Tim Cimbura

Technology, Speaking, and Entertainment

Looking for a Speaker or Entertainer?

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In case it wasn’t obvious from my web site, I’m available to come speak at your company event.

With the economy on the down side, it seems that everyone needs a pick-me-up with some encouragement and inspiration. That’s exactly what I provide with my presentation entitled “Child at Heart”. My particular brand of speaking is considered “edu-tainment” because I combine education and entertainment to make a presentation that is fun and informative. You learn while your having a great time…what a concept!

You can book an event directly with our online form. If possible, contact us as early as possible when you know about the event. That way we can help you plan the event and provide you with the help you need right away so that it can be the success you want. You also have the greatest chance of getting the date you want reserved on our busy calendar.

If we determine I’m not the right fit for your event, one of our booking agencies, Nationally Speaking, can help you find someone in your price range with the qualifications and experience to fit your needs. I’ve worked with them for several years and highly recommend their services.

Here’s my page on their site where I’m listed as a motivational speaker Tim Cimbura.

Be Awesome Today!

French and France Party Ideas

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After spending 6 months of my life in France in and among the real people and culture, I put together the following ideas to help you in hosting a French-themed party here in the US.

DECORATIONS

French theme decorations might be the color of the flag of France: Red, White, and Blue. Get a big map of France map of France and posters of various places in France. The Eiffel Tower and the Arch of Triumph are always welcome.

ENTERTAINMENT

In Paris you’ll find the performing arts such as magicians, jugglers, etc. Hire Tim Cimbura to entertain you with strolling magic or a complete show at your party and he’ll even include some French in the act getting your party-goers involved in the fun. This is a great way to really make your party unique.

Lots of movies on DVD have French language tracks. Pick one and watch it with French language and English subtitles. Some French themed American movies that are funny are: French Kiss, Madeline, and most recently Ratatouille.

MEDIA – DVDs and MUSIC

Play some traditional French accordion music in the background. Watch the incredible French countryside from the air with Visions of France. Get the tour with Samantha Brown in Passport to France. Learn the French language a bit.

Have fun ordering some real French reading material from Amazon.com in France. They will ship it to you! (Note: You need to be able to read French.)

WHAT TO WEAR

You can get a little corny with the outfits. A beret is always important. The French wear a lot of black and leather compared to Americans. Try a T-shirt or baseball cap to show l’espirit de France.

FOOD

Crepes (like thin pancakes) are a fun and versatile French food. You can buy them pre-made and heat them up or make your own. They can be made sweet with bananas, Nutella, strawberries, jelly, etc. or salty with ham, swiss cheese, etc. like a sandwich. The whole meal can be crepes.

Crepe Recipe – 7 crepes ready in 15 minutes
Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 egg, 2 cups milk

Combine ingredients in mixing bowl. Heat a large skillet or crepe pan over medium-high heat. Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour about 1/3 cup of batter into the pan. Lift the pan and turn it by rotating your wrist spreading a PAPER THIN amount of batter in the pan. Flip the crepe when it starts to bubble. When crepe is finished cooking, remove and repeat this process with the remaining batter.

Popular French Foods

  • French Bread: Brioche and baguettes
    Get King’s Hawaiian bread and put Nutella on it for a pretty close approximation to a French pastry.
  • Croissants, crepes, and eclairs
  • Truffles and tarts
  • Quiche and pizzettes
  • Cheeses and Fondue
  • Wine (or substitute non-alcoholic Catawba Juice)
  • Fancy Yogurts that are not fat free

Other French Food Ideas

In the Minneapolis area, here are some food places and restaurants to try for ideas:

  • Cub Foods carries incredible French bread from The New French Bakery. This bread is as authentic as you can get in the states. Just like in France, you’re more likely to find the bread fresh in the morning. Get a bageutte. Cut in half and then thirds and you can freeze it. Take a slice out and pop it in the toaster oven for a moment and you have piping hot French bread fresh any day.
  • Next to Tucci Benucch there is a crepe stand at the Mall of America (W114)
    Try the ham and cheese for your meal and banana Nutella crepe for dessert.
  • Patrick’s French Bakery, Southdale Square, 2928 66th St. W., Richfield , MN 55423-1939
    Lovely French bakery and cafe in a suburban strip mall: croissants,  bread,  pastries,  cakes, sandwiches, soups, and quiche. 612-861-7570

GENERAL IDEAS

Trumpet Players

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I love music. My grandmother was a piano teacher and so I began playing piano when I was 5 years old. Then I played trumpet and along the way picked up drums. My primary instrument is the trumpet and I played for many years with our church. My primary styles I enjoy playing are jazz, dixieland, big band, and funk.

I’ve seen Doc Severinsen…
Maynard Ferguson…
Phil Driscoll…
and recently Chris Botti with Michael Buble and Katharin McPhee…
but this is amazing…

Tine Helseth (I’ve not seen many women trumpet players.)
Toyota Robot plays Over the Rainbow…

Enjoy…

Enthusiasm

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Last week our girls attended vacation Bible school. For five days they had a blast making new friends and learning. I was amazed at how much they learned and so quickly. They performed some of their songs for us and knew almost all the words and the actions that went with each one.

The biggest thing I noticed was their enthusiasm. It’s beyond cute. It moved me so much to see it because they don’t fully know the meaning behind the words they’re singing, but they sing it with all their hearts.

“To laugh much; to win respect of intelligent persons and the affections of children; … to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give one’s self; to leave the world a little better, ….; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm, and sung with exultation; … –this is to have succeeded.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.” – Vince Lombardi

Child at Heart on Facebook

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The Official Child at Heart group on Facebook is for everyone that believes in living life with a youthful spirit…one that is Child-LIKE but not Child-ISH. Living with a “Child at Heart” spirit is about inciting wonder in a way that compels us to recapture the qualities we once had as kids and ignite a new passion for living leading to personal success at home, at work and in life.

I agree to practice the seven secrets to being a “Child at Heart”:
1. Activate my imagination…leading to creativity
2. Be quick to laugh
3. Experience things for the first time…Rejuvenate
4. Live in the Present…Play More
5. Look Up for Perspective
6. Believe the Impossible is Possible
7. Be Daring

As a result of this change in attitude and activities, I will experience the following benefits:
* Lower stress and better health.
* More fun. Work becomes play.
* Help and hope in tough times.
* More friends, stronger relationships, and community.
We need this more now than ever.

The main message of “Child at Heart” is this: By learning from the qualities of children, and bringing back some of those qualities we originally possessed when we were kids, we can live more successful and fulfilled lives by improving our leadership abilities, our relationship satisfaction, and our overall enjoyment of the life we live. At its core being a “child at heart” is about embracing and bringing back what we knew and how we acted when we were young for all our life.

Join the Child at Heart community today! It’s free and fun.

Traveling in France

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Since I’ve traveled to Europe and France many times…and spent at least 6 months there in my life, many people ask me for travel advice. Well, here it is!

Getting There

If you’ve never taken a flight over to Europe, it takes about 7 hours to get there. I always take the chance to stand up as much as possible before getting on the plane. To help deal with jet lag, try to sleep as much as possible on the way over. Bring an inflatable neck pillow if it will help. You’ll need the sleep when you arrive. Also, drink lots of water or juices (apple, orange, or cranberry). Avoid coffee, tea, and alcohol. The first day in Europe I try to stay out in the bright sun and remain active so I adjust to the time faster. It might be a good time to rent a bike or go jogging in the afternoon.

On to Paris

All the standard sites are interesting: Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe (Arch of Triumph), a walk down the Champs-Elysees, The Louvre Museum, Palace of Versailles, Sacre Coeur and Montmartre. If you don’t have time to go up the Eiffel Tower, climb the stairs up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. It’s an excellent view of Paris, the traffic, AND the Eiffel Tower…a good place for photos. Go through the tunnel to get there…don’t dodge the traffic and lose!

Take the metro (subway) everywhere. Once you learn how it works, it’s easy. The lines are designated by the destination at the END OF THE LINE. Hop on and get out where you need to. All the major attractions have stops. Now (July 2008), there is another option…rental bikes called Velib. They are everywhere in the city and make for a popular form of transportation. Take a leisurely boat ride up the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame.

I just love to walk around neighborhoods, watch people in real life, or visit a small cafe. Most French people are very kind if you are considerate of them. They love to hear their own language…and if you make an effort to speak they will appreciate it. They may chuckle and answer back in English, but keep trying…it’s the thought that counts.

See a movie in French…maybe one you’ve already seen in America. Often, American movies will be showing. Make sure it’s “double” (dubbed) and not with “Sous-titres” (sub-titles) It’s kind of fun to see American actors speaking French. If it’s “version original”, then it’s in the original English…boring.

You can tell Americans because they often wear tennis shoes. French like darker colors in general.

Spend time in bookstores looking at the French books that people read. I especially like to look at children’s books, because they are easier to understand. It’s fun to see what kids read and learn with while they are growing up in France.

Often you can see some free street juggling or entertainment by the Centre George Pompidou. There’s an excellent street magician named Bebel who performs card tricks in the evening in the Latin Quarter (although it helps to understand French since he talks fast).

Food and Drink

France is known for excellent food. I love their breads and bakery items. They also have an incredible selection of cheese and yogurts. There’s nothing like it in the U.S. I don’t know why we can’t get it right.

Any bakery or “boulangerie” will have pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant) or pain aux raisins (a kind of a raisin danish). Both are excellent for breakfast with coffee, orange juice, water, or hot chocolate.

For lunch try buying a “sandwich au thon” (tuna sandwich), otherwise known as a Nicois. This is French “fast food”. It usually has tuna, mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, and hard boiled eggs on a good baguette. Orangina or a carbonated limonade are good beverages. French sodas aren’t as sweet as Coke. Road side stands sell good “frites” or French fries. Go shopping in a grocery store and try a yogurt. In France, yogurt is not a “diet” food.

French dinners can be a long event. Prepare to spend time, relax, and enjoy the experience of multiple courses. See if they have a “prix fixe” (fixed price) menu for the evening. This usually contains a good salad, entree, and dessert. Be surprised with something new and exciting.

Going Home

The French have frequent and unannounced strikes. I’ve been stranded without a train or bus to the airport a couple times. It’s nice to travel to the airport the night before and just stay there. Then you’re assured that you’ll make your flight as long as you wake up for it. Last time I was there, the Charles DeGaulle airport terminal 1 (Roissy) has small and cheap pods (rooms) with showers called “Cocoon Rest Inn”. I had a hard time finding any info about it on the internet so I’m not sure if it’s still there.

It’s easier to adjust to the time on the way back but you’ll be very tired the first couple of days. You’ll easily wake up early in the morning. Make sure you don’t drive when you’re tired!

Before or after you go, celebrate with a French themed party. Also, you’ll want to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the language.

Have a great trip.

Travel Guides

2008 Kid Quotes

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I’ve compiled a list below of a few of the funny things the girls have said and done during the last year.

LEARNING NEW THINGS: Arianna learned to swim, (she’s nearly a fish), knows her ABCs, danced in her first recital, and finished speech classes. She’s starting to really learn some French through listening to the French singer Remi Comptines et Jeux de Doigts and attending a French camp in the summer. Arianna took her first bike ride with training wheels. At the end of 20 feet on the driveway she exclaimed “Holy cow! That was scary.”

TIME: Kids have little concept of time. This fall when the outdoor swimming pool at the club closed, we informed Arianna that we couldn’t swim there anymore because the weather was too cold. She replied “We’ll have to wait 5 minutes for summer time.” I wish. Arianna showed her ingenuity and lack of time understanding when she said “That’s the cutest song I’ve ever made up myself, Tomorrow.”

MAGIC: Arianna performed her first magic trick: “I will now do a very tricky trick. The flower will mistappear and float.” This was followed by a great interpretive dance. Later she told me “when I get bigger, I can be a magic tricker like you daddy.” That is not her only dream though. Another time she told me “When I get older I’m going to be a fire engine. I’m not a fire engine yet.” I’d like to see that one.

JOKES: I was astounded at how amazingly complex the format of a knock knock joke is when I attempted to “teach” one to the girls. “Knock knock.” They’d answer “Come in.” “No…Knock knock.” “I’m at the door.” “No…Knock knock. Who’s there? Lionel.” “Come in.” “No…Lionel.” “Hi Lionel.” “No…Lionel who? Lionel eat me up if I take too long telling this joke.” I don’t think they ever got it.

LOVE: Brielle said “I love you” for the first time this year. It’s a wonderful time for a parent. It was cancelled out later when Arianna said “I love you because I have a booger.” I asked her one time what it meant to love someone. The definitive answer was “You have to kiss and hug.”

SILLINESS: One of my favorite activities with the girls is acting like I’m incompetent and letting them figure out the right thing. For example, I’ll ask “Do you want a fork to eat your cereal?” After a moment of thought, Arianna said “You’re kiddin’ me dad.”

LANGUAGE: Brielle is repeating the last two words of everything you say as a question. We’re going to the store. The store? Yes. Come eat dinner. Eat dinner? Let’s change your poopy diaper. Poopy diaper? This is a great conversational method for those of us who hate small talk.

CUTENESS: Cuteness is always an important factor for kids. When they are acting up it is sometimes the only thing that saves them. One day at the breakfast table I was staring at Arianna in a moment of amazement and wonder. I found it difficult to believe that this little person was created by the love of my wife and me. She broke the silence “Why are you looking at me dad? Cause I’m cute?” “Yes” I replied, “but you’re not supposed to know that.”

SCARY: One day I heard Arianna in the other room say “Up your butt!”. “Oh my” I thought “where did she learn that?!” When I went to see what was going on Arianna was trying to change Brielle’s diaper. Evidently “Up your butt!” is a good command when you can’t get the Huggies situated correctly.

TOO QUIET: Whenever it’s too quiet in the house. We get a little worried that something is wrong. What are those girls up to?

FOOD INDEPENDENCE: Brielle graduated from the high chair to the table. Quite the milestone for our home allowing her more freedom in eating and getting her own food. Brielle is asserting her independence. One day she got the stool and was reaching into the cupboard. “What are you doing?” She answered “lips!” as she attempted to get mommies lipstick. Good catch. Another time she said she wanted an “obstacle”. What?! After a couple of minutes trying to figure out what she meant, she finally opened the freezer door to show us that what she really wanted was not a road block but a “popsicle”.

SHOPPING: Target gives out free cookies to kid shoppers. If Arianna stays close by mommy or daddy, she can often have such a treat. One time she commented on the cookie “Daddy. This cookie tastes…happy!” So happy is now a new taste. I can’t wait to see it on a menu. The girls also love shopping at Trader Joe’s. They give out free balloons.

SLEEPING: Both of the girls are masters of excuses for NOT sleeping or taking a nap. They simply don’t want to miss out on any of life that might go on during their rest. For Brielle, simple one word commands asking for her favorite things are all it takes. “Book. Little People. Ice Creams”…or the dreaded “Me hungry.” For Arianna, it’s a little more complex. She’ll come downstairs and say that she has a question for us…which is often simply a statement. Another ploy she utilizes is the “I wanted to give you a hug” phrase (even if there have already been many hugs). The subterfuge “I need to go potty” always works.

WAKING UP: Arianna wanted to wake up mommy one day “Mom, you need to wake up! The sun is waked up.”…and so it was. One day, I asked Brielle “How are you this fine morning?” “Awake!” That’s more than I can say for some people at 7 am.

COMPETITION: Everything is a competition with the girls…getting their seat belts on, putting on pajamas, finishing dinner. You’ll often hear “I won!” even if they simply completed a task. Hey, I’m almost done with writing this…”I won!”

ATTACHMENT: Kids get attached to certain items. For Arianna it’s her purple blanket. It’s ripped and torn with multiple repairs and must still be located every night before bed. One night after a successful search and rescue mission, Arianna held it close to her face and said “mmmm…purple blanket…mmmmm.” One night as she struggled to carry it upstairs I heard “Hold on tight purple blanket! Hold on tight!” For Brielle, she likes her Fisher Price Little People Noah’s Ark and “Ice Creams“.

IN PUBLIC: It’s always interesting to find out what kids will say in public. When Arianna saw a bald man for the first time, she said “Daddy, that man doesn’t have any hair on.” Another time she saw a little person (dwarf) and said “That’s a short mommy.”

BIRTHDAYS: Arianna said, “If for my next birthday when I am 5, you will give me Mulan and ‘Pocushantas’, I will be so happy and I will give you a hug.” This shows the simplicity, honesty, and sincerity of a child. What does she have to offer in exchange for something she wants? A hug..and it’s worth a lot.

PRINCESSES: The favorite activity of both of our girls is being princesses and dancing. One day Arianna was singing and said “Daddy, I cleaned up my room and so I’m singing.” I guess you can learn good things from Cinderella, Snow White, and Giselle. Sometimes being a princess is confusing. Arianna came downstairs dressed in full rain gear and galoshes and said “Dad, I’ll be the rainy guy and you be the prince.” So I lived happily ever after with “the rainy guy”. Never to be outdone, Brielle greeted me at the door once dressed only in her snow boots “surprise!”. If only her mother would do that. They love to put on princess clothes and do a fashion show. Arianna announced as Brielle came down the stairs “Princess Brielle is like twinkle little star Cinderella!”

POTTY TRAINING: Arianna is fully potty trained now after putting her favorite toys on top of the fridge, popsicle rewards, some spanking, and lots of patience! Bringing her into public restrooms is always a challenge. One time in the stall of the men’s bathroom while she was doing her business, she looked up at me and said “Daddy, I love you.” That’s fine…but not here please. In bathroom at Potbelly’s, I asked Arianna “Are you done yet?” Her reply “No, I’ve got some poopies coming out. It goes splash. It’s pretty special.” Then one day Arianna exclaimed with excitement, “Now I’ll be AMAZING and go potty in the toilet!” I guess it is something pretty amazing for a child. I don’t think, however, that I’ll add it to my show. “For my first trick…” Other natural body functions are interesting to discuss with kids. One time Arianna tooted (passed gas). I said, “Hmm…I smell something stinky.” Her reply, “It must be a skunk.” I couldn’t find any skunks nearby.

Changing Your Perspective

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Planet 51 is a funny movie for the child at heart. It’s a film set on an alien planet with comedy and exciting action. It reverses the roles of a 50’s sci-fi film bymaking the “alien” an astronaut from earth that the “people” creatures from another world quite like ours. I found the primary message of the film to be fascinating.

At the beginning of the movie, everything is going great for the main character, Lem, a teenage type of martian. He gets a new job and is on the way to a great life and the girlfriend of his dreams. Lem give a lecture at the local planetarium: “Thanks to science we now know, the universe is nearly 500 miles long and it contains…you’re not gonna believe this…over one thousand stars. The only known intelligent life is right here on our planet.”

Then Lem runs into the “alien” astronaut Chuck who lands on their planet and upsets his entire view on life. Chuck challenges all the preconceived ideas about the world he knew. Lem is open enough to listen, learn, and build a relationship with Chuck even though it threatens his entire worldview. After learning the truth about things he hadn’t considered before from Chuck, Lem exclaims…
“Space isn’t 500 miles. It’s not. It’s so much bigger than we can imagine. There’s billions of galaxies and each galaxy has billions of stars…And next to that, our planet is just…” Then he storms out of the planetarium on a quest to make things right.

The General is the military commander that does everything in his power to try and get rid of the “alien” astronaut Chuck. In the final showdown, Lem explains to The General what motivates him:
“I know what you’re afraid of [General] … and it’s not Chuck. It’s not monsters or aliens. It’s the UNKNOWN. I’ve spent my whole life running from it and I think maybe you have, too. But I’m telling you the unknown isn’t something to be afraid of. It can be your best friend and just when you think that it means the end of everything you know…It’s really just the beginning.”

As Lem and others go on with a new perspective their lives are changed…for the better. It was all in how Lem decided to respond to the things in his life that made the difference. The General’s heart is changed as well through listening to the youth and considering his ideas.

Get the Planet 51 DVD on Amazon.com.

Making a Difference

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This week I attended two funerals for friends that recently passed away after battles with cancer. Doing so reminded me of the fragility of life and importance of relishing every moment.

One memorial was for Paul Singer, the former CIO at Target Corporation. He was a friend and mentor. As an exceptional businessman with character, he made good things happen and so was offerred many challenges. He was someone who knew why he was here in this world. Paul had a passion for adoption and he was driven to find homes for kids. He lived his faith. His life was too short but it was well lived.

His friends and family were asked to describe Paul in one word. Words they used were: respected, hilarious, compassionate, dignified, larger-than-life, unique, easy-going, father, and loving. If you were to learn one thing from Paul’s life it would be to create the kind of family that he did. Love your own kids and others as well.

The other funeral was for a friend’s wife Michelle. She left a legacy of creating beauty and playing roles of friend, daughter, sister, aunt, mom, and wife. Her life was a unique expression of her love for God. She lived and laughed a lot.

Facing untimely death makes us view our lives in a different light. It puts the importance and priorities on different things. We need to spend our time and energy on the things that have the most lasting value and impact. We should follow our passions. We need to balance appropriately all the roles we play.

I view the most important roles for me as husband and father. If I can fulfill those two roles at minimum I will have lived well. I am fortunate that my work roles are ones that I truly enjoy…in helping people support their passions with technology and inspiring people to have hope and laughter in life.

I encourage you to put some thought into your life this week and do two things.

(1) Ask yourself the following questions: How will you be remembered? What legacy will you leave? What will people say about you when you’re gone? Who’s lives are you touching and leaving better for it?
If you don’t like what the answer is, now is the time to begin changing it. For me, I truly hope that people don’t just say I was a nice person. I would view that as a failure.

(2) Choose one person you love and write down a list of all the positive one word descriptors that you can come up with. Send it to them now. Believe me, it will make their day.

For me, I wrote a few words about my lovely wife including: discerning, insightful, wise, loving, beautiful, heart-of-gold, fun, intelligent, caring, compassionate, inspiring, strategic, creative, focused, achieving, justice-seeking, enthusiastic, likable, persuasive, poised, confident, sympathetic, empathetic, optimistic, big-thinker, giving, generous, romantic, etc.
If you haven’t met Brenda and don’t know this about her, I encourage you to do so. Your life will be better for knowing her. (Fortunately for me, I get special priority time with her.)

The Bible says there is a time and season for everything (Eccl 3:1) and these past days were a time to mourn, comfort, heal, and remember. Fortunately, both of these people had a strong hope founded on their faith in God. They had made a decision to follow Christ as their leader. They modeled their lives after His example. If you’re going to choose a mentor…He’s the best there is. It’s a comfort to know in this season of loss after their passing, that this separation is temporary and it is for them just the beginning of new future life.

Who was someone that really mattered to you that you lost? What is their story and how did they make a difference in your life?