My Life Lessons - The BurgeCast

Jeff Burgess
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In 1979, Jeff Burgess was a 22-year-old college dropout drifting through life in a haze of beer, weed, and dead-end jobs. He was the "town clown" with an undeniable work ethic but no clear direction. Then, on a lazy Sunday afternoon, his father called him home for a talk that would shake him to his core: "You have a gift, and I cannot allow you to waste it anymore. It’s time to get your shit together." From that moment, everything changed... … and change it did! Armed with a relentless drive, a knack for problem-solving, and a newfound determination to make something of himself, Jeff set out to prove his father right. Within two years, he skyrocketed from warehouse worker to Vice President of Sales at a booming tech company. By the time he retired, he had built a global business supplying surveillance video recording appliances to both the most iconic and the secure sites in the world. It Worked for Me is the inspiring, no-nonsense story of how an underachiever transformed into an industry leader—one who thrived not by playing it safe, but by embracing risk, trusting his gut, and always finding a way forward. Amongst the Five-Star Amazon Reviews… "Jeff Burgess’s It Worked for Me is one of those rare books that manages to be both deeply personal and universally relatable. What stood out most to me was the way Jeff lays bare his journey—equal parts grit, intuition, lucky breaks, and yes, even a bit of dumb luck. He doesn’t sugarcoat the challenges, but he shows how persistence and openness to opportunity can make all the difference. What makes the book especially refreshing is his humility. Rather than presenting his story as a straight line of accomplishments, Jeff acknowledges the twists, turns, and unexpected detours that shaped his path. That honesty makes the victories even more meaningful. And I must give special kudos for the way Jeff consistently praises and credits his wife throughout the book. It’s clear that she’s not just a background figure but an essential part of his story. That kind of recognition adds a warmth and authenticity that makes the book resonate even more. If you’re looking for inspiration, practical wisdom, and a reminder that success often comes from a mix of hard work and serendipity, this book is a must-read. Highly recommend it." Angela T. Verified Amazon Purchase "It Worked for Me isn’t your typical business book—it’s a story of raw perseverance and self-belief from someone who built success without shortcuts or a college degree. Jeff Burgess writes with so much honesty and humor, taking you from the chaos of getting fired to the clarity of founding a multimillion-dollar company. What makes this book stand out is how personal and practical it is. Every story carries a takeaway: how to lead with integrity, turn rejection into motivation, and believe in your own potential even when no one else does. Jeff’s lessons apply far beyond business—they’re lessons for life. If you’ve ever doubted yourself, this book will remind you that passion, persistence, and people skills will always be worth so much! Klaro, Verified Amazon Purchase

  1. 2d ago

    How One COVID Workaround Helped Save My $100 Million Business

    In March 2020, BCD Video had just come off a $108.8 million sales year and a $20 million January. Then COVID hit, Governor Pritzker issued an eight-page shutdown order, and Jeff Burgess sat down with his HR director and read every word of it. Twice. Then again. On the third pass, they found two words that changed everything: essential business. In this episode, Jeff tells the story of how he kept BCD open during the shutdown, forging ahead on the logic that a company capturing security footage at the state capitol and the governor's official residence probably qualified. Act first, ask for forgiveness later. It worked. But that's only half the story. Months into the pandemic, a Morgan Stanley advisor emailed Jeff from two towns away. Jeff invited him in, slid a list of 100 name brand global sites across a 12-foot conference table, went to get coffee, and let the list do the talking. What followed was a deal that sold roughly 30% of the company to an investment firm, securing his family's future at a moment when his health was giving him reasons to think about it. This is a sharp, candid episode about seizing opportunity in the middle of a crisis, and why staying open when everyone else shut down turned out to be one of the best decisions Jeff ever made. To learn more about Jeff’s journey, pick up a copy of 𝙄𝙩 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙊𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 today! Now also available in audiobook format. 100% of all royalties go directly to the Wounded Warrior Project! Wondrous Stories.... Words and music by Jon Anderson. Copyright held by Atlantic Recording Corporation (℗ 1977, 2003, 2008)

  2. Oct 16

    Why Does AI Think You Need Help Before You Even Begin?

    Jeff Burgess opened Microsoft Word to write a blog post and found Copilot waiting there to do it for him. He never asked for it. He never wanted it. And he has thoughts. In this episode, Jeff takes on the quiet arrogance of technology that assumes you need assistance before you've typed a single word. He's not anti-technology; he ran a hardware company for 25 years and watched the computer industry transform from something you could touch and feel into something that increasingly wants to think for you. His problem isn't with the tool. It's with the assumption. From grade schoolers who are handed a copilot before they've learned to think independently, to software companies that default to on and dare you to find the seven steps to turn it off, Jeff makes a simple case: never insult your customer by assuming they can't do it themselves. Make the feature available. Don't make it mandatory. This one came straight from memory, no notes, no AI, no Copilot. Just a cranky old man with a point worth hearing. To learn more about Jeff’s journey, pick up a copy of 𝙄𝙩 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙊𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 today! Now also available in audiobook format. 100% of all royalties go directly to the Wounded Warrior Project! Wondrous Stories.... Words and music by Jon Anderson. Copyright held by Atlantic Recording Corporation (℗ 1977, 2003, 2008)

  3. Oct 2

    The Incredible Coincidence That Proved It’s a Small World After All

    Jeff Burgess and Mike McHugh coached Little League together for six years. They had dinner with their families, watched their boys grow up, and became the kind of friends you don't have to explain yourself to. Then one morning at a Steak 'n Shake on the way to a University of Illinois football game, Mike started telling a story about a basketball camp in 1974, and Jeff's jaw hit the table. In this episode, Jeff tells two stories that turn out to be one. The first is how a Cub Scout Rainwater Regatta in 1997 introduced the Burgess and McHugh families, thanks in large part to Liz McHugh's spectacularly honest first impression. The second is how Jeff and a fellow camper jumped a fence at Bucky Badger Basketball Camp at the University of Wisconsin in 1974 to sneak into a soft core theater, only to return and find Coach Paulus waiting in the lobby with their bags already packed. Twenty-six years between those two events. Ten years of friendship before either man knew they had lived them both. What are the odds? This is a warm, funny, and genuinely surprising episode about the connections that find you when you aren't looking, and the friendships that only get better the longer you have them. Rest in peace, Liz McHugh. You were loved. To learn more about Jeff’s journey, pick up a copy of 𝙄𝙩 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙊𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 today! Now also available in audiobook format. 100% of all royalties go directly to the Wounded Warrior Project! Wondrous Stories.... Words and music by Jon Anderson. Copyright held by Atlantic Recording Corporation (℗ 1977, 2003, 2008)

  4. Sep 18

    When Passion Kills Business: The Hidden Cost of Customer Loyalty

    Jeff Burgess built a $20 million customer relationship from the ground up, thought about them day and night, inserted branded sterile wipes into their server shipments during COVID, and then handed them a $5 million deal by honestly recommending their software over the competition. Three months later, he found out they had cut him out entirely by accident when their support team sent a return request to BCD out of muscle memory on a server BCD never built. In this episode, Jeff tells the full story of what happens when passion in a customer relationship becomes a one-way street. From the early days of building customized surveillance servers that outperformed anything else in the market, to a contract, a voluntary concession, and an eventual betrayal that wasn't even delivered with the decency of a heads-up conversation. This isn't a bitter episode. The passion had already been gone for a year by the time it ended. It's something sharper than that: a clear-eyed warning about what it costs to love a customer more than they'll ever love you back, and why no relationship, no matter how deep the history, is worth more than the integrity of the people on the other side of it. To learn more about Jeff’s journey, pick up a copy of 𝙄𝙩 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙊𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 today! Now also available in audiobook format. 100% of all royalties go directly to the Wounded Warrior Project! Wondrous Stories.... Words and music by Jon Anderson. Copyright held by Atlantic Recording Corporation (℗ 1977, 2003, 2008)

  5. Sep 4

    Is My Life 75 Percent Over or Is There Still 25 Percent Left to Fill?

    Somewhere over the Atlantic, somewhere between a too-narrow first-class seat and a four-hour Yes playlist, Jeff Burgess did the math. At 68 years old, if 90 is the target, three-quarters of his life is behind him. His verdict: zero complaints. In this episode, Jeff steps away from business and gets personal. Four kids who turned into four thriving adults. A wife he met on a blind date who has since kept him alive, managed his meds, and remains, by his own account, the most important decision he ever made. A 15-month-old grandson he hopes to take to Cubs games and out for ice cream with nothing to say about the game. A stroke in 2020 that he survived. A book that was supposed to cleanse his system and instead gave him a second career. This is a quiet, honest, and unexpectedly moving episode about purpose, memory, and what it means to still have 25% left to fill when you've already lived a life most people would envy. Jeff isn't winding down. He's just getting started on the next part. To learn more about Jeff’s journey, pick up a copy of 𝙄𝙩 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙊𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 today! Now also available in audiobook format. 100% of all royalties go directly to the Wounded Warrior Project! Wondrous Stories.... Words and music by Jon Anderson. Copyright held by Atlantic Recording Corporation (℗ 1977, 2003, 2008)

  6. Aug 21

    Why Smart Bosses Step Back and Win Big Every Time

    Jeff Burgess never had time to micromanage. He had a company to run. And it turned out, stepping back was the best management decision he ever made. In this episode, Jeff makes the case for the hands-off boss, not the checked-out one, but the leader who trusts people enough to let them work, then gets out of the way. He shares how his sales team eventually stopped asking for guidance and started sending him emails about deals he didn't even know they were working on. He took that as the highest compliment possible. Jeff also takes on one of the most urgent issues facing managers right now: how to handle the AI conversation with your employees honestly. Spoiler: they're already scared, already looking at job listings, and the last thing they need is a chest-thumping team meeting about how great the transition is going to be. Tell them the truth. Have the severance ready. Treat them the way you'd want to be treated. This is a straight-talking episode about trust, leadership, and why the companies that gave people room to breathe almost always outlasted the ones that didn't. To learn more about Jeff’s journey, pick up a copy of 𝙄𝙩 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙊𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 today! Now also available in audiobook format. 100% of all royalties go directly to the Wounded Warrior Project! Wondrous Stories.... Words and music by Jon Anderson. Copyright held by Atlantic Recording Corporation (℗ 1977, 2003, 2008)

  7. Aug 7

    Why These Smart People Made My Computer Industry Success Possible

    Jeff Burgess was the face the customers saw. But behind him were people who made everything work, and this episode is their story. In this episode, Jeff pays tribute to three women from his earliest days in the computer industry: Isabelle Drake, the purchasing agent and fellow Cubs fan who chased him down hallways yelling "Jeffrey" just to give him order updates; Helen Jendroka, the devoutly Catholic billing clerk who once invoiced a customer for 14 cartons of eight and a half inch floppy dicks instead of disks (and whom nobody had the heart to correct); and Donna Panfil, the inside sales manager who kept pushing for Jeff's promotion even when the company owner said no. This is a warm, funny, and quietly moving episode about the people who rarely get credit, the ones without whom the customer-facing success story simply doesn't exist. Jeff remembers their monthly lunches at Palm Court, their quirks, their loyalty, and the forty-five years that have done nothing to dim the memory of any of them. Rest in peace, Isabelle Drake. Rest in peace, Helen Jendroka. Rest in peace, Donna Panfil. To learn more about Jeff’s journey, pick up a copy of 𝙄𝙩 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙊𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 today! Now also available in audiobook format. 100% of all royalties go directly to the Wounded Warrior Project! Wondrous Stories.... Words and music by Jon Anderson. Copyright held by Atlantic Recording Corporation (℗ 1977, 2003, 2008)

  8. Jul 26

    Why Timing Is the Only Thing That Matters in Computer Industry Success

    Jeff Burgess landed in the computer industry in 1979. He sometimes wishes it had been 1975. Then again, maybe not. In this episode, Jeff traces the winding, unplanned path that dropped him into a warehouse at TechAids Industries at exactly the right moment, when technology was just sexy enough to consume him, and when his obsessive desire to learn every packing list and receiving ticket could actually mean something. Two years earlier, he argues, none of it would have stuck. From Bill Gates founding Microsoft at 19 to IBM's 55-pound portable computer, Jeff walks through what was actually happening in the industry during the years he missed, and makes a compelling case that the timing he got was the timing he needed. The pot, the failed college trimesters, the string of warehouse jobs, and his father's Sunday sermon all turned out to be part of the setup. This is an honest, funny, and surprisingly sharp episode about the difference between a head start and the right start, and why staying put when you want to walk out is sometimes the best career move you'll ever make. To learn more about Jeff’s journey, pick up a copy of 𝙄𝙩 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙊𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 today! Now also available in audiobook format. 100% of all royalties go directly to the Wounded Warrior Project! Wondrous Stories.... Words and music by Jon Anderson. Copyright held by Atlantic Recording Corporation (℗ 1977, 2003, 2008)

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About

In 1979, Jeff Burgess was a 22-year-old college dropout drifting through life in a haze of beer, weed, and dead-end jobs. He was the "town clown" with an undeniable work ethic but no clear direction. Then, on a lazy Sunday afternoon, his father called him home for a talk that would shake him to his core: "You have a gift, and I cannot allow you to waste it anymore. It’s time to get your shit together." From that moment, everything changed... … and change it did! Armed with a relentless drive, a knack for problem-solving, and a newfound determination to make something of himself, Jeff set out to prove his father right. Within two years, he skyrocketed from warehouse worker to Vice President of Sales at a booming tech company. By the time he retired, he had built a global business supplying surveillance video recording appliances to both the most iconic and the secure sites in the world. It Worked for Me is the inspiring, no-nonsense story of how an underachiever transformed into an industry leader—one who thrived not by playing it safe, but by embracing risk, trusting his gut, and always finding a way forward. Amongst the Five-Star Amazon Reviews… "Jeff Burgess’s It Worked for Me is one of those rare books that manages to be both deeply personal and universally relatable. What stood out most to me was the way Jeff lays bare his journey—equal parts grit, intuition, lucky breaks, and yes, even a bit of dumb luck. He doesn’t sugarcoat the challenges, but he shows how persistence and openness to opportunity can make all the difference. What makes the book especially refreshing is his humility. Rather than presenting his story as a straight line of accomplishments, Jeff acknowledges the twists, turns, and unexpected detours that shaped his path. That honesty makes the victories even more meaningful. And I must give special kudos for the way Jeff consistently praises and credits his wife throughout the book. It’s clear that she’s not just a background figure but an essential part of his story. That kind of recognition adds a warmth and authenticity that makes the book resonate even more. If you’re looking for inspiration, practical wisdom, and a reminder that success often comes from a mix of hard work and serendipity, this book is a must-read. Highly recommend it." Angela T. Verified Amazon Purchase "It Worked for Me isn’t your typical business book—it’s a story of raw perseverance and self-belief from someone who built success without shortcuts or a college degree. Jeff Burgess writes with so much honesty and humor, taking you from the chaos of getting fired to the clarity of founding a multimillion-dollar company. What makes this book stand out is how personal and practical it is. Every story carries a takeaway: how to lead with integrity, turn rejection into motivation, and believe in your own potential even when no one else does. Jeff’s lessons apply far beyond business—they’re lessons for life. If you’ve ever doubted yourself, this book will remind you that passion, persistence, and people skills will always be worth so much! Klaro, Verified Amazon Purchase

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