Make That Call

There are moments in life when it comes down to your decision. Whatever you're facing, you know that no one else can bail you out. You have to make the call. Mark Richt, former head football coach at the University of Georgia and the University of Miami and long-time assistant coach at Florida State University, knows a thing or two about making the call. In this book, he shares some of those crucial moments—from his time as a player, through his years as an assistant coach and head coach—thirty-five years in all on some of the biggest stages of college football. You'll love being along for the ride with Mark as he shares his experiences both on and off the field, gives wisdom for life and leadership, and encourages you to make the most important call of all.

Pot-bellied Joe Kagan, the buffoonish manager of a Cheapmart discount store, unwinds from his late shifts with some television—which at that time of night means infomercials. Seduced by claims of “amazing” products and “easy payments,” Joe soon finds himself deep in debt. Sammy Thieu—a Vietnamese immigrant turned infomercial pitchman who surrounds himself with scantily-clad women and other accoutrements of wealth—entices viewers of his infomercials with stories of the fast fortunes to be made in real estate. Desperate, Joe registers for Sammy’s seminar—leading him on a series of ludicrous misadventures. Interspersed throughout the novel are descriptions of the ridiculous and outrageous infomercials Joe and others watch on TV, such as “The Psychic Support Hotline,” in which a washed-out ’70s pop singer assures viewers, “All you need is a credit card and a willing suspension of disbelief!” and “WhiffTrim,” in which sniffing a piece of plastic is touted as a legitimate strategy for weight reduction. Make That Call Now! is the laugh-out-loud story of one misfit’s journey through the tacky world of TV infomercials.

Every day, thousands of people are discharged from hospitals. While relieved to be going home, they are often frightened and insecure about caring for themselves at home. How the hospital manages follow up can make a world of difference in spotting adverse reactions, quelling fears, and providing appropriate direction. Adverse conditions can lead to costly readmissions that hurt the bottom line and dissatisfied consumers who can hurt the hospital's reputation. You Make the Call presents a solid case for a post-discharge call system to improve clinical outcomes and improve the patient experience. This book provides the rationale and key steps for launching a post-discharge follow-up call process. Kristin Baird offers case examples, models, and tools to help you evaluate the need for follow-up calls as well as tools for integrating them into a comprehensive care plan. An award-winning author and consultant, Baird's expertise stems from over 30 years as a nurse, executive, and consultant. Her passion for the patient experience has set her career path and is a driving force behind this book. Are you doing post-discharge follow up? Does it make sense for your organization? Should you devote resources to post-discharge calls? Read Baird's book and then you make the call.

Songs My Mother Wrote is a poetic journey about my life with my mother and how I was able to make a choice about how I was going to handle the loss of my mother. I decided to celebrate her life. I hope this book can help others who have lost someone special overcome the grief and sorrow of loss. Joyce Fizzolio died of lung cancer on July 8, 2004. She was a child, a sister, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and a well-known and respected voice teacher. My mother studied music at Wayne State University and she graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto. She was a coloratura soprano and teacher. Her concert debut was with the American Symphony Orchestra of New York. My mother performed in twenty-three musicals and she made her Broadway debut as a feature soloist at the Palace Theater in New York City. She taught singing lessons for several years and she was a member of several music organizations. My mother's creative outlet was her voice. My creative outlet is my writing. During my time of grieving and loss, I found comfort in writing poetry. I was amazed at how my writing changed as I started to channel my grief and sadness into learning more about myself and my purpose and my healing. We are all born with gifts and we must look at our gifts to bring forward the memory of someone special. This is my gift and I hope you enjoy the poetry. If you knew my mother, I hope it gives you a smile to remember what a dynamic and wonderful person she was in life.

There are many books written on or about the Altar; However, God has placed a burden on me to write this short book that is coming from a slightly different direction about the Altar. A direction that will hopefully challenge the reader to think about making that Altar call or making that step to the Altar, by the end of this book. It is my prayer that the reader will take the call of the Altar more seriously than he/she has ever taken it before. Let the challenge begin!

YOU WILL BURN YOURSELF OUT, FOREVER LIMIT YOUR POTENTIAL, ALWAYS DREAD MONDAYS, AND NEVER GET RICH IF COLD CALLING IS YOUR ONLY STRATEGY FOR FINDING NEW BUSINESS And, if you can invest a tiny amount of time and read my book, here’s what I promise you: You’ll realize new business development (due to various factors, mainly because of increased competition) now requires more effort than in the past, and cold calling (on its own) won’t get you to your goal. See Chapter 2. You will also realize that getting a high-value prospect’s attention now requires marketing and specialized effort; smart employers recognize this and are adapting. See Chapter 4. How? Those smart employers invest in lead generation marketing, and if you work for one who doesn’t, whose sole NBD strategy is to hire more salespeople and make more cold calls, eventually their growth will stall or slow to a trickle. And they’ll have an increasingly tough time attracting and keeping talented people like you! See Chapter 10. If you don’t work for someone who invests in lead generation... it’s okay, don’t panic. You can learn how to generate your own leads and develop valuable skills that will turn you into a selling assassin for the rest of your life, and reading this book is a good start! See Chapter 11. Also, you will discover at least one new book (I mentioned several that had a big impact on me) that will end up having a big impact on your future. See Chapter 20. Just imagine, you will go from cold calling to following up or responding to client inquiries. While also positioning yourself as not just another salesperson, but as an authority in your field. You will not spend any of your precious time prospecting, rather, you will be implementing and testing different marketing campaigns. And most importantly, you will have more time to dazzle those clients already willing to meet with you and existing customers; which represents your greatest source of growth and profit.