Well, as you might imagine, things change here as fast as the wind changes direction, Our plan yesterday was looking good. We wanted to leave our shelter and head back home and be on track to holding ourseminar just as planned this coming weekend.

Getting up this morning and looking at the news, and seeing that the fires instead of getting smaller, had actually increased in size over-night, was not what we were expecting to hear.

I called the hotel where our seminar was scheduled to be held, and they REALLY needed those rooms for people who had been displaced by these massive fires.

We have officially rescheduled the Motivational Wealth event for the weekend of December 7th, 2007, here in San Diego. By that time, this little town of ours will be pretty much back on track.

Also today, the fire that was closing in our house grew by nearly 40%, and is still out of control, tonight, Wednesday. We have not update yet on the house, but we assume all is well there.  

So, we’re still here, still in a waiting state looking at the news and searching for those little tidbits of information we can assemble that will allow us to make the best decisions on what’s coming next.

The ironic part? A short time ago, we were told to evacuate from our host’s home by the local Sherriff as two fires are currently converging on the area! Does the fun ever end?

I don’t have an update yet on what we’re going to do, but stay tuned and I’ll post an update here as soon as we know what our next step will be.

Life is always filled with surprises!

Be outstanding!
Robert

As you probably know by now, southern California has seen its share of out-of-control wildfires in the past few days.

 On Monday, I began my week, much like any other, getting on the phone and working with my consulting clients. Outside my window, in the distance was a small puff of smoke, and I didn’t pay much attention to it.

It was hot, It was dry, and I was focused on helping my clients. At about 10am, Phoebe, my lovely finacee, came into my office and told me we should prepare for a rough ride as the little puff of smoke outside my window had become one of 10 wildfires that were being driven hard by hot, dry winds, gusting to over 75 miles per hour in our area.

We went out to buy some food, the lines at the gas station were nearly half a mile long, and the small town of Fallbrook was buzzing with folks in various stages of panic.

We returned home, and I completed tw more consulting calls. I kept my eye on the sky outside my window, and although it was a bright a sunny day out with clear blue skies, the sky I was seeing was black with smoke.

The front edge of the fire was heading directly towards my office window, and I began to see a shower of ash rain down on us.

 I went outside to have a closer look, spoke with a neighbor who was by then up on his roof watering it because hot embers had begun to fall onto his home. I grabbed my hose and did the same to a part of our home that seemed vulnerable to me.

Not long after that, the Sherff stopped by, lights flashing and ordered us to evacutate as the fire had more than tripled in size and had already gobbled up nearly 100 homes less than a mile and half from us.

At that point, the winds were driving the flames along in all directions, and there was no telling what would burn next. It was quite the experience.

What do you grab when you are faced with the risk losing it all? I went for my customer database. I grabbed the server and stuffed it into the car FIRST. I figured if all else was lost, I could still do business with my customers. Then I went back for the credit cards, the pets, a few days worth of clothes.

We left, and have been out of the house since Monday and hope to return sometime on Wednesday, as long as the winds die down and stay down.

Roads are blocked, power is out, and all 45,000 in our town are living someplace else. Today, the numbers look like this. Nearly 600 homes have been lost (ours was safe) and more than 6,100 acres scorched.

They now say they will have this particular fire, now known as the “Rice Fire” containted by November 1st. Yes more than  a week from today! And I’m sure if you’re watching the news, you’re hearing about this and the “Witch Fire” and the “Harris Fire,” the largest of those buring in San Diego county.

These things burn hot and can often smolder for days and can flare back up at anytime with just a little puff of wind, and that’s what makes them so dangerous.

It’s been a great learning experience for me, and I’m sure I’m not alone in those sentiments. You always learn a lot when you face these kinds of sitatuations, and now I’ve got a few new, and very powerful stories for my seminars.

Now, the updates:

 1) The Motivational Wealth Event scheduled for this coming weekend (October 26-28) will go on as planned. At this point, it seems the worst is behind us and the city of San Diego is starting to recover already. So the show will go on! The airport is open and in the area where the hotel is, there were NO fires, so all is very normal in that area.

2) To my consulting clients whom I was not able to work with this week as planned, my sincere apologies. We will be able to get back on track again this coming week. Please contact me to confirm our next meeting.

3) I fully expect to back up to speed again by Tuesday of next week, if not earlier.

I’m safe, my home and office are safe, and I’m excited about getting back to work!

4) If you have e-mailed me, please know that I have NOT been able to check e-mail at all, but will answer all your messages as quickly as I can.

Thank you for your patience and concern.

Be outstanding!
Robert Imbriale
‘The Motivational Marketer’