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When To Be A Fringe Lunatic
"Every reform movement has a lunatic fringe." - Theodore Roosevelt In many, many studies on human behavior, psychologists find that there is a typical ("normal") distribution curve. It is a curve we've all seen before...that looks like a bell. The peak...
You Don’t Have the Balls
For many of us, these are about the most uncertain (and frankly, bizarre) times we can remember. The virus, economic uncertainty, civil unrest and political theater. Events continue to unfold without definitive answers or timelines or solutions, and certainly...
The Lost Teachings of Empatheticus
Lost to the pages of most history books, Empatheticus was a Greek philosopher who lived sometime between 400 - 300 B.C.. It is said that his teachings were ordered to be eradicated “by any means necessary from the four corners of the ancient Greek kingdom” by...
My Opinion Is Worth Listening To
My opinion is worth listening to.Your opinion is worth listening to. When I refuse to listen to you, I shall remain ignorant.When you refuse to listen to me, you shall remain ignorant. When I listen to you, I might learn something.When you listen to me, you might...
Corona-SHIFT: How Will You Remember This Time?
I can't believe it's already the end of May. Right? We all know how time flies by... so I hope you're not taking these moments for granted. For each day is truly an opportunity, to broaden our perspective, to work towards our goals, and to serve others. The...
10 Observations from a 47 Year Old Idiot
In 1996 I participated in my very first fantasy football league. And for perspective on just how long ago that was, consider the following: There was an actual in-person draft Each person brought a folder or binder full of papers...like printed from a printer The...
COVID-Fatigue Opportunity Syndrome
I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to get some serious COVID fatigue. The ‘novelty’, pardon the pun, has completely worn off. I’m tired of “groundhog days”, I’m tired of social distance, and I’m tired of uncertainty. I want things to be…normal. BUT…something...
Don’t Judge a Man Until You’ve Walked a Mile in His Pants
When I was 11 years old, I saw my father as I think we all did...a grown up. A grown up who knew about the world, who was tough and 'took care of' whatever I needed. I didn't really understand how old he was...he was just a grown up. A grown man, who I was sure had...
Kiss For You, Gordy
After the age of about 12, (and certainly from a boys’ perspective)...one never really knows when it’s an appropriate time to talk about burps...or farts. But these are unusual times, and those lines seem blurred right now. So hey, I’m going with it. Like many...
A Brief Story of Gratitude & Underwear
Many of us are caught up in this unknown and unsettling time. This time where the word ‘viral’ is quite literally (and figuratively) evolving by the day. And as I’ve tried to make sense of all that is happening around us, trying to place things into a grateful...
A Message From St. Paddy
I will not have green beer, corned beef & hamI will not have them, quarantined I amI will not have green beer, corned beef & hamI will not have them, thanks Wuhan I will not have them, not todayNot today, St. Paddy’s DayWe cannot gather just to...
Here’s How COVID-19 Could Spell Chapter 13 for Some Small Businesses
While the media is focused on the stock market, pointing out that companies have lost $4T (Trillion) in value in the last 10 days...some of us are over here like, “Hey, what about us? You know, small businesses.” Did you know that 98% of the businesses in this...
Coronavirus, The Economy & Your Business
Yesterday was quite a day…eh? The world seems to be shutting down. Actually…the world IS shutting down. Schools, businesses, gatherings… I’ve never really seen anything like this in my lifetime. I could draw some similarities (from a business point of...
Lessons Garnered from Garnished Wages
I’ll never forget the first time I dealt with a wage garnishment. It was about 20 years ago...and I vividly remember having to input a child support order into our payroll software. Actually, it was 4 child support orders...for one person. The reason I remember it...
And I Looked, and Behold a Pale Horse
“And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder. One of the four beasts saying, "Come and see." And I saw, and behold a white horse.” - John Cash On the dark edges of human existence, lies a great plague. A virus that grows stronger each year, more resistant as...
This Is MY Super Bowl
There are plenty of cliche sentiments to describe the Super Bowl. You know, the annual “World Championship” of American football. For many, it’s the pinnacle of sports entertainment for the entire year. It represents the ultimate achievement, in what fans...
A Place to Store My Piss Pot
Growing up, I'd often hear the phrase: "We don't have a pot to piss in..." Anyone remember that? It was a reference to, essentially, being poor. It was a visceral analogy, exaggerating the fact that we did not have many material possessions. Not even a pot. Not...
Thank You Kobe
There isn't much that I might say, that hasn't already been said in the last 48 hours about Kobe Bryant. As a public figure, his life inspired so many...and his death, unfortunately, has touched even more with a great sense of loss. People who aren't necessarily his...
Do You Negotiate Like a Child?
I was thinking about the saying that “Children are the Best Negotiators” Is it really true? Why is that? I think part of the answer is that children are laser focused, in the moment, on what they want. Think about it. They want that piece of candy. And they will...
Shakespeare was 80% Wrong on this one
"Time is very slow for those who wait, Very fast for those who are scared, Very long for those who lament, Very short for those who celebrate, But for those who love, Time is eternal." This quote is often misattributed to William Shakespeare, a man often...
Change The Algorithm, Change Your Life
We all sort of understand that our lives are increasingly influenced (if not controlled) by algorithms. Even if we don't really know what an algorithm is. In short (very short), an algorithm is a set of rules or instructions. Algorithms are usually associated, for...
I’ve been building Rome for 7520 Days
New Year, New Goals, New Passion, New Focus! Or is it: New Year, Same Goals, Same Passion, Same Focus? In which it’s probably more appropriate to say: New Year, Same Goals, Inadequate Passion, Inadequate Focus, Inadequate System, Inadequate Discipline. You...
Artificial Obsolescence
Imagine being awakened by your favorite digital assistant. She (they all seem to be "shes") has chosen just the right 'wake up' music or message, because she knows it has the smallest chance of evoking a snooze hit. She knows, because she remembers every single such...
On The Eve of Gratitude
Do you remember the Christmas morning scene from 'A Christmas Story'? Ralph and Randy raced down the steps to the Christmas tree at the crack of dawn...and began to rip through their presents at light speed. The excitement was peaked, as they began to uncover all...
HO HO NO: The Dark Side of Operation Santa
Like many of you, I think I have a fairly good idea of what goes on at the North Pole. I've watched all the prerequisite documentaries: Elf The Santa Clause Miracle on 34th Street Polar Express And on the surface, Santa's operation seems to be one worthy of our...
One Thing I Hate about Servant Leadership
Without turning this post into a dissertation... Servant Leadership is simply a leadership strategy (and philosophy) in which the main goal of the leader, is to serve. Duh... Right? Now I say the word "simply", but trust me...it is anything but. When people really...
The Infinite Black Hole that is: YouTube
I could spend all day on YouTube. Literally. All. Day. Sometimes I even look at it as a "problem". There's just too much incredible content. Admittedly, part of the 'problem'...is my insatiable desire to watch/listen to that next compelling video or podcast,...
Should You Get Busy in a Burger King Bathroom?
For those of you familiar with the 80's lyrical interpretation of that title, let me reassure you...I don't mean like THAT. What I'm talking about, is an important issue that fails to get the attention it needs, and deserves. An issue that affects our economy at a...
Hope in the Stars
What new day must comeOn light and stringTo guide us through the darkened void An eternal concentricityThat shows us just a glimpseOf the here, and the now, and the then What reason lies beyond those flashesWhat sense of what IS, and of what is RIGHT Is there a chain...
The biggest difference you’ll see when hiring a BIG MARKETING AGENCY
You know who's really, really good at marketing to small businesses? Marketing companies. You know...because that's...what, they, do. The problem is: Sometimes that's...all, they, do. Look, as entrepreneurs, we're all in the business of selling, and influence. And you...