Journey to the Past
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?”)…
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…
Itās almost summer. Time to pack up the kiddos and send them to grandmaās houseā¦ ā¦or campā¦ ā¦or some other far away place. In olden days, here in the good olā USA, you could dress the youngins in their Sunday finest, slap a few stamps on their coats, and drop āem at the post office. …
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.…
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…
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. Heād come from a meeting where…
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…
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…
I ran into a public speaking expert on LinkedIn last month who posted 12 principles speakers āmust be adhering to.ā #7: āYou donāt pitch your books, your online courses or anything!ā Donāt pitch anything from stage!? EVER!? I had to push back on this one. So I replied: ā…Doesn’t it depend on the event? Some…
I just had the most disturbing flashback. The year is 2008. The month is December. The economy is in a free-fall. And I’m busy planning the year ahead for the email marketing company I founded and run, MarketVolt. I sit in front of my computer, fire up MS Word, and type in big, bold letters……