Ralph
Zuranski: Hi, this is Ralph Zuranski. I’m on the phone
with Paul Colligan, he’s the Affiliate Guy, the CEO of
Colligan.Com, Inc., and you can find him at
http://www.colligan.com.
Ralph
Zuranski: He’s an online provider of consulting
technologies and web properties for Internet marketing. He is
also one of the pioneers in podcasting. He has a pod casting
site called
http://www.premiumpodcasting.com where he’s working with new
technologies to actually send information to people’s iPods
directly over the internet through their computers, all
automatically.
Ralph
Zuranski: Paul is also a Webmaster and has a number of
Internet marketing sites that include Front Page World,
Affiliate Marketing World, and You Can Sell Online. Paul
recently launched AutomateSales.com and FrontPageCart.com to
help businesses get their e-commerce programs up and running
quickly.
Ralph
Zuranski: Paul Colligan played a key role in the launch
of dozens of financially successful websites and Internet
marketing strategies that have seen millions of visitors and
millions of dollars in revenue. He is a FrontPage genius.
Ralph
Zuranski: Previous clients have included Internet MCI,
The Oregon Multimedia Alliance, Rubicon International,
Microsoft, of course, Electronic Boutique and Pearson
Education. He’s also a popular presenter on Internet technology
topics and frequently speaks online, on the air and before
audiences about his passion. I met Paul at two of the Big
Seminars. He is a speaker at numerous events around the world.
Ralph
Zuranski: Paul writes regularly for a number of popular
self-published email newsletters with more than 60,000
subscribers. He’s also co-authored and been technical editor
for seven books about Microsoft’s Front Page. His most recent
book is Special Edition Using Microsoft Front Page 2003. I’ve
checked that one out and it’s really great.
Ralph
Zuranski: Paul was awarded the Most Valuable Player
status in 2002 for his efforts with Microsoft.
Ralph
Zuranski: He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife
and daughters, and enjoys hiking, theater, music, fine dining
and travel. Paul also makes periodic updates on a blog that is
found at
http://colligan.blogspot.com.
Ralph
Zuranski: Wow! That’s a lot of things that you do
Paul, how are you doing today?
Paul
Colligan: I’m doing OK; I’m a little exhausted after
that list!
Ralph
Zuranski: Yes, well I guess so! It’s amazing, all the
stuff that you do. I’m excited about your launching into
podcasting and getting involved in premium podcasting. I know
that is an integral part of what we want to teach the kids how
to do. Maybe, before we get started with your Heroes questions,
you could tell us a little bit about it.
Paul
Colligan: Well you know, pod casting to me is probably,
no, it just is, the most exciting implementation of Internet
technology I’ve ever seen. It goes ahead of e-commerce. I think
it goes beyond web design. I think it goes beyond anything
because it’s an amazing, enabling technology. You know, right
now we think of all the stuff in terms of time spent in front of
our computer.
Paul
Colligan: You know this morning, I had to go visit a
friend of mine. I had breakfast with him. I spent twenty minutes
in the car, each way. The average person spends that time
listening to shock jocks, or drive-time radio or something like
that. I had a couple of podcasts in there. I was bettering
myself on that ride.
Paul
Colligan: Everybody thinks of the Internet in terms of
what they do on their computer. They download music and listen
to it in front of their computer. And they do stuff in front of
their computer.
Paul
Colligan: But with pod casting, you take it with you.
You go for a walk, a hike and you take it with you. I’m actually
driving the whole family down on Thursday to go visit my
parents. My wife and I are probably going to be listening to
Podcasts on the entire way down, just catching up on things.
Paul
Colligan: And, it’s just amazingly empowering! The guy
I had breakfast with this morning wants to utilize it with what
he’s doing in his efforts. As I was walking him through it, his
eyes were just exploding with just the potential for what this
thing means. I’m just absolutely thrilled about it.
Ralph
Zuranski: Would you mind telling us what it is. I’m
sure most people are in the dark just like I am.
Paul
Colligan: Well, the great thing is, first of all
podcasting is nothing new. There’s absolutely nothing new in
the world of podcasting. That’s very important for most people
to realize.
Paul
Colligan: What it is, we took four or five pieces of
technology and when I say we, somebody else did it. I’m just
thrilled about it. They took four or five pieces of technology
and just combined them all together and made them a lot more
powerful. The first technology is Mp3 audio. You know, people
have been doing Mp3 audio for ages. Right now, this interview
is probably going to be an Mp3, right?
Paul
Colligan: Right, yes.
Paul
Colligan: This interview is going to be an Mp3 but the
typical paradigm, the typical approach people take, would be
take this file, download it and sit in front of their computer
and listen to the audio.
Paul
Colligan: Well, most people don’t do that. Most people
don’t listen to audio in front of their computer. That’s where
they do their email. That’s where they do their web. And
there’s sort of a disconnect.
Paul
Colligan: You know people could certainly take that Mp3
audio and put it on any Mp3 player. They want to and a lot of
people do, but that takes a lot of steps. It takes a bit of a
geeky approach.
Paul
Colligan: And the fact of the matter is, they still
have to go to your website. They still have to find the page.
They still have to download the file. They still have to
transfer the file from the computer to their Mp3 player. That
is eight or nine steps that you have to perform flawlessly.
Paul
Colligan: Podcasting is different from the old way,
which is basically pull. You have to go to your website and you
have to pull down information.
Paul
Colligan: Podcasting is push. Once somebody subscribes
to a Podcast, once somebody says, "Hey, I want to get this," for
lack of a better term, they call them shows.
Paul
Colligan: You tell a Podcast client that every night
your computer goes out and looks to see if there’s anything
new. If there is, your computer downloads it onto your computer
automatically. It puts it on the Mp3 player.
Paul
Colligan: So this morning when I got up to go visit my
friend, the computer was on but I didn’t have to click anything,
I just unplugged my Mp3 player and took it with me. I checked
what was new and played it.
Paul
Colligan: The best analogy is kind of like a TiVo that
is getting pretty popular these days. That’s the hard drive in a
video recorder.
Paul
Colligan: People always ask me, “What’s the difference
between TiVo and just taping a show?”
Paul
Colligan: Well, when you TiVo something, one of my
favorite shows right now is 24. I just absolutely love that
show. I told TiVo once, "Tape me this season." That’s all I
ever did.
Paul
Colligan: Every Tuesday morning, “24” is there. If I
work a little late Monday night and I miss the first 30 minutes,
I don’t have to rush upstairs and click a button or do anything.
Paul
Colligan: When I’m gone for the weekend, like when I
went to the Big Seminar, I got actually snowed out and had to
spend an extra day in Atlanta. If I was a VCR guy and had to
rush home, I would have missed 24. But it’s just sitting there
waiting for me when I get home.
Paul
Colligan: That’s the real power of this. Some people
are arrogant enough to think that once a week somebody is going
to find your website and download your file and then sink it
with their MP3 player. These are people think much too highly of
themselves.
Paul
Colligan: You know, when you use the technology of
podcasting and let it come automatically, that’s where it starts
to get interesting. That’s where it starts to get exciting.
Ralph
Zuranski: People want to do podcasting. What are the
steps that they have to take. Do they need special software?
Paul
Colligan: There’s a website that I’ve put up called
“PodcastTools.com” and there are a lot of videos there that
actually walk you through the process. It’s really not that
complicated. We have actually got videos that show you how to do
a completely 100% free Podcast.
Ralph
Zuranski: Really? That’s great…
Paul
Colligan: Yes. What we’re doing with premium Podcast
is we’re leveraging that same technology and we’re just enabling
the same people to actually charge for their Podcast, using the
imagery of television.
Paul
Colligan: For a long time it was just what we got over
the air. It was what we got over antennas and at some point
somebody said, "Dang, I’ll pay a few bucks to get something
better" and HBO was born.
Paul
Colligan: HBO claims to be in 1/4th of all
American homes, I don’t know if that number is true or not,
personally, but people are willing to pay for content. I mean,
the Big Seminar, you brought that up. You know, that was
hundreds and hundreds of people willing to pay good money for
good content. And so premium podcasting is just a way to
leverage this really exciting technology through a paid
paradigm.
Ralph
Zuranski: Well, that really is exciting, if you think
it’s that important. You’ve been in computers and software for a
long time writing the Front Page manuals and I know that if it’s
happening, then you know about it.
Paul
Colligan: Thanks.
Ralph
Zuranski: Let me ask you a couple of questions about
the In Search of Heroes program.
Paul
Colligan: Sure!
Ralph
Zuranski: What principles are you willing to sacrifice
your life for?
Paul
Colligan: You know, I grew up in West Germany, which
for some people, they don’t know what that means any more. But,
my folks were in the U.S. Military during the 1980’s. For a
while Eastern Europe was chopped up. It was one half freedom and
one half communism. I grew up there on a U.S. military base.
Paul
Colligan: I went to Berlin. Berlin was a really
interesting city because the city was one half freedom and one
half communist. You could actually take a bus. You could take a
double-decker bus to a little city on the outskirts of Berlin.
You could peek over this famous wall that separated these two
areas. It was just amazing that here I was 100% free and
somebody else on the other side of the wall was 100% not free.
Ralph
Zuranski: Wow.
Paul
Colligan: That always freaked me out. And what was
really interesting was about four years ago when I still had a
day job; I worked in a consulting agency with an international
focus. The gal I shared the office with grew up in East
Germany. She was my age at the same time I grew up in West
Germany. We were both programmed and taught about how the other
one hated us.
Ralph
Zuranski: Really?
Paul
Colligan: And about how the other one had different
programming. In the fourth grade, she trained in a distorted
paradigm. I just wouldn’t believe her. In the fourth grade, she
was learning male “chauvinist pig” in her English vocabulary.
Paul
Colligan: Freedom is incredibly valuable. I would
sacrifice my life for freedom.
Paul
Colligan: It’s very important, because if you don’t
have freedom, you can’t do anything else. You can’t act. You
can’t pursue commerce the way you want to. You can’t create. You
can’t worship. You can’t do the things that are just vital to
the human existence.
Paul
Colligan: And that has to come first. A lot of people
have died for freedom in the past. But it’s always been good.
People are dying for freedom right now.
Ralph
Zuranski: That’s true. Do you have a dream or a vision
that sets the course of your life?
Paul
Colligan: Absolutely. You’ve got to! You have to have
a purpose. My dream is really a simple one. It’s a wonderful
family culture. I want a family that just reflects God’s gifts
and impact on our lives. I want a family that people look at
and go, “Wow, look at that.”
Paul
Colligan: And that comes from a family culture that
comes from the combo of me my wife, my kids, and that’s what I
do. Everything I do is really based on that. People sometimes
say, “You’re trying to take over the world and what not.”
Paul
Colligan: No, I want a wonderful family culture.
Working at home allows me to do that a lot better than working a
day job.
Ralph
Zuranski: Yes, I can believe that.
Paul
Colligan: For all this is I just want to create revenue
from creating value. A lot of people, they try to create
revenue by fooling people, by taking from people. I try to
create revenue by creating value for people.
Ralph
Zuranski: That’s really important. Well, I know you’ve
had a few setbacks, misfortunes and made some big mistakes in
your life. Is it important to take a positive view of those
setbacks, misfortunes and mistakes?
Paul
Colligan: Well, absolutely. If you don’t, you’re just
going to end up curled up in a ball, kind of whimpering and
whining to yourself how bad things went. And if a setback takes
you down, then it won. If you learn something from the setback,
you’re far better off for it.
Paul
Colligan: And it's almost like I don’t want them to
win. So as a result, you’ve got to pull what you get out of
them. You’ve got to pull what was there to teach you. And I
tell you, I’ve learned more from my setbacks then I have from
the good stuff because, the good stuff is easy. The setbacks are
the hard ones. Those are the ones that make you think.
Ralph
Zuranski: That’s true. A lot of people have said that.
How important is it to be an optimist? I know there are so
many people around us that are negative and just try to destroy
our dreams. How important is it to be an optimist?
Paul
Colligan: It’s the only option because, like you said,
a lot of people are out there are trying to destroy your dream.
A lot of people are trying to take away freedom. A lot of
people are trying to stop you.
Paul
Colligan: And if you are an optimist, you are not going
to let that happen. And it’s got to come through the heart of
what you are. It’s got to come from you.
Paul
Colligan: I wake up every day happy. It’s got to come
from a reason to wake up every day happy. You’ve got to be an
optimist. It’s really the only option.
Ralph
Zuranski: Well, I know that you are always anxious to
pursue more new ideas. Does it take a lot of courage to do that?
Paul
Colligan: Sure. But that’s the fun part. I think,
there are so many people who are just stuck doing somebody
else’s stuff, completing somebody else’s vision, fulfilling
somebody else’s dream. And that’s needed. I don’t want to
disqualify anybody whose doing that, you know. And sometimes
there’s a time in your life…
Paul
Colligan: When I worked for that consulting agency, it
certainly wasn’t my dream. That agency was a time for me to
learn. It was a time for me to grow…a time for me to understand
bigger business and how to work with people.
Paul
Colligan: It was great stuff for me, but in the back
was always, “I’m going to take this and make this my own.”
Paul
Colligan: Everybody’s got to do that. That’s the fun
part. Why go someplace else when you can explore something
new? It would be like opening up the refrigerator, every day,
having the same TV dinner in there. You’ve got options! Why not
take them?
Ralph
Zuranski: That’s true. How important is it to believe
that your dreams will eventually become reality? I know that is
one of the hardest things to do. And in daily life, there are
always the doubts and the fears. Sometimes it’s hard to believe
in your dreams. How important is it to believe?
Paul
Colligan: Well first of all, if you don’t believe in
your dream, you don’t have really anything. I mean, a dream by
its very definition is something you believe in. If it’s not
that, then it’s just a nice idea. It's not a question of
believing in your dream. It's more like an understanding of what
dreams really are.
Paul
Colligan: And, I had great influences in my life, I’m
sure we’ll talk about that later. But, I realize that was a
gift and I know that I want to act on that. There’s got to be a
reason to wake up, a reason to pursue, and a reason to do the
next step. That’s because the dreams and the plans and the
goals are going to become something some day.
Ralph
Zuranski: Who helped give you the willpower to change
things in your life for the better?
Paul
Colligan: My parents, without a doubt. It was never
questioned what I couldn’t do. It was a question of how do we do
what it is we’re trying to do.
Paul
Colligan: They are absolutely amazing. There isn’t a
day that goes by that I don’t realize more, especially now that
I’ve got girls of my own, that I realize what an important role
that my parents played.
Paul
Colligan: My faith is very, very important. I believe
in a God who cares for me, wants the best for me, and if that’s
true, which I believe it is, well then I look out for it. If I
don’t believe that, then I am kind of on my own.
Ralph
Zuranski: That’s true, I believe the same way.
Paul
Colligan: The last part is just friends. We all have
the opportunity for friends who bring us down. Those people at
the end of the day are such a drag!
Paul
Colligan: So I’ve always had friends who pick me up and
bring me up. They are not all Internet entrepreneurs. I have
some of the most un-geeky, un-entrepreneurial friends on the
planet, but they don’t bring me down. They lift me up, and it’s
that combo that does it.
Ralph
Zuranski: There are a lot of people that may be having
a bad day or whatever, and they have a tendency to upset others,
to offend and oppose them. What do you do when people do that
to you. Do you totally forgive those who upset, offend and
oppose you?
Paul
Colligan: Yes, it’s not as hard for me. Sometimes I
wonder if it’s arrogance more than it is anything else.
Everybody is entitled to his or her opinion. That’s part of the
freedom thing I talked about. If two of us disagree on
something, that’s absolutely great. That’s what makes the world
go around.
Paul
Colligan: Planet "Paul" would be just so painstakingly
boring.
Paul
Colligan: And so if somebody upsets me, well, what is
it that upsets me about what it is they are doing? If the upset
nature is just my reaction to what they’ve done, great, I could
change the reaction and they didn’t win.
Paul
Colligan: And it’s the same thing with offending and
the same thing even with opposing. You know, basically if its
something I can control, I do. If it’s not something I can
control, I really try to let it slide off the back, because it’s
the only option. I could spend all day dealing with, “Oh man,
this person really bothered me or I could just deal with it.”
Ralph
Zuranski: Well you know a lot of people experience
great joy in serving others. Do you find service to others as a
source of joy?
Paul
Colligan: Yes, because it’s a chance to say thanks.
I’ve been given so much, been served so much, been handed so
much. I realize I worked my butt off. But, I’ve been blessed in
a lot of ways. And a lot of these people you can’t say thanks to
directly, so serving others is a way to say thank you…almost
back down the line.
Ralph
Zuranski: Well, what power does prayer have in your
life?
Paul
Colligan: Well again, it goes back to the perception of
who God is. And if God is who I believe He is, and what I
certainly hope He is, then it’s got to be a part of my every day
life and it is.
Ralph
Zuranski: Do you maintain a sense of humor in the face
of serious problems?
Paul
Colligan: You’ve got to! That one’s easy. A sense of
humor is one of the most precious gifts out there. You know its
funny. I remember satire and humor is a great way. If you are
involved in something, you know it could be full of humor.
Paul
Colligan: If you are stuck in the middle of something
lame and boring, which we often are, even in my job, humor helps
break the cycle. The paperwork I have to do, once a month is
bookkeeping day. There is nothing I hate worse than bookkeeping,
but if you keep a sense of humor through it, it absolutely gets
you through it. And you’ve got to go that way.
Ralph
Zuranski: Other than your parents, who are the heroes
in your life?
Paul
Colligan: Well, historically, I think the biblical
character of the apostle Paul is an amazing one, because this
guy did what he thought he was supposed to be doing 110%.
Paul
Colligan: And then, he had a change in his life and he
believed he completely saw the error of his ways. He completely
turned around and did 110% change. But always with fervor,
always with excitement, always with complete dedication and I
really appreciate that.
Paul
Colligan: I like to think that if this all goes to pot
one day, that that part of me won’t change. And historically
that’s one that I look to. Everybody loves to talk about what he
did after the fact.
Paul
Colligan: I think he made a decision on the right side
of things, but the fact of the matter was it is part of who he
was from the very beginning…to really pursue what he believed
in.
Paul
Colligan: And I think that’s important.
Paul
Colligan: It’s a reminder for me too that if something
changes radically, one of the big things I try to do with my
business, if you look at Colligan.com, we’ve have a mission
statement. One of the big things there is, I want to be willing
to change everything if the technology dictates it.
Paul
Colligan: Right now you talked at the beginning about
my e-commerce sites that I partner with. I truly believe that
those are the best e-commerce options on the planet. I truly
believe that.
Paul
Colligan: Is it possible that one day a better
e-commerce solution could pop up? Yes. Could I, will I lose
money if a better e-commerce engine pops up? Yes.
Paul
Colligan: But, am I going to hold on to my system and
not let anyone know about this new system because I want to keep
the revenues? I hope I’m not going to do that.
Paul
Colligan: So that’s one hero.
Paul
Colligan: There is a flip side of it.
Paul
Colligan: I just think of what is happening overseas,
the soldiers over there, what they are going through and what
they’re doing. A lot of them don’t necessarily, 100% believe in
what’s going on. But they believe in the higher call and I just
applaud that. I just cannot comprehend the courage that goes on
over there.
Paul
Colligan: You know, we were in Germany and my dad
actually was a teacher for the dependent kids. He was in the
military before I was born. We had it easy. There was good
beer, good sausage and friendly people.
Paul
Colligan: These people are in the desert and people
want to kill them. It’s a whole different world. So the
soldiers right now, I just cannot think enough of them in every
way.
Paul
Colligan: And then my family…my daughters are so
gorgeous because they have no sense of the inability to do
anything. Now, they’re five and two, so they haven’t gone
bitter on me.
Paul
Colligan: You know, my daughter will look at me and
say, “I’ve got a plan, I need two boxes, some wire and some
paint” and I just want to pursue that to the fullest. For her 4th
birthday, she told me one day, she said, “I want to do a
lemonade stand”. I said “Why?” and she said, “To make money
like you do!” It was awesome.
Ralph
Zuranski: That is amazing. It’s important to recognize
the heroes in our personal life and this society at the same
time. Do you think there are any heroes that aren’t getting the
recognition they deserve?
Paul
Colligan: Absolutely. I think the soldiers overseas
aren’t getting the recognition they deserve. I had a really
interesting experience. I don’t talk about this a lot because I
don’t want it to get in the way of things.
Paul
Colligan: Actually the day I launched my store online
was 9/11. And, I got up early in the morning. The store had
been completed. Everything had been completed, but I didn’t want
to do the release until that day.
Paul
Colligan: I woke up in the morning and I did a mailing
to 25,000 about the store and then I switched over to “My
Yahoo!” to find out what was happening in the news. And it just
devastated me.
Paul
Colligan: I felt terrible about doing it. Obviously
nobody knew what was going on. I watched in horror as it all
happened. I just…the firefighters who went in and the police and
the average people, the people who brought water and food and
all that kind of stuff.
Paul
Colligan: That was a sad, sad tragic day. But, man, we
got to see real heroes that day in a way that we needed. I
don’t think we needed the towers to go down, but it was good for
us.
Paul
Colligan: Anybody, anybody who accomplishes what they
aren’t supposed to accomplish, anybody who doesn’t recognize the
limits, they’re heroes.
Paul
Colligan: There is not an American alive who wouldn’t
have understood a guy who freaked out at that moment and
couldn’t handle it, but these guys didn’t. And, that just blows
my mind.
Paul
Colligan: And I think about all the stuff that happened
behind the scenes the same day I launched my store…the attacks,
and the people dealing with the attacks. All these things
happened in the background.
Paul
Colligan: These guys went into the World Trade Center
for a very specific reason. It wasn’t two tall buildings. The
terrorists went after…commerce the day I went after commerce.
And they tried to destroy it, and they couldn’t.
Paul
Colligan: And man, that’s awesome. I get everybody
involved there. Anybody who just does what they aren’t supposed
to do and doesn’t recognize the limits does great things. Those
are the heroes of the day.
Ralph
Zuranski: That’s so true. Why are heroes so important
in the lives of young people?
Paul
Colligan: Well, if all young people do is aim to be
like their friends, then they’re all kind of standing in a
circle and pointing at each other. I remember what it was like
and we all do.
Paul
Colligan: There’s a time you want to be with your
friends and you want to be like your friends, but it just stops
there.
Paul
Colligan: You’ve got to have a hero, because you’ve got
to have people to aim for…something bigger than them. You’ve
got to aim for something outside of the box. So you have got to
have that or else you’ve got nowhere to go.
Paul
Colligan: I’ve been reading some stats lately; just the
amount of time that young people spend with adults is becoming
less and less and less. Sadly schools having 35 students in the
classroom, even with the best teachers, the laws of physics are
going to prevent them from interacting with kids.
Paul
Colligan: So you’ve got to have a hero, it’s just a way
to look up. It’s very, very important.
Ralph
Zuranski: How do people really become heroes? I know
you talked about people that achieved beyond the limitations
other people put on them; and people that just stepped up to the
plate and helped wherever they could without getting any
recognition. Are there any other ways that people can become
heroes?
Paul
Colligan: Well, you know, you can go to Toys “R” Us
today and you can buy the Great American Hero action figure type
things, and they are great, but there a lot of heroes out there
doing a lot of things that aren’t necessarily getting the press.
Paul
Colligan: Any time someone does something bigger than
they are, any time someone does something not expected of them,
that’s heroic. And I think anybody can look for a place to be a
hero and be one.
Paul
Colligan: They don’t have to join the Fire Department
or join the military or something like that, and you can look
for the option. And if you look for it, you’ll find it. There
are so many options out there, today.
Ralph
Zuranski: You know, a lot of people say there are no
heroes in our society. Where are the heroes located?
Paul
Colligan: Everywhere! Some of them are loud. Some of
them are quiet, but they are everywhere.
Ralph
Zuranski: Well, how does it feel to be recognized as an
Internet Hero? I know you are out there pioneering on the
Internet. I listened to you at a couple of the conferences and
liked what you had to say and your personal integrity. How does
it feel to be finally recognized for what you do?
Paul
Colligan: Well, I am thrilled and humbled, but at the
same time I’ve got to think of Woody Allen. Woody Allen said,
“Never join a club that would let you in as a member.”
Ralph
Zuranski: That’s true.
Paul
Colligan: I like to do what I’m doing, but man, there’s
some heroes well before me, much more worthy.
Ralph
Zuranski: How are you making the world a better place?
Paul
Colligan: I’m trying. The first of all is the legacy of
my family. It starts there. And that’s the number one for me.
And the second thing, as I alluded to this earlier, just build a
business around tools and services that enable people to do
great things.
Paul
Colligan: I had an absolute thrill. I was at a movie
website about a month ago. It’s a pretty popular movie website.
He is kind of an Internet character out there.
Paul
Colligan: The reason I visited the website is that he
had just turned on a thing where you could buy ads directly at
his website as opposed to going to an ad agency.
Paul
Colligan: I wanted to see how that worked, and I was
looking at the different ads and there was somebody selling a
“How to Salsa” DVD which is something I just can’t think of
further away from me, than learning how to salsa.
Paul
Colligan: But I looked, you know, I’m a geek, I always
peek under the covers and this person who was selling the salsa
DVDs was using my Front Page cart service.
Paul
Colligan: I didn’t know the person, knew nothing about
the person, didn’t know about the website, didn’t know about the
tool, and didn’t know about the product. But Front Page Cart
was enabling (for some reason, I envisioned her as a gal, I hope
it is) this gal produced a "How to Salsa DVD" and sold it on the
"Ain’t It Cool" website.”
Paul
Colligan: And that just gave me such a thrill…such a
tickle because my work enabled other people to do great things
and see their dreams. That was one of the most exciting moments
I’ve had in quite some time, just on my own work because that’s
what I try to do, tools and services that enable people to do
great things.
Ralph
Zuranski: Well do you have any good solutions to the
problems facing society? I know some of the tough ones are
racism, child and spousal abuse and violence among young people.
Paul
Colligan: That’s an easy one. I played in politics for
a little while and it’s for some people…not for me. I played in
different community service elements and realized that’s for
some people and not for me.
Paul
Colligan: I think we all have our paths we’re supposed
to take in these areas. But, the simple fact of the matter is
you mentioned racism, abuse and violence. If we’re all created
in the image of God, like I believe we are, we all have value.
Ralph
Zuranski: Yes, I believe that also.
Paul
Colligan: Then racism, abuse, violence, it’s
abhorrent. You’re beating on God. You’re abusing God. And, if
that’s the case, then I think an answer is to get people
believing that we are created in the image of God.
Paul
Colligan: I think if you believe that deep down, it’s
going to change the way you act. It’s going to change the things
you do.
Paul
Colligan: That’s going to do more than a politician who
makes some law or opens up some center or who accomplishes
something. There’s a need for that, and a place for that. I’m
not trying to disqualify that in any way. But, if the person is
pondering this action, they go wait a minute, this is bigger
than me. They stop because of that. That’s what’s going to
happen.
Ralph
Zuranski: I agree. If you had three wishes for your
life in the world that would come true instantly, what would
they be?
Paul
Colligan: Oh gosh, another easy one! I would love to
see true freedom for everyone, the freedom to make a decision,
the freedom to act if they want to.
Paul
Colligan: Yes, the Wall fell and communism fell. A good
chunk of it is gone but true freedom isn’t there yet. I’d love
to see true freedom for everyone, because once that happens, and
then we’ve got the ability to make the decisions, pull ourselves
up and do great things.
Paul
Colligan: You’ve seen some footage of Afghanistan,
allowing women to attend school. That’s going to do more for
society than any aid package we could possibly send, because
they are going to be educated, to do things for themselves.
They are starting to get it. Are they at true freedom yet?
No. But they are better than they were a couple of years ago.
Ralph
Zuranski: That’s true!
Paul
Colligan: So I believe in true freedom for everyone.
The next thing I would like to see is just that the liars step
down. This is the liars in politics, the liars in business, and
the liars in religion. There are a lot of them in all areas.
They should just step down.
Paul
Colligan: Enough said there. And the last thing I’d
love to see is just the most valuable commodity. I’d like there
to be truth and wisdom. You know, if that’s what people look
for, that’s what people look for, if that’s what people go for,
it all begins to make sense.
Ralph
Zuranski: Isn’t that the truth! Well, parents are
incredible influences in kids’ lives. What are the things that
parents can do that will help children realize they too can be
heroes and make a positive impact on the lives of others?
Paul
Colligan: Well, I learned from my parents it’s all
about perspective. I remember once I read this article. It was
like Ann Landers or Dear Abby or something like that, and it
just changed my life.
Paul
Colligan: It was a topic I knew nothing about. They
were talking about adopted kids. And you know this woman wrote
in and she said, "Hey, I’ve got an adopted child and I’ve got a
natural child. How do I break the news that my child was
adopted? How do I give her this bad news?"
Paul
Colligan: And that was an interesting question, how do
you do that and I kept reading and Ann Landers said no, or
whoever it was, Ann or Abby, whoever.
Paul
Colligan: They said no, that’s not what you do. You
tell the adopted one that I chose you. You tell the adopted one
that I went to the agency and looked at all these kids and
picked you out.
Paul
Colligan: You know, and I was like, “dang, that’s the
difference, right there!” It’s not just two sides to every
story…the other side of the coin type of thing. It’s just a true
attitude towards life that you absolutely have to take.
Paul
Colligan: One of the things that I’m trying to do with
my girls, because my parents did it, was I don’t want to limit
them. My five year old just had her birthday. She told me she
wanted a pink iPod.
Paul
Colligan: And part of me was like; no five year old
needs an iPod. She doesn’t even know what an iPod does; she
just thinks the pink one is cute. But if I tell her that, it’s
“No, no, no.” So we’re sitting down, and trying to figure out
how much a pink iPod costs.
Paul
Colligan: Currently one of her favorite places to go in
the world is the dollar store. So, the comparison there is 300
selections from the dollar store or a pink iPod. How much is
$300? Well, let’s count out 300 pennies. And so part of what
we need to do is, we don’t limit them.
Paul
Colligan: There’s going to be times there’s stuff they
shouldn’t do. There’s stuff they can’t do. There’s stuff you
can’t afford to do, but just make it, how can they do this? How
do we save? How do we make it happen?
Paul
Colligan: And then the flip side of it is, at the same
time you don’t push them. You know, my daughter wanted a pink
iPod because she saw what fun we’re having with ours, and she
made the decision herself.
Paul
Colligan: And if you push people, they don’t make those
decisions, and so I don’t think you push. I think you
encourage. I think you enable. I think you don’t limit, but I
don’t think you push because that’s how they’ll figure out who
they are, what their part is, what their piece is.
Paul
Colligan: And finally, and you hit into this earlier,
society is going to pound them. When society pounds them, pick
them up and that’s the big job.
Paul
Colligan: It’s a facilitation role. In many ways it’s
as strategic as the businesses I run.
Paul
Colligan: Every day I get up, I look at the sales from
last night. I look at trends. I look at things. Is there
anything I need to deal with today to make this stuff bigger? I
think in the same way it’s what you have to do with the kids.
Ralph
Zuranski: I know a lot of people think that kids should
be their best buddies, but others think that it's important to
help discipline kids and help guide them in the way that they
should go.
Paul
Colligan: The problem with the “buddy thing” is it’s
good to have friends and it's important to have friends, and I
want to have friends. I want my kids to have friends, but again
if we’re all friends, then nobody’s looking up.
Paul
Colligan: And if somebody’s looking up, you know you
can go hello, hello, and the kids will look up. And the kids
who look up will go places.
Paul
Colligan: You know, imagine society with no goals. I
think a lot of parents do want to be their best friend and the
heart to do that.
Paul
Colligan: I truly understand the heart of that. I
think kids are more and more alienated every day and sometimes,
who knows, the parents might be the only ones.
Paul
Colligan: But the real richness, the real joy of being
a parent is being able to say, "Hey, look up here!" It gets
better, there’s more and that’s kind of the goals.
Paul
Colligan: So yes, I hear you and I think that does a
lot of damage. I understand where it comes from but I think it
does more damage than good.
Ralph
Zuranski: Well Paul, I really appreciate your time and
your wisdom. Is there any parting wisdom that you want to
provide?
Paul
Colligan: You know, I think this is a great program. I
was peeking around the website. You’ve got to think bigger than
yourself. It doesn’t matter where you are, and because you
know, then you aim for something. If you are just aiming for
what’s already there, there is no real reason to get up, no real
reason to do much. And look for something bigger.
Ralph
Zuranski: The reason why I’m doing the interviews is
it’s astounding; some of the wisdom that pops out of people’s
heads when they are asked profound questions and to just listen
to what some of these people have to say.
Ralph
Zuranski: It’s encouraged and inspired me to say the
least. It’s really good to get the wisdom of some of the people
that are already successful, that have made a lot of mistakes,
that know exactly how to be successful and help other people to
be successful at the same time.
Ralph
Zuranski: And I know you are one of those people so
again, I just really appreciate you taking your valuable time to
do this interview with us.
Paul
Colligan: No problem, Ralph.
Ralph
Zuranski: Thanks a lot, Paul!
Paul
Colligan: Thank you!
