You will always be “too busy” to do the things that you’ve always wanted to do. Somewhere between emails and making dinner, there’s barely any time to breathe. So my theory with goals is: you just have to go for it. You have to commit to your dreams before you know if you have the time to do them or not (because you never really will). When you commit to completing something, the rest of your life will shift around, and while you’ll be busy, you’ll be happier and more fulfilled than if you keep bumping your dreams down the list of things to do.

One of my personal dreams has been to learn how to play the guitar. Simple enough but after that goal collected dust for over a decade, I decided it was time to make it a priority. Without knowing if I could handle the extra load, I signed up for a beginner’s guitar class in January. With my first class teaching me how to simply hold the instrument, it was easy to think my time would be better spent elsewhere, but I kept going twice a week. Slowly but surely, I was learning entire songs and understanding how to write my own music. In 5 months, I went from having an unfulfilled dream to being able to play almost any song I wanted to on the guitar, and I barely noticed the sacrifice of time I had made to get there. I feel a sense of accomplishment and purpose in tackling my aspirations; a feeling much greater than what I would have gotten from a few extra hours of sleep if I hadn’t taken the class.

Life doesn’t give you enough time, but it does give you enough opportunities.  So I now know if I want to achieve something, I just have to let go of excuses and do it.

Written by Kendall Hanna

New Orleans Neighborhood

1. Let it be.

I am a little anal when it comes to planning. In the months leading up to the trip, there were many Yelp reviews read, hour-by-hour schedules made and a Google Map of places created. In the end, I toned down the scheduling, and with only a general schedule and map of possible places to visit (and our trusty smartphones to pull those things up), the trip was more flexible and open to discovering places. Sometimes, it’s just fun to throw the schedule out the window and enjoy the adventure.

St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans

2. Go local.

Through Yelp and reading articles, we enjoyed many local restaurants and businesses on the trip. Not only is it fun to support and experience the places locals enjoy, but it also helps fuel their economy and entrepreneurial spirit. Particular highlights were going on a tour of NOLA Brewing Company, enjoying the desserts of Sucre, eating lunch at a 24-hour diner popular to LSU students, and seeing LSU Mike’s tiger den.

Sucre, New Orleans

Mike's Tiger Den at LSU. Sadly no Mike sighting that day.

3. Have fun goals.

When you think about your goals, do they excite you? In addition to crossing the Louisiana State Capitol off my list, I was able to experience so much more. You never know what will happen on the path to accomplishing your goals, but the journey is usually more important than the destination.

Louisiana State Capitol Building

On my trip, beignets were eaten, Bourbon Street and the whimsical NOLA neighborhoods were explored, oysters were devoured, and the Louisiana Capitol Building was marveled.

I would say it was a successful trip!

Its pin-board style of sharing photographic ideas, in which people can “re-pin” or “like” pictures from other Pinterest users all across the world, makes it easy to collect and share ideas. While many people think of Pinterest as a highly addictive site full of beautiful luxuries, tempting its users to dump all their savings on the table for a home makeover or the perfect skinny jeans, Pinterest isn’t just about throw pillows and knitting projects. Pinterest has proven itself to be a wonderful medium for personal wellness.

With a huge portion of the internet’s health, fitness, and wellness blogs combined together in one website, Pinterest can help you become healthier, one pin at a time:

1. Healthy food options: A large portion of Pinterest focuses on food. This is a very easy place to find healthy recipes, facts on food, and nutritious food plans that have been tried and reviewed by users. Most of the pictures of food on Pinterest lead to the full websites that provide further nutritional information and recommendations for other health-savvy websites.

2. Workouts: Pinterest is the ultimate go-to for workout boredom. No matter what you’re interested in, there is a workout for you waiting to be utilized. There is everything from yoga, running, and mountain biking to quick workouts for people who only have fifteen minutes to spare for a workout on their living room floor. There are also tips on how to burn more calories during everyday activities such as being at work, driving a car, and cleaning the house.  With the site being highly visual, it is easy to see the accurate formations of workout poses and learn how to correctly use an exercise ball.

3. Recommended gear: Upset your third infomercial ab machine didn’t give you the six-pack promised? Pinterest users dish out their tried and true workout essentials and share what has worked best for them. Users can even comment on other people’s posts inquiring where they bought it or how much it costs.

4. Health support: Whether you have a disease and want to find counsel from other people who are experiencing the same illness, or you’re looking for a weight-loss support group, Pinterest users have posted the websites they have found the most helpful for encouragement and information. You can also find healthy ways of substituting natural remedies for medication for minor illnesses and a list of what to bring for a hospital visit.

5. Inspiration: Sometimes you just need the extra push to tie up your running shoes or drink that extra glass of water. Pinterest is overflowing with inspirational quotes, testimonies, and pictures that will give you the extra “oomph” you need to make your day healthier.

This social media outlet has allowed the topic of health to become an entertaining pastime, integrating the importance of wellness into everyday life. Try it out for yourself, and see what Pinterest can help you accomplish.

While you’re at it, check out the Wellington Group Pinterest to learn a little more about what inspires us.

Happy Pinning.

I wouldn’t call myself a daredevil, but I enjoy unique experiences. To name a few, I’ve survived a beekeeping class, taken an improv theater course, and our company even took a group trapeze lesson for our Christmas party two years ago. But going skydiving took a really big leap. It has always been on my life list, but the actual thought of jumping out of a plane was terrifying. So much so I rarely thought or talked about it the days before the event and focused on what I should wear instead. While our office was abuzz with fear and excitement for me (all positive thoughts!), I chose to quickly dismiss the discussion and block it out of my head!

When we arrived at the skydiving site, I was slightly nervous but more excited about the incredible, thrilling experience I was about to have. After reading, which in reality was skimming (even the staff said, “you all are actually reading that thing?”), and signing a big packet, relinquishing our right to sue and possibly the rights of our firstborns, our instructors introduced themselves to us and started explaining the process. We put on neon jumpsuits and straps, and minutes later, we found ourselves climbing into a small plane with two benches. Up and away we went until a few minutes later, three skydivers with instructors strapped to our backs were all falling out of the plane in less than a minute, falling at 120 mph, 13,000 feet above the ground.

It was a scary yet thrilling experience. The initial shock you are indeed falling from the sky makes your stomach drop, but it soon subsides as you realize you are falling from the sky, seeing the world from a different perspective and experiencing the strong force of gravity. I highly recommend doing it at least once.

“Do one thing every day that scares you,” Eleanor Roosevelt is quoted. It doesn’t need to be as extreme as jumping out of a plane, but these “scary” things usually end up not as bad as you thought they would be. Or, you’ll find they were as bad as you thought they would be and through the experience, you’ve still grown in the experience, lived through it, and/or simply, crossed something off your life list that you’ve always wanted to do.

What leaps have you taken recently?

We woke up early, took a quick shower, ate a fast breakfast and headed to the first hotel where we filmed all day. We met the crew, put our microphones on and immediately got started – there was no time to waste. We began with meeting our host at the hotel (she was amazing) and filming the arrival scene. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. On our way to the hotel, I saw band of horses in a field (I first noticed the horses from our hotel room running down the middle of the street). I rolled down my window to take a photo (for some reason, wild horses in a different country is much more interesting than in the US). Unfortunately, the window wouldn’t roll back up. This made the sound quality rough when filming the arrival scene. Not to mention, we were about to experience many nights and long hours in the car. Luckily, our amazing driver, Victor, took care of it.

After filming the arrival scene, we went to the spa to film the couple’s massage scene. We changed out of our clothes and into our robes and were escorted to our luxurious, outdoor cabana that included a hot tub, fresh fruit and smoothies. We got onto the bed made of clouds (okay not really, but it felt like it was made of clouds) and our massage began. I tuned out the camera crew and the director’s instructions to the massage therapists and enjoyed being massaged and lathered in volcanic mud. Unfortunately, my moment of full relaxation only lasted for five minutes. We were told we wouldn’t have time to experience the full massage due to time limitations, but it was still painful to hear, “Cut!” only five minutes into it.

After the massage, we relaxed a little and met up with the film crew at lunch. The lunch was absolutely delicious and the view was perfect (sitting by a pool with a waterfall right in the middle of the rain forest). I even got to sneak in a 10-minute nap by the pool before we headed to tour the hotel room. The hotel room was the size of a small house (my friend’s apartments in New York City are smaller than this place). The bedroom was spacious, the patio was overlooking the rain forest and the living room and bathroom were breathtaking.

Lessons Learned:

1) Take pleasure in the simple things.

Life gives us big and simple pleasures to enjoy. I’ve been fortunate in my lifetime to experience some great things, but I’ve been even more fortunate to be able to take pleasure and savor the simple things in life. Although we didn’t get to fully experience all the things we were exposed to – the waterfalls, sleeping in the hotel room that was bigger than my first home I purchased, the 90-minute massage, etc. We took pleasure and delight in being exposed to and sampling all of it.

2) A new perspective makes all the difference.

After a day of filming, sweating and not being able to spend time experiencing all the things the resort had to offer, it was time to drive to our next location 3-4 hours away (it ended up taking us 4 hours). As the crew was packing up, our host at the hotel offered to let us shower in the honeymoon suite. The shower was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. We squeeled with excitement (I squeeled, my husband just expressed gratitude) and we snuck in a quick shower before we hit the road. A wonderful shower and a fresh change of clothes, totally change our perspective. We were ready to climb in the car and welcome the next chapter of our adventure with open arms.

Wellington Group was excited to try a dozen different little crimps: bite-sized pies named after their wavy edges. The wonderful variety and clever names won us over as we sampled flavors ranging from “She’s my Cherry Pie” to “It’s Got Bacon!”  Our personal office favorites were the “Margherita”, stuffed with diced Italian style tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and yellow onion, as well as the “Coo Coo for Coconut”, whose coconut pie flavor made us, quite literally, melt in our chairs. They were all so wonderfully delicious and cured our sweet tooth desires in a fun, unique way. With dozens of pies in all different sizes and flavors, our office will definitely be keeping them on speed dial for our future sugar cravings. And with free delivery to the Austin community, who could say no to these delightful treats? Thank you, Pie Society!

Written and Photographed by Kendall Hanna

You can’t turn on the television without seeing a reality show. Our society has definitely embraced the phenomenon. I’ve known several people who’ve participated or have known someone who has participated on a reality show. Although we’ve been educated about what goes on behind the scenes from people we’ve known that had first hand experience, my husband and I recently learned the reality of reality television when we went to Costa Rica to film a reality show for the Travel Channel. The next series of blogs will be about what it takes to film a reality show and some of the lessons we learned that you could apply to your professional and personal life.

When arriving in Costa Rica on Wednesday night, I had planned out the rest of the evening in my head. I thought my husband I would meet our driver, check into our hotel room, maybe workout, check our email and then have a bite to eat and call it a night. I wanted to make sure we were well rested and ready to go before our 7:45 a.m. call time. However, my master plan didn’t happen. Upon meeting our driver, he relayed in his limited English that we had a three-hour drive ahead of us. As it was fastly approaching 9:00 p.m., I wept inside. Doesn’t he know I turn into a pumpkin after 10:00 p.m.? I kept repeating, “Three hours? We have a three hour drive tonight?!” He kept responding, “Si.” It became apparent after my third or fourth time stating this out loud that we understood each other clearly.

The three-hour road trip up and down long, winding, narrow roads at night wasn’t the greatest experience. I tried to sleep in the car, but the constant speeding up, slowing down and braking made it difficult. We arrived at our hotel – La Fortuna Hotel (think one star pension for those of you who’ve traveled in Europe during or immediately after college) after midnight and put our sleepy heads to bed.

Lessons Learned:

1) Sometimes you just have to roll with it.

The best-laid plans don’t always work out. Airline flights (departures and arrivals) are a great example of this. Life will throw you curveballs and you can either roll with it and try to see the opportunity in the midst of the chaos (i.e. my husband kept pointing out how we were on an adventure and we both needed to add some spice to our daily routine) or let the change of plans or expectations get you down. I choose opportunity over suffering.

2) Communication is key.

As unexpected and slightly unpleasant as the beginning of our trip was, I realized the person in charge told me to expect 2-3 hour drives between hotels. It wasn’t clear to me that the 2-3 hours would start as soon as we landed. I should have asked more questions and she should have provided more details. This is why clear communication is key. You may think the person you’re communicating with fully understands, but they may not. Be clear. Be concise. Put it in writing. Have the person you’re relaying the information to repeat it back to you. If you follow these simple steps, life will be a lot easier.

Dallas, TX – April 10, 2012, American Recovery Association, Inc. (ARA), the world’s largest association of recovery and remarketing professionals, is proud to announce the success of its fourth annual industry event, the North American Repossessors Summit (NARS).

Nearly 500 people in the collateral recovery and remarketing industries, including collateral recovery professionals, clients and vendors from across the U.S., unified in Dallas on March 23–24, 2012, to participate in NARS 2012. The summit focused on open and collaborative discussions to address and improve the industry’s challenges and complexities.

Key industry leaders were a crucial component of NARS and participated as speakers and panelists. Keynote Speaker Mike Goins, Head of Deficiency Recovery U.S. at TD Auto Finance, gave an eye-opening and encouraging presentation about the future of the industry, emphasizing the importance of company analytics to prove greater value in the industry. Michael Dougherty, Managing Partner of Weltman, Weinberg & Reis, gave attendees insight on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and how to prepare for its effects. Industry clients from Westlake Financial Services, CitiFinancial Remarketing and Recovery, TD Auto Finance, and Bank of America discussed issues and questions from the audience, providing insight to attendees.

“This year’s NARS was phenomenal and ARA is very proud to host it for the industry,” said Mary Jane Hogan, president of ARA. “NARS gave us the platform and opportunity to discuss key issues and topics in our industry, along with proposed solutions and better understanding for attendees.”

With industry unification as the event’s main goal, NARS also brought together representatives from five industry organizations – ARA, Time Finance Adjusters, National Finance Adjusters, Recovery Specialist Insurance Group, and Allied Finance Adjusters – to discuss the challenges of the industry and how unification and associations can help create solutions for the industry.

About American Recovery Association, Inc.

American Recovery Association (ARA) is the world’s largest association of recovery and remarketing professionals. ARA members specialize in locating and repossessing collateral on behalf of lending institutions including banks, savings institutions, finance companies, credit unions, rental/leasing companies, and auto, truck and equipment dealers. A non-profit association, ARA members serve 27,000 national and international cities. All members are certified independent business operators. For more information, call 972.755.4755 or visit the website at www.repo.org.

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http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/print-edition/2012/04/06/software-maker-headspring-grows.html?ana=e_ph

Software Maker Headspring Grows

Christopher Calnan Staff Writer – Austin Business Journal

After withstanding a decline in government contracts, software developer Headspring LP is tripling its office size and kicking in hiring plans in response to greater demand.

Austin-based Headspring is relocating in June for the second time in less than two years, moving from a 4,233-square-foot office on Spicewood Springs Road to an 11,319-square-foot space in the Avalon Building in Northeast Austin.

CEO Dustin Wells said nearly tripling the firm’s space would enable it to offer more options to its workers and clients. But he also plans to use the additional space to host community organizations and local user groups.

The shift comes after Headspring formed a sales and marketing division following a decline in state and local government contracts during 2010, Wells said.

Business intelligence software — applications that give business owners data to improve profitability — is the most popular type of customized software developed for clients, he said.

Clients typically operate in retail, oil and gas industries, he said.

One customer, Austin-based consulting firm EPA Systems Inc., enlisted Headspring to develop federal compliance software for clients operating natural gas wells. The monitoring software is based on the specifications listed in a 600-page regulation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Systems Principal Jackie Anderson <http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/search/results?q=Jackie%20Anderson>  said.

She interviewed three software developers but selected Headspring because she wanted a firm that would interact with her on a regular basis while tweaking the software.

“One thing I would need to do is be in constant communication,” Anderson said. “I really need them to function like a department.”

In 2001, Wells launched Austin Data Works, which was renamed Headspring Systems in 2005. The firm has since shifted from website production to customized software development. By 2010, Headspring grew to 28 employees and logged $3.5 million in revenue during 2009.

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But revenue declined to $2.8 million in 2010 before rebounding during 2011 with a $4.2 million, a 47 percent increase.

This year, Wells is projecting revenue of $7 million to $8 million. As a result, the company plans to promote all 25 employees this year and hire two workers per month for the next 12 months.

The overall software market size reached $509 billion during 2011 and is projected to grow 6.2 percent this year, according to Massachusetts-based Forrester Research Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR).

Wells considers Headspring’s main competitor to be Catapult Systems Inc., an Austin-based consulting firm founded in 1993. It now employs 300 workers operating from offices in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Denver, Tampa, Fla. and Washington, D.C.

Last year, Catapult Systems was awarded the 2011 “Microsoft Worldwide Digital Marketing Partner of the Year.”

At Headspring, Wells said the biggest challenge he’s had to deal with was having enough workers on staff to offset growth while continuing to stay lean. Although Catapult operates with multiple offices nationally, Wells plans to keep Headspring in the Lone Star State before branching out to others.

“I think we’ll be forced to do that eventually,” he said. “But we’ll focus on Austin and Texas right now.”

“Yes, and…” is the first rule of improv theatre. On a side note, two of us in the office have done improv comedy. In an improv scene, the players must build up the story to develop a scene. By responding with a “yes, and…” you confirm your partner(s) collaboration in the scene and help develop how the scene progresses. When you respond to the other players with a “no” it denies what they have established, which makes it difficult for the players to collaborate and for the scene to progress.

For example, if a player starts the scene with “wow, look at the puppy in the basket,” another player can continue developing the scene with “Yes, and look, it has a bright yellow tag on its collar. I wonder what it says?” If the player had responded with a denial such as “there’s isn’t a puppy in that basket” the scene comes to a stop and it makes it harder for the other players to go on to create something brilliant.

This “yes, and…” attitude in our office and to our customers encourages collaboration, brainstorming and innovation. It also encourages us to take our services to the next level.  Can we help with a good marketing campaign? Yes, and… we will create the content, design and format the email, track who opened and when and measure the impact… This leads to one of our other core values, which is Wow Through Service. When we keep a “yes, and…” attitude, we Wow our customers through our services, create a collaborative environment to produce innovate results and we also keep a positive enthusiasm to continuously improve our work and how we serve our customers.