My 5 year old daughter started school this week.  It’s a big deal in the Murphy household.  I was trying to come up with some important words of advice.  Something both sage and relevant to the mind of a 5 year old girl.  Something she could take with her and use as a foundation for her education.   When 7am rolled around, Erin came to me to say goodbye before she headed off to school. I got down on my knees, at eye level with my daughter, and gave her a big hug.  I pulled back and said to her these words…. “Buddy  (that’s what I call her) make sure to listen to your teacher, always raise your hand and […]

Sometimes in life you have to start over.  It could be from a divorce, going back to school, making the transition from one career to another or when stay in the same profession and just change companies. Change and starting over is stressful and regardless of the transition, you wil doubt yourself and your abilities.   I have never personally experienced divorce in my life.  Parents are still together 40+ years and I have been with the same woman for over 14.  I have had friends go through it and I have seen the toll it takes on them physically and mentally.  I graduated college in 97 and have no plans on going back Billy Maddison stlye (Oh Veronica Vaughn). […]

If you lack the guts to run up the score on your goals- then having a job where anything is “measured” is not for you.  In my field of work, almost everything can be measured and monitored.  I am surrounded by numbers and metrics all day.  (Sorry kids, running radio stations isn’t all about playing rock music and meeting cool artists).  Any goal that is written is real.  Goals based on statistics are certainly real and should be looked at as a challenge.  These goals should not only be hit, but CRUSHED (go long). I have heard of people “sand bagging” numbers so that they don’t have to work harder to beat them next month, next quarter, next year, etc.  […]

My dad has been in construction since he was 17.  His father and grandfather before were  both railroad.  I have been in radio since I was 20. My dad and I are both self made men.  Breaking free from the family business and doing something different than anyone else before us.  We both became managers at a pretty young age and our ways of motivating people is quite different. My way is through positive reinforcement..my dad’s way requires lots of swearing and threats.  Look, there’s a 1000 or more ways to be effective and successful.    When I became a manager at 24, my father gave me two pieces of advice . “Remember, you are not there to make friends” […]

Sometimes I fail to listen to my own advice.   If you’ve read my blog or know me personally, you would know that I am a pretty positive, forward thinking, person.  I never let others see me rattled.  I always preach to do the right thing and constantly find a way to put a positive spin on any challenge. Sometimes, like anyone, I get caught up in the weight of the things around me.  I know I shouldn’t, but my mind (and sometimes my body) loads up on me and I feel the weight of the world applying pressure on my chest. The world does not apply this pressure…I do.   Sometimes life is a lot to take in.  Especially […]

To walk through life with your head down and hope and pray that you can just get by and continue to “make it through” just another day is a terrible way to waste a life.  Yet, every day that’s what many people do.  Keep their head down.  Pass on the opportunity to make a difference. Walk with no purpose. I often think that I am the only person who wants to get to work in the morning.  People who drive 45 in a 65, oblivious to the rest of the world and taking their sweet time to get to point A, drive me nuts.  I’m not talking about grandma with her blue hair in curlers, I’m talking about the people […]