I’ve been conducting an annual review of myself as a means for tracking progress (or lack thereof) for the past years years. (hat tip to Chris Guillebeau for the inspiration & format .XLS) I find the process to be an excellent mechanism for holding myself accountable, but even more important it forces me to be a…
Read morePhotoset: Iceland
My instruction was as follows “Be at Dulles airport by 530 pm on Thursday. Passport in hand.”. That was the extent of the information I had. No information on destination, climate, itinerary, or attendees. Now I’ll preface this by saying I do have the type of friends who would send me to the airport with a…
Read moreThe Worst Meeting Of My Life. The Best Meeting of My Life. – Unverifiable Lessons in Entrepreneurship
In late february 2009 I was called into a conference room under vague terms. Our whole agency (or what was left of it) was present. Pulling the band-aid quick, the founders quickly revealed that the agency of 12 years would cease to exist as of Friday. No severance, no off ramp, no notice. Take your…
Read moreUnverifiable Annual Review Part 2: Looking Forward
In part 1, I looked back at 2013 – the successes, the failures and areas for improvement based on the goals I set up this time last year. Looking ahead at the rest of 2014, my hope is to accomplish everything outlined below. Life always happens along the way, but without a target I’ll just…
Read moreUnverifiable Truth #34 – Enough With The Clever Bathroom Signs
Lets be honest, you’ve been out on the town, throwing back a cocktail or 12 and wandered your way to the bathroom. Down a dimly lit hallway, you expect to see two doors. One labels “Men’s” on labeled “Women’s”. Perhaps the were short on funds during build out, so they resorted to a M and…
Read moreHector State of Mind
Steep cliffs and deep water, vineyards and waterfalls. Hector. Filled with Sailboats and ski boats, pontoons and party barges. Hector. Where Chris Craft and Kubotas are more sought after than Mercedes and McMansions. More kegerators than cable boxes. Hector. Where road noise comes from the road course. Where tractors and tourists cause the traffic jams….
Read more3 Business Lessons I’d Relay to My Past Self – 4 Years In.
On March 2nd of 2009, I formally filed paperwork with the state of Virginia incorporating my small business. Roughly a month before the interactive agency I worked for, Erickson Barnett, decided to suddenly close its doors after 10+ years. Looking…
Read moreAnnual Review Part 2: Goals for 2013
As referenced in part one, I’ve been conducting an annual review of myself as a means for tracking progress (or lack thereof). Overall 2012 came together pretty nicely, but I’ve got a few carryovers that I’ll move directly to 2013 along with a som…
Read moreAnnual Review Part 1: Looking Back – New Relationship and A Hatchet to The Leg.
For the last few years I’ve conducted a personal annual review ala Chris G. I’m obessivly goal/action oriented and the annual review provides me with a simple format to work towards moving forward and analyze looking back. Looking back on 2012 is …
Read moreUnverifiable Micro-Resolutions: #1 – Digital Detox
Hello, I’m Neil and I’m addicted to the internet. It has been 15 days since I’ve had a fix. I’m connected nearly all waking hours in some way or another. Realizing that it cannot be healthy mentally or physically to be plugged in all the time I de…
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