Meet the Author

Dear Reader,

I’ll tell you something I probably shouldn’t. I’ve worked as a professional writer in various capacities for eight years, and I am not perfect. I am guilty of sloppy writing. I commit grammar mistakes. I confuse usage. It happens.

Until 1964, most professional boxing weigh-ins were boring, predictable affairs. This was not the case for Clay vs. Liston, February 25, 1964, in Miami Beach. There was nothing boring or predictable about the 22-year-old Olympic gold medalist from Louisville, KY, named Cassius Clay. Although Clay would go on to become Muhammad Ali (referred to from here forward as Ali), the world heavyweight champion and Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Century, at the time, he was unknown and largely untested. In addition to Ali’s prowess in the ring, he was a natural promoter and gifted PR man. There is no greater display of his PR wizardry than the first Liston fight for the heavyweight championship.

We’re generally happy people at Nebo. We like each other. We have a fun, funky office and the work we do can be pretty cool. It’s a good life.

However, it’s not all daisies and roses and Kumbaya up in here. We spend a lot of time together and occasionally the irreverent charm that makes us good marketers can also cause some inter-office friction.

We’re a quirky bunch, but we’re close.

Boy George starts his day with 20 minutes of Buddhist Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo chanting. CNN’s Jake Tapper wakes up to email, Twitter, and cups and cups of coffee. For Cheryl Bachelder, the CEO of Popeyes, the day begins with music, reading, and writing her blog. President Obama hits the gym first thing. For Ice Cube, on a good day, his mama cooks him breakfast with no hog.

A lot happens in those first hours of the day. Dan Ariely, the behavioral economist and author of Predictably Irrational, says people are most productive in the morning. “Not immediately after waking, but if you get up at 7am, you’ll be most productive around 8am to 10:30am,” according to Ariely.