She sat for the interview. Big blonde hair. Full red lips. Long acrylic nails. Ample breasts. A bright blue flower in her hair, matching her blue outfit. It was 1977. Barbara Walters was one of the best known interviewers of…
She sat for the interview. Big blonde hair. Full red lips. Long acrylic nails. Ample breasts. A bright blue flower in her hair, matching her blue outfit. It was 1977. Barbara Walters was one of the best known interviewers of…
In business, disruptors have existed for centuries. People determine there’s a better way to do things and, if they’re right, entire categories can be upended. Some of the more notable recent examples of this are Uber, AirBnB, and Netflix. It’s…
Have you ever heard – or even used – the phrase: “Come on – move it Grandma Moses!”? It’s a phrase commonly used in reference to slow drivers, even slow walkers. Most people, including myself, assume(d) that Grandma Moses is…
Just a short drive from Brisbane, Queensland, lies a six-acre estate featuring a large “rustic” house, chickens, horses, and a neighbor with 60 goats. While the property might seem somewhat common, certainly in this peaceful Australian countryside, it is anything…
He can speak Russian… in French. If he were to pat you on the back, you would list it on your resume. He once had an awkward moment…just to see what it was like. Sharks have a week dedicated to…
It’s said that there’s no such thing as failure – so long as there are lessons learned through the experience. Sophia Amoruso might very well agree with that premise. You may know Sophia Amoruso as the 22-year-old founder of Nasty…
Dr. Walter Zander, a German born Jew, earned the Iron Cross for his efforts fighting in World War I (WWI) on behalf of his country. Following the war, he began a legal practice in Berlin, where he lived with his…
The son of immigrants, Salman ‘Sal’ Khan was born in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans, Louisiana. His father was from Barasia, Bangladesh – his mother from West Bengal, India. Sal attended Grace King High School, whose diverse student body…
Most cities have nicknames – many of them both famous and obvious. Detroit is the Motor City. Pittsburgh is the Steel City. New Orleans – The Big Easy. Of course, New York is the Big Apple and Las Vegas is…
About an hour’s drive south of Chicago, in Northern Indiana, lies one of the most surprisingly popular tourist attractions in America’s heartland. It’s not a theme park, not a sports venue, and it’s not replicated anywhere. This unique attraction is…
Vince Lombardi is considered by many to be one of the best head coaches in the history of the National Football League (NFL) – if not the best, certainly the most well-known. His accomplishments were legendary – literally. He made…
There’s a great deal of discussion as to what type of impact childhood experiences might have on kids, both in the moment and as they grow into adulthood. In at least one case, a positive and encouraging environment led to…
Oprah Winfrey is easily one of the most well-known, respected and admired people of our day – globally. Most would see that as a totally unexpected status for a girl born to an unmarried teenage mother in Kosciusko, Mississippi in…
Shawn Askinosie spent over twenty years as a criminal defense attorney in Springfield, Missouri. He defended people charged with some of the worst imaginable crimes – including murders, rapes, and other violent felonies. One only had to look at his…
“Shep, you need to start thinking more inside the box!” Few, if anyone, would have guessed how much significance there was in that one line from a performance review in 1998. Upon hearing that recommendation, Shep Murray took immediate action.…
The U.S. was just beginning to recover from the Great Depression in February, 1934 when Herbert and Estella’s third child, Henry ‘Hank’ Aaron, was born. The Aaron’s lived in a poor, black section of Mobile, Alabama known as “Down by…
For the family, the beatings were frequent – many were brutal. The verbal abuse that was equally common left deeper and longer lasting scars than did the physical. Emmitt Perry, Sr., the family patriarch, knew no other way. His wife…
In the business world it’s rather common to hear about hard-charging, go-getters, striving to climb the corporate ladder. It’s rare, though, to hear about a person who willingly steps off of that ladder. Libby Gill is one such person. After…
Born and raised in Waverly, Illinois, Ralph C. Smedley went on to graduate from Illinois Wesleyan University. That was in 1903. Ralph then accepted the position of director of education at the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) in Bloomington, Illinois.…
Sister Nancy Rose Gucwa made her final monastic profession on August 31, 2013 at the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration monastery in Clyde, Missouri – becoming the first ever West Point Graduate to do so. Take a moment to let…
Steve Sosebee grew up in a small town in northeastern Ohio with his sisters and their parents. His father was a high school teacher – his mother a nurse. Unbeknownst to him, Steve’s life purpose began to be shaped when…
Yvon Chouinard likely had very little awareness of how his life would change when, at the age of 9, his family moved from Maine to Southern California. It was there that Yvon discovered an interest in falconry. In 1953, at…
After a lifetime as slaves, Owen and Minerva Breedlove became free people when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863. Both Owen and Minerva continued to work as sharecroppers, growing and picking cotton in Delta,…
Richard ‘Dick’ Wagstaff Clark was born on November 30, 1929 in Mount Vernon, New York. He was the second son, and last child, of Richard and Julia Clark. Dick new from a very early age that he wanted to pursue…
Merriam-Webster defines a miracle as “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.” It’s a word that seems to get used often – especially around Christmas. Movies and books have been titled “Christmas Miracle”. The term is often used…
Millennials are entitled, lazy, unreliable, narcissistic, disloyal, technology addicted, unmanageable and simply put, the worst generation in history. If you believe all of – or most of – those descriptors, consider this: You’re likely a victim of the Millennial Myth,…
Geographically speaking, it’s not that far from St. Louis, MO to Guatemala – about 1650 miles (2660 km) as the crow flies. Culturally speaking, the distance between Maryville University and Guatemala’s northern highlands spans centuries. For Nicole, the distance wasn’t…
Today’s craft beer industry, which has flourished in the U.S. for decades, is seen by some as an innovative approach to the beer business. In reality, today’s passion for craft beer is merely a reflection of the past. The first…
To say that Brandon had an unorthodox childhood would certainly be accurate. He was wailing his lungs out from the instant he was born, which was on June 12, 1974. It seemed as though he screamed for the better part…
Mary-Claire was born on February 27, 1946 to Harvey and Clarice King in Evanston, Illinois – a city just north of Chicago. She, younger brother Paul, a stepsister and a stepbrother all had a relatively average childhood. The most traumatic…
As a high school senior, David chose to interview one of his teachers for his Public Speaking class project. The teacher, who’d recently fallen while horseback riding, was explaining that her injuries resulted in surgery to remove her spleen. Not…
The daughter of a property manager and a stay-at-home mom, Whitney Wolfe enjoyed a happy, quiet childhood, growing up in Salt Lake City, Utah. When it was time for university, Whitney chose to attend Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, where…
Ingrid spent the early years of her life in Great Britain – specifically, in the Orkney Islands and in Ware, Hertfordshire. When she was seven years of age, her family moved to New Delhi, India. The year was 1956 – eight…
What would you do if you were in charge of sales and distribution and suddenly supply dried up because of a labor issue? That’s essentially the situation that Kat Cole faced when working as a Hooter’s server, when the kitchen crew…
When looking for the definition of a fearless brand, one need look no further than American icon, Willie Nelson, one of the most recognizable faces, voices, and talents in all of music. There are thousands of performers in the music…
A critical element of a fearless brand is having clarity of purpose. For many, our purpose comes clear later in life – for others, it occurs at a relatively early age. That said, it’s almost inconceivable that someone could know…
Many people live in what are considered ‘tough’ neighborhoods – communities which are typically afflicted with poverty, unemployment, crime, and drugs. What can often be overlooked is that most of these areas also include highly-motivated, hard-working and law-abiding citizens. North Philly…
Having spent the majority of my professional life working in the field of marketing – specifically branding – I can say this without hesitation…the terms “brand” and “branding” are consistently misused, overused or completely misunderstood. This fact is one of…
Dreams. We all have them. Some are discarded as wishful thinking. Others are wrecked by a litany of roadblocks- some real, many perceived. Then there are dreams that explode into reality – crashing through all obstacles – in spite of…
At the early age of six, Peter discovered his love of performing. He and his older brother would put on shows in the basement of their parents’ home in Morristown, New Jersey. Their audience consisted of elderly neighbors happy to…
When Iris was 11 years old, she would explore Manhattan, developing a particular liking for Greenwich Village. In those days – it was 1932 – not only could one travel all around the city for five cents, it was safe…
Michael spent his youth exploring the bush country of Rhodesia – modern day Zimbabwe. He would spend days running barefoot, with his fox terrier, Toki, under the watchful eye of Twalika, one of the family’s cattle herders. Indeed, watchful eyes were…
It’s said that necessity is the mother of invention. Perhaps so. Innovation, on the other hand, is born of any number of causes. Some would say the leading cause of innovation is vision. Others say it’s creativity. Many attribute innovations…
Vernice Armour knew at a young age that she wanted to become a police officer. More specifically, she wanted to join the mounted police, patrolling on horseback. Childhood dreams are magical – creating excitement and hope. They are also mysterious…
Chris Nee grew up loving animated television show – think cartoons. That attraction was strong enough to create thoughts of a career in that discipline. It’s a gift for a person to discover their passion, but having the talent necessary…
Paul is the second of six children, born and raised in Enschede, Netherlands – a town near the German-Dutch border. His parents had lived through the ravages of the Second World War and a by-product of that experience was the…
The most successful people are the ones who have found their purpose in life. For some, this takes a virtual lifetime. Others discover their purpose very early in life. Such was the case for James. At the age of four, he…
David has been a real “go-getter” his entire life. Like many before him, he discovered his entrepreneurial spirit by working a newspaper route as a young boy. After earning a Business Management degree (with an emphasis on Marketing) in 1984,…
When Barry and Beverly married, they were the first of their families to be born in the U.S. – their parents having emigrated from Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. The family’s combined heritage, closeness and religious beliefs would all have a big impact…
Pete and Anne were both 18 when they met while on a train heading to Arbroath, Scotland from King’s Cross Station in London. It was 1964. That six-hour trip would result in a lifetime together. Within a year, the couple…
Samuel was born March 14, 1921 in Eatonton, Georgia. He was the sixth of what soon would total seven children for Joseph and Lilla. Though Samuel was his given name, he was called by his middle name – Truett. When…
Kristen was born in Gainesville, Florida on February 26, 1988. Her family moved to Flagler Beach, Florida when she was two. She eventually returned to Gainesville where she attended the University of Florida. Fashion is an important for element in…
Growing up on a farm can teach invaluable lessons. John learned this was true while living on his 50-acre family farm outside of Canton, Ohio. One of five children, his step-father worked treating waste water while his mother worked full-time…
Brittany grew up in Atlanta, Georgia in what most would consider an upper-middle class home. She enjoyed a relatively typical childhood – not one of privilege – but not wanting for much. She completed high school at a noted boarding…
Richard was the first born of Edward and Eve Branson – born on July 18, 1950 in Blackheath, London. His father was a barrister, having followed his father, a judge at the High Court of Justice, into the legal realm.…
Airplane pilots have countless details to be aware of and pay attention to – as well as any number of distractions. One such challenge is fighting the bright blue sky and puffy white clouds over a period of time. What…
Walter Jr. – the only child of Walter, a dentist, and Helen, a homemaker – was born on November 4, 1916, in Saint Joseph, Missouri. That’s where the family lived until moving to Houston, Texas when Walter was 10-years-old. Walter…
It’s hard to say what type of adult a child will become based solely on the behavior and parenting styles of their parents. Joe’s father was often angry and bitter – constantly berating his son, telling him that he wasn’t…
James and Kate Kaminsky – he a German Jew via Poland, she a Russian Jew from modern day Ukraine – had immigrated to Brooklyn, New York. They had four sons. The youngest, Melvin was born on June 28, 1926. Soon after…
Guatemala is, in many ways, the hidden gem of Central America – sandwiched between Mexico to the north, Honduras and El Salvador to the south and Belize to the east. The Guatemalan people are friendly and hard-working. The country has a…
Zaha was born on October 31, 1950 in Baghdad, Iraq. Her family was upper-class and well-educated. Her mother was an artist – her father, a successful industrialist. He was also politically active, co-founding the liberal National Democratic Party. Her family…
Avid baseball fans dream of going to their favorite Major League team’s spring training. Very few of them are born there. That is literally Joe’s story. He was born on April 25, 1969 in St. Petersburg, Florida – the spring training…
There are some stories which appear to be so outside of the realm of reality that they are assumed to be a Hollywood movie script. Then there are stories that are so incredible that not even the creative minds that…
Andy Katz-Mayfield earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2011. Jeff Raider graduated from the Wharton School of Business in 2010. They first met as interns at Bain and Company – the beginning of a very…
America in 1886 had a population of only 58 million people, nearly two-thirds of whom lived in rural areas of the then 38 states. Richard Sears lived in North Redwood, Minnesota where he worked as a station agent for the…
Many people, including myself, begin their year with the three words – Happy New Year. That phrase is a wonderful greeting and a terrific wish for ourselves and others – but it won’t sustain us through the year. Another set of…
Peter Kellner’s father was a Hungarian immigrant whose family consisted of a long line of entrepreneurs. His mother’s family had settled in Massachusetts in 1635. After he graduated from Princeton University, Peter traveled to Hungary on a Fulbright Scholarship. There…
The Shinola Company, founded in 1907 in Rochester, New York – manufactured shoe polish. While the product itself wasn’t necessarily innovative – its packaging was. The round tin the polish came in featured an attached ‘key’ which, when turned vertically,…
The Santa Monica pier is an iconic attraction on the Pacific Island shore in Southern California, due west of Los Angeles. There are shops, restaurants, rides and terrific people watching. In the 1950’s, the pier became a place where ‘muscle…
Two hamburger restaurants opened in 1948 within 45 miles of each other in the Greater Los Angeles area. Both were family-owned and operated, one by two brothers, the other by a husband and wife team – Harry and Esther. The…
Legend has it that the Olympics were founded by Hercules and Alcmene – he the son of Zeus, she a ‘mere mortal’. That story has the competition occurring every four years as part of a festival to honor Zeus. The…
It was 1871 when 14 year old Milton accidentally dropped his hat into a machine at the print shop where he apprenticed. He was fired. With his mother’s guidance, he was hired as an apprentice for a Lancaster County, Pennsylvania confectioner…
Her parents immigrated to the United States from Punjab, India – settling in North Carolina. Vani was born in Charlotte on March 22, 1979. Her childhood was as normal as every other kid growing up in America in the 1980’s. That…
Diane Smith was born into a Wisconsin dairy farming family in 1947. She was one of nine children – all girls. When she was nine the family moved to a several hundred acre farm in Osseo, Wisconsin. Mary wanted to spend…
In 1893, the innaugural Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup was awarded to Montreal HC (Hockey Club) as Canada’s top ranking amateur ice hockey team. The award was concepted, created and awarded by the Governor General of Canada. He first encountered the…
From the beginning of time there have been animals and creatures that have caused mankind to take pause. This isn’t so much a phenomenon as it is survival at its most basic level. Mastodons, tyrannosaurus rex, pterodactyl were just a…
You’re familiar with the game of PLINKO – perhaps the most iconic game on the most iconic television game show – The Price is Right? The concept is simple. Contestants play pricing games to win up to five discs. They then climb…
The actual day he was born is unknown – much like Jack Daniel before him. They were both born into farming families – but that is where the similarities stop, at least in their early lives. For one thing, Daniel was born in…
Little girls love to fantasize about becoming a princess, living a special life filled with attention and riches. In reality, very few actually have their dream become a reality. The fact is that most princesses are born into royalty. Such…
The most important reason to focus on your brand is to reap the results that an effective brand delivers. Your brand will generate an emotional connection with each person who encounters it – the key is to make that a…
Jasper was born on a farm in Moore County, Tennessee – one of Calaway and Lucinda Daniel’s 12 children. Exactly when that birth occurred is not known for certain – but the consensus is September, 1850. The hard times his family endured were made…
The decade of the 1960’s was a dynamic time in the U.S. The decade began with President Kennedy announcing his “New Frontier” domestic policy. Kennedy was assassinated and followed by Lyndon Johnson whose vision was to create “The Great Society”.…
When a Miami real estate speculator bought the land just outside of Augusta, Georgia from Fruitland Nurseries, his vision was to build a resort which would cater to the wealthy. However, the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 destroyed much of…
Blake Mycoskie had earned a partial scholarship to play tennis for Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas. There, he double majored in Philosophy and Business. After leaving school, he started his first business – EZ Laundry – providing the first on-campus dry cleaning…
Stanley Bert Eisen was born in upper Manhattan in 1952. Chaim Witz was born in Haiti, Israel in 1949, moved to Queens, New York at age 8. Each had challenges to face as youngsters. Stanley was born with a birth…
The eldest of five children, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on December 17, 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was born to Italian immigrants who, in 1927, had fled Italy and the rule of Mussolini. The boy’s father, Mario, was an accountant…
It was November 10, 1775 when the Second Continental Congress established a military force consisting of two battalions. These troops were designated as landing forces – able to fight on land or at sea. Such a force was deemed necessary…
When he apprenticed at a draper’s shop, he likely had no idea how that would shape his career – and his life. Yet selling fabric to clothiers did exactly that. In 1856, he opened his own outfitting business in Basingstoke,…
He was born in Connecticut in July of 1969. His youth was spent there, in Boston, Las Vegas and ultimately Maine where, in 1987, he graduated from Herman High School. While his childhood wasn’t spent in necessarily tough areas, he grew up to…
There are many factors that give birth to new items and innovation – including technological advances, newly discovered materials, and of course, good old creative thinking. Yet it’s said that necessity is the mother of invention and there’s a great deal of…
Tim’s penchant for overcoming long odds and finishing strong began at the very start of his life. His mother had been treated for amoebic dysentery, which caused significant complications during her pregnancy – he wasn’t expected to survive to full term.…
Georgetown University is located in the heart of the nation’s capital – Washington D.C. It is the oldest Jesuit university in the United States and at its very core is the commitment to challenge students to engage in the world…
Life is filled with choices – some are easy to make, some are much more difficult – some have little significance, others will be life changing. Augustine faced a difficult choice – one that would definitely be life altering. He…
There are countless children who love school – who love to learn. Many are afforded that opportunity freely – with easy access to schools, highly motivated teachers and the latest text books. For others, there isn’t that same access to…
As amazing as modern medicine is – there are times when routine procedures turn out to be anything but. Appendicitis is typically treated on an emergency basis, yet the operation boasts a extraordinarily high success rate. In the rare instances…
This weekend, the United States of America celebrates its birthday – and 239 years of independence. What does that mean? According to Merriam-Webster, independence means “freedom from outside control or support : the state of being independent”. Freedom is the…
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) boasts an enrollment of well over 40,000 students. It’s not a challenge to find co-eds who are bright, energetic, attractive and talented. Kirsten easily fit that profile. She graduated in 1993 with a…
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