Hey, let's do something different...
I was inspired by my buddy Justin to share this.
Here are 6 things you probably didn't know about me.
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1. When I was around 20 years old, I got into sleight-of-hand magic.
Like most kids in the 70s and 80s, I loved it when David Copperfield was on TV. When I found out there was a magic store about 25 minutes from my house, I became a fixture.
Every day, after work, I'd drive to Greensboro, NC and hang out in Brenda's Magic Shop until closing time.
I learned how to vanish coins and other small objects...how to turn a losing poker hand into a winning hand. I remember my favorite trick for a long while was making four silver half-dollars travel from my closed fist to my pocket...one at a time.
What fun times those were.
Back then, a magic shop wasn't just a place that sold stuff. It was a place where magicians from all around would drive and hang out...we'd show each other what we were working on...get tips and tricks from the "old-timers"...and teach others what we'd learned.
I don't do much magic anymore. But, when Jessica and I are watching a movie, I've usually got a deck of cards in my hand.
And, when we're at our local youth theater, sometimes I'll do something for the kids. They love it. I do, too.
Magic is a great way to connect with people and make them smile.
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2. I make all the paper props for our local theater company. I design 'em, print 'em and make sure there are plenty of extras backstage in case something needs to be replaced.
Most community theater companies don't have a big budget for that sort of thing.
So creating the paper props is one way I contribute and make sure that the actors have realistic and believable paper props.
Over the last few years, I've designed full-blown newspapers, aspirin bottles, train-tickets, beer bottle labels, magazine covers, posters, vintage Mercedes ads, etc.
My favorite thing to do is to include jokes or gags that the audience never sees...but which the actors can laugh at.
They've gotten to the point that they can't wait until the day the props arrive at the studio because they know they'll be full of little in-jokes and actors's names.
It's a lot of fun and it lets me learn more about design and printing.
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3. I have three offices.
I know. It's weird.
I have one office around the corner from my house that I rarely go to. That's technically "the office".
My main "morning office" is in the den of my house. It's where I do all my writing and recording.
I think of it as my "creative" office. That's the one you guys see when I do webinars.
My main "afternoon/evening" office is in a spare bedroom. It's where I do administrative stuff, customer support tickets that I need to chime in on, ordering supplies, printing stuff, etc.
It makes no sense.
I don't like doing any creative work in the "admin" office area.
And, I generally avoid doing admin work in my "creative" space.
Jessica thinks it's weird. I do, too. But it works!
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4. I'm an introvert.
Some people find that surprising. Maybe because a lot of people think "introvert" means shy.
Here's how it actually works, though.
An extrovert is someone who GAINS energy from being around others or being in social situations.
An introvert is someone for whom their energy level goes DOWN from being around others or in social situations.
So, I'm not shy. I just have to pick and choose where I spend my energy. Because if I'm going to be around people, it's going to pretty much ZAP my energy for the next several hours.
Webinars don't seem to work that way, though. I can do a webinar for 2 hours and then, when I'm doine, my mind is often racing and I've got all kinds of ideas flowing in my mind.
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4. I'm a massive fan of Red Dead Redemption II.
I loved computer games when I was young. I didn't have an Atari or console system. But, when I got a home computer, man, I thought that was the best thing ever.
I had such fun playing games like Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM, XWing, Ultima VII and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. I'm so lucky that I got to grow up at a time when computers were just becoming available in people's homes.
But, when I got into my 20s -- and then I got married and started a family -- I got out of gaming.
A few years ago, my son said, "Dad, I'll bet you'd like this game" and he told me about Red Dead Redemption II.
Have you heard of this? Good Lord.
It's like a movie that you play. Take a look at this. It's actual game-play.
You're an outlaw in the Old West. It takes place in 1899. And it's the most jaw-dropping thing I've ever seen in a video game.
Let me put into perspective. It's a video game that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make. It has hundreds of speaking characters. If you printed out the entire script, it would stand 8 feet tall. And it was shot entirely on motion-capture over a period of 5 years.
The first weekend it was released, it did over $700 MILLION dollars. That's more than Star Wars films, Harry Potter films, etc.
Anyway, I'm a huge geek about it. If you like video games and you haven't played it, check it out!
(I might start streaming a new play-through on Youtube. If you want to watch, click here and I'll let you know if I do it.)
Also, if you play the game already, hit REPLY and let me know. Maybe we'll posse-up and play together in Red Dead Online like the nerds that we are. Yee haw.
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6. I'm madly in love
Look, I know it's sappy but I have to say it.
I'm over-the-moon in love with my wife.
I know a lot of guys love their wives. And I think that's awesome.
Growing up, I heard my Dad tell my Mom he loved her every day. No doubt, that made an impact on me.
And I can tell you...it makes an impact on my kids, today. My boys tell me and Jessica they love us every day.
Nothing better than an unexpected, unprompted "I love you" from my wife or boys. I love it.
I also never leave the house without telling them I love them. Even if I'm just going to run out to the printer or to pick up the mail and I'll be back in a few minutes....
...I'll walk all over the house and tell them all I love them and that I'm going out.
Because, you never know, right?
You never know when it might be the last time you leave the house and don't come back.
I think about that stuff a lot. But not in a morbid way.
It reminds me that life is precious. And that, if we're going to do things that matter, we have to do them today.
That includes letting the people I love know that I love them.
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So there you go...
That's a little peek into a few things about me that you might not know.
Hope you enjoyed this...
I hope you enjoyed it!
