Stuff I Learned Yesterday

Today’s story begins on an ordinary Wednesday, in an ordinary dorm room in 1995.  I was nearly finished with my first year of college, and as the semester was drawing to a close, I had a few assignment deadlines approaching.  One of the assignments was for a paper I had to write.  I have no idea which class it was or what the paper was about.  

What I do remember is that on this particular day I was up early trying to finish the paper before I headed off to work.  It was shortly before 9am.  I fired up the computer and turned on the local radio station.  I sat there typing away for several minutes and didn’t think much of it when I heard a rumbling sound above me.  I thought the guys in the room upstairs must have dragged something heavy across the floor.

A few minutes later there was an interruption on the radio.  The morning DJ announced that a major explosion had just occurred in downtown Oklahoma City.  It was now just a few minutes after 9am and 168 lives, 19 of them children, had just been lost as a Ryder truck filled with explosives was detonated at the base of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building. Read More...

The post 22- Refusing To Be Defined By Tragedy appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More.

Today’s episode is a story told from two perspectives.  One perspective is mine, and the other is from a friend named Emilee.  Some of you know her on Twitter or in our community as Fauxmeonce.  

I asked Emilee if she’d be willing to share her side of this story with the idea that I would then weave them together in a This American Life sort of way.  We did not compare notes or talk about what each of us would say.  She sent me her perspective of the story and I chronicled my side.  Only after I had finished my side of the story did I look at what she said.  It brought me to tears.  Here’s the story: Read More...

The post 21- The Journey From Crippled to Courageous appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More.

The Friday Forum is here! Thanks to everyone that has sent in a Friday Forum contribution. You can participate in Friday Forum by calling and leaving a message at 304-837-2278, emailing an audio file to [email protected], or clicking on the Send Voicemail tab on my website, GoldenSpiralMedia.com. Friday Forum is your opportunity to Share what YOU’VE learned, so that other listeners and I can learn from YOU. It can be a message as short as 30 seconds or several minutes long. It really doesn’t matter just as long as it’s something that will benefit others.

This week’s Friday forum contribution comes in from Mike and he shares a lesson learned after a recent trip to the doctor. I also share a brief lesson learned about the value in powering down your electronic devices. Read More...

The post 20- Friday Forum appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More.

Are you up for one more Chicago story? This is the last one for a while…I think. Remember a couple of episodes ago when I said that I want my kids to put others before themselves and make a positive impact on society? I know that the best way for them to learn that behavior is to see it demonstrated in me or my wife, Kari.

The thing is, I don’t think I’m particularly good at this. It’s not that I don’t care about other people or don’t like putting others first, I do. I think I’m pretty good about considering the feelings and thoughts of others most of the time, but I don’t know that I do a good job of demonstrating the behavior and teaching my kids.

I’ve taught them simple things like the seemingly forgotten courtesy of opening the door for others. I’ve taught them to always allow people off the elevator before you go in. I’ve taught them about being considerate of other drivers. I look at those as situational courtesy, and hope that they’ll teach principles that will flow down into everyday situations. Read More...

The post 19- I’m Glad You Like the Shirt On My Back appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More.

One of the things that my dad always taught me is to live within your means.  He told me to never use a credit card unless I could pay off the full balance when the bill came in.  He told me to save for the things that I wanted and buy them after I had saved the money.  He told me to be content with what I had and not be jealous of things other people had.  These are are all very sound financial principles.

I’m pretty conservative with my purchases, but money does burn a hole in my pocket faster than it will my wife.  She is very frugal.  She hates to shop, will wear clothes that are terribly out of style if they still fit and aren’t worn out, and she will talk herself out of buying just about anything that isn’t absolutely necessary.  When we first got married I would buy her gift cards to clothing stores for Christmas or her birthday so she could go buy something she liked.  She never spent them.  On the rare occasion she did spend them, it was when MY birthday had rolled around and she’d use it to buy me something.  I then switched to picking out and buying clothes for her instead of gift cards.

I can’t express how important it has been in our marriage to be in such agreement about money.  Most couples fight most about money, and since we both have the same money principles, we almost never argue.  

I mentioned on Friday’s show and Monday’s show that one of my clients had cut back the work that I’d been doing for them.  While this is certainly a situation that I wish had not occurred, it is the way of life for us now that I am self employed.  I no longer have a steady paycheck, but depend on work from clients.  If something happens to their situation, it will trickle down and affect my situation. Read More...

The post 18- Live Like No One Else appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More.