Have you ever noticed when eating at a restaurant that the waiter waits for you to order your food, before bringing you any food. (Okay, except maybe for a basket of bread or chips and salsa.)

Can you imagine if the waiter just dumped a bunch of food in front of you and expected you to eat (and pay for) whatever he brought to your table? 

You: "Um, excuse me...I'm allergic to shellfish and you brought me clams, mussels and scallops!" 
Waiter: "That's what I'm giving you today! That will be $25.99 plus tax, please. Have a nice day."

Let me ask you another question: Have you ever worked with someone who just seemed to talk to you, whether you wanted her to or not? You know the person who seemed to ignore the fact that you have 10 files on your desk, multiple windows open on your computer, the voice mail light flashing on your phone and a "to-do" list a mile long. 

Here's another question . . . have you ever been that person? Are you that person right now? 

Have you ever noticed that sometimes your triumphs have its seeds in your failures? 

If you are a fan of the National Football League you know that the Pittsburgh Steelers have gotten off to a rougher than expected start. They lost three of their first five games to teams that they were expected to prevail against. They seemed to have lost their "edge" and the identity that has personified Steelers football for years. 

In a game against the Oakland Raiders, Steelers running back Jonathan Dwyer had a key fumble which was one of the contributing factors to their loss against the Raiders. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin let his displeasure with Dwyer be known by benching him completely and announcing his intention to do so on the team's message board. Dwyer did not touch the field for two games. 

Then the Steelers top two running backs went down due to injury and Dwyer was the next man up.

Have you seen the teaser or the extended look for the movie of the musical "Les Miserables" debuting on Christmas Day? If not here it is below! 

As a huge fan of Les Miz (it was the show that Kacy and I went to see on our first date) I was already excited about the movie. After seeing the footage, I absolutely cannot wait to see it in a theater. And if you know me, I'm not usually a big fan of watching movies in a theater. (Who wants to pay $200 for tickets, stale popcorn and a shot glass size of soda?)

The movie is directed by Tom Hooper, who also directed the Academy Award winning movie The King's Speech and stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried. (Did you know some of them could sing?? I didn't!) 

Yet even with this big name cast, the biggest thrill for me is how the movie was filmed and what makes it uniquely different from previous movie musicals.

Did you see videos of President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner? During the presidential election years, both candidates of the major political parties are invited to speak at the dinner. Over time the candidates have used the opportunity to showcase their "stand up" skills and poke fun at the "other guy", the process and most importantly at themselves. 

The dinner is a formal event, so both men were dressed in white tie (and what looked like tails.) Governor Romney, who has routinely been criticized for being "too rich" began his remarks with, “It’s nice to finally relax and wear what Ann and I wear around the house.” 

The President made fun of his lackluster first debate performance by saying, “As some of you may have noticed, I had a lot more energy in our second debate. I felt really well-rested after the nice long nap I had in the first debate.” 

Sometimes it's a good thing to not take yourself so seriously, isn't it? It's okay to make fun of yourself, recognize your weaknesses, let everyone know you recognize those weaknesses and show off a different side. So I say, lighten up. You may just find it one of the best things you can do to make your relationships better!

If you'd like to see Governor Romney's and President Obama's full remarks, the videos are above! Enjoy! 

I have to admit, I didn't really pay any type of real attention to the allegations that cyclist Lance Armstrong cheated during his career. I'm not a huge cycling fan, and the most I ever thought of Armstrong was when seeing people wearing "Livestrong" branded items to support his foundation. 

Yet when I read the news that 11 of his former teammates testified against him and contradicted his repeated denials about cheating, it made me sad . . . and reflective. 

I wanted to believe that he was telling the truth. I wanted to believe that the agency that banned him from cycling for life was wrong in their conclusions. I wanted to believe that the other cyclists that accused him of cheating were just guilty of jealousy and pettiness. And now it sounds like much of his story wasn't true. 

(Before I go any further, there is no doubt that his battle against cancer was courageous and that he brought a greater awareness of cancer and hope to those who are fighting it. For that he should be commended.)

So why did he cheat? Perhaps the question is, why do any of us cheat? Is "succeeding" at something that important to us?

As I write this, the Indianapolis Colts just edged out an emotional victory over the Green Bay Packers, 30-27. The Colts fell behind by 18 points at halftime and against the vaunted Packers, it seemed that the deficit was just too far to bridge. Yet after a furious second half rally the Colts scored the go ahead touchdown with under a minute remaining in the game. 

What made the victory so emotional was not just the way the underdog Colts rallied back, but because just a few days ago Colts head coach Chuck Pagano announced that he was diagnosed with leukemia and is currently undergoing treatment. He is not expected to return to his coaching duties this season. In tribute to Pagano, interim head coach Bruce Arians will keep the lights on in Pagano's office until he returns. 

I reflected on several things upon hearing the news that Coach Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia . . . 

The networks have all begun their fall seasons and if you're a fan of the CBS show NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) and NCIS: Los Angeles you know that these shows are consistently in the top of the ratings. The season premiere of NCIS drew over 20 million viewers*, while NCIS: LA attracted almost 17 million viewers* during its season premiere. 

It's no understatement to say that the NCIS franchise has been hugely successful and profitable for CBS. Did you know you can purchase an official NCIS jumpsuit on the CBS website? (No, I'm not being compensated for this.) An official NCIS jumpsuit? That's how you know you're doing well!

But did you know that NCIS may have never appeared on CBS at all? And CBS has rival network NBC to thank for that!

It's funny how life changes isn't it? My previous wedding anniversary came and went the other day.  My old anniversary used to be a day of celebration and love and remembering the past and looking forward to the future. Now it's a day just like any other. 

I "celebrated" the day by working from my home office and then attended a business workshop at night. I finished it up with a late dinner and catching up with my wife before we went to bed. 

When I found out that my ex-wife had met someone else and wanted out of our relationship I was devastated. Yet in looking back, I wouldn't have changed what happened!