Inspiration

Breathing in 2012

Now that 2012 is officially underway, I thought it would be good to start the year off with a positive, uplifting message of hope and optimism.

This year is going to be a big year for all of us. And by that, I mean basically everyone alive on the planet. Huge shifts are taking place around the world, and decisions are being made that are going to impact the course of humanity for decades to come.

I was talking to my friend Lisa Arie last week about some of the opportunities for helping others in the coming year. Read more…

How Do You Connect?

2011 is almost over, and it seems like a good time to reflect back on the year and look at some of the ways we have grown increasingly connected to each other and the world we live in.  Interconnectedness is a big topic for me and I look forward to hearing what others think about this.

In 2011, I connected with more people through Twitter than in any other online medium, but I also noticed more engagement here on my blog as well. Interestingly, I felt an overall reduction in engagement on Facebook, despite the fact that it’s such a behemoth in the social world.

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A Date That Will Live In Infamy

December 7, 1941.

70 years ago today, the US was attacked at Pearl Harbor in what would be described by US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as ‘a date that will live in infamy.‘  This attack is the event that precipitated the US entry into World War II.

A remarkable thing happened that day and in the years following it – people from the United States and around the world achieved what must have seemed impossible at the time; defeating the Axis powers on 3 continents across two massive oceans.  Nothing on this scale had ever been done before, nor has it since. Read more…

Bittersweet Reflections of K.D. Lang and Steve Jobs

A couple of days ago, a good friend sent me a text asking me if I would be interested in going to see K.D. Lang at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta. It was one of those moments where I couldn’t say yes fast enough – thank you Steven!

In 1992, K.D.’s album Ingénue was released and I remember playing it over and over again in the record store I worked in, listening in awe to her unbelievable vocal range.  Her vocal talents are unmatched in any performer I have ever had the pleasure of watching live.

I’ll say it again – tonight’s performance was hands down the best vocal performance I have ever heard in my entire life.  It was magical. Read more…

Uncertainty – Practical Wisdom for Big Thinkers

There comes a time in the creative process, or indeed in life itself, where fear and doubt creep in and threaten the very life of a big idea or major shift in direction. Can this really be done? What if it fails? What if nobody cares? What if I end up broke?

Questions like this can keep truly groundbreaking ideas from ever seeing the light of day. In his new book, Uncertainty, Jonathan Fields deconstructs the journey of brilliant creative endeavors and provides context to the process that amazing work requires in order to be birthed.

Read more…