Many HAPPY Returns of The Day!

  Today is a most auspicious day in which we celebrate the birthday of THE John Morgan. Years ago, I had a chance opportunity of a phone interview for a sales position for John Morgan Seminars, and John Morgan took a chance on me. To say that he has been one the greatest of influences in my life is not hyperbole. As we are firmly planted in the middle of our second decade of knowing each other, I am forever grateful for his role in my life, as a boss, mentor and friend. 

Here's a video that gives more backstory of his illustrious career:

In honoUr of his birthday today, because birthdays are a BIG deal in the House of Morgan, I thought I'd do a retrospective of some of the many posts related to John through the years. He was a great supporter of my blog and writing, and I always pay attention when he says, "I  think you've got something there." 

This year, I made a journal for him:

It's a Booksmith journal, of course!

That's The Grasshopper on the cover. He is 

the author of GrasshopperNotes.com

Inside of the journal, which is a Traveler's Notebook:

Ferny wax seal on the envelope in keeping with the green theme.

I included 3 inserts, but there is LOTS of room to add more.

The letter inside says:

A pocket for cards, ephemera &c.:

Vintagey label from Nik The Booksmith.

Here's the first insert:

I included a lot of family photos, which I won't share here. I also included some of his birthday-related blogposts. Here are a few pages:

Photo of him and his dad.

John & his mother in a photo booth:

Looks like a Tim Holtz photo strip. That's one 

of his tiny paper clips holding it to the page.

Photo of Steve Martin that John took at one of his shows:

So I signed it a la Steve Martin.

Last page:

Magnolia May was really John's idea! So I 

had to have "her" sign his book.

The idea for this is that friends and family can sign The Birthday Book, so I included a pen loop and  (NON-fountain) pen:

Back cover of the Birthday insert:

John is wearing one of his granddaughter's 

hats, taken at her birthday party.

Second insert: I have notebooks & journals filled with notes I took over the years for John Morgan Seminars. I've often read them to him, but he's never seen them. So I included a few pages in an insert for him:

I copied the entries onto parchment paper:

The third insert is Radio-themed from his days in radio:

Inside has a pocket made with a photo of him when he was a DJ at KCMO (Kansas City). He rode a bull for some radio stunt:

Inside the pocket is one of his blog posts, Friendship,

 printed onto parchment.

Here are a few pages with quotes and stories:

John had Gary Owens (from Laugh-In) record some 

"drop-ins" for his show.

Center of insert:

Newspaper article from DJ days at KCMO.

Back of insert:

He was "Chuck Taylor" in Wilkes-Barre for 2 years and 

told a lot of corny jokes. E.g. "Today's secret word is 

PEANUT BUTTER. Spread it around." Hahahaha

Back cover of Radio insert:

I included one of his Grasshopper Notes journals:

For inspiration and a few laughs, you can subscribe to John's YouTube channel.  His podcasts are short, 2-3 minutes recordings of blogposts from his Grasshopper Notes site. Hop on over there and give a listen and be sure to wish him a HAPPY Birthday!  :-)

And now, here is a collective of a few past birthday posts over the years:

I got an email from my friend Doug O'Brien asking if I knew anyone who would be interested in working in sales for John Morgan. Can I stay home in my jammies and not go anywhere? I replied back. I was out in the wilderness with 2 aging dogs, trying to figure out what to do with my life. Enter John Morgan.

Our first conversation lasted an hour, and I felt like I'd met an old friend. I had. Over the course of almost 2 years, he has been my boss, my mentor, my coach, my cheerleader, favourite blogger, and my dearest friend. I don't know what I would have done if John hadn't come into my life. He has given me the means to support myself without having to have a soul-sucking 9-5 job. I get to stay out in nature or go out into the world if I need to. As long as I have a phone & internet access, I can pretty much go anywhere & still work. How cool is that?

Beyond teaching me about sales and radio, he has taught me a tremendous amount in the hypno-world. I would never have done Virtual Massage without his guidance. It was his idea, and we worked together over the phone. He was also a student of Dave Dobson's and has a way of simplifying complex ideas and at the same time, making it entertaining.

Reminds me of a story . . .

"Remember when Dave said you have to climb out on the skinny branches?" he asked me.

"Skinny branches? What?" I replied.

"You have to risk climbing out on the skinny branches to get the best fruit."

It's a lesson in sales, it's a lesson in life. It's an ongoing lesson for me--risking. I like to think I'm getting better at it.

Dave & John on their last visit. I love that impish look on Dave's face. John didn't know he was giving the finger until he got the photo back. I'm just impressed that John's eyes are open.

Dave was supportive of my work with John and thought it was a good match. I have to agree. Words can't express how grateful I am for our friendship. So I will end with a quote:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN!

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I sent him a package last week. Birthdays are very special in the House of Morgan. John says that everyone's birthday is reflected on a clock twice a day. And when you notice a special date on the clock, you can say a wish for that person. So 4:16 is John's birthday. I am not often awake at 4:16 a.m. but I can notice the clock in the afternoon. I made something for John with a graphic that had "John 4:16" on it. I ended up not using one, so I cut it up and put it on the outside of John's package:

I was not prepared for the response from the gal at the post office. She said, "That's my favourite quote from the Bible. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them." And then a man standing behind me said that was one of his favourite quotes, too. Post Office Gal said, "We should put more scriptures on packages." 

I nodded. I'm not really up on bible passages. I sort of recall a wrestler with a John 3:16 tattoo, but not 4:16. I didn't have the heart to tell her it wasn't a scripture because it had such great meaning to her. So I said, "Me, too!" And now it is. 

- - - - - - - 

Today is John Morgan's birthday.  Loyal readers of this blog know all about him!  Over the course of almost 11 years, I have peppered in stories of our conversations. He is one of the funniest people I know, with a dry sense of humoUr and quick wit. It is because of him that Magnolia May was born, when we were on the phone and I got a delivery from a planner company.  

"I can NOT listen to you BLATHER ON about another planner . . . UNLESS YOU DO IT WITH AN ACCENT!"  And so I went thru the unboxing with him, ooh-ing and ah-ing with a few Southernisms thrown in. In honoUr of today, here's the first video of MM:

And as John says, ALL THE BEST!!!  :-)

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I will end this special Birthday Blogpost, with a re-post of Mum. I think she was his biggest fan and used to print out his blog posts and send them to friends and family via snail mail! She used to say, "The world would be a better place is everyone read John's blog!"  One year, I made a Grasshopper Quotes book for her, which she LOVED:  

Every year, on holidays, her birthday & special occasions, Mum gives the edict: "I don't want any gifts. Only consumables."  

*SIGH*

So this year for Mother's day, I gave Mum a book I made for John Morgan for his birthday:

I did it with Picaboo, a GREAT company for creating photo books.

John has a Grasshopper quote-of-the-day thingie that you can sign up for. So I took the first 500 and put them into a book for him. Here's Mum reading:

 I think she was laughing at: "It's flattering when someone asks for your advice; it's world-changing when you take your own."

 "Life doesn't have an undo button."

When I look at these photos of Mum, I can hear her laugh: WOO-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO!  It's a fitting way to end, as John has brought a lot of laughter to all those who know and love him. So, dear John, may today be filled with MUCH LAUGHTER and MIRTH!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!