Is There Really A Human Race?

I hope you had a relaxing Labor Day Weekend. We were down in the Keys snorkeling and enjoying Key Lime Pie(s) – staying one step ahead of the heavy downpours.

I was just watching the Today Show as I prepared my miso soup – yup, still doing the macrobiotics…okay the Key Lime Pie was an award for good behavior. Anyway Jamie Lee Curtis was touting her latest children’s book, "Is There Really A Human Race?" which evolved out a question her young son asked, do I have to always win? – or something provocative like that. Jamie is a very passionate woman when it comes to her views who admits as an actress, she never had a plan but just accepted any role she was offered. I wondered if Up The River Endeavor's Sounding Board became interested, would Jamie accept the role as “URE Associate” and what she might contribute to a URE summer dialogue, especially as she is addressing the very young – and young at heart? I also imagined the PR value for URE having a notable participant.

I’m also reading a book one of my clients recommends: "How to Change the World / Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas" by David Bornstein. My client, Brian Cohen (I have his permission to disclose) was a high level beloved marketing executive (with high level heart) at Elektra Records (formerly of Time/Warner) who was referred to me by another client to help Brian fulfill his dream of creating a summer camp designed to help children develop ideas with the mind, heart and hands. Check out the outcome at Beamcamp. The camp’s tagline is “The only true magic is a solution.” Brian Cohen has a lot of very intriguing things to say about a lot of things.

To Complete or Not Complete...

It's six months since I last posted and a lot has taken place - and a lot hasn't. As a result I feel a bit in a fog and unfocused lately. My girlfriends say it could be hormones. While in the tub today purposely trying to gain clarity on my current mindset, I recalled a conversation I had yesterday over sushi and curry at Sushi Siam on Lincoln Road with Leila Chang Ripich, a partner in Ideal Lifestyle Concierge. Leila has a phenomenal business offering customized personal services to handle everyday hassles and organizational responsibilities catering to business and personal needs. While munching away we both noted we had lots of books hanging around our home offices, started but uncompleted for a variety of reasons. For me, was this sense of incompletion a result of the fog or a cause of it? To complete or not complete... that is the question.

How often do you start a project only to be compelled by something newer clamoring for your attention - even if only the latest email pinging away on your desktop, I mean your laptop, I mean your Blackberry, soon to be a chip in your head? How many incomplete projects do you have cluttering your mind? Me? OYE!

Deep breathe. Now back in a tub-full of bubbles, a voice summoned me to my next project: finish reading all those darn books! But, I cried out, this is a huge project and could take years! To narrow the field I came up with two essential criteria: the book has yet to have yellowed and it must be really compelling.

After rummaging through my bookshelves and scouring my working/living space I came up with ten titles. This list does not include those books piling up whose spines I haven't yet cracked.

Not one more dime at Amazon 'til I've plowed through this list!