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An Angel For Bishop: Part 3 Willows tortured past exposes itself. In 4 parts, based on a post by BurntRedstone. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. Once they were both clean they were breathing hard and standing facing each other. The moment he leaned towards her lips she surged forward to press hers against his. His tongue slipped forward to brush against hers and suddenly she was sucking at his tongue. His hands came up and cupped her breasts and he gently took her nipples between his thumb and finger, feeling the little gold barbells and rings dangle from them. Willow gasped into his mouth and he felt Willow's legs buckle a little. She was beginning to make those needy yips as she rolled her hips. She tugged, but he jolted back. "Willow, I don't have any condoms and I doubt Percy had the decency to put you on the pill. We can't." "I can't get pregnant," was all she said as she tugged at him. "What?" he gasped, as it was difficult holding a conversation with her. "The doctor made sure I couldn't have babies so it's okay," she said in a matter of fact tone. His head was spinning. He was still incredibly worked up and wanted to take Willow right now, but she'd just dropped a bomb from her past in his lap and his mind was reeling with the implications of her words. "Please! I need it!" she whined as he continued to hold her off while he tried to get his head back in the game. Willow dropped to her knees in one movement. First her lips were sliding, then her nose was buried against his stomach. He could feel her swallowing but he couldn't feel her breathing so he pulled back until he heard her gasp. Willow got to her feet then turned around and put her hands against the shower wall, pushing her ass back. She rubbed him up and down her crack a few times. Dan grabbed her hips and Willow sighed. She was surprisingly tight and he couldn't get over how amazing she felt. Willow was moaning loudly and bearing down with her joyous cries she was loving every second. He could not exploit her vulnerable mental state, but knew that rejection was beyond her capacity to tolerate. So he continued to caress her and gently show her that she was precious and respected. The feeling of real love was enough to set her body into what seemed like multiple waves of ecstasy. Somehow Dan had found an amazing tool of therapy for this sexually abused woman. He pulled her back to stand upright. This sensation and her cries of joy triggered him. For good measure he gave her neck a gentle kiss and felt her trigger off again. He held her exhausted body suspended between his arm circling her chest and his other arm around her hip. She leaned back against his chest and her breath came out in deep gasps. Once their breathing had returned to normal Dan set her feet back on the floor. He looked at her and said "We need to talk about what you said about the doctor. I need to hear the whole story, but later." He tenderly washed between her legs. Then he shampooed and conditioned her hair once more. God he loved running his fingers through her hair and from the way she moaned and purred he knew she loved it too. He washed his hair, rinsed off, and turned the water off. They stepped out and dried off with their thick towels together. He replaced her bandages once more with dry ones. They padded into his bedroom and Dan remembered her clothes should be ready in the dryer. He quickly collected them and brought them back to her. He inspected the garments and saw the jeans were largely undamaged though there were some grease stains on the lower legs he suspected came from riding the motorcycle. Her shirt had a tear where the branch had pierced her shoulder. He could probably fix it but it wouldn't be pretty. He flipped it over and for the first time noticed the faded word across the back. It said 'Bitch'. He frowned. That asshole probably made her wear it. He wouldn't let her wear this again. He ripped it in two between his hands. He looked up and saw Willow staring at him wide eyed. "Sorry, the shirt had a word on it that doesn't belong on you. You won't be wearing clothes like that with me. You deserve better," he said. She smiled shyly at him. He saw she was struggling to get the bikini top on. Now that he was an 'expert' he showed her how to tie the lower string first under her tits (while struggling to keep his hands off of them), spin the knot around to the back, and pull the cups up, tying the top strings behind her neck. With his hands behind her neck, feeling her damp but now much smoother hair caressing his hands he saw she was looking into his eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her lips tenderly. He just wanted to feel her amazing lips on his as her kiss was so sweet. Willow's eyes closed and she swayed a little when he pulled back. His heart hurt she was so lovely. How anyone could hurt someone so beautiful was beyond him. He pulled her into a hug and squeezed her body against his, wanting to protect her with his strength and relishing the intimacy. Her arms wrapped around his chest and he felt her shiver. He pulled back and looked at her questioningly. He saw tears sliding down her cheeks. "What's wrong?" he asked gently. "I've never felt like this before," she whispered and hiccupped. "I feel so safe in your arms." She clung to him and pressed her face against his neck. He squeezed her to him again, feeling her tremble against him. They stood like that for a while. Once her trembling calmed he stepped back and gave her a smile which she returned. Her eyes glowed and she seemed as relaxed as he'd ever seen her. Chapter 3 Dan gave Willow a tour of the 'log cabin' which was more accurately described as a log mansion. He was rather proud of the building as it showcased his engineering expertise. The building was all on one level and followed the natural contours of the hillside in a serpentine curve with a magnificent view of the surrounding mountains, or in this case the blizzard which continued to rage into its second day. Under the gleaming hardwood flooring the entire structure was built on a poured concrete base with in-floor heating courtesy of a complex network of piping linked to the hot springs and an even more complex computer control system. The power needed to support the electronics and the rest of the house was fed by a huge series of batteries stored in an underground bunker built into the hillside. This array was on a constant trickle feed from multiple sources. Wind turbines, solar panels, geothermal, and even a small hydro turbine generator tapping into an underground river they discovered during construction. All said, they had energy to spare. Beyond the amazing array of technology he'd built into the mansion the building contained all the comforts you could ask for. There was a huge living room with a large stone fireplace surrounded by deep comfy couches and facing a panoramic view of the mountainside. A large deck started on the northern side of the house and wrapped around to the western side to create a huge, two level socializing area in front of the living and dining room windows. Behind the living room built into the mountain was a large home theatre with stadium seating for twelve, three rows of four comfy recliners. Next to the living room was a large dining room with a massive polished slab of shiny hardwood for a table and seating for twelve. The next room was the kitchen which Willow was familiar with. There was an enormous pantry off the kitchen and a second door which led to the communications/control center for the house which doubled as a safe room. The table in the kitchen sat six and there was a deck accessible by a door next to the table. Exiting from the other side of the kitchen was a corridor which had the laundry room on one side, a utility room on the other, and continued on to the five big guest bedrooms each having a small seating area and a dedicated full washroom. The final bedroom was the master which had an enormous washroom suite, a walk-in closet, and a decent sized office. On the uphill side of the building at this point was the garage, a concrete and steel bunker built right into the mountainside. It was deep and wide enough for eight vehicles and at its far end was a complete metal and wood working workshop with all the required tools for maintaining the house. The roof deck of the garage was the home for communication dishes, a large greenhouse with a pool area again heated by the hot spring. There was interior access to the pool area by a spiral staircase in the garage. When Dan led Willow back to the kitchen she was looking a little overwhelmed. "So... you're rich?" she asked quietly. "Rich?" he replied in surprise. Then he smiled and said "I designed and built the home but it's not mine. I just live in it during the winter months when no one else is here. The home is owned by the Noskov family from Russia. They are... incredibly rich, and generous. I was unofficially adopted by the Noskov's when I... helped get them out of a hot zone in Iraq during the war. They let me build them this house and I get to live in it. They also set me up with a... trust fund I guess you'd call it. When I need something I can tap into it. I don't think I'm rich but I'm pretty comfortable. I mean I have my engineering degree and the stuff I learned building this house has set me up in a very lucrative business of designing custom energy systems for people wanting to live off the grid. I have patents pending on several of the components and their designs. There is also a waiting list of customers wanting me to design for their specific environments. I can do most of that right from here. All that brings in a good income... huh, maybe I am rich or at least have the potential to be!" he smiled at the delight in Willow's eyes. Dan busied himself making some herbal tea. It still wasn't time for dinner yet but a snack would be good. He wanted to ensure Willow started taking in the calories she needed to get back to a healthy weight. He dropped some bread slices in the toaster and pulled out the peanut butter. He poured the tea and sweetened it for Willow. He spread the peanut butter on toast watching it melt. Then he stopped. Dan was pissed at himself again but he kept that anger inside so he wouldn't spook Willow. He just made an assumption that might have been really bad for her. "Willow, are you allergic to anything? Like nuts?" he asked. "I don't think so," she replied. "Have you eaten peanut butter before? Do you like it?" Dan asked. "Yes, I love peanut butter but I've never had it on toast," she said. Dan shook off the tremble that crept up his back. He needed to know more about her to prevent something like this from happening again. He saw the notepad was still on the table. He carried the herbal teas to the table then brought Willow her peanut butter toast. She looked at him when she saw he didn't have any toast in front of him. "You need the calories. I'll wait for dinner," he said with a smile. Willow carefully picked up her toast and took a small bite. When the warm peanut butter hit her tongue a broad smile spread across her face. "I LOVE peanut butter toast!" she gushed. She took a few more bites. He grinned at her delight and picked up the notepad. After a sip of his tea he looked at Willow and asked "I hope you don't mind but I'd like to see how much more of your history we can fill in." She continued to munch on the toast and sip at the tea but gave him a nod. "Do you recall the name of the man Percy, uh, took you from?" He still felt weird saying that. "Herman Denk. He was a doctor. He gave me my new tits and fixed me so I couldn't make babies or have a period." she said. Dan's stomach clenched. She said it like it was nothing but Dan was grateful to Percy for having killed the bastard who butchered Willow for his own needs and enjoyment. He took a deep breath and wrote down the Doctor's name and the approximate year he died. "Do you recall how long you lived with Herman? How many winters or summers?" he asked her next. Willow looked confused then sad. "Herman lived in Las Vegas and I stayed inside in my room most of the time when he wasn't taking me out to parties. I don't remember how long that was but I think I stayed with him the longest. Before we moved to Las Vegas we were in Florida. That's where he poisoned and killed Officer Warren Greggs and took me from him. Officer Greggs used his handcuffs on me a lot and beat me because I wasn't worthy of having sex with him. That's where these scars came from." She showed him the rough white ridges encircling both of her wrists. Obviously the cuffs had done some serious damage to her skin at that time as the scar tissue was extensive. "He kept me chained in a room in his basement. When I got sick Officer Greggs brought Herman to fix me. We moved to Las Vegas after Officer Greggs was dead." Dan was feeling a little queasy but while Willow was feeling talkative he'd get the information from her. As long as he had names and knew they had died he could find their obituaries and work out a timeline from that. He jotted down some notes and nodded at Willow to continue. "Madam Tallia was my Mistress before Officer Greggs took me from her. She lived in a big old house in Georgia. She was angry a lot. She had been hurt in a car accident and she lost her eye. She wore a fancy eye patch but her mouth was so cruel. She told me I looked just like the bitch who destroyed her beauty. She would tie me up and burn my arms and legs with her cigarettes." Willow pointed out a few of the older circular scars running up her arms. "She told me that she was saving my face for later. I was always terrified that she was going to burn my face. Officer Greggs was at one of her parties. He found me tied up in my bedroom and put me in the trunk of his car. He told me he burned Mistress Tallia's house down with her inside." Willow took a long sip of her tea to moisten her throat as she was unaccustomed to talking for so long. "Mistress Tallia got me from Mr. Bill who brought me to one of her parties. Mistress Tallia called him Buffalo Bill because she said he was from that 'miserable place'. She told me that she wasn't going to give me back to Mr. Bill. She told me she gave him poisoned heroin so he wouldn't come back to get me the morning after the party and he didn't so I guess he's dead. When I was with Mr. Bill we moved around a lot and we lived out of his car. I don't remember his last name. Sometimes he gave me drugs and I would forget things. He loaned me out to people who gave him drugs and took me to lots of sex parties. I think Mr. Bill bought me from my mom's boyfriend when she died." Willow's voice ran out at that point. It was the longest Dan had ever heard her speak and while the subject matter was horrific to him, he was so glad that he got her story. He could work with this. "Do you remember your mom's name?" he asked gently. She thought about it then shook her head sadly. "Do you remember how old you were when your mom died?" he asked. Willow sat quietly for a minute thinking. "I remember... a tenth birthday party. I think it was shortly after that when some men came to the house looking for mom's boyfriend. I was playing outside but I heard them yelling 'where is he'. When they left I went inside and she was dead. When her boyfriend got home he took me with him in the car and we drove away. He met Mr. Bill at a truck stop on the highway and sold me to him." Dan sat looking at Willow. He couldn't breathe. His chest felt tight. Her mother was murdered when she was 10 and she was immediately sold off into the sex trade and slavery? How could that not screw you up? He opened his arms and Willow was immediately curled up on his lap and in his arms. They sat like that for quite a while, just holding each other and rocking gently. It gave Dan time to think. Dan felt completely inadequate for the task of healing Willow. He knew he could love her and was surprised that he was already starting to feel that way towards her. He reminded himself that they'd only met the day before and there'd been a lot of intense emotion involved in that short time. Before he started throwing words like love around he needed to get some perspective. Difficult to get when her soft body was clinging to him. Based on her account she'd been held captive by five people and had been raped and tortured multiple times by them and raped by many others starting from a very early age. Now she was with him. Was she better off? He'd already had sex with her, multiple times in the very short time he'd known her. And he'd killed for her as they had. He was willing to grant that in his case at least it really had been kill or be killed and her life was at risk at the time. That said it was easy for him to see how similar he was to previous 'masters'. God, his skin crawled when he thought of himself in those terms. Maybe that was the difference? He didn't want to be her master. He wanted her to be a whole person. He wasn't sure that was going to be possible considering her past. But he knew he would do what he could to help her regain as much as she could. He felt so protective of her! He wasn't clear where that came from but it certainly didn't seem harmful to her so he felt okay about letting her see that. The first thing he could do to help her was get her identity back. With the information he had an investigator should be able to connect the dots to get back to the start. Then he could get her birth certificate, then a passport, an identity. Maybe it was just his paranoia but he wanted a discreet investigation. There had been at least one police officer involved in her abduction and Percy's gang was not going to be too friendly to someone who killed one of their members. He was again over his head but he knew someone that could help. "I could stay here all day holding you but I need to make a call and send a note. I have to report Percy's death to the police or things could get messy. And I have to contact Andrei Noskov, the man who owns this house, to ask a favor. I thought we'd cook up a frozen pizza for dinner tonight. Can I ask you to go to the walk-in freezer in the garage and pick one out? They're on the rack to the left and there should be a supreme on top but any will do." She stood and headed off to the garage. Dan walked into the communications room and checked the signal strength. The storm seemed to be winding down but it still had the potential for affecting the line of sight antenna. He'd prefer not to use the satellite phone to contact the police as he wasn't sure how long he'd be on the line. He used the PC to dial up the nearest state police station and waited for someone to answer. He heard some weird stuttering on the line so he knew his connection was fairly weak. When someone finally answered he asked for Officer Benson or Officer Duncan as he'd met them and his instincts said they were okay. Not the best gauge but it was what he had. Benson was gone for the day but Duncan was just coming on shift so Dan was put through to his desk. "Officer Duncan." He sounded tired. "Hello, my name's Dan Bishop. I live at the Noskov Estate off Mountain Road 23 up on Peacemill Peak. I need to report a traffic accident, a shooting, and a fatality." "Sorry, Mr. Bishop, this seems to be a bad line. Did you say a fatality?" Officer Duncan asked. "Yes, a fatality. Sorry about the poor connection. The line of sight towers up here on the mountain are having some trouble with the storm." "Can you give me the details before we lose our connection?" the officer asked. The connection must have sounded worse on his end. "Sure. I was driving back to the house yesterday when that storm hit. I was just about back to the house when I noticed someone hung up on one of the trees hanging over the edge of the cliff. I stopped and went to see if I could help. There was a trike motorcycle on a ledge 50 feet down and a badly injured man. He'd gone through the guardrail. I tried to climb up to the woman stuck in the tree but the man woke up and started shooting at us. He shot at me and then he hit the woman twice. Once in the arm and once on the side of her helmet. I had to drop the broken guardrail on him to stop him from shooting her. He fell to the bottom of the gorge with his motorcycle. He's dead. Did you get all that?" There was silence for a bit and Dan thought he'd lost the connection when Officer Duncan's voice came back on. "Yeah, I got it. Is there any access to that gorge?" "I don't think so. It's very narrow and the river in it is pretty wild most of the year. I have a buddy with a Sikorsky cargo helicopter that might be able to lower someone with a line from above but it would be a long hairy ride down. Anyway, I can send you the GPS coordinates. I had the entire area mapped when we were building this place." "What about the woman?" Officer Duncan asked. "I got her back to the house before she froze to death and patched her wounds which appear to be pretty minor. She's suffering from malnutrition and her weight is very low. She may have some memory loss as she has been unable to recall her name. She did remember the name of the man she was with. Percy Jackson. From the marking I saw on his jacket I think he may have been a member of a motorcycle gang, maybe the Blood Brothers. I have no idea what he was doing trying to drive his bike up this mountain road in a snow storm. Makes no sense to me." "Damn, that complicates things considerably. The Feds are going to want in on this. When can you come in for a statement?" the officer asked. "In about four months," Dan replied. "What?" came the shocked reply. "Sorry, but the mountain road is closed for the season. It will remain blocked with snow until the spring. We're completely snowed in. I can get extra supplies air dropped in but us getting out is up to Mother Nature," he explained. "OK, but I can reach you at this number?" "As long as the storms aren't interfering with the connection, yes," Dan answered. "Thank you Mr. Bishop. I'll be contacting you once I find out how the Feds want to handle this." After signing off Dan looked over to see Willow standing in the doorway watching him. He gave her a smile which she returned. "I just have to send a note to Andrei to fill him in. Can you come over here a minute?" She approached him and sat on his lap when he indicated he wanted her to sit. He turned on the webcam on the PC and they posed for a quick snapshot. Then he asked her to look into the camera and took a close up of just her face. "I'm going to send these along to Andrei. The family is going to be very curious about you and Andrei will need the close up for his investigator. I'm going to ask him to have them do some discreet searches based on the information you gave me. One thing you should know, as Andrei is a Russian national, all of my communications with him are very likely monitored by Homeland Security. I'm not worried about it but I just wanted you to know as well. Okay?" he asked. Willow nodded at him with wide eyes. He just smiled at her with wonder at how good she made him feel. He gently pulled her face down to his and kissed her tenderly. She moaned a little and hugged him fiercely. After he returned her hug he had her stand again so he could prepare the email for Andrei. Willow sat on the floor beside his chair and rested her head on his thigh. He was going to protest but she looked so content he turned back to the keyboard. Once he had described the events of the past two days (omitting the racy bits) and included the chronology he'd gotten from Willow he completed the note to Andrei, attached the images and sent it off. He turned back to Willow and ran his fingers through her hair. He felt her purr in pleasure at his touch. He tucked a tablet PC under his arm, helped lift Willow to her feet then they walked back into the kitchen. Dan started the oven, slid the pizza inside, and set the timer. Dan took her hand and they walked into the living room. They sat together on one of the sofas and snuggled under a blanket while they waited for the pizza. "Speaking of comfortable..." he smiled and continued "I think we'd better order you some clothes and other items you may need." Willow looked out the window at the continuing blizzard and back at him. "How?" was all she could say. Dan smiled at her and pulled a tablet PC from under the blanket. "Through the magic of the Internet!" he said with a flourish. All he got for his theatrics was a puzzled expression. "Okay, I'll let you in on the secret. We order stuff and get it delivered to my buddy Wally's place. Then he delivers it by air drop in the meadow just past the small forest to the east of the house. Wally's a pilot and enjoys the challenge of precision payload delivery. I'll set up the target and he drops the delivery bundle on it. If he's within 3 feet of the target I owe him a beer. If not, he owes me one." Willow was still looking at him like he was a little nuts so he just flipped on the tablet and proceeded to load up the webpage for an online clothing retailer. First he had to figure out her size. He found the help page and saw how he needed to determine her measurements. He gave Willow the tablet and rushed off to the workshop where he grabbed a cloth tape measure. Granted it had a one hundred foot spool and was used for more industrial purposes but it would work. He grabbed the pencil and pad on the way back to Willow and asked her to stand. Using the tape measure he recorded her measurements on the pad and Willow had a good giggle at how flustered Dan got when he had to measure her for a bra. Now that he had the details out of the way Dan took Willow through the webpages where she could see the clothes. Dan watched her face to see if she liked any of the clothes but when she didn't react to any of them he started to suspect she didn't realize what they were doing. "Willow, do you understand I want to buy you some clothes? Have you ever gone shopping for clothes?" he asked. She glanced at him and shook her head. "So people just brought you clothes and you wore them whether you liked them or not?" he asked. She nodded but had a puzzled look on her face. "OK, I'd like you to try imagining yourself in one of the outfits you see on this page and let me know which one you think might look good on you and be nice to have." Willow looked at the models on the page and turned her eyes back to him. "Which ones do you like?" she asked. That stopped him short. He realized that she couldn't make this kind of decision. She'd been basically a living dress up doll for quite possibly most of her life and only wore clothes at the whim of her 'masters' to please them. Well, he wasn't going to make her feel bad about it now. He turned his eyes back to the page and studied what the models were wearing. He finally clued in that he had no idea how to dress a woman. Guys were easy; undershirt, shirt, underwear, pants, socks and you're done. Mixing and matching? Please. He needed help. Female help. He heard a chirping and realized he had an incoming call on the PC. He got up again and hustled into the communications room. Willow was right behind him. He sat and she sunk to kneel next to his chair. He suppressed his annoyance as her reaction might just be an automatic reaction for her. He'd talk to her about it later. Dan answered the call and Kira Noskov's face appeared on the screen. At her elbow was her youngest daughter, Katya. The picture was choppy as the signal was weak but that didn't diminish the brilliance of the woman's smile as she greeted him. "Hello Daniel! We received your message and I wanted to call you immediately to congratulate you two! You make a beautiful couple! I've been telling you for years to find yourself a woman. You've finally taken my advice!" she laughed. Dan realized that Kira read more into the photo he'd sent of Willow sitting on his lap than he'd intended. He looked down at Willow and saw the smile on her face and knew he couldn't try to explain it now. "Thank you Kira! And hello Katya!" "Svetlana is crying, DanDan. She is not happy," Katya said, using her pet name for him. Kira looked pained then apologetic. "Not to worry Daniel, Svetlana has been holding onto her hero worship too long. She will grow from this and her tears will dry." Dan's expression froze and twitched as he realized he'd fucked up again and hurt the young girl unintentionally. He knew she'd had a crush on him. They had a strong bond from what they'd gone through together. "Oh god, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt her." His PTSD surfaced with a series of twitches. Kira's voice grew firm, "Daniel, stop this. You are not responsible for Svetlana's happiness or tears." She turned to Katya and said something quietly to the girl who vanished out of the frame. Willow got worried at Dan's stricken expression so she stood and took his face in her hands and turned his face to hers so she could look into his eyes. He was slightly dazed but his eyes came back into focus when they were looking into the vibrant green depths of Willow's eyes. He heaved a sigh and came back to the present. Kira witnessed the transformation with a satisfied smile on her face. There were tears in the corners of her eyes as she saw her friend pulled back from an attack. She was convinced that this young woman was just the medicine her Daniel had been missing all of these years. She didn't approve of his self-imposed solitude but he hadn't listen to her protests. She didn't know anything else about this woman but she was good for him, this much she knew. Svetlana appeared in the picture and took in the shaken expression on Dan's face and the beautiful woman holding him. Her jealousy flared terribly to see another woman touching Dan. She'd vowed she'd marry him so many years ago when he'd saved her and her family. But she couldn't bear the thought that she'd caused him pain. Above all else she knew the scars he carried from that day and how long he'd struggled with them. "Da, Daniel! I am so pleased to see you looking well! Please know that I am well and happy for you! Do not worry about me! I have many friends here and many boyfriends- I mean many who would like to be my boyfriend!" she corrected herself before her mother could protest. She looked at the annoyed expression on her mother's face then gave Daniel one more forced smile and left the picture." Kira came back into the picture. "If there is anything we can do Daniel please let us know." Dan pulled himself together and looked at Willow with gratitude. "First off, I'd like to introduce you officially to Willow." Willow smiled uncertainly at the screen but Kira graciously took the conversation from there. "Hello Willow! My name is Kira. I am so pleased to meet you!" Uncertain what to do as she'd never spoken to anyone over a computer before much less been allowed to speak without permission Willow just nodded her head towards the screen. Dan rubbed her back and felt her jump slightly at his touch then she climbed up and snuggled on his lap. Dan was uncomfortable with such a display in front of Kira but couldn't scold her for the damage that might do. Kira seemed to be enjoying his blush as she wore a big grin on her face. Then he thought of something. "There is one thing I would like to ask of you actually. I have no clothes for Willow here at the house and we're snowed in. I was going to order some online and have Wally airdrop them but I have no idea what to order. I've never had to buy women's clothes before and Willow hasn't ever chosen her own clothes. If I gave you the credentials for my online account could I ask you to shop for the clothes she'll need for the next 4 months?" "That I can do! Send me her measurements and I will place the order," Kira said with a smile. "Thank you so much! Please speak to Svetlana for me! You know I think the world of her, and Irina and Katya! I would never do anything to hurt them!" he blurted and glanced awkwardly at the blond curled on his lap. Kira made placating gestures. "They know you do and they all love you for it. Some a little too strongly. Not to worry Daniel. Because they love you they understand. I will speak with you soon as will Andrei. Goodbye, Willow!" and she disconnected. To Be Continued in part 4, based on a post by BurntRedstone for Literotica
An Angel For Bishop: Part 3 Willows tortured past exposes itself. In 4 parts, based on a post by BurntRedstone. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. Once they were both clean they were breathing hard and standing facing each other. The moment he leaned towards her lips she surged forward to press hers against his. His tongue slipped forward to brush against hers and suddenly she was sucking at his tongue. His hands came up and cupped her breasts and he gently took her nipples between his thumb and finger, feeling the little gold barbells and rings dangle from them. Willow gasped into his mouth and he felt Willow's legs buckle a little. She was beginning to make those needy yips as she rolled her hips. She tugged, but he jolted back. "Willow, I don't have any condoms and I doubt Percy had the decency to put you on the pill. We can't." "I can't get pregnant," was all she said as she tugged at him. "What?" he gasped, as it was difficult holding a conversation with her. "The doctor made sure I couldn't have babies so it's okay," she said in a matter of fact tone. His head was spinning. He was still incredibly worked up and wanted to take Willow right now, but she'd just dropped a bomb from her past in his lap and his mind was reeling with the implications of her words. "Please! I need it!" she whined as he continued to hold her off while he tried to get his head back in the game. Willow dropped to her knees in one movement. First her lips were sliding, then her nose was buried against his stomach. He could feel her swallowing but he couldn't feel her breathing so he pulled back until he heard her gasp. Willow got to her feet then turned around and put her hands against the shower wall, pushing her ass back. She rubbed him up and down her crack a few times. Dan grabbed her hips and Willow sighed. She was surprisingly tight and he couldn't get over how amazing she felt. Willow was moaning loudly and bearing down with her joyous cries she was loving every second. He could not exploit her vulnerable mental state, but knew that rejection was beyond her capacity to tolerate. So he continued to caress her and gently show her that she was precious and respected. The feeling of real love was enough to set her body into what seemed like multiple waves of ecstasy. Somehow Dan had found an amazing tool of therapy for this sexually abused woman. He pulled her back to stand upright. This sensation and her cries of joy triggered him. For good measure he gave her neck a gentle kiss and felt her trigger off again. He held her exhausted body suspended between his arm circling her chest and his other arm around her hip. She leaned back against his chest and her breath came out in deep gasps. Once their breathing had returned to normal Dan set her feet back on the floor. He looked at her and said "We need to talk about what you said about the doctor. I need to hear the whole story, but later." He tenderly washed between her legs. Then he shampooed and conditioned her hair once more. God he loved running his fingers through her hair and from the way she moaned and purred he knew she loved it too. He washed his hair, rinsed off, and turned the water off. They stepped out and dried off with their thick towels together. He replaced her bandages once more with dry ones. They padded into his bedroom and Dan remembered her clothes should be ready in the dryer. He quickly collected them and brought them back to her. He inspected the garments and saw the jeans were largely undamaged though there were some grease stains on the lower legs he suspected came from riding the motorcycle. Her shirt had a tear where the branch had pierced her shoulder. He could probably fix it but it wouldn't be pretty. He flipped it over and for the first time noticed the faded word across the back. It said 'Bitch'. He frowned. That asshole probably made her wear it. He wouldn't let her wear this again. He ripped it in two between his hands. He looked up and saw Willow staring at him wide eyed. "Sorry, the shirt had a word on it that doesn't belong on you. You won't be wearing clothes like that with me. You deserve better," he said. She smiled shyly at him. He saw she was struggling to get the bikini top on. Now that he was an 'expert' he showed her how to tie the lower string first under her tits (while struggling to keep his hands off of them), spin the knot around to the back, and pull the cups up, tying the top strings behind her neck. With his hands behind her neck, feeling her damp but now much smoother hair caressing his hands he saw she was looking into his eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her lips tenderly. He just wanted to feel her amazing lips on his as her kiss was so sweet. Willow's eyes closed and she swayed a little when he pulled back. His heart hurt she was so lovely. How anyone could hurt someone so beautiful was beyond him. He pulled her into a hug and squeezed her body against his, wanting to protect her with his strength and relishing the intimacy. Her arms wrapped around his chest and he felt her shiver. He pulled back and looked at her questioningly. He saw tears sliding down her cheeks. "What's wrong?" he asked gently. "I've never felt like this before," she whispered and hiccupped. "I feel so safe in your arms." She clung to him and pressed her face against his neck. He squeezed her to him again, feeling her tremble against him. They stood like that for a while. Once her trembling calmed he stepped back and gave her a smile which she returned. Her eyes glowed and she seemed as relaxed as he'd ever seen her. Chapter 3 Dan gave Willow a tour of the 'log cabin' which was more accurately described as a log mansion. He was rather proud of the building as it showcased his engineering expertise. The building was all on one level and followed the natural contours of the hillside in a serpentine curve with a magnificent view of the surrounding mountains, or in this case the blizzard which continued to rage into its second day. Under the gleaming hardwood flooring the entire structure was built on a poured concrete base with in-floor heating courtesy of a complex network of piping linked to the hot springs and an even more complex computer control system. The power needed to support the electronics and the rest of the house was fed by a huge series of batteries stored in an underground bunker built into the hillside. This array was on a constant trickle feed from multiple sources. Wind turbines, solar panels, geothermal, and even a small hydro turbine generator tapping into an underground river they discovered during construction. All said, they had energy to spare. Beyond the amazing array of technology he'd built into the mansion the building contained all the comforts you could ask for. There was a huge living room with a large stone fireplace surrounded by deep comfy couches and facing a panoramic view of the mountainside. A large deck started on the northern side of the house and wrapped around to the western side to create a huge, two level socializing area in front of the living and dining room windows. Behind the living room built into the mountain was a large home theatre with stadium seating for twelve, three rows of four comfy recliners. Next to the living room was a large dining room with a massive polished slab of shiny hardwood for a table and seating for twelve. The next room was the kitchen which Willow was familiar with. There was an enormous pantry off the kitchen and a second door which led to the communications/control center for the house which doubled as a safe room. The table in the kitchen sat six and there was a deck accessible by a door next to the table. Exiting from the other side of the kitchen was a corridor which had the laundry room on one side, a utility room on the other, and continued on to the five big guest bedrooms each having a small seating area and a dedicated full washroom. The final bedroom was the master which had an enormous washroom suite, a walk-in closet, and a decent sized office. On the uphill side of the building at this point was the garage, a concrete and steel bunker built right into the mountainside. It was deep and wide enough for eight vehicles and at its far end was a complete metal and wood working workshop with all the required tools for maintaining the house. The roof deck of the garage was the home for communication dishes, a large greenhouse with a pool area again heated by the hot spring. There was interior access to the pool area by a spiral staircase in the garage. When Dan led Willow back to the kitchen she was looking a little overwhelmed. "So... you're rich?" she asked quietly. "Rich?" he replied in surprise. Then he smiled and said "I designed and built the home but it's not mine. I just live in it during the winter months when no one else is here. The home is owned by the Noskov family from Russia. They are... incredibly rich, and generous. I was unofficially adopted by the Noskov's when I... helped get them out of a hot zone in Iraq during the war. They let me build them this house and I get to live in it. They also set me up with a... trust fund I guess you'd call it. When I need something I can tap into it. I don't think I'm rich but I'm pretty comfortable. I mean I have my engineering degree and the stuff I learned building this house has set me up in a very lucrative business of designing custom energy systems for people wanting to live off the grid. I have patents pending on several of the components and their designs. There is also a waiting list of customers wanting me to design for their specific environments. I can do most of that right from here. All that brings in a good income... huh, maybe I am rich or at least have the potential to be!" he smiled at the delight in Willow's eyes. Dan busied himself making some herbal tea. It still wasn't time for dinner yet but a snack would be good. He wanted to ensure Willow started taking in the calories she needed to get back to a healthy weight. He dropped some bread slices in the toaster and pulled out the peanut butter. He poured the tea and sweetened it for Willow. He spread the peanut butter on toast watching it melt. Then he stopped. Dan was pissed at himself again but he kept that anger inside so he wouldn't spook Willow. He just made an assumption that might have been really bad for her. "Willow, are you allergic to anything? Like nuts?" he asked. "I don't think so," she replied. "Have you eaten peanut butter before? Do you like it?" Dan asked. "Yes, I love peanut butter but I've never had it on toast," she said. Dan shook off the tremble that crept up his back. He needed to know more about her to prevent something like this from happening again. He saw the notepad was still on the table. He carried the herbal teas to the table then brought Willow her peanut butter toast. She looked at him when she saw he didn't have any toast in front of him. "You need the calories. I'll wait for dinner," he said with a smile. Willow carefully picked up her toast and took a small bite. When the warm peanut butter hit her tongue a broad smile spread across her face. "I LOVE peanut butter toast!" she gushed. She took a few more bites. He grinned at her delight and picked up the notepad. After a sip of his tea he looked at Willow and asked "I hope you don't mind but I'd like to see how much more of your history we can fill in." She continued to munch on the toast and sip at the tea but gave him a nod. "Do you recall the name of the man Percy, uh, took you from?" He still felt weird saying that. "Herman Denk. He was a doctor. He gave me my new tits and fixed me so I couldn't make babies or have a period." she said. Dan's stomach clenched. She said it like it was nothing but Dan was grateful to Percy for having killed the bastard who butchered Willow for his own needs and enjoyment. He took a deep breath and wrote down the Doctor's name and the approximate year he died. "Do you recall how long you lived with Herman? How many winters or summers?" he asked her next. Willow looked confused then sad. "Herman lived in Las Vegas and I stayed inside in my room most of the time when he wasn't taking me out to parties. I don't remember how long that was but I think I stayed with him the longest. Before we moved to Las Vegas we were in Florida. That's where he poisoned and killed Officer Warren Greggs and took me from him. Officer Greggs used his handcuffs on me a lot and beat me because I wasn't worthy of having sex with him. That's where these scars came from." She showed him the rough white ridges encircling both of her wrists. Obviously the cuffs had done some serious damage to her skin at that time as the scar tissue was extensive. "He kept me chained in a room in his basement. When I got sick Officer Greggs brought Herman to fix me. We moved to Las Vegas after Officer Greggs was dead." Dan was feeling a little queasy but while Willow was feeling talkative he'd get the information from her. As long as he had names and knew they had died he could find their obituaries and work out a timeline from that. He jotted down some notes and nodded at Willow to continue. "Madam Tallia was my Mistress before Officer Greggs took me from her. She lived in a big old house in Georgia. She was angry a lot. She had been hurt in a car accident and she lost her eye. She wore a fancy eye patch but her mouth was so cruel. She told me I looked just like the bitch who destroyed her beauty. She would tie me up and burn my arms and legs with her cigarettes." Willow pointed out a few of the older circular scars running up her arms. "She told me that she was saving my face for later. I was always terrified that she was going to burn my face. Officer Greggs was at one of her parties. He found me tied up in my bedroom and put me in the trunk of his car. He told me he burned Mistress Tallia's house down with her inside." Willow took a long sip of her tea to moisten her throat as she was unaccustomed to talking for so long. "Mistress Tallia got me from Mr. Bill who brought me to one of her parties. Mistress Tallia called him Buffalo Bill because she said he was from that 'miserable place'. She told me that she wasn't going to give me back to Mr. Bill. She told me she gave him poisoned heroin so he wouldn't come back to get me the morning after the party and he didn't so I guess he's dead. When I was with Mr. Bill we moved around a lot and we lived out of his car. I don't remember his last name. Sometimes he gave me drugs and I would forget things. He loaned me out to people who gave him drugs and took me to lots of sex parties. I think Mr. Bill bought me from my mom's boyfriend when she died." Willow's voice ran out at that point. It was the longest Dan had ever heard her speak and while the subject matter was horrific to him, he was so glad that he got her story. He could work with this. "Do you remember your mom's name?" he asked gently. She thought about it then shook her head sadly. "Do you remember how old you were when your mom died?" he asked. Willow sat quietly for a minute thinking. "I remember... a tenth birthday party. I think it was shortly after that when some men came to the house looking for mom's boyfriend. I was playing outside but I heard them yelling 'where is he'. When they left I went inside and she was dead. When her boyfriend got home he took me with him in the car and we drove away. He met Mr. Bill at a truck stop on the highway and sold me to him." Dan sat looking at Willow. He couldn't breathe. His chest felt tight. Her mother was murdered when she was 10 and she was immediately sold off into the sex trade and slavery? How could that not screw you up? He opened his arms and Willow was immediately curled up on his lap and in his arms. They sat like that for quite a while, just holding each other and rocking gently. It gave Dan time to think. Dan felt completely inadequate for the task of healing Willow. He knew he could love her and was surprised that he was already starting to feel that way towards her. He reminded himself that they'd only met the day before and there'd been a lot of intense emotion involved in that short time. Before he started throwing words like love around he needed to get some perspective. Difficult to get when her soft body was clinging to him. Based on her account she'd been held captive by five people and had been raped and tortured multiple times by them and raped by many others starting from a very early age. Now she was with him. Was she better off? He'd already had sex with her, multiple times in the very short time he'd known her. And he'd killed for her as they had. He was willing to grant that in his case at least it really had been kill or be killed and her life was at risk at the time. That said it was easy for him to see how similar he was to previous 'masters'. God, his skin crawled when he thought of himself in those terms. Maybe that was the difference? He didn't want to be her master. He wanted her to be a whole person. He wasn't sure that was going to be possible considering her past. But he knew he would do what he could to help her regain as much as she could. He felt so protective of her! He wasn't clear where that came from but it certainly didn't seem harmful to her so he felt okay about letting her see that. The first thing he could do to help her was get her identity back. With the information he had an investigator should be able to connect the dots to get back to the start. Then he could get her birth certificate, then a passport, an identity. Maybe it was just his paranoia but he wanted a discreet investigation. There had been at least one police officer involved in her abduction and Percy's gang was not going to be too friendly to someone who killed one of their members. He was again over his head but he knew someone that could help. "I could stay here all day holding you but I need to make a call and send a note. I have to report Percy's death to the police or things could get messy. And I have to contact Andrei Noskov, the man who owns this house, to ask a favor. I thought we'd cook up a frozen pizza for dinner tonight. Can I ask you to go to the walk-in freezer in the garage and pick one out? They're on the rack to the left and there should be a supreme on top but any will do." She stood and headed off to the garage. Dan walked into the communications room and checked the signal strength. The storm seemed to be winding down but it still had the potential for affecting the line of sight antenna. He'd prefer not to use the satellite phone to contact the police as he wasn't sure how long he'd be on the line. He used the PC to dial up the nearest state police station and waited for someone to answer. He heard some weird stuttering on the line so he knew his connection was fairly weak. When someone finally answered he asked for Officer Benson or Officer Duncan as he'd met them and his instincts said they were okay. Not the best gauge but it was what he had. Benson was gone for the day but Duncan was just coming on shift so Dan was put through to his desk. "Officer Duncan." He sounded tired. "Hello, my name's Dan Bishop. I live at the Noskov Estate off Mountain Road 23 up on Peacemill Peak. I need to report a traffic accident, a shooting, and a fatality." "Sorry, Mr. Bishop, this seems to be a bad line. Did you say a fatality?" Officer Duncan asked. "Yes, a fatality. Sorry about the poor connection. The line of sight towers up here on the mountain are having some trouble with the storm." "Can you give me the details before we lose our connection?" the officer asked. The connection must have sounded worse on his end. "Sure. I was driving back to the house yesterday when that storm hit. I was just about back to the house when I noticed someone hung up on one of the trees hanging over the edge of the cliff. I stopped and went to see if I could help. There was a trike motorcycle on a ledge 50 feet down and a badly injured man. He'd gone through the guardrail. I tried to climb up to the woman stuck in the tree but the man woke up and started shooting at us. He shot at me and then he hit the woman twice. Once in the arm and once on the side of her helmet. I had to drop the broken guardrail on him to stop him from shooting her. He fell to the bottom of the gorge with his motorcycle. He's dead. Did you get all that?" There was silence for a bit and Dan thought he'd lost the connection when Officer Duncan's voice came back on. "Yeah, I got it. Is there any access to that gorge?" "I don't think so. It's very narrow and the river in it is pretty wild most of the year. I have a buddy with a Sikorsky cargo helicopter that might be able to lower someone with a line from above but it would be a long hairy ride down. Anyway, I can send you the GPS coordinates. I had the entire area mapped when we were building this place." "What about the woman?" Officer Duncan asked. "I got her back to the house before she froze to death and patched her wounds which appear to be pretty minor. She's suffering from malnutrition and her weight is very low. She may have some memory loss as she has been unable to recall her name. She did remember the name of the man she was with. Percy Jackson. From the marking I saw on his jacket I think he may have been a member of a motorcycle gang, maybe the Blood Brothers. I have no idea what he was doing trying to drive his bike up this mountain road in a snow storm. Makes no sense to me." "Damn, that complicates things considerably. The Feds are going to want in on this. When can you come in for a statement?" the officer asked. "In about four months," Dan replied. "What?" came the shocked reply. "Sorry, but the mountain road is closed for the season. It will remain blocked with snow until the spring. We're completely snowed in. I can get extra supplies air dropped in but us getting out is up to Mother Nature," he explained. "OK, but I can reach you at this number?" "As long as the storms aren't interfering with the connection, yes," Dan answered. "Thank you Mr. Bishop. I'll be contacting you once I find out how the Feds want to handle this." After signing off Dan looked over to see Willow standing in the doorway watching him. He gave her a smile which she returned. "I just have to send a note to Andrei to fill him in. Can you come over here a minute?" She approached him and sat on his lap when he indicated he wanted her to sit. He turned on the webcam on the PC and they posed for a quick snapshot. Then he asked her to look into the camera and took a close up of just her face. "I'm going to send these along to Andrei. The family is going to be very curious about you and Andrei will need the close up for his investigator. I'm going to ask him to have them do some discreet searches based on the information you gave me. One thing you should know, as Andrei is a Russian national, all of my communications with him are very likely monitored by Homeland Security. I'm not worried about it but I just wanted you to know as well. Okay?" he asked. Willow nodded at him with wide eyes. He just smiled at her with wonder at how good she made him feel. He gently pulled her face down to his and kissed her tenderly. She moaned a little and hugged him fiercely. After he returned her hug he had her stand again so he could prepare the email for Andrei. Willow sat on the floor beside his chair and rested her head on his thigh. He was going to protest but she looked so content he turned back to the keyboard. Once he had described the events of the past two days (omitting the racy bits) and included the chronology he'd gotten from Willow he completed the note to Andrei, attached the images and sent it off. He turned back to Willow and ran his fingers through her hair. He felt her purr in pleasure at his touch. He tucked a tablet PC under his arm, helped lift Willow to her feet then they walked back into the kitchen. Dan started the oven, slid the pizza inside, and set the timer. Dan took her hand and they walked into the living room. They sat together on one of the sofas and snuggled under a blanket while they waited for the pizza. "Speaking of comfortable..." he smiled and continued "I think we'd better order you some clothes and other items you may need." Willow looked out the window at the continuing blizzard and back at him. "How?" was all she could say. Dan smiled at her and pulled a tablet PC from under the blanket. "Through the magic of the Internet!" he said with a flourish. All he got for his theatrics was a puzzled expression. "Okay, I'll let you in on the secret. We order stuff and get it delivered to my buddy Wally's place. Then he delivers it by air drop in the meadow just past the small forest to the east of the house. Wally's a pilot and enjoys the challenge of precision payload delivery. I'll set up the target and he drops the delivery bundle on it. If he's within 3 feet of the target I owe him a beer. If not, he owes me one." Willow was still looking at him like he was a little nuts so he just flipped on the tablet and proceeded to load up the webpage for an online clothing retailer. First he had to figure out her size. He found the help page and saw how he needed to determine her measurements. He gave Willow the tablet and rushed off to the workshop where he grabbed a cloth tape measure. Granted it had a one hundred foot spool and was used for more industrial purposes but it would work. He grabbed the pencil and pad on the way back to Willow and asked her to stand. Using the tape measure he recorded her measurements on the pad and Willow had a good giggle at how flustered Dan got when he had to measure her for a bra. Now that he had the details out of the way Dan took Willow through the webpages where she could see the clothes. Dan watched her face to see if she liked any of the clothes but when she didn't react to any of them he started to suspect she didn't realize what they were doing. "Willow, do you understand I want to buy you some clothes? Have you ever gone shopping for clothes?" he asked. She glanced at him and shook her head. "So people just brought you clothes and you wore them whether you liked them or not?" he asked. She nodded but had a puzzled look on her face. "OK, I'd like you to try imagining yourself in one of the outfits you see on this page and let me know which one you think might look good on you and be nice to have." Willow looked at the models on the page and turned her eyes back to him. "Which ones do you like?" she asked. That stopped him short. He realized that she couldn't make this kind of decision. She'd been basically a living dress up doll for quite possibly most of her life and only wore clothes at the whim of her 'masters' to please them. Well, he wasn't going to make her feel bad about it now. He turned his eyes back to the page and studied what the models were wearing. He finally clued in that he had no idea how to dress a woman. Guys were easy; undershirt, shirt, underwear, pants, socks and you're done. Mixing and matching? Please. He needed help. Female help. He heard a chirping and realized he had an incoming call on the PC. He got up again and hustled into the communications room. Willow was right behind him. He sat and she sunk to kneel next to his chair. He suppressed his annoyance as her reaction might just be an automatic reaction for her. He'd talk to her about it later. Dan answered the call and Kira Noskov's face appeared on the screen. At her elbow was her youngest daughter, Katya. The picture was choppy as the signal was weak but that didn't diminish the brilliance of the woman's smile as she greeted him. "Hello Daniel! We received your message and I wanted to call you immediately to congratulate you two! You make a beautiful couple! I've been telling you for years to find yourself a woman. You've finally taken my advice!" she laughed. Dan realized that Kira read more into the photo he'd sent of Willow sitting on his lap than he'd intended. He looked down at Willow and saw the smile on her face and knew he couldn't try to explain it now. "Thank you Kira! And hello Katya!" "Svetlana is crying, DanDan. She is not happy," Katya said, using her pet name for him. Kira looked pained then apologetic. "Not to worry Daniel, Svetlana has been holding onto her hero worship too long. She will grow from this and her tears will dry." Dan's expression froze and twitched as he realized he'd fucked up again and hurt the young girl unintentionally. He knew she'd had a crush on him. They had a strong bond from what they'd gone through together. "Oh god, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt her." His PTSD surfaced with a series of twitches. Kira's voice grew firm, "Daniel, stop this. You are not responsible for Svetlana's happiness or tears." She turned to Katya and said something quietly to the girl who vanished out of the frame. Willow got worried at Dan's stricken expression so she stood and took his face in her hands and turned his face to hers so she could look into his eyes. He was slightly dazed but his eyes came back into focus when they were looking into the vibrant green depths of Willow's eyes. He heaved a sigh and came back to the present. Kira witnessed the transformation with a satisfied smile on her face. There were tears in the corners of her eyes as she saw her friend pulled back from an attack. She was convinced that this young woman was just the medicine her Daniel had been missing all of these years. She didn't approve of his self-imposed solitude but he hadn't listen to her protests. She didn't know anything else about this woman but she was good for him, this much she knew. Svetlana appeared in the picture and took in the shaken expression on Dan's face and the beautiful woman holding him. Her jealousy flared terribly to see another woman touching Dan. She'd vowed she'd marry him so many years ago when he'd saved her and her family. But she couldn't bear the thought that she'd caused him pain. Above all else she knew the scars he carried from that day and how long he'd struggled with them. "Da, Daniel! I am so pleased to see you looking well! Please know that I am well and happy for you! Do not worry about me! I have many friends here and many boyfriends- I mean many who would like to be my boyfriend!" she corrected herself before her mother could protest. She looked at the annoyed expression on her mother's face then gave Daniel one more forced smile and left the picture." Kira came back into the picture. "If there is anything we can do Daniel please let us know." Dan pulled himself together and looked at Willow with gratitude. "First off, I'd like to introduce you officially to Willow." Willow smiled uncertainly at the screen but Kira graciously took the conversation from there. "Hello Willow! My name is Kira. I am so pleased to meet you!" Uncertain what to do as she'd never spoken to anyone over a computer before much less been allowed to speak without permission Willow just nodded her head towards the screen. Dan rubbed her back and felt her jump slightly at his touch then she climbed up and snuggled on his lap. Dan was uncomfortable with such a display in front of Kira but couldn't scold her for the damage that might do. Kira seemed to be enjoying his blush as she wore a big grin on her face. Then he thought of something. "There is one thing I would like to ask of you actually. I have no clothes for Willow here at the house and we're snowed in. I was going to order some online and have Wally airdrop them but I have no idea what to order. I've never had to buy women's clothes before and Willow hasn't ever chosen her own clothes. If I gave you the credentials for my online account could I ask you to shop for the clothes she'll need for the next 4 months?" "That I can do! Send me her measurements and I will place the order," Kira said with a smile. "Thank you so much! Please speak to Svetlana for me! You know I think the world of her, and Irina and Katya! I would never do anything to hurt them!" he blurted and glanced awkwardly at the blond curled on his lap. Kira made placating gestures. "They know you do and they all love you for it. Some a little too strongly. Not to worry Daniel. Because they love you they understand. I will speak with you soon as will Andrei. Goodbye, Willow!" and she disconnected. To Be Continued in part 4, based on a post by BurntRedstone for Literotica
Peliescuchando: con El Pibe (Creyente de el poder de la patada de Norris)
DALE PLAY Y DIME QUE OPINAS.
Idag pratar Marcus och andereas om Dan Dan Dan seasion 2 det är forsätningen med Okarun och Ayase some nu åker för att hjälpa Enjouji men det är nästan mer än vad det klarar av.
In this episode of the podcast I'm joined by fellow "dad content" creator and legendary new dad, Dan Rabz. We chat all things new dad life, share some stories and dive into the motivation behind @dadlifewithdan and the community Dan is building in Sydney! Intro: "Cool Dad" by DadGotBars, go check out @dadgotbars on socials! COOLDAD MERCH IS LIVE! HOODIES, SHIRTS, HATS: www.cooldadco.comCoolDadCollective is a place for real, relatable stories and experiences around fatherhood to so you know that you are not alone. None of us really know what we're doing but we're all just trying to our best. Join the community for weekly episodes around the different aspects of fatherhood and becoming a dad! Join the CoolDadCollective Cool Dads on facebook now!https://www.facebook.com/groups/904683901198809/Got a question about fatherhood? Send it in!If you're really enjoying the podcast swing it a rating and review where ever your listening or share the link with another dad!
It's Wednesday at camp and the boys have decided to go to magic camp. Dan Dan needs to get his magic under control so he's willing to give up his Wednesday's for a little instruction as his powers develop. Non-magic people can attend too, right?Opening music Music by Viacheslav Starostin from PixabayPatreon: patreon.com/thisishowwerollEmail: thisishowwerolldnd20@gmail.comTwitter: @tihwr20Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/687097571930276Linktree: https://linktr.ee/tihwr
In this episode of The Best Damn League Show, we break down the latest LEC storylines, key playoff battles, and the wider state of European esports. Follow our link and use code BDLS to unlock 10% off your purchase at Manta Sleep! https://tinyurl.com/4hy82vzp Eat smart at https://www.FactorMeals.com/BDLS50OFF and use code BDLS50OFF to get 50% off your first box, plus Free Breakfast for 1 Year. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Following the recent release of their album "It Can't Rain All The Time", this episode we are joined by Silver Dollar Room guitarist Jaime Turnbull to choose his dream band lineup. Check the band out here.....also Dan Dan shares a painful memory!Pick N Licks is presented by musicians Danny Beardsley and Dan Dan Hayes - The Dream Band Podcast, where guests create their ultimate dream band. Produced by Heather Beardsley. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Blueberry Bacon. Yo soy Groot! Is it too early for 18000 waters? Did you ever lose your favorite Sean Connery quote? Solving the Wendy Malik Mystery. I like bad monkeeeeeeeeey! What rhymes with cheese sandwich? Chewie's Bits. Sluggish Doorbell Prankster. This Star Wars game is the Hoth-ness. Tktktktktk. Do It On The Nines. Lotsa Little Bummer Games. Sending a Labor of Love for Todd. Stop dragging your weiner around with Dan Dan the Tabletop Man. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Blueberry Bacon. Yo soy Groot! Is it too early for 18000 waters? Did you ever lose your favorite Sean Connery quote? Solving the Wendy Malik Mystery. I like bad monkeeeeeeeeey! What rhymes with cheese sandwich? Chewie's Bits. Sluggish Doorbell Prankster. This Star Wars game is the Hoth-ness. Tktktktktk. Do It On The Nines. Lotsa Little Bummer Games. Sending a Labor of Love for Todd. Stop dragging your weiner around with Dan Dan the Tabletop Man. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Quickly becoming friends Dan Dan the Nature Man and Buzz head over to volleyball before it's time for the traditional opening night dinner, HOTDOG NIGHT! But more important than the hotdogs is where you get to sit in the dining hall.Opening music Music by Viacheslav Starostin from PixabayPatreon: patreon.com/thisishowwerollEmail: thisishowwerolldnd20@gmail.comTwitter: @tihwr20Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/687097571930276Linktree: https://linktr.ee/tihwr
BAFTA-winning writer, director and producer joins Dr Rachel Knightley on the Writers' Gym. Dan co-created and co-wrote “The A List” for Kindle Entertainment/Lionsgate/CBBC, for which he also directed six episodes, including both season finales. After series one it was picked up and recommissioned by Netflix worldwide, with Dan as an EP over the series. Award-winning online mystery drama “Dixi” ran for four series on CBBC and won a Bafta in 2014. Dan's 10 x 30' original children's comedy series “Lagging” debuted on CBBC in 2021 and ran for two more series, the third airing at the end of 2023. Dan was head writer for “Itch”, an adaptation of the Simon Mayo novel he developed for Komixx, now broadcasting on ABC Me, and which has been acquired by CBBC. Dan also developed “Rhyme Time Town”, an animation series for Dreamworks/Netflix which is now streaming on Netflix. Original projects are in development with Carnival, Caligari Films, I-gen and King Bert. Dan also wrote “Inspector Sunshine”, a family movie produced by Perplexia Pictures/Great Point Media. His TV credits include episodes of “Thunderbirds are go” (ITV), “Casualty” (BBC) – for which he recently also directed an episode he wrote, “Get Even” (CBBC / Netflix), BBC iPlayer, “Shaun the Sheep” (Aardman/CBBC), “Hollyoaks” (Lime/C4), amongst many others. Find out more about Dan: Dan's website https://danberlinka.com/ Dan's IMBb page https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3752043/ Join the Writers' Gym for more writing and creative confidence workouts at www.writersgym.com or sign up to our mailing list at drrachelknightley.substack.com Get in touch with us at thewritersgym@rachelknightley.com Writers' Gym Workout: “It's important to have some boundaries around you. I don't think writers necessarily do their best work when they have absolute complete freedom. It's about having the right tension between your desire to write your vision. but a little bit of pushback, little bit of limitation.” Dan Berlinka Warm-up: Set yourself a random even number between 2 and 6. Now write a dialogue between two characters, that lasts no longer than that number of lines. See what you can show yourself/the reader about who they are and what they want, just with what they say. “I work basically a nine to five day… I would say that writing is structured a lot like a day of test cricket: nothing really starts until 11. I've realized that I can't really productively write more than about five or six hours a day.” Think On The Page: What are your most creative hours of the day? How many hours are too many? What's one step you can take to set yourself (for example) less high word-counts, more often? Or let yourself write less complete passages, knowing your can edit more later? “Not waiting for inspiration to strike [is vital]: I used to be very bad at allowing myself the time, sometimes I'd try and force it. So that's the thing: being aware that just going for a walk could actually also count as working. I do my morning exercises… I don't deliberately try and think about the thing I'm working on but on it sometimes it will just pop into my head and a problem will get solved that way.” Dan Berlina Think On the Page: What, for you, are the activities that aren't technically writing but create mental space for writing? Where is one more place you could give yourself time and space this week?
#548 Tired of software companies that seem to take more than they give? In this episode, host Brien Gearin sits down with Dan Uyemura, co-founder and CEO of PushPress, a hassle-free gym management software helping fitness businesses thrive. Dan shares his entrepreneurial journey, from early days coding websites during the dot-com boom to founding PushPress after experiencing firsthand the challenges gym owners face with predatory software practices. They dive into the challenges of starting a SaaS company, why prioritizing value over revenue sets PushPress apart, and lessons Dan learned scaling from gym owner to tech CEO. Dan also offers actionable advice on building a product, assembling the right team, and resisting the urge to "over-title" early hires. Whether you're a small business owner or a tech entrepreneur, this episode delivers inspiration and practical insights to build a business that truly serves its customers! (Original Air Date - 12/25/24) What we discuss with Dan: + Dan's Entrepreneurial Journey: From coding to gym ownership + PushPress Origin: Solving gym software frustrations + Value Over Revenue: Building for long-term success + SaaS Growth Challenges: Reaching the first 100 customers + Relentlessness and Curiosity: Dan's advice for entrepreneurs + Avoid Over-Titling: Scaling leadership roles effectively + Investor Alignment: Finding value-driven investors + Burn and Growth Balance: Navigating Series A and B funding + Customer-Centric Approach: Prioritizing education and support + Leadership Lessons: Delegation, trust, and scaling teams Thank you, Dan! Check out PushPress at PushPress.com. Listen to The PushPress Podcast. Follow Dan on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. Watch the video podcast of this episode! To get access to our FREE Business Training course go to MillionaireUniversity.com/training. And follow us on: Instagram Facebook Tik Tok Youtube Twitter To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors. Want to hear from more incredible entrepreneurs? Check out all of our interviews here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's Witness Wednesday! In this episode of Wretched Radio, Todd Friel heads to the campus of Georgia Tech. While engaging in thought-provoking conversations with students, Todd explores deep theological questions about the existence of God, creation, morality, and salvation from sin. Segment 1 – Ryan • Ryan, an architecture student, believes in the Big Bang but is unsure how such design could happen without a designer. • Todd deepens the moral discussion, walking Ryan through the Ten Commandments. • He dismisses concern over judgment, saying he'll “cross that bridge” when he sees God. Segment 2 – Junior • Junior, raised in a Christian home, isn't sure what he believes and doesn't identify as a true Christian. • Todd walks him through a gospel-centered conversation, exposing his sin and clarifying the Savior's role. • Junior remains unsure, valuing independent thinking but open to exploring more. Segment 3 – Dan • Dan, a Catholic student, believes everyone is "innately good" and that good works will outweigh sin. • He trusts in God's forgiveness but can't reconcile it with true justice. • Todd carefully explains the gospel, the insufficiency of works, and the righteousness available only through Christ. Segment 4 – Dan (continued) • Todd explains how the true gospel and the Roman Catholic church teach different things. • Lays out how we are totally unable to be righteous in and of ourselves. • Todd encourages Dan to repent of his own striving and trust in Christ alone for righteousness. ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn't be more thankful for you if we tried!
After getting laid off from his corporate job, Dan Shapiro launched his first startup, Photobucket Inc. (formerly Ontela), but faced nine months of rejection from investors and no funding. Despite these setbacks, his persistence led to a successful partnership, which later turned sour due to a managerial dispute. He took these lessons and went on to build multiple successful startups, including Glowforge, a $100M company revolutionizing 3D laser printing. In this episode, Dan joins Ilana to share the secrets to startup success, how to navigate entrepreneurial challenges, and what it takes to build a company that not only thrives but also transforms industries. Dan Shapiro is a serial entrepreneur, innovator, and CEO of Glowforge, a company that pioneered desktop laser technology, enabling creators to produce millions of custom products. He previously created Robot Turtles, the most successful board game in Kickstarter history, and founded Photobucket Inc. In this episode, Ilana and Dan will discuss: (00:00) Introduction (01:56) Early Upbringing and Entrepreneurial Drive (04:47) Corporate Experience at Microsoft (08:14) The "Poop Umbrella" Leadership Principle (11:42) The Darkest Nine Months of Dan's Career (16:39) Securing Funding Against All Odds (20:35) The Brutal Truth About Entrepreneurship (24:32) The PhotoBucket Merger: What Went Wrong? (27:56) From 67 Rejections to a Google Acquisition (31:38) CEO Strategy: Delegate vs. Lead (36:24) The Bold Strategy Behind Robot Turtles' Success (45:16) Building Glowforge: From Idea to $100M Business (51:47) Leadership Challenges and Ethical Dilemmas Dan Shapiro is a serial entrepreneur, innovator, and CEO of Glowforge, a company that pioneered desktop laser technology, enabling creators to produce millions of custom products. He previously created Robot Turtles, the most successful board game in Kickstarter history, and founded Photobucket Inc. Dan also served as CEO of Google Comparison Inc. after Google acquired his startup, Sparkbuy. He is the author of Hot Seat and a prolific innovator with over 60 patents to his name. Connect with Dan: Dan's Website: danshapiro.com Dan's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danshapiro Resources Mentioned: Dan's Book, Hot Seat: The Startup CEO Guidebook: https://www.amazon.com/Hot-Seat-Startup-CEO-Guidebook/dp/1449360734 Glowforge: https://glowforge.com From $500 Startup to Open Source Pioneer: How Tim O'Reilly Built a Media and Tech Legacy | E109: bit.ly/tim-oreilly-leap-academy Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou: https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Blood-Secrets-Silicon-Startup/dp/152473165X Leap Academy: Ready to make the LEAP in your career? There is a NEW way for professionals to Advance Their Careers & Make 5-6 figures of EXTRA INCOME in Record Time. Check out our free training today at leapacademy.com/training
This Bites is sponsored by Whiskey Brown and our Radio Milwaukee members.***Oysters are divisive. Some people love them. Others run screaming from the table when presented with them. The folks in that last category might want to avoid Barnacle Buds on Aug. 5, as the riverfront eatery throws its inaugural Oyster Fest. The event, which gets the featured spot at the top of this episode, will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. — more than enough time to get your fill of the mollusk menu: An oyster sampler plate that runs a dozen deep (three each of three raw varieties, plus three grilled) An oyster po'boy slider One drink That's what you'll get in exchange for $55, and there are also opportunities to add a supplemental half-dozen oysters to your platter. On top of that, Barnacle Bud and his crew will serve up various oyster shots and specialty drinks to compliment the offerings. For more details on this perfect way to celebrate National Oyster Day, head over to the event page. Or maybe wait to do that until you check out what else we discuss on this episode: DanDan will host a very special dim sum brunch this Sunday with James Beard semifinalist chef Erasmo Casiano. West Allis is losing a mainstay as Chilango Express shuts down after service on Sunday. One of our hosts braved the very crowded Pan-Asia Supermarket to deliver a report on its first day in business. A few miles west of here, Madison Black Restaurant Week will celebrate its 10th anniversary Aug. 10-17.
Join me for Day 3 of my Mosaic Foods review! Today I'm diving into Creamy Pesto Cavatappi and Spicy Dan Dan Noodles, taste-testing the full Mosaic Foods box. Is it worth your money? Watch my hands-on taste test to find out. #mosaicfoods #vegas #vegetarian #foodboxes #mealbox #tastetest Learn More About MosaicFoods Visit: https://mosaic-foods.sjv.io/2aedvQ Find As Seen On TV Products & Gadgets at the 9malls Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/9malls Please support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/9malls Disclaimer: I may also receive compensation if a visitor clicks through to 9malls, or makes a purchase through Amazon or any affiliate link. I test each product on site thoroughly and give high marks to only the best. In the above video I received a free product sample to test. We are independently owned and the opinions expressed here are our own.
Brain sucking, kite hoverboards, and upgraded dogs, oh my! Shaun Duke and Trish Matson are joined by special guest and longtime listener, DanDan the Transient, to talk about 1997's Doom Runners! Together, they talk about Tim Curry's remarkable performance, the logic of the film's post-apocalyptic world, the “Corporations,” and much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode! Show Notes: If you have a question you'd like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page. Our new intro and outro music comes from Holy Mole. You can support his work at patreon.com/holymole. See you later, navigator!
Well, we all have a face that we hide away forever, and we take them out and show ourselves when everyone has gone -- even Billy Joel, who has decided to take his out for Billy Joel: And So It Goes, a two-part HBO docu-series about his life and work. Should he have kept it to himself (it's his life)? Daniel Blau Rogge returns to talk about it. Around The Dial takes us through S02 of Digman!, The Comeback, and Billionaire Boys' Club. Dan presents the Hacks episode "The Roast Of Deborah Vance" for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to Game Time, in which we're listening…to celebrity Frasier callers. Say Goodbye To Hollywood and hello to a new episode! GUESTS
After our recent triple-digit temperatures, it seemed like a good time to help you cool things down by serving up a few of our favorite heat-beating drinks and dishes from around the Milwaukee area.That's where we start this episode, which finds Ann sharing her personal approach to finding the best summer beverages. It's actually pretty genius: Ask the experts. We're talking bartenders, baristas and mixologists, all of whom have their own favorites that just might become your new favorite:Tripper Duval from Lost Whale goes classic with a frozen margarita (both boozy and non-alcoholic).The Mothership owner Ricky Ramirez similarly leans on an old standby, the mojito, noting that just about anyone can learn how to make a good one.Another one on the NA front comes from Fruition MKE's Tiffany Miller, who suggests their MKE Refresher mocktail that blends teas, ginger, lemonade, lavender and mint.Food-wise, there are a few different approaches to lowering your internal temperature, including:Gazpacho, the traditional chilled tomato and cucumber soup from Amaranth Bakery & Café. A slightly out-there strategy would be to spice things up at DanDan, where you can pick up a smashed cucumber salad that sprinkles in a little kick to go along with one of the most water-heavy veggies around.Chef Alex Hanesakda has a few summer-friendly selections at SapSap in Zocalo Food Park, including his take on chicken wings, smoked brisket fried rice and classic Mamma's egg rolls.That's a mere portion of the selections Ann lays out in her Milwaukee Magazine article, so make sure you check out the whole list. Speaking of lists, here's everything else we cover in this episode:A new community-first pub, Soul of a Starr, is on the way in the Harambee neighborhood.The former PIzza Hut on West Burleigh is getting a big upgrade to become Julie Mae's Southern Cooking.Vanessa Rose has taken a big step with her Mother's pop-up, which now has its own brick-and-mortar space at 2900 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
Let's do some trumpet talk.
El dia de hoy en el canal de YouTube de #ElFilip te cuento sobre un ser bastante desagradable para muchas personas prominentes de #Hollywood que llegaron a trabajar con el. ¿Cual es la historia detrás de las perversidades de #DanShneider o el llamado por muchos #SucioDan? Hoy te lo platico todo solo aquí
Join us as we explore the first installment of Dan Dan the Ambulance Man, a heartwarming children's book by Paul Eaton, a... The post Dan Dan the Ambulance Man Meets Percy Bunn the Baker appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.
The book is written for children between the ages of 3-8. The story takes place in a Town called Casualtyville. It is... The post Dan Dan The Ambulance Man Meets Percy Bunn The Baker by Paul Eaton appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.
Thorin and Peter Dun are joined by veteran coach Dan Dan to discuss G2 struggling in LEC and their potential to miss MSI, what it takes to build a winning team culture in League of Legends esports, the success of the Madrid homestand for MKOI, Nisqy's strange performance, and more!
It's a packed sidewinder as the crew engages the wild speculation drives and talks about the year to come.
Hey friends! Hope you're doing well! Spring is poking its head up here but we're still getting snow off and on as well, so we're not able to start planting outdoors yet. We have lots of great stuff happening inside though! We've got loads of grow lights and heat mats set up and we have tons of seedlings already taking off! We're really trying to narrow our focus this year to growing larger quantities of a fewer number of crops. Specifically we're focused on the things that we need big amounts of in order to produce the things we make for our farm store – mainly our seasonings and our herbal teas. We're also still growing vegetables for our personal use, and continuing to expand our perennial food forest of course. But we're getting a lot more dialed in on prioritizing what we really HAVE to have versus all of the fun random things that I WANT to have when I flip through seed catalogs. Which sometimes is easier said than done, because there are just so many cool varieties out there and I want to try them all! Speaking of seeds, that's our focus today! My guest today is Dan Brisebois, a farmer who focuses on growing seeds. His newest book is The Seed Farmer and I was sooooo ridiculously excited to get to talk to him about it! I've been a bit of a fan girl about Dan's work for quite a while now, ever since I learned about his worker co-operative farm and then got to go through his Farmer Spreadsheet Academy a few years back. Yall know how much I love a spreadsheet! Dan's book is absolutely fantastic and I think you'll get a ton from it whether you're wanting to learn to save seed and come up with your own plant crosses for your own personal garden use, or if you're interested in selling seed someday yourself. I hope you enjoy our conversation! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Connect with Dan: Dan's website -- get a copy of Dan's book, check out his great blog, learn about the Farmer Spreadsheet Academy, and listen to the Seed Farmer Podcast! Dan's Instagram ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ As always, if you enjoy the podcast please share it with a friend or two and leave us a positive rating and review! You can also support our work by checking out our farm store at NordicFoxFarm.com. We have some great new tea blends up in the shop plus all of our delicious seasonings and smoked salts. Make sure to use the code PODCAST25 for 10% off your first order, and hop on our mailing list while you're at it. I hope you're doing well and getting to have some planty fun this spring. Our next episode will be all about mushroom foraging! Until then, keep your hands dirty and your heart open.
This episode dives into the real challenges recruitment professionals face—like perfectionism—and why consistency and authenticity are key when it comes to content creation. Dandan shares her journey from young recruiter to founder of DG Recruit, offering powerful insights into using social media and content to elevate your executive search practice.Discover proven strategies for building a strong personal brand, creating impactful content, and navigating the modern recruitment landscape. Whether you're scaling your search firm or aiming to hit new revenue goals, you'll walk away with actionable takeaways and fresh inspiration.Tune in and learn from industry leaders as they share the tools and tactics redefining success in executive search.________________Follow Dandan on LinkedIn: LinkedIn | Dandan ZhuTo learn more about agency recruitment check out: https://www.agencyrecruitmentacademy.com/Want to learn more about Crelate? Book a demo hereFollow Crelate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/crelate/Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.crelate.com/blog/full-desk-experience
In this special episode on the state of doubles and the professional doubles debate, I speak with ATP & WTA Coach, Dan Kiernan. Dan is the coach of Gaby Dabrowski, Michael Venus, and Nikola Mektic, and has been on the show several times before (below).In this conversation, we examine the future of doubles from multiple perspectives and challenge current assumptions about the format's viability.Reactions to the idea that "doubles specialists have no place in the future of tennis"The doubles debate centers on "the WHO, not the WHAT" – personality and storytelling matter more than formatUS Open's controversial changes to the mixed doubles format make commercial sense in the short-term but we must consider the long-term timeline as wellDoubles players face three options: accept diminished status, fight for change within the tour structure, or break free to create their own tourProfessional doubles needs to embrace vulnerability, personality-driven content, and innovative viewer experiences to thriveThe seven tennis governing bodies lack a cohesive vision for doubles, focusing instead on short-term commercial prioritiesFor it to survive, doubles specialists must take initiative in building their own brands and connecting authentically with fansInnovations like free fan movement, court-side service, and more relaxed atmosphere could transform the doubles spectator experience and change in a way that singles is resistant toThis is an open invitation to everyone in tennis – players, coaches, tournament directors, and media – to continue this conversation and work together toward solutions that benefit doubles and the sport as a whole.Previous Episodes with Dan Kiernan:Dan Kiernan Interview: GROWTH, Coaching ATP Doubles, Aggressive vs Consistent Returns, & an Illegal Volley Drill - April 5, 2023Coach Dan Kiernan Interview at the WTA Finals - November 5, 2023Coach Dan Kiernan Shares Stories from the WTA Finals, 2nd Set Adjustments, Positive Mindset, & More - November 20, 2024More from Dan:Dan's Podcast - Control the Controllables | Twitter | InstagramSoto Tennis Academy | Twitter-----**Join the #1 Doubles Strategy Newsletter for Club Tennis Players** New doubles strategy lessons weekly straight to your inbox**Become a Tennis Tribe Member**Tennis Tribe Members get access to premium video lessons, a monthly member-only webinar, doubles strategy Ebooks & Courses, exclusive discounts on tennis gear, and more.Learn More & Sign Up Here**Other Free Doubles Content**Serve Strategy CheatsheetReturn Strategy CheatsheetServe Strategy 101 - Video Course
Learn about the origins and current status of the - once - magical Day Hoot.SOURCES “OTHER IMPORTANT ECOSYSTEMS: Mature Forest.” islandtrust. Accessed 14 June 2018.“Barred Owl.” Science Museum of Minnesota. Accessed 14 June 2018.“Barred Owl Life History.” The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Accessed 15 June 2018.CREDITSThis public broadcast is made possible thanks to these BCWPA Agents: Brandon Ruch, Colten Williams, Daniel Berry, Donovan Scherer, Kimberly Nichols, Layla Leutwyler, Madelynn ODell, Matthew Schang, Shawn Murphey, Pyper Wilson, Lenin Roman, Ronald Miller, PHouseGames, Anthony Ferries, Dandan, Fox & Brambles, Jim Walke, Claire, Hallesy, Heather, HELGA, Kris Mitchell, Kylie Reed, Rick Belcher, Cryptid Clyde, T. Carter Ross, Agus Mercado, Ead Daniels, Elizabeth Lukjanczuk, Shelby Fulton, Veronica Mulvaney, Zodiac Gaming Industry, Mr. Blue Sky Send the BCWPA a message!Support the showDo you have a story, sighting, or piece of folklore to share? Visit our office.Grab a cryptid study, visit the Ballyraven store.
Dandan Zhu and Grace Marlin, co-founders of DG Recruitment, share tactical insights to help recruiters achieve top biller status in today's competitive landscape. Their rec-to-rec agency has given them unique visibility into what separates elite performers from the rest."To succeed in sales, you need to understand that everyone is extremely focused on their own needs," explains Dandan. "And hiring managers' primary need is that they suffer when it comes to hiring."This episode dives into three game-changing strategies: maintaining robust client pipelines beyond just a few accounts, making strategic relationship investments with measurable long-term ROI, and perfecting the MPC approach to immediately capture hiring managers' attention.With Dandan's background as a top-performing recruiter who achieved financial independence by 28 and Grace's 6.5 years helping launch and elevate recruitment careers, they offer a powerful perspective on building sustainable success in agency recruitment.Episode Outline and Highlights[01:28] How Dandan and Grace started working together.[04:00] Insights on what is currently happening in the recruitment space.[06:40] What do top billers do consistently?[15:06] The ROI of thinking big and going the extra mile.[20:37] The concept of the “Golden Loop.”[27:26] What an MPC strategy blueprint should look like.[33:30] The value of adapting to rapid changes in market and technology.[37:22] How to learn more from Dandan and Grace's online platforms.Top Billers Never Stop Building Client PipelinesWhile many recruiters became comfortable with just a few accounts during good times, Dandan Zhu observes these recruiters were "scrambling" when markets changed. To maintain a robust pipeline, top billers consistently build relationships through webinars, panels, and content creation.Dandan questions why more recruiters don't implement proven strategies: "Go out and set up a webinar for your network, for your niche. Go and set up a panel and invite your clients to be part of that as a BD tool." He notes that "all the playbook is there" but few recruiters convert theory into practice.Grace adds that success comes from "who is willing to go one to two steps deeper than everyone else" with investments that might take "six to eight months to really start getting there." These consistent efforts ensure you'll never be left claiming "nobody's paying fees" during downturns while competitors continue closing deals.The Long-Term ROI of Strategic Relationship InvestmentDG Recruitment hosts rooftop events and specialized gatherings like pottery painting sessions targeted to client demographics. Though measuring immediate return is challenging, Grace notes these investments create "much higher odds of placing candidates" and develop "closer relationships with more trust.""That year I met that person, two years later, that became a placement." Dandan explains their events were specifically designed for their target audience - "middle-aged women with kids in the Jersey pharma belt" for pottery painting, and New York recruiters for rooftop gatherings.These strategic relationship investments help recruiters stand out in an industry with reputation challenges. Grace observes it's "very easy to do better" than competitors by "just doing a couple things differently." While others focus on transactions, this approach builds a foundation of trust leading to higher placement odds, client loyalty, and valuable referrals.MPC Strategy: Skip the Intro and Sell Your TalentMost recruiters waste time on company introductions when contacting hiring managers. Dandan recommends a more effective approach: "Sell the NPC right away. Boom, boom." This direct method recognizes that hiring managers prioritize solving their problems over hearing about your firm.Hiring managers focus primarily on addressing their own challenges. A refined approach that immediately demonstrates candidate value shows respect for their time while positioning you as a solutions provider. Dandan emphasizes creating compelling candidate profiles with a confident, engaging tone instead of a nervous or disinterested delivery.In today's competitive landscape, the first few seconds determine client engagement. Leading with immediate value helps bypass typical screening filters, significantly increasing your chances of meaningful engagement and placement success.Related Podcast You Might EnjoyTRR #110 - Why Top Billers Don't Want to Join Your Recruitment AgencyDandan Zhu Bio and Contact InfoDandan Zhu launched her agency recruitment career at the age of 23, quickly excelling as a full-desk headhunter specializing in a technical niche and eventually executive search for the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry. Through high commissions, obsessive saving, and aggressive investing, a method she calls “The Millionaire Trifecta”, Dandan achieved financial independence by 28, transitioning into full-time entrepreneurship.She is the founder of DG Recruit (est. 2018), a leading R2R (recruiter-to-recruiter) firm serving top billers and recruitment agencies, and Agency Recruitment Academy (est. 2024), where she provides training and guidance to senior producers and recruitment leaders.Dandan is also the author of Agency Recruitment 101, a comprehensive guide offering insights into the recruitment business model, commission structures, and industry best practices. She hosts the DG Recruit Podcast featuring top voices in the recruitment industry and showcasing top sales and recruitment strategies and tactics.An active speaker and trainer, Dandan collaborates with go-getters and leaders in the recruitment industry to elevate their skills and results. Her mission is to share the knowledge she gained as a headhunter, sales leader, and entrepreneur, empowering others to achieve financial, career, and life success.Dandan on LinkedInDandan on InstagramDandan on Twitter @dandanzhudgGrace Marlin Bio and Contact InfoGrace has been servicing the agency recruitment industry for the past 6.5 years as the Co-Founder of DG Recruit, a US-based agency-to-agency rec2rec firm.Throughout Grace's time in the industry, she has helped launch, elevate, and track the careers of top performing recruitment and staffing sales professionals which has provided her a keen vantage point to understand what it takes to be a successful agency recruitment professional. She is passionate about the unique earning potential and autonomy that comes from a successful career in the industry, so she solely focuses on the agency side, NOT HR/internal recruiting/TA roles.Grace routinely shares industry-related content on LinkedIn and is a champion for leveraging social media marketing as a cornerstone of your recruitment practice since it's still an underutilized tool for current and aspiring top billers.In addition to her work at DG Recruit, she co-founded Recruiter Prep which offers an "Intro to Agency Recruitment Course" that teaches aspiring agency recruiters everything they know to break into the industry with the highest probability of having a successful first year.Grace on LinkedInDG Recruit website linkDG Recruit Podcast link DG Recruit on FacebookDG Recruit on YouTubePeople and Resources MentionedInfluence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. CialdiniConnect with Mark WhitbyGet your FREE 30-minute strategy callMark on LinkedInMark on Twitter: @MarkWhitbyMark on FacebookMark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoachSubscribe to The Resilient RecruiterIf you've been enjoying the podcast, please take two minutes to leave a review. Your review is greatly appreciated because it helps us attract a bigger audience and help more recruiters.
A dramatized account of the Arches Fork Skeleton.SOURCES Telltale Lilac Bush by Ruth Ann MusickCREDITSThis public broadcast is made possible thanks to these BCWPA Agents: Brandon Ruch, Colten Williams, Daniel Berry, Donovan Scherer, Kimberly Nichols, Layla Leutwyler, Madelynn ODell, Matthew Schang, Pyper Wilson, Lenin Roman, Ronald Miller, PHouseGames, Anthony Ferries, Dandan, Fox & Brambles, Jim Walke, Claire, Hallesy, Heather, HELGA, Kris Mitchell, Kylie Reed, Rick Belcher, Cryptid Clyde, T. Carter Ross, Agus Mercado, Ead Daniels, Elizabeth Lukjanczuk, Shelby Fulton, Veronica Mulvaney, Zodiac Gaming Industry, Mr. Blue Sky Send the BCWPA a message!Support the showDo you have a story, sighting, or piece of folklore to share? Visit our office.Grab a cryptid study, visit the Ballyraven store.
Q: Where can Popfrogs be found?It was very difficult to determine where Popfrogs currently live - they are adept hiders! Using our knowledge of frogs, cryptid clues, and a few good guesses, the BCWPA team was able to locate the four remaining Popfrogs in the world. While they could thrive elsewhere, for some reason they are stuck here, in western Ohio, hidden in some of the state's small swamps. Next time: The team follows Rosie the Ribbiter - the last female Popfrog in existence, lovingly named by the BCWPA.CREDITSThe Day We Met by Beat Mekanik is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License. (changes made: speed slowed) This public broadcast is made possible thanks to these BCWPA Agents: Brandon Ruch, Colten Williams, Daniel Berry, Donovan Scherer, Kimberly Nichols, Layla Leutwyler, Madelynn ODell, Matthew Schang, Pyper Wilson, Lenin Roman, Ronald Miller, PHouseGames, Anthony Ferries, Dandan, Fox & Brambles, Jim Walke, Claire, Hallesy, Heather, HELGA, Kris Mitchell, Kylie Reed, Rick Belcher, Cryptid Clyde, T. Carter Ross, Agus Mercado, Ead Daniels, Elizabeth Lukjanczuk, Shelby Fulton, Veronica Mulvaney, Zodiac Gaming Industry, Mr. Blue Sky SOURCESBallyraven Expedition 2.04.08NOTEIn the Field and its free, public broadcasting are fictional and for entertainment only. Real life stories and events have been altered for storytelling; real life stories, myths, and legends are well-researched for each episode. Send the BCWPA a message!Support the showDo you have a story, sighting, or piece of folklore to share? Visit our office.Grab a cryptid study, visit the Ballyraven store.Send the BCWPA a message!Support the showDo you have a story, sighting, or piece of folklore to share? Visit our office.Grab a cryptid study, visit the Ballyraven store.
Ohio once was covered in more swampland - and populated by more strange and dangerous creatures within those swamps... From howling dogmen to aggressive bigfeet, gigantic snakes, and ominous, glowing orbs, Ohioan swamps remain active cryptozoological spots. Contained in diminishing biomes, the rarest of these swamp-dwelling creatures are a collection of amphibian cryptids; an oversized frog is the most endangered.CREDITSNostalgia by A. Cooper is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. This public broadcast is made possible thanks to these BCWPA Agents: Brandon Ruch, Colten Williams, Daniel Berry, Donovan Scherer, Kimberly Nichols, Layla Leutwyler, Madelynn ODell, Matthew Schang, Pyper Wilson, Lenin Roman, Ronald Miller, PHouseGames, Anthony Ferries, Dandan, Fox & Brambles, Jim Walke, Claire, Hallesy, Heather, HELGA, Kris Mitchell, Kylie Reed, Rick Belcher, Cryptid Clyde, T. Carter Ross, Agus Mercado, Ead Daniels, Elizabeth Lukjanczuk, Shelby Fulton, Veronica Mulvaney, Zodiac Gaming Industry, Mr. Blue Sky SOURCESBallyraven Expedition 2.04.07NOTEIn the Field and its free, public broadcasting are fictional and for entertainment only. Real life stories and events have been altered for storytelling; real life stories, myths, and legends are well-researched for each episode. Send the BCWPA a message!This is a notification from the BCWPA Agent Opportunity System. The Ballyraven Outpost will be conducting research on MARCH FIRST AND SECOND..... The Ballyraven and assistant will be at the... HILTON GARDEN INN CONVENTION CENTER in LOVELAND OHIO to conduct research on the OHIO SPECIMENS: LOVELAND FROGMAN, THE WILDMAN OF ENON, THE INCREDIBLE OCTOMAN, and the OHIO GRASSMAN. They will also be teaching local humans how to better prevent cryptid emergencies and peacefully coexist. Support the showDo you have a story, sighting, or piece of folklore to share? Visit our office.Grab a cryptid study, visit the Ballyraven store.
In Riverton, Virginia, in the 1870's, a truly horrific event occurred: an entire family was found deceased in their home - which had its own haunting clues. Called by the Department of Justice to determine if mass murder occurred, the Pinkerton National Detective Agency gave the case a quick, uncomfortable look over. Less than a day later, they determined that those inside were victims of natural, yet unknown, causes.CREDITSUndercover Vampire Policeman by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/uvp/Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/This public broadcast is made possible thanks to these BCWPA Agents: Brandon Ruch, Colten Williams, Daniel Berry, Donovan Scherer, Kimberly Nichols, Layla Leutwyler, Madelynn ODell, Matthew Schang, Pyper Wilson, Lenin Roman, Ronald Miller, PHouseGames, Anthony Ferries, Dandan, Fox & Brambles, Jim Walke, Claire, Hallesy, Heather, HELGA, Kris Mitchell, Kylie Reed, Rick Belcher, Cryptid Clyde, T. Carter Ross, Agus Mercado, Ead Daniels, Elizabeth Lukjanczuk, Shelby Fulton, Veronica Mulvaney, Zodiac Gaming Industry, Mr. Blue Sky NOTEIn the Field and its free, public broadcasting are fictional and for entertainment only. Real life stories and events have been altered for storytelling; real life stories, myths, and legends are well-researched for each episode. Send the BCWPA a message!Support the showDo you have a story, sighting, or piece of folklore to share? Visit our office.Grab a cryptid study, visit the Ballyraven store.
The Leaping Devil is the result of migrating, evolving bigfoot interacting with powerful, shapeshifting nymphs.Part 1 or 2 in: Fairfeet Origins: the Stonemen and Winter Nymphs CREDITSThis public broadcast is made possible thanks to these BCWPA Agents: Brandon Ruch, Colten Williams, Daniel Berry, Donovan Scherer, Kimberly Nichols, Layla Leutwyler, Madelynn ODell, Matthew Schang, Pyper Wilson, Lenin Roman, Ronald Miller, PHouseGames, Anthony Ferries, Dandan, Fox & Brambles, Jim Walke, Claire, Hallesy, Heather, HELGA, Kris Mitchell, Kylie Reed, Rick Belcher, Cryptid Clyde, T. Carter Ross, Agus Mercado, Ead Daniels, Elizabeth Lukjanczuk, Shelby Fulton, Veronica Mulvaney, Zodiac Gaming Industry, Mr. Blue Sky NOTEIn the Field and its free, public broadcasting are fictional and for entertainment only. Real life stories and events have been altered for storytelling; real life stories, myths, and legends are well-researched for each episode. Send the BCWPA a message!Support the showDo you have a story, sighting, or piece of folklore to share? Visit our office.Grab a cryptid study, visit the Ballyraven store.
Walking through the forest, Ballyraven is investigating an alleged UFO crash site. While they expected to find a meteorite or some failed, human invention, they found something much more interesting - and much more alive!CREDITSThis public broadcast is made possible thanks to these BCWPA Agents: Brandon Ruch, Colten Williams, Daniel Berry, Donovan Scherer, Kimberly Nichols, Layla Leutwyler, Madelynn ODell, Matthew Schang, Pyper Wilson, Lenin Roman, Ronald Miller, PHouseGames, Anthony Ferries, Dandan, Fox & Brambles, Jim Walke, Claire, Hallesy, Heather, HELGA, Kris Mitchell, Kylie Reed, Rick Belcher, Cryptid Clyde, T. Carter Ross, Agus Mercado, Ead Daniels, Elizabeth Lukjanczuk, Shelby Fulton, Veronica Mulvaney, Zodiac Gaming Industry, Mr. Blue Sky Hairy Fairy Hotaruna by Monroeville Music Center is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. NOTEIn the Field and its free, public broadcasting are fictional and for entertainment only. Real life stories and events have been altered for storytelling; real life stories, myths, and legends are well-researched for each episode. Send the BCWPA a message!Support the showDo you have a story, sighting, or piece of folklore to share? Visit our office.Grab a cryptid study, visit the Ballyraven store.
The BCWPA's Interdimensional Exploration Unit is the oldest department in the agency. The IEU's early years were plagued not only by disaster, but illness, technical failures, and interspecies brutality. Today, missions occurring in our atmosphere and our neighboring space are consistent and mostly safe.There is much to explore. There is much to learn. There is even more to mess up.CREDITSThis public broadcast is made possible thanks to these BCWPA Agents: Brandon Ruch, Colten Williams, Daniel Berry, Donovan Scherer, Kimberly Nichols, Layla Leutwyler, Madelynn ODell, Matthew Schang, Pyper Wilson, Lenin Roman, Ronald Miller, PHouseGames, Anthony Ferries, Dandan, Fox & Brambles, Jim Walke, Claire, Hallesy, Heather, HELGA, Kris Mitchell, Kylie Reed, Rick Belcher, Cryptid Clyde, T. Carter Ross, Agus Mercado, Ead Daniels, Elizabeth Lukjanczuk, Shelby Fulton, Veronica Mulvaney, Zodiac Gaming Industry, Mr. Blue Sky Lee Redmond's Slow Motion Fender Bender by Monroeville Music Center is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Makasih Abang by Irama Gema is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License. NOTEIn the Field and its free, public broadcasting are fictional and for entertainment only. Real life stories and events have been altered for storytelling; real life stories, myths, and legends are well-researched for each episode. Send the BCWPA a message!Support the showDo you have a story, sighting, or piece of folklore to share? Visit our office.Grab a cryptid study, visit the Ballyraven store.
In this episode of Welcome to Cloudlandia, we explore how government assets could reshape public spending and economic growth. The discussion stems from Thomas Sowell's analysis of U.S. government land value. It extends to real-world examples of public-private partnerships, including Toronto's LCBO real estate deals and Chicago's parking meter agreement with a Saudi entity. Dan and I delve into the relationship between constitutional rights and entrepreneurship, drawing from my upcoming book. The American Bill of Rights creates unique conditions that foster business innovation and self-initiative, offering an interesting contrast to Canada's legal framework. This comparison opens up a broader discussion about judicial appointments and the role of government in supporting individual potential. The conversation shifts to the transformative impact of AI on content creation and decision-making. I share my experience with tools like Perplexity and Notebook LM, which are changing how we gather information and refine our writing. Integrating AI into daily workflows highlights the significant changes we can expect over the next quarter century. Looking ahead, We reflect on future podcast topics and the lessons learned from blending traditional insights with AI capabilities. This combination offers new perspectives on personal development and professional growth, suggesting exciting possibilities for how we'll work and create in the years ahead. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS We delve into the market value of U.S. government-owned land, discussing Thomas Sowell's article and the potential benefits of selling such land to alleviate government spending. Our conversation covers various government and private sector interactions, including Toronto's LCBO real estate deal and Chicago's parking meter agreement with a Saudi-owned company. We explore Macquarie's business model in Australia, focusing on their ownership of airports and toll roads, and consider the efficiency of underutilized government buildings in Washington D.C. The Bill of Rights plays a crucial role in fostering entrepreneurship in the U.S., and I discuss insights from my upcoming book on how these constitutional liberties encourage self-initiative and capitalism. We compare the judicial appointment processes in the U.S. and Canada, highlighting the differences in how each country's legal system impacts entrepreneurship and individual freedoms. The importance of creating patentable processes and legal ownership of capabilities is discussed, along with the idea that true leadership involves developing new capabilities. Our collaborative book project "Casting, Not Hiring" is structured like a theatrical play, with a focus on the innovative 4x4 casting tool, drawing parallels between theater and entrepreneurship. AI's transformative power in creative processes is highlighted, with tools like Perplexity and Notebook LM enhancing convenience and refining writing techniques. We reflect on the long-term impact of AI on writing and creativity, and consider its implications for future podcast episodes and personal and professional growth. Our discussion on constitutional rights touches on how they shape the future of entrepreneurship, drawing contrasts between the U.S. and Canadian approaches to law and governance. Links: WelcomeToCloudlandia.com StrategicCoach.com DeanJackson.com ListingAgentLifestyle.com TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Dean: Mr Sullivan. Dan: Yes indeed. I beat you by 10 seconds. Dean: I beat you by 10 seconds. Dan: Yeah, yeah. Dean: Well, there you go. That's a good way to end the year, right there. Dan: Yeah. Dean: Not that it's a contest. Dan: I was looking at an interesting article this morning from yesterday's Wall Street Journal by Thomas Sowell. I don't know if you know Thomas Sowell. No, yeah, he's probably the foremost conservative thinker in the United States. Okay, I think he's 90-ish, sort of around 90. He's been a professor at many universities and started off in his teenage years as a Marxist, as a lot of teenagers do, and before they learn how to count and and before they learn math the moment you learn math, you can't be a Marxist anymore and and anyway he writes and he just said how much all the land that the US government owns in the 50 states is equal to 1.4 trillion dollars. If you put a market value on it, it's 1.4 trillion dollars. I bet that's true wow and the problem is it costs them about that much money to maintain it, most of it for no reason at all. And he was just suggesting that, if Elon and Vivek are looking for a place to get some money and also stop spending, start with the property that the US government owns and sell it off. Dean: That's interesting I'm often Two things. Dan: Two things they get money coming in, yeah. And the other thing is they don't spend money maintaining it. Yeah, but it's 20, 25% of the land area of the US is actually owned, I guess owned, controlled by the US government. And you know there was a neat trick that was done here in Toronto and I don't think you'd be aware of it but the LCBO, liquor Control Board of Ontario. So in Ontario all the liquor is controlled by the government. The government is actually the LCBO is the largest importer of alcoholic beverages in the world. Dean: Wow. Dan: Nobody controls the amount of liquor well, and I. I just wonder if that's one of the reasons why you moved to Florida to get away from the government. Dean: Control of liquor they're a single payer, a single pay system. Dan: I just wondered if yeah, I just wondered if that on your list of besides nicer weather. Dean: I thought maybe you know being in control of your own liquor. I always found it funny that you could. You know you can buy alcohol and beer in 7-Eleven. Dan: I always thought that was interesting right. Dean: Just pick up a little traveler to go, you know when you're getting your gas and that six-pack yeah. Dan: So, anyway, they had their headquarters, which was right down on Lakeshore, down in the, I would say, sort of Jarvis area, if you think of Jarvis and Lakeshore, down in the I would say sort of Jarvis area, if you think. Dean: Jarvis and. Dan: Lakeshore and maybe a little bit further west. But they took up a whole block there and they traded with a developer and what they did they said you can have our block with the building on it. You have to preserve part of it because it's a historical building. I mean, you can gut it and you can, you know, build, but yeah, there's a facade that we want you to keep because it's historic and and what we want you to do is and this developer already had a block adjacent to the LCBO property and they said we want a new headquarters, so we'll give you the block If you and your skyscraper it's a huge skyscraper. We want this much space in it for free. And they made a trade and the developer went for it. Dean: And I bet. Dan: That's an interesting kind of deal. That's an interesting kind of deal where government yeah, yeah and, but somebody was telling me it was really funny. I'm trying to think where it was. Where were we, where were we? I'm just trying to think where we weren't in. We weren't in Toronto, it'll come to me. We were in Chicago. So Chicago, the parking meters are all owned by Saudi Arabia. Dean: Right. Dan: Yeah, or a company that's owned by Saudi Arabia. Let me think One of the many princes and they paid the city of Chicago flat check. They paid him $1.5 billion for all the parking meters in Chicago and Chicago, you know, has been in financial trouble forever. So one and a half billion, one and a half billion dollars, but they make 400 million a year for the next 50 years. Oh, wow. Dean: Yeah, that's pretty wild. Dan: I think that was a bad deal, I think that was a bad deal. Yeah, that's amazing, you got to know your math. Dean: Well, I know there's a company in Australia called Macquarie and they own airports and toll roads primarily, ports and toll roads primarily. And that's really that's what it is right is they have long-term government contracts where they uh, you know they own the assets and the government leases them from them, or they get the right, they build the, they build the toll road and they get the money for the toll. They can operate it as a for-profit venture. Really kind of interesting. Dan: It brings up an interesting scenario which I think that Trump is thinking about, plus Elon and Vivek is thinking about plus Elon and Vivek, that so many of the buildings in Washington DC the government buildings, except for the one percent of workers who actually show up for work every day are virtually, are virtually empty, and so so there's some, it's almost like they need a VCR audit. Dean: So it's almost like they need a VCR audit. I mean, that's really what it is. All these things are underutilized capabilities and capacity, you know that's really that's sort of a big thing. Dan: But I think it occurred to me that bureaucracy period. It occurred to me that bureaucracy period this would be corporate bureaucracy, government bureaucracy. Those are the two big ones. But then many other kinds of organizations that are long-term organizations, that have become like big foundations, are probably just pure bureaucracy. You know, harvard University is probably just a big bureaucracy. They have an endowment of $60 billion, their endowment, and they have to spend 5% of that every year. That's the requirement under charity laws that you have to spend 5% of that every year. That's the requirement under charity laws that you have to spend 5% and on that basis every Harvard student probably the entire university wouldn't have to charge anything. Dean: That's interesting. I had a friend, a neighbor, who did something similarly put his um, I put sold the company and put, I think, 50 million dollars in. I think it was called the charitable remainder trust where the, the 50 million went into the trust and he as the uh, whatever you know administrator or whoever the the beneficiary gets of the trust is gets five percent a year of uh yeah, of the um the trust and that's his retirement income. I guess I understand. Dan: I understand income. I don't understand retirement income right exactly well for him it is kind of retirement income. Dean: He just plays golf. Exactly Well, for him it is kind of retirement. Yeah yeah, he just plays golf, yeah. Dan: Yeah, he's sort of in the departure lounge. He's on the way to the departure lounge. I think the moment you retire or think about retirement, the parts go back to the universe, I think that's actually I'm, I'm, it's partially. Dean: Uh, he does angel investing, uh, so that's yeah, so he's still probably probably on boards yeah, but I don't consider that? Dan: yeah, I don't really consider that. On entrepreneurism no you know, I don't think you're creating anything new, right? Yeah, it's very interesting. I'm writing, I just am outlining this morning my book for the quarter. So the book I'm just finishing, which is called Growing Great Leadership, will go to the press February 1st. Dean: Nice. Dan: So we're just putting the finishing touches on. We've got two sections and then some you know artwork packaging to do and then it probably goes off to the printer around the 20th of January. It takes about five weeks for them to turn it around. But the next one is very interesting. It's called the Bill of Rights Economy. So this relates and refers to the US Constitution. And in the first paragraph of the Constitution. It says that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, so it's supreme over everything in the United States. It's supreme over the presidency, it's supreme over Congress, it's supreme over the Supreme Court, and so that strikes me as a big deal, would you say? I'd say yes, yeah, yeah, and. But the real heart of the Constitution, what really gives it teeth, are the first 10 amendments, and which are called the Bill of Rights, so it's one through 10. First one speech, second one guns. And then they have commerce and things related to your legal rights. And what I've done is I've looked into it and I've looked at those first 10 amendments, and it strikes me that the reason why the US is an entrepreneurial country is specifically because of those first 10 amendments, that it gives a maximum amount of freedom to self-initiative, to people who want to go out and do something on their own, start something and everything else. First 10 amendments so what. I'm doing is I'm analyzing five freedoms and advantages that are given to entrepreneurs from each of the 10. There will be 50 advantages. So that's what my next book is about, and my sense is that those entrepreneurs who are not clear-minded about capitalism would have to do one of two things if they read the next book. They'll either have to get rid of their socialist thoughts or they'll have to stop being an entrepreneur. Dean: That's interesting. You know this whole. I love things like that when you're anchoring them to you know historical things. Dan: I don't know if I can name. I don't know if I can. Well, you can name the first one. It's the right of speech and assembly. Dean: Yeah speech, and then the second is to bear arms Gun ownership, gun ownership yeah. Yeah. Dan: And it goes on. I'll have to get the list out and go down there, but that's what holds the country together and you know it's a very brief document. It's about 5,000 words the entire document. It starts to finish about 5,000 words and you could easily read it in an hour. You could read the whole Constitution in an hour. Dean: It's a pocket companion. Yeah, yeah. Dan: I've seen them like little things that you put in your pocket and one of the things that strikes me about it is that in 1787, that's when it was adapted, and then it took two years to really form the government. 1789 is when washington, the he was elected in 1788 and the election he's sworn in as president 1789. If you typed it out with the original document, typed it out in you know typewriter paper and you know single space, it would be 23 pages, 23 pages. And today, if you were to type it out, it would be 27 pages. They've added four pages 200. Yeah, so in 235 years to 237 years it's pretty tight, yeah, and so and that's what keeps the country, the way the country is constantly growing and you know maximum amount of variety and you know all sorts of new things can happen is that they have this very, very simple supreme law right at the center, and there's no other country on the planet that has that that's a. Dean: That's pretty. Uh, what's the closest? I guess? What's the? I mean Canada must have. Dan: Canada's has been utterly taken away from that? Yeah, but that can be overridden at any time by the Supreme Court of Canada who by the way, is appointed by the prime minister. So you know, in the United States the Supreme Court justice is nominated yeah. No dominated, nominated by the president but approved by the Senate. So the other two branches have the say. So here it's the prime minister. The prime minister does it, and I was noticing the current Supreme Court Justice Wagner said that he doesn't see that there's much need anymore to be publishing what Canadian laws were before 1959. Dean: Oh really. Dan: Yeah, and that's the difference between Canada and the United States, because everything, almost every Supreme Court justice, they're going right back to the beginning and say what was the intent here of the people who put the Constitution together? Yeah, and that is the radical difference between the two parties in the. United States. So anyway, just tell you what I've been up to on my Christmas vacation. Dean: Oh, that's so funny. Well, we've been having some adventures over here. I came up with a subtitle for my Imagine If you Applied Yourself book and it was based on, you had said last time we talked right Like we were talking about this idea of your driving question and you thought I did. I don't know, yeah yeah you brought it, you said sort of how far can I go? Dan: yeah, well, that's not my driving question, that's no, no question, no yeah somebody else brought up the whole issue of driving question. You mentioned somebody yeah chad, chad did yeah, jenkins chad, jenkins chad jenkins right right right, yeah, uh. Dean: So it reminded me as soon as I got off. I had the words come uh. How far could you go if you did what you know? That could be the subtitle. Imagine if you applied yourself that's. Dan: That's kind of interesting how far could you? Maximize, if you maximize what you already know yeah I mean, that's really what holds. Dean: I think what holds people back more than not knowing what to do is not doing what they know to do. That that's I think, the, that's the uh, I think that's the driving thing. Dan: So they're held in play. They're held in place. You mean by? Dean: yeah, I think that's it that they're in about maybe I'm only looking at it through where do you see that anywhere in your life? Dan: I see everywhere in my life that I see it everywhere in my life, that's the whole thing, in my life. Dean: Right Is that that executive function? That's the definition of executive function disability, let's call it. You know, as Russell Barkley would say, that that's the thing is knowing, knowing what to do and just not not doing it. You know, not being able to do it. Dan: Yeah. And to the extent that you can solve that, well, that's I think that's the how far you can go here's a question Is there part of what you know that always moves you forward? Dean: Yeah, I guess there always is. Yeah, well then, you're not held, then you're not held. Dan: You just have to focus on what part of what you know is important. Dean: Yes, exactly, I think that's definitely right. Yeah, I thought that was an interesting. Dan: For example, I am absolutely convinced that for the foreseeable future, that if you a, a dollar is made in the united states and spent in canada, things are good. Dean: Things are good I think you're absolutely right, especially in the direction it's going right now. Dan: Yeah, it's up 10 cents in the last three months. 10 cents, one-tenth of a dollar. Dean: You know 10 cents. Dan: So it was $1.34 on October 1st and it's $1.44 right now. Dean: Yeah. Dan: And I don't see it changing as a matter of fact fact. You should see the literature up here. Since trump said maybe canada is just the 51st state, you should see this is the high topic of discussion in canada right now how is it? Dean: would we be? Dan: would we be better off? I mean there there's an a large percentage something like 15, 15% would prefer it. But you know he's Shark Tank person, kevin O'Leary, canadian. Dean: He's from Alberta. Dan: And he said that what they should do is just create a common economy, not politically so Canada is still really, really political. Not politically just economically, Politically. Well, it is already. I mean, to a certain extent it's crossed an enormous amount of trade, but still you have to stop at the border. Here there would be no stopping at the border and that if you were an American, you could just move to Canada and if you were a Canadian you could just move. Dean: Kind of like the EU was the thought of the European Union. Dan: Yeah, but that didn't really work because they all hated each other. Dean: They all hated each other. Dan: They've been nonstop at war for the last 3,000 years, and they speak different languages, but the US I mean. When Americans come for their strategic coach program, they come up here and they say it's just like the States and I said not quite, not quite. I said it's about on the clock. It's about the clock. It's about an hour off. You name the topic, Canadians will have a different point of view on whatever the topic is. But I'm not saying this is going to happen. I'm just saying that Trump, just saying one thing, has ignited a firestorm of discussion. And why is it that we're lagging so badly? And, of course, it looks now like as soon as Parliament comes back after the break, which is not until, think, the 25th of January, there will be a vote of confidence that the liberals lose, and then the governor general will say you have to form a new government, therefore we have to have an election. So probably we're looking middle of March, maybe middle of March. End of March there'll be a new government new prime minister and Harvard will have a new professor. Dean: Ah, there you go, I saw, that that's what happens. Dan: That's what happens to real bad liberal prime ministers. They become professors at Harvard or bad mayors in Toronto, david. Dean: Miller, he was the mayor here. Dan: I think he's a professor at Harvard. And there was one of the premiers, the liberal premier of Ontario. He's at Harvard. Oh wow, wow, wow. Anyway, yeah, or he'll go to Davos and he'll sit on the World Oversight Board. Dean: Oh boy, I just saw Peter Zion was talking about the Canadian, the lady who just quit. Dan: And I don't understand him at all, because I think she's an idiot. Dean: Okay, that's interesting because he was basically saying she may be the smartest person in Canada. Dan: I think she's an idiot. Okay, and she's the finance minister. So all the trouble we're in, at least some of it, has to be laid at her door. Interesting. Dean: Is Pierre Polyev still the frontrunner? Dan: Oh yeah, He'll be the prime minister, yeah. Dean: Smart guy. Dan: I was in personal conversation with him for a breakfast about six years ago Very smart. Oh wow, very smart. Dean: Yeah, seems sharp from Alberta. Dan: He's French. He's French speaking, but he's an orphan from an English family. Or it might have been a French mother. He's an orphan, but he was adopted into a French speaking family. So to be Alberta and be French speaking, that's kind of a unique combination. Yeah, very interesting. Yeah, but it's a hard country to hold together and, uh, you know, peter zion and many different podcasts just said that it's very, very hard to keep the country together. It takes all the strength of the federal government just to keep things unified. Dean: Well, because everybody wants to leave. Yeah, exactly, everybody looks at. I mean you really have, you've got the Maritimes in Quebec, ontario, the West, and then BC, the Prairies and then BC. Dan: So there's five and they don't have that much to do with each other. Each of them has more to do with the states that are south of them, quebec has enormous trade with New York. Ontario has trade with New York, with Pennsylvania, with Ohio, with Michigan, all the Great Lakes states, every one of them. Their trade is much more with the US that's south of them, and Alberta would be the most, because they trade all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico, because their pipelines go all the way down to have you ever been to Nunavut or Yukon? Dean: Have you ever been? Dan: Dan to Nunavut or Yukon I haven't been to. I've been to Great Slave Lake, which is in the what used to be called the Northwest Territories, and on the east I've been to Frobisher Bay, which is in the eastern part, you know of the territories way up. Dean: Labrador Closer to. Dan: Greenland it up closer, closer to greenland. That's, yeah, actually closer closer to greenland, yeah, well, that's where you were born. Right, you were born up there, newfoundland right, newfoundland, yeah well this is above newfoundland. This would be above newfoundland, yeah yeah that's. That's what we used to call eskimo territory. Yeah, that's what we used to call Eskimo territory. That's so funny. Dean: That's funny, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, shifting gears. We've been having some interesting conversations about VCR this week and it's particularly trying to get a you know how, defining vision. And, of course, for somebody listening for the first time, we're talking about the VCR formula vision plus capability multiplied by reach. And so part of this thing is going through the process of identifying your VCR assets, right CR assets as currency, software or sheet music, where, if you think like we're going down the path of thinking about vision as a capability that people have or a trait that you might, that's, I think, when people start talking about the VCR formula, they're thinking about vision as a aptitude or a trait or a ability that somebody has, the ability to see things that other people don't see, and that may be true. There is some element of some people are more visionary than others, but that doesn't fully account for what the asset of a vision is, and I think that the vision, an asset, a vision as an asset, is something that can amplify an outcome. So I think about somebody might be musical and they might have perfect pitch and they may be able to carry a tune and hum some interesting chord progressions, but the pinnacle asset of vision in a musical context would be a copywritten sheet music that is transferable to someone else. So it's kind of like the evolution is taking your vision. So it's kind of like the evolution is taking your vision. But you know, the apex asset of a vision would be a patentable process that you patent. That you have as both an acknowledgement that it's yours, it's property, and as protection for anybody else. You know it locks in its uniqueness, you know. Dan: Yeah, yeah, I mean, the greatest capability is property of some sort. I mean in other words, that you have a legal monopoly to it. You don't nobody's got a legal monopoly division and nobody's got a legal monopoly to reach but they do have a legal. Uh, so I I go for the middle one, I go for the c the book I'm writing right now, the book I'm just finishing, which is called growing great leadership is that anyone who develops a new capability is actually the leader. Okay, papa, and the reason and what I've said is that you can be a leader just by always increasing your own personal capability. The moment that you look at something and then you set a goal for being able to do something, either new, or doing something better. Other people observe you and also you start getting different results with a new capability and that's observed by other people. They say, hey, let's pay attention to what he's doing In my book I said any human being is capable of doing that. It's not leading other people. It's creating a capability that leads other people, that gives them a sense of direction. It gives them a sense of confidence gives them a sense of purpose. So I always focus on the capability. One of the things is we're starting in January, it'll be next week we're starting quarterly 4x4 casting tools, the one we did in the last FreeZone. And so the whole program says in the first month of each quarter, so January, april and then July and then October. If you do your 4x4 that month and then type it up and post it to a common site, so we'll have a common site where everybody's 4x4, you get $250. You get $250. And you get it at the next payday at the end of the quarter. So you get the money right away. And you get it at the next payday at the end of the quarter. So you get the money right away and it's not mandatory but um, if you don't do it. It will be noticed, so explain that again. Dean: So, well, they get the cheat today, they, they get the forms. So this is the entire everybody everybody in the company, the entire team. Dan: Yes, Including myself. Including myself. Okay, and so we're starting a new quarter on Wednesday. Back to work on the 7th. On the 6th we're back to work, and then on the 7th we have a company meeting where we said we're announcing this program. And they've all done the form, so they did it in September. And they fill in the form. You know how your performance, what your performance looks like, what your results look like being a hero, and you're aware that you drive other people crazy in this way and you're watching yourself so you don't drive other people crazy. And then you fill that in. There are 16 boxes. You fill it in. It's custom designed just to what you're doing. And then there's a writable PDF. You type it up and then you post it to a site. On the 31st of January, we look at all the posted 4x4s and everybody who posted gets $250. Dean: Okay, okay, wow. Dan: Very interesting, then we're going to watch what happens as a result of this and the thing I say is that I think we're creating a super simple structure and process for a company becoming more creative and productive, which the only activity is required is that you update this every quarter. Dean: Yes. Dan: And then we'll watch to see who updates it every quarter and then we'll see what other structures do we need, what other tools do we need to? If this has got momentum, how do we increase the momentum and everything? So we're starting. I mean we've got all the structures of the company are under management. So, uh, everybody is doing their four pi four within the context of their job description that's really interesting, wow. Dean: And so that way, in its own way kind of that awareness will build its own momentum you Well we'll see. Hopefully that would be the hypothesis. Dan: I'll report it. I had a great, great podcast it was Stephen Crine three weeks ago and he said this is an amazing idea because he says you make it voluntary but you get rewarded. Dean: And if you don't want to take part. Dan: you're sending a message, yeah. Dean: Yeah, that's true. Yeah, that's amazing. Dan: I can't wait to see the outcome of that. Yeah, yeah, and the reason we're doing this is just my take on technology. As technology becomes overwhelming, becomes pervasive and everything else, the way humans conduct themselves has to get absolutely simple. We have to be utterly simple in how we focus our own individual role. And we have to be utterly simple in the way that we design our teamwork, because technology will infinitely complicate your life if you've got a complicated management or leadership structure. Dean: And I think that that ultimate I mean I still think about the you know what you drew on the tablet there in our free zone workshop of the network versus the pyramid. The pyramid's gone. The borders are you know the borders are gone. Dan: It's really just this fluid connection. I still think they exist in massive form, but I think their usefulness has declined. I wrote a little. I wrote a. I got a little file on my computer of Dan quotes. Dean: And the quote is. Dan: I don't think that civil servants are useless, but I think it's becoming more and more difficult for them to prove their worth. Dean: No, I mean. Dan: Yeah, no, their work I mean there's stuff that has to be done or society falls apart, and I got a feeling that there's civil servants very anonymous, invisible civil servants who are doing their job every day and it allows the system to work, but it's very hard for them to prove that they're really valuable. I think it's harder and harder for a government worker to accept if they're street level, I mean if they're police, if they're firemen if they're ambulance drivers, it's very easy to prove their value. But, if you're more than three stories up, I think it gets really hard to prove your value. I wonder in that same vein, I just get this last thing. Somebody said well, how would you change government? I said the best way to do it is go to any government building, count the number of stories, go halfway up and fire everybody above halfway. Dean: Oh man, that's funny, that's funny. Dan: I think the closer to the ground they're probably more useful. Dean: Yeah, yeah, you wonder. I mean they're so it's funny when you said that about proving their worth, you always have this. What came to my mind is how people have a hard time arguing for the value of the arts in schools or in society as a public thing. Dan: You mean art taking place and artistic activities and that the arts, as in. Dean: Yeah, as in. You know art and music and plays. And you know, yeah, it's one of those did you ever partake in those I mean? You know, I guess, to the extent in school we were exposed to music and to, you know, theater, I did not participate in theater I participated in theater. Dan: I liked theater and of course the book. You've gotten a small book Casting, not Hiring. Dean: Yeah. Dan: And Jeff and I are deep into the process now. So we have a final deadline of May 26 for Casting, not Hiring it's going really well. Deadline of May 26 for Casting Not Hiring it's going really well and we worked out a real teamwork that he's writing the whole theater, part of it and I'm writing the whole entrepreneurial. I just finished a chapter in one week last week. And it's right on the four by four. So you got um entrepreneurism as theater, as the one major topic in the book and the four by four casting tool as the other part of the book, so it's two things. So I'm focusing on my part and he's focusing on my part, and then uh, process for this here compared to how you're doing your regular books. Dean: You say you wrote a chapter. What's your process for that? Dan: Well, first of all, I laid out the whole structure. The first thing I do is I just arbitrarily lay out a structure for the book and, strangely enough, we're actually using the structure of a play as the structure of the book. So okay, it has three parts, so it's got three acts and each act has. Each part has excuse me, I have to walk into another room. I'm actually probably even visualize this, and I'm walking into our pantry here and this is in the basement and I just got a nice Fiji water sitting right in front of me. Absolutely cold. There, you go, it's been waiting for six months for me to do this? Dean: Yes. Dan: And what I do. I just do the structure and so I just put names. I just put names into it and then we go back and forth. Jeff and I go back and forth, but we agree that it's going to have three parts and 12 chapters. It'll have an introduction, introduction, and it'll have a conclusion. So there'll be 14 parts and it'll have, you know, probably be all told, 160 to 200 pages, and then 200 pages and um, and then um. We identify what, how the parts are different to each other. So the first part is basically why theater and entrepreneurism resemble each other. Okay, and jeff has vast knowledge because for 50 years he's been doing both. He's been doing both of them, and I'm just focusing on the 4x4. So the first 4x4 is, and you can download the tool in the book. So it'll be illustrated in the book and you can download it and do it. And first of all we just start with the owner of the company and I have one whole chapter and that explains what the owner of the company is going to be and the whole thing about the 454. The owner has to do it twice, has to do it first, fill it all in and then share it with everybody in the company and said this is my commitment to my role in the company, okay. And then the next chapter, with everybody in the company and said this is my commitment to my role in the company, okay. And then the next chapter is everybody in the company doing it. And then the third chapter is about how, the more the people do their forebite for the more, the more ownership they take over their role in the company and the more ownership they take over their part in the company and the more ownership they take over their part in teamwork OK, and then the fourth part is suddenly, as you do these things, you're more and more like a theater company. The more you use the four by four, the more you're like a theater company. And that loops back to the beginning of the book, what Jeff's writing. So anyway, very interesting. Yeah, fortunately, we had the experience of creating the small book. So we created the small book, which was about 70 pages, and we used that to get the contract with the publisher. They read the whole book and rather than sending in a page of ideas about a book and trying to sell it on that basis, I said just write a book and give them a book. It's a small book that's going to become a big book. Right, that's how I did it. Oh, I like it. You know, about those small books. Dean: I do indeed know about those small books. I do indeed know about those small books. Yes, I think that's funny. So are you your part? Are you talking it? Are you interviewing? Dan: No, writing writing. Dean: So you're actually writing. So you're actually writing. Yeah, and I've had a tremendous breakthrough. Dan: I've had a tremendous breakthrough on this, and so I started with Chapter 10 because I wanted to get the heart of the idea. Is that what it does the application of the 4x4 to an entire company. And of course, we're launching this project to see if what we're saying is true. And so I end up with a fast filter. This is the best result, worst result. And then here are the five success factors. Okay, then I look at the success factors, I write them out, I take three of them and I do a triple play on them, on the three success factors, which gives me three pink boxes and three green boxes, and then I come back with that material and then I start the chapter applying that material to the outline for the chapter. And then I get finished that task filter and I add a lot of copy to it. And then I have a layout of the actual book. I have a page layout, so in that process I'll produce about two full pages Of copy. Dean: I take it. Dan: And I pop it in. I've done that five times this week and I have ten pages of copy and I said we're good enough. We're good enough, now, let's go to another chapter. So that's how I'm doing it and and uh, yeah, so I've got a real process because I'm I'm doing it independently with another member of the team and he's. Jeff has his own ways of writing his books. You, you know, I mean, he's a writer, he writes, plays, he writes, you know he writes and everything like that. So we don't want to have any argument about technique or you know, any conflict of technique. I'm going to do mine. Dean: He's going to do mine, Right right. Dan: And then we're looking for a software program that will take all the copy and sort of create a common style, taking his style and my style and creating a common style well, that might be charlotte I mean really no, that's what that, that's what the uh, that's what I think it would be. Dean: Exactly that is is if you said to Charlotte, take these two. I'm going to upload two different things and I'd like you to combine one cohesive writing style to these. Dan: Oh good, yeah, that would be something. Dean: Yeah, I think that would be something yeah, I think that would be, uh, that would be amazing, and because you already, as long as you're both writing in in you know, second person second person, personal, or whatever your, your preferred style is right, like that's the thing. I think that would be, I think that would be very good, it would be good, I'd be happy because he writes intelligently and I write intelligently. Dan: Is she for hire? Do you have her freelancing at all? Dean: Dan, I had the funniest interaction with her. I was saying I'm going to create an avatar for her and I was asking her. I said you know, charlotte, I think I'm going to create an avatar for you and I'm wondering you know, what color hair do you think would look good for you? Oh, that's interesting. Look good for you, it's. Oh, that's interesting. Dan: I think maybe a a warm brown or a vibrant auburn oh yeah, vibrant auburn. Yeah, this is great and I thought you know I? I said no, I suspected she'd go towards red. Dean: Yeah, exactly, and I thought you know that's uh. Then I was chatting with a friend, uh yesterday about I was going through this process and, uh, you know, we said I think that she would have like an asymmetric bob hairstyle kind of thing, and we just looked up the thing and it's Sharon Osbourne is the look of what I believe Charlotte has is she's she's like a Sharon Osbourne type of, uh of look and I think that's that's so funny, you know what was uh the the handler for James Bond back when he? was shot in. Dan: Connery Moneypenny, right Moneypenny yeah. Look up the actress Moneypenny. I suspect you're on the same track if you look at the original Moneypenny. Dean: Okay. Dan: Of course she had a South London voice too. Dean: Yeah, isn't that funny, moneypenny. Let's see her. Yes. Dan: I think you're right. That's exactly right. Very funny right? Oh, I think this is great. I think, this is, I think, there's. It would be very, very interesting if you asked a hundred men. You know the question that you're, you know the conversation you're having with Charlotte, the thing. Dean: Yeah. Dan: It'd be interesting to see if there was a style that came out, a look that dominated. Yeah, men came out. Dean: Yeah, I think it is. Dan: Ever since I was a kid, I've been fascinated with redheads. Okay yeah, real redheads, not dyed redheads, but someone who's an? Actual redhead. And I'll just stop and watch them. Just stop and stop and watch them. When I was a little kid I said look, look look and there aren't a lot of them. There aren't a lot of them. You know, they're very rare and it's mostly Northern Europe. That's right. Dean: That's so funny. Scottish yes, that's right, that's so funny. Dan: Scottish yes, irish have it. Dean: That's right. As you remember, I was married to a redhead for a long time. Yeah, super smart. But that's funny, though, having this persona visual for Charlotte as a redhead yeah. Braintap a really interesting topic. I was talking to. Dan: It was just a discussion in one of the parties about AI and I said the more interesting topic to me is not what, not so much what the machine is thinking or how the machine goes about thinking. What really interests me is that if you have frequent interaction with a congenial machine in other words, a useful congenial machine how does your thinking change and what have you noticed so far? Dean: Well, I think that having this visual will help that for me. I've said like I still haven't, I still don't. Dan: Materialized very completely. You haven't materialized. Dean: Yeah, I haven't exactly in my mind Like if that was, if Moneypenny was sitting three feet from me at all times, she would just be part of my daily conversation part of my wondering conversation. Right part of my wondering and now that, uh, now that she's got access to real-time info like if they're up to date, now they can search the internet right. So that was the latest upgrade. That it wasn't. It's not just limited to 2023 or whatever. The most updated version, they've got access to everything now. Um, so, to be able to, you know, I asked her during the holidays or whatever. I asked her is, uh, you know, the day after I asked this is is honey open today in Winter Haven? And she was, you know, able to look it up and see it looks like they're open and that was yeah, so just this kind of thing. I think anything I could search if I were to ask her. You know, hey, what time is such and such movie playing in that studio movie grill today? That would be helpful, right, like to be able to just integrate it into my day-to-day. It would be very good. Dan: The biggest thing I know is that I almost have what I would say a trained reaction to any historical event, or even if it's current, you know it's in the news, or that I immediately go to perplexity and said tell me 10 crucial facts about this. And you know, three seconds later it tells me that 10. And more and more I don't go to Google at all. That's one thing. I just stopped going to Google at all because they'll send me articles on the topic, and now you've created work for me. Perplexity saves me work. Google makes me work. But the interesting thing is I've got a file it's about 300 little articles now that have just come from me asking the question, but they all start with the word 10 or the number 10, 10 facts about interesting and that before I respond you know, intellectually or emotionally to something I read, I get 10 facts about this and then kind of make up my mind, and of course you can play with the prompt. You can say tell me 10 reasons why this might not be true, or tell me 10 things that are telling us this is probably going to be true. So it's all in the prompt and you know the prompt is the prompt and the answer is the answer yeah and everything. But it allows me to think. And the other thing I'm starting with this book, I'm starting to use Notebook LM. Dean: Yeah. Dan: So this chapter I got to have Alex Varley. He's a Brit and he was with us here in Toronto for about five years and now he's back in Britain, he's part of our British team and he's got a looser schedule right now. So I say by the end, by May, I want to find five different AI programs that I find useful for my writing. So he's going to take every one of my chapters and then put it into Notebook LM and it comes back as a conversation between two people and I just sit there and I listen to it and I'll note whether they really got the essence of what I was trying to get across or needs a little more. So I'll go back then, and from listening as I call it, you know, google is just terrible at naming things. I mean, they're just uh terrible and I would call it eavesdropping, lm eavesdropping that they're taking your writing and they're talking about it. You're eavesdropping. They're taking your writing and they're talking about it. Dean: You're eavesdropping on what they're saying about your writing. What a great test to see, almost like pre-readers or whatever to see. Dan: It's like the best possible focus group that you can possibly get. Dean: I like that yeah. Very good. Dan: Yeah. Dean: Yeah. Dan: But, it's just interesting how I'm, you know, but I've just focused on one thing with AI, I just make my writing faster, easier and better. That's all. I want the AAM to do, because writing is just a very central activity for me. Dean: Yeah, and that's not going anywhere. I mean, it's still gonna be. Uh, that's the next 25 years that was. You can make some very firm predictions on this one that's what, uh, I think next, Dan, that would be a good. As we're moving into 2025, I would love to do maybe a prediction episode for the next 25 years reflection and projection. Dan: You take the week of my 100th birthday, which is 19 and a half years now, I could pretty well tell you 80% what I'm doing the week on my 100th birthday. I can't wait that would be a good topic. Dean: I was just going to say let's lock this in, because you'll be celebrating is Charlotte listening? Dan: is Charlotte listening now? No, she's not, but she should be say let's lock this in because you'll be celebrating charlotte. Is charlotte listening? Is charlotte listening now? Dean: no, she's not, but she should be oh no, give her a. Dan: Just say next week, charlotte remind me. Oh yeah, no I'll remember. Dean: I'll remember because it's okay, it's my actual this week and this is my, this is the next few days for me is really thinking this through, because I I like, um, I've had some really good insights. Uh, just thinking that way uh yeah, so there you go. Good, well, it's all, that was a fast hour. Dan: That was a fast it really was. Dean: I was going to bring that up, but uh, but uh yeah we had other interesting topics, but for sure we'll do it next week yeah, good okay, dan okay I'll talk to you. Bye.
It was a night to remember in New Orleans as we heard from industry titan, a man who conquered sports television and reinvented sports radio, a pillar and a trailblazer who lights up the room the second he walks into it. And also Dan Le Batard was there. Le Batard interviews Dan Patrick for over an hour in front of a live audience in New Orleans for Super Bowl Week about his life and career, the most important choices made along the way, and how he built one of the most powerful empires in sports media. The duo also shares how their friendship formed and the ways they've supported one another throughout the years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Have you ever seen strange footprints in the snow? Ones made from a long, large foot and having three bulky, square-ish toes? If not, you may have known someone who has seen such a phenomenon. Known to be particularly active on snowy days, "Leaping Devils" or "Winter Bigfeet" make their visits known by leaving these strange tracks. They are a type of bigfoot only found in West Virginia.CREDITSThis public broadcast is made possible thanks to these BCWPA Agents: Brandon Ruch, Colten Williams, Daniel Berry, Donovan Scherer, Kimberly Nichols, Layla Leutwyler, Madelynn ODell, Matthew Schang, Pyper Wilson, Lenin Roman, Ronald Miller, PHouseGames, Anthony Ferries, Dandan, Fox & Brambles, Jim Walke, Claire, Hallesy, Heather, HELGA, Kris Mitchell, Kylie Reed, Rick Belcher, Cryptid Clyde, T. Carter Ross, Agus Mercado, Ead Daniels, Elizabeth Lukjanczuk, Shelby Fulton, Veronica Mulvaney, Zodiac Gaming Industry, Mr. Blue Sky NOTEIn the Field and its free, public broadcasting are fictional and for entertainment only. Real life stories and events have been altered for storytelling; real life stories, myths, and legends are well-researched for each episode. Send the BCWPA a message!This is a notification from the BCWPA Agent Opportunity System. The Ballyraven Outpost will be conducting research on MARCH FIRST AND SECOND..... The Ballyraven and assistant will be at the... HILTON GARDEN INN CONVENTION CENTER in LOVELAND OHIO to conduct research on the OHIO SPECIMENS: LOVELAND FROGMAN, THE WILDMAN OF ENON, THE INCREDIBLE OCTOMAN, and the OHIO GRASSMAN. They will also be teaching local humans how to better prevent cryptid emergencies and peacefully coexist. Support the showDo you have a story, sighting, or piece of folklore to share? Visit our office.Grab a cryptid study, visit the Ballyraven store.
Many dangerous creatures lurk in the Appalachian Mountains. Transmogrified animals - those transformed by magic - are some of the most threatening. All that remains of these creatures are folk stories associated with them. How much of the tales are real? How many tragedies can be attributed to them today?SOURCES “OTHER IMPORTANT ECOSYSTEMS: Mature Forest.” islandtrust. Accessed 14 June 2018.“Barred Owl.” Science Museum of Minnesota. Accessed 14 June 2018.“Barred Owl Life History.” The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Accessed 15 June 2018.CREDITSThis public broadcast is made possible thanks to these BCWPA Agents: Brandon Ruch, Colten Williams, Daniel Berry, Donovan Scherer, Kimberly Nichols, Layla Leutwyler, Madelynn ODell, Matthew Schang, Pyper Wilson, Lenin Roman, Ronald Miller, PHouseGames, Anthony Ferries, Dandan, Fox & Brambles, Jim Walke, Claire, Hallesy, Heather, HELGA, Kris Mitchell, Kylie Reed, Rick Belcher, Cryptid Clyde, T. Carter Ross, Agus Mercado, Ead Daniels, Elizabeth Lukjanczuk, Shelby Fulton, Veronica Mulvaney, Zodiac Gaming Industry, Mr. Blue Sky Send the BCWPA a message!Support the showDo you have a story, sighting, or piece of folklore to share? Visit our office.Grab a cryptid study, visit the Ballyraven store.
This part 3 of our 3-part series is such an inspiring conversation of how Dan uses his prophetic gifts: painting, art, music and just loving on people. As an artist and a minstrel, he shifts atmospheres. He shifts the way the whole city of Raleigh, North Carolina functions because of taking authority in the spirit realm. We set a lot of the stage in parts 1 and 2, so if you guys missed those, definitely go back to spiritcenteredbusiness.com, or wherever you enjoy the podcast and pick those up.“Painting…doing these HUGE paintings which are light frequencies, and then playing music—sound frequencies, were the tools that God put in my hands.”Be sure to WATCH TO THE END for a virtual walk-through of one of Dan's jaw-dropping paint and sculpture installations!HIGHLIGHTS:Art & Anointing: The Power of Creative Authority“The painting has one kind of authority in the spirit, one kind of anointing. The music has another kind of anointing.”Art isn't just visual—it carries spiritual weight. Whether on canvas or in melody, creativity releases divine power in unique ways.“Because when I go and play, demons literally flee. And angels literally come.”Every Instrument is a Spiritual Weapon“Every instrument is a different weapon for a different purpose.”Music isn't just sound; it's strategy. In worship and warfare, different instruments release distinct frequencies that shift atmospheres. Sound carries spiritual authority. When anointed artists play, they don't just entertain—they break down structures of darkness and release divine encounters, building the Kingdom of Light.Mastery Takes Commitment“Oh, he's just talented. Well, yeah… but I practice every day, and I'm 70 years old. I've practiced every day for 60 years.”Anointing + discipline = unstoppable! Creativity isn't just inspiration—it's dedication. Stewarding your gift over time is what unlocks mastery.The Prophetic Power of Surprise in Art“It's that surprise and delight of texture, color… that makes it prophetic and gives it authority in the spirit realm.”Art isn't just about replicating reality—it's about revealing the unseen. The unexpected elements in a painting carry prophetic weight, shifting atmospheres and releasing spiritual authority.Painting as a Divine Lens“My job is to paint how God saw this town… And I don't know about you, but my God is happy.”Art isn't just self-expression; it's a way of partnering with God to bring His perspective into the world. When artists paint with heaven's vision, they infuse joy, hope, and Yahweh's divine perspective into the atmosphere.We're Called to Hold the City's Steering Wheel“Every city has a steering wheel… Get out of the trunk, or the backseat, and get in the driver's seat.”Kingdom-minded entrepreneurs, artists, and visionaries are meant to shape culture, not just observe it. The real influence happens in strategic locations—those spiritual hotspots where decisions are made, and atmospheres can be transformed.Spiritual Authority Comes Through ActionTransforming cities isn't just about talking—it's about taking bold, prophetic action. Whether through prayer walks, declarations, or artistic expressions, small acts of faith can create lasting impact. Creativity and faith collide to bring real transformation. If you're in the marketplace or the arts, this is your sign to step up, create boldly, and shift culture for God's Kingdom!Where You Stand Matters – Geographic Authority“Wherever you put the soles of your feet… there's something to that.”Echoing biblical principles, this highlights the power of physical presence in spiritual warfare. Pastors, worship leaders, business owners, and influencers are encouraged to take their authority beyond the pulpit and into the streets where transformation happens.Excellence in Art Belongs in the Kingdom“I've basically made a career out of not working for churches… and yet the biggest job I've ever done ended up being for a church.”The irony? God led him back to the very place he avoided, but with a twist—this time, they honored and compensated his work. His 26,000-square-foot art installation for a children's ministry proves that the church can be a place for high-level artistry when visionaries value and invest in it.>>>BE SURE TO WATCH to the end to see a walk-through of this astounding creation!!LINKS for DAN:- Dan's Website: https://dannelsonart.com/- YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@dantheartman- Literally the World's Best Wedding Painter: http://Weddingpainter.com LINKS for BRALYNN:- Coaching for Business and for Healing: http://SpiritCenteredBusiness.com- Get Bralynn's Book! Discover Your Business Destiny: Co-Creating, Stewarding and Standing to Manifest God's Divine Plan http://SpiritCenteredBusiness.com/bookCopyright © 2025 Bralynn Newby Int'l, LLC. All rights reserved.
Guests Katrin Auch & Dan Amrich, formerly of GamePro magazine, discuss their time at the publication as well as the archival collection now housed by the VGHF. Kat and Dan recount their experience of transitioning from film to digital layouts, unintentional blunders, working under tight budgets and deadlines, and the creative process of creating content. You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above) or on Spotify. A full transcript of this episode is available on our website: https://gamehistory.org/episode-123-gamepro-magazine-collection/ See more from Katrin Auch: Website: katrinauch.com See more from Dan Amrich: Twitter/X: @danamrich Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/danamrich.bsky.social See more from both Kat & Dan: Dan & Kat Talk podcast (on hiatus): danandkattalk.com Etsy: bit.ly/katrinauch The Kyberpunks: thekyberpunks.com Video Game History Foundation: Podcast Twitter/X: @gamehistoryhour Email: podcast@gamehistory.org Twitter/X: @GameHistoryOrg Website: gamehistory.org Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg
Tired of software companies that seem to take more than they give? In this episode, host Brien Gearin sits down with Dan Uyemura, co-founder and CEO of PushPress, a hassle-free gym management software helping fitness businesses thrive. Dan shares his entrepreneurial journey, from early days coding websites during the dot-com boom to founding PushPress after experiencing firsthand the challenges gym owners face with predatory software practices. They dive into the challenges of starting a SaaS company, why prioritizing value over revenue sets PushPress apart, and lessons Dan learned scaling from gym owner to tech CEO. Dan also offers actionable advice on building a product, assembling the right team, and resisting the urge to "over-title" early hires. Whether you're a small business owner or a tech entrepreneur, this episode delivers inspiration and practical insights to build a business that truly serves its customers! What we discuss with Dan: + Dan's Entrepreneurial Journey: From coding to gym ownership + PushPress Origin: Solving gym software frustrations + Value Over Revenue: Building for long-term success + SaaS Growth Challenges: Reaching the first 100 customers + Relentlessness and Curiosity: Dan's advice for entrepreneurs + Avoid Over-Titling: Scaling leadership roles effectively + Investor Alignment: Finding value-driven investors + Burn and Growth Balance: Navigating Series A and B funding + Customer-Centric Approach: Prioritizing education and support + Leadership Lessons: Delegation, trust, and scaling teams Thank you, Dan! Check out PushPress at PushPress.com. Listen to The PushPress Podcast. Follow Dan on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. Watch the video podcast of this episode! And follow us on: Instagram Facebook Tik Tok Youtube Twitter To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors. Want to hear from more incredible entrepreneurs? Check out all of our interviews here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dan Ariely didn't just accept the hand life dealt him. He turned it into something powerful. After a traumatic burn accident that scarred 70% of his body, he struggled to find his place in the world. This journey led him to study human psychology and behavior, focusing on how people cope with pain and trauma. Later, when false rumors spread about him on social media, Dan chose to understand and empathize with the “misbelievers.” In this episode, Dan joins Ilana to share his journey from personal trauma to professional triumph, exploring how lies, rumors, and "misbelief" take root and affect lives, and what he's learned by going through it all firsthand. Dan Ariely is a three-time New York Times bestselling author and Professor of Psychology & Behavioral Economics at Duke University. His personal experience as a burn survivor has influenced his approach to understanding human behavior. His latest book, Misbelief, explores how false beliefs form and how to challenge them. In this episode, Ilana and Dan will discuss: (00:00) Introduction (00:28) The Story Behind the Iconic Half Beard (04:46) Turning Personal Pain into Professional Purpose (09:07) From Burn Victim to Social Scientist (14:49) Confronting Death Threats and Conspiracy Theorists (17:54) How Stress Fuels Misbelief (25:05) How Online Hate Turns to Moral Outrage (31:50) Navigating Trust, Risk, and Failure in Leadership (37:51) How Technology Is Making Us Worse (41:07) Dan's 45-Minute Work Ritual for Better Productivity (43:43) Life Lessons on Finding Your True Strengths Dan Ariely is a three-time New York Times bestselling author and Professor of Psychology & Behavioral Economics at Duke University. Known for his research on irrational behavior and decision-making, he's advised companies like Google, Apple, and governments worldwide. His books Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, and The Honest Truth About Dishonesty, have been translated into 30+ languages, and his work inspired NBC's The Irrational. As a burn survivor, Dan's personal experience has influenced his approach to understanding human behavior. His latest book, Misbelief, explores how false beliefs form and how to challenge them. Connect with Dan: Dan's Website: https://danariely.com Dan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danariely Resources Mentioned: Dan's Book, Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things: https://www.amazon.com/Misbelief-Rational-People-Believe-Irrational/dp/0063280426 Dan's Book, The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone--Especially Ourselves: https://www.amazon.com/Honest-Truth-About-Dishonesty-Everyone-Especially/dp/0062183613 NBC Show: The Irrational: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16288838/ Leap Academy: Ready to make the LEAP in your career? There is a NEW way for professionals to Advance Their Careers & Make 5-6 figures of EXTRA INCOME in Record Time. Check out our free training today at leapacademy.com/training
Dans Links:Linktr.ee/galacticmastery❤ - support the podcast https://paypal.me/typicalskepticmedia- cashapp $kalil1121 venmo @robert-kalil- or buy me a coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/typicalskeptic
Hear every episode of The Dumb Zone by subscribing at DumbZone.com or Patreon.com/TheDumbZoneJake had to get the pliers out to bring the Tooth Fairy who gives way more than they used to. Today in Twitter is hurricane related and people are attacking our new favorite character Lieutenant Dan. It's Cowboys-Lions this week so a good opportunity to play Dan Campbell's greatest hits which includes his caffeine order. We have an update on the life of a carnival worker and this local news story about a Denton Ryan football coach takes an unexpected turn. (00:00) - Open: The Tooth Fairy (20:49) - Today in Twitter: Lieutenant Dan (39:14) - Sports: Dan Campbell's greatest hits (01:19:53) - Viewer Mail: Carnival worker follow-up (01:32:03) - News: The Denton Ryan coach (01:57:29) - Today in History: Turkey Jones's sack ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Dandan Zhu's family worked as babysitters for rich folks. Determined to maximize the opportunity, she learned how rich people behaved and carved her own path to financial success. She pursued a career in recruitment and real estate, becoming a self-made millionaire before she was 30. In this episode, Dandan shares her journey, offering her best insights on earning, saving, and investing to achieve financial independence. Dandan Zhu is the founder of DG Recruit, a headhunting business, and Dandan Global, a career coaching service. She has a wealth of experience in sales, recruitment, real estate investing, and financial planning. In this episode, Hala and Dandan will discuss: - Her immigrant background and early influences - The importance of choosing a high-income career - Practical advice on saving in your 20s and 30s - The benefits of investing in real estate and stocks - How to negotiate a higher salary - The value of self-investment and continuous learning - Tips for millennials to achieve financial independence - Why you must turn your side hustle into your main hustle - Making sacrifices for long-term success - And other topics… Dandan Zhu is an accomplished entrepreneur, career coach, and real estate investor. She began her career in recruitment at a top international headhunting firm, quickly becoming a global top producer. In 2016, she founded Dandan Global, a career coaching business, and in 2018, she launched DG Recruit, specializing in agency recruitment. She also hosts the DG Recruit Podcast, sharing insights on careers, recruitment, and financial success. Connect with Dandan: Dandan's Website: https://www.dgrecruit.com/ Dandan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dandanzhu/ Dandan's Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Dandan-Zhu-2 Resources Mentioned: Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert Kiyosaki: https://www.amazon.com/Rich-Dad-Poor-Teach-Middle/dp/1612681123/ The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey: https://www.amazon.com/Habits-Highly-Effective-People-Powerful/dp/0743269519 How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie: https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034 LinkedIn Secrets Masterclass, Have Job Security For Life: Use code ‘podcast' for 30% off at yapmedia.io/course. Sponsored By: Shopify - Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at youngandprofiting.co/shopify Indeed - Get a $75 job credit at indeed.com/profiting BetterHelp - youngandprofiting.co/betterhelp More About Young and Profiting Download Transcripts - youngandprofiting.com Get Sponsorship Deals - youngandprofiting.com/sponsorships Leave a Review - ratethispodcast.com/yap Watch Videos - youtube.com/c/YoungandProfiting Follow Hala Taha LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/htaha/ Instagram - instagram.com/yapwithhala/ TikTok - tiktok.com/@yapwithhala Twitter - twitter.com/yapwithhala Learn more about YAP Media's Services - yapmedia.io/
Dan-Dan LaM from San Jose California s the opening 10 min speaker, then we have Amy Y from Hollister California sharing her story for the remainder of the time. This is from the Grapevine Speaker Meeting in 2004, no idea where they are located. Coming up soon: The Washington State Conference for Young People in AA - WSCYPAA VII. In Tacoma WA. July 26-28. Details: https://scast.us/wscypaa7 The 32nd Annual Fellowship of Spirit Conference in Estes Park Colarado July 25-28. Details: https://scast.us/fotsco If you have any AA or Al-Anon event coming up let me know I am happy to help get the word out. https://scast.us/event Support Sober Cast: https://sobercast.com/donate Email: sobercast@gmail.com Roundup, retreat, convention or workshop coming up? List the event on the Sober Cast website. Visit the link above and look for "Submit Your Event" in the blue box. Sober Cast has 2600+ episodes available, visit SoberCast.com to access all the episodes where you can easily find topics or specific speakers using tags or search. https://sobercast.com