On Tuesday of this week a tragic battle ended. My niece’s struggle with an eleven year battle with cancer ended. Danielle possessed a charisma and determination that I have not ever seen equaled by another when facing unknown outcomes. In her short life she was faced trials that are unimaginable for anyone at any point in their life. She was first diagnosed with cancer at the very young age of eight, lost her father due to the same disease when she was seventeen and one year after her father’s death cancer creeped back into her life to start another battle.

One thing that Danielle did that was completely remarkable is she set goals for herself and struggled to meet every one of them. Simple things like walking a lap at relay for life under her own power, getting a drivers license, attending prom and graduating from high school. These were all huge milestones for her and she met everyone of them. Giving up was not in her vocabulary.

In her quest to graduate from high school she became well loved by the students at Brantley County High School. The students honored her determination by voting her as their prom queen for 2008. They will also be placing a memorial bench at the school to honor her so future students can learn from her determination.

The family has received an outpouring of support. I personally would like to thank. Bennett’s Pharmacy, Waynesville Volunteer Fire Department, the Glynn and Brantley County Police Departments, the Brantley County High School Class of 2008 and it’s staff. Your acts of kindness did not go unnoticed.

Danielle Nicole Strickland Nov. 3, 1988 - August 19, 2008

Little did I realize we are probably going to be affected by tropical storm Fay. The good thing is it will be a back end hit, meaning that it will approach us over land and not come in directly from the water. Needless to say though we still need to have certain things stocked up in the event she hits us. Non perishable food items, water, propane for cooking and plenty of batteries and candles.

Chances are that if Fay does touch us it will not be any worse than some of the severe thunderstorms we have here. Even given that thunderstorms are not a rare occurrence in my neck of the woods sometimes they can leave us without power for several hours, up to days if the crews are deployed to help in other areas to help restore services. After Hurricane Charley you could see power trucks running for miles south on 1-95 then when we were backended we lost power for two days because the crews were helping in Punta Gorda, Fl.

So I spent the afternoon going to Lowe’s and the grocery store to stock up with my two youngest boys and to get haircuts. We are were starting to look shabby around the Rushing residence. The plan was for Sunday haircuts anyway then I got “the list” so I just incorporated it all. Had I known that the shopping trip would also have a photo opp or two I would of gotten the haircuts done first.

My six year old son is a very big boy for his age, but that does not stop him from being six. When we arrived at Lowe’s the three year old was infatuated with the “car” style buggy and had to ride in it. Of course the six year old was not going to be left out of the ride so he had to be helped in as well. Please keep in mind that Alex weighs almost 100 lbs and is solid as a rock. Dad had to help him get in and of course he was oversized for this, but then again I was not going to deny him. He will only be six once.

All in all it was fun outing with the boys we had a great time. Got all the stuff we needed if we find ourselves without electricity for a day or two and the other shoppers who stared at us in Lowe’s have a site to remember as well. This one goes down in the books as priceless for me as well.

’til next time I will be working on content revolving around automotive social networking and helping build the DrivingSales.com Car Dealer Social Network.

Today we had the orientation at school for Tyler and Alex at school.  It does look like they have a couple of teachers that will be a good mix for them.  Unfortunately the youngest child, who is only three, is wondering when he gets to start school as well.

The youthful anticipation of a child brings and the lack of understanding that they display is what reminds me of how precious this time in their life really is and it was in ours.  Sometime I look for ways to to recapture those moments in whatever way I possibly can through them.

Today I found myself helping the boys create some mischief in the grocery store and mom was not very pleased at first.  We started a game of placing things in the buggy that we wanted that were not necessarily items that  were on the shopping list.  If you are a parent your kids have done this to you, if not you are wound way to tight.  I just joined the party!!

We were able to get to the checkout line with some goodies us guys can really appreciate.  As I sit here eating this bowl of ice cream with chocolate syrup, sprinkles, whip cream and cherries on top it makes me remember why we don’t need to rush growing up and sometimes need to take the opportunity to try to recapture that age of innocence even if it is through our little ones.

I did a recent post of one of my very niche blogs that called out a bully for unethical marketing practices. Their response was to hire an attorney, Myers & Fuller, P.A., to send me a letter attempting to bully me into removing my blog post. Here is a copy: Letter from Jim Ziegler’s Attorney to Paul Rushing

Here is a copy of the draft complaint attached to this letter : Draft of James Ziegler vs Paul Rushing

When I originally read this letter I was highly amused by it’s content then became incensed. Let’s face it. They attempted to abridge my freedoms that the Constitution of the United States of America imparts on the citizens of our great country under the 1st Amendment, by demanding that I remove my opinion of a marketing product and how they choose to promote it. Here is the full post “A mixed message from someone “in the Know”.

It is obvious that they have read much of my content that I have published on the web. I even have blocked Jim Ziegler from seeing it from his office. It is doubtful that he understands the irony in the message he sees when he tries to access my content. This is one way to throw stuff back in an online bullies face, deliver them a custom message when they try to access your content. << If you click it make sure your volume is turned up. I promise it will not hurt you or your machine. It is a good version of a Rick Roll for someone claiming to be a Master of eMarketing.

I responded to their letter in a way that is sure not to amuse them, reinforcing the fact that they have attempted to impede on my constitutional rights. Here is my response to Jim Ziegler’s attorneys: My response to James Ziegler vs Paul Rushing I have contacted the ACLU for their opinion on the matter and have openly solicited their involvement. I never thought I would be a card carrying member of the ACLU. Ha..

In the tight circle that exist in the automotive online social networking space these attempts will probably elevate Jim Ziegler to the status of pariah, and remove his self proclamation of “Da Man”. You cannot possibly be a master of anything sales related and believe that intimidation tactics are possibly conducive to anything short moving into the elevation described above.

“A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still” - Zig Ziegler < Hope there is no relation there!!

The dealers that rely on his self proclaimed wealth of knowledge should take this as a warning sign. He is using tactics and techniques that would cause a dealer to lose all credibility in the marketplace if they responded to a consumer the way he has to me. It just goes to show that old dogs cannot learn new tricks.

As moronic as his persona his actions scream, DUMB ASS!! Yes I called Jim Ziegler a dumb ass for allowing someone who represents him to send a letter like the one I received. Not only do they not know the definition of a social network as they try to to belittle me in their diatribe as they continue to assert a simple blog post has damaged his business prospects!! What has damaged his business prospect is the fact that you can’t claim mastery in a game, when you do not know the rules. In my opinion the worst damage to the his “Master of eMarketing” seminar stares back at him in the mirror he admires himself.

Another thing that the “Cogs” who signed this misguided letter to me quoted a precedent that comes from the 4th Circuit while the transmission and reception of the email occurred in the 11th. But what can you expect from two knuckleheads that obtained their higher education at an all girls school. What is really sad is that they failed to look at the Georgia Law and realize that the people who actually pulled the trigger on these emails, may be criminally liable. The assertions that the emails were not sent by the Ziegler Corporation is laudable. They also need to learn the definition of “or”. My original post stated they were spidered or scraped by a minion, who now may be criminally negligent under GA law.

In any case the message was in direct violation of 15 § U.S.C. 7704 (a)(5). (i) It did not contain the verbiage that the message was an advertisement. (ii) It did not contain an opt out method. (iii) It did not contain the physical address of the sender. I hope the cogs did not increase the billable hours to the Ziegler Corporation based on legal research, if so Jim needs to ask for a refund. The diatribe that was sent quoted the exact laws that made the letter illegal. (Second response disavowing my retraction)

What is really sad when he saw my review of his product and how he chose to advertise it all he had to do was pick up the phone and give me a call. I would of probably changed my content somewhat and it may of even tuned into a promotion of his product. Instead he decided to behave like a “rat bastard” and call my former employer, my associates and hire a lawyer to get me to take my blog post down.

Now there is no possible way that I will ever take down anything I have ever published about Jim Ziegler’s products or the methods he chooses to advertise them. I will now seek to review every product he has ever released. I will try to remain objective while at the same time I will not hold any punches back.

This guy really needs to learn that when you try to cross sabers with someone with my dedication to to making the automotive industry more profitable for all and to help start a true dealer centric social network. There is no way he can win. His dedication is completely self serving and people are starting to see that.

In his recent article in Dealer Magazine he boast “Here I am sitting here at the word processor drinking heavy shots of Louis XIII Cognac at $200 a shot…and…finishing another article.” That is not what dealers in the car business want to hear coming from someone that considers himself an automotive guru, when the business has taken such a downturn in recent times. Dealers are laying people off and cutting their own salary while this blow hard is drinking $200 a shot swill. He delivers more mixed messages intentionally than is acceptable by any standard.

In the near future I will start another blog to chronicle the twisting slope of my navigation through the courts as this blow hard sues me and as I counter sue him and his attorneys. Or they will agree to my terms in my letter to them and it will be the end of this drama. I have a lot better things to do with my time than keep engaging these douche bags.

I love to blog.  No doubt about it.  I usually do a post or two per day in different places.  Unfortunatly for this blog I have not updated it in sometime and that is sad.  This is where people come to find out about Paul Rushing.  Usually it receives a bunch of traffic when I publish something that creates some buzz.  There will be tons of search engine traffic for my name, Paul Rushing.

As many people who read here they know I blog about being an Internet Sales Manager.  That blog has been a huge networking tool inside of the automotive industry.   A recent post I did there about abuses of social networking really raised the dander of a few people in that niche.

Basically I posted about how someone who claims to be a “master of emarketing” abused an automotive social network by sending out spam promoting an upcoming training event.  This started a ball rolling that could not be stopped.

It has changed my life forever.  It has propelled my online automotive career to the next level.  Defiantly a positive change for my family and myself.  The financial rewards at the onset may be less but in the long run can only be better.

Happy Father’s Day to all of the fathers out there. Having a large family it makes it for an interesting day for me. However this Father’s Day has some special connotations for me this year. Earlier in the week we buried my last living Grandfather.

He had a great life. He lived to be 85 years old without ever having any real health issues. One of the things that really stuck me about his life, I never knew him to dislike anyone or ever be mad. Never not once can I remember an incidence of him being genuinely upset other than the passing of my Grand Mother over 30 years ago. However he languished after her departing in a rather humble dedication to her in obscurity.

As a child I can remember the times we had in his rocket ship, an early 70’s Ford Maverick, the buttons on the dash and the big lights were part of command central and it was always a treat to travel with him to our favorite five star restaurant, McDonald’s, to feed the sea gulls French fries and enjoy a milkshake.

It was this dedication to others that made his life completely remarkable. He never placed himself before others and made sure that those that meant the most to him enjoyed their existence.

Peepaw thank you for the memories.

“We have lift off”

Dessie Howard Oglesby, Jr August 11,1922 - June 11, 2008

Realigning priorities is always tough to do especially when you have as many passions as I do.  Occasionally I find some of my own personal and financial endeavors taking a precedent over the most important aspect of my being.  When I catch this happening it become a mental paralysis for me then nothing functions well.  My balance gets completely out of kilter and things start crumbling in the “Path of Paul”.

I have obligations to family, friends, business partners and work in that order.  However some of those overlap and it makes some decisions even tougher to make.  Unfortunately my job as an Internet Sales Manager takes up the majority of my time and it is the least important aspect in the grand scheme of things.

Time to take a break and reflect on my next step to get back on path of holding up my end of the deal in many respects.

I use squidoo for many different things.  Mostly though it is a search engine monster when marketing goods or services I usually save content that has no marketing appeal to my personal blog here.  Hoever I could not resist to try squidoo out for talking about Raising a Child With a Cleft Lip and it was met with overwhelming acceptance by that community and was given the honor of “Lens of the Day”.

Letting expecting parents know that having a child with a cleft lip or palate is no different than raising other children is very important to me.  I just hope that it gets some of the search engine dominance it deserves for the terms I geared the page to to help other parents.

So if you want to know more about raising a child with a cleft lip or cleft palate please visit my first ever Lens of the Day.

My son Alexander is a big boy no doubt, but I never had put things into perspective until his recent class picture. He is without a doubt the biggest kid in his class.

If you cant figure out which one he is go see an optometrist…

I need a vacation.  No work just mindless activities with no schedule.  My daily regimen is taking a toll.  I have so much going on with work, kids and my online business it is starting to wear me down some.  I don’t think I have a type A personality but one is starting to creep in to the point of being cynical at times.

The bad thing about having so many different things going on it makes it hard to do one thing exceptionally well.  I put being a father to my children first in my daily priorities, but other task are interfering with this largest priority in my life.  It is not a bad thing that I am busting my ass to make things better for them in the future, but at what expense?

I will wake up one morning and realize that the kids have a life of their own that does not include me in their daily plans.  I am already experiencing that to some extent with my oldest children.  Benjamin and Rebecca are now young adults and living their life on their terms, which I expected they would, while the younger three are still very reliant on me for everything and because of this reliance I am forced to be away from them during the best times of the day with them.

I have planned a vacation with the whole gang after the youngest ones are out of school for the summer.  Nothing really extravagant but it will be 5 days with with the whole gang having no schedule and no place to be at a certain time.   Hopefully we can enjoy some uninterrupted family time with the whole gang present.