I was in New Jersey today at the studios of CBNC taping The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch. The show was about “The Comeback Mindset: How Do We Comeback from Failure“. I looked forward to showing Donny how to “Bounce!” Unfortunately, I arrived at 3:00 AM last night after the flight out of Chicago was delayed, but the drivers for CNBC were there to take me to my hotel room so I could get some sleep. This morning, I arrived a the studios to meet the other people who were going to be on the show as well. Each of them were amazing in their accomplishments. They included:

Cynthia Cooper– the courageous woman who blew the whistle on Bernie Ebbers and the financial fraud at Worldcom. She has a new book out, published by Wiley called “Extraordinary Circumstances“. I talked with her for awhile and she still does not see herself as a hero. Cynthia said it was the right thing to do. I congratulated her because I do not think that everyone would have done the same thing in her shoes- we all say we would do the right thing but I have found in my own experiences, sometimes we fail our own expectations.

Nadja Piatka who after her husband left penniless and she started baking to earn money. She now runs a baked goods company that supplies to Subway, Stop and Shop, etc. We talked about her experience of being on Oprah twice! and Don Peebles,  the owner of the largest African American real estate company in the country. A short 13 years ago he was swept up in the Marion Berry scandal. He now runs a $4B company! Talk about Bounce!

After I had met the other guests, I was then brought into makeup. There I sat under pictures of Maria Bartiromo and other CNBC personalities. I needed extra time in make up to take out all the shiny spots!I was then briefed by the producer on the outline for the show. Finally, it was my turn as I was brought to the studio to wait for a commercial break to join the other guests on stage. Donny’s interview style made it easy to easy to get engaged right away and participate with a high level of energy. I was impressed with how articulate each guest was and at times it was hard to get my contribution in, but Donny had the knack for spreading it around to welcome participation. Now I know why is show is so popular.

One of my favorite parts of the show was when callers asked their questions and what to do after sinking all their money into a failures. I gave guidance and encouragement. At the end of the show, Donny asks for a final playbook or comment. Mine was- “To mount your comeback, set patient goals for yourself. Small successes will give you the renewed confidence to achieve your long term visions.” Finally, after the show was over, the producer asked me to stay to do a “Web Only Special” and talk more about how the path to success is not a straight line: Watch the story of the Gossamer Albatross!

Check out my Blog Post on The Big Idea!

Before I knew it, it was over and I was off to catch my flight back to Chicago. My hats off to Donny and the high energy folks that put on The Big Idea. All of you make it fun and easy to participate!