A Management Tour de Force by the New England Patriots

Good morning, Fantastic Football Fans!

Are you feeling motivated this morning?

I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Most people who love football were watching the NFL draft over the weekend. Naturally, all attention is initially placed on the top prospects. They sit in a special place and look nervous. For some the wait is almost immediately over. For others the wait can be long, painful, and expensive as the size of their contracts drops by a million dollars with each selection. That's exactly what happened to Brady Quinn, the quarterback of the Fighting Irish, as he fell to being the 22nd pick in the first round.

In the early going, it looked like Cleveland (where Patriots alum, Romeo Crennel coaches) had stolen the show by trading a 2008 first round draft pick to get Brady Quinn to be paired with their superb first choice, Joe Thomas of Wisconsin.

The Patriots surprised many of their fans by trading their second first round pick (#28 overall) to San Francisco for SF's 2008 first round pick (almost guaranteed to be in the top 15) and SF's 2007 fourth round pick. That was an exceptional deal leaving New England with two first round picks in 2008. At the time, there were no top-flight players left in positions for which New England needs help.

A hint of things to come came late on Saturday night when the Patriots traded down with their 3rd round pick to help out Oakland. Now, why would anyone want to help Al Davis? I immediately wondered about Randy Moss. Rumors had been swirling for months that the Patriots wanted Moss. Moss had made it clear he wanted out of Oakland.

Then, the world was stunned the next morning when the Patriots traded their 4th round pick (acquired from SF) for Randy Moss! Moss reportedly runs faster now in the 40 yard dash than any one in the 2007 draft!

The management story is even more impressive. Negotiations started at midnight and were concluded by 8 a.m. New England had to negotiate a deal with Oakland, Randy Moss's contract had to be negotiated in broad terms, and the Patriots had to restructure Tom Brady's deal to get Moss in under the salary cap for 2008. Could any other franchise have done that in 8 hours during the middle of the night? I don't think so.

I don't know whether the Patriots will win any more games in 2007-2008 than they did in 2006-2007 because so much depends on injuries.

But clearly, if all it took were good management, the Patriots would win the Super Bowl every year.

Bravo to Bob Kraft, Coach Belichick, Scott Pioli, and the rest of the Patriots organization!

Until the season starts, I'll be dreaming about Randy Moss running free and leaping above shorter cornerbacks and safeties to snare endless touchdown passes. What a great gift the Patriots have given us to fill in the time until training camp opens!

Go Pats!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2007 Donald W. Mitchell

Super Bowl 2008 Thoughts

Good morning, Fantastic Football Fans!

Are you feeling motivated this morning?

I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Most people who love sports are gearing up for March Madness. I'm not one of them. Football is my spectator sport.

Having licked my wounds after the Patriots lost to the Colts for the second time in one season in the AFC Championship Game, I can now put it aside and look forward.

The future is once again full of potential. Great free agents may be signed. There's the NFL draft coming up where my team may snag more hidden choices who'll make the Hall of Fame despite being sixth round picks.

My Patriots Football Weekly is coming out again. I can read stories and see color photos of the players I care about.

I imagine myself with five billion dollars to play with. How could I spend that money this winter to ensure my team six straights Super Bowls? It's marvelous day dreaming. Why? If it's a good idea, Bob Kraft will probably do it.

We not only have a great team in New England, we also have a all-time great owner who wants to take football to a whole new level for us fans. Imagine how he paid a vast multiple of the normal price to put in artificial turf mid-season when the muddy footing seemed to be hurting the Patriots more than helping them.

I can think of few finer things than to have a billionaire in my corner who wants what I want for the team as fiercely as I do.

It's only five months until summer camp opens for the fans. I can hardly wait!

Go Pats!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2007 Donald W. Mitchell

I Need Your Help: What One Thing Do You Most Want to Learn about How to Live Better than a Billionaire on $5 Extra a Day?

Good morning, Fantastic Football Fans!

Are you feeling motivated this morning?
I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

I'm now ready for the next step in writing Live Better than a Billionaire on Five Dollars Extra a Day.

Isn't that exciting?

I need your help to take this step. Will you help me, please?

I need to know what one thing you most want to learn about how to live better than a billionaire on five dollars extra a day!

Please e-mail your answer to ultimatecompetitiveadvantage@yahoo.com and label your subject as: "Here's what I most want to learn about living better than a billionaire on five dollars extra a day".

Please ask your friends to send their answers too!

The results will be used to define the structure of the new book, Live Better than a Billionaire on Five Dollars Extra a Day.

By sending your answer, you'll also have a chance to participate in writing the book.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell
Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2006 Donald W. Mitchell

Prepare for the NFL Football Playoffs for Your Best Experiences Ever!

Good morning, Fantastic Football Fans!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Most people follow the NFL playoff picture from the perspective of their favorite team. If that team is in the playoffs . . . or is in the hunt for a playoff berth, then life is great!

But as soon as their team is eliminated from the running, the season ends for such a fan. That's too bad.

Frankly, there's not a lot else to look forward to in the way of interesting sports during January and February after the college bowl games are over. And football will be inactive for almost half a year until training camp reopens.

Why not squeeze the most out of the experience in the next seven weeks?

I won't discuss the betting element, but I would like to encourage you to think about the emotional perspective. Give yourself more to cheer about!

What do I mean by that?

Add some new loyalties and interests!

1. If you are able to divide your loyalties a little, pick some other teams that interest you which you can root for . . . if your team falls by the wayside due to some unfortunate event.

Some people are even able to root for one team in the AFC and one in the NFC. That makes the playoffs potentially much more interesting.

But then, behind each time, have second, third and fourth teams that you would like to see do well.

It doesn't matter why you pick them . . . but it's often great fun to go for the underdogs.

In picking the teams, keep one eye on the idea that you want to have a team to root for in the Super Bowl.

That means that if all of your teams are eliminated, you're just going to have to pick another team. If you pick another team before the last of your four is gone, you'll feel happier. So try to keep four that you are focused on all the time.

As you know, I bleed for the New England Patriots. But looking beyond them in the AFC, I have to get excited about what the Cincinnati Bengals are doing. I hope that the Patriots will have a chance to face and defeat Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, but I have to admire what both teams have done so far. That gives me four to think about in the AFC. In the NFC, I can't help but be interested in Seattle, New York and Chicago. They are playing interesting football.

2. Start learning about and watching the other teams now.

That's easy for me this week. New England has clinched and has a meaningless game against the Jets on Monday night. I can watch as many games as I want today and tomorrow involving the other teams without any sense of conflict.

Based on what I see, I can start to develop some temporary attachments . . . just in case.

If you don't already have Direct TV, this is a good time to put it in. You'll have more choices of games to watch next week.

3. Pick some individual performers to watch more closely.

These don't have to be great stars. They can just be interesting stories. How well will Deion Sanders do in his latest comeback? Will Mike Vrabel catch another touchdown pass this season? Will Corey Dillon regain his Championship form of last season by the first round of the playoffs? How well will Eli Manning hold up at the end of the season? Will Drew Brees put the Chargers into the playoffs with his arm?

I suggest you look past fantasy football as you do this. The top performers are not necessarily the most interesting stories emotionally.

4. Find a more fun place and way to hang out to watch the games.

Most of us either fill the den, the bedroom or the same local beer joint. But you can have more fun if you share the experience with a few friends. Invite them over for next weekend . . . or suggest a new bar you can hit that someone has recommended. Some of my most fond memories of the playoffs involve bars I had never been in before while I spent time with my family . . . surrounded by television sets, lots of appetizers and pitchers.

This is a particularly good idea for those of us who live in all female households!

5. Find a really outrageous football talk show to listen to.

You know the kind of show I mean . . . where the opinions are rabid, filled with weird ideas and shouted at the top of someone's lungs. This will definitely get your adrenaline going! Shut it off before you get totally annoyed.

6. Preorder your pizza deliveries.

If you wait until half time is about to start, everyone else will be calling. Call before the game and just tell them to deliver early into the half time. The pizza people will be listening to the game, and they will know when to put your pizza in.

7. Go to a playoff game.

I know. I know. That's expensive and hard to do.

But it's not as tough as you think. With sites like stubhub.com, you usually have your pick of inexpensive tickets. Go for standing room at about double face value, and you'll be paying less than many seated fans will at face value. You'll be standing all the game anyway. Why pay for a seat? If you get there early, chances are you can get a standing room spot between the 40s. How sweet is that!

8. Find somebody who owes you a favor in Detroit and start talking about the Super Bowl.

A lot of free tickets float around for Detroit Super Bowls. With all those car companies and suppliers, everyone wants to do everyone a favor . . . and many people end up with extra tickets. You can probably score seats at no cost if someone owes you a favor.

9. Read the headlines every day for the teams you've decided to follow.

You should have over 15 stories to pick from. Many of the stories will be in-depth profiles. Your knowledge about these contenders for your emotional support will grow rapidly.

10. Turn the sound off if the official announcers are idiots.

You know who I mean. They wouldn't know a block from a tackle if it happened to them. They make up weird angles that make no sense about the game . . . because they have to clue what's going on. Football is too much fun to let some announcer spoil your fun.

For the Patriots games, I usually turn the television on with the sound off and listen to the radio coverage instead. The radio audio comes across a second or two ahead of the video feed so it makes it easier to see what's going on.

Could a billionaire do better? Not a chance!

Billionaires are just going to focus on their helicopters, limos and luxury suites (located visually about 12 miles from the field). Who cares!

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Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it. E-mailing your favorite post to them is a great idea.

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

Remember to also visit

Live Spiritually Better than a Billionaire at http://livespirituallybetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Create Your Own 2,000 Percent Solutions at
http://2000percentsolutions.blogspot.com/,

Create a Billion Dollar Business at http://billiondollarbusiness.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/ and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

I offer individual on-line tutorials and in-person seminars on living better than a billionaire on five dollars extra a day, creating 2,000 percent solutions (20 times the results with the same effort), developing more profitable business models and designing strategies that work regardless of the business environment. For information, contact me at ultimatecompetitiveadvantage@yahoo.com.

I am available to you as a speaker on these subjects. You can find my background at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.

May God bless you. Merry Christmas!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Announcing Create a Billion Dollar Business

Good morning, Happy Football Fans!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I know that I am.

As a follow-up to my recent announcement of The Billionaire Entrepreneurs’ Master Mind I wanted to alert you to a new blog, Create a Billion Dollar Business (see http://billiondollarbusiness.blogspot.com/).

This new blog will share exciting details about the new master mind for those who want to create unprecedented entrepreneurial success in their careers.

If you think this opportunity might be right for you, contact me at ultimatecompetitiveadvantage@yahoo.com with a subject heading of "I Want to Create a Billion Dollar Business". I'll be back to you to answer your questions and provide application information.

Merry Christmas!

May God bless you.

With best regards, much appreciation and all good wishes,

Donald W. Mitchell
Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Enjoy Football South Florida Style!

Good morning, Fantastic Football Fans!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

When most people think about football, memories of cold, crisp autumn days, the smell of burning leaves and hot apple cider are likely to be evoked.

Imagine my surprise when I recently attended a football game in Pro Player stadium in Miami. The day started off with driving rain, cloudy skies, a strong breeze and a temperature of 85 degrees! My host told me I should thank my lucky stars because if it weren't overcast the temperature while sitting in the sun would soon climb to over 100 degrees.

We started the day by putting on lots of sun block (SPF 35) so we wouldn't look like lobsters.

As we walked through the parking lot, I was fascinated to find that most fans were enjoying cool or cold foods rather than hot foods for their tailgates. Most had erected tents to avoid the blistering sun.

Once in the stadium, my host looked visibly relieved that the escalators to the top level were working. Otherwise, we would have had a sweaty, draining long hike up the ramps to the top.

My host then demonstrated how I could stand in the entry tunnels to cool off if I started to feel faint from the heat and humidity in the stands.

The game was between the Miami Dolphins and the visiting New England Patriots. Neither team is having a stellar season. On the way to winning the Super Bowl last year, New England lost a last-minute squeaker in Miami on an extremely cold night where the temperature in Miami was lower than that in Boston. The Patriots win in Miami about every 8 years, so New England fans didn't expect much . . . except the Dolphins are having lots of problems, too.

Imagine my surprise when the colors in the stands suggest that there appear to be more New England fans present than Dolphins fan. This is a virtual home game in the sun for New England!

But there's bad news. The New England fans in my area are the most obnoxious drunks I've sat near in many years. They scream obscenities at the top of their lungs, start slapping at Dolphins fans, and one later passes out in the aisle. Despite having lots of signs posted that unruly fans will be kicked out and with guards standing a few feet away, these fans are tolerated by the powers that be. They would have been booted out within 15 minutes in New England for the same behavior. The good news is that they were out of my line of sight for watching the field.

The vendors soon come around selling . . . frozen lemonade.

I persuade my host to check out the beer stand. He reports that the beverage prices are the same as in Foxboro (exorbitant) with $10 being the top charge for a premium draft brew. At half time, I decide to do a little snooping around and am surprised to find that most beer stands are already sold out. People in Florida must work up a big thirst in all that heat.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the game. It's a pretty inept affair for most of the first three quarters. The Dolphins miss a chip shot field goal as one sign that it's not going to be a great game. But both teams start scoring with more alacrity in the fourth quarter, and the victory for New England isn't determined until the game's final play.

Knowing that Pro Player stadium can be a tough place to exit, I ask my host how long it will take to escape. He mentions that it usually takes him two hours to get out of the parking lot.

Your dream concierge decides to do him a favor and find a better way. We check out the exit pattern at the sole egress from our parking lot. I note that one lane out handles only the first row. Naturally, we are in the back row . . . but if we can go through empty spaces through the remaining cars, we can get to that front row and right out. With your dream concierge riding shotgun pointing out the path, we exit the parking lot 6 minutes after entering our car. We are heading north on the Florida turnpike 5 minutes later. My host is impressed.

I'm impressed by some other things. You can get better seats in Miami for a lot less money than you can in New England. I guess there are some advantages to having a losing team.

So if you want to see your team play, you can probably get a free vacation to Florida for the price of the difference between what you would pay for seats and parking in your home stadium and attending in Miami.

Here are the lucky fans for December:

December 4: Buffalo Bills
December 18: New York Jets
December 24: Tennessee Titans

Go Patriots!

Can a billionaire do any better? I doubt that one did.

There were at least two billionaires at the game. One was Dolphins owner, Wayne Huizenga, and the other was Patriots owner, Bob Kraft. Mr. Huizenga arrived ostentatiously in a tiny helicopter just before game time. He left less ostentatiously, but very quickly, after the game. His helicopter was in the air while I was still walking down the ramp from the top level of the stadium. I guess he didn't want to celebrate at the stadium. I'm pretty sure that I had a better time than he did.

Mr. Kraft may have had more fun than I did. If I ever meet him, I'll ask him.

But at least one of the two billionaires was bound to be unhappy that day. Perhaps selling out the stadium made Mr. Huizenga a little less glum. But would any real football fan be glad of a loss, even if it was profitable? I doubt it.

************************************

N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color. Many thanks to Linda Grace for her suggestions which I am following!

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it. E-mailing your favorite post to them is a great idea.

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

Remember to also visit

Live Spiritually Better than a Billionaire at http://livespirituallybetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Create Your Own 2,000 Percent Solutions at
http://2000percentsolutions.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/ and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

I offer individual on-line tutorials and in-person seminars on living better than a billionaire on five dollars extra a day, creating 2,000 percent solutions (20 times the results with the same effort), developing more profitable business models and designing strategies that work regardless of the business environment. For information, contact me at ultimatecompetitiveadvantage@yahoo.com.

I am available to you as a speaker on these subjects. You can find my background at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Announcing Create Your Own 2,000 Percent Solutions

Good morning, Fantastic Football Fans!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so! I know that I certainly am.

Long before I conceived of the subject of this blog and began developing the book upon which it is based, I worked in the area of helping people find their own ways of becoming more productive. One of the first public fruits of that work was a book called The 2,000 Percent Solution which was published by the American Management Association in 1999. My co-authors were Carol Coles and Robert Metz.

Since then, I've given more talks than I can count to CEO and senior management groups in companies of all sizes and conducted classes and workshops all around the world to help people apply the lessons of that book.

What's the premise? You can accomplish 20 times as much with the same time and effort and resources in virtually everything you do.

Why is that the case? First, because experience has shown that such improvements routinely available. Second, because there's a simple process you can learn to follow that will get you there. Third, because we operate so far below the potential of what we do because of bad habits we've fallen into (something my co-authors and I call "stalls").

Since 2003, I've been teaching on-line students ways to revolutionize their lives for the better. One of the fruits of that work has been to create a workbook with my esteemed colleague, Carol Coles, based on The 2,000 Percent Solution to make it easier to make such wonderful improvements.

The workbook will be published in December, and I know that you will want to buy a copy. As soon as the book is available for purchase on-line, I'll let you know.

To give you a head start over the rest of the world, I've decided to post a few of the early chapters of The 2,000 Percent Solution Workbook on a new blog, Create Your Own 2,000 Percent Solutions. There's a link on this blog's page, but you can also go to http://2000percentsolutions.blogspot.com/ directly.

May God bless you and your efforts to create many more 2,000 percent solutions!

Donald Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Enjoy Professional Football Games More

Good morning, Fantastic Football Fans!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Last week I attended my first professional football game in several years, dating back to the days when my Dad and I made the Super Bowl an annual event. Having visited Gillette Stadium several times to attend practices for the Patriots, I was impressed by what I had seen and wanted to experience a game there. The new stadium is quite an upgrade from the former Foxboro Stadium that was the prior home for the Patriots. That facility had been built for around $6 million. The new facility cost more than $350 million.

Knowing that traffic jams are part of professional football, I left home very early . . . and still spent an hour and a half en route for what would normally be a 30 minute drive.

Before the game, I had been in Pennsylvania and my long drive back meant that I would arrive after the commuter train to the stadium had left. That was too bad. The round trip charge on the train is only $10 and the cheapest parking I could find was $20 within walking distance of the stadium. At the stadium itself, parking is $35. If I can find where the commuter train stations are, I may be able to save time and money.

Once at the game, I was impressed to see how many people were tailgating. In the stadium parking lot, about 1/3 of the vehicles had tables, grills and coolers. There were Port-a-Potties everywhere . . . but the lines were pretty long. Perhaps a lot of people were having urinary tract infections.

Having seen a sign that said "no binocular cases" at the last college game I attended, I didn't know what to expect. I was carrying my binoculars in a case. The security guard who frisked me took pity on me and simply searched my binocular case. He asked me why I had trash in the bottom of the case (he didn't seem to appreciate the used look to my lens cleaning cloth). The stadium was well equipped for frisking. There were 15 unoccupied friskers for every fan going in when I arrived.

Being pretty unclear how to get to my seat, I was relieved when the ticket taker gave me precise directions. I didn't want to spend two hours wandering around.

To enter Gillette Stadium for a regular seat (rather than a luxury box), you go up several long ramps which reminded me of the ramps at Fenway Park. The only difference is that these ramps let you see while you climb. I soon arrived at my level and decided to wander around. I was pleased to see that there were enough different food and beverage choices to allow me to eat and drink differently at every game in a season without the need to ever repeat myself. Naturally, I sampled the wares. Prices were steep! My favorite elixir was $10. A tiny pizza was $6. Hot chocolate was $3 (and it was cold rather than hot).

I was delighted (at first) to find that my seat was at the end of a row and the seat was a seat . . . rather than a number on a bench. There was a men's room at the top of the stairs, and I found that I could make a quick trip faster than the television crew could air all their commercials. But I soon began to miss lots of plays anyway, as I stood up for over 120 times to let my fellow fans in and out of their seats. Each of them was quite a bit taller than I am, so they effectively blocked the view each time they came through. For some reason, they all exited in my direction even if they were only three seats from the other aisle. Go figure!

Once the game began, a new problem arose. The man in the next seat arrived. Had he been in shape, his size would have qualified him to play nose tackle. Although he tried to leave me a little space, I lost about half my seat to him. Leaning out into the aisle, vendors began pushing me back into him.

I partially solved the problem by sitting sideways with my feet under the seat in front of me.

We all stood for the kickoff. And everyone kept standing. The fellows in front of me were at least 18 inches taller than I am, and they blocked my view even though their row was a foot lower. So I kept trying to peek between the bodies. Now I know what Doug Flutie goes through when he's trying to see receivers downfield.

Fortunately, it was a fairly warm night for late October, and I had worn several layers. I was warm throughout but the people around me (especially the ones in shorts) were soon shivering in the brisk breeze.

My seat was near one end zone, and that turned out to be fortunate for allowing me to see the Patriots score two touchdowns late in the game to secure their fourth win of the season over the surprisingly tough Buffalo Bills.

I took one last trip to the men's room, and was impressed to see that it was still pretty empty. The crowd did back up getting onto those exit ramps and it took about 30 minutes to get back to my car (no, I didn't get lost!). From there, I noticed that about half the fans were starting to tailgate all over again. That was good or it would have taken longer than the 45 minutes it did to get out of the parking lot. From there it was another 45 minutes home, and I was tucked in bed by 2 a.m.

Here are some suggestions based on my experience:

1. Buy a standing room ticket. I could have seen the game much better by standing, and I spent almost the whole game standing any way.

2. Take the commuter train unless you want to tailgate. This will save you at least an hour and a half and some money unless you are traveling with a large group.

3. Consider tailgating and making a day of it. With the price of stadium concessions, you can eat and drink for about one-tenth the cost out in the parking lots.

4. Bring arrangements for refreshing yourself if the Port-a-Potty lines are too long. For men this can be pretty easy. For women, I leave you to your own imagination.

5. Dress twice as warm as you think you need to be. That's the only way you can avoid being too chilled. You can always unzip a jacket or peel off a layer if you overdo it.

6. Wear your binoculars around your neck on the way in. That may save you a trip back to the car . . . or having to throw your case away if you come by commuter train.

7. Move around the stadium to follow the action. By going up and down the sidelines, you can always have a 50 yard line seat.

8. If you get tired of standing, flop down into an empty seat while its occupant is waiting in the beer and/or rest room lines. The average exit time is about 20 minutes at Gillette Stadium. And there are always lots of temporarily unoccupied seats.

9. Consider hanging around after the game if you don't take the train. I know it's not fun to be around after a loss, but you can bring along some other activity you like (such as a good book). Otherwise, you will just spend the same amount of time locked up in traffic with nothing much to do either.

10. Find friends who have luxury boxes you can use during the worst weather. Unless you do dog-sled races for fun, remember that by late December outdoor stadiums are colder than your freezer at home. Unless you like to climb into your freezer on Sunday afternoons, I recommend indoor viewing.

11. Appreciate the joys of the game ambience by not going to the game. Just hang out in a local tavern near the stadium where you can cheer on your team while being part of the scene . . . but without the price of a ticket. Be sure to pick a spot that allows for a quick getaway.

Can a billionaire do better? I doubt it.

Of course, a billionaire will attend in a luxury suite. While those are probably pretty comfortable, they are located up near the top level in Gillette Stadium. And unless the luxury suite is on the 50 yard line, the view will be less than optimal most of the time. Someone with a standing room ticket will have a better view. Can you imagine Bill Gates marching up and down behind the good seats to get a better view of a Seahawks game?

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N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color. Many thanks to Linda Grace for her suggestions which I am following!

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it. E-mailing your favorite post to them is a great idea.

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

Remember to also visit

Live Spiritually Better than a Billionaire at http://livespirituallybetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Create Your Own 2,000 Percent Solutions at
http://2000percentsolutions.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Football Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoyfootballbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/ and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

I offer individual on-line tutorials and in-person seminars on living better than a billionaire on five dollars extra a day, creating 2,000 percent solutions (20 times the results with the same effort), developing more profitable business models and designing strategies that work regardless of the business environment. For information, contact me at ultimatecompetitiveadvantage@yahoo.com.

I am available to you as a speaker on these subjects. You can find my background at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

More Ways to Enjoy College Football

Good morning, Fantastic Football Fans!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Do you enjoy college football?

Are you interested in having some new experiences?

Would you like to explore new dimensions of life?

Are you ready for more excitement?

If you answered "yes" to any two of these questions, this blog post can transform your fall Saturdays.

Most people watch football on television . . . and that's it.

What a waste!

I recently had an experience that convinced me to be more active in attending college football games at schools where I was never a student. Why? I had the best college football experience of my life at the Michigan-Penn State game in Ann Arbor.

Let me tell you about this amazing trip.

In early August, I attended a seminar in Las Vegas run by Jack Canfield called Breakthrough to Success. During the seminar, we were encouraged to develop Mastermind Groups (like-minded people who will support each other). One of my group members is Kevin Hill, who is a Michigan graduate and varsity letter holder in wrestling. Kevin started reading my blog and saw my entry on August 31 where I talked about enjoying the upcoming college football season,

Rah! Rah! Siss Boom Bah! -- Are You Ready for a Great College Football Season? (see http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_31_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html)

One of the items on my list (number five) was to attend a game for a top team you've never seen before.

Kevin asked me if I would like to attend a Michigan game with him. We checked out schedules and found that we were both available for the Penn State game in Ann Arbor. At that point Penn State was undefeated and ranked in the top ten nationally. It looked like a great opportunity.

In preparing for my trip, I wrote about my experiences on October 14,

Prepare for a College Football Game Better Than a Billionaire (see http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_10_14_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html

Naturally, conditions turned out to be quite different than I expected.

A huge storm hit Boston before I left. With major flight delays up and down the East coast, my airline wasn't able to get me to Detroit. I had the choice of sleeping in an airport somewhere or flying out the next day. I chose to return home and start out the next morning. So my hotel room at the airport went unused that night because I had prepaid for it on priceline.com (a drawback to that money-saving approach).

When I arrived in Detroit, it was like someone had thrown the "warm weather" switch. The sky was blue and it was over 70 degrees. I began to realize that my foul weather gear wasn't going to be required any more that weekend.

I drove to Ann Arbor where I met Kevin. We transferred into his SUV and headed off to tour the campus.

I had been looking forward to the tour because I hadn't been in Ann Arbor in many years.

Kevin immediately surprised me by presenting me with my Michigan colors in the form of a great t-shirt and sweatshirt appropriate for the game. I had planned to buy the same things on my own and greatly appreciated his gift. Michigan fans are supposed to wear yellow to the games, and I didn't own anything yellow before that day.

We next headed off to an old college haunt that has great sandwiches. We lazed outdoors at a picnic table and swapped stories. From there, we walked the campus and made a detour to visit the art museum (a personal interest of mine).

That night we headed up to Kevin's home territory in Fenton, Michigan where I was to stay in his family's lakeside "cottage" which is actually a lovely home. While there, Kevin took me to yet another great restaurant for a delicious dinner.

Saturday morning, it was another great weather day. We had time to visit and look around his home town. Due to television plans, the kick-off wouldn't be until late afternoon.

We stopped by a great cider mill and enjoyed the warm fermented juice. From there, another great meal awaited us in a sports bar where there were six large-screen televisions and a dial that allowed you to pick the sound feed you wanted to listen to.

We walked up towards the stadium. On the way, Kevin and I dropped into the club for varsity athletes and I met some of his friends from college days. The photographs and memorabilia were great, and the uncrowded bathroom was also conveniently located not far from the stadium.

Through his university connections, Kevin had been able to buy tickets on the 40 yard line at just the right height in Michigan Stadium.

And then we saw the wildest football game I've ever seen.

You can read about the game at http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/cfoot579/5103357/detail.html and http://www.umich.edu/~mgoblue/football/02-03/release-10-12.html

The game was decided on the final play . . . and Michigan won. It was great!

Since then, both Michigan and Penn State have gone on to have fine seasons. Michigan moved up in the rankings and Penn State dropped slightly. Both teams will appear in bowl games.

What are the lessons for you?

1. Make attending a top college game a higher priority than anything else you do each college season.

2. Pick a location where there are a lot of other interesting things to do while you are there.

3. Attend in a large stadium. It's more exciting.

4. Go for a home team where the fans are well behaved.

5. Ask a friend to show you the sights.

6. Get help from an alum for obtaining good seats.

7. Arrive the day before the game.

8. Attend with someone who was an athlete at the school.

9. Stay around for the celebration (if there is one).

Can any billionaire do better? I doubt it.

Billionaires aren't likely to want to sit in the stands like an ordinary fan. College stadiums usually don't have luxury suites.

Billionaires are likely to realize that arriving on campus will probably trigger lots of donation requests. If they accede to those requests, the game will cost them a lot more than it will cost you.

******************************************

N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color. Many thanks to Linda Grace for her suggestions which I am following!

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it. E-mailing your favorite post to them is a great idea.

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

Remember to also visit

Live Spiritually Better than a Billionaire at http://livespirituallybetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/, and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

I offer individual on-line tutorials and in-person seminars on living better than a billionaire on five dollars extra a day, creating 2,000 percent solutions (20 times the results with the same effort), developing more profitable business models and designing strategies that work regardless of the business environment. For information, contact me at ultimatecompetitiveadvantage@yahoo.com.

I am available to you as a speaker on these subjects. You can find my background at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Prepare to Enjoy College Football Game Better Than a Billionaire

Good morning, Fantastic Football Fans!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Do you enjoy college football?

Do you like having new football watching experiences?

Are you able to travel on Saturdays?

If you answered "yes" to these questions, you've come to the right blog post.

Today, we'll look at how you can prepare to enjoy a college football game better than a billionaire. I'll share my preparations for this week's Michigan-Penn State game as a potential model for you.

On August 31, I wrote a blog post entitled Rah! Rah! Siss Boom Bah! -- Are You Ready for a Great College Football Season? See http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_31_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html

Item five on that post was a suggestion to go to a game for a top team you've never seen in person before. Soon thereafter, Kevin Hill who is in my Mastermind Group from Jack Canfield's Breakthrough to Success seminar invited me to visit him in Ann Arbor to take in a University of Michigan game. I'm very fond of Ann Arbor, but have never attended a game there. Naturally, as a Patriots fan I'm also very grateful for Michigan's gift of Tom Brady to the football world. We checked schedules and the Penn State game worked well for both of us. On Saturday, we'll join the throngs pouring into Michigan Stadium. For more information on the stadium go to http://www.mgoblue.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=3052/.
You can also read about the stadium's history at http://www.umich.edu/~bhl/stadium/.

I've been preparing for the game for several weeks now. Let me share with you some of the many steps I've taken to get ready.

1. I went to a Harvard home game.

Although I am a graduate of Harvard, I seldom attend the games. When I was a student, the quality of the play was often inferior that what my old high school in California produced. Over the years, I didn't notice much improvement.

My wife and I agreed that a warm, sunny day would be nice and we picked a non-league game with Lehigh. Harvard usually loses those games big, and that happened again. But I was pleased to see that the caliber of play had improved quite a lot since my undergraduate days.

The band used to be the big draw when I was young. I was sorry to see that its size and quality of humor had deteriorated.

I wanted this experience so that I could have baseline for comparison to a Big Ten game.

2. I started following the Michigan and Penn State games.

Neither team is likely to lead the headlines in the Boston Globe's sports section. This led me to watch highlights on ESPN and read about the games on the team's Web sites.

The Michigan Web site is http://www.mgoblue.com/section_display.cfm?section_id=185&top=2&level=2/.
There, I learned that I was being asked to wear yellow for the game. This will give me an excuse to buy a souvenir for the game. I don't think I own a single item of yellow clothing. Michigan is not having one of its greatest seasons so facing Penn State will be a challenge.

The Penn State Web site is http://www.gopsusports.com/Football/home.cfm/. This is mostly press releases about the Nittany Lions' great season. They are 6-0 and are ranked number 8 in the country after beating Ohio State last week 17-10 in what sounds like a very exciting game.

3. I checked the kick-off time.

Knowing this was likely to be a televised game, I knew that the kick-off might not be at mid-day. Since I would be coming in from Boston, I needed to know what kind of viewing conditions I might experience. From the Michigan Web site, I learned that this will be a regionally televised game and will start at 3:30 p.m.

4. Wanting to know more about the weather, I looked at the long-term forecast for game time.

At www.weather.com, I got the game-time forecast and saw that there's a 40% chance of rain and an expectation of 24 mile per hour winds. The temperature for the day will be between 57 and 40. Sunset will be at 6:54 p.m. so it will probably feel like around 30 degrees with the wind chill by the end of the game.

Since we've been basking in Indian summer weather in Boston until this week, I'll need to dress very warmly and in a way that will help me keep dry.

5. I checked out the size of the stadium to see if I need field glasses.

While at the Harvard game, I had seats on the 40 yard line that were less than 30 yards from the field. At Michigan I'll be joining over 100,000 other people. I think I'll bring my most powerful pair just like I would for a professional game.

6. I visited www.rivals.com to get the statistics on the two teams and the players.

Michigan seems to be doing well with its offense. The team is averaging almost 30 points a game. Both the passing and running games are solid. Quarterback Chad Henne has a rating of 127.4, has thrown for 11 touchdowns in 6 games and only 3 interceptions. His favorite target is Jason Avant who is averaging 13 yards a completion. Henne will have to spread it around more against Penn State's tough defense. Michigan has a trio of talented rushers averaging 4 yards or better a carry headed by Mike Hart who has averaged 4.8 yards.

Although Michigan is 3-3, the Blue have outscored their opponents on average by a wide margin. The problem has come with Big 10 games, where Michigan is 1-2.

By comparison, Penn State has both a better offense and defense to date, scoring more points and allowing fewer than Michigan has. The statistics on passing and rushing per attempt are also better. Penn State is 3-0 in Big Ten games.

Quarterback Michael Robinson has thrown for 9 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. His ability to avoid interceptions is important to Penn State's chances. Robinson is also Penn State's second leading rusher which makes the task of containing him very challenging for Michigan. When Robinson isn't running, Tony Hunt is averaging 6.3 yards a carry. That's a tough combination to stop for any defense.

Bettors will be favoring Penn State. Can the home crowd help Michigan to pull off an upset?

7. I arranged my schedule to enjoy pre-game activities on campus.

I've never been one to show up at the last minute for football games. I like to drink in the atmosphere and observe the local traditions. As a result, I'll be spending some time seeing the academic side of Michigan before being pulled into the football pre-game frenzy.

8. I bought my tickets, hotel and rental car well in advance at a discount from www.priceline.com.

As a result, the trip is quite inexpensive. After the first night, Kevin will be putting me up at his cottage. We'll be spending a lot of time together so I'm sure to get the benefit of his local knowledge.

9. I know the Ann Arbor area pretty well, so I didn't have to do much research on what else to visit.

From years of having clients in town and staying in Ann Arbor during the prior Super Bowl in Michigan, I think I know what else I want to see. If I hadn't had that knowledge, I would have checked out local sights as well.

I feel like I'm ready for some football. Can any billionaire do better? I think not!

********************************************************

N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color. Many thanks to Linda Grace for her suggestions which I am following!

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it. E-mailing your favorite post to them is a great idea.

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

Remember to also visit

Live Spiritually Better than a Billionaire at http://livespirituallybetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/, and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

I offer individual on-line tutorials and in-person seminars on living better than a billionaire on five dollars extra a day, creating 2,000 percent solutions (20 times the results with the same effort), developing more profitable business models and designing strategies that work regardless of the business environment. For information, contact me at ultimatecompetitiveadvantage@yahoo.com.

I am available to you as a speaker on these subjects. You can find my background at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Attend to the Spirit

Good morning, Fantastic Football Fans!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Introduction

Less than ten days ago, the Patriots won a very tough game in Pittsburgh. The win was costly with Rodney Harrison sustaining an injury that ended his season and Matt Light going out with a broken leg.

Looking forward to the rest of the season, I began to wonder how the Patriots could sustain the will to win without so many of their leaders.

Observations

Watching the Patriots lose to San Diego on Sunday made me think of that question again. While the Patriots were competitive in the first half, no one stepped up to match the increased intensity from the Chargers in the second half.

If there was a telling point, it was that the Patriots have stopped intercepting passes and recovering fumbles. In the past, that opportunism drove them to three championships. Now, they lack the focus and desire to grasp such sources of victory.

It was the sort of game that must leave coaches totally at a loss for what to do next.

Recommendation

How can the Patriots regain their winning ways? They need to recapture the winning spirit.

What's that? It's a determination to do what it takes to win. You look deep inside yourself and deep into the eyes of your opponent . . . and you decide to win.

Everyone has to learn that spirit sometime. For the newer Patriots, the time is now. For the older Patriots, they need to emulate their fallen leaders.

Here's the lesson: Winning is at least 50% mental. You have to see and feel the future success in your mind and body before you can gain that success.

GO PATS!

*******************************************************************

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Only the Paranoid Win Championships

Good morning, Fantastic Football Fans!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Before getting into the substance of this post, let me mention my teaching plans for this month in the Boston area:

In Brookline, Massachusetts (617-730-2700)

Franchising Opportunities to Start a New Business on September 21 and 28

Call now for information and to enroll!

Introduction

Last fall, my son kindly arranged for me to join him in Miami to watch the Patriots play. I had not seen a game in the Tom Brady era, and I was excited. Surrounded by other Patriots fans, my son felt a little out of place as he cheered on his Dolphins.

Just before the game ended, a self-satisfied Patriots fan turned to my son and lectured him on why the Patriots win so may championships: They don't make stupid, mental mistakes.

Then Tom Brady threw an ill-advised pass that was intercepted deep in the red zone, and the Dolphins scored and went on to win the game.

Observations

Watching the Patriots lose to Carolina yesterday reminded me of that game last season in frigid Miami.

Yesterday, the Patriots beat themselves with penalties, dropped passes, turnovers and missed opportunities with potential interceptions.

It was the sort of game that must leave coaches shaking in the middle of the night . . . when you lose.

Recommendation

In a business book, Andy Grove once coined a phrase that seems to fit: Only the Paranoid Survive!

The Patriots were up early on the Panthers and seemed to have them on the ropes. If they had paid attention for another five minutes, this game would probably have been a 40-21 Patriots win. But the Patriots didn't stay focused.

Until the game is put away, football teams would do well to run scared every time that they get a temporary advantage. They should treat the situation like they are behind . . . and cannot afford a mistake.

Remember that lesson the next time: Only the paranoid win championships!

*******************************************************************

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Patriots Win in Glitzy Kick Off Followed by a Ragged Game

Good morning, Fantastic Football Fans!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Before getting into the substance of this post, let me mention my teaching plans for this month in the Boston area:

In Brookline, Massachusetts (617-730-2700)

Raising Capital for Your New Business on September 20 and 27

Franchising Opportunities to Start a New Business on September 21 and 28

In Newton, Massachusetts (617-559-6999)

The 2,000 Percent Solution (creating ways to accomplish 20 times as much with the same time and resources)

Call now for information and to enroll!

Do you ever remember seeing a less football related opening to the regular season?

I was appalled. It's as though ABC wants to become ABF . . . Anything But Football.

Until Bob Kraft came out to thank the Patriots fans and to display the 2004 Championship banner at 8:52, the 8-9 p.m. show was just like any other concert on New Year's Eve.

As a result, there was precious little opportunity for John Madden and Al Michaels to say anything about the game before the real kick off. Too bad! I would rather listen to one sentence from John Madden about the game than watch an entire hour including all my favorite entertainers.

The game itself looked more like a preseason affair than the start of the regular season by the World Champions.

I was disappointed in so many things it's hard to track them all down. Tom Brady summed it up best after the game when he observed that the Patriots need to improve a lot but that a win is a win and the Patriots should be grateful to have this one.

Here were some of the more obvious problems:

Patriots

1. The run blocking was terrible. On a key fourth and short, Dan Klecko came in at fullback and ran through the whole ahead of Corey Dillon with blocking anybody. The Patriots failed to make the first down.

2. The pass blocking became very sloppy in the second half. The line looked like it was out of shape.

3. The secondary looked confused on several plays and receivers were wide open.

4. The point after and punt blocking were beyond inadequate. Both a PAT and a punt were blocked. That's inexecusable.

5. Blitzes couldn't add much pressure to the Raiders passing game.

Raiders

1. Randy Moss could get open, but the Raiders didn't have enough pass blocking to hold the pocket until Moss could get down field.

2. Kerry Collins is easily frustrated, and was off his game whenever he was hurried.

3. The Raiders play calling emphasized plays they couldn't execute.

4. The Raiders secondary bore a major resemblance to Swiss cheese.

Now, how would a billionaire handle these problems?

Frankly, I don't know. But it's pretty clear that the players and coaches have a lot of work to do if these two teams are to prosper throughout the season.

Hopefully, the billionaire would realize that he should leave it up to the coaches. I'm sure that's what Bob Kraft will do. I'm less sure what Al Davis will do.

As you watch these teams, look for improvement. It's unlikely to get much worse.

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

The NFL Kicks Off Tonight!

Good morning, Fantastic Football Fans!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Before getting into the substance of this post, let me mention my teaching plans for this month in the Boston area:

In Brookline, Massachusetts (617-730-2700)

Raising Capital for Your New Business on September 20 and 27

Franchising Opportunities to Start a New Business on September 21 and 28

In Newton, Massachusetts (617-559-6999)

The 2,000 Percent Solution (creating ways to accomplish 20 times as much with the same time and resources)

Call now for information and to enroll!

Introduction

How will billionaires enjoy the NFL kick off? Chances are that you won't see any at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Patriots owner Robert Kraft isn't a billionaire, or he would be the exception.

Yet billionaires can certainly afford to buy a ticket (even at scalper's rates).

Why won't billionaires attend? Some don't like football (I know that's hard to imagine). Many avoid crowds fearing that they might be abducted. Others have big egos. If they aren't going to be the center of attention, they don't bother. And the rest are probably off doing a big deal somewhere to add another billion to their vault.

If they do attend, most won't take the time to read up on the players and the teams.

What a shame! Imagine letting your wealth get in the way of one of the world's great pleasures. That sounds like getting your priorities backwards.

What's worse? Many won't even watch the game on television.

With the amazing John Madden providing color commentary, they could have gotten some sense of the game's dynamic and beauty beyond watching the scoreboard.

Recommendations

You can do better. You don't need me to tell you that.

But since you haven't been watching much pro football since the Pro Bowl, I thought it would be worthwhile providing a few reminders.

1. Visit www.patriots.com and www.raiders.com to get a good background on the teams. Pay particular attention to the news articles in the local press. They usually do the best job of analyzing the matchups in a game.

2. Go to the national media to get an overview of the season. http://espn.go.com/ is a good place to start. ESPN features a brief article about what the Raiders have to do to make the game competitive against the Patriots.

3. Listen to some sports talk radio after work tonight to get you in the mood.

4. Tune into your favorite local football show on television to see what they have to say about the game. If you are in Boston or Providence, be sure to check out Patriots All Access on WCVB. If you live outside of those areas, visit http://www.thebostonchannel.com/nfl077/4168988/detail.html to find out about past interviews with Bill Belichick.

5. Call a buddy who knows more about the two teams than you do. That may be hard to do if you live in California or New England, but chances are you know someone who knows at least one of the teams better than you do.

6. Look into the history of the two teams. There's a lot of bad feeling on the Raiders' sideline due to the enforcement of the tuck rule a few years back during the playoffs.

7. Write down what you think will happen. That will help you get a sense of when something new is going on. Otherwise, you would have expected it. For example, a lot of people think that Randy Moss will be critical in the game. If he's not catching passes for many yards, you want to figure out why not. He's certainly big enough, mobile enough and tough enough to have a big night.

8. Stop by the store and pick up your favorite snacks. Most people don't shop during the week and you probably didn't think about the game when you last shopped. As a result, you may be snack deprived if you don't make a store run.

9. Call everyone early who is likely to bother you during the game because they don't realize that the game is on. That speaks for itself.

10. If you're in the area, head down to Foxboro to enjoy the game from a local pub. There's no excitement quite like opening night on the NFL. To me it's bigger than the Super Bowl.

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell