Many who follow my blog don’t even know about our main “operations and creation” company Shadstone. Since 2007 it has existed as a B2B agency for Asia business and boutique marketing. Since Covid, we have really doubled down on BUILDING LEADERS. Janette Toral has been coaching us and we have made some hard adjustments but am proud of the team …
Traveling to Manila from Thailand in the “new normal” of December 2022
On the road again. My Uncle Bill would comment on this very blog (rest in peace Uncle Bill) when he saw me “in my element” of being on the road in China and Asia. With Covid, the world stopped – at least my world – been a few months now in Chiang Mai, Thailand – but time to go “solo …
My Son Wants to be a YouTuber
It has been an ongoing discussion since we were in Shenzhen. Miles, my son, wants to be a Minecraft youtuber. Or a gamer youtuber, as he has other games he likes too. Wendy and I have been discussing it – this means we’d need to get a gamer laptop. Even my mac I’m typing isn’t powerful enough to do youtube …
Experiencing “Sensation” in Mediation with The Living Crystal
Over the years on Mike’s Blog, we have talked about meditation, my temple experience, and diving deeper into productivity and focus with Pomodoro timers. Today, I got to experience what I am calling “sensation mediation” with a product my friend (and now business alliance in the upcoming crowdfunding campaign) John gave me in late November 2022. I only had 25 …
Photo Shoots, Content Creation, Brand Building
Many people ask me how to sell online. How to make a website, how to make a brand. Should they do drop shipping? Amazon FBA? Etc. To me, all that is forged in my mind is to make a brand. The way to sell is just an output of the product. A channel, that is it. Today’s vlog, just a …
A Handy Timer Used For Pomodoro – GymBoss
Since 2014 or 2015 I have been using this interval timer day in and day out. This is my fourth one now so I want to make a video to showcase how I use it and what I am using it for. As I type up this blog post, I am watching the count down as it is clipped on …
Trip to the Chiang Mai Waterfall Wang Bua Ban Pond
Family day, family trip. Decided to take the vlog camera with me and share this trip for those curious on the waterfall in Chiang Mai named Wang Bua Ban Pond A rather simple hike (or maybe we didn’t know how to find otherwise a longer path) around the falls. It had many small “pools” where people were dipping their toes …
Family is an Investment
Life just keeps throwing things at ya and you need to react and adjust. But one that I am set on is to be the best father and husband I can be. Some have noticed the struggle and pain I went through sticking it out in China for 2.5 years (even returning in March 2020 in the first place). Staying …
Trip to a Mountain Factory in North Thailand
With just under a month in Thailand – can’t help myself and had to do a factory visit. This is the factory of one of our brands – Akitai, handmade jewelry. Andres our business partner flew up from his home in Phuket Sunday morning, where we meet in Chiang Mai airport and drove 4 hours to a lake in the …
Arrival in Thailand (Allowed To Leave China)
Typing this up from a hotel lobby near the BKK airport, on the last day of the month of August 2022 – ready for a fresh start in Chiang Mai for the month of September and the rest of 2022. Still don’t want to reveal too much about the process of getting approval for my wife and children to leave …
Art Gallery Show in Dafen Artist Village, Shenzhen, China
My friend and business partner in Excalibur Brothers brand, Luciano, has a lot to celebrate – he has his art pieces on display at an art gallery – alongside blue chip artists’ work! As I prepare to leave China, I wanted to make sure to support Luciano and attend this art gallery beforehand. It took place in the DaFen oil …
Hustling and Launching – New Products Coming to Amazon (a story)
Still here in Shenzhen, China in the hot July heat! And it is hot for sure – after almost a year of hard work re-positioning Excalibur Brothers to a product brand, trademark, and tweaks in the product line. Back story, the original founder of Excalibur Brothers, Lawrence, and I had been friends since 2004. We met in ecommerce marketing forums …
Fathers Day 2022 – This is What Matters
And as a father of an 8 and 6 year old – this is what matters. The time I spend with them , support them, and encourage them to be good human beings. Maggie made a paper tie for me (in the photo) and insisted I wear it as soon as she returned home from school on Friday. Snapped a …
Trip To HuiZhou (Hunt for Next Home)
On the hunt, again. Wendy and I want to stick in 1 place longer than a year – but covid and current events have made that close to impossible. We move down to Shenzhen from Shenyang the end of last summer (August 2021) to get our kids into school for the Fall Semester. Also I had gotten an opportunity to …
Leather Factory Visit For The New Amazon Project
I took the vlog camera with me to the factory to keep myself active on the video blogs, ha! Luciano and I are working on Excalibur Brothers brand using the Blimp Method (Brand Licensing Improved) with the Global From Asia community. We have a very patient and amazing franchisee group with all the China lockdowns and delays to get these …