Leisure … more than a word, it's a lifestyle

The Celebrity Apprentice this week was right up our street…literally. The contestants were involved in an interesting challenge that revolved around the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and they were charged with creating a 3 dimensional interactive display that children could relate to in order to attract families to Universal Orlando this Summer.

By now, any version of the Apprentice follows a predictable path; big large sponsor company designs a task that guarantees them maximum exposure while the apprentices flounder around trying to create something of a masterpiece with which to impress their corporate bosses. Usually we see teams falling apart and then amazingly they usually kiss and make up just as Trump enters the Boardroom and they profess undying love for each other “as everyone did their best”.

Naturally this charade lasts about as long as it takes Harry Potter to mount his broomstick as Trump announces the winner and the loser. The losers then take turns to bash each other until Trump is left with what is usually an easy decision to fire someone.

This episode was different however. It had a different dynamic.

The two team managers were put on a corporate jet… nice plug for the jet leasing company as they walked over the mat to the door … and had no clue where they were headed until Trump popped up on the TV and informed them that Orlando was the destination and that they were heading to Universal Orlando to do the research for their task.

While in Orlando each team manager was given a chance to communicate with the team they had left behind about the extent of the task and to grab as many ideas, not to mention  freebies, as possible to take back with them to New York.

The team managers for the task were Rod Blagojevich and Selita Ebanks and it soon became clear that one of them had a very distinct advantage. Blagojevich, you will recall, is the twice elected former governor of Illinois now accused of corruption and trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Obama. Ebanks, on the other hand, is one of the most sought after and respected models of her generation and it quickly became clear that she held the upper hand as she was able to text and email her team instructions back in the Big Apple while Blagojevich was quickly found out to be technically incompetent.

With no idea how to text or email Blagojevich was at a massive disadvantage and his first phone call back to his team was to effectively put rock star Bret Michaels in charge of the creative aspect and pretty much the whole task. In the end both teams did a pretty good job of the main task and both created a decent looking display but it was the attention to detail that cost the mens team dearly as they failed to understand the Harry Potter script and some of its nuances…with the team leader being the worst of the lot by failing to even understand the basic fact that the exhibit was the Wizarding World of Harry Potter rather than his “Wizard World of Harry Potter”.

So, Blagojevich was “fired” by the Don and it has to be said there was much to admire about his loyalty to Michaels as he simply refused to throw him under the bus by bringing him back to the boardroom. Ebanks and the ladies emerged the winner and with it, a nice $20K check to her charity in Sierra Leone.

Nigel Worrall & George Ross

It was also nice to see George Ross back as one of Trump’s eyes and ears and I have to say I was impressed with the savvy business skills of Erin Burnett, who was the other, as she homed in on the fact that the real reason the men lost was because of their failure to pay attention to detail.

Overall, a very decent episode for a change and at long last it seems that Universal Orlando are finally getting their act together and doing some marketing. Good to see.

Apparently America isn’t yet tired of the Celebrity Apprentice and a new season started last night. Don’t know about you but I’m getting a little tired of the same old format and what I want to see is something new, something different… such as these people helping small business owners instead of the corporate vulchars paying the big bucks to get closer to The Donald and get their five minutes of air time.

After all,  it’s small business that is going to help rebuild America so why not take the show to the grassroots and see how we can help real people in real businesses?

This seasons athletes, musicians, comedians, and TV personalities will compete to raise money for their favorite causes, and the last man (or woman) standing will receive a $250,000 bonus donation for their charity of choice.

Here’s the line up:

Maria Kanellis

Occupation/Background: Former WWE Diva, singer, and model
Age: 28
Charity: Make a Wish Foundation

Sinbad

Occupation/Background: Comedian
Age: 53
Charity: Omega Boys Club / Street Soldier

Bill Goldberg

Occupation/Background: Actor and former professional wrestler
Age: 43
Charity: Specchio Family Foundation in support of “Sons of the Fallen”

Bret Michaels

Occupation/Background: Actor and former professional wrestler
Age: 43
Charity: Specchio Family Foundation in support of “Sons of the Fallen”

Summer Sanders

Occupation/Background: TV host and former swimmer
Age: 37
Charity: Right to Play

Curtis Stone

Occupation/Background: Chef
Age: 34
Charity: Feeding America

Carol Leifer

Occupation/Background: Comedian and TV writer
Age: 53
Charity: North Shore Animal League America

Holly Robinson Peete

Occupation/Background: Actress
Age: 45
Charity: HollyRod Foundation

Michael Johnson

Occupation/Background: Former sprinter
Age: 42
Charity: Laureus Sport for Good Foundation

Rod Blagojevich

Occupation/Background: Former Governor of Illinois
Age: 53
Charity: Children’s Cancer Center

Darryl Strawberry

Occupation/Background: Former baseball player
Age: 47
Charity: The Darryl Strawberry Foundation

Sharon Osbourne

Occupation/Background: America’s Got Talent and former The X Factor Judge
Age: 57
Charity: Cedars-Sinai in support of Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program

Cyndi Lauper

Occupation/Background: Singer and actress
Age: 56
Charity: Stonewall Community Foundation for True Colors

Selita Ebanks

Occupation/Background: Model
Age: 27
Charity: Shine on Sierra Leone

OK, OK, OK… the book search was obviously too hard so for all our friends in the New York area so here’s the final clue…well actually it’s not a clue…I’m giving the game away.

If you want a FREE vacation in Orlando…go to Borders at Madision Square Gardens and find my book. There is one copy in there that has my special message in it and if you get the book, take your picture with it or just give us the special code… YOU WIN!

Can I make it any easier ?

Maybe I can make it easier… my book, Nigel Worrall - Big Ideas For Your Business is next to Donald Trump, Naploeon Hill, Dave Ramsey, Jim Collins and other best selling authors!

Ivanka Trump & Nigel Worrall

Just read that Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, 27, is now engaged to the New York Observer’s publisher, Jared Kushner.

“I got engaged last night,” said Ivanka on Twitter, “Truly the happiest day of my life!!!”

In a recent profile of Kushner, Ivanka, who is executive vice president of development and acquisitions at the Trump Organization, told New York magazine that she was glad to be with someone who understands her lifestyle.

“Jared and I are very similar in that we’re very ambitious,” she said. “That’s what makes it so amazing to be in a relationship with someone who is supportive of that.”

Ivanka is apparently converting to Judaism for her fiancé. Now that’s love for you And I now understand why she looked so happy when she met with me recently!!

Nigel Worrall, Wayne Kelly & Nick Nanton

It was up nice and early on Saturday as we had a big day planned. First off was a meeting with Nick Nanton (America’s Premier Experts) and Wayne Kelly, the host of the Wayne and Jayne radio show at KBS-FM.  We had a great time and I got to learn a lot more about radio show demographics and how to keep listeners listening.

Nigel Worrall & Peter Shankman

After lunch it was time to get together with Peter Shankman… the Social Media guru. Peter’s such a fun guy and he kept me entertained for several hours with his stories and his jokes. I also learned a whole lot more about the impact of social media on society today and I guess we’ll soon see how much I picked up by how this blog develops.  If you want to learn more about social media, I’d strongly suggest taking a look at his web site http://shankman.com as there’s lots of good stuff on there.

So…it was on to the main reason for visiting New York… the book launch. Having never written a book before I really didn’t know what to expect and to be honest, when this possibility was first mentioned I thought it was a bit over the top to go to Times Square to do it! That said, I was finally convinced and you only live once so why the hell not?

I posted some pictures from the book launch late on Friday night so I’ll not bore you by posting too many more as I’m sure you’ll get the drift that we really did have a great time. The party was hosted at the Hard Rock and we had a great view of Times Square from the balcony overlooking everything. The drinks flowed freely and the spread was fabulous. We then got round to the official book launch and I received my certificate for having a “Best Seller“. That was the remarkable thing for me…to now be considered a best selling author and as someone else said “they can never take that away from you.”

Remarkable.

And what was even more remarkable was later on seeing my book in the bookstores alongside the likes of Donald Trump and Napoleon Hill.

Nigel Worrall - Big Ideas For Your Business

We were honored and privileged to have business and marketing legend Dan Kennedy visit our offices yesterday. Over the last two days Dan has been in Orlando to talk to members of the GKIC Orlando chapter and also to make a visit behind the scenes at Walt Disney World.

The behind scenes VIP tour at Disney was simply awesome and it was our pleasure to organise this trip for both Dan and the GKIC members living in Florida.  Some of the guests on the trip had travelled several hours to take part in this once in a lifetime opportunity and everyone had a great time as we explored behind the scenes at Disney Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom and the “Can Do” people at Disney’s Central Shops. One of the highlight’s of the trip was venturing “underground” at Magic Kingdom as we walked through the “Utilidor” system but the real high point was listening to Dan speak about the Walt Disney Company and it’s culture. It was a fascinating insight and gave everyone something to think about.

For those of you who don’t know Dan Kennedy as yet, here’s a brief bio of his achievements: Dan S. Kennedy is the provocative, truth telling author of thirteen business books including seven best selling No B.S. books; he is a serial, successful, multi millionaire entrepreneur; trusted marketing advisor, consultant and coach to hundreds of private entrepreneurial clients running businesses from $1 million to $1 billion in size. He influences well over 1 million independent business owners annually through his newsletters, telecoaching programs, local Chapters and Kennedy Study Groups meeting in over 100 cities, and a network of top niched consultants in nearly 150 different business and industry categories and professions.

As a speaker Dan has repeatedly appeared with four former U.S. Presidents; business celebrities like Donald Trump and Gene Simmons (KISS, Family Jewels on A&E); legendary entrepreneurs including Jim McCann (1-800-Flowers), Debbi Fields (Mrs. Fields Cookies), and Nido Qubein (Great Harvest Bread Company / High Point University); famous business speakers including Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, Tom Hopkins and Tony Robbins and countless sports and Hollywood celebrities. Dan has addressed audiences as large as 35,000… for more than ten consecutive years, he averaged speaking to more than 250,000 people per year. Corporate engagements have included American Honda, Floor Coverings International, IBM, Pitney-Bowes, Sun Securities.

Dan is the ‘hidden genius’ behind many full page magazine ads that you read, TV infomercials you see, online marketing and direct mail you receive. His ads, created for clients, have appeared in over 200 magazines from industry trade journals, airline magazines, The Wall Street Journal to USA Today and Readers Digest to Cosmopolitan. He has created winning campaigns for health, diet and beauty products and companies, business to business and investements including Canadian land sold to Asian investors.

It has been a wonderful experience to spend two days in the company of Mr. Kennedy and we are extremely grateful for the time he gave to us during his visit.  If you would like more information on Dan or would like to get hold of his books, they are available at amazon.com, BN.com, bookstores and some free information is available at www.NoBSBooks.com.

Also, if you’d like to know more about staying in a vacation home in Orlando or more about the VIP behind scenes tours we do at places like Walt Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios and many more, give us a call at 1-800-576-0229 or visit us at www.FloridaLeisure.com

So, from all of us at Florida Leisure Vacation Homes we’d like to say a BIG “Thank You” to Mr. Dan Kennedy and to everyone who was fortunate to attend over the last two days. It was “awesome”.

If you’d like to see some of the pictures we took of the trip to Disney… please visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/38435377@N02/

JOAN RIVERS

Congratulations to 75 year old Joan Rivers who showed amazing durability and endurance to win the Celebrity Apprentice. Personally I thought Donald Trump got the decision totally wrong and for the wrong reasons.

Joan’s adversay was Annie Duke and throughout the series she proved she was a very capable business woman and clever opponent. She raised the most money and she managed to pull off some amazing wins…most notably when she beat county music legend Clint Black in producing a jingle for some chicken product that no-one will ever care about.

Annie Duke can clearly feel herself unfortunate but Trump bowed to the popular vote despite Ms. Rivers tendancy to get emotional, to side with her daughter Melissa and at one point, walk out of the competition because her beloved off spring had been “fired”.  Since when has Trump allowed quitters to walk back in?

I find it very odd that Trump can fire Khloe Kardashian for her crime (not committed on the show) yet Joan’s insults towards Clint, Brande and Annie with such turns of phrase as “worse than Hitler”, “stupid blondes”, “white trash”, “whore pit vipers” and “mafia ties” is seen as the behaviour of a winner.

Still, it seems we’re in different times thesedays and we can probably consider this the “Rivers Bailout”.

Been playing catch up on my Tivo tonight and decided to watch The Apprentice UK. I’m not sure if this is the first series that’s running on BBC America at the moment but it’s pretty entertaining even if Alan Sugar isn’t Donald Trump.

The men are kicking ass at the moment and the women don’t seem to have a leader or, what’s worse, a clue. The way things are going I don’t see the women winning a task.

And talking of The Apprentice, I met with another person from the program just recently. I bumped into Bill Rancic, the first ever winner of the Apprentice and he’s a really great guy. He’d certainly knock the spots off most of the UK crowd!

It’s been a pretty good week for saying goodbye to people who have outstayed their purpose. First of all GM lost their chief executive Rick Wagoner, then we had Trump saying goodbye to Denis Rodman in the Celebrity Apprentice and last night it was the turn of Megan Joy to exit the stage on American Idol.

So who’s next? Now that the axe has been sharpened and America is getting impatient with below average performance, just who should be fired as we look to get the country back on it’s feet?

Let me start… first on my hit list would be the bosses at floundering giant AIG. So that means Edward Liddy, chairman, and his cronies would go after posting losses $61.7 billion for the fourth quarter last year. Some folks there still think they’re entitled to their bonuses…not to my way of thinking…fire their sorry asses and save us all some money.

Next on my list is Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner…a bumbling load of incompetence if ever I saw it. This is the man who pretty much allows his mouth to run wild before engaging his brain. A sort of “yes” man who hopes that one day something he says will turn out to work.

Away from financial matters my wrath now turns on Bernie Ecclestone and his madcap people who are ruining Formula One motor racing. OK, this isn’t something that greatly affects America but they race here and in my book, that makes it fair game. As if the end of last season’s meddling wasn’t bad enough, Ecclestone and his buffoons don’t seem capable of making their minds up as to what is happening on the racetrack and are messing not only with the spirit of the sport but also it’s integrity. This week they managed to take third place from Jarno Trulli and award it to 4th place Lewis Hamilton only to then reinstate Trulli and throw out Hamilton completely. Bewildering.

4th on my hit list are the people at the agencies advertising automobiles. Every damn one of them…gone…or at least in my world. You can read my blog from earlier this week for the reasons why if you click here.

The final choice of people to fire is the media. Let the cull begin…get rid of all those people who are responsible for keeping us under a cloud of “gloom and doom”. I know it’s what sells newspapers but it’s not constructive and its not helping anyone. I’m not saying that only good news be reported, far from it, but I’ve had enough of turning on TV or picking up a paper and all I get is bad news. OK, so people have to be conservative at the moment,  I get they need to make some sacrifices and I also get that it’s going to be a long time until the “feel good” factor comes back but I contend things ain’t as bad as the media is making out. Every where I go shopping malls are full, restaurants have waiting times and movie theaters are doing good business. This is a new kind of recession…one where people aren’t going to stop doing things they enjoy…sure they might not do them as often but they’re still gonna do them.

So, who would you fire and why? Feel free to reply…

I don’t know about you but the latest series of the Celebrity Apprentice is starting to grate on me. This week’s episode saw the two teams tasked with selling wedding dresses and boy, did the girls whip the boys asses. And, I’m very glad they did.

 The ladies sold over $100K worth of merchandise while the men managed $60K but if Dennis Rodman could have been bothered then it may have been closer. Frankly, however, I fail to see what the point of Dennis Rodman is. Why does he even walk on this earth or breathe? To me he’s just a washed up old basketball player living on past glories and displaying an incredible arrogance to not only his teammates and to Donald Trump but also to the rest of humanity.

Trump should have fired him this week along with the guy he did fire, comic(?) Tom Green but he bottled it and only Tom was sent packing. Did Trump bottle it? Well, let’s just say he’s no fool and he knows full well that Rodman is the only “star” in the men’s team and currently he’s making great TV for the Celebrity Apprentice by getting people to react like I’m doing in this blog.

Firing Rodman was the right thing to do for the men’s team but it wasn’t the right thing to do for TV. As long as we understand that we now understand what the Apprentice is about. And on that note, it’s become increasingly obvious that it’s not about how well the team can do the task but about who they know and how much they can extract from their wallet.

This season is disappointing… I enjoyed last year but that’s because the series had people like Gene Simmons in it. A person who knows business and a person who could outsell all of these candidates on marketing ability alone…let alone donations.

On another note, last nights episode was much better now that George Ross was restored to his proper place on Trump’s right hand. He wasn’t taking any B.S. and he saw right through the scam Rodman tried to pull off. He’s a nice guy is George and he sure knows how to tell it like it is!

So…we move to next week…the ladies are 3-0…and with Rodman still in the men’s team, it’s gonna be 4-0 before we know it. Will Trump bottle it then? Let me know what you think.