We Repair Drones

By Alika Salazar

What exactly is a drone? A drone, also known as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is an aircraft without a pilot aboard. The flight of UAVs may be controlled with various kinds of remote control technology, with the most common being an operator located on the ground.

The history of drones can be traced back to 1849 when Austria sent unmanned, bomb-filled balloons to attack Venice. A number of remote controlled airplane advances followed during and after World War I and the first scale remote piloted vehicle was developed in 1935. Nazi Germany produced and used various UAV aircraft during the course of WWII. During the height of the Cold War, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) began planning for the use of unmanned aircraft, especially after the Soviet Union shot down a U-2 airplane in 1960. As of 2014, the USAF employed over 9,000 UAVs - almost one in three USAF aircraft!

Drones are not exclusively used by the military. One of the more popular companies that offer drones to the public is called DJI. These drones typically cost anywhere from $600 to about $6,000. Like any other mechanical device, drones can break down for a variety of reasons and will need to either be repaired or replaced. Since we’re in the gadget repair business, I generally prefer to fix what I can and avoid adding to overcrowded landfills.

I recently fixed a water damaged drone that landed in a pool when it was only 24 hours old. Another common cause of breakdowns includes collisions with stationary objects like trees and buildings. The most common repairs involve replacing motors and batteries. The usual cost of repair is around $75 to $100 plus parts.

I own a drone and they are a lot of fun to fly. They also take amazing pictures as they can go where no average photographer can, including several hundred feet in the air and above the clouds! Now that’s putting the high in high tech!

How Strong is Your WHY?

By Bob Cox

After I finished typing up the first draft of this month’s feature article, it seemed like something significant was missing. Since I don’t care much for safe and predictable reading material, I make it a personal mission to write about interesting and inspiring topics. If an article I’ve written can’t even hold my attention in the first paragraph, how can I expect to keep everyone else from being bored to tears? Sadly, the limited amount of meaningful material I had gathered to that point might have yielded that result.

After carefully reviewing the document several times, I was unable to find any substantial flaws. It wasn’t until the next morning when I realized that I had forgotten to ask the one simple and basic question that often makes the difference between an ordinary and extraordinary story. I forgot to ask WHY.

I reached out to my client (Janina Guarino) the next morning and apologized for requesting more time while also prying into her personal life. Fortunately, she wasn’t upset and willingly shared the intimate details of her tragedies and triumphs with liberating transparency. I nearly missed the opportunity to hear about her heart-wrenching struggles with substance abuse, which lead her to the precipice of death and then rise like a Phoenix by reinventing her life while helping others break free from addiction. So now my question is: WHY did I forget to ask WHY?

I’m not exactly sure, but part of it was the fear of being perceived as nosy and meddlesome. As a toddler, I was very curious about things and so I asked WHY early and often each day. Over time, I began to drive my poor parent’s crazy and stopped asking WHY. WHY did I stop asking WHY? Because their approval was more important to me than figuring out WHY I was such an annoying little brat!

Over the years, I’ve heard numerous motivational speakers comment on how we’ve become a society so obsessed with what we do that we’ve devolved from “human beings” to “human doings”. I find myself falling into that rat trap all the time while becoming locked in on getting the answers to all the superficial questions: The who, what, when, where and how of it all.

The strength of our WHY is what determines our level of motivation. When we hear parents complain about their teenaged kids being too lazy to wake up on time, clean their rooms and get a job (basically the same stuff we pulled way back when), the core issue is not laziness but a lack of motivation to move in a positive direction. Place that same “lazy teenager” in a cage with a wild and hungry tiger and watch him/her move faster than a speeding text message!

The heart and soul of every great experience begins with a basic understanding of WHY we choose to make each decision in the first place. When Nelson Mandela chose to take a stand against the evils of apartheid, his WHY became omnipotent as he endured years of unjust imprisonment. On the other hand; when we were kids and our parents said no to the question, “WHY can’t I play on the freeway?” and the best answer they could muster after we protested by asking WHY was, “Because I said so”, didn’t we feel even more compelled to do it?

Like Nelson Mandela and Janina Guarino, a powerful and meaningful life begins with a powerful and meaningful WHY. If you feel uncomfortable asking people you admire and respect about their choices, you’re certainly not alone. Regardless of that concern, summon the courage to ask them anyway because you will likely be amazed and uplifted by their reply. While you’re at it, don’t allow trepidation to prevent you from sharing your own WHY with others that are sincerely interested in you. You may never know how much you can impact the life of another that’s striving to be more than a just a “human doing”.

Exceeding Expectations…

Elle Vive Salon & Spa Features the Best of the Best

By Bob Cox

When Lan Nguyen discovered the depth of her mom’s (Jenny Mai) sadness, she resolved to do something about it. After 30 years of hard physical work as a premiere hair stylist, Jenny felt it was time to hang up her shears and devote more quality time to her family and growing grandchildren.

During her brief retirement, Jenny realized that there was a gaping hole in her heart shortly after selling her beauty salon in Folsom, CA. She missed her work, her clients and her coworkers.

Amongst all the lessons Lan learned from her mother, the single most important was to be true to yourself and follow your heart. When you combine passion and hard work, extraordinary things can and do happen. “My mom taught me the value of working hard and to do your best to please every client. She didn't mind coming to work early and staying late because her goal was to always satisfy the client and give them more than they were looking for”, said Lan.

During her childhood, Lan grew up in a salon and carefully observed how her mother interacted with others and the effortless joy she freely gave and received her with customers, coworkers and other visitors of the salon. Following in her mom’s footsteps, Lan pursued a career as an attorney. After a heart to heart conversation with her mom, Lan convinced her mom to follow her passion and go back to doing what she loved, helping her clients look beautiful.

Since Jenny was busy working on a client, I asked Lan a few questions to better understand the secrets of her mother’s success and the things that motivated her to join a brand new family salon called Elle Vive Salon & Spa in Gold River.

Q: Can you tell us about Elle Vive Salon & Spa?

A: Mom wanted a fresh start and decided to join a new salon that features the very best beauty professionals in town. Elle Vive is a full service salon, which includes hair styling, manicures, pedicures, facials, massage, waxing, permanent makeup and eyelash extensions. Everyone in the salon is excited to let the community know they’re now open for business and feature the best of the best in every service provided.

Q: How does Elle Vive provide the best of the best in each category?

A: The owners have been in the field for such a long time, they can tell just by talking to them. They can usually tell in the first couple of weeks if a person has exceptional skills.

Q: Why is it so important to have the very best people?

A: The owners of Elle Vive want their clients to feel confident enough to try the other services offered in the salon. By hiring highly skilled people, their clients can spend all day in the salon and enjoy their experience without feeling uncomfortable. Everyone here treats their clients like family.

Q: What does Elle Vive do specifically to create a family like environment?

A: Elle Vive selects people with a warm and friendly personality. They look for people that love their work and treat people special. They want to build a team working environment where every person helps each other to become better.

Q: Does the salon have meetings where various members of the team can exchange ideas?

A: Yes and while everyone here rents a station, it's not just about themselves; it's about teamwork. We encourage each other to reach out and help one another improve. But overall, the owners are always looking for the best already, so we don't need to worry about that as much.

Q: How did the owners come up with the name of this salon?

A: Elle Vive means she lives, she survives.

Q: How long has your family been in Sacramento?

A: We came from San Jose in 1991 and mom opened her first salon in South Sacramento. Many of those clients still follow her! She has also worked at a salon on Madison and Dewey and then Madison and Sunrise before opening her shop in Folsom. She actually has almost too many clients, so she likes to share her clients with other stylists that she personally trains. This is also why Elle Vive hires the best in the field. They want their stylists to be able to take care of the clients like my mom, who is exceptional.

Q: Why did your mom go into the beauty field?

A: When mom was young, she wanted to become a doctor but that wasn’t an option. Since she really wanted to help people, she decided to become a hair stylist. A lot of her clients say she has a gift, that she does everything perfectly and very fast. A lot of her clients get in and out quickly and look beautiful. So she has trained a lot of people and her clients have followed her everywhere.

Q: Aside from your mom, who else is working in Elle Vive?

A: Tracy and Phally are the other hair stylists and both are exceptional. Fong is the nail technician who also provides facials, waxing and eyelash extensions. She is versatile and excellent! Right now, Elle Vive is looking for one massage therapist, one more facialist, two more hair stylists and three more nail technicians to rent stations. The owners don't want too many employees though because they want everyone to make money and stay longer.

While conducting this interview, the client Jenny was working on (Melinda) spoke up enthusiastically and had this to say about Jenny. “I have been with Jenny for over 20 years. My children are now 27 and 32 and she did their first haircuts! I used to live over by Dewey and Madison where Jenny used to be and I traveled with her to every shop she's moved to. I don't let anybody else do my hair because I don't trust anybody else (laughing). She has the best work ethic of anybody in this business and she's very accommodating, polite, generous and easy going”.

Elle Vive Salon is located at 11226 Gold Express Drive in Gold River (Near Chevy’s Mexican Restaurant and across the street from Bel Air). Their phone number is (916) 859-0797.

Garbage Bags are not Parachutes!

The Upper Cervical Specialist

By Dr. Blakely

Not all chiropractors use the same techniques. I am an upper cervical specialist, but I also adjust all the segments of the spine that are misaligned and need to be adjusted. Cervical is the neck and my goal is to realign the very top of the head and neck to get it back into the perfect position.

I chose to become an upper cervical specialist because this region of the spine has a huge impact on overall health and well being. How can this be? Well, the brain is housed inside your skull and then there's an opening at the base of the skull where the brain stem and spinal cord pass down into the spinal canal. If that very first vertebra is misaligned, it can affect all the organ systems when it pinches your brain stem and spinal cord at the top of your neck. Misalignment can affect your muscle control mechanisms, causing changes in your posture. Misalignment can impact your digestive system, gallbladder, heart rate, blood pressure and even your immune system.

There are a lot of doctors that will only perform upper cervical adjustments and I certainly understand why. The reason I adjust the rest of the joints and spine is because a lot of times people have had problems for many years before they seek care. Over extended periods of time, they often have degeneration in these other joints and we need to realign all the segments of the spine.

Talk show host Montel Williams did a feature on one of his programs about how he had suffered from low back pain for many years and he thought it was because of his MS. And then he started getting upper cervical work and lo and behold, his low back pain resolved.

What I have found in my practice is that about 25% of my patients with chronic low back pain, the cause was misalignment in their head and neck. Somewhere along the line, they were in an accident or injury and misaligned their head and neck, which consequently affected their lower back.

If you go to a conventional chiropractor and they keep adjusting your low back, it may never fix the problem because it’s not getting at the source. For this reason, we ask every patient to complete a lengthy questionnaire. We want to know what’s happened to you from day one to get to the source of the problem. It's quite common for it to take about 7 years for your spine to degenerate enough to realize that you actually have an issue. I hear all kinds of stories from people about how they were injured during childhood and forgot about the incident, including all the guys that have jumped off a roof during childhood. Just remember this: Garbage bags are not parachutes! 

Blazing 35 Million Trails

By Bob Cox

How exactly did Dr. Wayne W. Dyer sell over 35 million copies of his first book, which was originally published 40 years ago? In the beginning, he sold them one at a time from the back of his car.

Dyer was forced to overcome many obstacles early in life. He was born on May 10, 1940 in Detroit, Michigan to Melvin Dyer and Hazel Vollick. He spent much of his childhood (until age 10) in an orphanage after his father walked out on the family, leaving his mother to raise three small boys. After graduating from Denby High School, Dyer served in the United States Navy from 1958 to 1962.

Dyer would pursue higher education and eventually earned a doctorate in educational counseling from Wayne State University. During the mid 1970’s, Dyer was working as a high school guidance counselor in Detroit and as a professor at St. John's University in New York City. His lectures on positive thinking and motivational speaking attracted large numbers of students. One day, his literary agent (Arthur Pine) persuaded Dyer to document his theories on self-destructive behaviors in his first book titled, “Your Erroneous Zones”.

Going against his publisher’s advice, Dyer paid Pine in advance to print thousands of copies of his book. At the time, this was very risky undertaking but in hindsight it turned out to be a great decision. Dyer followed his namesake and took dire actions, refusing to quit on his book. Instead, he quit his job and embarked upon a whirlwind tour across the country while selling his books out of the back of his station wagon.

Along the way, he secured several bookstore appearances and interviews with newspapers, TV stations and radio stations. It wasn’t long before “Your Erroneous Zones” became an overnight sensation. For 27 months, his book landed on the best-seller list and according to the Los Angeles Times in 2015 had sold over 35 million copies!

Dyer would go on to become an internationally renowned author and speaker in the fields of self-development and spiritual growth. Over the four decades of his career, he wrote more than 40 books, including 21 New York Times bestsellers. He created many audio and video programs, and appeared on thousands of television and radio shows, including The Tonight Show, The Phil Donahue Show and The Merv Griffin Show. Dyer was one of PBS’s biggest fundraisers with over $250 million raised for public television, according to Hay House Publishing.

Dyer worked tirelessly to make his dreams come true and spent much of his life showing others how to do the same. Before passing away last year, his main message was that every person has the potential to live an extraordinary life.

If you believe it will work out, you'll see opportunities. If you believe it won't you will see obstacles. - Wayne Dyer

Conquer Addiction & Celebrate Authentic Freedom

By Bob Cox

When Janina Guarino was lying in a hospital bed during the summer of 1988 with third degree burns all over her body, she couldn’t imagine how things could possibly get any worse. But much to her surprise, they did when her doctor informed her that her chance of survival was just 3%. That same week, her husband announced that he was filing for divorce and leaving her for the woman he had been having an affair with!

During this low point, Janina had plenty of time to reflect on all the choices in her life that led her to the brink of despair. She realized that her addiction to drugs and alcohol had an extremely negative impact on her life and that if she was going to survive this latest fiasco and turn her life around, she had to be willing to take a leap of faith by making new and better decisions.

She began the process by finding the wisdom and courage to forgive her husband and wish him well. Next, she resolved to break free from her destructive addictions and create a new set of coping skills. After defying the odds and surviving her traumatic ordeal, she found a wise and compassionate psychotherapist who helped her create new strategies for personal and professional success.

During this time, she started going to church and met some people there who enjoyed a wide variety of activities that did not revolve around alcohol or drugs. “I realized that there was more to life and all the things that I really loved doing could be done without any alcohol or drugs. So I started doing those things, like motorcycle riding and going to rodeos. If my kids had dreams, I would encourage and help them with whatever they needed to do. I even worked three jobs at times to make sure that they wouldn't lack anything”, explained Janina.

I sat down with Janina to learn more about her amazing life story as well as the business she created three years ago called Better Decisions Counseling Services in Sacramento.

Q: What inspired you to start your own counseling service?

A: Drug and alcohol addiction has destroyed the lives of so many of my family and friends. I wanted to be the beginning of a healthier generation for years to come and live out my dream by helping people break free from addiction. I definitely know what people go through when they're struggling with addiction. Once I overcame my addiction, I wanted to help other people. I lost both my brothers due to addiction, so I want to give back because I’m really grateful that I'm alive today.

Q: What was your life like while you were trapped in addiction?

A: Almost every activity revolved around drugs and alcohol. I was in several near fatal auto and motorcycle accidents due to alcohol and drug addiction. The driver of the motorcycle I was on during that last accident died shortly after that from a heroin overdose.

Q: How did you summon the strength to forgive your husband?

A: I’m not exactly sure, but somehow I was free from any resentment. I was able to let go and allow him to go and be happy with his new life.

Q: Did you have a strong support system to jumpstart your recovery?

A: No, there was really nobody there to help me in the beginning that would sit and listen to me, so yeah I really struggled, especially as a single parent.

Q: Did your background help you with the creation and growth of Better Decisions Counseling Services?

A: Yes, I worked for the state of California for 25 years as a compliance specialist during the day and worked nights counseling kids in group homes. As a compliance specialist, I worked with local counseling organizations like Better Decisions.

Q: Do you have a thorough understanding of all the rules and regulations that are required by the government to make sure that you're providing the very best care?

A: Yes and we try to make sure that we're doing everything that we can. We pride ourselves on having a higher level of expectations, beyond what’s regulated.

Q: If someone you love is struggling with addiction and they want help, what advice would you give them?

A: Call us immediately. We give each client a free consultation and will meet them wherever they're at. From there, we’ll figure out exactly what they need by performing a thorough and detailed assessment.

Q: Do you have a specific method of rehabilitation for everyone who is suffering from addiction?

A: No, every person is unique, so our counseling is customized for each individual. Our program isn't a cookie cutter plan. We offer drug and alcohol counseling for the entire family. When a member of the family is addicted to drugs or alcohol, the entire family is impacted. With a healthier family to come back to, it's going to increase the likelihood of recovery.

Q: What is your rate of success for recovery?

A: Our success rates are very high. Last year, 86% of our clients were sober after 12 months. Once a person has stabilized, there are a whole set of different needs, including assistance finding employment, building credit, enhancing personal appearance and so on. We offer help with these things as well.

Q: How important is it for people in recovery to replace old bad habits (drugs and alcohol) with new good habits?

A: It’s crucially important! We work closely with our clients to help them recall their interests and hobbies before the addiction took over their life.

Q: Do you offer any other services, including those mandated by the courts?

A: Yes, we offer courses in anger management, DUI’s, Department of Transportation education and even drug testing, just to name a few. We also conduct motivational seminars for the employees of several companies in the area.

Q: Are you able to help people in lower income brackets?

A: Yes, we are also now accepting most major insurance plans and that has opened the door to a lot more people in need of our services. We also work on a sliding scale, so even those who have Medical and are on a waiting list trying to get into a program, they can now afford to get the counseling service they need. We also conduct group meetings here every Tuesday night and these meetings are free. This is an ideal setting for someone that knows they have a drug or alcohol problem and they want to ease into finding a solution.

Editor’s notes: For more information about Better Decisions Counseling Services, visit their website at www.betterdecisionsinc.org, stop by their office at 10366 Rockingham Drive in Sacramento or call (916) 368-0700. 

The Choice is Yours

By Dave Trux

Something that is very important to us at Valley Motorwerks is to provide clear and concise information to the customer. At the end of the day, it’s their hard earned money that is being spent. We recently had a situation where a 75oil was showing signs of transmission trouble. Based on the BMW fault codes, there was an SIB (Service Information Bulletin) put out by BMW with a possible fix. The fix is approximately $1000; a replacement transmission is considerably more.

However, the issue at hand is this: What is the possibility that the $1,000 is going to solve the problem? BMW says it is the first step, but that first step is expensive. What do you do? Personally I am not comfortable picking the pocket of the customer for $1,000 on an off chance something will work. I feel it is the customer’s money, so it’s their choice. This is where being clear and concise is very important. What we did was lay out both options and their chance of success to the best of our knowledge. Obviously, changing the entire transmission is going to resolve the issue, but what if it is a little seal inside the pan?

Inevitably the customer will ask...“What would you do?” In this case, I would swap the transmission and keep the car another few years. This particular car was in perfect condition otherwise and was worth keeping. If it were in poor condition or had other problems, my answer would be different.

It’s important to remember that it’s the customer’s money that is being spent. In these difficult financial times it’s even doubly important to do our best in counseling customers accurately. We need to give the customer a reason to pass by other shops to come to us. One very good reason is that we do honestly care about our customers well being. Mistakes are sometimes made and this is what separates a good company from a great one. Valley Motorwerks strives to be a GREAT company.