International Instructor Workshop in Tallahassee

Taoist Tai Chi™ March 2010

I had a wonderful experience at the 5 day workshop in Tallahassee. It was lead by Sean Denison, Karen Laughlin and Andrew Hung with a lot of help from other international instructors. We started out with a lot of donyus and toryus. But spent most of the week working on better balance in our set. We had the most amazing 10 course Chinese New Years Banquet complete with wine. As one of the first shift serving/dishwashing crew, I didn't get to eat until most of the tables were done. The bonus was that we got more than our share of the wine from the left over bottles. My balance must have improved some during the week because I felt balanced in the after dinner set even with a slight buzz.

We are constantly looking forward to the next workshop or intensive. Great to reconnect with people we know from previous events. Doing Tai Chi with more than 100 other students is an experience you have to have to appreciate.

You may not know that the society is a non-profit. We volunteer to teach and there are only a handful of paid employees in the world that help to support the 40,000 or so members. These workshops help to support buying permanent locations for some of our more active branches.

The testimonials of all the good Tai Chi has done for attendees at large workshops are a strong incentive and feedback for me to keep teaching and practicing Taoist Tai Chi™.

Recommended Reading and Study

http://www.academicearth.org/ Free online video courses from leading universities. (Get a better teacher no charge)

I picked up this tip from reading Bill Gates annual letter at http://www.gatesfoundation.org/annual-letter/2010/Pages/bill-gates-annual-letter.aspx

If more of us would take the time to broaden our perspectives, many of the world problems mentioned in Bills letter will be solved in our life times. Publish Post

Creating FileMaker Value

I attended a seminar the other day on value based billing by the author of Measuring what your Customers Value Most. If you are a forward looking business, you will also be looking for measuring the things your customer values most.

I am in the business of helping you automate those measurements. I am also interested in providing you value based on what is most important to you and your business. The difficulty I am struggling with is how to put a price tag on those measurements as well as determining what those measurements are.

Airlines have found that simply measuring their on time arrival, lost luggage and missed connections can be a key predictive indicator of their future sales. If they are doing well in these areas, their sales are relatively optimistic.

For my consulting practice, I believe responding to client requests in a prompt manner is one of the keys to my continued success. Another is my ability to add features to their database that they believe will make their business more efficient and profitable.

I am interested in hearing from any reader who had deeper insight into value based pricing and how they have arrived at actual numbers in advance for projects.

Cheers,

Joel Bowers

We can get along together

If you are interested in advancing any solutions to world or community problems this TED talk is a must see. It explains why we need both the conservative and liberal viewpoints and may help you find ways to combine our strengths.

November 2009 Tai Chi in Billings Montana

Wow. It's been nearly a year since I posted to the blog. We have been very busy getting our toes wet in Billings.

Lisa has been very successful in getting Taoist Tai Chi established in Billings Montana. I got certified as a beginning instructor a little over a year ago at the Portland Grand Opening and am teaching two classes now (with Lisa's help). Of course I am helping her teach her classes too. We are currently teaching at two different churches, an assisted living facility, a yoga studio, an insurance company and the Billings Senior Center.

We attended the Annual General Meeting of the Western Region this summer and were happy to report on our success. I am currently working on getting the membership database for TTCS Australia and TTCS USA running smoothly. I have also taken on another pro-bono database project setting up the membership database for the Yellowstone Valley Audubon Society.

Enough for now.

Blogging Infrequently, but now from Billings Montana

We moved to Billings Montana in late June 2008 to help my aging parents.  We have been fortunate to find we love the place and have been successful in starting a new location for the International Taoist Tai Chi Society here. The closest until now was Portland, Or and Denver, Co.

Oh, and one more thing.  Lisa and I got married finally on December 29th in our lovely old home next to the rimrocks with close family attending.

Happy New Year

Pura Vida

Coincidences sometimes help to roll the dice of what we will be doing or where we will be next year. We went on a little vacation to Costa Rica last Fall and basically were presented with one of those offers that is difficult to refuse. As you may have guessed, I am posting this from Costa Rica where we are living now. Nothing is permanent, but this is a good thing to stretch the aging brain cells and still slow down a little from the hectic North American pace.
Learning Spanish is one of the priorities now. English is not a prevalent here as in many of the other countries that I have toured. Income production is limited to money earned providing services outside the country. Costa Rica needs more jobs and doesn't want foreigners displacing local workers. Fortunately, I still have a few clients who I can provide value to from south of the border.

Above is the 2 bedroom house we will be renting for less than half what you would expect. There is a lovely view of mountains and coffee fields. It is in a quiet little village but has a view of the big city lights at night and easy access via a few minute, fifty cent bus ride to a choice of larger communities. The cost of living is rising with the influx of folks like us, but still it makes it possible to get by on a very modest income.

I hope the slower pace will help me to find a better way to contribute to this world from which I have taken more than contributed. Stay tuned for more.