“The mortality rate for young men in society is six times what it is for young women, from violence and from accidents, just the stupid stuff that young men do; jumping off of things they shouldn’t jump off of, lighting things on fire they shouldn’t light on fire, I mean, you know what I’m talking […]

Celebrate good times, come onLet’s celebrateCelebrate good times, come onLet’s celebrateThere’s a party going on right hereA celebration to last throughout the yearsSo bring your good times and your laughter tooWe gonna celebrate your party with you, come onCelebrationLet’s all celebrate and have a good timeCelebrationWe gonna celebrate and have a good timeIt’s time to […]

While he was reading those pages (449-450) of The Plantagenets, the wizard said to me, “Indy, the craziness that began in 1481 sounds like the kind of craziness that precedes the zenith of a ‘WE’ cycle. The government (1.) escalated the collection of taxes during (2.) a tragic pandemic and (3.) labor – once abundant – was in […]

When Pennie and I were preparing to move away from the town of our childhood, I told my friend Phil that I felt like I was suspended in limbo. I have never forgotten what he said. “This is your time in the elevator. You are between two worlds. You are leaving behind the way it […]

“True happiness is to enjoy the present without anxious dependence on the future.”– Lucius Annaeus Seneca, 5BC-65AD, a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. This was my friend Phil Johnson 37 years ago, looking over a small section of his private library…

“Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.” – Marcus Aurelius, a Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good Emperors, and […]

“At first the taxes provoked disgruntlement, [1381] but this swiftly turned to outright fury as commissioners appointed to investigate widespread evasion were accused of heavy-handed tactics. The poll taxes tapped a deeper root of resentment that had been building in England’s towns and villages since the middle of the century. The Black Death had returned […]

If you are passionate about a topic and are looking for a way to stand tall in the eyes of the nation, just write an Op-Ed that gets published in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, or USA Today. Bob Brody has spent the past 40 years as an Op-Ed […]

You already know that Capt. James T. Kirk, aka William Shatner, flew into space as the guest of Jeff Bezos aboard the Blue Origin spacecraft on October 13th. Why would Billionaire Bezos give Shatner a seat when he could have sold it for tens of millions of dollars?  Listen in as Wizard of Ads partner Jeff “the […]

This delightful and insightful video was sentto us by alert rabbit-holer George Ghesquire.

After my volunteer shift to safeguard the Tower during the Bastards Ball, I wandered down to Tuscan Hall to see what whiskies that have not touched my palate. Of the familiar faces that greeted my gaze was a young man with a long beard. Kind of like the one that decorated my face a year ago. […]

Soulful Christmas I ain’t talkin’ just to tease.People like you, they don’t grow on trees.Look at you, that’s what it’s gonna be. I have everything I needAround my soulful Christmas tree. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!I love you, have good cheer.I love you, good God. Got my baby, my precious love.Happiness – good God – I […]

Wizard of Ads partner Charlie Moger made this extra-cool video that explains what Jeff and Trish Sylvestre do in Canada. If you’ve taken more than just one or two classes at Wizard Academy, you’ve probably met them. – Indy

If you own a business, you need to know Ryan Patrick.

Hi Indy,  The famous poet Naomi Shahib Nye wrote this wonderful story in a brief, tight economy of words, exactly the way Roy teaches in Magical Worlds. He told us the secret of concise writing was to read poetry, and Naomi Shahib Nye is a perfect example. Aroo. – Steve Rae    Wandering around the […]

“A metaphysician is one who, when you remark that twice two is four, demands to know what you mean by twice, what by two, what by makes, and what by four. For asking such questions metaphysicians are supported in oriental luxury in the universities, and respected as educated and intelligent men.” – H. L. Mencken […]

Wizard of Ads Partner Stephen Semple was invited to the U.K. to unveil the power of Storytelling at Oxford! Oxford! Did you hear me? Oxford! And then the London Stock Exchange! And then the Royal Society of Medicine! And then all the TV stations wanted interviews! Does the wizard have cool partners, or what? – […]

The Favorite Con of the Plantagenet Kings King Edward of England inherited control of Gascony in France from his mother, Eleanor of Provence. But when the 27-year-old King of France decided in 1295 not to let the King of England control part of his country, Edward asked his English nobles to raise an army so […]

David Cowan changed careers, and instead of making more money, he made none at all. In his early fifties, David found himself without a car, walking to a nearby McDonald’s where he worked at the drive-through window overnight. Rallying from misfortune — be it financial, health, a relationship gone bad, a natural disaster, or any other […]

It was long after we moved away from Tulsa that people began telling us about the breakout movie, The Outsiders, in which a number of major stars made their acting debut. (It’s sort of like The Breakfast Club, but with more violence.) When Pennie and I finally got around to renting the movie, we were […]

This photo was taken 5 seconds after the photo you saw on the previous page of Loren reclining on a white, black-and-red spotted chaise lounge, overlaid onto a 1960 Ford Station Wagon. Look in the upper left corner of this photo and you will see a reflection of Loren in the mirror, still sitting there, […]

Babies are often amused by catchy jingles on television, but for one little boy in Massachusetts, it’s all about the 1-800-GOT-JUNK? commercials written by the Wizard of Ads. Emmett Sheehan is mesmerized by the magic of 1-800-GOT-JUNK’s TV ads. “He’d hear the commercials and he’d stop whatever he was doing and just immediately stare at […]

August 1, 1968 – My mom is 19, sharing an apartment in the Marigny with a girlfriend of hers. Jimi Hendrix is going to be playing that night at Tad Gormley Stadium in City Park. But he misses his flight from Shreveport, so they’ve got to drive to New Orleans. They get to town a little bit early, […]

After being arrested for joy-riding in a stolen car in Seattle, Jimi Hendrix enlisted in the Army in May 1961, and became a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division, the legendary Screaming Eagles. He was honorably discharged due to an ankle injury at the end of a jump on May 31, 1962. Jimi died on Sept 18, 1970.  […]

“I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or my grandchildren’s time — when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the […]

I stare at the file and realize I have no options, over the last 2 years every monster assigned to Charlotte Dower has quit, every last one. Her first monster; a giant goldfish-faced humanoid named Bubba, had been with her for four years, and then she wasn’t scared of him anymore. After that it was […]

The Surgeon and The Ad Writer Every surgeon has a surgical plan before they take scalpel in hand, just as every ad writer has a message plan before they take pen in hand. But the operation that follows does not always go according to plan. What does the surgeon do when their hands are inside […]

Kesslers Diamonds is encouraging abused children with the award of a special bracelet by the nurses who take care of them. Now for the heartbreaking part: The Child Advocacy Centers @ Childrens Hospital provides medical care and counseling to more than 7,000 kids each year. And that’s just in Wisconsin, a state with only 5,852,490 people. […]

It’s rare that I push back against a guest. In this case, Scott Jeffrey Miller is a heavyweight podcaster and author. More than six million listeners tune in each week to hear his “On Leadership” podcast, produced by Franklin Covey. Scott has a lot of good insights to share. But when I asked him what the […]

If you needed more proof that a Burgundy boom is upon us, this big bottle is it. A rare methuselah of 2002 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti sold for an astonishing $398,400 at Acker’s Hong Kong auction over the weekend, setting a new world record in the process. The sale, which attracted more than $12 million […]

“Having a great narrator is like having a great friend whose company you love, whose mind you love to pick, whose running commentary totally holds your attention, who makes you laugh out loud, whose lines you always want to steal. When you have a friend like this, she can say, ‘Hey, I’ve got to drive […]

“And it rained a sickness. And it rained a fear. And it rained an odor. And it rained a murder. And it rained pale eggs of the beast. Rain fell on the towns and the fields. It fell on the tractor sheds and the labyrinth of sloughs. Rain fell on toadstools and ferns and bridges. […]