TIPS ON PUMPING GAS

Gas Tips from an Anonymous writer via Premier Debt Solutions in North Phoenix - Money Saving Tips at the Gas Pump!

TIPS ON PUMPING GAS

I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline.... but here in California we are paying up to $3.75 to $4.10 per gallon. My line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon:  Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose , CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline.. One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role.A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. You should be pumping on low mode, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up;

most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

To have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of gas buyers. It's really simple to do.

Anonymous

On the journey....what makes a difference?

Doing what one does best....is something that not everyone chooses to do.  Sometimes it's easier to be at status quo and stay in what's comfortable.  I have chosen a different path and rather than accept what just happens to come to me, I am working to the ninth degree of following a path of creation and growth all the way.  In business it is important to always be ready to recreate yourself and the environment you are in....

Stability is important but you can have an approach of stable change.  Being fluid and ready to react at all times is important as well.  What I have learned over the last nine months of the latest journey I've been on is that sharing with others creates new paths and energy that feeds not only the soul but the dream.  Do you have dreams of where you want to be?  Do you have goals?  Have you set your targets yet for doing something more and different?  It is very easy to settle in to the day to day routine.  We are all challenged to keep up and keep moving, but is it for your benefit or the benefit of others?  These are all necessary areas one must consider in what they do.

I want to provide some key points that will help you in your day to day journey of striving for success and growth if you have your own business or are just starting out or have something you would like to grow.  These key points resonate with me everyday and I work hard to keep my circle of activity moving, interactive, evolving, and connecting everyday.

Key Points:

1. Have a schedule.
2. Remember who you are and where you came from.
3. Know where you are going and what you want to accomplish.
4. Break it down into objectives and small goals to accomplish.
5. Reach out and follow up.
6. Don't wait for others to contact you, contact them.
7. Surround yourself with positive energy or walk away from negative energy.
8. Know your reality.
9. Live for today.
10. Be thankful.

Have a Schedule.

A schedule is important, you can choose to be productive or non-productive, but manage your time, even your playtime.  It is important if you want to be ready for anything to know what you have going on and what your responsibilities are and who you have made commitments to.  A schedule helps to keep you on task and ready to go.  Is it possible to accomplish everything all at once?  No, it is not, but with a schedule you can break it down into manageable time slots and then you can get things done.  I have to work at this everyday but it helps to have a schedule so you can see in front of you what your next steps are and targets.  I try to work with a two week rolling schedule.  It is not overwhelming and most people can work within those constraints.  I came from an environment in my past where two weeks was like a lifetime and responsiveness was 24 x 7.  It's virtually impossible to keep up 24 x 7 much less have the energy to keep up.  You lose yourself and forget what you were trying to accomplish.  Scheduling time for rest or knowing your physical and mental limitations is good and through scheduling you can easily manage that.  Can things get out of hand if emergencies arise, absolutely, but with a schedule, you can easily mitigate because you can more easily communicate with those impacted which should make it easier for you to recover even if chaos does arise.

Remember who you are and where you came from.

This is important, because no one else will know this and can ever truly understand what you have gone through or where you have been in the past.  If you have worked your way up or had everything, it doesn't matter.  Your past is what made you who you are today, no matter if it was good or bad.  Its important to know where you had challenges and to make sure you focus on the betterment of yourself as you go forward.  Remembering where you came from should help with this.  Grant it, sometimes memories are painful and sometimes it hurts, but you are where you are today....for a reason and if you know where you want to go then all the more reason to not forget where you came from.  About who you are, this is really about being true to yourself and not letting someone or organizations or family and friends convince you that you need to change to fit others expectations.  First and foremost, you should focus on your expectations for yourself and make certain they are to your benefit.  Why?  As an individual whether you have a support system or not, only you can really take care of yourself effectively by making up your mind to do so.  I also came from another environment that I focused only on other's expectations and boy did it hurt when I realized I hadn't done anything to take care of myself because I focused so much on others that I hurt myself mentally and physically.  Sometimes it takes that kind of distress and suffering to figure it out.  I did however and those changes have now been implemented in every part of my life and oh what a difference that makes.  I know that not everyone has these issues or challenges, but many of us work so hard to please others and look for their acceptance when at the end of the day, you just have to be able to live with yourself. 

Know where you are going and what you want to accomplish and break it down into objectives and small goals to accomplish.

Goal, goals, and more goals....I have lived by goals since I was a freshman in high school.  I have had a five year rolling plan since then.  This is an extreme case not everyone should follow or abide by.  The key however is to have goals and targets that you set for yourself.  Also to write them down and make them known so you know what you have committed to.  Why is this essential?  Without goals you have no direction to follow towards or a challenge to reach to.  I have always made my goals stretch goals because if they are easy to accomplish, then you have not really learned anything new or made a real change.  I don't like being superficial or fake and sometimes just to say you have done something when there was no meaning behind it has no real purpose.  That is how I feel about goals that don't stretch you.  Not everyone is mature or strong enough to do this.  I recommend if you have not really ever set goals, to start small, but definitely to start.  If you are in business, not only do you need to make sure you have goals, but a mission, strategy, and vision are as important.  If you don't have these, you are missing the boat entirely, I'm sorry to say.  I know not everyone may agree with this, but without a plan, you can't ask for help and you can't estimate your future nor what you can actually do....most failures come because of lack of planning.  If you have a plan, you can mitigate issues, you can rally for support, you can share the story, you can provide talking points, you can do so many more things with a plan....  Plans are sometimes elaborate and sometimes not.  I always recommend starting small and expanding if you haven't done this before and making the pieces what I would say "bite-size and chewable" to ensure you can get through them.  Once you practice through that then you can make more comprehensive plans.

Reach out and follow up.

In business, I have learned, the first one to document anything usually wins....this is the competitive side of me....but it rings true in other forms as well.  For instance, if someone reaches out to you, always..always try try to respond.  It is a matter of respect and business manners that this is essential.  Sometimes there will be those individuals that you don't want to talk with, share with, or even really interact with, but it is proper to at least respond if a response is asked for.  When you meet people, if you want to stay engaged with them, follow up.  It is really about what you want those individuals to remember about you.  If you take the time to follow up, via email, phone, text, Facebook, or other form of social media or communication doesn't really matter, just follow up.  It is a pet peeve of mine when people ask for follow up and then they don't respond.   Or they say they are available and then aren't available or make no effort to really be available.  I've seen it happen time and time again.  That is how opportunities are lost. 

For business however, structure in follow up is required.  Even though society has moved so far over to the instant gratification point that some believe that you should respond immediately, that is not always a true statement.  In business the key is to setting expectations as to when you will respond based on normal contacts.  Once you have established a relationship, immediate responses if part of the services arrangement can be expected.  If you are hungry for business, immediate responsiveness may very well get you that deal over someone else.  As a business owner, or manager or just in business, you must understand your audience and their expectations and set up your business structure to support that.  I was in a business that nearly demanded the 24 x 7 response but the nature of the business was not 24 x 7.  It was the lack of planning on the businesses management part that caused the conflict.  Having a choice now not to be in a 24 x 7 environment, I have found it is much easier to set expectations.  Not everyone has that type of work or business, so the point here is to understand your customers requirements and to adjust your communications and form of follow-up accordingly.  It will make your working environment and your customers or potential customers much easier to deal with as it relates to this.

Don't wait for others to contact you, contact them.

Do you network for your business, interests or yourself?  If you do, this should be an easy one to follow.  If you want to stay connected send a connection notice.  Be certain to denote the event or where you met and if you intend to stay in touch or want to set up a meeting.  This is critical first off to show you have a legitimate business and that you are sharing yourself and contact details with them again.  A business card exchange just gets you that first opportunity to contact them.  After that, the business card is only for cursory reference.  The email, phone number, Facebook connect, or other social media connection now becomes your means of staying in touch. Why should you do this, because you show genuine interest in that connection and that you don't take it for granted that they will contact you.  Sometimes others need the nudge we give them to actually open up and communicate.  Be bold and strong in your efforts to connect if that is what you want to achieve.  If you network, then you are looking for connections.  If you don't network then this might not apply, but again, I believe that most people are looking for connections whether for specific purposes or not, connecting and staying connected is what drives the building of the relationships.  Business most often does not happen because you make the connection, it often and more likely happens because you built a relationship from that connection.  Don't be in the backseat or the passenger seat, be the driver and you can make things happen that way.

Surround yourself with positive energy or walk away from negative energy.

Truly, I should list this first, as this positive and negative energy thing can affect everything you do....but all the other points listed are as important and really all apply together.  So why is this essential, only due to the general laws of electricity and energy which came from Albert Einstein which say so.  How do you create energy?.....from more energy.   So it would lead one to believe, that if you have positive energy and you surround yourself with others who have positive energy that it should grow.  True Statement!!!!!  Positivity breeds more positivity....exponentially.  I'm sorry I can't help but use these words all the time.  Synergy is one of my buzz words and favorite words as it happens all the time.  Connections are made and amazing things happen and its all due to the energy and excitement of others and myself or yourself no matter the situation. 

In my experience, you have to run actually (not walk) from the negative energy.  It can and will suck the life out of you and start to draw on others around you if you let it.  I have a very good sense for people so I have been able to easily identify these occurrences before they get out of hand.  Not everyone can pick up on that sense however.  Some tips on what to watch out for though are as follows:  when negative people that say, I can't or they only complain or they speak of failure or others failures or they want to blame you for their problems or they only call you when they have something negative to say or they latch on to you and try to bring you down by sabotaging your activities, communications or other things or they are insecure or they gossip a lot about others negatively or you just feel very down after you have talked or been around them with their negative presence (I know not grammatically correct, but an important list to share).  I can feel negative aurora around me so I am extremely sensitive to this....again not everyone can feel this but you can at least be aware of and take notice to.

Know your reality.

Simply put, if you base your reality on facts....then you know what is real.... If you base it on hearsay or others opinions or perspectives or what other people generally think or say, then that is usually not the real story or case.  Every person has things in their life that are facts...for example: 1) you could live with pain, 2) you could be in debt, 3) you could have a very loving family, 4) you could make lots of money, 5) you could have a nice car or nice house, 6) you could have lots of friends, 7) you could hate your job, 8) you might have a tough personal relationship, 9) you might have an illness, or 10) you may have desires and goals.....these are just a few to name.  Everyone's answer to these will be different, but you can answer them factually based on your life.  That is what you base your reality on.  Now is reality always pleasant and happy and joyous?  No....but you can live for today and make the most of it.

Live for today.

Living for today is just that.  Don't worry about the past it cannot be changed, but today you can make a difference, make a change, take a chance, enjoy some things, don't do anything, relax, go somewhere, listen to someone, or anything you choose to do.  The key is making the choice to do something or nothing, either is a choice....but doing something today is the key.  In the past, I had been told, let's wait until later to do things....this was a common theme I had heard and based on the situation had chosen to live by until something happened.  I had to have major surgery that was life changing.  Then a year later I had to have another surgery that was also life changing.  Two years in a row, I didn't know what my life was going to be like and it could have been drastically different or possibly ended.  At that point I made a conscious choice to no longer wait to do things and to live life everyday and for today.  Once I made the choice it was an amazing and enlightening transformation over time.  I wholeheartedly believe the reason those events happened to me was to wake me up to my reality but then to have me choose to live instead of accepting status quo and not moving in my life.  Not everyone will have a life changing event or issues or problems, regardless I think that this is still a wise choice to live for today because you don't really know if you will have tomorrow or when your time is up and when your life may be taken unless you have a situation medically that may already have a pre-determined timeline.  In that situation, it is even more important to choose to live for today because that is what you have left and that is for everyone.  No one can escape the inevitable, but it doesn't have to be a negative perspective because living for today is really a positive aspect and allows you to enjoy versus worrying about the past or the future.

Be thankful.

Finally, being thankful is the action I take everyday.  We are blessed everyday with life and the opportunity to do things.  In being thankful, you take that time to remember what you have experienced and what others have done for you to help you get to where you are.  If you think that you have done everything by yourself, you may have done many things, but in reality, there have always been others around you that have impacted or contributed or provided a means for you to do what you do everyday in life.  In my world I have many people, systems, friends, family and a God that have all contributed to where I am today.  I have an order to how I live my life and I am absolutely thankful for what I am brought everyday.  Is it easy?  No, I have struggles and challenges, but it is through these things I am also thankful because I know what I have to offer others and what I can do.  I work to be thankful so I don't get to prideful or arrogant with what I have or can do.  I am fortunate to do all the things I do which is many and they are very diverse things.  Everyone has something that they can be thankful for.  This gratitude and way of seeing things helps me to keep grounded everyday as I know there are others that are less fortunate than myself and that suffer publically or silently all over the world.  The impact I want to make is universal and to many people so I am grateful and thankful for all the opportunities I have been given.

In your life, think about the smallest good things you experience everyday, taking a breath, waking up, seeing the sun, feeling the soft touch of the sheets you sleep on or the pillow you lay your head on, the food you eat or the drinks you swallow, the steps you take or that comfortable chair, or the work you have or the interview you are getting, and many other things....  Find something everyday you can be thankful for and see the change it can make in your life as you realize what you have been granted....

These statements and writing may not apply to everyone, but I believe everyone will have something that they can relate to.  If you are really wanting to make a difference and see how things can change in your business or your life...take a minute to make your own statement that apply to the key points listed and share them.  This is the starting of a forum that will be added to regularly that will provide insight and direction and guidance for those who are interested in participating in their journey called life.  Have a wonderful day!!!