I video blogged my friend Luke solving a Rubik’s cube. Watch HOW FAST he goes. It’s impressive.

Check out our tree! Merry Christmas from our family to yours! (i shot this with my 40D and did a quick edit in CS5) i’ve been having fun lately messing with manual focus on my lens, once you get practice + confidence with it, it’s fun to use for shots you have more time with.

KCTV5 asked me to come on a news broadcast for an interview about the “Top 5 Social Media Trends for 2010“. I only had a few minutes to talk through list, so the discussion is pretty short and succinct. You can watch the interview. Here are my thoughts on trends to lookout for in 2011. ( if you’re wondering …that poinsettia behind me almost ate me alive. it’s huge! )

I was drafting an email tonight that required me to dig up my goals I wrote for the year 2010. I scanned my list of 10 things and disapprovingly gave myself a B-. I can do better. Then, I started thinking about all of the people I know that are successful. How the hell are they doing it? (and i’m not just talking about business success, people who have great families and are just living happy, fulfilling lives)

I then remembered a quote I once read at Starbucks while waiting for my coffee… (i know, it’s pathetic that I found this quote @Starbucks, but it’s still a great quote)

I’m intrigued by successful individuals who are affecting greater change in the world. A common thread I’ve observed with these types of people, is they’ve always persevered through the odds, critics, their own failures and difficult circumstances. “Success” didn’t come on their first try. Or their second. Most importantly, their passion in life is so great- it drives them to have a seemingly unreachable goals or a dreams that challenge the status quo. They’ve followed their heart and intuition.

Dream and dream big.

We’ve all heard that phrase before. If you don’t- you’re going through life operating with nothing to reach for. Everyone has dreams, no matter how old you are.

You need patience and passion. Have the patience to piece together “the ladder” in what it takes to get you there. Find the passion to follow through with doing what it takes to accomplish that dream.

That is my 2 cents. Who’s with me?

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KCTV5 asked me to provide a list of “Top 5 Social Media Trends for 2010“. This article is my analysis and opinion on what happened this year.

This blog post is a collection of some of the pictures and video from this year’s 6th Annual, 2010 Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. It was incredible to see all of the unsolicited coverage we received this year from the local media and bloggers. Myself and the entire steering committee continue to be humbled about all the help we’ve received to promote the cause! After all, this keg party just started in our basement!

The Kansas City Star’s INK magazine covered the party:

We were asked to come on the NBC morning show to talk about the party + the toy drive we setup @The Roasterie

A guest who attended the party, shot, edited, and posted a video blog of the night! It was so cool that Leah Stephens aka STELLABELLE did this!

Every year, we’re fortunate enough that we’ve had Zach Cobb donate his free time to take professional pictures for the party. This year, Zach and his business partner Simon, donated their time and services on behalf of their company, Westside Studio. Here are the official party pictures from this year’s party.

Some of our photos were even featured in the LA Guest of a Guest blog:

I often think the iPod, iPhone, Android, [insert another bad-ass gadget here], as cool, useful and shiny awesome as they are …when you don’t know how to integrate them into your daily life correctly, they can actually hinder the ability to understand how to communicate.

Some people don’t know how to start meaningful conversations anymore because they hide in their gadgets in public social situations.

Put down your phone.

Look up. Look around you.
Say hi to someone and smile.
Start a conversation with a stranger.
Experience the moment in front of you, don’t take a picture with the camera on your phone.

Don’t let the technology control you.

Do you get my point?

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You have done it. You ask this question too. You are guilty as I am. I hate it.

“What do you do for a living?”

This is the question everyone asks, to strike up conversation. And whether you like to admit it or not, when you ask this question, you then make judgements from the answer they respond with. Unfair assumptions on their wealth, personality, experiences and values.

That sucks.

Why do we make these judgments from 1 answer about their job?

I recently was on a plane in this very situation. I asked the question to the person sitting next to me, “What do you do?” He told me he sold industrial equipment. However, when I asked him what he did, I noticed he struggled with his response. He shifted in his seat and sighed. I then asked him, “What do you really want to do for work?” He paused, and I nervously waited for him to respond, not knowing if I may have offended him. It turns out he would rather own his own business and open a restaurant. After talking to him longer, I realized he was actually a really interesting person with a lot of passion for things that had nothing to do with his job. I was almost embarrassed for asking about it first.

So perhaps the lesson here is leading with the question “What do you do?” isn’t always the best policy. I hate that we do this. Too much judgement is inadvertently placed all on this 1 question. It’s the wrong way to start a conversation. And there’s always awkward moments and pauses after you ask the question.

There are easier ways to start conversation with people you meet. Like, asking where someone is from, or what the best AND worst part of their week has been (not how are you doing …that’s too generic, you won’t get an honest answer from most people). What has your attention right now? Perhaps I should just ask, what are you passionate about in life? It would certainly make you think of a good answer. You’d jump into a real conversation and perhaps avoid the surface chit-chat crap.

I’m going to challenge myself to avoid asking the job question from now on. Perhaps I’ll enforce a “break glass for an emergency” rule in using it. I just don’t see the benefit in leading with it. Even if you’re only interested in networking, most sales professionals tell you to establish the relationship first, then sell.

What do you think?
Do you agree? Do you struggle with this too?

Do you see my point?
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Have you ever watched someone’s face when they see someone walk into the room wearing an ugly Christmas sweater? You can’t help but smile. But it means so much more than just ugly Christmas sweaters…

In planning this party, we (the steering committee) have found there’s a lot of people out there that sincerely want to do good in this world- they just don’t have the right opportunity to do it.  We, as a group of friends, have made it our mission to do good by planning this party and empower others to have an opportunity to not only do good, but carry the message about Operation Breakthrough.

In 2008 we raised $7,125.
In 2009 we raised $18,575.

This year our giving goal was $20,000…
…we raised over $26,000 in 2010 to donate to Operation Breakthrough.
We also donated over 300+ toys to the OB Christmas Family Program.

THANK YOU for helping us make our mark.

This is YOUR event Kansas Citians, that helps our great city.

THANK YOU to everyone who donated, attended, danced, clicked the “LIKE” button, RT’ed, volunteered and helped share our story.

In planning this event, we have learned so much more than just how to throw a party. These experiences and lessons learned, have truly made us all better people.  I get chills thinking about how a small house party has evolved into something much bigger. We are making a direct impact in the community, right here, in a city we’re all proud of, Kansas City.

This is how we are making a difference.  We’ve turned something ugly, into something truly …beautiful.

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