The Differents

Potentially...a naked woman doodle

Or is it?

Want to see how you can take this doodle and make it into fifteen inspired creations (some with naked women but most clothed)? Check it out here.

Is it a painting or a real live person?

If you're anything like me the first time I saw this photo you're probably really confused right now.The picture above is a photograph. It's not a painting mixed into a photograph... it's an actual photograph of an older gentleman painted to look as though he's a painting. It screws with your mind though doesn't it.

The idea and work is created by a Washington D.C. "dfrnt" by the name of Alexa Meade. Interestingly the name of this work is "Timmy" (totally a coincidence).

Who says that paintings can only be done on canvases and flat surfaces?

For more information visit http://bit.ly/b88iGD or Alexa's website directly at http://www.alexameade.com/index.html

World's Largest Skateboard

Once in a while you come across something that is so perfectly done, you have to just say, "Bravo!" In the case of the world's largest skateboard, I just had to follow it up with a laugh. Just look at that thing! It's perfect!

The behemoth creation was created by Rob Dyrdeck in Venice Beach, California and I'm just itching to have him bring it to Calgary where I live so I can take it for a spin (along with about 20 friends).

I think he should take his skateboard to parades throughout North America. Just imagine the great joy he would bring to everyone who see it. Sign me up.

"But it's my job to be gross"

via www.funniest-commercials.net

I say, "Go for it!"

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.

In defense of Nickelback.

Nickelback is a phenomena... but for unusual reasons. Rarely has there been a band that has received such incredible success yet so much disdain at the same time. Publications like Rolling Stone and Allmusic seem to revel in taking swipes at Nickelback whenever a new album is released. The band is regularly listed as the "worst band ever" in various polls around the world and joked about by Joe Q. Public when they spontaneously utter the phrase, "Nickelback sucks!" without having a real reason why.

I started thinking about this. Surely, trusted music critics saw something in Nickelback that warranted such hatred. And then I realized that all this criticism of Nickelback is just a form of mob mentality (a.k.a. bullying). Yup, I said it. No critic in their right mind would say that they are a Nickelback fan after so many other critics have gone on record saying the band is crap. That would be career (and reputation) suicide.

A dfrnt perspective

How could a band sell 30 million records worldwide and still be voted "The worst band in the world" by readers of The Word magazine in the U.K.? Clearly there's something happening here that needs some 'splaining. So I decided to shine the "dfrnt light" on Nickelback to give a brand new perspective to the phenomena that they've created.

Full disclosure: I don't personally own any Nickelback albums. They're simply not my cup of tea. My son has a few songs on his iPod though. That's the extent of our Nickelback consumption. I can appreciate what they've accomplished though and I'm not afraid to give them credit for their success.

So how can I defend a band that I'm clearly not a "dyed in the wool" fan of? Simple... I just look at the facts:

• 15 years together
• 6 albums
• 5 platinum albums in Canada and USA
• 4 platinum albums in U.K. and Australia
• 6 countries with #1 albums (Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, U.K. U.S. Norway)
• They are a massively successful touring act
• They are a guaranteed radio staple

Here are some links for you to check the stats yourself:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:w9fixq9kldae~T5

http://bit.ly/cJjFk2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickelback_discography

In fact, take a look at the Billboard Top 100 songs of 2001 and see how many artists are still around. Nickelback is at #23. http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/2001.htm

Why are they so successful?

So why is Nickelback so successful if the critics hate them so much? The answer is simple: they actually like what they do and they're really good at it.

Nickelback created their own success. They know how to write songs that they love, that radio loves and that their fans love. Chad Kroeger knows how to write a hit song. How many songwriters can do that? Not many.

They also weren't afraid to get out there and do the work. In the early days, Chad himself was calling radio stations to talk to music directors about airplay. Not only did he ask... but he got airplay... and he followed up looking for  rotation bumps and chart positions. Musicians don't typically do this kind of thing but Chad had a thick skin and determination. Chalk one up for tenacity.

The perfect storm

Chad Kroeger is an "outlier"; a phenomena that Malcolm Gladwell addresses in his book "Outliers". He explains that an "'Outlier' is a scientific term to describe things or phenomena that lie outside normal experience." In other words, for Wayne Gretzky to become the world's most incredible hockey player a perfect scenario had to be set in place. He needed the perfect parents, perfect community, perfect birth month, perfect opportunities and the perfect amount of support from a wide range of individuals. Bill Gates... same thing. Albert Einstein... same thing. Beatles / Nelson Mandela / Barack Obama... same thing.

Chad grew up in Hanna, Alberta listening to country and hard rock music. If you grew up in a small town, you'd know what that's like. Prior to Nickelback there was no "sound" that captured both country and hard rock... you know, "the sound of your small town". Chad's environment as a youth contributed greatly to what Nickelback would become. Hook laden songs with catchy melodies coupled with crunchy chords and a gravely voice were not the norm. In many ways Nickelback created a new genre of music that no critic has identified. So I'll just go ahead and identify it as "F150 Rock". It's music that you listen to in your truck whether you're a cowboy or a rig pig... and the girls like it too.

Yes, small towns have stories too and Nickelback captures those stories in their songs. Pull up some Nickelback lyrics and you'll see what I mean. These songs resonate with people just like Chad Kroger because in many ways he's singing their story. His brilliance is the way he can consistently tell these small town stories through song.

Resonate and prove it

To be successful (in business or music) you have to provide value that resonates with your customer. Radio has been a huge part of Nickelback's success. Radio was the loudspeaker that took Nickelback's F150 Rock to the people. The first huge hit for Nickelback was "How You Remind Me" back in 2001. Back then it probably appeared that Nickelback was destined to be a one-hit wonder but the world would soon see that this was not the case.

Nickelback was far from a one-hit wonder. They've proven over the years that they know how to write a song that resonates with both radio AND radio listeners. They have a community that includes radio, promoters, record label and fans that will virtually guarantee that their songs will receive attention.

On top of it all... the NEGATIVE press the band gets further boosts the bands brand and presence. I find it ironic that a huge part of Nickelback's success comes from the critics constantly berating the band when in actual fact all they are doing is rehashing the same old ridiculous story. Their rants are actually advertising that there's a new Nickelback album available. 

Are the critics coming up with new angles or reasons why Nickelback is such a terrible band? No. They just put out a poll every now and then that lists Nickelback as one of the choices for "worst band in the world".

Can the critics resonate with people and prove that Nickelback is such a terrible band? Yes, they do resonate with people but they can't prove that Nickelback is a terrible band.

Can the critics sit back and weigh Nickelback against any of the other pop drivel that is currently on the charts and still prove that Nickelback is worse than anyone else? No (proof: see Ke$ha).

Are Nickelback coming up with new songs that resonate with their fans and get played on the radio? Yes. 

Are they selling albums? Yes.

Do they have more real fans than detractors? Yes.

Do the detractors even matter? No.

Critics are like professional wrestlers

Critics are supposed to get your blood boiling. That's why they're called "critics" and not "supporters".

I can't imagine the amount of ink that has been used slamming Nickelback since the 2001 story in Rolling Stone where they wrote "If you're looking for originality, you might want a full refund instead of a Nickelback." Suddenly, critics around the world had all their work done for them. All they had to do was write a negative review of anything Nickelback released from then on despite what their fans thought.

I see it as the equivalent of Nelson on The Simpson's pointing at Bart and laughing "Ha-ha!". Rolling Stone said that Nickelback sucked, then AMG and so on and so on. No critic would want to be on the receiving end of that "Ha-ha!" so they just jumped on the bandwagon instead. Critic sheep explained.

And Nickelback still continues to write songs that matter to their fans. If I were them I might consider taking out a full page ad in the New York Times. Maybe they could license an image of Nelson from The Simpson's pointing at the reader laughing, "Ha-ha!" The caption would simply say, "To all our negative press: Thanks for all the free ink!" Love, Nickelback.

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).

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.