Jon, "Fence man on Wheels" is how I want people to remember my name. I have been in a power wheelchair for 15 years and still run my own business. Funny thing is my chair sometime breaks down which it did 5 weeks ago. I realized over again how much I depend on technology to run my life and my business.
It took 5 weeks to get the parts to fix my chair. I sure hope no customer of mine ever has to wait that long to get a part from SummitFenceSupply.com. The taste that it left in my mouth about the company in which I paid thousands of dollars to get this chair makes me certain that no customer of mine will ever have to wait more than a week for a part.
Fortunately, I have lap tops and mini computer to stay connected with the world of the Internet and so I do not miss a beat when it comes to running www.summitfencesupply.com
So this is Jon, “Your Fence man on Wheel” (and now power…) saying thank you Lord that the parts came in and independence is restored. I even went to Starbucks and had my mocha fix.
Jon Mullender
Summit Fence Supply, llc
888.856.0551
Showing posts with label disability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disability. Show all posts
Friday, December 3, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Quitting is Not an Option
Never Quit or you will get in the habit of quitting. I have a new sign that stares at me as I work each day…. “QUITTING IS NOT AN OPTION!
I have been working long hours doing what I love to do. I feel like Job, from the Bible, where everyone said, “Just Quit!” Every goal a person really believes in and works toward better be one that you will do anything necessary to accomplish because once you start there is no turning around. I have quit on diets, exercise programs, cleaning the office, washing the car, doing laundry, I even quit a job. Never remember doing that before so I understand the anatomy of quitting.
It is hard to continue when the going gets so hard that laying in bed in the fetal position is the desire of your heart, or doing the mundane activities that have to be done day after day in order to see the other side of the mountain. The excuses I can come up with as to why not to keep going are like the sands of the sea.
Fortunately, I now have the words posted in front of me. Quitting is not an option! Then if the things I desire and have written down fall into that catagory there is no way of quitting. The best way I have learned to do things is to make a habit of the activities that will take me closer to my goals.
Example: If I want to loose weight I have to do certain activities. Drink water, eat breakfast, and exercise some. And schedule those activities into my calendar.
I remember how hard it was to read the Bible in a year. I would start every year and get as far as Numbers or Deuteronomy and then just quit! For years the same thing happened. Until someone said to read through the Bible in a year just read 4 chapters a day it would get done. That was doable! Then I learned that if you do the hardest thing you have to do first you get it out of the way. It is amazing that once an activity becomes a habit it can be accomplished. I now not only read my Bible every year but have a ritual of doing it daily. I truly enjoy reading and learning so much that it has become a high-light of my day and it is the first thing I do each day with a cup of coffee.
“QUITTING IS NOT AN OPTION!” has now becoming my mantra.
Jon
http://www.summitfencesupply.com/
I have been working long hours doing what I love to do. I feel like Job, from the Bible, where everyone said, “Just Quit!” Every goal a person really believes in and works toward better be one that you will do anything necessary to accomplish because once you start there is no turning around. I have quit on diets, exercise programs, cleaning the office, washing the car, doing laundry, I even quit a job. Never remember doing that before so I understand the anatomy of quitting.
It is hard to continue when the going gets so hard that laying in bed in the fetal position is the desire of your heart, or doing the mundane activities that have to be done day after day in order to see the other side of the mountain. The excuses I can come up with as to why not to keep going are like the sands of the sea.
Fortunately, I now have the words posted in front of me. Quitting is not an option! Then if the things I desire and have written down fall into that catagory there is no way of quitting. The best way I have learned to do things is to make a habit of the activities that will take me closer to my goals.
Example: If I want to loose weight I have to do certain activities. Drink water, eat breakfast, and exercise some. And schedule those activities into my calendar.
I remember how hard it was to read the Bible in a year. I would start every year and get as far as Numbers or Deuteronomy and then just quit! For years the same thing happened. Until someone said to read through the Bible in a year just read 4 chapters a day it would get done. That was doable! Then I learned that if you do the hardest thing you have to do first you get it out of the way. It is amazing that once an activity becomes a habit it can be accomplished. I now not only read my Bible every year but have a ritual of doing it daily. I truly enjoy reading and learning so much that it has become a high-light of my day and it is the first thing I do each day with a cup of coffee.
“QUITTING IS NOT AN OPTION!” has now becoming my mantra.
Jon
http://www.summitfencesupply.com/
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
She Looks So Good
What a mom I have. 83 years old and still going strong.I like to say I would be nothing without her. All the hours we spent in hospitals, Dr's offices, Therapy at home at home or elsewhere. She was and is a star of hope to me and many others. Love you mom!!!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
735 The Adventure of a Lifetime
I am going on a business journey starting Monday which I am calling 735. I am going write in my blog the events and things I am learning on the way to 735. It will be about the one man’s journey to reach an unheard of goal for himself. This goal is not about miles but about people and business. It is a journey that will take 365 days to complete.
I am committing myself to write a blog about the journey every day for 1 year. I hope to share picture of people I meet along the way. Some of the individuals will be out to stop my adventure and others will be sent to encourage me to take just one more step.
As Sailor Sam used to say... "Full step a head!"
Jon Mullender "Your fence man on wheels"
888.856.0551
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Ohhhhh CRAP!
The paramedics down the street know my house very well. They have been here more than once to either pick me up off the floor when I do a nose dive out of my chair or some other extra curricular activity I get myself into.
The last time they had a bet between them as to which room they would find me. One of them said the bathroom and because he lost he had to buy ice cream for the rest of the squad. Our friend Kym was over the last time they stopped for a “visit”. She said… “Wow! Make sure you do a header the next time I am here. They were cute!”
My son says, “I wish I had a video camera hooked up to you when you do your stunts. (Don’t do those stunts at home they are to be done by professionals.) “He is sure we could win Funniest Home Videos if caught on Camera.”
Now, someone has come out with a shirt, sweatshirt and bag that sums up how I feel as I am flying through the air. You know the moments when your life passes before your eyes before you meet an unmovable object.
If it were only in my size
Click the link to order your own shirt
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
EDGE Certification
Being fair is a interesting term in today's life. I usually ascribe to the term, "Life is not fair!" but being a small minority business in Ohio it is possible to even the playing ground a little. Go to EDGE and see if you qualify.
If you would like to see a copy or our EDGE certification call or email us and we will be happy to email you a copy of ours
Ohio will spend millions this year and years to come and I hope you and me both get our piece of the pie.
If you are a minority bussiness you owe it to yourself to contact EDGE.
Jon, "Your Fence man on Wheels"
Summitfencesupply.com
888.856.0551
Fax 866.841.8023
If you would like to see a copy or our EDGE certification call or email us and we will be happy to email you a copy of ours
Ohio will spend millions this year and years to come and I hope you and me both get our piece of the pie.
If you are a minority bussiness you owe it to yourself to contact EDGE.
Jon, "Your Fence man on Wheels"
Summitfencesupply.com
888.856.0551
Fax 866.841.8023
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Some Gentle Thought...
School is starting and another year of educating the minds of American children is upon us. We got a package from my mother today with all kind of school supplies for my grandson. His mother is sewing patches of his school on new shirts. Soon moms will sigh a brief relief that they made it through vacation, summer camp, and swimming lessons.
Alright enough… Why is this motorcycle parked in this handicapped unload zone. HELLO Mister… some wheelchair vans need that area for their ramps to come down and allow their passengers room to get out. I guess it is a new form of education. This poor fellow decided that while he was doing a week of remodeling at his home he would park his car in this spot day and night, night and day. I understand that it may not be known to all people that the stripped areas beside handicapped spots look odd. This individual said, “No one uses this spot so I may as well leave my motorcycle here for a week or so. How nice of this place to provide this spot just for me!”
Okay Jon...Enough of that! Take a deeeeeep breath … inhale... exhale...
Alright enough… Why is this motorcycle parked in this handicapped unload zone. HELLO Mister… some wheelchair vans need that area for their ramps to come down and allow their passengers room to get out. I guess it is a new form of education. This poor fellow decided that while he was doing a week of remodeling at his home he would park his car in this spot day and night, night and day. I understand that it may not be known to all people that the stripped areas beside handicapped spots look odd. This individual said, “No one uses this spot so I may as well leave my motorcycle here for a week or so. How nice of this place to provide this spot just for me!”
Okay Jon...Enough of that! Take a deeeeeep breath … inhale... exhale...
Yes, this is the time of year for the trees to start to hear the call of fall (I still can’t figure out why he parked there!) and the evenings too have a touch of chill in the air. (Some people! How am I going to get my morning, or afternoon Starbucks coffee…? Or for that matter my evening decaf coffee?) Friday night football games will begin in a week and band member are practicing their tunes. (Hope he gets a ticket. Maybe it will get towed) I love this time of year.
School is never over in life is it!
Friday, March 20, 2009
The Battle of the Blubber Begins
Lucky Shoes is not my favorite store tonight. Maybe in six or seven months it will be however today, what I saw in the reflection of the store window was a call for the Japanese whaling ships to set sail. I saw this HUGE blob in a wheelchair in the reflection of the door as I went in to buy a container of black shoe polish.
That’s it! Now I am making it known to the world. I am Blubber Man! I have the ability to make a piece of toast disappear in the fat rolls to be store for winter hibernation. I now buy my clothes in the tent shop instead of a department store. I say to the tent maker, “I need a tent for ten and can you put a hole in it for my head and holes for my arms to come out the sides. I my not be able to leap tall building but if I roll on someone they are absorbed and never seen again.
My coach said, “Oh so you decided to die early.” You have the choice eat carrots or eat potato chips. To which my reply was, “Let’s bring that up in about three weeks.”
So friends in Blog land. The battle has begun… Not a diet… (I love those words) A change in life style… Blah, blah, blah!
Here is my plan… Go from 386 to 385 and after that it’s a crap shoot.
Never again will a shoe store window reveal the true “Blubber man.”
My bag of baby carrots lies open on my desk as my chubby fingers type.
Yum?
That’s it! Now I am making it known to the world. I am Blubber Man! I have the ability to make a piece of toast disappear in the fat rolls to be store for winter hibernation. I now buy my clothes in the tent shop instead of a department store. I say to the tent maker, “I need a tent for ten and can you put a hole in it for my head and holes for my arms to come out the sides. I my not be able to leap tall building but if I roll on someone they are absorbed and never seen again.
My coach said, “Oh so you decided to die early.” You have the choice eat carrots or eat potato chips. To which my reply was, “Let’s bring that up in about three weeks.”
So friends in Blog land. The battle has begun… Not a diet… (I love those words) A change in life style… Blah, blah, blah!
Here is my plan… Go from 386 to 385 and after that it’s a crap shoot.
Never again will a shoe store window reveal the true “Blubber man.”
My bag of baby carrots lies open on my desk as my chubby fingers type.
Yum?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Where is Your Million?
After church on Sunday a friend was telling me his idea for a stimulus package that I could buy into in a heartbeat. His idea was to give all 3,000,000 Americans a million dollars. It would be cheaper than the stimulus package the government is using to bail out greed and there would be a lot of purchases made which in hand would stimulate the economy.
However if we all had a million dollars (I love the sound of that) who would work in the stores? Who would make the products I want to buy? Who would work behind the counter of Starbucks? Who would sell me a house in Florida? We would all be off spending our million dollars.
I wonder what impact that would have on the supply and demand of products. What would the cost of bread be? Humm! This is getting interesting? I would want to buy and new wheelchair sports car… I can do that because I have a million dollars, how much would that cost?
I guess I would have to leave the country and spend my million dollars in another country. Oooops? That defeats the US stimulus plan. Now I am spending my money in another country. But isn’t that what our government has been encouraging since NAFTA!
This is getting more difficult. If we all have a million we won’t find anyone to serve us, the cost of simple products will go up? If we spend our money in other country it hurts the restructuring of the American Economy. This is way over my head.
Maybe if we have to spend the billions of dollars we should give the money to Wall Street, and the Banks, and the US Auto Companies. The CEO’s of these companies certainly know how to use money effectively. RIGHT?
Next week after the sermon I should talk to my friend Donald about the message and leave the Stimulus Package to wiser men.
Our Politicians :)
However if we all had a million dollars (I love the sound of that) who would work in the stores? Who would make the products I want to buy? Who would work behind the counter of Starbucks? Who would sell me a house in Florida? We would all be off spending our million dollars.
I wonder what impact that would have on the supply and demand of products. What would the cost of bread be? Humm! This is getting interesting? I would want to buy and new wheelchair sports car… I can do that because I have a million dollars, how much would that cost?
I guess I would have to leave the country and spend my million dollars in another country. Oooops? That defeats the US stimulus plan. Now I am spending my money in another country. But isn’t that what our government has been encouraging since NAFTA!
This is getting more difficult. If we all have a million we won’t find anyone to serve us, the cost of simple products will go up? If we spend our money in other country it hurts the restructuring of the American Economy. This is way over my head.
Maybe if we have to spend the billions of dollars we should give the money to Wall Street, and the Banks, and the US Auto Companies. The CEO’s of these companies certainly know how to use money effectively. RIGHT?
Next week after the sermon I should talk to my friend Donald about the message and leave the Stimulus Package to wiser men.
Our Politicians :)
Monday, February 9, 2009
Don't let the Mountains Slow Your Success
I love collecting money from people who won’t answer their phone. It is one of the warm and fuzzy feelings that come with owning ones own company.
Last night, while drifting off to la-la-land, I felt an urge saying go… go… go to their place of business and they’ll be so happy to see me they’ll willing pay me the amount they owe without hesitation.
When the opportunity clock went off at 6:00 AM I was off. I did my morning work and made my prospect calls. By noon I set off on my journey to wealth and prosperity.
I drove the 35 minutes to the outskirts of Cleveland in no time at all. I parked the car and headed for the front door. My wheelchair was flying until I turned onto the sidewalk. There in front of me was a mountain of snow blocking the sidewalk, the leftovers of shoveled driveways that blocked the concrete pathway to my riches.
Being the eternal optimist, “I didn’t come all this way for nothing!” rang in my head. I said the words of an old sage, “If you can’t climb the mountain dig through it, go under it, or make a way around it.” AHH! There was my answer. I would go around it. The road looked clear so I headed down it until I got to the ramp by the oncoming street. It was so narrow and broken up I knew it was a certain disaster. With a determined outlook I headed back to my mountain. There had to be another way around it. I spied a narrow strip of grass that lead around the natural barricade. Figuring that the ground was still frozen I headed off the sidewalk on to the unknown terrain. All was going well for about a foot then without warning, the wheels started spinning. Oh boy I thought! I am here in Cleveland and stuck like a pig on a skewer waiting for the barbecue fire. Back and forth I went as mud stuck to my wheels. No matter what effort I took I was not leaving that spot. What would Louis and Clark do? What would Davey Crockett do? How would NASA circumvent such and obstacle?
I was getting a little cold as I reached for my trusted Blackberry. There in the distance was a Fire Station. I pressed 411 and said, “Can I have the non-emergency fire department Number please… Over the next few moments I will grilled with: “You are what?” “You are where?” “Why did you leave the sidewalk?” Obviously the person on the other end of the phone had never had a mountain to climb, or forged ragging river. My request was reasonable, “Send a fireman over to pull me out of the goo.” “We will send a policeman.” was the response on the other end of the line… But ma’am, I rebutted, the Fire Department is right across the street! My plea was to no avail. “We will send someone to rescue you shortly.”
I sat there thinking of camp songs to sing as the moments turned into what seemed like days.
Finally, I heard a truck. I turned to see two men driving by drinking a beer after a hard day on the ladder they had strapped to the top of their van. No sooner had my heart leaped for the joy of freedom from my mud doom then they drove right on by.
But alas, as they drifted down the road another twenty feet the orange brake lights shone forth the message that help had arrived.
A tall angel got out of the van in work clothes. “You need help!” Never had those words seemed more appropriate. “Sure do!” I said, as I tried one more time to free myself from the bog. He yanked and yanked. Right then left then backward then forward. All the time the cakes of mud were building on the bottom of the chair I would soon be bringing into my wife’s house. After a few minutes my wheels caught and out of the mud I scampered. I had a new hero… A Good Samaritan had stop to help a mountain man back to the main trail. I was free!
As I packed up base camp and headed back to the arms that loved me I came to terms that today I would not collect the money for the bills and that maybe the sounds I heard the night before telling me to “GO!” were the sounds of the steak I ate an hour before I went to bed.
The mountain had won today but in the world of enterprise there would be tomorrow.
If only they had paid!
Last night, while drifting off to la-la-land, I felt an urge saying go… go… go to their place of business and they’ll be so happy to see me they’ll willing pay me the amount they owe without hesitation.
When the opportunity clock went off at 6:00 AM I was off. I did my morning work and made my prospect calls. By noon I set off on my journey to wealth and prosperity.
I drove the 35 minutes to the outskirts of Cleveland in no time at all. I parked the car and headed for the front door. My wheelchair was flying until I turned onto the sidewalk. There in front of me was a mountain of snow blocking the sidewalk, the leftovers of shoveled driveways that blocked the concrete pathway to my riches.
Being the eternal optimist, “I didn’t come all this way for nothing!” rang in my head. I said the words of an old sage, “If you can’t climb the mountain dig through it, go under it, or make a way around it.” AHH! There was my answer. I would go around it. The road looked clear so I headed down it until I got to the ramp by the oncoming street. It was so narrow and broken up I knew it was a certain disaster. With a determined outlook I headed back to my mountain. There had to be another way around it. I spied a narrow strip of grass that lead around the natural barricade. Figuring that the ground was still frozen I headed off the sidewalk on to the unknown terrain. All was going well for about a foot then without warning, the wheels started spinning. Oh boy I thought! I am here in Cleveland and stuck like a pig on a skewer waiting for the barbecue fire. Back and forth I went as mud stuck to my wheels. No matter what effort I took I was not leaving that spot. What would Louis and Clark do? What would Davey Crockett do? How would NASA circumvent such and obstacle?
I was getting a little cold as I reached for my trusted Blackberry. There in the distance was a Fire Station. I pressed 411 and said, “Can I have the non-emergency fire department Number please… Over the next few moments I will grilled with: “You are what?” “You are where?” “Why did you leave the sidewalk?” Obviously the person on the other end of the phone had never had a mountain to climb, or forged ragging river. My request was reasonable, “Send a fireman over to pull me out of the goo.” “We will send a policeman.” was the response on the other end of the line… But ma’am, I rebutted, the Fire Department is right across the street! My plea was to no avail. “We will send someone to rescue you shortly.”
I sat there thinking of camp songs to sing as the moments turned into what seemed like days.
Finally, I heard a truck. I turned to see two men driving by drinking a beer after a hard day on the ladder they had strapped to the top of their van. No sooner had my heart leaped for the joy of freedom from my mud doom then they drove right on by.
But alas, as they drifted down the road another twenty feet the orange brake lights shone forth the message that help had arrived.
A tall angel got out of the van in work clothes. “You need help!” Never had those words seemed more appropriate. “Sure do!” I said, as I tried one more time to free myself from the bog. He yanked and yanked. Right then left then backward then forward. All the time the cakes of mud were building on the bottom of the chair I would soon be bringing into my wife’s house. After a few minutes my wheels caught and out of the mud I scampered. I had a new hero… A Good Samaritan had stop to help a mountain man back to the main trail. I was free!
As I packed up base camp and headed back to the arms that loved me I came to terms that today I would not collect the money for the bills and that maybe the sounds I heard the night before telling me to “GO!” were the sounds of the steak I ate an hour before I went to bed.
The mountain had won today but in the world of enterprise there would be tomorrow.
If only they had paid!
Jon Mullender
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Let Me In!
Starbucks and I have a lot in common. They have mochas and I love to drink Grande Mochas… They have frappuccino and I drink frappuccino. I stop at my neighborhood Starbucks all the time. I have spent hundreds of dollars there this past year. I love the people I meet there and the atmosphere. Over the last year I have sat outside in the warmth of the sun drinking and talking to friends. I have sat inside working on business plans or meeting with contacts or interviewing part time employees. I have drawn up plans for marketing campaigns and laughed with my grandson.
But now while the winds blow and the snow is here I am stopped in my tracks. Not by mother nature, not by inability to get out in 8 degree weather but by the 6 feet of unshoveled snow.
Not until the snow melts can I look forward to sipping the fruit of the bean. No more will the chocolate flavor slip through my lips warming me in the middle of the morning commute. I have been set apart with a symbol that says, “No longer welcome!”
Yes it is the snow pile that covers the ramp onto the sidewalk. Yes, as the snow shovel sits by the door showing how they have shoveled the entry for the walkers but not the wheelers.
Is it intentional? I am sure the answer is no... However, am I inside drinking coffee? Again the answer is no.
So as I sit outside in my wheelchair I long for the spring or a person who will lift a shovel and clear a path to the doorway of paradise or at least to a no whip, extra hot, Grande mocha.
Jon Mullender
President
Summit Fence Supply, LLC
summitfencesupply.com
summitfencesupply.blogspot.com
But now while the winds blow and the snow is here I am stopped in my tracks. Not by mother nature, not by inability to get out in 8 degree weather but by the 6 feet of unshoveled snow.
Not until the snow melts can I look forward to sipping the fruit of the bean. No more will the chocolate flavor slip through my lips warming me in the middle of the morning commute. I have been set apart with a symbol that says, “No longer welcome!”
Yes it is the snow pile that covers the ramp onto the sidewalk. Yes, as the snow shovel sits by the door showing how they have shoveled the entry for the walkers but not the wheelers.Is it intentional? I am sure the answer is no... However, am I inside drinking coffee? Again the answer is no.
So as I sit outside in my wheelchair I long for the spring or a person who will lift a shovel and clear a path to the doorway of paradise or at least to a no whip, extra hot, Grande mocha.
Jon Mullender
President
Summit Fence Supply, LLC
summitfencesupply.com
summitfencesupply.blogspot.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
