The year was 1991. Like now, America was mired in a recession. I was airborne for New York to tape some more shows at Comedy Central and ply my stand-up act, but clubs around the country were closing faster than a Bruce Lee spin move. My mother would urge me to get “back up,” meaning a regular job or a wealthy sugar mama. I would assure her that I still had my newspaper route from when I was 12 years old.

Sitting next to me on the flight was the head of a collections agency. He looked like a man tied to a railroad track. I listened to his tales of woe and frustration over the pile of outstanding accounts confronting him. I asked him if he would show me a copy of the letter his company sends out for collections. It was typically heavy-handed in substance. I suggested he try sending letters with funny relevant quotes or cartoons. He thought I was crazy, but we had plenty of flight time left so we brainstormed a few ideas. I thought of one cartoon with a caption that said, “You’re twelve months past due. This means we’ve carried you three months longer than your mother did.” As we parted company I doubted he would use any of the ideas, but three months later I received a surprise call from him, and he was excited. He used some of the quotes and cartoons. Amazingly, his collections increased by 15%! Yes, there is life after debt.

TURN IN THE DIRECTION OF THE SKID. In the business world, the wheels of change are burning rubber. A permanent job has become an oxymoron. Once-potent corporate giants are staggering around on a lean diet to survive and thrive. Companies synonymous with gold watches and large pension funds are either laying off thousands of people, being bought out or disappearing from the corporate landscape.

Due to rapid changes in technology, restructuring, and global competition, you can’t rely upon the status quo. Virtually all of us will be between jobs or businesses, perhaps frequently, during our work lives. We need to continuously recreate and reinvent ourselves and our skills. It is important to detach our sense of self-worth from transitional circumstances and maintain perspective on who we are by enhancing our sense of “self-mirth.”

SMOOTH OPERATOR


“It has to be surgically removed. There is no other way, if you wish to prevent a more serious consequence from arising.”

While in Panama, I visited a family doctor for a routine check-up. The mysterious protrusion next to the prostate was no longer a mystery. It was a hernia. The words cut through me like a scalpel. At 57, this would be my first-ever surgery as an adult. I take excellent care of my body. How can this happen? Well, it can. Still, it was a shock.

A week later, I’m lying on a bed in the pre-op room with my Panamanian girlfriend (when the nurse wasn’t there). This doesn’t need to be all grim, I reasoned. When the nurse returned, mi amor hopped off, I pulled a harmonica from my pocket, and blew through a repertoire of tunes. Nurses in the vicinity smiled and applauded.