Not that you asked, but I have some things to say.

I saw a play today. It was based on a movie that had, as one of it's primary characters, a very famous person. Fans of the movie will love the play. Many critics will have a field day with this play. It, for me, wasn't great. I took my mom to see it, and we had a nice bit of brunch beforehand, so it had that as a positive. My primary issue? It was too long. Two and one-half hours. It was longer than the movie it was based on. It also had, at it's center, a somewhat outdated and highly repetitive theme. It took two hours to repeat the same concepts a movie had made, much more enjoyably, two decades earlier. 'Les Miz' gets a much larger point across, in less time. So...how does this translate to my 'somewhat-business related blog?" Be Succinct. We strive daily to make our points. We inform, persuade, and influence our clients by making a point. We also (and I can be one of the worst) tend to prattle on. We like to hear ourselves talk. Let's work on that. ...

Around 2:49 into the enclosed link (click on the blog title) an amazing statement is slipped into the famous rant by Alec Baldwin's character in GGGR. "...and your name is 'you're wanting'..." Mull it over, sip it, roll it around your tongue like a fine red wine. Getting anything? The comment is made to Jack Lemmon's character, Shel 'the Machine' Levine. Shel is a once-great salesman with little control over his situation. He was a superstar in his heyday, but as the movie progresses you see that Shel is no longer 'the Machine'. This could be one of the scariest thoughts about the existential truth of 'being great'. Could it slip away? Could it be situation vs you? Oh Shel, there but for the grace of God go I????? As I rise within my industry and make my name in it, I sometimes feel the scratching, gnawing fear that something outside of my control could bring everything down. At some point every one of us has looked in the mirror an...

"He was the first casualty of the next great war." were the words spoken by Charles Lewin at the funeral of his son Daniel Lewin. Daniel Lewin was on Flight 11, one of the planes that slammed into the World Trade Center on 9/11/01. Mr. Lewin, once a member of the Israeli Special Forces was killed by the terrorists. FAA reports suggest that Mr. Lewin attempted to defend the take over of the plane by the terrorist hijackers. Had he been successful, the events of the 9/11 attack could have been very different. One man, ironically trained in counter-terrorism by the Sayeret Matkal division of the Israeli Defence Force, gave his life fighting the terrorists. It is believed he was the first death of the 9/11 attack. סיירת מטכ"ל is the motto of the Sayeret Matkal and means "Who Dares Wins". Mr. Lewin dared to take on roughly half a dozen armed attackers. He went out fighting. Today I will remember the events of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and how it has chang...

Hard work, pain, adversity, struggle.....I was raised to believe these things created character and should be embraced. I've spent my time with manual labor, I've worked through the pain, I've walked it off, I've bided my time, I've persevered. I'm sort of done with all of that now. I've got character out the wazoo. In this day and age a measure of a man should be his ability to avoid pain, not endure it. To select one's pursuits is a benefit of selective evolution. When we were fighting off bears, natives, and cholera such ruggedness made sense. Now, I should be celebrated as a "Man of Leisure". Our current evolutionary path should favor my success-pouch (gut) and intellectual-hands (i.e soft as a girls). So....any tree chopping and earth moving will be hired out, I will buy my food already picked or slaughtered, and I'm updated on all of my immunizations. The 'Marlboro Men' were rugged embodiments of the 'tough guy, all-Americ...

When (if ever) have you put pen to paper and listed out your annual goals? All studies done on goals indicate that by simply writing them down, you have a higher chance of accomplishing them. Just saying them may work, but write them down anyway. Done? If not, go ahead and come back to this post. OK...great. Now look at them. Are they goals or wishes? Do you have a realistic, attainable goal? Is it defined as specifically as it can be? Can you measure it? Does the goal have a time frame? (many of you who have studied the "S.M.A.R.T. Goals" know what I am talking about already). A few examples of a wish are: I want to make more money / I want to be a better _____ / I want to spend more time with my family / etc etc etc. These are good things and are the first step to creating a goal. Take it to the next level. A few examples of a goal: 150% of quota minimum monthly/ 200% average or above quarterly / return EVERY call or email within 24 hrs / 1 family only-day (no Blackberry/La...

I have been told by many of my friends and family that sometimes I am a tad brash. That my personality, while often refreshing, can sometimes be somewhat off-putting. I may occasionally push certain boundaries of acceptable communication. This is often, paradoxically, a serious understatement of what they are actually thinking. What they are thinking is "You can really be an ass." See the irony....I would probably, in their shoes, just say "You can really be an ass." There is just not enough honesty in the world. In the beginning of my career I did everything I could to win the hearts of my co-workers and clients. I've never been meek or subtle, but there was a time that I was more.....subdued. More political, and with a desire to please. It was maddening, disingenuous, and rather ineffective. To thine own self be true. So....I now speak my mind openly, freely, and without much of a filter. I am results oriented, you can like me later. Or not. I honestly no long...

Friday I donned green tights and a lemon suit. The event was a grand opening for a community business heavily impacted by the flood. The theme was "Making lemonade when life hands you lemons" (hence the lemon suit). I enjoy doing odd things for the overall experience, and this was no exception. I had a ball. Most of the time was spent outside of the establishmend waving at traffic. I had hundreds of waves, horn honks, and several obscene gestures (one from a lovely young lady, that was suggestive to the point of making me blush....not an easy task). It was the best laugh all week. My fee for this 'gig' will be donated to charity. So I'm getting Karma points all over. Plus the laughs... I noticed something funny. When I waved at people I received both good and lackluster responses. But when I waved to people it was a different experience. It took focus and more physical energy to mix it up, but the change in overall response was exceptional. I would give the ...