Pow! Right Between The Eyes! Andy Nulman's Blog About Surprise

Looking Back With Virgin Eyes

Another Father's Day postscript if I may...

I have to say, although somewhat biased but not much, that my sons are brilliant.  My 17-year-old, Hayes, designs furniture for the future, while my 20-year-old, designs much of the future itself. 

One of these days, I'll share pix of Hayes' industrial-influenced residential creations with you, but today, I wanna show you Aidan's new work, a blog called (no relation to Madonna or Richard Branson):

Like A Virgin

The concept is simple, but amazingly sticky and profound--in essence, Aidan visits the first post of famous and favorite blogs and rates them.  Like seeing old high school pictures of today's superstars, the flashbacks are sometimes tell-tale, often polar-opposite to the present, but always fascinating nonetheless.

He came up with the idea while battling a little writer's block trying to compose a first post for another new blog (called "The Projectionist") he was putting together with a friend.  He figured seeing what other first posts were like would give him the inspiration needed...but I don't think he counted on THIS MUCH inspiration. 

Today he goes big and dredges up the first post of Mark Cuban.  Check it out, and suggest your favorite blog (but don't try this one; I was honored to be his debut debut post yesterday).

The Answer

This is the Pow! of the day around Surprise Central...well, for me at least.

Seems that I have become a Trivial Pursuit question.

Now one can take that two ways, but I'm seeing this glass half full. 

Apparently, one of Airborne's hard working staff stumbled upon it while playing the '80s Edition of the game with her parents recently.  While she didn't remember the question verbatim, it went something like:

"What was the name of the event
made famous by Andy Nulman?"

Obviously, I'm trying to track down the card for posterity's (and framing's) sake.  Once I find it, I'll post it here as well.

My next quest:  "I'll take 'Loud Guys Obsessed With Surprise' for $100, Alex."

Changing The World Once Cellphone at a Time

On the road, and trying to change the world, once again...

As you read this, I'll be busy hosting a highly-focused, boutique conference in Toronto, namely Strategy Magazine's Mobile Marketing Workshop.  As a pioneer in the field, my company Airborne Mobile has been at the forefront of mobile media since the year 2000, but these days, with major brands and ad agencies starting (and that's the operative word: STARTING) to understand the value of this most direct and personal  channel as a marketing tool, the stakes are a lot higher than the act of downloading wallpapers and ringtones.

One of the inherent early problems has been the lackluster nature of most mobile campaigns.  While the industry is now (as I like to say) "learning to crawl before it can limp," there is a definite need for some Pow! to engage the customer and ensure that mobile marketing is embraced and not eschewed.  The future starts now.

Well, let's see what the day brings...

Me? Opinionated?

Had the honor of writing the page 4 op-ed piece in Billboard last week for its annual Mobile Issue (must've said something right, because the mag also put the piece on the front page of its website).  That's it below.  Next goal: taking the Matt Demons--Airborne's in-house punk band--to the top of the Billboard charts.  But I digress... 

Almost as cool was the publication (finally!) of an interview I did way back in December with the political site Apathy is Boring.  Hopefully, the interview wasn't...

And Speaking About Speaking...

...remember the notorious appearance at the McGill Cultural conference I have referred to often within these here posts?

Well, now you can watch the whole thing.  I'm up second, after Moya Balfour.  The CPAC network captured the event in its entirety.  Catch it by clicking HERE...if you dare.

Don't say I didn't warn ya...

Sucks In The Title

Antony Bruno is a man of his word.

The Executive Director of Billboard's Digital/Mobile Conferences took a gamble last fall with a free-form, no-holds-barred panel at the semi-annual CTIA convention (a mainstay for us folks at Airborne).  The result was a blast (see re-cap here), and I wondered aloud if he--and his parent company--would have the guts to continue this type of programming.

Well, link away to the agenda of next month's Billboard Mobile Entertainment Live! event and see that the hits just keep on coming.  Well, at least on the panel discussion that I'm moderating at the event later this month.

The panel is called "Creative Conundrum: What Sucks and How Do We Fix It?"  and its objective is not just to speak aloud all the things we folks in the mobile media industry say in the privacy of hallways and on the phones, but to make the poor drones in the audience pick up their eyes from their laptops and Blackberries and pay attention for a change.

Joining me will be:

Russ Cox of Turner Broadcasting/The Cartoon Network
Jeremiah Zimm of MTV
Rob McDermott, manager of Linkin Park
and former Fox Mobile President Lucy Hood

All have been instructed to yell, scream, interrupt and make their points loudly.  This ain't no kiss-ass, agree-with-everyone-to-be-polite benign industry panel.

The bar has been set high, and I hope we pull it off.  But at least the inspiration is there at the start--when was the last time you went to an industry conference session with the word "Sucks" in the title,  not just in the evaluation?

This Boss Works For YOU

Well, this is indeed a pleasant Surprise to close the week. 

The story I wrote for Lawrence Kirsch's collaborative Springsteen fan book "For You Bruce," highlighting our backstage meeting 27 years ago, was excerpted and appears on RollingStone.com.  Check it out below of by clicking here. 

Not only does this heighten my excitement for Sunday's show here (my 11th time seeing Bruce), but for the gathering of worldwide fans and contributors at La Brasserie Brunoise, a restaurant just outside the Bell Center, for a pre-show pre-party...because anyone who's ever seen The Boss can tell you, the show IS the party.

Walking The Talk

Last week, I told you about a speech I gave at McGill University for its marketing students.  I wasn't gonna tell you about another McGill-related speech I gave the day before, but seeing the reaction it garnered--and how my ramblings fit the theme of this blog--I guess I should come clean.

The event was called "Are We American?", a look at Canadian Culture in North America.  Given my Just For Laughs heritage, I was conveniently placed in the Humour section with three others, and figured that this was one of those polite panel discussions where we would be asked questions and banter about happy things happily.

Well, less than a week from speak-day, I received an email with these instructions:

"For your formal remarks, however, please remember to speak into the microphone on the podium.  As this is not primarily an academic conference, your presentation need not be overly formal."

Uh, "Formal"?  "Presentation?"  Sorry folks, too busy, too late.  So, given the topic of the conference, instead of a dry, podium-delivered platitude, I decided to live up to the standards set by Surprise Central, channel my inner American, and rant. 

And rant I did.  About how "you get what you pay for," and since I wasn't getting remunerated, I wasn't putting out.  About how sick I am about being the polite Canadian, and being quiet all the time.  About how I wasn't just going to ignore the other speakers, but use my Blackberry during their presentations.  All this while sporting a "Proud Republican" t-shirt I had bought in Chicago on Super Tuesday.

Well, the room was indeed shocked.  And of course, being filled with Canadians, they politely applauded after being yelled at and insulted for five minutes.  The end result?  Perhaps it's best expressed by blogger Jenni Campbell, who said:

"Andy Nulman’s contribution to the panel was either profoundly subtle in its lampooning of Canadian’s perceptions of Americans, or in-your-face obnoxious. He got up when it was his turn to speak and announced that, because he wasn’t being paid to speak at the conference, he was going to shrug off the polite Canadian act and behave how an American would were he to be asked to give a talk and participate in a discussion without the appropriate remuneration...

"One reason why I found Nulman’s schtick to be so painfully funny upon reflection was because I spent most of it thinking what a jerk he was and how very uncivil and un-Canadian he was being."

Heh heh heh.  As George W. himself would've said, "Mission Accomplished."

The Art Of...Surprise

And speaking about speaking (see yesterday's post), how's this for a cool, high-powered gig?

I've just been added to the bill of The Art Of Sales, a full-day event to be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre's  elegant John Bassett Theatre, on May 12.

The line-up is packed with some of my biz book idols, including:

• The world's Chief Executive Salesman, Jeffrey Gitomer (of Little Red Book of Selling fame)
• David Allen, who teaches the world how to Get Things Done and
• Herb Cohen, the long-time maestro of negotiation
• not to mention Sharon Drew Morgen and Dr. J.P. Pawliw-Fry (that's all of us below).

I've spoken at many such a large-scale, full-day session, but what makes The Art Of's take on them so unique is that the company highlights a specific theme, and niche-markets to those most interested in, and who will take home more from, the subject at hand.

For example, other events set to go include The Art of Golf (featuring coaches of the top PGA money-winners), The Art of Cooking and The Art of Management, with more to come (hey guys, how about "The Art of Surprise"?  I know a good closing speaker.  Uh, just asking...)

This is the spirit of Web 2.0 and the Long Tail brought to the brick-and-mortar (or shall I say "wood-paneling and soft-seat") conference game; a well-focused, no-fat approach.

One of the driving forces within The Art Of is a bright,  well-experienced entrepreneur named Scott Kavanagh, who promises not just to entertain his audience, but educate them.  Which brings me to a conversation I had over dinner in Chicago two weeks ago with my buddy Jim Fannin, one of the greats of the speaking world. Despite his success at empowering thousands all over the globe (including championship athletes like Alex Rodriguez and Grant Hill), Jim insists he is NOT a motivator, but an educator.  Or, as he put it:

"It's the difference between telling someone
'you can do it!',
and actually teaching someone
'HOW you can do it'."

So go get 'em, Scott and company.  Teach 'em how you guys do it.  And thanks for the honor of allowing me to share the stage with such a prestigious group.

(By the way, if you wanna go, call The Art of Sales at 1-866-992-7863.  Mention my name and get a discounted rate.  Mention Herb Cohen's name and negotiate an even BETTER one!)

Buying Into It

Well, I'm back from the incredibly-run Shop.org conference in Orlando, and the buzz on Airborne's new retail mobile marketing initiative has been, to say the least, positive. 

The conference blog encapsulated my keynote quite completely, as did Giselle Abramovich at MobileMarketer, while Andy Sernovitz (that's he and I below) went one step further with his videoblog.  And this update just in: Simon Rodrigue of HomeDepot passes on these kind words.

Meanwhile, the guy who seemed to get it most was (no Surprise here) Mitch Joel...not only because he had me to deal with in shopping centers and restaurants for three days, but because of his ever-expanding, acutely-astute marketing savvy.

Next up, we take this show on the road to Chicago, for the annual Retail Advertising Conference, on Feb. 6. 

This could be the start of something big...

(UPDATE:  Already seems to be.  Got sent this late-breaking story about Google's reaction to Mobile Marketing by both Mitch Joel and Barry Welford.  Thanks guys!)

 

Mobile Motor Mouth

As you read this, I am heading towards Orlando on behalf of Airborne to the Shop.org Innovation conference , where I'll be hosting two roundtables as well as giving a keynote address debunking the myths and revealing the opportunities of  marketing via mobile phones. 

(Don't wanna sound pompous, but since this was the root of what we pioneered eight years ago for the likes of Disney, HBO and continue to do today for the NHL , Family Guy and Maxim, I think I'm pretty well-qualified not just to yammer about the subject...but to be listened to.)

The guest list the the event reads like the who's who of retail, and the hometown will also be represented by the ubiquitous Mitch Joel (my plane seatmate) and Pinny Gniwisch of Ice.com.  Another highlight is that after a year of conversing via email and phone, I finally get facetime with my namesake and kindred spirit, word-of-mouth marketing guru Andy Sernovitz, who's also keynotin' (see below).

Will be in touch later this week to let you know how it goes...

My Old School

Steely Dan once sang "I'm never going back to my old school."

Earlier this week, I did.

Here's the result.

The moral of the story: Steely Dan should've gone to Gardenview.

Delivering On My Promises

It's good to have friends, particularly if they're in the Tax department or in the media.

Rick Spence, a long-time member of the People I Dig list (see left), is a member of the latter, and was kind enough to give credence to the relatively nascent (well, to the general public at least) discipline of Surprise marketing in today's National Post.  You can check our Rick's column by clicking these blue letters.

Nicely written and well appreciated...but I DO have just one minor correction/addendum, if I may.  To close the story, Rick wrote:

Does he practice surprise marketing as Airborne's chief marketing officer? "We'll be doing it next year with some of our marketing and promotion incentives," Nulman promises.

Well...to be frank, Surprise marketing is what GOT Airborne to where it is.  Examples are many, including the oft-told tale of the Donald Trump Dollar Bill Toss and the Free Beer panel discussion, not to mention our infamous Maxim parties (no links folks, sorry!). 

Indeed there's more to come, but there was a lot that went, too.

Okay, so now that THAT's cleared up, why not pay Rick a visit at his entrepreneurial blog.  Tell his server I sent ya.

Pow! Goes Legit

I read it every two weeks, cite it quite often, but here's an article from the uber-respected Marketing Magazine I won't be quoting from any time soon...due to redundancy issues:

(To read the entire rant in a more eye-friendly manner, click here.)

Big shout out for Danny Kucharsky for corralling all my wildly-spouted words (jeez, that Suzanne Somers story still comes up after all these years).  And Dan Ward, your book gets yet another plug!  Jeez!

On a serious note, when the concept of Pow! Marketing is treated with such prominence in such a prestigious and widely-accepted journal, you know we're onto something here at Surprise Central.   

Today, Marketing Magazine.  Tomorrow, a major publishing house!

Adweek Revisited (Now Tangible!)

Remember that Adweek interview I spoke of a couple of weeks ago? 

Well, I was in Italy at the time, and was able to read the web version on the Blackberry while there.

Yesterday, for the first time, I got my hands on the print version.

Well...nobody told me it was a full page!

Or that it made the cover (see lower left).

Holy Egostroke, Batman!

All the attention of Senator Larry Craig...without the scandal.

Speaking Up

When it rains it pours once again.

While I was in Milan, I did this interview about The Future of Mobile Games with Paul Hyman of The Hollywood Reporter. 

I've done hundreds of interviews in my 31-year career, but this guy was good.  Really good.  (Check him out at his communication company OpenMoves). More than a Q&A, this was a fencing match, with thrusts, parries and some definite challenges.  When I got off the phone with him, I knew this one was gonna end up a little different.

And so it was.

The original ran on Wednesday in the Hollywood Reporter, but was immediately picked up by the influential Game Daily and MoCo News (the ne plus ultra blog of the mobile content industry).  Next day, it was lead item in the Consumer Electronics Association's daily SmartBrief.

I got tons of calls, emails of support ("That's what we're all thinking but not saying," what the main message), as well as a couple of "Screw yous."

When you do interviews, it's impossible to know what--if anything!--is gonna connect.

But the way things work now, in what my friends Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan have labeled "The Age of Conversation," you find out almost instantly when something does.

MeSpeak in Adweek

Okay, I know it's "per se" and not "per say," and I said the "advent of cable," not "the ads on cable," but my anal nitpicking aside, this is more than cool: a Q&A Interview in the prestigious pages of Adweek.

Jeez, I sure hope that Steve Jobs and Guy Laliberte are Adweek subscribers...

Three Questions, Many Answers

Weeks have started worse, I guess...

I've been included, amongst some very impressive marketing luminaries, in Andy Sernovitz's slick new Damn! I Wish I'd Thought Of That blog (Damn!  I Wish I'd Thought of That URL...). 

The Word-of-Mouth Marketing maven asked three questions, seeking our advice on how to

1. Make People Happy
2. Earn Respect
3. Get a W-O-M Marketing Recommendation

The responses were as diverse as the people giving them, and includes wisdom from:

Keith Hammonds, Executive Editor of Fast Company magazine
Peter Kim, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research
Scott "That Guy With The Nametag" Ginsberg
Geoff Ramsey, CEO, eMarketer
John Moore, Marketing Medic, Brand Autopsy Marketing Practice
Bob Garfield, Editor at Large, Advertising Age
Matt Blumberg, CEO, ReturnPath

Enjoy 'em by clicking here.  And while you're there, nudge Bob Garfield's turntable; the needle's stuck  ;)

And If Those Ain't Enough...

...here's one more thing for your reading pleasure (me hopes!)

It's an interview I did with Wellington Financial's Mark McQueen.  In it, he calls me a lot of strange things, like "interesting" and "vibrant."  He may have to get out more.

Well, if anything, I was open.  All the Q&As can be found clicking right here. 

Oh, by the way, you're mentioned in it.  All of you.  Seriously!

Enjoy.

On The Road Again...And Again

Two very different conferences.

Two very different cities.

One very different guy doing both.  Yup, I'll be back on the road again speaking at two industry events.

The first is The Millenials Conference, billed as The Life and Times of the Digital Generation, on April 18.  I'll be speaking about The Buying Power of Millenials: How They Are Influencing Buying Decisions in the Digital Age, and other luminaries at this Los Angeles gathering include folks from YouTube, MySpace, Habbo Hotel, MTV, Major League Gaming...you know, the usual suspects leading the new economy.

The second is Playback's Mobile Forum in Toronto on May 17, where I'll be trying rouse the crowd to from its post-lunch slumber with a keynote rant about the future of my beloved Mobile Media industry. The agenda also includes great friends like Andy Wright of Bell Mobility, Fred DiBlasio of Telus Mobility, Andra Sheffer of Bell's New Media Fund and the inimitable Keith Ritter of the NHL, so if things get hostile, at least I know I can count on a phalanx to get me out of the building.

Drop by an say hi if you happen to be attending.
 

Tell Me What I'll Say

It's the weekend, and at Surprise Central, that usually means a little whimsy in the postings, hence this addition to my unabashed "Media Whore" category.

Two weeks from today, I'll be packing for a two-city stop with the prestigious and mammoth Power Within series, where I'll be delivering a speech called "How To Do The Impossible."  As the saying goes, "This Ain't Your Father's Speaker Series"; over 5,000 people are expected in Ottawa on March 6, and attendance can easily top up over 10,000 in Vancouver on March 8, where we perform at GM Place, the home of the Canucks.

I say "We," as the ad below shows, I am sharing the stage with some pretty high-powered, well-known motivators and speakers.

While I am more than ready, and can't wait to take on the challenge (FOPs will remember my "Five Meme" confession that I am much more at ease on stage in front of 5,000 than at a dinner party of five), I've been consumed with thinking of ways how to break the ice with each of my collaborators.

Jim Fannin and Les Brown will be somewhat easy.  I've read the former's S.C.O.R.E. books on and have seen the latter at previous Power Within events.   Same wavelength and real pros.

Kenneth Cole...another breeze.  In addition to being an early fan of his trend-setting, socially-activist ads, I've spent about $50,000 on his shoes, clothes, briefcases, bracelets and the like over the past two decades or so.  He OWES me some time.  Maybe if I spray myself with enough of his RSVP cologne that I just got for Valentine's Day, I can hit him up for a sponsorship; you know the "When Speaking In Front of 5,000 people, Andy Nulman Wears Kenneth Cole" type.

As for Vicente Fox, well, this may be a bit more difficult.  While I've been to Acapulco, that was about 25 years ago.  Perhaps I'll ask him what it was like climbing pyramids with George W. Bush and Stephen Harper (in a vest!).  And then there's that Tortilla shortage thing.  Come to think of it, I hope he's at my table for the VIP lunch.

As much as I respect Tony Robbins, the father of the life-coaching industry, as much as I am impressed with who he has motivated and what he has built, the burning question in my mind is if he REALLY uses the ROM machine (that wild contraption above), as its ads claim.

These babies go for over 14 grand apiece, and claim to produce the same results of an hour-and-a-half running, lifting weights and stretching in a gym in only 4 minutes.   Me being an obsessive workout rat, if Tony does give the thumbs up, I'm gonna do my best to finagle an invite over to one of his homes (particularly the one in Fiji) to try one out.

And then there's Suzanne Somers.  This is sort of a homecoming for Suzanne and yours truly.   About 30 years ago, when I was a kid entertainment reporter for the Sunday Express Newspaper, I had the chance to interview Suzanne, who was in town to headline a charity telethon (photographic evidence below; yes, that WAS my real hair). 

At the time, there was nobody hotter in showbiz.  She was the star of the  "controversial" (at least for those times) sitcom Three's Company, and the dream girl of every teenage boy...of which I was an awkward one.  Despite all the ingredients that could've added up to Diva-dom, she was a joy; open, friendly and made a goofy, uber-nervous kid reporter feel comfortable and important.  I never had a chance to thank her for it...but will finally get it come March.

I'll have the laptop with me, so expect updates as they happen.  Until then, I wonder if the other guys on the Power Within bill are stressing over what they'll say to me...

Over Usered

And while we're on the subject, Brandweek's "Worst Marketing Buzzword" of 2006 was the overused-to-death

"User-Generated Content"

...which (thankfully!)  gives credence to, and vindicates, my shout-outs in Marketing Magazine this week.

Carnivals and Monsters

Kudos to Nick Rice for organizing the year's first Marketing (r)Evolution Carnival, and for inviting me to be amongst a whole bunch of smart and outspoken Independent Internet Commentators (a slightly more elegant way to describe bloggers, n'est-ce pas?). Enter through this turnstile...

And if you're looking for some easy listening this weekend, then you may want to stay away from an interview with yours truly on the Monster.com podcast where I discuss my somewhat unique hiring methods at Airborne with Monster's Bryan Person.  Click here if you dare. (And once there, don't miss the words of wisdom of Fortune Magazine's back-pager Stanley Bing, one of my biz writing faves.)

And now, time to un-plug myself...

The Constructive Lumps

On one hand, I should be honored--the entrepreneurial-centric blog Startupspark mentions lil' ol'  Pow! in the same breath as Jeremy Schoemaker's Shoemoney and Dharmesh Shah's OnStartups in his monthly advice-rendering Blogtipping post.   Great Surprise to end my week .

On the other hand, I'm the only one that Benjamin Yoskovitch, the spark behind Startupspark, actually doles out some concrete advice to, choosing to throw nothing but glistening, gilded rose petals in the direction of the other two.   Don't worry; I'll sweep up what they leave in their wake.

Okay, so I'm a relative newbie to the blogosphere, and like Sylvester in the Tweety Bird cartoons, I'm prepared to take my lumps. 

Alright...so I exaggerate.  Frankly, all criticism I get should be as constructive and immediately applicable as Mr. Yoskovitch's.  So Ben, I hear ya, and I'm gonna apply some of your wisdom to this here page.  In return, I'm gonna plug your weekly Carnival of Entrepreneurs...if you give me the cotton candy concession.  (And if you tell me who to blow, I may even submit to it.)  So get out your umbrella, my friend, and prepare for the deluge of page hits sent your way from Surprise Central.

There are two types of people in this world (well three actually, if you count Easton Ellsworth, who coined the phrase and pioneered the concept of Blogtipping):  those who criticize, and those who make things better.  And Ben, you are a fine example of the latter...as long as I listen.

Watch this space!   
 

When It Reigns, It Pours

At the risk of sounding like a swell-headed egomaniac, in addition to the Sports Business Journal piece (look down one post), I was also interviewed by uber-entrepreneur Austin Hill at his textbook-worthy Billions With Zero Knowledge blog.  When you evangelize the art of Surprise, you're often called on it, hence Austin's questions about the rather unconventional way I hire. 

Perhaps my favorite hiring story (and one I forgot to tell Austin) was that of Farlan Dowell, an Airborne Entertainment product manager, and former Price Is Right contestant, who's leaving us for to work for a competitive company (the quisling!) in L.A. 

Farlan was exuberant and rather "out there" during our first interview three years ago, and I sent him away with the challenge of doing something special to convince me to hire him.  About a week went by and I heard nothing, and figured he'd copped out and joined the ranks of the uninspired and insipid.  But the next day I got a call from a store owner down the street.

"You Andy Nulman?" he asked.

"Well, you called me," I replied.  "Who are you?"

"You don't know me, but there's this guy outside my window in a box."

"A box?"

"Yeah, and it says 'I Want To Work For Airborne Entertainment.  Call Andy Nulman at 289-9111.'  So I'm calling you."

I got about a half dozen similar calls from different people on St. Laurent Boulevard.  I opened my window and stuck my head outside my 7th floor office, and sure enough, there was this goof parading up and down the street, head and limbs protruding from a large cardboard box emblazoned with my name and my company's (see it in all its glory below) , causing a traffic jam of curious onlookers and horn-honking supporters.

I called him upstairs and he got the gig immediately.

And if he wasn't such a traitor...he'd still be with us.  You could read the interview here.  And you can get in touch if you think you can fill Farlan's rather large shoes...uh, box.

 

"Call Him Crazy at Your Own Peril"

So said the Sports Business Journal about this blog's humble author in its back page, One-On-One feature this week.  Gotta admit it was quite the honor to appear in that prestigious space, as previous interview subjects included NASCAR legend Michael Waltrip, author Michael Lewis(Moneyball, The New New Thing) and blogging superstar (not to mention Washington Capitals owner) Ted Leonsis. 

Over my 31-year career (sigh...) I've done hundreds of interviews, but few were as much fun, or as well-captured, as this one by Kris Johnson.  Sports Business Journal and its more frequent sister publication Sports Business Daily are sub-only (Booo!), but the folks here at Surprise Central grabbed and adapted the piece for your easy read right here.  Enjoy.

Plug For You-Know-Who

Well slap my ass and call me Sally--this has little to do with Surprise and a lot to do with me.

I "public speak" a lot.  I actually find it a lot of fun, and am way more comfortable on stage with a mic in front of 5,000 than at a party with a drink amongst 50.   My next big gigs are with the mammoth Power Within series on March 6th and 8th, alongside  Anthony Robbins, Suzanne Somers, fashion magnate Kenneth Cole, former President of Mexico Vicente Fox and others.

A couple of weeks ago, I keynoted to a group of high school kids about alternative career options.  They were kind enough to send me the link of their compilation video on YouTube (hey GoogleTubers--when will you enable us TypePadders to insert video directly?).  I come in at the 25-second mark and speak for a mercifully-short 90 seconds or so. 

For you to judge...