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This little girl who seems like any other teenager next door, has shot up to become the fourth highest earning act in country music. With an estimated take of $18 million for ‘09, she ranks behind only Kenny Chesney ($65 million), Rascal Flatts ($60 million), and Toby Keith ($52 million), and ahead of the likes of superstars such as Brooks & Dunn, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, George Strait, and Alan Jackson.

Unlike the trashy Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera, Taylor has remained more innocent, sweet, and humble than any teenage superstar has ever been. Who says Good Guys (or in this case, Gals) don’t finish first?

Way to go Taylor, for breaking the glass ceiling, and doing it with class.

Today is the “best seller day” for Drs. Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski , who were the best man and matron of honor in my wedding. Their seventh book, The Heart of Marketing , comes out today, and they’re trying to get it to the #1 position on Amazon. If you buy the book now, you’ll also get 62 Free bonus gifts. Click here:

www.theheartofmarketing.com

Good job to all my subscribers who wrote in about yesterday’s issue of Work Is Not for Sissies, pointing out that the proper term is “To Spite Your Face”. In my 45 years of existence, I have never heard that term. All of which proves why constructive criticism is good! And, that I owe Dr. Laura an apology. I have no doubt now that she said “To Spite Your Face”, but I thought she said “Despite Your Face”.

Last week while looking for a comfortable place to spend an unexpected three hour layover at the St. Louis airport, I discovered six huge, perfect, and extremely comfortable chairs that were all unoccupied. I plopped down in one, watched a little TV and had the most relaxing layover I’ve ever had, while wondering why none of the other frenzied travelers who all looked tired and uncomfortable hadn’t taken the five other choice seats. My guess is that many of them were intimidated because they didn’t know how to operate such high tech devices – old fashioned, wooden rocking chairs.

For what it’s worth, the results of the government’s “stress test” for banks is in. Click on this link to see if yours is in danger:
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/107026/Stress-Test-101-How-Will-the-Banks-Do

This morning my beautiful bride and I met with a local celebrity who we’ve seen on television and listened to on CD many times, but never met in person. I got so excited when I shook his hand that I introduced myself, but forgot to introduce her. All I could say was “I feel like I’m meeting Mick Jagger”. She forgave me, but this is the second time I’ve made that mistake. We’re supposed to meet another celeb when he comes to Nashville later this month, so now I’m practicing so that I don’t get strike three.

Now here’s a creative way to have fun with the economy. Mars, the company that makes M&M’s, Snickers, Twix, Three Musketeers, and Milky Way, has introduced the “MARS REAL CHOCOLATE RELIEF ACT”. Every Friday through September 2009, they will give away 250,000 free candy bars. To get a free coupon, go to www.realchocolate.com on Fridays.

Congratulations to my beautiful bride, who graduated from “Rape Escape”, the personal defense class for women, last night. Their final exam consisted of having the instructor, a martial arts expert, simulate an attack on them, without them knowing what was coming. He simulated choking Mrs. Shepard, catching her off guard. For some reason, she laughed. And as it turned out, laughing while being choked is one of the best things you can do, because it makes it easier to breathe. Who knew?