Coaching Businesses and Life, a view from Long Beach

Long Beach Grand Prix 2008

Wow, it's over and I can't believe how quickly things come and go after waiting for it all year.

Yes, it's taken me that long to write about it. The highlights were certainly the electric Tesla car.

I had no idea it was so pretty and correctly proportioned in the sea of over-sized, super-size me cars. It was refreshing to see people going straight to the source, electricity which we already have plenty on the grid instead of a round-about way as in various hybrid systems. Hybrids are just another way for oil companies to cash in on producing electricity when we should develop geo-thermal turbines and other natural viable system whose technology exists today. Using gas to create hydrogen to create electricity is just self defeating for cars, will not solve dependency on oil and will still ake oil corporations a lot of money and not change the price of anything. It's a must for space programs, not for cars.

The other highlight was meeting Bernard Darniche, many times champion of the intensive Tour de Corse.
A wonderful great guy with a frank smile. I also met Nelson Philippe the Champ Car young driver. Very nice guy also.

The absolutely breathtaking Mazda working prototype shown here. Pure beauty!

I spoke to the Motul representatives who are bringing that great engine oil brand to the US market for cars again. Over here, Motul is mostly known for its motorcycle oils but in Europe it is known for its fantastic oil quality. My next Spider oil change will be Motul with a Wixx (spelled right?) oild filter. They have a special coating system that leaves the engine lubricated event at rest. That saves a lot of start up stress on cams and moving parts.

And finally an acknowledgment for the people who turned me on to the electric car, the folks over at Plug In America. They are the folks behind the very insightful movie Who Killed The Electric Car. I hope to interview them soon as well as some folks from the Tesla world. In the meantime, please go and visit their site, pluginamerica.org. And a special thank to Lindsey (hope I am not butchering your name) for turning me on to the Tesla. No one has ever had such a spark in their eyes as she did talking about electric cars. She has successfully communicated it to me... Darn!

Lastly my thought on this 2008 GP is that the hype of Green Is In will be heard over and over again. I wasn't sold because we live in a society that automatically over-hypes anything for marketing purpose but smart green will take over. I am a performance car lover and being ecologically aware, I have a hard time driving my old cars and feel environmentally good. The trick was substituting a clean engine that offers performances to my noisy but fun gas cars. I found the answer in the electric car. Complete, unadulterated torque from 1 rpm to the limit. Take the Tesla 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds and you will understand this is a no brainer for tomorrow. Take these things into consideration and you realize how futile the hybrid, especially ethanol (drives the prices of raw food up) and hydrogen (still uses oil to make electricity) makes zero sense in the long run for cars. The technology is here, buy an electric vehicle! I know my next "new" car will be electric considering the performances.

Alfa Romeo Giulia SS #00001

It's not every day you get to witness the number one chassis of a production line and when I saw chassis #00001 of Alfa Romeo's Giulia SS, I clicked my camera with complete abandonment.

Of all 50's cars, I feel the Giulia SS is Bertone's most beautiful work. It is elegant, beautiful, streamlined to perfection and a testament to the Italian superb flair for the dramatic with a practical use. This car was penned without using an air tunnel. I didn't take a side picture of this superb car but go Veloce Today and look halfway through the picture to see a gray version. You can see how sleek the car is.

Here is a view of chassis #00001's back next to a green SS sister. It's beautiful.

Here is the chassis number stamp.

Notice the different nose from the rest of the series?

The front fenders scoop much lower and the nose lacks that beautiful Alfa grill.

It was a treat to see this car not only for the fact that it is number 1 but it was unrestored and unmolested. It's beautiful to see such a car in its original state. A testament that Alfa are indeed strong and valuable cars. Now gotta go and play the lottery.

p.s. SS stands for Sprint Special.

What Makes Me Tick

A few people ask me when inquiring about my coaching practice. So here it is.

Tell me a little bit about yourself...interests, etc.
I am pretty much an outgoing person and pick up conversation with anyone. As far as I am concerned, strangers are friends I haven't met yet. My number one interest is making sense of life, or getting to the source of life. That's a little esoteric and probably would be too long to talk about in a few lines. My life is a work in progress. I love ancient philosophies, mainly Hermeticism, ancient Egyptology, Summerian, and anything that goes way, way back so as to give a hint as to what we are experiencing now. I feel history and philosophy is not an end in itself, but a mirror to draw hypothesis on the present. I also love old sports and race cars, mostly Italian ranging from the late 20's to mid-70's.

What do you think about health, in the general sense of the word?
Health is a state of mind first accompanied with a healthy body. I think too many people focus on the getting in shape but do little about getting their mind in shape. I think meditation is the best way to get your mind in shape. At the very least it helps you calm down enough and be more present to make better decision. At best, it gives you more control over your mind. The more control you have your mind, the more in control you are of your life. Health is a whole.

How and when did you first start getting interested in coaching?
After spending a few years in real estate and finding the market slowing down to a crawl, I became frustrated. Sellers were asking exorbitant prices and buyers were laughing. Sometimes both parties would get mad at us when we tried to reason with them. I originally went into real estate because I love meeting people. I love getting the sense of what they want and looking for the right fit.

My wonderful wife sensing my frustration turned me on to a local coach here in Long Beach, Donna Schilder. Donna was there giving me time and permission to be my true self. I had one of those famous coaching "Ah ha!" moments. That was it, without a doubt. I felt this was the job I had always wanted. People always come to me to talk and confide. This was what I had been looking for for so long. I have never loved my jobs. Enjoyed them yes but not loved. For the first time in my life, I can actually say I love what I do, coaching.

And metaphysics?
As far as I can remember, I was inquisitive. I even asked my dad if rocks lived knowing full well at the tender age of 6 they did. I have always felt things, sensed all around me. I was lucky enough to have an Eastern Philosophy class in my wonderful High School, Mamaroneck High School, which turned me on to Taoism. The rest was a progression as I learned more and more from different philosophies and religions. I now am very interested with hermetic philosophy and ancient Egypt. I eventually made up my own path taking what was relevant for me in different branches.

What inspires you?
Breakthroughs. I have such a rush of happiness when my clients or me have breakthroughs. It's as if after putting out such an overwhelming amount of effort something clicks and things flow effortlessly. You have to love it!

I also random acts of niceness. You know how people will just do a nice thing for no reason, say sometimes when you're driving, or just smile at you. In California where we live close to one another, this is a luxury I love to experience.

How do you deal with hard situations that are discouraging?
I deal with them in different ways. If it's the news, I don't watch it intensely. I acknowledge there are a few loose cannons out there and make things relative. Remember an overwhelming proportion of people are good people despite the negative news we are bombarded with. If it's a relationship problem, I talk it over quickly. Communication is the single most important tool you have in your life. Use it well. Mostly I meditate. I go into myself as deep as I can. I get to this place where nothing disturbs me. There I can see things in a different perspective. Once you dedramatize a situation, it becomes easy to act on it. Everyone can do this.

What are your goals in life?
Make sense of it all. Get to the source of the All. Have a better flowing life. Understand myself well and others. Leave a smooth wake behind me.

What is something that you absolutely cannot live without?
My Mac ;) In a certain way, for business it would be my Apple laptop. For fun it would have to be my Alfa Romeo cars. For life, it would absolutely have to be the amazing relationship I have with my wife who has been an incredible source of support for me. Mentally and spiritually, it would have to be my inquisitive mind. If I lost my mind, I don't know what I would do. Maybe hope...

What advice do you give to anyone to people who feel they can only give up?
First of all, look for that place to dedramatize the situation. Come on, seriously, we are only human. Second, we all have to speak out a little without making waves. I think the present state of our societies is due to the fact that people take less and less time to voice their concerns. Don't give up too quickly even if it seems unsurmountable. Better a voice that expresses itself than a population that clams up. And if everyone clams up, well, look at the mess we are in now.

Lastly, get a coach. It's still the best way to get a neutral third party help that will provide a safe sandbox for you to talk things over and look for strategies on achieving what you would like.

Thank you

High End Car Collector And Resl Estate

The first column of Sports Car Market by Keith Martin was thought provoking, the high end car collector are blowing sales statistics from the 90's.

"You can never pay too much, you can only buy too soon!" What does that remind you of? Real estate. It reminds me just of that. People who jumped into the fray without fully realizing the ephemeral nature of any markets, or those who just took a chance.

Keith notices that in 20 years of observing the market, high end cars have never appreciate that quickly. Why is that? Aren't we talking about recession brought by a falling real estate market that finally revealed the ugly hidden nature of lax lending standards? In the collector car world, markets come up and down, we all know that. However, higher end car just don't seem to stop climbing.

So who's buying? Apparently there is a new crop of investors. Asians with new money are pouring into the market buying at any cost. Will we see a redo of the late 80s - early 90s when the car market boiled and fizzled leaving a shaky economy behind? Hard to say yet. With the dollar being so weak, our market makes for an interesting bargain for Europeans and Asians. We are shipping more collectors cars out than in.

Up until early last year, every cars were moving up, even lowly entry level ones. It looks like the $5000 to $90,000 has stabilized and anything above is still picking up.

In one sense I see the similarities with the real estate market. After the hectic pace of 2005 which slowed down in 2006 and crawled in 2007, the higher end homes didn't get hit as hard as lower end of middle market. The answer seems obvious, when you buy into $2,000,000 homes and already own above $1,500,000, equity abounds and getting a $500,000 loan is easy. Getting the same loan when you start out is risky for both lender and buyer. The car market is probably seeing a lot of nouveaux riches who don't blink at the sight of a $10,000,000 car. It also seems that category of investors are a little more savvy, they are in it for the longer run.

And that, ultimately is the key to smart investing. Sure Poker might be a craze and attracts the adrenaline junkies but long term strategies is what pays ultimately. I expect these people who buy rare race Ferraris for $10,000,000 know they might come down a bit but in 10, 15, or 20 years will be a great investment. I only wish people would see homes the same way. Homes have an extra advantage over cars, you can actually live in them.

Oh, and if you still haven't subscribed to Sports Car Market, shame on you. Go and check them out.

Marketing Catches Up With Word Of Mouth, Long Beach

Oh boy! We're in for it. Someone finally found a concrete way to make money off of one the last great marketing system, word of mouth.

I'd love to hear what you think of this video clip. Did you think it was a pitch? Did you think it was marketing? Will you go to the MySpace link in it?

I didn't know what I was watching at first. It smelled bad like all those late night TV advertisings catering to despair. It tasted like a blunt hyping commercial. When I got through a little more, I realized someone had reinvented the wheel and successfully marketed it.

All of my life I have worked on my own and started ventures globally, Europe, Japan and here. I never took out an ad. I never advertised because I knew what I do best, I talk to people, I connect. I'm hardwired this way. I'm a walking network. I meet people and the possibilities of partnering with them or partnering them with others percolate. People know me as who I am and clients have always come to me through referrals.

What works better than a friend referring a service or someone to you? Surely commercials cannot touch that. When traditional marketing companies realized they had pushed the envelop too far and lost credibility, they knew it was time for a new system. They were smart and realized they turned everyone off of mass advertising. It was time to cash in on word of mouth.

So there are companies out there that sit down and get people excited about services and get those same people to do what worked well before, concerted word of mouth.

That's one thing that worried me a little. People like me rely on word of mouth. What will happen now that many could start referring while doing marketers' dirty jobs. The answer is very simple. Ask why. Ask people to explain why they are referring someone. Ask specifics. What was good about the service? What was unique about the person?

The video had some great point, it informed us that 1 out of 8 U.S. household has a home based business. The video was tauting how working on your own is great, simple and easy. This is where I disagree. First, working on your own requires a special kind of person. Virginia for instance would not want to work on her own, preferring the stability of an office. I, on the other hand would feel claustrophobic going to the same place every day. The video was saying how everyone can do it. I disagree and I feel it is doing a disservice. Have you ever seen someone who went to work on their own for the wrong reasons? Wrong reasons are, wanting to work when you want, how you want. A lot of them end up not happy at all if not broke. Working on your own means you are independent and have many ideas about business ventures and how to run them. It's more of a virus than wanting to feel free. And most of all, working on your own is not freedom. You are the Chairman and CEO, I agree, but you are the assistant, the clerk, the telephone operator, the middle manager, and everything in between. It is hard work on your own and it takes a lot of discipline.

Oh boy, what will they think of next...

Maserati, The Other Italian, Long Beach

Not too many people know Maserati was a great challenger in the late 30s and the challenger of the early 50s.

While Ferrari was blossoming from an Alfa Romeo driver to a race team director and finally launching it's own competition car, Maserati was innovative and pushing the envelope.

Go over to the great Veloce Today site for a good recap of that fantastic car manufacturer. Starting with 30s racers, the new manufacturer did very good in Grand Prix races. They even did very well with Wilbur Shaw's two victories (1939 and 1940) at Indianapolis behind the wheel of an 8CTF Maserati.

From their humble beginning as Isotta Fraschinis tuners to full fledge race cars, to some of the most beautiful and in my opinion THE most beautiful 50s GT, the A6G - 2000, Maserati has been around and thankfully coming back.

I still believe everyone should have an Alfa Romeo for everyday, and a Maserati for every other day.

1927 Cadillac Limo in Long Beach

Wow, what a day Friday was. Not only was it filled with synchronistic events, a girl in my building is looking for a Reiki master, but is thoroughly interested in "metaphysics", gotta love that terms and works in the music industry, being close buddy with Billy Corgan. And call me old fashion and weird, but I still love the Smahsing Pumpkins...

None the less, the other event was a beautiful, unrestored, 1927 Cadillac Limo that pulls in right in front of our office. After sniffing around the old lady long enough, the owner comes out to take me out of my misery to open the treasure cove. And my, Oh my, what a treasure it was.

I don't know if you are like me but most old cars are way over-restored. I don't get it and don't like it. The appeal of an old car is it's smell, it's feel, it's patina, which cannot be replicated with modern paints and smells. This car was original!!! The design work was stunning. It even had its own original flask hidden in the passenger compartment. The sliding window between the cab and passenger side worked, as well as the intercom. The wood was in a great condition but the sound of that flat head V8 is unbeatable.

After much lusting and excitement on my part (those who know me, know how excited I get about such things), the owner took pity on me and took me for a drive around the block.

Ah, sweet music. Double clutching through Park Estate, this engine was smooth and torque full. There is something the newer generations will never know how to do, for good or bad, double clutching on a non-synchronized gear box.

The car drove so well, it was smooth. The only sad part was getting out and looking around me, I was surrounded with modern, bland, faceless, run of the mill modern cars. then I quickly got into my Alfa Romeo and felt better.

Hum, hum, what a day indeed...

Another Business Goes Elsewhere, Long Beach

It seems to me Long Beach needs to act soon beyond talks about becoming a business friendlier city.

A friend of mine was thinking about opening a high end car shop for repairs, maintenance, grooming and sales. The credentials were there. He is a Ferrari trained mechanics, his other friend has the same training. They both have a lot of clients and need somewhere to hang there hat.

I was to help them find a place and take care of the car sales facilitation. We looked into Long Beach but after seeing the hoops and delays for permits, we looked into Signal Hill. Signal Hill was a breeze compared. They didn't care as much where we placed anything. They were quick to answer questions. It was overall easiers.

In the end, we decided to call it quits because it made more sense to go near Beverly Hills, get an old Jaguar shop that already had the traffic and turn into an Italian car shop.

It's sad but I feel Long Beach just doesn't have it yet when it comes to making it easy to set up businesses. It's hard to sell and attract people here when they get bogged down. And don't get me wrong. I lived in NYC for years where I had my own business. I know what tough conditions are.

I know the city is working on this. I hope it resolves itself soon.

Car Collection As An Investment Portfolio? Long Beach

If you have read this blog, you have followed a little about the collector car market. It has mimicked the real estate world but in a much shorter time and with a little difference. People don't get loans to buy old cars. They do it the smart way. They buy a smaller value car, wait until it gains in value, resell it, invest in something nicer until they get to stratospheric atmospheres.

Of course, not everyone does this. There has been a lot of people coming into money who have brought their dream cars. Ralph Lauren owns some of the most beautiful Alfa Romeo and Bugatti on this planet, Nicholas Cage has had some very nice cars. Many attorney and rich people all the sudden want to have access to their childhood memory.

There are different car collector with different psyche. One thing they almost all have in common, they do not get loans to buy their cars. This has helped the collector car market strive in an economy that is weakening.

Dick Messer is also one of these people who started collecting early against all odds and suggestions from his family. He now sits on top of a beautiful collection and is the curator and director of the Peterson Museum. Any serious car aficionado has to go to the museum. It is of great quality.

More and more people are investing into collector cars. And for a good reason. Collector cars almost always go up in value. Take my desired Alfa Romeo Veloce GT. While I could have purchased it a few years ago at around $4000, it does not trade under $20,000 four years later. Aouch, talk about biting my nails! Not bad for a small investment. How about a 1937 Jaguar SS 100 that sold last year for $243,000 and sold again this year for $399,000? Not too shabby.

There are reasons for this. These cars always have had new money looking for them. What you buy a few years ago, more people who came into money will want tomorrow... so far. And it's this so far that scares me. We've already seen how your normal Joe investor got themselves into big trouble in real estate. Some people just didn't do their math. Some people just did not have the right knowledge and are landing on very tough times. They made mistakes serious investors avoid, over speculation.

I am afraid the car collector market could be the hit next.

Belmont Car Show, Long Beach

Now for something fun!

The Bay City Rodders is putting on their annual Belmont car show and guess who will be there? Moi, of course.

I will bring my 1974 Alfa Romeo spider in an as is condition. I will show the engine bay where most of the ongoing work has been done.

Hope to see you there. 2nd Street, 9 AM to 3:30 PM.