I am Jamaica's husband, Foursquare's comm director, Personality's founder, and a catalyst for CFCC.
I'm also blogging at:
Personality™
Church Marketing Sucks
June 2008 Archives
June 29, 2008
Pursuit of Less Continues
Filed under: Abare News
I really don't like cars.
When I moved from Chicago to Los Angeles in March of 2000, I arrived in a 1987 Honda Civic. It had been given to me a few months earlier after my previous vehicle was stolen (long story). The Civic had a manual transmission without air conditioning and came nicely loaded with 225,000 miles. Had it existed then, I would have been looking real good in the Junky Car Club!
The Civic was definitely meant to be a temporary car since it needed tons of work, not to mention being able to pass California smog inspections. With Jamaica meeting up with me in California after a year in England, she was going to need a car too (we were not yet married). I bought a used Chrysler Sebring with a convertible top--a request of the lady friend (soon to be fiance). Between the Civic and the Sebring, we'd be able to get along just fine in SoCal for many years to come.
Until the Civic died out on us 18 months after we got married. Frustrated with unreliable cars all our lives, we bought a new Toyota Matrix. Good gas mileage, decently priced and the perfect car to last a couple hundred thousand miles. Between the Matrix and the Sebring, we'd be able to get along just fine in SoCal for plenty of years.
Until one of my younger brothers--who was living with us at the time--borrowed the Sebring and completely totaled it in a car accident. Fortunately no one was injured! My dream car up until this time had been a BMW, so I thought this might be the perfect excuse to start test driving. After several months of shopping, I settled for an Acura. Not quite a BMW but it was a nice car for a great price. Between the Acura and the Matrix, we'd be able to get along just fine in SoCal for a lifetime.
Until we moved to downtown Los Angeles. Not only did we not need two nice cars, we didn't need two cars period. Although Jamaica has to commute 25+ miles for her job, I live just three miles from the office. That's walking/biking distance people. So began our quest to sell the Acura--the more expensive of the two cars. As of this past week, I am happy to say we are now a one car family! Between the Matrix and my two feet, we'll be able to get along just fine in SoCal.
It feels good to continue living on less. Having one less car will mean mucho money savings, better stewardship of the environment, increased exercise and more exposure to people.
Here we go!
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June 22, 2008
Precisely The Point
Filed under: Wisdom
I've been thinking a lot about simple succinct communication that gets the point across clearly and quickly. I don't know about you, but I am overwhelmed at the amount of stuff (books, magazines, blogs, brands, emails, phone calls, ads, etc.) that seeks my attention. It's no wonder that when communication is short and sweet, my capacity for comprehension and commitment is increased.
My team often pokes fun at my 2-3 word email replies. "Go. BA" is a regular response to many incoming emails. "Looks good. BA" and "Please handle. BA" are also repeated replies.
Keeping Twitter current has been a great lesson for me in capturing the big idea in as few words as possible (140 characters or less to be exact).
At the Webby Awards this year, all acceptance speeches were limited to five words or less. Brilliant.
Kevin Hendricks wrote a great post about Apple's genius ability to say things succinctly with the latest iPhone announcement.
What's your point already?
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June 16, 2008
Lunch With Michael Reagan
Filed under: Inspiration
Last week I had the opportunity to have lunch with Michael Reagan, son of former President Ronald Reagan. By the way, if you never heard the eulogy Mike did for his dad, it's quite moving. I originally bumped into Mike on a plane flight when a mutual friend onboard introduced us.
Mike is extremely passionate about making sure every child in the U.S. is living in a loving family. He quotes statistic after statistic about the affects of messed up kids and how they in turn mess up society. Mike is the perfect advocate for such issues like foster care and adoption because he himself was adopted after a despicable childhood experience of sexual abuse and fear, among others.
In addition to hosting a daily radio program, Mike is an author, including the book Twice Adopted.
It's difficult not to get fired up about this stuff after you spend any amount of time with Mike. When I asked how he is engaging churches on these issues he said not as much as they should be. However, Mike is a part of rolling out a test campaign in September, in partnership with Arrow. I look forward to seeing how that goes.
Jamaica and I have been considering adoption for several years. Conversations like this certainly add fuel to the fire.
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June 12, 2008
My Wife Is Smart, Duh
Filed under: Abare News
My brilliant and beautiful wife Jamaica has been investing hundreds and hundreds of hours over the last six months in preparation for her big exam on Monday, June 16. She'll be taking the LSAT with the anticipation of starting law school in the fall of 2009. This law degree will be in addition to her undergrad in Philosophy and her master's in Philosophy and Religion. I think it's safe to say I married a smartie.
I'm really proud of Jamaica for having the discipline to prepare for this grueling exam. In addition to taking an 8-week prep class, she has been pacing herself with some intense self-study. We're talking 4-hour practice exams a couple times a week. This is on top of her being an adjunct professor teaching five undergrad classes, serving as the chairperson for a Hollywood nonprofit, and being my best friend. Whew.
I'm rooting for you babe. I can't wait to see where this journey takes you... and me.
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