Motivational Videos

What the world needs now is more love and kindness, not hate and blame.

What the world needs now is discussion, not division.

What the world needs now is for all of us to come together and agree that things need to change for the better.

We need to reach out a hand to one another and ask how we can help.

We need to lift each other up, not put each other down.

You may not feel it personally, but surely you can see it.

Things are not going well for so many around us.

I’ve got your back. You’ve got mine.

That’s how we all should be able to think.

We are all in this together.

#Peace #Love #Understanding

You've had your day.

That's what I was told once at a rock concert.

You've had your day.

This guy was trying to tell me I was too old to be there, that my time had come and gone.

That was a big insult which I've thought about over and over again.

I've had my day.

Well, I may have had my day, but my best days are still ahead of me.

I will continue to have my day, day in and day out - and you will, too.

Nobody should feel like they don't belong.

I'm talking about inclusion. I'm talking about diversity.

I'm talking about how everybody should always feel that they belong, how everybody should always feel that they are welcome, how everybody should always feel like this is their day and tomorrow will be an even better day, wherever they are in their life.

Young and old alike, we should celebrate ALL the differences between us, not criticize or condemn each other for them.

We we may not all look the same, think the same, do the same, say the same, but we are all in this together, all the days of our lives, always and forever.

Nobody is perfect.

Everybody has their flaws.

I know I have plenty of them.

But we can’t be afraid to step up to the plate.

We can’t worry about taking our best swing at the ball – and missing.

We can’t be embarrassed about striking out.

Otherwise, we’ll never have a chance to hit a home run.

You. Me. Everybody hurts from time to time.

When somebody hurts, we need to be there for them.

We need to be there to provide love, support and encouragement.

We need to be there to help mend their wounds.

Everybody hurts for a variety of reasons, especially during these difficult days.

Their aches and pains may be greater than ever during these tough times.

We need to ask ourselves how we can be of greater assistance to them.

We need to try to come up with more solutions to the problems around us, even if they’re not our problems.

We need to understand the importance of acting on behalf of the greater good, not just for ourselves.
We can’t hesitate to reach out to others in their time of need.

We can’t be afraid to ask for help if we need it ourselves.

We need to believe in the possibility of a world in which nobody hurts and everybody is happy forever and always.

I’ve been running competitively since I was just a kid.

I’ve run hundreds of races over the years, from 5Ks to marathons.

As president of the Greater Framingham Running Club, I’m frustrated our membership can’t see each other in person during this pandemic. We can’t run any races together.

So we’ve gone virtual.

We’re running on our own, taking pictures of ourselves with our times and sharing them on Facebook where we have been able to stay together online while we have to stay apart in real life.

We’re pivoting during the pandemic.

While I miss the huffing and puffing of a pack of runners all around me, the thrill of competition, the cheering crowds, the camaraderie and celebrations, it’s the next best thing to actual racing.

I’m still pushing myself hard. I’m still challenging myself. I'm still getting my miles in. I'm still putting one foot in front of the other over and over again. I’m still running for time.

What about YOU?

How are you doing during these difficult days?

How have you reinvented yourself during these tough times?

In both our personal and professional lives, we all have no choice but to make the most of what we’ve got during this pandemic.

We all have to be resilient. We all have to collaborate. We all have to be strong.
#Motivation #Inspiration

This world needs more leaders.

Good leaders.

Our country needs more of these people, too. As do our communities.

More of us need to act on behalf of the greater good if we expect to overcome all the hurdles that stand between us and forward progress.

The 90-9-1 rule may say that only one out of 100 of us is willing and able to take the ball and run with it, but I say we need to make that a much higher percentage.

We can’t be afraid of opposition if we have a good idea or a positive word to share.

We can’t be afraid of the naysayers and critics.

Silence is not an option if we want to create a better place for all of us to live in peace, love and harmony.

Don’t just sit there, do something.

Step up. Speak out. Vote. Volunteer. Donate. Participate.

The more of us who are willing and able to take the lead, the bigger the difference we can make in the lives of others, not just our own.

Name-calling hurts.

I ought to know. I was a recipient of a lot of it when I was growing up in a small town here in Massachusetts.

I’m not saying I was completely innocent. Not by any means. I may have wrongly dished out some of it myself.

But I can remember to this day the emotional toll what I received of it took on me.

It was a big burden to shoulder, a psychological scar that took a long time to heal.

That was a long time ago. We were just kids.

This is now. And we all know that name-calling is still a thing.

Unfortunately, it’s a big thing with the President of the United States.

He calls a lot of people names, especially people he doesn’t like.

He doesn’t seem to like a lot of people, either, so that’s an awful lot of name-calling.

Whether it’s among kids or adults, name-calling should be unacceptable behavior.

Wherever we see it, whenever we see it, we should not tolerate it. We should call it out for what it is, verbal abuse.

People should be lifting each other up, not putting them down.

People should be encouraging and supportive, not discouraging and combative.

People should treat others the way they would like to be treated themselves.

Whoever we are, however we vote, none of us should support a President who resorts to name-calling.

#NameCalling

It's easy to be despondent and pessimistic, especially lately.

There's just so much going wrong around us in this country right now.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a positive attitude.

That doesn’t mean you can’t motivate others.

The other day, my good friend, Sharon Cote Grimm, sent me a very thoughtful card and a couple of delicious brownies.

The card said I was a source of sunshine and inspiration to her.

The card made me feel good about myself.

You. Me. Any of us can be the sunshine despite the dark clouds overhead.

Any of us can be the one who brightens people’s days like I’ve done for Sharon and she’s done for me.

Be the sunshine when it’s almost impossible for others to find it on their own.

Be the role model.

Be the example.

Be the leader.

Be the one who others look up to when things have got them down.

Be the one who lights up their lives. #Motivation #Inspiration

These are difficult days, trying times.

Not only are we all still dealing with a devastating pandemic, the coronavirus crisis, but after the tragic death of George Floyd, our nation is facing another crisis, racism, that can’t be ignored.

Everybody needs to speak up.

Everybody needs to listen.

Everybody needs to be heard.

Everybody is reeling for one reason or another.

If this doesn’t get you on social media, nothing will.

While we can’t get together in person for commiseration, collaboration, camaraderie and comfort, we can connect online.

We can use LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the like to ask our friends and families, our colleagues and clients how they are doing and how we can help.

We can show the human side of our personal and corporate brands.

We can speak from the heart, not from a script.

We can show concern and compassion for our employees and customers.

We can do business with those who demonstrate character, ethics, morals and social responsibility.

We can use social media now more than ever.

We can use social media for good - good for business, good for all. #SocialMedia #Branding #Marketing #Communications

If you want to get people behind you, let them take the lead.

Let them do the marketing for you.

During this pandemic, all of us should be wearing face masks when we are in public and it is difficult to maintain a social distance – six feet or more – from other people.

For some reason, however, not everybody is cooperating with this recommendation to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

To help get the word out to people why it’s so important to wear a face mask during this public health crisis, New York asked its residents to create short public service announcements on video. Out of over 600 submissions to its “Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest,” they’ve chosen five finalists, with the winner being announced on Tuesday, May 26.

Kudos to Governor Andrew Cuomo and everybody involved in putting together this ridiculously awesome peer-to-peer marketing campaign. Having watched all five of the video finalists (https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/wear-mask-new-york-ad-contest-cast-your-vote), I can tell you that each of them are compelling and convincing in their own inimitable way.

What a great example for marketers of a brand – in this case, the state of New York – activating its audience to the point where they are actually doing the work for them, getting the message across about doing the right thing for the greater good.

What a great example for people from all walks of life, also, of how to come together in a crisis and be united in our response. #NewYorkTough #WearAMaskNY #Marketing #Advertising

My wife, Barbara, and I ventured into town the other day.

We love Boston. We miss the city.

Walking down Hanover Street in the North End, we heard music. Not just any music, though. This was opera music. Live opera music.

Looking up, we saw a singer on the Ray Bourque Table 77 balcony at the Italian restaurant, Tresca.

What a pleasant surprise.

Along with many others on the sidewalk, all social distancing, we listened for a while and enjoyed the music.

Good for Tresca and the North End Music & Performing Arts Center (NEMPAC) for treating the neighborhood and passersby like us to such a ridiculously awesome performance.

These are difficult days for everybody. These are tough times for businesses and brands, especially restaurants, musicians and performers.

This was a win-win for everybody involved, though. This was a great way for Tresca and NEMPAC to pivot during the pandemic and turn a negative into a positive.

Kudos, props and bravo to anybody who had anything to do with this very special moment. #Innovation #Creativity #Branding #Music #Opera #Restaurant

When I was a kid growing up in the ridiculously awesome town of Franklin, Massachusetts, one of my biggest thrills was playing Little League Baseball at Fletcher Field.

Nothing was more exciting for me at the time than taking the mound as a starting pitcher and striking out my opponents.

Not to say that happened all the time, but it wasn’t unusual for me to consistently throw the ball right down the middle.

After all, practice makes perfect.

In between games, I did a lot of practicing on my own in the parking lot of an abandoned store. I threw tennis balls against a cement wall over and over and over again so I’d be prepared for the real thing.

Those were the good, old, days.

These are difficult days.

I believe if we practice social distancing, though, and wear masks when we can’t be at least six feet away from others, that we will eventually strike out COVID-19 and put this coronavirus crisis behind us.

It’s not going to happen overnight, but neither did my ability to throw the ball over the plate. I had to practice throwing strikes against that wall time after time after time before I was ready for the big game.

Practice makes perfect. If we practice social distancing day in and day out, and wear masks when that’s not possible, we’ll come out ahead in the long run.