Fifty Steps Studio - Public Speaker for Professional Groups

The name Fifty Steps Studio comes from my distance running days.

I used to run about a marathon a year, plus half-marathons, 10Ks, and whatever else looked interesting.

You need water during a race. The problem is, sometimes when you slow down at the water station to get a cup, you walk. And you keep walking. You’ve lost momentum, and all of the hard work you did for the marathon is coming to nothing.

So my solution was simple: when I slowed down for water or a power drink, I would walk fifty steps.

That's it. As soon as I hit fifty steps, no matter how I felt, I started running again.

So, take breaks from work and obligations. Get some water. Take fifty steps. And get back to it.

A bit about me.

Yes, I do the speaking thing, but it's more than that. I'm fascinated by people and get real joy out of knowing I've played a part in helping someone move along in their journey.

I have been in creative fields and the business world in many capacities since 1985. I studied at Indiana University, the Advertising Arts College, and the Universität Hamburg. I was a ghost-writer for a well-known author before moving into radio, where I was the fifth wheel on a morning show. I wrote the morning show comedy early in the day and the local radio spots the rest of the day.

In the 1990s, I had an import-export business, which was a casualty of 9/11. I then worked in industrial sales (not really a good fit) and eventually found my place in the events business, which was great. I worked on the management team of the Formula One race in Indy and was involved in hundreds of other events around the country.

After landing five Super Bowls for our company's volunteer management software, someone asked me to speak on sales at a 2014 conference. I did my first presentation, How to Sell a Service: It Starts with C, and the next day my phone was ringing with requests to speak at other conferences.

That's how we got here.

When no one is looking, I am VP of Sales for VizSeek, which is pretty amazing software for engineering and manufacturing. Look it up if that interests you. I like to make stuff by hand and I like to write. I read history every day and can bore you into a coma with bits of historical information. I play in the band at my church and like to help out with the 2- and 3-year-olds because everything they do is funny. I volunteer around Indianapolis, especially in situations where I can use the languages I've studied. I am fascinated by people and culture and have traveled to more than 25 countries. I've been married to my wife, Claudia, for over 40 years and we have two adult kids, one here in Indianapolis and one in Austin.