Monday Morning Memo

Robert Pirosh died on Christmas Day, 1989, in Los Angeles. He was born in Baltimore in 1910. But prior to that Christmas Day in L.A., Pirosh taught screenwriting at the University of Southern California. He was considered a credible screenwriting coach because he had written the screenplays for Gathering of Eagles (1963) starring Rock Hudson &hellip Continue reading »

Inclusive Communication by Design Roughly 400 years before the wise-ards followed their star to Bethlehem, a Greek physician recognized four basic styles of behavior, calling them Choleric, Phlegmatic, Melancholic and Sanguine in the mistaken belief that these observable patterns of behavior were triggered by excesses of certain bodily fluids. Today’s Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, DiSC, True &hellip Continue reading »

If I could give you the gift of Curiosity, I would risk a great deal to do it. I would buy it for you illegally, inject it into your arm with a needle and watch as Life flowed into your eyes. I would do this for you because your future would brighten and your days &hellip Continue reading »

Joe Kraus was co-founder of excite.com in 1993. Today he’s a partner at Google Ventures, an angel investor at LinkedIn and on the board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Kraus says we live in a culture of distraction. Prior to the availability of smartphones, we accessed the internet an average of 5 times a day. &hellip Continue reading »

A Message at Graduation Time The person who achieves spectacular failure has at least attempted something bold. Failure is a temporary condition. Success is likewise temporary. Life, itself, is temporary. So quit hesitating. Do something. Mediocrity comes from having perfectly implemented tried and true, traditional wisdom. The outcome is the only thing that separates confidence from &hellip Continue reading »

1. Today’s reader is riddled with information hitting us from every side. 2. Traditional and online media assault our senses to the point of sensory shutdown. 3. Consequently, today’s reader is strongly attracted to numbered lists. 4. A numbered list promises a starting point, a conclusion, and milestones along the way. 5. A numbered list &hellip Continue reading »

“Show me what a people admire, and I will tell you everything about them that matters.” – Maggie Tufu I agree with Maggie Tufu even though she’s a character in fiction. Dare to look closely at what our society admires. It will take your breath away. We’re a nation of addicts, craving that which makes &hellip Continue reading »

Fantasy and Science Fiction are alike in that each requires the creation of a complete new world. Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, The Avengers and Planet of the Apes each occupies its own imaginary universe. Fantasy and Sci-Fi are great for entertainment but not so great for selling most products and services. The process of &hellip Continue reading »

The average person would rather be angry than bored. Anger is exciting. Likewise, love and hate are not opposites. The opposite of both is indifference. I’m not suggesting that you be angry all the time. I’m suggesting only that you care enough to take action. No, that’s not it either. I’m suggesting that you take &hellip Continue reading »

“You know me; I find a crowd all headed in the same direction and call it my parade.” – Roy Laughlin, April 26, 2012 Brother Laughlin uttered this phrase as he was telling me of his involvement in the development of two new daily radio shorts involving Regis Philbin and Larry King. Living as he &hellip Continue reading »