Hey guys, My group, this is the way I heard at the only podcast for the curious with a short attention span, this episode number one sixty four. It's called a line in the sand, a line in the sand. I say it like that, because, if you're going to draw a line, in the sand, you'd better be serious about it people drawing lines in the sand. It seems all over the place nowadays ultimatums filling the air filling the airwaves. Do this, or else well in my experience, if you're going to draw a line in the sand, you better be prepared to do the or else. Otherwise. Your credibility We shall fly out the window, never to return. I have a partner, a wonderful woman, a Merry Sullivan. Some of you have heard me speak of her before when I met Mary fifteen years.

She was the managing partner at a law firm in LOS Angeles, and she took me on as a client very graciously out of the kindness of her heart and help keep me out of the deep and poor for a couple of years and as we get to know each other. She she liked what I was doing she liked the idea I had for building a business around the themes of dirty jobs. She, like Micro, works. She like the idea of a foundation to help close the skills gap and when I finally convinced her to leave her job that this prestigious law firm, she said dumb. I only have one request. I said ok, she said it is not really a request. To be honest, it demand, I said. Ok, she said I'll back whatever position you want me to take in the midst of a negotiation I'll I'll take whatever line you want me to take. But if you're

to draw a line, and you back up from that line. I will leave you and I believed her. I believed- and for that reason I have been very cautious over the years with regard to drawling lines in the sand. I've been very cautious with issuing ultimatums, and so I say all that, because the the gentlemen, I'm about to introduce you to, I believe, would probably say the same thing. He did, however, crawl a very real line in some very real sand and the results changed. The world I will introduce him to you forthwith, but not until I take a moment to ever so suddenly, gradually myself in the people. I work with over at micro work, We are this month award over a million dollars in work ethic scholarships to roughly two hundred and thirty applicants. We are thrilled to be

able to announce this Mary, and I are both really excited to be entering our thirteenth year. The aforementioned Mary Sullivan, so too is chuck. Klaus, Meyer and Jade Estrada and Libby, and Laura and Sherry and all the people over at micro works. This is a big deal for us because, after pushing this bolder up, the hill for a long time were finally starting to see some real enthusiasm around learning skill and mastering a trade. I just this out, because I know that many of you who listened to the pond cast have supported micro works. So I appreciate that lots of companies out their support our organizational thank them separately, a little later, but I do want to give a shot out right out of one of those companies. Its Wolverine Wolverine has been such a good friend to this point cast into my foundation. They too are committed to closing America's skills gap and where

a pair of their thousand miles right now. I've been wearing their boots for for many years and when we we only had a chance to meet for five years ago Well, we shared a lot of real estate on the old Van Diagrams and Wolverine has since donated more than two hundred thousand dollars to micro works specifically to our work ethic scholarship programme, and I just appreciate that a lot so too. I am grateful for their generous support visa v, the boots themselves. Every year our scholarship recipients receive a pair of Wolverine work boots there, the best work boots you can get and they ve offered over thousand pairs. So far, so they just been terrific.

Partners, which is why I hope you don't mind if I direct you, especially if you're in the market, for a new pair of boots over the wool veryain dot com, Slash MIKE because a wolf Worryin Dotcom, Slash MIKE when you enter the promo code, might twenty five? You can save twenty five dollars off any purchase over a hundred and fifty bucks work boots can get expensive for short, especially those that are made in the USA, with the kind of care that goes into every single pair of Wolverine boots, so poke around on the website. Save twenty five bucks off any purchase over fifty dollars, that's Wilfried Dotcom, Slash MIKE Promo Code is MIKE twenty five now not drawing a line in the sand. Right on that are not telling you, if you don't go over there by some boots, that we can't be friends anymore with I'm gonna quit the pod cast. I've just say the boots are terrific and wove reads a wonderful company

said all of that. Where were we? Ah, yes, he drew a line in the sand. This guy did at least that's wired. When the technology was first demonstrated for the President of the United States, he was astonished amazing. He said simply amazing. Would you like to try, sir? Yes, he said, I believe I would flight by whose security detail the press didn't selected a target at random and activate the device, the technology took care of the rest amazing, he murmured simply amazing It was an understandable reaction to a technological breakthrough that would impact millions of people and transform the global economy. Perhaps if the poor,

isn't it knew his reaction would destroy his bow. For reelection and make you know who a house name he'd have been less effusively but Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's go back to work. The technology was born, Miami Beach night Eighteen, forty nine, where young engineer named Norman Woodland, loud in the warm sand. Waiting for inspiration to wash over him. Like most proof national problem, solvers Norman. That solutions often came when he allowed his mind to wander so on this particular day at the beach, he wasn't trying to change the world. He was simply relaxing in the sand, watching the guy Girls go by recalling his years and the boys out of America for Norman the boy scouts. Had been a life changer, It's where he learned to shoot a gun, build a teepee sail a boat, make a fire commute Kate with Morse Code and navigate

his way out of a forest thanks to scouting. Now, and had adjusted to army life with ease thanks to his unique ability to solve tricky problems. He wound up, working at Oak Ridge laboratories, where he helped develop. The first atomic bomb Norman smiled to himself wistfully What does an engineer do after splitting the Adam and making the world safe for democracy? whatever the answer was doodling aimlessly in the wet sand, seem like an unlikely answer until he looked down and saw what he had doodles and w his initials. But the letters didn't look like an end or a w. They looked like two dots. And three dashes for no,

particular reason. Norman dragged his fingers away from the dots and dashes leaving five vertical lines in the wet sand with five v Call spaces in between interesting muttered Norman as he pondered the lines in the sand. A pretty girl walked by in Anna Bikini that left little to the donation, Norman Smooth, with the lines over and quickly spelled out another word: dot, dot, dot, dot, dash dot, dot, dash dash dash dash dash s e exe, why the girl in the Skippy Bikini was smiling at him, but norm didn't notice. He was pulling his fingers through the sand again more deliberately this time, the result twelve.

Vertical lines with twelve vertical spaces in between one for every dot and one for every dash good. Lord. He thought. Could it be this? simple good, the lines be zeros. Could the spaces be ones norm? spent the next few hours doodling in the sand and as he doodle, He felt the same rush of excitement, he'd felt in the lab at Oak Ridge, because Norman knew he onto something big, something universal, something that would affect more people than the atomic bomb, including the. Outcome of a future election and the sudden ubiquity of you know who They took a few decades for the actual technology to catch up with the underlying idea, but by late, seventies, Norman's new language was being translated all over. Country and shortly after that

all over the world. Finally, Forty three years after his brain storm on the Beach Norman Woodland was invited to the White House where he was presented with a long overdue national metal of technology and innovation. Ironically, it was George H w Bush, who were awarded him, the metal ironic because just a few months earlier. President Bush had me, a campaign stop at the National Grocers Association, where he was invited to try Norman's technology for himself, which he did by DG making a carton of milk over a glass surface that magically determined its cost in a millisecond. Amazing, President Bush, had said simply amazing.

President Bush's astonishment was typical of any consumer in nineteen. Seventy six, who saw Norman's technology in action for the first time, Unfortunately, this was not nineteen. Seventy six, This was nineteen. Ninety two and the president's action to a simple lasers scanner in a Czech outlying was captured. On video video that ran on the evening news power. Thing viewers to wonder if the president had ever been inside and actual grocery store, video Inspired the New York Times to publish a front page article, the compared his reaction that of a man seeing fire for the first time overnight new narrative was born. President Bush became the candidate who was out of touch with the common man and needest, who understood nothing about the challenge is facing everyday Americans the practice

I've been as a man who lacked the common touch, a devil aiding accusation the doomed bid for re election and made you know who I am sold name, in other words, not law, after he helped develop a new kind of bomb, a former boy Gout named Norman Woodland Help develop a new kind of language, a language of Zeros and one's inspired by Morse Code astray change kind of language. That first appeared as lines in the sand, but went on to become the lines of the universal product code now found on the package's of everything we buy the same lines. The cost George Bush a second term in the White House. Pave the way for Bill Clinton, a man who understood the importance of the common touch, a touch that may have become a bit too common

he crossed another kind of line with you know who A twenty two year old cigar aficionado, whose name is now no memorable than that of the president. She served the name of a devoted in turn called Monica Lewinsky anyway, that's wired,