The Differents

Think Differently and Positively.

via www.funmunch.com

If you were blind and could only earn money to live on through pan handling, how would you go about it? Click the link and read this short little story about a blind boy who had his sign (and life) changed by a stranger.

I'm a fan of creative pan handlers. I remember one pan handler I encountered in Vancouver who approached me and asked me for a $10,000 cheque so he could "save some wildlife or something" he quipped. "But if you can't afford that kind of commitment maybe you could give me $15 so I could get some dry cleaning done". He was filthy! I laughed my ass off. Needless to say, I emptied my pocket of change into his hand.

Life is all about context. There are so many ways to solve problems and make it a win / win for everyone involved. So take a moment to read the story about the blind boy and consider how you might make a small shift in the way you are doing things.

Think differently and positively. It could change your life.

Bugs are beautiful?

via postomania.ru

I have to admit... I'm not a big fan of bugs. Then again, I never saw them like this before.
Talk about dfrnt! Some of these photos actually make bugs and lizards and other creepy crawlys look "cute".
Yeah, I said it... "cute".

Young Barack Obama | Design You Trust

via designyoutrust.com

The year was 1980. Barry Obama was 19 years old and a 20 year old photographer named Lisa Jack took a roll of film of him.
Which leads me to my question: what are you doing today that will lead to extraordinary things in your future?
The answer is simple. Everything.

My iPad story

Okay, so it's May 29th and I'm looking out the window at snow here in Calgary. That hurts a bit.

The only good thing about this situation is that yesterday I bought an iPad. It was "iPad day in Canada" and the iPad finally was released to Canadians. I have to admit, I thought about heading down to my local Apple store to line up but then I thought, "It's cold and rainy... is it worth it?"

First coffee... then iPad.

So I stayed at home for a while. I had a nice breakfast and a hot cup of coffee. It got to be around 10 AM and I thought the crowds would be gone from the stores so I called out to my trust dog "Macaroni" to come along for the ride. He was just as enthusiastic about it as I was. So off we headed on our iPad hunt.

I was going to pre-order my iPad online earlier in the month but it just slipped my mind. I know people at two of the three Apple stores in town so I thought it would be nicer to go see one of them in person on launch day instead. If they had an iPad still available then I would but it. If not, then no biggie.

"Line ups everywhere!"

The radio stations were reporting line ups everywhere in town for the iPad. But I found a great parking spot right in front of the store. Hmmm. Was I too late?

But Macaroni, in all his infinite wisdom, threw me a glance that only a dog could give that reinforced my resolve that it was no biggie if I didn't get my iPad that day. So I locked up and meandered my way to the store.

Age before beauty?

When I walked into Westworld Computers, there were only about five customers in the store. Three of them were senior citizens. I thought to myself, "Isn't THAT interesting?" They were all there for iPads. How weird was that? But then I thought to myself, "It makes sense because that's who see the benefits of something so simple."

As I walked up to the counter I looked for the remaining inventory (that were all labeled with large stickers I might add) and noticed that there was ONE 32 GB Wi-Fi iPad left. Hallelujah! I'll take it.

I learned that I had missed the line-ups by about an hour. The store was open at 8 AM and there was 40 people in line. At the Apple store in Market mall there was 200 people waiting in line at opening. Me... I just walked into the store and bought one.

Macaroni is my Buddha.

As I approached my car and saw Macaroni pop his head up as I unlocked the door, I thought to myself, "Maybe Mac helped me get my head around this whole iPad thing."

In terms of owning an iPad, I see it like owning a dog. It's something to relax with and enjoy. It either fits in your life or it doesn't. You might not need it but if it's something you'll enjoy then why not get one. 

Sure, I took some lumps from my wife about buying it. But she's been playing with it for the last two hours and I can't seem to pry it from her hands. My only question is... does that mean I win or lose?

Phone lights

Courtesy of The Cool Hunter

You are a Sentence.

It's true, you know? Each of us is a sentence but what is yours?

This week I announced that I will be giving a keynote address here in Calgary on June 15th called Dfrnt Marketing. The speech is a culmination of years of advice I've been giving to people regarding how they can stand out in a world of mediocre. If you're coming to the speech, you should be prepared to take a hard look at yourself... to discover what your sentence is.

The world is mediocre

The world IS mediocre. It's... meh. Take a look around your community and name the most successful people or businesses. I'll bet you can easily name them. In fact, you can probably describe them in one sentence. "He's the owner of the car dealership" or "She's a singer" are probably some of the sentences you'd come up with.

Marketing is much more than just a generic sentence though. You have to be more than just a "community sentence" and be a "world sentence". Every small town with a car dealership has an "owner of the car dealership". You need to stand out. You can't just be mediocre. You have to be something dfrnt. You have to be something very dfrnt. 

Blowing off the dust

What's fascinating to me about all these year of advice I've been giving out is that every person I've met with has something extraordinary about them that they don't see themselves. They are literally blind to what makes them dfrnt.

I start asking questions. I don't tip toe around either. I ask blunt questions that usually make people think really hard. Your sentence is there just below the surface but sometimes there's a lot of dusting to do in order to see it. Slowly the dfrnts start coming to the surface. Your sentence isn't something you become... your sentence is something you are.

Prove it

Frank Sinatra once said, "People often remark that I'm pretty lucky. Luck is only important in so far as getting the chance to sell yourself at the right moment. After that, you've got to have talent and know how to use it.” In other words, luck might get you the chance but you still have to prove yourself.

Your sentence is something you can prove. It's a unique snapshot that says, "This is who I am and I can confidently prove it anytime." Your sentence doesn't brag. It states the precise truth.

A few examples

My sentence is, "Speak. Host. Sing. I'm a boredom solver." It's exactly what I do. I can prove it at anytime you ask me to. It's a unique combination that I tell the world I do. My website says it. My profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media say it. It's who I am and it's what I do.

Not only do I solve boredom for myself but I solve boredom for others. If I'm hosting a radio show for CBC my goal is to solve boredom for the listener. The same goes for when I'm speaking or singing. I make those moments unboring as much as possible.

But I also solve boredom for people like you. This article is about cutting through the clutter in your own life and getting to the point about who you are. Getting directly to the point solves boredom. You are a sentence.

The Polyjesters are a band from Didsbury, Alberta. Their sentence (as a band) is "Swingin' Folk Chunk". It's what they do. The Polyjesters are a band that is led by brothers Jason and Sheldon Valleau. Jason plays upright bass and Sheldon plays baritone ukulele. The songs they perform are based in swing and folk and "chunk" describes what they do with their instruments: they chunk their way through the songs.

But "Swingin' Folk Chunk" is also who the Valleaus are as people. They are a walking kitchen party. They are fun, light, engaging and they chunk their way through life everyday with passion.

Come along... for more

So come to my speech on June 15th at the Cantos Music Foundation. We're going to get a lot deeper into what your sentence is. We'll also go quite a bit further and teach you about how you can use your sentence as a hammer in your online marketing strategy.

Tickets and more info for Dfrnt Marketing event are available at www.dfrntMarketing.com 

450 kinds of soda pop in one shop.

My friend Angela sent me this link because she thought that the man being interviewed loves what he does as much as I do. I think she's right.

I'm going to go to this place but if you can't make it down to the store in person, they have a website.

www.sodapopstop.com

1972... was all about being a dfrnt.

"The dfrnt summit" circa 1972. Check these guys out! These three were all about being different... and look where it got them (into the history books).

Film of San Francisco in 1905.

No traffic rules. No lights. A wide array of transportation including horses, bicycles, cars, buggys and walkers. Just think about how far we've come. Fascinating!

Graduation rap speech 2010.

The creator of this video is Josh Shipp, a motivational speaker who actually "gets" teens. My favorite line in the video was "The best job I got right now... I created it."

When do adults stop making life about being "who you are" and start being "responsible" (whatever that is)? I remember how free and liberated I felt in high school, especially grade 11 and 12. I recall a feeling of invincibility and awareness. I was optimistic and goofy. Some may even say I was a bit weird... but aren't we all a little weird in high school?

College was the same thing for me. The biggest take away I got from college was how to make life long friends. In fact, I recommend college to my kids for a completely different reason than you might expect. I tell them that college is a great way to learn a few things and get a diploma but more importantly it's a place to have fun, find out who you really are and make life long connections. I say, "Try your very best but if you end up with a 'C', it's okay with me. 'A' students usually work for 'C' students anyway."

So watch the video and grab some inspiration. If your graduation was a long time ago, think back to those wonder years and try to recall how good it felt to simply be yourself. Just a reminder: it still feels good to be yourself. Take off the mask of responsibility and be a little weird like you were in high school.