Archives

Roy Williams, The Wizard of Ads, is holding a contest. It’s a contest for the biggest failure. He is offering $10,000 to the person who has experienced the biggest failure. The prize goes to the person who has taken the biggest risk, invested the most time, passion and capital into a worthy endeavor that, for all intents and purposes, did …

“If your heart is full of wonder you will live a wonderful life.” So here I stand at sunset on a secluded stretch of beach in Santa Barbara. I tagged on a day at the end of a business trip to just “breathe”. I am waiting for the sun to set. It is beautiful, but it is taking a little …

You have probably heard a business sentiment something akin to this: “If you want to be truly successful, discover what you are passionate about and do that.” I read an article the other day contradicting this sentiment with some fairly compelling thought.  The writer asserted that in decades of working with successful entrepreneurs he has rarely, if ever, met one …

A few years ago my son David was valedictorian of his high school grad class.  This week’s column is excerpts from his presentation. “The air was filled with the stench of animal manure and human waste.  I had to watch my step to avoid getting my feet stuck in the sewage that ran freely through the streets. The air was …

He had found the used records he was looking for and was now simply enjoying the vibe of the Haight/Ashbury district of San Francisco. He had never seen a hippie and here he was in the epicenter of the movement. He drank in the sights, sounds and smells of it all. Wow, as a prairie boy from Canada he had …

I got together for dinner with a very good buddy of mine recently. I have known this man for over 30 years, and we have experienced a lot of life together. As we ate dinner on the outdoor patio of an ocean side restaurant the sun began setting and cast a beautifully brilliant orange glow across the sky. “Oh man, …

58, 60, 63, 64.2 and holding… Yeah baby! 64.2 km/h, or 40.6 mph. Not bad. The water was like glass, the sun was warm and low in the sky, and I was enjoying the last day on the lake in my 1962 Chris Craft. I had the original 283 c.i. small block Chevy engine rebuilt, but I had not determined …

For the most part, everybody likes a party. There are lots of different reasons to throw a party: birthdays, holidays, Christmas, retirements, Tupperware, engagements, anniversaries, etc. We really don’t need a reason for a party, but it always helps to have a special occasion of some kind to provide us with the impetus to bring a group of people together …

“More power.  More power.  Try it in reverse now.  Rock it back and forth.  Everyone move to the bow.” Yup, we were stuck.  Grounded – or ‘run aground’ in nautical terms. We were leaving a small crescent-shaped caye and following the charts in what was supposed to be a narrow channel deep enough for us to pass through with no …

He sat there in first class staring out the window, still fuming from the fight he had with his wife.  His body position shouted “keep away” to those who sat next to or near him.  He didn’t want to have to speak with anyone – he wanted to be alone.  The dark cloud that surrounded him was almost palpable to …