How funny. Went to one of our FAVE Japanese places last night...Shogun in Mission Viejo. You know, the ones where they cook at your table and do all the silly, fun tricks like catching an egg on their hat, or the famous onion volcano? Corny, but we love it, especially the kids. Anyway, the other folks at the table were staring for the longest time and finally said "you look so familiar". I still get this from time to time, and my stock reply is '"do you watch the Gene Simmons show on A&E?" And I still get a kick when their faces light up and I hear "OH YEAH, you're that guy...!"

The moral...SO, whether you have 15 minutes of fame, or 5, or an entire lifetime, I say cherish it, embrace it, CELEBRATE IT! And figure out a way to leverage it...I sure am!

After a great couple of days with meetings, in the office today hoping to plow through a lot of pending projects/work.  One of the items we're working on is a Podcast of some of our member company CEO's.  Recorded one the other day, and I have to say, one of the real joys of my current position is talking to and working with people who are so passionate about what they do.  Listening to these business leaders describe their vision and passion is truly inspiring, and is something we all should aspire to.

Morale of the story, best told by David Frost..."Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally"

It's easy to get frustrated when the weekend finally rolls around and the weather doesn't want to cooperate. Here in Social we were deluged with yet another good rainstorm all night Friday and all day Saturday. Don't get me wrong...we really need the rain as we have a pretty major water crisis going on. (if your shower lasts longer than 2.4 minutes the shower police come and take you away in handcuffs.) But really, sometimes when the weather forces you to stay inside it can be a blessing in disguise.

Case and point...

Come Saturday night our family (my wife and 3 wonderful kiddles) hunkered down with some yummy appetizers and an old fashioned game of Monopoly. Now, this is actually our normal Saturday night routine...we'll switch between Scategories, Boggle, Blockus, etc...
It's a chance to get us all together and get the kids off of Xbox Modern Warfare for a time. But this weekend's 'game night' proved extra fun. Not for any particular reason...it was just...fun. While we were all scrambling for Boardwalk or Park Place, or sneaking hundred dollar bills from eachother's stockpile, we found ourselves laughing harder than usual. I even threw in my own twist by breaking into Abba's song "Take A Chance" whenever someone landed on the Chance square.

So the moral of the story...

Take a step off the hamster wheel of life once and a while and look around at what's right in front of you. And this is more for me than anyone, because I am very guilty of taking the little things for granted. And truly, the little things are the big things! A hug from your daughter, a high-five from your son...a shared look across the table with your loved one.

Celebrate all these things, because they're what matter most.

Started at 9:00 with a client meeting/presentation, then back to the office at 10:00 for a committee meeting, then back out for a lunch meeting with an important law firm/client. Meeting lots of great, important new people in this position.

Growing and nurturing a robust, engaged network is so critical to success!