Sam Dykstra of MLB Pipeline joins to discuss July's MLB draft, Adley Rutschman, and more. Then, the Payoff Pitch Around the League. In Orioles banter, the guys discuss Grayson Rodriguez, DL Hall, and much more. Take to Rake and Final Thoughts to close the show! That and more on The Bat Around! *Note*- There was a power outage right in the middle of Sounding Off with Zack Goodman, and while the video came back quickly, the audio only edition of the show did not pick up until Sam Dykstra was already into his interview and talking about Adley Rutschman.

Around May and June of 2021, we took a listener's advice to go wandering the Continent on a journey through Season 1 of Netflix's original series THE WITCHER. It was an often perplexing travel through character names, magical abilities, and the infamous law of surprise but the discussions were lively, thoughtful, and a ridiculous amount of fun.So here for your listening pleasure -- as we wait to resume new content in February -- is the full menagerie of jokes, lists, and observations about the relationship between destiny and choice that resulted from covering every episode of THE WITCHER, season 1. Also featuring special appearances by recurring guests Steve Beckley and Blake Collier, we had tremendous fun revisiting these conversations and we hope you do as well.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: EA Philippines' Strong Progress and Learnings in 2019, published by BrianTan on the AI Alignment Forum. Hi, EAs! I'm Brian Tan, co-founder of Effective Altruism Philippines. I'm writing this post to share the great progress we've made in starting and growing the EA Philippines community in our first full year in 2019. We've learned a lot of things along the way, and we'd like to share what worked and what hasn't for us here. How EA Philippines Started EA Philippines was first started by Kate Lupango in September 2018. Through help from LEAN and Wanyi Zeng (of EA Singapore), she was able to connect with other EA community builders in other countries and get resources on how to start a local community. She created a Facebook page for EA Philippines, and she posted on a Facebook volunteer group looking for volunteers to join the EA Philippines community. Jeffrey Escobal reached out to her to express interest after seeing that post. Kate also posted looking for mentors in the EA Group Organizers Facebook group. David Nash (of EA London) connected Kate with Tanya Quijano, a Filipina who had previously attended an EA London event. Finally, I found the page on Facebook a few weeks after Kate made it, and decided to reach out. The four of us met for the first time in November 2018, and decided to co-found the group and start growing the community. From left to right: Kate, Tanya, Jeffrey, and I (Brian) When we started, we had three main goals: 1. To increase awareness about EA in Manila 2. To build a friendly community for people interested in EA 3. To get Filipinos to increase their involvement in or donations to EA's top cause areas We've mostly been successful at the first two goals, but we aren't satisfied with our progress on the third. We'll talk more about that towards the end of the post. Key Outcomes in 2019 (our 1st year) 1. We've now identified 11 contributors and 7 participants in our local community (including us four core team members). We classified them based on CEA's Concentric Circles Model and our evaluation of where they fit in the funnel. 2. Around May 2019, we successfully applied for a general group funding grant from CEA, which allowed us to fund our operations from May to December 2019. Later, we successfully applied for a grant that covers January to December 2020. 3. In 2019, we held a total of 14 events - usually doing one per month. We now average 20 attendees per event, and we get an average of four “repeat” attendees per event (not including us co-founders). 4. We've been able to partner with the local offices of EA-recommended organizations such as Oxfam, Innovations for Poverty Action, and IDInsight, and have representatives from their orgs speak and attend our events. 5. We've also met or had calls with members from various EA communities, such as EA Singapore, Toronto, Montreal, Norway, and London, and with members of EA organizations, such as GiveWell, LEAN, CEA, Rethink Charity, and The Life You Can Save. 6. 5 student members of EA PH started a chapter named EA Blue at the Ateneo De Manila University in August, and they recruited 60 students to join their chapter. On Organizing Events Photos from some of our events in 2019 When we started, we didn't know anyone else in Manila who was interested in EA. We were all fairly new to the movement. As such, we decided to focus on holding monthly events in order to spread awareness about EA and its various facets and cause areas. We worked on EA PH part-time, on top of our day jobs. At first, we were paying for expenses out of our own pockets. Thankfully, we got funding from CEA to fund our events from May to December 2019. This table includes information on all the events we've held so far: To explain some things about the table above: The March 26 talk was given by Yuna Liang, a Senior Research ...

This week on the Bat Around, the guys talk about the woes of the 2021 Orioles, and the rise of various key prospects in the minor league pipeline. At 10:20, Stan “The Fan” Charles joins the show to discuss possible Orioles trade chips, and the mess that is catcher at the major league level. At 10:50, Vinnie Duber of NBC Sports Chicago joins the show to discuss the upcoming doubleheader and the White Sox possible needs come trade deadline. In Orioles banter, Paul and Zack discuss the 2018 trades and whether they really set the rebuild up for success. At 11:35, Jason La Canfora joins the show to talk minor league promotions and where the rebuild stands in 2021. Stay tuned to find out the winner of take to rake! That and more on the Bat Around!

What would you change if you had a time machine? The Greeks had two words for time, chronos and kairos. And in this podcast, I talk about kairos being your own vehicle to gain more confidence in your life without having to go back in time. How different would your life be if you could make those turning points in the moment instead of looking back years later regretting the paths you took? Join me in this week's podcast and learn how to have the confidence in your choices to create the life you truly wish to be living.   Help Support The Strong Within Affirmation Podcast By Going To: www.strongwithin.com/support (You can also get the transcripts there) Thanks for listening.  I'm sending great energy your way as we become Strong Within together, Holistic Performance and Personal Development Coach- Chris O'Hearn   My links: https://linktr.ee/strongwithin  Contact info- email: chris@strongwithin.com  phone:865-219-3247follow me on social media: www.facebook.com/thechrisohearn  www.instagram.com/thechrisohearn  Music by: - Zest by basematic (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. - I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Location: Knoxville, Tennessee USA but available worldwide

The headline on Reuters the other day read ‘SA plans to vaccinate 200 000 people per day from ‘around May’. Around May, is again simply too late and too vague to be of any use really. Ahead of Easter, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize’s advisers have recommended the reintroduction of tighter restrictions on alcohol sales and public gatherings to try to avoid a devastating new Covid-19 wave that could see hospital admissions up to a quarter higher than the previous surge. Experts fear that the slow pace of SA’s vaccine rollout, the dominance of the new and highly transmissible variant 501Y.V2, and the arrival of cooler weather are set to combine to potentially deadly effect. To find out what is going on with the vaccine rollout Michael Avery spoke to Stavros Nicolaou head of the health working group for B4SA; and Professor Alex van den Heever, chair in the field of Social Security Systems Administration and Management Studies at the Wit's School of Governance.

Around May of 2020, we were awarded with our regional chambers' small business of the year for Chesapeake. It means a lot to us and we fought hard to win this; it was not something that came easily. Kevin nominated us for 3 years. This isn't an award that you vote for; it's all based on financials, business strategy, company culture, growth, taxes, they look at everything. Applying is an extensive process but persistence paid off. — Erik J. Olson is an award-winning digital marketer & entrepreneur. The Founder & CEO of Array Digital, he is also the host of the Journey to $100 Million Flash Briefing and daily podcast, and the organizer of the Marketers Anonymous monthly meetups. — Kevin Daisey is an award-winning digital marketer & entrepreneur. He started his first company when he was just 23, and is the Founder & CMO of Array Digital. Kevin is also the co-host of the Journey to $100 Million Flash Briefing and daily podcast, and the co-organizer of the Marketers Anonymous monthly meetups. — For more information on the show, and to check out past episodes, go to journeyto100million.com!

Tracy’s 35th birthday really changed things for her. She was working as a substitute teacher and wasn’t really enjoying it when her husband suggested that taxes may be a way to go. She stumbled upon some videos put together by Ben Robinson, and she decided to jump in with both feet. [4:20] Tracy learned most of her bookkeeping skills by going through Ben’s course, in addition to some minor experience in high school and college accounting. [5:40] If you don’t have clients you don’t have a business - you have a hobby. Once Tracy completed the course she dove in to trying to secure her first client, and she actually connected with her first client through a Facebook post. [8:45] You can’t give away too much for free. Giving value always seems to come back to you. [10:00] Tracy is currently serving 18 or so bookkeeping clients plus another handful of tax clients. [11:00] The first year was the hardest. Tracy was studying for her EA and some other exams at the time and combined with some personal issues she faced a few challenges. Around May of 2018, things really took off, largely due to a mindset shift and a snowball of referrals. [15:40] Tracy’s vision is to start hiring some help and growing her business while still maintaining her family time. Our business needs to fit into our life, not our life into our business. [17:30] Entrepreneurs never arrive, but it is important to stop and take stock of what you accomplished. Overcoming challenges builds confidence. [19:50] Time management is crucial. Keeping up with the momentum Tracy has built is a challenge. [23:20] The STEP Framework is key to getting stuff done. Time management happens across the whole Framework, but Execution is what needs to happen right now. What do you naturally gravitate towards that you’re happy to do? For Tracy, it’s the client interaction. [25:50] Where do you add the most value to your business? The goal of hiring someone should be about optimizing that work. Even the thing you love can wear you down though, if that’s all you do. [28:20] Tracy also enjoys putting together the processes of the business as well as blogging and video creation. As bookkeepers, there aren’t many ways to be creative. What you want to do is maximize the things you like to do while at the same time providing value to your clients and helping you feel fulfilled. [32:10] You have to schedule time to be creative and dream. Be intentional about putting the things that are important into your life. Start off with just 15 minutes and you’ll find you have much more energy when you’re done. [34:50] Time management isn’t the thing you need, it’s what time management can bring into your life. [35:15] Bookkeeping is first and foremost a relationship business. If you build your business on relationships and not the transactions, you will be job secure forever. [37:50] The repetitive tasks are starting to get tedious for Tracy. That doesn’t mean it’s trivial, but they are not important and not the best use of Tracy’s time. List the tasks you do in your business and then ask if they fall under your Unique Ability. [41:50] What is the hourly rate for your Unique Abilities? What about your competencies? If you can less than the dollar equivalent for those tasks you’re making money. Look at your business tasks and ask is this something to continue doing, stop doing, outsource, or delegate? The point is to free up your time so you can focus on what you do best. [43:40] You shouldn’t be looking to hire a specific person, you should be looking to outsource a specific task. Don’t throw people at a process problem. The tasks you’re competent at but don’t really enjoy doing, are the first to outsource. Time efficiency is all about saving 15 minutes at a time, those 15 minutes add up fast. [48:30] You can do the work and set up the process by recording those tasks. Videos are a powerful way to offload the tasks you don’t want to do anymore. Dissect the task and show the logic behind it. Upwork is a great place to find freelancers that you can offload your tasks to. [54:15] It’s going to cost you time at the beginning. The first task you should offload is something that is not going to directly affect a customer. Start with the admin or support work, the lowest hanging fruit. [57:50] Processes before people. You build the processes then you bring in the people to run them.   Mentioned in this episode: Ledger Harmony

In the second hour of the show, After a big win by the Raptors over the Warriors in game 1 of thje NBA Finals, Jim Tatti is joined by Toronto Star Columnist Bruce Arthur to talk about last nights game from every angle.

In the second hour of the show, After a big win by the Raptors over the Warriors in game 1 of thje NBA Finals, Jim Tatti is joined by Toronto Star Columnist Bruce Arthur to talk about last nights game from every angle.

  What direction are you heading? Are you travelling fast or slow? Have you got everything you need? Who is guiding you? Are you listening closely for directions? Here's a little story (actually by the time I finished this post I realised the story wasn't quite so little) about taking one step at a time, following God's leading, surrendering to doing things in His timing, and continually learning that His ways are always higher. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV In January 2013 I started blogging about our journey with a daughter with cancer, almost two years after a nurse in the pediatric oncology ward suggested that blogging can be helpful when communicating with family and friends. It's less time intensive and less emotionally draining. When the nurse said that to me my thoughts were something like, "I won't need to do that, we won't be here for long." Two years later when Victoria was 6 months into chemo treatment I felt God prompting me to start writing a blog. I knew that in the Christmas holidays I would have more time available so I planned to launch the blog in January, close to the anniversary date of Victoria's diagnosis. Those holidays we were blessed with the opportunity to stay at Harry's House in Stockton, a beautiful family retreat for families with children with cancer. Early mornings, learning how to use blogger, setting up pages, writing background information, purple background and http://victoriagraceconqueror.blogspot.com/ was launched. After I had been blogging for a while, a few people started saying to me, "You should write a book," and so the idea was birthed, a book about our story, testifying to what God has done...... My mouth shall tell of Your righteousnessAnd Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits.  I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only. Psalm 71:15-16 NKJV ... but also with the practical things we had learned along the way that would hopefully help other families. So much data to work with; the group emails I started sending when Victoria was first in hospital; notes from every appointment with specialists and therapists; blog posts; images; checklists for hospital and home; notes from talks I'd given at church; and guest blog posts related to our journey. It was a little overwhelming. Me being me, I started a spreadsheet because that's the way my brain works, listing all the items. Then with the help of the Holy Spirit I divided them into chronological chapters. God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. 1 Corinthians 14:33 NKJV It was around mid 2014 when I started writing the book, so quite some time had passed since Victoria's initial diagnosis. I was finding that as I reviewed the content of each chapter, funnily enough, there was a theme coming through each chapter. So I decided to write a 'reflection' section at the end of each chapter relating to that theme. The reflections sometimes offered a bigger picture view, for example the role of (and impact on) the mother, father and siblings. Sometimes they were of a more practical nature, such as how to keep a three year old engaged in physical therapy as they learn how to make their left hand work again. The inclusion of these reflections have turned out to be a crucial part of the book - another example of God's ways being higher than mine. “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.  “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. Isaiah 55:8 NLT So with the structure of the book in place, the next stage was to start putting it all together. A relatively simple task I thought, until I started writing it. The plan was for the first two chapters to cover the first two weeks in hospital (diagnosis, surgery, recovery). It took me six months to write about those two weeks, even now I feel teary as I think about it. Every sentence was a re-living of the moment, a processing of another level of grief for years of a childhood and family life that were stolen. But in pushing through and writing about this I had a overwhelming sense that the telling of this story of God's love and faithfulness was part of the plan for His manifestation of Romans 8:28 in our lives, and ultimately the lives of others. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 NKJV I remember sharing with a friend that I had started writing the book and that I expected it would take a year or so to complete. She wisely said to me something like, "Wendy, it's okay if it takes 6 years to write it." I am grateful that she said that, as in some way it gave me permission to rest and not strive. And the reality is that it has taken almost five years to finish the book. But God knew that it was going to be a long journey of not only writing, but also of emotional healing and understanding more about His grace. He brought people alongside to support and encourage me in so many different ways, emotionally, financially and technically. Here is one example of how He had gone before, preparing the way.... And the LORD, He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8 NKJV In late 2014 Alexandra and I went to the launch of the Delta society's book 'Dogs that make a difference - inspiring stories of dogs bringing hope, help and happiness to people's lives.' On many occasions when Victoria had been in hospital she had received visits from the Delta dogs, and they had certainly added some brightness to the day. At the book launch we met a lady that we hadn't seen for many years. She and her husband had helped Ken and I back in 2000 when we had one of our many boating misadventures when cruising from Sydney to Lake Macquarie. After a bit of chatting she explained that she was a member of the Lake Macquarie Fellowship of Australian Writers and that they had a monthly critique meeting where members could submit some of their writing and receive feedback. This sounded exactly what I needed, so I joined the group from September 2014 until December 2017. During that time my confidence and writing competency grew. The critique group gently encouraged me as sometimes the tears flowed when I relived moments of this journey. I appreciated their non-judgemental attitudes when helping me to tell my story even though we did not necessarily share the same faith. To me, this is another example of God's planning and provision for this project. He knew all those years ago when we had the boating incident that we would connect again with these people for a very different purpose. Thank you Jesus. So I toiled away on this project among family and business responsibilities, and volunteering at school and church. There wasn't an abundance of time, but when half an hour or so became available, I took it, madly scribbling on notepads, typing and reworking drafts. In January 2016 I felt God say to me, "Complete the first draft by the end of the year." Okay. I set to work with that goal in mind. The first six months of the year went really well and all was on track. But somehow in the second six months I was a bit distracted. A few days before school ended in December 2016 I remembered what God had said to me and went into a slight panic! There weren't many days of the year left, and I would soon have four children at home full time. Needless to say those Christmas holidays weren't the most exciting holidays for the children. I set up a desk in our bedroom and would lock myself in there each morning for a few hours with my laptop, notes and a box of tissues. As over five years later I still easily became overwhelmed with emotion when I read back through the events of 2011 to 2013. The children were very patient and gracious with me during this time. I put a sign on the door saying, "Mummy is working on her book. Thank you for your support and encouragement. Please pray for the book and that it will help many people." A week before the holidays ended, by the grace of God, the first draft of the book was completed. There had been a cost those holidays, emotionally and with missing out on some family time, but I had to trust that God had it sorted, and that His grace was sufficient for all of us. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV A few days later a beautiful lady from church approached me and said that she wanted to financially support me in the publishing of the book. Another reminder to me that God was the Project Manager, not me. He did have it sorted! At the Colour conference in 2017 God spoke to me again about the book project. It was the last day of the conference and I hadn't yet received anything that I knew to be specifically for me. So I prayed, God, what is it that you want to say to me here? During the next session of worship, the response came, "Take your family on the journey of this book." Within a couple of weeks I had an opportunity to do that. Victoria came home from school and was talking about her teacher's friend who had cancer. I asked Victoria how she would feel about giving the draft version of the book to encourage her. She was keen, so we discussed the idea with the teacher, and Victoria delivered the books. Once again God had shown me how important it was to keep seeking Him for direction and input. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV I was starting to understand that really this wasn't our story at all. But rather it was His story. Around this time I felt to ask some people to pray specifically for this project. I knew that prayer covering was going to be essential to getting this book completed. I'm grateful that they said yes. Around May 2017 we were having some parenting challenges and a wise friend of mine, who has known Ken and I since before we were married said to me, "Wendy, when you publish this book people will be looking at your family and your family's lives, it won't be much of a witness if your family is falling apart." Ooooh, that was hard to hear. But God was obviously using him to prepare the way for what He wanted me to do. As a month later God said to me, "Lay down the book and focus on your family's health and healing." So I surrendered the book. I didn't pursue the outstanding draft versions that were being reviewed. I stopped all work on the project, learned how to love my family better and God brought more healing and restoration. Once again He showed me that ... “I don’t think the way you think.     The way you work isn’t the way I work.”         God’s Decree. “For as the sky soars high above earth,     so the way I work surpasses the way you work,     and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Isaiah 55:8-9 The Message In February 2018 I felt God say, "It's time to start work on the book again." So I did, spending a couple of months making some final edits. As I was putting this blog post together I found this note that I'd written to myself, "Today 22/4/18, another round of editing. Not so emotional, rather, in awe of what God had brought us through and where we are today." Yes, over the years through writing God had been helping me to process the pain, disappointment and grief. Obviously there was a lot there, as it had taken almost 7 years to get to this place of being able to read our story without being a blubbering mess. He was gradually building the strength in me that I sense I will need for the next phase of this journey, whatever that is going to be. For the remainder of 2018 I worked on the cover and layout with my friend who is a graphic designer, another God story of re-connection after 7 years of living in different countries. Finally the first printed version of the book arrived on my desk in mid November 2018, almost five years after I made that first planning spreadsheet. What a journey, in no way comparable with the actual journey our family has been on, but still a journey of God's grace and faithfulness, and me learning more and more that His ways will always be better than mine and His timing is always perfect. What's more our family, still with some rough edges, is thriving and is in the healthiest place it has been in for almost 10 years. All praise and glory to Jesus. Now the book is complete I am trusting God will get the book to the people He wants to read it. One of my favourite stories so far .... I gave the book to my neighbour for Christmas, and a week later she came over to buy five copies for me to give to families in similar situations in hospital! We have made two versions of the book. At this stage they have the same content, but different titles. The first one, Victoria Grace - Living with victory through childhood cancer, has more of a story-focused title. Koorong has agreed to stock this version. For anyone interested my website for ordering this book is https://wendyrobinson.com.au/victoria-grace-by-wendy-robinson-paperback/ The second version is titled, Childhood cancer - a survival guide for parents, written by a parent. This is the version that we are hoping families who are in this situation will find when they are googling books to help them. I've had favourable discussions with various medical people and charities about this version. Again for anyone interested, or if you know someone who is in this situation, the website for ordering this book is https://childhoodcancerparentsguide.com/ This probably the longest post I've ever written on this blog, but my prayer is that what I have shared in this post will encourage you to keep going with whatever projects/dreams God has put on your heart, always listening closely for His direction, surrendering when and what He asks, and trusting that His ways are always best. To find out more please visit https://wendyrobinson.com.au

Tracy’s 35th birthday really changed things for her. She was working as a substitute teacher and wasn’t really enjoying it when her husband suggested that taxes may be a way to go. She stumbled upon some videos put together by Ben Robinson, and she decided to jump in with both feet. [4:20] Tracy learned most of her bookkeeping skills by going through Ben’s course, in addition to some minor experience in high school and college accounting. [5:40] If you don’t have clients you don’t have a business - you have a hobby. Once Tracy completed the course she dove in to trying to secure her first client, and she actually connected with her first client through a Facebook post. [8:45] You can’t give away too much for free. Giving value always seems to come back to you. [10:00] Tracy is currently serving 18 or so bookkeeping clients plus another handful of tax clients. [11:00] The first year was the hardest. Tracy was studying for her EA and some other exams at the time and combined with some personal issues she faced a few challenges. Around May of 2018, things really took off, largely due to a mindset shift and a snowball of referrals. [15:40] Tracy’s vision is to start hiring some help and growing her business while still maintaining her family time. Our business needs to fit into our life, not our life into our business. [17:30] Entrepreneurs never arrive, but it is important to stop and take stock of what you accomplished. Overcoming challenges builds confidence. [19:50] Time management is crucial. Keeping up with the momentum Tracy has built is a challenge. [23:20] The STEP Framework is key to getting stuff done. Time management happens across the whole Framework, but Execution is what needs to happen right now. What do you naturally gravitate towards that you’re happy to do? For Tracy, it’s the client interaction. [25:50] Where do you add the most value to your business? The goal of hiring someone should be about optimizing that work. Even the thing you love can wear you down though, if that’s all you do. [28:20] Tracy also enjoys putting together the processes of the business as well as blogging and video creation. As bookkeepers, there aren’t many ways to be creative. What you want to do is maximize the things you like to do while at the same time providing value to your clients and helping you feel fulfilled. [32:10] You have to schedule time to be creative and dream. Be intentional about putting the things that are important into your life. Start off with just 15 minutes and you’ll find you have much more energy when you’re done. [34:50] Time management isn’t the thing you need, it’s what time management can bring into your life. [35:15] Bookkeeping is first and foremost a relationship business. If you build your business on relationships and not the transactions, you will be job secure forever. [37:50] The repetitive tasks are starting to get tedious for Tracy. That doesn’t mean it’s trivial, but they are not important and not the best use of Tracy’s time. List the tasks you do in your business and then ask if they fall under your Unique Ability. [41:50] What is the hourly rate for your Unique Abilities? What about your competencies? If you can less than the dollar equivalent for those tasks you’re making money. Look at your business tasks and ask is this something to continue doing, stop doing, outsource, or delegate? The point is to free up your time so you can focus on what you do best. [43:40] You shouldn’t be looking to hire a specific person, you should be looking to outsource a specific task. Don’t throw people at a process problem. The tasks you’re competent at but don’t really enjoy doing, are the first to outsource. Time efficiency is all about saving 15 minutes at a time, those 15 minutes add up fast. [48:30] You can do the work and set up the process by recording those tasks. Videos are a powerful way to offload the tasks you don’t want to do anymore. Dissect the task and show the logic behind it. Upwork is a great place to find freelancers that you can offload your tasks to. [54:15] It’s going to cost you time at the beginning. The first task you should offload is something that is not going to directly affect a customer. Start with the admin or support work, the lowest hanging fruit. [57:50] Processes before people. You build the processes then you bring in the people to run them.

This week Scotty and Korg do a post push recap, and discuss what happened during the push, as well as the results from the League of Clans tournament!  We rehash what we learned, and where the road to the next tournament will take us! Original Air Date:  Around May 2014

This week Scotty does a special episode with Cory, talking about everything Clash of Clans and getting ready for the push with League of Clans!  We talk strategy in preparing for the upcoming push, where Cory is at in the game, and what's new in the world of clash! Original Air Date:  Around May 20, 2014

Welcome to Our Own Voices Live with your hosts:  Angela Thomas, Roger Harris and Rodney Smith with special guest:  Sonia Thompson. Our Topic(s) today: “7 Reasons why stripping can help you reach your goals – Reason 3 and Remembering Greenwood.”   Join us as Ms. Thompson educates us on, "7 Reasons why stripping can help you reach your goals,” – Reason 3.  To read all 7 goals, click here   Remembering, "The Massacre in Greenwood (Black Wall Street), Tulsa OK." Read more, click here Around May 31 we remember The Massacre in Greenwood, Tulsa OK (Black Wall Street). We repeat it every year because of  what my Junior High school librarian told me.  she help up her arm to show me tattooed numbers.  She said, "her people would never let the world forget what happened to them and I should learn, never forget and never let America forget what it did to my people."  Now you know why I created, 'Our Own Voices.' "The riot was a horror never to be forgotten, a mark of shame upon the city that would endure forevermore." "Never forget, "The Massacre in Greenwood, Tulsa OK." Our Own Voices Live is a radio show featuring people and stories from our community in Las Vegas, the surrounding area and some place near you. America is the greatest country on earth due to its cultural diversity and not in spite of it. Our mission is to help bridge the cultural and ethnic divide in America by working together to build the greatest bridge in history to unite us

Episode: 625 - The Cubs Getting Hits but not Enough Runs, a Nickname for Starlin Castro who is Averaging an Error a Game, What Kind of Year is this Becoming and what itll Take to Turn it Around (May 12) - Cubscast 2010 Season Podcasts - Cubscast.com - Hosted By: Lou, Sheps & Sneetch