Uncorking a Story

Short-Form Reflections from the side of my personality I like to call “Open Mike”

 

Featured Reflections

A Leap of Faith

How rediscovered faith helped someone through the pandemic.

Born to Run

How Mandy Patankin and Kevin Knight stopped me in my tracks.

Finding Meaning

The importance of finding meaning in work, love, and finding courage in the face of danger.

Bubbles Up

Bubbles Up

We just passed the three month anniversary of my brother’s passing and, to quote the late Jerry Garcia (one of my brother Gregory’s favorites), “I want to know, where does the time go?” How could it have been three months? It’s still so surreal that my brother, my...

Greg Carlon: Simply the Best

Greg Carlon: Simply the Best

On Sunday, I was getting ready to go for a run through Waveny park here in New Canaan when my mother asked me, “Michael, are your shoes tied?” I thought, that is a funny question to ask a 48 year old man, and it stayed in my head as I was starting my run. As I ran...

Help me Help some Kids

Help me Help some Kids

As many of you know, I’m an avid runner which is ironic because, when I was a kid, I hated running. I was slow, it just wasn’t fun, and I avoided it like the plague. Something happened in high school, though. My twin brother Jimmy joined the cross-country team, which...

You Can’t Rush the Sunrise

You Can’t Rush the Sunrise

I’m a morning person. Dracula is more of a morning person compared to most of the people I know, which I suppose is fortunate for me as I can devote the time I’d be chit chatting with other humans to getting some writing done. Some people cannot handle the energy I...

7 Beliefs, with Mike Carlon

7 Beliefs, with Mike Carlon

We have a tradition in my house on Christmas Eve where the five of us head to the family room after dinner and watch The Polar Express. Even though the kids are now twenty, they still want to gather together and watch this uniquely animated film with their parents—if...

Rise of the Love Coach

Rise of the Love Coach

I had a big win this weekend—my longest distance run since breaking my foot on April 2nd. Prior to that injury, a 10K would have been considered a medium distance run for me, but having to halt all training for 10 weeks set me back big time both physically and...

Living Life at Slack Tide

Living Life at Slack Tide

The first sign that my emotions weren’t regulating well today was when I started to cry while listening to a Jimmy Buffett song. Seriously, who does that? It wasn’t one of the “songs you know by heart,” which can’t help but put someone in a good mood. Take for example...

Much More than The Entertainer

Much More than The Entertainer

I was invited to speak at a conference in New York this week about lessons I’ve learned while talking with all the wonderful authors I’ve had the honor to interview on Uncorking a Story. One of my clients is also attending this event and let it slip yesterday that...

Tell Someone that they Matter

Tell Someone that they Matter

I know that many of us have a tendency to, every now and then, engage in a little negative self-talk. For me that takes two forms, the first being imposter syndrome. Even though I’ve written eight novels, run my own business, and have the opportunity to chat with very...

Farewell, Roo Roo

Farewell, Roo Roo

I’ve known this day was coming for a very long time—it’s quite rare that golden retrievers live to almost sixteen years of age, though our Reilly has. We adopted her from a rescue service after she had just turned two and she was in every first day of school picture...

The Agony of Da Feet

The Agony of Da Feet

Ever since I was in high school, I’ve loved running. When my grandmother was dying during my senior year, I used to go on long runs to deal with the grief I was experiencing. I wouldn’t listen to music, I’d just concentrate on my breathing and lose myself in the run....

Funnies from Florida

Funnies from Florida

I just spent a week in Florida visiting my parents and came to the realization that, even though my children are on the cusp of leaving the nest, God doesn’t want my parenting skills to go to waste.  My mother, who always had a voracious appetite, eats like a bird and...

Sunday Reflection, Thank You Nicole

Sunday Reflection, Thank You Nicole

It may appear as if I am two days late with this week’s entry, but I have a story about that. You see, I needed it to coincide with today’s episode of Uncorking a Story, which profiles an author named Aileen Weintraub who wrote a memoir about being on bedrest during...

Living in the Moment

Living in the Moment

Met fans will recount the 1986 season the way some people might recount the day they got married. We had waited so long for a World Series title (maybe not as long as the Red Sox) and this team of misfits (substance abuse was rampant on that roster) pulled it together...

Hold Me Close

Hold Me Close

When I was out for a run this morning I decided to listen to U2s Songs of Innocence album. On it, there’s a song called Iris (Hold me Close) in which Bono sings about missing his mother and his faith that, even after the “stars go out,” he will see her again. It’s a...

10 Insights from our biggest year

10 Insights from our biggest year

I learned many personal and professional lessons in 2021. I was truly blessed to interview so many amazing storytellers this past year and am forever grateful to all the publicists and producers who introduced me to all of my amazing guests. This was Uncorking a...

Not all gifts were under the tree

Not all gifts were under the tree

Traditionally, all of our Christmas gifts are placed underneath the tree in our family room. Even though our kids are nineteen years old, they insist that gifts not be placed under the tree until after we all retire for the night on Christmas Eve. While I appreciate...

The Little Things

The Little Things

Listen Here or Read BelowNew Release FollowBack in 2017, U2 toured the world performing The Joshua Tree in its entirety to commemorate the 30th anniversary of that iconic album. Really, there’s not a bad song on it and you haven’t lived until you’ve heard Bullet in...

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