Miles A. Smith: General Manager @ Loma Lux Laboratories & Plymouth Pharmaceuticals

My Purpose in Life...

First, sorry to any readers of my blog (the 2 of you out there, lol); while it may seem like I have fallen off the face of the earth, I have just been extremely busy the last couple of months.

I have recently gone through a 6 month course that helps you identify what you are passionate about and what drives you...things that you can do more than 4 hours a day and still be completely energized. More recently, I finished a book Go Put Your Strengths To Work by Marcus Buckingham that dovetails in with what I had already learned in the first process/course. 

So, here are some concepts I have discovered about myself that have remained consistent throughout my life, even from a young age.

I am energized/motivated/driven when I am:

1. Refining, Advising & Implementing Creative Marketing, New Strategy, Cost Saving, and/or other efficiency Solutions for Small Businesses that results in some exchange of product/service for $. Saving $, increasing profitability, or increasing revenue/selling more product is a vital part of this process.
2. Networking with Business Professionals by taking a genuine interest in how I can help them achieve their dreams and goals and Connecting them with others who might be able to make those happen.
3. Empathizing/Engaging/Relating/Managing Relationships/Winning Trust & Influence with clients, shareholders, and friends (1 on 1, face to face) who are really out there on the front lines, not sitting back in a comfortable position (either starting a new business, challenging conventional wisdom/knowledge, or charting new paths) in both good and bad times.

I am drained when:

1. Managing people who don’t know who they are, aren’t fully dedicated to the mission (regardless of the costs), or are incompetent.
2. Completing highly repetitive tasks that don’t line up with drivers or don’t have a clearly-defined, stated goal, mission, or purpose.
3. Not having freedom/latitude to affect business changes and be fully responsible for the consequences (positive or negative).

A PayPal competitor :: Earn $25 in a few minutes?

Revolution Money Exchange is a company basically trying to compete with PayPal; They will put $25 in your account just for signing up online. You don’t have to pay anything, do anything (other than sign up), or give them your credit card. Then once you set up your bank account, you can transfer the $25 directly to your current bank account (no transfer fees either unless you request a check). The company is still in BETA mode, so this is likely the reason they are offering $25 just for opening an account.

I have tried this and found it to be absolutely without a catch, which surprised me. I am always skeptical of these things, but it was started by Steve Case of AOL fame, is an FDIC-insured bank itself, and is backed by several other notable banks (Citi, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank). If you want $25, then sign up and withdraw it into your bank account; it only took me about 10 minutes. NOTE: If you click on the link below, I will get $10 in my account, as well, for referring you.

Pretty cheap advertising if you ask me.

Revolution Money Exchange

Quote of the Day

I would rather my life be motivated by my fear of regret more than my fear of failure.

Loma Lux® Psoriasis

Psoriasis, for those who are unaware, is a skin disease estimated to afflict nearly 8 million people in the US alone. It is an embarrassing, painful, itchy, confusing, frustrating, and sometimes debilitating disease. One of the most misunderstood concepts about psoriasis is that a person can "catch" it (contagion). This is completely untrue as psoriasis is not an infection or an otherwise contagious disease at all.

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease in which patches of new skin cells develop and mature too quickly, thus causing reddened, inflamed lesions, and sometimes swollen areas covered with silver-white scales. There is no clear answer yet to what causes psoriasis. The direct cause of the symptoms is the over-stimulation of cell production, and there is some evidence, found recently, that psoriasis is the result of an immune system imbalance.

Psoriasis can appear, disappear, and reappear causing periods of flare-ups and remissions. Researchers now feel that there may be an inherited pre-disposition to the disease or that it is triggered by factors like stress, certain drugs, respiratory illness, and even sunburn.

Loma Lux, the company I work for, was founded on the idea of helping people with psoriasis, it was only later that we added products for two other skin diseases (Acne and Eczema). The psoriasis medication my company produces is an oral, liquid treatment developed by a Dermatologist nearly two decades ago; Loma Lux® Psoriasis has been on the US market since 1994. We even sell this product in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, in addition to the US.

I am passionate about this and our other Loma Lux® products for the simple reason that these medications truly help people. We continue to hear this from our customers each and everyday some 14 years later. For those who are suffering from ANY type of psoriasis more often during this winter season, we hope that Loma Lux® Psoriasis will bring relief and restoration to your skin.

 

10 daily rules for life (a businessperson's daily credo)

Although I aspire to all of these, many times I fall short. Nonetheless, I get up and try again. I hope these thoughts help some of you in life.

1. You will never arrive, so stop thinking about how you have matured or are maturing. You are not God’s gift to man, and remember, there is always more to learn.
2. Most people around you will tell you what you want to hear, so be suspicious of your decisions. Don’t let others tell you things are OK when they aren’t.
3. You cannot take credit for most good things that happen in your life…most times it’s either luck or God’s blessings.
4. Always help others, no matter how popular or recognizable you become; this should be done, whenever possible, in complete secret from friends, family, and especially the media.
5. Surround yourself with others who care enough about you to speak wisdom into your life when needed, even if it is painful.
6. Hold yourself to a much higher standard than you hold others to.
7. Family/God (equally important), Friends, Country, Job and in that order.
8. Don’t use God to hide behind a decision, even if you really believe God told you to do something.
9. Live today for tomorrow might not come.
10. Don’t think making a public mistake can’t happen to you. As soon as you do, you will fall.
11. God is our source; on our best day, it is nothing without Him.

Loma Lux® Eczema

With the middle of winter bearing down upon most of us here in the US, I have chosen to blog about one of my company's products...Loma Lux® Eczema, a medication that treats eczema/atopic dermatitis which is a skin disease similar to severe dry skin that affects people of all ages, from children to adults. Eczema is one of those diseases that a child can acquire at a young age and just grow out of it when puberty hits. Or an adult who had no prior history of eczema/dry skin can get it as an adult, just as I did 2 years ago. It carves a wide path of discomfort, exhibited by skin irritation, inflammation, and itchiness. Scientists still don't have a satisfactory explanation for what causes it and why certain people get it when others don't.

The medication my company produces is an oral tablet developed by a Dermatologist over a decade ago; Loma Lux® Eczema has been on the US market since 1996. I am passionate about this and our other Loma Lux® products for the simple reason that these medications truly help people. We continue to hear this from our customers each and everyday some 12 years later.

For those who are suffering from eczema/atopic dermatitis more often during this winter season, we hope that Loma Lux® Eczema will bring relief and restoration to your dry, itchy skin.

Pink Floyd: "We don't need no education..."

I was driving to work this morning and Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) came on the radio, and, while I don't condone their heavy usage of LSD, among other drugs, I do enjoy some of their music. When the chorus "We don't need no education..." played, it struck me.

And while I don't agree with the whole "teachers, leave us kids alone" bit, it started me thinking about the US public education system. Man, is it out of touch with reality, or what? I was lucky to have gone to a "magnet public high school" where there was a higher standard being held to most students, but most kids aren't so lucky. And the experience my wife had as a teacher in public school frightens me. For starters, the public education system wastes more and more money every year on an inferior education for most middle and high schoolers...just compare it against most private schools that have better test scores, less discipline issues, and more parent involvement (vitally important) by using LE$$. Add to this the fact that there are way too many teachers that loath what they do; that being said, there are also many that truly enjoy the interaction with students. And, for those, I am grateful.

But for the most part, we are really damning a generation of our young people to poorly-paying, dead-end jobs and a horribly, boring life. This does not bode well for business and is already causing staffing headaches in the Engineering and other science/math sectors because the US isn't graduating enough science and math students. Many companies are trying to import workers from foreign countries to work these math/science-type jobs but run into immigration issues. This usually results in outsourcing of these jobs or sometimes even entire departments. It is time for the American people to stand up and force politicians to stop playing games with education. While I don't have all the answers, US education needs a fundamental overhaul, and the answer is NOT more $$. We have all seen that more $$ does nothing to improve the quality or quantity of graduates; there are very few, if any, scientific studies that find correlation between more education dollars and better test scores.

Maybe we should be saying to some teachers "leave our kids alone". Great guitar solo, btw.

Is Email Dead?

I recently read an article by Robert Kiyosaki, of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" fame, who suggested that email was on its way out in the business world or at least a dying fad.

On the contrary, email has grown, and with ISP's and other software getting better at catching spam emails, I think email is becoming more legitimate. Personally, email and text messaging allow me to initiate contact with people at a time convenient for me...then they can respond at a time convenient for them. Lord knows we are all busy these days and can't always respond immediately. Email also allows me to stay in touch with many more friends and business contacts than I would be capable of otherwise.

From a business perspective, SPAM is becoming much less effective and somewhat less prevalent, thus enhancing the authenticity of marketers' email campaigns, but these still need to be targeted to very thinly-sliced niches.

It is important to note that email CAN help keep information bombardment from driving you insane, but only if you "put your foot down". With the advent of Blackberrys and the ubiquity of laptops being taken home from work at night and on weekends, it is getting harder not to be inundated with information 24/7. If used properly (checking email only once a day or every other day), email can help us gain some control on the flow of information that we digest on a daily basis; although, initially, this might cause you to curl up into the fetal position and start crying for your "momma". The problem people run into with email happens when users (pun intended) attempt to utilize it as one would use IM and expect a response within 5 minutes of sending the email...or there will be hell to pay. Now we are getting into the addictive and destructive side of email.

If anything, email, especially as a business tool (ie...email blasts that target a niche, exchange of business and personal information, etc.), helps people stay in touch in our increasingly fragmented world. It is truly becoming a more useful tool to manage life and reach customers who are sincerely interested in or need your product/service.

What are you living for?....and...Why I like Country music.

With Christmas approaching, it's all too easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of getting the gifts, going to the parties, and mailing the Christmas cards and completely forget the reason we do any of these things...family and close friends. So, again, I ask...what are you living for?

This leads me to why I like country music, and I must include a caveat that I am a longtime musician who has been classically trained. Thus, I enjoy almost all types of music; just check out my "Music Faves" on either side of this blog. But there's just something about most country music, in particular, that exudes an honesty, approachability, and a timeless quality.

Country music has a special place in my heart that is mainly due to the fact that much of it espouses ideals about the importance of family and friends, living life to the fullest, and love. Trace Adkins' "Songs About Me" explains this perfectly. Life is not about work, how much money you make, whether or not you are part of the "in" crowd at work, or other meaningless blather. At the end of the day, and ultimately, at the end of our life, what matters most is the people that you care about.

What is life worth if you are working 80+ hours a week and your family hates you or you don't even keep up with friends you used to place value on spending time with? What do you gain by accumulating millions or even thousands of dollars when you have no one that truly cares about you to enjoy it with?

So start putting more focus where it belongs...family and friends. If someone needs your help or attention, especially during the Holiday season, don't hesitate...just do it.

I don't plan on having a mid-life crisis, so everyday I wake up to make it my life's mission to keep my focus on family and close friends and make a difference in their lives...Will you?

Less really is more...

The real winners in this New Global Economy are those businesses (large and small) who figure out how to sell less quantities of their product or service for more profit as opposed to the retail conglomerate mindset of more for less. Why have huge overhead just to sell more for less and be beholden to retailers or other parties?

This concept can be supercharged if everything and anything that can be digitized or automized in a business is made to run that way.