Mark Matteson

It’s summer time in beautiful Lake Chelan, WA. This sleepy little burg of 6,000 full time residents comes alive like Peter Frampton’s 1976 album. 250,000 people converge on this 55-mile long lakefront community from May to October. My wife and I spend as much time as we can here in the summer. With every rose comes […]

Most people I talk to don’t love their work. It’s a job. I have one friend who has been with the Post Office for 35 years and hates her job, always has. She can’t wait to retire to do something else. Wow. A 35-year self-imposed prison sentence. It’s the 4th of July. Independence Day. To […]

Years ago I read a biography on Will Rogers. His rise to fame and fortune was astonishing. He died too soon. Like Mark Twain, he had a way with words. His quotes were pithy and poignant. Here are some of my favorites: When someone else blows your horn, it travels twice as far. If you […]

From age 12 to 13-1/2, I grew 9” in those painful 18 months.  I was a gangly, clumsy kid.  Who wouldn’t be?  My knees ached constantly and I knocked things over with great regularity.  It became an issue in my family and frankly, a punch line and callback, mostly with raised eyebrows or disgusted looks. […]

I ran into an old friend today.  We had a lot of the same classes in junior high.  His name is Tim.  He saw me driving and made a u-turn to say hello. We talked for 30 minutes.  We talked about childhood memories. The conversation turned to gratitude.  We are both grateful to be alive.  […]

One of my favorite old movies of all time is a little known epic entitled “El Cid” starring Charlton Heston. It was one of the last of the great epics of the 1960’s with a cast of thousands. They literally had thousands of extras for the extraordinary battle scenes. Now Hollywood uses Digital Computer Graphics […]

On my birthday, a good friend sent me an email that said, “Mark is Double Nickels Today!” That made me smile. I like myself today. That’s a strange to say if you are 25 years old. I certainly didn’t like me much then. I do now. Life is funny that way. It’s not that I […]

When I was in high school, when a conflict arose, I would take out a coin and say, “Okay, let’s flip a coin to decide. Heads I win, tails you lose.” Believe it or not, it worked about 20% of the time. A teacher admonished me for my bit of clever sleight of hand. As […]

Yesterday, I closed a couple of speaking gigs.  As I thought about what happened, it dawned on me, sales is a process.  A process that involves both an art and a science.  Like following the instructions assembling a child’s toy,  we need to go step by step, one thing at a time.  When we do, […]

Easter Sunday.  Westgate Chapel was packed to the rafters for second service, 11:30 am.   I reckon most people like to sleep in.  The music was inspiring, contemporary and lively.  Not why I came.  I want to see Pastor Alec Rowlands preach.  He is right in my backyard, in his late sixties, seasoned, savvy, fun and inspiring.  […]

I am a recovering pessimist.  I used to be caustic, cynical, negative and pessimistic.  I made fun of you given half a chance.  Hey, I was mean but i thought I was funny.  It pushed people away.  I didn’t have a clue.  Because I am a big guy, no one had the courage to tell me.  One […]

When I was in the 4th grade, I use to stand on the playground and wonder my insides didn’t match everyone else’s outside.  My confidence and self-worth were lacking.  I had a stutter. Girls terrified me.  Despite all that, I was searching.  Searching for answers to some of life’s questions.  The one thing I had […]

In 1982, I read the classic self-help “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. It changed my life. I must have read it 25 times. I listened to the audio cassette at least 10 times. (Cassettes were these these things we had…oh, never mind). Just remember, repetition really is the mother of […]

Good is the enemy of great. The easier it is to be good, the harder it is to great. If good comes easy to, great will elude you. Deciding to be great is a choice, a lonely one. Rigid thinking is the enemy of innovation. “This is the way we have always done it” will […]

I read a little book entitled Anyway by Keith Kent. He lists the 10 Paradoxical Commandments. They remind me of my youngest son, Evan. In December of 2010, my wife and I flew to Oahu to watch him play basketball, three games on three islands. They won all three and it was a defining moment […]

“Snake Pliskin, I thought you were dead!” It’s a callback, a reoccurring line from one of my favorite guilty pleasures, the campy movie starring Kurt Russell, “Escape from New York. No, I am not dead. I took a blog sabbatical. It’s been ten months since my last blog post. A few people asked me why […]

As the current economic uncertainty continues, many people are scared, frozen, and full of fear. Sometimes the best thing you can do is go to the movies. Old black and white movies are my favorite. Nothing like a great story to put things in perspective. Some movies change your life. Every generation, a movie comes […]

When I was a kid, if some other person achieved some measure of success or notoriety, more often than not, I was jealous. Sometimes I would even say, “He cheated” or “He just got lucky!” It never made me feel any better. I deluded myself into thinking somehow I was morally superior. Sad. My new […]

On a recent trip to Montana, a client gave me a book by James P. Owens entitled “Cowboy Values” – It changed the way I look at things. As I read it I kept nodding in agreement. Here are the high points: 90% of the politicians give the other 10% a bad name. Cowboys carry […]

Epictetus was born into slavery about 55 A.D. in the eastern reaches of the Roman Empire. Once freed, he established himself as a Stoic of great influence. I digested a book of his philosophy recently entitled “The Art of Living” – Here are my favorite portions: “First say to yourself what you would be; then […]

This time of the year we see lists and reflections upon the year gone by. I guess it’s my turn to give you five categories of five favorite things from 2010. Five Favorite Famous Quotes from 2010 “I’m not a witch!” Christine O-Donnell television ad October 4, 2010 “I’d like my life back.” Tony Hayward, […]

I was watching an episode of Boston Legal where William Shatner takes his Law Partner, James Spader fly fishing in British Columbia. I began to reflect upon the places my speaking and consulting business have taken me over the past 20 years. Here is the short list: >Istanbul, Turkey (The Grand Bazar and Palace after […]

I was watching some YouTube videos by speaking mentors of mine on a personal retreat in Coupeville, WA (on bucolic Whidbey Island, WA) recently when I came across this little song/powerpoint by Ahmad Jamal. Some food for thought. As you read the list, ask yourself, which one are you? Rich people believe THEY create their […]

Do you remember the movie “Princess Bride” with Cary Elwes? I was in Baltimore conducting a Keynote to 900 people a couple of weeks ago. I had 300 copies of my new book “A Simple Choice” shipped UPS to the hotel. I went to the front desk and they informed me I could find them […]

A client sent the following document recently. It is absolutely outstanding. Enjoy! The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, […]

What did the last blog tell you? When you read the “Life is” statements, how did you react to each one? As much fun as some of these little phrases are, they are also a window into the soul. They tell us and the world our beliefs and convictions. In a word, our ATTITUDE. Who […]

My mother passed away recently. I have been doing all the things that come with that. My journal has been a saving grace. Here are some thoughts from the pages: Life Have you ever considered answering the question, “Life is __________?” Life is short. Life is a wonderful journey. Life is a game. Life is […]

With legendary coach John Wooden’s passing, I recently pored over the half a dozen of books about the great teacher from my library. I was looking for the principles, that dealt more with his personal philosophy and creed. I wanted to know the reasons for his tremendous influence. I stumbled upon the following story. I […]