A Red Mike Anniversary - 3-13-25

Good morning, welcome back to the Red Mike. Thanks for being here. Happy Thursday and, just as importantly, happy anniversary.

My very first Red Mike Message was one year ago today. When I started this journey, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to say and the kinds of things I wanted to talk about. But I didn't have the title of the live stream figured out yet. I originally called it Game Changer: Lessons from the Gridiron I even created a Gmail address and the whole bit. The name made sense given my coaching background, but I never really embraced it. It always felt weird saying it because, yes, I talk a lot about sports -- coaching, and playing -- but Red Mike Messages are about much more than just sports.

Then one day, I glanced at this red Yeti microphone, and inspiration hit. Red Mike Messages was born. The name felt right, and it stuck. I always tell people—the Red Mike is literal, not metaphorical. This is an actual red microphone, and these are actual Red Mike Messages.

Then the format came together—my daily intro: “These Red Mike Messages are leadership and life lessons I picked up from 25 years as a public servant, 16 years as a youth football coach and scouting volunteer, and 10 years as a mediocre athlete with far more heart than actual physical ability.”

That intro came about, in part, because of inspiration I got from Scott Adams. I listen to his daily podcast. I end up listening to it late now—I can't listen to it live anymore—it comes on at 9 AM Central. It’s called Coffee with Scott Adams. He starts his podcast the same way every day, so I thought, I need to do that.

It took a couple of weeks before I had the introduction down and I knew I wanted to change the name. Then I had to wait for Facebook—probably a fraud prevention thing—before I could make the change. I did all of this because I wanted to be consistent, to create familiarity, and to bring a sense of ritual to the audience. If you're a regular, you've probably got my intro almost as memorized as I do.

Then there's my closing tag: Life is short, drink the bourbon. Again, if you're a regular, you know that’s a nod to my late fraternity brother. God bless you, Scott Madsen. I miss you every day. It’s a personal tribute and a reminder to enjoy life while you can. Don’t save the good china. Don’t save that nice bottle of whiskey—crack that thing open and share it with the people you love. You never know when you won’t get the opportunity because they’re not around anymore.

Along the way, discipline became the backbone of this project. Every day, I spend at least 45 minutes researching, drafting, editing, presenting, and posting each message across the socials. That’s close to 35 hours of content created over the last year—about 230 hours of my life dedicated to this project.

If there's one thing that defines how I think and communicate, it's pop culture. If you're a regular, you know this already—chalk it up to being a Gen X latchkey kid, raised by TV, fueled by hose water, and thriving on benign parental neglect. I literally think in terms of TV, music, movie, and book anecdotes. It’s how I process the world and connect with people. It spills over into these Red Mike Messages—whether it’s a lesson from Rocky (I lean on Rocky a lot), Bull Durham, A League of Their Own, The West Wing, or an obscure lyric from a largely forgotten 1980s song. Pop culture is the common language that weaves through all of these messages. At the end of the day, stories—whether from fiction or real life—stick with us and help us connect with people.

Speaking of people—through it all, my oh-so-patient wife either understands my devotion to doing this every day or, at the very least, supports and indulges me. In either case, I’m really grateful. She’s a fantastic lady and far, far, far out of my league. You know when you see a guy walking down the street with a drop-dead gorgeous woman, and you think, How did he manage that?

Well, that’s me, and I have no idea. I’m just being me. Again, I’m grateful for her.

Some days, the words come easily. Some days, they don’t. But I always show up. I show up every day because discipline isn’t about motivation—it’s about commitment.

And I do love doing it. I really do.

I am honored by those of you who tune in daily and check out these outlined but largely stream-of-consciousness live streams. I appreciate you very much.

Here’s to the next year. As I do every day, I humbly ask for a like, a follow, and a share. And remember—there might be something in it for you. The most shares by the end of the week across all platforms—be sure to tag me so I know you shared it—will get one of our Red Mike Messages tumblers. I’ll be thrilled to send it to you.

Again, love you guys. Thank you for being here. Please know that these messages come from my heart—I mean every word. I’ll see you again tomorrow.

And don’t forget, as always—Life is short. Drink the bourbon.