If you’re going to win the holidays in our business – you must have a team full of difference makers. As we all know – December is our busiest month of the year, and this year is one of the shortest time frames (27 days) between Thanksgiving and Christmas that we’ve had since pre-COVID days. …

Thanksgiving, as we know it today, is rooted in a harvest feast celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag in 1621. This marked a moment of giving thanks for a successful harvest after a tough year. The Pilgrims, who had settled at Plymouth Rock, were ill-prepared for the harsh New England winter. They suffered from …

Today’s Rocky Mountain Gold leadership lesson happened on my walk this morning and it reminded me about a lesson the Maxwell Team teaches us; “You gotta be in the room”. (view from my walk) That teaching is that the best way to grow in your influence and to grow as a leader is by being …

We had some crazy fog roll in on Thursday and Friday this week and it was completely cleared up by Saturday. My morning walks on Thursday and Friday were very scary from the dense fog and I also had an unbelievable hard time seeing what was around me and it blocked the beauty of the …

  Most of my writings have been about the positive influences in my life over the years. And one of my bosses early in my career told me that I would learn more from bad bosses than the good ones. I thought it was a good one liner at the time. And however, little did …

July 31, 1977 was the beginning of my lifelong journey with Melanie Janell Roll. Today – July 31, 2022 is 45 years, 4 and 1/2 decades and 16,425 days into that journey. As we stood in front of a packed church in Clinton, Oklahoma in 1977 – on that day so many years ago holding hands

I believe that everyone has that ONE teacher that changed them. Believed in them. Encouraged them. Helped them to believe in themselves, maybe for the first time. That ONE teacher for me was my Jr. High & Sr. High English teacher, Mrs. Sarah C. Turney. Melanie and I have remained in contact with Mrs. Turney’s

About eighteen years ago – I had an awesome idea. My boys were teenagers and we’d always bought firewood. It made sense to me that we could cut our own and actually make money. I did some research on chainsaws, bought one, an extra chain, gas can, 2-cycle and chain oil and gloves.

One of my key components of success is a serious sense of urgency. Just like in the Olympics, those that win the medals have a serious sense of urgency. They are always looking for something that can give them that .001 percent advantage over their competition.

This saying is one of my earliest learnings on how to be successful. It was during my early years at United Supermarkets of Oklahoma where I spent the first 27 years of my career. I went from being a produce manager, assistant manager, store manager, director of I.T. systems to head buyer and got to

What you come into this world with….your name. What you leave this world with…..your name. What you do between entry and exit will determine your legacy. You have a legacy now. Most people think you have to be a certain age before you can have a legacy or even have passed away.

In the days of old when every child worked along side their mom or dad, taking care of the house chores or all around the farm, there were multiple moments in every single day that a good work ethic was learned, taught and lived. Those days are over.

Gathering nuggets

With Melanie, her sister (Melissa) and our two daughter-in-laws (Beth & Sarah) being in Hawaii this week for a time of relaxation and fun, it’s made me reflect on our trip to Hawaii in 1997 for our 20th anniversary. This is Beth & Sarah’s first time to see Hawaii, Melissa’s second, with no family responsibilities