Posts by James Newcomb
Do more, demand more
Power was out today at the home office, so I grabbed a book to read while I waited for it to come back on. The topic of “leadership” came up, and I read this doozy: Two critical traits of leadership: Always be willing to do more than you ask of those that follow you. Always demand more from…
Read MorePractice makes better
A common misconception about the word “practice” is that it will eventually lead to perfection. This is simply not the case. I would argue that “perfection” isn’t even a desirable goal. People are not attracted to perfection, we’re attracted to sincere and well-meaning imperfection. This doesn’t mean we should slack off, or settle for anything…
Read MoreWhat I learned in my lesson with Bud Herseth
I know many folks that subscribe to this newsletter are not trumpeters, so allow me to give a bit of background on the name I mentioned in the headline of this email. Bud Herseth was among the greatest symphonic trumpeters ever. Like, in the world. Like since the beginning of time. And since symphonic trumpet…
Read MoreAirports sans face masks
Traveling to Vietnam today thru Wednesday, and I gotta say I really appreciate being able to see people’s faces again. It’s got this element of humanity I didn’t think I would miss until everything went down two years ago. Sure there are a few holdouts who can’t seem to grasp that both germs and…
Read MoreEggs and Agony
Often times when Sana and I are chilling out on the couch, or on FaceTime when I am away, we will talk about a fictional or perhaps not so fictional business that we will operate together. Usually the discussion is centered around a restaurant, or maybe a coffee shop that is also a reading room,…
Read MoreSometimes you need to amaze yourself
What we’re capable of and what we settle for are radically different. When you’re a kid and you’re asked, what do you want to be when you grow up? You say you want to be a fireman, an astronaut, a deep sea diver, things like that. Kids are rather bold that way. My son for…
Read MoreI get by with a little help from my podcast editor
Today I was working on an episode for one of our podcast editing clients. The client recorded an introduction to the episode separate from the interview, and when I listened to the introduction he recorded, I realized he had forgot to set his computer up so that it would pick up the studio mic, not…
Read MoreWhen nature calls, it doesn’t use voicemail
When I was a younger man than I am now, I had as sturdy a bladder as the next guy. Now that I’ve grown a bit older, it’s not quite the strength and fortitude that I once had to hold it in. Road trips these days can be a bit interesting. For example, I drove…
Read MoreThe root cause of writer’s block
I’m having a really hard time thinking what to write at the moment. How many times have you been down that road? I have found that writers block often comes from getting started. There have been times where I have a thought in my head that is more or less the meat and potatoes of…
Read MoreIgnore this sign at your own peril
Here’s an interesting story for you. When I first moved to Virginia Beach in August 2018, I lived in apartment building that’s right on the ocean front of Virginia Beach. Across the street from the apartment building were a couple of churches. Now it’s interesting how when you are recently separated from your spouse, you’re…
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