Month: May 2022

Finding a Growth Community

I think that the need for real human connection in the world is greater now than it’s ever been.  It’s something that was stripped from us throughout the pandemic.  It’s also been something that has been faked for decades.  Many businesses nowadays are based on transactions as opposed to relationships.  The entrepreneurs gathered at the Growth Now Summit were people who based the foundation of their business success on relationships as opposed to transactions.  Something else that is slowly being stripped away from us as small businesses struggle to complete in what is a growing global market.  All of my success in the business world was based on relationships.  It was great to be surrounded by other like-minded people who believed in the same philosophy.  People who were more focused on their impact as opposed to their profit margin.

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A Cause for Pause

Yesterday, my sister-in-law, Cheryl Mankel passed away after a long battle with cancer.  She was only 72.

We arrived back in Pennsylvania on May 6th.  Our original plan was to be here until July 5th and then we’d head west to Colorado so that I could conduct podcast interviews at the BFA Nationals like I did last year.

We’d be staying in several family members yards and driveways between Berks and Perry County.  Our first stop would be at Cheryl’s house until May 20th.  She had been battling cancer for several years and we didn’t know how much time she had left.  We had spoken to her several times during the week leading up to our arrival and were looking forward to spending time with her.

She had treatment scheduled for the day that we were arriving and when she went in, she found out that she would also need a blood transfusion.  When we arrived at her house around 5:30 in the evening, she was back home from her treatment and already in bed for the night.  Completely wiped out from the process that took place earlier in the day.

I can’t necessarily speak for Sandy, but when I first saw her, I was shocked.  She had looked like she had aged ten years in the four months since I had last seen her.  Fortunately, I was able to see her in December when I had to come back to Pennsylvania to take care of some business.  During that visit Cheryl told me that if anything ever happened to me, she’d take care of Sandy.

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This Weekend I Rocked Lititz, the Swamp, and the Meadow!

After that last VIP thing of the night, I went out for my last potty break and daddy and I strolled around the campus for a little bit again.  We saw a crowd of people and a lady said, “There’s Youk! He’s gonna be famous!”  Apparently, mommy and daddy had told her and her husband that I was writing my children’s book, so they were excited to meet me.  I can’t blame them, just about everyone is excited to meet me.  A bunch of other people in that group started petting me too.  It was pretty awesome.

Then we started walking back to the house on wheels and saw Justin!  I was so excited to see him and of course he was excited to see me too!  He started petting me and telling me how soft I was.  If he stopped, I would start barking a little and then he’d keep petting me.  It didn’t take long to train him because he’s a smart human.

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Mike Latona – More Life Lessons in Action

Just like last week’s guest, Collin Fesi, we were able to reconnect with Mike in Maryland.  What a blessing that night was to not just see one of my former players, but two in the same night.  Mike and Collin played for our organization a few years apart, but it was neat to see how they connected immediately knowing that they had that Berkshire Baseball experience in common.  I hope that they stay in contact now that they know each other.

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