“But hear what? Hear what? The Bible is hundreds upon hundreds of voices all calling at once out of the past and clamoring for our attention like barkers at a fair, like air-raid sirens, like a whole barnyard of cock crows as the first long shafts of dawn fan out across the sky. Some of […]

An Extremely Very Weird Coincidence Three weeks ago Indy Beagle told the Tiny Tribe to “sound off,” so they each told us their names. Indy told me his only goal was to make sure rabbit hole readers knew the names of each of the members of his now-complete Tiny Tribe. I say “now complete” only […]

A Wheelbarrow Full of Ice Thirty-five years ago he patrolled a stretch of beach as long as two football fields on a Caribbean island whose name I cannot remember.

“Velo-Granell manufactured orthopedic supplies and artificial limbs. The war with Morocco and the Great War in Europe had created a huge market for such products. Legions of men, butchered for the greater glory and the profit margins of bankers, chancellors, generals, stockbrokers, and other fathers of the nation, had been maimed and ruined for life […]

Roving reporter Rotbart is just blown away every time Ken Blanchard calls and asks to be featured on Monday Morning Radio. Ken Blanchard has sold more than 23 million copies of his books worldwide and a new one is hitting the street. This week, he and his colleague Randy Conley talk with our illustrious roving […]

For real, there was this guy in New Orleans who bought some boots for car tires. He would find popping night spots without enough parking and go to the owners of adjacent properties, telling them of all the trouble the nightclubbers are making; broken bottles, trash, loitering, vandals, etc. Convinces the owners to let him […]

The life and death of Tony Hsieh, the billionaire CEO of online shoe-seller Zappos, is a master class in visionary business leadership and a cautionary tale about how fame can mask deep problems. Hsieh, who sold Zappos to Amazon for $1.2 billion, died in a mysterious shed fire in late November 2020 at age 46. This week, […]

It is easier to increase sales than it is to cut expenses.  In the words of Adrian Van Zelfden, “You cannot shrink your way to profit.” Cost-cutting CEO’s are hailed as geniuses by Wall Street and lauded as saviors by private equity firms because cost-cutting always works in the short-term. But that’s not how you […]

A good many times I have been present at gatherings of people who, by the standards of the traditional culture, are thought highly educated and who have with considerable gusto been expressing their incredulity at the illiteracy of scientists. Once or twice I have been provoked and have asked the company how many of them […]

The choice between a good thing and a bad thing is never a hard choice. The only hard choice is a choice between two good things. Science is a good thing. And so are the arts. Why choose? Rube Goldberg became wildly famous 100 years ago because his elegantly absurd inventions combined science with art. […]

According to Gino Wickman, many entrepreneurs have no business running their own businesses. In a no-holds-barred conversation with roving reporter Rotbart, Gino Wickman draws a sharply pointed line between those who have what it takes to succeed in business and those who never will, no matter how hard they try. Wickman lists the ingredients of success and failure, defines the attributes […]

In 1968 Archie Bell told 12 times to “tighten up,” then added, “but don’t you get too tight.”

“After laying down my pen I took several turns in a berceau, or covered walk of acacias, which commands a prospect of the country, the lake, and the mountains. The air was temperate, the sky was serene, the silver orb of the moon was reflected from the waters, and all nature was silent. I will […]

“Night falls, autumn in 1936, and Werner carries the radio downstairs and sets it on the sideboard, and the other children fidget in anticipation. The receiver hums as it warms. Werner steps back, hands in pockets. From the loudspeaker, a children’s choir sings, “We hope only to work, to work and work and work, to […]

“Hawaii once had a rat problem. Then, somebody hit upon a brilliant solution. Import mongooses from India. Mongooses would kill the rats. It worked. Mongooses did kill the rats. Mongooses also killed chickens, young pigs, birds, cats, dogs, and young children. There have been reports of mongooses attacking motorbikes, power lawn mowers, golf carts, and […]

“We stopped for coffee afterward, and I asked Jacob why, given his skill at seeing and showing the world as it was, he never wanted to draw the particulars of this world as it is, the world that we found ourselves in, where people met at endless dinner parties. He drew his kids, beautifully, but without […]

Remember what I told you in my PS at the end of today’s Monday Morning Memo?“NOTE: That business owner who believed “money is the primary motivator” unconsciously targeted the low-profit Transactional customer in his A & B options, gaining the high-profit Relational customer only in option C.” – Indy Beagle This is the passage to which […]

Indy, Tell the Wizard this is my favorite sentence from Walden. It’s a long’un, but a good’un. “If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life, as from that dry and parching wind of the African deserts […]

A blooming laurel marks the first day of springtime in the front yard of Michele Miller-Nelson, Scottsdale, Arizona

Consider a novel which has survived for almost four centuries, and is still regarded as one of the great masterpieces of world fiction. I speak of Don Quixote, by Cervantes. Its story is of the adventures of a gentleman whose wits have been turned by reading old books of romance and chivalry; he equips himself […]

In the darting of the dayWhen all earth-bound arteries of blackened stone and painted linesVibrate a serpentine rhythm Of humans on their wayTo destinations of assumption I roll forward in contemplation On a wheel turning in my mind Where I am Where I will be Of the slippery way I travelOf a dog running in […]

The great game of BUSINESS does not come with an instruction manual. The assumption of most players is that Customer Acquisition – lead generation – sales opportunities – is how you win the game. But the understanding of a Highly Skilled Player goes 2 levels deeper: Customer Acquisition (lead gen) Conversion (closing the sale) Remove […]

Cognoscenti Jeff Sylvestre captured this Canadian Sunrise for us. Extremely very cool, huh? – Indy

I was having a low day today, full of rage and hatred. It lasted too many hours. I kept returning to the Stoics, asking them how I could handle it, but the offerings were lightweight. Until one of them said “Come on, amor fati. See what you can make of this heap of shit you’ve been […]

“There are all sorts of theories and ideas about what constitutes a good opening line. It’s a tricky thing, and tough to talk about because I don’t think conceptually while I work on a first draft — I just write. To get scientific about it is a little like trying to catch moonbeams in a […]

Ann Papayoti could easily have become bitter. She lost an infant child, had another born with epilepsy, and was married to a belligerent and abusive husband. But Ann chose to move forward. Today, she is a successful author and life coach who helps others overcome their setbacks. Ann teaches others to “shift” and embrace a life-affirming perspective. […]

“For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; it shall yield no flour; if it were to yield, strangers would devour it.” – Hosea 8:7 “Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to […]

Meter is the music of language, a rhythm of stressed and unstressed syllables. The simplest meter is anapestic meter, two light stresses followed by a heavy third stress, sometimes called “galloping meter” because it allows you to speak quickly as it tumbles off your tongue. “Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house […]

“A wise man changes his mind sometimes, but a fool never. To change your mind is the best evidence you have one.”– Desmond Ford

Hate has 4 letters, so does Love.Enemies has 7 letters, so does Friends.Lying has 5 letters, so does Truth.Negative has 8, so does Positive.Under has 5, so does Above.Cry has 3 letters, so does Joy.Anger has 5 letters, so does Happy.Right has 5 letters, so does Wrong.Hurt has 4 letters, so does Heal.It means life […]

an operative from the CIA who is an expert on Russia. a government official who is a specialist on China. a global media and communications strategist. Roving reporter Rotbart Jack Devine, Virginia A. Kamsky, and Robert L. Dilenschneider offer their insights on the hurricane that is brewing in geopolitics and the ripples from that storm […]

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” – Buckminster Fuller  

“Your comfort zone is actually a prison cell. It’s the reason you’re not growing the way you should. The good news? Every business owner, including your competitor, has a comfort zone and most never dare to leave it. But you will. You dare. And that’s how we’ll win.” – Michael Torbay,a Wizard of Ads partner

September 25, 1938The Oregonianof Portland, Oregon: GALILEE, R.I. – Charles Kevillewalked into a temporary morgueand looked at a body which hadbeen identified as his. “Nope,” he said, “That ain’t me,”and walked out again. (Look at the bottom-leftcorner of the newspaper.)

Everyone thought I was crazy in 2011 when I wrote these words… “Western Society is in danger of becoming self-righteous, sanctimonious and insufferably judgmental.” “If history is to be our guide, the next 20 years will be when we move from our agreement of mutual brokenness, “I’m Not Okay – You’re Not Okay,” to embrace […]

They call the trumpet “God’s Instrument.” The instrument that takes a month to learn and a lifetime to master. Forget that. I’m giving you the chance to own “Satan’s Instrument.” The instrument that takes a second to hate and a lifetime to get used to. If your goal is world domination, getting the ball rolling […]

First things first: If you can’t imagine yourself tearing up the streets in this whip without feeling embarrassed, then get out. Your ancestral bloodline is anemic, and you are dismissed. The Spectra does not tolerate weakness. As for the rest of you — put your helmets on, because I’ve got a metaphysical bomb to drop. I’ve […]

Meet Jacob Harrison.

“Tell me what a person admires and I’ll tell you everything about them that matters.” Our choice of Heroes tells our story.

In case you were wondering…. People advised YES for A Nonny Mouse by a ratio of 12 to 1.Interestingly, 82% of all comments assumed Nonny was a “she”, while the remaining 18% referred to Nonny as “he”. Me? I don’t know. I don’t care. And I’m not asking.  This is the email I received from […]

Dave,We have horribly underestimated the coolness of Sylvan’s! 🙂I’m attaching an evergreen radio ad with my audio. Make sure Sarah hears my tempo before she records her parts. Also, I’m attaching the street view of 1500 Main I got from Google. Is this cool, or what! Forward all this to Sarah, I’m sure she’ll get a kick out of it. Also, here is a link […]