Last night, we saw Ellen DeGeneres on her Last Stand…Up Tour. Ellen has been silent for two years since her show ended after 19 years. The show ended because former employees complained about a toxic workplace created by producers and senior managers. This devastated Ellen because she’s all about making people happy and having fun. She never imagined the show would be so successful. Looking back, she admits she wasn’t as involved in daily activities of the show as she should have been. She…

In “Hook Point,” Brendan Kane tells the story of working with Taylor Swift to amplify her social media presence. Kane started working with her by listening to what she wanted. After meeting with her agent, then her parents, he earned the right to meet with her. At the time, she had a huge presence on MySpace. Yes, Taylor Swift built her empire by posting on MySpace. She loved posted her own content but at the time, websites were not easy to update. She had to send content to her website…

Taking time off and exploring the world gave me time to reflect. For as long as I can remember, my identity has been tied to my work. I was “Ted the Techie”, “Ted the LinkedIn Guy,” or “Ted the Marketing Expert,” My sense of self-worth and purpose was deeply rooted in my professional achievements and the constant pursuit of business growth. I realized my career identity has been limiting me. It has prevented me from fully embracing other aspects of my life and exploring new facets of my…

Going on a cruise with 7600 of our closest friends was never on our bucket list. Ellen and I dreaded the idea of getting on a ship for a week or two with thousands of people. There’s no escaping the crowd. Our perfect vacation is relaxing at the beach or hiking in the mountains. Lots of open space. A few years ago some of our friends, who aren’t into cruises, did a river cruise and couldn’t stop raving about it. Small crowds, bucket list destinations and lots of time to roam off the ship. We…