St. Jude's Children's Hospital

Me at the "Up till Dawn" activities at the FEDEX Forum Arena.

Private Pary 800+ people in a 18,000 seat arena

The famous Beale Street. Home of Memphis Barbeque and Blues

Had to get Chicken and Waffles at the Soul Food restaurant

Last weekend I was invited to participate in the St. Judes Children's Hospital Leadership Conference. The conference has been held for the last ten years to help prepare college students for the "Up till Dawn" Program. The program is held at over 250 colleges in the United States to help raise money for the hospital and cancer research. The hospital provides top notch treatment for children under 18 years old who have been diagnosed with cancer. During the first ten years of the program, over $33 million has been raised.

I got to speak/perform for over 800 people with my friend Rodger. We were given a tour of the hospital and got a chance to meet and listen to people who have been helped by the hospital and it's programs. The experience was amazing. It felt great to be about of something that was bigger than any individual.

If you would like to help the hospital either through donations or volunteering, click HERE

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday. Mom, sorry I couldn't be there to celebrate! I'll see you soon!

Happy Birthday!

Love,
Frank

Summer at the Zoo

I work part-time at the Phoenix Zoo. The summer is our off season. People don't like the blistering heat and the animals aren't excited about the summer temperatures either. One of the days everyone likes, is the annual Winter in July. The zoo brings in TONS of man made snow and lets the guests and animals play and "cool off."

Enjoy the pictures below of the Winter in July and me working with the Giraffes at the "Giraffe Encounter." If you are in the area, the zoo is free to children under twelve years old and the morning temps (we open at 7am) are comfortable enough to see the animals before it gets to hot.

Happy Birthday Jim!

Last year I was able to celebrate my with my brother for his 21st birthday. This year I can't be there to celebrate, so..........

Happy Birthday Jim! We'll celebrate when I see you next! Have a great weekend and a great birthday!

Frank

True Food Kitchen

It looks like I'm on a restaurant kick on my blogs right now. I've gone to a few interesting and unique places recently. They've been really good and I wanted to share the information with everyone.

The most recent recommendation I have is for "True Food Kitchen." It is part of the FOX Restaurant Concepts group. The restaurant is located in Phoenix at the Biltmore Fashion Park.

If you are looking for great tasting healthy food, this is the place to go.

Here is an excerpt from the companies mission statement:

At True Food Kitchen, we believe simple, fresh, pure ingredients create the most satisfying and memorable dining experiences. While our menu is packed with nutritious, good-for-you vegetables, whole grains, and proteins, we never sacrifice flavor. You may not notice the difference, but it’s there.

Kelly took me for lunch after one of my trips and I was amazed how good the food tasted, but it was even better to know that it wasn''t super expensive and all of the food was natural and grown locally.

If you would like to know more about the restaurant and would like to see their menu, click on the link below:

True Food Kitchen

The Original Pancake House

A few weeks ago I was in Ohio and I got a chance to catch up with several friends. one of my friends decided to take me out to breakfast at a restaurant with amazing food. The restaurant is called "The Original Pancake House." Everything is made from scratch and it tastes mmmm, mmm good (sorry Campbells)

I recommend the pumpkin pancakes!

Click on this link for more info.
http://www.originalpancakehouse.com/index.html

More Speaking Dates

I just confirmed three more speaking dates for the next month. If you happen to be in the areas I'm speaking, please stop by to say hello!

July 10 - Boys and Girls Clubs of Lorain County Ohio - Lorain, OH
July 31-Aug 2 - St. Judes Hospital - Memphis, TN
August 8 - Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland, OH

Getting Loaded

Just finished a great book by a fellow speaker who I know. His name is Peter Bielagus and he's a younger version of Suzy Orman. His book is called "Getting Loaded." It's a how to guide on finances. It covers everything from the stock market, banking, credit cards, home buying, car buying, wills and insurance.

When you get some time, look up the book on the internet or at your local bookstore.

Graduation Ceremony

Here are some videos from my sisters graduation ceremony.

More Chicago Pictures

Chicago Field Museum (Military and Teachers get in FREE)

Remembering the King of Pop at the Ebony Magazine Offices

The Largest McDonald's I've ever seen

The Ladies in my life (Sis, Kelly and Mom)

Taste of Chicago. The largest Food Festival in the World!

Riding the Chicago Subway

My mom, Kelly and I had a great time in Chicago last week. I got to see my sister graduate from Navy bootcamp and we got to tour the windy city during the 4th of July weekend.

We only got limited time with my sister because she was still on duty, but a little time is better than no time.

I talked on her the day after July 4th and she told me stories of all the people in Chicago who thanked her and her fellow shipmates/sailors for their service. Many of them said thank you by purchasing food. I believe she and six other colleagues were treated to enough free food and boat ride that made them sick later that night. I would like to thank everyone who supported my sister and the troops.

Here are some more pictures, enjoy!

Carrier

Every now and then I come across a good movie, tv show or book. If they are really good, I have to share it with all of you.

Recently I watched the PBS mini-series called "Carrier." It's the story of the 2005 deployment of US Navy aircraft carrier the USS Nimitz. A film crew goes on board for over four months and films everything.

In this time of "reality tv," It was nice to watch "real" life that's not staged or over produced. The 10 part documentary can be found at your local library, on the PBS website or on Itunes. I suggest you watch it when you find the time.

With my sister joining the Navy, I got a better understanding of what she and every other US service member goes through to protect our country.

Way to go Melissa!

She did it! My sister completed Navy boot camp. My mom, Kelly and I are Chicago to support my sister. She just completed one of  the toughest things anyone will ever go through....Military training and service. Melissa has spent nine weeks showing her "Honor, Courage and Commitment."

Watching her graduation ceremony this morning gave me goose bumps and made me proud to be her brother! I'll admit to getting a few tears when I watched her hug my mother.

After nine weeks of spending 24/7 training, she finally received a little "liberty" this afternoon. She got to get off the base for a few hours.

I'll add some video from the program later this week. For now, please  enjoy todays pictures.

Teaching at Nestle

My agent's new baby girl

Taking my show from the classroom to the courtyard

Rodger sharing some knowledge

Teambuilding?

Rodger's Daughter

Last week I was in Ohio to teach management workshops with Rodger to the employees of the Nestle Corporation. We had a great time and got to learn a lot about the production of Stouffers and Lean Cuisine Products.

The Cranky Flyer

I travel a lot and several people have suggested to me that I put together a website about traveling and airports. While doing some research, I discovered there was someone who already had the idea. The site is called "The Cranky Flier." If you have interest in airline, airport or travel news and tips; be sure to click this link: TheCrankyFlier

Mastering Success

A friend of mine named Oloho wrote the following statements on his website. I loved what he wrote, so I decided to share his thoughts with all of you.

MASTERING SUCCESS

The journey of success begins with the belief "I am a winner." Winners have a unique perspective when they're under pressure, because they feel joy. They understand that this is the very thing that makes their stand stronger, which enables them to transform breakdowns into breakthroughs.

In life, when we reach the point when enough is enough, praise God for awareness in seeing reality for what it truly is. Without truth we cannot change our realities, because they are only facades filled with empty dreams. Empty because there is no life-giving light shining through the barricades we have built to protect them.

Breaking through these barriers to shatter old patterns and limitation that no longer benefit us will take courage and determination; to transform negatives into positive lessons that we can grow from and utilize to step beyond what we know and start stepping into our aspirations and purpose for our lives.

Mastering success inevitably means mastering yourself. Allowing your life experiences to be your keys to success. Judging or comparing our journey to someone else's only weakens our own purpose. Mastering self-control and finding balance between your emotions, mind, body, and spirit activates a charge within that illuminates the path which reveals the beauty of oneness.

As we gain mastery of ourselves let your light inspire others to seek their own untapped aspects aspiring to become masters themselves.

Cute things falling sleep

I'm sitting in the Phoenix Airport waiting for a flight to Ohio. While waiting, I was watching CNN Headline news and segment on popular websites came on. One of the hottest sights is called "Cute Things Falling Asleep." The site has Youtube videos of animals, and kids falling asleep. It's cute and funny at the same time. People can actually rate the videos on cuteness and sleepiness. When you have some free time, click HERE.

Kiva-Loans that change Lives!

I was watching the news tonight and watched a segment on a website called Kiva. The company has a simple mission:

Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.

Simply put. People who are looking to start a business can go to the site and sell themselves and their business to the world. People can invest in the business by making small loans. Some of the loans are as small as $25!

Click on this link to view the site: www.kiva.org

Stop using the N-Word

About two years ago I posted a blog discussing my disgust with the use of the N-word. I recently received an e-mail from from a lady I met during my travels. The e-mail had a Youtube link for a video by a ten year old speaking about the N-word and removing it from our vocabulary. Enjoy!

Fall Calendar Coming togther

My calendar is starting to fill up again. Here's what I have scheduled so far:

June 20 - Boys and Girls Club -Cleveland,OH 
June 22,23- Nestle Corporation - Cleveland,OH 
August 14,15 - Park University - Kansas City, MO 
August 22 - Marietta College - Marietta,OH 
August 26 - Drew University - Madison, NJ 
August 28 - Lewis University -Romeoville, IL 
August 29 - Illinois College -Jacksonville, IL 

Welcome to Twitter!

Today I became a member of Twitter! I'm still learning the site, so don't expect to see much from me now. My page will be:

www.twitter.com/frankkitchen