Your mentor’s mentor’s mentor. The mustached marketer. The grumpy guru we all love. Whatever you wanna call him, when I heard Dan S. Kennedy had passed away last August, it sent me careening into Bummerville.
Then, days later, I heard he was still alive. But he was in critical condition, under hospice care, and not expected to make it.
In fact, on August 21, 2019, Dan, himself, broke the bad news to his Magnetic Marketing and No B.S. Inner Circle members.
RIP Dan Kennedy?
“I find myself in the unusual position of regretfully announcing my death,” his letter began, causing my heart to skip a beat.
“Usually people are having to do the opposite; deny rumors of their passage. I am writing this in hospice after a 10 day maelstrom of multiple overlapping infections, surgical procedures, and diabetic and heart conditions,” he explained.
“This set in motion an irreversible downward spiral and I am now on the final journey of no more than a few days before exit. Consequently, I won’t be interacting here anymore.”
He went on to say what an honor and a privilege it was to work with everyone, and to fear not, they were in good hands.
That a guy by the name of Adam Witty, who had apparently bought GKIC a few months prior, would pick up where Dan left off. Kennedy even called him “the son he never had.”
At this point, I swallowed my sadness and accepted Dan was soon to be riding horses in Heaven. Or something. And I kind of forgot about it for a while.
A month or so later, I was writing copy and I thought, “You know what? Nobody ever confirmed Dan had passed.”
So I started poking around the ol’ internet and, whaddya know, the stubborn bastard was still with us.
Don’t write Dan’s obituary just yet
“There may be a miracle in the making,” Dan wrote, in an update dated October 7, 2019.
“Please, no premature elation but here are the facts: tests have shown the key markers of several of the worst of my convergent medical problems have normalized and additional tests have suggested a path forward and could restore my life to a functional level,” he continued.
“Consequently, I have been removed from hospice and have begun a new treatment regimen along with a rehab regimen—the outcomes of both far from guaranteed.”
“There will be more information within the next two to three weeks and I will have a lot more to say about all of this then.”
Well, a couple months went by. No one seemed to know anything. Then, right before Christmas, on December 18, 2019, Dan gave an audio update.
The Dan Kennedy comeback continues
“Hi, this is Dan Kennedy, on an appropriately snowy, winter December day in Ohio,” Dan started out, his voice sounding noticeably weaker and less cheeky than normal.
“I wanted to take a moment to wish all our No B.S. Inner Circle members, family, community, friends, a Happy Holiday. Hope you have a great Christmas and are busy preparing for a great New Year.”
“Adam and the team are obviously doing a great job, Magnetic Marketing is in great hands, the members are being well-served and there are lots of great things on the schedule for 2020. And I hope you will participate in all of them.”
“Adam and I both are hoping that my ever-so-slowly improving health will allow me to be somehow more actively contributing and involved in the coming year.”
“So that is certainly our intent, as you know, if you’ve haven’t been living in a lead cave, I’ve been held hostage by some medical conditions, most recent complication requiring necessary surgery on my eyes, and so at the moment, I’m sort of functionally blind…”
“And yet, despite that, I am gradually getting back to work, and getting back into the swing of things.”
“So, I am looking forward to a much better year than the last six months have been for me. We are obviously in a great economy, and so, things are looking up for me, and I hope they are looking way up for you.”
“And again, I wish you a great holiday break, and a use of that time to get yourself organized for hopefully your best year ever, and a year of great involvement with us at No B.S. Inner Circle.”
“Thanks for all of your support, and cards, and letters, and all of that. I’m not individually responding, it’s a bit beyond me at the moment.”
“But it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate them, I do. And so, Merry Christmas, and a prosperous and productive New Year. Thanks again!”
Fast forward to present day. I’m updating this on Monday, December 7th, 2020. As of 10:57 AM, I’m tickled pink to tell you Dan Kennedy is still alive; still a living legend.
