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The Internationalist

Need something to put on that nice, clean new 2009 calendar?

Is 2009 the year you will get out more?

...engage in the life of your community more? 

...enjoy culture while expanding your mind and soul?

Start now!

Come see The Internationalist,
produced by up-and-coming Available Light [Theatre].
Here are the details. As the AVLT website says:

Many of the characters speak in a fictional language in this comedy of communication, which follows Lowell, traveling overseas for business, as he gets “involved” with a co-worker, is implicated in an office conspiracy, and flirts with the wrong side of the law.

Available Light does great work and — believing that everyone should have access to culture — sells all tickets at all shows for the strange price of "Whaddya got? Give us some." (That ticket pricing policy is known more formally in The Theatre Industry as "pay what you want.")

But, wait! There's more.
If you want to grab some supper beforehand or a dessert afterward (or both), here's an invitation from SlimGoodies.

May 2009 be the year you get out more, fully engaging in life and culture, having recovered quickly from that awkward bowling injury.

Last Roll of 2008

When the going gets tough, the tough get bowling.

My Life Long Belief: Every great year includes some bowling.

Status for 2009: You haven't bowled yet this year.

So it's come to this...

Plan: We are going bowling before nightfall on New Year's Eve.

Why before nightfall?
Because I leave nighttime on New Year's Eve to the professionals. I am strictly amateur. (I'm an aspiring bowler, like I'm an aspiring actor. I hit some of the pins; sometimes they fall down.)

You are invited.
But it's not much of an invitation. You'll pay for your own food, beverages, and shoes. Or you can just watch. (Available Light is paying for the lanes.)

Some snacks will be provided. (You can buy more if you like. They have a really very nice kitchen.) You can buy your own drinks. Except some drinks will be provided for those who make a donation large enough to please Emily Rhodes, Available Light's board chair of development. See redundant details later.

When: Thursday, December 31, 2009, 3:30 p.m. We will clear out of there by 6:30 p.m.

Where: Ten Pin Alley & Spike's. Here are directions to 5499 Constitution Blvd., Hilliard. (614) 876-2475

RSVP: If you are coming, write me a note with your name and whether or not you will be bowling (or just gabbing, cheering, drinking and eating). That way, we can reserve enough lanes. Lane assignments (and, therefore, bowling companions) will be higgelty-piggelty.

Please remember: this is pay-your-own-way.

We used to call that "Dutch treat," but it wasn't kind to the Netherlanders.

I saw one of them with the bumper sticker: "If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much."

Except Your (Almost, Kinda)
Free Beverage From Available Light Theatre
Available Light's Minister of Fun Emily Rhodes will once again make things joyously mercenary. She says:

For anyone who comes to the bowling party AND makes a donation to Available Light Theatre (either by check that day or online that day at www.avltheatre.com), I will purchase you a nice beverage.

It'll be your last chance to make a donation this tax year!

Why Bowling?

1. Bowling is America's #1 participation sport. We bowl, not only because we are Americans. We bowl so that we may be Americans. It's the Thanksgiving of sports.
2. Bowling is a wonderful physics experiment. Through bowling, we learn about inertia and the exertion of force. We are reminded, tangibly, that our actions have consequences.
3. Bowling is a wonderful psychology experiment. Through bowling, we learn about inertia and the exertion of force. We are reminded, tangibly, that our actions have consequences.

Coming? If so, let me know.

Last Roll of 2008

When the going gets tough, the tough get bowling.

My Life Long Belief: Every great year includes some bowling.

Status for 2008: I haven't bowled yet this year.

So it's come to this...

Plan: I am going bowling before nightfall on New Year's Eve.

Why before nightfall?
Because I leave nighttime on New Year's Eve to the professionals. I am strictly amateur.

You are invited.
But it's not much of an invitation. You'll pay for your own food, beverages, balls and shoes. Or you can just watch.

I'm still working on the location and the exact time.

Watch Net Cotton Content for details.

Want A Little Personal Brilliance?

Jim Canterucci has invited me to join him onstage (here in Columbus) for a few minutes on Tuesday, January 13, 2009, during his half-day of Personal Brilliance: Developing the Habit of Innovation, offered in conjunction with The Ohio State University's Leadership Center.

It's a full morning of exploration and enlightenment on creating personal brilliance through strengthening one's own personal innovation. In other words, Jim says, let's stop waiting for the team to get brilliant. Let's start with ourselves.

Jim Canterucci shows the way.
I've met Jim and find him to be expressive, sincere, and intense. He's a celebrated speaker and a big-time member of the National Speakers Association. I think it will be an interesting morning.

For details on the program, click here. And here's a one-page flyer. And here's Jim's book, Personal Brilliance: Mastering the Everyday Habits That Create a Lifetime of Success.

You can pay to attend. Or, better yet:
Jim has offered me two free tickets. If you want one, just let me know.

First come, first served.

Unopened Cards

I don't open web-based holiday cards.

I don't know why.

I bank online. I Twitter. I'm LinkedIn. I am on a social network.

But I just don't open emailed holiday cards. Years ago, they were always a disappointment: some goofy, some caused my computer to crash. 

And, back then, I preferred regular old-fashioned stamped and posted greeting cards. I even sent my own.

But I haven't sent cards for a few years. (If this blog isn't enough sharing of information, fuggedaboudit.)

Of course, technology has advanced. Today's cards probably are fabulous. They probably won't crash my Mac. Maybe I'll start opening cards again.

[a few minutes pass]

OK, now, I opened one...

Here's One From Diane (Thanks, Diane.)
Here's a lovely Christmas card — a slideshow set to music — from the photomeisters at Magnum.

Click here and you will be taken to another site. Click on "play" and enjoy the show. (Turn up your volume for the music.)

Merry Christmas.

Credit Where Credit Is Due
The photo is from 1955: Self-Portrait of Philippe Halsman. New Years Card Outtake. © Philippe Halsman/Magnum Photos

The Best Job Hunting Book Ever Written

Actually, it hasn't been written yet.

And, uh, you have to write it.

But, besides that, it really is the best job hunting book ever written.

"What Do I Do Next?"
That's really the question. Even more than, as Buddy Guy sings, "Where's the next one comin' from."

It's a question that can interrupt sleep and cash flow.

People ask me that question all the time. Especially in this economy, it seems. Two people asked me yesterday. "What do I do next?"

My answer is, disappointingly, always the same: "I dunno." But, really, you don't want me to tell you what to do. I spent 20 years of my career doing what other people thought I should do for a living. That's not the best strategy.

(I've already written on job hunting.)

And anyway, I'm too busy screwing up my own life to take time to tell you how to screw up yours.

But there is a reason to ask around. It's a great strategy.

One Hundred Smart People
The strategy comes from my lifelong friend Jon York. (He's a smarty. Can't help it. He was born to smarties.)

One day, some years ago, Jon found himself bought out of the company he'd started — and wondering, "What do I do next?"

He and I were playing catch-up and he described his strategy:

I'm going to talk to 100 smart people. Not particularly people who might answer the question — and certainly not exclusively those in a position to give me my next gig. That's not the idea. The idea is: if you talk to one hundred smart people, something good will happen.

I think Jon said that he'd learned this from a teacher of his, but that attribution is lost in the wavy, wispy, willowy cobwebs of time.

But — hey! — what about The Fabulous Book On Job Hunting?

The Book Idea: Here's How It Works
So let's start with Jon's idea. Schedule meeting after meeting with smart people. Go talk to them. Share your story. Listen to theirs.

Good things will happen.

But, let's do that one better: Write a book along the way. You can call it 100 Smart People. (Credit Jon.)

When you schedule the meeting, don't say, "I'm a poor sonovabitch trying to find my way back into the ball and chain of capitalism." (If that works, let me know. I have another book idea for you.)

Try this: "I'm writing a book called 100 Smart People. May I come interview you? It will take only 45 minutes and it will be fun. I'll ask you seven questions, which I'll send you in advance. I'll record the conversation, transcribe it, and let you review it. With your approval, I'll include our interview in the book."

"Finally!" the other person will silently think on the other end of the telephone line. "I'm being recognized for what I am (not). This guy thinks I'm a smarty." You'll book that appointment faster than you can pull a ripcord and see what color your parachute is.

Take a little recording device. I just bought one for less than $100, which is small enough to smuggle into prison and has a USB connector. Which reminds me of a joke:

Three men are in a sauna. Hot. Towels. Three men.

A telephone rings. One man extends his left thumb and pinky, places his thumb near his ear, and  talks into the pinky, quietly, politely. Concluding his call, he looks sheepishly at the others and says, "I had my phone installed into my hand."

The second man, says, "That's a great idea. Let me make a note of that." And he proceeds to write with his finger on the palm of his other hand. "Oh," he says, feeling the eyes of the men on him. "I had my Palm actually installed in my palm."

The third man — let's call him Louie, for he is our hero — finds this all somewhat amusing and somewhat disturbing. He excuses himself from the sauna, "I'll be right back."

When Louie returns, he has a piece of toilet paper hanging from his rear end.

"Oh, excuse me," says Louie. "I'm receiving a fax."

None of the smart people will tell you this joke.

Now where were we?
Right.

So you record the conversation, and follow through. You can write a book or — hey, do what truly impressive people do — write it into a blog. Each day, another blog post on a smarty.

In any case...

I bet you don't finish the book.
And not because you are a lazy scoundrel.

You won't get to the end of the book, because around Smart Person #50, someone will connect you to your next gig.

(Oh, right, that's what you wanted in the first place. You didn't want to write no stinkin' book. Leave that to the English majors.)

And, if you do finish the book, that wouldn't be so bad anyway. You were looking for a job and a book popped out.

Like a fax.

And I know you will sell at least 10 copies to 100 people

Good Gift Reading

Facing a gift-giving challenge? May I suggest any of the books in my little book shop?

If you click on the link, you'll be taken to the Amazon pages I've set up.

People ask me for titles of books that are important to me and helpful to many. These are the books.

When you get there, please note the menu on the right. It will lead you to other rooms in my shop: "Reading to become more creative, All Time Favorites and
Marketing and Advertising. 

Mercenary Disclaimer
When you shop through my store, I get a few shiny dimes from Amazon. Even if you buy things that aren't listed but just get to Amazon through my store, I get a few shiny dimes. Sweet.

(Just how many dimes, Artie?)
I've received as much as $10 a month on this. That covers about half of the cost of hosting Net Cotton Content.

It's no get-rich-quick scheme. But the dimes are nice.

They feed your blogger.

Redemption Song

"Emancipate yourself from mental slavery; none but our self can free our minds."

Bob Marley never wrote a better song than "Redemption Song."

Here's Bob in 1980, late in his life.

Here's an older version. It's differently beautiful.

Free Speech

What happens when thousands of expressive people offer their insights and experiences?

Looks like we are about to find out.

During the first two weeks of SpeakerSite's pre-launch, hundreds of public speakers and event planners have joined. (We'll cross the 600-member mark today.)

Thousands more have looked at SpeakerSite and are planning to join as soon as, as one fellow put it, "I get my poop in a group."

What has been the reaction?
Mainly, the reaction has been joyous, collaborative, energetic. (There are some exceptions, which I'll describe further below.)

Many new members have written me private messages of gratitude.

More publicly, here are the words of Natalie Siston, the first to report — in the SpeakerSite "Success Stories" forum — that she was actually found and invited to speak through SpeakerSite:

I am not a professional speaker by any means - it is simply something I love doing and one day hope that it can be a full-time gig. I put my profile on the site as a "kick in the pants" to start working toward this goal.

I have referred a handful of speakers I know to the site and have said "I am not sure if people will go here to find speakers, or if it will be more of a forum for people who speak."

Much to my amazement, I was contacted this week by a student at Ohio State to speak to her group. It's a pro-bono gig, but we all have to start somewhere! She indicated that she found the site through LinkedIn. My lesson on this is that if people are using this without us knowing, imagine what will happen as we all continue to promote it and add it to our other social networking site profiles!

SpeakerSite has done nothing less than help Natalie reach for self-actualization. And offer her insights and experiences to a room of students.

Not Everyone Likes SpeakerSite
SpeakerSite has many professional, seasoned speakers — some who command five-figure speaking fees.

But a few professional speakers have written me, saying that they are hesitating. Paraphrasing here: "Is it good for my career to place myself among such a broad world of speakers?"

In one of the more vitriolic messages (again, paraphrased) — "Do you want to be positioned beside people who are speaking for free, beside people who are speaking as a hobby?" — the words "free" and "hobby" are spit through the computer screen as if they are four-letter (or, uh, five-letter) vulgarities.

"I wouldn't hire a doctor who charges nothing," steams another.

Here's my response...

SpeakerSite Is For Everyone
SpeakerSite seeks to democratize public speaking. Let's offer an open way for anyone to throw a hat in the ring, saying, "Perhaps my message could be of help to you."

Because everyone has a message. And every message has an audience.

The highest end of professional speakers will always have the highest end of personal representation. That's great. That's how it should be.

But what about the rest of us? We deserve to be heard. (If you don't, the market will quickly shut you out.) And audiences deserve to find us, so they can hear our message.

And, as Natalie Siston points out, "We all have to start somewhere." How wonderful that alongside Natalie are experienced public speakers who can offer her (and me and you) their insight and encouragement.

You wouldn't hire a doctor who charges nothing?
Then I hope you have either a lot of money or great health.

And, frankly, the most inspiring doctor I know doesn't just auction himself off to the highest bidders.

He's Rob Crane, a SpeakerSite member. (He taught me, "If you haven't read Mountains Beyond Mountains, the story of Paul Farmer, you aren't human.")

None of us is more professional than Doctors Crane and Farmer. And they find ways to work for free whenever they can.

So Who Speaks For (Egad) Free?
Great speakers deserve great speaking fees. Of course, SpeakerSite is designed to help that happen for more people.

But let's not kid ourselves. The size of the fee and the quality of the speaker are not always directly proportional.

The greatest speech in American history was free. What fee did The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. collect? Does that seem an absurd question? With all due respect to the memory of this great leader, let's realize that — while he needed to earn a living like all of us — he wasn't speaking for a fee. He was, of course, after something much, much larger.

As for me (and I'm no MLK!), I've collected lovely speaking fees over the years. I'm grateful to my clients.

But, the best speeches I've given, I've given for free. Here's one. It's the eulogy for Jennifer Keefer.

Now after more than five years, I know I will never understand her untimely death. This morning, as I write you, tears fall as I re-read the eulogy. And I often hear from people who were in that church, that day — people who remain grateful for these words.

That Jen died so young remains a heartbreaking tragedy. That she picked me to offer the eulogy remains a lifelong honor for me. That her assignment of this honor continues to motivate me would have brought her great delight.

That I would now say that I didn't collect a fee — was I "stiffed" at a funeral? — would have made Jen laugh, in better days.

Artie, How Serious Are You About This?
(What? Am I being too subtle here?)

Here's one last message from a SpeakerSite member. Stephanie Sebring saw my video -- "Welcome to SpeakerSite" -- and she noticed that (weirdly) it seems that I didn't blink my eyes during the entire video.

See for yourself.

"Artie," writes Stephanie, "BLINK!"

Hilarious! I laughed at her perceptiveness.

What does it mean that I'm not blinking?
Those who know me well, know that I am a confirmed blinker. I am addicted to blinking. (The withdrawal is swift and painful.)

When do humans not blink? When we are falling in love. And when we are facing the tiger.

When we are riveted on our environment, anticipating change.

Stephanie sees something. I have an unblinking devotion to democratizing public speaking.

I am delighted to think that Natalie Siston will bring her voice, energy and insight to a group of students at Ohio State. (I am so grateful to her for being the one to prove the concept.)

And I am thrilled — I mean thrilled, with my spine tingling and my eyes wide open(!) — with the idea that hundreds — potentially many, many thousands — of people (from seasoned professionals to first-time amateurs) will connect their voices to worthy audiences through SpeakerSite.

I am truly driven by the SpeakerSite declaration: Everyone has a message. And every message has an audience.

Better Be Right

About 15 years ago, I was working with a client.

He happened to be black.

(I still don't like that phrase, happen to be. We use that phrase when we mean, "He was [demographic], but it wasn't important to our relationship." Fair enough. But you know what I think about happening to be.)

Oops.
During our first creative review, the client was presented with the first draft of copy for his company's brochure.

The copy was written in a breezy, advertising style. With partial sentences. The kind of language that is most like we think. Like the voice inside my head. And yours. Dig?

Well, that didn't go far.

The client, with his Stanford B.A. and Harvard M.B.A., said, "This language is grammatically incorrect."

I started explaining the technique of advertising copywriting. "Like the voice inside your head."

"I understand that," he said. "I'm familiar with the technique. But, please, understand this...

"We are a business owned by me. I'm black. If a black-owned business produces a brochure that has grammatical inaccuracies, the copy won't be appreciated for its advertising technique. It will simply seem grammatically incorrect. Believe me: people look for it."

True?
True enough. I think he was right.

Perhaps things have changed over time.

I live in a country with a Black President(-elect).

And I'm watching him build his cabinet in record time. And he's had five news conferences in the past 10 days. He's working hard to do the right things in the right ways.

Whatever your politics, let's simply watch Mr. Obama's behavior in the context of my client's lesson...

How much of his performance to date is motivated by the nation's need for executive competence and his personal competence...

...and how much by his knowledge that the world is watching for success (or failure) of The Black President?

For, he knows, so many people, for good or for bad, are watching for success (or failure) because he's black.

You already know what I'm looking for: flying cars.