If you’ve seen me speak live you know I have a fascination with celebrity birth names, famous criminals included. 

My interest is less about the people, and more about this question:  How famous would they have become if they’d stuck with the name they were born with?

Lauren Bacall was born… Betty Perske

50 Cent is really…  Curtis Jackson

George Burns’ real name was…  Nathan Birnbaum

Carrot Top’s actual name is…  (more…)

So here’s the disclaimer right up front:  I’m not a rabid Jimi Hendrix fan, in fact I don’t even own any of his records. 

But I do admit I’ve always had an appreciation of him.  And lately I’ve looked at his life a little more closely and discovered what may be the most interesting aspects of Jimi:  What propelled him to iconic fame, and why he’s still in a league of his own.

Along with Bob Marley, Bruce Lee, and Che Guevara, the face of Jimi Hendrix is on more T-shirts than any other mug in history.  That says something about (more…)

I was just reading the blog of my friend Chuc Barnes, who has a great post in support of the iPhone4 and Apple in general. 

You’ve probably heard by now about the reception problems some users have experienced with their new generation phones, and I was fascinated by something Chuc had in his post:  The complaint rate is just .55%!  So this got me to thinking…

Consider this:  Whether it’s a fist-fight, a political scandal, or a problem with a new product, he who is first to the draw has the advantage.  In this case, the news of the iPhone4 problems came fast and furious through media reports, blogs, and top-of-the-hour news spots.  Buried deep in stories like this one was the truth of the infinitesimal fail rate.

And let me ask you this:  What would have been the result if Apple (more…)

Sure, I’m in:  Dirt sells, and nothing’s better than a celebrity in crisis, right? 

So I read about the impending financial ruin of Annie Leibovitz with some interest.   But I’m always considering the less obvious side of things, so when I was finished, something else hit me that I think is a lot more fascinating:  Her status as a “famous photographer”. 

Hmmm… pretty rare title, huh?  

In the first few pages of Conquering Deception© you’ll see a quote by my alter-ego, Calvin L. Hutton:  ”Persistence is more powerful than talent”.  But considering Leibovitz’ (more…)

One is never mentioned without the other; it’s always been “Bonnie & Clyde”, household names for nearly eight decades now.  Immortalized in book, movie, and song, their names have become the most repeated and recognizable of all the infamous bank robbers who freely roamed the Midwest in the early 1930s. 

Have you ever considered this:  Being known is a big part of being successful.

That’s what advertising and—even more importantly, branding—is all about. 

Now this criminal duo never planned to become famous, but Bonnie & Clyde had some things working for them that you’ll want to have working for you.  If you want to become successful and famous, that is. 

We’ll get to Bonnie in just a bit, but for now let’s consider Clyde and the lessons he can (more…)