I was at an John Wooden Global Leadership Awards Gala for my alma mater, UCLA Anderson School of Management, this evening and I had a chance to do something that is on my “Always Do” List. Let me first explain what an “Always Do” List is:
The Always Do List is an action of behavior that you absolutely must ALWAYS DO. There is no excuse tolerable. No “I’ll let it slide this time”. No “It won’t make a difference”. No “Next time”. It’s always.
The List can be whatever you’d like it to be. But once it’s on the List, it can never come off. This is the challenging part…FOR-EVER is a LOOOOONG time. The List should be someone short–fewer than a half dozen things–as each item on the list must have an impact.
One of the things on my Always Do List is “Always introduce myself to someone who is a billionaire.” How I managed to introduce myself to him is a very funny story that I will keep private, as it’s those moments that are the value to me.
So my challenge to y’all is: What is on your Always Do List?
Well, it has been a while since I posted anything. I apologize, we have been busy with Super Happy Juice and some other things.
I did attend the Natural Products Expo in Anaheim two weeks ago, and it was a BLAST! I went there to meet several potential partners, suppliers, industry connections, and source a few items we still need. It was a very successful event.
Jay Kordish, aka, The Juiceman!
I had a chance to meet, this guy–Jay Kordish. He was one of the first “juicers” in the industry. He had several infomercials and is still rockin’ the heck outta the Puma track suit. He’s a legend!
Speaking of legends, how about this. I am an Olympic Fan to no end. Hannah Kearney, two-time Medalist was at the Chobani booth, signing a few autographs. I was able to get a photo with her and my friend Mike. AND, she let me hold her medals. First time I’ve held an Olympic Medal. Very inspiring, to say the least. Hannah was super cool, and gave me her info to send her a copy of our photo. She posted it to her Facebook page, and is interested in trying out Super Happy Juice when we launch. Super Happy Olympian!
The captivating Vanessa “Chocolate Girl” Barg, Founder of Gnosis Chocolate
As I mentioned, Expo West is a great place to network, and reconnect with people. Since I absolutely love raw chocolate, I get to sample a seemingly endless supply of tasty bites. One of my favorite people in the cacao space is Vanessa Barg, the Founder of Gnosis Chocolate. If you haven’t already…check it out. You’ll fall in love.
I also saw Josh Handy, with Earth Circle Organics, and Mirek Boruta with Seed Group. Look for great things out of both of those companies.
Two of my great friends within the industryGo for the people, stay for the SWAG!
The above photo is the real reason to go. At the end of the event, the exhibitors give away the product, rather than haul it home. I try to to get greedy, and I think I did a decent job. Some of my favorite products were shaving items. Every Man Jack gave me an outstanding shaving brush and after shave lotion…I LOVE them! Also, I tried a shaving cream from Elvado in almond scent…OMG!!
Finally, I found a few super cool products that I’ll be revealing in a short bit, and we start using them with Super Happy Juice. Which, is about to launch!!
This past week has been an incredible amount of serendipity for Super Happy Juice. Our FedEx account manager was able to deliver with a very positive shipping structure that will really give us the flexibility to launch our Brand. He has been just incredible with his efforts and results. And, we were blessed with a “famous person” photobomb in my PotD. If you can guess who it is, I will send you a free bottle or two of Super Happy Juice–shipped via FedEx, of course!
Super Happy Juice also had a fantastic experience at a Pre-Grammy Party promoted by PlanetLA Music and hosted at The Village Recording Studios
@ChiefSuperHappy on the Red Carpet
There was an incredible amount of like-minded people and a great way to begin to promote the brand.
Of course, it makes it easy when your business partner is very photogenic.
(I can’t get this photo to rotate)Me and my Super Happy Juice Business Partner
Last week, I made it up to San Fransisco for the Fancy Foods Show
@ChiefSuperHappy (at) @Twitter
I used to live in Berkeley, and returning to The City brought back a few memories. There is an energy in SF that is vibrant and palpable; different than Los Angeles, which is a little flashier. I definitely need to visit more!
As the focus of this post, I made several new contacts and reestablished a few older ones. It’s refreshing to see people after a “break” of a couple of years, and be able to pick up where we left off. Lesson Learned: ALWAYS be polite, nice, and memorable. (aka, Super Happy)
Today I had two events at the alma mater UCLA-Anderson. One event was listening to David Booth, co Founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors, www.dfaus.com, and someone who gave a few hundred million to endow a business school. (Many Million)I have a standing rule to always listen to a Billionaire, regardless of what they are saying. They have done something right, and there is always something to learn.
The second event was a mentoring event put on by Anderson EDGE, a great program run by an alumni friend of mine. I was able to reconnect with a person I mentored last year, and catch up with some challenges she was having with her sales team. Additionally, I was able to help two other former classmates of mine with some of their sales challenges too. In a nice, quid pro quo I was also recommended to a few good people that can help @SuperHappyJuice.
Very excited about the next few days. Our website is going live on Friday, so I’m relying on some very trusted people.
I wouldn’t want it any other way.
(And if you made it this far, thank you for reading this)
