TOTLA UNIVERSE

  It feels like this TOTLA ‘journey’ has taken ME for a ride, rather than the other way around. You know? It’s like jumping on a new bike, getting the feel for it, having a wobbly moment or two in the beginning and then settling into the wind and freedom. TOTLA stories and characters emerged from my fictional meandering, that is indisputable. However, where the stories and characters led me was surprising, and compelling. I mentioned to my friend and collaborator, Matt, the other day, that the TOTLA Universe may be getting ‘too big’ for me. It is simply expanding at a dizzying pace. I marvel at authors who create universes of unimaginable depth and detail. I would need a large library, many stories high, with an infinite supply of PostIt notes to even attempt something like it. So, I have settled on the metaphor of a barn with multiple horse stalls, instead.  Truth is the Universe took another one of those weird, subatomic turns, leading me to a ranch setting outsid...

  In a World Full of I Wish, Be I AM! This is not a journal of self-discovery. Nor is it a roadmap full of cryptically posted signs pointing you to a life of fulfillment and wild financial success. Or the next ‘rest stop!’  It is a rambling, sometimes temporally challenging, escapade seen through the eyes of fictional characters who subscribe to a Life of Authenticity and Purpose . Much is made about ‘core values,’ both personally and in business, and we learn through the stories in the TOTLA Universe that authenticity is the one core value that rules them all . Without it, all other core values are just branding babble. Blah-Blah-Blah. Put ‘em on a poster. Gin ‘em up with sexy marketing verbiage. And let the money and fan loyalty roll in. Or so they believe. Language is important. So, in a world full of I Wish/I Want (We provide excellent service, Clients and Customers are Job One, Employees are our most important resource), try I AM (Authentic Service, We ...

It is a perfect Seattle evening, one only a Northwest native would even recognize, and appreciate. The sky is a cloudless azure upon which stars are beginning to emerge and the ambient temperature is warm enough to sit on the dock with only a light pile jacket (mostly due to the coolness of Lake Union). Still waters reflect lights from houseboats across the lake and occasionally sparkle as fish breach the surface in pursuit of an evening snack. The Seattle skyline and iconic Space Needle stretch up towards the sky, overshadowed only by a mammoth pastel Mt. Rainier some sixty miles to the south. Ron Canyon sits at the edge of a dock with a half-finished glass of 12-year old scotch. Growing up in a southern sunshine state, there were endless nights with warmth and stillness to match, accented with the hypnotic sounds of cicada buzz. Though Texas still ruled his heart, the Emerald City offered physical beauty, seasonal variety and a smattering of Puget Sound magic he had not exper...