How Quickly Loyalties Can Change

I was at a meeting earlier this week and a friend of mine was on the “expert panel.” At one point he says, “I was giving a speech at my brother-in-law’s wedding…” I happened to be sitting next to his brother-in-law at this moment. I turn to him and say, “interesting that he says he [...]

Read more »

Five Don’ts of Using “Free” Without Being a Jerk

Wouldn’t you love it if you could get someone to do something for you for free? Wouldn’t that be awesome? Well yes, it would! The problem is that some people, when being fortunate enough to convince someone to do something for free, just don’t know how to handle it properly… Over the years, I have [...]

Read more »

When Policy Meets Stupidity – From Hero to “You’re Fired!”

*sigh* Yet again, life throws us a story of policy meeting stupidity… Here’s a story about two good Samaritans who helps a middle aged mall security guard catch a shoplifter. Their reward? They got fired from their jobs! Take a read: Sprint Employees Fired For Capturing Shoplifter In a nutshell, two employees at a mall [...]

Read more »

Are You More Emotionally Mature Than a Sixth Grader?

Let’s be honest: no one expects a sixth grader to be all that emotionally mature. Some are, but many aren’t. However, if you observe the behavior of a sixth grader, you may find some examples of things that many adults unfortunately do as well… I have a friend who teaches middle school. For this article, [...]

Read more »

Lessons From my Improv Group (with 20/20 Hindsight)

Ah, the beauty of hindsight! It is so easy to look back at what you have done and say, “D’oh!” I would do that differently now… This past weekend I attended a meeting of the National Speakers Association Philadelphia Chapter where we learned all about publicity and PR. The speaker, Jill Lublin, told us to [...]

Read more »

There is Stupidity in the World…But There Too is Politeness

I recently came across two stories, one that happened to a friend that shows how annoying some people can be, and one that happened to me that shows how people can still be thoughtful and polite. It was an interesting juxtaposition. There is Stupidity in the World… My friend Denise posted this Facebook update this [...]

Read more »

Motivational Humor: Don’t Pee There!

As a “motivational humorist,” it’s my job to pull life and business lessons from some strange places. For example, “what does a four year old almost peeing herself have to do with you pursuing your goals and dreams?” Quite a bit actually… I was at my friend Mike’s house celebrating the fourth birthday of his [...]

Read more »

Talk Gooder: 3 Lessons From Stephen King’s “On Writing”

One of my favorite books about writing is Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. The book is half King’s story of how he got started writing and published his first book, and half tips, tools, and ideas on how to be a great writer. And, since it’s written by Stephen king, it’s [...]

Read more »

The Curious Tale of The Stupid Shipping Company

My recent post on “over-delivery” in terms of time reminded me of what I can only describe as the stupidest example of “delivery guy customer service” I can possibly think of. I will from time to time use an online printing company to print up my one-sheets, business cards, and various other physical materials. The [...]

Read more »

Expressing Anger Over the Price of Gum

Why do some (i.e. “a lot”) of people feel the need to express their anger even when it will serve no positive purpose at all? I was in one of those little “Hudson News” type places in an airport recently, perusing the magazines. While there, I overhear this exchange at the counter: Woman: I’d like [...]

Read more »

Next Page »