Tag Archives: Randy Mayeux
Looking Forward to December
This is going to be a leap of faith.
Krayer to Give Keynote at 2018 Conference
I am most humbled and appreciative to be invited to present a keynote program at the 2018 South Central Conference of York Rite Masons. The presentation will be on Friday morning, September 21, and is entitled “York Rite Masonry as a Customer Service Experience.”
The presentation draws upon the principles from our Creative Communication Network programs in Customer Service, facilitated by Randy Mayeux. We offer two levels of training. One is basic, designed for new or inexperienced employees. The other is advanced, entitled “Preeminent Customer Service,” designed for more established employees and work units. We have taught this for many companies, including TXU Energy, Dr Pepper/Snapple Group, Lucent Technologies, Hilton Hotels, and others.
This is my fourth time to present at this conference, to be held at the Love Field Hilton Doubletree hotel in Dallas.
I have again asked R:I: Reese L. Harrison, Jr., PGM, PGHP, to introduce me, who, if tradition prevails, should at that time, be the reigning Most Illustrious Grand Master of the Most Illustrious Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of Texas.
Ministerial Perspective of Freemasonry Program This Thursday
I want to invite all Dallas-area Freemasons from all lodges and appendant organizations to a program that I am moderating, at which Randy Mayeux is speaking, on Thursday at the Dallas High Noon Club. This is a Masonic-based organization that is the oldest continuous meeting luncheon group in the city:
“A MINISTERIAL PERSPECTIVE ON FREEMASONRY”
Karl J. Krayer, Moderator
Randy Mayeux, Presenter
Dallas High Noon Club
Thursday, August 3
Lunch 12:00-12:30 / Program 12:30-1:15
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel – Dallas-Love Field – 3300 W. Mockingbird Ln, Dallas, TX 75235 // ph 214-357-8500
Mockingbird Boulevard across from Love Field Airport
Lunch Fee: $15.00
In the fall, Randy and I participated in a pre-election program for the club, which we later podcast through our blog and Facebook.
At this one, drawing upon his experience as a minister, Randy will answer questions about the customs, practices, and beliefs of the Masonic fraternity from that frame of reference. Randy was a minister before retiring to join me in the professional speaking business.
No stranger to Masonic circles, Randy gave the keynote address at the first Grand Lodge of Texas Masonic Family Convention in 2004, returned as a concurrent session speaker for the convention in 2005, was the featured speaker for the Dallas Scottish Rite Bodies Feast of Tishri, and has addressed the District 14 Masters, Wardens, and Secretaries Association for the Lamar Medal Presentations. We will also have time for some audience questions.
This program is a certain sellout. Be sure to make your reservations early with the club Treasurer/Secretary, Steve Eason, who is a Past President of the Dallas High Noon Club. His phone is (469) 667-4274 and his e-Mail:
Do You Need to Make Decisions More Effectively and Efficiently?
We have an excellent workshop to help you and your organization make better decisions. The title of our program reflects the tone very well – “DARE TO BE DECISIVE.”
The workshop is based upon the best-selling book by Dan and Skip Heath entitled Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work (Crown, 2013). Many people may be aware of what the book says about doing this, but yet, have never participated in any activities to transform those principles into practice.
This highly affordable program contains summaries of the key points from their book, along with numerous practical activities that will enhance your ability to make strong decisions more effectively and efficiently.
Randy Mayeux is the lead facilitator, and he presented the original synopsis of the book several years ago.
The on-site workshop lasts just three hours, and we have facilitated this for several companies and non-profit organizations. The facilitation fee allows you to bring as many participants as you wish, and the only other fee is for per-person materials. We are happy to provide you with references from participants who have already completed this.
For more information and details, simply send an e-Mail with any questions you might have to: . Or, you can call at (972) 601-1537.
We look forward to working with you to be more decisive!
12 Years Later – Update on Never Eating Alone
One of the books that Randy Mayeux presented at the First Friday Book Synopsis approximately ten years ago is Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time (Crown, 2005). The author is Keith Ferrazzi.
Of course, the assumption behind the book is that there are people to eat with.
I thought it was interesting today in a column written by Cassandra Jaramillo,
published in the Dallas Morning News, entitled “Let’s Talk Over Lunch,” (June 26, 2017, p. E1), that fewer people are actually going out to lunch. That means there are fewer people to talk with, and even fewer to develop relationships with.
The article presents statistics that reveal Americans made 433 million fewer trips to restaurants for lunch last year. Financially, translates into lost business of more than $3.2 billion.
Anecdotally, the article notes that if you live in the DFW area, this is not the case. The sub-title of the article is “The business crowd in North Texas defies national trend.” Undocumented observations in the article indicate that the lunch crowd is very strong here. Many restaurants, including some high-end varieties, are even now providing additional take-out options.
This may be the case. I rarely eat with anyone, including lunch. But, the few times that I do, it all depends upon where I am. Price does not seem to be an issue. For example, I am amazed at the packed crowds at Pappadeaux’s, which even at luncheon prices, would set you back about $25 per person.
Historically, I can tell you that the trend is not accurate. I am an active member of the Dallas High Noon Club. We meet weekly on Thursdays at the Hilton Doubletree Love Field hotel. The lunch is only $15, including salad, entrée, dessert, and tea or coffee. The meal value is likely about $30. Yet, we get only about 20 participants each week. I first spoke to this club in 1995, before I was even a member. The club met downtown then, and drew approximately 100 attendees at the same price we now charge. In other words, the attrition is about 80% in about 22 years.
There are two factors at work here. One, do you wish to spend the time to eat lunch with someone else? Pssst…it takes longer than eating by yourself. And, second, do you have someone you would like to eat lunch with? If you can’t answer the second question, you cannot even consider the first.
My business partner, Randy Mayeux, is strong at this endeavor. He holds regular lunch meetings with others on both relationship and business issues. He agrees with the premises in the book that he presented over a decade ago.
Whether I agree or disagree with those premises is irrelevant at this time. My situation now does not allow me to eat lunch with others. Perhaps in 6-8 weeks that will change. But, in the meantime, I am considering making a list of people I would like to meet to eat lunch with. We’ll see if that materializes.
P.S. – If the Dallas High Noon Club is of interest to you, you can get information about the weekly program by calling (214) 638-0345.
The Newest Art Book about Business Makes a Splash
Occasionally, we have presented an art-based book at the First Friday Book Synopsis over the past 20 years. The most famous was a best-seller which is one of Randy Mayeux‘s all-time favorites, entitled The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it For Life (Simon & Schuster, 2006) by Twyla Tharp.
So, it is not surprising that a new best-seller about creativity has caught our eye for potential presentation. On June 6, 2017, Real Artists Don’t Starve: Timeless Strategies for Thriving in the New Creative Age, written by Jeff Goins, was released by Thomas Nelson Publishers.
We will monitor the performance of this book on the best-seller lists, and make a later determination about whether we will present it at a future First Friday Book Synopsis.
The book was an instant hit. As of this writing, it is in the top 50 in three Amazon.com best-selling sub-categories. It debuted at #6 on last week’s Wall Street Journal business best-seller list (June 17-18, 2017, p. C 10).
Who is Jeff Goins? According to Amazon.com, he is “a writer, speaker, and 
entrepreneur. He is the best-selling author of five books, including The Art of Work and Real Artists Don’t Starve. His award-winning blog Goinswriter.com is visited by millions of people every year. He lives with his family just outside of Nashville, where he makes the world’s best guacamole.”
In Inc.com, on March 9, 2017, Benjamin J. Hardy, interviewed Goins about the myth that artists must starve. Here is that interview. The exact URL is:
https://www.inc.com/benjamin-p-hardy/review-of-real-artists-dont-starve-by-jeff-goins.html
On a plane ride across the country, I just devoured Jeff Goins’ new book, Real Artists Don’t Starve, set to be published in early June of this year.
This book was extremely well written, filled with numerous stories from both historical and modern artists.
The premise is simple: A myth has been perpetuated for generations that artists must starve. This myth has stopped countless people from thriving as artists.
We’ve all been fed this lie since we were children. Hence, so many kids grow up to pursue “safe” college degrees and safe careers because being an artist of some form is perceived in our culture as “risky.” Only the “lucky” make it we’re taught.
Goins’ entire book is a strategy guide about how to thrive as an artist in the digital age.
As one who has personally been mentored by Goins, I can attest to his principles. In January of 2016, I reached out to Goins. Actually, I purchased 20 copies of his book, The Art of Work, as part of a promotion he was running. By purchasing those 20 copies, I was afforded a 30 minute phone call with the man. He generously gave me closer to an hour.
At the time of that call, I had approximately 10,000 email subscribers to my blog. I was very anxious to get a traditional book deal, as most young writers are. However, Goins told me to wait. Here’s almost word-for-word what he said (I was taking notes):
If you wait a year or two, you’ll get a 10x bigger advance, which will change the trajectory of your whole career. With 20K email subscribers, a writer can get around a $20-40K book advance. But with 100-200K email subscribers, a writer can get around a $150-500K book advance. Wait a year or two and change the trajectory of your career (and life).
I followed his advice and waited the duration of 2016, during which time I went from 10,000 to over 100,000 email subscribers. In February of 2017, I signed a $220,000 book contract with Hachette Book Group.
Had I not had that conversation with Goins, I may have jumped the gun and gotten a substantially lower deal, and been less mature as a writer. A concept Goins conveys in the book is the importance of knowing your value, and charging that value, for your work.
The entire book is filled with numerous strategies embedded within three sections:
- Mindsets
- Marketing
- Money
In the first section on mindset, Goins walks the reader through the mindsets needed to shed the false belief of the starving artist.
In the second section on marketing, Goins walks the reader through the development of a platform and key relationships that make a creative career possible.
In the third section on money, Goins teaches how to build a portfolio and diversify your income streams so you have the freedom to develop a long-term career as an artist.
If you want a motivational punch in the face coupled with a buffet of practical strategies, pre-order a copy of Real Artists Don’t Starve. Your future self will thank you when you read the book this summer.
