PayPal: Take The Darn Survey Or Else!

PayPal: Take The Darn Survey Or Else!by Chris Banescu –
Just three days after providing my business with a debit card I never requested or wanted, PayPal manages to insult and frustrate me again. Immediately after logging into my account, instead of viewing the Summary (dashboard) page that normally lists the latest financial data and activity on my account, I was met with a demand to fill out a survey. The message box replaced my normal view of the latest transactions and payments, and completely blocked my view of the Summary page information (see first survey screen shot below).

Summary Dashboard Page Held Hostage
The message read as follows: “Please take a moment to let us know what you think about the redesigned display of information on this page. Thanks!” PayPal offered me no way to bypass or close the message. My only choice was to click on the “Provide Feedback” option right bellow the message. My Summary page was being held hostage until I complied with PayPal’s demand to complete their survey. [Read more…]

PayPal: Here’s That Debit Card You Didn’t Ask For

PayPal: Here’s That Debit Card You Didn’t Ask Forby Chris Banescu –
Today I received the PayPal Business Debit Mastercard that I didn’t ask for and didn’t want. A few weeks ago PayPal notified me of their decision to issue this debit card for my account. They did not bother to ask me first. They didn’t request my permission first. They didn’t give me the option to opt in. They sent it to me anyway.

First Email
Originally PayPal sent an email informing me of this “new benefit to your existing PayPal Business account” which they decided was good for me. They made that decision based on my “history as a PayPal customer.” PayPal’s long-winded email (six paragraphs long) touted the many benefits of this new card. No clear option to opt in or opt out was evident anywhere. No large or visible button or bolded “Yes, Send It” (opt-in) or “No Thank You” (opt-out) link was provided. [Read more…]

Get Busy Living!

Get busy living, or get busy dyingby Chris Banescu –
Life is hard, for everyone. It’s a constant battle to stay grounded and deal with adversity. To endure and thrive, we must continually sharpen our souls and minds, strengthen our tenacity, discern truth, avoid dangers, and solve problems. We must fight to stay healthy, balanced, and sane.

Seeking the company and counsel of good and decent men and women helps us on our journey. Experience and wisdom allow us to discern the truth and live in reality. Courage gives us the determination to accept the truth and take action.

Learning continually allows us to adapt and change. Reading good books gives us the knowledge to know what to do. Discipline allows us to consistently, creatively, and rationally deal with problems, find pragmatic solutions, and move toward meaningful goals. [Read more…]

Pain of Discipline vs Pain of Disappointment

Pain of Discipline vs Pain of Disappointmentby Chris Banescu –
“There are two pains in life. There is the pain of discipline and the pain of disappointment. If you can handle the pain of discipline, then you’ll never have to deal with the pain of disappointment.” ~ Nick Saban

We all pay a price for the lack of discipline. Whether it’s our physical or mental health, spiritual well-being, character, family life, career situation, financial status, friendships, or business condition, we always suffer if we don’t do the essential work to either improve, adapt, or deal with the changing circumstances of our life. The longer we avoid consistently doing the right things for ourselves, our families, and/or businesses, the worse things will get. We will feel the inevitable physical and psychological pains that arise when we let things slide and refuse to do the daily necessary work. [Read more…]

Esri: Solid Revenues, Conservative and Systematic Growth, No Layoffs, No Downsizing

Esri: Solid Revenues, Conservative and Systematic Growth, No Layoffs, No Downsizingby Chris Banescu –
“We have 9,000 employees worldwide and $912 million n revenue. In our 43 years, we have never missed a quarter. We’ve never had any layoffs; we’ve never had any downsizing. It’s just been very conservative, systematic growth.” ~ Jack Dangermond

A few years ago Inc.com magazine interviewed Jack Dangermond the co-founder of Esri, a global corporation that supplies geographic information system software, web GIS, and geodatabase management applications. Dangermond highlighted the company’s stellar and systematic growth despite its conservative management style and lack of any layoffs in its 43 years of operation. [Read more…]

Courage is the Virtue that Makes All Other Virtues Possible

Courage is the virtue that makes all other virtues possible. Courage helps us develop and sharpen our character. by Chris Banescu –
Courage is the virtue that makes all other virtues possible. Courage helps us develop and sharpen our character. Courage is what enables us to practice all the other virtues, especially when doing so exacts a significant cost in our personal life, professional career, or business.

It’s not enough to know and believe in the virtues. We must act on them. Belief in, intellectual affirmation of, or knowledge of the virtues alone is not enough to develop our character. We must practice them! And this is where courage comes in and helps us to take appropriate action.

All courageous speech and conduct must be grounded in reality, ethics, and integrity. Our words and actions must support and defend truth, goodness, justice, and righteousness. This is important, because unethical, corrupt, or wicked individuals can also use courage to support evil purposes and unrighteous goals.

Wisdom needs to accompany courage. [Read more…]