Journey to the Past

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How to Evolve Beyond Paint-by-numbers Marketing

By Tom Ruwitch

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you this important announcement: You still have time to register for today’s free masterclass, How to Turn Your Book (or Other Content) Into a Lead-Attracting, Client-Generating Machine. Details and registrationĀ here. Now, back to our program… After seeing Lucinda Williams in concert on Sunday, I bought her memoir, Don’t Tell…

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Why I’m Happy to be Human — Despite the Ups and Downs

By Tom Ruwitch

Last night, Melissa and I saw the rock opera Rent at The Muny, the great outdoor theater one mile from our house in St. Louis. It was a beautiful, cloudless night — mild and breezy. The second act opened with Seasons of Love (“…five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes. How do you measure a year in the life?”)…

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independence day

Reflections on the 4th

By Tom Ruwitch

On this day 247 years ago, our “founding fathers” acted. They decried tyranny and declared independence. A bold, brave move. Twelve years later, they ratified a Constitution… “…in order to form a more perfect Union.” I like that story. It inspires me. And today, on July 4, I reflect on it and celebrate. I don’t…

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I Can’t Mail You a Baby, But I Can Send you This…

By Tom Ruwitch

It’s almost summer.  Time to pack up the kiddos and send them to grandma’s house… …or camp… …or some other far away place.  In olden days, here in the good ol’ USA, you could dress the youngins in their Sunday finest, slap a few stamps on their coats, and drop ā€˜em at the post office. …

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Lessons From a 3-year-old Who Made it Rain

By Tom Ruwitch

Blow the horn and tap the tambourine… It’s National Tell a Story Day!  So buckle up, Buttercup. It’s story time. (This is one of my favorites) About a quarter-century ago, when my twins were toddlers, we were spending the weekend at our country place in the Ozark foothills in south-central Missouri. The ground was thirsty.…

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The 1st US Prez Ever Arrested (The Untold Story)

By Tom Ruwitch

This is one of those “boys just one have fun” stories. A story about a U.S. president who knew he might be punished if he continued his reckless behavior. A story that was covered up for years but eventually got out.  A story about… … … … … … Ulysses S. Grant It happened in…

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The Tale of How I Became a “Story-seller”

By Tom Ruwitch

Here’s a story from my upcoming book — about my transformation from a hard-pitch sales guy to a “story-seller…” I was sitting in my office at MarketVolt, the email marketing software company I founded in 2001. I was making some phone calls when our VP of Sales, Pat, bounded in.  He’d come from a meeting where…

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About My Dad

By Tom Ruwitch

I’ve completed another lap around the sun.  Time to stick another candle in the cake, make a wish, and blow ’em out.  And time to write about Dad.  This has become a tradition for me: Tell a story or two about Dad on March 7 — the day I was born (1965) and the day…

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Bob Dylan’s Secret To Create Stand-out Stuff

By Tom Ruwitch

I rummaged through my attic yesterday to double-check whether I have any classified documents stashed away. (All clear on that front… I think.) I did find a treasure, though. A vintage Zenith radio that belonged to my dad. He grew up before TV dominated, when radio was king. His favorite “shows” were on the radio…

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I Offended an Expert. Here’s The Story…

By Tom Ruwitch

I ran into a public speaking expert on LinkedIn last month who posted 12 principles speakers ā€œmust be adhering to.ā€ #7: ā€œYou don’t pitch your books, your online courses or anything!ā€  Don’t pitch anything from stage!? EVER!?  I had to push back on this one. So I replied:  ā€œ…Doesn’t it depend on the event? Some…

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