Review-Fran Tarkenton's New Biography: "Every Day Is Game Day"

I just finished reading Fran Tarkenton's new biography, "Every Day Is Game Day." It has been my privilege to work with Fran over this past year as one of his business partners. Watch what Fran says about it in the video above.


Besides being loaded with rare photos of his NFL days with the Minnesota Vikings, the New York Giants, and his induction into the football Hall of Fame, Fran tells some fascinating stories about his childhood, growing up in the back alleys of Washington, DC. and moving to Athens, Georgia. The son of a preacher, Fran has that same fervor and zeal that has propelled his success over all these years.


He also relates inside stories of playing high school football and then playing in college for the Georgia Bulldogs. Also there are fascinating behind the scenes stories about coaches, players and the games that made him a record breaking Hall of Fame quarterback. His relationship with coach Bud Grant and players like Ahmad Rashad is telling about the character of this All-Star football player.

Especially touching is the loss of his father to a heart attack following the Vikings loss to Roger Staubach and the Dallas Cowboys when the "Hail Mary" pass was born.

There are some not so serious, even laughable moments as Fran relates his days as a Monday Night Football commentator, working alongside the great Don Meredith and the famous sports pundit Howard Cosell.

In, Every Day Is Game Day" you will discover some great insights into the man, the legend and the legacy of Fran Tarkenton, one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game. The stats and the stories speak for themselves:

• Almost instant star in very first game with new franchise with 4 touchdown passes, 1961
• Moved to New York Giants in 1967, back to Vikings in 1972 in stunning trades
• At retirement leading lifetime passer in 6467 attempts
• Leading passing quarterback with 3686 completions at retirement
  
• 47003 total yards passed
• Passed for 342 touchdowns
• Rushed for 3674 yards and 32 touchdowns
• Led Vikings to 3 Super Bowls
• All NFL player 4 times
• Selected for the Pro Bowl 9 times
• Famous for exciting elusive scrambling style of play
  

His fierce drive and determination are balanced by his commitment, care and concern about the people around him. I cried reading about Fran helping one of his business partners connect with some of their long lost family.


On the verge of turning 70, (though you'd never know it) Fran is still extremely active with the businesses he started and is still considered a hero to thousands of loyal fans, business associates and friends. Always a devoted father and husband,with high and noble ideals, I believe you will find this book to be an eye opener about what it takes to be a high achiever and a winner. Fran Tarkenton is all of that and more.

Do I recommend this book. The answer is a resounding YES! You will be encouraged, your heart will be stirred, you will be re-energized and, I believe, forever changed.

About the author: David Henning is the President of the Freshstart Company, LLC and has over thirty years experience as a radio talk show host, radio and television copywriter, newspaper editor and public speaker. Having started, owned and operated several businesses, Dave is a proven leader in the business world. Dave is a freelance copywriter and has authored hundreds of articles about helping people get a fresh start in life.

What Is Your Mission?

"There comes a special moment in everyone's life, a moment for which that person was born. That special opportunity, when he seizes it, will fulfill his mission- a mission for which he is uniquely qualified. In that moment, he finds greatness. It is his finest hour."

-Winston Churchill

Today, ask yourself, "What is MY mission? Why am I here? How can I move forward to discover, cultivate and achieve my God-given mission?" Instead of focusing on how much "stuff" you can market and sell, focus on changing the world for the better by become who you were meant to be. Let go of your preconceived notions and watch what happens.

CARPE DIEM- "Seize the Day!"

About the author: David Henning is the President of the Freshstart Company, LLC and has over thirty years experience as a radio talk show host, radio and television copywriter, newspaper editor and public speaker. Dave is a freelance copywriter and has authored hundreds of articles about helping people get a fresh start in life. Copyright © 2005 David Henning and the Freshstart Co.

How saying Thank You can grow your business

It was the 1970's. While I was a graduate student in Kansas City I landed a prime time job as a morning drive disk jockey on a well known radio station. I was doing very well adjusting to my new found fame as a local celebrity. It was lots of fun and I was enjoying life.

One day I went into the General Manager's office and asked for a raise. We had just bought our first house and also had a lot of medical bills from our firstborn son who had cerebral palsy. Surely he could see how valuable I was to the station's image. Didn't I deserve a raise?

He proceeded to tell me that it wasn't in the budget. However, he explained that if I would take myself off the air and go into the sales department I could give myself a raise. In fact, an unlimited raise based on my performance. Now that sounded intriguing.

But I was scared. It was an intimidating idea.

Well, up to that point my sales experience included selling flower seeds and greeting cards door to door when I was about 12 years old. My pay came in the form of prizes that I could select out of a cool color catalog. Or was it black and white? Things like a camera, binoculars, or a telescope. Stuff little boys love.

Oh yeah, I did have a paper route as a teenager and had to be sure to collect the money from all the subscribers so I could get paid. I figured out a little collections trick to reduce my workload. I clipped a mail order form from the back of a comic book and ordered a return address stamp. If I placed a pre-addressed envelope in the newspaper once a month I could get a large percentage of my customers to just mail me their check. So I only had to collect in person from the remaining few. Worked like a charm.

Then there was the job at my high school friend's parents' business, a swimming pool company right down the street from my house. I ran the pool supply store and sold in ground and above ground pools. Unfortunately, at 17 years old I was fired from that job for using some inappropriate common vernacular slang in earshot of the boss.

I can't remember if that was before or after I was fired from the local I.G.A. grocery store. (Are those still around?) The manager called me in to his office one day to inform me that I just wasn't cut out for the grocery store business. I didn't think a 15 year old was looking for a long term career stocking shelves. Now I never did find out if I was fired for blowing up cans of pork and beans in the incinerator in the stock room, (Before pollution controls and global warming), or whether they didn't like me riding the back of grocery carts out to the little old lady's cars to help them load up.

So you can see my sales experience and training was on the slim side when I approached the GM at the radio station.

Right about that time a retired preacher gave me an old book called, The Success System That Never Fails by W. Clement Stone, the Chicago insurance millionaire. Clem Stone had been the manager of Napoleon Hill, author of Think And Grow Rich. Between each chapter there was a clever saying under the title, "Little Hinges That Swing Big Doors."

That book gave me the courage to prepare a detailed presentation to my General Manager outlining exactly how I would go about selling radio advertising and reach specific goals. He said it was the best presentation he had ever seen. Quite honestly, I don't know how many other presentations he had reviewed.

He gave me the green light to move into the sales office and occupy my own desk. My new sales job also launched me on a lifetime of sales, marketing and advertising as well as introducing me to the greatest sales trainers in the world via live seminars and books. Lots and lots of books. A few years ago I was honored to have my picture taken with Mark Victor Hansen, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul. Mark presented me with an advertising award for a television commercial I had created.

One of the results of accepting the sales job was that I won several sales awards at that radio station and still have a specially designed award certificate hanging on the wall of my office after 30 years!

One of the very first things I learned way back when was to hand write a Thank You note to each of my advertising customers. Back then there was no internet, no personal computers, no email, no Twitter or Facebook. It was all manual labor. Go to the store and buy the greeting cards, go the Post Office and buy the stamps, write the notes (by hand), stamp the envelope, address the envelope, go to the mailbox, deposit the card.

But my efforts paid off. The next time I'd walk into a clients store or business it was like I was a long lost friend. "Hi Dave!" was the enthusiastic welcome I got most often. It gave me a huge edge over the competition. There were times when my competitor would leave an advertising proposal and my clients would ask me to review it and give my opinion! Imagine that...

The trust and friendship I earned came as a result of
1. showing up on time for appointments,
2. always doing what I said I would do, and
3. always being grateful for the business.

A greeting card was the cement on the relationship. And not just one thank you card. I'd learn their spouse's name, their children's names, their dog's name. And I'd find out when their birthday was. So there were multiple reasons to keep in touch. Tom Hopkins tells the story of building a multi-million dollar real estate business from sending cards.

Relationships can't be bought. Relationships can't be faked. You are either genuine and sincere or not.

Now comes the problem. Or should I say challenge? Sending a thank you card is a lost art form. We either don't have the time or don't take the time. Many are victims of the "fast sale" mentality. Get them to sign on the dotted line and move on to the next sale.

Statistics show it is far easier to get repeat sales from satisfied customers than it is to generate new clients.

Here is the exciting news. Are you sitting down? Are you ready for this? About two years ago my business consultant introduced me to an ONLINE GREETING CARD PROGRAM. No, I don't mean e-cards. I'm talking about a real physical thank you card or birthday card that you can send from your desktop or laptop or even your Blackberry.

The company I discovered offers a selection of over 13,000 cards of every category imaginable. Hundreds of business owners, managers and sales people are flocking to this business tool like crazy.

It is so simple and fast that I have personal sent out over 1200 cards just over the past year! I select a card, type in my message, auto-fill the address from a built in contact manager and click SEND. The card is printed, stuffed in a real envelope, stamped with a real stamp and mailed by noon the next day.

If that weren't enough, it does it all in my actual handwriting AND my real signature. Not only that, but I can tell the software to add a gift card like Starbucks or American Express. Oh there's so much more but you'll have to check it out for yourself.

Now, based on what I just described, I suppose you are thinking that this must be pretty expensive. Yes, it is very elaborate software.

Well here's another surprise. I can send out a real classy looking glossy card for...
61 CENTS! Plus postage. So with a 44 cent stamp we're talking $1.06. A card like this from Walmart would easily cost $3.50.

Once you sign up, you get a free website and in addition to greeting cards you can send postcards and newsletter size cards the same way. I've used it to promote events, like my Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting. I sent out 212 postcard invitations and had over 80 people show up! That's over a 30% response rate. Fantastic!

Concerned about cost? This company allows you to have resale rights through what they call their "Entrepreneur Package," and will send you a check for $120 for every referral that gets a wholesale package. So do the math. It would take no time at all to recoup your investment. The question you have to ask yourself is this...Is your business worth the investment?

Heh, this isn't for everyone. It may not be for you. Go ahead and send me an email and I'll gladly give you all the details. info@freshstartstore.com

You can probably tell that I'm pretty excited about this. So let me wrap things up by saying don't take my word for it. Decide for yourself. Email me now at info@freshstartstore.com to take a test drive and send a real card for free.

From there its up to you.

If you're experience is anything like mine, I'll bet you send me a thank you card.

My experience has been very positive in building great relationships with my clients (and family and friends). And I've gotten plenty of referrals as a result.

I will be sending out cards for the rest of my life.
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Entrepreneur Launches New Business In Spite of Recession

I have a friend in Pennsylvania who I've know for about ten years. Now here's a guy that speaks four languages ( or is it five?). He's very friendly and easy going and a fun guy to be around. We've attended several company conventions in Las Vegas in the past. In fact, as I now recall, we were both on the bill as motivational speakers at a leadership training event in Ohio.

Well, lo and behold, this guy calls me a few months ago and in the midst of the recession has launched a new manufacturing company with a product that has hit the market like a storm. In a very short time he has been in negotiations with national distribution companies and has gathered a seasoned team of representatives to market this cool product that took him six years to develop.

Talk about determination. Six years! Some would consider this the worst time to launch a new company. I beg to differ. Do you homework. The Great Depression was a time when some brand new companies were started by some ambitious entrepreneur's that are still going today. For instance, United Technologies Corporation, an aerospace company, was started in 1929. and in 2008 reported $58.7 BILLION in revenues. That's billion with a "b."

Fred Smith started Federal Express during the oil crisis of 1973 at the Memphis airport. On its first night, in April, FedEx shipped 186 packages to 25 U.S. cities. Ever heard of FedEx?

So I suppose you'd like to know what it is. Right? Fair enough. It is an all natural granola snack cookie. Not just that, he's using a very special fiber ingredient called Konjac fiber. So this all natural granola cookie can be used not only to replace junk food, but also for weight control.

Seems this Konjac fiber gently and safely expands in your stomach and gives you that full feeling for an extended period of time. Cut calories, loose weight. Sounds simple enough. If that weren't enough, it tastes great. Trust me, I've tried it.

So I was commissioned by the company to develop some marketing for them. So here goes. Check out this cool little video and give me your honest opinion. Go ahead, I can take it. Let me know what you think. It's only about 3 minutes. CLICK HERE NOW: http://www.eathealthygranola.net

Thanks for checking it out.

About the author: David Henning is the President of the Freshstart Company, LLC and has over thirty years experience as a radio talk show host, radio and television copywriter, newspaper editor and public speaker. Dave is a freelance copywriter and has authored hundreds of articles about helping people get a fresh start in life.

New Joe Gibbs book-Game Plan For Life

On Friday, August 31st my neighbor Jeff and I went to Charlotte to a breakfast at the Weston hotel to hear my friend, Coach Joe Gibbs speak about his new book hot off the press: Game Plan For Life, co-authored by Jerry Jenkins.

I'd say there was a pretty good turn-out. Over 1200 people, to be exact! We sat at the table next to Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory. There were several former NFL players there and some NASCAR folks too. Joe was introduced by his son J.D. who is now the President of Joe Gibbs Racing.

Joe always has a great sense of humor and some wonderful stories from his football days on the gridiron.

So here's a guy who was a physical education major from San Diego State University. He goes on to be offensive line coach at four major colleges before moving up to the National Football League. For seventeen years, he served as assistant coach to the St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the San Diego Chargers before getting the call to become the new head coach for the Washington Redskins.

In spite of losing his first five games with the Redskins, Joe went on to lead the team for 12 seasons and led them to eight playoff appearances, four NFC titles, and three Super Bowl titles.

In 1996, Gibbs was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He was one of the winningest coaches in NFL history, at that time having a record of 124 wins and 60 losses, and a post-season record of 16 wins and five losses.

If that were not enough, upon retiring (the first time) from the Redskins, in 1992 Joe focused his full attention to his NASCAR race teams and now boasts three Nascar titles. Driver Bobby Labonte holds one title and Tony Stewart won two championships. And this season is looking strong with his newest drivers, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Bush and Joey Logano. Joey is the youngest driver in Sprint Cup history to win a race at just 19 years old.

So it is certainly an honor and a privilege to know Joe and his wife Pat personally. I first met Joe when the Lake Norman Young Life area was birthed, splitting off of the Charlotte area eleven years ago. My wife and I were honored to chair the adult leadership committee of this non-profit high school youth organzation. www.younglife.org We often held our monthly meeting at the Gibbs home where Joe would be walking around with one of the grand babies on his shoulder with a burp cloth. Joes' son J.D. and wife Melissa joined the committee and also continue to actively support Young Life.

So Joe has been on this grueling whirlwind tour promoting his new book, Game Plan for Life for about a month now. His fierce determination and focus that are reminiscent of his coaching days is apparent as he travels the country getting the word out.

How did this book get started? Thanks for asking. He commissioned a study that essentially asked the question, What are the key topics that will lead people to a "successful" life?

He put together an amazing list of Christian men (Josh McDowell, Chuck Colson, Ron Blue and many others) to write on a variety of topics, which is woven together by Joe's personal testimony. He will also be interviewing for video all of these authors (each committed to do four hours of interviews with Coach Gibbs over the next year). Gibbs considers this his legacy work.

The foreword is aptly written by former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy who has also won a Super Bowl.

The book is interwoven with many fascinating stories from Joe's colorful career and abruptly begins with the shooting death of Redskins player Sean Taylor.

This is a must read for anyone serious about true success. I highly recommend it. However you can't have the copy that Joe signed for me... unless you name is Dave. Not.
******************

About the author: David Henning is the President of the Freshstart Company, LLC and has over thirty years experience as a radio talk show host, radio and television copywriter, newspaper editor and public speaker. Dave is a freelance copywriter and has authored hundreds of articles about helping people get a fresh start in life.

Stunning photos TODAY from India

My son in law, Jon McCormack is an incredible photographer. From his Alaska photos to Yosemite National Park to Yellowstone to Kenya and Australia you will enjoy his work.

In fact, Jon was selected from a small group of photographers to travel to India with National Geographic and World Vision to India. He left California on Friday and you can see from his blog that he has been busy with some beautiful colorful images taken just this weekend.

When you view these photos, it will really surprise you to learn that Jon is colorblind! Check it out for yourself: http://bit.ly/ZPwCE

What about you? Imagine your potential now as you stretch yourself to grow in new ways each day.

Enjoy! Dave

About the author: David Henning is the President of the Freshstart Company, LLC and has over thirty years experience as a radio talk show host, radio and television copywriter, newspaper editor and public speaker. Dave is a freelance copywriter and has authored hundreds of articles about helping people get a fresh start in life. Copyright © 2009 David Henning and the Freshstart Co. LLC

What's Your Excuse?

Okay, so my neighbor across the hall in the office building where I spend most of my life sends me this "interesting, must see" video clip.

This amidst 68 emails that came in just this morning.

If you're like me, you get a gazillion forwarded emails a day with someone wanting you to "check this out." Usually it's a ridiculous political opinion forwarded from "who knows where" attempting to raise your blood pressure and turn up the "anger and outrage thermostat" a notch or two.

Or worse yet, they want you to forward it to ten people you know for good luck or blessing and if not, who knows, you might be in for something dreadful.

Well, I stopped playing that game a long time ago, if I ever really did. You see, I choose who and what to let into my brain. Without being "pie in the sky" or "pollyanna," I choose to try to see the best in others and the best in even bad situations. Medical and University research confirms it's better and a healthier lifestyle.

It has been shown in clinical studies that unresolved bitterness, anger and unforgiveness does not hurt the person or issue that has ticked you off or made your blood boil. Not one bit.

Who it does hurt is you. Don't take my word for it. Do your own due diligence and PRIMARY research. There are cases of high blood pressure, strokes, heart attack and even cancer that can be traced back to what I call "Ebenezer Scrooge Syndrome," or E.S.S. ( I just made that up.)

So what's my point? Thanks for asking. If you think you have an excuse for not being successful, or feel you've gotten a raw deal... or better yet... you're waiting for the federal government to take care of you or improve your situation....

Then watch this incredible video from a guy who makes no excuses and has taken what he's been dealt in life and made the most of it. Whether or not you like or play golf, this is a must see. Be encouraged, there is hope and yes, there is light at the end of your tunnel!

And TAKE ACTION today to get out there and make a difference!

Check it out: http://www.thegolfchannel.com/golf-videos/meet-butch-lumpkin-9477/?ref

Don't worry, its from the Golf Channel, so its safe. Your thoughts?
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The Power of Enthusiasm

I was thinking about you today and I wanted to share this important thought with you. I hope you enjoy it.

Enthusiasm gives you drive, puts your brain in gear to create ideas and solutions to the challenges you are facing.

Enthusiasm releases healthy natural healing hormones in your body that gives you energy and health.

Enthusiasm helps you put past failures behind you, forgive yourself and focus on the powerful positive future God has for you.

Enthusiasm gives you an attractiveness that acts like a magnet that drawing people and success to you.

People enjoy being around enthusiastic people.

Enthusiasm will create a happiness in you, gives you a positive attitude that drives out doubt and fear.

Enthusiasm gives you a healthy self-esteem.Enthusiasm helps you to like yourself in spite of past failures.

Enthusiasm can propel you to the next level in your life, career, and relationships.

Enthusiasm will open your mind to new ways of doing things,

Enthusiasm will weed out negative self limiting thoughts.

Enthusiasm will move you to seek out people who have attained success who you can learn from.

Enthusiasm will give you a thirst for knowledge and wisdom that will grow you.

Enthusiasm gives you courage, boldness and stability.

Enthusiasm will give people the desire to want to be on your team and learn from you.

Enthusiasm will make you a good learner and student.

Enthusiasm will encourage you to step out of your comfort zone in faith and get around other successful people so you can grow in your own development.

Enthusiasm has nothing to do with some egocentric belief in your self and your power and your ability and what you are capable of doing in and of yourself, but recognizing that you do have abilities and talents that can be developed and expanded with the help of others.

Enthusiasm Is a teachable spirit, knowing deep inside yourself that you don’t know everything that but that there are people who can mentor you and help you get to where you are going.

Enthusiasm has many side benefits, several of which are inner peace, self confidence, assurance, optimism, genuine hope.

Enthusiasm goes hand in hand with integrity, honesty and a genuine desire to help others succeed with their best interests at heart.

Enthusiasm can lead to a life of encouragement and fulfillment that includes learning how to encourage yourself and others.

Encourage meaning coming along side someone and giving them courage.

I once heard John Maxwell, author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, give a talk called, “The Battle is Won, BEFORE the Battle is Begun”

What does that mean? That means that the outcome of any task or challenge you attempt will be already determined by what you THINK before you begin.

The short young backwoods shepherd boy David could not have stood toe to toe at the battlefront with a nine foot giant name Goliath if he had not already won that battle in his mind. He was under equipped, outsized, outgunned and out manned.

His brothers and the rest of his country’s army stood in the background quivering in fear at the site of this ugly big dude. But he knew he could beat this loudmouthed challenger on his own turf and marched right up to the enemy without fear and knocked him out cold with one small rock and a slingshot.

The battle is won before the battle is begin.

The biggest battle you face is within the space between your ears, your mind.

Maxwell also relates a more contemporary story.

As I write this, it’s the month of March madness. The NCAA basketball finals are being played around the country and Michigan will face North Carolina in the Final Four after Michigan knocked off Kentucky in double overtime in Austin, Texas.

Years ago, when Digger Phelps was Coaching Notre Dame basketball, they were facing John Wooden’s UCLA team in the finals.

UCLA that season had 88 wins and 3 championships under their belt. They were like an unstoppable basketball machine.

How did Coach Phelps train his Notre Dame team to face down this giant?

At practices before the big game, he had the team celebrate as if they had won and go to the basket and CUT DOWN THE NETS!

John Maxwell explains that Digger Phelps understood what it would take to prepare his team to win. By cutting down those nets he instilled in his players that THE BATTLE IS WON BEFORE THE BATTLE IS BEGUN!

And guest what happened.

They went on to beat UCLA by ONE POINT and broke the Bruins winning streak!

You can accomplish the same thing with enthusiasm!

Print this out. Carry it with you. Every day, where ever you are, stop what you are doing and shout out loud. “I AM ENTHUSIASTIC!” I dare you. Watch what starts happening to you. Enthusiasm. It will change your life!

David Henning, President, The Freshstart Company, LLC,
“Solving Problems, Improving Lives” Copyright 2005
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Success Is Inside You

SUCCESS IS INSIDE YOU!

Explore the possibilities, unleash the dream within you. Success is not a destination that you arrive at, it’s a journey. Success is not money, wealth and power, it’s being all that you can be with God’s help and becoming all that you can be as you take this journey called life.

“Success is knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential and sowing seeds to benefit others.” John Maxwell1.

KNOWING. Do you know your purpose? Have you written it down? Why are you here? What do you want out of life?

Yogi Berra: ‘If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”

2. GROWING. Success comes as the result of growing to our potential. It has been said that potential is God’s gift to us and what we do with it is our gift to Him.

Henry Ford, ”There is no man living who isn’t capable of doing more than we think we can do. We have nearly limitless potential, yet few ever try to reach it.”T

TIPS: 1. CONCENTRATE ON ONE MAIN GOAL. No one ever reached their potential by scattering themselves in 20 different directions. Reaching your potential requires FOCUS.

2. CONCENTRATE ON CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT.

Resources for your personal growth.
EACH DAY YOU CAN BECOME A LITTLE BIT BETTER THAN YOU WERE YESTERDAY.

You will find that what you GET as a result of your growth is not nearly important as what you BECOME along the way. The potential for greatness lies within you!

3.SOWING. Sow seeds that benefit others. Without that, the success journey can be a lonely and shallow experience. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give!

Zig Ziglar: “Help enough other people get what they want and you will end up getting what you want.”

There is tremendous gratification and personal reward that cannot be measured in helping people. That’s why I am committed to helping you succeed.

In the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC…there's a video of speech given by President John F. Kennedy to congress, on May 25th, 1961. It records the stirring words of an impossible goal that stunned scientists and the nation.

He said, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before the decade is out of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth.”

IT WAS RIDICULOUS, WILD, IMPOSSIBLE!

Even some people at NASA thought it couldn’t be done. The technology required to make it happen didn’t even exist, and they weren’t sure that it could exist.

Yet, NASA, despite all the doubts, took on the challenge and on July 16th , 1969, Apollo Eleven lifted off from Pad 39 at Kennedy Space Center and began a journey of 244,930 miles to the moon.

Four days later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, Jr. landed the lunar module, Eagle on the surface of the moon...and 500 million people watched on television as Armstrong took his first step into the powder fine gray dust of the moon and uttered those famous words,

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

WHAT HAPPENED? In the blink of an eye, John F. Kennedy’s speech made a lunar landing change from an impossible dream to an obtainable target.

We didn’t have the technology to do it, but it became POSSIBLE because of a change in

ATTITUDE. WHEN OUR ATTITUDES OUTDISTANCE OUR ABILITIES, EVEN THE IMPOSSIBLE BECOMES POSSIBLE!

Yogi Berra, “Life is like baseball. It’s 95 per cent mental and the other half is physical.”

Sign in office “YESTERDAY ENDED LAST NIGHT.”
“ONE THING I DO. Forgetting what is behind, and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me.” (Philippians 3:13)

Sign over locker room door of Phoenix Suns. A quote from Bill Russell, famous center for Boston Celtics: “The game is scheduled and we have to play it. WE MIGHT AS WELL WIN.”

During Russell’s time with the Celtics they won 11 NBA Title Championships in 13 years.”

You have a life to live, a mission to accomplish.

My question to you today is, what are you going to do with it? WE MIGHT AS WELL WIN!

MISTAKES

Mistakes, by Allen Elliot

Tom Watson Sr. was the guiding hand in the success of IBM for forty years. He knew the risks associated with business and the value of learning from mistakes.

One year a young executive was given responsibility for a project that cost over $10 million. As it turned out, the idea failed, and when the young man was called in, he offered his resignation."You can't be serious," said Watson. "We've just spent $10 million education you!"

When Thomas Edison was trying to invent the electric light, he made thousands of "mistakes" before he had any success.

The discovery of rubber vulcanization was made by accident.

Gail Borden made countless business blunders before achieving success with condensed milk.

Levi Strauss made the mistake of selling his entire supply of dry goods, leaving him with only canvas to make pants from.

Milton Hershey failed more than once in the candy making business before finding success with the Hershey bar.

Almost every enterprise has experienced its share of mistakes.

Mistakes are a tool of learning.

Although repeating mistakes is foolish, a legitimate try that turns sour should be accepted as part of the process moving forward to a better idea. Those who adhere to the old adage, "If you are not making mistakes, you are not making progress" are frequently the persons who make the biggest advancements in business.

We have a natural tendency to avoid trial and error, and often find risk-taking to be unsettling. Yet, it is those who take calculated risks who reap the benefits.

As Edward J. Phelps so aptly stated, "The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything."

Consider this: Are you so afraid of making mistakes that you are shielding yourself from success?"

Alan Elliott Author of "A Daily Dose of the American Dream"

Music Makes Me Smile

Music makes me smile.

How about you?

Heh, have you ever had a not so great day where everything seems to be going wrong? Maybe your wife backed the car into the garage door?

Or the dogs ran through the house with mud on their paws right after you had the carpets cleaned?

The neighbor kid wakes you up at 5 in the morning and you’re not a morning person?

I once heard the definition of a bad day. You know you’re having a bad day if you’re following a motorcycle gang of Hell’s Angels and your car horn gets stuck.

You know you’re having a bad day if you wake up and your waterbed has sprung a leak, except you don’t own a waterbed.

You know you’re having a bad day when... you fill in the blanks.

So you say you’re having a bad day, eh? You flip on the radio and even though you’re a conservative, those right wing talk show hosts are giving you a headache.

You punch the FM button and start scanning the dial for something interesting. Next thing you know, you’re singing at the top of your lungs with the Doobie Brothers, “Listen to the Music.”

Of course, at this point your windows are rolled up and people are staring at you at the stoplight. But heh, who cares… you just had an attitude transplant.

Historically speaking, it has been said that 'Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast, To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.'That’s from a play The Mourning Bride by William Congreve who lived from 1670 to 1729, right around the time Ben Franklin was born.

Think about this. The blind violinist touched the raging heart of Frankenstein’s monster.

One of my all time favorite songs quieted the fearful trembling of a lost little girl from Kansas when she sang, “Over the Rainbow,” in The Wizard of Oz. Or another favorite is the rock group Chicago’s classic, “Make Me Smile.”

There’s a lot to be said for the power of music. I happen to like all styles of music… classical, jazz, gospel, rock, folk, country, even bluegrass. There’s even a little Rap that I can slightly tolerate.

In fact, my love of music and my childhood dream of being a famous radio disk jockey came into reality several years ago when I got to get paid for having fun doing a morning drive show in Kansas City.

In my fifteen minutes of fame, I had the privilege of playing the most popular music of that day over the airwaves and interview some people a lot more famous than me.

My latest hobby is collecting music concert DVD’s. So when I heard that a local music store was going out of business, I rushed over to see what kind of deals I could get to add to my collection. Well, it just so happened that they had the vintage Lynyrd Skynyrd documentary, Freebird.

So guess what I did?

I bought it!

And also a fantastic concert by the original members of Fleetwood Mac. The encore numbers performed by Lindsay Buckingham, Stevie Nix, John and Christie McVie and Mick Fleetwood not only made me smile but made me want to get up and dance. And if you’d ever seen my dancing, it’s not a pretty sight. I’m a bad version of Steve Martin’s “Happy Feet.”

The band surprised the audience with a drum pounding rendition of Tusk, that included the entire University of Southern California marching band in full parade dress. That made me smile real big.

If that weren’t enough, they performed their hit song, Don’t Stop. It talks about jettisoning the past and moving on with hope and optimism. A very rousing anthem that reverberates with, “don’t stop thinking about tomorrow, don’t stop, it will soon be here. It’ll be here, better than before… yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone.”

Perhaps the most famous rendition of this song was when Fleetwood Mac sang at the first William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Inaugural. Regardless of your political affiliation, you have to admit it was pretty cool.

Okay, don’t admit it. What do I care?

Maybe you’re not a big music fan like I am, but can you imagine a world without music? Every TV show has its theme music. The Superbowl commercials often feature famous oldies and even CSI plays a tune by The Who. Music is woven into the very fabric of our society.

Even “sacred” music ain’t so sacred if you study it. Another contemporary of Ben Franklin, Englishman Charles Wesley wrote a couple hundred religious songs that are still sung today.

Guess what? Most people are unaware that these “holy” songs were sung to the tunes of popular bar songs of the 18th century. Surprise.

You may recall Charles older brother John Wesley had no small hand in starting the Methodist Church.

How is it that we humans have this inner compass that is drawn like a magnet to the North Pole called music?

The 1960’s were full of folk songs whose lyrics shaped political opinions. Lyricists have forever captured the climate of the current culture and phrased songs in a way that touched us and moved us deeply.

So my anthem for today would be this: Let the music in.

Maybe for you it’s been a long time since you let anything in to touch you in the deepest part of your soul. Maybe it’s time for you to turn a corner in your life.

Maybe it’s your time to take the strong suggestion of Fleetwood Mac, “don’t stop thinking about tomorrow… yesterday’s gone.”

Your future will always be brighter if you let the music in.

Walmart & Feds in Cahoots to Tick Me Off

Well, here I am at a local Wal-Mart.

I've just driven over 400 miles to celebrate my mother's 81st birthday. She had just opened a box of old, I mean really old photographs of my grandparents, my great grandparents and my great great grandparents.

These of course date back to the mid 1800's. Some were taken in other countries like Ireland, England and Italy.

So my mom is writing down the names of all these ancestors which I find fascinating. We figured we'd just bop down to the local Wal-Mart and scan them to a disk so I can take them home, maybe hang a few on the wall.

Lo and behold, Ken the Wal-Mart guy in his bright blue vest and nametag educates us on the fact that due to Federal copyright laws, Wal-Mart will not allow me to scan my own photos of my own family if they in any way resemble a professional photographer’s work.

For me to be allowed by Wal-Mart to copy these old pictures, I am told I have to get the original photographer to sign an official government document waiver giving me permission to have Wal-Mart put these pictures on a disk or print them.

Now, think about this for a minute. Ken the blue vest guy tells me that this incredibly ingenious Federal law applies for the last 100 years! How in the world am I to get a photographer who's been DEAD for over 80 years to sign off on Wal-Mart 's Federally approved release form?

Not only that, everybody in the pictures are dead too. Of all the cemeteries I've visited, I've yet to see a clipboard with photo waiver forms attached to a tombstone.

To be fair, I requested a copy of the official Wal-Mart Copyright Policy brochure. I'm going to give my attorneys a jingle and have them review it. Because it seems totally crazy!

It's kind of like the stories you hear of all the insane laws that are still on the books from the 19th century. Like tying your horse to a fire hydrant and spitting on the sidewalk.

Maybe this paragraph will through light on Walmart's bizarre policy.

Now Ken, informed me that the little old lady behind the photo counter, also with a blue vest-thing, was a "highly trained expert" who could tell whether a photo was professionally done or not...even though their brochure stated that the professional photo would be identified by being "signed, stamped or otherwise identified by any photographer or studio."

I envisioned a special National Wal-Mart Little Old Lady Training Center For the Advancement of Copyright Identification where these local retiree’s were sent off to for a week of intense training on old pictures."

"In addition, we will not copy a photograph that appears to have been taken by a professional photographer or studio, even if it is not marked with any sort of copyright, unless we are presented with a signed Copyright Release from the photographer or studio."

Not only that. Wal-Mart must retain the release form on file at their store for five (5) years! Talk about lawyers making life complicated."...if a Customer makes an unauthorized reprint of a copyrighted photo at Wal-Mart, both the Customer and the photo lab making the picture could be liable for copyright infringement!"

(Exclamation point is their's)

Ah... Now things are coming into focus. (No pun intended)

Their absurd policy is not to protect me or you, the naive customer. It's to cover their assets!

With all the legal attacks on Wal-Mart, their not taking any chances of another lawsuit filed by a dead photographer. Makes perfect sense to me. Not.

So just a word of warning. Get a scanner and do it yourself.

PS. Come spring I’ll still probably buy my fertilizer there in the lawn and garden department. Unless I have to sign a release promising to not spread their manure without the express written permission of the cow!

Why Martha Stewart Wins

So, unless you've been off visiting another planet, you probably have heard of Martha Stewart's legal battle and her subsequent prison term. There was actually a "Save Martha" website, Martha Stewart tee shirts...

and even a book or two like, Let's Get Martha! : How the Feds Went Crime Shopping, by Alexandra Mark Ph.D.

Here's a quote from the book

"Not since the French Revolution has there been such a delight in seeing corporate heads fall. But unlike other CEO’s who had bilked their companies out of millions of dollars, Martha Stewart was targeted, prosecuted and imprisoned solely because of who she is and not for what she had done. Shares in her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia dropped precipitously only when the Justice Department indicted her.

But the prosecution admitted unabashedly that they intended to make an example of her as a deterrent to white collar crime. Love her or hate her, Martha’s case was all about her celebrity.The story of how the feds first attacked her reputation, and then brought her down for nothing more than retuning a phone call to her broker, is a chilling reminder that out-of-control prosecutors and courts are something we all need to be concerned with.

"According to news stories the homemaking diva was sentenced to five months in prison and two years probation in July of 2004 for lying to investigators about her sale of ImClone Systems stock in late 2001.

Can you remember anything you did or said specifically from 2001? I know I can't. I have a hard enough time remembering where I put my car keys.

Federal Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum ordered Stewart to serve five months of home confinement after release from prison and slapped a $30,000 fine on top of that. Well, Martha served her time under the watchful eye of the media. She's had her share of jokes from Letterman and Leno and the minor league talk show hosts.

But guess what? Martha is doing just fine. She's still a savvy business woman and came out positive and ready to take on the next challenge.

"I had hoped for, at the most, some confinement, community service," Stewart told Barbara Walters in an interview. "And instead I have five months of incarceration, and five months of house arrest that's monitored. ... But it could have been worse...

Five months versus 10 months or 16 months ... That's a good thing."

When all is said and done, ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING.

I heard this week a great quote from Jim Rohn. He originally heard it from his mentor I think maybe 45 years ago. Well, it's still true today.

Here it is:"Your income is determined by your PHILOSOPHY, not by the economy."

Think about it.

Martha Stewart isn't the only celeb to be jerked around and tarred and feathered in public in an attempt to disgrace her reputation and credibility, and "put her in her place."

The Federal government "players," I like to call them to keep it clean, always claim to be watching out for the "little guy," the "common folks." Trying to position themselves as our guardian angels.

But if they put the big guy out of business, the "little guy" doesn't have a job, health insurance, a pension or any other benefits and will be out selling apples on a street corner like they did in 1929.

So, and this is a pet peeve of mine, here comes another Congressional hearing. It's broadcast on television, sound bitten on the national news and waved around as if it were the crucial stop-gap measure to prevent the end of the world as we know it.

The Senators drag someone into their kangaroo court and use it as a bully pulpit to rant and rave in the name of social justice or to grandstand with some mini-political speech.

If you didn't already know, here's what a kangaroo court is defined as:"an unofficial or mock court set up spontaneously for the purpose of delivering a judgment arrived at in advance, usually one in which a disloyal cohort’s fate is decided"

The Washington Post reports "Finger-pointing," like "partisanship" or "influence-peddling," is one of those ubiquitous Washington pastimes that is done only by other people. They play "the blame game" in order to "score political points…"

Here's a few names you'll recognize for falling victim to this perfectly legal national crime.

Bill Gates, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, baseball's Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Rafael Palmero.

For example, Howard Hughes is busy supplying vital equipment to the U.S. military after a terrorist attack on Pearl Harbor plunged America into World War II.

He is accused of corruption and called on the carpet by a federal investigating committee. Hughes leaks information to the press that Senator Owen Brewster, chairman of the Senate War Investigating Committee was being paid by none other than Pan American Airways to cause trouble.

According to Hughes, Pan Am was trying to persuade the United States government to set up an "official" worldwide monopoly under its control. Part of this plan was to force all existing American carriers with overseas operations to close down or merge with Pan Am.

Hughes, as the owner of TWA, wasn't going for it. Hughes claimed that Senator Brewster had approached him and suggested he merge TWA with Pan Am. When Hughes refused, Senator Brewster began a smear campaign against him.

Check out this 1974 headline. "Ford and GM Scrutinized for Alleged Nazi Collaboration.

The Ford Motor Co. has mobilized dozens of historians, lawyers and researchers to fight a civil case brought by lawyers in Washington and New York who specialize in extracting large cash settlements from banks and insurance companies accused of defrauding Holocaust victims"

Bottom line? As the Proverbs say, there is nothing new under the sun. Power, greed and publicity do strange things to a man (or woman).

However, you have a choice. Integrity, fair dealings and honesty in an unfair world are still your best option. Be a positive force in your world of influence.

As Mark Twain said, "Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest." So here's to you Martha. Keep fighting the good fight.

Disclaimer: I confess that some congressional hearings may actually benefit the American public, although I can't prove it.

Why Old Guys Do It Better

It’s been 40 years since these old buddies got together.

When they last worked as a team they had achieved fame and fortune beyond their wildest dreams. Even though their “corporation” only lasted three years.

No, it wasn’t about some super geeks in the Silicon Valley creating a new PC. Bill Gates was 13. Michael Dell was 3 years old. The internet wouldn’t arrive on the scene until much later, thanks to Al Gore.

You might say they were the cream of the crop of young talented executives plying their skills in the marketplace of the incredible 60’s. Now these old men who are literally in their personal 60’s decided to have a little reunion in May of 2005.

Their names? Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton. Their business? Music. Their company name? Cream. Their goal? The reunion concert. Four incredible nights at Royal Albert Hall in London.

A huge success.Now most young people have heard of the Beatles. In fact my daughter as a teenager knew the words to all of the Beatles songs by heart. But when you mention Cream to a young person, they go, “who?” No, that’s Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey.

Cream actually retired a year before Woodstock. I mean the real Woodstock in the Catskill Mountains of Upstate New York, 1969. Not those two phony Woodstock disasters that came later. I was just 17 years old and barely out of high school when I rode in a car with my older brother and his two pals from Rochester to Woodstock. We got soaked by the thunderstorms. But that’s another story.

Back to these old guys. They’ve got a lot of nerve after all these years to think that people would be interested in, let alone respect these retired old geezers. Yet, these legends of rock played their classic tunes to four excited, grateful sold out crowds all in the same week.

In October, they again packed out Madison Square Garden for three shows in a row. As one reviewer put it, “the Garden more closely resembled an AARP convention than a classic rock concert.”

Even David Letterman with ticket in hand made his way in the gate.Another New York reviewer and rock musician himself put it this way, “Health-wise, I didn’t know what to expect as I’d read about Jack Bruce’s liver transplant and over the years the pictures I’ve seen of Ginger Baker have made Keith Richards look spry.”

In the words of Gomer Pyle, “Surprise, surprise, surprise!”

These guys were absolutely incredible. During one performance, Eric Clapton exclaimed amidst the massive applause, “Thanks for waiting all these years. We’re going to do I think every song we know. We didn’t go for very long. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune cut us off in our prime.”

At that point Jack Bruce burst in, “This is our prime, what do you mean?”

They went on to prove it with perfect renditions of a couple of dozen great songs.

I have met some people who have turned 40 and think they are “over the hill.” Or on the slippery sliding slope sending them into gray hair and old age. I’ve seen relatives who walk in slow, calculated steps, bent over, full of stress, wrinkled and weary looking as if they were 90 and they’re barely 50.

Compare that to Paul McCartney, who turned 67 in June. Yet he played tunes for almost three hours straight Thanksgiving weekend at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. And had energy to spare.

You didn’t see Sir Paul being rolled off the stage in a wheelchair.

Is it guitars and drums that keep people young or what? Not necessarily. My mother turned 84 this January and I’ve never seen her play a lick on a Stratocaster or a Rickenbacker. She’s still driving her little green Honda, playing cards with her friends and very active in her church.

Well then, is it clean living? No, George Burns smoked cigars and was performing right up to age 100. “I smoke ten to fifteen cigars a day. At my age I have to hold on to something.”George said, “I don't believe in dying. It's been done. I'm working on a new exit. Besides, I can't die now - I'm booked.” and “Don't stay in bed, unless you can make money in bed.”

Here’s a couple more Burns-isms. “I look to the future because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life,” and “Retirement at sixty-five is ridiculous. When I was sixty-five I still had pimples.”

“I'd rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate."

Get it?

Despite of your age, you have a choice to make. Are you going to make 2009 the best year ever in your life regardless of what happens to you or how “old” you are?

Are you looking forward to the future or stuck in the past? Are you passionate about your mission in life? Or do you need a career change? Is your sense of humor diminishing or increasing?

Are you aging like the Dead Sea or gracefully like a bottle of fine wine? What's got to change in you? Here’s the deal. It’s all about choices. What’s yours? Make it great.

The High Cost of Interruptions

Interruptions.

Exactly how much freedom, money and success is short circuited by interruptions that we allow on a daily basis.

This is a point of real stress for me. Why? Because I like to socialize as much as anyone. One small (big) problem.

Interruptions come when you least expect them, hence the name.How many hours a day do you actually work? Have you every really counted them or tracked it?

Just for fun, print out a calendar off Microsoft Office Outlook or some such program. Except make it for just one day, today. Now, every 30 minutes, write in the space the letter “W” if you were actually working, or "NW" if you were doing something else, like chatting on the phone with a friend or spouse, doing something in the restroom like popping a zit, taking a “break” in the break room, standing by the coffee pot, “organizing” your desk, etc.

Have you seen that movie “Office Space?” Cracks me up because it’s so realistic.Now, at the end of your workday, add up the real amount of time you spent actually working.

Hello! Not much.

For example, I just now decided to Google this subject just to prove I was right that we Americans may put in 8 hours at work, but actually only really work about 3 hours a day.

So, I pull up an interesting article in the New Yorker magazine, and lo and behold…Here’s a trailer of Albert Brook’s new movie, “Looking for comedy in the Muslim world.” Well, of course, I allow this interruption to take me away from what I’m really doing, research. I just got an "F" for failure in my homework. Heh, Albert Brooks is a funny guy, in a quirky kind of way. Kind of like the comedian Stephen Wright who also cracks me up. I’ll laugh at anything. And who can resist a title like that. I’ve just got to check it out. It will only take a minute.

Sounds logical enough, doesn’t it? Only one small problem. When I clicked on the trailer, my computer froze up! MORE WASTED TIME!

And then Microsoft internet explorer has to ask about ten times in a popup if I want to report the error. Another popup saying the error has been reported, and yet a third popup thanking me for reporting the error. All these little time wasting decisions I’m confronted with.

So that’s my point. How much do we really work in a typical day full of interruptions? There’s only one way to find out and that’s to track yourself and write down on your little experimental calendar what you just did for the last 15 minutes.

One of my New Years Resolutions had nothing to do with New Years. I started back in early December.It just hit me one day that my entire life was based on interruptions which was basically the result of poor planning. I was extremely busy, but not productive. I allowed other people to dictate my daily schedule and found myself running here and there and everywhere to meet with people at the drop of a hat (By the way, I’ve got a huge hat collection).

And what were these “business meetings?” NOTHING! I’d waste a good hour driving somewhere, sitting down with someone over a cup of coffee. And of course my waistline didn’t benefit too much when I just had to throw in dessert. I couldn’t help it. It was a Greek restaurant, and the desserts are to die for. Definitely not a "win- win" situation.

Plus, the owner is a friend of mine and I wanted to support his economy, even if my time there was doing absolutely nothing for my economy. So I got fed up with myself. I don’t really know when I woke up and realized that I was literally wasting hours of work time each week, all in the name of work!

And here’s another thing. A lot of this waste was because of the expectations other people put on me to be there for them, answer their questions.

I was like that old TV commercial for gas stations, the “Shell Answer Man.” Lazy people were using me and abusing me as their Google shortcut instead of looking up the answers to their technical questions themselves.

I’d pick up the phone every time it rang.You can only imagine how freeing it was when I finally put my foot down on all this nonsense and took my life back.

My solution? I learned this from a guy in Florida I met in October. I don’t take phone calls before 1 PM. That is my work time for stuff I need to get done. I use caller ID all the time to screen my calls and finally decided that not everybody needs to talk with me when they feel like it.

You know who I’m talking about, people who don’t mind wasting about 45 minutes of your time talking about their problems that they never make any effort to fix. I should be charging $125 an hour if they want me to be their shrink.

My problem is I’ve been too nice a guy. Mr. Helpful. I like to be needed. And I’ve ignored the abuse of my time and energy in the name of Mr. Good Samaritan.

But now…I don’t read my e-mail in the morning or several times a day. That is a huge time waster. My e-mail get’s looked at between 3 PM and 5PM maybe and I delete as many as possible, focusing on only the ones that need my attention or a require a response.

That right there is saving me about 2 hours a day, during normal work hours. Remember when we believed the myth that computers were going to save us time? I

I’m also getting a little better at writing my “to-do” list the night before. There is a pad and pen at my bedside table in case I think of something to add to the list at 3 am.

By the way, that’s when some of your best creative ideas will come, and if you don’t write them down… poof, they vanish into thin air by 7 am. I’ve even become skilled at writing in the dark.

So today, I throw out this challenge to you. Take a long hard look at what you spend time on every day. Make a decision to change… to be more productive, creative, which will increase your wealth and your happiness.

By the way, the happiness is not due to increased riches, but a result of the satisfaction… that warm fuzzy feel good feeling… that you accomplished something today.

PS. I just might call up my Muslim buddy and go see that Albert Brooks movie.

War, the Press and Politicians

About twenty years ago I was in between jobs and a friend of mine invited me to come to work with him and his dad at their family owned furniture store. Their family had come to this country as refugees from Cuba under Castro's regime. They were most generous and kind and took me in as one of the family.

It was a great time.About a century earlier things were a little different in Cuba.It was the age of prolific inventor Thomas Edison of New Jersey, Mark Twain of Missouri and later Connecticut. A school teacher turned lawyer from Canton, Ohio was President.

Some of the most powerful people in the country were not politicians but used their influence to sway American foreign policy.

William Randolph Heart's New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer's New York World newspapers published sensational articles lashing out against the execution of Cuban rebel Adolfo Rodríguez by a Spanish firing squad, in a graphic article, "Death of Rodríguez."

As usual there was world unrest. Nothing new there. In the spirit of our own American revolution, common folks around the world were seeking freedom and liberty from oppressive governments. At the turn of the 20th century, the unrest was not in the Middle East but ninety short miles off the coast of Florida in the Spanish colony of Cuba.

Simultaneously, half way around the world, the Philippine islands were in a struggle to free itself from Spanish domination. About the same time, some Cubans living in New York City were busy planning for a revolution to free their island.

In a less than brilliant strategy, the Spanish military with government approval decided to put as many as 300,000 Cuban civilians into concentration camps to "protect" them from the rebels. The result was a disaster with starvation and disease killing hundreds.

The New York newspapers continued to roll out inflammatory articles and sensational headlines that pointed fingers at the President for not responding to the human degradation.

Beloved author and newsman Richard Harding Davis, resigned from Hearst's New York Journal in disgust for their altering an article he had written to make it more vehement.

On January 24th, 1898 President William McKinley authorized the US battleship, USS Maine to sail from Key West and park itself in Havana Harbor. The ship fell victim to a terrorist attack that killed 532 men and rocked the city so much that windows were blown out and telephone lined destroyed.

In less that three weeks Congress passed a vote for 50 million dollars to strengthen the military.

By April, the United Stated had declared war on Spain. So began the Spanish American War also known as the 100 Day War. Shorter than Lyndon Johnson's Viet Nam but longer than Reagan's Grenada. The US fleet sailed for Havana to blockade Cuban ports.


By May the Army prepared for an attack on the island. By June the Marines had landed at Guantánamo. Former Secretary of War, Teddy Roosevelt led his Rough Riders from Tampa to Santiago de Cuba.

Admiral Dewey proceeds to sink the entire Spanish fleet stationed in the Caribbean.

Negotiations were made in Paris to end the war.U.S. General Leonard Wood was named military governor of Santiago de Cuba.

This is where Clara Barton of the Red Cross cared for wounded soldiers. In this whole deal, the United States got Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines and Hawaii. Talk about power negotiating. Although we did shell out twenty million dollars for the Philippines.

Were it not for outspoken members of the American Anti-Imperialist League, we probably would have 51 stars on our flag and the Philippines would be an American state. Leaders included Andrew Carnegie and Mark Twain.

War finally ended in the Philippines, with more than 4,200 U.S. soldiers killed. What is interesting is that things haven't changed that much in a lot of ways. New York City newspapers still blast the President and question his decisions. There are still inflammatory headlines that try to sway public opinion.

Politicians still love to sound off as if they were really impassioned about something. Grabbing a convenient sound bite for the 6 o'clock news here, a headline there. There are still plenty of social and political commentators like Rush and Imus, although perhaps only Will Rogers in another generation could match the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain.

Much of today's bantor is just a lot of noise.Government is still accused of doing too little too late, balancing caution with zeal. There are still sides to take, fingers to point blame.People still go about their daily business of work, eat and sleep, providing for their family.

So what?

How do you engage in history, have your say, stake your claim, make a difference?

Is life just to make a living and blandly watch the years roll by? Or is there a positive cause worth fighting for anymore?

I was asked to march in an anti-war parade back in the 1960's in Boston. Got to watch Ted Kennedy give a speech on the Boston Common to about 50,000 or so.

Some dude from another campus came through our dorm trying to recruit students who were laying around their dorm room bored. I didn't take him up on the offer. Thought the whole thing seemed like some guys wanting to get their picture in the paper, show off or otherwise feel important.

For me, my self importance came from within. Sure, I was young and naïve, but something told me I didn't need to participate in that way. We can all be a voice for something.

Rick Warren's best seller book, The Purpose Driven Life points that out.

The choice comes when you decide to either whine and moan and complain about the way things are, or step up to the plate to hit a homerun for something positive, noble, bold, courageous, important, life-changing. Interested?