My friend Matt pointed me to a story from reveries.com that matches up with his personal "Hoop and a Stick" theory of raising kids which states that all kids need is a hoop and stick -- and certainly nothing that requires batteries -- for a good healthy upbringing. Here's a snippet from the article: It also turns out that the best way to encourage kids to exercise is simply to “give them a ball, jump-rope or hula hoop” — along with more in the way of “active play time.” That’s according to a report due out in next month’s American Journal of Preventive Medicine. This gets me thinking about …
Get Curious
Bee Movie Gets All A’s In My Book
In the newly released Bee Movie (produced by, written by, and starring Jerry Seinfeld), the main character, Barry B. Benson, is applauded for having the perfect report card -- all B's. Kim and I had a chance to see this film over the weekend, and I have to give it all A's. What made it most refreshing was the influence of Seinfeld. The king of observational comedy, Jerry's fingerprints were all over the movie. I expected a lot of bad puns (there were only a few) but time and time again, I was delighted by all of the witty, smart, and thoughtful observations about what life might look like …
Dr. Seuss and Associates
Here's another example of whimsy and mirth being interjected into the design of everyday things. And a sneak peek of what might happen if Dr. Seuss had become an architect. [Hat tip to Daniel] [tags]architecture, Dr. Seuss, mirth, design[/tags] …
Are Grown-Ups Obsolete?
You might think my answer to that inquiry would obviously be a resounding yes. Chris Rako sent me this photo he took in London. I love it. And it caused me to seriously consider the question: are grown-ups obsolete? I hesitate to say yes, for fear that it would discount the wisdom of our elders. Fresh off our trip to San Diego for the National Speaker's Convention, I am struck by how as important as it is to have the energy and optimism of youth, the wisdom and experience of the veterans of life is just as important. Some of the best role models I see in the speaking profession -- and in …
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Just Doing It
One of the excuses people often give for not going after their dreams is that they're not educated enough, in one way or another. Now that might involve something like having a degree, but it goes way beyond that. You may be hesitant to move forward on something if you haven't had a lesson, a class, or some sort of prior hands-on experience in that area. And so you wait until a class is offered, the timing is better, or you can drum up enough money and/or time to go back to school. Meanwhile your dream sits on the mantle collecting dust. Scott offers up a pretty good argument for not …
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So Long, Mr. Wizard
As you may have heard, Mr. Wizard (aka Don Herbert) died on Tuesday. He demonstrated experiments using household items and explained the science behind ordinary things. I remember watching his show on Nickelodeon during the 80's, but his original show began in the 1950s and was quite popular with the baby boomers. They say that the CSI: franchise has done much to encourage a renewed interest in forensic and archaeological science among kids; I would bet that Mr. Wizard did much to encourage the people who brought us a lot of the scientific breakthroughs we have seen in the last 30 …
Endlessly Curious
Yesterday I had a chance to meet up with one of my business heroes, Seth Godin. He was in Chicago for a book tour, and gave a presentation on his latest in a line of bestsellers, The Dip. Ever since reading Unleashing the Ideavirus, I have been a big fan of Seth's blog and books. Yesterday, it finally clicked why I think he's so cool (and successful). He's endlessly curious. …
What if…?
I've spent a lot of time recently talking about curiosity and asking questions. A lot of my focus has centered around every three-year-old's favorite three-letter-word: why? Stepping way from the whirlwind of whys for a moment, I'd like to shine the spotlight on another question that is just as important: what if? "What if" is cool because it not only signals an active curiosity (there's nothing worse than couch potato curiosity), it also encourages the practice of dreaming big. Just think: two little words team up to cover two of the eight secrets from childhood. Amazing! …
Are You a Fool?
Well, you should be.We hesitate to ask questions because we don't want to look foolish. And then we wonder why success seems to come so easily to other people around us.Asking questions is risky. It can make us appear foolish to those around us. And most frighteningly of all, the answers to the questions might upset the whole dang apple cart. Scary stuff.But asking questions is the only way to grow your business, grow your faith, or grow yourself."Go around asking a lot of damn fool questions and taking chances. Only through curiosity can we discover opportunities, and only by gambling …
Tennis Balls and Adultitis
I saw this photo the other day at This Is Broken. It's a walker, with tennis balls on the feet. I had to stop and think, but yep, I'm pretty sure that EVERY SINGLE WALKER I'VE EVER SEEN has had tennis balls on the feet. (Granted, most of them are green, but that's neither here nor there.) I have lots of questions (Why tennis balls? Who decided tennis balls would do the job? How in the world did the idea spread to every single walker user in the universe?), but the most important question is the one that apparently hasn't been asked. …