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Over the years, I’ve accumulated a nice collection of hate mail. I know. Who sends hate mail to a guy trying to make the world friendlier? Anyway, all of the hate mail I’ve received over the years has taught me a valuable lesson: in the process of making a name for yourself, you will encounter people who will not want you to succeed. I say, screw those people. They…

I remember being stuck. I was stressed. I was frustrated. And my company wasn’t making any money for the third year in a row. Then I listened to Earl Nightingale’s The Strangest Secret before going to bed one night. In his program, he advises you to take the one thing you want more than anything in the world and focus all of you efforts on attaining it. For me,…

During my sophomore year of college, my roommate Ted decided to transfer mid-semester. Fortunately he was he was a total jerk and a drug addict who didn’t respect my personal space, so that worked out well. Anyway, when I returned from class one day, he was gone. His clothes, his posters, everything was gone. Even his TV. Oh no, not the TV! I thought. Initially, I was scared. No…

I guess every profession is different. For up ‘n coming bands, maybe it’s playing a sold out show two nights in a row. For new authors, maybe it’s topping the New York Time Bestseller List. For fashion designers, maybe it’s having their dress worn by Jessica Simpson on the red carpet. As a professional speaker, I’ve often wondered what the mark of a job well done was in my…

I have this theory that marketing and dating are the exact same thing. (I posted a podcast about this a while back.) Now, as a single guy (by which I mean, “not married”) I’ve been on my share of dates. And as a marketing guy, I’ve seen my share of unique ways to spread the word about ideas, products and websites. Not it’s time to merge the two and…

When I submit a book manuscript to my editor, I hope she uses up an entire red Sharpie marking up my draft. Because I want to know what sucks. Sure, it hurts. But I’ll take hurting over sucking any day. Also, notice I said to find out “what” sucks, not “who sucks.” Don’t take it personally. It’s not the author who sucks; it’s the writing that sucks. It’s not…

This week I was back in Vegas working with Jurni, the best travel agency consortium in the world! These guys know how to party! To kick off another great year, they put on a spectacular event including a 50’s sock hop, poodle skirts and all. I may or may not have eaten an entire meal comprised of juice-filled wax bottles, candy cigarettes and strips of colored dots.) They were…

Absolutely the best business/life decision I’ve made in the past few years was to start hanging out with people who are smarter than me. It’s like Proverbs 13:20, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” If you want to make a name for yourself, you must make friends, hang out with and learn from other people who have already made a…

Alright. Something weird is going on here. In the past few weeks, I’ve had three different people make almost the exact same comment to me. First it happened in Salt Lake City. I was recovering from a multi-speech day, resting in my hotel room, watching Anchorman. I checked the voicemail on my cell. It was from a strange guy named Mike. His message explained that he’d read my first…

I ventured back to Toledo last week for a few speeches… First I worked with WEN of Toledo (Women’s Entrepreneurial Network). It was excellent. There were a lot more men than I expected! I gave away a few free books to my “homeboys,” aka “The MEN of WEN,” who clearly stood out from the crowd! When people walked into the break out session room, I collected business cards for…