Posted by Grant on January 30, 2008 – 2:04 pm
TurboTax is amazing…
I’ve been using TurboTax for the last several years to do my taxes and the whole process has become so simple with this program.
I picked up the program the other day and started punching in the numbers I had and just like that, I’m about done with my taxes. I’m still waiting on a couple of forms and then we’ll be all set.
Maybe I’m a strange one but with TurboTax, I actually don’t mind doing my taxes and getting them out of the way. I’m not quite sure why everyone else feels such a need to wait till April 15?
Do you do your taxes yourself or hire someone? Are you a “get-it-out-the-way” person or a “wait-till-April” person?
Posted by Grant on January 29, 2008 – 2:11 pm
We started potty training our little girl this week. Exciting times in the Baldwin home!
I’m just thankful it’s a girl this first go around at potty training. That takes a little pressure off me to have to demonstrate the potty process.
Posted by Grant on January 28, 2008 – 3:32 am
This morning at my church, the pastor threw out a couple of thoughts of what we can do with our lives.
- Waste It – plenty of things to waste life on…not much commentary needed here
- Spend It – there are a lot of things to spend your life on that aren’t necessarily bad…your career, making money, hobbies, sports, Nintendo Wii (maybe that would fall under wasting life?)
- Invest It – living a life that lasts beyond yourself – creating a legacy that lives on.
Made me think through how I’m living my own life. How are you living yours?
Posted by Grant on January 26, 2008 – 8:29 pm
I know I’m a couple years late to the party but I finally watched the movie “Crash” today. It had been on my Netflix list for several months and I just got around to watching it.
What a great movie to make you think.
It had a lot of storylines to it but it was a very fascinating and unfortunately accurate movie for the world we live in. It highlights a lot of the prejudices, stereotypes, and racism that exist in our culture.
It definitely causes you to stop and think about how you personally view others.
Posted by Grant on January 26, 2008 – 3:27 am
That may seem like a cliché but it is so true in the context of relationships. Here’s what I mean…
If you want to be successful, hang around successful people.
If you want to be rich, spend time with rich people.
If you want to have a great marriage, spend time with a couple who has a happy marriage.
Finding others that are wiser than you and more experienced than you in life and just simply spending time with them is a valuable experience. I had lunch today with someone I consider to be a mentor and learned so much from him just during our short lunch together.
Find people you admire and ask them to lunch. It’ll be the best money you can spend…or they could spend depending on who pays!
Posted by Grant on January 24, 2008 – 5:26 am
I was speaking at a school recently and while trying to find the parking lot I circled back by the Agriculture building. It looked like a used truck lot!
Posted by Grant on January 24, 2008 – 5:20 am
I had lots of quality time with my windshield today as I spent about 6 hours on the road! I did 2 school assemblies this morning then drove about 2 hours into Kansas where I did another assembly this afternoon. Then I made a 4 hour drive up to Salina, Kansas where I’m speaking tomorrow. Followed by a 6 hour drive back home!
I feel really close with the inside of my car…actually it would be Enterprise’s rental car.
Driving through Kansas is not the most exciting thing ever. It’s kind of like watching your fingernails grow. Or paint dry. Or something else that is very dull and moves extremely slow. Perhaps like a turtle.
Posted by Grant on January 24, 2008 – 3:10 am
This morning I spoke at a high school assembly which I’ve been doing a lot of lately!
I got to the office and went to check in and got to talking with two students that were sitting there waiting. They were brothers that just moved to the area and were both getting enrolled at the high school. They both had smiles on their face and seemed like they were excited about starting at this school. So we were making small talk and I asked what brought them to the area.
The younger brother looked at his older brother wondering what the answer would be.
They went on to tell me how their mom was going to take them to their aunt’s house for a few days and so they packed up a couple of things for this trip. But on the drive down, their mom told them that she was leaving their father and that they were moving away for good.
I stood there in shock over what these two teenage brothers were dealing with and what I could only imagine was running through their minds. In literally a matter of days, they were pulled from their home and everything they knew, they found out their mom was leaving their dad and their parents were getting a divorce, and they were preparing to start over in a brand new school.
But before they told me all this, they both had smiles on their faces and acted as if life was good.
Kind of makes you wonder what’s really going on in the lives of others…even when they have a smile on their face.
Posted by Grant on January 23, 2008 – 3:51 am
At least let me tell you the story that prompted this question before you just say “yes!”
I do a lot of school assemblies for an organization and every time they schedule me to travel they always book my hotel for me. But the past several times I stayed in a hotel they booked, I’ve noticed something.
They always have me in a handicap room.
At first, I thought it was just a coincidence but then recently at a hotel, I was checking in and the lady asked if I was handicap because they had me in a handicap room.
So I pose the question to you…is there something wrong with me?!?
(I may be opening a major can of worms with a question like that)
Posted by Grant on January 22, 2008 – 2:40 am
We’re a couple weeks into 2008 and I just wanted to check in and see how your New Year’s resolutions goals are coming along?
Are you winning? Are you failing miserably? Somewhere in between?
Don’t give up this early in the race. This is a marathon, not a sprint so don’t be so quick to drop out of the race before you’ve even finished your first mile.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT…
- How are you doing on your 2008 goals so far? If you’re giving up, what’s keeping you from pushing on?
