Yesterday was not actually my best day, but it’s definitely in the top 3. First of all our grandkids are staying here with us this week. Matthew and Alexis are amazing kids, we love them to pieces, and they brighten up the place when they show up. So, if nothing else besides that had happened, it would have been an awesome day.

But it got even better when my author, Kevin Ready, had 2 big publicity hits, one with the Wall Street Journal and one with Forbes. After a lot of work, Kevin has landed a regular blogging gig with Forbes.com, and his first guest column posted yesterday morning. His column is called “Ready for Business”, and I suspect it will become a widely read part of Forbes.com. He also had an article that published yesterday on the WallStreet Journal site. I believe that all of all of this is much deserved.  Kevin thinks out of the box and is one of the brighter people I know. He’ll do just fine.

So, it was already good day by 10:00 AM. But it just kept getting better.  We had lunch with Christine Condon and Jeff Olson from Apress publishers. We met at Guero’s on South Congress and had a delightful time. Then, we went to South by Southwest Interactive, got a few pictures taken in the Apress booth, and stayed for Kevin’s book signing.

All of this alone would have been phenomenal, but then….

I had a 7:00 PM songwriter round at Mangia’s Pizza here in Northwest Austin with Connie Mims and Steve Snyder. It was very well attended. Lots of great friends, some new ones and a fair number of old ones were there. Connie and Steve were remarkable. Every song they sang was well crafted and beautiful in its own way. It did my heart good to hear their music at the end of what had been a terrific but tiring day. I closed my part of the show with “There’s a Place”, and just as I walked off the stage, there stood Jeff Olson, Kevin Ready, and 2 of Kevin’s kids. After the day they had, they took the time to drive all the way out to the northwest side of town and show up for the gig. What a nice surprise!

Sometimes these days it feels like all the little streams of interest and knowledge and passions I have are emptying into a BIG RIVER. It’s moving fast, now, and I’m having the time of my life combining the creative side of who I am with the business acumen and training I have learned from my mentors through the years.

So, let’s just say that yesterday was my third best day. The first two? One is when I found out that I could have a relationship with Jesus and I could actually dedicate my life to Him and His teachings and then try and make the world a better place. The second was the day I dedicated my life to Susie and her family. Both amazing days, no doubt, and life-changing.

But, isn’t it encouraging that here, at almost 60, I could have the 3rd best day of my life? It’s not over, and I expect more good days ahead, God willing.

Kevin Ready, author of the book STARTUP, wrote a guest blog titled “Can Anybody Be An Entrepreneur?” for CNBC that wound up being picked up by THE STREET.COM, a site that has over 3 million unique visitors a month. Kevin’s a smart guy with lots of ideas and experience and he deserves the exposure.

Steve Satterwhite, CEO of Entelligence IT a successful high tech company in Houston, is on a mission to fix the skills gap in the U.S. We’ve written a chapter for his forthcoming book, and at the beginning of the week he also posted a guest column on CNBC titled IT’S NOT ABOUT THE JOBS, STUPID. Within an hour of it posting Steve had over a hundred emails in his personal inbox from all kinds of people from all walks of life. He cites a McGraw Hill study in the piece, and one of the authors of that study emailed him to ask how he could help with Steve’s mission. The piece itself got almost 6 pages of comments on the CNBC site and was moved to the home page, where it still sits today. He also heard from an at-risk school in Wisconsin who wanted to ask his help in figuring out how to do a better jobs at what they are doing every day. Amazing.

Alex Charfen is a successful Austin businessman who lost everything only 4 short years ago in the Florida real estate bust. He retooled himself, read hundreds of books and started over armed with a new way of doing business. He recently hit #21 on the Inc Magazine list of fastest growing companies in the U.S. He is also working on a book. He also wrote a guest column for CNBC that sits on the homepage today titled “Hitting Rock Bottom” where he tells his inspiring story. No doubt that a lot of people have lost plenty in this downturn. Alex’s story says it’s OK to fail, it’s what you do after you fail that matters.

Exciting times here, and I feel like everyday I’m doing something that makes a difference. I couldn’t be more blessed….

So, when my contact at CNBC came calling last week looking for guest blogs for the site’s “Women & Business” feature, I was happy to offer Kelli and the MD Records story. On Monday morning, the blog that tells some of their story ran on a site that has almost a million visitors a month!

We are working on getting her on the Nashville morning TV shows as well. If you live there, watch for her. I think it’s gonna happen. We’ll keep you posted.

It’s good to see that nice guys (and gals) can finish first. Gotta love that….

When you start something like this, it’s a really good idea to get advice and counsel from people you respect. I had a great visit last week with one of my mentors and good friend Bob Beaudine, the author of the Power of WHO. Bob is one of the nation’s top headhunters, and does an extensive amount of work in the fields of college and pro sports.  Sports Illustrated has called him “the most influential man in sports you’ve never heard of.” As ususal Bob was encouraging and had some helpful hints about how to move forward. 

I’m grateful for the wise and caring friends that I have. There’s a Bible verse that says “in a multitude of counselors there is safety.” The implication is that if one surrounds oneself with really wise people who have our best interest at heart, and if we seek their advice and heed it, we can save a lot of missteps. I believe I have that group around me, and for that I am very thankful.

And, speaking of relationships: In my new role I’ll be doing one other thing that I totally love: connecting people to the right resource. Over my years at Gallup and Cave Henricks I made great friendships and contacts among a pretty diverse group of movers and shakers. My time at both of these firms was really special and taught me a lot. I worked with and learned from the best in the business.  Hopefully I can use that knowledge and my contacts to help my new clients.

We’re off to a running start so far.  Can’t wait to see what happens next! Thanks for your prayers and encouragement….