Musings from the CU Suite

Written by Anthony Demangone

Powerball-mania has gripped the nation.

As I'm writing this, I have no way of knowing whether anyone won the $1.5 billion jackpot last evening. 

$1.5 billion.

I'm sure all of us had a little fun this week thinking of how we'd spend that kind of loot. 

For me, it would be fun watching the Penn State Nittany Lions play on Demangone Field, at Beaver Stadium. After which, I'd shoot down to Pittsburgh to watch my Steelers play. And when I say "my" Steelers, I mean that they would be MINE.

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with picking up a ticket or two. Sure, the odds are extremely stacked against you. But someone has to win, right?

Many people, like those pictured above, spent hours in line, waiting to pick up a ticket. And hoping that the ticket would change their life. 

But there are some guaranteed ways to improve our lives. 

1. Get enough sleep
2. Exercise
3. Eat a healthy diet
4. Give it your best at work
5. When you communicate, seek to make things better
6. Coach/help others
7. Give your colleagues the benefit of the doubt
8. Keep your word
9. When you don’t agree with someone or something, try to understand rather than judge
10. Be thankful

Now, none of those are as exciting as winning $1.5 billion. 

But, think about this. Above, I wrote about how much fun it would be to imagine what would happen if we won all that loot. 

Now, imagine how things would be if everyone followed those ten rules?

Hmmm. A bit more exciting than we thought, eh?

***

Savings end this Friday on two great NAFCU educational events.

• NAFCU's Strategic Growth Conference will be held in San Diego from March 8-10.  This event is devoted to helping your bottom line. For credit union professionals who are always looking for ways to increase membership, loans and income, this is the conference for you.
• NAFCU's Regulatory Compliance School will be held in the Washington, D.C. area from March 14-18. If compliance is important to your credit union, you should have someone here. Attendees are put through a one-week gauntlet of education training. Attendees can also sit for series of exams to obtain the prestigious NCCO designation. This is perfect for new compliance, risk and auditing folks. And it is also a great event for executives who may find themselves managing their credit union's compliance function.