ARCHIVES
All posts and podcasts on this page have appeared either on my website or The Saturday Morning Post® or The Saturday Morning Podcasts. They are listed here are in chronological order by category.
Welcome to The Saturday Morning Post® and Podcast archives page!
All posts and podcasts are written and/or read by Hank Frazee.
THE SATURDAY MORNING POST®
The Agency Holiday Party
The Agency Holiday Party "If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees." Khalil Gibran When they think you might make it in the insurance business, they send you to career school for a week of training. I was a...
Here Comes Santa Claus!
Here Comes Santa Claus! "It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself." Charles Dickens I so remember the many times my mom took my sister and me to go see Santa at the May Company on Wilshire...
Christmas Shopping
Christmas Shopping "Glory to God in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will." Luke 2:14 When I was a kid, the first mall in our area was the Topanga Plaza. My mom and my grandmother used to do most of their Christmas shopping there. One Christmas season,...
The Oldest Guy in the Yoga Class
The Oldest Guy in the Yoga Class "With old friends, you've got your whole life in common." Lyle Lovett I met Dick Kelsey when I was fifteen. He was forty-seven and had just moved in around the corner with his wife Jane and their kids. You could have knocked me over...
A Subtle Influence
A Subtle Influence "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." Aesop When I was a kid, my grandmother, Vera Hawley McMurrin, lived about a mile away from me. She was a whiz at math and English; as a young woman, she had been the bookkeeper for her...
Winged Flight
Winged Flight "An only child is never spoiled; they just enjoy the undivided attention." Anonymous When our first child, John, came along, we began to look at our TV as something of a Pandora’s Box. Lots of shows seemed too scary or inappropriate for little kids. So,...
Fifteen Seconds
Fifteen Seconds "In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes." Andy Warhol Growing up in Los Angeles in the 60s and 70s, you got used to seeing movie stars in daily life, at the grocery store, the doctor's office, or as neighbors. Usually, they behaved...
The Twofer
The Twofer "When I was born, I was so surprised I didn't talk for a year and a half." Gracie Allen My aunt and uncle and two cousins lived across the street from us until I was seven, and my maternal grandparents and my dad’s mom lived just a mile away. My family was...
The 1988 World Series
The 1988 World Series "You know, we just don't recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they're happening." Dr. Archibald "Moonlight" Graham, Field of Dreams Thirty-six years ago this month, I took my dad to a baseball game, not unlike last night's...
Lost in Yosemite
Lost in Yosemite "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir Many years ago, I ran into an old friend, Kevin, at our ten-year high school reunion. We had been good pals and renewed our friendship. The following October, Kevin mentioned...
A Tale of Two Customers
A Tale of Two Customers "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Lao Tzu When in college, the idea occurred to me that, just for fun, I would like to make stained glass windows. Ok, the truth is there was a girl I was interested in who had...
The Limo
The Limo "A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough." Bruce Lee Way before Uber, the quickest way to the airport before sunrise was a limo. Of course, Super Shuttle was cheaper, but perhaps less reliable at 5:30 in the morning, when they might have to pick up...
Teaching Old Dogs
Teaching Old Dogs "You can observe a lot just by watching." Yogi Berra Maybe you have had this experience. As a matter of fact, if you know anyone under thirty, you are certain to have had this experience. Let me set the stage a bit. My daughter and I were at an...
Staying Out of Trouble
Staying Out of Trouble "Good judgment comes from experience, and experience — well, that comes from poor judgment!" John W. Lang If the quotation above is not one of the great truisms, I don't know what is. This is so in nearly every aspect of life, and particularly...
The Question
The Question "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." Robert Frost Out of the blue one day, when I was about twelve, my grandmother asked me, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Without...
The Escape
The Escape "Boys will be boys." Unknown When I was about nineteen, I was over at my cousin Stephen's house one Friday night, hanging out with him, my cousin Johnny, my future best man, Scott, and a few of our other friends. As usual, we were listening to loud music,...
The Love of My Life
The Love of My Life “The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.” Paulo Coelho When I was a teenager, I loved The Allman Brothers Band. So, when I heard they were playing the Greek years later, I rushed out and got a couple of tickets. I figured I would...
Thank You, Stephen
Thank You, Stephen "It is noble to teach oneself, but still nobler to teach others — and less trouble." Mark Twain I was standing up to my waist in the bushes, in the dark, outside of our house one night, and under my breath, I thanked my cousin Stephen. Let me...
Mike’s Cab Service
Mike's Cab Service "Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart." A.A. Milne This photo means a lot to me, and not just because I am related to nearly everyone in the picture. Most of these kids are my cousins, and that's me in the front seat...
Daily Blessings
Daily Blessings "A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds." Proverbs 31:10 I think we may have hidden cameras in our pantry. Years ago, I was on a phone call in my home office and got a text from my wife. Not unusual. She is out with our girls...
Snipe Hunting
Snipe Hunting "Old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance." David Mamet My aunt and uncle's log cabin in Nevada was at 8,300 feet and surrounded by national forest. There was no one and nothing for miles around except what God put there. My cousins...
The Dance
The Dance "Most things worth doing come with their fair share of risks." Kristen Beyer Way back when, my cousins and I all owned Model A Fords, and in the summer, we would drive them somewhere wonderful in the west. The summer of the photo above, we drove to...
The Good Old Boys
The Good Old Boys "I never made one of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking." Albert Einstein My first home, on a small street in a friendly little neighborhood, was just seven minutes from my new job. It was nice and quiet until summer rolled...
Lost in the Woods
Lost in the Woods "It ain't over till it's over." Yogi Berra Mr. Black received the land, nearly eight hundred acres, as partial payment on a real estate deal he made in the thirties. As a kid, I thought he must not have been too happy about it, as it was just...
The Leap
The Leap "If it's both terrifying and amazing, you should definitely pursue it." Erada Svetlana On one of my family's Model A trips that took place over many summers, we went to the spectacular Monument Valley in northern Arizona. Many of my cousins, friends, aunts,...
The Road Trip
The Road Trip "Adventure is not outside man; it is within." George Eliot In the summer of '76, my close friend Scott McNatt and I decided to take a little drive from Los Angeles to the Olympic Games in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, over three thousand miles away....
The Treehouse
The Treehouse "I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else." Pablo Picasso When my cousin Stephen and I were about fourteen and fifteen, respectively, we decided to build a treehouse near my aunt and uncle’s cabin above Lake Tahoe. We asked if it was...
The Queen is Not Pleased
The Queen is Not Pleased "Sometimes the unexpected makes the best memories." Anonymous When I was a teenager, my whole family was nuts about old cars, Model A Fords especially. And we liked to take them on road trips in the summer. Sometimes, we would have twenty...
Pure Joy
Pure Joy "What day is it?" "It's today," squeaked Piglet. "My favorite day," said Pooh. This is my son, John, at about seven years old. We had been fishing and catching crawdads at Incline Lake, Nevada, where my aunt and uncle lived for thirty years. The lake was at...
The Crow
The Crow “Delight in the little things.” Rudyard Kipling Dr. Thomas Phalen, child psychologist, was once asked, “How long does adolescence last?” He famously replied, “For a while.” That is because we all grow up at different rates. Some seem mature at 12, and others...
Mary McMurrin Frazee
Mary McMurrin Frazee "The most important of the Lord's work you and I will ever do will be within the walls of our own homes." Harold B. Lee My mom was an awesome mom. She had been a fashion model as a teenager and through her twenties. They wanted her to be a movie...
Twinkle
Twinkle "Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." Joshua J. Marine My Aunt Janice kept horses and ponies at her property when I was a kid. She had a pretty big barn and an even bigger corral that my cousins and I...
Godzilla!
Godzilla! "Always believe something wonderful is happening, and will always continue to happen." Bruce Van Horn Maybe you have noticed this phenomenon. You wake up in the morning with a particular plan, or no plan, and what actually happens during that day is a whole...
A Giving Nature
A Giving Nature "It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves." Sir Edmund Hillary Early on in our marriage, my wife, Liz, and I took a trip to Carmel, California, one of the most romantic places ever. There is something in the air, or water, or trees in Carmel...
Oops!
Oops! "Do the best you can, and don't take life too seriously." Will Rogers While on vacation with my family several years ago, I noticed on successive nights two busboys drop plates and glasses while clearing tables, and I remembered my own embarrassment when that...
A Man of His Word
A Man of His Word “Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr. When I started in the insurance business, I knew nothing about insurance. But gradually, through the help and guidance of many...
What’s in a Name?
What’s in a Name? “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” William Shakespeare When I was twenty-one, I was out on a first date with a young woman whom I met through a friend. We went to dinner at the Summer House, which had dining and a theater-style bar. It...
Shhhhhhh!
Shhhhhhh! “Sometimes nothing is a good thing to say.” Anonymous Years ago, I was a board member of a small foundation. I had missed a meeting and, when I returned, had heard that there had been quite a squabble at the last meeting, and one of the newer board members...
A Favor for a Friend
A Favor for a Friend "If there be any truer measure of a man than by what he does, it must be by what he gives." Robert South One of our neighbors when I was a kid was Henry Silva, who appeared along with the Rat Packers, Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, and Joey, in the...
Flamethrower
Flamethrower "There is no secret so close as that between a rider and his horse." Robert Smith Surtees When Martha and I first met, she was just twenty-two. We were introduced by a mutual friend and liked the look of each other. Though twenty-two seems pretty young to...
The Wild Ride
The Wild Ride "A man that don't love a horse, there is something the matter with him." Will Rogers When my Aunt Janice moved to Georgia for a few years, she had to leave her horses behind in Los Angeles. So, my mom and dad would go out to the stables where the horses...
A Short Story About the King
A Short Story About the King "The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done." Arnold Palmer The first person to win the Masters four times was Arnold Palmer. With ninety-two career victories, he is rightly considered...
The Joy Ride
The Joy Ride “A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck.” James A. Garfield When I was a teenager, several of my cousins and a couple of my good friends all had the same thing in common. We learned to drive on the 1929 Model A Ford pickup at Aunt Janice and Uncle...
A Chick Hearn Moment
A Chick Hearn Moment "The Jell-O's jiggling." Chick Hearn Over the years, I have watched a lot of volleyball. Both my daughters played in school and on club teams. The games are wonderful to watch; they were great for the girls and for us as a family, and we made many...
Souvenirs
Souvenirs "Memories are perhaps the best gifts of all." Gloria Gaither When I first got married, I had the expectation that I should know exactly what my wife wanted for her birthday, or any other occasion, for that matter. I always tried to think of something...
For Whom the Bell Tolls
For Whom the Bell Tolls "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years." Mark Twain My good friend Dave and I were...
Trust
Trust "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." Corrie ten Boom This is the reason people buy from you. They believe in you and without it you are sunk. And trust comes down to who you are as a person and who you are to other people too. Do you put...
Love, Marriage, and Gizmo
Love, Marriage, and Gizmo "Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." Robert A. Heinlein Shortly after my wife and I met, I went over to her townhouse to pick her up for our second date. As I walked through the...
Local Hero
Local Hero "Red light ... green light." Engineer Bill Engineer Bill was the hero of every kid under twelve in Los Angeles during the mid-sixties. He had a two-time Emmy Award-winning television show Monday through Friday on Channel 9, showing cartoons and featuring a...
Life Changing Words
Life Changing Words "If we could see ourselves as others do, the first thing we would need would be an introduction." Mark Twain When I was a kid, Monty's Steakhouse was the place to go when we were celebrating or when someone came in from out of town. Like many...
The Elevator
The Elevator "Think outside, no box required." Unknown My dear friend, Marc Byrnes, loves to ski. Every year, he goes on a ski trip with a bunch of his buddies, and a while back, I went along as well. We went to Snowmass, Colorado, one of the best ski spots in the...
Christmas Eve Up at the Cabin
Christmas Eve Up at the Cabin "Patience is not the ability to wait, but how you act while you're waiting." Joyce Meyer Aunt Janice and Uncle Gordon lived up at their log cabin for many years. Nestled in the forest above Lake Tahoe, the cabin was heaven on earth to me,...
The Secret Service
The Secret Service "Safety doesn't happen by accident." Anonymous Years ago, I went on a father-daughter ski trip with my twin daughters' scout troop. We gathered at the home of one of the dads to caravan up to Mammoth. It took a while for everyone to arrive and...
Be Safe
Be Safe "Everything is a once in a lifetime experience." Kobi Yamada One of the most heard phrases of my childhood was, "Be safe, and don't do anything dangerous." My mom always said that as I was heading up with my grandmother to my aunt and uncle's cabin, a few...
The Rock Star
The Rock Star "If you're not having fun, you're doing something wrong." Groucho Marx My uncle Jack was a contractor, the youngest Eagle Scout in his troop, the mayor of La Canada, and one of the finest people I've ever known. He built a guesthouse for our family...
A Hot Breakfast
A Hot Breakfast "There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million." Walt Streightiff One of my earliest memories happened at breakfast when I was about two and a half. My dad was out of town on a business trip, and my sister and...
A Man For Others
A Man For Others "Anytime you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don't, then you are wasting your time on Earth." Roberto Clemente I don't recall seeing Roberto Clemente play baseball, but I probably have, because I have been a baseball fan...
The Duke and Johnny
The Duke and Johnny "To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while." Josh Billings John Wayne was a big name when I was a kid. My dad met him a few times, which made him even bigger in my mind. He was quintessentially American...
The Haunted House
The Haunted House "Good things happen when you meet strangers." Yo-Yo Ma When Aunt Janice and Uncle Gordon married and moved from Los Angeles to Tarzana, my family followed along. We lived a mile away, and my aunt and uncle’s house was like a wonderland for kids. I...
The Corn Maze
The Corn Maze "Fear can make you stronger." Anonymous On one cold and blustery night, when my twin girls were eleven, we went with their friend, Nicole, to the Pierce College corn maze. Tall and thick and waving in the breeze, the maze covered a couple of acres, and...
Carl’s Water
Carl's Water "Truth builds trust." Marilyn Suttle Years ago, I had a business deal that I worked on for nearly two years. It looked like we were going to get it, but it was still a bit in question. My partner and I met for lunch with our client, Carl, and his partner...
Harold McMurrin
Harold McMurrin "Stories of identity – who we are, where we’ve come from – are the most effective stories of all." Bill Dauphinais One of the best storytellers I ever knew was my mom's cousin, Harold McMurrin. Harold had been a singer and actor on Broadway in his...
Professor Kroot
Professor Kroot "Be an opener of doors for such as come after thee." Ralph Waldo Emerson When I was in my junior year in high school, I had a tough science class with a teacher who was even tougher. Professor Kroot was short, bald, and wore a white lab coat, with a...
A Single Push-Up
A Single Push-Up "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." Walt Disney My friend Lee Brower has a unique fitness goal. Every day, he puts on his gym shorts with a plan to do a single push-up, because he knows that if he does one push-up, he will do...
Our Wedding Day, and Then Some…
Our Wedding Day, and Then Some... "As much as you want to plan your life, it has a way of surprising you with unexpected things that will make you happier than you originally planned." Unknown A few months before our wedding, I took a business trip to Reno and stayed...
Relax
Relax "The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat." Jules Renard This is a picture of Roady, our beloved European Burmese, doing what he did best. Roady came to us, along with Tika, who is featured in my post “Trust.” We rescued them through my sister, Mary Ellen, and...
The Question
The Question "Follow your dreams. They know the way." Kobi Yamada I was playing golf one day, with a guy I only met once. Nelson was a friend of a friend. We were all planning to play together that day, but at the last minute, our mutual friend couldn’t make it, so it...
Getting Into Woodstock
Getting Into Woodstock "Life is for learning." Joni Mitchell I remember that summer well. It was warm, and my cousin, Stephen, and I could think of little else but getting into Woodstock. We counted the days and talked about our plans, as we fished our way through the...
Horseback Swimming
Horseback Swimming "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." Winston Churchill In the summer of 1977, we took the last of our Model A trips across the American West. Technically there were five trips in all, if you count...
A Brief Engagement
A Brief Engagement "You know that tingly little feeling you get when you like someone? That is your common sense leaving your body." Unknown When I was twelve, I was enthralled with Karen, eleven, who lived around the corner. We had a somewhat tumultuous relationship....
Under His Wing
Under His Wing "The most important of the Lord’s work that you will ever do will be the work you do within the walls of your own home." Harold B. Lee This photo was taken in the summer of 1961 at Incline Lake, seven miles above Lake Tahoe and my favorite place on...
Piping Hot Pizza!
Piping Hot Pizza! "No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected." Julius Caesar When our girls were preteens, they went to summer camp near Yosemite. They loved it, and made friends they are still close with today. The camp sits on the edge of a...
Peanut Butter and Jelly in Paradise
Peanut Butter and Jelly in Paradise "A lot of hard work and sweat went into this meal." Mike MacLean Ahh… it's the kids’ lunchtime up at the cabin, in the summer of 1961. And there’s not a grown-up in sight, as there’s no need for grown-ups when Pat Sweet, my aunt and...
Grandma Knievel Rides Again!
Grandma Knievel Rides Again! "Live your life and forget your age." Anonymous When I was in my teens, my whole family was crazy about old cars, specifically Model A Fords. My Aunt Janice and Uncle Gordon planned Model A trips in the summers. We usually had four to six...
Being a Kid
Being a Kid "How long does adolescence last? A while..." Thomas W. Phelan, Ph.D. Nancy was the first of my many cousins to become engaged, though my cousin Johnny and I, pictured above, were less than ecstatic at the news. We loved Nancy, but being twelve and...
Prank Calls
Prank Calls "Turnabout is fair play." Irish Proverb Way before caller ID, a kid could while away the hours with relative impunity making prank calls from his parents' home landline. Now, I know few of my readers ever did such things, but my friends and I did. And my...
Sparky
Sparky "Be brave when others are afraid, and afraid when others are brave." Warren Buffett Let me set the stage a bit. My business is nearly all on the phone, and I talk with many of the same people throughout the week. They know that, if we talk in the morning, I...
Time to Go!
Time to Go! "'Just in case' is the curse of packing." Alexandra Potter Let me say this: I’m terrific at stuffing the travel belongings of five people into a mid-sized SUV. But the very thing that serves me in packing a car hurts me in packing a suitcase. I pack too...
The Blaneys’ Plymouth
The Blaneys’ Plymouth "Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity." Simone Weil Mrs. Blaney lived at the end of our street in an old, Spanish style house, whose every room opened to the garden. The house had been the original farm house of the orange...
The Window That Opened the Door
The Window That Opened the Door "Who you are tomorrow begins with what you do today." Tim Fargo While in between quarters at UCLA, I had a sudden interest in learning to make stained glass windows. In reality, it wasn’t all that sudden, as I had been wanting to do it...
“Geef”
"Geef" "What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other word would smell as sweet." William Shakespeare When our twin girls were little, in the four-to-seven age range, we had many strategies, and even a few tricks, to get them to eat the food that was...
Funeral Crashers
Funeral Crashers "If you can sit happy with embarrassment, there's not much else that can really get to you." Christian Bale When I was twenty-four, eating breakfast and reading the paper one Saturday morning, I noticed an obituary about a guy who made it to one...
Snake Eyes
Snake Eyes "Be sincere, be brief, be seated." Franklin D. Roosevelt My dad and Dick Jappe were great friends. They met as newbie pharmaceutical reps in the mid-fifties when both went to work for the Stuart Company, the maker of Mylanta, Mylicon, and other products. My...
Meeting Your Heroes
Meeting Your Heroes "A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men." Roald Dahl We all have heroes. Sometimes, we are lucky enough to meet them and still admire them after the meeting. I met two of mine on the same day, when I was in high school, and...
An Alligator in Kansas
An Alligator in Kansas “I think there’s a part in each one of us that wants the impossible to happen, and that’s what surprises are.” Gina Carano When my dad was a kid, growing up in Lawrence, Kansas, he and his friends were really into animals, wild and otherwise....
Winston
Winston “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” Winston Churchill I’ve always been a dog man. When I first got my own place, I thought it could be great to have a dog to play with and keep me company. On the other hand, wouldn’t it be unfair for the...
Little Rex
Little Rex "Wake up. Be awesome!” Heather Dietel How high can you jump? That’s not a question we usually ask ourselves, but I found out just that, when I was twelve years old. My Aunt Janice offered to pay my cousin and me to paint her barn. We jumped at the...
Can I Drive the Car?
Can I Drive the Car? “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person. He believed in me.” Jim Valvano "Dad… can I drive the car?" Those are frightening words in any language. They grow up too fast. When my twin daughters were fourteen, they were...
She’s Got My Baby!
She's Got My Baby! "When you're the only pea in the pod, your parents are likely to get you confused with the Hope Diamond." Russell Baker When our firstborn, John, was seven months old, I won a ten-day trip to Paris and Monaco based on my production as a life...
Artful Negotiation
Artful Negotiation "The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter — 'tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning." Mark Twain "Can you do any better?" The first time I heard those words, I was seventeen. I...
The Check
The Check "They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel." Carl W. Buehner I don’t know when this started, but I know it went on for a lifetime. My dad, Harry, and his brother, John, were close. They pulled pranks together, loved...
A Three-Hour Tour
A Three-Hour Tour “Unexpected things happen in life more often than you expect.” Plautus Several years ago, my wife and I went on a business trip down to Newport Beach for a few days with our friends Matt and Jeri, Randy and Suzanne. We stayed at a beautiful hotel...
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost "What hath night to do with sleep?" John Milton Back when I used to golf more regularly, I would occasionally go on a trip with a group for two or three days at a nice course nearby. Several years ago, we went up to Santa Barbara and stayed in the...
Charlie and Henry
Charlie and Henry "To get an elementary grasp of the game of golf, a human must learn, by endless practice, a continuous and subtle series of highly unnatural movements, involving about sixty-four muscles, that result in a seemingly natural swing, taking two seconds...
Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods "Everything begins with an idea." Earl Nightingale My friend, John, is an accountant by training, and, by all appearances, he looks and acts like a normal C.P.A. But he is a pop culture trendsetter. I discovered this one day, when we met for lunch at the...
Parenthood
Parenthood "Well, doggies!" Jed Clampett, from The Beverly Hillbillies When our son, John, turned twenty-two, we were driving to church with him and our girls, reminiscing about the day he was born. John is our firstborn, and we have twin girls, too. As I thought back...
Serendipity
Serendipity "'Well, you can go on looking forward,' said Gandalf. 'There may be many unexpected feasts ahead of you.'" J.R.R. Tolkien Years ago, when our girls were about four, my wife and I were preparing to depart for a much-needed date weekend to Santa Barbara. It...
The President of My Boyhood
The President of My Boyhood "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. "My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man....
Tattoos and Marriage
Tattoos and Marriage "To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow — this is a human offering that can border on miraculous." Elizabeth Gilbert I happened to be out to dinner one night with one of my twin daughters; everyone else in our family was occupied,...
The Curse of the Bambino
The Curse of the Bambino “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” Babe Ruth For years, I’ve stood accused, so today, let’s set the record straight. Babe Ruth was sold for $125,000 to the New York Yankees on January 5, 1920, by Boston Red Sox owner, Harry...
Dr. Reddy’s Dollar
Dr. Reddy's Dollar "Fill the day with enthusiasm. Give the day all you’ve got and it will give you all it’s got, which will be plenty." Norman Vincent Peale My friend, Kota Reddy M.D., is an internationally-renowned, nutritionally-based cardiologist in Houston, Texas....
Teaching Your Family to Hug
Teaching Your Family to Hug "It's not what we have in our life, but who we have in our life that counts." J.M. Laurence When I first began to succeed in the insurance business, I was thrilled to qualify for The Million Dollar Round Table meeting in San Francisco, an...
A Man You Can Count On
A Man You Can Count On "Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31 When we were about eighteen, my cousin John and I went to Shaver Lake to go camping with a couple friends. One friend’s dad had a camper truck that served as our base for three days in a remote...
The Gift
The Gift "Young people need something stable to hang on to — a culture connection,a sense of their own past, a hope for their own future. Most of all,they need what grandparents can give them." Jay Kesler My good friend Matt Davis told me a story a long while back...
The Flashlight
The Flashlight "Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be." George A. Sheehan On one of our many Model A trips, we went to Monument Valley in Arizona, as described previously in the...
Grandpa and the Pig
Grandpa and the Pig "Home is not a place, it's a feeling." Cecelia Ahern When my sister, Mary Ellen, got her first house, it was in a part of town where all of the properties were set up like little farms. She had a small house toward the front of the large...
Life Is Good
Life is Good "Do What You Love. Love What You Do." The Life is Good Company This is my mom and dad, Harry and Mary Frazee, in their element. Their passion was buying, restoring, collecting, and selling antiques. They absolutely loved it, and everyone in our family has...
The Last Buzzcut
The Last Buzzcut “The trick is growing up without growing old.” Casey Stengel This is one of the last photos of me with a buzzcut, or what was known back then as a butch. We were up at my aunt and uncle’s cabin, and my cousins Stephen and Rory and I went into Reno for...
Good Times
Good Times "We don't remember days, we remember moments." Cesare Pavese The quote above is true. I don’t remember anything about this day, but I remember well the moments surrounding this picture. I was six or seven; that’s me on...
The Barbecue
The Barbecue “Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.” Mark Twain Aunt Mary and Uncle Jack lived in La Cañada, near Pasadena. Aunt Dolores and Uncle John lived right behind them, one street over. When we were...
The Babysitters
The Babysitters "In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun." Mary Poppins By all accounts, my cousin Nancy was a precious baby. She was the first of the twelve cousins of my generation. So it took six or seven months for Aunt Dolores to trust Uncle...
The Long and Winding Road
The Long and Winding Road "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you imagined." Henry David Thoreau My longtime friend John, and his dear wife Michele, moved north to Morro Bay about ten years ago to enjoy a slower pace of daily life. John...
Jim and the Lion
Jim and the Lion "One cannot plan for the unexpected." Aaron Klug Way up in the forest, and miles from nearly anything else, stood The Christmas Tree Restaurant on a long slow curve of Highway 27. When we were up at Aunt Janice and Uncle Gordon's cabin, our parents...
Thank You, Vinnie
Thank You, Vinnie "A man really determines himself by what he does." Vincent Edward Scully Growing up in Los Angeles, Vinnie, as every fan called him, was a major influence in my life. He and the Dodgers moved to LA the year I was born, and his voice and what he said...
Mrs. Winston’s Green Grocery
Mrs. Winston's Green Grocery "Loyal customers, they don't just come back, they don't simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you.” Chip Bell When I saw this sign in Mrs. Winston's Green Grocery, which, by the way has the best salad bar in...
The Fight
The Fight "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." Muhammad Ali The new kid in my seventh grade woodshop class was named Mike. He transferred in mid-semester. Mike was above average in height with long, black hair. I hadn't even spoken to him, when I noticed that...
Mr. Armstrong’s Gift
Mr. Armstrong's Gift "Nothing you do for a child is ever wasted." Garrison Keillor When I was a kid, we knew a handyman whose name was Horace Armstrong but all the kids and adults called him Mr. Armstrong. For quite a while, it didn't even occur to me that he had a...
Spontaneity
Spontaneity "Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game." Michael Jordan When I was a kid, we had a whole lot of fun. I lived on a cul-de-sac...
Zora
Zora “The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear.” Ralph Waldo Emerson When I was nineteen, I was a bus boy at The Magic Pan Restaurant in the Woodland Hills Promenade. They did quite a lunch business, and we were...
Waterskiing
Waterskiing "Work without fun is like peanut butter without jelly." Jase Robertson Years ago, my study group with Matt, Marc, Kevin and me met at Matt’s beach house in Galveston, Texas, for our annual three days of talking about business, life and family. We’ve been...
The Fridge
The Fridge "A penny saved is a penny earned." Benjamin Franklin A few weeks ago, our son was standing in front of the refrigerator with the door open. He gazed at the interior for quite a while, pondering what to have. And then he gazed some more. From the kitchen...
The Catch
The Catch "The most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen." G.K. Chesterson Congratulations to the Houston Astros on winning the World Series! What an exciting Series, heartbreaking, but exciting. I love baseball and could watch any game and enjoy it...a...
The Marathon
The Marathon "Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it." Danny Kaye One day, hanging out with a few friends in my early thirties, I asked them a question. "How would you like to do something you can tell your grandkids about?" When...
Golf Is Fun!
Golf is Fun! "Golf is a nice walk spoiled." Mark Twain Ok, golf can be a pain in the neck, that's true. But it is also fun when I remember the following: That it affords me the camaraderie of my friends. When I manage to have fun playing, even when not playing well....
Dog in Training
Dog in Training "If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them." Phil Pastoret Our dog Rayfe is a golden retriever. But with a nod to P.G. Wodehouse, I like to think of him as a Gorgonzola Cheese Hound....
The Promise
The Promise "A joy that's shared is a joy made double." English Proverb My Aunt Janice and Uncle Gordon had five kids between them. So when my cousin Hawley was born, they hired a nanny to help out. And oh, what a nanny she was! Mrs. Edna Duvall was her full name,...
Sex Education
Sex Education "Surprise, surprise!" Gomer Pyle When I was about eleven and my sister was thirteen, I was elated to hear that, for the first time ever, they were going to teach sex education in school. I knew next to nothing about sex, other than that it was an...
The Loch
The Loch "If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough." Unknown When my kids were small, and their friends would join us for dinner, I sometimes asked a conversation- starting question. My kids would roll their eyes in anticipation. I'd say, "Have you heard...
Brownies
Brownies "Kids say the darndest things!" Art Linkletter My sister, Mary Ellen, and my cousin Lynne were Brownies at the same time, which makes sense, since they lived across the street from each other. My cousin Stephen and I were Boy Scouts together, for similar...
No Whining
No Whining “Even though the future seems far away, it is actually beginning right now.” Mattie Stepanek How much of our time and energy do we spend complaining about circumstances and other people? Well, I know every moment I spend doing that is a waste of energy- my...
The Name Game
The Name Game "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." William Shakespeare Well, it turns out there actually is quite a lot to a name. No doubt, you have had the same experience as I had at one of my daughter’s sporting...
What Do You Want Now?
What Do You Want Now? "God, please teach me to speak (and email) the right words at the right time with the right tone, so I can live in peace and happiness." Anonymous I regularly communicate with several hundred people over email, and I’ve been doing this for years....
Do the Math
Do the Math "I been in the right place but it must have been the wrong time.” Dr. John Mr. Price was likable and distinguished looking, an older gentleman who generally made his appearance in a dark suit and tie. His mustache, riding shotgun over his upper lip, might...
Thinking of You
Thinking of You "If you're worried about what other people think of you, just remember this, most people are more concerned with their slightest headache than with news of your impending death." Norman Vincent Peale People generally don't notice things. If you had a...
It’s a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life "All you can take with you is that which you've given away." Peter Bailey It's a Wonderful Life is my favorite film. The first, post-war release of director Frank Capra and actor Jimmy Stewart, in 1946, was a box-office failure, yet both said...
Tough Decisions
Tough Decisions "Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement." Will Rogers In business and in life, we come across lots of opportunities. Most of the time, they are fairly straightforward. Sometimes, they’re not. And when that's the...
My Date with Marcia Brady
My Date with Marcia Brady "There was a whole magnificent soul burning brightly under her shy demeanor." Atticus Everyone knew that Maureen McCormick, aka Marcia Brady, went to our high school. Maureen was a year behind me, and I sat next to her every day at lunch. She...
Public Speaking
Public Speaking "Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain." Ralph Waldo Emerson I began in the insurance business when I was twenty-seven. As I look back on my path, I felt as though I knew nothing and nobody. But thanks to many mentors, and learning...
Sean Connery
Sean Connery "Bond...James Bond." 007 While a kid, I was a big James Bond fan. I saw all the movies, and Sean Connery was easily my favorite of the Bond guys. He was everything my twelve-year-old self wasn't--suave, debonair, self-confident, good with a gun or the...
Work Walking
Work Walking "Sitting is the new smoking." Anne Hathaway in The Intern If you haven't seen The Intern, which came out in 2015, I recommend it. It's a terrific movie, with wisdom, experience, and heart, and you can even watch it with your kids. But you be the judge of...
Road Rage
Road Rage "Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?" George Carlin I don't know if you have noticed this, but some of our fellow drivers can get a little tense out there when things don't go...
Scouting
Scouting "I am not what happens to me, I am what I choose to become." Carl Jung If you have the gift of reading someone's feelings from the expression on his face, you might decipher mine in the photo above. Standing on our driveway, about to depart to Scout Camp for...
My Dad
My Dad "To understand a man, you must know his memories." Anthony Quale My father, Harry Frazee Jr., passed away in 2015 and would have been 101 this year. He and my mom were married for sixty-eight years and he loved her dearly. They were great parents to us, and I...
The Baby Bed
The Baby Bed "A family is one of nature's masterpieces." George Santayana A baby crib came into the life of our family just before I was born. My parents were wild for antiques, so they bought a hundred-year-old baby crib in an antique store, to be my first bed. The...
It Pays to Be Nice!
It Pays to Be Nice! "The difference between the almost right word and the right word is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." Mark Twain My aunt and uncle had a cabin on a lake above Lake Tahoe. In the summers, I was lucky to spend a month there...
The Secret Code
The Secret Code "Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own." Robert Heinlein Years ago, all my mom's relatives had gathered from far and wide for the memorial for her dear Uncle Drew. He was a physician in Los Angeles and...
What makes you come alive?
What makes you come alive? "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive." Howard Thurman The following story was contributed by my very good friend, Mike Kazanjian. My best...
The Royal Marriage
The Royal Marriage "The man may be the head of the household. But the woman is the neck, and she can turn the head whichever way she pleases." Nia Vardalos Recently, I became aware of the distinction between the royal usage of the word "we" and the typical usage of...
Begin with the end in mind
"Begin with the end in mind." Stephen R. Covey Is this among the best advice ever given on succeeding at just about anything? When we begin with no end in mind, we are sailing out of the port with no destination. Beginning with the end in mind gives us a target for...
The Three Steps
The Three Steps "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." Abraham Lincoln Have you ever noticed that some people can be difficult to get along with? Well, I have, and some of them are related to me. For instance,...
Happy New Year!
"Just remember this, when you think you have exhausted all your resources, you haven't." Thomas Edison Two thousand and twenty-one is going to be a great year. Why is that? Because we are going to make it so. We have a brand new year ahead of us, and it will be...
Can One Person Make a Difference?
Can One Person Make a Difference? "I was in prison, and you visited me." Matthew 25:36 A young man on the wrong path sat in a cell in San Quentin. His drunken, failed burglary of a small cafe in Bakersfield had landed him there. Another young man, once a rising star,...
Workday Destressers
Workday Destressers "Being busy and being productive are two different things." Unknown Sometimes my workday gets very hectic, especially when I just throw myself into the mosh pit of constant activity. So when the end of the day arrives, I'm wound up and have a...
The Storyteller
The Storyteller "Serendipity is looking for something and finding something else, only to realize that what you found is more valuable than what you were looking for." Lawrence Block A long while ago, before I was married, I flew to Texas to give a speech, or more...
Big Case-itus
Big Case-itus "There is no substitute for activity." Jim Aaron You've heard the cliché about the danger of having too many irons in the fire. And to a degree this is true. In our busy world, we can easily have too much going on in too many areas. I'm very focused in...
It Can Be Done!
It can be done! "Nothing is impossible. The word itself says, I'm possible." Audrey Hepburn Who says it can't be done? The people who aren't doing it. And the idea that something cannot be done is mostly an illusion anyway. Don't believe it. Here's a tiny sampling of...
On a Mission
On a Mission "The amount of good luck coming your way depends on your willingness to act." Barbara Sher "Hey Honey, will you stop at Whole Foods and get four ripe avocados for tonight?" I don't know about you, but that request takes me out of my comfort zone. The cook...
The Cure
The Cure "If ever there is a tomorrow when we’re not together…there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart… I’ll always be with...
The Hook
The Hook “If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” Frank A. Clark My cousins Stephen and Rory were out fishing one day at Incline Lake, above Lake Tahoe, when they were around eleven or twelve. They are brothers and would spend the...
Our Hidden Customers
Our Hidden Customers "Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again, and bring their friends." Walt Disney When we think of our very best customers, specific images come to mind. And it is unlikely that when we do this, we think of our "hidden customers."...
Regret Not!
Regret Not! "The retrospectoscope has 20/20 vision." Mike Bromberg, D.D.S. I don't know about you, but I used to spend a lot of my time regretting things I had done or hadn't done. Ok, I still do that...but not as much. That changed long ago when I was having lunch...
Diapers to Diplomas
"The most important work you or I will ever do, is within the wall of our own homes." Harold B. Lee It's been a long, fast road with three kids in three separate schools. And yet, it seems like a short distance between diapers and diplomas. In two months, all three...
Big Dreams
Big Dreams "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined." Henry David Thoreau This is one of my favorite quotes. I have big dreams, and I bet you do too. Here is a formula that I use every day to go confidently in the direction of my...
Don’t Try This At Home
Did you know that: 80% of rattlesnake bites happen to men? And that 80% of those men are between the ages of 18-25? And that 80% of those men are intoxicated at the time they are bitten? And that 80% of those men say, just before they are bitten, "Hey look, a...
How To Meditate
How To Meditate "The mind should be allowed some relaxation, that it may return to its work all the better for the rest." Seneca the Younger We are passing through challenging times. And sometimes we get so busy that we don’t take a moment to just chill out. When I am...
Zuzu’s Petals
Zuzu's Petals "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." Ralph Waldo Emerson I wrote this post a few years ago, but as my girls approach college it seems a good time to repost it. My favorite movie is It's a Wonderful Life with James Stewart....
Are You an Undiscovered Genius?
Are You an Undiscovered Genius? “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Albert Einstein No one would dispute that Einstein and Picasso are geniuses. Even those who aren’t...
What’s Up?
What's Up? "Give and you will receive." Luke 6:38 "Give and you will receive" is the central concept of my book Referral Upgrade and is also what makes it work. I tend to think that the idea behind this quotation is that when we give to others, we receive favor from...
Just Rest
Just Rest "People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one." Leo Burke Sometimes I have a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep, and the reason for it is almost always the same. I had a nonstop day packed with mental activity, and my mind is just on....
Press On
Press On Some things are hard to improve upon, as is this advice from Calvin Coolidge. Every truly successful person history shares this characteristic. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful...
Inspiration
Inspiration "The world is but a canvas for our imagination." Henry David Thoreau It's funny where inspiration comes from. Many of my posts are sparked by conversations that remind me of something I have forgotten about. Or a friend's comment may make me look at...
ODCTMW
ODCTMW "To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it." Mother Teresa I always knew I wanted to get married when I grew up. I thought about it a lot. Over time, I began to think there must be something wrong with me or I would have found her by now, all...
Forgiveness
Forgiveness "Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness." H. Jackson Brown Sometimes I get angry, more than I would like to be, which is not at all. And usually my anger is directed at someone else, rather...
Listening
Listening "Knowledge speaks, wisdom listens." Jimi Hendrix Though I was not a huge Jimi Hendrix fan, it's hard to deny his virtuosity. And I just love this quotation. Having spent most of my career in sales, I have become aware over the years that the less I talk, the...
Iligitimus non carborundum est
Persist "What lies behind you and what lies before you is of small matter compared to what lies within you.” Ralph Waldo Emerson When I first started in business, I was as green as they get. Though I went through all kinds of training, licensing and study, it was a...
Can a sandwich change your life?
Can a sandwich change your life? "Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today." Mark Twain How would you like to make five bucks...and change your belief about what is possible for you? Consider this an experiment to prove a simple point. It has to do with a...
I need sleep…now!
I need sleep...now! "To sleep, perchance to dream..." William Shakespeare Years ago, I asked my good friend Guy Bond if he had a roommate for a meeting we would both be attending. He replied succinctly, "I'm old enough to have my own room." This struck me as very...
How to Get Rid of Stuff
How to Get Rid of Stuff “Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Albert Einstein Well, it’s a whole new year. And maybe you’re like me, and you love getting rid of stuff that is no longer useful. Or...
Brain Twisters
Brain Twisters "That's the way things come clear. All of a sudden. And then you realize how obvious they've been all along." Madeleine L'Engle My kids and I enjoy riddles and wordplay. Not only are they fun to think about, they are a fun way to spend time together....
The Battery Test
The Battery Test “Does it charge my batteries or does it drain ‘em?" Harry Shiavone The Screen Tests described in these three successive posts illustrate an easy way to help you identify the best people and opportunities for you. The beautiful thing is that the...
James Einstein
James Einstein "Stop trying to be someone you are not. If people don't like you for who you are, they're not going to like who you are pretending to be either." Anonymous We celebrated my birthday a couple of weeks ago with our kids. During a lull in our dinner...
Man’s Best Friend
Man's Best Friend "I aspire to be as good a man as my dog thinks I am." Thomas Jefferson After many years in the high rise, I decided to move my office to our guest house. I love it. It's quiet, it's beautiful, and I have a forty-second commute, round trip. My...
Four Simple Email Rules
Four Simple Email Rules "If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging." Will Rogers Never have an attitude when writing an email. When we have an attitude in writing an email two things happen. The likelihood that the person on the other end will want to help us...
Magic Fingers
Magic Fingers "I saw that." Karma Less bark, more wag. My cousin Stephen was definitely the alpha dog of our little pack, but every dog has his day, as you will see. When I was about twenty, we took a family trip to the Grand Canyon. On the first night, Stephen and my...
Snake Hunting
Snake Hunting "Life is an exciting business." Helen Keller Warning: Don't read this post if you don't like snakes. You won't like them any better after you read this. Snake Hunting is an interesting hobby. As a kid I used to catch snakes for fun. Usually they were...
Humility
Humility "Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right." Ezra Taft Benson Thomas Jefferson said, "If you are upset with someone count to ten, if you are really upset with someone count to one hundred." On the other hand, Mark Twain...
The Gift of You
The Gift of You "Nothing you do for a child is ever wasted." Garrison Keillor Now, let me say this right up front. What I am about to suggest to you is very powerful, so only do this if you are going to do it with a sincere motive of giving. Having said that, I have...
Three Magic Words
Three Magic Words "Anything worth doing is worth doing badly." G.K. Chesterton When I started to get some traction in selling life insurance in my first few years, newer agents would come into my office sometimes to lament. It was too hard, they didn't know anybody,...
Persistence
Persistence “There is nothing impossible to him who will try.” Alexander the Great I’ve noticed something about many people, including myself. We allow ourselves to be distracted by our own negative self-talk. An antidote to this is to bring your mind back to your...
Extraordinary
____________________________________________________________________ ex·traor·di·nar·y 1. very unusual...
Get On the Jet!
"If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting." Stephen Covey A longtime friend of mine loves to play golf, and he has a great business that he built one client at a time. It's not a glamourous business, but it is a good business that...
A Brilliant Idea!
A Brilliant Idea! "The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas." Linus Pauling What is a brilliant idea that you can use to help your very best clients and referral sources move towards their best life going forward? I've seen lots of ideas that look...
The Buffett Test
The Buffet Test "Regardless of the numbers, I never work with anyone I don't like, trust, or respect.” Warren Buffett When I first read Warren Buffett’s quotation above, I realized that I had been putting up with a lot of baloney for a long time in order to make...
Catch That Plane!
Catch That Plane! "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." Albert Einstein Last week, I headed to LAX to catch an early morning flight to Austin, Texas. En route, I suddenly remembered that they’ve been remodeling American Airlines Terminal...
How to Sell Anything to Anyone
How to Sell Anything to Anyone "We are here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know." W.H. Auden My name is Hank, and I am a salesperson. And so are my doctor, lawyer and accountant. In my book, selling is persuading people to take...
Clueless
Clueless "It's as plain as the nose on your face." English Idiom I have always been a keen observer of people, places and things, as I find all three endlessly fascinating. You definitely want me on your team, if you're going to play Trivial Pursuit or Charades,...
A Love of Horses
A Love of Horses "Don't let your dreams be dreams." Jack Johnson Aunt Janice had horses in her blood. At five, she pounded six nails into a small stick to make a horse, one nail for the head, four for the legs and, of course, one for the tail. At ten, she advanced to...
P.G. Wodehouse
"Never confuse the unusual with the impossible." P.G. Wodehouse My wife and I love reading, or listening, to P.G. Wodehouse. He is my favorite humorist and is widely considered the greatest writer of the 20th century. Wodehouse created the archetypal aristocrat and...
Foolish Things
Foolish Things "Good decisions come from experience and experience comes from making bad decisions." Unknown Running a close second to "Don't talk to strangers," "Don't take candy from strangers" has to be among the most fundamental pieces of advice parents give...
Plan to Succeed
Plan to Succeed "Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." Abraham Lincoln One of my mentors, Dan Sullivan, founder of the Strategic Coach, says that one hour of planning is worth ten hours of activity. I love that and...
Your Excuse is Invalid
Your Excuse is Invalid "Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it." Chinese Proverb It's easy to feel sorry for ourselves, to complain that it's too difficult or unfair, or would take too long, or any number of other excuses....
Making a Difference
Making a Difference “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.” Anonymous When you meet my good friend Patrick Finn, you instantly know that he is the kind of person who knows why we are here--to help one another. This year, Patrick has dedicated his...
How to Ride Your Bike Really Fast!
How to Ride Your Bike Really Fast! "There can be no courage unless you're scared." Eddie Rickenbacker At fifteen, I was too young for a license, so I often rode my bike to school. There was a pedestrian tunnel on the way that was fun to ride through, which came out at...
Character
Character "Reputation is for time; character is for eternity." J.B. Gough I was amazed by the number of people who responded to the post I wrote about my dad. I feel honored and comforted by your condolences. What really struck me were how many of my friends and...
The Martian
The Martian "There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path. Don't allow yourself to become one of them." Ralph Marston The Martian is a very good movie, the book is terrific, and I recommend both to you. Astronaut Mark Watney has been left behind accidentally,...
Gifted Children
Gifted Children "Do something today that your future self will thank you for." Unknown You are gifted. You were born that way. Not only that, but you have so many gifts, talents and abilities that, when blended with your personality, experiences and circumstances,...
Before We Say “Goodnight”
Before We Say “Goodnight” “Anyone who thinks the art of conversation is dead, ought to tell a child to go to bed.” Robert Gallagher I know you love your kids, but have you considered telling them bedtime stories about your life and family? It’s easy to do and you can...
The World’s Second Best Referral Method
The World’s Second Best Referral Method “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Seneca Years ago, I invented a very effective and very simple referral method that worked nearly every time I used it. I stumbled on it over time working with dentists...
How To Refer Someone
How to Refer Someone to His or Her Very Best Clients “My father said there are two kinds of people in the world: givers and takers. The takers may eat better, but the givers sleep better.” Marlo Thomas Uh, shouldn’t that title read “How to be referred to your very...
Integrity
Integrity "Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way." Aristotle Customers are often suspicious of salespeople, especially those they've just met. You likely have experienced this yourself. Many think that salespeople will say anything...