Joyful Jubilant Learning

Mike Phelps: 08, 8+8, 08 = GM # 8

Michael Phelps earns gold medal number 8 in the Beijing 2008 Olympics.  For over a week we watch Michael on TV.   We see his training routines, his previous Olympic experiences, his eight gold medals, we see the drama created by the Alain Bernard remarks and the incredible finish against Milorad Cavic.  Yes we have been a witness to history. 

Do you know who impacted me the most through Michael's adventures?  I'll give you a hint, it wasn't Bob his coach or Debbie, his mom, though she came close.  It was Hilary and Whitney, Michael's sisters.  And even more specifically it was Hilary.  (Hilary is pictured on mom Debbie's left hand side).

Of course it is TV and I do not personally know Hilary, but in video clips I see an intense love and pride for her brother.  You've felt this emotion too.  Your son, daughter, sister or brother got a clutch hit or nailed the dance of their lives or scored a winning goal.  I still have a vision to this day of my older daughter Vickie when she played high school softball.  It was the bottom of the seventh in a meaningless game, girls on first and second and her team down one run.  I watched the outfield cheat in a step. I would too.  Vickie stands all of 5'3".  Well Vickie smoked one so far past the left center fielder that she needed a train to catch it.  I will never forget the buzz that went through the stands that day.  "How?....she's so small..."

On that day over ten years ago, I had to hold one hand over top of my rib cage because my heart wanted to leap from my chest.  Although to a degree we can imagine Hilary's emotion.  But how do we get our mind around the magnitude of it all?  After all her brother is the greatest swimmer in all of history on the greatest sport's stage in all of the world, obliterating all of the world records.

I think for now I'll just give thanks to being a witness to one of sport's all time most memorable moments and of the emotion displayed by a couple of sisters and their mom. 

Inspirational Eight by Eight

Where do you look for inspiration?

The topics we chose to write on each month here at JJL seem to be providing a lot of wonderful inspiration, as do the conversations that stem from those writings.

I love to write, but often I find the hardest part is starting. Sitting down with either a blank screen or a blank piece of paper can be quite scary! Once the words start to flow, then all is cool. I’m not the sort of writer who writes the heading first and then all else flows. I’m more the write-the-piece- and-then-you’ll- know-the-heading kind.

So when I am faced with a blank page just daring me to make my mark, I often go looking for a quote or a snippet of previous writing, or just some other words to get on that page so it doesn’t look quite so empty or quite so eerily white.

And sometimes, a quote is really all that is needed. Pure simplicity, pure inspiration, all wrapped up in a couple of lines or so, in between quotation marks.

In honour of eight, my contribution is eight fabulous quotes using the number eight! (And yes, I had to pick and chose – there were so many)

Which one inspires you?

Fall seven times, stand up eight.
    Japanese Proverb

What's really important in life? Sitting on a beach? Looking at television eight hours a day? I think we have to appreciate that we're alive for only a limited period of time, and we'll spend most of our lives working. That being the case, I believe one of the most important priorities is to do whatever we do as well as we can. We should take pride in that.
    Victor Kiam

If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six hours sharpening my axe
    Abraham Lincoln

I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines.
    Henry David Thoreau

If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all.
    John Cage

If all the gold in the world were melted down into a solid cube it would be about the size of an eight-room house. If a man got possession of all that gold - billions of dollars worth, he could not buy a friend, character, peace of mind, clear conscience, or a sense of eternity.
    Charles F. Banning

Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen.
    Mark Twain from Autobiography with Letters, Phelps

The art of Peace I practice has room for each of the world's eight million gods, and I cooperate with them all. The God of Peace is very great and enjoins all that is divine and enlightened in every land.
    Morihei Ueshiba from The Art of Peace

So there's an eightful... what inspires you?

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Karen Wallace never quite knows when inspiration will strike, is always on the lookout for magic, and finds the Henry David Thoreau quote awakens infinite possibilities within her.

You can find more of Karen's writing at The Calm Space - an online magazine that's like a virtual day-spa for the senses; and at The Clearing Space.

Learning the 8 Beatitudes for Customer Service

Preface:
As I write this we are 17 days into the month of August, and our Learning from 8 theme has been a very pleasant surprise. We felt our theme this month would stretch and challenge us; how would we possibly do an entire month of gr8ness, especially after our trigger, the 08-08-08 date of this year became part of the history books, and August moved on?

I admit to you that our initial brainstorming was a bit shallow; most of us thought of the Crazy Eights card game we'd played when younger and then got stalled (funny ---or completely understandable that no one has written about it!)

One of my own immediate thoughts went to an article I had read in my earliest days of blogging. It was written by one of our past contributors to A Love Affair with Books, JJLer Bren Connelly, when he blogged (and became a huge success) as the original Slacker Manager. Like Bren, I had answered a shout-out from K.Todd Storch of Business Thoughts, to participate in a forum on customer service which asked, "How can it improve?"

Six of us participated, including JJLer Dave Rothacker and his wife Rosemary, and the articles were outstanding. However I think we would all agree that the entry which stole the show, and caused us all to better understand the force of nature known as Bren Connelly, was his article, called Beatitudes of Customer Service. There are 8 Beatitudes, and so I wrote Bren, asking if we could reprint his essay here on JJL this month, for I feel it is rich in learning. The original was written in January of 2005, and I still have the copy I had then printed to continually refer to; I am quite sure you will want a copy too.

Here is Bren Connelly's Beatitudes of Customer Service as we continue our Learning from Eight.

~ Rosa Say

Learning the 8 Beatitudes for Customer Service

I really love it when my faith and my work converge.  My faith is always there, of course, but it’s nice when my work allows a specific outlet for my faith.  Despite working at a Christian university, I don’t find occasion to contemplate my faith much at work.  Slicing and dicing data seems kinda removed from spiritual introspection.  There is, however, one area of work that I’ve often tied directly to my own faith–customer service.  What follows, I think, not only speaks to customer service specifically, but also more broadly to servant leadership.  This post is gonna be a stretch for me, but I hope I am able to shine some light on new ways to consider your customers.

Regardless of your own spiritual outlook, it’s safe to say that the account of Jesus’ "Sermon on the Mount" fully qualifies, at the very least, among the best of so called wisdom literature.  If you aren’t familiar with it, the sermon is in the Christian bible, in the book of Matthew.  The contents of that particular sermon have been dubbed "The Beatitudes." There are eight bits to the beatitudes and I believe that, taken as a whole, they are probably the best guidance ever given for customer service.  I say "taken as a whole" because each of the beatitudes can be overwrought and misapplied when taken out of the context of the whole.  The idea here is to view your customers through this lens of the beatitudes.  Once you’re able to see your customers through this lens, the next step is to view oneself through the same lens.  The inevitable result is a deeper understanding of the common threads of humanity.

Here’s the quick version of the eight beatitudes (if you want to check it out yourself, the full version of the sermon on the mount begins in the 5th chapter of Matthew and continues through the 7th chapter):

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2. Blessed are the meek: for they shall posses the land.
3. Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.
4. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.
5. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
6. Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
8. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

I think the guts of this post is probably book fodder for somebody, since I couldn’t find a single reference to the beatitudes as a model for customer service.  Actually, the really interesting book would be the whole Sermon on the Mount as a model for customer service.  But the Beatitudes work for a post like this because it’s a list and easily digested.  The meat of this post has already been stated, but to be clear I’ll say it again: taken as a whole, the beatitudes are a great roadmap to excellent customer service.

8 Surefire Ways to Keep Your Lifelong Learning Joyful and Jubilant

Be careful for nothing, Be prayerful in many things, Be learning always. This is one of the things my grandfather instilled in me early. With that third item (learning), he was always smiling. He loved learning -- and it showed.  Probably one reason I now love learning, too.

Here are 8 Surefire Ways to Keep Your Lifelong Learning Joyful and Jubilant:

1. Be Still - Even Ferris Bueller recommended we stop and smell the roses. Some of us move so fast during the day, we don't even recognize learning opportunities. Next time you're stuck at a red light or in the grocery line -- learn something
2. SCAMPER - One of my favorite acronyms and a great way to solve problems (learn new solutions). Plus...it just sounds like playing, yes?
3. See with Child-Like Vision -  Ever watch a child's first interaction with an escalator? Such imagination. Curiosity takes over the child for a time. See through the lens of your inner child.
4. Have a Beginner's Mindset - This is a bit different. A beginner's mindset is one of humility. Don't be a know-it-all, and you're sure to learn more -- even about the subjects you already know everything about (dig?)
5. Capture the Moments - On a blog, in a journal, a sketchbook or on Flickr. Pick the words that give you a learning buzz. Pick up on them. Capture the moments and memories. Reflect on them and learn.
6. Teach Someone - In a teacher-learner relationship, it's often the teacher who ends up learning most. So teach someone. And be contagious with your learning spirit.
7. Read Quotes - So much wisdom in lickety-split fashion. Churchill once said one could learn more from reading a quote a day than from memorizing the dictionary. Raj Setty's Quought for the Day series is a great place to start
8. Read Joyful, Jubilant Learning (RSS Feed) - The archives are deep and the wisdom overflowing. Plus, this is my first post here -- so I'm trying to earn JJL points:-)

Those are my eight. Do you have your own? September is a page flip away...what's your 9th surefire way to joyful learning?

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Mike Sansone, author of ConverStations, is a Conversation Conductor and Social Mediatician (Joyful Jubilant Job Titles)

Believing that Blogs are Conversation Stations, he coaches business and education leaders to use Blogs and Social Media as platforms for conversations to amplify relationships.

The L8, Gr8 Number 8

Musings on the number 8, eh, Rosa? Well, let’s see what the ol’ little gray cells can come up with here (sound of grinding gears)...

I must admit, at first my initial response was to kinda take this particular challenge lightly. That’s because, oddly enough (or, in my case, “normally enough”), the number 8 evokes no special meaning for me. I mean, I’ve never had 8 somethings or had anything special happen to me on the eighth day of the month (that I can recall, anyway), or even swallowed eight goldfish or anything like that. And to tell you the truth, that fact alone seems a little weird to me.

So I thought I’d do some quick Google research on the word eight and see what pops up.

The first result (to nobody’s surprise, I’m sure) is the Wikipedia entry for the word “eight”. Mama Mia! There’s enough here for a book! Well, let’s browse around and see if we can find a few interesting highlights (and just to prove I’m not making this stuff, up I’ll include the links).

In Mathematics, the number eight is, among other things, a composite number, which is a number that can be divided by a number other than 1 or itself. It’s the base of the octal numbering system, which was once useful in computer programming before they moved to gazillion-bit chips. It also happens to be a Fibonacci number (a number that is the sum of the previous two numbers) in the sequence 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13..., (um, try to curb your enthusiasm).

Oh, here’s an interesting one you’ve probably been losing sleep over: the numbers 8 and 9 form a Ruth-Aaron pair (and yes, it’s named after the two famous baseball players). Also (and you better write this one down for future reference), it’s the dimension of the octonians. (Don’t ask me to explain that one; even after reading the explanation I can’t explain it.)

The number eight has significance in quite a few other fields as well. For instance...

In Nuclear Physics, the number eight is the second magic number (and is no doubt tired of playing second fiddle to the first magic number: 2). In Astronomy, as of 2006 we now have 8 known planets orbiting the Sun. (Donald Trump, to the Pluto formerly known as a planet: you’re fired!)

In Chemistry, it’s the maximum number of electrons that can occupy a valence shell. In Dentistry, the eighth tooth (counting from the center outwards) is known as the “wisdom tooth” (which kinda makes you wonder why they’re so anxious to yank that sucker out, doesn’t it? But at least it explains a lot, um, now.)

The number 8 has religious significance, too. If I were Jewish, it would be the day of my life when I was *ahem* well, let’s not go there, if you know what I mean. In Christianity, it’s the number of the Beatitudes. Ironically enough, in some forms of numerology, it is either the number of building, or of destruction. (I guess you can take your pick, depending on your mood that day.)

In the popular Christmas song, The12 Days of Christmas, “eight maids a-milking” is the eighth day’s gift. (One wonders at the practicality of such a gift, though.) There are (surprise!) eight vegetable juices in V8^© juice, eight apparitions appear to Macbeth in Act 4 Scene 1, and the term “section 8” is slang for “crazy”, from the military’s Section 8: Discharge for Mentally Unfit Personnel. (Something yours truly knows absolutely NOTHING about. I swear.)

So What’s the Point of All This Rambling?

Along about now you’re probably wondering where the heck I’m goin’ with this here tippy through the Wiki. Well, so was I. Hey, aside from all the interesting new things I just learned, is there a worthwhile lesson worth thinking about here?

Well, how about this. Let’s imagine, if you will, the number 8 represents some small (or large – you pick) bit of knowledge. At first, this particular knowledge, in my humble opinion, seems to have absolutely no bearing on my life at all. I mean, in the World of Me, it’s irrelevant and not worth considering.

And yet... it turns out there is some significance to me personally (and by the way, to you, too). Oh, it’s not that the dimension of the octonians means anything to me now, mind you. I still have no clue what it is. Nor is it that thing that happened to me on or about the eighth day of my life (although come to think of it... naaah, let’s not go there either.)

But the fact that in Chemistry the number 8 represents the number of electrons in a valence shell... well, that actually is part of the universal rules that physically make up, well, me (and you, for that matter – or for all matter, even!) Ironic, huh? Here’s something I thought was relatively insignificant, and it actually has quite a bearing on my physical body.

You know; sometimes we too easily dismiss knowledge we can’t relate to. Consider again the photo at the top of this post. The number 8 is almost lost in the overall image, isn’t it? Easy to miss, don’t you think? Is it significant, or is it not? Does it contribute to the image? Well, actually it does – if, for instance, the image is from a Flickr group called simply “eight”.

It’s like there’s an automatic information sorter in our brains that, when we encounter something new, asks, “Does this have significance to me?” If our brain says no (more often than not the default setting) then it goes to the “who cares” pile, never to be heard from again. If, and only if, the answer is yes, then maybe we might give it a passing thought and save it for future reference. Or, maybe not.

But consider this: you may be too quickly dismissing knowledge that can actually benefit you. Jesus Christ once told his Apostles, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” (Matthew 12:28-9)

Yup; these lilies (probably allium neopolitanum, pictured here) were so commonplace that most folks simply walked right by them without realizing just what wonders, what structure, what beauty, what heavenly scents could be revealed, had they simply stopped and... looked.

So there’s your challenge, folks. Try not to let your automatic brain-information-sorter-thingie function without, you know, some oversight. How do you do that, you ask? Well, how about this: All you have to do is, if you can, just make the effort to notice more. That’s all. Simple, huh?

And to think – I almost dismissed this month’s theme on the number 8 as, well, too insignificant!

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Photo credits:

“8”, by Nick Findley

“allium”, by Niall McAuley

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Robert Hruzek is an ordinary fellow with an extraordinary sense of the absurd. Apparently, back when talent was allocated, he missed his helping of propriety and ended up with a double dose of a sense of the ridiculous. Fortunately (and before his head exploded) he found relief from the dreaded SHINE (Seeing Humor In Nearly Everything) Syndrome through his writings at Middle Zone Musings. But don’t worry ‘bout a thing, folks; he’s feeling much better now.

If you could sk8...

When I was a kid, there were a bunch of "Schoolhouse Rock" videos sprinkled in amongst my Saturday morning cartoons.  When this month's theme of "learning from the number 8" came up, the first thing that sprung into my head was one of those videos.

I can still sing the one about the number 8 from memory, even though it's been over 30 years...  That series of Schoolhouse Rock videos helped me learn the preamble of the US Constitution, helped me better understand conjunctions, the process through which a bill becomes law in the US, and a ton of other things.

What can I take from that? A few simple reminders:

• There is something to be said for the power of mingling educational material, mnemonics (especially songs and such) and repetition.
• Make learning fun - I loved sitting through those videos because they were entertaining.
• Never underestimate the impact of well-presented learning on kids.

If you've never seen the video about number 8, check it out here:

And, if you're still thirsty for more - check out one of my favorites, The Preamble.

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Dwayne Melancon is the author of Genuine Curiosity, where he is always on the lookout for new things to learn.

Infinity is Just Another Twisty Way to Meditate on 8

Pretzel Warp: Do you Eight bad puns and why does bait rhyme with eight while light rhymes with night?

by David Zinger

Two circles put together make the number eight and if you put those two circles beside each other you have the symbol for infinity.

Infinity means unboundedness or without end. Although the infinite pretzel above is quite concrete (and maybe a little salty) the concept of infinity to me is abstract, elusive and without end.

I like to have my mind think about infinity but because I am thinking about infinity I never really end up anywhere. Yet somehow I end up in the very moment of now.

How does infinity bring me to the moment? Is the moment infinite?

I believe the moment is infinite but I only catch the smallest glimpse of this before my brain goes beyond infinity, perhaps thinking it would be nice to have a beer with that salty pretzel.

I don't mean to twist your mind into a pretzel but I encourage you to think about infinity, if only for 8 seconds or even just for a moment (which could be a very long time if you let it be).

I leave you with two infinite quotations:

From William Blake's Auguries of Innocence

To see a world in a grain of sand,

And a heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.

From Buzz in Toy Story

To infinity and beyond!

Oh, to cogitate on eight. I mentally ate the eight and munched my way right into infinity. Of course you must know, like the two circles forming an 8 and toppling over beside each other into infinity, I am also quite beside myself.

Photo Credit: one infinite pretzel by http://flickr.com/photos/oskay/412424653/

8 Songs with Eight (For your iPod)

The first thing I thought of when we came up with our August 2008 theme of "Learning from 8" was a song.   Then, another song.  Then, another.

Before I knew it, I had compiled a mental list of several songs that had the word "Eight" in the title.

I later rounded out the list to 8  of my favorites that I could share with our JJL readers today, as a way to enjoy a little summer music, and perhaps get a little "8 Karma" as you download these gems (or fill in your collection with the ones you already have).

1. Eight Days a Week, The Beatles.   My friend Steve already posted about this one on JJL, but it was indeed the first song that popped into my head.  I love the "fade in" at the beginning, and it's about as "catchy" a Beatles song as they ever made.
2. Eight Miles High, The Byrds.  A psychedelic postcard from the 60's, and one of the Byrd's best.  Legend has it that the song was originally titled "Six Miles High", and the six was changed to eight in honor of the Beatles' "Eight Days a Week". 
3. 98.6, Keith There's yet another rumored Beatles connection on this 1967 hit (love the line "her lovin' was the medicine that saved me") - apparently John Lennon liked this song and had a chance meeting with Keith in a public restroom to tell him so. 
4. Dinner at Eight, Rufus Wainwright. This lush and aching ballad is one of my favorites from this admittedly quirky, but oh so talented singer/songwriter. And, no, there isn't a Beatles connection on this one.
5. Driver 8, R.E.M. This track about an over-worked train conductor is in the same minor chords that would lead the band to use them again on two of their biggest hits, "Losing My Religion", and "The One I Love".  (By the way, check out their latest album, "Accelerate" - it's a great return to form).
6. Old 8 X 10, Randy Travis.  When I lived in San Antonio back in the early 80s, I discovered country music - the kind of "two-steppin" music made by greats like George Strait and this artist, Randy Travis.  While I could never master the two-step, my appreciation of this genre remains, and this is a wonderful example of that kind of sound.
7. Eight, Dan Mills. This is a wild-card entry to this list, because truth be told I found it by doing a title search on iTunes for the word "eight".  I just simply took a liking to the track, a guitar-based shuffle that reminded me of a more propulsive Jack Johnson.
8. I'm Eighteen, Alice Cooper. OK, I know this is a bit of a stretch because it's "Eighteen" instead of "Eight", but I just had to include it, because I have such a fond memory of belting out this song at the top of my lungs on my 18th Birthday.   "I'm 18 and I like it!!!!"  Ah, memories..........

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Terry Starbucker is an operations executive for a service company who lives in Connecticut, loves business trips to the Rocky Mountain west, is a founder of SOBCon, and posts his musings and observations about "the optimistic side of the daily grind" in Ramblings from a Glass Half Full. 

JJL’s Community Joy in Learning: Our 08-08-08 Markers

Thanks to all of you, Joyful Jubilant Learning marks this once-in-a-lifetime day on our calendars with these milestones...

• 53 Authors have written about joyful learning for our community
  
• 643 Posts and Pages detail our jubilation
• 101,743 Page Views have been seen
  
• 2945 Comments have been shared
  
• There are 575 Trackbacks to subsequent Writing and Conversation

...since we began on October 1, 2006.

That is a fabulous testament to learning collaboratively! It is Makawalu in the making.

What we all know about learning is that it never stops: Even when there isn’t a fresh posting here, we need only click to the archives, revisit an oldie but goody, and discover what our learners’ hearts, minds, and very creative souls will stir up for us.

To celebrate this day, that is exactly what I have asked the authors on our JJL Advisory Board to do: Share 8 of their favorites from our archives, starting with at least 1 of their own postings (I encouraged those with substantial indexes here to share 4 of their own, and 4 others).

This is what they came up with.

I strongly encourage you to spend some time with these links, for we are fully aware of how unwieldy archive-hunting can be, even with the magic of search, and they have done a fine job (and a very thoughtful one) in sorting through our gems for you.

And please do participate! If you have a past favorite you do not see listed, add it to the comments for us, for we would sincerely love to know which postings you may have chosen to tag and bookmark for your own tertiary learning. Go for it up to your own Learning from 8!

Enjoy the reading, or the re-reading for chances are that more comments have been added ~ I know I certainly will :)
~ Rosa Say

8 Lessons from 88 Keys

(Aloha! I'm a first-time contributor to JJL, so thanks to Rosa and the Advisory Board for having me here. I've learned a lot from everyone and it's fun to be involved!)
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At my mother's insistence, I took piano lessons for several years, starting when I was in about the third grade. (Above you see the piano I learned on, lo, those many years ago. It's in our living room now.) While my learning began immediately, the joyful and jubilant parts didn't kick in until much later. If you're thinking of having your children take piano lessons or want to take up the instrument  yourself, I hope my octave of educational reflections will help you make the right decision. 

1. Practice truly make perfect. Having practically no natural talent, I had to learn every note and every bit of fingering step by excruciating step. Though it took weeks to master a song, master it I would – a fine confidence builder for those times when you're up against challenges where you can't rely on your natural gifts.   
2. Memorization – train your brain. Like many grade schoolers, I went about my business in kind of a fog. Memorizing song upon song for recital stretched me. I believe the training, the focus, and the intensity carried over to the classroom.
3. Performing – handling pressure. We participated in several recitals and a major competition every year. The competitions were tough – each student memorized four or five songs for a rather intimidating, steely-eyed judge. These experiences were as mentally demanding as any sports challenge I faced in later years. Piano is good training for athletes! 
4. Appreciation for music. The lives of the classical composers and the mathematics of music fascinated me, probably because my teachers subtly infused those themes into their lessons. Though I don't play the piano these days, music has enriched my life in uncountable ways.
5. Met people with different interests. Some of my fellow students were serious musicians in the making, who saw the world through a lens quite different from my own. One they got past my geeky-weird filter, I found them to be warm and wonderful people. I might have turned into a classroom bully. Thanks to them I didn't.
6. Dealing with being mediocre. You can't be the star of every show. Try as I might, I only advanced so far, and slowly at that. But I'm happy I made the most of my talents rather than give up or go through the motions. Now, if only I could apply that discipline to all things business and personal!
7. Love is not always gentle. All this great stuff I'm telling you about – I was oblivious to it at the time. All I could think about was how much my mother hated me for subjecting me to the torture of the piano, and I had no difficulty expressing my thoughts. Of course now I know only a person who loves you deeply has the strength to do what is good for you rather than what is merely convenient.
8. The joy of paying it forward. My daughter took piano lessons, though like her father is not quite Mozart. And also like her father, she loves music with a passion. Now she is grown and living on her own, but once in a while when she's here she'll sit down at the piano and play. It's the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.

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Brad Shorr lives in the Chicago area and is president of Word Sell, Inc. He helps organizations strengthen their online presence with business blogs and compelling Web content.

Brad writes extensively on his own and many other blogs, mainly about writing, online marketing, entrepreneurship, sales, and business humor.