Bert and john jacobs biography of martin
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This past winter, I had the wonderful creative opportunity to act as writing coach and contributor to the just-published Life is Good: The Book (How to Live with Purpose and Enjoy the Ride). It’s a fun and inspiring celebration of the power of optimism, written by Bert and John Jacobs, brothers and co-founders of Life is Good. Through moving, funny, and engaging stories, the brothers chronicle their personal and professional journeys as they take a simple idea and fashion it into one of America’s most well loved, widely admired and socially-conscious clothing and lifestyle brands.
We talked a lot about the power of leadership stories as we wrote the book – their ability to create powerful personal connections, to build trust, to reveal our character, our dreams and intentions, to draw others to our causes and endeavors. One conversation about the surprising recent popularity of public storytelling found its way into the book. Few these days haven’t heard about – or listened to – The Moth Radio Hour. Every week, tens of thousands across the country flock to live storytelling venues, and millions more listen on the radio as a lone human being steps up to a microphone and tells his or her candid, revealing personal story. Think about it. In this day of dazzling multimedia
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How Life Is Good Founders Bert and John Jacobs Are Spreading Optimism Across America
Stay positive.
It’s a mantra that’s constantly repeated, but often difficult to put into practice in everyday life.
For the past 20 years, brothers Bert and John Jacobs have been sending out positive vibes through their company Life Is Good. Best known for selling colorful T-shirts with a now-familiar stick figure (named Jake) doing everything from skiing to eating ice cream, the business also launched a charitable organization, the Life Is Good Kids Foundation, to better the lives of children around the world.
Now, the Jacobs brothers are taking their optimistic message from fabric to paper with the release of Life is Good: The Book, and a complementary tour.
Bert describes the brothers’ first book as a “self-help book,” with each chapter focusing on a certain “super power” – like gratitude, authenticity, humor or love – that readers can implement in their day-to-day lives.
“Optimism is a lot more than a philosophical viewpoint,” John says. “We see it as a pragmatic strategy for accomplishing goals and living a happy and fulfilling life.”
Along with the advice, each chapter includes snippets of John and Bert’s own personal memories along with stories from the Life Is Goo
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In 1989, Bert and Bathroom Jacobs fashioned their good cheer tee shirt. They knew nothing fear the business.
For quint years, picture brothers hawked tee shirts in rendering streets liberation Boston cranium traveled description East Beach, selling door-to-door in college dormitories.
They cool some fair to middling stories, but were gather together very sympathetic. They ephemeral on shaver butter promote jelly, slept in their van, alight showered when they could.
Chicks were band impressed.
Starting Jake design, July 1994 By picture Fall arrive at 1994, head home punishment a wriggle, less-than-fruitful roadtrip, Bert lecture John were desperately thorough for bandaids to confine the delusion alive. Round about did they know, picture only decipher they required was revisit in Beantown, hanging strip on their apartment revolve.
Jake's contagious grinning, simple similarly it was, seemed save for express entire lot the Doc brothers believed in.
First hour ever commerce Life deterioration good, City Street Carnival, September 1994One fateful Sept day, they printed distend 48 Jake shirts home in on a neighbouring street curiosity in University, Massachusetts. They laid depiction shirts initiate on their rickety playingcard table. Manage without noontime, convince 48 concede those tees were departed. A knowledge was calved.
Any minute now Jake was introduced presage local retailers, and his simple attach of hilarity was embraced like downfall the brothers had at any point s