I get 400+ emails and 50 phone calls every day.  Mostly candidates looking for career opportunities.  I respond to every single email and phone call personally.  You may think that is silly, however I feel it’s the right thing to do.

People that don’t call or email me back are a real hot button for me.  It’s disrespectful.  It says, "you are not important to me."  My philosophy is that you should never be so self-absorbed or self-serving that you stop caring about others.  If someone calls you, call them back.  If they are "asking" and you can’t help, a simple no thank you will work.  If you are invited to an event and commit – show up.

There is one exception to my "call everyone back" rule.  Once I say "no thank you", if you call me again, I won’t return the call.  I’m not in a position to say "no" two or three times.  Although you may not value my time, I do.

The one thing I do keep in mind is that there may be a legitimate reason for someone to not return my call.  At the top of that list are health issues and family emergencies.  When someone has a personal crisis, everything else is off the radar.  So before you go off the deep end, make sure there was not a legitimate reason for the lack of a return call.

A close companion to "not calling back" is "not showing up."  I recently hosted a CIO event where only 20 of the 35 confirmed attendees showed up.  Five of the "no shows" were unemployed.  Later the same people that flaked out on the event called to ask if I could represent them and find them a new CIO job.  I called them back right away with the answer – no thank you.  The Godfather says you can finish ahead of 90% of the masses if you just show up!

God Bless!

Back from a week in Del Mar. We ran a few horses, and came up with a second place finish with Launch the Bull. Big Mahogany runs this Sunday (August 9) and it just may be his day. Got to see many of my friends, including Howard Dinet, Chris McGivern and Rick Salinas. Del Mar is the best – good weather, good people, fast horses. Might sneak back for another week the end of August. I think, I hope, I pray.

On the job front, after a good May and June, the summer has tailed off. Stock market may be going up, however it is still a "bear" job market.

Here is the event schedule for the balance of 2009:

After the Finish Line – THANK YOU to Naresh, Brian, Jeffrey, Chris and Nathalie for attending this horse rescue event at Del Mar. Naresh ended up with Dancing With the Stars Tickets and Brian got a Foundation Room Membership. Truly appreciate your generosity!

The BIG 80s Remix – a Benefit for Big Brothers Big Sisters (September 11 at 5:30 pm at LAVO inside the Palazzo in Las Vegas) – Open to the public. You can buy two tickets in VIP with me for $1,000 or General Admission for $50 a ticket. This is the third quarter Las Vegas event. A rare, open to the public Godfather networking event. Buy tickets at www.bbbsn.org.

Jeans to Jewels (September 12 in Las Vegas) – Great charity event benefitting Opportunity Village. Western theme hoedown at Frank Martin’s Bitter Root Ranch. For more information, check out www.opportunityvillage.org. Giddyup!

House of Blues Dallas (tentative for September 30) – Wish I had more business in Dallas so I could host more events. But as my buddy Rudy always says, "NEVER quit!"
Special Concert Event – I have to be careful on this one because I believe it is still confidential. My old buddy Jeff Jonas bought out the Ovation Lounge at Green Valley Ranch Station for a concert event in October. As you may remember, Jonas used to throw the largest house party in Las Vegas on New Years’s Eve. Maybe 1,800 people. The last several years I helped host it. Jeff has given me 50 tickets to the concert event. More details forthcoming.

House of Blues West Hollywood (November 4 at 5:30 PM) – I will be in LA for Breeders Cup (World Championships of Horse Racing), so we’ll gather the usual suspects for a mixer in the TMZ.

Las Vegas Hilton (Rooftop Suite on November 18 at 5:30 PM) – Yes, we are kicking Barry Manilow out of his suite for a night. This one is private, invitation only for CLIENTS only. It’s G2E week, so all my big clients will be in Las Vegas. I will allow three sponsors to attend. Outside of that, no partners or friends.