Archive for January, 2011

I never saw it coming. The voice on the other end of the phone said in a frail but determined way: “If God gives me four more weeks of life I will finish this book. I’ve been working on it every day.” My eyes swelled up with tears immediately. The (Continue reading…)

If you’re a communicator, you cannot afford not to be engaged in social media. I know this sounds like a mandate, and it is. Even if only a part of your job is to communicate the vision, mission and direction of the organization you lead, you, more than anyone else (Continue reading…)

Sarcasm and name-calling were survival skills growing up. If you’re going to make it in my family, you had to be quick, witty, and ruthless or you got “taken down” by a sibling or a parent. In my Brazilian household, you could not afford to be timid or slow. Name-calling (Continue reading…)

The conversation starts with familiar words: “I’m starting a new business. I need a logo and a brand identity.” That’s an exciting place to be. Creating your brand early in your business is crucial to establish your place in the mind of the consumer; however, I have seen a lot (Continue reading…)

Someone asked me yesterday “so what do you think is the future of the church in America?” Boy, that’s a loaded question. A lot of people smarter than me have speculated on where the American church is headed. Some feel hopeful but many others have pointed towards the spiritual darkness (Continue reading…)

Yesterday afternoon I was running errands and felt led to call a friend I hadn’t connected with in a few weeks and gave him a call. My message was short: “hey, I’m thinking of you. I hope you’re well.” Not long afterward I get a text message saying he was (Continue reading…)

From time to time a song comes along and speaks to so many people. This one spoke to me. I have heard that prayer changes people. Well, maybe not in this case. Should I feel bad for enjoying this song?

Lately I have been wearing wrinkled shirts. On purpose. The iron hasn’t been near them. I call this the “crumpled look.” It has not been an easy transition for me, but I have found a strange freedom from the Land of Starch where I lived in for so many years. (Continue reading…)

I have been thinking about some of the business advice I have given lately to clients and friends. One in particular sounds out of place. It doesn’t fit neatly in the “business” category but in my experience it has more to do with business than most any other nugget of (Continue reading…)

I was in Sao Paulo, Brazil at the lobby of a hotel waiting with my client to meet our Brazilian hosts whom I did not know. One of the men looked up from his cell phone and startled me by saying, “Aren’t you Maurilio? I follow you on Twitter.” The (Continue reading…)