Hello again to my friends, family, colleagues, and clients. Many of you know me personally through work, networking or through one of my speaking engagements related to sales skills, professional networking techniques and personal development; and some of you may know me only by email and telephone. Welcome to everyone that’s new to this distribution list.
There are a lot of very smart and interesting people that I am very fortunate to network with. We share books, movies, music and ideas that stimulate us. I'm always interested to learn what other people that I respect are reading, watching and listening to. I send out a monthly email with books I’ve recently read, movies seen, music devoured, ideas and other things that may be of interest to you. If you find this interesting and would like to pass it on, please feel free to do so. If you’d like to be removed from this list just let me know. If someone forwarded this newsletter to you and you would like to be added to this distribution list or if you’d like previous newsletters, please email me and let me know.
I wrote some of this newsletter last weekend from a beautiful ski house at 10,361 ft. in Alma, Colorado. Karin and I stay with three other couples at this ski house every winter for a long weekend (without the kids). Alma is the second highest incorporated municipality in the USA. The views from there are amazing and you truly feel like you’re on top of the world. Just cross over Hoosier Pass (11,542 ft.) and in a few minutes you’re in Breckenridge. We always have a few great days of skiing, dog sledding, snowmobiling, margaritas, poker and marinating in the hot tub under the stars. It was snowing like crazy up above 10,000 ft. and when we got back to our home on Sunday afternoon at 6300 ft. the sun was warm and blinding and my neighbor was taking his golf clubs out of his SUV as I was taking my skis out of my SUV. Colorado is such an amazing and gorgeous state.
THREE BOOKS TO PUT ON YOUR MUST READ LIST
The 4-Hour Workweek- Timothy Ferriss
If Timothy Ferriss actually has done all the things that he says in his book he has lived an incredible life in a relatively short time frame. Tim has figured out how to live his dreams while automating businesses in a manner that require very little day to day involvement. He is a serial entrepreneur and outlines some very innovative methods of succeeding while being able to live and work from anywhere.
I found his explanation of utilizing VA’s (virtual assistants) very interesting. There are a number of tasks that I spend time on that I will be outsourcing to a VA. He also lists a number of companies that provide these types of services.
If you’re open to the concept of putting parts of your life and business on “autopilot” so that you can do more of the things that you want to do, you will love this book. www.fourhourworkweek.com
The Science of Getting Rich and The Science of Being Great- Wallace Wattles
These two short books were written back in 1910 and 1911 and are two of about 12 books that I reread and refer to often. I recommend that both books be read in order to get a full understanding of Wattles’ philosophies. He was a pioneer of the success writing genre and TSGR was part of the inspiration for The Secret (a very popular movie on success and The Law of Attraction that came out in 2006). When you think about the ideas that Wattles was introducing a hundred years ago it’s pretty amazing. The concept that “a thought held in thinking substance is a real thing; a form, and has actual existence, although it is not visible to you” may be hard for many people to grasp but it’s worth the effort of getting your brain around these concepts. You can download The Science of Getting Rich at www.scienceofgettingrich.n
MUST GET MUSIC & HUMOR
Moment of Forever- Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson is almost as prolific as Mozart and still tours as much as the Grateful Dead used to. At 123 years old he’s still touring like a young rock star (he’s really 74). Not bad for a man that actually retired from music back in 1965 and then eventually returned to the music scene. This new CD has some great music on it. Most of the songs were written by other people but when Willie is singing them there is no way that he can help but put his stamp on them. If you want to see an interesting new music video for his song, Gravedigger, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5
I Still Have a Pony- Steven Wright
Alright, let me just say up front that I have an odd sense of humor. Yes, I love The Office, Seinfeld, George Carlin, Jim Carrey and all the standard comedy crowd pleasers. Steven Wright is a stand-up comedian that is more than a bit off. Karin and I saw him about 8 years ago in Pennsylvania and he was brilliant. Years ago, I got his CD “I Have a Pony” (1985) and his new CD “I Still Have a Pony” is a long awaited great follow up. In the last 20 years he’s had a number of bit parts and cameos in some pretty funny movies. Steven is so dry that he makes Bob Newhart look like John Belushi and his delivery is almost as funny as his bits. When you listen to this CD you will wonder how anyone could come up with the interesting things that he thinks up. A nice aspect of his humor is that it’s 99% clean (twisted, but clean). If you’re okay enough with your self image and don’t worry about what others think of you or your sense of humor you might even loan it to your friends. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. www.stevenwright.com
River: The Joni Letters- Herbie Hancock
Herbie just won the Grammy for Album of the Year with this CD (why do they still call it “album”?). Most of the songs on this CD are Herbie’s versions of Joni’s songs. Joni Mitchell is a genius and often her music takes repeated listening to really understand. I compare Joni to scotch in that it often takes gradual exposure to her music in order to develop an appreciation of the subtleties and nuances of her songwriting. Her 1975 album Hissing of Summer Lawns is one of my favorite albums of all time. Hancock decided to take on some very interesting music with this project. Herbie does a great job of covering Joni’s songs whether he’s playing them as instrumentals or accompanying a singer. Tina Turner’s version of Edith and the Kingpin is fantastic. Many of these versions are pure hardcore jazz and not Kenny G style jazz. If you like your jazz straight up you’ll enjoy this CD. I heard Herbie at Carnegie Hall in 2003 and got to meet him backstage and had a CD signed by him. He is a class act, a true jazz genius and probably the best known jazz pianist alive today. Caution: may take repeated listening. Not for the jazz light crowd. www.herbiehancock.com
TWO AWESOME INSPIRATIONAL VIDEO CLIPS
This is a fantastic video clip of Jimmy Valvano at the 1993 ESPY Awards giving a speech when he knew that he didn’t have long to live because of the cancer in his body. It’s a 9:48 video clip that will inspire you whether you are into sports or not. Enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/wat
This is a video of the Last Lecture series at Carnegie Mellon that was recorded on 9/18/07 called Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams. Dr. Pausch delivered this 76:26 lecture knowing that he was recently given three months to live due to pancreatic cancer. He is still battling the disease and is an amazing testament to the concept of deciding to focus on living despite the circumstances. It’s a long video and the middle digs into some detailed work experiences but I encourage you to watch the entire video. Randy is a nerd (although a pretty funny nerd) and he reveals a number of very insightful truths that are full of wisdom. You will get far more out of this 76 minutes than you will out of all the Lost and American Idol episodes combined (and I love those shows). This is an amazing video! http://www.youtube.com/wat
HILARIOUS AUDIO CLIP
In keeping with my personal philosophy that we should have at least one good belly laugh per day, I submit to you a great audio clip. Just for fun, make sure that you’re in your office at work with the speakers turned up loud. You’re going to enjoy this. Never mess with little old ladies. Clean and very funny. www.chumfm.com/MorningShow
SOME GREAT QUOTES
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” Mark Twain
“My nephew has HDADD-High Definition Attention Deficit Disorder. He can barely pay attention, but when he does, it’s unbelievably clear.” Steven Wright
“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” Albert Einstein
”I tell people: If you don’t want to get into positive thinking, that’s okay. Just eliminate all the negative thoughts from your mind, and whatever’s left will be fine.” Bob Rotella, Sports Psychology Specialist
“First things first, and last things not at all.” Peter Drucker
“A friend of mine has a trophy wife, but apparently it wasn’t first place.” Steven Wright
"It is easy enough to be friendly to one's friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business." Mahatma Gandhi
If you think that this will be of interest to someone that you know, please feel free to forward it on. If you have any thoughts or opinions on any of these recommendations or have a recommendation of your own, please let me know- you never know where the conversation will go from there. I hope that 2008 is treating you well so far and that you, your families and your businesses are all doing fantastic! As always, if you’d like to reach me, the easiest and fastest way is either by email or mobile phone.
To your success,
Kevin