Category Archives: Characters

December 12, 2014 · 3:08 pm

YOUR WORK IS NOT YOUR LIFE

Why entrepreneurs have to make time to think about who they really want to be

by Howard Tullman

Very few things in our lives are absolute. Everything is measured by degree, from our attention to our patience to the range and intensity of our emotions.

At the same time, some things are absolute: You can’t be all things to all people; you can’t dance every dance; and, throughout your life, you’ve got to make hard choices, sacrifices, and compromises, and then you’ve got to live with them through thick and thin for a very long time. Continue reading →

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Tagged as down time, family time, important, Meaning, meaning of life, perspective, proportion, Purpose, real meaning, sabbatical, time off

October 19, 2014 · 12:57 am

THE GIRL WITH THE BLACK LEATHER PANTS

by John Jonelis

This is a winner. You wanna wow the judges? Win the crowd? Get your game face on, kiddo! Hit ’em with real passion, overflowing personality and a canon shot of enthusiasm.

. Continue reading →

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Tagged as drive, energy, excellence, Influence, intelligence, leather pants, passion, Persuasion, pitch, sales, selling, Social Media, wow

September 22, 2014 · 7:53 am

LIES ABOUT PARADISE

as told by Mark T Wayne

I recognize a sharp character flaw among outdoorsmen of all sorts—an uncontrollable urge to exaggerate—particularly after an excursion to a wilderness such as northern Manitoba. Permit me to treat you to a few horror stories of the Great North Woods. I promise to debunk them all. Continue reading →

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Tagged as artificial lures, bear, canada, canadian fishing lodge, catch and release, cree, eagle, exaggeration, fabrication, Fish, fishing, fly in resort, hooks, Knee Lake, lie, log cabins, Manitoba, mark twain, Northern, northern pike, Northstar Resort, Pike, poker, primal, primitive, shore lunch, untruth, walley, walleyed pike, wild, Wilderness

September 8, 2014 · 12:47 am

FISH STORY

as told by Mark T Wayne

Fishermen are liars!

After a superb day of fishing in the Canadian Wilderness, I prepare to utter my first exaggeration when Jonelis comes in with this monstrous THING. Look at it sir! This stretches all limits of credulity!

Naturally I object and make accusations of foul play. Just look at that fish! Continue reading →

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Tagged as big fish, canada, exaggerating a story, exaggeration, Fish, fish eats fish, fish stories, fishermen, Fishermen are liars, fishermen lie, fly in resort, giant pike, Knee Lake, liars, Manitoba, monster pike, Northern, northern pike, Northstar, Northstar Resort, Pike, pike eats pike, Wilderness, winnipeg

August 20, 2014 · 12:30 am

CLOSER TO HEAVEN

as told by Mark T Wayne

Danger and deprivation make up the joys of any wilderness expedition. Have you ever heard an adventurer speak of anything else? I have not, sir! Our bold band is bound for a rare excursion! Today, we hope to try our mettle against the Canadian Wild! Continue reading →

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Tagged as bad weather, busting minimums, canada, Fear, fishing, fishing resort, fishing trip, flight safety, float plane, fly in resort, king air, loren bukkett, low ceiling, low visibility, mark T wayne, north woods, northern pike, o'hare field, pilot, pontoon plane, private strip, thunderclappers, thunderstorms, walleye, winnipeg

August 5, 2014 · 1:08 am

ROUGHING IT

as told by Mark T Wayne

“Don’t you want to feel safe?” asks Rosalind Russell. In response, Clark Gable knits his brows. “I never have. What’s it like?” * Vigorous travel is a grueling sport! One anticipates deprivation and hardship on any trip of significance. One seeks adventure! Exhilaration! One does not select air transportation to wrap oneself in a safe cocoon. No sir! Air travel exists for one and only one purpose. SPEED! Continue reading →

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Tagged as airline, Airport, airport security, canada, cancelled flights, clark gable, delay, fishing, fishing trip, mark twain, o'hare, rosalind russell, safe, security, speed, strip search

July 25, 2014 · 3:07 pm

BE THE ONE THEY CAN COUNT ON

by Howard Tullman

“Winners have a sense about other winners and you can’t miss the shift in their interest and attention when they encounter another of their own species. Wanting to win is fine – wanting to do the work that it takes to win and to keep at it until you do win is what makes the difference in the end.” Continue reading →

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Tagged as 1871, committment, get the job done right, grind, grinders, Howard Tullman, passion, perseverance, perspiration, preparation, principles, show up early, stay late, stick to it, success, winners

May 27, 2014 · 3:51 am

ARISE 2.0

by Loop Lonagan

Whadaya think happens when 15,000 people get behind the entrepreneurs in their own neighborhood? Good things—that’s what happens! Energy. Enthusiasm. Stuff gets done! Lemme tell you about it: Continue reading →

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Tagged as Bootstrapping, Church, Community, Neighborhood, new ventures, Private equity, risk capital, Small business, startup, Startups. Venture, Ventures

April 29, 2014 · 2:31 pm

THE ANGEL EDGE

Adapted from the Journal of the Heartland Angels

Part 1 – by John Jonelis

Is an Angel a fool?

In the world of private equity investing, the order of funding is supposed to go like this:

Seed Round—that’s friends, family, and fools.
Angel Round—that’s funding the big initial spurt of growth.
Venture Round—that’s big funding for massive scaling.

Compare that stack-of-three (above) to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Notice that Angels make up the good stuff in the middle. And yes—according to studies by the Kauffman Foundation—Angels make the best money. Continue reading →

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Tagged as advantages to private equity. earnings by angel investors, angel investor, angels vs VCs, angels vs venture capitalists, Friends & family, friends and family, friends family and fools, new companies, Private equity, securities, startups

December 29, 2013 · 3:04 am

GIVING BACK

TechBash – Part 2

by Loop Lonagan

as told to John Jonelis –

Seems to me Christmas is all about givin’ to other people and I say we keep it that way. I love Christmas. Ever’ year I start my celebration on Thanksgiving and don’t take the tree down till January the Fifth. That’s Twelfth Night fer youse guys that don’t know. That night I throw a big party, hire cooks, a piano player, ‘n’ ever’body burns a branch from the tree before they leave.

There’s an outfit right here in Chicago that keeps the spirit o’ giving alive all the yearlong. They find people with talent, creativity, intelligence, hard knocks ‘n’ plenty o’ moxey. Then they pay ‘em to train fer big-time jobs. That’s one o’ the nicest gifts you can give a person with them kinda attributes—a chance to use what they got inside themselves. Think about it—all that potential just waitin’ to burst out so bad a guy could explode. Continue reading →

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Tagged as big corporations, computer programming, doing well by doing good, giving back, IT professionals, IT training, job training, Jobs, professionals, Social Enterprise, social entrepreneur

December 19, 2013 · 2:46 am

TALENT HIDES

TechBash – Part 1

By Loop Lonagan,

as told to John Jonelis –

I feel the bite of Christmas in the air. It’s the season o’ giving. I’m here at TechBash coverin’ fer Da May Report but I never seen an event like this before. Right away, I get hit with pounding music, flashing lights and maybe a couple thousand er more people. Place is fulla bigshots. So many C-level execs at one party—mosta them CIOs o’ big corporations. And the food and open flowing bar. I mean, this is a HUGE party that puts Dennis Koslowski and Tyco to shame—but this one’s legit. Lemme tell you about it: Continue reading →

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Tagged as community leaders, finding talent, giving back, helping people, high tech, Inner city, IT jobs, job training, Jobs, nurturing leaders, nurturing talent, self-sustaining social enterprise, slums, Social Enterprise

November 30, 2013 · 1:46 pm

FOUNDER’S PROCLAMATION

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and—Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, Continue reading →

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Tagged as Entrepreneur, entreprenuership and faith, founder and faith, founding fathers, God and our country, God and politics, God and the founding fathers, thanksgiving, thanksgiving day, the great entrepreneur