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The Promise Blog

Business

The Pilot and The Delay: What To Do When You’ve Broken The Promise

  The following post inspired this blog, as it is something I have talked about extensively, and you’ll love this story. I found this on LinkedIn yesterday, it is brought to you by Robert Sterling: Original Post HERE   Robert Sterling I just had the craziest experience at the airport. We are about to board a flight to Atlanta when the pilot from the incoming plane walks out of the jetway. Guy is probably late 50s, salt and pepper hair, military look. The kind of pilot you instantly feel good about seeing on your flight. Pilot walks over to the counter, gets on the PA system, and starts addressing everyone. “Folks, I’ve been doing this a long time. Flying one of these jets is easy. The hard part is looking at 130 people and telling them their flight is going to be delayed.” Audible groans throughout the boarding gate. Most people here are flying to Atlanta as a layover before another flight. 130 people just had their day become a complete mess. The pilot goes on. “I get it, trust me. But here’s the deal: During our landing, we had a small mechanical issue. I’m not your pilot for the

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Business

How FFA Kids Helped Me Refocus My Presentation

It had been years since I agreed to talk with a group of youth. Why? Because something shifted in those audiences a few years back for me, and I haven’t dared return. So, there I was, standing back stage as the arena filled in with over 11,000 FFA youth from across Ohio. I never feel nervous before an event. I feel excited, anxious, and generally confident in what I’m about to do. Of course, there are those feelings inside of imposter syndrome or being tired from a bad night’s sleep in a hotel, but this day was different. I felt sick to my stomach. There is always a moment before stepping on stage that most people don’t think about unless you’re the one waiting to be introduced. The room is set. The audience is waiting. The expectation is there. And in that moment, it’s easy for the focus to turn inward. You begin to have a conversation with yourself: How will this go? Will this connect? Will this be received the way I hope? Those are natural questions. But over time, I’ve found they aren’t the most helpful ones. Because they center everything on you, the performer/speaker/presenter. And the more

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Business

The Missing Link in Leadership: A Promise People Can Trust

Most leaders don’t struggle with knowledge, motivation, or expectations.They struggle with consistency. They’ve read the books. Attended the conferences. Taken the notes. Perhaps you’ve spent time reading “Atomic Habits”, “Think & Grow Rich”, and “The Greatest Salesman in the World”. All excellent works and classics of self-help and higher thought for leadership. And yet—despite reading the books, attending inspiring conferences, even hiring coaches to elevate performance as leaders…. Teams still feel disconnected.Customers still feel uncertain.Cultures still drift. Why? Because leadership isn’t built on what you know.It’s built on what people can count on. You’ve heard me say it, “Why set a Goal when you can Make a Promise?” Do you know how many people resonate immediately with that statement? The Promise is a choice, a clarion call of character, an investment in integrity. The most effective leaders don’t just set goals.They make a Leadership Promise. A goal says: “Here’s what I hope to achieve.” A Promise says: “Here’s what you can expect from me—every time.” A goal says: “Once we reach this marker, we will have arrived.” A Promise says: “This is what I stand for, what I believe, who I am, and nothing will get in the way of

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Announcements

I Finally Made it to College

  If you’ve heard me speak you know my story about having a full-ride scholarship for basketball to a major university (BYU) when I was in high school and feeling good about my future in the NBA. Suddenly, I was discovered by Mrs. Hall, the choir teacher, who pointed me in the right direction for life, as I left my basketball career on the bench, and became a singing entertainer who speaks and writes books. Going to Las Vegas instead of college was a real big swing of a dream, and thankfully worked out. But I always wondered what it would have been like to get into college. I have spoken at many colleges, to thousands of students, leaders, university presidents, faculty, staff, award-winning teachers, and higher education establishments nationwide, but was never actually in college. Until a few months ago! Here’s what happened.   A few years back I began a venture of making a YouTube channel with a very successful Youtuber & Influencer. We did everything right, by the book, cranked out videos that were specific to certain topics, and recorded them monthly for a good long chunk of time. It was costly, challenging, rewarding, and pushed me

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Announcements

I Tore My Jaw On Stage. Now What?

Hi. I make a living opening my mouth – to speak, make people laugh, and sing at the top of my lungs. This unique attribute of opening my mouth extra wide has become so prevalent in my presentations it is known as my Signature Move, and was even once the cover of my book (although that was a terrible choice and has mostly disappeared from the face of the earth, thank goodness). If you find a copy just know it is a rare thing! On December 2, 2025 I was asked to speak to a group of young folks by a very successful friend of mine. I haven’t spoken to youth in a while, for many reasons, but mostly because the style of entertainment I do is so foreign to their TikTok attention spans it is tough to feel like it’s connecting. Well, truth be told, they loved it more than I expected! They were all in with me. I was singing, making them laugh, they were taking notes about The Promise and Signature Moves. The whole time I was thinking wow, maybe I can connect with youth as a speaker still. And then I did the Raptor, as Daddy

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Business

Unclear Expectations: Establishing The Promise

Disappointment usually shows up when expectations aren’t clearly communicated up front. For the last 2 years in discussions with disgruntled employees in organizations I consult with, the main cause of heartache is when unclear expectations leads to broken promises that were assumed and never articulated.   Example: I met with a longtime celebrity in the athletic field, now decades past their prime, yet still very relevant due to a legendary career, employed to be a new face & personality of a growing health company. He was brought into the company to raise brand awareness, land some customers through his reputation and connections, while also doing media when the opportunity arose. Months went by of an appearance here, a show or event there, and little, if any, evidence that customers were buying. The leader who made the hire was continually encouraging and asking for numbers, results, eyeballs, and proof of this arrangement working. There was eventually a discussion of needing podcasts and interviews to be consistently delivered in order to justify the paycheck, yet the former celebrity was feeling they were doing way more than asked, while the check-writer was aghast for lack of proven results. What it came down to

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Announcements

When The Promise Changes

  This blog has been written, without a miss, for a decade, delivered every Sunday without fail. Truthfully, I am stunned I’ve done anything this long, and it’s now time for a new promise. Last week, between BLACK FRIDAY CYBER MONDAY GIVING TUESDAY WHATEVER WEDNESDAY …I received more emails of annoyance from companies, peers, and causes than I could keep up with. I was hitting the UNSUBSCRIBE button so fast, being sent to the outer reaches of “Manage my Profile to End your Subscription” and other daunting tasks placed upon me (“do you want to report this as SPAM?”) to release the grip of consumerism, that I nearly gave up! But I didn’t – and I rid myself of many needless distractions, sales I don’t want to be sold on, charities I’d never heard of but didn’t have any money left to give to (already supporting many others), and probably hurt the feelings of my friends whose email lists they stuck me on because we once emailed each other…and they probably check who drops more than I do. It’s too much information, and if I’m interested I’ll come knocking. What I can say to you, Dear Reader, is that I

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Gratitude

Smoke On The Horizon

  The monster peeks over the mountain’s peak. Smoke billowing from an other worldly place. We have seen fires before, but never one like this, bearing down, gut-wrenchingly close. Smoke fills our nostrils, burns our eyes. The Yellow Lake Fire spreads chaos and havoc. 33,000 acres, zero containment, it is the biggest forest fire this year in a state infamous for it’s wildfires, decimating the Ashley National Forest, threatening all in it’s path. The roads close 2 miles from our beloved home and family’s legacy, ranchers evacuate, animals flee and fill the valley we call our heritage. As we pack, scramble, choose what can burn and what is irreplaceable, we cry, and the flames just grow higher. We drive frantically away, while those we never knew and won’t ever know, race towards the threat. How many firetrucks did we just count?  More than can even be from our own Utah. We are correct – they have raced to our rescue from all counties, nearby regions, neighboring states. Bravery, courage, volunteers and professionals, armed with hoses, axes, and most importantly: determination to keep The Promise.     Soon 100, now 250, 500…eventually nearly 900 of the bravest and finest among us

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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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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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