A dream you don’t have to fight for isn’t a dream—it’s a nap. One changes your afternoon. The other changes your world. Keep fighting.
Mother Theresa
Martin Luther King Jr.
Winston Churchill
Abraham Lincoln
Mahatma Gandi
Nelson Mandela
Mark Twain
Elvis Presley
Socrates
Rosa Parks
Picasso
George Washington
Jackie Robinson
The Beatles
What’s that list?
A few months ago someone tore me apart online about something and then covered their tracks by saying, if it were me, “I would want to know.”
That is perhaps one of my favorite lies we tell ourselves when we want to be hurtful to someone but still maintain the veneer of kindness.
Want to hear something a little terrifying?
For centuries, parents have given their kids the awkward “birds and the bees” sex conversation. But we are the first generation of parents in the history of mankind who must have a “digital footprint” conversation with our kids.
We are the first generation that has to sit our kids down and say, “Let’s talk about Facebook and Twitter and Youtube.”
A few weeks ago, I was supposed to run in an event called “The Warrior Dash.” It’s a 5K obstacle course that involves mud, fire, water and Viking helmets. I’d signed up for it months ago. But 24 hours before the event, I decided not to go.
Why?
If you create something new with the hope that you won’t lose any of the audience that liked the previous thing you created, you’ll lose something else in the process.
Your voice.
Don’t create something that is so safe you won’t lose any followers.
Don’t create something that is so similar to your last thing that you won’t lose any fans.
Don’t create something so photocopied that you won’t lose any readers.
Fear of protecting your platform can’t be what drives your creative process.
Only create things you can’t not create.
Even if that means losing some of your audience. (And sometimes even means using double negatives.)
Question:
What’s something you’re creating right now?
Let me be clear about one thing:
I’d watch the show “Penguins of Madagascar” even if I didn’t have kids.
Even if I wasn’t the father of a 5 year old and an 8 year old, that show would be on rotation at my house. It’s funny, well written, and full of penguins that will occasionally judo chop other animals.
I digress.
Sometimes as an adult you bump into things designed for children that you end up needing more than your kids. It’s a book or a movie that speaks to you in a way you didn’t anticipate but can’t forget. That’s how I feel about two books by a guy named Peter H. Reynolds.
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.
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.
Your inbox is a mess right now. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of emails are overflowing your gmail account. Outlook is a nightmare. The little envelope that announces new email keeps flashing over and over again.
You’ve missed whole chains of conversations. You have to go back to the first email and dig your way through the last seven from seven different people talking just to make sure you can delete the entire back and forth email ping pong match between coworkers.
So you Google “empty my inbox” and get a lot of different tips on getting to “inbox zero.” Some help. Some don’t. But most won’t ever touch on the real reason your inbox is out of control. Want to know why it is?
My wife took this photo the other day at a gas station. And I think it’s pretty weird.
If you can’t tell what’s happening, basically a guy in a truck has driven up next to a payphone so that he can make a phone call from his car.
Why is this photo so weird?
Because things have changed.