In 2003 I quit my management job at Microsoft to try to live by writing books, teaching and public speaking. It was the scariest decision I’d made in my life and here on the other side, about 4 years later, is what I’ve learned. If you believe life is to be explored, here are notes from a work adventure. There’s no amazing new theory - you may have heard all this before, but here it is, in first person.

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Posted in Teaching/Training, personal, philosophy | 13 Comments »

Gift giving was never a strength in my family. Sure, we gave gifts, we just didn’t do it well (”Hey, here’s your annual CD/book/cake that’s indistinguishable from what I got you last year”). Later on, through friends and girlfriends, I’d figure out what it meant to give a good gift: something clever, personal and thoughtful that they’d enjoy or need, but probably wouldn’t think to buy for themselves.

But with the web, and the same 15 chain stores in every mall in every city, it’s harder to actually buy truly good gifts. Everything is available everywhere. And I’m loathe to buy people more stuff they don’t really need: I don’t know many folks who complain about empty storage rooms, closets or kitchen cabinets.

So this year I made two rules:

1. To buy only experiences. Tickets to plays, events, massages, meals, things that they’ll experience and own as a memory instead of as a thing. Perhaps I can baby or pet sit for friends, gifts that really could be useful to them. This also has the benefit of low environmental impact if you’re into that sort of thing.
2. To make things for people. If I make it with my own hands then it’s impossible to get at the GAP, or at their local mall and as ugly or fragile as it might be, it will be personal. It will will represent more of the the most precious thing i have, my time, than anything I could buy.

The problem is I don’t really know how to make anything. I can do great lectures and write essays, but those don’t fit the bill for a personal gift for anyone I know.

So while I figure this out, if the basic idea intrigues you, you’re not alone.

Buy nothing Christmas is a movement of sorts, with an alternative approach to the holidays. There are various flavors, from simple tips for inexpensive and creative gifts, to tips for parents and kits for simplifying the holiday season.

Of course there are folks who take a more aggressive stand on the whole idea. Xmas resistance offers stickers, posters and other aids to help spread the word about their boycott of the entire idea.

The less militant and more philosophical Canadian Buy nothing Christmas group, asks the question “What would Jesus buy?” with a humorous catalog of free things to give (includes the ever popular seaweed), advocacy, and even a well written FAQ. Check it out.

Posted in personal, philosophy | 7 Comments »

With the end of year coming around, my highlights and lowlights for 2007 are coming to mind. One clear failure was my Scoliday project. In 2004 I set about creating my own holidays, to honor what I thought was important. I did them that year, fell off in 2005, and the started again in 2006 with a new list of days, some of which I celebrated.

Somehow in 2007 I didn’t even try.

I know a few folks did their own flavor of this idea, including antigeek, Konrad West, and more, and I hope they’ve faired better than I have.

I’m reading through my journals for 2007 and trying to see if I can figure it out.

Thoughts so far:

1. I didn’t have any partners in crime. As an author/speaker dude, I work solo most of the time and suffer from solo project fatigue. Having a holiday buddy or something would probably up my odds.
2. Perhaps I need a holiday every few months called called Celebrate all the holiday’s you’ve missed so far day. Build in a way to recover part way through the year.
3. Use this blog as a forcing function - post a note on the day, and if I didn’t celebrate it, hang my head in shame online or donate money to charity for each day I let fly by.

I’m still in love with the idea - but trying to learn from my mistakes, and improve my commitment level for 2008.

Posted in personal, philosophy | No Comments »

1. Was in Ukraine all last week, birthplace of my great-grandfather, to teach at SpiderProject’s PM Week and to see Kiev, where an alternative version of me might have been born had my great grandfather not come to NYC.
2. Got sick on the way home and am still sick now.
3. I leave for Sydney, Australia in 48 hours (health permitting) to speak at Web Directions ‘07, but mostly to get some vacation in one of my favorite places in the world.
4. I’m exhausted from months of book promotion. I’ve lost all motivation to talk to anyone about myself, my books, my opinions, my anything. However big my ego was, it’s the size of a dime today.
5. After four years of being independent, I need some time to recharge and plan out the next four years. I’m about as passionate as a pile of rocks - so it’s time to follow my own advice, chill out, have fun and reflect.
6. I have speaking engagements galore for the next few weeks, which I will kick ass at, but that’s going to take most of the energy left in my tank.

So for the next few weeks things might be quiet here - but they might not. I have piles of ideas and books to come, but I need some time focusing on things other than work to get my A game back together. Please stay tuned :)

Posted in On writing, personal | 8 Comments »

I have an unusual request: been blogging for years but this is my first personal post.

The best person I know runs a business called etoner.com. It’s a customer service centric mail-order shop, that sells printer toner, copier toner and other office supplies.

I can put my good name 100% behind him and his company because he shares that name with me: he’s my older brother.

The problem: Recently his competitors began using various search engine manipulation techniques: fake pages, link farms, link doorways, all sorts of things to deceive search engines. Its unfair and it has nothing to with the quality of the service they provide or products they sell.

The favor: If you need toner or other office supplies, give etoner.com and their prices a shot. They sell all the popular models like HP toner, Ricoh SP C410DN, Ricoh CL7200, HP P4005 and Okidata C5100, take special orders, and my brother, the owner, the main man, takes pride in dealing with customers directly. 1-800-365-5566, or go www.etoner.com.

And of course if you feel so motivated, throw a link up on your site to etoner.com out of respect for one of the good guys, a small business owner focusing on customers.

Posted in personal | 5 Comments »