My uncle Darrell used to sleep with his shoes when he was a kid. He’s much older than I am, in fact we share the same birthday. Getting shoes for him was a big deal and not something that happened all the time. A different generation, but they were important to him.

I think about the movie Forrest Gump, an easy favorite of mine. The thought that shoes can take you places. You can see the world though other people’s eyes, but you can also walk miles in their shoes. Places they’ve gone, things they’ve done, moments in time where life happened.

I just got a new pair of shoes. I didn’t think much about it until I really looked at them. Unique, they make me feel creative. They’re very different from my other shoes. They have their own personality. They make me feel different. I wonder where they will take me. Where have your shoes taken you?

I don’t go to the coffee shop for the coffee. I go to mix and mingle with the people. There are few opportunities to be part of such a unique community. People eating together, people drinking together – this is community in it’s most pure setting.

You have individuality in every corner of the room, no matter how big or how small. It gives the creative mind a place to be open and to listen. Soak it up. Drink it in. There is no place to hide and little reason to.

Creativity, networking, and ideas don’t always come when you are in an office or wearing a suite and tie. Sometimes the best ideas come to you in a basement cluttered with vinyl records and James Taylor coming through the speakers.

What works for everyone else may not work for you. Learning who you truly are is a difficult question, but remember there is a place and space for community. No matter where you are, you are always welcome.

Between projects and constantly looking to educate myself and learn something, I read three books this past week; The Book of Excellence by Byrd Bagett was a great quick read with key points. Reminders and things to think about while you go out to sell yourself and your business. The classic and timeless thoughts were easy to relate to, and put into action. Strategic Intent by Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad was another quick read all about strategy and positioning. A book that quickly jumped into why businesses do the things they do, how they act, and why we need to know and understand it.

The book I just finished, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, was the one that got me thinking the most – a book all about strategy and military tactics. The book, written out in chapters with defined principals, was as simple and complex as you could imagine. The book has been around for some 2,500 years and it’s said to be the oldest book on military strategy. Many generals and military strategist around the world have read it in preparation for battle. All though it was not easy to relate to, I can see how you could apply the princapals into basic strategy (chess, poker, and business).

When I finished reading it, I had a questions swirling around in my head. Did I want to build and grow my army (my business) or conquer my enemy (my competition)? I still have yet to find the answer. It’s something I plan on meditating about for a few days.

I’m like that now with owning my own business. There are some clients I’ve turned away. Maybe it’s just not a good mix, or that I don’t believe in what they are doing and what they are all about. Depending on the reasons, is does seem to happen often. I make a choice, not an easy choice, but one that does reflect the quality of myself as a professional and my work. I have not had many moments of feeling bad about the choices I’ve made. I have to stick to my guns, as they say. It’s all I know how to do.

When I begin work with a new client, or even a potential client, I jump in head first. There is no knee deep or mid-way anything. I’m in or I’m out. When I’m in it’s like being a college freshman cramming for classes and tests. I make it my goal and mission to learn as much about the client as possible. I dig deep into the industry, its history, the culture, the players, the game, and everything in between. I watch films, read books, and listen to music that will get my head in the right direction. I become this beast with an unrivaled focus and purpose.

I just finished reading The Accidental Creative by Todd Henry. It was a great book about focus and using your creativity to its best. Not one of those cheesy “how to make a million dollars” type books. It was filled with practical ideas and strategies to harness your own creative power. I need that. In fact, after reading it, I felt like everything I’ve done and that I do has a reason. I’m doing it right. Now, I plan on doing it even better.

Inspiration can strike you without warning almost anywhere. Sometimes we seek it with no avail. Other times, it jumps out and lands on our face. I know having that little something extra and constant stream of passion and motivation is important. I constantly look for inspiration in everything that I do. I have to. I’m always pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and what I see.

Late last week, I was on the hunt for inspiration. I found it again at Cafe Diem, my unofficial second office. Again, I love that place. I always have. For the past year it’s almost been a beckon of everything I stand for. I don’t know if that makes sense or not. I think of going there and then I want to go straight home to watch Dead Poets Society, a highly inspiring film filled with possibilities and wonder.

Once and a while it’s a great thing to remind yourself of what you are doing and why. I try to take life moment by moment instead of day by day. I always try to seize the day. The photos included in this blog post were taken at Cafe Diem where I found letters that were sticking out from the brick walls. I thought it was an interesting way to engage with the next person(s) to sit at that particular booth. I found them all to be inspiring and it got my imagination going. I wanted to share them here.

Their drawings and notes were not made by me. I simply found them to be amazing and wanted to share them here. I plan to respond by leaving my own notes rolled up and stick them in the holes of the brick wall for the next person to sit at my booth.

In between meetings a couple weeks ago, I saw a flyer that caught my eye. It was hand written on a letterhead. I thought that was very unique. The whole idea behind it seemed so personal. Anyone can hang a flyer, write some copy and stick it on a wall. But this was more than that. It was a clever and sincere note. It not only mentioned how Stok’ Films enjoyed eating lunch at Cafe Diem, but it was a posted and visiable testimonial to Cafe Diem.

I was totally taken back, impressed, and instantly filled with questions. What do you think? Good marketing?

When I got out of college and into the job world, my music and photography took a back seat. I think that happens, but it’s not always fun. I had to spend more time on making money to just get by and pay the rent. Fun! No, not really. Now that I have more time, time to spend doing things I enjoy, I’m going to start doing more photography again. I didn’t realize how much I missed it. Joe Hobot @DMJoe and I started talking about Instagram (a photography app) and my love returned, along with my drive.

I think when it comes to anything creative, you can’t force it. Trust me, I’ve tried. It never seems to work when you try to force it. You try too hard and it just doesn’t work. I think that’s another reason why I stepped back from photography. I did pick it up for a while, shooting some models, just for fun. It didn’t last long though, life happened again. It’s funny how things happen. You are either there, or you’re not. Well, I’ve made a decision to be there – to take photos as often as possible and make it fun. Not to try too hard at anything, just to have fun with it, for me.

I want to put together a book of all the photos I take between now and the end of next summer and self-publish it. I think it will be a fun project just for me. Maybe someone would want to buy one, but if not, that’s okay with me. It’s one of those things I want to do for myself, just because I can. I think it’s important to have things like that in life that you do. You do them just because you can and for yourself.

So, what do you do for you? When was the last time you did it? Is it time to pick it back up, if you’ve set it down? I’d love to hear about it!

I know that if one of the first things that someone I meet says to me is, “I love your bow tie,” then that’s it. They have bought into my personal brand. I don’t have to sell them anything. I don’t have to do anything. I’ve allowed them to have ownership in me, as a person and as a personal brand. Now, we can both focus on how we can help one another, get things done, and have fun in the process. What’s better than that?

Last week I was approached by Josh Crain (@thejoshcrain) on Twitter. He wanted to know if he could use my personal brand. It instantly piqued my interest, but I was unsure what all he was going for, so we met. We talked in detail about a website he built, based on me - dallastweets.com. Josh is a web guy and a very forward thinker. To be honest, I didn’t know him that well until Wednesday. I was flattered when he reached out to me and wanted to do this project. Let the record state, that in no way did I try to convince Josh to do this for me. This idea and concept was totally his own. I just hope we are both able to reap the benefits. It is, after all, his idea. A great one too, I might add.

The website he built changes, depending on what you use to view it. On a computer it looks one way, but totally different on an iPad, iPhone, etc. Josh could explain that side much better than I can. The point is, it was designed to change, and it does. Reach out to me and Josh via Twitter and don’t forget to use the #dallastweets hash tag.

How do you offer ownership?

Once on their website, I found a lot of stuff written like stereo instructions with nice photos. From what I could understand, I was shit out of luck. I decided to reach out on their Facebook page and inquired about what options, if any, I had. To make a somewhat short story shorter, they said that they did in fact stand by their products and to email them. I did so and received a very boring and scripted email back. They were going to replace my piece, but not the entire bottle.

I think I waited about two weeks, then finally the piece came in the mail. I was surprised and almost taken back by the fact that the package contained no letter, no business card, nothing. What an amazing opportunity wasted. CamelBak could have easily put in a sticker, business card, hand written note, or something. I, as a consumer, have expectations and choices. The expectations of a highly prized product in a very competitive market fell very flat in my opinion. They could have again mentioned that they maintain the quality of their products by focusing on their customer service, but didn’t take the time to do so.

Opportunity is funny in that way. Some people run, others walk, many just fall flat on their face and don’t get up. Nice job. At a recent coffee meeting earlier this week with Chris Seiberling of etc! Graphics, I told him about my story. He was surprised that CamelBak didn’t jump at the chance to make a life-long customer out of me. We discussed how we like to do business with brands and people who we like, who care, who make an effort, and who try. It does not sound hard to me and I think Chris would agree. Taking five minutes to think and decide how you can turn a potentially negative experience into a positive one could have made me a life-long customer.

I can tell you now that if my CamelBak breaks, I will not be replacing it with another. As I stated earlier, I’m a consumer and I have choices. Show me a little added value and I will stick with you. Don’t care, don’t put in a little effort, or think it doesn’t matter, you are sadly very mistaken.

So, when was the last time you grabbed an opportunity by the balls? What did you do? What was a result of your quick actions? I hope better than what CamelBak did for me!!

My main focus for 2010 was to be with my family as my dad was sick and be able to help out as much as possible. I also wanted to focus on building and growing my business. That meant going out for lunch and coffee a lot. For me, it was all about meeting people, building some relationships, learning and teaching. After my dad passed last Spring, everyone in my family has been able to shift focus. My dad was not the kind of person who would want us to sit here and dwell on his passing. He would want us to grow and do the things that are important to us. A selfless man who’s mantras continue to effect us daily.

The three goals I’ve set for myself, seems small if not insignificant, but they are important to me at this point in my life. With many of friends now getting married and having kids, their focus is different than mine. I’ve been married for almost three years and we don’t have any kids.  We don’t plan to for at least a couple more years. Because of those things, here are the things I’ve decided to focus on for 2011 – maybe you can relate.

• 1. To continue to build and grow my business (this goal is almost obvious). It is growing quickly. Hooray!
• 2. Wear my Sanuk shoes more. (I bought them a couple years ago more. I love them, but I forget that I have them. Sometimes walking in different shoes changes my perspective and many times I need that).
• 3. Go and do more things outside (by myself, with family, with friends, etc. I’ve already gone disc golfing more in the past two months than I did in all of last year).