Something Cute from Chrissie

Check out Zoe Cat above caught in the act of tearing up Vince's garment bag :)

Hello there! Vince let me take over the blog tonight so I thought I'd just share some mindless cuteness that will hopefully just give you that warm & fuzzy feeling that only little furry things can :)

I found this video on aol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9Vvso4LWto

And this is an online community for cat lovers. You actually can create your cat's very own web page...online communities aren't just for people anymore, lol.

http://www.catster.com/

There is also a site for dog lovers:

http://www.dogster.com/

Just something fun to help end the day on a positive note! If these furry little guys don't make you smile, I don't know what will :)

Goodnight!!

Chrissie

The Easiest Thing To Do....

Search any newspaper today and you will find negative stories or essays written about what is wrong with our world, government or youth however there are many people doing fantastic things for others on a daily basis. Some are on a grand scale such as the Red Campaign being conducted by Bono the Lead singer of the rock group U2. You can also find other people such as ourselves Try Change doing things on a much smaller scale. As you know a portion of all profits of our Try Change shirts are donated to Volunteers of America Chesapeake. At Try Change we go about the business of spreading positive messages through our web site, t-shirts and news articles.

Today I will share two inspirational stories one on a very small scale and one on a larger scale but both can have a positive impact on your life. One certainly has had a impact on mine. I will start with the smaller scale incident which I personally witness while dropping off some winter clothes one holiday season at the local homeless shelter. As I approached the front desk I overheard how one young women (we'll call her Pam) had violated a couple of the rules at the shelter and unfortunately had to be asked to leave at the time another young lady (we'll call her Betty) staying at the shelter overheard Pam's predicament. Betty only had five dollars to her name but she took a donated Holiday Card and put the three dollars in it and gave it to Pam. I stood there in amazement, here is one homeless person with five dollars to her name and she donates three dollars of it to someone else. You see someone always has it worse than you , there is always something you can do no matter how small you may think it is. After seeing that I realized there is more that I can do and I share this story with anyone that I meet who may be experiencing bad times.

The other story is something someone is doing on a much grander scale but no less inspiring considering this individual has fame and wealth and could more than likely sit back and enjoy the spoils of the world. His name is Dikembe Mutombo; he is a pro Basketball player and his story is one of giving back to his country ,The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Through his foundation ( The Dikembe Mutumbo Foundation Inc.) they have built a hospital and research center with state of the art facilities and equipment. They have also donated computers and provided scholarships to local students. You can read more about this foundation on our home page under "Featured Inspirational Story of the Week" at Try Change

The Easiest Thing To Do?

The easiest thing to do is to to do nothing. To sit back and complain or look for someone else to fix the problem. Betty showed me we can all do something for someone even if you have only five dollars to your name. Join us at Try Change as we do our part to make the world better.

Thanks Betty!

Vince

So Close...

Our trip to Baltimore was amazing! We went to Fells Point, which is an interesting little area of Baltimore that has some good restaurants, bars, shops, and nice views of the harbor. It was very hot and very humid but we still managed to have a great time. We went with another couple and had some really great conversations so that helped a bit with ignoring the suppressing heat.

We went to the Yankees/Orioles game at 7...Most of the games was pretty slow until the 9th inning when the Yankees mounted a come back (almost). They scored four runs in the 9th but unfortunately Johnny Damon screwed it up hitting into a double play. And we lost 5 to 7. But it looks as though the Yankees redeemed themselves today!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Vince

Fox Five @ Five Morning

So it was a really early morning for me today...at 5am I was up at the Springfield Mall for Fox 5 Morning News. They were there to celebrate the new Simpson's movie and highlight some of the businesses in the community. I was there with Houlihan's and Hearts in Motion was there too as well as Fairfax County Parks and of course...the Simpson's! It was fun even though it was really really early for me :)

I'm a bit tired so I'll check in tomorrow...we're heading to Baltimore for the Yankee's game!!

Vince

Friday Eve

Today was a very productive day at work; I was able to get a couple of projects completed ahead of time. Someone once told me "Work as if your going on vacation the following day" and if your like me you know how that is , completing as many task as possible leaving no loose ends. After work I went to the gym where I was able to do my old back routine for the first time since I hurt my back doing squats. Note to self do not attempt to free weight squat 365 lbs anymore :0) All in all a good day, have to go now, as part of being with the chamber I have to do a morning show on a local VA TV Channel ( Fox Five at Five) and yes the five stands for 5am in the morning.

Hey but it's Friday Eve and weekend is around the corner!

Vince

Follow Up

As any sales person would know, follow up is essential in the sales process. So this evening I followed up with the local newspaper and the Buyer's Guide as well as Peopliezed. I'm happy to say that the local newspaper rep is still working on getting our article in the paper so hope is not lost in that area. And Peopleized has published my interview that I mentioned last night! Check it out when you get a chance: http://www.peopleized.com/content/view/384/105/


We also have a new diversity t-shirt in the shop:

http://www.cafepress.com/trychange.153886994

I'd love to hear your comments about the interview and the shirts!

Have a great night!

Vince

http://www.trychange.org/

New Ideas

Another night of scanning the world wide web in search of new ways to tell the Try Change story. Tonight I came across Your Life Your Story a website devoted to the sharing of individual stories. There I shared "My Story" from the Try Change website, hopefully they will publish it this week.I also went on to Peopleized where people interview people. It's a pretty cool site, tonight I was interviewed by the co-founder of Peopleized. This week I will send follow up emails to Good and Northern Virginia magazines , The Buyers Guide and the 2 Excess store in the Springfield Mall.

Talk to ya soon,

Vince

The Power of Technology

Did everyone watch the YouTube debate tonight? I won't comment too much on the issues directly but I do want to comment more generally about the event itself. It is wonderful and amazing the way that technology has changed and advanced our lives. Real people have the opportunity to actually question our political leaders/potential leaders. It makes the whole thing seem so much more personal. I'm really looking forward to the next YouTube debate in September. This was very enlightening as well as entertaining. :)

The debate itself really touched alot on what Try Change is all about... Change. Positive change, whether Democrat or Republican, is needed in this country both politically and socially. No matter what political or religious back ground we come from we all should be descent to one another, encourage one another, and be willing to help and support those that haven't had the opportunities that we may have had. Like it was said in the debate...we are one the richest countries in the world...why do people have to suffer?

So I invite you to comment on your thoughts about the debate, the issues, the historical event itself...What issues effect you personally? Who do you think would best lead this country? How do you feel about the use of YouTube for political debates?

More Opportunities

One of the great things that has come out of starting Try Change is that I am always looking for ways to get the Try Change message out to the public. Whether at the gas station or like today at the grocery store, I always come across something that sparks an idea. Today I was at a Bloom grocery store when I came across Northern Virginia Magazine. As the title suggests the magazine covers topics that are of interest to Northern Virginia one of the countries fastest growing regions. I will shoot off a press release to the editor tonight. Perhaps they will do a article on Try Change. Chrissie updated the Try Change Home Page with new t- shirt designs today and you also can go to our shop page at http://www.cafepress.com/trychange

to see more t-shirts designs. One of the best ways to help us get the word out is through the purchase of one of our shirts. Remember a portion of all profits go to Volunteers of America Chesapeake.

Thanks for the support!

Vince

http://www.trychange.org/

Home Again

So, if I ever suggest taking the red eye home again...will someone please stop me? Neither of us were able to sleep at all on the flight. The plane was packed, hot, and generally uncomfortable. We took a short nap before having to return the car and go to dinner with Chrissie's mom. It's her birthday today...Happy Birthday Rose!! We had a good dinner and great conversation. As much as I love Cali, its good to be home. The cat won't let us out of her sight now...I think she thinks we'll leave her again : )

Vince

http://www.trychange.org/

Much Too Fast

Man oh man...that went by way too fast. Now we are sitting in the airport waiting for our flight back to Virginia. Vacation was fantastic...only 52 weeks until the next one :) We did so much this week and got to visit so many different places....let's see first we did the Go Car Tour and saw most of San Diego, then we went to Mission Bay and drove around on a power boat. Then it was Del Mar, La Jolla, then a quick road trip up to Laguna Beach, Malibu, Santa Monica and the coastal highway. Man we really covered alot! And we even found time to work on some new t-shirts. Check them out on our home page if you get a chance: http://www.trychange.org/ .

We have tons of pictures for inspiration so being looking out for some more shirts soon!

Talk to you soon!

Vince & Chrissie

http://www.trychange.org/

A Typical Day In California

A typical day in California?

As I look back on what we did today I have to ask myself; would this be a typical day for me and Chrissie? We got up, worked on Try Change t shirts, stopped by Master P's Take a Stand Record label ( its actually a P.O Box), then drove down to Malibu were we relaxed on the beach then went to Paradise Cove Beach Cafe for late lunch early dinner. All in all it was not too expensive a day and the drive is not that far from Santa Monica. Hopefully the company I work for will one day open a hotel on the west coast. As far as Try Change goes we exceeded one thousand visits to our web site and just about five hundred to our blog. We are starting to see some results from Google Ad words as well. Tomorrow is another day. We'll probably hang out around the harbor and maybe go back out to Old Town before we have to get to the airport to return to VA.

Have a great night!

Vince

http://www.trychange.org/

It's A Small World

Well the vacation is winding down :-(

Today we set out for Santa Monica, we drove through Laguna Beach then checked in here at the DoubleTree. After checking in we decided to head down to the pier were we came across the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce mixer. To my surprise there was a fellow Hilton employee at the entrance to the mixer. I told her that I've seen her name on some Hilton leads and that I am also the President of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce. During our conversation we discovered we shared similar ideas, the importance of the chamber and how she relocated from back east. Something (relocate to CA)that Chrissie and I would like to do one day.

It's funny how small the world really is.

Vince

http://www.trychange.org/

Community Involvement

We at try change http://trychange.org/ believe it's every ones responsibility to help make a positive impact on the lives of others. This does not mean that we must undertake huge projects that require a large amount of ones time or finances. We all can do simple things to make the lives of others better. As President of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce I feel it is my responsibility to once in awhile take a walk of the local business community. During one of these walks last week I came across of an area that could use some landscape improvement. When I return from my vacation Try Change will volunteer with several other businesses to help clear out and clean up the designated area that I came across during my walk. This does not require much time or money but it will make a impact on the community of Springfield. Perhaps you know an area in your community that needs sprucing up. Why wait for others to clean it up for you? Speak to the land owner, local official or local Department of Transportation official to get things started.

You can make a difference

Vince

Finding Time For Work

From this weeks blog entries you can see our vacation has been a blast. Today I had the chance to squeeze in some work for Try Change. First I signed up for Google Ad words this program allows you to set a certain amount of money each month to purchase pay per click ads on Google's web page. It only took about 10 minutes to set up and I believe this will help us get the word out about Try Change. We also placed Try Change business cards on several community boards and started to design more t shirts. It was not all work though we spent the better part of the day on the beach at Del Mar and went to see the latest Die Hard movie. My quick review- It was very good , lots of explosions , non stop action and cheesy lines. Well its 1:40am here but it still feels like 4:40am.

Talk to you soon,

Vince

http://www.trychange.org

All Aboard!

We had another great adventure today! We rented a boat and went power boating on Mission Bay! Here's me above driving the boat. They just gave us the keys and said to go for it just come back with the boat in one piece :) Chrissie drove too:

It was a 16 ft power boat...I can't remember the name but it went pretty fast! We also saw a seal while we were out there but it disappeared before Chrissie could get a picture...Here's some photos from the boat though:

Afterwards we drove to La Jolla and walked around for a bit. It's always beautiful there but check out this picture:

We also saw some more seals at La Jolla:

Well, its getting late so I'm going to head to bed...I'll check in again sometime in the next couple of days.

Vince

http://www.trychange.org

Adventures in San Diego!

So today was definitely an adventure... After having a nice quiet breakfast at the hotel over looking the golf course, we headed down to the San Diego harbor. We decide to try out Go Car Tours. It was awesome! Basically its a two person go cart type vehicle with a GPS system that gives you an incredible tour of San Diego. The system tells you little stories about where you are going and lets you choice the routes you want to take. This is our third trip to San Diego and I can't believe all the things we found today that we really didn't know about. It was an amazing way to get to know the city! We were out exploring the city forever! We actually set a record for the longest time out for an adult at over 4 1/2 hours! Chrissie is a little sun burned but we had a really great time!

Here's some pics:

After the tour we headed back to the harbor to return the Go Car. Everyone was very friendly and we even got to meet the guy who started the whole thing. For dinner we went back to Old Town, which is a really old Old Town. Tomorrow we'll probably head out to Del Mar and maybe go back to a couple of spots we saw on the tour. That was one of the best things about the Go Car Tour...we got to get a real over view of the city and got to explore alot in a pretty short amount of time so now we can go back a visit our favorite spots at a more leisurely pace.

So if you're ever in San Diego, San Francisco or Miami you should definitely check out Go Car Tours...I know you'll have a great time!

Have a great night!

Vince

http://www.trychange.org

We Made It!

We're actually in Cali! We rented a PT Crusier Convertible! Just being here is amazing! We're both a little tired from the flight and still being on VA time...So I think we'll hit the sack and I'll check it tomorrow!

Vince

http://www.trychange.org/

Times Up

Well this is my last entry before leaving for Cali...I dropped off the shirts at 2Excess this afternoon so if anyone is in the area and would like to check them out they are there at the Springfield Mall.

We are trying out the new poll feature on blogger so in the spirit of summer and vacations please vote for your favorite spot!

I'm going to keep it short because I still have to pack. I'll be checking in this weekend once we get to Cali!

Vince

http://www.trychange.org/

24 Hours

This time tomorrow I will officially on vacation! I will however have my laptop to update Try Change and conduct any hotel and chamber business. Today was a very productive day we had over 30 people show up for our chamber breakfast networking mixer! We also had a great board meeting later in the day. I was able to pick up the Try Change t-shirts from Jason at Embroidme and most importantly we sold 3 shirts to Carl with Jazz Radio DC. I know Carl from when he was a account manager with another station that our hotel advertised on. Carl helped inspire me to start Try Change by his decision to follow his dream of having his own Jazz program. It's amazing how things work out.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Vince

http://www.trychange.org/

48 Hours

48 Hours that's not much time to accomplish the list of task I have on my agenda. Its starts early with a Chamber of Commerce Networking Mixer at 7:30am tomorrow followed by a Chamber Board meeting at 11:30am. After that there is the day to day activities that must be completed prior to me leaving for vacation. After work I have to go to the mall to present my shirts to the manager of 2 excess so he can put them on display. Thanks to Jason at Embriodme for getting the shirts done ahead of schedule. After the mall straight to the gym then home to post the evening's blog. Thursday morning I have a 7am BNI meeting at the local country club then I must finish any last minute details before I take off from work. I was sent a good quote today:

"Failure to stand for what is morally right is the prelude to being a victim of what is criminally wrong"

Talk to you soon,

Vince

Action

When I explain to people what inspired me to start Try Change I often get the look of "You know I had an idea that I never started " or "I agree with you that we need more positive or inspirational messages out there but you actually are doing something about it". As I start to think of the responses I have to wonder is it natural now not do something about an issue that you feel passionate about? Have we've become spectators in our own lives by not participating in the journey but looking for someone to give us a ride only to become discouraged when the driver drops us off at a destination we did not plan on visiting. When did we stop believing in the dream that one person can make a difference. As a youngster I loved history , I enjoyed reading biographies on people who refused to let the dream die within them. Who would think that one women's refusal to get up out of her seat would spark a revolution that would forever change our country. Do you still believe? Do you believe that you can make a difference? and if so what's stopping you from taking that belief to the next level ? If you do believe and are doing something about it share it with us at Try Change so we share it with others. In closing I would like to share a story from my younger days as a kid in Jersey. I was about 10 years old and was in the backyard putting together a Go Cart. About halfway through I decided I did not want to finish it and let the parts sprawled out in the backyard. Well my father came home and made me finish that Go Cart. When I asked him why he said "If you start quiting now you ll be a quitter all your life" At the time I thought he was crazy how could not putting together a Go Cart be all that but now I see what he meant. We don't all of a sudden give up or quite but we give up a little bit at a time until we give up all together.

Don't give up, still believe, join us at Try Change.

Thanks Dad.

Vince

Walter Stubbs 10/4/1930-6/11/2005

A Day of Rest

I actually slept in today! Then went to the Volunteers of America's shelter this morning to meet a friend of mine. We went over to the mall then chowed down on some Alaskan Crab Legs at a local restaurant. After that I dropped him off at the shelter and went home and crashed out for a little while. Later in the day me and my fiance went to the movies and saw 1408. It's a pretty good movie with a couple of good scary scenes. Tonight I am going to work on the Your Story section of our website http://www.trychange.org/ the remainder of the week is filled with special projects at my day job, events with the chamber with the Governor in attendance and our chamber board meeting as well as preparation for the 2008 Business Plan Meeting.

Hi! This is Chrissie...Vince stepped away to go take out the garbage so I'm taking over :)

As Vince said above we're going to updating the Your Story section on the website tonight with some stories and links we've found recently. Some of these I found in the June issue of Glamour. This was in the editorial section and was titled "Do something heroic". I won't go into the whole article but I'd like to post a few links here to some of the things people are out there doing to be "heroic"...Maybe one of them will inspire someone out there!

http://www.hungersite.com/

If you click on the button in the middle of the page they will provide 1.1 cups of food to the hungry. It's absolutely free and you can click once a day. They have several sponsors and there's a shop that you can buy merchandise and gifts that help towards the cause.

http://www.kiva.org/
This site is interesting...basically you can "loan" money to people in impoverish areas that are trying to improve their own lives through their own businesses. There are stories and journals and it looks like you eventually even get your money back!

http://www.doonenicething.com/

This was worded as trying a "random act of heroism"...I love the way that sounds and the website offers loads of links with ideas for simple things you can do to make some one's day nice! However "cheesy" it may sound its an awesome idea and it can't hurt to be nice, can it?

So have fun exploring these sites and hopefully you'll find something that will inspire you!

Oh, and don't forget to join the Try Change Forum to start discussions, share stories, and inspire one another!

Thanks for stopping by!

Vince & Chrissie

http://www.trychange.org/

Work & Play

Well today was a mixture of work and play. The first portion of the day was researching websites that I thought would be a good fit with TryChange. I came across Master P's Take A Stand Records which promotes clean (no cursing) rap music. It was quite interesting although they did not list an email address for me to send our information. They do have an address listed for Santa Monica. We happen to be going to Santa Monica next week, so I may just decide to drop by or mail out a Press Kit. Chrissie updated the Articles section of our website with a Russell Simmons article and Live Earth concert information. And I joined the NAACP today something I always wanted to do. The second half of the day consisted of putting the finishing touches on our vacation to California. Our first stop will be in San Diego then we plan to drive up the Coastal Highway then stay overnight in Santa Monica then back to San Diego. We rented a nice convertible for the trip so it should be pretty cool. I'm sure I will be paying off this vacation for a while but you only live once. I read a quote somewhere that there's no dress rehearsal for life so start living.

Tomorrow is another day!

Vince

http://www.trychange.org/

It's Friday!

Finally Friday, this time next week I'll be in San Diego taking in the rays. Tonight I was able to register my blog on Googleblog Search, ysearchblog and Icerocket. All three sites are geared to increasing traffic unto your blog as well providing tools to track visits to your blog. Each night I discover another tool to help me get the word out. I have not heard back from Legal Zoom on being one of their featured businesses on their site however I still have hope to make it onto theirs or CafePress's site. I will send out another email to the editors of the local papers detailing my new relationship with the 2 Excess store in the Springfield Mall hopefully this will help in my efforts to get another article written. I really feel that Try Change is a great story but I know I have to get pushing to get the ink in the papers. This weekend my goal is to send out my Press Release to some national magazines I selected, design some t-shirts for the Latino market and most importantly start my 2008 Business Plan for my day job. Well it's Friday so I don't have to get up early so I better get cracking on my weekend goals.

Vince

www.trychange.org

Another Busy Night

I received the July / August issue of the Image today in it is my Chamber President's Message. Here is the link to the Image http://www.springfieldchamber.org/img/assets/1020/Jul-Aug_07_Image_for_Web.pdf For those who do not know I am the current President of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce My article for this edition is titled 'A Different Perspective". In it I highlight my experience with the chamber as the Founder of Try Change LLC. To all those who are considering starting a business I highly recommend that you join your local chamber as way to not only grow your business but also to get feedback on ideas you may have as you formulate your business plan. I was able to pick up Chrissie's (V.P of Creative Development) business cards from Allegra Print & Imaging today .Tomorrow I will give Jason at EmbroidMe my flash drive with logos so he can start to make our shirts for sale at 2 Excess in the Springfield Mall.

Well it's getting late once again and tomorrow will be a busy day at work so goodnight.

Vince

Happy Fourth

Well I hope everyone had a great fourth of July. I spent time with my mom and girlfriend down at Occaquan earlier in the day then went over my nieces for a cookout. We had a great time , it was the first time I visited my niece in her new home. The yard was full of kids and the grill was full of good food. I was able to slip in a little work on Try Change today as well. I submitted a request for our site to be highlighted on Legal Zoom and Cafe Press. I'm hoping to be selected by either one of them or the other organizations I sent in applications to this week. It's back to work tomorrow and it's only 9 more days until I'm relaxing on the sunny beaches of San Diego.

Talk to ya soon,

Vince

A Day Full Of Accomplishements

I'm one of the fortunate few that has the opportunity to work with an outstanding bunch of individuals at my full time job. Assigned with any task they quickly go about getting the job done with little direct supervision. Today we met briefly to discussed a couple of task that needed to be completed by the end of the day while also completing our day to day activities. From sales kits to a direct mailing piece everything was done before the close of business. On the Try Change front , a member of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce offered his assistance in producing mass quantities of Try Change shirts if they are a hit in the local mall. I'm hoping to have the shirts in the mall by Friday the 13th the same day I fly out to San Diego for a little R&R. Well I have a couple of last minute task to complete on the website before I crash out.

I wish everyone a happy and safe fourth of July!

Vince

First Out Of State Sale!

What a way to start off a short week. We had our first out of state sale today! It's pretty exciting to realize that you could be in Virginia and someone in Florida is buying your merchandise. I don't want to use our customer's name but if you are reading this I just want to say thank you. Please share the Try Change message with friends and family as we continue to develop our line of apparel. Today I contacted two more local papers and a online "Moms" group about possibly working together. I also accepted to be a sponsor of the annual Springfield Bridge Walk. Our goal is continue to promote the Try Change message wherever possible.

Well it's off to dinner!

Vince

Vinny From Jersey

I always enjoy going back home to Jersey. I get the chance to spend time with family and friends and hit the local shops I spent time at when I was a kid. Saturday afternoon I went to Johnnie and Hanges Hot Dog shop in Paterson , Saturday night I picked up a couple of slices from Lisa's Pizza , looked at some vinyl at the Music Merchants Record Store and for you Soprano's fans I drove by the Bada Bing late Saturday night. Sunday morning it was Golberg's Bagels for breakfast. I've been in Virginia for ten years, I met my girlfriend here, established a great career and belong to a great gym but I will always be Vinny from Jersey.