AuthorJeff Freedman

Last weekend, my wife and I decided to go for a hike. Fortunately, the AllTrails app (highly recommend) presented many places near our home, and we chose a fairly flat 4-mile trek in a wooded area about 20 minutes away. Given the heat and unfamiliar location, we weren't sure about taking James (1.5 yr old Corgi) and Jasmine (9 yr old…

Around this time every year, my inbox gets filled with notes from family, friends and colleagues looking to help a recent graduate enter the world of marketing. For the most part, I'm happy to oblige by having an informational call, connecting them with appropriate people and/or just corresponding via email.  However, I'm often surprised by what transpires after the initial…

For the last 6+ weeks, I've been dealing with a herniated disk. For those who have experienced it, you understand the pain - constantly ranging from barely manageable to crippling. So, you can imagine how I may have reacted when my younger brother, Drew, sent me a text advising me to "just breathe."  In the midst of the pain, all…

James Mirrored While up in Maine with my family a few weeks ago, James (our 1-year old Corgi) was barking non-stop outside. At first, I didn't pay much attention (sometimes, it's best to just ignore him). But, after about 10 minutes, I had to go see what he was barking at. Turns out he was barking at himself. Or, more specifically, his…

A sampling of my "Life is Good"​ collection Those who know me well, know that I'm a big fan of Life is Good. Not only do I love their products (and, according to my wife, wear them a bit beyond their "expiration date"), but I also love what they stand for. In short: optimism. So, when I had the chance to interview Steve…

I hope you had a nice holiday and, despite this virus that's going around, you were able to spend some time with friends and family.  Now, as the New Year begins, and we make our "resolutions," I thought it would be apropos to write about commitments. At the end of the day, commitments are simply promises that we make to…

My first drum gig (with my older brother, Marc) A few weeks ago, after abruptly shutting down the cancer fundraising event that we started in 2009, my emotions were running a bit wild with sadness, empathy and, honestly, a bit of anger. I felt a bit like climbing under a rock for a few days (or longer) but, unfortunately, the cold…

Good boy, James! As you may remember, we welcomed our new Corgi puppy, James (aka Sir James Oliver III), into our home this past December. And, while he may be the cutest dog I’ve ever known, he may also win the award for most destructive. So, in an effort to tame the beast, we recently sent him away for a 2-week…

Facebook has been down all day today. Karma? In early September, my Facebook account was hacked. After it happened, I immediately followed Facebook's online instructions to secure my account. I used 2-factor authentication to log in, updated my contact info (the hacker had changed it) and added trusted contacts to my profile. Shortly thereafter, my account was hacked again and I followed the…

Yum! This Summer (and actually, through most of this pandemic), I've been doing quite a bit of outdoor cooking. Aside from using our "go-to" Cuisinart outdoor products, I've more recently been trying to master the art of smoking food with a charcoal grill (a Father's day gift from my wife). As I learn how to moderate/maintain the temperature and use the appropriate…

An empty college campus (not one we went on) Over the Summer, my wife and I have spent quite a bit of time touring colleges with our daughter, Julia. After honing her list, based on a set of key criteria, she identified the ones she wanted to explore more seriously with an in-person visit. And, off we went. However, in this strange…

Working from home over the last 18+ months has certainly had its benefits (they don't need to be repeated here). However, we also know that many people are putting in more hours than ever before - often to the point of mental exhaustion and burn out.  Of course, many are equating the high hours to high productivity, and view this…

There are some people who make a lasting impression and impact in our lives. Many of them we know well — family members, friends, teachers and colleagues. But others are part of our lives in a different way.  We may never meet them, but somehow we grow to know them well, respect them and constantly learn from them.   There…

As we approach the holidays and end of the year, we often ask one another about resolutions for the New Year. However, at least for me, it seems difficult to consider the year ahead without reflecting on the year behind us. It's the experiences and lessons of our past that can most effectively guide our future. Additionally, we often get so caught up…

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure and privilege of attending my second CEO workshop with Michael Allosso, a prolific director and actor - but also an incredible speaker, motivator and teacher for business leaders (check out michaelallosso.com). In his sessions, entitled “You on your best day,” Michael shares a range of insights, tips and tricks to help people become stronger…

If you read my blog posts, you know that I often share stories of my kids. Well, it’s less because I’m proud of them (which I definitely am), and more because I learn so much from them — from their thoughts and perspectives, to their openness and their actions. The truth is that we can learn quite a bit from our…

I recently recalled memories of my childhood, when my mother asked me to go downstairs and put the clothes in the dryer for her. Being the “aiming-to-please” son that I was, I quickly ran downstairs to do exactly as told. A few hours later, my mother asked me to fold the dry clothes and bring them upstairs for her. At that point, I…

A few weeks ago, while traveling with my family, I thought it would be funny to “prank call” my kids in their hotel room. Pretending to be the front desk attendant, I called their room to tell them that there was a package at the front desk for them. The first time I called, my 15-year old daughter answered, and she immediately texted…

A few weeks ago, I was reviewing a presentation for a team who was going to share a big - and potentially “game-changing” - idea for a client. They were excited to share it and put together a deck that included a slew of great ways in which it could come to life, including executional details that they had thought…

This weekend, as I was re-organizing our dishwasher to make room for the dinner mess, I had a thought (aside from “who loaded this thing?!").  Our dishwasher is not much unlike like our heads/brains. If overloaded, not everything will get done properly and some things may even break. If not organized properly, it will likely require more cycles and extra…

After my last blog post, a friend commented that my posts have been a bit negative lately. And after re-reading them, I had to agree. I generally live life with a glass half full mentality, and share many of my learnings from that perspective with you here. But, somehow, I got hit with a case of "complainitis" - and it took a…

If we’re connected on social media, you may know that my family and I recently had a very frustrating travel experience with American Airlines (AA). In short (I could go on quite a bit), it took my family 40 hours to get from Boston to Cabo San Lucas. It took our luggage more than 60 hours to get there. And,…

Recognizing that collaboration is critical to our success at Small Army, we recently invited an expert on the topic to conduct a few workshops to help us improve our skills. Overall, we walked away better because of it. However, there was one part of the session that caused me a bit of discomfort (and, honestly, frustration). With about 20 people in my…

Last Wednesday, for STEAM week, I volunteered to speak at my son’s 5th grade class. While I initially thought I’d talk about the world of advertising (creativity, math/analytics, etc.), I thought it may be more fun to chat about the relationship between drumming (Arts) and Math. Upon arriving in his classroom (and after the Pledge of Allegiance), Josh's teacher asked…

This past week, my family and I went on vacation to Chamonix, France. Once there, we were in awe of the mountain scenery, the food and, of course, the skiing. But, the other thing that quickly caught my eye was the many paragliders soaring like birds high above the valley and mountain tops. As I watched them, I kept hearing the advice…