I wonder if he will pay me. Here lies another one of my pet peeves in life (ok, maybe it’s not necessary to discuss all my pet peeves): doctors who cannot be on time. I have a 15-minute rule by which if the doctor does not see me within 15 minutes of my appointed time I reschedule and then send them a bill for my time.

I know the theory that they are saving lives and all that blather but is it too much to ask someone in the doctor’s office to pick up the phone and call me? All I need is a “the doctor’s running late” phone call—that would be perfectly acceptable to me and most other folks that I have spoken with about this.

So I’m sure you wonder if anybody has actually paid me? Of course not, those folks are way too cheap. But I have gotten several calls of apology from those offending folks and that in and of itself is worth the money.

I know that with the state of medicine today none of these “offenders” care if I go find another doctor—and by the way I have done that twice, but it’s point of principle with me. If I’m going to be late, which hardly ever happens, I call in advance. It’s the courteous thing to do. Who would ever think that big-time doctors could learn from a guy in the advertising industry?

There is new trend in medicine today called Concierge Doctors and it’s about doctors who are going out on their own and signing up clients for a flat fee to be available when needed, 24/7 (http://physiciansnews.com/business/204.kalogredis.html). The fee is not covered by insurance but any tests and other related activities are. So the bonus is more time with the doctor and less chance of being stuck in a waiting room. Hey I might just look into it. At the very least it would most likely lower my blood pressure.

Yeah, it sounds pretty morbid, right? Well, I tell you it’s not. My wife and I went to talk with a funeral home (www.phaneuf.net) about pre-planning my arrangements. Why, you ask? Well, to tell the truth I don’t trust anybody to do what I want so I decided the best way to handle it was to plan it all myself.

My wife will tell you that she was more than a little freaked out about going with me since I’m only 61; in fact, she thought it was a terrible idea. But after the fact she admitted, that while she was not ready to do it, the whole process made sense. This way, one can make plans without the emotions of having just lost a loved one.

So, I put my wishes in writing: I want to be cremated, I don’t want any services and I gave instructions on how to handle my ashes. In lieu of services, I opted for a celebration after I die at a fun place where my friends can come tell funny stories about me. That’s how I want to be remembered.

The people at the funeral home made it very easy. They asked a bunch of questions, wrote down all my requests and in the end, I got a nice piece of paper that explains everything – just as I want it.

Now…if they don’t do what I ask for, I just may come back! Now wouldn’t that be a kick?

Sounds simple right? Well, it’s not. I know way too many people who get up in the morning and don’t want to go to work. Some feel under-appreciated, under-paid, or simply do not like their job or their co-workers. How about you? Why not take the test below and see what your results are – it might help change the direction you are heading.

Job Satisfaction Survey

Face it – unless a great uncle or someone close to you left you a lot of money or you hit the lottery, most of us are going to work until well after we are 55-60 years of age. Unless you have a great boss (okay I am) and a great job, it’s time to think about your health. Studies have shown that stress and unhappiness at work causes unhealthy people.

While money is important in all of our lives it really can’t be, and should not be, everything. Yes, I know it buys the stuff that makes us happy but that kind of happiness is very transient. You cannot buy enough “stuff” to make you happy at a high paying job that you don’t like.

We try very hard at my company to make sure our staff gets more than a paycheck. For those of you out there who are business owners, think about this: I have made many more employees happy over a $200 surprise than a pay raise. Why? It’s timing, really. I always try to find out something about my staff, like what they might want or need but can’t financially justify. That’s when I like to spring a surprise most.

Over the years I have bought my employees a stove, a washing machine, a snow blower, lawn mower and even a couple of days off at bGG South (that’s my condo in Florida). You would be amazed at what that sort of thing does for company moral. I realize I did not invent this idea. I just learned from watching other owners who did it and, as a result, did not worry about their staff’s happiness. (For another interesting read, visit http://www.conference-board.org/utilities/pressDetail.cfm?press_ID=2582.)

I leave you with this: Be concerned about your staff and how happy they are, because it’s very expensive to keep hiring and training new staff.