Recently drove to Santa Fe, New Mexico with the family. It was absolutely beautiful. I think I may start painting again soon. Until then digital will have to do. Woke up one morning about 3:45am and could not go back to sleep. I decided to drive into the mountains, hike a bit in the snow and snap some shots of the sunrise over the peaks. It was incredible and I’ll never forget that morning. Inspired — a quick typography sketch with Adobe Garamond, photo from Santa Fe mountain basin and a piece of paper.

Download Larger Inspire Art (JPG)

 

 



Cy-Fair Fire Department Outside Home — Houston, Texas

We just found out that my wife’s grandmother in Houston, Texas lost her home and pet to a fire today, Saturday January 14, 2012. Please pray for them as they are devastated and unsure what to do. They unfortunately did not have fire insurance.

A space heater ignited and started the fire about 12noon on Saturday.

I was also asked by friends to post the link for donations to help the family find temporary and long-term accommodations. 100% goes to help Myra’s Grandmother and Uncle.  Send a donation.


Sharing your story is never easy, especially if it is tough and you have spent many years trying to forget it. Here are a few blog posts and video interviews of Myra and I learning how to share our past. It’s not safe, clean or simple but it is our story. Hope you enjoy and we would love to hear yours.

Legacy or Leftovers Blog Post
What will you leave your family, friends and your community? A legacy or leftovers?

BIG Dreams Blog Post
Someone challenged me to define my BIG dream and asked if I still had it in me to go for it. Love it.

He Would Be Ten Today
 Blog Post
Remembering our three year on son Colby. We lost him to Leukemia in 2004.

Courageous Fighting Video
Myra and I sharing the tough times and mistakes we made in our marriage and why we chose to fight for each other.

America, Our Ever Present Past
 Video
This is the first time Myra and I talked about how we survived losing our son to Leukemia, her mom to Lupus and mine to domestic violence and what we did to keep our sanity during all of it.

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Great UX for product promotion via streaming video. Why? The video promo is clearly the priority for the page. It plays the second you click it (no loading… waiting… flashbacks to dial-up…) and the content is incredible (multiple customers using products, fun, great soundtrack). Check out how the video is shot and edited after to look like it is happening right on the page.

Apple builds, promotes and integrates better. If you haven’t seen it watch here MTV.com.  Then, visit your organization’s website and compare. 

I often hear this about successful leaders and can’t help but wonder how true it is — “You don’t know what they sacrificed to get to where they are.” And I can’t help to ask this next question ‘Was it worth it?’

A friend recently shared the “balanced wheel” for measuring if he is on track to leaving a legacy. This isn’t about Klout — it’s about impact, health and balance. It’s about living a life worth remembering. Is what you hold as “successful” really how you want to be remembered? By your family, friends and colleagues?

The tool above is a great way to track and hold yourself and each other accountable. To use it mark on each axis your current impact, health & investment from 0 (lowest) to 10 (highest) then connect each mark. The end result will hopefully be a circle and the goal is that it would roll. If not where do you need to invest? Are you sacrificing important areas of your life to focus on one or two other areas? Is it worth it?

Download Balanced Wheel JPG — Post Feedback

Every now and then I run across great design and work that is simply more than just inspiring. Work so good that it actually helps break the notion to stay in a pattern that has worked for a while and even if your clients love it — it may be time for a change. It may be time to reinvent.

If you are a leader, designer or creative you know what I am talking about. Every few years and often sooner you have to reinvent what you do and how you do it. Today I stumbled onto Josh Hemsley’s design site. I am truly digging the attention to detail. Good work man. See Josh’s work and other talented designers on dribbble.com.

Is it time for you to reinvent? Post who inspires you.

The past month has been a painful yet funny experience at the Lundstrom house. We have officially gone without Internet access or at least have experienced painfully slow speeds (worse than dial-up) since a Sprint Wireless broadband tower has failed in our area. We currently live in the country and Internet options are limited (almost non-existent). Thought I would jot down how this affected us the past 30 days.

Effects of No Internet (+ positive / - negative )

  • Time with Sprint on-phone/ in-store (-10 hrs total)
  • Progress on design/development projects (-10-14 hrs weekly)
  • Stressing about project timelines (-1 hr daily)
  • Television watching  (-1.5 hrs daily)
  • Visits to Starbucks/Other for Wifi (+1-3 visits weekly)
  • Chloe reading activity (+1-3 books weekly)
  • Myra & I talking & hanging out (+2-6 hrs weekly)
  • No Access to Xbox 360 LIVE (+1-2 hrs daily)
  • Sleep (+6-10 hrs weekly)

Yes, we still would like to have Internet at the house, but it has been great in some ways to not have it available. The Internet or lack-of has changed the way we live. 


I have spent the day checking out the latest websites and organizations offering resources and information for ministry outreach, growth and leadership. There are a ton of mediocre resources out there but also some excellent tools and channels. It’s just getting harder to find the good stuff.

One of the organizations I follow is LifeChurch.tv. I visited their online resource site today Open.LifeChurch.tv and clicked the right arrow a couple of times to see “Learning Sessions” or webinars with the team to learn best practices, do’s, don’ts and to catch up on the latest resources they are making available (Open to everyone interested for FREE). These guys get it and have for some time now. Not just because they are open and available to all churches but because there is a common thread in everything they do. Open shows up in how they connect creative resources, developers, pastors, teachers and leaders at all levels of ministry and market to build the best tools and resources.

Open is a choice and at some point LifeChurch.tv chose to not keep their learnings and creative resources to themselves and the best part is they make their resources available to the public for free. This is not “new” news I know, it’s been going on for a while, but it’s obvious they are committed to the vision, they are committed to helping other churches have the greatest impact possible and they are committed to constant learning.

I want to challenge you to define where your organization is today. Are you Closed or Open. In creating and sharing new ideas, learnings and resources. It’s worth it. I bet you have some extremely valuable resources and contributors with incredible experience and ideas. I challenge you to redefine your goals and vision this year to include a focused effort towards Innovation and connecting with other like-minded organizations to achieve something greater than yourself.

Are you willing to be Open?


Recently I tweeted about The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new comic book “Preparedness 101: Zombie Pandemic” (PDF link)  and wound up talking with Matt Wilson with Ragan.com – News and Ideas for Communicators. You can read it here “Is CDC’s zombie comic book an effective communication tool?

So what do you think? Good idea or not? To use such extreme content to get the attention of your audience? Was it effective or what would have been a better avenue? Smart content wins in my opinion — the CDC hit a homerun.

Is your organization primed to create good content? Comments

Just to warn you. This is a response to a challenge to define what my BIG DREAM was and if I still had it in me to go for it.  If you don’t know my story this may seem a bit odd but here you go. This is the bullet point version with many gaps but it’s a start.

Part I – Us

I am working daily to clarify my BIG DREAM but as of right now it’s making sure our kiddos know they are loved and that they have a solid foundation for life. To find out how to consistently love my wife Myra in the way she needs. We are both so broken it’s tough sometimes. By broken, I mean we have survived excruciating loss. I’ll have to write a book on all that but trust me when I say broken for us is sometimes best described as a black hole. So the first part of my ‘dream’ is to get ‘us’ right. That’s a huge deal.

Part II – Connected 

I would love to start a “connected” community hub that integrates tech/design/new media & a mentor/relationship with real accountability for people who want to step off a path that leads to nowhere onto a path with possibility. Accountability for personal goals but also measurement for real world – real impact goals.

To underline that while we have this awesome time on Earth we also are a part of a larger plan. We were created to love Him and love others. To share His story of sacrifice for us. He could have come to this earth to destroy us… to punish us… which is what we have seemed to do very well on our own. But He chose to send His son to let us know there is a different choice, even in pain, hurt and wounds — we could still choose to love.

Part III – Discovery

I think my dream is to be what I have always wanted. A real encouraging, loving, friend. The issue, for me at least to is being able to look past my own void and actually be just that. Most of the time I am the exact opposite. Especially to those I love the most. Not cool but true.

That’s a start for me. What’s your BIG DREAM?

When a client wants a major refresh or even a small project I have always done my best work when told “Pretend like it’s your company and do whatever you want with it. If you like it. We’ll love it.” Can’t tell you how those words energize. It’s gives credibility, empowerment, trust, creative license and much more. I love the idea of being the CEO or CIO breaking new ground and setting the bar high.

Back in the good ol’ days when I started a small new media agency I used to love to tell clients ‘You pick the best brand and website in your industry and I’ll make yours better.’ I love a big challenge, I love the risk and the pressure. Give me a big vision and empower me to solve and execute that bad boy — you won’t be disappointed.

If you are the client. Pick a designer with a portfolio that you like! That’s the key. Then let them run with your project. If they are insightful and visionary and have some skills, you won’t be disappointed.

Design it like you own it. It’s like living someone else’s success even if for a short while. 


Shake off the funk and let loose who you were made to be and what you were made to do. It’s no one else’s responsibility, it’s not their decision, it’s yours. Now don’t go spewing off suppressed grievances either in your next team meeting and certainly don’t walk out on your responsibilities and commitments (not wise). If you find yourself caught in indecision, paralysis or even hopelessness — take one step forward and get some wise counsel. Find other people headed in the right direction — talk with someone who knows something about you and can help you clarify what is going on in your heart.

You know what I am talking about — you might even know what your next step is. Or maybe you don’t and that’s ok — but get busy doing something that will get you closer to where you know you are supposed to be.

If you need someone to slap you upside the head or even give you a digital high-five or hug or something, let me know. I can probably manage it. That’s it. Let me know how it goes.

What happens when innovation is merely buzz and not based on something real? At best — nothing. Worst case you wind up creating a bubble and sooner or later it pops. 

A particular energy company stood in front of Wall Street for a presentation on innovation “Less assets are more. The future of business is not heavy balance sheets and deep inventory but borrowing and investing, futures and contracts”. Everyone ate it up. New business was business-light, agile, less risk, more gain and profits are fast. This new innovation in the energy industry left the other guys scratching their heads trying to figure out how it was all possible. Then the truth was revealed. This revolutionary business concept turned out to be nothing more than “fixed trading and marketing” secured on invisible assets and fictitious companies — Innovation only by perception.

Innovation is transparent, it’s real. It’s proven. It’s not just theory. It takes time, investment and wisdom.
Is your organization making an impact? How so? Do you have high performance teams and are they empowered and accountable? Other questions to consider:

  • What are your core areas of focus? How are they different from the other guys?
  • Name specific areas or people that are making things happen.
  • Are new ideas being brought into reality? Are they effective or will they be?
  • Can you see a pattern of momentum? If it is healthy how are you fueling it?
  • Is what you are doing sustainable?
  • What do we need to stop doing to allow greater focus on areas that have momentum?
  • Are you pre-investing in areas of potential growth?
  • Are you connected and invested with other innovative organizations?
Ok. Back to work.

Just discovered Klout a new online tool that measures your level of influence & reach in social media. (Thanks Jeana LawrenceThe Klout Score is the measurement of your overall online influence. The scores range from 1 to 100 with higher scores representing a wider and stronger sphere of influence. Klout uses over 35 variables on Facebook and Twitter to measure True Reach, Amplification Probability, and Network Score.

Currently in use for Twitter and Facebook. Currently the tool measures in three main areas: True Reach, Amplification Probability & Network Influence. So, currently I have 1,995 followers on Twitter and Klout measures about 773 people are truly within my reach. Crazy cool to have data on how effective our social media is. Find out where you are visit Klout.

Influential Leaders on Twitter / Org Website

There are so many things I have learned during my fourteen years of marriage and maybe I can take some time to list here, but one of the first things I learned during a very trying time was how we live in Relationship Zones.

I remember thinking yep, right now we are between conflict and disengaged and moving further out. This chart opened my eyes and a friend took some time to explain how relationships are like bank accounts, you are either making deposits or withdrawals – and eventually you will reap the rewards of a surplus or feel the pain of an overdrawn & negative account.

Right now I can honestly say we are right in the middle of the Intimacy zone, it’s not always been this way but we have both worked towards the goal of doing whatever it took to keep our marriage alive. The main thing we did was to make time for each other. We started focusing on each others positives. We  also committed to getting back to church regularly and focused on our priorities – God, each other, kids then everything else. Sounds easy but as you know, it’s not. But it’s worth it. It’s worth not being like our parents: living disengaged, disconnected and disinterested or worse. The tough part about trying to live in intimacy is you have to work through conflict, if you simply sweep it under the rug you will drift. Guaranteed.

So where are you? Are you willing do the work it takes for real intimacy? Or will you just drift.  

Recommended Books
Five Love Languages
His Needs Her Needs
Love & Respect

Download Chart:
Download Relationship Zone PDF

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Today marks a first. I registered online at Apple.com for the genius bar repair appointment. Seriously. The funny thing is I use to be one of “those people” who protested this process. I still kind of wish I could just walk on in and say “help please”, drop off my broken device and go run some other errands until I received a text or email that everything was all better.

So what processes do you wish you could ditch or are you at the point of adding new ones? If the end game is providing a better service then… fine, I’ll think about conforming.

Had a great couple of days in Corpus Christi, Texas hanging out with the Bay Area Fellowship Multisite Campus team and wanted to post some of the photos. We toured five out of their eight campuses and all were uniquely setup while offering a consistent BAF experience. Thanks again to John Atkinson, Brandon Cunningham and Joey Davila for being excellent hosts. These guys took a day and a half out of their schedules to give us an excellent multisite experience! Amazing. Check it out via Flickr below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gfcinnovation/

Join us online or on your mobile for a LIVE stream of “Stairway to Heaven” and see the Grace Fellowship team rock Led’s Zeppelin’s original. Also, for everyone waiting for the LIVE video for iPhone & iPad. It’s finally here! To watch with us visit http://live.gfcfamily.com at 12noon cst today (May 2, 2011) from iPhone, iPad. Oh and bring a friend, this is going to be incredible.

Pumped about our new series, “So You’re Dead… Now What?” What will happen to you the second after you die? Tomorrow’s message is going to be pretty cool, it’s titled “Stairway to Heaven” — Join us tomorrow and judge for yourself if the band lives up to Led Zepplin’s original! See you there http://live.gfcfamily.com 9:30am & 11:00am cst.

What’s on your desktop? Post Link.


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