TED Tuesday— Apollo Robbins: The art of misdirection

"If you can control someone's attention, what would you do with it?"

Good Morning Folks,

We all enjoyed watching those magic acts last summer on America's Got Talent, right? But the show always leaves you wondering, "how does he do that?"

On today's TEDTuesday, we'll find out.

Do you think it's possible to control someone's attention? Even more than that, what about predicting human behavior?

Hailed as the greatest pickpocket in the world, Apollo Robbins studies the quirks of human behavior as he steals your watch. In a hilarious demonstration, Robbins samples the buffet of the TEDGlobal 2013 audience, showing how the flaws in our perception make it possible to swipe a wallet and leave it on its owner’s shoulder while they remain clueless.

Have a look. 10 million other have before you.


As Apollo says, "Attention is a powerful thing. Like I said, it shapes your reality. So, I guess I'd like to pose that question to you. If you could control somebody's attention, what would you do with it?"

Thanks to you for listening.

Have a GREAT Day,



Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer  

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE.  

About FSO Onsite Outsourcing
Recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation's fastest growing companies for the third consecutive year, and lead by industry pioneer, Mitch Weiner, FSO's growth and success can be attributed to making a positive and powerful impact on their clients' bottom lines, as well as their employees' careers and lives.

At FSO, Perfection is the Expectation – No Excuses!

"One of the biggest errors we can make in the delivery of Hospitality services is to assume that what we are doing is meeting the expectations of our clients. We never assume because we know what's happened when our competitors have: We eat their lunch!"

Good Morning Folks,

One of our most urgent corporate goals is "Perfection is the Expectation – No Excuses!"

We know that we need to deliver Service Extraordinaire. But how do we know we are meeting that expectation?  

Living in New York City in the 1980’s when Ed Koch was the Mayor, he had a very simple formula to find out if he was meeting expectations.  He would simply ask the people, “How Am I Doing?”  It is the simplest question and easiest format to solicit feedback. 

==> As managers, we are asking our staff, “How Am I Doing?”

==> As service providers, we are asking our clients when we deliver services, “How Are We Doing?” 

One of the biggest errors we can make in the delivery of Hospitality services is to assume that what we are doing is meeting the expectations of our clients. We never assume because we know what's happened when our competitors have: We eat their lunch!

So… today I challenge each and every FSO employee in our morning meetings – ASK THE QUESTION, and more importantly, listen for the answer. If the response is “fine” or “ok”, take the opportunity to follow up with another question – “How can I make your answer be ‘Perfect’”? 

In order to improve as a team, we must improve as individuals and constantly strive for perfection in our daily activities. Only through the consistent quest for feedback can we ensure that we are improving every day and inspiring happy clients and happy employees.  

most important thing is taking the feedback we receive and turning it into positive actions. No matter what position we hold within FSO, we have the responsibility to ask the question “How Are We Doing?”

Take the answers that you receive today and share them with management, so we can ensure PERFECTION – NO EXCUSES. This allows us to make it PERSONAL and by making it PERSONAL, we fulfill my vision, and legacy.

The passion, the hard work, the skip step and fire, and the overall communications resulting from this never-ending pursuit of excellence have been well-received.

Prospects we take on site tours leave VERY impressed and I am super proud!! They are BLOWN AWAY actually.

It's such an honor to work with each member of our FSO team, and having these individuals representing us in the field.

The is what differentiates us from our competition and why our great clients made that change from their current service provider to FSO. It's what we do everyday that makes us special and the obvious choice.  

Needless to say I am so pumped up for all of you and the great company we are building. We have the greatest people on earth who love what they do across FSO. 

Our future is bright and we have only just begun. 

FSO = Hospitality = YOU

Join me as we inspire a nation and fulfill dreams!  Lets rock the world together. 

Love Life!

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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"Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold."

~~ Maurice Setter
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InspireME Friday: Don't Die With The Music Still Inside You

Good Morning Folks,

A couple of years ago, Adam Dachisapr, on a assignment for Lifehacker, put together, "Top 10 Highly-Desired Skills You Can Teach Yourself."

On countless occasions, you've likely said to yourself "I wish I knew how to do 
______."

Then, of course, life got in the way and you put it off until you could find the time.

Maybe you wanted to become fluent in a language, learn a new instrument, start performing your house repairs, or a master a myriad of other skills.

With the vast amount of knowledge online, you're now your only excuse.

==> 10 Diserable Skills You Can Teach Yourself Right Now BY ADAM DACHISAPR

10. Repair Just About Anything
Sure, you don't need to repair anything anymore. You can just pay someone else to
do it. But where's the ingenuity in that? Plus, who wants to waste a bunch of money
on simple tasks you can handle on your own?

If you've adopted the DIY spirit, learning to repair your own stuff is one of the
easiest and more rewarding skills you can acquire. It's especially fruitful because
as you learn new things, you can put them to use right away.

So how do you teach yourself?

We've outlined tons of repairs you can learn on your own to get you started, but if you're looking for something specific there is no shortage of how-to videos available on YouTube. There will be occasions when you do need to call a professional, as you're not going to be a master repairman (or woman) instantly, but do remember that there is an opportunity when things break: you can learn howto fix them.

9. Pick Up an Artistic Skill Like Illustration, Painting, or Photography
Although it often won't earn you the big bucks, artistic skills are highly desired because they provide you with the technical abilities required to create something beautiful. You're going to have to find your own inspiration and subject matter, but the skill you'll need is really just a matter of technical aptitude and practice.Picking up a book of anatomy and drawing different bones and muscles will teach you how to draw people.

Drawing grids over photographs can show you basic perspective. Obviously it isn't
as simple as that, but focusing on learning to draw one simple thing, like the petals
of a flower or the human hand, will help you learn how it works and get in a reasonable
amount of practice. When you're ready to move on from the basics and start illustrating
on your computer, check out our digital painting lessons. For those of you interested
in photography, we have lessons for you, too.

Whatever you're looking to learn, just set aside 15-30 minutes every day to practice
a very small part of that skill. It'll take awhile to teach yourself how to draw, paint, take better photos, make hamburger sculptures out of clay, or whatever it is you want to do, but breaking the daunting task into pieces and practicing each part slowly will do the trick. Plus, it's a really nice way to unwind at the end of the day.

8. Learn to Defend Yourself
Who likes getting their ass kicked? Probably a very small majority. If that's what you're into, it doesn't require much skill-just endurance. If you'd prefer to not end up hurt or injured as the result of an unexpected attack, perhaps it's time  to pick up some self-defense skills.

While you'll probably want to have a partner around to help you out-at least when you want to test your skill-we've outlined several self-defense moves that you can learn on your own. Although you will hopefully never need to actually employ the techniques you acquire, if you do you'll increase your chances of coming out of a fight unharmed. Plus, it's pretty cool to walk around with the confidence of being able to take on most anyone in a fight.

7. Improve Your Design Skills (or At Least Acquire a Sense of Style)
Design and style aren't an exact science, as tastes differ and change as time goes on, but there are a few principles you can pick up that'll make your work, home, or whatever needs an aesthetic boost looking better than average. If we're talking traditional design, you'll first want to learn the basics of type and layout.

These are skills you can employ in your everyday work to make it look a lot more attractive. This may seem like a nearly-useless skill, because spreadsheets aren't getting entered in any beauty contests, but when something looks good it can have a greater impact. That's always a plus in your work. If you want to take things a bit further, you can bump those skills up a notch and apply them to web site design in Photoshop. Your sense of style is even a useful thing when choosing a great wallpaper and creating a clean and organized desktop on your computer.

If your home is boring, just follow these guidelines for awesome interior design. You don't have to be a pro, but learning the basics of design can make your life a lot brighter.

6. Pick Up Just About Any Subject You Missed In College
Whether it's science, finance, math, humanities, law, or anything else, if there's a course you wish you took in college you're not out of luck-you can probably find it online. To help you out, we've rounded up every great source of online education so you can gain that knowledge you missed. What's great about learning online is that you can take it at your own pace and put in as much time as you can spare each day. You don't necessarily have to master a subject, either, but learn as much as you need or want to know. While you won't end up with a degree for your hard work, you will be a little bit smarter-and that's the most important part.

5. Build and Hack Electronic Hardware
We love technology, and we love it more when we can make it do pretty much whatever
we want. There is almost no end to what you can hack, but getting started does require
teaching yourself a few skills.Learning to build a computer is a good place to start.
Soldering is especially helpful, and understanding the basics of arduino can help you build some really neat stuff.

One of the best ways to get started is to pick a project and learn by doing.

4. Play a (New) Instrument
Whether you already know how to play an instrument and want to learn something new
or are musically inept, you'll find plenty of resources online to help you teach yourself to play just about anything. If guitar is your thing, you're in luck as you'd be hard-pressed to not find online lessons.

The Internet can also teach you piano, drums, and even orchestral instruments like the flute and violin. Just like with repair skills, you can find a lot of how-to videos on both YouTube.

In addition to the instrument, you're also going to want to learn a little music  theory.

3. Cook Like a Pro
With so many recipe sites and cooking skill how-to videos online, it's a surprise that everyone isn't a master chef at this point. There are so many simple things you can learn that can vastly improve your culinary skill set really quickly, many of which we've covered. We've written so much on the subject of learning to cook better that this little paragraph isn't enough to cover it all, but there are a few posts in particular that you'll want to read to get started.

First, these tips and tricks for budding foodies will make your learning process easier. Second, follow this station-by-station kitchen guide to stay organized and efficient when cooking. Finally, these must-know recipes will help you round out your arsenal of cooking knowledge. 

2. Become Fluent in a New Language
When we asked you which skills you really wanted to learn, language was at, or close to the top of many peoples' lists. Fortunately for you,this clever technique offers a way to all but master a new language in a short period of time by teaching yourself. You'll still have to work hard and put in the minutes every day, but you can come out speaking fluently in about half of a year. Pretty cool.

1. Make a Web Site, Create an App, or Just Learn to Code 
Learning to code is something most of us Lifehackers aspire to do at one point or another, as it's not only a great way to create cool apps and tools that we want to use but it's also an incredibly marketable skill when trying to get a job. To get you started, we've put together two helpful sets of lessons: the basics of programming and making a web site.

Both sets include further resources, but there are plenty of others that we've learned about or have cropped up since. For starters, commenter mistermocha suggests using the "learn ___ the hard way" series.

If you just fill in the blank with the language you want to learn and put that into a web search, you'll likely find what you're looking for. (You can also find most of the series here.) If you prefer more interactive lessons, you'll want to check out one of our favorites: Codecademy.

I learned by subscribing to online learning site Lynda.com (and through a few basic classes back in college), which is still excellent, but I'd probably have gone with Code Academy at this point since it's in the free category.

Regardless of how you decide to learn, programming skills are becoming more and  more useful as time goes on. Code is not as complicated as you think, so go get 
started!

As we head out for an awesome weekend with Fall in the air, know that the future is bright, and I promise you that I personally could not be more focused on helping each and every one of you achieve your greatest success. 

Thanks to Adam for sharing, and to you for listening.

Have a HAPPY, SAFE and HEALTHY Weekend.

Love Life and Light It UP!

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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"Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so?
Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live.
Before they know it, time runs out."  Oliver Wendell Holmes
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Shout-Out Wednesday: Rain, Sleet, Snow... Obama...

"Rain, sleet, snow, Obama, The UN, The Pope... Nothing stops the Midtown NYC FSO team from delivering for you."

Good morning Folks,

It gives me great pleasure to recognize these outstanding employees this morning:

Warren from the Madison Avenue offices of the world's leading audit and assurance, tax and consulting service firm.
"Warren has been assisting me since April on various Partner Records filing projects for an hour and a half a day Monday through Wednesday given my injury and medical restrictions. Due to access restrictions on partner files, Warren has assisted me with the following:

• Day to day filing in active files, Warren pulls the file from shelf and I file contents
• Filed July 1 internal admission files over 200
• Filed Strategy& and direct admission files over 150
• Rotating retired/withdrawn files from file room to filing cabinets FY2010 through FY2013
• Prepared for offsite storage retired/withdrawn files prior to FY2010
• Prepared for offsite storage boxes received from Records Management in Tampa
• Prepared and returned to Records Department prior offsite storage file boxes
• Assisted in pulling files from offsite boxes for review
• Assisted in refiling requested file 

Sean, Brandon, and Ray from the same Madison Avenue offices

"There was a meeting scheduled today in room 22304 at 1:15 pm with a variety of last minute changes. As other Office Services staff were on lunch or accommodating other pressing set-ups, Sean, Brandon, and Ray rose to the occasion in order to meet the client’s expectations. A set-up that normally would take a half-hour to complete was remarkably completed in ten minutes.

Additionally, the client was not advised about office policy concerning table cloths and outside catering. Sean, however, was able to offer a solution that pleased the client and accommodated her need. I must commend these individuals for a job well done!

Marina at a Brazilian Banking Institution 
"I have to take time and send amazing kudos to Marina. Although she is a new hire, she has been a tremendous help, doing a fantastic job, continue to impress our clients (and me), and her communication has been on point. Her English skills have improved in just a month of employment and I can say that I see a really bright future for her at FSO."

Alan, Office Services Team, AMLAW 200 firm

I just wanted to pass on that Alan in NYC office services went above and beyond to help out this morning! Due to the Presidential visit our FedEx package didn’t arrive on time for our closing this morning. Alan and the other members of the office services team left the building to meet FedEx in order to get our documents to the closing. Thank you all once again for your attention to detail and the great service you provide!"

Don, Mandisha, & Thomas, AMLAW 200 Firm
Andrea, Katie and I would like to thank the Office Services Team (Don, Mandi & Thomas) for a job well done this week preparing for the Process Gas Consumers Group (PGC) Meetings in Chicago next week. From printing name badges, making copies, stuffing marketing bags, packing assistance with large FedEx shipments, spiral binding, assembling brochures…and the list goes on…. We met our deadline and we cannot thank you all enough! We are happy to work with such a great team that goes above and beyond to get the job done!"

Whether a salesperson, an experience associate, a records manager, an informationalist, or messenger, what makes our folks so special is their ability to hink beyond their daily tasks and think like our clients. 

"What would the client want? What do they need? How could I be more proactive in their eyes? How could i really impress them?"

A true partner who never stops looking out for you, who takes that extra second to ask and then ACTS! 

Never lose the passion, the smile and what makes you special but put yourself in our clients shoes and get to know what they might be thinking! 

All of you are out in the field and have the power to make an incredible impact and a difference in the wealth and success of others.

I look forward to hearing stories from our clients as to how our team has made an impact showing leadership.

IT IS YOU that makes FSO who we are. Love Life!

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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"You become what you believe" –Oprah Winfrey

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TED Tuesday— Gayle Tzemach Lemmon: Meet the women fighting on the front lines of an American war

"The Army Ranger who trained them had served 12 deployments. And when they told him that he had to go train girls, he had no idea what to expect. But at the end of eight days with these women in the summer of 2011, he told his fellow Ranger, 'We have just witnessed history. These may well be our own Tuskegee Airmen.'"

Good Morning Folks,

God bless those who serve in our military and protect our freedom. Today, from TEDWomen 2015, a different twist on combat:

In 2011, the US Armed Forces still had a ban on women in combat — but in that year, a Special Operations team of women was sent to Afghanistan to serve on the front lines, to build rapport with locals and try to help bring an end to the war. Reporter Gayle Tzemach Lemmon tells the story of this "band of sisters," an extraordinary group of women warriors who helped break a long-standing barrier to serve.


I'll end as Gayle does: "IIt is time to celebrate all the unsung heroines who reach into their guts and find the heart and the grit to keep going and to test every limit. This very unlikely band of sisters bound forever in life and afterward did indeed become part of history, and they paved the way for so many who would come after them, as much as they stood on the shoulders of those who had come before. These women showed that warriors come in all shapes and sizes. And women can be heroes, too."

Thanks to you for listening.

Have a GREAT Day,



Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer  

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE.  

About FSO Onsite Outsourcing
Recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation's fastest growing companies for the third consecutive year, and lead by industry pioneer, Mitch Weiner, FSO's growth and success can be attributed to making a positive and powerful impact on their clients' bottom lines, as well as their employees' careers and lives.

Color Us (re) Imaginative

“When I might feel like I'm drowning in my work all I have to do is take a few deep breaths and remember this support system of 1300 people who have my back.“

Good Morning Folks,

How lucky we are to have an extended burst of great weather here in NYC. Everyone is back from the beach and rested. You can feel the excitement, on the streets, in the air and certainly here at FSO where great ideas to better serve our clients are always in season.

I must say we are so entrenched in strategy it's amazingly exciting. When a company grows it's imperative to constantly evaluate its needs, ambitions and competition. 

That is exactly how we've accelerated growth at a galactic pace thus far. And, at our upcoming regional and national meetings, we'll be rolling out even more programs to ensure that we are the best oiled and most innovative machine this industry has ever seen. 

Hospitality is our DNA.

Operational best practices continue to be our greatest asset. 

We invest in our people.

We Fulfill Dreams.

We put Promise to Practice.

The new ideas flowing, and the programs they spur are an investment in our most precious commodity… OUR PEOPLE!  We are committed to providing our talent force with time-tested, proven and yet consistently (re)IMAGINED tools and focus like: 

• Amazing Training              
• Incredible Mentorship                   
• Creative Approaches                      
• Awesome Workshops                   
• Real-World Application                  
• Dynamic Development                  
• Endless Opportunities

In business, we always want to differentiate ourselves from our competitors, and we've done that by investing in a very strong and creative infrastructure that most our competitors simply can't duplicate. 

At FSO, I promise our employees a career, not just a job. An opportunity for anyone with >>SKIP >>Twinkle >>Fire and a willingness to work hard and learn and grow each and every day, the a chance to shatter glass ceilings and realize their full potential as has never been possible before. 

As a client we always have your back too. And we will never stop (re)IMAGINING new and better ways to make your workplace work better. So as the harvest season rolls around, you can expect a healthy crop of great ideas to power our sites into the most critical quarter of your year and beyond.

Kiss your loved ones and thank them for all their support as we continue to work hard to fulfill the biggest and brightest dreams and ambitions of clients and employees alike. 

Have a GREAT day as I look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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“The future of sourcing isn’t finding people— 
it’s about engaging them.” 

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Inspire ME Friday: Appreciate Me

“Stopping to appreciate our accomplishments, finding what we have learned through the experience and how we can apply those things moving forward helps us to think more critically, thoughtfully and strategically moving forward. It also helps to energize you to keep pushing forward and to realize the value we provide.”

Good Morning Folks,

How many days have we gone home wondering what we accomplished in the day because we moved so quickly from one thing to the next?

Stopping to appreciate our accomplishments, finding what we have learned through the experience and how we can apply those things moving forward helps us to think more critically, thoughtfully and strategically moving forward. It also helps to energize you to keep pushing forward and to realize the value we provide.

So, today I celebrate my accomplishments and how my past experiences both good and bad got me to this point. I have learned from my mistakes and treasure each day with a new appreciation!

What a great reminder for a Friday, when we typically start to fret about we didn't get done this week. Instead, I'm going to do the happy dance around all the breakthroughs my clients got and all the new things I learned! A MUCH better way to wrap up the week.

==> Start Celebrating Yourself Today by Jacky Carter-Community Manager - Professional Women at LinkedIn

We can spend so much time managing our careers, our money and our relationships that we don't always stop to recognize our successes. We're too busy moving on to the next meeting, project or item on our to-do list. Or we set the bar so high we won't hit it for a while, if at all.

So today, let's celebrate.

Let's forget about outcomes. It's not about whether you got the promotion, the salary bump you asked for or the new client. Right now, it's the fact that you asked, you researched, you presented.

For just a few seconds, focus less on what's important to your boss, your company and your colleagues and zero in on what was progress for you. 

Did you wake up early enough so that your morning wasn't rushed? Awesome. 

Did you bring your lunch this week and save the money to go toward a new car? Nice work. 

Did you rely less on your notes during a presentation? Way to go.

I bet, with a little practice, you'll even be able to find things to celebrate in less than ideal circumstances. 

Like Rebecca, who started a discussion in Connect: Professional Women's Network, noting that she was laid off after 20 years in marketing and wanted to reinvent herself. Nearly 2,000 people commented with tips and support for handling the transition. Being laid off is rough, but I'm celebrating Rebecca being vulnerable enough to ask for advice and all the who people responded with encouragement and job leads.

Now it's your turn. What can you celebrate right now?

Have a HAPPY, SAFE and HEALTHY Weekend.

Love Life!

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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"Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn't need others' approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her" ~~Lao Tzu
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