You can't be afraid to fail.

We've all failed at something (or several things) in our lives. What is most important is that we have the guts to get back up and keep going. I will be sharing some life lessons and some of my favorite failures at a lunch event put on by the Kalamazoo Chamber. Join me: 

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/talent-110-failure-as-a-tool-turning-adversity-into-advantage-tickets-8349297975

• Failure as a Tool: Turning Adversity Into Advantage
• 12:00 to 1:30 pm
• Creekside Business Center in Portage
• $25 | Includes lunch!
• Panel includes: Kevin McLeod, Impact Athletic; Sara Dunn, 11Web and Kevin Romeo, Rhino Media

I did an interview with Kinetic Bear.

Sometimes you get the opportunity to meet interesting people in your physical life space, and Sometimes you get to meet people in digital space.
Sometimes they ask you some questions.
Sometimes you give some answers.

Almost always are you influenced by the interaction.

Check out my interview with Kinetic Bear.

25 Best Seinfeld References (For Everyday Situations)

Here's the thing. I'm 30 years old now.
Feeling kind of old.
Especially when I start laughing in the middle of a conversation because something strikes me funny and reminds me of a "Seinfeld Moment".
Then, I can't help but mention it - hoping that someone in the conversation will agree and recall the reference and we'll connect over it.

But it's becoming less and less frequent that people know what the heck I'm talking about.


So, in the spirit of 25th Anniversary's and me getting it all out there, I'm going to attempt to name my 25 favorite Seinfeld references that can/do occur in my every day life. These are actually in no particular order other than the order in which they came to mind. ENJOY!

25 "George likes his chicken spicy" - George. 
This one has multiple applications. Whenever I'm eating Kung Pao chicken or I'm sweating uncomfortably, this one always comes to mind.
Watch

24 "GEORGE LIKES THE BANANA'S" followed by "SO LET HIM HAVE BANANA'S ON THE SIDE!"
This is a shouting match by George's parents, and it often comes up when I'm confronted with banana's added to any dish.
Watch

23. "We mustn't disturb the delicate genius!" - George
Anytime I have the desire to ask a professional friend an 'off-the-clock' question, particularly concerning medical questions.
Watch

22. "Giddyup" - Kramer
Translation: "I highly approve of the current situation and/or circumstances"

21. "I was in the pool!" - George
Just talking about pools.
Watch

20. George wants to be known as "T-Bone".
Just say the word T-bone, "T-BONE!"
Watch

19. "Lyin' and Laughin" - Jackie Chiles
Anytime I suspect someone of laughing at me from a distance.
Watch

18. "No, I'm not joking... she looks like Lyndon Johnson" - Kramer
Literally anytime, anyone, anywhere asks me who I think their baby looks like, I think... Lyndon Johnson. This one can be particularly awkward for me, given the sensitive nature of the conversation.
Watch


17. "Kramerica Industries" - Kramer
Kramer gets an intern from NYU to attend to his affairs. I think of it at least once a week, because, I also have interns. And for a bonus.. @00:25, It's a lot like some conversations with my wife Anna about house chores.
Watch

16. "Just a Salad, Just a Salad, Just a Salad" Jerry's internal voice. 
EVERY TIME I ORDER A SALAD
Watch

15. "Seinfeld, you magnificent bastard!" - Jerry
Anytime the words Magnificent or Bastard are mentioned.
Watch

14. "Alright, playtime's over" - Peterman. 
In moment's where the shenanigan's need to stop.

13. "That's GOLD Jerry, GOLD!" - Kenny Bania
When genius idea's strike... that's gold, jerry.
Watch

12. "I'll have the salmon" - Jerry
See #16, but for salmon.

11c. "Why don't you shut the Shades" Jerry "They are shut" - Kramer
Just mention the word "shades".
Watch for 11a, b and c.

11b. "These are load bearing walls, they're not gonna come down!" - Kramer
Any construction related talk with do this.

11a "My rods and cones are all screwed up!" - Kramer
Whenever someone expressed discomfort with their vision.

10. "These pretzel's are making me thirsty" - Jerry, Kramer, Elaine, George
Don't all pretzel's make us thirsty?
Watch

9. "You tell that son-of-a-b that no yankee is ever coming to Houston!"
Whenever someone is inappropriately using swear words in a friendly fashion.
Watch

8. "You're an anti-dentite" - Kramer
Aren't we all, really?
Watch

7. "You've got the A, the B, the C... and D. That's the biggest" - Frank Costanza
Georges dad explains to him the basics of brassieres. I think of this anytime I hear the letters A-D mentioned in order.
Watch

6. "I know the D is the biggest, I base my WHOLE LIFE on knowing that the D is the biggest" - George's response. 
It's just absurd and hilarious.

5. "Installed" - Kramer
Whenever I accomplish a particularly manly task.
Watch

4. "The Government" - Homeless man
This one comes to mind everytime I skip past a political post on facebook.
Watch - starting at 1:19

3. "It's almost as if you have no business training at all"  - Kramer's boss at his fake job.
Feels like my life sometimes.
Watch

2. "It's very refreshing!" - Kramer
Speaking in regards to Junior Mints, I use this to convey my satisfaction with a food object.
Watch @ 3:30

1. "You look like a cowboy" - Kramer, "I don't wanna be a cowboy"- Jerry
    "You look like a pirate" - Kramer, "I don't wanna be a pirate" - Jerry

Most anytime I'm confronted with being associated with something I don't want to be associated with.
Watch

LINCHPIN - Trevor Klimek from Paw Paw Brewing Co

It's really easy to show up to work.

It's really easy to do your job well enough.

It's really easy to hit your goals. 

It's really easy to follow a recipe.
It's really easy to do exactly what your told to do.

But this guy is special.

He lights up any room he walks into.
Hugs everyone.

Is the first to offer help.

Has an incredible knowledge base.
Is willing to share it freely.

He is a human.
His work is an art form. 

His name is Trevor.
He is a brewer at Paw Paw Brewing Company.

He is the definition of a Linchpin.

How do you replace a guy like that?
You don't.

You just treat him well and allow him to thrive. 

(This is Trevor, singing with the band.)

My interview with Daniel Jefferies of Newmind Group

Dan Jefferies is admittedly not a good listener. But he's a great guy and is the Founder of Newmind Group, a Kalamazoo based IT services organization that goes against the grain in a lot of the right ways.

He opened up to me a little about success and family upbringing's in a very candid and refreshing way.

This was our first trial interview for the video interviews on the blog, so there a few hiccups during shooting, but the insight I gained from Dan was well worth putting it out there.

Crash on.

My interview with Michael Kiser of Good Beer Hunting

One of the absolute best things about what I get to do at Rhino Media is that I get to meet and learn from a tremendously diverse population of people.

Some are inventors.
Some are entrepreneurs.
Some are spiritual leaders.
Some are brewers.
Some are designers.

Most of them understand and embody the spirit of "Crash On" and often help me see entrepreneurship in new and exciting ways.

In short, I'm blessed to know the people I do, and I want to share some of these with my "Crash On: The Creative Entrepreneur" audience.
I've been very excited about this series of video interviews, but I'm still dialing in some of the branding of my blog... so very likely, these videos may change a little over the next few months. But I don't want that to slow down these conversations, because there is some really fantastic insights to be had here.

So I'm excited to share my first interview with Michael Kiser, Writer/Photographer and Owner of Good Beer Hunting (Chicago, IL).  This was shot in the Good Beer Hunting studio while I was in town for the Chicago premiere of The Michigan Beer Film (At the GBH studio)

Michael has a tremendous amount of insight that I tapped into for the Michigan Beer Film. Our conversations would often weave in and out of topics such as craft beer cultural shifts, work/life balance, corporate design, the changing American palate and much more.

This conversation focused mostly on his journey, lessons he's learned and being intentional on managing work/life balance.

I hope you enjoy the conversation.
Crash on.

It's Easy To Criticize From The Sideline.

It's easy to criticize while standing on the sideline.
Playing it safe, watching other people try and fail and try and fail...

I often find that the people who have the least amount of experience are the ones with the most amount of opinions (and the least amount of social/intellectual filters in sharing them).
As soon as you start putting yourself out there, you're going to have people say what you could/should have done better.
I believe this is a fundamental truth of human condition, essentially it's unavoidable.

So what can you do?
Ignore the negativity.

Why do people criticize?
My experience is that it's primarily a defense mechanism derived from their own fears and insecurities.
So why give it your precious time and energy?

Here's the thing...
I believe that suffering and struggle begets wisdom.
Wisdom that people on the sideline can never attain because they fail to do at all.
Without doing, they can never draw from the experiences that grow them into who they could be.

So if you're reading this and you like to drag people down... cut that junk out.
As cliché as it sounds... get in the game, then see how your perspective changes.
It's way too easy to criticize from the sideline.

Remember: If you try at something, you WILL fall down... What determines your success if getting up off your back and press on.