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In 1621 more than half of the pilgrims who had landed a year earlier and struggled into settlement at Plymouth Plantation were dead. Sometime in November, these remaining 50 joined sachem Massasoit and 90 of his Wampanoag tribes folks in a three-day celebration:  both groups had completed a substantial harvest and would be able to survive through the winter.  The native hunters brought seven deer to the table, supplemented by, yes, wild turkeys contributed by both groups.  A couple of humbling thoughts always strike me when I reread this tale of the first Thanksgiving feast.

1. What’s to Celebrate? Festivals for a rich harvest are as ancient as agriculture. The mystery of Nature’s grown bounty has puzzled and delighted people since the first planted seed bore fruit.  And my guess is that for the Wampanoag this November 1621 feast was mostly a harvest celebration.  But for the pilgrims, came the added observance that they were still alive.  Massachusetts’ drenchingly wet, bitter winter along with an endemic of several diseases had left “but four of our 20 English housewives” who had made the trip on the Mayflower, noted pilgrim celebrant Edward Winslow. Everyone had lost family. About half of the survivors were children and teens.  And despite the fact that the same bleak challenges loomed on the future horizon, the pilgrims rejoiced that, “we have made it this far – after one year in New England, we are still here, fighting on.”
2. The Kindness of Strangers. Rich in faith and little else, it would be difficult to imagine a group less qualified to settle and endure in the frigid New World. In 17^th century Europe, where over 90 percent of the population was engaged in agriculture, the Mayflower pilgrims boasted not one farmer in the entire crew.  Had it not been for the counsel and labor of Tisquantum and several other Wampanoag peoples, the pilgrim’s attempt to plant survival crops would have failed entirely.  Additionally, the lore of foraging and preparing native plants that these Wampanoag shared with the newcomers was literally a godsend.

In Homo sapiens, compassion and the urge to lend a sympathetic hand are as innate as fear, anger, and greed – and they are more evident, if you pause to lift your eyes from the headlines and take a look.

The lessons from these people celebrating the 1621 Thanksgiving are obvious.  May we all pause and give our own thanks.

Bart Jackson

Nonviolent Peaceforce founder Mel Duncan reveals why global unarmed peacekeeping groups are on the rise – and why their tactics work against heavily armed opponents.

First the good news: The Nonviolent Peaceforce for 18 years has successfully protected civilians in conflict zones by sending unarmed peace keepers to square off against heavily armed opponents.  Now the better news: increasingly they are gathering allies in every corner of the globe.  Host Bart Jackson invites Nonviolent Peaceforce founder Mel Duncan to describe the many newly burgeoning organizations that are responding to violent conflict  with unarmed strategies.  Mel examines the reason for these new groups coming into existence, their achievements, and the why their specific tactics are so effective.  Further, Mel talks about his Unarmed Civilian Good Practices Project and the collaborative conventions of global peacekeepers.  Tune in and discover the forces that are positively halting destructive violence.
https://www.theartoftheceo.com/

Trudy Borenstein-Suguira, top jewelry custom designer/creator for Cartier’s most discerning clients tells how to effectively finance the artistic soul and how to thrive by inventing new media & forms.

The art world stands as living proof that pure talent will not always carry you to the higher strata of the financial heap – or even assure your fiscal survival.  Host Bart Jackson invites on board Ms. Trudy Borenstein-Suguira, multi-talented, multi-media, and markedly successful artist who has survived and flourished in a variety of artistic endeavors.  After paying her dues as starving art student, cum freelance artist, Trudy rose to become custom designer/creator of jewelry for the most discerning clients of Cartier and David Yurman.  Her pieces are even showcased in the Smithsonian. Then, from that pinnacle, she opened her own enterprise and in addition to jewelry launched into an astoundingly original and mode of collage portraiture that has her made sought after and brought in a growing stream of commissions.   Tune in and learn how today’s flexibly talented artist may sculpt a career that feeds both body and soul – while bringing enrichment to us all.   https://www.theartoftheceo.com/episodes/the-artistic-soul-fine-gems-the-wolf-at-the-door/

Dr. Dale Caldwell explains why family business remains America’s economic backbone and why it profits us to address their unique needs.

Business is the pillar of our economy. The family stands strong as the backbone of our society. Together, they form the institution of family business – the old reliable that keeps us all afloat. In the U.S., family firms provide nearly two thirds of the jobs, 57 percent of the GDP, and the majority of our community leaders. Dr. Dale Caldwell, Executive Director of the Rothman Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, joins host Bart Jackson to show how government and investors neglect them, and other corporations see them only as merger fodder. Dale explains the specific advantages that major family-held companies, (Oracle, Berkshire Hathaway, Volkswagen, Koch Industries) possess over other comparatively sized firms. Further, Dale details both the challenges and profitable perspectives of the small family-held firms. Tune in and learn the perks and problems of working all in the family.

Presentation Coach to Fortune 100 C-suiters, Stephanie Scotti shares techniques employed by the most powerful speakers to organize their thoughts & words into a powerful message.

No clear, inspiring message ever comes out of a disorganized presentation.  All audiences instinctively look for a speaker’s train of thought – that logical pathway leading to the ah-ha moment of the comprehensible conclusion.  Yet it is in the organization that so many presenters fall down, leaving listeners lost in a muddle of details.  To help you keep your presentations on track, host Bart Jackson brings on board Stephanie Scotti, CEO of Professionally Speaking, coach to scores of Fortune 100 C-suiters, and author of Talk on Water – Attaining the Mindset for Powerhouse Presentations.

Stephanie guides you through the crafting of a talk that captures listeners’ attention and crescendos to a message that moves people to action.  She shares techniques that funnel in details as amplifiers, rather than distractions.  Tune in and learn the secret to the simple brilliance that makes so many TedTalks hit home.