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The Promise Blog

The Final Retreat

For years, I had what was known in our home as Mentor Mondays. This was due to so many texts, emails, and phone calls from executives, hopeful speakers, and struggling entertainers to “pick my brain” over lunch. Eventually my brain had been picked, pecked, and prodded over enough soggy salads at lunches around Utah that we shifted things to say: Can you come to me and let’s talk? We funneled everyone to Mondays, into 2 hour time slots and a revolving door of mentoring that sometimes saw people from 8AM-8PM learning the craft of running a business, following their dreams, and keeping The Promise to their hopes in life. It was my best way of giving back, after I had the same experience to begin my career, where Chris Poulos had welcomed me into his home, free of charge, to sit on his couch and learn from the greatest philosopher and spiritual mentor I could have asked for outside of my own wonderful parents growing up.     For years, day and night, I came and went to the Poulos household in Orem, UT, with his lovely spouse Gail in the background doing genealogy work at the living room table,

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August 23, 2024 4 Comments
Business

Bond, James Bond

Can you imagine meeting THE James Bond as a 7 year old, and him bringing you into his world of espionage, not just meeting him once as a youth, but again as an adult? Roger Moore delights fan Mark Haynes with this story of how, as the author puts it, “I was working with James Bond now.” To me this is the ultimate example of Living The Promise for those we can serve in our unique capacity and Signature Moves. I read this story on Facebook recently, and it brings a smile to me every time – enjoy: LINK to original article There’s a wonderful true story about Roger Moore meeting a young fan in Nice airport in 1983. Mark Haynes was seven years old when he recognized Moore as James Bond while traveling with his grandfather and asked if it was okay to get an autograph. “As charming as you’d expect, Roger asks my name and duly signs the back of my plane ticket, a fulsome note full of best wishes,” remembers Mark. “I’m ecstatic, but as we head back to our seats, I glance down at the signature. It’s hard to decipher it but it definitely doesn’t say

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August 17, 2024 No Comments
Books

The Honor System

Just before my 2 week run of sold-out shows began at the Hale Centre Theatre I realized I didn’t have the personnel lined up to man our table and sell my book, “The Promise To The One”. My kids were all traveling, we wanted my wife to just attend and enjoy the shows, those on my team either had travels or health challenges, and I had few options left. I remembered driving through Maui a decade ago, on the beautiful Road to Hana, where my wife and I found multiple stops of fruit stands where the Honor System was employed. No one was there to make sure you were honest, it was expected. We often left more money than was suggested, since we appreciated the concept of honesty first. And so, we did the same for the sale of my books at my shows. We discounted them by half price, from $20 to $10, I signed every single one, and we printed a sheet that explained they could pay via Venmo.     We put up the table, set out 40 books, and had to let go of the possibility that someone might steal them and just be ok with

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August 10, 2024 No Comments
CX

BJ The Crab Guru

  In June our family knocked off a few more states in our motorhome that had eluded us for years even though they are close to our home. Racing from SLC, UT through the scorching Nevada heat, we made our way up the California coast, enjoying the Redwoods and chillier weather, before hitting the famous Hwy 101 and celebrating finally making it to the beautiful Oregon coast. We had to crank the coast out in quick time due to keeping a schedule with destination points of Seattle, WA, and eventually Vancouver, B.C., Canada, where we would stow the RV and hop on a cruise to Alaska for a week with extended family. Our friends had mentioned that we needed to stop near Cannon Beach, OR, at Kelly’s Marina, rent a small fishing boat, and go crabbing for Dungeness Crab.           It’s a tall enough order for me to even drive an RV, let alone now become a boat captain and teach my family how to crab… But we made our reservation anyway and found an empty parking lot, full of mud, rain, and one single truck next to ours.     That’s when BJ came strolling

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July 12, 2024 12 Comments
Cardio Miracle

The Difference a Shirt Makes

  For Fathers Day this year my wife bought me a new shirt. I insisted that I didn’t need a new shirt, and wore my old shirt. Tami said, “Honey, you’ve worked very hard for the last year to lose weight, and it’s time for a new shirt to fit your body properly.”  I said, “Ok, take my picture and we’ll see if there’s any difference, I’m sure there won’t be.”  So, here is my old favorite shirt that I love:   And here is the new shirt that she loves:   I am a stubborn man. But she is always right, and I should know that by now. I truly didn’t believe a shirt could make a difference, but I guess it does. And I like how I look in this new shirt. Then I went back into my photos and tracking of my efforts over the last year. I was 25 lbs and 6% body fat heavier a year ago at this time. I was working very hard to be fit. Very little progress. I ate clean and worked out every day. Never saw or felt any difference, just kept trying. Here is a photo of me feeling

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July 12, 2024 16 Comments
Business

The Band Promise

  This week I will finally take the stage and perform a show we have worked for over a year to create. If you haven’t gotten your tickets yet, we have added a few more shows to the run and there are some available finally! Get yours HERE. Excited isn’t a strong enough word for the show we are about to present. This show has actually been decades in the making, but many of the numbers I have never attempted in any capacity. To say I have rehearsed, practiced, and strained to get it right would be an understatement. This is not in my bag of tricks, more than half the show is mostly all new to me, and I am anxiously excited. As I have played the piano until I am going a bit bonkers, singing my guts out, giving my all in rehearsal alone in my home, I have gone about it as if I will also be alone on stage, as if it all depends on me. And then, the other day, the band finally got together to play the songs. Suddenly the weight of the world was lifted from my shoulders. You see, I’ve been a

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July 11, 2024 2 Comments
Cardio Miracle

Losing The Karaoke Contest

  In all of my years as a performer, and being lauded as a good one, I have never won a talent contest. This past week, on an Alaskan cruise with my family, siblings and their children, I lost a karaoke contest in front of all of them. My Dad, who provided this amazing trip, is usually the one who wins these contests, as the Sinatra of the Seas. Yet this time I had the chance to take the stage and did my best to bring home the crown. I began with a number I knew would get me to the finals, as there were 4 contestants, only 2 would move on, so I did “What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. Beginning in my own voice, I casually switched to Louis’ voice halfway through, gasps from the audience assured me this was a big moment. Bouncing back and forth between my voice and his, I did a rendition I had never before attempted, and it was a hit. The applause from the crowd were huge. The judges were astounded, giving me 10 out of 10. Here’s a video of it –     And then, the jig was up.

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July 11, 2024 12 Comments
Cardio Miracle

You Never Know

  Years ago, this very weekend, I was performing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at a party high above the harbor in a setting that is reserved for the rich and famous. The pink hue of stage lighting blinded me from knowing who was watching, as party goers walked by and didn’t seem to be paying attention. Singing impression after impression, story upon story, mixing in humor with insight, I wasn’t sure if anyone was enjoying it, so I just kept going. The Promise is to perform no matter who’s watching, to give your all even when we don’t know anyone cares. When I came off stage, standing there was David Foster, music producer of the stars. He offered his hand and said, “You’re one of the most talented vocalists and performers I’ve ever seen. I actually don’t know how you just did all that you did with your voice. Well done, kid.”  Yes, THAT David Foster! I had no idea he was there, along with famous movie stars, legends of show business, and people who can make your career with the snap of their fingers. I was just hired to do the gig and was only told to be

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June 21, 2024 No Comments
Business

The Audience Hates Me

  Here I am. Performing my guts out. Doing all I can to get a laugh, spark an emotion, beg a reaction. Nothin’. The audience hates me.  I can tell. You know when you’ve got ’em. And wow, how you know when you don’t! These people hate me.  But I’m going to keep giving, trying, singing, telling stories, speaking great thoughts, points, reaching, teaching… There has to be someone who is getting it. My Promise is to give 100%, even if they hate me. I learned this at the beginning of my career in Las Vegas: sleeping audiences, grouches on the front row, entertain me monkey! I know what I must do and that means I cannot let up. Time is almost up…have I already been on stage for an hour?  It seems longer. I never got ’em. What did I do wrong? I end and bow, knowing once I look back up they will be grateful it’s over. And then they stand. And then they cheer. And they clap while offering me the love I didn’t get while we were together. Now it’s over. What just happened?  Why’d they wait til the end to tell me they loved me?

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June 21, 2024 8 Comments
Announcements

The Best Fathers Day Presents

  Christmas Day was nearly 6 months ago (this next week), and it has been that long since I have enjoyed the gifts that keep on giving in our home. That cold wintry morning, as presents were strewn about the house, wrapping paper piled high, the kids were thrilled with what we had given them, but they had something else on their minds. Finally, when they were done opening theirs, they sat Mommy & I down to reveal a gigantic box, wrapped special, as we wondered what they had purchased for us. Our kids are now teens, and they have incredible imaginations and personalities, so we were curious, due to the grins on the faces of all, if they had a friend wrapped up in there to do a Jack-in-The-Box scare tactic, perhaps had re-gifted some white elephant presents, or had bought us a family of geckos. Instead, the box revealed many presents, all hand wrapped as well, in a nesting fashion, meticulously placed just right. Mommy & I took the top ones and began to carefully open them, only to reveal something we hadn’t expected: Individually framed pictures we would be able to place around the house of them,

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June 14, 2024 2 Comments

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