Though my fellow Italian-American Frank Sinatra crooned, “regrets, I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention,” I am confident when I say I have no regrets.

Wouldn’t it be great to go back in time and change something that happened? The problem is, if we changed something we didn’t like, it could affect something that did happen to us that we did like. Plus I thought the movie Groundhog Day was a little annoying anyway.

There are a few things in my live that I wish I didn’t do or I wish turned out different or better, but there’s plenty more things that I am extremely proud of and thankful for. From being a DJ to managing my college radio station, to spending time in Louisville, Kentucky during a basketball national championship, to meeting my best friend and marrying her, to being president of the Boston Jaycees and speaking to a packed audience at Belfast, Northern Ireland City Hall, to experiencing the Patriots and Red Sox winning it all, to all of the people who have been with me along this journey... these are just a few of the things that have made it a great life, and there’s a lot more living to do.

So why am I reflecting? Today is my 40th birthday. I wrote this ahead of time and post-dated it to today and the time I was born in Dunkirk, New York… yes, that’s where the name of my business comes from. Though I am not worked up about hitting the big Four-Oh, it is nice to have this opportunity to look back and be thankful.

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Of all the blogs and feeds I subscribe to, one of my favorites is one I do not read at all. Photos from northern Norway: A photo blog is pretty a self-explanatory title, and it offers some amazing photos taken in the Scandinavian country.

Take a look, subscribe and hopefully it will give you a few moments of peace in your busy day.

The thumbnail is of a photo titled Photo of Norwegian winter landscape in January from the blog.

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They say in a relationship there are three sides to every story. There is one person’s side, there is the other person’s side, and somewhere between them is the truth. Understanding this helps in life and in business, and getting reminders of it is, in my mind a good thing.

This was the biggest take-away for me from the book Cancer’s Spouse. It was written by very good friends of mine, Mark and Glenna Sanford. Glenna is an amazing person, and now is going on 5 years as a cancer survivor. The book chronicles the time from when she was first diagnosed to today, and all of the trials and tests that come with it. What is unique about the book is that each chapter is broken into two – Mark’s side, then Glenna’s side. Apparently the book wasn’t planned to be written that way from the beginning, but in the end it is a unique tale of a family’s journey.

In addition to the many sides of life, another great takeaway I got from this was keeping in mind there may be issues you are not aware of. This can be hard for many people, as emotions often come into play. In business, we tend to lose sight of this and overanalyze situations when things may not be going as planned, only to find out something else is going on. The fact that someone hasn’t returned a call, for example, could be due to a family emergency or a surprise visit from a friend.

I highly recommend people read this book, and it’s not just because I know the authors! For anyone who is or has gone through an illness personally or alongside someone close to them, it gives perspective over that trying time. If thus far you have been fortunate to not have gone through such an experience, the book can prepare you for it. Part of the proceeds from the book goes to cancer research, so another side is also enriched by the purchase of this book.

Book Take-Aways • Business • Diversions • (0) Comments • Permalink

As a few people have asked me already, I thought I’d go public and say that, with regrets, I will not be at TECH cocktail 5 (or TC5) tonight at John Barleycorn – Wrigleyville in Chicago. I have a prior engagement, my improv show, and as they say... the show must go on!

Good luck to TC’s founders Frank and Eric, and thank you for starting and leading what has become Chicago’s leading networking event for the tech / online world. I am looking forward to TC6 already!

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For those who are unfamiliar with The Onion, it is a weekly news parody publication printed in several cities including Chicago. I give this disclaimer as the video below, as believable as it appears, is not true. At least I think it is not true, or could never happen, right?

Breaking News: All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash Diversions • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink