$ for star of hope

Yesterday, Houston Baptist University presented the Star of Hope with a check, money raised from The Christmas Gift. It was an honor for our show to be included in this event and it was a privilege to meet and interview Hank Rush, CEO of Star of Hope, and Charles Miles, Star of Hope Board of Director, Pastor, holder of 3 degrees from HBU and once homeless himself. These are truly the "good" guys, purpose-driven and showing America it's the right thing, to come alongside the homeless.

it's CHRISTmas time

The other night I spent time with public school's annual homage to Rudolph, Santa and Kwanzaa. Though my 11 year old has explained that his little brother's "holiday" musical used the word Christmas 3 times, I don't remember hearing it, once.

Charles Schulz was adamant about including the biblical story of Christmas in his Charlie Brown Christmas special, though others thought it inappropriate. Charles explained, "if we don't tell the story of Christmas, who will?" So, let me remind you why we celebrate this time of year, with a little help from our old friend, Linus.

the duke

My youngest son, Joel, and I, love John Wayne movies. I recently found a clip on the web that is befitting The Jason Emanis Show...could you imagine having the Duke on the show? You've got to take a minute and listen to John talk about the values he wants to pass down to his new daughter. Wow! is all I could say when I watched this.

After you watch the clip, you'll be thinking what I was thinking, "what's the difference between the Duke and today's action heroes on the silver screen?" Uhhh...strong values?!
Values from Scott Gingold on Vimeo.

anjelah johnson

Was listening to a radio interview tonight and heard a little something funny I thought I would share with you. Anjelah Johnson...


Anjelah's got those strong vaules we love on the Jason Emanis Show. She loves God, her family and Elvis, too. Yes, I know, she's like a Tom Petty song, but imagine living in L.A., working the comedy circuit and having the values of Mitt Romney. Could you do it?

Here's to you Anjelah!

what a night!

What a tremendous response Houston Baptist University and Mission Media Group have received from those who attended The Christmas Gift. And, The Jason Emanis Show was honored to be a part of this special night.

The Star of Hope's own, Charles Miles, was the star of the show. Charles is a pastor, with 3 degrees from HBU and on the board of Star of Hope. But, his life started off with little chance of becoming what it is today.

Charles was born in a rocking chair by a mother of 13 years! He was physically gifted, and ended up as a Ranger during Vietnam. Charles was shot up and sent home, I'll add, he is a Purple Heart recipient. Charles will tell you that he not only was mamed physically in war, but emotionally as well. He began medicating himself and developed addictions.

Inspite of his physical ailments and addictions, he started a very successful company, making nearly $1M in income one year. But, he soon lost everything and found himself on the streets. Charles will tell you that the Star of Hope is what saved his life. HBU accentuated what they started, and now, he's on a mission.

Stay tuned for some clips from our meeting with Charles!

bob smiley on dec 13 show

Got word today that funny-man and good guy, Bob Smiley, will be our guest on the Dec 13th show. You can check-out Bob's work on his website, www.bobsmiley.com. Here's a clip:

more on servant leadership

Looks like we might be at the Servant Leadership Conference hosted by the Center for Christianity in Business on March 5, '09.

The conference is a production of the following:
CEO Netweavers,
Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, and
International Society for Performance Improvement

I meet with Mike Kelley, President of CEO Netweavers, next week, to talk about what that will look like. So, stay tuned.

Just this morning, I met with my good friend, Clay Gaskamp, an Administaff President's Club member, and servant leadership came into the conversation. When he started the company, Paul Sarvadi, Administaff's CEO, put into practice servant leadership principles that still exist today. As a matter of fact, Marty Scirratt, VP Sales at Administaff, took Paul's principles and put them into a sustainable, repeatable training that has accelerated the servant leadership culture at Administaff.

If you read my blog a few days ago, with the interview clip of the students from the Business and Belief Symposium, you'll recall their desire to be a part of a company that shares their values. It's safe to say that Administaff's values mirror those of these up and coming superstars!

castles in the sand

We got word yesterday that Dennis Wilson will be my guest on the show, Dec 13th. Check out his hit single, "Castles in the Sand"...

christmas gift video message

We are getting close to December 2nd and an awesome night of song and laughter at The Christmas Gift...have you bought your tickets, yet? Better hurry, student-priced tickets are to be released on Friday and you know what that means...no more good seats! Get your tickets today!

Here's a video message from The Christmas Gift...

more than a paycheck

Watching this clip, you'll get a real sense of what the younger generation desires from their worklife. The question I'll pose to you employers, "do you care?". I hope so, because if you do, and you get good at creating a fulfilling worklife, you'll be able to attract the best and brightest. Take these graduating seniors, for example...

keepin' it real

I'm a big fan of Jason's Deli and one of its founders, Joe Tortorice, but have you seen their homepage lately? www.jasonsdeli.com

Oohh, jury's still out on this one.

But, Joe's awesome. A few years ago I heard Joe speak at a Texas A&M University entrepreneurial leadership award banquet, Joe's an alum. Joe introduced us to Robert Greenleaf and Servant Leadership. Joe teaches servant leadership at Jason's Deli's Leadership University, training for managers.

What is "servant leadership"? Here's what Robert Greenleaf has to say, "The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature."

"The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?"

So, who buys into this servant leader stuff besides, Joe and Robert? Click on the names below to learn what they say about servant leadership:

Ken Blanchard
Peter Senge
Stephen Covey

So, what do you think, servant leadership for you?

veterans day parade

My wife and I had a wonderful time with 10,000 spectators at San Antonio's Veterans Day Parade, this past Saturday. What a great turn out and experience we had honoring our military heroes.

I'd like to shout out to Bill and Glen, it was a pleasure meeting you both and participating in the day's events together. Glen's got what looks like an interesting book you may want to check out, www.growingupis.com.

Side note: It's one thing for congressman, city council members, and talk show hosts to take a little time out of their day to pay tribute to our military heroes, but kudos go out to those individuals who were working like crazy to put on such a great event. People like Delia Guajardo, President of the U.S. Military Veterans Parade Association and all her wonderful volunteers. Way to go guys! And, let's not forget the men and women who have served our country so valiantly. Thank you!

success to significance

Spent some time at an event where Lloyd Reeb gave a great talk. (From Success to Significance: When the Pursuit of Success Isn't Enough)

Lloyd was a successful real estate developer and mentored by Bob Buford (Half Time), who was mentored for a short time by Peter Drucker.

Reeb explained how the Boomers are the healthiest, wealthiest and most educated generation the US has ever seen. This generation has 2 lives: pre-retirement and post-retirement. They over prepared for their first life and under prepared for the second. When many retire, they will be in a position to do what they want, only most have no idea what that means.

Where are you? Are you prepared for life without the office?

Reeb brought up an interesting point..."remember, this is the generation that wanted to change the world. But, most went to work, got busy, had families and lost their passion."

Where are you? Are you ready to change the world?

What are the steps to move from success to significance? And, this applies to Boomers and everyone else...

1. Understand your CORE - What are you passionate about? What are you good at?
2. Obtain CAPACITY - To do what your passionate about.
3. GIVE yourself away - That's right! This is not all about you. I know, what a shocker.

Where are you? Can you give yourself away?

This morning, I heard one of the most interesting things I've heard in a while, "help your spouse become the person they've always meant to be." Wow! There's a novel idea. Give yourself away to the one you promised to give yourself to in the first place.

Yeah, you can find success out there, but how often do you find significance?

one of the good guys in the music industry

In my continual efforts to showcase the good guys, the professionals we should all emulate, I wanted to bring to your attention one of the greats in musical entertainment, Wayne Watson.

I've recently come to know Wayne, just over the past few weeks, as we are both taking part in The Christmas Gift, a benefit for the Star of Hope.

Wayne is a humble guy, without much reason...here's why:
- 23 #1 singles at Christian radio
- Home Free (became the most played song at Christian radio in 1991)
- a dozen Dove Awards wins –including those for Male Vocalist of the Year in 1989, Song of The Year in that same year (Friend Of A Wounded Heart), Pop Contemporary Song of the Year and Contemporary Album of The Year (1988) with Watercolour Ponies, and Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year (1992) with Home Free.
- twice been nominated for the Grammy Award—both for his performance of Watercolour Ponies (1987), and for Best Pop Gospel Album in 1992 with his stunning A Beautiful Place project.
- 90’s Wayne became one of the first major Christian artists to attract mainstream attention. He gave a groundbreaking emotionally charged performance of “Another Place, Another Time” with fellow artist Sandi Patty on NBC-TV’s Tonight Show—an event that was deemed a defining moment in Christian music’s move to wider audiences.
- In the late 90’s, his inspirational hit For Such A Time As This became a centerpiece theme of CBS-TV’s then highly rated series Touched By An Angel.

That's quite a bit of success, is it not? Yet, I find Wayne a humble, generous person, with his time, humor and wisdom. "Generosity always wins favor, particularly when accompanied by modesty," says Johann Wolfgang Goethe. That's our man, Wayne. That's why he's one of the "good" guys.

investing in tomorrow's leaders

Spent the day at the Business & Belief Symposium hosted by the Center for Christianity in Business on the campus of Houston Baptist University, and wow, what an impact these folks are making on tomorrow's leaders.

200 students and over 40 mentors, professionals from the marketplace, spent time in several breakout sessions conducted by seasoned business men and women, including some of Fred Smith's mentees. Harold Myra, former CEO of Christianity Today, Mark Ammerman, Managing Director at Scotiabank, James Beckett, founder of Beckett Publishing, Wallace Henley, Pastor, author and former Nixon aid, as well as Brad Hays, Bible in the Boardroom, and many others broached topics ranging from networking to leadership to ethics.

Bottom-line? The CCB has started the dialog of biblical values' place in business. Appropriately so, the dialog includes the marketplace, academia and students.

After listening to the testimony of how biblical values positively impact the workplace, you'll wonder why America ever walked away from them to begin with.

And, a note to those of you about to hire this generation of workers, they are very interested in how your company fits their needs: social, economic, and even, spiritual. We shot some great footage from the day's activities and we'll post it soon.

everybody loves a parade

How important are our veterans? Well, freedom ain't free, is it? The Jason Emanis Show has been asked to partake in San Antonio's Veterans Day Parade. On November 8, come out, give us a wave, hoop and a holler for the brave men and women who have paid, in many cases, the ultimate price.

If you keep a sharp eye out for me, I'll keep one out for you! I think we're going to be in a blue convertible Cadillac. Just look for the prettiest girl in the parade sitting next to the biggest goofball, that girl would be my wife.

cooking with clive

Paid a visit to my good friend Clive Berkman, yesterday. His name may ring a bell with some of you as he owned and operated one of the finest restaurants in Houston for many years, Charley's 517.

Clive has agreed to be on the pilot we'll be shooting in the next couple of weeks. He's perfect...high-energy, funny, full of wisdom and has a strong faith. You will thoroughly enjoy his interview.

Until the show, you may want to check out Clive's website and new book, Empty Bottle Moments. You may also hire Clive and his kitchen to cater your next event.

And, now, for the big scoop. Not many people know this, but after this Thanksgiving, Clive's kitchen should be set up for dining, by reservation only, a bit of a chef's table sort of thing. That's a big deal, because he's an awesome chef, though he calls himself a cook. By the way, I don't get that. I was waiting tables in college and called a chef a cook once and I had to duck for the flying knives headed my direction. None the less, Clive is a joy in the kitchen and to have the opportunity to share a table with him would be, as he says, an "empty bottle moment".

the gift

Spent some time with Charles Miles and Hank Rush, today. These two fine gentlemen will be my very special guests at HBU's Center for Christianity Business' "The Christmas Gift".

Wow! The pleasure was all mine. Hank's the newly appointed CEO of Star of Hope Homeless Mission and Charles is on their board. Charles was actually homeless himself, having found worldly success that only contributed to his demise, then Star of Hope reached out to him, got him cleaned up and moving in the right direction. A short time later, Charles was actually offered a scholarship to HBU, of which he holds 2 degrees.

There are those "people" stories that touch us all: Christopher Reeves, the trapped rescue workers of 9/11, Ron and Denver, the list goes on. Charles' story ranks with the best of them. You will be blessed, when you join us Dec 2nd at HBU, for The Christmas Gift.