Mike lives in the Boston area. He is married with two awesome teenage daughters with no other boy in the house, except the dog. He enjoys the outdoors, good books and good coffee.
Mike is also a dyed in the wool New England Patriots fan and has some vague awareness that Boston also has a baseball, basketball and hockey team. Unlike any other sport, Mike can (and does) watch any two NFL teams play a game. Mike emphatically agrees with NFL Hall of Famer and sports media personality Howie Long, who remarked in his NFL Hall of Fame induction speech that baseball might be “America’s pastime,” but football is “America’s passion”!
What Causes are Important to Mike…
A friend of mine has Cystic Fibrosis. She faces this disease with great courage and an amazing outlook on life. Please consider donating to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
And please check out when an American Cancer Society Relay for Life event is being held in your area. Consider pledging to a team participating in this annual overnight walk (up to 24 hours long), or consider creating your own walking team!
What Mike Has Been Reading…
If you are a LinkedIn member, you can see my current Amazon Reading List within my full LinkedIn Profile.
Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success
by Dan Schawbel
I have found Dan Schawbel’s book, as well as his free ebook on blogging, very useful in getting my own blog and “personal brand” going.
Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition
by Jack Trout, Steve Rivkin
A book I have turned to often to help develop unique positioning and effectively convey that positioning. A second edition was published in 2008.
The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly
by David Meerman Scott
An invaluable read to understand how to effectively reach potential new customers who now invariably use Google to find and research solutions to their problems. Be sure to check out David Meerman Scott’s blog webinknow.com. David is also an excellent speaker, having been a guest at a number of Boston Product Management Association meetings.
The Mindful Hiker: On the Trail to Find the Path
by Stephen Altschuler
This is simply a great book, touching on the topics of inner peace from hiking, protecting the environment, enjoying the “great outdoors” and spirituality in a short and rewarding read. I hope this book encourages you to get out and enjoy nature, whether that be hiking, a walk through a local park or a full-blown camping trip.
Creating the Good Life: Applying Aristotle’s Wisdom to Find Meaning and Happiness
by James O’Toole
The one James O’Toole book I own is his one non-business book – and it’s a great one. James O’Toole makes Aristotle accessible for everyone in this thoughtful book, more timely than ever amid this difficult economy. O’Toole explores how many people to this day pursue the ill-advised paths to personal happiness, pursuing riches and fame, just as Aristotle warned against long ago, and how to instead apply Aristotle’s philosophy of living a happy life based instead on awareness, values, and virtue.
What Mike is Listening to…
Did I mention I have two teenage daughters? This means, of course, I listen to a lot of KISS-108 and Jammin’ 94.5 in the car!
For what it’s worth, I like early U2, The Police, UB40, Rolling Stones, classic rock instrumentals like Surfaris and Booker T. and the MGs…but what I have been listening quite a bit right now is the music from NFL Films. Did I mention I am a dyed in the wool football fan?
The Power and the Glory features the classic NFL films music by composed by Sam Spence and Tom Hedden, which you need not even be an NFL fan to appreciate, along with the unforgettable narration voice of John Facenda. For the all-you-can-eat buffet of NFL Films music, look for the Autumn Thunder boxed set, containing ten CDs of the music of Spence, Hedden and David Robudoux. Here’s a link to a good NFL Films music appreciation site I found. Enjoy.
