Lift others up!

Lately I have noticed a promising trend. My friends are incredibly supportive of each other. Sadly, this doesn't seem to be the norm for everyone that I know. 

When I woke up this morning, the first thought that I had was that sometimes we all need to be reminded that it doesn't cost us anything to lift another person up. You won't be pulled down. You can't be pulled down so it's ridiculous to worry about losing ground by helping others. Life is not a race. We are all in this together so we might as well make this world the best that we can. 

Happiness and Success are not subject to the laws of scarcity! Go out and help someone today!

To the driver I never met...

I saw the situation you put yourself into. You were driving too fast and you weren't paying attention to traffic. There was a long line of stopped cars in front of you and you were completely oblivious. Was your phone conversation that important? It must have been because once you realized that you were going to hit the car in front of you the conversation didn't end. You just cut the wheel hard to the left without any consideration of who was there. 

Luckily, if you want to call it that, I wasn't on the phone and I was paying attention. I had even prepared myself for the fact that you might be an inconsiderate driver. Before you reacted, I had already eased off on the throttle and covered my brakes just in case. Nothing that you did was a surprise to me up until this point. My only surprise was what happened next. You saw the motorcycle that was beside you and you slammed on your brakes and I kept mine covered. Then you made a decision I could never do. You decided that my life was less important than the POS car you were driving and you took your foot off of the brake and floored it pointing your 3,000 pound cage right at me. If I hadn't been prepared I would have had to drop the bike or risk being run over by you. Would you have stopped? I doubt it. 

Meditation in Motion

I have had a few people approach me recently about running. Usually the conversation focuses on the point that running bores them. The point that I try to get across is that I understand this challenge. 

Running to exercise is boring to me as well. I can't stand running at a track; it makes me feel like I'm a hamster running in circles. The most satisfying form of running that I have found is trail running. 

There is something about going outside of the groomed tracks and sidewalks of the world and stepping into nature that reawakens a sense of adventure in me. I have also found that footwear plays a large part in my satisfaction while running. I use the Vibram Bikila LS when I run. It's a lightweight shoes that moves with your foot and keeps your connection with the ground. 

Barefoot running is even better, although sometimes I'm not willing to tenderize my feet when I could just slip on my vibrams. Once I get past the first mile I just slip away and get lost in the present. It's one of the most satisfying experiences I know.

Motorcycle madness

Back in January I took the MSF course. For those of you who are unfamiliar it is the motorcycle safety course. Basically you ride 250cc bikes around in parking lots for two days performing low-speed maneuvers and you learn the fundamentals of riding a motorcycle.

Most of the people in the class are typically lifelong riders that have either never had their license or they no longer have the m certification for one reason or another.

I was one of the rare rookies that didn't own a motorcycle and had very little experience with them. I just knew that it was something that I wanted to try.

I'll be updating the story of how my motorcycle education and my life on two wheels goes in this blog.

Old-fashioned barber shop

I recently rediscovered the joys of the barber shop. When I was a kid I couldn't wait to get haircuts, but as I grew older they began to instill horror in me. By the time I was in high school they were my enemy ranking next to dentist appointments.

Fast forward to today. I'm now 35 and I view haircuts as a favor to myself. I get it cut short and I always feel a little spoiled once it's done. My ego thanks me every time.

Part of the transition from loathing to love is thanks to a small barber shop that I have been frequenting for about a year. It is the kind of family shop that has become rare these days. There is a couple and the wife's father all cutting hair together. One of my favorite parts is that they still do the razor finish. Nothing can compare to the feeling of a straight razor on your skin.

These are the thoughts that are spilling through my head as I is in the barber shop waiting for a chair to open on a Friday evening. It's been an hour since I got here and I'm sure to be up soon!

Training styles

I'm sitting in a software training session and I keep thinking that there has to be a better way. Management has purchased a new piece of reporting software do now all of the analysts are attending a workshop for the next two days. Because none of us have been given access yet, today will mainly be a meet and greet and hopefully tomorrow we can run some queries on live data.

If the past proves to be an indicator for the future we will finish this program and get access at some future date, well past our memory of what we learned today. My preference would be to get the software first, even in demo mode so that I can become familiar with it, then after a few weeks receive training. Doing this would make training workshops shorter and the questions would be better.

Hopefully this time will be different.

It has been a year since I lost interest...

It is funny how I have grown to neglect this blog. It all started with a trip to new orleans, and now two years later I am revisiting that wonderful city. Work has become the extent of my online activity. I still love using social media for work, and to help others to get the word out about their new products. I recognize the power, and the amazing reach of social media but I don't use it for fun anymore.

I think that this is the normal progression of social media. Many of my friends are starting to get "burned out" and dropping out of the social media realm. This is, I believe, the most important lesson that companies need to learn.

Trends come and go. Facebook and twitter are still growing, but the market has begun to mature. We the creators and the producers have to remember that we must go to where our audience is already at and build relationships with our customers.

The greatest takeaway that I have from watching social networks grow in popularity is that we do not just send a message out. We as marketers must facilitate a two-way conversation with consumers. Don't spend money trying to build a destination if you have already found your customers somewhere else. Don't focus on the few that don't like your product or company. Give positive reinforcement to those who are your evangelists. Remember these lessons and we will all be able to adapt to whatever the popular method of communication comes next.

This is a bit of a ramble, but it's the best I can do while sipping coffee in the break room at work. It feels good to write again, and I can already feel a bit of the rust sloughing off. My life is incredibly busy right now (exciting news is on the way!) but I promise to post here more frequently.