I thoroughly enjoyed reading Deep Survival:  Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales over the Thanksgiving break.  Within it I discovered many survival tips well worth knowing, including how to survive the current recessionary winter. “The climb up the edge of the cliff was the hardest and most dangerous thing I’d ever done.”  Yates arrived at the top “shaking and so strung out tha...

One of the darkest days in Ambassador Solutions' nearly 20 year history occurred on a fateful Thursday in September of 2000 --Black Thursday.  In response to the precipitous decline in demand for IT services during the post Y2K/dot com era, we announced our one and only layoff. I will never forget that day --one of the saddest of my life.  In fact, the current economic crisis gripping our nation ...

There is much at stake in the upcoming Presidential election, but the issue with the most at stake (1.2 million lives per year) is getting the least attention.  Yes, I dare say it...I'm talking about the abortion issue.  I'm talking about what I consider to be THE issue of this generation.  I'm talking about an issue that will have more impact upon the future of our nation than all economic iss...

I returned from my first short term mission trip on Saturday, July 19 at 2 pm.  See previous post for background.  The trip went off without a hitch, other than the virus I apparently contracted from one of the 250 new friends I made on the flight home.  You know you've traveled a long way when you have three meals on the same plane.  End to end, it was a 36 hour marathon each way.    Our work...

After my wife and I reluctantly agreed to accompany our fifth and final child on his senior class trip to Cancun at Spring Break, I vowed that our next trip abroad would be missional in nature.  Shortly thereafter, my good friend, Bob Pearson, founder of Horizon International, invited us to accompany him and a small group of supporters to Zimbabwe in July.  Severe knee problems prevented Elaine f...

What follows is my traditional Christmas message at the annual Ambassador Solutions Christmas Party. This year, the party was held the evening of Friday, December 14 at The Montage banquet facility on Indy’s north side. Thank you for joining us in what has become my favorite tradition at Ambassador Solutions –our annual Christmas party. This would have been party #19, but we canceled our party pl...

My wife, Elaine, and I just returned from a fabulous trip to Ireland, Scotland and England with my Taylor University MBA class.  It was a “for credit” study tour, but spouses were welcomed, so we jumped at the chance to take our first trip to Europe (I guess life truly does begin after fifty).  As a class requirement, I’ll be documenting the trip in a journal over the next several weeks (not in...

I first met S. Frank Mattox in the band room at Hazelwood Junior High School in New Albany, Indiana –our hometown.   We were 12 years old.  I last saw him at the Ocean Air Restaurant in downtown Indianapolis about a year ago.  We were fifty then.  So, the bookends that marked the beginning and end of our life together --from blowing our trumpets in little girls’ ears to pontificating in our usu...

  Last week the Ambassador Solutions Leadership Team attended the Leadership Summit produced by the Willow Creek Association.  Before giving you the highlights of my favorite session, let me encourage you to mark your calendars NOW for next year's event on August 7-9.  This is without question the best value in leadership training available anywhere...period.  See for yourself.   Marcus Bu...

About a month ago, I started experiencing some annoying irritation in my left eye.  A few days later, I noticed that I could not close my left eye without also closing my right one.  Then I realized that the left side of my face was slightly numb.  Fearing a possible stroke, I drove myself to the Emergency Room, because my wife was knocked out from pain killers following oral surgery earlier in t...