Hey y’all…
Happy Monday! I mean that. Why? Why Not?!
It’s no secret that I think the iPhone is a bit of Heaven on Earth. One reason is the amazon Kindle app. I’ve been able to get a good amount of books for around 2 dollars by paying attention to their daily sales. One recent gem was Derek Sivers’ Anything You Want. You are likely familiar with Derek as he shows up a lot on those killer TED talks dealios.
My takeaway from his book is to focus on pleasing your customers and they will be your towne cryer. I’d like to think that I’ve done a decent job at this as I’ve never really solicited business for Spark Media other than put up a website. It does seem to be feast or famine in any occupation I get involved with. Fortunately, I love what I do.
Another amazon daily deal that unexpectedly rocked my world was Today We Are Rich by Tim Sanders. I almost disregarded the email because the title sounded like one of those “make money overnight” books that cater to the “I need a shortcut” crowd (btw- I think that there are no real shortcuts)… Glad I spent the time to read the reviews. I was surprised to discover after my purchase that Tim is a Christian and this was released on a Christian based publisher, Tyndale House. 
I cannot reccomend this book enough. I know I shoot out referrals all the time, but trust me on this! If you know anyone (maybe even yourself) that allows negativity to wear you down and defeat you. I had to question myself as I tend to complain about my back hurting on a daily basis. Complaining to anyone but a Doctor doesn’t do anyone any good. Sanders likens it to
“Giving someone else your cold thinking it will make you feel better. It doesn’t..it only makes the other person feel worse.”
That was the right way to articulate that thought to make a connection with me. You can apply that across the board. Maybe not overnight, but I’m radically going to try to think about my conversation, blog posts, facebook rants, etc. In addition, I also will tune out anyone who seems to have a need & determination to spew negativity. The ‘Chicken Littles‘ will receive no ear from me. Worst-case scenario is never as bad as it seems. Unless you chose to not take productive action. Today I can count 4 semi-major-negative-life-event-items that I normally would’ve tweeted just out to vent my frustration. I didn’t. It certainly wouldn’t have done you any good let alone me. Do yourself a favor, grab a copy. Valuable insight.
Something else that I thought was cool. Sandra Ney told me about this Nashville jean company that is killing it right now. Imogene + Willie creates jeans in the same way a master artist creates a painting. I love what they are doing and especially “why” they do what they do. I was also really blown away to find out they were originally from Henderson, KY; which is 30 minutes from where I live in Indiana. Watch their story below:
On Friday, I got a chance to spend a little time with Visual Sound owner Bob Weil at his home in Brentwood. I was able to see his new dual tap delay pedal that I WILL own soon! Some of the world’s best known guitarists use his pedals and One Spot power supply. Really great guy. He and his wife Julie made me feel welcomed in their home. Here’s a pic of me and Bob
Have a great week!
jamie