Podcast appearances and mentions of Sandy Duncan

You are in for a real treat on this episode. My guest this time is Greg Schwem. Greg is a corporate comedian. What is a corporate comedian? You probably can imagine that his work has to do with corporations, and you would be right. Greg will explain much better than I can. Mr. Schwem began his career as a TV journalist but eventually decided to take up what he really wanted to do, be a comedian. The story of how he evolved is quite fascinating by any standard. Greg has done comedy professionally since 1989. He speaks today mostly to corporate audiences. He will tell us how he does his work. It is quite interesting to hear how he has learned to relate to his audiences. As you will discover as Greg and I talk, we often work in the same way to learn about our audiences and thus how we get to relate to them. Greg has written three books. His latest one is entitled “Turning Gut Punches into Punch Lines: A Comedian's Journey Through Cancer, Divorce and Other Hilarious Stuff”. As Greg says, “Don't worry, it's not one of those whiny, ‘woe is me,' self- serving books. Instead, it's a hilarious account of me living the words I've been preaching to my audiences: You can always find humor in every situation, even the tough ones. Greg offers many interesting observations as he discusses his career and how he works. I think we all can find significant lessons we can use from his remarks. About the Guest: Hi! I'm Greg Schwem. a Chicago-based business humor speaker and MC who HuffPost calls “Your boss's favorite comedian.” I've traveled the world providing clean, customized laughs to clients such as Microsoft, IBM, McDonald's and even the CIA. I also write the bi-weekly Humor Hotel column for the Chicago Tribune syndicate. I believe every corporate event needs humor. As I often tell clients, “When times are good, people want to laugh. When times are bad, people need to laugh.” One Fortune 500 client summed things up perfectly, saying “You were fantastic and just what everybody needed during these times.” In September 2024 I released my third and most personal book, Turning Gut Punches into Punch Lines: A Comedian's Journey Through Cancer, Divorce and Other Hilarious Stuff. Don't worry, it's not one of those whiny, “woe is me,” self-serving books. Instead, it's a hilarious account of me living the words I've been preaching to my audiences: You can always find humor in every situation, even the tough ones. You can pick up a copy at Amazon or select book stores. Ways to connect with Greg: Website: www.gregschwem.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/gregschwem LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/gregschwem Instagram: www.instagram.com/gregschwem X: www.x.com/gregschwem About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! 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Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:16 Hi everyone, and welcome to unstoppable mindset. Today we are going to definitely have some fun. I'll tell you about our guests in a moment, but first, I want to tell you about me. That'll take an hour or so. I am Michael Hingson, your host, and you're listening to unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. And I don't know, we may get inclusion or diversity into this, but our guest is Greg Schwem. Greg used to be a TV reporter, now he's a comedian, not sure which is funnier, but given some of the reporters I've seen on TV, they really should go into tonight club business. But anyway, Greg, I want to welcome you to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad you're here. I really appreciate you being here and taking the time   Greg Schwem ** 02:04 Well, Michael, it is an honor to be included on your show. I'm really looking forward to the next hour of conversation. I   Speaker 1 ** 02:10 told Greg a little while ago, one of my major life ambitions that I never got to do was to go to a Don Rickles concert and sit in the front row so that hopefully he would pick on me, so that I could say, Yeah, I saw you once on TV, and I haven't been able to see since. What do you think of that? You hockey puck, but I never got to do it. So very disappointed. But everybody has bucket list moments, everybody has, but they don't get around to I'm sorry. Yeah, I know. Well, the other one is, I love to pick on Mike Wallace. I did a radio show for six years opposite him in 60 minutes, and I always love to say that Wallace really had criminal tendencies, because he started out being an announcer in radio and he announced things like The Green Hornet and the Sky King and other shows where they had a lot of criminals. So I just figured he had to be associated with criminals somewhere in his life. Of course, everybody picked on him, and he had broad shoulders. And I again, I regret I never got to to meet him, which is sort of disappointing. But I did get to meet Peter Falk. That was kind of fun.   Greg Schwem ** 03:15 Mike Wallace to Peter Falk. Nice transition there. I know.   Michael Hingson ** 03:21 Well I am really glad you're with us. So why don't we start? We'll start with the serious part. Why don't you tell us, kind of about the early Greg schwim and growing up and all that sort of stuff, just to set the stage, as it were,   Greg Schwem ** 03:34 how far back you want to go? You want to go back to Little League, or you want to   Speaker 1 ** 03:37 just, oh, start at the beginning, a long time ago, right? I was a   Greg Schwem ** 03:41 very strange child. No, I you. You obviously introduced me as a as a comedian, and that is my full time job. And you also said that I was a former journalist, and that is my professional career. Yes, I went from, as I always like to say, I went from depressing people all day long, to making them laugh. And that's, that's kind of what I did. I always did want to be I majored in Journalism at Northwestern University, good journalism school. Originally, I always wanted to be a television reporter. That was as a professional career I was, I dabbled in comedy. Started when I was 16. That is the first time I ever got on stage at my school, my high school, and then at a comedy club. I was there one of the first comedy clubs in Chicago, a place called the comedy cottage. It was in the suburb of beautiful, beautiful suburb of Rosemont, Illinois, and they were one of the very, very first full time comedy clubs in the nation. And as a 16 year old kid, I actually got on stage and did five minutes here and five minutes there. And thought I was, I was hot stuff, but I never, ever thought I would do it for a living. I thought comedy would always be just a hobby. And I. Especially when I went to college, and I thought, okay, Northwestern is pretty good school, pretty expensive school. I should actually use my degree. And I did. I moved down to Florida, wrote for a newspaper called The Palm Beach post, which, don't let that title fool you. It's Palm Beach was a very small segment of of the area that it was, that it served, but I did comedy on the side, and just because I moved down there, I didn't know anybody, so I hung out at comedy clubs just to have something to do. And little by little, comedy in the late 80s, it exploded. Exploded. There were suddenly clubs popping up everywhere, and you were starting to get to know guys that were doing these clubs and were starting to get recognition for just being comedians. And one of them opened up a very, very good Club opened up about 10 minutes from my apartment in West Palm Beach, and I hung out there and started to get more stage time, and eventually started to realize at the same time that I was getting better as a comedian, I was becoming more disillusioned as a journalist in terms of what my bosses wanted me to report on and the tone they wanted me to use. And I just decided that I would I would just never be able to live with myself if I didn't try it, if I didn't take the the plunge into comedy, and that's what I did in 1989 and I've been doing it ever since. And my career has gone in multiple directions, as I think it needs to. If you're going to be in show business and sustain a career in show business, you have to wear a lot of different hats, which I feel like I've done.   Michael Hingson ** 06:40 So tell me more about that. What does that mean exactly?   Greg Schwem ** 06:43 Well, I mean, I started out as a what you would pretty much if somebody said, If you heard somebody say, I'm a comedian, they would envision some guy that just went to comedy clubs all the time, and that's what I did. I was just a guy that traveled by car all over the Midwest and the Southeast primarily, and did comedy clubs, but I quickly realized that was kind of a going nowhere way to attack it, to do comedy unless you were incredibly lucky, because there were so many guys doing it and so many clubs, and I just didn't see a future in it, and I felt like I had to separate myself from the pack a little bit. And I was living in Chicago, which is where I'm from, and still, still exist. Still reside in Chicago, and I started to get involved with a company that did live trade show presentations. So if you've ever been on a trade show floor and you see people, they're mostly actors and actresses that wear a headset and deliver a spiel, a pitch, like every, every twice an hour, about some company, some new product, and so forth. And I did that, and I started to write material about what I was seeing on trade show floors and putting it into my stand up act, stuff about business, stuff about technology, because I was Hawking a lot of new computers and things like that. This was the mid 90s when technology was exploding, and I started to put this into my stand up act. And then I'd have people come up to me afterwards and say, hey, you know those jokes you did about computers and tech support, if you could come down to our office, you know, we're having a golf tournament, we're having a Christmas party, we would love to hear that material. And little by little, I started transitioning my act into doing shows for the corporate market. I hooked up with a corporate agent, or the corporate agent heard about me, and started to open a lot of doors for me in terms of working for very large corporations, and that's pretty much what I've been doing. I stopped working clubs, and I transitioned, instead of being a comedian, I became a corporate humor speaker. And that's what I do, primarily to this day, is to speak at business conferences. Just kind of get people to loosen up, get them to laugh about what they do all day without without making it sound like I'm belittling what they do. And also when I'm not doing that, I work about eight to 10 weeks a year on cruise ships, performing for cruise audiences. So that's a nice getaway.   Speaker 1 ** 09:18 It's interesting since I mentioned Don Rickles earlier, years ago, I saw an interview that he did with Donahue, and one of the things that Don Rickles said, and after he said it, I thought about it. He said, I really don't want to pick on anyone who's going to be offended by me picking on them. He said, I try to watch really carefully, so that if it looks like somebody's getting offended, I'll leave them alone, because that's not what this is all about. It isn't about abusing people. It's about trying to get people to have fun, and if somebody's offended, I don't want to to pick on them, and I've heard a number of albums and other things with him and just. Noticed that that was really true. He wouldn't pick on someone unless they could take it and had a lot of fun with it. And I thought that was absolutely interesting, because that certainly wasn't, of course, the rep that he had and no, but it was   Greg Schwem ** 10:16 true. It is, and it doesn't take long to see as a as a comedian, when you're looking at an audience member and you're talking to them, it, you can tell very quickly, Are they enjoying this? Are they enjoying being the center of attention? A lot of people are, or are they uncomfortable with it? Now, I don't know that going in. I mean, I you know, of course. And again, that's a very small portion of my show is to talk to the audience, but it is something particularly today. I think audiences want to be more involved. I think they enjoy you talk you. Some of these, the new comedians in their 20s and 30s and so forth. Them, some of them are doing nothing, but what they call crowd work. So they're just doing 45 minutes of talking to the audience, which can be good and can be rough too, because you're working without a net. But I'm happy to give an audience a little bit of that. But I also have a lot of stuff that I want to say too. I mean, I work very hard coming up with material and and refining it, and I want to talk about what's going on in my life, too. So I don't want the audience to be the entire show, right?   Speaker 1 ** 11:26 And and they shouldn't be, because it isn't about that. But at the same time, it is nice to involve them. I find that as a keynote and public speaker, I find that true as well, though, is that audiences do like to be involved. And I do some things right at the outset of most talks to involve people, and also in involving them. I want to get them to last so that I start to draw them in, because later, when I tell the September 11 story, which isn't really a humorous thing. Directly,   Greg Schwem ** 12:04 i know i Good luck. I'm spinning 911 to make it I don't think I've ever heard anybody say, by the way, I was trapped in a building. Stick with me. It's kind of cute. It's got a funny ending. And   Speaker 1 ** 12:20 that's right, and it is hard I can, I can say humorous things along the way in telling the story, but, sure, right, but, but clearly it's not a story that, in of itself, is humorous. But what I realized over the years, and it's really dawned on me in the last four or five years is we now have a whole generation of people who have absolutely no memory of September 11 because they were children or they weren't even born yet. And I believe that my job is to not only talk about it, but literally to draw them into the building and have them walk down the stairs with me, and I have to be descriptive in a very positive way, so that they really are part of what's going on. And the reality is that I do hear people or people come up and say, we were with you when you were going down the stairs. And I think that's my job, because the reality is that we've got to get people to understand there are lessons to be learned from September 11, right? And the only real way to do that is to attract the audience and bring them in. And I think probably mostly, I'm in a better position to do that than most people, because I'm kind of a curious soul, being blind and all that, but it allows me to to draw them in and and it's fun to do that, actually. And I, and   Greg Schwem ** 13:52 I gotta believe, I mean, obviously I wasn't there, Michael, but I gotta believe there were moments of humor in people, a bunch of people going down the stairs. Sure, me, you put people get it's like, it's like when a bunch of people are in an elevator together, you know, I mean, there's I, when I look around and I try to find something humorous in a crowded and it's probably the same thing now, obviously it, you know, you got out in time. But I and, you know, don't that's the hotel phone, which I just hung up so but I think that I can totally see where you're going from, where, if you're if you're talking to people who have no recollection of this, have no memory where you're basically educating them on the whole event. I think you then you have the opportunity to tell the story in whatever way you see fit. And I think that however you choose to do it is there's no wrong way to do it, I guess is what I'm trying to get at.   Speaker 1 ** 14:55 Well, yeah, I think the wrong way is to be two. Graphic and morbid and morbid, but one of the things that I talk about, for example, is that a colleague of mine who was with me, David Frank, at about the 50th floor, suddenly said, Mike, we're going to die. We're not going to make it out of here. And as as I tell the audience, typically, I as as you heard my introduction at the beginning, I have a secondary teaching credential. And one of the things that you probably don't know about teachers is that there's a secret course that every teacher takes called Voice 101, how to yell at students and and so what I tell people is that when David said that, I just said in my best teacher voice, stop it, David, if Roselle and I can go down these stairs, so can you. And he told me later that that brought him out of his funk, and he ended up walking a floor below me and shouting up to me everything he saw. And it was just mainly, everything is clear, like I'm on floor 48 he's on 47/47 floor. Everything is good here, and what I have done for the past several years in telling that part of the story is to say David, in reality, probably did more to keep people calm and focused as we went down the stairs than anyone else, because anyone within the sound of his voice heard someone who was focused and sounded okay. You know, hey, I'm on the 44th floor. This is where the Port Authority cafeteria is not stopping. And it it helps people understand that we all had to do what we could to keep everyone from not panicking. And it almost happened a few times that people did, but we worked at it. But the i The idea is that it helps draw people in, and I think that's so important to do for my particular story is to draw them in and have them walk down the stairs with me, which is what I do, absolutely, yeah, yeah. Now I'm curious about something that keeps coming up. I hear it every so often, public speaker, Speaker experts and people who are supposedly the great gurus of public speaking say you shouldn't really start out with a joke. And I've heard that so often, and I'm going give me a break. Well, I think, I think it depends, yeah, I think   Greg Schwem ** 17:33 there's two schools of thought to that. I think if you're going to start out with a joke, it better be a really good one, or something that you either has been battle tested, because if it doesn't work now, you, you know, if you're hoping for a big laugh, now you're saying, Well, you're a comedian, what do you do? You know, I mean, I, I even, I just sort of work my way into it a little bit. Yeah, and I'm a comedian, so, and, you know, it's funny, Michael, I will get, I will get. I've had CEOs before say to me, Hey, you know, I've got to give this presentation next week. Give me a joke I can tell to everybody. And I always decline. I always it's like, I don't need that kind of pressure. And it's like, I can, I can, I can tell you a funny joke, but,   Michael Hingson ** 18:22 but you telling the   Greg Schwem ** 18:23 work? Yeah, deliver it. You know, I can't deliver it for you. Yeah? And I think that's what I also, you know, on that note, I've never been a big fan of Stand Up Comedy classes, and you see them all popping up all over the place. Now, a lot of comedy clubs will have them, and usually the you take the class, and the carrot at the end is you get to do five minutes at a comedy club right now, if that is your goal, if you're somebody who always like, Gosh, I wonder what it would like be like to stand up on stage and and be a comedian for five minutes. That's something I really like to try. By all means, take the class, all right. But if you think that you're going to take this class and you're going to emerge a much funnier person, like all of a sudden you you weren't funny, but now you are, don't take the class, yeah? And I think, sadly, I think that a lot of people sign up for these classes thinking the latter, thinking that they will all of a sudden become, you know, a comedian. And it doesn't work that way. I'm sorry you cannot teach unfunny people to be funny. Yeah, some of us have the gift of it, and some of us don't. Some of us are really good with our hands, and just know how to build stuff and how to look at things and say, I can do that. And some of us, myself included, definitely do not. You know, I think you can teach people to be more comfortable, more comfortable in front of an audience and. Correct. I think that is definitely a teachable thing, but I don't think that you can teach people to be funnier   Speaker 1 ** 20:10 and funnier, and I agree with that. I tend to be amazed when I keep hearing that one of the top fears in our world is getting up in front of an audience and talking with them, because people really don't understand that audiences, whatever you're doing, want you to succeed, and they're not against you, but we have just conditioned ourselves collectively that speaking is something to be afraid of?   Greg Schwem ** 20:41 Yes, I think, though it's, I'm sure, that fear, though, of getting up in front of people has only probably been exacerbated and been made more intense because now everybody in the audience has a cell phone and to and to be looking out at people and to see them on their phones. Yeah, you're and yet, you prepped all day long. You've been nervous. You've been you probably didn't sleep the night before. If you're one of these people who are afraid of speaking in public, yeah, and then to see people on their phones. You know, it used to bother me. It doesn't anymore, because it's just the society we live in. I just, I wish, I wish people could put their phones down and just enjoy laughing for 45 minutes. But unfortunately, our society can't do that anymore, so I just hope that I can get most of them to stop looking at it.   Speaker 1 ** 21:32 I don't make any comments about it at the beginning, but I have, on a number of occasions, been delivering a speech, and I hear a cell phone ring, and I'll stop and go, Hello. And I don't know for sure what the person with the cell phone does, but by the same token, you know they really shouldn't be on their phone and and it works out, okay, nobody's ever complained about it. And when I just say hello, or I'll go Hello, you don't say, you know, and things like that, but, but I don't, I don't prolong it. I'll just go back to what I was talking about. But I remember, when I lived in New Jersey, Sandy Duncan was Peter Pan in New York. One night she was flying over the audience, and there was somebody on his cell phone, and she happened to be going near him, and she just kicked the phone out of his hand. And I think that's one of the things that started Broadway in saying, if you have a cell phone, turn it off. And those are the announcements that you hear at the beginning of any Broadway performance today.   Greg Schwem ** 22:39 Unfortunately, people don't abide by that. I know you're still hearing cell phones go off, yeah, you know, in Broadway productions at the opera or wherever, so people just can't and there you go. There that just shows you're fighting a losing battle.   Speaker 1 ** 22:53 Yeah, it's just one of those things, and you got to cope with it.   Greg Schwem ** 22:58 What on that note, though, there was, I will say, if I can interrupt real quick, there was one show I did where nobody had their phone. It was a few years ago. I spoke at the CIA. I spoke for some employees of the CIA. And this might, this might freak people out, because you think, how is it that America's covert intelligence agency, you think they would be on their phones all the time. No, if you work there, you cannot have your phone on you. And so I had an audience of about 300 people who I had their total attention because there was no other way to they had no choice but to listen to me, and it was wonderful. It was just a great show, and I it was just so refreshing. Yeah,   Speaker 1 ** 23:52 and mostly I don't hear cell phones, but they do come up from time to time. And if they do, then you know it happens. Now my one of my favorite stories is I once spoke in Maryland at the Department of Defense, which anybody who knows anything knows that's the National Security Agency, but they call it the Department of Defense, as if we don't know. And my favorite story is that I had, at the time, a micro cassette recorder, and it died that morning before I traveled to Fort Meade, and I forgot to just throw it away, and it was in my briefcase. So I got to the fort, they searched, apparently, didn't find it, but on the way out, someone found it. They had to get a bird Colonel to come to decide what to do with it. I said, throw it away. And they said, No, we can't do that. It's yours. And they they decided it didn't work, and they let me take it and I threw it away. But it was so, so funny to to be at the fort and see everybody running around crazy. See, what do we do with this micro cassette recorder? This guy's been here for an hour. Yeah. So it's it. You know, all sorts of things happen. What do you think about you know, there's a lot of discussion about comedians who use a lot of foul language in their shows, and then there are those who don't, and people seem to like the shock value of that.   Greg Schwem ** 25:25 Yeah, I'm very old school in that. I guess my short answer is, No, I've never, ever been one of those comedians. Ever I do a clean show, I actually learned my lesson very early on. I think I think that I think comedians tend to swear because when they first start out, out of nerves, because I will tell you that profanity does get laughter. And I've always said, if you want to, if you want to experiment on that, have a comedian write a joke, and let's say he's got two shows that night. Let's say he's got an eight o'clock show and a 10 o'clock show. So let's say he does the joke in the eight o'clock and it's, you know, the cadence is bumper, bump up, bump up, bump up, punch line. Okay, now let's and let's see how that plays. Now let's now he does the 10 o'clock show and it's bumper, bump up, bump up F and Okay, yeah, I pretty much guarantee you the 10 o'clock show will get a bigger laugh. Okay? Because he's sort of, it's like the audience is programmed like, oh, okay, we're supposed to laugh at that now. And I think a lot of comedians think, Aha, I have just discovered how to be successful as a comedian. I will just insert the F word in front of every punch line, and you can kind of tell what comedians do that and what comedians I mean. I am fine with foul language, but have some jokes in there too. Don't make them. Don't make the foul word, the joke, the joke, right? And I can say another thing nobody has ever said to me, I cannot hire you because you're too clean. I've never gotten that. And all the years I've been doing this, and I know there's lots of comedians who who do work blue, who have said, you know, who have been turned down for that very reason. So I believe, if you're a comedian, the only way to get better is to work any place that will have you. Yeah, and you can't, so you might as well work clean so you can work any place that will have you, as opposed to being turned away.   Speaker 1 ** 27:30 Well, and I, and I know what, what happened to him and all that, but at the same time, I grew up listening to Bill Cosby and the fact that he was always clean. And, yeah, I understand everything that happened, but you can't deny and you can't forget so many years of humor and all the things that that he brought to the world, and the joy he brought to the world in so many ways.   Greg Schwem ** 27:57 Oh, yeah, no, I agree. I agree. And he Yeah, he worked everywhere. Jay Leno is another one. I mean, Jay Leno is kind of on the same wavelength as me, as far as don't let the profanity become the joke. You know, Eddie Murphy was, you know, was very foul. Richard Pryor, extremely foul. I but they also, prior, especially, had very intelligent material. I mean, you can tell and then if you want to insert your F bombs and so forth, that's fine, but at least show me that you're trying. At least show me that you came in with material in addition to the   Speaker 1 ** 28:36 foul language. The only thing I really have to say about all that is it? Jay Leno should just stay away from cars, but that's another story.   Greg Schwem ** 28:43 Oh, yeah, it's starting to   Greg Schwem ** 28:47 look that way. Yeah, it   Michael Hingson ** 28:49 was. It was fun for a while, Jay, but yeah, there's just two. It's like, Harrison Ford and plains. Yeah, same concept. At some point you're like, this isn't working out. Now I submit that living here in Victorville and just being out on the streets and being driven around and all that, I am firmly convinced, given the way most people drive here, that the bigoted DMV should let me have a license, because I am sure I can drive as well as most of the clowns around here. Yeah, so when they drive, I have no doubt. Oh, gosh. Well, you know, you switched from being a TV journalist and so on to to comedy. Was it a hard choice? Was it really difficult to do, or did it just seem like this is the time and this is the right thing to do. I was   Greg Schwem ** 29:41 both, you know, it was hard, because I really did enjoy my job and I liked, I liked being a TV news reporter. I liked, I liked a job that was different every day once you got in there, because you didn't know what they were going to send you out to do. Yes, you had. To get up and go to work every day and so forth. So there's a little bit of, you know, there's a little bit of the mundane, just like there is in any job, but once you were there, I liked, just never known what the day would bring, right? And and I, I think if I'd stayed with it, I think I think I could have gone pretty far, particularly now, because the now it's more people on TV are becoming more entertainers news people are becoming, yeah, they are. A lot of would be, want to be comedians and so forth. And I don't particularly think that's appropriate, but I agree. But so it was hard to leave, but it gets back to what I said earlier. At some point, you got to say, I was seeing comedians making money, and I was thinking, gosh, you know, if they're making money at this I I'm not hilarious, but I know I'm funnier than that guy. Yeah, I'm funnier than her, so why not? And I was young, and I was single, and I thought, if I if I don't try it now, I never will. And, and I'll bet there's just some hilarious people out there, yeah, who who didn't ever, who just were afraid   Michael Hingson ** 31:14 to take that chance, and they wouldn't take the leap, yeah,   Greg Schwem ** 31:16 right. And now they're probably kicking themselves, and I'm sure maybe they're very successful at what they do, but they're always going to say, what if, if I only done this? I don't ever, I don't, ever, I never, ever wanted to say that. Yeah,   Speaker 1 ** 31:31 well, and there's, there's something to be said for being brave and stepping out and doing something that you don't expect, or that you didn't expect, or that you weren't sure how it was going to go, but if you don't try, then you're never going to know just how, how much you could really accomplish and how much you can really do. And I think that the creative people, whatever they're being creative about, are the people who do step out and are willing to take a chance.   Greg Schwem ** 31:59 Yeah, yeah. And I told my kids that too. You know, it's just like, if it's something that you're passionate about, do it. Just try it. If it doesn't work out, then at least you can say I tried   Speaker 1 ** 32:09 it and and if it doesn't work out, then you can decide, what do I need to do to figure out why it didn't work out, or is it just not me? I want   Greg Schwem ** 32:18 to keep going? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.   Speaker 1 ** 32:21 So what is the difference between being a nightclub comedian and a corporate comedian? Because they are somewhat different. I think I know the answer. But what would you say that the differences between them? I think   Greg Schwem ** 32:33 the biggest thing is the audiences. I think when you when you are a nightclub comedian, you are working in front of people who are there to be entertained. Yeah, they, they paid money for that. That's what they're expecting. They, they, at some point during the day, they said, Hey, let's, let's go laugh tonight. That's what we really want to do when you're working in front of a corporate audiences. That's not necessarily the case. They are there. I primarily do business conferences and, you know, association meetings and so forth. And I'm just one cog in the wheel of a whole day's worth of meetings are, for the most part, very dry and boring, maybe certainly necessary educational. They're learning how to do their job better or something. And then you have a guy like me come in, and people aren't always ready to laugh, yeah, despite the fact that they probably need to, but they just they're not always in that mindset. And also the time of day. I mean, I do a lot of shows at nine in the morning. I do shows after lunch, right before lunch. I actually do very few shows in the evening, believe it or not. And so then you you have to, you kind of have to, in the while you're doing your act or your presentation or your speech, as I call it, you kind of have to let them know that it is okay. What you're doing is okay, and they should be okay with laughing. They shouldn't be looking around the whole time wondering if other people are laughing. You know, can I, can I? Can I tell you a quick story about how I drive that point home. Why not? Yeah, it's, I'll condense it into like five minutes. I mentioned that I worked on that I work on cruise ships occasionally, and I one night I was performing, and it was the first night of the cruise. And if anybody's ever been on a cruise, note, the first night, first night entertainers don't like the first night because people are tired. You know, they're they're a little edgy because they've been traveling all day. They're they're confused because they're not really sure where they're going on a ship. And the ones that have got it figured out usually over serve themselves because they're on vacation. So you put all that, so I'm doing my show on the first. Night, and it's going very well. And about five, six minutes in, I do a joke. Everybody laughs. Everybody shuts up. And from the back of the room in total darkness, I hear hat just like that. And I'm like, All right, you know, probably over served. So the rule of comedy is that everybody gets like. I was like, I'll let it go once, yeah. So I just kind of looked off in that direction, didn't say anything. Kept going with my active going with my act. About 10 minutes later, same thing happens. I tell a joke. Everybody laughs. Everybody shuts up. Hat now I'm like, Okay, I have got to, I've got to address the elephant in the room. So I think I just made some comment, like, you know, I didn't know Roseanne Barr was on this cruise, you know, because that was like the sound of the Yeah. Okay, everybody laugh. Nothing happened about five minutes later. It happens a third time. And now I'm just like, this is gonna stop. I'm going to put a stop to this. And I just fired off. I can't remember, like, three just like, hey man, you know you're you're just a little behind everybody else in this show and probably in life too, that, you know, things like that, and it never happened again. So I'm like, okay, mission accomplished on my part. Comedians love it when we can shut up somebody like that. Anyway. Show's over, I am out doing a meet and greet. Some guy comes up to me and he goes, hey, hey, you know that kid you were making fun of is mentally handicapped. And now, of course, I don't know this, but out of the corner of my eye, I see from the other exit a man pushing a son, his son in a wheelchair out of the showroom. And I'm just like, Oh, what have I done? And yeah. And of course, when you're on a cruise, you're you're on a cruise. When you're a cruise ship entertainer, you have to live with your audience. So I couldn't hide. I spent like the next three days, and it seemed like wherever I was, the man and his son in the wheelchair were nearby. And finally, on the fourth day, I think was, I was waiting for an elevator. Again, 3500 people on this ship, okay, I'm waiting for an elevator. The elevator door opens. Guess who are the only two people the elevator, the man and his son. And I can't really say I'll wait for the next one. So I get on, and I said to this the father, I said, I just want you to know I had no idea. You know, I'm so sorry. I can't see back there, this kind of thing. And the dad looks at me. He puts his hand up to stop me, and he points to me, and he goes, I thought you were hysterical. And it was, not only was it relief, but it kind of, it's sort of a lesson that if you think something is funny, you should laugh at it. Yeah. And I think sometimes in corporate America, my point in this. I think sometimes when you do these corporate shows, I think that audience members forget that. I think very busy looking around to see if their immediate boss thinks it's funny, and eventually everybody's looking at the CEO to see if they're like, you know, I think if you're doing it that way, if that's the way you're you're approaching humor. You're doing yourself a disservice, if right, stopping yourself from laughing at something that you think is funny.   Speaker 1 ** 38:09 I do think that that all too often the problem with meetings is that we as a as a country, we in corporations, don't do meetings, right anyway, for example, early on, I heard someone at a convention of the National Federation of the Blind say he was the new executive director of the American Foundation for the Blind, and he said, I have instituted a policy, no Braille, no meetings. And what that was all about was to say, if you're going to have a meeting, you need to make sure that all the documentation is accessible to those who aren't going to read the print. I take it further and say you shouldn't be giving out documentation during the meeting. And you can use the excuse, well, I got to get the latest numbers and all that. And my point is, you shouldn't be giving out documentation at a meeting, because the meeting is for people to communicate and interact with each other. And if you're giving out papers and so on, what are people going to do? They're going to read that, and they're not going to listen to the speakers. They're not going to listen to the other people. And we do so many things like that, we've gotten into a habit of doing things that become so predictable, but also make meetings very boring, because who wants to look at the papers where you can be listening to people who have a lot more constructive and interesting things to say anyway?   Greg Schwem ** 39:36 Yeah, yeah. I think, I think COVID definitely changed, some for the some for the better and some for the worse. I think that a lot of things that were done at meetings COVID and made us realize a lot of that stuff could be done virtually, that you didn't have to just have everybody sit and listen to people over and over and over again.   Speaker 1 ** 39:58 But unless you're Donald Trump. Up. Yeah, that's another story.   Greg Schwem ** 40:02 Yes, exactly another podcast episode. But, yeah, I do think also that. I think COVID changed audiences. I think, you know, we talked a little bit earlier about crowd work, right, and audiences wanting to be more involved. I think COVID precipitated that, because, if you think about it, Michael, for two and a half years during COVID, our sole source of entertainment was our phone, right? Which meant that we were in charge of the entertainment experience. You don't like something, swipe left, scroll down, scroll, scroll, scroll, find something else. You know, that kind of thing. I'm not I'm not entertained in the next four or five seconds. So I'm going to do this. And I think when live entertainment returned, audiences kind of had to be retrained a little bit, where they had to learn to sit and listen and wait for the entertainment to come to them. And granted, it might not happen immediately. It might not happen in the first five seconds, but you have to just give give people like me a chance. It will come to you. It will happen, but it might not be on your timetable,   Speaker 1 ** 41:13 right? Well, and I think that is all too true for me. I didn't find didn't find COVID to be a great inconvenience, because I don't look at the screen anyway, right? So in a sense, for me, COVID wasn't that much of a change, other than not being in an office or not being physically at a meeting, and so I was listening to the meeting on the computer, and that has its nuances. Like you don't necessarily get the same information about how everyone around you is reacting, but, but it didn't bother me, I think, nearly as much as it did everyone else who has to look at everyone. Of course, I have no problems picking on all those people as well, because what I point out is that that disabilities has to be redefined, because every one of you guys has your own disability. You're light dependent, and you don't do well when there's dark, when, when the dark shows up and and we now have an environment where Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb, and we've spent the last 147 years doing everything we can to make sure that light is pretty ubiquitous, but it doesn't change a thing when suddenly the power goes out and you don't have immediate access to light. So that's as much a disability as us light, independent people who don't   Greg Schwem ** 42:36 care about that, right? Right? I hear, I agree, but it is but   Speaker 1 ** 42:41 it is interesting and and it is also important that we all understand each other and are willing to tolerate the fact that there are differences in people, and we need to recognize that with whatever we're doing.   42:53 Yeah, I agree.   Speaker 1 ** 42:57 What do you think about so today, we have obviously a really fractured environment and fractured country, and everyone's got their own opinions, and nobody wants to talk about anything, especially politics wise. How do you think that's all affecting comedy and what you get to do and what other people are doing?   Greg Schwem ** 43:18 Well, I think Pete, I think there's, there's multiple answers to that question too. I think, I think it makes people nervous, wondering what the minute a comedian on stage brings up politics, the minute he starts talking about a politician, whether it's our president, whether it's somebody else, you can sense a tension in the room a little bit, and it's, it's, I mean, it's funny. I, one of my best friends in comedy, got to open for another comedian at Carnegie Hall a couple of years ago, and I went to see him, and I'm sitting way up in the top, and he is just crushing it. And then at one point he he brought up, he decided to do an impression of Mitch McConnell, which he does very well. However, the minute he said, Mitch McConnell, I you could just sense this is Carnegie freaking Hall, and after the show, you know, he and I always like to dissect each other's shows. That's what comedians do. And I just said to him, I go. Why did you decide to insert Mitch McConnell in there? And I, and I didn't say it like, you moron, that was stupid, yeah, but I was genuinely curious. And he just goes, well, I just really like doing that bit, and I like doing that voice and so forth, but, and it's not like the show crashed and burned afterwards. No, he did the joke, and then he got out of it, and he went on to other stuff, and it was fine, but I think that people are just so on their guard now, yeah, and, and that's why, you know, you know Jay Leno always said he was an equal opportunity offender. I think you will do better with politics if you really want. Insert politics into your act. I think he would be better making fun of both sides. Yeah, it's true. Yeah. And I think too often comedians now use the the stage as kind of a Bully, bully pulpit, like I have microphone and you don't. I am now going to give you my take on Donald Trump or the Democrats or whatever, and I've always said, talk about anything you want on stage, but just remember, you're at a comedy club. People came to laugh. So is there a joke in here? Yeah, or are you just ranting because you gotta be careful. You have to get this off your chest, and your way is right. It's, it's, you know, I hate to say it, but that's, that's why podcast, no offense, Michael, yours, is not like this. But I think one of the reasons podcasters have gotten so popular is a lot of people, just a lot of podcast hosts see a podcast is a chance to just rant about whatever's on their mind. And it's amazing to me how many podcast hosts that are hosted by comedians have a second guy have a sidekick to basically laugh and agree with whatever that person says. I think Joe Rogan is a classic example, and he's one of the most popular ones. But, and I don't quite understand that, because you know, if you're a comedian, you you made the choice to work solo, right? So why do you need somebody else with you?   Speaker 1 ** 46:33 I'm I'm fairly close to Leno. My remark is a little bit different. I'm not so much an equal opportunity offender as I am an equal opportunity abuser. I'll pick on both sides if politics comes into it at all, and it's and it's fun, and I remember when George W Bush was leaving the White House, Letterman said, Now we're not going to have anybody to joke about anymore. And everyone loved it. But still, I recognize that in the world today, people don't want to hear anything else. Don't confuse me with the facts or any of that, and it's so unfortunate, but it is the way it is, and so it's wiser to stay away from a lot of that, unless you can really break through the barrier,   Greg Schwem ** 47:21 I think so. And I also think that people, one thing you have to remember, I think, is when people come to a comedy show, they are coming to be entertained. Yeah, they are coming to kind of escape from the gloom and doom that unfortunately permeates our world right now. You know? I mean, I've always said that if you, if you walked up to a comedy club on a Saturday night, and let's say there were 50 people waiting outside, waiting to get in, and you asked all 50 of them, what do you hope happens tonight? Or or, Why are you here? All right, I think from all 50 you would get I would just like to laugh, yeah, I don't think one of them is going to say, you know, I really hope that my opinions on what's happening in the Middle East get challenged right now, but he's a comedian. No one is going to say that. No, no. It's like, I hope I get into it with the comedian on stage, because he thinks this way about a woman's right to choose, and I think the other way. And I really, really hope that he and I will get into an argument about to the middle of the   Speaker 1 ** 48:37 show. Yeah, yeah. That's not why people come?   Greg Schwem ** 48:40 No, it's not. And I, unfortunately, I think again, I think that there's a lot of comedians that don't understand that. Yeah, again, talk about whatever you want on stage, but just remember that your your surroundings, you if you build yourself as a comedian,   48:56 make it funny. Yeah, be funny.   Speaker 1 ** 49:00 Well, and nowadays, especially for for you, for me and so on, we're we're growing older and and I think you point out audiences are getting younger. How do you deal with that?   Greg Schwem ** 49:12 Well, what I try to do is I a couple of things. I try to talk as much as I can about topics that are relevant to a younger generation. Ai being one, I, one of the things I do in my my show is I say, oh, you know, I I really wasn't sure how to start off. And when you're confused these days, you you turn to answer your questions. You turn to chat GPT, and I've actually written, you know, said to chat GPT, you know, I'm doing a show tonight for a group of construction workers who work in the Midwest. It's a $350 million company, and it says, try to be very specific. Give me a funny opening line. And of course, chat GPT always comes up with some. Something kind of stupid, which I then relate to the audience, and they love that, you know, they love that concept. So I think there's, obviously, there's a lot of material that you can do on generational differences, but I, I will say I am very, very aware that my audience is, for the most part, younger than me now, unless I want to spend the rest of my career doing you know, over 55 communities, not that they're not great laughers, but I also think there's a real challenge in being older than your audience and still being able to make them laugh. But I think you have to remember, like you said, there's there's people now that don't remember 911 that have no concept of it, yeah, so don't be doing references from, say, the 1980s or the early 1990s and then come off stage and go, Man, nobody that didn't hit at all. No one, no one. They're stupid. They don't get it. Well, no, they, they, it sounds they don't get it. It's just that they weren't around. They weren't around, right? So that's on you.   Speaker 1 ** 51:01 One of the things that you know people ask me is if I will do virtual events, and I'll do virtual events, but I also tell people, the reason I prefer to do in person events is that I can sense what the audience is doing, how they're reacting and what they feel. If I'm in a room speaking to people, and I don't have that same sense if I'm doing something virtually, agreed same way. Now for me, at the same time, I've been doing this now for 23 years, so I have a pretty good idea in general, how to interact with an audience, to draw them in, even in a virtual environment, but I still tend to be a little bit more careful about it, and it's just kind of the way it is, you know, and you and you learn to deal with it well for you, have you ever had writer's block, and how did you deal with it?   Greg Schwem ** 51:57 Yes, I have had writer's block. I don't I can't think of a single comedian who's never had writer's block, and if they say they haven't, I think they're lying when I have writer's block, the best way for me to deal with this and just so you know, I'm not the kind of comedian that can go that can sit down and write jokes. I can write stories. I've written three books, but I can't sit down and just be funny for an hour all by myself. I need interaction. I need communication. And I think when I have writer's block, I tend to go out and try and meet strangers and can engage them in conversation and find out what's going on with them. I mean, you mentioned about dealing with the younger audience. I am a big believer right now in talking to people who are half my age. I like doing that in social settings, because I just, I'm curious. I'm curious as to how they think. I'm curious as to, you know, how they spend money, how they save money, how what their hopes and dreams are for the future, what that kind of thing, and that's the kind of stuff that then I'll take back and try and write material about. And I think that, I think it's fun for me, and it's really fun to meet somebody who I'll give you a great example just last night. Last night, I was I there's a there's a bar that I have that's about 10 a stone's throw from my condo, and I love to stop in there and and every now and then, sometimes I'll sit there and I won't meet anybody, and sometimes different. So there was a guy, I'd say he's probably in his early 30s, sitting too over, and he was reading, which I find intriguing, that people come to a bar and read, yeah, people do it, I mean. And I just said to him, I go, and he was getting ready to pay his bill, and I just said, if you don't mind me asking, What are you reading? And he's like, Oh, it's by Ezra Klein. And I go, you know, I've listened to Ezra Klein before. And he goes, Yeah, you know? He says, I'm a big fan. And debt to debt to dad. Next thing, you know, we're just, we're just riffing back and forth. And I ended up staying. He put it this way, Michael, it took him a very long time to pay his bill because we had a conversation, and it was just such a pleasure to to people like that, and I think that, and it's a hard thing. It's a hard thing for me to do, because I think people are on their guard, a little bit like, why is this guy who's twice my age talking to me at a bar? That's that seems a little weird. And I would get that. I can see that. But as I mentioned in my latest book, I don't mean because I don't a whole chapter to this, and I I say in the book, I don't mean you any harm. I'm not trying to hit on you, or I'm not creepy old guy at the bar. I am genuinely interested in your story. And. In your life, and and I just, I want to be the least interesting guy in the room, and that's kind of how I go about my writing, too. Is just you, you drive the story. And even though I'm the comedian, I'll just fill in the gaps and make them funny.   Speaker 1 ** 55:15 Well, I know that I have often been invited to speak at places, and I wondered, What am I going to say to this particular audience? How am I going to deal with them? They're they're different than what I'm used to. What I found, I guess you could call that writer's block, but what I found is, if I can go early and interact with them, even if I'm the very first speaker, if I can interact with them beforehand, or if there are other people speaking before me, invariably, I will hear things that will allow me to be able to move on and give a relevant presentation specifically to that group, which is what it's really all about. And so I'm with you, and I appreciate it, and it's good to get to the point where you don't worry about the block, but rather you look at ways to move forward and interact with people and make it fun, right,   Greg Schwem ** 56:13 right? And I do think people, I think COVID, took that away from us a little bit, yeah, obviously, but I but, and I do think people missed that. I think that people, once you get them talking, are more inclined to not think that you're you have ulterior motives. I think people do enjoy putting their phones down a little bit, but it's, it's kind of a two way street when I, when I do meet people, if it's if it's only me asking the questions, eventually I'm going to get tired of that. Yeah, I think there's a, there has to be a reciprocity thing a little bit. And one thing I find is, is with the Gen Z's and maybe millennials. They're not, they're not as good at that as I think they could be. They're more they're they're happy to talk about themselves, but they're not really good at saying so what do you do for a living? Or what you know, tell me about you. And I mean, that's how you learn about other people. Yeah,   Speaker 1 ** 57:19 tell me about your your latest book, Turning gut punches into punchlines. That's a interesting title, yeah, well, the more   Greg Schwem ** 57:26 interesting is the subtitle. So it's turning gut punches into punch punch lines, A Comedian's journey through cancer, divorce and other hilarious stuff.   Speaker 1 ** 57:35 No, like you haven't done anything in the world. Okay, right? So   Greg Schwem ** 57:38 other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln. Yeah, exactly. See, now you get that reference. I don't know if I could use that on stage, but anyway, depend on your audience. But yeah, they're like, What's he talking   Speaker 1 ** 57:50 who's Lincoln? And I've been to Ford theater too, so that's okay, yes, as have I. So it was much later than, than, well, than Lincoln, but that's okay.   Greg Schwem ** 57:58 You're not that old, right? No. Well, okay, so as the title, as the title implies, I did have sort of a double, double gut punch, it just in the last two years. So I, I got divorced late in life, after 29 years of marriage. And while that was going on, I got a colon cancer diagnosis and and at this end, I was dealing with all this while also continuing work as a humor speaker, okay, as a comedian. And I just decided I got it. First of all, I got a very clean bill of health. I'm cancer free. I am finally divorced so and I, I started to think, I wonder if there's some humor in this. I I would, I would, you know, Michael, I've been on stage for like, 25 years telling people that, you know, you can find something funny to laugh at. You can find humor in any situation. It's kind of like what you're talking about all the people going down the stairs in the building in the world trade center. All right, if you look around enough, you know, maybe there's something funny, and I've been preaching that, but I never really had to live that until now. And I thought, you know, maybe there's something here. Maybe I can this is my chance now to embrace new experiences. It was kind of when I got divorced, when you've been married half your life and all of a sudden you get divorced, everything's new to you, yeah, you're, you're, you're living alone, you you're doing things that your spouse did, oh, so many years. And you're having to do those, and you're having to make new friends, yeah, and all of that, I think, is very humorous. So the more I saw a book in there that I started writing before the cancer diagnosis, and I thought was there enough here? Just like, okay, a guy at 60 years old gets divorced now what's going to happen to him? The diagnosis? Kind. Made it just added another wrinkle to the book, because now I have to deal with this, and I have to find another subject to to make light of a little bit. So the book is not a memoir, you know, I don't start it off. And, you know, when I was seven, you know, I played, you know, I was, I went to this school night. It's not that. It's more just about reinvention and just seeing that you can be happy later in life, even though you have to kind of rewrite your your story a little   Speaker 1 ** 1:00:33 bit. And I would assume, and I would assume, you bring some of that into your ACT every so   Greg Schwem ** 1:00:38 very much. So yeah, I created a whole new speech called Turning gut punches into punchlines. And I some of the stuff that I, that I did, but, you know, there's a chapter in the book about, I about gig work, actually three chapters I, you know, I went to work for Amazon during the Christmas holiday rush, just scanning packages. I wanted to see what that was like. I drove for Uber I which I did for a while. And to tell you the truth, I miss it. I ended up selling my car, but I miss it because of the what we just talked about. It was a great way to communicate with people. It was a great way to talk to people, find out about them, be the least interesting person in the car, anyway. And there's a chapter about dating and online dating, which I had not had to do in 30 years. There's a lot of humor in that. I went to therapy. I'd never gone to therapy before. I wrote a chapter about that. So I think people really respond to this book, because they I think they see a lot of themselves in it. You know, lots of people have been divorced. There's lots of cancer survivors out there, and there's lots of people who just suddenly have hit a speed bump in their life, and they're not really sure how to deal with it, right? And my way, this book is just about deal with it through laughter. And I'm the perfect example.   Speaker 1 ** 1:01:56 I hear you, Oh, I I know, and I've been through the same sort of thing as you not a divorce, but my wife and I were married for 40 years, and she passed away in November of 2022 after 40 years of marriage. And as I tell people, as I tell people, I got to be really careful, because she's monitoring me from somewhere, and if I misbehave, I'm going to hear about it, so I got to be a good kid, and I don't even chase the women so. But I also point out that none of them have been chasing me either, so I guess I just do what we got to do. But the reality is, I think there are always ways to find some sort of a connection with other people, and then, of course, that's what what you do. It's all about creating a connection, creating a relationship, even if it's only for a couple of hours or an hour or 45 minutes, but, but you do it, which is what it's all about?   Greg Schwem ** 1:02:49 Yeah, exactly. And I think the funniest stuff is real life experience. Oh, absolutely, you know. And if people can see themselves in in what I've written, then I've done my job as a writer.   Speaker 1 ** 1:03:03 So do you have any plans to retire?   Greg Schwem ** 1:03:06 Never. I mean, good for you retire from what   1:03:09 I know right, making fun of people   Greg Schwem ** 1:03:12 and making them laugh. I mean, I don't know what I would do with myself, and even if I there's always going to be I don't care how technology, technologically advanced our society gets. People will always want and need to laugh. Yeah, they're always going to want to do that. And if they're want, if they're wanting to do that, then I will find, I will find a way to get to them. And that's why I, as I said, That's why, like working on cruise ships has become, like a new, sort of a new avenue for me to make people laugh. And so, yeah, I don't I there's, there's no way. I don't know what else I would do with   Speaker 1 ** 1:03:53 myself, well and from my perspective, as long as I can inspire people, yes, I can make people think a little bit and feel better about themselves. I'm going to do it right. And, and, and I do. And I wrote a book during COVID that was published last August called Live like a guide dog. And it's all about helping people learn to control fear. And I use lessons I learned from eight guide dogs and my wife service dog to do that. My wife was in a wheelchair her whole life. Great marriage. She read, I pushed worked out well, but, but the but the but the bottom line is that dogs can teach us so many lessons, and there's so much that we can learn from them. So I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to create this book and and get it out there. And I think that again, as long as I can continue to inspire people, I'm going to do it. Because   Greg Schwem ** 1:04:47 why wouldn't you? Why wouldn't I exactly right? Yeah, yeah. So,   Speaker 1 ** 1:04:51 I mean, I think if I, if I stopped, I think my wife would beat up on me, so I gotta be nice exactly. She's monitoring from somewhere

EPISODE 172 – THE SWAN PRINCESS “As my collection will tell you, owning something on physical media does necessarily denote quality." Shocker—Brian brought an animated movie for Musical May! This week, Chris gets multiple finger wags; Ashley is plagued by robins; Brandon fumbles a Clayon Corner; and Brian dreams of magic musical numbers. BTW: Sir Chamberlain of Arrakis! Starring: Michelle Nicastro, Liz Callaway, Howard McGillin, Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Sandy Duncan, Steve Vinovich, Dakin Matthews, Mark Harelik, and Joel McKinnon Miller Directed by Richard Rich FOLLOW US:Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/trashwatch)Instagram (@trashwatchpodcast)TikTok (@trashwatchpodcast)YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5YpPcNIBmqNvvLvxa3WTLA)Email (trashwatchpodcast@gmail.com)Listen to Brian's music at (https://www.brianhorne.com)Support the show

Sandy Duncan visits "Up Next" to discuss her work in television, film and stage. 

Todays co-host comedian Nishy Acsell is based in Los Angeles, check out her website nishyxl.com and follower her on instagram  nishy acsell @nishyxlNational Cherry Pie day. Entertainment from 2006.1st US ace pilot in WW2, John Glenn 1st American to orbit the earth, MIT founded. Todays birthdays - Sidney Poitier, Amanda Blake, j. Geils, Sandy Duncan, Kathie Baillie, Cindy Crawford, Cummins kids, Andrew Shue, Kurt Cobain, Rihanna. Sandra Dee died.Intro - God did good - Dianna Cocoran      https://www.diannacorcoran.com/Cherry Pie - WarrantChick on it - Beyonce  Slim ThugJesus take the wheel - Carrie UnderwoodPurple haze - Jimi HendrixBirthdays - In da club - 50 Cent     http://50cent.com/Gunsmoke TV themeCenterfold - J. Geils bandLongshot - Baillie & the BoysMelrose Place TV themeSmells like teen spirit - NirvanaOnly girl in the world - RihannaExit - Damn good story - Melanie Meriney      https://www.melaniemeriney.com/countryundergroundradio.comcooolmedia.com

Prepare to be entertained and inspired as Broadway sensation and runDisney aficionado, Caesar Samayoa, graces our latest episode of the Rise and Run podcast! We're thrilled to bring you Caesar's unique blend of theatrical charm and running passion, as he shares his journey from watching Sandy Duncan in "Peter Pan" as a child to lighting up the stage in "Sister Act" and "Come From Away." Get a behind-the-scenes look at the Broadway audition process and hear about his latest role in "Just In Time," all while exploring the dynamic synergy between his theatrical dreams and love for the running community.As marathon weekend approaches, we dive into essential preparation tips to keep you healthy and ready to race. With the notorious 'corral crud' and frosty weather making their rounds, we discuss the importance of hygiene and share personal experiences to help you steer clear of any pre-race pitfalls. Exciting tidbits about the upcoming 2025-2026 runDisney race calendar will have you marking your calendars. Our conversation with Caesar also takes us through the vibrant running culture in New York City, where he finds solace amidst the buzz of Manhattan and Brooklyn. From favorite routes like Prospect Park to captivating waterfronts, Cesar relishes the rhythm of his runs. We wrap up with Cesar's dreams of performing in a Disney musical and his ambitions to connect with fans during marathon weekends, as well as a sneak peek into his upcoming Broadway show. Remember to connect with him on Instagram or his website, and we can't wait to see you at our Disney Springs meetup—happy running!Caesar's LinksFacebookInstagramJust in Time on BroadwaySend us a textSupport the showRise and Run Podcast is supported by our audience. When you make a purchase through one of our affiliate links, we may earn a commission. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.Sponsor LinksMagic Bound Travel Stoked Metabolic CoachingRise and Run Podcast Cruise Interest Form with Magic Bound Travel Affiliate LinksRise and Run Amazon Affiliate Web Page Kawaiian Pizza ApparelGoGuarded

Welcome to Mysteries in the Machine! Ethan and Charlie meet Sandy Duncan on a film set where a creepy dude wants to kidnap her. Send us an email at mysteriesinthemachinepod@gmail.com with your thoughts or any questions you have! We would love to hear from you. Make sure to subscribe so you know when our next episode drops and rate and review if you like what we are doing. IG:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/mysteriesinthemachinepod/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Ethan: ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.instagram.com/ethan.t.hulen/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.threads.net/@ethan.t.hulen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Charlie: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.instagram.com/greenpixie12/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.instagram.com/greenpixiedraws/⁠⁠

In honor of the anniversary of the first-ever sitcom broadcast on a U.S. television network (fun fact: it was "Mary Kay and Johnny" back in November 1947), we're revisiting "Sitcom Deaths and Disappearances." Characters on sitcoms aren't supposed to die. So when they do, it's never less than weird. Mo examines some of the most infamous sitcom deaths and disappearances with Henry Winkler, Sandy Duncan and Alan Sepinwall.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's week 3 of No Escape November and our favorite Barney Buddy Marissa Thorburn joins us once again to look back at where it all started with Barney's very first home video! Join us, Sandy Duncan, and a slightly anemic iteration of everyone's favorite purple bastard as he puts on a backyard show that reaches mediocrity at best! --- Edited by Jacob Miller Show logo by Marissa Thorburn Theme by Jacob Martin

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National Cherry Pie day. Entertainment from 1984.1st US ace pilot in WW2, John Glenn 1st American to orbit the earth, MIT founded. Todays birthdays - Sidney Poitier, Amanda Blake, j. Geils, Sandy Duncan, Kathie Baillie, Cindy Crawford, Cummins kids, Andrew Shue, Kurt Cobain, Rihanna. Sandra Dee died. Intro - Pour some sugar on me - Def Leppard http://defleppard.com/Cherry Pie - WarrantKarma Chameleon - Culture CluvStay young - Don WilliamsPurple haze - Jimi HendrixBirthdays - In da club - 50 Cent http://50cent.com/Gunsmoke TV themeCenterfold - J. Geils bandLongshot - Baillie & the BoysMelrose Place TV themeSmells like teen spirit - NirvanaOnly girl in the world - RihannaExit - Its not love - Dokken

Mass, Dunc Shed & Mike  discuss.5FF - Dons Manager SpecialWeekly Catch Up  HFL  - Turra win v Broch, Buckie fixtures back log.SPL - Dons, Robson Out , Warnock In. Dons V Celtic Recap The Death of the Art of DefendingRemembering Carl.EPL Round UpJustice LeagueWanker of the week !!The Mug of Truth.Fantasy Football UpdateBuy Me A Coffee Thanks to Sandy Duncan. Big Thanks to all our listeners..If you wish to buy us a coffee head to https://www.buymeacoffee.com/2bampodSupport the show

0:00 - Intro & Summary2:00 - Movie Discussion36:01 - Cast & Crew/Awards43:21 - Pop Culture56:18 -  Rankings & Ratings To see a full list of movies we will be watching and shows notes, please follow our website: https://www.1991movierewind.com/Follow us!https://linktr.ee/1991movierewind Theme: "sunrise-cardio," Jeremy Dinegan (via Storyblocks)Don't forget to rate/review/subscribe/tell your friends to listen to us!

"The Return of Bigfoot, Part 1" Airdate: September 19, 1976 Written by Kenneth Johnson Directed by Barry Crane Synopsis: Steve is accused of a series of roberies based on the damage that looks to be caused by a bionic operative.   John and Liz are joined by Satin Tights host, Paul K. Bisson.  Together, they discuss the thrill of having a crossover story, the music of the episode, and the performance of Sandy Duncan. Bionic Operative Paul K. Bisson

  David Saint is in his 25th season as Artistic Director of George Street Playhouse. He has directed 43 mainstage productions at GSP, having most recently helmed Ken Ludwig's Dear Jack, Dear Louise. Additional productions include Fully Committed and Tiny Beautiful Things for the GSP virtual season, Midwives, and Conscience, in addition to The Trial of Donna Caine, American Hero, American Son, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change and An Act of God starring the legendary Kathleen Turner in the 2017-18 season. His time here has been marked by collaborations with such artists as Keith Carradine, Tyne Daly, Rachel Dratch, Sandy Duncan, Boyd Gaines, A.R. Gurney, Uta Hagen, Jack Klugman, Dan Lauria, Kathleen Marshall, Elaine May, Anne Meara, David Hyde Pierce, Chita Rivera, Paul Rudd, Stephen Sondheim, Marlo Thomas, Eli Wallach, and many others including a remarkable partnership with Arthur Laurents. In addition, many new award-winning works have begun their life here during his tenure such as The Toxic Avenger, Proof, The Spitfire Grill, Joe DiPietro's Clever Little Lies, and It Shoulda Been You. He has directed Final Follies at Primary Stages, Clever Little Lies at Guild Hall in East Hampton, NY and off-Broadway at West Side Theatre, as well as the National tour of West Side Story. In July 2016, he directed a two-night concert performance of West Side Story at the legendary Hollywood Bowl. In Summer 2019, he directed a revolutionary new production of West Side Story for IHI Stage Around in Tokyo and served as Associate Producer for the new film version of West Side Story directed by Steven Spielberg. 

My guest this week is author Deborah Phillips whose new book is titled: AND THIS IS MY FRIEND SANDY — SANDY WILSON'S THE BOY FRIEND, LONDON THEATRE AND GAY CULTURE. Sandy Wilson's The Boyfriend — for which he wrote the book, music, & lyrics — is one of the most successful British musicals of all time. It emerged in 1952 out of London's secretive but vibrant gay theatrical subculture, at a time when you could be sent to prison for being homosexual.  By the following year both The Boyfriend and Sandy Wilson were the toast of London's West End, and created nearly as much excitement as Queen Elizabeth's coronation that same year. That original West End production ran for five years. Meanwhile, a hit American version of The Boyfriend opened on Broadway in 1954 and made a star out of Julie Andrews. The show was revived on Broadway in 1970 and made a star of Sandy Duncan, and two years later an ill-conceived film version was released, starring Twiggy and Tommy Tune and directed by Ken Russell. Despite all of this, prior to this book, very little has been written about Sandy Wilson. Deborah Phillips, who is Professor of Literature and Cultural History at the University of Brighton, is the first researcher to delve into Wilson's extensive archives out of which she has created an captivating portrait of Wilson as a both a key figure in post-war British theatre and the era's gay culture. This book and interview introduced me to a number of fascinating subjects I had never encountered before including the hilarious BBC radio series, Round The Horne, that inspired the book's title; the history of London's Players Theatre; and the secret gay language, Polari. Exploring all that sent me into several amazing internet rabbit holes and I will be posting articles and video clips that I found there in the Broadway Nation FaceBook Group. This episode is made possible in part through the generous support of Broadway Nation Patron Club members Anne Welsh, Chris Moad, and Bob Braun. Become A PATRON of Broadway Nation! This episode is made possible in part through the generous support of Broadway Nation Patron Club members Anne Welsh, Chris Moad, and Bob Braun. If you are a fan ofBroadway Nation, I invite you too to become a PATRON! For a just $7.00 a month you will receive exclusive access to never-before-heard, unedited versions of many of the discussion that I have with my guests — in fact I often record nearly twice as much conversation as ends up in the edited versions. And you will also have access to additional in-depth conversations with my frequent co-host Albert Evans that have not been featured on the podcast. And all patrons receive special “on-air” shout-outs and acknowledgement of your vital support of this podcast. And If you are very enthusiastic about Broadway Nation there are additional PATRON levels that come with even more benefits. If you would like to support the work of Broadway Nation and receive these exclusive member benefits, please just click on this link: https://broadwaynationpodcast.supercast.tech/ Thank you in advance for your support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

National cherry pie day. Pop culture from 1992. Navy's 1st ace pilot, Jimi Hendrix 1st gig, John Glenn 1st American to orbit the earth. Todays birthdays - Sidney Poitier, Amanda Blake, Sandy Duncan, Kathie Bailey, Cummins kids, J. Geils, Cindy Crawford, Andrew Shue, Kurt Cobain, Rihanna. Sandra Dee died.

The crew had tech problems so Lou put together a best-of show. You'll hear the Lebron James discussion, Dave and Lou geek out over TV's Hogan family and their matriarch Sandy Duncan. Lou screams about the lack of parking in Ridgefield. Erica and Lou fight for control of the blankets.

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 667, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: Tv Dads 1: James B. Sikking of "Hill Street Blues" plays this teenage doctor's dad. Doogie Howser. 2: James Noble, who plays Larry's dad on "Perfect Strangers", was Governor Gatling on this sitcom. Benson. 3: Higgins on "Magnum, P.I."; he went on to play Sandy Duncan's dad on "The Hogan Family". John Hillerman. 4: Darren McGavin's performance as her father won him an Emmy in 1990. Murphy Brown (Candy Bergen). 5: Formerly Gonzo Gates on "Trapper John, M.D.", in 1990 he became a dad on "Family Man". Gregory Harrison. Round 2. Category: Mags For Men 1: This mag that could be called "Hunt and Fish" has an essay contest on "How Hunting/Fishing has Influenced my Life". Field and Stream. 2: Yeah, I'll take a quart of milk, 2 packs of gum, a Lotto ticket and , uh, this magazine that has a "Pet of the Month". Penthouse. 3: In 2001 you could take aim at the special 500th issue of "Guns and " this. Ammo. 4: The devil is in this magazine where racy columnist Anka Radakovich gained fame. Details. 5: Launched in 1997, it calls itself "The Best Thing to Happen to Men Since Women". Maxim. Round 3. Category: The Political Life 1: Proverbially, to indicate one's candidacy is to throw one's hat here. In the ring. 2: An officeholder during the interval before a successor takes over is known as one of these limping birds. Lame duck. 3: From the Latin for "to be away", this type of ballot is a vote cast by mail, not at a polling place. Absentee. 4: Term for the speech at a convention that sets the tone and outlines the main issues. Keynote speech. 5: From the Latin for "grow together", it's an alliance of different groups for a specific cause. Coalition. Round 4. Category: What A Year! 1: (Hi, I'm Tyler Christopher of General Hospital.) In this year, ABC gave "G.H." a shot on TV, "He's So Fine" shot up to No. 1 and JFK visited the Berlin Wall. 1963. 2: Dewaele won the Tour de France, Coco Chanel was the toast of Paris and Sacre Bleu!, the market crashed in this year. 1929. 3: The Berlin Wall came down. 1989. 4: In this year, "Rock Around The Clock" was recorded, Roger Bannister beat the clock and Henri Matisse clocked out. 1954. 5: The 21st Amendment scotched Prohibition. 1933. Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 667, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: 1900 1: The U.S. Navy bought the first modern one of these, which used gasoline on the surface and electricity below. a submarine. 2: Unlike 2000, 1900 wasn't one of these, so Thursday, March 1 followed Wednesday, Feb. 28. a leap year. 3: One of these natural disasters killed 6,000 people on the Texas coast. a hurricane. 4: Victor Emmanuel began a 46-year rule over this country, whose people thought his name was Vittorio Emanuele. Italy. 5: Probably slapping and cursing, Walter Reed identified this insect as the cause of yellow fever. a mosquito. Round 2. Category: Celebrity Books 1: This Oscar winner made her writing debut with a book for children called "Deaf Child Crossing". Marlee Matlin. 2: You might cry uncle -- Uncle Miltie, that is -- when you read his "Private Joke File". Milton Berle. 3: This "Diamond Lil" star called chapter 4 of her autobiogr

Back to the weird Don Bluth well this week as the guys are joined by space rooster expert Monica Taylor to discuss Rock-a-Doodle. They discuss the wildly inconsistent size perspective when it comes to the characters, the sexualizing of a pheasant and Brendan's conflicted childhood reactions to it, the shortest musical number ever, the incredibly bad blending of live-action and animation... and much more! Check our social media on Sunday for the Sunday Screencrap and take a guess at our next movie! What We've Been Watching: Werewolf By Night Rifftrax: The Return of Swamp Thing The Good Nurse Questions? Comments? Suggestions? You can always shoot us an e-mail at wwttpodcast@gmail.com  Patreon: www.patreon.com/wwttpodcast Facebook: www.facebook.com/wwttpodcast Twitter: www.twitter.com/wwttpodcast Instagram: www.instagram.com/wwttpodcast Theme Song recorded by Taylor Sheasgreen: www.facebook.com/themotorleague Logo designed by Mariah Lirette: www.instagram.com/its.mariah.xo Montrose Monkington III: www.twitter.com/montrosethe3rd Rock-a-Doodle stars Toby Ganger and the voices of Glen Campbell, Eddie Deezen, Sandy Duncan, Phil Harris, Ellen Greene, Charles Nelson Reilly, Dee Wallace and Christopher Plummer; directed by Don Bluth, Gary Goldman and Dan Kuenster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us as we run through the highlights of the 1988 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, starring everyone from Garfield to Sandy Duncan! We've even got the original commercials that aired during it! We've uploaded the entire broadcast, if you'd like to watch along with us: https://youtu.be/WiC4x0Jz-Sc

On this Episode Bobby & Jim Go to Wilton Manors Florida and get into good trouble for Jim's Bachelor weekend and Birthday. They end up at Cannonball Bash which is for Chubs and chasers . They also got into some trouble at the eagle party . Will they make it out alive?While there, they ended up at Cannonball Bash, a weekend party for Chubs and chasers in the gay community. They also took off their clothes at The Eagle, a bar known for its dark rooms and endless nights. Bobby ended up being a total Sub (Submissive) for a night and even bought a shirt that said "Sub in training" off the back of someone at Cannonball bash. Lets talk about that. First, Lets define some thingsWhat is a Chub? A chub is a type of gay man who is overweight or obese. Chubs often have big bellies, big thighs, and large arms and shoulders. They also tend to have narrow hips and wide feet.What is a Bear? The bear concept can function as an identity or an affiliation, and there is ongoing debate in bear communities about what constitutes a bear. Some bears place importance on presenting a clear masculine image and may disdain or shun men who exhibit effeminacy,while others consider acceptance and inclusiveness of all behavioural types to be an important value of the community.Some people believe that the term "bear" originated within gay male culture to describe a larger and often hairier man who projects an image of rugged masculinity. Others claim that the term has broader application, referring to anyone who identifies with its gritty, no-nonsense vibe. In any case, it's safe to say that this influential subculture has left its mark on popular culture – and not just through drag queens lip-synching Sandy Duncan!What is a Chaser? A gay chub chaser is someone who, for recreational or sexual purposes, pursues an obese person. This can include anything from intentionally pursuing an obese person in public to sending them unsolicited images or messages. Because this type of behavior is considered predatory and illegal, it's important to be aware of the dangers involved and take precautions if you find yourself being targeted by a gay chub Chaser.What is Cannonball Bash? Largest chub/chaser event weekend in the United States! The Cannonball Events Team has been hard at work making arrangements for a fun-filled extended event weekend, filled with fun and surprises for everyone.Between the sights and sounds of Miami, the beautiful beaches of Fort Lauderdale and a host of other attractions, it will be a weekend that no one will soon forget.Lets just say it was an eventful weekend. We tell all the stories and you don't want to miss what happens! Support the showInstagramTwitterBobby's Only Fans#gaypodcast #podcast #gay #lgbtq #queerpodcast #lgbt #lgbtpodcast #lgbtqpodcast #gaypodcaster #queer#instagay #podcasts #podcasting #gaylife #pride #lesbian #bhfyp #gaycomedy #comedypodcast #comedy #nyc #614 #shesnotdoingsowell #wiltonmanor #notwell

The New Scooby Doo Movies was the place to be for 70's Hollywood stars! This week Jovial Jay and Shua celebrate this fun Scooby series and how much fun they were on Enjoy Stuff!   Hollywood guest stars galore on 1972's The New Scooby Doo Movies! Join us as we look back on one of the most unique of the Scooby series.    News David Harbour will star in a movie version of the 90's racing video game Gran Turismo If you like Stranger Things, you can now stay in a very authentically themed room in a Graduate hotel  Check out the new LEGO minifig-sized handheld video game from PocketStar Why are our favorite retro cartoons responsible for the climate crisis? Listen in to find out who the morons are that are making this claim Modern day Scooby Doo movies are coming to Netflix October 1 What we're Enjoying Jay lept right into the new reboot of the Quantum Leap series, with Raymond Lee as the newest leaper. The premise follows a team that has been looking for Dr. Sam Beckett somewhere in time, but for reasons we aren't yet aware of, Lee's character Dr. Ben Song gets trapped for the same reason as the original. There's a lot of potential here and we can't wait to see where it goes. Shua got a bit more medieval by jumping into Amazon Prime's Tolkien series Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power. It's an origin story of the rings that takes place in a whole different age as the Peter Jackson movies. He is loving it!    Sci-Fi Saturdays/MCU Location Scout 31 Days of Horror is coming on October 1! In the meantime, Sci-Fi Saturdays will be on a little break. But you can check out some cool new filming locations with his MCU Location Scout. There are new entries from She-Hulk and Thor: Love and Thunder.  And don't forget his articles on MCULocationScout.com for some great, interactive maps of filming locations.    Enjoy Cartoons! In 1972 Hanna-Barbera debuted the second chapter of the still popular Scooby Doo series called “The New Scooby Doo Movies”. This popular series ran 24 hour-long episodes, the only Scooby Doo series to be that long. But what really made it stand out was the “real-life”-ish guest stars in each episode. These guest stars joined the Scooby gang to track down the truth of a mystery. A lot of the guests were voiced by their true life counterparts, or at least the voice actors that portrayed the animated characters on other Hanna-Barbera cartoons.    Some of our favorite guest stars were Don Knotts, the Harlem Globetrotters, Sandy Duncan, Davy Jones, Jonathan Winters, and Batman and Robin, and Don Adams. They got the opportunity to have fun with the Scooby gang and make us wonder who was going to be on next week.  Did you watch The New Scooby Doo Movies? Who were your favorite guests? First person that emails me with the subject line, “Enroy Ruff” will get a special mention on the show.  Let us know. Come talk to us in the Discord channel or send us an email to EnjoyStuff@RetroZap.com

Cry Into the Wind: A True Story by Othello BachCry into the Wind is a spellbinding story of triumph over incredible tragedy, and an inspirational guide for those struggling to overcome the effects of abuse. Abject poverty, a house fire that claimed her mother's life, the loneliness of an orphanage where she was separated from her siblings… and so much more … yet nothing was able to break Othello Bach's spirit. She couldn't read until the eighth grade, yet sold her first novel to Avon Books at the age of 27. She is the author off 17 published books and has 35 recorded songs by Broadway, TV, and Hollywood stars Joel Grey, Tammy Grimes, and Sandy Duncan.“Othello Bach is a force. And this book proves it.” -- Joel Grey “Cry into the Wind” is a page-turner from beginning to end. It is a compelling story of survival and an inspiring testament to the strength of the human spirit and raw determination -- Dave Pelzer, author of “A Child Called It.”“As illustrator of four of Othello's books, I'm sure that her hilariously inventive take on life must have helped her overcome many obstacles.” -- Sandy Huffaker, nationally syndicated political cartoonist, fine artist and illustrator.Othello is a best selling multi-genre author of numerous books which range in scope and variety from suspense novels to children's books to non-fiction "How-to" books. Her memoir "Cry into the Wind," chronicles an abusive childhood, including 11 years in an orphanage. Although a non-reader until the eighth grade, she wrote and sold her first novel to Avon Books when she was 22. Othello often composes music and lyrics to accompany her children's stories, and celebrities Joel Grey, Tammy Grimes and Sandy Duncan have recorded her books and songs. She is a motivational speaker who loves to share "the tools" that helped her overcome an abusive past.https://www.amazon.com/Cry-Into-Wind-True-Story/dp/1522890521/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1GHZGGPHF878E&keywords=Cry+Into+the+Wind%3A+A+True+Story&qid=1662839358&sprefix=cry+into+the+wind+a+true+story%2Caps%2C249&sr=8-1https://www.othellobach.com/http://www.bluefunkbroadcasting.com/root/twia/obachec.mp3   

I love being inspired by guests on Unstoppable Mindset. Ben Baker, our episode visitor today, is one of the most inspirational people I have had the honor to meet and interview.   First, you get to hear how Ben worked in the corporate world and transitioned to a career in market branding when he realized that he was, at heart, a storyteller. Over the years, he not only told stories to help business executives become better marketers, but he also taught them how to advance their own careers and promote better marketing efforts by learning to become storytellers as well.   Ben is an accomplished public speaker, something near and dear to me. We spend time during this episode talking about what makes a good inspirational speaker and why truly personally connecting with an audience is so meaningful and important. What Ben discusses is important for any speaker to hear. He also has written and published two books.   By any definition, this episode is fun, and engaging and the lessons Ben Baker teaches us will be invaluable to you. Please let me know what you think, and I hope you give this episode a 5-star rating. Thanks.   About the Guest: Ben has been helping companies, and the people within them understand, codify, and communicate their unique value to others for more than a quarter of a century.   He is the president of Your Brand Marketing, an Employee Engagement Consultancy specializing in helping companies communicate more effectively inside their organizations.    He is the author of two books: “Powerful Personal Brands: a hands-on guide to understanding yours,” and “Leading Beyond a Crisis: a conversation about what's next,” and the host of IHEART and Spotify syndicated YourLIVINGBrand.live show with more than 300 episodes behind him.         About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is an Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes UM Intro/Outro  00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i  capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson  01:21 Welcome to unstoppable mindset. Here we are once again. And I'm glad that you joined us wherever you happen to be, if you're driving, pay attention to the road. But we're glad you're listening anyway. We hope that she'll like what we have to do today and have to say today and that she'll give us a five star rating later. But we'll get to that in the future. Right now I'd like you to meet Ben Baker, who is very much involved in a lot of things relating to company's branding. And I'm not going to say a whole lot about it. Because I think Ben's going to do a much better job than I ever could. So Ben, welcome.   Ben Baker  01:54 Hey, Michael is great being on the mic with you. This is a real pleasure.   Michael Hingson  01:59 Gee, I didn't know that we can fit on the mic.   Ben Baker  02:00 We could work. I got a big microphone. Me too.   Michael Hingson  02:06 It could even be comfortable, I suppose. Well, well tell us about kind of maybe the early band, and you know, how you got where you were and where you are, and all that.   Ben Baker  02:15 Yeah, I will skip my childhood. You know, just you know, just because it really wasn't that exciting. I got into, well, let's, let's put this way I started in high tech, probably about 35 plus years ago, spent about 10 years in the high tech industry. And the last job I had, I was responsible for $100 million client and I spent my life in the air I was 200 days in a plane, probably 250 days away from home. And I was the guy that woke up in the morning and called down to the concierge and said, What city am I in? And literally if my wife wants to know where I was, she called my secretary. And to find out what city I was in, it was it was it was that bad. And she and I looked at each other and said, This is a divorce waiting to happen. And I went up to my boss and said you have two things we can do. You can double my salary to pay for the divorce. Or you can cut my travel days in half. They said well, we're not willing to do either. How about we buy you out? I said perfect. And the one thing I got out of this besides, you know, a nice healthy severance package was what do you want to be when you grow up tech training. And I got a buddy of mine who is industrial psychologist sat me down for a week ran me through a battery of tests. We had a series of conversations, and waste has been Your storyteller. You always have been a storyteller, you're always probably going to be a storyteller. Communications is really where you need to be. And I went, Okay, what do we do with that? And I was out playing golf, and I met a person who was in the direct mail business, and they were looking for someone to handle casinos and the grocery chance. And I did that for a number of years and loved it. You know, we did hundreds of millions of pieces of direct mail, you know, created some really phenomenal campaigns, told some great stories, built brands, and do and then 911 happened. And the business changed and we ended up having to refocus. And that was that was okay. But it was it was a lot of fun during the time. And over the time, what I realized is that I tell great stories, and I love helping other people tell great stories. And it's led to branding and promotional marketing is led to trade show development. But over the last 10 years, what we've realized is that most companies are not bad at telling their story outside their company. They're horrific and telling the story inside their own company. And that's really the pocket where I sit. It's internal communications. How do we align people with your purpose, your vision, your mission, your goals? How do we build cultures how How do we enable leaders to be able to communicate effectively, to get everybody barking in the same direction, to get people to understand the purpose and the value and, and what's important, and be able to get people aligned with it and see why it's important to them. So that's really where I am. And that's where I'm going. And we do a bunch of things. We do messaging audits, we do deal breaker internal brand development. We do internal podcasts for large enterprise level companies. But it's all focused on how do we help companies communicate more effectively, first of all, understand where they're where the issues are, and then help them fix it.   Michael Hingson  05:40 Do you find that also, because you help companies become more intelligent and more aware, internally of messaging to each other and themselves? That that helps them on the outside as well? Absolutely.   Ben Baker  05:59 I mean, your employees are your best form of marketing and branding. They really are. When your people know your story, they listen to it, they internalize it, they retell it, they become better advocates for your brand. They build better customer relationships, they build better and more loyal customers, they build a more profitable business. Everything starts internally, but focus is externally. And if you realize it, if you can get a team of people within your company that can tell your story effectively for you, all of a sudden, do those social media posts, and all those all that marketing and all those ads that you buy, diminish dramatically, because your best advocates are out there telling your story. And you're not paying for that social media marketing.   Michael Hingson  06:49 You really can't pay for that it is so incredibly much more powerful.   Ben Baker  06:55 Absolutely.   Michael Hingson  06:57 Well, the the other part about it, it seems to me that most companies internally and maybe to a good degree externally, because they're in very much not strategic, are much more reactive and not nearly as proactive as they ought to be about their messaging, which also has to affect every other thing about their mindset and what they do.   Ben Baker  07:18 Yeah, I mean, that was my big learn, when I started working with grocery stores and casinos, is everybody's reactive. Everybody says, Oh, my God, my competitor, put a coupon out, I need to put a coupon out, oh, my competitor, put this this program in place, I need to put a program like that into place. And he'll, what it is, is you're sitting there going from a position of me to, yeah, I need to do this as well, instead of focusing on who you are, who your customers are, what differentiates you and leading the pack, you're chasing somebody else. So my goal is to help people to stop chasing other people, embrace who they really are, and go after the people that care about them and see the value in what they do.   Michael Hingson  08:04 How do you do that?   Ben Baker  08:06 It's a long process, you know, it's not, it's not simple. You're gonna break some things, you're gonna make a mess before you before you clean it up. The first thing is to sit there and say, Who are you really, and actually putting people's feet to the fire, to go and sit there and go. This is what I believe as a CEO, as a leader, as an owner of a company. This is what I believe this is the vision that I have for the company. This is what I think our culture is this is what I think our mission vision and values are great. Do your people think the same thing? And nine times out of 10? The answer is usually no. There is usually a disconnect somewhere, you know that there isn't true alignment between what the C suite thinks that the company is all about, and what the people who actually work for the company believe. And until you can get that group of alignment. First of all, you need to understand that there is the disconnect. And once you understand there's a disconnect, then it's a built in the processes and and the story and the you know, the process, the ways the procedures in order to be able to get everybody back onto on singing from the same song sheet.   Michael Hingson  09:21 Is is it more of at the beginning? No, they they're not the same as me or? I don't know.   Ben Baker  09:29 A lot of times it's both. Yeah, yeah. A lot of times it's both you have leaders that absolutely, definitively believe that everybody believes exactly the same way they do. And then you have leaders that don't know. And either way we need to prove it.   Michael Hingson  09:48 And it's not that people have to think exactly alike, but they have to be all on the same page when it comes to the mission, the product the way we deal with the product. What are you Future is in so on, and everyone has to be engaged.   Ben Baker  10:03 Exactly. Because there's so many people that out there, here's a perfect example, a guy that I interviewed on my podcast sold his company to a fairly large fortune 500 company. You know, he had 250 300 employees, a reasonable sized Corporation. And when this company came along and bottom, the first thing they did is they sent somebody in to talk to 70 of his employees, and say, Tell me, what differentiates you in the marketplace? Who are your top customers? What do you guys do? What makes you valuable in the marketplace? And they got 60 or 70? different answers, you know, the answers buried all over the place, and there were some connections, but there was a lot of disconnect. And with that disconnect, they realized that they had a major problem. And that affected the buy price that if that affected work that had to be done before that merger and acquisition could actually happen. And, you know, it led to a lot of brand confusion. So there was there was a lot of work that needed to happen. Before this company actually was willing to buy the mat after those those, those initial interviews,   Michael Hingson  11:14 did they get it all addressed? And   Ben Baker  11:19 they absolutely did, they got it together. But it took probably nine months longer than they actually thought it would, based on the fact that instead of them walking in and say, Okay, here we are, as a company, this is what we can do for you. And this is how we're going to fit into your your organization. They had to figure out who they were first, before they could go ahead and do that. That's why a lot of mergers and acquisitions fail, is because there is a disconnect between what is perceived the value of the merger, and what really actually happens.   Michael Hingson  11:55 So how were you involved in all of that, were you just the interviewer on the podcast, you weren't involved in actually making those changes, or   Ben Baker  12:02 you know what, I worked with them very superficially, because I just I met this person that very late in the process, but you know, being able to have some initial conversations with them to point them in the right direction. You know, I wasn't involved with this. But in other companies, some things that we've done is we'll sit down with, say, you've got 15 different branch offices, will go into the 15 branch offices, and not only myself, but I bring a graphic recorder with me, those are the people that stand behind you, and do graphic representation of the conversation as it's happening, you'll get a big, large piece of paper. And we'll have the same conversation within each of the same 15 with asking the same questions, having the same things about purpose and culture and vision, and who are the clients tell me the story of the organization, etc. And we'll create a dozen vision boards for each for each office dealing with various parts of the conversation. Now, when you take all these things, and compare them office to office, and branch office versus main, your main office, you can see immediately the disconnect. In fact, the further you are away from head office, you know, both physically and it tends to be mentally as well. So you get the people that are further away, tend to be the ones that don't get enough of the information, or they tend to be forgotten about when when key, you know, key messaging is being made. So there's that out of sight, out of mind situation, which leads to all sorts of   Michael Hingson  13:42 havoc. This may be a little bit of a challenge for you. But I'd love to know more about the graphic representations not being graphic oriented. But how does how does all that work? What what actually gets drawn on the paper? And how do you see the disconnects? And so on,   Ben Baker  13:55 you know, it's a it's a cartoon representation of, of a process and trying to explain to somebody that's blind, it's, it's a, it's a serious challenge is because it's, it's, it's almost like taking somebody on a graphical journey. Are you drawing people and they're drawing people and actions, and there's words that will come with it? And you know, and what it is, it's a representation in a graphical form of the ideas that are being mentioned by the data different by the different people. So, you know, I can send you a graphic, a short video, I think it's about a 32nd video, from one of the keynotes that I've done where I actually had a graphic artists do this for me. So I could do that. And that can be part of the show notes if people want to see it.   Michael Hingson  14:45 You're welcome to do that. Sure. Of course, if if you were dealing with a company owned by a blind person or you had a blind person working in one of the branch offices and so on, I suppose in one sense, it might be viewed as a major A challenge to deal with the fact that you're creating graphic representations. But ultimately, you can describe it, right? So it is possible to verbalize what the graphic artist is seeing, and then use that to point out where the graphs and the cartoons are showing the disconnects and the connections.   Ben Baker  15:24 And as well, if I knew that I had people within the company that were, you know, visually challenged, for example, I would also have the the actual talks recorded and be able to create a transcript as   Michael Hingson  15:37 well. Yeah. And again, you could put in the issues about where the connects and disconnects are.   Ben Baker  15:43 Exactly, absolutely. So it's a matter of looking at who's the audience, you know, who are the people that we need to be aware of? Because it's important to make sure that you're being able to be as inclusive as humanly possible. Is it possible to be 100%? Inclusive? 100% of the time? No, but the more we can be, the better off it is.   Michael Hingson  16:05 You've been doing this, I think you said like about 10 years did something happened in 2013, that made you go this way or changed your world?   Ben Baker  16:12 Well, in 2013, I had I don't know if it was a direct result or an indirect result, I was in a bad car accident. And it it what it is, it focused me in a different ways. Because what I what ended up being is I got I got rear ended, I didn't see it coming, I didn't hear it coming and I hit by two cars behind me the third, the middle car ended up looking like an accordion. And what happened was, is that I had a mild traumatic brain injury. And also I have what's known as hyperacusis, which means I have way too much sound that goes into my ears, and the eardrum doesn't do it. So I hear cacophony of sound if I go into a room, I need to be wearing special hearing aids that act as white noise machines to be able to focus me when I talk, we're always like, just hear every sound in the room, and I can't concentrate. So I started taking a look and saying, Alright, I need to refocus my business, I need to take a look and say how can I refocus my business in ways where I can be more successful? And the internal communication was probably something I had already been thinking about something that I've been working on. But I think by actively looking at how do I, how do I run my business? What are the things that need to change in my business to be able to make it more successful? What do I need to do to augment my policies and procedures, in order to make my life better, it made me far more cognizant of how this could be utilized in other people's companies.   Michael Hingson  17:54 And what you're doing, I assume has been well received,   Ben Baker  17:58 it is extremely well received, it's you know, it's not for everybody, you know, it's, you know, I tend to work with companies that are mid to large sized companies, because they end up having the budget to be able to do this. They also have, you know, they have the bigger needs, the bigger challenges, and therefore, they can see where the ROI is, you know, the smaller organizations, the one to $10 million companies tend not to see the ROI, because there's still all within one building. And there tends to be 25 or 30 employees. And you can you can handle, you can huddle them up, and be able to have quicker, you know, changes the conversation. And you know, what I'll do, I'll do consulting and smaller companies to basically say, look, here are the challenges. Here's some things you need to be thinking about, here's some different ways of doing things. But it's not the long protracted conversations and consulting projects that I'm doing with larger organizations that tend to be more spread out, you know, bigger issues, more departments feel more more moving parts. And I find that that for me, that's the more interesting stuff.   Michael Hingson  19:09 Well, going back to your initial process, graphically speaking, it's got to be more difficult to deal with a small company and showing this connects when you're just dealing with different personalities within the same small company, although they're still there, and it's something to be dealt with. But it's got to be a lot harder to make real comparisons and show some of the real challenges that you are able to, I would believe are much easier to show when you're dealing with a diverse company with a lot of different offices and as you said a lot of different departments and so on.   Ben Baker  19:44 Well, in the smaller companies, you tend to have CEOs that our How can I say this are their accidental CEOs because I'm one of them myself. You start with an idea. You You were really good at We X, and you decide to start a company. And as that company grew and you became a little bit more successful, you decided I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this. So you'll hire a few people. And the company grows, and it gets to a certain point. But you really are still that entrepreneur, with without the training, and without the thought processes of what it takes to really take you from that one to $5 million company to take you to that 50 to $100 million, because it's a very different thought process, you run your company differently, you tend to be a lot more hands on, you tend to be a lot more critical of how other people do things. And you tend to micromanage a lot more. Because, you know, you look at this and say, Well, I wouldn't do it that way. Instead of saying, Okay, I don't do it that way. But maybe they're doing it better. And as you grow as an organization, you can't, you have to be able to give up control to different departments, and you have to trust a lot more. Because if you don't have that level of trust, if you don't empower teams to do to a certain level, you're never going to grow. So there's a psychological change that happens, as companies get over a certain certain dollar amount of a certain size.   Michael Hingson  21:20 The the issue, in part also is that your role as the CEO, and I think this is what you're saying, really needs to change, because rather than being as much hands on, you, as you said, need to trust to allow people in departments that are being created to do their jobs. And you need to become more of the visionary in the true overall leader rather than micromanaging everything.   Ben Baker  21:47 Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, as far as the job goes, is the CEO that got you to 25 million won't get you to 250 million. You know, because it's a different philosophy. It's a different philosophy on leadership, it's a different vision, it's different risk level. It's it's, it's you have to think differently, as your company gets larger, and you need to be able to sit there and say, You know what, my job is not to know everything, my job is not to be smarter than everybody, my job is not to do anything. My job is to hire really good people, and let them do what they do best. And that, you know, once a month shifts, that's a mind shifts switch.   Michael Hingson  22:24 It is it's an absolute shift in the whole mindset of what you do. I know, one of the things that I learned, I took a Dale Carnegie sales course when I was suddenly confronted with the opportunity. And I put it that way in need to go into sales from what I had been doing before. And I learned early on about not only setting goals, but a couple of principles that I learned in the Dale Carnegie sales course, which one of which was turn liabilities into perceived liabilities into assets, which is a very powerful tool. And that is something that I deal a lot with when it comes to discussing blindness. But the other thing that I realized is as a salesperson, whether it's dealing with a customer, or later when I started managing, dealing with people inside the company is my job really is to add value to make other people successful. And so when I started the process of hiring salespeople, one of the things that I started to do was to tell each of them, I'm not here to boss you around, you have sold me on the fact that you can sell someone people did a better job than others are doing that. And some of them were successful, and some weren't. But that's beside the point, you sold me on the fact that you can sell and I'm going to hire you because you can do it. What you and I need to do is to now see how I can work with you as a second member of your team to add value to what you do. And the people who were the most successful at doing that. Were the people who ended up being the most successful at sales because they figured out how I sold and what I did, which was usually different than they I tend to listen a lot more I tend to ask open ended questions I hate closed in questions I don't like yes and no questions anytime. And so I would do that when working with people. And some of the more successful people would invite me to go along on sales calls and so on because I also had a technical knowledge. And one person asked me after a meeting one day, how can you know so much about the product? And I don't know all that and I just said, do you read the product briefings that come out? Well, I've been pretty busy. And I said There you go. But you know, but it's about   Ben Baker  24:47 people look up RTFM read the blank manual.   Michael Hingson  24:53 Yeah. Read the full manual. Very full manual. That's manual. Yeah. Yeah, that's it full manual. But but the thing is that what what I learned is that in what the brightest sales guy I ever knew, learned was that I had added a lot of value and had advantages that he didn't have. And one of the biggest advantages and I was blind, we went into a sales meeting one day, and a meeting with one of his customers. And he didn't tell them that I was blind. And he told me he didn't. And I understood that that wasn't a slur or a slam or anything that he's he because he said, we're going to hit him with it. And they want to what to do with you. So they're going to listen to us what a concept. And that's exactly what happened. We went into the room, people stopped talking, we actually arrived a minute late deliberately so that everyone would be there. And they stopped talking. And we went up to the front and plugged in the PowerPoint, projector and all that. And as we were doing all that I turned and said to the first guy in the well, as you're coming up the the be the upper right row, and I said, my name is Mike, what's your name? And it took me a couple of times to get him to say his name. And I finally had to say, look, I can hear you as I go by, you know, I know you're there. So don't Don't tell me you're not, you know, so what's your name? And we we ended up having a conversation and I asked him some questions. And then I went around the room. And by the time we were done going around the room, and asking people about themselves and why we were there and so on, it was very obvious our product wasn't what they needed. But we went ahead and did the demonstration because I was going to do the whole PowerPoint show. Blind guys can do that. And a guy came up to me afterward. And he said, you know, we're ticked at you. And I said, why? Well, we keep forgetting that you're blind. And you never looked away to go see what was on the screen. And we didn't dare fall asleep, because you would have caught us. And it was those kinds of things that this particular sales guy saw, that caused him to realize there's a lot of value to be added, as I said, and that I could help him and he was by far the most successful sales guy I ever had, because he was very creative. And he learned that he could ask more open ended questions. So it also improved his sales skills and what he did.   Ben Baker  27:17 Yeah, there's two thoughts that come out of that. And I love I love that is the first is understand your superpower, we all have a superpower. And too many of us focus on the things that we can't do, instead of doubling down on the stuff that we can do. And I think that that is that is a hindrance of most people, whether they're sitting down at their first job or their last job, it doesn't matter where you are in the organization. Too many people say, Well, I can't do this, and I can't do that, or I'm not as good as this person, or I'm not as good as that person. It doesn't matter. You know, we all have something that makes us valuable. And the more we can sit there and say, This is what I do, well, this is my jam. This is where I shine, and be willing to say, All right, I am lousy at accounting, I cannot paint a house, I cannot, you know weed a garden, hire people, find people that that's their superpower. And bring them in, because everybody's who has their own superpower is going to bring a fresh perspective to your life in your business doing showing you things that you don't know how to do, and let them shine and do the things they want to do. I think that that's, that's a big thing. And the other thing that I came out of that is expectations versus accountability. You know, when we hire salespeople, when we hire anybody, and we lead them, it's not about expectations and accountability, you work for me, and this is what I expected, you're gonna be held accountable. It has to go both ways. As a leader, I need to know that my team needs to know that I that they have expectations of me. And I should be held as accountable as they are for those expectations. Because if we all sit there and go, You know what, I want to make more money, great. This is what you can expect from me, this is what I need from you. And if we do that we're all going to make money together, then we can hold each other accountable.   Michael Hingson  29:19 And if as a team, you get buy in from each other, you may have to go through conflict to get there. But if as a team, you get buy in, and you work toward getting agreement of what the team is supposed to do. And then you make it clear that accountability is part of it. It makes you a stronger team because people also realize, well, you're telling me I'm not doing something, oh, you're not doing that because you're being mean or obnoxious. You're doing that because you want to know that I'm doing the things that I committed to do. And when teams get to realize that concept, then you have a much more powerful world you live in.   Ben Baker  29:59 Absolutely The and you said something, you know, it says conflict. Everybody's afraid of conflict today. Yeah. And conflict is not a bad thing. Conflict is not a four letter word. You know, we all need healthy conflict in our lives. If we're if we live in a world with no conflict, all we have is groupthink. All we have is people that are afraid to speak up people that are afraid to think people that are afraid to voice a different opinion. And we keep going the way that those so and so says we should do it. And companies end up becoming commodities, they end up being the low value, low price easily forgotten, and they go out of business,   Michael Hingson  30:40 low morale? Absolutely. I think we read the same books, my when I think I actually told me once one of my favorite books is The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Patrick Lencioni talks about all these sorts of things in there. Absolutely. And it's an it's so important. There's, there's always or should always be room for discussion, and disagreement. As long as you're doing it for the right reason, and that the outcome has to be that you collectively find a way to find agreement to move forward and that you all settle on a plan.   Ben Baker  31:16 But it's getting people to focus on the ideas and the concepts, and not each other. Yeah. And that's the big thing. That's what I love about doing the graphical representation, because you have a roomful of people that have some level of conflict amongst them, either there's a hierarchy thing, or there's an ego thing or whatever, within the room. As soon as they're all sitting there focused on that person drawing that piece of paper, they start focusing on the problem and the issue instead of each other's egos. And it's amazing how that that transformation occurs.   Michael Hingson  31:53 I love to tell people that I've learned more about management and team building from working with eight guide dogs than I've ever learned from Ken Blanchard, even pat Lencioni, and so on, because dogs, although they, I really believe love unconditionally, they don't trust unconditionally. But the difference between a dog and a person is that unless you have just really encountered a dog with major abuse in their lives, or you abuse a dog, they're open a lot more to trust than we are, which gives you the opportunity to build trust both ways.   Ben Baker  32:32 Yeah, and trust trust is, is a delicate thing. Mostly, as I say, what was the best thing that somebody told me says, Trust and verify? You trust and verify. But the problem is, is that you trust but trust to be broken easily. And it is almost impossible to repair? What's it once it's been broken?   Michael Hingson  32:53 Right. And we have had an environment, collectively in the country or in with each other where we've learned about humans, oh, that person says they want to trust me and all that. But they've got a hidden agenda. And I've got to really watch out for that. And so we've learned not to trust we've learned not to be open to trust anyway.   Ben Baker  33:19 Well look at social media. I mean, social media is what we see is the waxed veneer of human beings. Very few people actually show themselves for who they really are. Warts and all on social media every everybody has as whitewashed and cleaned up their persona for social media. So therefore, you sit there and go, okay, is this somebody's life? Or? Or is this the, you know, the highlight reel of who they truly are. And for most people, what you see on social media is people's highlight reels, you know that they've cleaned it up, they've they've, they've pressed their suits, they've, they've combed their hair, and they've straighten their teeth, but you're not actually getting who they are, when you go up and shake them up on the hand and you have to deal with them day in and day out. Yeah.   Michael Hingson  34:12 And, and even zoom, if you have real meetings with people, you get closer to the connection. For me, it doesn't matter whether mostly anyway, I'm in a Zoom meeting or I'm in a meeting face to face with someone that one differences at least I can shake hands and I draw a lot of conclusions about people by handshakes. Because is it a firm handshake? Are they just trying to squeeze your fingers and break them or are they just a limp handshake and people talk about handshakes all the time, but it's true. On the other hand, I can get a lot out of listening to a person on Zoom. My first job in sales will actually not my first job but one of my later jobs and say I was I worked for a company that was based out here in Carlsbad, California. And I was assigned to sell to the mid atlantic arena, from Washington up to in Virginia, up through New York. And we were selling high end products. So it wasn't like telemarketing or anything like that. And I learned pretty quickly that the very same sales processes that I would use in talking to someone in person applied to talking with them on the phone. And it also meant that I needed to be as open with them on the phone as I would be in person, because they can tell if I'm hiding or just faking a persona or not. Oh,   Ben Baker  35:51 absolutely. I mean, it's interesting, because over the last two years, I've done 75 or 80, keynotes, virtually, no, unfortunately, march 2020, my life change the keynotes that I delivered around the world ended. Yeah, they just ended the meeting to 72 hours a year to a year and a half's worth of keynote speaking, was gone in 72 hours. Yeah. And I've come to the realization that truthfully, honestly, I really don't like delivering keynotes virtually. Yeah, cuz I feel people, you don't hear them, you don't, you don't see them. You don't get the facial expressions, you don't get the shifting in people's seats. You don't you don't get that those, those comments under people's breaths. There isn't that slight chuckle. You don't get any of the humaneness that a live presentation gives you in the spontaneity, because in terms of most things, most people turn off put on the mute button, they turn off their monitor, and they're sitting there reading their email while you're talking. Right. And you don't get to see the full human being that what you're speaking to, and I find that very challenging. And sometimes a little disconcerting, especially when you're dealing with 500 people on a zoom call. And all you see is mostly blank screens.   Michael Hingson  37:16 So needless to say, not seeing the blank screens, but I miss a lot of the other stuff when I'm delivering a talk. And I'm doing it in person, I get to listen to all the different kinds of reactions. And I know absolutely, categorically, when I'm connecting with an audience, because I've learned that based on different remarks and comments and tonal issues that I display. I know what to expect if an audience is connected or not. And I don't get any of that on a zoom call. So kind of just have to plow ahead on a zoom call, as opposed to being in a room and talking to people and knowing you're connected. Including along the way, somebody's cell phone rings, and I'll stop and go Hello. And expecting to get a laugh if they're connected. And usually do you know and if I don't get a laugh, then I'm looking immediately for what other ways do I need to connect so that there is drawn in as I want them to be? And I can't possibly get that in a virtual call?   Ben Baker  38:29 Oh, absolutely. I literally had somebody in the front row I talk I was giving and their cell phone went off. And I walked off the stage and I grabbed the phone. It says they'll call you back during the middle of my keynote. I put their phone in my pocket says you can have that after the show. And the entire room. Burst out stood up. Yeah. First out laughing because they're gonna say, I can't believe he just did that. But it was it was one of those spontaneous things. I hadn't planned it, I hadn't thought about it. It just I just went ahead and did it. But it's those little magical things that get an audience talking about you for months, if not years ahead of time. From then,   Michael Hingson  39:12 I still remember reading an article about Sandy Duncan when she was playing Peter Pan on Broadway. And she was flying and went out over the audience and somebody's cell phone rang and he answered the call and she just flew over him and kicked the phone out of his hand. And and I guess people loved it but there was already at that time something that's notification don't use cell phones in the audience when course you're gonna live performance which was appropriate. But yeah, it's it's those kinds of things that also, as you said, make people remember you and that says it should be and they'll talk about you and not in a negative way, generally speaking, as well. Actually, if they're drawn into what you're saying,   Ben Baker  40:02 well, the person whose cell phone uh, came up to me afterwards goes, goes, I can't believe you did it. But that was funny.   Michael Hingson  40:08 Yeah.   Ben Baker  40:11 He knew he was in the wrong. Yeah, absolutely knew he was in the wrong, you know, but he just said there was, what am I going to do the phone rings against you silence it fast enough. And so I by the time I had the phone in my hand, you know, he thought it was funny. Everybody round him thought it was funny. But you could have absolutely had somebody who was very arrogant to go, how dare you take the phone out of my hand could have. Either way, you're still they're still going to talk about you.   Michael Hingson  40:38 I've been in audiences where I forgot to put my cell phone on mute. And it rings and I will get it out as fast as I can and mute it. I mean, that's the best thing I can do. Because I don't want to answer it. But yeah, and it is appropriate for people when you're a speaker to expect that people aren't going to have their cell phones or they're going to have a not have them on or at least they're going to mute them. Because they're supposed to be there to value you. I actually heard something last Friday. I was in a meeting. It's called PATA Palooza, which is a program where podcasters would be podcasters. And people who want to be interviewed by podcasters get together. It's a quarterly thing. And one of the things that one of the people said near the beginning was I'm talking, I can see the chat room, I would really appreciate it unless you have a specific question. Don't just sit there and chat in the chat room. Because it takes away from you listening to speakers, whether it's me or anyone else. And I see that all the time that people are chatting in the chat room, they're clearly not as focused on the speaker, as they should be, because they're doing everything but listening to the speaker. They're reading chats, they're chatting, oh, that was great what that person said, and they're spending all this time doing everything except listening to the   Ben Baker  41:58 speaker. But you can also have fun with it. I mean, two things I usually have. If I'm in a great big keynote online, I have somebody who's in the chat room. And I get them to sit there and go, Oh, that was a great question. But hang on a second, before you go into your next talk, you got to answer this question. And I always breathe, because then you're bringing a human element into it. That's okay. And that's fun. You know, it's fun, it's a matter of sit there going, Look, humans are human beings. We all have a need to, you know, to voice our opinion, to think to be engaged, but you want to be able to make people engage. I remember when Twitter walls were the big thing, where you had a big deal. 20 foot screen beside you as you were doing a keynote, and they were doing the Twitter feed while you're talking. And I used to, you know, halfway through my keynote, go and look at the Twitter wall and pick up a few tweets and start talking about them. Because then people sit there going, Wait a second, they're paying attention to me. Yeah, this is a human being on stage talking to human beings. And we all are, we're all human beings, and we all want to be listened to understood and valued. And the more it is not the Oracle from up high, you know, extolling the virtues. And actually being a human being talking to human being, helping them be better human beings, the more exciting to talk at tends to be   Michael Hingson  43:22 one of the things that I do again, when speaking, especially when I know their screens, and especially when I know that people are listening virtually, is to say, I gotta tell you, I'm not gonna be paying attention to you in the chat room, not because I have anything against chats and all that, but rather, because I can't chat and talk at the same time. But we do have somebody who will take questions and we will get to you. So if you really have an urgent question, then indicate that and I will make sure that I hear about it and and try to answer it immediately. Because I love answering questions, but mostly chats, and I don't necessarily interact well together.   Ben Baker  44:07 Well, it was just, it's distracting. I mean, think about it. From a keynote speakers point of view, when you're online. When you're online, you have a chat going on the background, you try to get all the technical things going on, you're trying to speak while at the same time, you're doing your own PowerPoint. And also you're you're working both hands with both Mycenae and keyboard while you're trying to deliver a seamless conversation. It's tougher to bid at the best of times. Yeah, and then trying to watch the chat room at the same time. It's impossible isn't gonna lead to we need to realize that people want to chat. People want to be part of that they want to be engaged in the conversation. So how do we facilitate that we have somebody whose job it is right to be to be that intermediary between the chat and us on stage to be able to To be able to bring everybody together. And I think that that's, that's a part of online presentations that most people are missing.   Michael Hingson  45:08 Yeah. And I find that that tends to work very well. And I will make clear to people upfront love to answer questions. And if there's a way to make that happen, then we do it. The other thing I love to do, and of course, a lot of the speeches that I do, I want to educate people a little bit about blindness and the fact that we're really not different than you guys. Sure. And so I will start off, I'm going to give my secret away. But I start off the presentations by saying when asked you a few questions, and mostly I don't get caught with this? I'll I'll say something like, did everybody hear the about the Supreme Court decision yesterday? Or did you did you happen to see that movie last night that was on TV? Or or, you know, how many of you know a person who happens to be blind, and I'll do a few of those. And if I'm fortunate, which most of the time I am, this is probably going to change now. But if I'm fortunate, people will raise their hands, they won't apply? Because they don't get it. Right. Right. And the last question I ask is, how many of you think it's a bright idea that when a blind lecturer is speaking to you that you respond by raising your hands. And it's fun, and it is always it's fun to do that. But people do take that sort of thing to heart. As I said, Now, I'm going to be in trouble, because everybody's going to applaud. So I'm gonna have to find a different way to do it, because they're gonna listen to this podcast. He said, hoping. But But speeches, I find in dealing with customers and dealing with employees in all that I do, it isn't talking to I talk about it with prayer, even it's not talking to God, it's talking with God. It's talking with your audience, and making them part of the the whole experience that you're all involved in involved in. And as I tell people, If I don't go away learning more than you learn, then I'm not doing my job well. Well, it's   Ben Baker  47:11 speaking to people in language that resonates with them, using analogies that resonate with them. Because I'm going to speak to steel workers a lot differently than I'm going to speak to accountants. Yeah, the same concepts will come into play, the same ideas will come into play, but I'll use different analogies. And I'll use different frames of reference because you need to be able to make people sit there go, I get that. Okay. Yeah, I understand. And it's not about you. It's about the audience that you're speaking to. And how do you get them on board? How do you get them to sit there and go? Yeah, all right. Now I understand what they're talking about. Okay, I'm bought in now, I'm going to really listen.   Michael Hingson  47:57 Have you ever given a speech where you were given a series of expectations of what was to happen and what the speech was to bid God about in the audience, and so on, whether it's a speaker's bureau that did it or from somewhere, and you got there and found out that you were totally given the wrong information and had to recraft the speech   Ben Baker  48:19 that happened to me just before COVID. That happened to me just before COVID, I was the last speaker, in our speakers evening. And I was given some information. And my understanding was, it was going to be a very corporate evening. And listen to speaker after speaker after speaker. It was very personal. It was extremely personal. And the audience was buying into this. And if I had delivered the speech that I had to give it, first of all, it would have landed flat. And second of all, it never would have resonated with anybody. Yeah. And I said to these guys, I said, luck. You have to, we have two choices. Either you can take me off the ticket, or I'm going or I'm going to do a 20 minute talk off the top of my head. I'm happy to do it. I can do it. I've done it before. But realize that the talk that I told you I was going to give I'm not going to because it's totally an absolutely irrelevant, based on the evening that we've just we've just done and I ended up sitting there talking for 20 minutes. And other people told me I nailed it. That's that's other people's choices, whether whether I did or I didn't Sure. But if if if I hadn't changed my topic right then and there. It would have almost been an embarrassment for me because it was I would have been totally an absolutely tone deaf to what the evening ended up being   Michael Hingson  50:00 I had a situation many years ago where a speaker's bureau said, We want you to come and speak to the national Property Managers Association. And I said, What are they? Oh, they're the people that rent apartments and stuff like that. And we want you to come. And it was a very relevant speech to give because we had just moved from an apartment, or a house that we had to another house elsewhere for a job. And so we gave our house to a property manager to manage until we could get it sold. So I went off, and I got down there, but I got there very late at night, before I was to give a breakfast speech. And I got up that morning and went down. And there was this really great breakfast, actually. And I was sitting there listening to people and I went, Wait a minute, this doesn't sound like what I was told. And so I said to somebody, you don't just help me out. I'd like to, and I don't even know for sure whether they knew I was the speaker or not. But they probably did. And I said, What is the national Property Managers Association, a worthy organization in the Federal Government that manages anything physical that the government owns? Oh, my God, totally different, needless to say, as diametrically opposed as they could be. But I had done various things like created GSA schedules for companies and I had been involved in government contracts, especially the fun part is with organizations that if I told you anything about them, even today, you would be the late Ben Baker, and you would disappear and nobody would know about you anymore. But I literally, as they would say, pivoted on a dime. And it went very well. And I got to talk about other kinds of things. And fortunately, I had the experience to do that. And I think that as speakers, we should be able to do that.   Ben Baker  52:00 I agree. But also, we it is, in our best interest as speakers to sit down a couple of weeks ahead of time, with not with the speaker's bureau that's high for you. But with the actual event organizer, right and sit there and say, How can I help you shine to your audience? Exactly. Well, how can we make this relevant to the people that are in the room? Tell me who's in the room. Tell me about the conference. Tell me about what your goals of the conference are? What do you want people to walk away knowing? Why do you want them to come back next year, and be able to have all that information at your fingertips. So you can craft a talk, that not only is as relevant to the people in the audience, but it also makes the organizers who hire you and are paying you, you know, a lot of money, make sure that they shine. And that and that, to me is a critical part of being a great keynote speaker.   Michael Hingson  52:59 And the other thing that I love to do is to say I if if I'm not the first person on the agenda, I'd like to come in a day early and listen to some of the other speakers and so on, because I'll learn a lot from them. And invariably, if that's the case, or if I'm not the first speaker of the day, I will listen to speakers before me who have said things that allowed me to add more value into the presentation that I'm going to give.   Ben Baker  53:28 Absolutely. My attitude is I tell this to organizations hire me, I said, Look, you're hiring me for the weekend. You're hiring me for three days, right? I am happy to come in, I will do a keynote. I will do a meet and greets we can we get at your VIPs come in. And we can do you know we could do a book signing with my book if you want. And I'm also willing to do a workshop. Why don't we Why don't you bring me in for three or four events, we'll we'll get you a group price for everything. And therefore we can make sure that you get the best value out of this as possible.   Michael Hingson  54:01 I can absolutely do the same thing.   Ben Baker  54:04 Yeah. And that way you can be integral to that you're not just somebody that arrives 15 minutes before you're you know, they do a slight you'll do a slipshod soundcheck, you'll jump on stage, do your thing and then be in a cab heading to the airport as soon as the events over. Yeah, and there's a lot of keynotes to do that.   Michael Hingson  54:24 I know. I just don't like to do that. I like to as I said, I learned I get to learn. And I've also said if you know of other people, a lot of times we will do keynote speeches, inspirational speeches, and I've said look if you know other people that need a speaker, cuz sometimes people will say, well, we can't afford your price. I said well, and let's figure out how we add somebody else into the mix. If you've got donors or if you know of a school or whatever that might need a speaker. Let's figure out other things that I can do while I'm there because I come I want to come and spend whatever time you need me to do that. also helps a lot.   Ben Baker  55:01 Oh, exactly. It's about finding ways, whether this is a keynote, whether it's being a leader, whether it's being somebody who works in an organization, understanding how to help other people succeed. Because when you can sit there and say, How can I make you succeed, they're going to help you succeed.   Michael Hingson  55:20 Tell me about your books, if you would   Ben Baker  55:22 share, I've written two books, and they couldn't be more diametrically opposed. The first book I wrote was called powerful personal brands, a hands on Guide to Understanding yours. And I wrote that in 2018. And it really, truly is a workbook for personal branding. What I found is I do volunteer at a couple of the major universities, and I teach people personal branding, networking skills, and also how to interview and I sit there he says, okay, so what are you guys doing in order to build your own personal brand, because a lot of these kids are extremely smart, and they're horrible at articulating their own value. It's part of being young, you know, it just I'm sure I was nowhere near as good as 2530 years ago, as I am doing it today. It's experience. And none of them had a book that they really liked. And I said, All right, I'm going to try to find new one. I couldn't find one. So I wrote it. And it was it was a wonderful experience. The book, not only does it tell stories from my life lessons that I learned, but at the end of every chapter, what I do is I ask a question, and I leave two pages of blank lines for people to write their own ideas. And that was what the book is about. During COVID. I ended up doing 16 part, podcast series with a friend of mine, by the name of Claire Chandler. And it was all we were lamenting about the fact that nobody was thinking about what's next. Everybody was sitting there at the beginning of COVID, with their hands on their knees, rocking back and forth and says, Don't, don't look at me, don't talk to me, because I just don't know what I'm doing. And I'm, I'm terrified to death. And I can't make a decision. Fine. I understand all that. But people in leadership need to be able to sit there and say, Okay, here's where we are, this is where we need to go. It may change, but give people the confidence to know that there's there is light at the end of the tunnel. So we wrote a book called leading beyond the crisis. And actually what it was it was the podcast. And what we did is we took that podcast interviews, we transcribed them, edited them and turn them into a he said she said type book. And it really is not written for COVID. But it's sit there going Listen, throughout our lives, we're going to have crisis's. Whether it's your building, burning down, whether it's a financial crisis, whether it's, you know, whether it's it's COVID, or some other type of medical emergency, we're all going to run into situations within our businesses that are going to be a crisis. The question is, how do you deal with it? And how do you instill the confidence in people to sit there and say, Look, I don't have all the answers. I don't know exactly where we're going. But this is the direction we're gonna go tomorrow. And if tomorrow comes and we go, well, we didn't make it. We didn't go exactly where we want to go. Let's reevaluate, figure out what we did wrong, figure out what we did, right? And then move forward from there. So those are what my books tend to be about.   Michael Hingson  58:31 Did you self publish? Or   Ben Baker  58:33 what I did I self published both of them. Cool. Yeah. Amazon is my friend.   Michael Hingson  58:39 Yes. Kindle Direct Publishing these days, Kindle Direct   Ben Baker  58:43 Publishing my book is available through Ingram Spark and Amazon. And with that is pretty much available in every every bookstore in the world, we   Michael Hingson  58:53 bookstore in the world. Yeah, that anybody can order, which is all that that really matters. And they do. Well, and what more can you ask for? Exactly. So change is is all around us is that the only true constant in the world? That's my   Ben Baker  59:09 attitude. My attitude is that change is truly the only constant. It doesn't matter where we are, things are going to change. They're gonna get better, they may get worse. They may go, the sky may go from blue to black to gray. But it's it's going to the sun's going to come out again. And we all need to realize that the world is in flux. There's, there's all sorts of things we can control. Most things we can't. And we have to sit there and say, Okay, these are the things I can control. These are the things I can't, how do we how do we mitigate or risk based on that? And how do we move forward and how do we be successful based on the situations we find ourselves in today? And knowing that tomorrow with different information with this different circumstances, we may have to change. And we have to be ready to embrace that.   Michael Hingson  1:00:06 Well, we know the sun is going to come out tomorrow, except there is such a thing as the day that we have a supernova. So just saying   Ben Baker  1:00:17 the world Sunday, the world will implode.   Michael Hingson  1:00:19 And you know, we don't have control over that. So why worry about it?   Ben Baker  1:00:22 I can't control it. So why worry about it?   Michael Hingson  1:00:26 Exactly right. We I was having a discussion with a colleague this morning, we're writing a book, I may have mentioned it called a guide dogs Guide to Being brave, talking about fear, and so on. And we were talking about normal this morning, and how everyone wants to always get back to normal. With COVID, we have got with COVID, we want to get back to normal. For me, I really started getting frustrated with that after September 11, when people started saying we want to get back to and we got to get back to normal. And it took me a little while to realize why I reacted so vehemently to that. Normal would never be the same again, we can't get back to normal, there is something to be said for entropy, right? Once you open a can of worms, you can only put the worms back in a bigger can. And and normal would never be the same again.   Ben Baker  1:01:19 Well, I look at this as I remember when we when we bought this house 20 years ago. And we you know, my wife said, Okay, I want to do this renovation, I want to do this renovation, okay. And she This is why I want to renovate the master bathroom because the master bathroom had carpet all the way up to the top and carpet, your carpet in the bathroom. Whew, wow. Okay, and the people in front before us owned a dog. They owned a very large dog. And supposedly they paid the dog in that tub. I told my wife, I said, Look, I can tell you that this is going to cost you this, this is going to cost you this. This is going to cost you this. When it comes to the bathroom. I have not a clue. It says until we tear up the carpet. And we expect the floor. I have no idea if this is a $10,000 fix or a $30,000 fix. Because you don't know until you start banging walls and stuff. And ripping, ripping off drywall. You have no idea what's behind what's behind those closed those closed walls, right? And you have to be prepared to sit there go, okay. We're in it. We're in the fire store. We've we've we've destroyed the drywall and we've we've put it in a dumpster and we've sent it away. We have bare walls. Okay, we're dealing with some wood rot. Okay, what do we do now? It's not like, it's not like they can go back, get that old drywall, put it back up on the wall and forget about it. We have to deal with what's in front of you. And you have to sit there and say, You know what, one way or the other, we'll figure it out. And we'll and we will survive and we will thrive. And I think maybe what we need to be as a society.   Michael Hingson  1:03:08 It may affect your budget, but I'm gonna fix it. So what did you do with the carpet? Oh, the   Ben Baker  1:03:13 carpet blue carpet went in the garbage. You know, the carpet went in the garbage. We you know, we tiled the entire thing and luckily enough, the Tongue Groove floor underneath was was still good. Good. You know, I didn't I didn't have to pull out all the tongue and groove. I didn't have I didn't have wood rod I didn't have you know, that's floor joists that needed to be replaced. You know, it was it was a $12,000 fix. It wasn't a $30,000 fix. It was within tolerances of budget.   Michael Hingson  1:03:42 I'm actually very surprised because the floor being carpeted, and they bathing a dog and then bringing the dog out over carpeted floor where there's a lot of splashing, you would think it would could have been a lot worse. You were very fortunate.   Ben Baker  1:03:55 We were extremely fortunate. And I looked at it and said okay, but we have the attitude going in that it's going to be what it's going to be we're tearing up the carpet regardless. Yeah. And the worst it's going to do is it's going to cost us a little extra money and a little bit more time. So where do you guys live? We live in Richmond BC up in Canada. We are. It's a suburb of Vancouver, just so the airport.   Michael Hingson  1:04:24 So floors can be a little cold on the feet in the winter, but you know, that's fine. Exactly. But we built this house back in 2016. And we just use luxury vinyl tile. All of it is floating so it's not glued down. My wife in her wheelchair, rollover it very well. We haven't broken any tiles, but it makes for a much more convenient environment becau

This week, the society continues its summer series with Michael's choice, Sandy In Disneyland, a 1974 television special starring Sandy Duncan and featuring a who's who of the day including Ruth Buzzi, the Jackson 5, and Ernest Borgnine..... and so, so much more.  Witness the society stretched to the very brink this week.  Will they survive?  Will the center hold?  You'll just have to listen in and hear for yourself?  Will there be pain?  There will be.... there will be....

Today, I am so honored to announce my episode with legendary Broadway performer Sandy Duncan, the star of Peter Pan, The Boy Friend, Chicago, and so many more shows on stage and on screen. Tune in today for an in-depth interview featuring many of the stories of her legendary career, including the eerie dream she had before the Tony Awards, why she dubs Finding Neverland “Never Never Never Never Land,” the challenges of taking on the role of Peter Pan, the unusual audition song she used early on, her accident during the run of Chicago, a difficult demand from Agnes DeMille, the condition on which she agreed to take over Valerie, what it's like partnering with Gene Kelly, and the type of role that would make her come back to Broadway. You won't want to miss this conversation with one of the most talented triple threats in the industry. Trivia Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O-Xnecg2ro

On this edition of CBS “Sunday Morning” hosted by Jane Pauley. In our cover story, Conor Knighton looks at how public libraries have evolved in the 21st century. Plus: Dr. Jon LaPook looks at the role of those on the front lines of public health; Mo Rocca profiles entertainer Sandy Duncan; Mark Whitaker looks at two legends being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame; And Anthony Mason talks with former President Barack Obama and rocker Bruce Springsteen about their podcast and book projects.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week the society watches the 1971 comedy The Million Dollar Duck, directed by Vincente McEveety and starring Dean Jones, Sandy Duncan, and Joe Flynn.  Ever wonder what would happen if you got a sudden glut of cash via a radioactive duck?  Are you up-to-date on your tax law and gold bullion policies?  Well, this be the place! Watch out for nosy tax assessors and the government and their textbook overreaches, this one is going to be an EGGSTRAVAGANZA!Follow us @medfieldfilm on social media for the latest updates

For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://youtu.be/H9LfokRVCJs In a very special presentation, Sandy Duncan turns the tables on ME and will celebrate ME! Sandy was interviewed by me several months ago and said, "Next time, I interview you!" She wasn't kidding!" Here we are! We have no idea what to expect! Please tune in for what will be a very interesting broadcast! Sandy Duncan is known for her performances in the Broadway revival of Peter Pan and in the sitcom The Hogan Family. Duncan has been nominated for three Tony Awards, two Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards.I am Celebrating 43 years in the entertainment industry this year. I have been blessed to excel in many areas of show business. I left Conway, South Carolina in 1979, to pursue a career as an actor in NY. I am a proud member of Actors Equity. Eventually, my gift of gab and quick wit, along with my love of Singing led me to a variety of stages from Atlantic City to Las Vegas. My original blog to chronicle the history of ( Hello Dolly) morphed into a talk/variety series called , "Richard Skipper Celebrates." This series which ran for 2 and 1/2 years is now syndicated on most popular podcast platforms and YouTube. #SandyDuncan #RichardSkipper #entertainmentindustry

Set sail on Episode 8, Season 1 of the Love Boat, the worlds greatest romantic comedy drama television series of all time! In this episode we follow an all star cast that includes Sandy Duncan, Jim Stafford, Steve Allen, Polly Bergen, James Bond III, Jo Ann Harris, and Loni Anderson as they deal with overwhelming heartbreak, feigned infidelity, underhanded scheming, and mind boggling child endangerment. We also welcome back our previous guest and good friend Steven P Slivka who surprises Istvan with his traumatic take on this episode as well as a very cool and unexpected birthday gift at the close of the show. Thanks for listening to the podcast and joining us on this voyage and by all means consider subscribing to the show as well as Paramount+ so you can watch the episode with us. We promise you'll be glad that you did. * Be sure to check out Istvan's other amazing podcast for kids and families, Istvan's Imaginary Podcast available everywhere podcasts are found. * Find and Follow our new Instagram profile here: @lovin_the_love_boat * And follow Istvan on Instagram: @iamistvan or on his website: www.istvansongs.com

It's here!  Uncharted has finally dropped and it's not bad!  one of Sony's flagship franchises, Uncharted, is doing well in the box office and has a great cast (though maybe not right for the parts) that help to bring the Nathan Drake's universe alive.  Have a listen, you may be surprised at some of our arguments.     0:09:30 - Box Office and Upcoming Releases 0:18:50 *** What's Streaming  *** DISNEY+ FREE GUY, Dir. Shawn Levy – Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howry, Channing Tatum, Chris Evans. 2021 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Dir. Bill Condon – Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline, Ewan McGregr, Ian MnKellen, Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci. 2017 THE FOX AND THE HOUND, Dir. Ted Berman, Richard Rich, Art Stevens – Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, Pearl Bailey, Jack Albertson, Sandy Duncan. 1981 0:21:20 - Trailers - HUSTLE / THE CONTRACTOR / ELVIS   0:29:00 - UNCHARTED, Dir. Ruben Fleischer ( Grayson 6.5 / Roger 7.5 / Chris 4 )   Hosted, produced and mixed by Grayson Maxwell and Roger Stillion.  Guest appearance by Christopher Boughan. Music by Chad Wall. Quality Assurance by Anthony Emmett. Visit the new Youtube channel, "For the Love of Cinema" to follow and support our short video discussions.  Roger wears aviators!  Please give a like and subscribe if you enjoy it.   Follow the show on Twitter @lovecinemapod and check out the Facebook page for updates.  Rate, subscribe and leave a comment or two.  Every Little bit helps.  Send us an email to fortheloveofcinemapodcast@gmail.com Thank you for Listening!  Does Tom Holland work as Nathan Drake?

On the fourth episode of The Most Sensational, Inspirational, Celebrational, Muppetational Podcast, Mirandia Berthold & Andy Atherton continue talking about their love for The Muppets and review episodes 13-16 of season one of The Muppet Show that featured guest stars: Bruce Forsyth, Sandy Duncan, Candice Bergen & Avery Schreiber. And give their thoughts on their favorite characters and sketches that appeared in each.

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 366, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: Sports 1: Because of WWII, these 2 NFL teams combined squads in '43 to become the "Stegles". the Steelers and Eagles. 2: Regret, Genuine Risk and Winning Colors are the only fillies to win this Triple Crown race. Kentucky Derby. 3: On September 19, 1992 Sergei Bubka broke the world record in this event for the 32nd time. the pole vault. 4: Sport in which you might leave a bucket, Christmas tree or picket fence. bowling. 5: Australian Rules, American and Association describe sports that are all named this. Football. Round 2. Category: Duncan 1: "Funny Face" star who can certainly separate the wheat from the chaff. Sandy Duncan. 2: Cawder Castle, which claims to be the site of this man's killing of Duncan I, was built 400 years after the event. Macbeth. 3: Procter and Gamble really took the cake when it acquired this brand in 1956. Duncan Hines. 4: This No. 1 NBA draft pick signed with the San Antonio Spurs July 24, 1997. Tim Duncan. 5: Duncan Regehr played Zorro and Duncan Renaldo was famous for playing this Old West hero. The Cisco Kid. Round 3. Category: All Ears 1: Nickname of the V-shaped indoor TV antenna. rabbit ears. 2: In the '70s she ended her TV variety show by tugging on her ear as a signal to grandma. Carol Burnett. 3: Made up of fat, it's the loosely hanging lower part of the auricle. earlobe. 4: According to folklore, if your ears are doing this, someone is talking about you. burning. 5: Of the five standard U.S. coins, the one on which you can see the right ear of a president. (Lincoln) Penny. Round 4. Category: Rock 1: The Colonial Dames donated an elegant portico that was erected around this rock in 1920. Plymouth Rock. 2: For hundreds of years, the Barbary apes have rocked atop the world-famous Rock of this. Gibraltar. 3: In 2007 she won an Oscar for "I Need To Wake Up", a song she wrote for "An Inconvenient Truth". Melissa Etheridge. 4: Brownstone is a variety of this rock, formed when grains of quartz and other minerals are bound together. sandstone. 5: You'll find this geological attraction about 280 miles from Alice Springs. Ayers Rock. Round 5. Category: In Your Hearts 1: AKA a myocardial infarction, it occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked or stopped. heart attack. 2: A surgeon may implant one of these to steady an irregular heartbeat. pacemaker. 3: The number of chambers in the human heart. 4. 4: The main artery leaving the heart, its diameter can be as big as a garden hose. aorta. 5: While systole refers to the tightening of the heart, this is the period between contractions. diastole. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia!

For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://youtu.be/_ftG3os0yko Guy Stroman has directed acclaimed productions of The Glass Menagerie, Driving Miss Daisy and Love Letters, all starring Sandy Duncan; The King and I, starring Lou Diamond Phillips (Best Production – Ft. Worth Star Telegram); Twelfth Night – Cleveland Playhouse; Man of La Mancha (Audience Favorite – California Musical Theatre); Steel Magnolias, with June Squibb and Sally Struthers; 1776 (Best Director – Dallas-Ft. Worth Theatre Critics Forum). He has also directed: Art, The Lion in Winter, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Joe Orton's Loot (Top Ten Production – Pittsburgh Post Gazette), Boeing, Boeing, The 39 Steps The Gin Game, Ray Cooney farces Caught in the Net and Funny Money, and most recently, Lewis Black's One Slight Hitch. Guy's musical productions include Mame, Oliver, Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire, Murder for Two, Smoke on the Mountain, and directing/choreographing numerous long- running productions of Forever Plaid and it's Christmas version, Plaid Tidings, including the opening productions of new theatres in Pittsburgh, Sacramento, Charlotte and Schenectady.  Guy originated the role of Frankie in the original production of Forever Plaid in New York, London's West End, and Los Angeles, where he won best acting awards from the L.A. Drama Critics and Drama-Logue. He can be heard on that original cast album, as well as on the recordings Unsung Sondheim, Girl Crazy, The Busby Berkley Album, the London recording of The Most Happy Fella, and the Disney DVD of Aladdin and the King of Thieves. His latest projects include the musical production of Just Laugh, for the new Ken Davenport Festival, and David Dean Bottrell Makes Love-A One Man Show.

For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://youtu.be/kpPKR5fXlok Sandy Duncan was a Disney film lead, a TV commodity pitching crackers and arguably the best Peter Pan Broadway has ever offered. Sandra Kay Duncan, born February 20, 1946, felt like an outsider growing up in her native Texas because of her desires to be an actress. The elder of two girls born to a gas station owner, she trained in dance and appeared in productions of "The King and I" (in which she got her Equity Card) and "The Music Man" as a teen. Sandy made an enchanting Wendy in "Peter Pan" and soon poised herself as a triple threat on stage. Taking her first Broadway curtain call and grabbing a Tony nomination in a bawdy musical version of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales", she next won the soubrette role of Maisie in the Jazz-age musical "The Boy Friend". She managed to steal the thunder right from under star Judy Carne (who had just left the cast of TV's "Laugh-In" in order to branch out) and earned her second Tony nomination -- this time as "Best Actress". The toothy strawberry blonde was a sensation and in 1970 Time Magazine named her "the most promising face of tomorrow".  In 1979 Sandy retook Broadway by storm. Instead of the role of Wendy, she played the title tomboy in the musical "Peter Pan" and was nominated for a third time for a Tony Award. Born to play this role, she followed this spectacular success by locking arms with a carefree Tommy Tune in the tuneful Broadway show "My One and Only" replacing Twiggy in 1984. Don Correia was born on August 28, 1951 in San Jose, California, USA. He is known for his work on My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988), Everyone Says I Love You (1996) and The Equalizer (1985). He has been married to Sandy Duncan since July 21, 1980. They have two children.

For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://youtu.be/GQGSOCUHGQ0 Harvey Evans was an an actor, singer dancer, and FRIEND who had a knack for landing roles in the original Broadway productions of such classics as West Side Story, Follies, Hello, Dolly! and Gypsy,. He passed away on Christmas Eve. He was at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey, said Lawrence Leritz, a friend and Broadway actor, dancer, singer, producer and director who will be joining us in this tribute. “He was dearly loved by the Broadway community. Very kind, embracing, funny and always had a smile on his face. I can never remember not being hugged by this loving man,” Leritz said at the time of his passing. Evans was rarely cast in leading Broadway roles but found a place in timeless shows. He starred opposite Angela Lansbury in Anyone Can Whistle and played Barnaby in Hello, Dolly! opposite Carol Channing, then Betty Grable and then Eve Arden. You can read more about this on my site, CallonDolly.com. “When I look back,” Evans told Playbill in 2007, “I think I've had some kind of angel on my shoulder, leading me toward the best shows of Broadway's golden years. I didn't pick and choose them — they just came around that way.” Evans, who was born Harvey Hohnecker, grew up in Cincinnati and fell in love with musical theater after seeing a touring production of “Song of Norway.”  I am joined by Sandy Duncan, Lawrence Leritz, Diane Findlay, Lee Roy Reams, Loni Ackerman, Pamela Meyers, Patti Mariani, and Marcus Galante with a special taped message from James Dybas as we share our favorite memories of one of the nicest men I have ever met in this business. A man worth celebrating!  

Jason and Andy try discussing the eighth episode of the Love Boat - S01E08, Lost and Found/The Understudy/Married Singles. Sandy Duncan and James Bond III have an incredibly depressing storyline (about child loss, so sensitive viewers beware), Steve Allen can't get it on with Loni Anderson, and Julie's Understudy Connie is super hot. Meanwhile, Andy can't stop bringing up Sandy Duncan's eye, Jason calls a character a cunt, and Brian watched them talk.

Joshua and Dan head to Atlantic City and you'll just never guess who is there! Hey Nanette, we just watched a show about you. Beth Leavel reacted to applause. Sandy Duncan gave off mischievous airs. Also, the musical has changed since we've seen you Nanette. Tune in to next week's episode when we discuss Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party; specifically, the Off-Broadway press reels recorded in 2000! Contact us: unccpodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @unccpodcast Instagram: @unccpodcast

Valerie Harper struck a blow for performers everywhere with her much-publicized court battle over her abrupt firing from the NBC sitcom Valerie. She's remembered as a hero now, but at the time she was in a terrifying position just a few years after Farrah Fawcett and Suzanne Somers saw their careers implode. This is what happened, and how we ended up watching Sandy Duncan in The Hogan Family reruns. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/american-scandals/support

Coke or Pepsi? Amy and Robbie-Ann discuss the commercials that started the Cola Wars. Dr. Pepper. Robbie-Ann's 7th grade chorus recital song that was a celebration of commercials...and the hole in her wool skirt. Life cereal: Hey Mikey!  Calgon, take me away! The sexist propaganda of long-ago advertising. Sandy Duncan's Wheat Thins commercials. Grape Nuts. Remember when cigarettes were advertised on TV? The. TOYS. The Kool Aid Guy busting through walls. Robbie-Ann's mother attempting to curb Robbie's sugar intake by making homemade Kool Aid (FAIL). Barbie's mesmerizing influence through commercials. Sidebar: Robbie-Ann's father solves the Christmas nightmare of her brand new Barbie Townhouse, MISSING a pillar! Amy's Barbie-overcrowding of the townhouse elevator, and relegating her sister to secondary Barbie status. The short attention span of Matchbox cars and He-Man. Scotty's legendary Fritos and Pepsi afternoons. Barbie Boredom. The naming of Barbie and her backstory. The Kenner Star Wars mini-action figures, and Death Star accessories. Fisher-Price toy sets. Amy's Sesame Street brownstone set. Robbie-Ann's coveted Fisher-Price castle. The Kenner Family Tree House. The Mousetrap board game controversy. SIdebar: board games. Amy's anxiety over Perfection. Simon: beep boop beep ehhhhhhh. Robbie-Ann's impression of Speak-N-Spell. Amy's rocket ship built out of Simon and other toy parts. Why did Amy bury her Play-Doh barber shop underground? Accessories, batteries and strawberries NOT included! What commercials made the Girls *not* want to buy something? Sidebar: Wilfred Brimley was an amazing actor. Cereal jingles! Robbie-Ann can't spell Apple Jacks. Fruit Loops vs/ Apple Jacks. Alpha-Bits: really just Cheerios. Fast food jingles! Fat Cartoon Burger King vs. Hot Burger King. 70's and 80s automobile ads. Amy asks the Magic 8 Ball if the GIrls are Peppers - ? David Naughton shout out.

The one where we discuss Silver Spoons, Sandy Duncan, TMBG covers, favorite baseball stadiums, and Dave inheriting my kids.

The Muppet Show season 1 episode 14 with special guest Sandy Duncan is discussed.

British TV Star Bruce Forsyth and American sweetheart Sandy Duncan are this week's very special guest stars! A quack meets a duck, Fozzie hires a new joke writer, and Animal finds the woman of his dreams. I hope you put a ring on it, man. She's a keeper. Hi-ho and welcome once again (for the first time) to A Feat of Lunatic Daring, the most sensational inspirational celebrational muppetational podcast about Jim Henson and his Muppets! Things are rough right now. Let's talk about something that makes us happy, namely in unmistakable genius of James Maury Henson. https://www.lunaticdaring.com/sources (Sources Page) https://twitter.com/LunaticDaring (Twitter) https://www.instagram.com/lunaticdaring/ (Instagram) https://www.facebook.com/lunaticdaring (Facebook) Also follow https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9DdpUYDBkCCM4BfGRJcpTg? (Antithesis Audio) on YouTube for future video content Chad Instagram & Twitter: https://my.captivate.fm/twitter.com/chadjshonk (@chadjshonk) Nick Twitter: @https://my.captivate.fm/twitter.com/ntjackson17 (ntjackson17) Music by Seth Podowitz https://twitter.com/audiobookseth (@audiobookseth) © Antithesis Audio

It's episode two of Muppetsational! ...and thanks to Disney+, Episode 14 of The Muppet Show (we'll explain!). Join us as we chat all about the Muppets and special guest star Sandy Duncan! This week, Jade marvels at Sandy's spatial awareness, Emma never smiles at a crocodile and Lewis can't stop saying hoofer. Editor: Jade Turner Theme Music: Peppy Pepe by Kevin MacLeod Peppy Pepe License Artwork: Charlotte Rudge (Instagram: @Charlie_r_rudge)

Relax by the Fireplace with Joey and let him read you a story set to sleep-inducing music and ambient sound. Nox is your Safe space at bedtime to relax, feel safe, and get a good night's sleep.  On tonight's episode, I talk about our new Discord Server and read a story called "Most of My Friends Are Two-Thirds Water" by Kelly Link. It's a little more modern and adultier than our usual stories but don't worry it's no more adult than a television Sitcom.   In “Most of my Friends are Two-Thirds Water”, the narrator, a woman is dealing with unrequited love and lives in her father's garage, Or maybe it was her feeling that she was competing with a bunch of blonds for the guy she loved. Maybe it was that all the blonds look like Sandy Duncan and smelled like Lemon Fresh Joy and have no vaginas. Are all Blondes Aliens that smell like lemon fresh joy and have no vaginas? “Will you come with me, sweet Reader? I thank you. Give me your hand.”   I work very very hard on these please help support this program on Patreon. Patreon: www.Patreon.com/Noxbedtimestories Website: www.Noxbedtimestories.com FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/noxbedtimestories Twitter: @JoeyNox_Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noxbedtimestories/  

This Week: Looking at how Vaudeville transformed the country and munching on Wheat Thins while Sandy Duncan sweats it out. Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and under appreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. Become a sponsor of Behind The Curtain and get early access to interviews, private playlists, and advance knowledge of future guests so you can ask the legends your own questions. Go to: http://bit.ly/2i7nWC4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let's talk about Episode 4 of Roots (1977). It's time for Kizzy's story. She endures Sandy Duncan's sugary secrets, Sam Bennett's pick up lines, and so. much. more. Say hello on Twitter (@theminiseries), Facebook, or just old school email us at miniseriespodcast@gmail.com.

God Bless America! This week's episode of HWYW is bursting with PRIDE. GILLIAN JACOBS is here to discuss what precisely Alexander Technique is, her no-good neighbors, the challenges of studying acting around photos of Patti LuPone in THE BAKER'S WIFE, and her and her mom's contrasting vacation styles. Then, LOUIS VIRTEL joins Julie to emphatically discuss the Sandy Dennis versus Sandy Duncan situation, what color a wheat thin is, how John Mayer is our generation's Adam Huritz, and whether Alice Walker and Tracy Chapman dated. Also: how Wendy Davis's hair is like a Nine Inch Nails single, the coolest way to commit suicide, why this one Black Crowes song we once found acceptable is actually completely dumb, the peril of not knowing when to eat spaghetti when you are unemployed, and what is "a bit much" to hear in your OB-GYN's office. Happy Pride Show! And Independence Day show too!