No, it’s not what you think. For my blog fans, both of you (mom and my #1 commenter friend Laurie), thanks for the encouragement. I have been ending posts with coming attractions (future blogs) to double my fan club to four people. If you have read the post, it may seem like I am stalling, when in reality, life is happening and I am writing about what is happening that day, so don’t give up and yes I am stalling…in a different way. Today I gave a speech for a local service club. I thought I had covered all the bases with my pre-program questionnaire and calling the day before to confirm that there would be a computer projection unit (CPU). When I arrived for my program, there is no CPU. NO CPU!! No Power Point. NO POWER POINT!!  No visuals. Until today, I have been a Power Point addict. But since I was donating my time, I decided to go naked…er…no Ppt (hey it’s no big deal to you but to me, an addict, we’re talking big steps). So I am re-thinking how to deliver this highly visual inspirational speech and notice that the announcements are going on a bit longer than I was told. As I am walking up to give my speech, I make a spontaneous decision to ditch my prepared comments and “wing it”. I threw my speech out and just give a heart talk. I won’t bore you with details but I’ll say this, I have never had a higher percentage of an audience come up to “chat” after a program. I couldn’t tell you everything I said today but know I am going to go with my gut more often. Perhaps gut decisions might make for a happier holiday season. Here are some considerations: 

1. Replace gift giving with giving the gift of time. Buy and decorate a tree for an elderly neighbor. Give your kids coupons of fun things you’ll do together over the holidays. Volunteer at a homeless shelter, Toys for Tots program, or bless a new Habitat family with a Christmas dinner.

2. Park in the back of the lot (give the Christmas crazies the front row).

3. Let someone go in front of you at the mall or grocery store (they’ll appreciate the gesture and MAY return the favor by doing the same for someone else).

4. Buy the person in line behind you at Starbucks a cup of coffee (see above).

5. Go stalling (turn the toilet paper up into a triangle in a public restroom like they do in fancy hotels). I made that suggestion to my audience today and the president of the association commented that it was his favorite part of the speech…perhaps I should get to those upcoming features after all…

Yesterday my eldest daughter turned nine. It is a rite of passage age, at least for a parent. If my daughter leaves home at eighteen, it means I am halfway through raising her. Even if she doesn’t leave home, she’ll likely be thinking and making decisions without  asking for much advice from me. So on a thirty minute trip on Saturday, I asked her questions on the way there and on the way back. She seemed to love it and I loved hearing her talk without other children to interrupt or interject their answers. Here are some of the questions I asked her (many of which were adapted from a early morning study I am in).

Questions:

• What has brought you the most joy over the last several months?
• Which birthday was your favorite? Why?
• What place would you most like to visit and why?
• Name five people you would take with you.
• What is your favorite movie of all time?
• What would you like to be when you grow up?
• What do you most want for Christmas?
• Describe your perfect vacation?
• Do you like the beach or mountains better
• What is your favorite dessert?
• Who are some of your personal heroes?
• If you could go back in time, what period would you go to and why?
   

What is the best question you asked one of your children?

I am making another trip this Saturday!

Coming attractions (future blogs I am pondering/writing in my mind):

All I want for Christmas is a few good books

Meet me in Memphis - Everything I needed to know in life I learned from the Memphis VA hospital

Rendevouz How “chance” meetings changed me.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas (and that’s not necessarily a good thing).

When I am in a big city, as I was last week, I am a magnet for homeless people. I hadn’t been outside my rental car in downtown Memphis for one minute this week when “Andrew” approached me. His story sounded legit (as they all do). He was wearing a hospital band indicating that at some point he’d been in the hospital. He could name names and addresses of places he needed to go and gave great detail. If he wasn’t really in need, he went to a lot of trouble to make it look that way, so I broke. I violated a policy I set years ago to NEVER give homeless people money. I gave him five bucks to pay what he owed a shelter (apparently they charge homeless people in Memphis. I DID check that out). 

I think homeless people see me and see the word “sucker” written on my forehead. I can unequivocally say that 100% of the time I walk in a city, I am accosted by several. SO this week while in Memphis, I decided to come armed. I brought food with me and made sure I had SOMETHING any time I walked outside the Peabody Hotel. Interestingly, on one of my walks, I had food to give away yet I couldn’t find a homeless person anywhere (I even made up a parody to the tune of “Where have all the flowers gone?” called “Where have all the homeless gone?”).  After walking around for awhile and eating a great dinner at Rendevouz, (I then had leftover BBQ to go with the ham sandwich), to give away. I walked several blocks in the cold wearing only a long sleeve t-shirt, and finally a homeless man approached me (I had never been so excited to see a homeless person in my life!). He noticed that I was shivering and he offered me his coat. I declined politely and unloaded my lunch bag (ham sandwich, apple, cookie and chips). He may not have gotten what he wanted from me but at least he didn’t go hungry.

While in Washington, DC when I was 21 years old, I was approached by a homeless man who said he was hungry. I noticed a store that sold lots of “beverages” but no food nearby. I am guessing he wasn’t REALLY hungry just perhaps thirsty for something that in the long run may have hurt him more than helped him. So on that muggy August day, I initiated the HPNCR (The Homeless Person No Cash Rule)and until December 4th 2007, I followed the HPNCR rule faithfully. Over the years, I have bought many lunches, bus fares, taxi rides, clothes and even a night or two of hotel. I have even “employed” a few people who had needs and were willing to work. Once I picked up a homeless man and drove him two hours to Tallahassee, FL. I even let him play my guitar at night and met him by Lake Ella near St.Paul’s United Methodist Church to hear him play. He attracted a small crowd of people as he played that night. He had been a backup guitarist for Eric Clapton. I think he was telling the truth as he did “rock” on the guitar.

Now that I am married, I have a new rule to follow. It was sent down from the Richardson family domestic CEO. I have sworn to follow it and it’s inscribed inside of my wedding band. It’s a much more safe and sane rule called HP(S)NCIYC or the Homeless Persons (Shall) Never Come Inside Your Car rule. I will still help ANYONE who legitimately needs help but until this week, not with cash.So Andrew got me. Initially I had told him I was going to check out his story (which I delegated to The Peabody Concierge). My thought was that I would find out if he was telling the truth and then go back to help him to pay for his night at the shelter. As I started walking away I realized that this was going to take more time than I had, so I decided to trust him and give him the money (later he was waiting by my car with a new story…the cops had seen me give him the money and taken it away because he was pan handling….hmmmm).

So how do we solve this problem readers? I admit it, I don’t understand homelessness. It’s beyond me to imagine living on the street. I just can’t imagine how it would feel. I know most people would exhaust every possibility before turning to street life, obviously not everyone does. I’ll never understand why people who are smart enough to con people daily into giving them a “free lunch” can’t use those skills to live productive (if not even) rich lives. Perhaps I should walk in their shoes for a day like activist, author, and Richest People in America nominee Shane Claibourne does. Maybe it’s wearing (and following) the initials written in white on blue bracelets - WWJD. 

After interviewing Craig Kielberger this year, I vividily remember his description of his parents helping others. He said his mother always helped those less fortunate. Craig told me that she looked into their eyes and honored their humanity. It left an indellible impression on Craig and may be a big part of the reason Craig and his brother Marc are changing the world through their Free the Children philanthropy. I think part of my job as a parent is to do the same, even when no one is watching.

Do you have a friend who has made your life better, richer or fuller? Someone who has seen promise and potential that you didn’t even know you had? That kind of friend is priceless and I am fortunate, as I hope you are, to have a friend like that - my friend is Bruce Turkel. Now, I have had some worthless friends along the path of life - “friends” who influenced me in ways that weren’t positive and in some cases tried to steer me into activities that simply were’nt right. “Nuff said. However, my life is definitely richer because of Bruce. He called me yesterday while I was in Memphis to tell me about a speech he is giving today for the American Society of Association Executives. The title of his speech is “Worthless or Priceless - The Value of Ideas”.  (Note added on Saturday: As I suspected, Bruce rocked the house, as he’s received rave reviews online - see GIC: Live Blog 2 at the ASAE blog).- Thursday afternoon I spoke on a similar topic yesterday for the Memphis VA, however Bruce IS the master of that topic and he presents it with style and substance. Today he is going to teach nearly a six hundred or more aeople strategies to increase the value of ideas (and he’s written a great article about it click here to read it on Turkel Talks, his blog or here to read it on the ASAE website).  At the end there’s a full band to back him up as he wails on his own mouth harp and teaches others to play. How cool is that?

Bruce can’t help his coolness. He lives in Miami, works in Coconut Grove, travels the world to speak and work with leading companies, and he writes great books. He also plays harmonica and trumpet in a blues band - with a former member of KC and the Sunshine Band -  is married to Gloria, a beautiful Hispanic American woman from Cuba, and most importantly (to me), Bruce knows how to find cool eateries with character. When Bruce speaks, I listen. Whether he’s suggesting a hole in the wall places that look dumpy on the outside but make your insides sing - like Rendevouz where I ate in Memphis or an author, musician or business suggestion, I listen and act. Bruce tells it like he sees it and he usually sees it totally right through very cool lens. His cool factor also has him as an Apple icon, as he may be the first person in the free world to simultaneously own the following: an Apple computer, an Ipod, an Iphone AND an I-Potty (I am NOT making that up…see his December 3rd post). Bruce also owns a branding firm in Miami and speaks to major corporate clients and associations in the travel industry on building brand value. Obviously he also speaks on incubating ideas and he has had more impact on my current and future success than ANY of the mentors or speakers I have heard in my twenty year membership in the National Speakers Association (my REAL Richest People in America project came as a result of spending time with Bruce).

Bruce and I disagree on lots of things but fortunately we agree on more things than we disagree on. He challenges my thinking and position on lots of political and social issues and I hope I do the same for him. But what we do agree on strongly is the value of ideas and the value of friendship. That is truly priceless.

**** an article I wrote about how Bruce helped me rebrand my professional speaking focus is printed below ****

Coming attractions:

Meet me in Memphis - Everything I needed to know in life I learned from the Memphis VA hospital

 Rendevouz How “chance” meetings changed me. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas (and that’s not necessarily a good thing).

Here’s the article mentioned above:

This article is about the benefits, pitfalls and thinking that were involved in a career reinvention. While it’s my story of reinventing my speaking business, you should think about your own story, your passion, and what fits into your life. CAUTION: Realize this, it’s taken a LONG time, it was hard work, and it was painful at times. If you’re not willing to experience those things then keep doing what you’re doing. If it’s not working, or not working well, and you’re thinking about reinvention, please read on.  Have you asked yourself these questions? Are you happy with the answers?

1. Are you working harder to secure fewer and fewer customers?
2. Are you finding price to be a MAJOR concern for your buyer?
3. Are you generating interest from clients but not having a good ratio of inquiries to closings?  IF you said yes to these questions, you may be ready for the journey of reinvention.

Two things drove me to reinvent my speaking business:

1.  I longed for a unique message, a brand to differentiate me in a crowded market. It is not new news that there are hundreds or maybe thousands of people who can fill an hour on a conference agenda and who present similar things as you and I. I didn’t want to be a part of that.  Perhaps you don’t want to be a carbon copy in your marketplace either. 

2. I wanted to develop a business that would build value, something that was scalable and hopefully, sellable, IF and when I choose to stop speaking and do something else. 

MY STORY 

Somewhere around the year 2000, I decided I was ready for a change but I didn’t know where to begin. A few years later, I had the good fortune of meeting Bruce Turkel, a branding expert. Bruce owns a branding firm in Miami and he agreed to help me create some new promotional materials which eventually led to creating a whole new brand.  Bruce came to hear me speak; I heard his branding presentation.  I read his great book Building Brand Value. We bounced some ideas back and forth over several months. Then EUREKA! Bruce had written down my name on a white board in his office.  As he looked at it one day, a phrase knocked him over.  Right in the middle of my name, Tim Richardson, was the phrase I’M RICH!  The fire hydrant opened.  Ideas began to flow.  I holed myself up in a resort on the ocean for three days. I mapped out ideas, played with speech titles, wrote draft book titles and more. Over a hundred ideas came out of that time and great clarity for the topic.  That was the easy part (and getting there WASN’T easy). Included in the hard part, was leaving my old speech and beautiful marketing materials behind (more on that below).  I started talking about my new focus to prospects and even included bit and pieces in speeches I had already booked.  I tried out new material.  I did a few speeches for free.  After 18 years away, I joined a Toastmasters Club and used it as a place to practice new material. I tried to leverage speaking engagements by offering to speak for civic and community groups.  For awhile, I felt like I was moving backwards.  Sometimes you have to do that to move forward.  I began asking people about their views on richness. As I spoke with people, I heard incredible stories about people who had richness in ways money could never buy.  I started writing an article for a local newspaper in which I profiled people who were rich in the ways that mattered.  I pitched my book idea to an agent who loved the concept. I asked my speaker colleagues and clients about it.  The feedback was dead on. JUST DO IT!   

Pitfalls:  As I mentioned, it’s NOT easy.  Deep thinking about your business is necessary.  It’s not fun.  If you’re like me, you want success in a box.  You want the great and you want it yesterday.  Be forewarned, that the process of reinventing yourself might mean loss of business, clients, and productivity.  Make no mistake about it, I’ve had lots to learn. My journey of reinvention is still in its infancy. Here are some things that might get you started on your journey: Get away. Clear your brain. Think. Reflect. Examine. Somewhere in the middle of my reinvention, I went to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to get some answers.  I returned with these questions: 

1. Where and how do I begin looking at what’s next?
2. What is different about me, my message, my business?
3. How do I capitalize on these differences?
4. How do I monetize these differences?
5. How do I stop doing what I’m doing and start doing something else? (This last question frightened me the most.)

About a week after this experience, I heard Joe Calloway, author of “Becoming a Category of One”. Joe’s compelling argument left me shaken. It also left me with two directives:

1. Pick a lane.

2. Let go.

My career had been like a drunk driver on a ten lane freeway. I randomly shifted lanes in my topics with little regard for what made me tick or what a client might want. The letting go part inspired me to do something long overdue.  I took my four-color brochure and press kit and tore it to shreds.  Then I got a hammer and—in a bonding moment with my eight year-old son—smashed my demo video into a zillion pieces.  As difficult as it was, that was the easy part. The hard part was what came next: no longer marketing my signature speech, watching business take a down turn, and trying to come up with something different.  (Did I tell you, this is hard work?). 

1. Trash your presentation. It might be your signature story, your stunning visuals, or your get-’em-all-emotionally-worked-up close.  It’s very difficult to discover something new when you’re busy doing the old.  Challenge every word. Your past success could be your biggest enemy to new discoveries. 

2. Get help. Often we’re so close to our own businesses, that we can’t see the opportunity. I was very fortunate to meet and become great friends with Bruce (we have even spoken together a few times). His insight and what he saw in me and my presentation was a turning point for my reinvention.  I may have spoken another twenty years and never seen what was right in front of me all along. 

3. Don’t rush it.  Quality takes time.   4. Don’t be a copycat. Develop your own ideas.  Combine two ideas to come up with some new ones. Be original. 5. Do something. The unknown is risky. Doing nothing is more risky. You know what happens with that. Of course, the bigger the risk, the bigger the payoff. Take that to the bank. Literally. It might not be in your name as it was in mine. It might be in your background, a personality trait, a life experience, advice your mother gave you, or something a stranger said to you.Who knows, it might be in the fortune cookie you get next week. I believe it’s there somewhere and you’ll find it …but only if you look.  

I am writing this post from the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. I am awaiting the arrival of the famous Peabody ducks. As you MAY know, every day the ducks come down the elevator from the top floor penthouse where they live to swim in the lobby fountain for the day. When I arrived on Tuesday, I was sitting near where I am sitting now listening to the piano player play a variety of Broadway show tunes, Christmas Carols and classical music. As I looked around at the ornate and festive surroundings, I reflected on a conversation I had with the rental car shuttle bus driver (June) who took me to pick up my car. On the way to the lot she asked me where I was staying. I told her and quoted the ridiculously low price I was paying for a Four Star/Four Diamond Hotel. She responded with “that is more than I make in a day.” Wow! She truly thought I was wealthy…if she only knew howI defined “rich” and how “rich” I really am. Further conversation revealed that June was born in Memphis and that she had never been to the Peabody. Never stepped inside one of the south’s most historic and celebrated hotels. I couldn’t believe it.

My travels have take me to Memphis many times and I have had the pleasure of staying at the Peabody both here and in Orlando several times. I have also seen, or stayed in many historic and luxury hotels including; The Breakers in Palm Beach, The Phoenician in Scottsdale, The Homestead in Virginia, several Ritz Carlton Hotels, The Four Seasons Palm Beach, The Biltmore Miami and Asheville, The Grand Hotel on Macinac Island, The Warwick Hotel in New York and many others. I have also worked for the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club, a beautiful ocean front Five Diamond property. These experiences have helped me experience thifestyle of the rich and famous without being either.

I am truly a shorts and flip flop or jeans and sweat shirt kind of a guy. I can be just as happy staying at a motel on the beach with sandy floors or at a mountain cabin that might have the aroma of years of visitors. BUT the place I stay that brings me the most comfort and love is the one I will stay in tonight (my home with my family). But it’s fun every now and again to stay at or visit an ornate hotel (particularly an older one).

So as result of meeting June (an African American woman in her late 50’s), I am going on a date in January. June and I have exchanged phone numbers so when I come back to Memphis, I am going to ask her to put on her Sunday best and meet her at the Peabody for dessert and coffee. We’ll watch the ducks march out of the lobby fountain and raise a glass, as they make their way to the elevator to the top floor of the hotel. Those rich, spoiled, overfed ducks…

It’s been awhile since I’ve read the book, but I had a day like Alexander recently. Most of it was small stuff (except hearing of another possible divorce…this one is for the couple my wife and I have most enjoyed doing couples things with).But when a bunch of small stuff adds up, it becomes big stuff. So Alexander, I feel your pain! On terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days, I am glad for emails like the one I received from Pat Tyler of VHA for whom I just spoke. You rock Pat! Thanks for making the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day end just fine.

Dear Tim:

Thank you very much for your outstanding presentation at our Fall Conference! I have had many e-mails from participants thanking us for inviting you to be on the program and for sharing your many talents and gifts! You brought laughter, tears and inspiration to the participants at the conference.

Thank you for being you and for sharing your richness with others. You helped make the conference a great success! You touched the health care professionals in a very special way, bringing hope, new vision and fulfillment in all they do.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your family. It is a time to reflect on all God’s many blessings. I feel blessed with a wonderful family, health, achievements and good friends. I want you to know that you were in my Thanksgiving prayers this holiday weekend. I am very thankful to God for enriching my life with special people like you. Thank you for your friendship and for caring!

With heartfelt thanks and appreciation,

Pat