Author: jeff noel

Retired Disney Institute Keynote Speaker and Prolific Blogger. Five daily, differently-themed personal blogs (about life's 5 big choices) on five interconnected sites.

Skip Gaskill Returns

A Simple Thank You
A Simple Thank You

Washington DC’s Skip Gaskill returns today.

At Disney (and as human beings), we know the best has three simple components:

A meaningful compliment is sincere, specific, and timely. That’s it. Here’s a marine Veteran’s take on it…

Take it away Skip:

A little means a lot.

A lot means little.

Jungle Jeff recently thanked me for my service and said he hoped I didn’t get tired of hearing it.

I retired from the Marine Corps a little over five years ago and I still have people thanking me for my service.  You know it’s funny, when we hear it from individuals in a one on one setting or in a small group it makes us feel good to know someone truly appreciates what we did and what our servicemen & servicewomen continue to do on a daily basis.

When it’s done as a production for an audience we don’t care for it nearly as much because it feels canned, staged, disingenuous, or commercialized.

The American people in general feel bad for how our servicemen & servicewomen were treated when they returned from Viet Nam and we have, in my opinion, gone way overboard in an effort to make up for the past and to ensure we don’t make the same mistake again.  I know we mean well but…

A simple thank you goes a long way.

Jamie Oliver Food Revolution

Mostly Obese
Mostly Obese

Jamie Oliver is a change agent.  And a Linchpin.

America as a whole suffers from obesity.  Huntington, West Virginia was dubbed the unhealthiest town in the United States.

Jamie Oliver has a vision and a mission to change that. ABC television will be broadcasting a new reality show, featuring Jamie Oliver and Huntington, West Virginia.

Here’s the trailer.

More Than Halfway

936 Weekends From Birth Until 18th Birthday
936 Weekends From Birth Until 18th Birthday

Ever have something hit you “like a ton of bricks“?

A few years ago, I put 936 beads into a jar, and then placed that jar on my desk at work.

Each week, I take out one bead, acknowledging that another weekend is now history.

The jar is now less than half full from it’s original mark (bottom of pale brown marker).

Each bead represents one weekend in the life of an 18-year old.

Each weekend, then, represents sort of an official opportunity to spend time with that child as they grow to become an 18-year old.

It’s been nearly two months since I had a moment at my desk to think about the jar.

Yesterday, I took seven beads out of the jar.  Those beads can never be used again. They’re gone.