Rudolph

A friend (Bill Harris) forwarded this to me, and I don't really know
who originated it, so I can't give them the credit.

But, I really enjoyed it and think you will too.

** True Story of Rudolph**

A man named Robert L. May, depressed and brokenhearted,
stared out his drafty apartment window into the chilling
December night. His 4-year-old daughter Barbara sat on his
lap quietly sobbing.

Bobs wife, Evelyn, was dying of cancer.
Little Barbara couldn't understand why her mommy
could never come home. Barbara looked up into her
dad's eyes and asked, "Why isn't Mommy just like
everybody else's Mommy?"

Bob's jaw tightened and his eyes welled with tears.
Her question brought waves of grief, but also of anger.
It had been the story of Bob's life. Life always had to
be different for Bob.

Small when he was a kid, Bob was often bullied by
other boys. He was too little at the time to compete in sports.
He was often called names he'd rather not remember.
From childhood, Bob was different and never seemed
to fit in.

Bob did complete college, married his loving wife and
was grateful to get his job as a copywriter at Montgomery
Ward during the Great Depression. Then he was blessed
with his little girl. But it was all short-lived. Evelyn's bout
with cancer stripped them of all their savings and now Bob
and his daughter were forced to live in a two-room
apartment in the Chicago slums. Evelyn died just days
before Christmas in 1938.

Bob struggled to give hope to his child, for whom he
couldn't even afford to buy a Christmas gift. But if he
couldn't buy a gift, he was determined a make one - a
storybook!

Bob had created an animal character in his own mind
and told the animal's story to little Barbara to give her
comfort and hope. Again and again, Bob told the story,
embellishing it more with each telling. Who was the
character? What was the story all about?

The story Bob May created was his own autobiography
in fable form. The character he created was a misfit
outcast like he was. The name of the character? A little
reindeer named Rudolph, with a big shiny nose.
Bob finished the book just in time to give
it to his little girl on Christmas Day.

But the story doesn't end there.

The general manager of Montgomery Ward caught
wind of the little storybook and offered Bob May a
nominal fee to purchase the rights to print the book.
Wards went on to print, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed
Reindeer" and distribute it to children visiting Santa
Claus in their stores.

By 1946, Wards had printed and distributed more than
six million copies of Rudolph. That same year, a major
publisher wanted to purchase the rights from Wards
to print an updated version of the book.

In an unprecedented gesture of kindness, the CEO of
Wards returned all rights back to Bob May. The book
became a best seller. Many toy and marketing deals
followed and Bob May,now remarried with a growing
family, became wealthy from the story he created
to comfort his grieving daughter.

But the story doesn't end there either.

Bob's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, made a song
adaptation to Rudolph. Though the song was turned
down by such popular vocalists as Bing Crosby and
Dinah Shore, it was recorded by the singing cowboy,
Gene Autry.

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was released in
1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more
records than any other Christmas song, with the
exception of "White Christmas."

The gift of love that Bob May created for his daughter
so long ago kept on returning back to bless him again
and again. And Bob May learned the lesson, just like
his dear friend Rudolph, that being different isn't so
bad. In fact, being different can be a blessing.

* MERRY CHRISTMAS 2010*

I wish the very best for you and your family.

I'm baaaaack!!

I feel like I've just come out of an 18 month coma! Well, maybe not exactly. I wrote my last blog about a year and a half ago. I had no idea when I wrote it, that it would be this long before the next one. The changes we've all seen in the last couple of years have been dramatic, but life goes on regardless of the world around us.

Even though I've not blogged in all that time, I've prepared myself for dramatic changes in my own life. Birthdays can do that to you...my 55th was last Saturday. One of the suggestions I give out to other people is that you should pursue your passion. Just recently realized that I should take that advice.

I thoroughly enjoy speaking. The important part, though, is that others should enjoy "hearing", and truly benefit from what a speaker presents. This meant that my other lifelong passion, family businesses, would have to be combined with my passion for presenting. I wrote my book, "An Act of Congress, The Real-Life Story of Power & Politics in Family Business", in order to show what happens when families don't properly plan for succession. I desperately want to help other families avoid the heartaches and pitfalls that we experienced.

A good friend suggested that I do more than just advise, but to get involved in the solution in a productive way. He suggested that I get my insurance license, which has opened my eyes to even more examples in the family business arena. I've met so many people who have helped families prepare for success, not just succession.

So here's the point. During my time away from blogging, I've been able to focus my efforts, so that at the beginning of 2011, I'll have combined the strengths of my own family business, with the experts at Adams & Associates, and The Guardian. I will be announcing the grand opening of The Forum for Family Business soon.

As a Catholic Priest I know says at the end of his sermons..."That's enough for now!"