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…
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…
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…
Few know better than Jumana Abu-Hannoud how big an impact growing up in a loving, caring, and giving family atmosphere can have on a person. She knows because that’s exactly the environment she enjoyed as a child. For Jumana, who…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Born in 1958, Ursula grew up in a housing project at the intersection of Baruch Dr. and Delancey St. on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. She and two siblings were raised by her single mother, a Panamanian immigrant. It was a…
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…
It’s hard to tell how one’s childhood experiences will impact their life. By example, some children whose families move a lot during their childhood feel enriched by the experience. Others feel a sense of detachment, of not having roots. Simon…
Tom was born on his family’s farm about 20 minutes outside of Kirksville, a small town in north central Missouri. It was 1935 – the world was a much simpler time and being raised on a turkey farm was even…
Rocco and Angelina lived in Queens, New York where they raised their three sons, Nick, Jim and Bob. They were a loving Italian family, never hesitant to hug and kiss each other – the words “I love you” flowing freely.…
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…
Joanne was born in 1963 and grew up in a council house in Kent, England. Her father, Peter, was a painter – her mother, Elaine, was a beautician. As a child, school was difficult for her as she was severely dyslexic.…
Some boys who are born on St. Patrick’s Day – March 17th – are named Pat. In 1961 – in Minneapolis, Minnesota – a boy born on the ‘grand day’ was named Mark. Insignificant to some – bewildering to others,…
She was born in Clarksville, Tennessee, the fourth of five children. She grew up on the family farm with her three older brothers and younger sister. Farm life taught all of the children hard work, commitment and dedication. When their…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Kevin was one of five brothers living in Kensington, Maryland where his mother was mayor and his father a successful land developer. One of his loves was football, playing for the Maplewood Maple Leafs youth team, Fork Union Military Academy and St.…
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 three had plenty in common beginning with their friendship. Each graduated from the University of San Francisco – one a history teacher, one a writer and one an English teacher. The three – Zev Siegel, Gordon Bowker and Jerry…
There were some very noteworthy events in 1966 – the U.S. began an aggressive escalation of military in Vietnam while anti-war protests grew exponentially, Indira Ghandi visited the U.S., the Miranda warning became law, Surveyor 1 landed on the moon…
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…
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…
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…
They were born in Brooklyn – four days apart. That was March of 1951 but they didn’t know each other until they met twelve years later in seventh grade. They would forge a friendship that would last a lifetime. Fast forward fourteen years.…
In 1949 George Orwell published a book which portrayed a world under the oppressive rule of a privileged party with a tyrannical leader known as “Big Brother”. Individualism and independent thinking were deemed criminal in the name of a ‘greater…
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…
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…
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…
Helping people to understand the power of branding is at the core of my own brand – my value proposition – and I began writing my Friday’s Fearless Brand series to do exactly that. In my opinion, any effective learning…
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 Halloween night in 1963 a six year old boy killed his sister with a kitchen knife. Fifteen years later that boy escaped from the psychiatric hospital he had been committed to and headed back to his hometown of Haddonfield,…
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