I’ve been busy planning the Ugly Christmas Sweater benefit party (read the full story here) and today we finally launched the website! Tickets are officially on sale! [loud cheers, noises, applause]. Buy your tickets now at: www.kcsweaterparty.com

I wanted to share what I’ve learned throughout this process thus far:

1.) There’s a lot of people out there that sincerely want to do good in this world, they just don’t haven’t had the right opportunity to do it.

We live in a world where turning on the nightly news can put even the best of spirited person in a somber mood. Most people want to help, but just haven’t had the right opportunity to follow through with it. I’ve found that once you interact with others, the passion and charity “attitude” is completely and utterly contagious.

I’d equate it to making yourself go to the gym to workout (stick with me on this one, I swear). So… you want workout. You tell yourself you want to. Your friends do it. So one day your friends finally drag you along to workout and now the apprehension to do it is over. You just needed that extra push over the edge to get on your feet running.

When I talk to friends, family and business owners about this benefit — I’m seeing right before my eyes that once you illustrate there’s a channel in which they can help and it’s RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW - they’re instantly turned on to the idea. They want to help, they just need the right opportunity and someone to believe in. The message is even stronger when it comes from someone they know, not just a TV commercial or paper pamphlet they’ve received.

2.) The word “no” isn’t something one should ever fear. Don’t ever hold back because of the fear of rejection.

Being rejected only makes you stronger and better than you were before. You’ll learn from your mistakes. And you’ll learn quick. I’ve heard lots of “nos” and “sorry wish I could help”. All of which I walk away with the mindset to think of what did or didn’t work. But never do I walk away with my head down and less motivated than before. It comes with the territory and every interaction you have must be a learning experience.

In our committee meetings people suggest countless ideas. We all have personal ideas that we brainstorm, some of which seem completely unrealistic. However, what I’ve learned is that rejecting ideas before actually investigating it — worst. thing. ever. I’ve learned not to say “that would never work” until you really have tried it. If an idea is solid — it’s enough to have legs and there’s steps to get there, “make it happen” is the only attitude to have.

3.) Surround yourself with a group of people that make you better than you would be alone.

When selecting people for the Steering Committee for this party I knew one thing. I wanted the group to be smarter at planning this party than I would be doing it alone. I know my friends who are helping me plan this are smarter than me. I constantly ask for feedback, suggestions and look to empower individuals of the group with Projects. This leadership style I’ve found allows one to play to every one’s strengths and interests. It’s a great way to establish ownership within the individuals of the committee. We truly are a group that is embodies the principle: WE is smarter than me.

4.) Don’t panic. Solutions present themselves to those who know how to keep their composure.

The benefit planning process isn’t 100% smooth sailing filled with happy dancing monkeys and toothbrushes. When problems occur (because they will occur) and things aren’t going as planned — adapt. Re-tweak. Focus. As long as you have the composure to regain your footing you’ll find yourself able to clearly see the steps to the solution.

5.) Frequently take time to step back and see the big picture.

In the chaos of it all, there are times when you need to take a step back and ensure that the big picture objectives are still being met. Getting caught up in the details can lead to dropping critical big picture goal you want to achieve. Make sure you’re able to take a deep breath and evaluate how things all fit together and if certain aspects need more attention than others.

There’s so much more I’ve learned in regards to event planning, leadership, people and things about myself that can’t be encapsulated in a “Top 5″ list. These lessons learned have truly made me a better person. I still get chills thinking about how much of an impact we’ve already made on the community. I also get excited and extremely motivated knowing how much more we can accomplish.

**One thing is for certain, the best has yet to come.**
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This photo is in my friend’s room and I really think it’s telling of such an inspirational mindset. To me — this means the following;

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

Multitasking. Everyone talks about it. Some people even like to taut how good they are at it. But is it really beneficial and the most efficient way to get things done?

I don’t tell anyone I’m a multitasker. Nor do I think of myself as someone who likes to multitask.

Forget multitasking. It’s all about multi-project and single task. This means at any given time you can handle and organize multiple projects but you focus yourself to work on any one given task at a time. That’s it. No more than one. This leaves you ultra efficient and you’re able to work with a deeper focus at just the task at hand.

This is how I get things done at work AND outside of work. Once I grasped this “life hack”, I realized that I can dedicate quality focus into seeing one single task all the way through. Furthermore, there’s great satisfaction in completing a task than trying to swallow the entire project at once.

Once you’ve adopted this approach — you’re able to utilize what I call “flow”. This is where you know you’ve got a set of projects your trying to complete. Each of those projects have tasks. “Flow” is working at a pace in which you focus your attention on a single task that you feel like working on. Once you’ve completed that task, you move to the next one. However, the next task can apply to a different project.

If you can master “flow”, you’ll be able to crank through tasks related to multiple projects and choose to do what you feel like when you feel like it.

I know I might sound like a 10-step time productivity infomercial or that 4-hour workweek book everyone is talking about, but I wanted to share how I personally think and work. There isn’t a right way per se, you have to do what works for YOU. I’m curious though, do you do something different? Does it work? Are you able to stay ultra-productive?
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I spent a wonderful evening with a friend — and we talked about life. Pretty specific topic huh? We talked about life and our individual motivation (no wine was involved, it was a completely sober convo).

Personally I’ve made the decision that I want to be the difference in the world [cue sappy Full House music]. I want the most out of life and am looking to spend my time where it makes the most impact. While it’s easy to say — how one actually lives up to that “life motto” takes work.

What’s the key to my own motivation?

Inspiration. Read books, blog posts, listen to speeches, podcasts, TV programs of people that truly inspire you.  Surround yourself with friends that motivate you. That moment of inspiration you get when your neurons “spark” you to do something or take action is what life is all about. Whatever it is that ignites that, do it. You can never be to busy to search for inspiration. Make sure you are not only inspired, but inspired frequently. It can’t be every other month, strive to make it daily or at least weekly. Make post-it notes, put quotes on your bathroom mirror, send yourself reminders, setup alerts — you must foster an enviornment for inspiration. I personally have a fear of mediocrity and you should too.

Inspiration makes all the difference. Each dose of inspiration fades, but once you figure out how to continual reignite that spark — it’s addictive… in a GREAT way.

So that’s my take on motivation… what’s yours? How do YOU get motivated in the morning to live another day?
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I know, I know — Michael Phelps is a golden god (I blogged about it already). If you check his Facebook fan page today you’ll see he has over 943,797 fans, 43,249 wall posts 1,019 fan photos and 355 discussion topics (side note: it’s interesting how people are adopted his Facebook “wall” as a virtual yearbook. Literally people are writing messages in the context that they would if they were signing a yearbook or guest book).

So, aside from Phelps being a-m-a-z-i-n-g, I wanted to bring to your attention the 100m dash. It was shown LATE on Saturday, so the majority of the U.S. missed it. People have been blogging how NBC has failed to prominently highlight the 100m dash — which is shocking since to me, I mean come on NBC, the 100m is one of the flagship events of the summer Olympics.

If you haven’t seen it yet — watch it first. If you have seen it… HOLY JEEZ. Usain Bolt of Jamaica jogged in the last 15 meters he was so far ahead. I personally ran track in high school (and loved it), one of my events was the 100m dash, to see this is utterly amazing. It’s not an event that historically is won by such a large margin.

Not only did he win, but he set the world record. What’s frustrating is he could of easily won with with larger margin and faster time. EASILY. While Usain Bolt may have not thought twice about it — his decision to “jog in” the final 15 meters it was something I struggled with. Olympians train their entire lives for moments like this. Was he making a mockery of his win? Was he just being plain arrogant?

I believe there are several life defining moments that happen in each of our lives. This was one for Usain Bolt. Maybe it’s just the competitive nature within me, but I would have left the celebrating for after the race was over. I believe it would have made more of an impact if Bolt left the games with a WR that was significantly faster than the previous record.

Details matter. While Bolt still walked away with the gold and a new WR, he may never be back at the games again to set another WR, or even worse — as good of shape to do it so easily. If I had my way, I would of made my mark in the world with a little more respect and class than Usain Bolt did.
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Every morning I wake up anxious to start my day more motivated than the next. Why?

The greatest possession you have is the 24-hours in front of you.

I can’t pinpoint exactly when or what — but at some point of my life a light switched on in my head that gave me perspective, motivation and more importantly the drive to want to be the difference in the world (yes, this is going to be one of those motivational blog posts, so strap in and hang on tight, cue motivational music).

Matt, a fellow consultant I work with, was speaking at our staff meeting about his previous life prior to working at our company. He described how he took an entire year off to travel/backpack the world after essentially “burning out” at his previous workplace (he worked there for 8 years). One quote changed his world perspective (and BLEW my mind). It was the following:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

- Mark Twain

[ca-ching!] The philosophy and motivation that is encapsulated in that quote is truly what it is all about. I want the most out of life and am looking to spend my time where it makes the most impact. Of course life doesn’t just hand things to you — YOU have to get out there and make things happen for yourself.

The keys to fulfill this hunger takes hard work. But it’s the little things in life that make all the difference. For what it’s worth, here’s my advice:

• Embrace what you are passionate about in life. Once you’ve done that — don’t just be good at it, strive to be the best at it. Want to take it a step further?…get paid to do it!

• Surround yourself with people who motivate you. Nobody likes hanging out with “debbie downer”. If your circle of friends don’t fill that void — constantly read the books or blogs of people that do, follow their presence online, subscribe to their podcasts.

• Do what works for you. Learn what works. Try out lots of things. Understand failure comes with the territory and you must persist.

• Get inspired. That moment of inspiration you get when your neurons “spark” you to do something or take action is what life is all about. Whatever it is that ignites that, do it. You can also never be to busy to search for inspiration. Make sure you are not only inspired, but inspired frequently. It can’t be every other month, strive to make it daily or at least weekly. Make post-it notes, put quotes on your bathroom mirror, send yourself reminders, setup alerts — you must foster an enviornment for inspiration. I personally have a fear of mediocricy and you should too.

• Make a “bucket list“. Toss in your bucket things that are personal and professional. Never mind how crazy the notion or idea, make sure you have a list. It’s only then after you’ve committed and identifyed these things, in which you then begin to step through and plan out how they can be achieved. Remind yourself instant gratification in completing your “bucket list” isn’t realistic… “We do what we have to do in order to do what we want to do.” The current tagline of my blog is very fitting to reference, “If at first the idea is not absurd, there is no hope for it”.

I love to write, communicate/interact with people, share and explore. At my roots, I consider myself an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs understand the “now” but live in the future. My own personal view of entrepreneuralism is having an inherent drive and personality to thrive on innovation and achievement. While the city I live in, Kansas City, may not be thought of as a place that breeds successful entrepreneurs in the Internet space (an honor usually left to the coasts) — I’m determined to make my mark.

Every endeavor I’ve embarked upon; web consulting, video blogging, photography, lifecasting on Justin.TV — they all started with single thought and the notion I can do it.

I’m excited to be here.

You should be too. Now you get out there. Explore. Dream. Discover.

There’s a lyric/quote I was reminded of today:

” I’ve heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn. We are led to those who help us most to grow, if we let them and we help them in return. “

Yeah, yeah — I’m sure you’re thinking Ramsey is getting all “emotional on us” here. But for real, it’s a great quote and a principal I adopted a long time again. Hearing this lyric was a rude slap to the face that made me step back and think and thank of all the people within the recent weeks that have surprised me. I’m a firm believer of the “pay it forward” and “do the right thing attitude”, and when I think back through the past few weeks, I’ve been pleasantly served with random acts of kindness (strangers, friends, family).

In the end, it’s these little things in life (as my friend Cara would say) that makes life good. Maybe it’s the uncomfortable summer camp bunk bed heat thats getting to everyone? Whatever it is — thank you.
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If you follow me on Twitter, you saw this weekend I bought the new video game, Guitar Hero Aerosmith. Yet, here it is, one day after having the video game — and I would rather be sitting in front of my computer writing, reading, creating something, shooting photos, video, chatting (etc). It’s so hard to believe my own love for video games isn’t as passionate as it used to be. Now don’t get me wrong, I still really enjoy shredding a song on Guitar Hero or driving recklessly in Grand Theft Auto IV (among other things). But what surprises even myself, is that I’m not as entertained with my traditional hobbies as I used to be. Beating a “level” or mastering a video game technique just isn’t enough anymore. Watching TV for the sake of watching is painful (DVR is my friend). Sitting through a bad movie isn’t acceptable (I walk out or turn it off).

Call it impatience. Call it high expectations. Call me a product of technology. Call it selfishness. But I find myself wanting more out of life.

I think when comes down to it, I want to spend my time where it makes the most impact. I’d much rather further my knowledge reading online, commenting on blogs, or volunteering my time in the community to help someone, something or just myself. I might just be declaring the obvious — but it really has been a big shift for me. For example, I’ve already started planning a party my friends and I throw ever year and have turned it into a full-blown charity benefit (Ugly Sweater Christmas Party benefiting Toys for Tots). I’m reading more than ever and taking advantages of learning from as much as I can from friends, family, and co-workers.

I’m not sure how long this “attitude” is going to last — but for now, its sure feels like I’m in the right “state of mind“.
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Tiger Woods is an amazing human, god, man.  Watching him play in the U.S. Open this Sunday was truly inspiring.  He just does not back down.  I’m pretty sure my neighbors heard me yell when he sunk the putt to send the tournament to a playoff.  My friend thought I was crazy jumping up and down on our couch.

Recently he had knee surgery — which I can completely relate to (I’ve torn my ACL twice playing soccer).  Anyone who knows me I’m a bogey golfer at best — but LOVE playing the sport.  I never was obsessed with the sport until as of late since my aging friends are finding the sports that require “running” and “contact” are getting harder and harder to subject our bodies to.

Tiger’s ability to CONSISTENTLY win and stay focused is truly amazing.  Consistency in being the best in the world is the lesson he continues to teaches us all.  His ability to stay composed, professional, and continue to “prove it out” is what I strive to do on a daily basis.  In the short time I’ve been in this world I’ve met several people that can “talk the talk” and it really means nothing in the end game if you can’t deliver and do it over and over as needed.  It’s people like Tiger Woods that continue to prove to me actions always do speak louder than words.
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