Quick movie updates.

Rented some movies this week and forgot to do a review. So, as I sit at the gate waiting for my flight to Colorado, I will give my thoughts on what we watched.

Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skulls.
I thought that in the last one, Last Crusade, Indiana and his dad drank from the Holy Grail. So why, then, did his father pass away? Other than that, I am glad we waited for it to come out on dvd. It was kinda lame. Several filming issues with incongruous events and ridiculous cameo's from the female character from the first film. Watch it if you want to, but it was worth a darn.

Get Smart.
What's his name from The Office is funny hell. What's her name from the Princess Diaries is not believable as a spy and not very funny. The Rock is watch able thanks to his limited scenes. Also, it was a little predictable that he was the double agent from Chaos. His voice on the speaker phone was disguised but you could tell it was him by his tone. Its worth watching but the 'Missed it by that much" references were a stretch and pretty much lost on current generations.

Wall-E.
Complete success! Touching, poinient, believable, artful, and transcendent. I found myself completely involved in the action and characters. I think that it speaks to all audiences in the way it addresses environmental and technological concerns in regard to the path humanity and artificial intelligence are taking. If you enjoy routing for the underdog, this movie is for you.

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Bail Out

The Meriam Webster folks announced their word of the year today. If you haven't heard, it is "Bail-Out". I am sure that to most of the world this means financially. I accept their nomination and laud them vehemently. Of course, they are the experts or at least the professionals. But to me it has a different, more personal meaning.

I love my job, really. I get to have all the fun and help high school students learn and grow as business professionals and entrepreneurs, which, if you have read any of my blogs, you have noted, I am an advocate of the entrepreneurial spirit of humanity. I get up every morning and I clap my hands and say, "Let's Rock!"

Much of my job is to work in the communities of Northeast Kansas and establish relationships with entrepreneurs to get them involved with our students. This can take many forms. They can donate money, but I typically leave that up to the development staff. I focus on getting them into the class room by inviting them to speak and hosting them as members of in-class panels, and then, ultimately, I ask them to become mentors during second semester to help students in small groups working on writing their formal business plan.

I better get to the point, before you click over to something else and don't finish my post.

To me "bail-out" means something similar to what Maverick did when he went into a flat spin in Top Gun. I have recognized very early on in my endeavors, the need to account for "bail-out".

When people hear about our program, they get very excited and are interested in getting involved right away. But, being that most of them have businesses of their own, which are affected in some part by the larger, more well known bail-outs and economic fallout occurring this year, plus the daily curve ball that gets thrown at every entrepreneur, I recognize that some of them need to hit the eject button and can't do what they had hoped. This is completely understandable and I want to go on record here saying that I am flexible and appreciate their situations.

Also, for the record, I own this problem.
It's my responsibility and therefor it is my fault if they"bail-out".
BobMarley sang, "Strike de hamma while, iron is ot."

Gotta get 'em involved right away.
Must be more flexible and determined by working with the teachers and administrators to get these volunteers into the classroom as soon as they express interest.
No delay. No phone tag. No excuses!

Whoa, I sounded like the Incredible Hulk there for a sec.

If I gotta pick them up and drive them to the class myself, though, I will.

Basically, what I am saying is, if I do better at getting people involved, quicker, the less chance they will bail on me and the more successful our program will be.

Through it all, this post has been very therapeutic. I was going to rail on some folks and then I realized, about half way through this, that I need to look in the mirror and just do my job better.
Who says blogging is pointless?
Thanks for reading.

Global Entrepreneurship Week

November 17 - 21, 2009 is Global Entrepreneurship Week.

In the US, increased economic trouble has sounded the trumpets of the small business cavalry to save our country and the world.

"Wait. There's a small business cavalry?" you ask.

Yup.

But instead of riding in to save the day, they actually have been here working the whole time. Contrary to what the politicians and media want you to believe, businesses of all sizes and make ups are churning away, as they have always done, to the betterment of the global society.

That's really why we are here right?

I feel for the folks who are currently getting laid off or downsized because of the recent economic downturns. It seems that all I have been hearing about, though, are the people with 20+ years at their jobs getting the axe.

OK. If you have been at your job for 20+ years you must have some sort of expertise in your field. Why then, were you still working for someone else? How many people fought and died to preserve your right to go out and use your expertise, your competitive advantage, to secure your position in the market place?

Did they lay their lives on the line so that you could have a cushy, over paying job, working for a large conglomerate with a company car and tons of clout just so you could be like, "Why me?" when times get tough and companies do what they must to stay alive?

Uh...no.

This a wake up call. For many of these "blind executives" or "skilled laborers" this is their chance to capitalize on their skills. I bet dimes to donuts that most of them have entertained the idea of going out on their own. The human spirit is entrepreneurial. Why else would we have all this technology that traces back to rocks and sticks?

MAKE YOUR SOCIETY BETTER BY MAKING YOURSELF BETTER! ...Jeez....

Perhaps they didn't create their enterprises for personal reasons; I know, I got a baby on the way and I find myself thinking about preserving and providing a certain type of lifestyle. However, I have been at my job for 6 months and not a day goes by that I don't converse with my wife about our need to start something for ourselves. All those times that our downtrodden, newly unemployed citizens told themselves that the time wasn't right because they needed to stay put to pay for this or that, or provide for their kids, I understand the notion.

But, what about their lifestyle now? In hindsight, I bet it would have been much easier to start up back when the job provided income and then by now you would have made the transition to full time. But sometimes, NASCAR and NFL and World Series Baseball is so much more gratifying in the short term.

Ok. Enough of the tough love. Sorry bout that.

I have heard it said that when you close one door, another will open. Carpe Diem, folks. Join the cavalry. It is worth it. Put aside all your fears.

"There is no greater illusion than fear." Lao Tzu, Tao te Ching.

Instead of asking what you stand to lose. Focus on what you and the global society you live in, stand to gain.

Inspired by you!

I'm back at my desk today and getting back into my flow. The last five days were spent in Wichita; hanging with family and friends, putting some beautiful black paint on my Honda, and helping out the Wichita staff as they put on their 3 day "Dare to Dream" seminar for our students.

The best part of my day is my morning routine. Lately, it has consisted of getting up before dawn to go to the gym and condition for an upcoming trip to the mountains to snowboard. Then, I come home to get ready for work which means plenty of time in el bano, a large cup of coffee mixed with chocolate soy protein shake and a two egg wrap. Then its out the door and if I am lucky I carpool with Mrs. B and get a hug and kiss and, "Have a nice day, honey. I love you." (Best part of that)

At some point in my morning ritual I read my favorite blogs to catch up on what my most respected friends and colleague are thinking, fealing, and sharing. Today, with the recent elections and developments in personal lives, the readings were especially moving and motivating.

Fergie Knows is my best friend from way back in the day. He is always posting and motivating me to get with "my people" and share my energy and wisdom as they share the same with me to make our planet a better place to live work and thrive. Thanks, Fergie. Great post, man.

Time On Tass is my brother from the fraternity days. I can depend on him to dole out the tough love in a style that is deeply insightful and reliably pithy. His post from yesterday asks the question that I have on my mind and answers in the most thorough way with a simple, "Get off your butt and do something because the country needs it!" Amen, Admiral James T Awesome. Amen.

Traveling With Jeff Yalden is a post of a great man who makes his living sharing a vision of self motivation and hope with the youth of the world. Today's post was a true wake up call for everyone. At a time when most of us are busy talking about the elections and the economy, Jeff brings it right back down to whats really important. Thanks BooYah. I would love to be able to leave a comment on your blog because, even though I cant be where you are to listen to your speaches all the time, your blog is a welcome second that is a constant source of inspiration to me.

Ben Casnocha: The Blog is a young entrepreneur who shares his insights and ideas with a large community. At a very young age, Ben is an innovator and visionary who I watch and listen to as a harbinger of things to come. He seems to always have his finger right on the pulse of not only our nation, but also of the world and how it relates to business. Perhaps my readers may not get the most from the linked post above, but if you have a chance, browse his posts and you will find out what I am talking about.

In closing, let me add that the staff I work with in Wichita and the students that participated in the 3 day seminar were my biggest inspiration of late. Thank you so much for being accepting of my personality and style. I feel at home when I work with you and that means a lot to me. To the Wichita students and teachers; thank you for your energy and willingness to participate in the events with such vigor. Also, thank you for your comments and kind words about the small contributions I am privileged to make to our program. I hope to see you all again very soon.

With that, I have a TON of emails and phone calls to return and a stack of notes to re-read and act on. Thanks for reading.