by Ashley Andrus

If Starbucks had a Most Valued Customer club I would have it made in the shade.  Those 600 locations they are closing?  Not my fault. Between my 6am get-‘er-done dose, various meetings, and insane afternoons that scream “get me a mocha STAT!” I estimate that I make an average of 2.3 daily visits to some Starbucks somewhere.

This has been my routine for the last 3.5 years. In that period I calculate I’ve consumed somewhere in the neighborhood of 35,259 ounces* of coffee.

That’s 275 gallons of coffee.

1100 quarts.

Heck, if coffee came in beer kegs, I would have consumed almost 18 of them. By myself.

And I did it all one “tall” serving at a time. Read the rest of this article »

by Ashley Andrus

I recently took 7 little boys to play laser tag for my son’s 8^th birthday.  As I was headed out the door my friend and team expert Nora Burns (who very politely declined an invitation to come along) said, “I suspect there will be some life lessons learned with this adventure…”  She was totally right.

It’s not so much that there are brand-new lessons to be learned, but the experience was a good, solid reminder of what you can accomplish with sheer, unstoppable energy and a “you’re goin’ DOWN, Mary!” attitude.  You don’t need a college degree.  You don’t need to have read all the latest business best-sellers.  You don’t even need a driver’s license.

Here are the 3.5 reminders I walked away with:

1. DON’T QUIT.

You’re going to get tagged.  So?  5 seconds penalty then you’re right back in it.  Your parents told you not to quit.  Your high school counselor.  Your coach. Your teachers. Your best manager.  They were right.  Never-say-die doesn’t solve all problems, but it’s a pretty effective strategy for lots of real world endeavors. Read the rest of this article »

by D.J. Vanas

With the mountains of the Front Range watching over me like guardian soldiers, I began my journey from Colorado Springs up to Rocky Mountain National Park, about three hours away, for a speaking engagement. I put a book on CD in the stereo, the sun was shining, the weather was perfect and thankfully, the traffic was moving quickly and smoothly on the highway. All seemed right and good… and then it appeared.

Out of nowhere, a decrepit white van with mismatched hubcaps shoved its way into traffic and began a battle of epic proportions. It dodged, weaved, cut several people off and tailgated others, receiving blaring horns and a few one-finger salutes from fellow travelers. I’d watch the van accelerate to find an opening and then suddenly its tail end would lift as the driver slammed on the brakes. This impatient driver wasn’t just a pain to endure; he seemed to be an outright menace. The mysterious white van went through this agonizing routine for almost the entire hour it took to reach Denver, suffering his own obvious frustrations but also attempting to force everyone around him on the highway to suffer them as well. All this and here’s what the van accomplished – he was a mere three cars ahead of me after an hour! Read the rest of this article »