Archives for June 2014

- - - | written by Jason on 6/28/2014 | - - -

The Most Important Thing To Remember About Your Story

Many people come up to me after my speaking programs and say, “I wish I would’ve heard you when my kids were young.” There is sadness and regret over what are perceived as missed opportunities and memories lost. I get it. One of the reasons I do what I do is to make sure people have as few “if onlys” as possible. But you can’t sail to the bright future in front of you when you’re anchored to the “if onlys” of the past. I’ve seen movies that start slow, barely holding my attention. There’s not a lot going on. It’s unremarkable. But sometimes there is a spark, a turning point that takes place that catapults the story into a thrilling new direction. Suddenly I'm completely engaged, drawn into the story and excited to see how it ends. Life can be like that. We get caught up in the river of rules and expectations set forth by others and the current pulls us in a predictable direction. It’s safe and plain and comfortable, with nothing too exciting going on. But sometimes there …

- - - | written by Jason on 6/28/2014 | - - -

Saturday Morning Sprinkles: Bananimals Edition

• Found this neat post by Innocent that showcases some fun ways to play with bananas. Don't miss the drop dead easy way to turn your banana into a penguin! • From Colossal: "If you’re afraid of heights, caves, the dark, suffer from claustrophobia or vertigo, this might not be for you, but if not, a small Welsh town has the perfect subterranean adventure for you: the world’s largest underground trampoline." • This Never Ending Slinky machine is pretty cool. And now a live project on Kickstarter. Just ordered the black one! • This "Play" Text Terrarium sculpture is super pricey, but super awesome, too! They also have more affordable hashtag and "@ garden" versions available. • Did you know that Steven Spielberg was actually going to use stop-motion to animate the dinosaurs for his film Jurassic Park? It was a no-brainer, especially since he had Phil Tippett, the master puppeteer who was responsible for bringing many of the Star Wars creatures to life. But then some rebels at …

- - - | written by Jason on 6/25/2014 | - - -

The Most Rewarding (and Humbling) Day of My Career

Back in May, I was in Washington D.C. to give the closing keynote of the C.O.P.S. (Concerns of Police Survivors) Annual Conference. It was quite possibly the most rewarding (and humbling) day of my career. This event, which has been going on for 30 years, is all about helping people who have lost loved ones in the line of duty to rebuild their shattered lives. Moms, dads, sons, daughters, spouses, siblings, children, you name it. They offer grief counseling and support from others who have walked a similar road. Now, I have never experienced any kind of a loss like this, and there is no way I could even pretend to know what the attendees are going though. Which meant I felt unbelievably unworthy to be on that stage. I was terrified of saying something really stupid or trite or presumptuous. But I knew I was there for a reason, and I spent a lot of time thinking and praying about what I should say. I figured I had no choice but to be honest. …

- - - | written by Jason on 6/21/2014 | - - -

Must Be Nice

Next week I will be attending the annual convention for the National Speakers Association. It's a natural human tendency to compare ourselves to others, especially people in the same field as us. It's not necessarily a bad thing, if it leads us to discover areas to improve. But when it shifts into envy or jealousy, that's a problem. I am already bracing myself for the “must be nice” game. In the speaker world, it goes like this: Of course he gets booked all the time, he's a former NBA player. Must be nice. She's got so many connections from working all those years in the corporate world. Must be nice. I wish could juggle fire and do backflips like that. Must be nice. I fall into it myself. I spend too much time noticing all the things I'm not, that I miss the things I am. One theme that drove itself home for me during last year's convention was my talent as an artist. It's one of the things I'm really good at, and it's a skill that very few speakers possess. And yet, …

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- - - | written by Jason on 6/21/2014 | - - -

Saturday Morning Sprinkles: Living in a Boeing 727 Edition

• Engineer Bruce Campbell bought a retired Boeing 727 and spent several years turning it into his home. It's got electricity, a shower, and a kitchen. Plus, his website has a how-to guide on making your own. (Hat tip to Colossal.) • 33 Activities Under $10 That Will Keep Your Kids Busy All Summer • Here is a fantastically whimsical way to manage all of those cables for your electronic devices using some LEGO friends. • Check out these neat custom-engraved rolling pins to cheer up your cookies. Love the robot one! • Here are 18 photos to remind you that growing old is inevitable, but growing up is optional. (My favorite is the group of people playing Super Mario Brothers on the side of a building.) Finally, some posts from around here you may have missed: • 20 Tiny Ways to Make Life More Amazing • Father’s Day Tips for Dads from Darth Vader • Do you see weeds or wishes? …

- - - | written by Jason on 6/20/2014 | - - -

20 Tiny Ways to Make Life More Amazing

Our lives are stories. Sometimes living a better story requires making a big, hairy, scary change. Like moving across the country or taking a huge pay cut to do what you love. But most of the time we just need to be open to the art of tinkering. I am super excited to announce a fun side project I'd been working on for an exciting new company called Snippet. They are doing some cool things in the publishing arena and have built a platform with tools that encourage writers to engage and delight their readers with a beautiful, connected experience. The first of what I hope will be many collaborations with them is a Snippet about tinkering. It features 20 simple ideas – small experiments, if you will – that will get you thinking in new ways and get your story moving in exciting new directions. It also contains lots of interactive "discoverables" like video, photo slideshows and conversations on social media. I love how it turned out; it's super cool. And it's only $1.99. If …

- - - | written by Jason on 6/14/2014 | - - -

Saturday Morning Sprinkles: Play with Your Food Edition

• I love Ida Skivenes, an Instagram food artist and enthusiast based in Oslo, Norway. She makes awesome (and when I say awesome, I mean holy smokes, that's AWESOME!) things with her food and then eats it! Her website has some neat behind the scenes stuff, too. • Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! Who's to say who the coolest stay-at-home dad is, but this guy ranks right up there. • I was super sad the day Calvin & Hobbes was retired from newspapers. But I was super stoked to hear that cartoonist Bill Watterson made a surprise appearance in the funnies recently. He collaborated with Stephan Pastis on his strip Pearls before Swine, and the results were spectacular! • I enjoyed reading this long article on how Ghostbusters got made. Anyone else have the soundtrack...on vinyl? (I wonder where that thing ended up...) (Hat tip to Austin Kleon) • Sometimes the old way of doing things really was the best way of doing things. Here's Melissa Fenton's cleverly written Top …

- - - | written by Jason on 6/13/2014 | - - -

Father’s Day Tips for Dads from Darth Vader

In honor of Father's Day, I thought it would be fun to re-post an old but useful article about things every dad can learn from Darth Vader: With the 1977 release of Star Wars, audiences were introduced to the baddest bad guy in the entire galaxy. As the story unfolded and the prequels arrived on the scene, many people were surprised to learn that Darth Vader was not always such a bad dude. It may be equally surprising to learn that Mr. Skywalker actually did a few things right in his role as dad. (But mostly wrong.) If you are a father, here are a few things you can take away from Luke and Leia's dear old dad: Do: Involve your kids in your work and invite them to become involved. If you work outside the home, “Bring Your Kids to Work Day” is a great initiative. It allows your young padawans a look into your world, learn exactly where it is you go every day, and understand what you do to support your family. Don’t: Get all bent out of shape and threaten to kill them if they …

- - - | written by Jason on 6/10/2014 | - - -

Thou Shalt Be Excited When School’s Out for Summer

What's a sadder reflection on our modern educational system: the fact that "School's Out" by Alice Cooper is the de facto theme for students everywhere this time of year, or the fact that almost no one stops to consider that maybe it's a problem that so many people feel this way about school? I wonder... is "Thou shalt be excited when school's out for the summer" a rule that doesn't need to exist? I'll admit, the first day of summer vacation for me was always gloriously delicious. It meant freedom. But freedom from what, exactly? Freedom from being told what to do all day long. Freedom from having to jump through hoops for other people. Freedom from having to spend most of the day memorizing facts and being lectured to about things I had no interest in whatsoever. Freedom from the pressure of having to measure up to the artificial standards of coolness as decided on by a consensus of my immature peers. Freedom from tests and book reports and homework! What if you …

- - - | written by Jason on 6/7/2014 | - - -

5 Ways to Turn Messes into Memories

Our society is over-sanitized. We emphasize order and cleanliness and anti-bacterial EVERYTHING. But when kids do what comes naturally — get messy — good things result. Not only does Adultitis throw a hissy fit, but according to a 2012 report by The National Wildlife Federation, playing in the mud provides benefits to immune systems, hearts and skin, as well as kids’ emotional wellbeing and learning skills. According to Dr. Joel Weinstock, director of gastroenterology and hepatology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, “Children raised in an ultraclean environment are not being exposed to organisms that help them develop appropriate immune regulatory circuits.” For their own benefit, Dr. Weinstock argues, “Children should go barefoot in the dirt, play in the dirt and not have to wash hands when they come in to eat.” In addition to Adultitis prevention and health benefits, messes are an especially effective way to create memories with the people you love. (Not to mention the awesome …