Category: Monday Mash-Up

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Monday Mash-Up

Monday Mashup #13 – 2018.06.04

Hello: Here’s the latest edition of MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-up. We’ll kick off every week with this quick collection of tips, recommendations, observations and other interesting, valuable stuff.

– Tom 


Monday, June 4, 2018
MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up

I’m Watching…
Two Great, Inspiring Movies…

Seventy-eight years ago today, the British completed the “Miracle of Dunkirk,” saving 338,226 allied troops who were about to be pushed into the sea by Nazis advancing in France. The rescue flotilla was comprised of more than 800 vessels including private fishing boats and pleasure craft operated by brave civilians. 

Two recent movies tell the story: “Dunkirk” and “Churchill.” I highly recommend both films. 

I’m Listening To…
Great Reporting from Coal Country

Beginning in early 2017, NPR sent a team of reporters to Appalachian coal country. The result: A series of in-depth reports broadcast as part of the Embedded podcast. Fascinating, informative, surprising coverage of a fascinating and important issue.  

I’m Also Listening To…
Seth Godin’s New Podcast

I love Seth Godin. For those who don’t know him, here’s a short bio from his podcast site:SETH GODIN is the author of 18 books that have been bestsellers around the world and have been translated into more than 35 languages. He writes about the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership and most of all, changing everything. You might be familiar with his books Linchpin, Tribes, The Dip and Purple Cow.His new podcast, launched in February, is called Akimbo, and it’s great. Search and subscribe using your favorite podcast app or go here to play episodes through your browser.  

Speaking of Seth Godin
From MakretVolt’s Blog Archive: Why Email Works 

In a 2015 interview, Godin explained why he prefers email marketing to keep in touch with his followers. We summarize the key points from that interview in this blog post which is as pertinent today as it was three years ago. 

Two Quotes from Winston Churchill 

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” 
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Any reading, listening, quoting, resourcing that you think we should share? Send us a tip.

Until next time, enjoy the rest of this week and the weekend.

Tom
Categories
Monday Mash-Up

Monday Mashup #13 – 2018.05.21

Hello: Here’s the latest edition of MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-up. We’ll kick off every week with this quick collection of tips, recommendations, observations and other interesting, valuable stuff.

– Tom 


Monday, May 21, 2018
MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up


New to the Podcast Thing? Some Quick Tips…

Podcasts are a great way to fill your phone with great listening content. I listen to podcasts that introduce me to new music, share marketing tips, feature fascinating interviews with fascinating people, analyze the day’s or week’s news and so forth. Many of my favorite radio shows are archived for on-demand replay as podcasts. 

To get started, you need a podcast app on your phone. I use one called BeyondPod (Android-only). Here’s  a good article that recommends that app and others. These apps allow you to search for podcasts that would interest you, subscribe to them (for free), download episodes automatically for offline listening, and play them back when you wish. 

If you don’t want to fuss with podcast apps for mobile devices, you can listen to many podcasts by visiting their websites and playing the audio files embedded there. 

I’m Listening To…

Big Questions with Cal Fussman. This has become my favorite podcast. Fussman is a writer, most famous for his “What I’ve Learned” columns in Esquire magazine, featuring interviews with (among others) Mikhail Gorbachev, Robert De Niro, Bruce Springsteen, Barbara Walters and Muhammad Ali. 

He’s one of the finest interviewers and writers around. 

The podcasts are fascinating sessions with fascinating people.

Speaking of Fascinating People… 

This may sound kind of morbid, but I love to read obits in the New York Times. They’re well-written stories about fascinating people who made their mark. 

Recently The Times admitted a long-running mistake — they tended to overlook in their obits section women who deserved recognition. So beginning in March, the Times launched an ongoing series with after-the-fact obits to honor deserving women who weren’t featured at the time of their deaths. 

I recommend the entire collection, but I especially recommend the one about Henrietta Lacks. 

Quotable
Southwest Airlines Herb Kelleher on Treating Employees Well 

“If the employees come first, then they’re happy. A motivated employee treats the customer well. The customer is happy so they keep coming back…”

Amen, Herb! 

My son flew yesterday from Denver to Seattle on United Airlines. I wanted to book him on Southwest, but the schedule didn’t work so I settled for United. Big mistake!

An unhappy, disgruntled, overworked employee (she made it clear how much she was NOT enjoying her day), took it out on my son and ruined his experience. 

That seems to happen frequently on the big airlines — United, American, Delta. But on Southwest, I consistently encounter friendly, motivated employees who treat customers well. That’s why I keep coming back to Southwest, and that’s why I’m kicking myself for making my son suffer through this nonsense with United. 

Good Deeds and Compassion Following Houston Tragedies

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt announced on Friday that he will pay for the funerals of the 10 people killed in the school shooting. This comes after he launched a fundraising campaign that brought in more than $37 million for victims of Hurricane Harvey.  

Very cool. A bright light at a dark time. 

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: Only love can do that.” 

– Martin Luther King, Jr. 

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Any reading, listening, quoting, resourcing that you think we should share? Send us a tip.

Until next time, enjoy the rest of this week and the weekend.

Tom
Categories
Monday Mash-Up

Monday Mashup #13 – 2018.05.14

Hello: Here’s the latest edition of MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-up. We’ll kick off every week with this quick collection of tips, recommendations, observations and other interesting, valuable stuff.

– Tom 


Monday, May 14, 2018
MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up

Grateful to Serve

I started jury duty in the City of St. Louis, Missouri this morning. Lots of grumbling among my fellow citizens as we stood in line to check in. So it goes when you’re summoned away from your job or your leisure time or whatever it is you’d rather be doing. I have to admit, I’ve had my moments when I’ve grumbled. But then I remind myself…

We are lucky to be Americans. We are lucky to live in a country where trial by jury is a constitutional right. Our justice system is not perfect, but it’s better than so many of the alternatives. And as citizens, we have a responsibility to serve. The system depends on us. I’m grateful for the system, and I’m grateful to serve. 

Here’s an article that expresses well The Joy of Jury Duty. 


I’m Re-Reading The Boron Letters

Many marketers consider Gary Halbert to be the greatest copywriter who ever lived. The Boron Letters is a collection of letters — about marketing and life — that he wrote to his son. After Halbert’s death, the letters were released as a book, with commentary from his son Bond (also a great copywriter). This is one of my read-yearly books. An excellent resource full of priceless lessons regarding marketing, copywriting and life. 

Brain-Fart of the Week
Time to make fun of myself… Last week, I told you I was listening to George Harrison — which was true. I listened to him on my drive to the office, singing along to the lyrics (yep, I do that): “I look at the world and I notice it’s turning
While my guitar gently weeps – With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps.”

I parked my car. Walked into my office. And wrote the email that mentioned Harrison and his great song “While My Guitar Gently Sleeps.” 

D’Oh!

This wasn’t a case of misheard lyrics. But it got me thinking about songs with lyrics we flub… So in the spirit of mocking myself, here’s a list of 40 popular songs with often-misheard lyrics. 

Have any misheard lyrics stories you want to share? Bring ’em on by replying to this email. 

(p.s. Thanks to MarketVolt client and Beatles fan Peggy D. for alerting me to my dumb mistake). 

Bike-Sharing — An Interesting Business Case

Will bike-sharing businesses change the way we move around cities? I’ve been wondering since seeing two new dockless bike-sharing businesses take root here in St. Louis — Lime Bike and Ofo. 

I rode a Lime Bike from my office to pick up a carry-out order from one of my favorite lunch places last week. The ride cost me $1 and took me about 15 minutes, round-trip. Had I driven, it would have taken me just a few minutes less — assuming I found a parking place quickly. I would have paid $0.50 to park. I would have burned some gasoline. And I would have gotten no exercise. I found the bike outside my office building, and I left it in the same spot when I returned. Pretty easy. Pretty cool. 

Here are two takes on bike sharing. I agree with the the more positive view. 

Bike-Sharing is Doomed To Fail

Dock-Less Bike-Share is Ready to Take Over US Cities

What do you think? Reply to this email to let me know. Thanks. 


Quotable…

“As people get older, they start to decide whether they like stuff based on their first experience. Maybe you can’t teach an old dog new tricks simply because, if he doesn’t get it the first time, he gives up. Everyone wants to climb the mountain, but the difference between those at the top and those still on the bottom is simply a matter of showing up tomorrow to give it just one more shot.”

– Bond Halbert (in his commentary for The Boron Letters). 

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Any reading, listening, quoting, resourcing that you think we should share? Send us a tip.

Until next time, enjoy the rest of this week and the weekend.

Tom
Categories
Monday Mash-Up

Monday Mashup #13 – 2018.05.07

Hello: Here’s the latest edition of MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-up. We’ll kick off every week with this quick collection of tips, recommendations, observations and other interesting, valuable stuff.

– Tom 


Monday, May 7, 2018
MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up

My Favorite Note-Taking App

Evernote is one of my most important productivity tools. I run Evernote on my desktop browser and through apps on my mobile devices to record voice memos, scribble quick notes, draft blog posts and emails, clip content from the web, store recipes and more. Everything I do on one device syncs to the others. 

Here’s are a great article that describes how to use Evernote to its fullest. 

Another Brilliant Marketing Move from Burger King

Last month, I wrote about Burger King’s brilliant 1998 April Fools gag: The Left-Handed Whopper. 

The burger chain was at it again earlier this year with a new gag that — on the surface — was designed to explain Net Neutrality. Really, it was all about promoting a burger. Check out this video, which Burger King describes on YouTube as follows: The repeal of Net Neutrality is a hot topic in America, but it can be very difficult to understand. That’s why the BURGER KING® brand created WHOPPER® Neutrality, a social experiment that explains the effects of the repeal of Net Neutrality by putting it in terms anyone can understand: A WHOPPER® sandwich.I share it not to take sides in the Net Neutrality debate, but rather to applaud Burger King for another creative, effective marketing campaign that has generated 4.4 million YouTube views. 

I’m Listening to George Harrison 

Forty-five years ago today, George Harrison released “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth).”  Such a beautiful song. 

It became his second #1 hit (“My Sweet Lord”) was the other. 

He didn’t earn the fame and critical acclaim that his mates John and Paul garnered. But George was great — both as a Beatle (“Here Comes the Sun,” “While My Guitar Gently Sleeps,” and “Something”) and a solo artist. 

Video Quick Tip: Don’t Fall Into This Common Marketing Trap…

I had a marketing professional tell me the other day that she doesn’t like to get marketing emails and so she doesn’t want to use email to promote her business. That is such a huge mistake. I explain why in this video quick-tip…

A Quote that Packs a Punch

“As long as you hate, there will be people to hate.”

– George Harrison

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Any reading, listening, quoting, resourcing that you think we should share? Send us a tip.

Until next time, enjoy the rest of this week and the weekend.

Tom
Categories
Monday Mash-Up

Monday Mashup #13 – 2018.04.30

Hello: Here’s the latest edition of MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-up. We’ll kick off every week with this quick collection of tips, recommendations, observations and other interesting, valuable stuff.

– Tom 


Monday, April 30, 2018
MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up

Great Tool for Managing and Reading Blogs

So many great blogs. So little time to read them all. I use Feedly to organize the blogs I follow into a one-stop-shop of categorized headlines and links. Rather than jumping from blog to blog, I can read all of my favorite blogs in one place. Blog managers like Feedly are known as RSS readers. There are many available that I’ve tried. I like Feedly best.

New Video Quick-Tips from MarketVolt

If you have 1:17 (that’s a minute, seventeen seconds, NOT one hour, seventeen minutes), check out this video — the first in a new series of quick-tips. We’ll be posting new videos every two weeks, each with a quick tip that will help you with your email campaigns. Today’s topic: Ditch the Tricks with Your Email Subject Lines. 

Interesting Article About Privacy Issues 

Last week, police arrested the serial murderer/rapist known as “The Golden State Killer.” Great news, right?

Yes, but the way they found him — using the killer’s DNA and a genealogy website to find his relatives — raises some fascinating and potentially troubling privacy issues. 

Here’s a great article that tells the story and discusses those issues. 

I’m Watching “Start With Why” (Again)

This is a TEDx talk I watch over and over again and recommend more than any:

“Start With Why – How Great Leaders Inspire Action.”

It helped change the way I think about marketing, communications and leadership. 

Provocative Quote

I’m pulling lots of great nuggets from Tribe of Mentors, the book I recommended in last week’s Mash-up. Here’s one that may spark some debate. Reply and let me know whether you agree with this or not…

“Of the many, many excuses people use to rationalize why they can’t do something, the excuse ‘I am too busy’ is not only the most inauthentic, it is also the laziest. I don’t believe in ‘too busy….’ Busy is a decision. We do the things we want to do, period. If we say we are too busy, it is shorthand for ‘not important enough.’ It means you would rather be doing something else that you consider more important.”

– Debbie Mellman,  Founder and Host of the “Design Matters” podcast, quoted in Tribe of Mentors. 

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Any reading, listening, quoting, resourcing that you think we should share? Send us a tip.

Until next time, enjoy the rest of this week and the weekend.

Tom
Categories
Monday Mash-Up

Monday Mashup #13 – 2018.04.23

Hello: Here’s the latest edition of MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-up. We’ll kick off every week with this quick collection of tips, recommendations, observations and other interesting, valuable stuff.

– Tom 


Monday, April 23, 2018
MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up

Recommended Reading

I’m devouring Tribe of Mentors – Short Life Advice from the Best in the World by Tim Ferriss. 

Ferriss reached out to more than 130 world-class performers to learn what makes them tick — favorite books, lessons learned from failures, advice they give to others and more. 

The answers are fascinating and instructive. 

Recommended Resource

Canva is a fantastic tool for creating great-looking graphics — even if you have little or no graphic design skills. It’s also a great time-saver for those with design skills. We use Canva to create graphics for emails, websites, social media posts and all other digital media. The basic plan is free. 

Recommended Listening

If you like classical music (or Radiohead) give the soundtrack from Phantom Thread a listen. I have mixed feelings about the movie, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Daniel Day-Lewis who plays a dress-maker in England. But I loved the music. What’s it have to do with Radiohead? The composer is Jonny Greenwood, the band’s lead guitarist and keyboardist. He has composed scores for several films, including There Will Be Blood (which also starred Day-Lewis and was directed by Anderson). 

My favorite track: “House of Woodcock.” 

Recommended Watching

Saddleback Leather sells beautifully-made briefcases wallets, belts and other handcrafted stuff. 

But their expensive. 

In this brilliant, hilarious video, CEO Dave Munson reveals why Saddleback is worth the cost — by offering step-by-step instructions on how to create a cheap knock-off. 

Notable Quote

“The disease of our times is that we live on the surface. We’re like the Platte River, a mile wide and an inch deep.”

– Steven Pressfield, quoted in Tribe of Mentors.” ***

Any reading, listening, quoting, resourcing that you think we should share? Send us a tip.

Until next time, enjoy the rest of this week and the weekend.

Tom
Categories
Monday Mash-Up

Monday Mashup #13 – 2018.04.16

Hello: Here’s the latest edition of MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-up. We’ll kick off every week with this quick collection of tips, recommendations, observations and other interesting, valuable stuff.

– Tom 


Monday, April 16, 2018
MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up

Business Cards Collecting Dust? Here Are Some Solutions

If I had a nickel for every business card I collected but never entered in my contact management software…

But that’s old news for me. I now use an app called CamCard. Open the app and snap a photo of the card. The app scans the text in the photo and converts it into editable text that it saves as a contact record. Phone number in the phone number field. Email in the email field. And so forth…

You can then save the record to your contact list on your phone (which, in my case, syncs with the contact list on my other computers). The scanning is not flawless. Sometimes you have to edit the new contact record. But it’s close enough to be a huge time saver. 

CamCard is a great solution for the occasional card. But if you need to enter more than a small handful of cards, we recommend a service called ALLinEntry. Send that pile of cards to the service, and they’ll return to you a spreadsheet with the contacts — ready for you to import into your database. This is a huge time-saver, well worth the investment. 

List-Building Tips

We just updated “9 Proven List Building Techniques” — one of the free resources on our website. You can grab a copy here. 

Recommended Word Delivery Device

What’s a “word delivery device” you ask? That’s just doublespeak for “book.”

I’m reading one called “Spinglish: The Definitive Dictionary of Deliberately Deceptive Language.” Here’s an online excerpt you can browse.

A sales guy sparked my interest in doublespeak offered to publish an article about my company on his website. He said there would be “a symbolic fee” for the article. 

Here’s a great article about how marketers, politicians, military leaders and corporations use misleading language to disguise meaning.  

Cover Song Controversy

Taylor Swift is one of those love-her-or-hate-her figures. Not much in between. Last week, she released on Spotify her cover of the Earth Wind and Fire hit “September.” 

Allee Wilson, who co-wrote the song, gave Taylor’s version the thumbs-up. “Taylor Swift is the absolute cherry on top of a very soulful and happy sundae,” she said.

But there was also widespread criticism. 

PLEASE REPLY…I’m interested in two things here:

1) What do you think of Taylor’s version? Cherry on top? Terrible? Something in between? 

2) What are some of your favorite cover versions of well-known songs. I have a long list that I’ll share soon. Please share some of your favorites by replying here. 

Meaningful Quote 

“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.”
― George Orwell, from Politics and the English Language***

Any reading, listening, quoting, resourcing that you think we should share? Send us a tip.

Until next time, enjoy the rest of this week and the weekend.

Tom
Categories
Monday Mash-Up

Monday Mashup #12 – 2018.04.09

Hello: Here’s the latest edition of MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-up. We’ll kick off every week with this quick collection of tips, recommendations, observations and other interesting, valuable stuff.

– Tom 


Monday, April 9, 2018
MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up

Brilliant Marketing Videos

I never thought I’d say this: I recommend these videos about supply chain software. Yeah, I said supply chain software. Trust me.  

The company: Kinaxis. 

The videos: A six-episode series (each < 2 minutes) called “NewKinexions.”

In the first video, a man runs into his annoying ex (his former supply chain software) at a restaurant. Soon after, the man’s new girlfriend, Kinaxis, appears. Hijinx ensue, and we discover why Kinaxis is the right choice. The other five videos follow the same formula. 

Funny and smart marketing. 

I’ll be diving deeper into these great videos (among the best B2B marketing pieces I’ve ever seen) in the near future, including…

On Tuesday — Live in St. Louis or Via Facebook

I’ll be the featured kick-off speaker at the St. Louis Business Expo. 

When: 10 a.m. CDT, Tuesday, April 10 

Where: St. Louis Business Expo at the St. Charles Convention Center. The event is free. 

If You Can’t Attend In Person: Watch on Facebook Live at
Facebook.com/MarketVolt 

The Topic:Three Great Ads & Nine Priceless Marketing Lessons
Ever wonder how to create marketing messages that capture prospects’ attention and drive action? Discover three of the greatest ads ever and how they reveal nine marketing lessons that you can apply to grow your business.I’ll discuss Kinaxis “NewKinextions” and two other ads I love. 
 
Recommended Resource  

My buddy Adam Kreitman is a brilliant marketer and a great writer. His “daily(ish)” emails are on my must-read list. 

People ask me all the time, “How much is too much with email?” 

My reply: If you’re sending emails that are not entertaining, interesting or pertinent, one email is too much. 

Adam’s emails prove the other side of the equation: If you send emails that are consistently entertaining, educational and pertinent, people will welcome them in their inboxes, no matter how many you send. 

If you’re interested in good storytelling and in marketing, I suggest you subscribe to Adam’s email list here.  
 
My Favorite Time-Keeping App (And Reasons to Track Time)

Here’s a great article about the benefits of time-tracking. 

And here’s the time-tracking tool I recommend: Toggl.  Simple to use. And affordable (free version is enough for many; paid versions start at <$10/month).

Quote We’re Pondering “Either you’re going to tell stories that spread, or you will become irrelevant.”

– Seth Godin 
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Any reading, listening, quoting, resourcing that you think we should share? Send us a tip.

Until next time, enjoy the rest of this week and the weekend.

Tom
Categories
Monday Mash-Up

Monday Mashup #11 – 2018.04.02

Hello: Here’s the latet edition of MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-up. We’ll kick off every week with this quick collection of tips, recommendations, observations and other interesting, valuable stuff.

– Tom 


Monday, April 2, 2018
MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up

Favorite Fool’d-yas

Happy April! Once a year, I welcome fake news. National Public Radio (NPR) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) have long histories of April fooling their audiences. 

My favorite: The 1957 BBC report about the “Spaghetti Harvest” in Switzerland. 

Here’s the full video and here’s a recent BBC look back with the producer describing how they pulled off the hoax. 

My favorite from NPR: In 1996, they reported that Starbucks was building a transcontinental pipeline to transport coffee beans from Seattle to the east coast. 

At the time, Starbucks was already big enough to make such a hoax believable. It had nearly 2,000 stores across America. Today, Starbucks has more than 26,000 stores across the globe! Yet still no pipeline. 

Our Most Popular Free Resource  

We offer a ton of free marketing resources on our website. The most popular:

10 Secrets to Write Subject Lines that Sell.

If you don’t have a copy, click here to grab one now. 

How to Discourage Negative Behavior

I saw a news report this morning about minors and e-cigarettes. It’s a disturbing trend. MarketVolt works with lots of schools. I feel for the educators who are trying to combat this problem. The news story didn’t help. It featured several young people suggesting that “everyone is doing it.” Reports like this make the problem worse by normalizing bad behavior. 

Here’s a great article that discusses how human beings follow the crowd. You encourage negative behavior when you normalize it. Important lessons for educators, parents and marketers.  
 
Go-Giver Sneak Peek

I’m a big fan of the Go-Giver books by Bob Burg and John David Mann. Next week, they will release the fourth book in the series: The Go-Giver Influencer. If you haven’t read the first three, I recommend you start with those (links to order from various sources here). They’re quick reads that could change your approach to business and life. 

And if you can’t wait for the new book to arrive on April 10, you can read ther first two chapters now by clicking here. 

Quote We’re Pondering
From the Go-Giver (A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea): “The Law of Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.” (The Law of Value, the first of “The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success.” 
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Any reading, listening, quoting, resourcing that you think we should share? Send us a tip.

Until next time, enjoy the rest of this week and the weekend.

Tom
Categories
Monday Mash-Up

Monday Mashup #10 – 2018.03.19

Hello: Sorry I didn’t send a Mash-Up last week while I was on vacation. Here’s the 10th edition of MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-up. We’ll kick off every week with this quick collection of tips, recommendations, observations and other interesting, valuable stuff.

– Tom 


Monday, March 19, 2018
MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up


I’m Reading About My Fair City

I admit it. I’m a homer. I was born and raised in St. Louis, and I continue to live and work here. So I’m always happy to see positive coverage from national media. Last week, the New York Times published a great travel piece that says, “The city has all you could want — museums, green spaces, good music and exciting new restaurants — plus that distinct Midwestern friendliness.” Those of you who reside here, too, already knew it. Those of you who live and work elsewhere, please come for a visit. If you swing by the MarketVolt office, I’ll take you to lunch across the street at Vicia, one of the city’s great restaurants mentioned in the article. 

I’m Watching (and Listening To)…Paul Simon – 18 years ago today, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A few weeks ago, he announced this will be his last year touring. In 1987, he performed in support of his “Graceland” album in Zimbabwe, Africa. He could not perform in South Africa, because some of the artists with whom he was touring were exiled by the Apartheid government that still ruled the country. 

The concert in Zimbabwe was released on DVD as “Graceland: The African Concert.” The DVD is hard to find, but clips from the concert are available on YouTube. Here are three of my favorites: Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (Simon with Ladysmith Black Mambazo).
  Under African Skies.  Linda Ronstadt sang harmonies on the album. In this stunning live version, Simon sings with the exiled South African jazz singer Miriam Makeba.
  Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela). From the same concert, this song was written and performed by the South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, who passed away in January. It would take another three years after this concert before the South African government released Nelson Mandela from prison (in 1990 after 27 years). This performance still gives me chills.

Resources for Travelers

I just returned from vacation so I thought I’d share some of the apps I’ve found valuable during this and previous journeys…Detour offers collections of audio-guided walking tours in selected cities, including San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Savannah, Boston, Washington D.C., Portland, Charleston, New Orleans and several overseas destinations.
 RunGo Looking for a good, safe route to run or walk in an unfamiliar city? RunGo offers more than 100,000 routes around the globe, with turn-by-turn voice navigation.
 
Sit or Squat Find a clean, safe public bathroom near you, brought to you by the folks at Charmin bath tissue. Smart marketing move by Charmin and useful app when you’re nowhere near your hotel room bathroom. 
                  Quotes We’re Pondering (RIP, Stephen Hawking)Stephen Hawking passed away last week. We know he was a scientific genius. Until I read about him last week, I didn’t realize how witty and wise he was:

“Unfortunately, Eddie [Redmayne] did not inherit my good looks.” (referring to the actor who portrayed him in “The Theory of Everything.”)

“It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.”

Asked in 2017 if he was the smartest person on earth, he replied: “I would never claim this. People who boast about their IQ are losers.”
 
Reasons I’m Grateful

We have a great team here at MarketVolt. I’m so grateful to go on vacation knowing that the company I “run” will run smoothly without me.  And I’m grateful to end a vacation, eager to return to work at a place I love. 

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Any reading, listening, quoting, resourcing that you think we should share? Send us a tip.

Until next time, enjoy the rest of this week and the weekend.

Tom