A lot of planning goes into motivational speaking. You have to consider the audience you're speaking to, know the company, know why they are hiring you, and know the outcome they are looking for. Usually the prep time is six months in advance, sometimes as much as a year if its annual meeting. In that time you have several emails, sign letters of agreement, research the company, have conference calls, work on logistics, get deposits, book flights and hotel, have a final call and you are on your way. Ninety-nine percent of the time that's how it works...then there's that one percent. That stupid one percent that makes all the planning in the world go out the window. Such was the case with my recent"Dare to do it" speech I was to give at the annual convention of PG&E in San Francisco.

A month before the gig, I had spoken to Andy, the guy who hired me. I had said in passing, "You know the booking is in February, what do we do if it snows?" He said, "Our conference is always in February, we've had some close calls, but it's always worked out and besides what are the odds, that on that one day you can't make it?"

Well the long shot horse came in by a nose.

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Okay, for a person who is not into fashion, it is pretty amazing that I not only went to Fashion Week once, but twice in a year's time. Yes, I was willing to go back to Bryant Park and walk around a huge tent with many upscale people who take themselves way too seriously. However this time I went in style, and I'm not talking about my clothes...this time I went in style because I had a press pass.

The reason for our new privilege was because we (meaning the crew of the John Basedow TV reality show) were shooting an episode. The press pass gave us the ability to go in before the general audience, and of course go on the runway and do commentary and take pictures.

John had gone previously during the week to shoot, but my day of shooting with him was on Friday, the last day of the event.

On this outing were: myself, John, Carlene, the public appearance lady with "attitude" (who will shoot me if I mispronounced her name again...since I always seem to call her, CHarlene and not CArlene), and Jarett (the producer) who I punched during an impromptu boxing session with him while we were doing voiceovers. (You'd have to be on the Capo Update newsletter list to fully understand the story.)

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According to the "Traditional Valentines Day" theme, Valentine's Day is for lovers. The time when that little fat angel shoots you in the butt
with a loved filled arrow (and you don't sue for damages.)

The time when you should have a man or woman you are madly in love with who just looks into your eyes and you melt. The time when your soul mate, who can read your mind, says the right words or writes the perfect letter and makes you feel as if you are the center of the universe.

The time when, if he's really special, (I'm speaking from the woman's point of view here) he knows exactly which jewelry you like, which chocolate to buy (the kind that doesn't add ten pound and layers of cellulite to your legs) and which sexy out fit to get…you know the kind that actually makes you look good, doesn't need to be wrapped inside a thimble, and doesn't have the words "Do me now!" on the front.

If you have all that, and I imagine we all have at least at one point in our lives - fantastic! You're set for the day, and hopefully a lot longer.

Personally I've had everything from being alone on Valentine's Day, to receiving jewelry, to the most romantic love letters to spending a night in a castle to getting a copy machine! This year I have no clue what's going to happen!

The point is…if you think there's a slight chance you might be "alone" on this Valentine's Day, don't worry - celebrate Valentine's Day Capo Style.

What is Capo style you ask? That's when Valentine's Day is not only for lovers, but for all love. After all, you are always loved by someone, somewhere in this world. Even if it's your pet Gerbil.

So with that in mind let's start with the most important person that should love you - yourself! As I say, you always need to be your own best cheerleader because face it, who do you spend the most time with? Yourself! You are the only person that is always around yourself, unless you do some kind of astral projection or have multiple personalities. In that case, you can all celebrate together. But if you are just you in your own skin, here are some ways you can treat yourself special.

1. Buy yourself some flowers. Why not? You deserve it. If you're not going to treat yourself special, why should someone else? Do onto others as you would do yourself. Make sure they are nice flowers - the type that make you thank yourself and say, "Wow I really like those flowers. How did you know?" Of course if you say this out loud, men in white jackets will come for you, so give yourself flowers when no one is around. It's more romantic anyway.
2. Add a box of chocolates. If they are the right kind, you won't even miss the fact that you don't have a date.
3. Buy yourself some jewelry, and don't be cheap! If you are going to impress yourself, go all out! Tiffany's must have some kind of special. This is no time for that K-Mart.
4. Buy yourself some cozy Pajamas or Victoria Secrets. You know you need to look good for yourself, not always for a man.

Now, if you do all this and you still want company, call up some friends in the same position. Make sure they have treated themselves nice too, then gather pictures of all the losers you ever went out with in the past. Throw darts and be thankful they're gone. Remember, better to be alone than wish you were alone.

Then go out, have a great time and remember somewhere in all of this to call up family members and say, "I love you". Why? Because after all is said and done, family love you no matter what, regardless of what you eat, how you look, and even if you dance naked on the chandelier pretending you're cupid. (Just make sure they don't take pictures.)

Happy Valentines!

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Everything I'm involved with performance-wise usually is centered around humor, whether it's my motivational talks, my stand up (which better have humor) or my commercials. So naturally when I was recommended by not one, but two casting directors, Donna Drake and Donna McKenna, for a dramatic role... I was a little shocked.

The way it happened was I got an email from Donna, which Donna you say? I said the same thing, since it came from an email address I didn't know. Then I got a call from Donna McKenna, so I assumed the email was from her also...WRONG! Talk about embarrassing... I finally had to say, "Okay, which Donna am I speaking to?" Who is recommending me? Turns out both of them were which is rather nice, (it's just that one Donna happened to be cute and use a different email), but agent 99 figured it out quickly.

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