Calistoga – Downtown

A fun place to hold a team building activity in Calistoga Event Description: During this treasure hunt adventure, you’ll solve clues up and down the Calistoga downtown area. Location History: Once the home of the Wapoo tribe, Calistoga was settled in the 1840’s and led by Sam Brannan, publisher of San Francisco’s first English language […]

Stumble

Wham!  That’s the sound of my chest slamming into the ground at mach speed — knocking my breath out, bruising my ribs and delivering a bloody scratch to the side of my nose.  One second, I’m jogging along, enjoying the fresh air and gorgeous nature of Annadel State Park (in Santa Rosa, CA), the next […]

Are You a Collector?

Are You A Collector? By Dave Blum.   What have you collected in your life? When I was a kid—I collected pretty much everything. Most of it was pretty normal: Stamps, Coins, Stickers. That kind of thing. And then there were the “odder” items. For example, my friend Mike and I went through a long […]

Be the Indy Jones of Your Life

Be the Indy Jones of Your Life   By Dave Blum “Hi.   My name is Indiana Jones!” Okay, I’m not really Indiana Jones who is, of course, a fictional character played by a real actor (Harrison Ford) in a fictional movie (Raiders of the Lost Ark). But wouldn’t it be great to somehow be […]

Trust Me

Trust me By Dave Blum What is it about trust that is so hard to gain and so easy to lose?   It’s 1971 and my Mom is tucking me into bed. I’m wearing my Speed Racer pajamas, my childhood afro spilling out over my pillow.  I’ve got my favorite stuffed animal, Tigery, tucked under […]

You are you wherever you go.

You are you wherever you go. By Dave Blum A wise man once told me, “You are you wherever you go.”    Little did I know how true that might be — until disaster struck. It’s 2001, a warm muggy day in southwest Costa Rica.  My travel partner, Donna, and I have just finished our walking […]

Project Mike

“How ya doing, how ya doing?” says the giant as he lumbers into my cramped San Francisco apartment, extending his right hand. “Gre—at.  You must be Mike.” “That’s me!” At 6 foot 5, 250 pounds, his shaven head as shiny as a mirror, Mike Franklin is a man who commands attention. He’s the kind of […]

Life is a Treasure Hunt

If I asked you to guess what’s inside this chest, what would you answer? –Jewels? –Golden doubloons? –A Faberge egg? Regardless of what’s actually inside the box, opening it is exciting to think about, isn’t it?  “What could it be?” Your heart beats faster.  Adrenaline floods your system. Your breath catches in anticipation.  For this […]

SCARFing Down Fear

SCARFing Down Fear By Dave Blum Are you a scarf person?  It’s all right.  No judgement here. To be honest, I’m not big on scarves, myself.  I find them to be hot and scratchy, plus they cover up my long, elegant neck.  😊 I wore a scarf to work today, however, because S-C-A-R-F is a […]

Refreshing Your Why

Refreshing Your WHY By Dave Blum I was re-watching Simon Sinek’s great TED talk, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” and realized it had been far too long since I had refreshed my “Why”. Now what do I mean by my “Why”? As you can see from Sinek’s chart above, your “Why” sits at the center […]