• Hi, I’m Brad Abare

  I'm a make-it-happen guy working with big idea people. I design teams and orchestrate strategy so that great ideas I believe in get done.
  
  I am Jamaica's husband, Foursquare's comm director, Personality's founder, and a catalyst for CFCC.
  
  
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Jamaica and I have been saving up airline miles for several years so that we can get to South Africa. We love to travel and Africa has been on our list from day one. It helps that we have a few friends over there who can show us around and that this summer is our last hurrah before Jamaica starts law school.

So today, we’re taking off from Los Angeles and making the 21-hour journey to Johannesburg. We’ll be in Joburg for a few days and then fly to Port Elizabeth for a one-of-a-kind arts festival in Grahamstown. From there, we’ll do a road trip along the southern coast through wine country and then spend several days in beautiful Cape Town. We’ll finish our two-week escape with a safari in Kruger National Park where we’ll spend three days looking for the big five.

For the past few months we’ve been immersing ourselves in the amazing story of South Africa. In addition to reading books, blogs and biographies, we watched several great movies, including Yesterday, Amandla! and my favorite, Tsotsi.

South Africa, here we come!

For Friday, May 15, 2009, a random assortment of things on my mind:

1. I can’t believe it’s May already. Another year flying by. I don’t remember being any less active when I was a kid, but life seemed to move so much slower 20 years ago. It might be that when you’re ten years old, a year is 10% of your life. When you’re 30, a year is 3% of your life. Life is indeed a mist, and then we’re gone.

2. My first visit to a Foursquare Convention was in 2002 when I rented a truck and drove 15 hours from Los Angeles to Denver to deliver a project (Foursquare was a client at the time). I’ve been every year since and for the past six years, I’ve be a co-director/producer/whipping boy. I love it and hate it every year. Next week I’ll move into a hotel for nine days and see 4,500 people come and go. A year’s worth of work and poof, it’s done.

3. I work with a really great team at Foursquare. In spite of major budget cuts (or shall I say decapitations?) and losing over half my team in layoffs, those that remain have been nothing less all-stars. I’d work with these people anywhere on anything.

4. I sat in a meeting earlier this week with a well-known and well-respected futurist. He spent 90 minutes talking through his notes on general expectations for the next six years. Amazing thinker. Amazing moment.

5. Jamaica and I have a big summer planned with trips to northern California (June), South Africa (July) and Hawaii (August). It’s our last hurrah before Jamaica starts law school this fall.

6. I’ve been working and consulting with two really cool clients the past eight months. They are both—in their own unique way—taking risks and shaping culture in ways I’ve always dreamed of. Having a front row seat has made the ride pretty exciting.

7. I think I’m done with Twitter. I appreciate its ability to connect with so many people I know and respect, but I don’t believe it’s realistic to think I can keep up with it. I could probably find a few minutes a day to keep my “updates” fresh, but that’s not a conversation, that’s a platform. That’s not me.

8. The nonprofit Center for Church Communication (CFCC) is finally gaining some momentum. I think 2010 is going to be a big year for the CFCC community, and ultimately for the Church.

9. Personality, the company I started in 1998, is going to take longer than I expected to become what it is meant to be. For someone that often lacks in the patience department, this has been a struggle. It’s a project that will take a lifetime to bring to fruition, but the results are going to be worth the wait.

I just saw that the ECHO fellows posted the hilarious Johnny & Chachi speaker intro videos from the ECHO Conference last month. (My intro is below.) By the way, if you haven’t seen the “Teamwork” video by Johnny & Chachi, you’re missing out.

Jamaica and I returned last week from our mini-vacation to Seattle and Victoria, B.C. We had a great time doing very little and being with each other very much. The weather was perfect and we even got a little rain which is what we were hoping for. Really. Also got to hang out with some extended family, including one of my younger brothers, and celebrated our seven year wedding anniversary. We rented electric scooters in Victoria and rode all around the coast with the Olympic mountains in the background. Beautiful.

I took my Kindle along and loaded up a couple books before I left. It was the first time since I bought the Kindle last year that I gave it a decent second chance because I was not taking a liking to it as much as I had hoped to. That may have been because I had a defective Kindle and it crashed every time I used it. Amazon was gracious to send me a replacement which arrived just in time for vacation.

One of the books I Kindled on vacation was The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, by Erik Larson. It came recommended to me by a friend but it’s not the type of book I am typically drawn to. This book was fascinating and had it not been on the Kindle, I would probably not have read it. For one, it’s 447 pages in print. That is too intimidating for me. On the Kindle, you don’t pay attention to page count. Although there is a subtle status bar at the bottom that shows progress, it feels like you’re reading fast because the pages on the Kindle are short and you progress quickly. Good writing helps too.

The Devil in the White City is the convergence of two disparate stories happening at the same time in Chicago during the time of the World’s Fair there. One is the impossible story of the Fair and the other is the unimaginable story of a psychopath of Jack the Ripper proportions. The book reads like a novel but the whole thing is true. I love reading history this way and I learned so much about Chicago, the city where I lived for several years and where Jamaica and I met. I did not know the Ferris Wheel was introduced/invented there. (I wonder if Ed Stetzer did when he rode it yesterday with his wife?)

Great vacation. Great book. And I am really liking the Kindle.

Vacation 2008 starts now. Jamaica and I are flying up to Seattle this afternoon. We’re going to be there through the weekend and then head to Victoria on Monday through Wednesday. We’ll visit with some family who live in Seattle, hopefully experience a little rain, and just enjoy one another’s company!

It’s a rather short vacation, but it’s about all we could squeeze in this summer. We come back Wednesday night and then I head to Dallas the next morning for the Echo conference where I have several meetings and I’ll lead a session on Saturday morning.

The remainder of this year is looking pretty full so I’m looking forward to unplugging for the next several days. No laptop, no email, no nada.

My friends over at Catalyst asked if I’d write a piece for their Catalyst Space. So I took a rough entry I blogged a few months ago and made it into something a little more developed. I think.

Check out my Catalyst debut that went live today.

I’ll also be attending the Catalyst Conference in October. I’m looking forward to meeting up with new and old friends, as well as seeing my dad who I will drive back with to Charlotte and fly home from there.

This past Saturday we celebrated Jamaica’s 30th birthday with about 50 friends here in Los Angeles. For the handful of you that follow me on Twitter, you know that this soiree has been a long time coming. And thanks to the help of several friends and family, it was a grand celebration. Jamaica was really honored!

This 30th was a far cry from her 16th birthday when apparently Jamaica’s best friend threw a surprise party and Jamaica broke out in tears because she wasn’t prepared for it. I learned my lesson and chose not to make this a surprise, although there were elements of surprise. A few highlights:

• Five of Jamaica’s friends flew/drove in from out-of-state to be here. I worked with Jamaica’s sister who lives in LA to put together a little pre-soiree fun for the seven of them. They stayed overnight down by the ocean, shared a gondola ride and hung out at The Getty.

• One of the talented people I work with (Jena) wrote a catchy song chorus and her boyfriend (Dwayne) wrote an original music score. In addition to an opening verse by Jena, it included four different verses that were written and performed by two friends, Jamaica’s parents, and yours truly. I’ll post the audio another time, but the chorus sings, “Jamaica me crazy / You know she ain’t lazy / As cute as a daisy / Jamaica me crazy.”
• There were a handful of people who spoke some really kind words to Jamaica in front of the crowd on Saturday night. It was cool to see friends and family share funny stories and encouraging words.
• Several months before the big day, I sent emails to dozens of friends and family around the world who could not make it to the party, asking if they could send a video greeting. About twenty people responded. I posted Part 1 and Part 2 on YouTube.
• Following the cupcake presentation and singing of “happy birthday,” we rolled a slide-show video that attempted to build momentum for the dancing (which explains the music selection).
• I rented a small stage and dance floor. It was great to see so many people dancing the night away! Another talented guy I work with (Michael) goes by the name DJ Peach and he brought the beats.
• I was really proud of Jamaica when she made the decision before her birthday to forgo presents. She asked that instead people would re-direct anything they were planning to give in the form of a monetary donation to our friends in Haiti. I was blown away when to see that over $1,000 was given to Haiti. Wow!

What a thrill to throw a party for the woman of my dreams. Love it!

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!

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.

Earlier this month I mentioned that I’ll be speaking at the Echo Church Media Conference later this summer. I just saw the promo video for this event with yours truly. Very cool blend of live motion graphics, although the voice-over is a little creepy.

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