A young raven falls out of its nest in the dark of night. He sees several ravens and other birds head off, soaring away to seek shelter. The sound of thunder and flashes of light warn him of the peril of an incoming storm. Watching all the other birds fly and glide gracefully, the little raven leaps into the air but barely manages to get off the ground and lands in a muddy puddle. Frustrated and confused by the seeming…
There were days I could barely get off the couch. I struggled to shower, and if my dog Hero had not needed a walk I might never have stepped outside. Hero’s tail, thumping against the door, became the metronome that kept me moving when nothing else would. That low season framed my conversation with Clarena Tobon, Executive Director of NAMI Central Texas, on the Rock Solid podcast. Clarena spends her days turning private battles like mine into public support through…
When former county judge William Gravell says his family landed in Williamson County because a milkman struck a bargain with a local banker, you lean in. You lean in because every great community is built on small, generous moments that compound over decades. You lean in again when you hear the punch line. The same county that once stretched pasture all the way down Main Street now carries an appraised value of 184 billion dollars, a jump from 89 billion…
There’s a moment in every entrepreneur’s life when the spreadsheet stops mattering. A moment when the funding pitch fades, the product launch is over, and all you’re left with is this question: “Who am I doing this for? And why should they care?” That moment is where every great story starts. And it is exactly where this episode of the Rock Solid Round Rock podcast begins. What Happens When You Bring 100 Powerful Women Into a Room and Actually Listen?…
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never believed marketing was about metrics (even as the co-founder of the Digital Analytics Association). Sure, I love a good dashboard. I built a career helping billion-dollar brands turn clicks into conversions. But at the end of the day, what moves people isn’t the metric. It’s the meaning. And that’s what this SEO Charity webinar was really about. It wasn’t a lecture on storytelling. It was a mirror. A reminder that we don’t…
Not every conversation leaves an imprint. But some, like the one I recently had with Kevin Koym, stay with you. We recorded it just before Startup Day in Round Rock, where Kevin was preparing to host one of his signature Campfire Networking events. For those unfamiliar, it’s not your average mixer. There’s no pitch deck, no elevator speech. Just entrepreneurs coming together around a metaphorical fire, sharing insights instead of intentions. Kevin’s been doing this a long time. Long enough…
Some men build resumes. Others build roots. Will Peckham didn’t just run for office or shake hands at ribbon cuttings. He showed up, day after day, one bite at a time, to feed a vision of Round Rock that would outlive him. Not for legacy’s sake. But for his kids, his grandkids, and for neighbors he hadn’t yet met. When we sat down for the Rock Solid podcast, I wasn’t just hearing another civic success story. I was witnessing someone…
We live in a world of metrics, where follower counts pass for credibility and virality masquerades as value. It’s tempting to believe that if people see you, they’ll follow you. But here’s the uncomfortable truth. Being seen isn’t the same as being believed. And being believed? That’s what moves people. Amanda Russell nailed it in The Influencer Code: “If nobody takes action because of you, you’re not an influencer. You’re just popular.” That line cut through the noise. Because over…