We’ve all done it. Admit it. You’ve walked into a movie theatre or arena of some sort – one with “No Outside Food Or Drink Permitted” signs clearly plastered on every entrance – smuggling some type of snack in a well-concealed pocket, a purse, under your hat…whatever. Why should you pay an exorbitant price for refreshments when you can surely find something for far less at a local convenience store, right? 

It’s a great idea, in theory. 

They say the customer is always right, and yet… I recently had the pleasure of contacting the DMV regarding an error in the address printed on my registration. Silly me, I had sent the renewal in by snail mail rather than utilize their online services for this one thing, and then had proceeded to wait approximately three weeks for my new registration sticker to arrive.

Giant sigh of relief. I did it. I delivered a 20 minute (well, more like 10-minute) keynote address in front of roughly 100 high school journalism students and former professors.

And I survived. 

I’m sure we have all heard the expression, “book smart, but no common sense.” It seems slightly contradictory, but quite accurate in many cases.

I can vouch for that.