Learning that we had a father-son expedition in the Himalayas, the reaction has been universal, “What a great bonding opportunity.” But “bonding” seems limiting and beyond motivational. Especially with offspring abundantly ready to break free. Let’s wrap our minds around the concept of bonding alongside the rhythm of letting go.

Indeed, an emotional bond was part our journey but we shared so much more. Every second was an onslaught of present-centered focus. This step and the next mattered more than anything else. Each meal was coupled with reflection on the day. Jaw dropping awe trumped exhaustion. A fifty two year-old’s context intersected with a seventeen year-old’s epiphanies. Pride infused routine glances. Quiet conversation was inspiration in the dark. Risk was brushed aside with a smile and a new handhold. 

Parenting, done right, is a climb into the clouds. Uncertainty is the path to perspective. Clarity leads to more questions and discovery. Mountain climbing seemed to be the ideal place for our increasingly rare ‘teachable’ moments. Yet, a mountain in the far reaches of India is not required to have your own tapestry of bonding and letting go.

This tapestry is created by sharing an experience.

An event, a moment, a weekend, a visit, a vista - when shared - leads to bonding. This is easier to do when the “sharee” is your kid who can’t drive off. But come 16, and his newfound wings, the young adult needs to be invited back for an experience.

Memorable experiences sustain an invisible bond. 

Be the architect of shared experience. Creatively craft your experiences.

• Going to a movie isn’t the answer. Making a movie is. 
• Dinner out is too easy. Creating a dinner is deliciously visceral.
• Giving a gift is too one sided. The gift of time lasts forever.
• Playing a board game is okay. Rolling the dice on a new adventure is pure magic.

Dividends from your mutual experience will unfold well after it has passed. 

You secure a bond when letting go is a distant memory.

When Canadian, Karen Lee Gartner won Gold in the Women's downhill, it was infectious for the rest of us in the other ski disciplines. Twenty two years later, as an Olympic public speaker, I still remember how contagious another Olympic athlete's experience was.

If memory serves correctly, Karen's highest result in previous world class competition was a 5th in a world cup. The highest world cup result I had was also 5th at a Les Arc World Cup. 

And, yours truly used what I called, The Yahoo Theory.

"If that yahoo and do it, so can I."

The Olympics is an entirely new experience for most athletes. We are normally in our own world. Our circuit is different from all other sports, including the ski disciplines. We never cross paths with figure skaters, hockey players and curlers. 

Yet, at the Olympic Winter Games, the circle becomes very tight. 3,000 athletes converge into a tight knit community. We exchange stories and ideas. 

But, when a compatriot wins a gold medal, it becomes infectious for the rest of the athletes around him or her. 

NOW... when the media announces that an athlete has "No hope of winning a medal." This is pretty much not the case. Every athlete hopes they can win a medal. Look at the Australian short track speed skating gold medal winner in Salt Lake.

Steven Bradbury trained hard and made the Olympics. In the semi finals guys in front of him fell and he advanced to the finals. In the gold medal round, a handful of speed skaters fell in the last lap and voila... the unlikely hero takes home Gold.

Steven's preparation, persistence and being the right place, at the right time - paid off. No different than any athlete who is more than just an Olympian tourist (there are a few of those).

Enjoy the Olympics and make those Olympic Gold medal dreams an infectious part of your dreams and aspirations.

A normal part of parenting teens involves worrying about the choices they make. Talking with other parents, the conversation quickly leads to the unknown damage if phone cameras and social media were part of their own youth. Can you imagine the come-to-Jesus meetings between Olympic officials, parents and their young Olympians about the hazards of social media during the Sochi Games?

When getting accredited and prepped by Olympic officials in Albertville the conversations were about banned substances and conduct. At these games the conversations include social media and even terrorism.

As for social media, an athlete's conduct can be photographed, videoed and broadcast to millions. Sochi is already taking a hit by people latching onto the damaging photos of unfinished hotel rooms, toilets with viewing chairs, surveillance videos of people leaving their showers on, last minute construction and so on.

All it would take is a poor decision by an athlete with a snap happy buddy holding a camera phone and the world would know within seconds.

Now I can neither confirm nor deny we tried to steal the Olympic flag at our Olympics, nor would I ever admit our entire team trying to moon a VIP delegation passing by in limos when we were riding in short little busses they put athletes on. So, thanks to the lack of phone videos and Twitter these "hypothetical" deeds were never captured (if they ever, in fact happened) in digital forever-tude.

One thing that did get caught on video was a short incident where I was joining a bunch of tourists at an Erdinger Weisbeir sponsored pub in Albertville. Some camera crews were there and I held up a beer stein with some new friends. I wasn't drunk - nor out of control - but that might not be what it looked like. I never did catch any serious heat over this PR left-turn but had there been social media posts on Twitter or Facebook - things might have gotten way out of hand.

From an Olympic keynote speaker to the athletes attempting to enjoy their Olympic experience, use your best judgment. Err on the side of not taking any big chances away from the competition arena. Or, as my mom always says, "When in doubt, don't." You don't need to step on any social media metaphorical landmines.

For the Olympic athletes, the Olympic Winter Games' opening ceremonies  are not what you think they are. The celebration, the smiles, the waving, the I'm-really-here-at-the-Olympic Games is what you see. But inside every athlete is one pervasive thought.

"This is nice, but I'm really here for some hardware."

As an athlete competes year after year they drive for excellence. They attempt to be better at their sport. They love to win! All want to achieve a personal best. Each learns from losing. The Olympic Games are a bigger stage for the the same big goal, 'How well can I possibly do?' and 'Wouldn't it be cool to win a gold medal?'

Today I'm an Olympic motivational speaker, but at the Olympic Opening Ceremonies I was just a skier who got lost in the middle of a bunch of hockey players.

Hours before the event, all the athletes stage in a large facility beside the stadium. For the Olympic athletes it is an eternity between staging and walking into the stadium. The Olympians get there early, only to miss the first part of the ceremony. 

Finally, when they enter, they announce the country names in alphabetical order. Greece is always first and the host country is always last. 

By the time we rounded the stadium and headed up the stairs my skier buddies were elsewhere and I was surrounded by a large collection of hockey players. I felt like a Hobbit at a basketball convention. 

We were all starving. Then, in a deep voice the guy on my left said, "Wanna cookie?"

"Are you kidding? YES!"

"My mom made me bring a bag to share with my friends. She shipped them over. Homemade. Pretty good, eh?"

Definitely a Canadian hockey player.

As the bag of cookies were finished we watched the bizarre show put on the Olympic Host Committee in Albertville. Still, one thought was pervasive, as it is for the Olympians in Sochi.

"This is nice but I'm here for the hardware." 

Get a thick, red permanent marker. Write this on your computer screen: 

It’s all about conversions!

Stop email lunacy by being an email ninja. Convert your emails to the result you want.

In the mid 90’s electronic mail went mainstream. It’s been a regression in communication ever since. In a recent survey, email marketing response rates have fallen 57% since 2004. From long boring emails, to scattered diatribe, to confusing brevity – we all seem to be flailing away at how to write the best email. Here's how.

Subject Line
For starters, look again at the graffiti on your screen. 

It’s all about conversions!

Due to an interesting Subject Line, compel your reader’s index finger to click-through.

Let’s say you want to reach out to a past client to strengthen your network. If you were an emailunatic you’d the subject would read: “Follow up” or “Checking in” or the single worst one “______________” (“NOTHING?” You couldn’t think of anything? Were you too busy, important, creatively bankrupt to come up with a few words?)

What if your subject line said: “Okay... enough popping into my brain.”

In six words you’ve converted your reader to wanting to know more.

Body

The sequence:

1. Grab ATTENTION
2. Get to the POINT
3. Call to (a Specific) ACTION

If you want a result from your email, even if your email is solely informative, make sure you model this sequence.

1. ATTENTION
Little Miss BornToBore would write, “How are you?”

Yes, start with their name. Then immediately inspire your reader to read the next line. Imagine if your reader saw this: “Honestly… this has to stop.”

2. POINT
You could blah, blah, blahhhhh all over your reader or you could get to the point. Mr. BoringLederhosen would write, “You’ve been on my mind and I wanted to reach out and say hi.”

Continue to get their attention with your point: “You keep popping into my noggin. So, “Wassup?”

If you absolutely must be more formal: “You keep coming to mind and I wanted to reach out.”

3. ACTION: 
Those in the marketing world call it a CTA (Call to Action). Combine a CTA with specificity to skip the nauseatingly common, back-and-forth emails. Don’t just say, “Let’s connect.” 

Instead, spell it out, “Let’s spend 15 minutes and catch up. How about I call your cell on Thursday at 10 am or would Friday at 9 am be better?”

Let’s recap (the thick, red permanent marker and these two examples):

Emailunatic
Subject: Follow up
Body: Robert 
How are you?
You’ve been on my mind and I wanted to reach out and say hi.
Let’s connect.

Emailninja
Subject: Okay… enough popping into my brain.
Body: Robert
Honestly… this has to stop.
You keep popping into my noggin. So, “Wassup?
Let’s spend 15 minutes and catch up. 
How about I call your cell on Thursday at 10 am or would Friday at 9 am be better?

Be the Emailninja you were meant to be.

It’s all about conversions!

At lunch, he was preoccupied. Dan had to fire two people when he went back to the office. The details don’t matter as much as what inspired his next thought. On his way to be President of the company, he used the fear of being fired to get him on a better track. This example and others can be a way to scare yourself to get ahead.

The best time to fire someone? According to Dan, long enough after they get the kids in school and well before Thanksgiving and Christmas. In other words, right about now. Whenever October rolled around, Dan would imagine he was on the bubble for being fired.

“I’d picture the guy who'd replace me and the changes he would make. Then I’d make the course corrections instead. This fear forced me to up my game on the job. It seems like it worked, because I never got fired.”

Most believe, fear can be your single greatest enemy. Eleven years ago, a conversation with Bruce Jenner changed all that. Skip his reality show, tabloid and plastic surgery hijinks – or his propensity for a Brian Regan-esque “Me Monster” keynote where his opening video tees up "the world’s greatest athlete" and "the world's greatest father." In a one-on-one conversation, he said something that turned fear on its ear.

“Make fear your friend.”

We compared training notes (actually, he told me about his training and didn't seem curious about mine) and we each had stories (well I heard his - mine didn't make it into the conversation) how we (in his mind - he) used scare tactics to drive our (his) conditioning further ahead. (Hey, c'mon... Between the two of us we have one Olympic gold medal, an appearance on the Wheaties box and, hopefully, a healthy ego.)

There were times when 100 push-ups was the target. At 95 push-ups, a self inflicted mind game would surface. “Okay, if I don’t do 110 push ups I won’t get to the Winter Olympics.” Despite burning arms and shaky form, the mind pushed the body to go the extra distance. "107 - 108 -- 109 --- 110."

Other times I’d be cycling up a curved hill and eyeball the time. “If I don’t get to the top in 7 minutes, I won’t be marching in the Opening Ceremonies.” Fear of missing the dream would be enough to get past the pain of pushing harder.

The idea is NOT to put fear in your heart all the time, but it helps, now and then, to turn fear into results. Use fear as a tool. Not an anchor.

So… it’s October... and you haven’t been fired – YET.

What change or changes would your replacement make?

Execute those changes!

Go beyond keeping your job. Be the replacement your boss was looking for all along.

Scare yourself to get ahead.

(Bosses: Feel free to forward this 70 Second eBrief. You won't be accused of being subtle. ;-)

In the same way, "The rich get richer" -- "The smart get smarter." When someone has money, they can use it to make more money. People with smarts have the same advantage – but in this case you don’t necessarily need to be a brainiac to get ahead.

Our middle child, Alex, was recently asked to help a fellow student to prepare for a test. Alex has done well in class and she helps her fellow classmates frequently. By helping her friends, she doubly prepares herself for a good grade. Yet, if there was an ambitious C or B student who wanted to get more A’s, a little proactivity would go a long way. Put your metaphorical stethoscope up to a medical school approach to see how.

When learning procedures, medical students have a motto:

See One. Do One. Teach One.

This can be a tremendous tool, especially for those tasks that could be done more efficiently.

Let’s say you want to learn a time-saving way to send emails. Take a moment and think of an email you send on a repeated basis. For us, it’s a video-clip we personalize for prospects. The email takes ten minutes to do each time. It occurred to us, a template would speed up the process.

STEP 1 – See One. 
I went online and learned how others created a template in Mac Mail.

STEP 2 – Do One.
I fumbled through the process of creating a template. It wasn’t too difficult after I locked down the proper sequence.

STEP 3 – Teach One.
I sat down with my assistant Cara and taught her how to create a template too. For grins, Cara came back a week later. She taught me how she creates templates in an even more efficient manner.

The ‘video-clip email template’ we now send saves a half an hour per week. Add Cara in the equation and together we save four hours per month. Multiply that by another time saving tool and we can double our time saving productivity to 8 hours per month. What would 96 hours of time savings per year mean to you and your company?

If you see one, do one, teach one:

• you learn something valuable
• you benefit other people in your world
• you save time
• you improve productivity
• you become more amazing than you already are

For you, the secret behind this approach is proactivity. Pretend you’re a C student wanting to run with the Honor Roll crowd. Be proactive.

Choose something you want to learn. See one. Do one. Teach one. The upside will have you playing doctor anytime you like.

That didn’t sound right.

Okay... The upside will be a smarter, richer you! Booya. Drop the mic. Walk off the stage.

Maybe it took a movie featuring a strong female character. Possibly a documentary about the objectification of women did it. Or, more likely, with two daughters coming of age, it was a twobyfourish whack on the head. Whatever factors catalyzed this realization, let’s see how our future generations can reach new heights (or stop sinking lower depending on your POV).

Watch Gravity with Sandra Bullock and your back will not touch the chair. Heck, I practically held the hand of the equally captivated stranger sitting beside me. (And he didn’t seem like the holding-Vince’s-hand kind of guy.) It was refreshing to see a portrayal of a buffed hero who wasn’t airbrushed with impossible abs or as a heroine sporting a bikini and a sword on top of a mountain.

If you have access to Netflix or DVD rental, absolutely, definitely, unreservedly watch a documentary called MISS Representation. Chances are you’ll be educated on the conditioning we’re getting regarding women and their influence in society. It profiles the media’s misrepresentations of women in positions of power and impact.

It’s unsettling to realize the limited portrayals of women and girls in the media. Considering 97% of media executives are male, it’s not surprising the perception of ‘normal’ is skewed.

A haunting line in Jennifer Siebel Newsome’s documentary is, “You can’t be what you can’t see.”

If there are scarce images of female presidents, believable heroines, clever engineers not sporting a divine shoe/purse combinations and scientists who don't have perfect hair and nails, how can our younger generations imagine being one? If the media comments on the attractiveness of a female politician, yet would never talk about a male counterpart’s legs, how can we begin to make progress?

Money. Specifically, your money.

If there’s a movie showcasing helpless women, what message are you endorsing by buying or renting? Take a position with your wallet.

If there is a reality show, TV program or news service superseding a women’s drive and intellect and with eye-candy appeal, does it fit within your moral wheelhouse to support the companies who support this kind of messaging?

If there are tabloids objectifying women, is it wise to support them? Anything with a Kardashian in it would be one rag to avoid.

Some of our readers may be nodding with self-awareness, “I don’t have a male/female bias.” Consider a study done within the scientific/academic community, our beloved bastion of rational thought.

Identical resumes were sent to 127 professors of both sexes. For the position of lab manager, either John or Jennifer applied by mail. Each academician was asked to rate hireability, likeability, competence and the mentor-ability of each. They were then asked what salary they would endorse.

Regardless of the professor’s sex, age or specialization area, John scored 14% higher in all categories (except likeability) and 17% higher for a starting salary.

• Become more attuned to the stereotypes of femininity and masculinity limiting our girls and boys.
• Support a female’s ability to see herself as a leader and hold leadership positions.
• Be a part of a culture that encourages equal representation.

A less biased future is counting on you.

Prince was sitting off to our right. Max was waiting his turn to perform. The place was pulsing. Then up pops an Asian fella with a gold tooth, the right half his hair dyed platinum, an Alaskan Husky light blue eye on the same side and whack of so-so talent. But, all this was overshadowed by his infectious enthusiasm. He took the room’s energy to a whole new level. He said something to his appreciative audience that still sticks with us months later.

Simon made it clear he wanted to be a singer and performer his entire life. His thick accent was irrelevant when he performed a Michael Jackson song, Human Nature. He drew the packed room into the groove. Holding the microphone out to the audience, everyone participated.

“Why, Why? Tell her that it’s human nature. Why, Why?”

As the professional musicians played their roll of a live band version of Karaoke, other musicians dropped in and played too. It was Black Velvet Monday, full of uber talented, musical drop-ins. The location? New York's famous Village Underground, frequented by Prince and other of the musician elite. Later that evening, Tweet sang a couple of songs. (We’d never heard of her either – but the entire rest of the club had.)

To support Max, his sisters, mother and dad got there early. Turned out we were the only Caucasians in the place. It was a slice of an African American Speakeasy from the 20’s. Quite the scene!

Before he finished his song, Simon improvised a little motivational talk. He said he came to this country knowing this was the land of opportunity. Then he gathered more momentum and encouraged everyone to “Follow your dreams.” For him to sing in the USA was his life-long aspiration. Then the coup de grace… he declared with unbridled enthusiasm,

“Remember this. If you do nahteene… nahteene will happen. If you do somteene, somteene will happen. So everyone… DO SOMTEENE!”

The entire place erupted in in a spine-buzzing ovation. It was a magical moment.

It was also poetic significance for the 16 year-old white boy from Dallas who was about to go on stage – completely out of his typical element.

When Max got up he dismissed the band. Instead of doing covers of other famous works, he sang his own original. In place of an energy boosting tune, he sang a ballad on his acoustic guitar. The looks between his mother and I didn’t need spoken words, “I’m sure glad I’m not going on stage.”

But he did. He performed well and the audience showed their appreciation.

Was it the right venue to have a lyrical ballad. Maybe not. But, in the sentiments of Simon:

They start with one question, “How will we stand out?” That query bagged close to five minutes on national TV, 200+ franchise leads, a 20x spike in their web traffic and ongoing residual PR. If you’re interested in growing your business fast, the CEO of WOW 1 Day Painting, Brian Scudamore, has a great approach.

No stranger to building franchises, Scudamore’s relatively new venture, WOW 1 Day Painting followed his philosophy of don’t-pay-for-advertising-if-you-don’t-have-to. With the help of his internal PR team, Scudamore followed their first question by five others.

Who’s our market? What media reaches that market? What specific programs do they have? How do we get them to profile us? How do we scale the PR for residual traffic?

According to PR director AK Virani, the amount of research you do is directly proportionate to the quality of PR you get out. With this approach Brian Scudamore's team went to work with the following formula:

1. Define your Audience. In WOW 1 Day Painting’s case, they wanted to hit potential franchisees.
2. Research a Media Match. After significant groundwork, the team decided CNBC targeted their specific market of business people.
3. Research Specific Avenues. More diligent research revealed a program called Power Pitch. A mini-version of the entrepreneurial hit, Shark Tank.
4. Be Creative to Get Their Attention. After downloading the forms and finding out the Producer’s name, they assumed 1,000 other businesses were hitting on Power Pitch as well. According to Virani, “If you find that right person who you really believe will cover your story, then do what ever you can to get their attention.” They sent the producer a “1 day painting goody box.” It has brushes, coffee mugs, t-shirts and painting trays. The producer loved it, called back the next day and asked, “When can we get you on a plane?” The creativity didn’t stop there. Scudamore first produced a short promo video for the program to use and then flew to CNBC’s headquarters in New Jersey (armed with sound bites and a well honed pitch). You guessed it. More research was necessary.
5. Scale Your PR Coup to Your Network. The research mantra extended beyond the one-time airplay. Scudamore’s team then targeted what they called, “residual traffic.” They reached out through social media, business contacts on LinkedIn, focused YouTube channels and their own company blog. Yahoo.com and NY Times online both picked up the story and posted through their small business blogs.

The reason you’re reading this story is a LinkedIn message we received directly from Brian Scudamore. It was intriguing. The CNBC video was compelling. And now 25,000 of you are reading about it.

How will you stand out?

You may create priceless PR from that one simple question.