It’s safe to say that John Condon knows Northern California’s Wine Country. A former deputy sheriff of Sonoma County turned Russian River kayak tour guide, John now loads passengers into his twelve seat van and carts them to the wineries that have made Sonoma and Napa counties a worldwide destination.

John’s California Rivers Tours picked us up for a little holiday wine tasting over the break, where our party of five set out to revisit our favorite locations while uncovering new ones. This was the first wine tour for three of us, so John took the reins and we were off for six hours of wine, sightseeing, and fun.

There were three things that I really enjoyed about the tour John took us on.

1) The word “complimentary.” In the past three or four wine tasting outings I’ve made with a guideless group of friends, I ended up forking over $5-$10 a winery for tasting fees. During our day we went to five wineries (Armida, Hop Kiln, Korbel, Harvest Moon, and Hook n’ Ladder) and not one winery made us dip into the wallet for tasting. So instead of dropping twenty-five dollars on fees, I was able to grab a great bottle of Zinfandel from Harvest Moon.

2) John’s lunch. When we were done with the champagne tasting at Korbel we joined John on a private patio, where a table full of goodies awaited us. The salmon we ate was caught by his son and smoked by John. The jam was from the berries he and his granddaughter hand picked. This, paired with a bottle of wine purchased earlier, was perfect. The meal broke up the day and allowed us some time to catch up. It is what John calls, “his differentiating factor that seperates his tour from all the others offered in wine country.”

3) John’s tidbits. As we cruised around a corner John told us to look under the bridge for people for steelhead. When we approached Hop Kiln, John had us smell a hop plant which he then identified as being part of the cannabis family. All the little things that you would never take notice of doing your own wine tour enhanced the experience that much more.

John’s website is www.calrivers.com. He is the owner and operator, and can be reached either by phone at (707) 579-2209 or by email at calrivers1(at)aol.com. He is one of the most reasonably priced (per group, groups 1-7, $50/hr, groups 8-12, $75/hr, lunch included) and experienced tour guides around, and I encourage you to give him a call if you’re thinking about seeing Wine Country.

The smoked salmon alone is worth it.

Gamal Aziz, CEO of MGM Mirage and COO of the MGM Grand, has spent his entire life in the tourism industry. Born in Egypt, Gamal was fortunate enough to naturally acquire various languages as a child, possibly foreshadowing a life of demanding communication. At 16, Gamal spent his entire savings on a roundtrip ticket to France; his first job was bussing tables in Paris. After business school at the University of Cairo, Gamal realized that his “true passion is quality service.”

Today, Gamal uses that passion to lead more than 9,000 employees, a responsibility he gladly undertakes. “It is essential to know,” says Gamal, “That leadership is leadership, wherever you employ it,” whether as the CEO, or a pool attendant.

“There is nothing better,” Gamal says, “Than loving what you do. What a waste it is to dread doing your job.”

When asked how people can better identify their talents, Gamal suggests they make a list of everything they like to do, regardless of how applicable to the business world it seems. “What do you flock to?” says Gamal. “With what are you most comfortable?” The more honest people can be with themselves, the more chance they have of finding their passions as coinciding with real world opportunities.

At 47, Sandi Serling decided to start riding motorcycles. She is not an action junky, nor is she crazy, but her love of the motorcycle is palpable. On her 46th birthday, the self-employed P.R. agent jumped out of an airplane; halfway down, she thought, “I want to ride a motorcycle.” “To be successful in your work,” Sandi says, “You need to be a bit of a maverick.” Sandi uses motorcycles as a metaphor of what she does; the motorcycle is risky, much like self-employment, but risk is rewarded with great gain.

A vivacious extrovert, Sandi loves the attention she receives from riding, noting that her bike has helped land a, client or two. “If you’re not passionate about what you do,” Sandi warns, “You’re life is going to be miserable.” Passion is an important concept for Sandi, because as a publicist, she must be able to embody those things she represents. Success, in Sandi’s eyes, leaves no stone unturned, and no path unexplored. Sandi is in the process of exploring those paths, and judging the smile and constant laugh that accompany her, the exploration has been considerably joyful.

Laura Dombrowski has a degree in statistics and a career in photography, thanks to the traces liberal arts found, within the general education system, at most American universities. Laura took her first photography class during her junior year of college, and spent an entire Semester at Sea traveling the world, taking pictures. She has not looked back since.

Currently a wedding photographer in Denver, Laura has found the balance for which so many self-employed people search. She constantly juggles her creative, marketing, and public relations role, allowing her to do what she loves most: tell stories through photography.

Laura started working freelance directly out of art school, and has therefore learned equally from success and failure. As a woman, in what she calls “an extremely technical industry,” her confidence is as vital, if not more so, than her talent. She advises that swallowing pride better allows rational decisions that will benefit the business; running for notoriety has a high price, and often an abstract reward.

By focusing on one field, weddings, Laura has been able to hone her skill while intensively studying her craft. The work has paid off. Her photographs have been published in various magazines, and her name is respected in the Museum Art District of downtown Denver. “Just maintain focus,” Laura urges, “And everything else will fall into place.”

Peter Gros needs very little introduction. As the host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, Peter has been seen by countless millions of people. Every year, Peter has the opportunity to speak with hundreds of thousands of young people across the United States, hoping to inspire the next generation to not lose faith in the infinite possibility of the natural world.

The grandson of a forester, Peter grew up in the wild, but almost entered the world of sales. A series of strange occurrences, and one lucky photo-op, landed Peter on the Johnny Carson Show, and soon after, he began hosting the Wild Kingdom.

Peter lavishes praise upon his wife for standing by him through uncertain time; her support allowed him to take opportunities running, and never compromises his dreams. The other target of his praise is Mutual of Omaha, the company that provides the backing for everything Peter has been able to do. It is not a shameless corporate plug. Without the sponsorship of such a company, there is simply no reasonable method for Peter to have reached the audience he has.

Peter’s most sage advice comes when speaking about the future; too often in modernity is doom forecasted for the natural word. Peter says, “We definitely have serious problems, but we’re turning the corner. We’re making a difference. My personal goal, until I die, is to convince as many young people as I can that it’s not too late to make a difference.”

Michael Hynson, the featured surfer in the legendary movie The Endless Summer, as well as one of the finest surfboard shapers in the world, offers a warning to those pursuing their passion:

“Fame and fortune do not go hand in hand.”

After filming The Endless Summer Michael had attained a legendary status in the surfing, yet he saw no financial reward in that legendary status. Passion took Michael around the world and back, but in the end was more of a blinding force than a supportive one.

The boy who grew up in Hawaii but became enamored with surfing in California, is credited as one of the people who brought the surfer lifestyle into mainstream American culture. He was recently featured in a nine-page spread in Surfer magazine displaying his innovative line of Hynson Surfboards.

Michael is a sarcastic, funny, gruff man, reflective of many years of successes and also failure. But he comes across as an incredibly honest man, to the extent that he offers no personal review of his surfboards, leaving that job to those who ride them.

Michael is resilient in his business drive, working his way to the top with a more sound business plan than before, and his surfboards will certainly be a big part of the surfing culture for many years to come.

You can check out Michael Hynson’s surfboards at http://www.michaelhynsonsurfboards.com/

When asked what she would tell herself at 22, Wanda Marie says, “be free.”

The advice from the woman who acted as life coach and business partner to the late Yolanda King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., lingers in magical simplicity. Speaking with Wanda in the Leimert Park home formerly owned by Dr. King’s daughter, one immediately feels the presence of a woman sage beyond her years. Admittedly hopeful to someday “heal the planet,” Wanda dreams big but acts locally and effectively, with programs such as the Inner Peace Conference, a telephone support service that advises anyone who calls on a wide array of issues.

Growing up in the slums of South Central Los Angeles, Wanda found her spirituality while coping with an alcoholic mother and sexually abusive step-father. None could blame her if this had ruined her life.

Far from ruin her life, her childhood experiences taught her that her soul could be at peace even among the turmoil of her everyday life. Today, she inspires her clients to set strategic goals, ones that push a person just outside of their comfort zone, and therefore yield more valuable reward. She teaches to never disregard the ills of society, but rather to find peace within, hoping one day to heal without.

Check out Wanda’s new book being released as we speak, “Living Inner Peace: A Personal Guide to Greater Happiness” and if you’d like to contact Wanda, please visit www.WandaMarie.com.

With the loud engine roar and blades rapidly revolving, a helicopter lands at a school assembly full of awestruck first graders. A man in a captain suit cuts the engine and hops out of the cockpit to wave to the crowd. The school erupts in excitement.

Amongst the crowd there is a young first grader who would take this moment and hold on to the memory forever. That first grader was Bruce Haffner.

Bruce Haffner joined KTVK 3TV in 1984 and is currently a pilot/reporter who covers stories from a helicopter for the Good Morning Arizona and Good Evening Arizona TV shows. He took me up in the air for my first ever helicopter ride as we circled the greater Phoenix area looking for stories to cover.

Bruce’s journey to become the pilot in the cockpit came after he discovered his true passion. As an Arizona State broadcast journalism student he was assigned a project to cover an interesting, wacky story of his choice. He and his friends decided to do a story on the sport of Frisbee.

Attending a Frisbee tournament on the ASU campus, Bruce and his friends found a fifty-five year old man with long, stringy gray hair who had a love for the sport. His name was Willie.

One of the students haphazardly handed Bruce a camera and asked him to start filming. As Bruce looked through the lens at Willie tossing a frisbee, he looked into his future. He had discovered his passion at first sight. He knew right then that he had to become a photographer.

Upon graduation Bruce started to film rock videos with friends and pitch to TV shows for air time. Over the next two years he accumulated photography skills, but certainly not wealth.

“I probably made about $400 in those two years,” Bruce told me as we flew in the direction of the reported traffic accident at 101- South and Thomas Road. “That’s when I got sick of having no money and took a real job at Fox 10.”

At the Fox 10 news station in Phoenix Bruce got his first experience as a paid photographer. He learned the ins and outs of the news industry before joining the KTVK 3TV film crew. It was there that he started to rekindle the helicopter memory he had as a first grader.

Bruce was originally laughed at when he requested that he wanted to learn how to fly the News Chopper and report. First, he had no experience flying. Second, he had no experience reporting. Management put the idea on the backburner, but two people came in to mentor Bruce in a special way.

The helicopter pilot and reporter for News3, who had transformed himself into somewhat of a local celebrity, came to Bruce and told him that he heard he wanted to fly. He offered Bruce the opportunity to join him in the air as the photographer who would hang out the open door and grab the shots for live stories. Bruce jumped at the chance, and began to learn how to fly and photograph from one of the best in the industry.

Bruce’s other mentor was his wife Lisa Haffner, who currently runs her own show with “Your Life A to Z.” She taught him how to report, saying that the only thing you could actually report on was “what you see, and what you know.” Bruce would take this advice with him as he was suddenly asked to assume the role of pilot/reporter.

Since being asked to take over the cockpit, Bruce has combined his passions for photography, flying, reporting, and people in a unique way. He has a lifestyle he is happy with, and his work is something that he is passionate about.

What could be better than flying around town as the sun sets and sun rises, flying around to each reported accident or following a high speed chase?

What I took away:

There were a couple things that I took away from my early morning helicopter with Bruce. Out of the story you just read, I learned about the importance of mentors. I saw that all of Bruce’s prior experiences helped him be not only a helicopter pilot/news reporter, but that his photography background helps him position his helicopter so his current photographer and helicopter protégé Jim can get the money shots.

What I did not mention in Bruce’s story was his passion for people. He makes sure that all of his stories connect with people in some way. When he reports to a traffic accident, he makes sure to not only get the shot of the accident, but also a shot of the traffic jam so people can avoid it. When we were in the air Bruce made sure to incorporate the photos of his recent vacation to Mexico so viewers who had never been there could be a part of the experience. I think this is important for me to remember as we proceed with booking interviews and reporting on their stories, and for you. If your work is not connecting with people, then maybe its time to take a step back and get back to the basics.

On our first day of the trip, with the RV puttering along the I-8 freeway between Phoenix and San Diego, Daniel made the desperation call to Aunt Patti at 8pm our time, 10pm Chicago time. Our original plan was to stay in the RV that had broken down twice and guzzled $300 in gas already. But since we needed to get some rest and get out of the vehicle we’d been housed in for twelve hours (and would be staying in for the next month), Daniel decided he’d ask if we could stay at Aunt Patti and Uncle Jerry’s beach house in San Diego.

Read the full interview »

First off, let me say that if we had an award to give out to a person that has pursued their passion to the fullest extent it would have to go to John Freedman. John was one of the most interesting people that we talked to on our 2006 tour. His story is one in which a passion was identified and built upon in a most unusual and beautiful way.

Read the full interview »