Mark McIntosh's Blog, page 40

This week's Pep Talk Blog: "Terrific Trio"

We all have our stories, don't we? Few, if any of us, have been blessed by life unfolding exactly as planned. The journey takes unexpected detours leaving us wondering, "What the heck is going on here?

I believe the most important aspect for success in life is effectively dealing with adversity. In my opinion, there's nothing more important than becoming a student, not victim, of our experiences.

Bethany Bullard just graduated from high school in Lee's Summit, Missouri. Bethany has Down Syndro...

Pep Talk Blog: "Thanks, Art"

I read with mixed emotions the recent death, at 97, of entertainment legend Art Linkletter. The radio and television pioneer was amazing for his ability to get kids to say the darndest things on the popular television program House Party that ran for almost 20 years. He also, in later life after a daughter's suicide, became an anti-drug crusader, popular motivational speaker and in his final years, a champion for the aged.

I had the honor of being the master of ceremony at an event where the C...

"Till the Soil"

It was a typical Friday evening in our Congress Park neighborhood on Denver's near east side: I'm hanging with the neighbors, having some beers, visiting about the week and having dinner. This evening take-out Chinese was being consumed in hearty amounts – that happens when you have teenagers and invite McIntosh to dinner.

Anyway, after devouring the various delicacies we turned our attention to dessert, fortune cookies. The neighbor's daughter, a high-school sophomore cracked open a cookie an...

This week's Pep Talk: "Curious, not Callous"

I was sitting with a potential business partner and the conversation turned to how he had met his darling wife. "It's interesting," laughed the Texas native. "It was at a social function I didn't want to attend but decided at the last minute to go. It was the same for her. We're lucky considering we've been together ever since."

That response brought a broad smile to my face and took me back to one of my favorite stories in my first book, Kids Teach the Darndest Things. It also reminded me of ...

This week's Pep Talk: "The Plumber"

I was sitting in the audience at the Denver Business Journal's 2010 "Partners in Philanthropy" event and listening to the keynote speaker. The man, a well-recognized and respected leader in the nonprofit world, was encouraging the gathered to embrace a stronger bond between the business and non-profit worlds.

The speaker, Jeff Pryor, concluded his excellent remarks with a powerful story about a woman on Colorado's Western Slope facing difficult times: she had lost her home and child-welfare a...

This week's Pep Talk Blog: "In Whack"

It was a chilly and damp Mile High City Saturday spring day. I'm waiting to fetch teenage daughter from volleyball practice, watching NBA playoff action with my neighbor buddy and listening to the Pueblo native spout this pearl of wisdom: "You hear people talk a lot about being 'out of whack' but then that must mean there is an 'in whack.' What does that look like?"

I thought it was a darn good question and attempted to answer it. For whatever reason, the six inches of gray matter between my e...

New Pep Talk Blog: "Our Influence"

I was driving to work recently when my cell phone rang. "Hey Marko," announced my stepmother Jo, "Happy birthday." I was celebrating 52 years on this planet and appreciated her remembering. Our conversation, as it usually does, turned to my late father, her husband of almost 30 years.

What triggered the conversation was my question about Jo's health, "fine" and what she had been up to, "staying busy." Then the wonderful woman who had to deal with the McIntosh's for three decades stated: "You k...

This week's Pep Talk Blog: "Serendipity at Starbucks"

One chilly Kansas City winter morning, the kind most Midwesterners grow accustomed to suffering through year after year, I awakened in my hotel room about four hours before presenting a Pep Talk. I had time to kill and assessed the situation: Darling girlfriend sleeping soundly next to me would not want to be disturbed and the hotel had no gym. I would have to seek activity elsewhere.

I remember there was a Starbucks about three blocks from the hotel and decided to head there for a cup of chai...

This week's Pep Talk: "Good Will"

Do you ever have those moments when something happens that really validates your belief system? It inspires you to exclaim, to anybody that will listen, "That's what I'm talking about!"

I did recently while attending Goodwill Industries of Denver's annual Power of Work luncheon. It was an amazing experience that showcased the power of the human spirit to discover the good in life despite difficult physical, emotional and financial obstacles.

Whenever having the privilege of leading a Pep Talk d...

This week's Pep Talk: "No Substitute"

As the father of a teenager and young adult, I find myself praying often that a wonderful young man and his younger sister will always have dreams and have the courage to chase those dreams. I also hope they understand sometimes those dreams don't unfold exactly the way it was envisioned when the dream became crystal clear and they set forth in transforming the dream – the voice within – into reality via actions, thoughts and beliefs.

Each of them is in the midst of chasing dreams. It's very c...