The first step toward being AWESOME is: Acceptance and Awareness of things as they actually are. This is crucial in obtaining a comprehensive and accurate understanding of where you are in your journey forward and in how you are accepted (or rejected) by those around you.

Given your power to Atrract and/or Repel opportunity the most crucial thing to be aware of is; Your Personal BO.

No, we are not talking about Body Odor; we are talking about your personal Blessings and Obligations. This is a twist on the pay it forward/ circle of life theory. Everything you do comes back to you; for every Blessing there is an Obligation and for every Obligation joyfully met you receive a Blessing.

Corny? Yes! But very real… Read More of The Secret: Laws of Attraction Depend on Your Personal BO (Article Featured in June 2008 eNewsletter) …

Any reader (or listener) of mine already knows how much I believe in Dr. David Burns, MD, and his book "Feeling Good! The New Mood Therapy" where we can learn about "thinking ourselves well."

One of the strategies I find most useful to eliminating cognitive barriers to success, you know, how to avoid the things that prevent you from doing your best is to take a mental vacation and inventory.  Once in a while we should all take a day or an afternoon off just to ask ourselves: "What do I need to start doing and stop doing as it relates to beliefs and behaviors that sabotage my results?" Read More of Own Your Own! (Article Featured in May 2008 e-Newsletter) …

Like most things in life and business; big problems often start small!

The proverbial "800 pound Gorrilla"… the problem or competitor that is ever present; that dominates your thoughts and actions and never seems to go away probably started out as a small monkey. 

The biggest barrier to success is usually within an organization (or within an individual) rather than a quality or strategic advantage your competitor may possess.  The true barrier is usually what you lack; or a flaw that you unwittingly nurture. Read More of How to Nurture an 800-pound Gorilla! …

"Pura Vida" and "Get Out of Bed and Go to Work!" share the same meaning.  They embody a philosophy in which communal ties are strong and close; difficulties are overcome with a resilient and happy spirit, where life is enjoyed leisurely and to the fullest, and where fortune of whatever size is heartily celebrated. Read More of Pura Vida: Costa Rican for "Get Out of Bed and Go to Work!" …

There I was sitting on my make-shift dock fishing.  (I had the good fortune last year of moving to an ugly house on a nice river.   It is a lazy, tidal river that feeds the Chesapeake Bay basin called the Nanticoke River known for its world class Rock fishing during spawning season in late-March into mid-April.)  The dock is actually an old sunken pontoon boat abandoned by my neighbor; I patched it up and put a deck on top of it… my dock points up river at high-tide and down river at low-tide.

My neighbors are not impressed.

So there I sat, trying to fish and relax while thinking of how to get a much younger peer to understand my vision of a Customer Service training/consulting proposal we were writing together when I got a text from my son Stephen (Visit my Newsletter Archives and Read: Generation Now:  Full of Energy and Creativity While Practicing Safe Text).  It said; “Whats up?” Read More of Generation Y: I am Starting to Understand a Little! …

In this blog it is my pleasure to share with you an eXceptionally wonderful experience I had with a much younger woman.  Okay, now that I got your attention let’s get serious.

I did something I rarely do; I took a cold-call from a traveling salesmen.   Well, actually it was a saleswoman, but I didn’t know that at the time.  A caller contacted me using the name of an associate as an icebreaker and set up a meeting for me with a field representative; a traveling salesman, for the next day.

At eleven a.m., precisely on time, a stunningly beautiful younger woman by the name of Shelly arrived at my office.  Shelly it turns out is a 27 y.o. former tom-boy (this puts her exactly on the border of Generation X and Y—depending on the source you reference) with an Ivy-league education in marketing and sales.  She was tall and thin (she has been dating an NHL hockey player for the past six years!) but most importantly witty, funny and sharp as a tack.  Read More of One of Generation X-ceptional's Finest …

It was my pleasure last week to visit sunny Orlando Florida to provide my keynote address, “When Generations Collide Ego’s Get Hurt” for the Annual Ryan White HIV/AIDS Conference.

I am certain if you think back you will remember Ryan White as a 13-year old boy from Kokomo, Indiana, who contracted HIV through a tainted blood transfusion needed to treat his hemophilia. Ryan’s case drew national attention not because of his medical condition; unfortunately, little was known at the time about the risks associated with our blood supply so, as it turns out, his case was not that rare. Read More of A Forgotten Generation X Champion (Article Featured in April 2008 e-Newsletter) …

Enough is Enough….!?

So…when is enough, enough?

I put this question to the test this week with my daughter and her best friend.

I had a speaking engagement for the Annual Ryan White Conference in Orlando Florida on Wednesday (this will be the subject of this month’s Newsletter out next week). Since the girls (both 15) were on Spring Break I took them with me and we enjoyed a few days in Sunny Florida.

So, for several days I served as a chaperone, chauffer, and chief cook and bottle washer for “the Girls!” Now mind you, the girls were great! They said thank you for everything; they whined about little; and they spent thriftily (relatively). But me, the parent and surrogate parent of two Milennial’s spent the entire week worrying if I was doing ENOUGH? Read More of Enough is Enough…!? …

Relax, this is not about Basketball, it is about having a more AWESOME Life!

I love March Madness!  It reminds us of what could be if only…

Anyway, I also love Belmont University! Or should I say, I loved Belmont University, until about 2.2 seconds remained in their 1st Round Game against Duke. Truth be told, I'd never heard of Belmont University before; didn't even know what state it was in and I certainly didn't know that Brad Paisley and Trisha Yearwood were Alumni of little-known Belmont University. But… to say, "I Love Belmont University!" sounds so much more healthy than to say; "I HATE DUKE!" (Boy that felt good even though what I really did was say that I didn't say it rather than actually say it… think about that?)

So, as Trisha Yearwood says it best for both of us regarding our feelings for her Alma Mater, "I'm Talkin' Love" and in the end, that is my point.  Love is better than Hate! Read More of March Madness — Time Well Wasted! …

That’s right; we are taking them both on in one shot. 

Never talk Politics or Religion in mixed company.  I have been told that since I was a young republican attending Sunday school.   These days not only do we talk about Politics and Religion we talk about Politics AS Religion. 

Our Nation was built on unlikely yet true stories of inspiration against all odds.  Our country earned the freedom to pursue a Nation in its own image by an inspired yet ill-prepared militia defeating a much stronger, more prepared, yet less inspired British Army.  Read More of Politics and Religion; Our Next President? …