Act Like You Mean Business

The Road Taken

Rob Biesenbach — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:00:07 +0000

Via Anzaar Nabi

Eleven years ago I started on a strange journey, fulfilling a long-held desire to perform by signing up for classes at Chicago’s famed Second City training center. That led to improv and sketch shows, theater performances and national commercial work.

But a funny thing happened on my way to becoming an actor. I discovered these two roads I was on — business and performance — were not so different …

For the rest of the story, I invite you over to the new home of this blog, on my brand new website, which I am proud to unveil today. If you’ve enjoyed these posts over the past couple of years, I hope you’ll follow me over there. Thank you!

5 Life Lessons I Learned From My Cat

Rob Biesenbach — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:03:25 +0000

On Sunday night I got home from a short vacation and found our very old, very dear cat in a terrible state. After a rush to the animal ER and a diagnosis from our specialty vet, we made the difficult decision the next day to let her go.

This blog has moved! You can check out the rest of this post here.

Sterling’s Gold: 7 Lessons for Success from Mad Men

Rob Biesenbach — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:30:50 +0000

(Photo credit: srqpix)

Roger Sterling: fictional ad man, chronic drinker and serial womanizer. An inspiration to wiseasses everywhere, he says the things we wish we could say in the workplace — only funnier …

This blog has moved! You can check out the rest of this post here.

Cut Your Writing to the Bone: 6 Tips

Rob Biesenbach — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:30:50 +0000

(Photo via Wikipedia)

Editing your own material is one of the hardest things for a writer to do. And it is a must-have skill in this attention span-challenged age …

This blog has moved! You can check out the rest of this post here.

Fewer Inspirational Quotes, More Original Thinking, Please

Rob Biesenbach — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 15:14:58 +0000

The Internet has ruined quotations for me …

This blog has moved! You can check out the rest of this post here.

Eulogy for My Father

Rob Biesenbach — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:25:06 +0000

On the South Platte River

My father died last week, after a heartbreaking, years-long battle with Alzheimer’s. It was not unexpected, yet it hit me a little harder than I thought, even after all this time to prepare …

This blog has moved! You can check out the rest of this post here.

Is Your Writing Missing the Element of Suspense?

Rob Biesenbach — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 12:55:05 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Writers constantly struggle to find just the right words. But then we go and squander them by burying them somewhere in the middle of a sentence, undermining the strength of the point we’re trying to make …

This blog has moved! You can check out the rest of this post here.

10 Everyday Words You’re Misusing (Including ‘Everyday’)

Rob Biesenbach — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:01:22 +0000

Certain word pairs that look or sound alike cause a lot of confusion. I’m not talking about the ones you hear about all the time, like there and their, it’s and its and to and too. Or even the more recently problematic (and inexplicable to me) lose and loose …
This blog has moved! You can check out the rest of this post here.

Why Are PR People So Miserable?

Rob Biesenbach — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:15:26 +0000

Photo by atsoram

Much has been written about the PR business being such a stressful occupation. Lots of reasons are cited, from slashed budgets to demanding clients to cranky reporters. And while I tend to believe that much of this stress is exaggerated (these are, after all, PR people talking), there’s one major source of stress that’s often overlooked …

This blog has moved! You can check out the rest of this post here.

How To Say Almost Anything Better, The Godfather Way

Rob Biesenbach — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:08:00 +0000

In the best fiction, great characters are revealed through their actions, mannerisms and appearance. In the opening scene of The Godfather, Don Vito Corleone, dressed in a tuxedo, sits in a darkened office behind a big desk. Across from him sits a man pleading for his help in correcting an injustice …

This blog has moved! You can check out the rest of this post here.