Stuff I Learned Yesterday

For as long as I can remember, I’ve admired the way my dad has the ability to create with his hands. Some of my earliest memories involve interacting with his creations. My dad was a carpet layer, and a good one at that. He drove a full-size fan, and it only had seating of the two front captain’s chairs. The rear cargo area of the van was completely covered in carpet that dad installed himself. On...

Walking home from school discussing the flagpole moment that would live in infamy, Ralphie, Flick and Schwartz relived the triple dog dare moment as Randy toddled behind them. And then, they heard the laugh of Scut Farkus. Scut and his toad henchman, Grover Dill, yelled at, intimidated, and twisted the arms of the boys until the boys ran away, screaming for their lives. I’m sure most, if not all o...

A curious boy once asked a wise owl how many licks it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop. The owl opted to conduct an experiment to determine the number. One…Two…Three…crunch! Three, the owl declared. In the longer version of this famous commercial, the cow, fox, and turtle all confessed they’d never been able to make it to the center without biting it, and clearly the owl ha...

I could feel the wind jostling my hair. It wasn’t the kind of wind that knocks you back, but it was there letting me know that at that height, there was nothing to obstruct it. Behind me I heard the words of my friends Charles and James cheering me on. When I took the first step that would eventually lead me to this place, my heart was full of courage and confidence. The obstacle seemed small, the...

When I was 5 years old my parents bought me a Mighty Tonka Off Road Adventure Buggy. The Tonka Adventure buggy looked something like a Ford Bronco of the era. It was about 14 inches long and about 8 inches high with large wheels. It was great for playing in the dirt, and turned my backyard into an off road race track. I’d stand behind the Tonka, lean down and put my hands on top of it, and push it...

Tucked away at The Factory at Franklin sitting at the table farthest from the door, there I sat listening to Cliff talk about goals and limiting beliefs. After teaching on these topics for a while he instructed us to turn to a blank page in our workbook and number it 1 through 25 down the left hand side of the page. He then gave us 10 or 15 minutes to fill out all 25 places with things that we wan...

In March of this year I brought back Stuff I Learned yesterday after being on hiatus for over 4 years. I had a burning desire to share the story arc that comprised all of last season. For some of you that listened to the original run of Stuff I Learned Yesterday, several of the stories shared last season were familiar because I’d shared them in some capacity on previous episodes of SILY. I shared...

When I first had the idea for what would eventually become last season’s episodes of Stuff I Learned Yesterday, it wasn’t so I could share the story on SILY. What is now collectively known as “The Dream” season of Stuff I Learned Yesterday started as a yearning to share my story from the stage. In the fall of 2018 I attended a conference called Free the Dream which you’ll hear more about starting...

As I mentioned last week, I just started my ninth year as a full-time entrepreneur. I also said that it wasn’t my dream until it was my dream. We’ve spent this entire season looking at my dreams. We started when I was in high school and visited several dreams along the way. So how about you? What’s your dream? I’m serious I want to know. Not sure? Hit the pause button and give it some thought. If...

Eight weeks have passed since we started this season. The name of that first episode was called Birth of a Dream. That dream was to one day be an animator for Warner Brothers. I then killed that dream and then had no dream for the next few years. Then, after working at the bookstore long enough to see all the opportunities, I dreamed of becoming a buyer within that company. A few years later, I ac...

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed.” Those are the words of the wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, son of David, celebrated king of Israel. Once I started working with TV talk, it became clear pretty quickly that I was finally on the path of leaving the corporate world. In fact, just 6 months after I first started working with TV Talk, I turned in my resignation....

When I started working at the bookstore as a part time cashier in the fall of 1994, I considered it to be a good job that would help me pay my way through college. After I dropped out of college, I put all my focus toward excelling at the bookstore so that I could get as much experience as possible until I figured out what I wanted to be now that I was growing up. At some point along the journey,...

Internet Sales Manager. That was the title my boss gave me as I started this new adventure. Technically, he asked what title I wanted, and said that he was thinking about Internet Sales Manager. Since I really don’t care much about job titles as long as they don’t contain the word “waiting” in them, so it sounded good to me. This job turned out to be one of my best adventures so far. Looking back...

Last week I ended the episode with me FINALLY landing what was my dream job at that time: a buying position within the company I was working for. My first day on the job was preparing for a business trip to our industry’s annual conference taking place the following week. My new assistant got me up to speed, and out the door I went. The new team I was working with was enjoyable. My assistant was v...

So there I was, a 19 year old killer. The first sign of difficulty had crossed my path, and I had no Samwise Gamgee. Can we just pause here for a minute? I want to make sure you get that reference. I know most of you wonderful nerds got it. But for those who didn’t, go find a copy of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, or go watch the movies. Samwise Gamgee might just be the true hero of that entire ad...

The year is now 1994. I was fresh out of high school and ready to head out into the world and conquer it. Warner Brothers, I’m coming at you! My plan was to enroll at the University of Central Oklahoma for two years, then transfer to the University of Oklahoma to finish up my final two years. My freshman year would be spent living in the dorm, and my roommate would be one of my close high school f...

In the fall of 1991 I was 15 years old and a sophomore in high school. I did well in school, but didn’t really take all my classes seriously. English was one of those classes that came naturally to me, and that year we had a brand new teacher for English by the name of Mr. Harrison. Mr. Harrison was different. He not only had an English degree, but he was fluent in French and Spanish, and knew a f...

Let's get dangerous! What comes to your mind when you hear those words? I was a child of the 80’s and entered high school in 1990. When I was in high school, my afternoons after I got out of school consisted of me coming home, turning on the TV, and for the next two to three hours, watching cartoons like Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, Tailspin, Ducktails, Darkwing Duck, the Animaniacs, and Batman: T...

Back on March 17, 2014 I launched Stuff I Learned Yesterday, a podcast to inspire, bring hope, and be a spark of light in the world.  After 562 episodes, the sun set on SILY on December 30, 2016.  A new day has dawned, and SILY is back, this time, the launch day is March 17, 2021.  I’m looking forward to sharing the new episodes with you.  Here’s a preview of the first two episodes.  Subscribe or...

When I was in high school I would occasionally go camping with my friends Van and Jason. It was always a lot of fun just hanging out with my friends and goofing off. We'd find a good spot on one of the hundreds of acres owned by Van's parents, and make camp for the night. We'd build a campfire, stretch out our sleeping bags, and eventually we'd go to sleep right there under the stars. No RV. Not e...

Today is the Friday Forum!! In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I share contributions from Angela, Therissa, Andrew, Jess, and No One Special. Read More... The post 561- Final Forum appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More .

My last story here on Stuff I Learned Yesterday occurred nearly 13 years ago. I’ve told this story a couple times over the last couple weeks, drawing out different applications each time I tell it. In hindsight, some experiences become more meaningful the older I get. At the time they’re awkward and hard, but time eases the pain of their acute sting and I draw more insight about who I was then bec...

Today I talk about the next steps. You see sometimes taking sabbaticals or even vacations are not enough. Sometimes we have give things up or step back. But there are right ways and wrong ways to transition. I know things happen for a reason. A lot of these transitions started earlier in the year. So when I sat down in August to write a SILY episode, transitioning well was fresh on my mind. I had...

Here we are. We've arrived at what will be the final week, the final 5 episodes of Stuff I Learned Yesterday. Before I say goodbye on Friday, I want to spend some time today and reflect back on the stories that comprise this podcast. In taking a look at the stories of Stuff I Learned Yesterday, it's clear that the stories are nothing without the people who willingly shared them. So I want to take...

Today is the Friday Forum!! In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I share a contribution from Jason. You can participate in the Friday Forum by visiting our Feedback Page or calling our voice feedback line at 304-837-2278. Read More... The post 557- Friday Forum appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More .