Favorite Things Friday - March 21

Good Reads
30 Must Do's While You're Young from Mark and Angel
18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently from Huffington Post
3 Things That Create A Meaningful Life from Donald Miller

Lucky Guess


Trick Shot Compilation


Reality Check


Epic Movie Trailer


How'd They Do That?

Favorite Things Friday - February 7

Good Reads
Stop Comparing Yourself To Others from Being Minimalist
Sometimes Your Hopes And Dreams Get Crushed from Under 30 CEO
5 Reasons Your Should Smile More from Michael Hyatt

Bad Lip Reading


In Flight Safety Video


Surprise Ending


This Kid Has Guts


Lie Detector Test

Favorite Things Friday - January 17

Good Reads
Stop Making Excuses, Start Making Choices from Phil Cooke
The Buffet Problem from Seth Godin
A Strategy To Truly Reach Your Goal from Unstuck

Relief From Winter In Central Ontario


Pre-Show PSA


Promotional Campaign/The Importance Of Showing Up


Movie Trailer/Commentary On Internet Silliness


Explanation Of A Common Stereotype

Favorite Things Friday - November 22

Good Reads
Take A Loss by Donald Miller
Finding Waldo from Slate
Permission To Play from Switch & Shift

Baseball Game


Hunger Games Parody


Domino Display


Cover Of A Rap Song


Gum Commercial

Favorite Things Friday - November 8

Good Reads
Your Best Story from Jon Acuff
Turn Your Life Around from Dumb Little Man
Fear The Fear, Feel The Fear from Seth Godin

Church Campus


Real Life Superhero


Tour Of Eesti's Natural Beauty

Flying over Estonia with an octocopter from A&J on Vimeo.


Show Of Emotion


Recurring Prank

Favorite Things Friday - October 11

Good Reads
19 Idiotic (But Real) Travel Complaints from Huffington Post
Why Aren't You Fired Yet? TV Characters That Somehow Held On To Their Jobs from The A.V. Club
Better When from Jamie The Very Worst Missionary

Favourite Marketing Stunt


Favourite Mix Of Skill And Artistry


Favourite Behinds The Scenes Look At Someone I Speak With Regularly


Favourite Retelling Of A Bible Story


Favourite Advertisement

Favorite Things Friday - October 4

Good Reads
8 Common Thinking Mistakes by Belle Beth Cooper
Don't Look Before You Leap by Matt Appling
Why You Should Look Past Your Peers by Donald Miller

Favourite Places To Go On Vacation


Favourite Motivational Video


Favourite Retro Steve Carrell Video


Favourite Explanation Of Why I Make Dumb Decisions


Favourite Group Outing

Favorite Things Friday - September 27

Good Reads
Why You Should Accept A Life Less Predictable from Shauna Niequist
8 Rules To Help You Live Long & Strong from Dumb Little Man
From Dot-Com Zero to Hero: One Man’s Story from Tim Ferriss

Favourite "Is This For Real" Product


Favourite Parenting Video


Favourite Public Service Announcement


Favourite Rap Video


Favourite First Responder

Random Learnings From 32 Years

Last weekend I celebrated the 32nd anniversary of my birth. It's been a good 32 years. I've got some fond memories:
- High School (maybe I blocked out the bad stuff)
- Being the first of my family to go back to Estonia.
- Playing baseball as a summer "job"
- Convincing a pretty girl to marry me
- Becoming a dad

And I've also learned a lot along the way. Here's 32 random things I've learned in my 32 years:

1. Smiles are contagious
2. Don't take yourself too seriously
3. People will let you down and hurt you
4. Everyone deserves a second chance
5. Pizza Pops and HungryMan dinners are not part of a balanced diet
6. Be nice. You catch more bees with honey than vinegar.
7. Take risks when you're young. The older you get the harder it gets.
8. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. All the hell I put my parents through as a kid has returned to me with a (sometimes) defiant and energetic 2-year old of my own.
9. The older you get, the wiser your parents get. Weird how that works.
10. Never trust a fart
11. When you have the choice to assume the worst or believe the best, always chose believe the best
12. Before you work hard to climb the ladder, make sure it's the right ladder.
13. Bad things do happen to good people
14. When in doubt, do the next 'right' thing
15. Your job is not who you are
16. Volunteer, serve and give back
17. Have some friends outside your church bubble. They will help you stay grounded in reality.
18. That handful of close church friends are worth more than their weight in gold.
19. Children and spouses are the best mirrors
20. There's no win in comparison
21. It's never as bad as you think. It'll look better in the morning
22. Ice cream will make you feel better
23. Never stop reading and learning
24. Some people are kept in your phone just so you know not to answer when they call
25. The best time to plant a tree was 25 years ago. The second-best time is today. Don't wait, do it.
26. Surround yourself with people smarter than you. That is the only way you will be challenged to grow.
27. Don't forget to say "Thank You"
28. Maintaining the status quo will kill your soul
29. Find one person who will stand in your corner when no one else will. Then marry them.
30. Standing with your feet in the ocean can fix any problem.
31. Balanced people don't change the world
32. You cannot out sin God's grace

Anything you'd add to the list?

Favorite Things Friday - September 6

Good Reads
Measuring Your Quality Of Life At Work from Fast Company
100 Day Dash from Tim Sanders
Is Work A Blessing Or A Curse? from Ron Edmondson

Favourite Surprise Ending


Favourite Leadership Lesson


Favourite Music Video


Favourite Delightfully Tacky Commercial


Favourite Retro Video

Favorite Things Friday - August 9

Good Reads
Do You Fit In At Work? from Social Hire
How To Tell Your Story In 30 Seconds from Donald Miller
Life's Unstoppable Formula from Dumb Little Man

Favourite Example Of Culture Shock


Favourite Ad


Favourite News Segment


Favourite Bucket List Video


Favourite Show Of Skill

Eyes On The Prize

I saw this on Fast Company earlier this week. 

It’s called a lilac chaser. You’ve seen it before. It’s an optical illusion with a small black cross in the middle, encircled by twelve blurry lilac-colored dots. A green dot animates over the lilacs as though counting the time on a futuristic clock. Stare at the cross long enough and the lilacs disappear, one by one. But the moment you get distracted and look away, the lilacs come back.

The black cross is the work you do. The lilacs are all the things ancillary to your work. They’re the small choices you’ve made around your black cross: the time you wake up, the tools you use, what you have for breakfast, when you check your email, and so on. 

Guilty as charged.

How often do I let the small (routine) stuff distract me from doing remarkable work?

How often do I look at small decisions that don't really matter (Do I want pizza or tacos for dinner) and allow them to distract me from doing work that matters?

It's productive procrastination.

The grass never needs to be cut as badly as when I have a task I don't want to do.
Amazing how I find chores that need to be done if there's a difficult assignment looming.
You know the feeling.

Want to do work that matters? Keep your eyes on the black cross.

Mistakes Make Good Stories

I had an interesting conversation with a friend this week. They were talking about how she loved those awkward first dates that bombed.

Weird huh?

Think about it though. Those times when things went sideways are etched in your memory. Those events that bombed make good stories.

No one wants to hear how awesome you are. They want to hear about the time no one showed up to your show.
The time when you burnt your eyebrows off lighting the bbq.
The time you bumbled and stumbled through your first date.

Why?

I think it's because you turned out alright, and it gives hope to the rest of us screw-ups.

Or maybe we jut want to laugh at your expense.

The Big Drift

Aside from coffee with some of the most inspiring, intelligent and kind people I know, the thing I miss most about my fundraising position is the driving.

I'm messed up, I know.

You see those hours in the car were more than just getting from A to B, they were times of learning. Times of contemplation. Times of dreaming.

On the drives to Muskoka, the Kawarthas and south to the GTA, I'd plug in my iPod and listen to podcasts. I miss that.

Earlier this week I stumbled across a notebook filled with thoughts and ideas from these podcasts I listened to. One section had notes from Andy Stanley's Big Church series. In one of his messages he talks about 3 drifts that we see in church world today.

1 - The Drift Toward Insiders & Away From Outsiders
"People who don't come here don't call and complain." It's easy to spend all your time handling the squeaky wheel and no time reaching people who don't know Jesus.

2 - The Drift Toward Law And Away From Grace
When we develop policies, we move away from conversations and grace begins to slip away.

3 - The Drift Toward Preserving Rather Than Advancing
When you have nothing but vision, and nothing to lose, you take risks to reach people. As you grow the drift is toward preserving what you've built, at the cost of advancing the kingdom.

I think it applies to more than church world. Have you seen these drifts in the corporate world? In your personal life?

Are you a drifter?

Time To Start

Today is release day for a book I've been anxiously awaiting for a while now. Today is the day Jon Acuff releases his new book: Start. I pre-ordered it and can't wait to lock myself away and devour it once it arrives in my mailbox. 

What's the book about? It's about doing something awesome. 

About punching fear in the face.

About doing something with your life that matters.

That is something that resonates deep inside me.

There are voices that say: "You're too old."

"You need to be 'responsible' and avoid risk."

"Don't rock the boat."

"You've got an ok thing going here. Do you want to lose it all?"

"You're not qualified."

I believe those voices are wrong.

I feel like Jon and I are kindred spirits.

When he speaks about being stuck. I'm right there.

When he shares about getting glimpses of awesome, then having to go back to average. I feel it.

When he admits to wanting the process to go faster. He's reading my mail.

At the risk of sounding like a groupie, I'm picking up with whatever he's putting down.

While I haven't read the book yet, I am going to take the risk of recommending anyway.

At least check out the website: http://TheStartBook.com

Affecting My Headspace

A link to this post came across my screen today and, as much as I don't want to admit it, it got a reaction from me.

I was mad.
I was frustrated.
"How could he say that?!?"
So churches that are trying to reach their communities with the message of Christ are doing it wrong?
What about "The Great Commission"?

I'm assuming that was the goal of the post, to get a rise out of people.

There are certain topics that will fire me up. When someone talks badly about my family, friends, faith or the Dallas Stars.

I remember reading a post by Cameron Strang from Relevant about how he deals with people who complain about something they read in the magazine. His initial reaction is to do the exact opposite of what they say.

You think that's bad? Just wait 'til you see what's in next month's issue!

He maintains that reaction is not the right one.

(It may not be the right one, but it's still my go-to reaction.)

The proper reaction is to ignore it.

When you react, you are giving the person permission to affect the way you think. You've likely heard people say: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” or “Don’t take it so personally.” When you give your consent to that person to fill your mind with their ideas it affects you. It affects your mood, productivity and opinions.

It's tough, but we need to be careful about who/what we allow past the gates, and into our head.

As my Dad used to say: "Like water off a ducks back"

Favorite Things Friday - April 12

Favourite Reads
32 Ways To Short-Circuit Happiness from Dumb Little Man
Too Late? from Chris Guillebeau
10 Assertions From Elite Entrepreneurs from Forbes

Favourite Prank Gone Wrong


Favourite View From Space


Favourite Travel Video

The Quiet City: Winter in Paris from Andrew Julian on Vimeo.

Favourite Nature Video

Favourite Tutorial

'Perfect' Timing

We've all been through those times.
Those times when God isn't working as fast as we'd like.
The times when God seems distant, maybe even disinterested.

You've been praying for something that is taking longer than you think it should. You don't know how much longer you can hold on. You're about to reach the breaking point.

Your well-meaning friends tell you "God's timing is perfect", but you're calling B.S. 

Perfect timing was 3 weeks ago.

Perfect timing was before the debt became a millstone around your neck.

Perfect timing was before your marriage became an empty shell.

Perfect timing was before your teenager got pregnant.

Perfect timing was before you lost your job.

Friday night I was having a conversation monologue with God and my dashboard.

The space inside, once inhabited by hope, had been filled with apathy and maybe some despair.

Why wasn't God answering?

I opened up to God and all I got was radio silence.

Crickets.

I went to bed and got up early Saturday morning to head north to the Muskoka Mayors' Prayer Breakfast. As we drove up to Deerhurst, my mood was a mix of weariness, fatigue and despondence. 

We pulled in to the parking lot and made our way through the gathering crowd and towards the main hall. We took our seats and the morning began.

I was seated next to John. 

John works for Paul Henderson's ministry and as we talked I began to feel a stirring in my soul.

We were seated at one of the VIP tables so we were sent to the buffet after the head table. In the buffet line I bumped into a couple friends from Harvest Muskoka. As we connected over bacon, scrambled eggs and hash browns the stirring in my soul began to grow stronger still.

John and I talked some more as we downed our morning meals and still the stirring grew stronger.

I polished off the last of my eggs and was suddenly feeling alive again. 

Feeling up to some conversation, I sought out my Muskoka friends and made my way over to say hi. 

Conversations with Tony, Martin, Craig, Terry and Mike had this internal flame growing into a full-blown inferno.

The morning transitioned to the programmed part of the morning, so we made our way back to our seats and as I sat there I felt God speak to me.

*Think of whatever way God speaks to you that doesn't make you think I'm crazy*

After giving me the silent treatment the night before, God's presence was almost tangible.

It was as if he was saying, "You feel this? You feel fully alive. This is what I have for you, just trust me."

I don't know what the future holds.

I don't know what the next step is.

I just know God used those men on Saturday morning to speak into my life.

To give me a taste of what the future holds.

To breathe life into these dry bones.

God's timing might not be 'perfect' in our eyes.

We're going to go through some sh crap stuff where it feels like we're just praying to the ceiling.

There will be times you feel like God has clammed the door on your windowless room.

But I know he hasn't left us.

He hasn't forgotten about you.

He will give you just enough ledge to hang on to.

And, if you're lucky, he'll give you a glimpse into the good life he has created for you.

Just hang on baby.

The Resistance Is Futile

We've all been there and felt it. It's the invisible, destructive force that stands in our way when we try to accomplish something significant, or strive to improve on something.

Steven Pressfield calls this 'The Resistance'.
"Resistance is an active, intelligent, protean, malign force—tireless, relentless, and inextinguishable—whose sole object is to stop us from becoming our best selves and from achieving our higher goals."

It's the thing that tells us to sleep in instead of going to the gym.
The thing that has us clean up the kitchen instead of reading our Bible.
The thing that makes us stay home instead of going to the business social with people we don't know.
The thing that makes us quit in the face of adversity.

I want to encourage you this week. When you come up against the resistance, fight back, don't back down, stare it in the face and press on.

Your best self depends on it.

What Have You Become?

I guess it was a couple weeks ago now that Saturday Night Live ran a sketch that has had me thinking. The idea was a game show, asking each of the contestants "What Have You Become?" Three contestants, who had all been told they’d had great potential when they were younger, had never done anything with it as they grew older.

In fact, they’d all become pretty disappointing.

After introducing each contestant, the host would then ask What have you become? forcing each of them to re-evaluate their life choices, often causing them to break down in tears at the realization that they had done nothing with the potential they’d had 20 years before.

I don't want to be that guy. The guy who could have done something significant with their life, but failed to take the necessary risks to arrive at that place. Yet I find myself going down that path. Where I opt for safe. Ordinary instead of extraordinary.

So how do you break out of it? How do you do something meaningful with your life? How do you make a dent in the universe? How do I avoid becoming the 'wicked and lazy servant'?

Same way you eat an elephant, one step at a time.

Maybe you're feeling stuck, going through the monotony of the day-to-day. Let's try to make a change. Let's start to take some steps out of the muck and start to move towards doing something significant.

Read a book
Send an email
Write a business plan
Have coffee with someone who's in the place you want to be

To quote Dave Matthews and the sing that has resonated with me the last couple weeks:
To change the world,
Start with one step.
However small,
The first step is hardest of all