Random

Play like this.

FinishYear/ Random August 1, 2012Comments

It’s the end of July.

We all made resolutions and goals and promises in January. And then, in what feels like the blink of an eye, December will sneak up on us and make us wonder, “Where did the year go?”

Today, though, I want us to pause and realize we’ve got 5 months left in the year. We’ve got more than 150 days left to hustle and work and laugh and play at the things that matter to us.

It’s a new month. A new chance to dust back off something that was important in January, but got lost in the bustle of March. And, as you do, I want to show you a photo that inspired me to look at August in a new way.

It’s a basketball card I found in a box of my old stuff in the attic.

In the photo Gary Payton is firing off an amazing pass.

Keep Reading —›

142 words of thank you.

Leadership/ Random May 28, 2012Comments

There are some days, when my job feels tough.

Days when whatever it is that I am required to do feels hard or stressful or above my capabilities.

On those days, may I forever remember the picture of my grandfather, Clifford Eugene Acuff, that is hanging in the hall of my parents’ house.

He is smiling.

He is brave.

He is headed to the front.

I got to do things like go to college because my grandfather did things like fight the Nazis.

I got to do things like blog openly about my ideas because my grandfather did things like get into a tank.

I got to enjoy a thousand freedoms at 18 because my grandfather withstood a thousand enemy bullets on a battlefield at 18.

For the grandfathers whose photos hang in your hallways and the grandchildren who continue to sacrifice, thank you.

How to have shorter meetings.

Random March 21, 2012Comments

I don’t know anyone who absolutely loves meetings.

I’ve never heard anyone ever say the phrase, “I don’t have enough meetings each week.”

I’ve never met anyone who felt more productive because they attended more meetings.

If anything, I’ve heard countless people say, “I was in meetings all day and didn’t get any ‘real’ work done.”

So what’s the solution to this meeting dilemma? It isn’t to stop having meetings. Some of them can be critical to the success of a project.

The answer is to have shorter meetings.

Or, rather, to meet like a sea captain.

Keep Reading —›

VIDEO: Guy on a buffalo.

Random September 27, 2011Comments

Two videos in one day! Unbelievable. I normally don’t post twice in the same day, but when my friend Chris told me about a video musician Dave Barnes tweeted, I had to share it.

This made my head hurt I was laughing so hard. Please enjoy 2 minutes and 16 seconds of comic brilliance.

The best breakdancing I’ve ever seen.

Creativity/ Random September 27, 2011Comments

A few weeks ago, I opened for a rapper at a an outdoor music festival. I joked on Twitter that people would finally get to see my breakdancing skills. The rapper, a guy named Lecrae, responded to me on Twitter and said, “Go for it. I’ll give you a 5 minute set!”

I panicked and quickly confessed that my greatest breakdancing skill was talking about breakdancing, not actually doing it. But that’s not the case in this breakdancing/pop n lock/dubstep video. This guys is unbelievable and I think my favorite moment happens at 1:30.

Take a look and enjoy a little Tuesday random video.

 

How to be a better parent in 4 seconds.

Leadership/ Random September 14, 2011Comments

A few years ago, I learned a parenting trick that changed my life. It wasn’t complicated. I didn’t find it buried in one of those 400-page-long, zero-pictures parenting books that you often assume everyone has read but you. It’s not even that long. You can master this trick in 4 seconds. What is it?

Keep Reading —›