Perhaps you’ve heard the question “What percentage of people who bought a 1/4 inch drill bit last year wanted one?” The answer? Zero. Every one of those buyers wanted a 1/4″ hole. The same can be said about branding. Very…
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…
He was thirteen and doing all he could to keep up with his brothers and the neighborhood kids. His siblings shouted their encouragement “Keep up Bob! Come on Bob!” That sounds like a brotherly thing to do – until you…
Marguerite Johnson was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928. She was three when her parents’ marriage ended. Her father sent her and her four year old brother, Bailey Jr., to live with their paternal grandmother. Annie Henderson lived…
One can learn a great deal growing up on the family farm. Such was the case of a boy named Clay, the eldest child of Bill and Helen, owners of a forty acre farm in Portage, a small town in northwest Ohio.…
His was a turbulent childhood – born in Hayward, California, the only son of a Samoan mom and an African-American father. The family moved thirteen times during his youth. His father traveled often to find work – and that work paid…
Born in 1971, she was raised in Clearwater, Florida. Her father would ask her and her brother the same question every night at the dinner table – “What did you fail at today?” One night she answered – “I tried…
If there were one word to describe life in the United States after World War II it may be ‘boom’. There was an economic boom, a population boom and a boom in the television industry. As life returned to normal,…
It was the second marriage for both of his parents While he was the second son born to the couple (February 7th, 1962). he was the youngest of six children. His mother had three children from her first marriage, his father had one.…
It had been such an amazing week – one that was full enough to feel more like a month yet seeming to have lasted for mere moments. It was ten pm on a Saturday night as I sat through the…
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.…
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…
John Burroughs High School in St. Louis, MO., has had more than its fair share of highly successful and world famous graduates – Andy Taylor, founder and CEO of Enterprise Rent-a-Car; Grammy winning musician John Hartford; world-renowned restaurateur Danny Meyer’ Pulitzer prize…
Many would view his childhood as anything but normal. Not too many kids get expelled from school three times – before they reach age twelve – and most don’t leave home at the age of 12 1/2. For Christian, however, his youth…
The American West of the 1800’s was a land filled with promise – not just of hope and great opportunity – but also the promise of diverse dangers and hard living. For one young man in his twenties, John –…
Tuskegee is a town of about 12,000 people in the southeastern portion of Alabama. It is home to Tuskegee University – a predominately black school founded in 1881 – that developed a national reputation for academics and philanthropy under the…
Before they had even met – much less conceived him – World War II played a significant role in the lives of his parents. In July of 1941, Ed Nye, the man who would become his father, left San Francisco…
Carville, Louisiana is located in Iberville Parish just south of Baton Rouge. The town was given its name in the late 1800’s in honor of its postmaster. It is home to the National Hansen’s Disease Museum – located at the site of a former sugar plantation…
He was born in Accra, Ghana in 1965 and raised in that country’s chaos of the sixties and seventies. Ghana was under the rule of a military dictatorship whose policies made life difficult, to say the least. Finding food was a daily challenge…
She was born on the Spanish island of Mallorca – the sixth of ten children. She first stood out because of her natural blonde hair – her family warmly referring to her as the ‘blonde sheep’ of the family. The…
By his own account, his childhood was average at best – but more accurately, it was mundane, if not downbeat. The oldest of three boys, he was born in Ryan, Oklahoma on March 12, 1940. His father – a truck…
About the only thing the two boys had in common was the same first name. One was born into a Catholic family in 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio. He grew up with the no-nonsense, hard working, blue-collar persona the city itself…
People who have not been to Pittsburgh, PA might imagine it to be a steel town – dirty with soot-filled skies. The image might be one which includes a town past its prime, comprised of a blue-collar population with a…
Though he was born in Chicago, IL- the fifth of eight children – he was raised in the small town of Clinton, Missouri, his mother’s hometown. She had moved to Illinois in the 1940’s, however, because her family wanted her…
At first glance he was just one of countless blue collar workers living with his wife of 22 years in Queens, NY. It was the early 1970’s – a time of turmoil – anti-war protests, student unrest, civil rights activism- and a…
There are people who seem to be destined for one particular position in life – to fulfill a particular role or profession. Such was the case with a boy born in Henderson, North Carolina in May of 1983. Located near the…
Until the age of thirteen she had lived a quiet life with her parents and older brother in Metairie, La. – just outside of New Orleans. The family – Christian Scientists – attended weekly services together. There, the signs on the wall…
Essentially homeless for three years at the end of the 1980’s, he lived in his 1976 Ford Tempo. He was divorced, sending three quarters of his limited income to his ex-wife to support their two children. With an Igloo cooler for…
What are the chances that someone’s vision comes to life and changes the world? What are the chances that two people with a similar vision each succeed in their pursuit of making it a reality? What are the chances that…
In October of 1955, a banker and his wife welcomed their baby girl into the world in Madras (now Chennai) southern India. At that time it was generally accepted that a girl would follow a certain path to marriage and motherhood. This…
The entire U.S. oil industry was changed in 1908 when his father patented the two-cone roller bit. Wells could be drilled faster and in more diverse locations. That drill bit also had a significant impact on the family and the…
He was the middle child – number five out of nine. As a youth, he enjoyed reading books about heroic figures in American history. Being born and raised in Chicago, there was an endless list of local heroes in the four major professional…
The concept that ‘more is better’ seems to have permeated our culture. This is especially true in food service and restaurants as evidenced by larger servings, ‘all-you-can-eat’ specials and unlimited drink refills. The belief is that quantity is the secret…
Lives are filled with changes and twists – his was no exception. Early in his life those changes were driven by his father. whose various occupations included welder, shopkeeper and swimming pool manager to name but a few. His various jobs…
Born in Rockville Centre, NY in 1952 she was the only daughter in a family with four sons. That could have been daunting for her had it not been for her parents. They encouraged her to compete equally with her…
His career in sales began quite early – selling matches to neighbors when he was five years old. Later, he used his bicycle to expand his geography and diversified his line of products by becoming aware of his customer’s needs and…
She attended grade school at the Horace Mann School in Beverly Hills where she aspired to be a writer. With that in mind, she wrote the eighth grade graduation play and ended up starring in the lead role. It was…
He was a student at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in his hometown of St. Louis when it happened. Pearl Harbor. America was drawn into World War II. He enlisted in the Navy where he became a…
It must have been cool that his father owned a recording studio in New York. It is also quite cool that he knew early in life what he wanted to do in the future. As a young boy he was able to…
It was right at dusk one summer evening in June of 1975 when Chrissie Watkins left a beach party on Amity Island to go skinny dipping. She wasn’t seen again until her remains were discovered on the beach. The medical…
While still but an infant – his father, who struggled with addiction, ended up going to prison for drug possession. When his biological father was released, he signed parental rights over to the boy’s stepfather – a sergeant in the…
Born to Italian immigrants, he grew up in Torrance, CA. There he and trouble become good friends. It’s not that he was a bad kid – you might get away with calling him curious. He began smoking at age…
His talent was seemingly unlimited. He had burst on the scene with the promise of being one of the best ever. He had an imagination which paired foods and seasonings never before seen – or tasted. He had a flair for creating…
In the 1970’s Detroit was booming – Motown, Smokey Robinson, the Jackson 5; Ford, GM, Chrysler all robust; Lions, Tigers, Red Wings and Pistons all vibrant sport franchises. Detroit was in a renaissance of sorts. For one particular youngster life…
As a ten day old baby he was placed on his mother’s stomach by a doctor who told her that her boy was dead. That was in Coffee County, Alabama in November of 1926. He was buried in McKinney, Texas,…
New York City is nicknamed Gotham, the City That Never Sleeps, the Big Apple and the Empire City to mention just a few. When people think of New York City Broadway, Wall St., the Yankees, the Empire State building, 30…
The city had been devastated – massive property damage, unthinkable financial losses, tragic loss of life – when Hurricane Katrina came calling in August of 2005 with her 175 MPH winds and following storm surge. Lives turned upside down. Homes and businesses…
Their livelihood depended on the ability to outrun and outmaneuver federal tax agents and local law enforcement. Reputations were built on who was the best at doing that. It was the Prohibition years, moonshine was their product and cars were their…
It was March 1957, in Liverpool, England, when a sixteen year old boy started a band and named it The Quarrymen. He befriended a fifteen year old guitarist and added him to the group. That member brought one of his…
It is the time of year when champions are crowned in the world of professional football. There’s the actual football game of course – but I am speaking of the commercials which air during the game. At $4,000,000.00 per :30…
A dream of many an American youth is to play in the Super Bowl. Making that dream bigger is the idea of making the play that gives your team that opportunity. The odds against that dream becoming a reality are…
The first time I was directly touched by him was as a youth at a party at a friend’s house. My buddy’s sister-in-law was there and her presence, maturity and beauty easily drew the attention of this teen-aged boy. What…
One of the greatest college football championship games was played on January 6th, 2014. The undisputed number one ranked Florida State Seminoles faced off with the undisputed number two team – the Auburn Tigers. Played in front of over 90,000…
A new year has begun filled with all of the promise and hope and plans of new beginnings each January 1st creates. In just two short days the new year has brought us any number of significant happenings. Storms are…
Can you imagine moving into a gorgeous new home, hearing a knock on the front door and hearing this from the man standing there? “Good Morning…I’m your postal carrier. I just stopped by to introduce myself – to welcome you…
He was a child vandal and later a thug. He was the white adopted son of Indians. He was wrongfully convicted of an IRA bombing. A gentleman lawyer, he was the heir to a prominent New York City family. He…
On this day fifty years ago an announcement came over the public address system at Dowell Elementary School in El Paso, Texas. “President Kennedy has been shot. School is closing and the students are to be dismissed immediately.” As a…
He celebrated his ninety-fifth birthday less than a week ago. His lifetime audience over his career is estimated at over 2.2 billion people. Among the numerous awards and honors he has received are both the Presidential l Medal of Freedom…
He was born the son of a fishing boat captain in Panama. His family lived in a very poor town – Puerto Caimito. Growing up he and his friends played futbol (soccer) and baseball on the village’s field – the…
He is an international star. His fans span three generations – at least. His image has generated millions of dollars in sales and profit. He has his own song. Heck, he has his own world! It is not all of his fame…