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Episode 293: An Aspirational Gift in Tragedy with “The Amazing Hondo” We all have something in common, six categories of universal human needs. When our needs for connection, physical well-being, honesty, play, autonomy, and meaning go unmet regularly, we become unhappy. The contrary is also true. When our needs get met regularly, we feel affectionate, excited, confident, inspired, joyful, refreshed, peaceful, engaged, and hopeful. Feelings give us clues to help us better meet our needs and, by extension, learn to meet others’ needs better. “The Amazing Hondo” Hughes implemented a survival strategy when a primary need for connection with his parents became disrupted. He permitted himself to get his needs met outside of his family of origin. Mentors in sports, math, and magic encouraged Hondo to develop his gifts and talents and share them with others. Legendary Billy Peterson was Hondo’s baseball coach. Facebook Part of Hondo’s longevity is his innovative and creative marketing practices to leverage client relationships. When you are only as good as your next big gig, meaningful conversations can increase incoming calls by 50% and turn one gig into many. Business mentoring from Mark LeBlanc has also deepened Hondo’s business sense. A penny analogy underscores how to grow your business exponentially. There are pearls of wisdom sprinkled throughout our conversation as Hondo talks about building a career through his craft of magic with a message. Three tips for building your portfolio are one example. And, imagining yourself where you want to be will increase the odds of getting there was a piece of advice from a mentor. Hondo recalls a treasured memory of visiting Muhammad Ali at his home. Muhammad Ali said he was forming a comeback and jokingly says to Hondo, “With all your jive, I’ll take you in five.” In his 40s, tragedy knocked on Hondo’s doorstep. Two police officers deliver the news of his youngest brother Mark’s death by suicide. The aspiration for Hondo’s magic came from Mark. Mark was a gifted guitar player, singer, comedian. Early in Mark’s life, he became interested in magic and took lessons at Eagle Magic Store with Al Schneider and brought Hondo to the store. As if one tragedy weren’t enough, Hondo’s mother died of lung cancer two years before Mark’s death, and his Dad died a few years later. Each death prompted an inward focus and a ‘stop doing’ and ‘start being’ kind of human focus. His performances took on new meaning, and his audiences include Mark’s presence and Hondo’s gratitude. I leave you with two exercises you can download and complete: Universal Human Needs Exercise and WeMentor Workaholism Quiz. And Cat Stevens’ lyrics to Where Do The Children Play. Tune in to find out why this song meant so much to Mark and Hondo. DOWNLOAD Where Do The Children Play by Cat Stevens Well, I think it’s fine, building Jumbo planes Or taking a ride on a cosmic train Switch on summer from a slot machine Get what you want to if you want, ’cause you can get anything. I know we’ve come a long way We’re changing day today But tell me, where do the children play? Well, you roll on roads over fresh green grass For your lorry loads pumping petrol gas And you make them long, and you make them tough But they go on and on, and it seems you can’t get off Oh, I know we’ve come a long way We’re changing day to day But tell me, where do the children play? Well you’ve cracked the sky, scrapers fill the air Will you keep on building higher ‘Til there’s no more room up there? Will you make us laugh, will you make us cry? Will you tell us when to live, will you tell us when to die? I know we’ve come a long way We’re changing day to day But tell me, where do the children play? Please do the Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring (C.A.L.M.) Activities, below. Podcast Sponsor Strategies to Grow Your Business Monthly Bookkeeping Payroll Services Back Office Strategies and Support Contact Us Now Episode Resources