Rules for wearing cologne

Day 183 – So, I did something debatable today. I say debatable, because since college I’ve maintained the view that cologne generally takes a stinky person and puts them onto the level of a Jersey Shore cast-member.

Cologne is sometimes the bedrock for trying too hard. I have always thought that a good aftershave, and soap, makes a man smell the way he should. I’ve actually read a few articles in Esquire that support the idea that cologne is a reflection of you. Obviously, when you walk into a room and all you can smell is someone’s cologne, they’re probably also the person trying way too hard to be noticed.

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Setting (and breaking) ground rules

Day 178 – I think if you’re going to be successful, you’ve got to make ground rules. Ground rules are the key to stability, and when people depend on you (be it your wife, employees, clients, whoever) you have to show the level of dependability that they expect from you.

So, it’s natural that I’ve got some ground rules. Some of them are more concrete than others, some aren’t. Some are one’s that I struggle with to maintain, and of course others I take just as seriously as my marriage.

But, one of those ground rules I want to tell you about is television. I don’t watch TV. It’s just who I am. When I was younger, I wasted so much time just veggin out in front of the TV to the point that my productivity tanked. I’m pretty sure I wasted my childhood watching Yo MTV Raps. As my career developed, I had to make sacrifices- maybe this isn’t a huge sacrifice, if a sacrifice at all. But it’s a step to increased productivity.

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Did I find San Francisco’s best dive bar?

Day 175 – It’s my last day in San Francisco for this work trip. I have to wake up around 5 am to catch an early flight back home. I just got back from another exploration and boy am I happy I feel better than I did yesterday.

Anthony Bourdain said that The Mission’s Zeitgeist bar was a hidden San Francisco gym. He was exactly right. I love this bar as much as I love Comstock, but for completely different reasons. If there was ever a bar the complete opposite of Comstock, its Zeitgeist.

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Tonga! Tonga! Tonga!

Day 174 – Last night I predicted that today I would feel like butt. I underestimated just how bad I would feel. It’s 5 pm and I still feel like hell. This is not good.

This morning my buddy Tom texted me “Tonga! Tonga! Tonga!” Exactly! Take my advice here – visit The Tonga Room. And then leave after two drinks.

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Getting tiki in San Francisco

Day 173 – My fascination with San Francisco didn’t start with my first Apple product. It started in the mid-eighties when my grandfather introduced me to Star Trek at the Walterboro Drive-In Theatre. My introduction to the final frontier was with Star Trek: The Voyage Home. While most Trek fans rate it as the worst, or one of the worst, Trek flicks, I fell in love. As a young child, the time travel, Spock riding a city bus and of course, the humpback whales, immediately grabbed my obsession. I became an eight-year-old Trekkie. I watched The Voyage Home at every opportunity. I still do. And I still get giddy watching that Bird of Prey crashing into the Bay, just barely missing the Golden Gate Bridge.

As I dove deeper into my Trek obsession, I found glimpses into Star Fleet Academy fascinating and I wondered “Why San Francisco?”

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Comstock: The refined San Francisco saloon

Day 172 – After a second great day working in San Francisco and pouring through email and donation statistics, I hit the road to continue my Anthony Bourdain inspired journey. Alone, walking down Market Street, I realize how much I enjoy getting out on my own. Its not very often that I get alone time. I love being with my wife and my Donehue Direct team, but very seldom do I get time to just explore. Explore my thoughts. Explore my creativity. Explore life. Every man needs time alone and this week I’m going out of my way to not invite people to join me on my exploration.

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San Francisco by Anthony Bourdain

Day 171 – If you haven’t watched No Reservations or The Layover starting Anthony Bourdain, you’re missing out big time. Bourdain is one of my favorites. He was just a New York City cook until he skyrocketed to popularity after publishing Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. After writing a couple more books he started a show on the Food Network and then blew up with his Travel Channel show No Reservations.

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Save time with The Email Game

Day 167 – Another short blog. We are in Charleston today for the Southern Republican Leadership Conference and presidential debate. The city is buzzing with reporters and political action. There ain’t a whole lot better than Charleston and politics. We are having a blast.

My buddy and chief competitor Vincent Harris is in town, and Jonathan and I are crashing with our new employee Patrick, who I will announce you to later next week.

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Take Pinterest back from the ladies

Day 164 – Have ever surfed the web, come across something badass that you want to remember, but had nowhere to store it? The solution used to be bookmarks, but no one ever goes back to those things. Pinterest is the solution.

Pinterest is a new website and app that I’ve been enjoying lately. And by “lately,” I mean every single day. In fact, its one of the first websites/apps I use every day because it helps me get dressed in the morning.

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Don’t screw up the Guinness pour

Day 163- I’m sitting in a hotel bar, watching important people walk by and waiting for the Myrtle Beach presidential debate to begin. My homies and I are sitting here drinking various alcoholic beverages. Michael Rentiers and I are enjoying a nice Guinness.

Unfortunately, they are from a bottle. They are good, but let’s all be real for a minute. There is nothing better than a properly poured draught Guinness. NOTHING!

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