A Golden Couple

Fifty years ago, on June 8, 1958, Evelyn Rapaport and David Sass got hitched! If they hadn't, you wouldn't be here reading these words... and I wouldn't be here at all! I am glad to say they absolutely made the right decision. My parents had a wonderful party in NYC last weekend to celebrate and I am proud to share with you the poem I wrote and read to them:

June 8, 1958 - June 8, 2008

A long, long, LONG, time ago, in 1958...
Two kids got married.. and it turned out to be great.

Far above Cayuga's Waters, is where Evelyn and David met...
And here, 50 years later, they haven't killed each other... yet!

She was at Cornell... He, a student at IC...
They graduated, got married...and the result: Diane and Me...

Our family was small, and nobody was ever far...
In fact, all the NY Sass's could fit in one big car.

There was Oma and Opa, and Grandma and Papa,
(And the tough one was Oma) nobody could stop her...

Grandma, of course, was a sweet Southern Belle...
Her charm and her poise upon Evelyn fell...

Opa was a hard worker, he never retired,
And so my father and I are similarly inspired.

Papa was always in shape, muscles like Chuck Norris...
Wherever he went, everyone loved Morris.

My childhood was great, my Mom's a good cook,
If you don't believe me, just take a good look.

Diane and I had a great childhood, there is nothing to disparage,
And that is a reflection on mom and dad's wonderful marriage!

They are a perfect fit, like ying and yang,
(and after 50 years, I hope there's still an occasional bang!)

So far this poem has been a bit silly and cushy,
But now I am going to get a little bit more mushy.

Because you can't last 50 years not growing apart,
Without tremendous love and deep respect filling both your hearts.

As parents, grandparents and spouses, you are second to none,
Even though I had no choice, I'm extremely proud to be your son.

We are here tonight because both of you are so great,
And its with a great deal of love that we help you celebrate.

So we salute you and thank you, the bride and groom,
For all the joy you've brought to everyone in this room.

Let's make a toast and raise our glass,
To the not so newlyweds, Evelyn and David Sass!

I love you Mom and Dad!

Do The HARD Stuff First! (or, What Are You Going To Blow Up Today?)

Here's some good advice: Do the hard stuff first. Every day.

Hate exercising? Do it in the morning, first thing. Nervous about calling a big account to see if they will re-order? Make them the FIRST call of the day. Have a relationship issue that's been on your mind? Don't sneak out the door with a quick good-bye... Stop, look him or her in the eye and discuss it NOW.

"Procrastination is nothing more than fear of the hard stuff."

Procrastination is nothing more than fear of the hard stuff. Conquer that fear and you WILL get things done. Conquer that fear and you will feel productive, every day, because every day you tackle the hard stuff first is a day you accomplish something important.

Easier said than done!

Doing the hard stuff first IS the hard stuff! I am guilty of being a master procrastinator. But I am trying hard to mend my evil ways, and with some inspiration from reading Tim Ferris' 4-Hour Workweek, I am working hard to pick at least one HARD thing to tackle every day.

Of course, I should have learned this lesson a long time ago. One of the best examples of doing the hard stuff first came when I was making movies, in the late 80's. I actually worked for Troma, the masters of low budget filmmaking. Although we operated on shoe-string budgets (eventually upgrading to Velcro budgets) and we didn't take ourselves (or our films) too seriously, we DID take the business of filmmaking seriously, and I learned many great lessons from Troma founders Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz.

When we made a movie, we always tried to schedule the hard stuff first. On a Troma set, it wasn't uncommon to schedule a complicated stunt or to blow something up on the first day of filming. By tackling something really hard on Day 1 we were ensured to establish a quick bond amongst the cast and crew and create a level of focus and teamwork that set the tone for the rest of the shoot. If we could do THAT (stunt, explosion, etc.) then WE could do anything, and we were ready, willing and able to face the challenges ahead. Bring it on!

So what are you going to blow up today? Go ahead, do the hard stuff first, and let me know how it goes in the comments below. How do YOU conquer the fear of the hard stuff???


Photo: A stunt AND an explosion from TROMA'S WAR (1988).

I Do Like Mondays! (Mobile Monday)

I used to agree with the Boomtown Rats and didn't like Mondays. In truth, I don't really particularly care for Mondays now, although on some level I do think I like them better than Wednesdays. Is there a song for that? But I digress...

I do like Mobile Mondays, and and have been working with Alex DeCarvalho to try and grow an active Mobile Monday chapter in Miami and South Florida. Our first meeting had 4 people in attendance... the second meeting, hosted at the offices of my employer, Myxer, had 15, so we are excited to see the organization growing. The next meeting is being hosted by Nokia at their Miami offices on Monday, June 9th. If you are in South Florida and work in the Mobile industry, or have an interest in Mobile, or just want to hang out with a bunch of cool folks who like to geek out about their mobile phones, feel free to join us.

With more than 250 million mobile phones in the US alone, and the rapidly expanding capabilities of handsets and data networks, there are few, if any, devices that have had such an impact on our daily lives, and there are few markets as vibrant and exciting as Mobile. Share some of this excitement by getting involved in Mobile Monday Miami, or in a chapter near you.

Here is taste of our last meeting: Myk Willis, founder and CEO of Myxer, shared some of his vision and views on Myxer.



If you have any suggestions as to how we can grow Mobile Monday in Miami and South Florida, please share them in the comments.

Twitter: A Shoe-In!

On a recent trip to San Francisco I had the chance to get down to the sole of Twitter. I was sitting in the hotel lobby, debating dinner plans, when I flipped open my trusty laptop to check my email and take a quick dip in the Twitter stream. In a bit of Twitter synchronicity, I happened upon a Tweet announcing a "Zappos Twitter Party" from 6-9pm at an address on Mission Street. I follow @Zappos and had recently been reading about how the Zappos CEO was becoming more and more active on Twitter. I was intrigued. It was not quite 7pm, and Mission Street was just a short cab ride away. No brainer!

When in Rome, Do as the Romans...
When in San Francisco, Do as the Geeks!

So, I hauled Sass over to Mission Street and joined the Zappos crew and many other fine Twittizens for drinks courtesy of Zappos. In a low tech variation on Jeff Pulver's "Real-Time Social Tagging" theme, everyone had their Twitter name written on their right hand, and for free drinks, the word "Zappos" written on their left hand. I had a chance to record a few words with Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh (@Zappos) and several others in attendance.



Additional short videos from the party are HERE and HERE.

If the shoe fits... Tweet it!


Shoe Photo Credit: Donald Bartkowiak - Fotolia.com

Six Sassy Bits About Twitter

I am a big fan of Twitter. Some may even say I am addicted to Twitter. Certainly, Twitter was a strong influence and inspiration behind the launch of the INVITATIONS Social Networking Rehab Facility. In the past several months, as Twitter has continued to gain traction, the number of folks following me has more than doubled. With that in mind, I thought I would take a few moments here to re-visit some of the things I have written about Twitter over the past 12 months. So, if you are new to this blog, or new to Twitter, here are six blog posts that will hopefully inform and entertain any new Twittizen:

TWITTER MADE A MONKEY OF ME (April 2007)

Well, perhaps I allowed Twitter to let me make a monkey of myself... And, as you will soon learn, this is not the first time I have been a monkey! It all started when I signed up for Twitter and began following and befriending folks I knew, including podcasters I admire and have communicated with...such as the proverbial prince of podcasting, the Podfather himself, Adam Curry (adamcurry in Twitterspeak). There was no reason for me to suspect that the "Twit" adamcurry was not the "real" Adam Curry... (READ MORE...)

TWITTER MADE A COMIC STRIP OF ME (April 2007)

Well, I must say, I am all a-twitter. The infamous "Comic Strip Blogger," A/K/A "CSB" caught wind of my "TWITTER Made A Monkey of Me!" post and turned me into a Comic Strip! (In case you are wondering, I am the monkey on the LEFT!)

TWITTER IS THE NEW "DISCOVERY CHANNEL" (April 2007)

I have mentioned how Twitter Made a Monkey of Me and Twitter Made a Comic Strip of Me but the real thing Twitter has done for me is to become my primary "discovery channel." It may be R.I.P. for my RSS reader! Why scour scores of subscriptions when I can have the latest and greatest pushed to me live and on the fly? Twitter has become my best way to discover. Discover cool websites....discover blogs, podcasts, even breaking news... It has been an amazing and inspiring resource... (READ MORE...)

I LOVE LUCY (and TWITTER) (September 2007)

Yes, Twitter is like an episode of I LOVE LUCY...
(to find out how, read on...)

GONE FISHIN' (IN THE TWITTER STREAM!) (January 2008)

I remember fishing with my Grandfather. City boys we, our idea of fishing was standing on the pier with a Popeil's Pocket Fisherman, using store bought frozen shrimp as bait. We had more than our share of stories about "the one that got away"... but we also had many successful hauls of the hook. The pier was always there, and anytime we wanted we could grab the rod, toss a line in and see what we might be able to reel in. So what does "goin' fishin'" have to do with Twitter? Because, dropping by the Twitter stream is a lot like tossing a baited line in the water, never quite sure what, if anything, you may catch... (READ MORE...)

TWITTER INTELLIGENCE (IS NOT AN OXYMORON) (February 2008)

The phrase "Military Intelligence" is often jokingly referred to as an oxymoron. (I used to think "oxymoron" was some sort of bleach product I should be using to get the stains out of my laundry -- now, with "oxymoron!") Regardless of your position on Military Intelligence, I would like to take a moment to examine what I will call "Twitter Intelligence," and how I use Twitter to be less of a Moron. (READ MORE...)

So there you have it. Six Sassy Bits About Twitter... What have you written about Twitter over the past 12 months? Please share your opinions and links to YOUR favorite bits about Twitter in the comments below. And if you are not doing so already, please follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sass.

All The World IS A Stage!

When William Shakespeare (or Sir Francis Bacon, if you prefer) wrote the words, "All the world's a stage..." I doubt he imagined just how prescient a statement that would be. Whereas the Bard and his Troupe would have to venture from Stratford-upon-Avon to broaden their performance reach, today one need only post to the Internet and indeed, all the world IS a stage!

CASTING A WIDE "NET"

For years I have given public presentations for business and for fun. The fun part has always been presenting to students, whether it was a classroom full of my own kids' peers at "Career Day" or whether it is at the University of Miami Business School where I have been a volunteer guest speaker in the "Starting New Ventures" class for the past four years, I have always enjoyed speaking in front of small groups of 25 - 100 or so folks. Today, there is no reason to limit your presentations to the lucky few who get to see you live. Today there are no shortages of ways to record and share your live event (look what Laura Fitton is doing with MediaCasters.TV and Jeff Pulver with his Pulver.TV to interactively extend live events beyond the span of those in physical attendance). These are exciting times that would likely bedazzle even the Bard himself!

I recently presented at the University of Miami on a Social Media For Business panel with Alex De Carvalho and Carlos Granier-Phelps that was hosted by the MIT Enterprise Forum. There were about 50 students, alumni and others in attendance, all of whom had paid $25 for the evening (including drinks and hor d'oeuvres - a good thing since my presentations ALWAYS seem better after the audience has had a few drinks - ok, not so much at the elementary school "Career Day.")

SLIDESHARE AND SHARE ALIKE

A few days after the MIT event, the presentation came up in a Twitter conversation and Francine Hardaway asked me if I had posted my presentation to Slideshare. While I had heard of Slideshare, I had never really checked it out. I told Francine I would post my slides, and I did. (I had to jigger with it a bit to add links for the embedded videos and record a narration to fill in the gaps from my "live" presentation, but it wasn't too much trouble). Within hours, the presentation that I had given to an audience of 50 had been seen by more than a few hundred, and the number of views and downloads continues to grow.

What a great concept! Why limit your thoughts and views to the circle around you? Why not share your slides, and thus your thoughts and ideas, with anyone and everyone who may take an interest. Slideshare is full of wonderful, intriguing and inspiring personal and professional presentations on just about any imaginable topic. Not only is it a great way to ensure that all the world is your stage, but it is a great resource for information, ideas and inspiration when it is your turn to get up in front of a crowd.

I intend to continue to post any presentations I give, and encourage you to do the same. In fact, if you have used Slideshare before, tell us about it and give the link to your presentation in the comments below!

Here is the presentation I prepared for the MIT Enterprise Forum:

| View | Upload your own

"Stage" Photo Credit: Boguslaw Mazur - Fotolia.com

Update: The person we hired using the "Work's A Beach"Recruitment Video in the presentation is J.C. Hutchins. You can read about how he got his job from Twitter here.