An American Comedian in Australia

NORTH CAROLINA!

NORTH CAROLINA! I will be back in a week and signing copies of "The Laughing Cure" at the following locations:

12/17 2-4PM at Barnes & Noble GREENSBORO (Friendly Shopping Center)

https://www.facebook.com/events/1195726157187234/

12/18 1-3PM at Barnes & Noble DURHAM (Streets at Southpoint)

https://www.facebook.com/events/1841906699358679/

About the book:

http://skyhorsepublishing.com/titles/395-9781510702493-laughing-cure

The Siphon Man

Traveling through the Australian Outback reminds me of an excerpt from my brother's book Seven Months Deep (still available, by the way)

"My brother Brian and I once rented a car in San Diego for a trip down the beautiful peninsula of Baja California, Mexico. Although well traveled in the rest of the country, at the time neither of us knew anything about the peninsula, which contributed to our excitement. As we drove southbound on the highway through the dessert, we realized one thing: there were hardly any gas stations. We passed one station when our tank was over a quarter full, but then continued to drive a hundred miles without passing another. Soon we were approaching an empty tank and, according our rudimentary map, it appeared that the next town, Catavina, was about forty miles away. Instead of turning around and trying to make it back a hundred miles, we decided continue trekking south and hoped that Catavina would have fuel. Due to the conditions of the road and its meandering path through the mountains (not clearly evident on our map), it took us about an hour and a half to travel those forty miles and we rolled in to Catavina on fumes. It turned out that the town wasn't a town at all, just a single hotel and a gas station. It also turned out that the gas station hadn't been a functioning gas station in many, many years. We were screwed.

"Siphon Man saved our lives, or at least our vacation. He was a local entrepreneur that we accurately dubbed "Siphon Man" who had decided to capitalize on the "unprepared Gringo tourist" market. He would drive his pickup to a nearby gas station and fill huge metal barrels of fuel to carry up and down the highway looking for situations like ours. Hours after helplessly waiting for a miracle in Catavina, he came down the road and used a homemade siphon hose to fill our tank, for a hefty fee. At over three times the market cost it was the most expensive gas in the world, and was probably mixed with a bit of water and sand to stretch his buck, but it was exactly what we needed. The best entrepreneurs find a need to satisfy."

Election Day, FINALLY

Things you could do other than vote today:

1. Celebrate TACO TUESDAY!
2. Watch re-runs of Murder She Wrote.
3. Enjoy a sweet glass of egg nog.
4. Work your stupid job.
5. Think smug thoughts about how everyone else is just feeding into a broken system.
6. Exercise! yeah right, like you'd do that.
7. Finally start working on that novel you keep putting off.
8. Stalk all of your non-bocked exes on Facebook!
9. Pat yourself on the back for your excellent time management skills and all the great things you got accomplished.
10. Read The Laughing Cure!

Of course, if you vote you can still do those things. I'm just saying...

FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY!

St. Augustine Florida!

This Friday (11/4) marks the end of my 2016 speaking tour on The Habits of Stress Resilient People. My last seminar on this topic will be at the WORLD GOLF VILLAGE RENAISSANCE RESORT, 500 South Legacy Trail, 32092. To register please go to: www.ibpceu.com

THEN

After my last seminar, I will be hosting a night of comedy at the World Famous Jackie Knight's Comedy Club! As host, I get to unleash a number of local up and comers and seasoned pros at one of my favorite comedy venues in the continent! Please come check it out, information is on the flyer.

I will also be autographing copies of my book The Laughing Cure!

Throwback Thursday

If you follow us on social media, you may know that this summer Sarah and I left Florida to travel up the east coast and into Montreal. Then we took the Trans-Canada Highway all across the country with a detour up into Alaska. Along the way, we had some incredible experiences, met a lot of new friends, and as avid photographers took just over 11,000 photos that we still need to review. However, out of all 11K I can honestly say that this one is my favorite.

#throwbackthursday #tbt

North Pole, AK
8/13/2016

The Burrito Principle

"Why another burrito?" she asked me regarding my dining preferences.

When I first moved to California, I worked for Wells Fargo, not at one of their branches, but in the big corporate offices in downtown San Francisco. In the hierarchy of my division, I was low, but I was still only about 3 rungs down the ladder from the head of our division, himself only a seat or two away from CEO. At the time, Warren Buffett was our majority shareholder. He and our division head would have regular meetings and considered themselves friends. They were so close that Warren shared his investment strategy with him, and he then shared it with those of us in the division.

He said that Warren thought so highly of Wells Fargo stock that anytime he was presented with a new stock to purchase he would compare it to Wells Fargo. If it did not perform as good or better than Wells Fargo, then instead he would buy more Wells Fargo.

And that is why yes, I'll have another burrito.

Somewhere in the distance, her mother could be heard shouting "Big deal, lots of people invest in companies that inflate their numbers with fraudulent accounts. Eat a salad."

DALLAS!

DALLAS! My next book signing is in 2 weeks in your area! Come see me! http://stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/9780061816376-0

SOUTHWEST! You need to destress!

My Habits of Stress Resilient People tour is coming to the Southwest United States next month!

Learn and laugh, and maybe loosen up a bit.

I will also be signing copies of my new book, The Laughing Cure!

Come see me at one (or more) of the cities below. More info and registration at: www.ibpceu.com.

Tue 10/05: El Paso, TX
Wed 1006: Roswell, NM
Thu 10/07: Albuquerque, NM
Fri 10/08: Santa Fe, NM

For those of you not planning on attending my El Paso seminar, I will be signing copies of my book at Barnes & Noble, Sunland Park from 2-4 pm

SUN 10/03: El Paso, TX

MIDWEST! You need to de-stress!

My Habits of Stress Resilient People tour is coming to the Midwest United States next month!

Learn and laugh, and maybe loosen up a bit.

I will also be signing copies of my new book, The Laughing Cure!

Come see me at one (or more) of the cities below. More info and registration at: www.ibpceu.com.

Tue 09/06: Traverse City, MI
Wed 09/07: Mount Pleasant, MI
Thu 09/08: Muskegon, MI
Fri 09/09: Grand Rapids, MI

Mon 09/12: Kalamazoo, MI
Tue 09/13: Merrillville, IN
Wed 09/14: Joliet, IL
Thu 09/15: Peoria, IL
Fri 09/16: Champaign, IL

Mon 09/19: Springfield, IL
Tue 09/20: Saint Louis, MO
Wed 09/21: Columbia, MO
Thu 09/22: Saint Louis, MO
Fri 09/23: Carbondale, IL

My New Book!

Several years in the works, my new book on the emotional and physical benefits of humor and laughter is scheduled to hit the shelves soon! I am so excited I can hardly contain myself.

Before it drops, you can obtain a pre-order for a substantial discount from now until May 3rd, the official release date. Check it out HERE:

BRANSON

What defines a "comedian"? Purists might reserve that word only for stand-ups, and they are wrong. That elitism excludes improvisers, magicians, sideshow performers, burlesque performers, sketch artists and more. In my opinion, anyone that regularly and intentionally makes others laugh is a comedian. (and the best kind of person)

In Branson this weekend, I met some of the funniest and hardest working comedians I've ever come across. Half Hee-Haw, half Second City, these guys put on one hell of a good show. Plus, they were extremely nice to a certain touring stand-up psychologist. If you haven't, y'all need to get your butts out to Branson sometime and see the Comedy Jubilee.

Branson, MO
2/27/2016

St. Augustine!

FLORIDA! Come see me for my LAST show in your state before I leave for a 5 month tour! at my favorite comedy club too! This Friday I hope to see you in ST AUGUSTINE!

2016 Tour is Starting soon!

Starting this weekend, this is the first month of our tour. If you are anywhere along this route, Sarah and I would love to see you!

Week 1: 2/20-2/27: Dallas, TX to Branson, MO
Week 2: 2/28-3/4: Branson, MO to Jackson, TN
Week 3: 3/5-3/12: Nashville, TN to Asheville, NC 
Week 4: 3/13-3/20: Asheville, NC to RDU
Week 5 3/21-4/2: Flexible, North & South Carolina

I will be presenting "The Habits of Stress Resilient People" all along the route. For seminar details check out https://www.ibpceu.com/

For comedy shows, watch my Facebook and this site, I'll update as I can. 

Message me for booking opportunities!

Happy Mardi Gras!

The streets of downtown are all closed off to allow for the big Mardi Gras festival. At some point in the evening I find myself near the perimeter and I overhear a woman asking an obvious security guard "are they going to let a cab get in here to pick me up?"

Now, looking around I have no idea who she might be referring to with the word "they". The only person present who seems to have any authority is the security guard she is questioning. Does she mean he? And if so why not just ask him if he will allow a cab to come in?

She seems to imply that she thinks this situation is not only outside of her control but also his.

As I am pondering her language use, I notice in my periphery a taxi cab parked across the street from the festival perimeter. I point and I tell her "why don't you just take that one?"

To which she replies "that is not the company I called."

As I walk away, leaving her standing there still frustrated at the security guard, I am reminded of my Sunday school teachings that "The Lord helps those who help themselves."

People who help themselves, get help. Unfortunately,  she was too stressed  to see the obvious solution  staring her in the face.

And this is why in two weeks I will be touring the country telling people how to manage their stress.

Happy Mardi Gras everybody!

Maybe we should give up stress for Lent?