Virgil Winston:Marketing Guru
As a proud curmudgeon, I am loath to admit that I love the TLC program, “Jon & Kate Plus Eight.” For those of you who haven’t tuned in, or read about the now famous family in Us Weekly, the show follows the daily routine of a young couple ‘blessed’ (their words) with two sets of multiples, eight-year-old twins and four-year-old sextuplets. I tend to celebrate the cloud, rather than the silver lining so it’s with hesitation that I admit to loving this large, noisy, yet ultimately loving family.
Of course the Gosselin’s were not the first TV family with eight siblings. Who can forget the 70s classic, “Eight is Enough” with Dick Van Patton as the patriarch of a family of eight kids? Sure, it was a fictional TV show, but it was modeled after real life columnist Tom Bradford who really did raise eight kids. Of course, that’s not the same as raising a set of twins and a set of sextuplets. I can only imagine what it must be like when six kids are going through potty training, entering kindergarten or, shudder to think, entering puberty. I can tell you from experience, one at a time is hard enough.
Not surprisingly, my wife does not enjoy the show as much as I do. She sees it not as the charming story of a young couple valiantly struggling to raise eight small children, but as a cautionary tale, or a horror movie. As she points out, Kate is the one doing all the work while Jon goes off to work all day to “have fun.” What is marriage without a little healthy disagreement? Mrs. Winston and I may not agree on what cable programming to watch, but we do agree that it’s important to, as Kate often says, “Count your blessings.” And she should know—she has at least eight to count every day. This applies to your business as well—if you have a few great employees, faithful clients and an office to call home, consider yourself blessed. I know I do.
Today’s featured product, in honor of those adorable Gosselinettes, is Color Brite Crayons which are certified non-toxic because, as Kate would probably tell you, kids like to eat crayons—especially Joel.
Well, I’ve got to go prepare for a speaking engagement in Dallas—I’m map questing all of the barbeque joints near my hotel. Until next time heed the words of literary great, Charles Dickens, “Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many – not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some”