Taking doing what you love to a whole new level…


The musical artist Squeak E. Clean, also known as Sam Spiegel, has a famous filmmaker brother, Spike Jonze. Though Jonze has grabbed the lion’s share of the family’s entertainment industry headlines in the past, Squeak E. Clean has come on strong this year by virtue of the Feb. 17 ANTI- Records release of “The Spirit of Apollo.” Mr. Clean is half of the group N.A.S.A. (North America/South America) – a creative collaboration between him and DJ Zegon, as well as their friends, friends of friends and musical heroes – and the project is the culmination of more than five years of hard work. Produced by Squeak E. Clean Productions, Spiegel’s award-winning LA commercial music and sound design venture, the goal of the ambitious “The Spirit of Apollo” project was to bring people together through music and art.

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“Daddy” King at the 1977 Presidential Inauguration

Rev Martin Luther King, Sr. "Daddy King" – Washington, DC,originally uploaded by Michael6076. During this inspirational 2009 inaugural celebration, I am very mindful of the road that has brought us to the present. Today, Jan. 19, is the day when we honor Martin Luther King, Jr., for all he did for America, and for all … Read more“Daddy” King at the 1977 Presidential Inauguration

The American dream….

In so many ways, today is just like every other day. Some people who have set out to achieve something will be successful, while others may be disappointed in their quests. Depending upon fate, we can probably expect those in either of those groups to find, soon enough, that their journeys continue… that another day will come when they’ll have another chance at victory. At the same time, there’s a good reason why, in 2008, so many people are still familiar with a phrase written more than 2,000 years ago by the Roman poet known as Horace: carpe diem… seize the day.

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Winning friends and influencing people, in all the right ways….

Many thanks to AccuQuote VP of marketing and business development Sean Cheyney and the publishers of iMediaConnection.com for the recent post entitled 5 ways to ruin your industry reputation. In the piece, Sean uses his talking points to share colorful and insightful thoughts on some of the things people really do every day which can work against them big time. Personally, the behaviours Sean describes really drive me crazy, and I know we’ve all experienced our share of them first-hand — probably by the time we entered the first grade. On some level, I am thankful for all the hatred, conflict and negativity I’ve encountered in the world, because it has made me realize how very much I care about diplomacy, peace and optimism. To me, conducting myself through positive, sincere, well-meaning behaviours is of the utmost importance in managing my reputation… and my overall success in life. In this spirit, I’m spinning Sean’s points to provide three reputation-savers likely to keep each of us on firm ground, both professionally and socially.

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Words from the wise: Quick chats with leading brand designers


Next month, the Corporate Design Foundation will convene its 3rd Annual @Issue Business & Design Conference in New York. Offering attendees a full day’s worth of opportunities to hear from the CEOs of Herman Miller and other prominent companies on how design has positively impacted their bottom lines, the event will also host talks with the companies’ creative and design directors. For more insights

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Three steps to business planning success…

Many of us dream of hatching our own business schemes, driven by our desires to solve problems in new or improved ways, or maybe just to offer something we feel we can sell for a profit… and to do so in our own ways. Personally, I have had active roles in scores of start-up dialogues over the years, each entrenched within its own unique setting. Something I have learned is that business planning is always difficult — and also, while business planning advice is easy to come by, in my humble opinion, it’s not all good. So today, I am sharing some of the best, most actionable information I’ve come across recently, to help would-be entrepreneurs cut to the chase and give themselves the greatest chance of making their entrepreneurial dreams come true.

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Ready to rumble…

BusinessWeek’s Aug. 2006 issue features some great advice and ideas on the subject of winning. The introduction is written by Joe Torre, who as the Manager of the New York Yankees, has led his club to the Major League Basebell playoffs for ten consecutive years. Personally, my first memories of Joe go back to when he was a player for the St. Louis Cardinals, the team I grew up following. My father was formerly an airplane pilot and the manager of a private, St. Louis-based charter service, and according to his own report, back in 1969 or so, he had tossed Mr. Torre out of his office for littering it with his cigar ashes. By virtue of this tale, which may very well be a tall one,

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Everybody’s talking ATTIK…

They had hidden cameras, water and Mars bars. It was inspiring, scary, enlightening and stupid (at times). See how it turned out.