Jason Jaggard

Dinner with Geniuses

2011-03-18T14:31:00.000-07:00

Ever heard that question: if you could have dinner with one person from history who would it be? I know it's trite, but I love that question. I like dreaming about what it would be like to sit across from Martin Luther King, Jr. Or to watch Abraham Lincoln and Mother Theresa laugh together over an inside joke while Gandhi passes the bread to Winston Churchill. I mean sure: I've read what

Addictions.

2011-02-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

There's this ancient idea that it's possible to actually become addicted to Good. That you can-- over time-- develop not only an appetite but an actual need for beauty, truth, and health. You see, Good is kind of a mixed bag. Some parts are immediately desirable: things like enjoying great friends, watching a sunset, or eating great food. These things are not hard to appreciate and most of

On Cooking.

2011-01-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

So last night I made Thai Curry with Rice and Chicken with Thai Peanut Dip. Okay, so my friend Thomas helped me make it. We made the curry and peanut dip from scratch. Here's our ingredient list: Limes Chicken Brown Sugar Lemongrass 2 Cans of Coconut Milk Green Beans Eggplant Green Bell Peppers Zucchini Fish sauce Soy Sauce Garlic Rice Peanut Oil and Peanuts Curry Paste Many of you know this

Walk.

2011-01-24T14:13:00.000-08:00

Recently I have fallen in love with going on walks. I like the feeling of going on a walk with someone. Sometimes you talk, sometimes you don't. Depending on who the person is you hold hands or maybe you just walk along side each other. You know the other person is there even if you're not looking at them. I like to go on walks alone, too. On walks I like the sound of lawnmowers in the

My Top 10 Movies of 2010

2011-01-03T08:07:00.000-08:00

Last year I wrote a blog on the best films of 2009. Continuing the tradition here are my top 10 films for 2010. Would love to see your additions to the list as well as thoughts about my list. Happy New Year! 10. How To Train Your Dragon Part of me wants to love this film simply because it's the best non-Disney/PIXAR animated feature since An American Tail. Visually this film is stunning

I Love These.

2011-01-02T10:51:00.000-08:00

Every December Matt Shapiro puts together the best montage of films from that year. With my Top 10 Films of 2010 blog post coming out tomorrow I thought I'd include this as well. It's an homage to the art, which is really an homage to life-- one of longing, adventure, love, loss and greatness. Give yourself the next 4 minutes to be inspired. I love these.

Silent Night.

2010-12-06T07:29:00.000-08:00

So the other night a friend of mine let me go with him to the Make A Wish dinner at the mysterious 'Club 33' at Disneyland. I could do a whole blog series on the evening-- from pictures with Mickey to the 5 course meal and the unbelievable company and inspiring cause. But the one thing I want to share now is how the night ended. The last course was served at 10:30pm (I had salmon-- I can still

Spark Good in China

2010-11-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

Sam's friend sparking good in Hangzhou, China. Fellow Sparker Sam Pike is leading a Spark with college students at Zhejiang Financial College in Hangzhou, China. Here's his story: "The urge to do a China Spark group grew out of a desire to engage in meaningful conversations with the students surrounding me." "Often, they allow their excitement at speaking with a foreigner to overload all

Ears On The Side Of Your Head

2010-10-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I wrote about the value of understanding how we unintentionally hurt others. It's the information everyone else knows but nobody offers voluntarily. Yet knowing it makes you a better friend, family member and leader. Not knowing just feels better. So the question then becomes (for the brave): how do you find out how you affect other people? The answer is as easy as it is hard:

Behind Your Back.

2010-10-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

A few months ago the illustrious brand manager and blogger Krysta Masciale asked me to be a guest speaker for her class of MBA students at Chapman University. The session was on self-awareness and my particular part of the conversation was going pretty dry. So I changed my approach: "Raise your hand if you've ever criticized a boss behind their back?" I said. Their eyes lifted from notebooks

Bresee Foundation

2010-10-07T07:00:00.001-07:00

I had a great meeting last week with Boris and Julia who work for the Bresee Foundation. The Bresee Foundation is a nonprofit community center that is a source of faith, hope and service to low-income youth, adults and families in central Los Angeles. They serve nearly 2,000 individuals annually, primarily at-risk youth from the Mid-Wilshire, Koreatown, Pico Union, and

What Makes You Happy?

2010-10-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

The other day I overheard someone else ask the question: what makes you happy? I started thinking about that question for myself. At first I had some nice simple answers (in no particular order): 1. Looking at my wife 2. Great films 3. Great conversation (with my wife) 4. Boba But then I realized how difficult it was to articulate what makes me deeply, profoundly happy. I had lots

Authentic Love

2010-07-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'd like to give the other side to my last blog, Love Is Inauthentic. I got a little flack for it. As though I don't have any authentic ways of loving my wife (aside from the point of the blog which was to point out that I authentically want to do what is inauthentic because I love her so much). So, I want to share something with you. Specifically, I'd like to tell you about one

Love is Inauthentic.

2010-07-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

My wife likes texts throughout the day to let her know that I'm thinking about her. I've done some research with other wives and based on my findings I have discovered that this is quite normal. Yet it is not normal for me. I'm not making excuses. I'm just saying that me doing anything requires massive amounts of effort and when I get into any kind of productivity zone with work I leave it

A few "Clicks" buys Beds for the Homeless

2010-07-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

An excerpt from an email I got yesterday from my friend Josh: Hey buddy - Thought you might like this since it is a direct result of one of your Spark Groups. If you remember, Jenn Kenning took on a risk to start a Non-Profit during one of the Spark Group's back in January at Jonn Hipp's house. Well it is underway and I am on the Board of Directors and have been a part of it since the beginning

TOO MANY NON-PROFITS!

2010-06-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered why people feel the need to start up their own non-profit for a cause rather than just work with the non-profits that are already working for that cause? Wouldn't it be more efficient, focused and drain less resources to have one BIG non-profit rocking the water problem, one BIG non-profit tackling the homeless problem, one BIG non-profit healing the disease problem, etc?

Take It Off The Shelf

2010-06-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

Right now there is a book on my shelf, taunting me. It was an impulse purchase from Amazon. I tend to buy books in bulk and then read them over the next, say, 20 years. If “1-click purchase” was crack cocaine I wouldn’t have any teeth and would live in Baltimore. Or then again, maybe I have it all wrong. Maybe it’s like the puppy locked out of the house in the back yard. You walk by the

No This Without This.

2010-06-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

Take a minute and watch the short Youtube clip. Go ahead, explore your inner geek. Okay, so this is how it works: you don't get the elation of victory without first stepping into the uncertainty of defeat. In geek: you don't get to experience the thrill of blowing up the Death Star until you first have to courage to almost die trying. Everyone longs for the victory, for the elated moment

The Game Is You.

2010-06-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

Ever notice how well you can get to know someone when you're not trying to? Road trips are probably the best example of this. The point is to drive somewhere, but over the course of the next 8 hours of playing music, reading in the back seat, eating over-priced chips from the gas station and talking about important and mostly not important stuff, you begin connecting with the people in the car

I Don't Know.

2010-06-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

A little while back I tweeted something in Latin. Huc venite, pueri, ut viri sitis. Considering the meaning of that phrase, this post is appropriate. The response to that tweet was a little unnerving. A few friends made a joke about it (let's be honest-- Latin tweets are a tad pretentious...and so is using the word "tad") But a few people actually gave me a hard time about the tweet since

I Love Awkward.

2010-06-10T06:45:00.000-07:00

I was in a group of people a few months ago and someone in the group was acting a little...awkward. As that person behaved in their own little world people looked at each other, smirks were exchanged and one person even mouthed silently: awkward. Awkward as a title has become a socially acceptable form of rejection. It often times becomes code for "I don't like that person. They don't belong

Favorite Book Of All Time

2010-06-08T06:45:00.000-07:00

"Everyone quotes G.K. Cheston but nobody reads him." -- Isaac Anderson G.K. Chesterton is hand down my favorite author. He could best be described as C.S. Lewis on crack. Chesterton was often times called "the master who left no masterpiece" since he was a newspaper columnist for most of his career. His works include philosophy, ontology, poetry, play writing, journalism, public lecturing

Challenge Your Self

2010-06-03T06:45:00.000-07:00

Ever meet someone and you can tell that they only read/watch/listen to what they already think/believe/feel? Like when people only listen to NPR. Or only Conservative Talk Radio? Or only FOX? Or only religious books? Or only irreligious ones? Diversity not only helps you understand perspectives different than your own, it can help you see your own perspectives from a whole new light.

What's Your Filter (Part 2)

2010-06-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

On an earlier post I asked the question "What's Your Filter?" All of us have a kind of filter for how we see the world. How we choose what to interpret as beautiful or healthy or good. Good has a tendency to hide everywhere. It hides in science and philosophy. It hides in different and conflicting models of government and political theory and (occasionally) conflicting political parties. It

Quote of the Day - Henry David Thoreau

2010-05-12T08:13:00.000-07:00

I got A Civil Disobedience for free on Kindle a few weeks ago...so what else am I going to read in Kansas City after everyone else has gone to bed? Here's a quote that kept my mind awake when my body wanted to sleep: "A very few-- as heroes, patriots, martyrs, reformers in the great sense, and men-- serve the state with their consciences also, and so necessarily resist it for the most part; and

Second Opinion vs Team of Opinions

2010-05-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

I read recently this fascinating story about how Ted Kennedy worked with doctors to treat his brain tumor in a way that kept him alive longer than anyone thought possible. For most of us when we get really sick we go to a doctor. They give us a prognosis and then we go to another doctor to get the famed, "Second Opinion." This is not what Kennedy did. Ted actually put a group of doctors who

What's Your Problem?

2010-05-06T08:09:00.000-07:00

This approach is even better than pitching an idea (versus pitching ideas). My least favorite conversations are when someone either: A) Gives me the solution to a problem that hasn't been defined. B) Gives me the problem and then gives me a solution and asks me to only give feedback on the solution. You can't solve problems until you agree on the problem. And few people want to be brought

Don't Pitch Ideas

2010-05-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

Pitching ideas is different than pitching an idea. Pitching an idea is saying, "what if we made a digital music device?" Pitching ideas is saying, "What if we made a digital music device that had a screen and a round clicker and you could plug it into your laptop and download and upload music onto it?" The first option-- pitching an idea-- leaves lots of room for the imagination to get on at

6 Reasons I Love My Kindle (For Now)

2010-04-27T00:51:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. The iPad is way cooler. Besides, both the kindle and the iPad are super expensive. If it wasn't for Sarah getting me a kindle for my birthday I wouldn't have been able to afford it. BUT: Here are 6 reasons I love my kindle (for now). 1. I bought it used for $100 off. 2. I love that when I was in Mexico I could download books, newspapers and magazines, google and wikipedia

Interview with the President of Disney Animation

2010-04-21T08:45:00.000-07:00

Recently The Economist did an interview with the President of Disney Animation.If I were to guess, I'd say that most of the people reading this blog couldn't tell you who that is.Don't feel bad.His name is Ed Catmull. While you may not have known his name, you know his work since he's part of the original PIXAR team which means he's been a part of every PIXAR film ever made.The interview, which

He's Not Flirting.

2010-04-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

*bloggers note -- this blog wasn't written in response to any specific action or person*A while ago on Valentines day my wife and I went to go see "He's Just Not That Into You."We argue to this day about who's idea that was.Ironically the movie goes against everything the book it was based on teaches, but I digress...The title is enough to learn from and can save many a woman hours upon hours of

You're Always Right.

2010-04-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

The other night my wife and I got into a disagreement. What made this particular disagreement interesting was that we were looking at the exact same situation, saw the situation exactly the same way and drew completely opposite conclusions about the situation. Not surprisingly, I concluded something I already thought was true and she concluded something she already thought was true.A long time

What's Your Filter?

2010-03-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I was in Los Feliz and I got to meet an amazing guy named Michael.After a few minutes of talking the topic of spirituality came up and I asked him what his spiritual heritage was.He thoughtfully reflected before answering, looked at me and said, "I guess you could say I was Buddhist."I asked him what he meant by that and he responded, "Well, there's a lot of different things about

Why Not More?

2010-03-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

Let me ask you a question: if you were able to help more people than you currently are, would you do it?A prediction: many people reading this (if many people read it) will say a knee-jerk "yes." Others will feel a pang of anxiety. Because helping more people sounds, you know, like more work.More work = more time = more energy = less time on twitter and facebook and with friends and watching

Superheroes are Not Super Leaders

2010-03-16T23:02:00.000-07:00

Batman. Superman. Spiderman. Wolverine. The Hulk. Iron Man.I love 'em. But they're horrible leaders.Sure, they've got talent.But if we looked at them in terms of leadership they come up short. Here's 2 big reasons why:1. Superheroes don't care about leadership succession.Think about it: that's why they often times don't age in comic books or have to get rebooted like the Batman franchise

Get Back Up. Make It Better.

2010-03-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

The Atlantic recently did a cover story on "What Makes a Great Teacher." Specifically addressing the inner-city context, the article addressed over 20 years of research done by Teach for America, which is releasing it's research this year for the first time.With Obama's education plan getting underway-- giving over $4 billion to essentially discovering how to create great teachers-- TFA's

Top 10 TEDtalks.

2010-03-02T01:33:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I was introduced to TED. If you don't know by now, TED stands for Technology Entertainment and Design. It represents one of the most explosive and dynamic platforms for cultural change, art and innovation. With a waiting list and a $5,000 price tag to attend (and only if you're invited) TED graciously offers all its talks online for free.I got to go to TEDxUSC last year and met

Rules vs. Values

2010-02-25T07:50:00.000-08:00

I have a friend who works for the government and can't tell me exactly what he does.It has something to do with artificial intelligence and video cameras.I begged him one time to give me a hint and he said this:"When you look at a guy walking down the street and he gets into a car, you know intuitively that the guy is -- suprise!-- now in the car. But a computer doesn't know that intuitively.

From Volunteer to Vigilante

2010-02-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

What is the first thing you think about when you think of the word "volunteer"?Here are some responses from a recent facebook poll:"Knocking on doors getting people to donate canned food.""Doing something good.""Helping others.""Not paid - but that's OK." (Thanks, Mom!)"To give away your time and energy with no tangible reward or recognition.""It's always more hours than you anticipated,

The Music Of Your Life

2010-02-17T07:29:00.000-08:00

Once there was a man who was struck by lightening and suddenly had an insatiable appetite for music.Another man had the worst case of amnesia in recorded history but could still learn and play classical music on the piano.A third man suffered from Parkinson's disease and could not even button up his own shirt...unless he was humming a tune that he knew from his youth.These stories in Oliver Sacks

Build Well.

2010-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

In 1932 a carpenter in the small town of Billlund, Denmark created a toy company of small blocks that children could play with.The company name was LEGO.Just about everyone loves LEGOs. My nephews are currently 4 and 2 and they love these little bricks of creative goodness. Over Christmas my parents and my wife Sarah and I got Xander-- the 4-year-old-- the same LEGO set. We got him the same

Create Change.

2010-01-20T08:30:00.000-08:00

Creating change in the world sounds so intimidating, doesn't it?I mean, where do we start? The problems are so big.Sometimes because we don't know where to start we never start at all. Sometimes the problem seems so big that we decide to not tackle it.Granted, this doesn't stop people with genuine courage. But it might stop you sometimes and it certainly has stopped me more times than I'd like

Passion. Skills. Opportunity.

2010-01-13T08:54:00.000-08:00

I love it when things are simple.Of course, things are hardly ever simple.Yet this has been helpful for me: passion, skills and opportunity. These are the three things you need to grow in your life. These are three tools you can use to help others.Ever feel like you're burning out? 90% of the time it's not fatigue or busyness that's the problem. It's your passion. You've lost sight of why

What to do when you can't.

2010-01-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

I was talking with a friend the other day and we were discussing various challenges in our lives. About one particular project he was working on he concluded, "It's just never going to be what I want it to be."Have you ever felt that way? In a relationship or a job or a task or project? It's definitely not the way we wanted it so we concluded that it will never be the way we want it.About an

Top 10 Films of 2009

2010-01-01T22:47:00.000-08:00

I am addicted to these lists.So I thought I'd add my own.Disclosure: I haven't seen all the films of 2009 that I'd like to. Most notably: Hurt Locker, Pirate Radio, Julia and Julia and a few others. But I've seen most of what I've wanted to see. So here it is-- my personal favorite films from the past 365 days.10. It Might Get LoudThis little gem gets as close as you're going to get into

Where Lists Dare To Tread.

2009-12-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

Ever spent time with someone and there were so many things you wanted to talk about? Sometimes what you want to discuss isn't crazy vital or anything: they're just nice things to ask about or talk about.Other things, though, are important. These are the conversations that are often times most important......yet they can happen so infrequently.Well, here's a way to make them more frequent:

Hooked On A Feeling

2009-12-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

"Well that's the way I feel."I hear this a lot. I hear it about whether or not abortion is wrong. I hear it about religion. I hear it about the stimulus package. I hear it about James Cameron's Avatar. I hear it about everything."Life starts at conception. That's just the way I feel.""All roads lead to the same place. That's just the way I feel.""The stimulus package is a huge mistake.

What's Your Vibe?

2009-12-15T09:19:00.000-08:00

So I was talking to a friend the other day and I thought I was giving him a compliment.This is what happened:His eyes grew afraid. His brow furrowed deeply and he began slowly backing away from me.Confused, I leaned towards him to explain even more fervently that I was trying to give him a compliment-- that I was trying to say something that made him feel good......and the more I tried the more

She's Hotter Than You Think

2009-11-26T11:38:00.000-08:00

It's not necessarily romantic but it's true.That girl.You know, the one you're friends with? The one who-- on a scale of 1 to 10-- you'd say is a 7?She's the one you laugh with in groups, banter with and who seems to get you. The one you talk late at night with every now and then when you want a girl's company. The one you went to coffee with the other day and had a pretty good time.She's

Disruptive Leadership

2009-10-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ever been bored in a classroom? Ever been in a lengthy intellectual discussion and have wanted to scream, “Yes, but what does this have to do with anything?!” Ever had a great idea but never acted on it? Ever want to do something...anything to make life interesting, but then got distracted by the million other things you needed to do? Ever feel like you've

Here's to You!

2009-09-21T09:11:00.000-07:00

Ever notice how innovation seems to come out of nowhere?We're just minding our own business when BAM!Iphone. (Thanks, Steve Jobs!)I'm just walkin' down the street and POW!Reality TV. (Thanks?)I turn 13-years-old and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!Internet. (Thanks, Al Gore!)But none of these were a spontaneous combustion of something completely new. They all evolved from something else.Often times innovation

Harold vs Dexter

2009-09-09T12:52:00.001-07:00

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive"- Harold WhitmanWhen I first read this quote something stirred in me. Something shifted in my heart and there was a deep voice in my soul that said "Yes!" It was almost like I could feel my spirit expand within me and I felt a

No Need for Heroes

2009-08-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

I don't need a lot of things.Yogurt? Don't need it. Coffee? Nope.And if you were to ask, I suppose I would say I don't "need" to be, you know, stronger.Now, I'm pretty thin. I'm not much help in times of manual labor but I'll do what I can. If I were alive 10,000 years ago my genes would have died with me.I say I don't need to be stronger, but that's because I'm not living a life that

Say 'Goodbye' to Goodbyes.

2009-08-11T00:11:00.000-07:00

The last three "goodbye" parties I've been invited to I haven't been able to go to.I wanted to go, but it didn't work out.Actually, I can't really think of the last "goodbye" party I went to.I have a friend doing peace work in Palestine that emailed me a few weeks ago. I have friends in South Africa that I tweet with. I have friends in Boston, Denver, New York, Phoenix and Kansas City that I

On passion.

2009-08-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

"I'm passionate about so many things."I hear this phrase a lot. Especially with people in their 20s.We are the generation cursed with endless opportunity. 500 years ago if my last name was Builder I'd be a builder. If my name was Spears that's probably what I would make for a living.But our names no longer shape who we will become, and it seems as though the sky is the limit when it comes to

Cellphones and Hand Grenades

2009-08-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

Watch the two 60-second videos below. One is a commercial for a Israeli phone company where a bunch of soldiers play soccer with Palestinians on the other side of the separation barrier. The other is a spoof of the commercial used with real footage of a group of Palestinians who actually tried kicking a soccer ball across the real fence. It's my first experience seeing actual footage of tear

When Up is Down. (part 1)

2009-06-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I didn't like Up all that much. I didn't hate it. It was certainly better than Cars and I know I tend to expect too much from PIXAR films, so I'm not angry or anything.And sure, at least it was better than Transformers.But should that really be our standard?Let me tell you why I didn't dig Up and then tell you why it matters: It wasn't the dogs who can't talk without special collars

The Usual Suspects.

2009-06-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

"What's your favorite movie?"When I teach classes or lead discussions or have to (for some horrible reason) facilitate ice-breakers I usually use this question. I love film, and so for me it's a fun question to answer and most people have an opinion about it.For me, for years, I used to say The Usual Suspects was my favorite film. I'd even follow up my answer with "best ending ever!"And then

The Caltech Brilliance

2009-06-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

I knew Caltech kids were smarter than me.But I didn't really know it until last week.We were in a conference room recapping the adventures we had the quarter before giving students permission and a platform to be more passionate.It was Peter, Travis, Richard, Amanda, Wesley and me in this little room. And I asked the question:"Do you guys ever get stressed?"They all laughed. And then they

Teaching as a Subversive Activity

2009-06-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ever remember thinking the thought in high school or college or church or mosque or synagogue:"Why in the [insert explicative here] am I learning this!?"Want to read a book that will make you excited and uncomfortable all at the same time?Ladies and gentlemen: please meet Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner's Teaching as a Subversive Activity.A book written in 1969 about education that was so

Art goes Wow.

2009-06-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

I love stuff that makes me say, "Wow."You may be like me, and might actually giggle-- that's right, GIGGLE-- with excitement as you watch this. I don't know how they do it. I know I'll never be able to do it. But I'm sure glad they put "it" on film.What is it about excellence that is so compelling? How do the arts make me feel the way that I feel?I remember a night at the Mayan Night club

What else are we guessing?

2009-06-01T01:44:00.000-07:00

Want to see a magic trick?Close your left eye and look at the plus sign in the green box. Change the distance of your face from the screen until you're about a foot away and you should notice, without looking directly at it, that the dot in the yellow box has disappeared.Go ahead. Try it.This happens because the human eye has a blind spot. In the back of the eye are photoreceptors which are

We Need Jerks.

2009-05-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

"I need jerks."Sounds like a high school Cheerleader, doesn't it?A few nights ago I was winding down in bed and just about to fall asleep.My breathing had slowed, a sense of calm and peace had come over me. Deep sleep was just on the horizon and I was gently floating towards it, my body as light as a cloud on a warm summer day......and then something happened.It came out of nowhere, unannounced.

When Serving Gets in the Way of Serving

2009-05-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

I remember a friend of mine told me a story once.When I saw her she was really upset.Being the kind, sensitive guy that I was, I said:"What's your problem?"She explained that, at her work, there were certain tasks that most people didn't enjoy doing. Since no one wanted to do it, her employer set up a rotation so that everyone had to do it, once a week.On this particular day, my friend wanted to

Danger is Good.

2009-05-13T22:30:00.000-07:00

I read the most fabulous feature in Good Magazine a while ago.They did a study on the evolution of playgrounds in the past 50 years. Turns out, that's all you can study because that's how long they've been around.That's right: my DAD is older than the IDEA of playgrounds.Most playgrounds today look something like this:I think we can all agree that this playground completely sucks and is fun to

??? = Fun

2009-05-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was playing with my nephew, Xander.We were in my parent's backyard (aka the Indian Ocean). The swing was a pirate ship. The dog was a dolphin. The evergreen tree was a Japanese commerce ship that couldn't carry weapons until an amendment to archaic laws crawled its way through their sluggish democracy.(Who says you can't do current events and play at the same time?)Needless to say,

Serving the Future You

2009-05-08T11:48:00.000-07:00

About two years ago a friend of mine was going through a really hard time. He was busy but not feeling fulfilled. He was surrounded by people but didn't really feel known by anyone. It's a really common place to be...It's a really dangerous place to be.My friend is young, uber talented, a good-looking dude. He creates a lot of positive energy when others are around him. When he moves, people

Pop-tart Spirituality

2009-05-06T22:32:00.001-07:00

You ever notice how some things, you know, get old after a while?I mean, I've been married for 6 months now and I gotta tell ya...Just kidding. :)Seriously though, I'm a compulsive personality. I like to indulge. But the thing is, once I do, after a while, it just gets old.Take pop-tarts for example. I used to eat those suckers like it was my job. In Jr. High I thought pop-tarts were a food

Cheers to Movements!

2009-05-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

Bloggers note: I actually like the show Cheers. But this blog isn’t really about that. It’s about the counter intuitive emotions we feel that get in the way of what we really want. For example: the feeling we feel when we walk into a space and we don’t know everyone. Some people walk into that environment and they think, “Great! New people to meet!” These are the more entrepreneurial types.

Risk is Beautiful

2009-04-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

"I had to go see about a girl."Sure, it was a line from Good Will Hunting. But it was appropriate as I was going to drive 5 hours down to Stillwater, Oklahoma to confess my undying love to a woman I had a crush on for half a decade.I was going to Kansas State University at the time and a friend of mine was giving me a ride down to visit...Catherine. She was a Theta at OSU and from the first

Burn Out vs Burn Bright

2009-04-28T01:23:00.000-07:00

One time my roommate in college walked into our apartment and looked at me, with my hair all crazy and wearing the same pajama, shirt, robe, coat combo I had been wearing for the past week, and said, “Jason—I think you’re depressed.”I said, “Really? I don’t feel depressed.”But who knows? Maybe he was right. So I went to therapy.It was great. But we discovered that I wasn’t depressed. At

Beauty Project

2009-01-25T21:56:00.000-08:00

Get your own - Open publication

Avant-Garde Demands Buy-In

2008-05-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

I was trying to think of a clever way of getting to my point. But I couldn't think of one.So this is it: the more 'avant-garde' defines a community the less accessible it becomes.'Innovative' doesn't have to mean weird. Being the R&D of a movement doesn't mean that what we create is unintelligible to the people in our community. When something doesn't communicate, we can't just celebrate that

Money Makes Us Happier

2008-05-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

Religious leaders and Spiritual Gurus were wrong. As it turns out, money does make you happier.A study done in 2004 by Ed Deiner and martin Seligman entitled “Beyond Money: Toward an Economy of Well-Being” discovered that money can buy happiness, and—on average—often does.But only for the poor.The study revealed that there was a direct correlation between money and happiness in societies that

I can't remember win...

2008-05-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

[When I moved from the Carolinas to Massachusetts for school] most of the white Southerners at the time could recite long lists of battles lost and won and argue over the relative merits of Confederate generals. In the North, nobody knew or cared very much about the war, even in a school where many of the students bore surnames made glorious by the exploits of their ancestors in Union arms.]