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If your from the Buffalo, NY area the name in the title of this post will be very familiar to you. You’ve probably been hearing it in the news from time to time. For those of you not from the area, Jonathan Cote was kidnapped in Iraq in November of 2006 by a group of rebels posing as police officers. Jonathan was part of a private security group who was escorting a convoy.

I met Jonathan when I started working for Algonquin Studios in July of 2001. He was only there for a short time after I started, because he was shipping off to join the military. I did not get to know him very well, but I did have the opportunity to converse with him. He was a very energetic and lively individual. I wish I could have had the opportunity to get to know him better.

A few days ago it was announced that the body of Jonathan Cote was found. This was very disappointing news, though not unexpected; weeks earlier they had found the bodies of his fellow contractors. Still, those who knew him held onto hope, myself included.

I may not have had the opportunity to know Jonathan well, and I can’t imagine what this is like for his family, but my heart goes out to those who will miss him.

May you rest in peace Jonathan.

I consider this indie artist to be underated. Check out his video for the song My Narcoleptic Sara:

Something happened the other day that really bothered me. At first it made me extremely angry, so I let it stew for a couple of days, simmering in my mind. This gave me some time to absorb the lesson before just coming out and writing an angry post. So here goes…

I work for an exceptional company, Algonquin Studios. Every day is full of lessons on leadership and what being a real leader means. My CEO is a man to look up to, to view as a mentor. And the other people around him are also to be looked up to. So when I see people in the business community doing very crappy things, I take notice. They become my anti-mentors.

The other day my wife had to go to a funeral for a co-worker, an unfortunate victim of cancer. It has been an extremely rough time for this persons friends and family.

Now here’s where I get mad. The direct supervisor of the person who passed away and the CEO of my wifes organization could not be bothered to show up to the funeral. The supervisor even gave a lame excuse that she does not believe in stepping into any church other than a Catholic one. Ridiculous. Unacceptable. Shame on you. I don’t care what your belief system, you should show compassion for people in pain. You should be there for them. Anything less is pitiful.

And people within the organization who know damn well this is wrong, refuse to call them out on it.

Real leaders are there for their people when they need them. They don’t even think twice about reaching out to help.

How do organizations like this, that clearly have a lack of leadership, continue to survive? These people run in the same circles as some real leaders in Buffalo. Why aren’t those leaders of business calling them out on the carpet for their indiscretions? And mentoring them on why they need to care about their people.

It is a shame that some people just don’t understand how to run a winning organization; that they don’t understand having a core set of values, and holding everyone in the organization to them, is essential to create a vibrate, thriving community around you.

And this issue I have highlighted here is just one of many such examples in my wife’s company. And it’s always the same few people at the top. These anti-mentors are creating tremendous lessons for those paying attention and being critical of them. Because of this I have strongly recommended to my wife that she find a new job, and to be very critical when asking questions in interviews

Leadership matters; caring about your people matters. Are you a leader? Or are you my anti-mentor?

Here we are in the new year. Happy New Year to everyone.

We started out our new year a bit rough. Shaun seems to have caught another bug and has thrown up twice this morning. Mostly flem and juice since he is not eating food well. So far little Teagan doesn’t seem to have caught it, but the last time this happened it went through everyone in the family. So, I’m bracing myself for the inevitable. But while I wait for that I’ll just have to keep comforting a sick little boy. He even went down for his nap without a fuss. That NEVER happens.

With the new year Teagan has really taken to standing, a lot. I’ll give it no more than a couple of months before she is running around this house. She is just absolutely determined to catch up with Shaun. And getting her fair share of bumps and bruises to prove it. She’s also improving her dad’s eyesight. I getting much better at spotting all the things she’s going to put in her mouth before she does.

Like many people I set some pretty lofty goals for last year, and failed to meet most of them. Primarily due to a new family member. But, even though I hadn’t listed it as a goal, my wife and I managed to raise a very happy, very healthy little girl. That was hands down the biggest priority for 2007.

Going forward for 2008 we have some new and old goals to accomplish. The kids obviously continue to be a priority. But my wife and I have become determined to work harder toward financial freedom. This year we are both starting new business ventures and I am learning a great deal about real estate. We already have one rental unit and I hope to find a couple of new duplexes before the years end. I have begun a network marketing business with Bookwise and started up a blog to follow my first experience with network marketing. I’ll give you my honest opinion on how it proceeds, good and bad. And I’m also going to try and bring back the Grape Soda Records business I wanted to start a couple of years ago. I’m going to start with a couple of local bands and branch out from there. Eventually I’ll probably start a blog for this as well. All in all, I expect this building of businesses to take at least 2-3 years before it improves our cashflow. The bottom line for us is that we can’t keep doing 9-5 for someone else. We need more flexibility with our new family.

And, while I’m not sure where I’m going to find the time I am also hoping to resurrect Radio.Speljamr this year. We’ll see how it goes. It takes a good deal of time.

We end our 1^st day of the new year by watching the NHL’s Winter Classic hockey game between the Sabres and the Penguins. The Sabres lost in the final shootout, but it was still a very exciting hockey game. The players were like a bunch of kids on a frozen pond in the first period, and the aerial shots were one of a kind. I hope they try to do this next year.

Well, it wasn’t a perfect day, but I still think we’re heading down the right path. 2008, here we come!

“Merry Christmas.Well, that’s what people say at Christmas, right? Except normally they have somebody to say it to. They have their friends and family all around them. They haven’t been crouched naked under a Christmas tree with a needle in their arm like an insane person in a mansion in Van Nuys.They’re not out of their minds and writing in a diary and they’re not watching their holiday spirit coagulating in a spoon.

I didn’t speak to a single person today…I thought of calling Bob Timmons, but why should I ruin his Christmas? I guess I’ve decided to start another diary this time for a few different reasons…

1. I have no friends left.
2. So I can read back and remember what I did the day before.
3. So if I die, at least I leave a paper trail of my life (nice lil suicide note).

Merry Christmas…it’s just you and me, diary. Welcome to my life.“

So begins one of the best rock biographies to come out in 2007. A couple of weeks ago I finished reading the Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx. The story was so engaging that this book was read in record time for me. I took it to lunch; I read it while following my wife around the stores in the mall; I kept reading it during every spare moment I could grab. It was that good.

The Heroin Diaries is the story of Nikki Sixx’s addiction to drugs, and just how low one can sink. It consists of diary entries he made over the course of a year, primarily during the Girls, Girls, Girls tour. At times it is funny, and other times just shocking; but it is always from the heart. Sixx bears his soul in a way few other musicians have. You see the real grit that was Nikki Sixx and Mötley Crüe. To give a complete perspective the diary entries are mixed with feedback from the people who were around Sixx at the time. The honesty from these contributers is real, and at times brutal. No punches were pulled.

And I almost forgot to mention: the book is an fantastic work of art on its own. A lot of creative work went into putting this together.

But things don’t just stop with the book. Nikki, together with some of his closest friends has put together a new band called Sixx:A.M. and created a soundtrack to go with the book: The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack. This CD took my excitement about the book to a whole other level.

The CD is hands down the best project Nikki Sixx has ever produced. Plenty of hard rock goodness with a dose of progressive rock mixed in, all to tell a truely heart wrenching, emotional journey. It’s hard not to be moved by the emotional ups and downs of the music, especially if you reading the book at the same time. My favorite songs off this album include the single ‘Life Is Beautiful’ and ‘Pray For Me.’

And the best part about buying the book is that proceeds will be donated to Running Wild In The Night, a fundraising initiative for Covenant House Of California started by Nikki Sixx. Its objective is to give kids an outlet in music and try to keep them from going down the road that Sixx traveled. If even 1 person reads this book and makes the choice to stay away from drugs, then Nikki has done some good with his book.

Learn more about Sixx:A.M. and watch the ‘Life Is Beautiful’ video at http://www.sixxammusic.com/

I just had a great lunch with my wife at Taki’s over on Court St. Taki’s is a fantastic little hole in the wall you wouldn’t realize was there unless you are from Buffalo, NY. They serve the typical greek fair found all around Buffalo, but it always tastes great each time I have lunch there.

And if the food wasn’t good enough, the conversation gets even better. Eclectic Buffalo shines through in it’s people. While at lunch today I heard everything from Business talk to theatre discussions to some rather strange conversation about aliens building pyramids on Mars. Like I said, eclectic.

If your in Buffalo and like to check out the local diners, this is one place to stop for lunch.

23

Holy crap! This is absolutely wild: http://www.biertijd.com/mediaplayer/?itemid=4262

I have recently decided to get involved with a new company called BookWise. It’s all about one of my most passionate loves, reading. BookWise is one of the fastest growing bookstore chains in America, and together we are bringing back that personal touch you used to get from the corner bookstore.

If you are interested in finding out what BookWise is about, I would like to invite you to signup as a Preferred Customer. My Preferred Customers will recieve up to 42% off retail prices, with fast affordable shipping. My store is currently growing and will soon have a selection of 1.5 million books, CDs, DVDs, and video games. And all preferred customers will receive a free BookWise classic, 100 of the Greatest Literary Works Ever Written, each month that they make a purchase. This literary classic is available in three ways; a fully downloadable eBook, audio book, and a two page summary.

Need more? 1% of every purchase on my BookWise store will be donated to charities, like The Christmas Box International (http://www.thechristmasboxhouse.org/) and Operation Kids (http://operationkids.com/).

If you are ready to see my new store, please visit http://www.GetYourReadOn.com

Thank you.

Introducing the newest member of the Finucane family: