How to Train Your Brain to Be Smarter

We are all seeking ways to become smarter. At least, I hope we are. We should be.

Today, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Question of the Day. In each episode hosts, James Altucher and Stephen J. Dubner choose a question from Quora and answer it. This week the question was, "What are ways to train your brain to be smarter?"

I feverishly took notes on my iPhone as I walked Max. Remember, when you write down what you learn, you retain the information. Transcribing my notes in this blog post will help me remember what I learned even better. Win, win. :) 

How to Train Your Brain to be Smarter

Read a lot.

I don't read enough books (I read plenty of articles and blog posts), so I've challenged myself to read two books a month this year. I'm sharing how this goes in the NBN Club, where members are also participating. I will share my notes here about each book as I complete it.

Hang out with people who are not like you. 

By expanding your circles, you will broaden your knowledge. Take a look at a site like MeetUp.com, to find upcoming groups you can join.

Don't spend so much time pursuing things that are not important to you.

Dubner quoted Arthur Conan Doyle. 

“I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.” ― Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet.

Don't go with the flow.

Don't worry so much about the conventional wisdom. Don't worry about what everyone is thinking, doing and drinking. Use your brain to be original. Dubner said, "A little bit of truly original thinking can get you so much further than just learning how to parrot all of the seemingly smart things everyone around you says."

Sleep a lot. 

Altucher explained that if you want to be smarter you should sleep a lot. This gives your brain time to build upon the facts that you learn. 

Exercise your Idea Muscle.

I love the concept of your "idea muscle" from Altucher. He wrote about this in depth in his outstanding book, Choose Yourself. I've written about his book here before.

Write ten ideas every day. Share the best ideas with those who can benefit from them. Don't worry if the ideas are silly, the purpose is to get your brain moving to come up with those ideas. I also loved the idea that execution is a subset of ideas. 

Try Warren Buffet's Method.

Warren Buffet has an exercise he recommends people do to find their interests and passions. Simply write a list of 25 things you are interested in. Keep the top five and discard the others. The others will distract you from focusing on the top five, which are obviously the most important since you listed them first. 

Be sure to listen to the whole episode of Question of the Day, to hear about understanding mental shortcuts and more. 

I encourage you to subscribe to Question of the Day in iTunes. 

What are ways you train your brain to be smarter?

This #KillerCalendar Will Save Your Life

Ok, maybe not save your life, but it will greatly improve it. This isn't a productivity blog, and yet I keep finding myself writing about the topic. I suppose it's because it is the new year. Everyone (including myself) is pumped about improving their lives. As for productivity, be sure you are following smart people like Mike Vardy, Erik J. Fisher, David Allen, and Michael Hyatt (whose calendar idea I borrowed for this version). 

My Killer Calendar

I want to introduce you to an idea that is working for me to stay focused. It's also helping me to reevaluate how I am spending my time. The idea is my Killer Calendar. Don't worry, nobody dies. 

I balance many different projects at once. I have incredible consulting and coaching clients at any given time. I also need time to write content here and in the Nice Maker. I also carpool to get the kids to school, gymnastics, clubs, etc. And then there is Max at my side, who seems to always be anxiously ready to head outside for a pee.

My Killer Calendar has helped me to stay focused by dividing my time into specific chunks dedicated to different topics such as, Client Work, Business Development, Family.

3 Steps to Create Your Killer Calendar

1. Along the left side of the Google Calendar interface, you will see My calendars and Other calendars that you are subscribed to. Turn them all off by clicking the box next to each one. Your calendar should be blank.

2. Create a new calendar and call it  "My Killer Calendar". 

2. Add general daily areas of work you need to do, these should seldom change. This isn't a to do list, for that, grab my daily goals worksheet. Carve out blocks of time for each item. You could have sections like, Gym, Team Meeting, Client Work, Personal Development, etc.

Tip: It helps to make these reoccurring in the calendar, so you don't have to create a new item for each day manually.

Here's my Killer Calendar for weekday mornings. 

3. Along the left side of the Google Calendar interface you can select different calendars. Turn your regular calendar back on, so you see how your work week compares to your Killer Calendar. Moving forward, you will adjust your regular calendar to be sure it fits your Killer Calendar template.

The Killer Calendar will help you know what you should and shouldn't be doing each day. It will also help you realize how you can adjust your life to make up more time in a day.

I have decided to shorten my walks with Max on days I drive the kids to school from 60 minutes to 30 minutes. I also now eat breakfast with my kids, and I shower as they are getting ready. This saved me another 30 minutes. I have adjusted my Killer Calendar to reflect this, and now have an extra hour to work on my clients on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Win!

I recommend you print your Killer Calendar, so you can review it through the day to be sure you are staying focused. Mine is taped to my wall over my desk. I aways find printing items helps me get the work done, which is why I made my Daily Goals worksheet for you. 

Do you do this too? If you try it, let me know how it works for you.

Improv Changed My Life

I had the great opportunity to reveal a new presentation at Hubspots' Inbound Conference last year. It was a thrill to attend and speak at such a stellar marketing conference with 13,000 attendees (not all at my session, Maron!). My presentation was a 12-minute (TEDx-style) talk about how my life has improved with improv. 

As I put my deck together, I realized the story was too good to just share with the amazing audience in Boston. The lessons I learned studying improv with Second City in Toronto, and performing regularly in a troupe in Ireland, helped me in so many ways. So I decided to write a short ebook.

Improve with Improv breaks down the three key lessons I learned from improv: acceptance, listening better and not to fear failure. My friend, Daniele Rossi, did the wonderful illustrations. Call it a coincidence, but he is now a recent graduate from Second City too. 

I sincerely hope you pick up a copy of Improve with Improv. It's a quick read with some valuable lessons inside. Let me know what you think of it, please. 

GRAB YOUR COPY NOW TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE WITH IMPROV. 

Test the Communication

Like you, I have been IT support for my parents for as long as they have owned computers. I recalled a rather trying incident today from several years ago with my dad. This story will make you scream out in frustration. 

It was a cold, grey January evening like tonight was. My phone rang and my dad was on the other end. He was distraught. The dialogue went something like this.

“Hello?”
“David?” 
“Oh hey, dad.”
“I can’t get the computer to print.”

It seemed like a simple request. My dad couldn’t get his printer to print. This can happen to all of us. It could have been a paper jam, or a loose cable, or a driver that needed updating (damn you, Windows). No, the trouble was more confusing and infuriating than you can imagine.

I asked my dad if the power was on. He told me that the light was on. I asked if it had paper in it. He answered that it did, but that wasn't causing the problem. 

Thirty minutes passed, soon after it was sixty minutes. I went through every step to rectify his technological issue, but it still would not print. My dad shared every swear word he knew - multiple times. Even Jesus was likely disappointed with him due to his numerous exclamations of blasphemy. 

The answer will surprise you!

I was exhausted. I was perplexed. What the hell did I miss through this? Why couldn’t I get his printer working? The answer will surprise you. 

“Dad, the printer has paper?”
“Yes!”
“Does it have the power on?”
“Yes. The thing under the desk?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not talking about the goddamned thing that prints on paper!”
“What?”
“The screen. When I type the words don’t print on the screen! What's wrong with you, David?” 

That’s right, it was the monitor all along. My dad meant the words on the screen weren’t printing when he typed on the keyboard. Yep, he never turned on the monitor. THE MONITOR.

My dad has infuriated me before, he has delighted and disappointed me too. He’s a good man, a solid guy, but not always easy to deal with. This was one of those times. I was proud to have helped him find his solution, but I felt completely exhausted and defeated. I was also on the cusp of going postal had we continued the call much longer after the solution was discovered.

How about you?

The problem you are facing could have a clear solution. Test your communication before you begin troubleshooting. And don't ever answer your phone if my dad calls for tech support.

Practice What You Preach

I just released my 2016 version of my daily goals document, to help you (and me) stay focused on our priorities. I started a new personal blog here that is supposed to be daily, and yet I didn't commit myself to sticking to it through the holidays. 

I didn't practice what I preached. Starting anything during December isn't the best move in my humble opinion. Especially when you work from home and have family visiting and your kids home from school. It's seasonal chaos that distracts you from the work you need to do for yourself. That said, I wouldn't have it any other way. My kids had an amazing Christmas, that's all I care about in December, that and my clients are happy of course. 

Writing here has to be daily

This blog is called Dave Delaney Daily for a reason. I'm supposed to be writing here each day. It's a project to force me to write more and exercise my brain. Maybe I should call it Dave Delaney, Except December. I could also rethink it into a daily blog except on Sundays. Like a Chick-fil-A without the delicious fried chicken and pickle sandwiches and homophobia. 

No, I'm back at it. It has to be daily. The alliteration of the name just sounds right. Don't you think? If you want to start writing daily check out Jeff Goins' blog post on the topic. 

My mum (not a typo, she's British) returned to Toronto on the 29th. Heather gets back to work tomorrow (God bless her), and my kids get back to school this Wednesday. Things are getting back to normal. 

I love the holidays (God bless Amazon), but when you work for yourself, getting back to work is greatly anticipated.

I have the house to myself for a couple of hours, so I thought I would write this for you now. In case you were thinking I got hit by a reindeer or I choked to death on a turkey bone. I did almost pass out from egg nog, but I don't want to bore you with that lesson. 

It's time to practice what I preach. I'm printing out my daily goals documents for this week. I'm writing it all out. I'm planning 2016 like crazy. You should too. Expect daily blog posts from me with alacrity moving forward! 

What are you working on? Are you trying to make writing a habit in 2016? Is it already a habit? I'd love to hear about your experiences. What works for you?  

A Christmas Story

I’m not sure what year it was, but we were north of Toronto near my cottage. We were deep in a forest, surrounded by fluffy white snow everywhere. I was a young kid, wrapped up to my head in winter wear. I looked like a Canadian ninja, dressed in a blue, snowflake patterned toque, positioned just above my eyes. My Toronto Maple Leafs scarf was over my mouth and nose to the bottom of my eyes. Hundreds of fraser, balsam fir, scotch pine, and spruce trees surrounded us. The dusk sun was on the cusp of setting, and the snow reflected the dark blue from the sky above. Santa was up there somewhere, getting ready to visit us soon.

On the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree

My step-brother, Andy, was there, along with my brother, Mike, and my Dad. We were hunting for the perfect Christmas tree to return to the cottage and decorate for St. Nick himself. As we wandered through the snow-covered tree farm, we reached a crossroads. A large path split the forest in half. We stood there together, frozen for a moment, anticipating something.

Suddenly, a pack of barking, snorting dogs appeared out of the darkness. They sprinted toward us along the path, huffing and puffing. One large cloud of carbon dioxide floated above the dogs as they exhaled quick breaths. Behind the dogs stood a large man with a guttural voice who commanded the dogs to halt. The sleigh came to a complete stop right in front of us. We were all dumbfounded.

Two beautiful brown gems happily glared back to us.

The man behind the sled smiled. His eight huskies stood anxiously awaiting further instruction. The musher looked at us and asked if we liked his dogs. He assured us that it was OK to go over to pet them. One particular dog instantly drew us in like a magical magnet. He had the thick white, and gray fur one would expect from a Siberian Husky. However, his eyes were both hazel brown. The breed is best known for its piercing blue eyes. Some huskies have one blue and one brown eye, but not this one. Two beautiful brown gems happily glared back at us.

His eyes seemed to smile as we all gathered around to pet him while the dog runner glanced down and noted our fondness for the individual dog. “It sure looks like they like that one, eh?” he said to our father. My dad replied in agreement, “They sure do. He’s one hell of a good-looking dog.”

“You guys want him?” The musher asked. The freezing wind abruptly stopped. The forest became silent. My siblings and I stared from the dog up to my dad. We had never owned a dog before. The man unzipped his parka and reached into his pocket for a business card. “If you want him, give me a call. That one is for sale.”

Before my dad could answer him, he yelled, “Mush! Hike! All right! Let’s go!” The dogs jumped up and were off like lightning. They left the scene so quickly that it felt like the whole thing had been a winter dream. We stood there staring into the distance as the dog sled disappeared. The snow fell faster from the heavens.

Photo from Flickr by Peggy2012CREATIVELENZ

I have no recollection of selecting a tree, cutting it down, strapping it to the roof, or any monetary exchange for the tree. No, all I remember is what happened next. The snow fell silently into the windshield as we drove through the night. The ride was quiet as millions of flakes endlessly flew toward us. It was as if the snow had hypnotized my dad. He turned from glaring at his headlights on the dark road and asked, “Do you guys want a dog?” 

"I was going to kill him next week."

A few days later, we drove up the long driveway of the musher’s home. We were shocked to see so many dog houses surrounded by fencing. The volume of the barking dogs was ear-piercing as we trudged through the slush and brown, muddy snow to the front door. The man greeted us, and we entered his rustic home. My dad and the man sat at his kitchen table. We looked around at the dogs, searching for the one we had found that night at the tree farm.

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My dad made the check out for $500 as the man left to retrieve our first dog. The musher smiled as we departed and put his hand on my dad’s shoulder. “You know, I’m glad you bought that one… I was going to kill him next week.”

As it turns out, Teddy wasn’t the best sled dog, which would be his fate. Luckily (for him and us), he was the best first dog a family could own. I have no recollection of what Christmas gifts I received that year. I don’t even remember what the tree looked like. All I remember is that was the year Teddy joined our family. We had many great years with him. Now he’s up there somewhere, beyond the North Pole, above the snow and the clouds, in the sky, far over that tree farm.

Thanks for being here. Merry Christmas, Teddy. Happy Holidays to you too.

How to Slow Time

The phenomenon of time zipping past us faster as we get older is nothing new. This is something I’ve been interested in for years. I once read that the feeling of time going by quickly is thought to be brought on by our repetitive lives.

Why does time fly by?

We all have that summer we remember, the one where we had our first kiss or did something else taboo. That summer seemed to last forever. Did I just quote Don Henley?

It is believed that when we first do something new, it makes time stand still. As we get older, we do the same things over and over, and time goes by faster because of this repetitiveness. This should encourage you to try something new, like attend a networking event you’ve never been to, take a class on something new, travel, or start a blog.

Last year, I interviewed Ronni Bennett, a retired television producer who produced classic TV shows like Barbara Walters specials and “20/20.” She even launched CBSNews.com as their first managing editor in 1995. Ronni blogs all about issues and topics related to aging at Time Goes By.

Timeless Networking Tips

It is by blogging for years about age that Bennett has built a network of loyal readers. She has even organized meetups where she has been able to meet her readers in person. In the hustle and bustle of business use of social media (especially this time of the year), it’s easy to forget about truly connecting with people online. Instead, we want our content to be seen by as many eyeballs as possible. Bennett reminded me of the importance of building relationships, and she has done just this by creating a community of like-minded individuals with an interest in aging.

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Bennett also spoke about how she networked her way to an impressive career in broadcasting from the 1970s to the 1990s. She got to know so many people by attending dinners. Each person would often bring a guest to the dinners, and her network would grow from these encounters. She arrived at CBSNews.com because she helped a person in her network. The executive producer of CBS needed to learn about the Internet. Bennett offered to help and ended up being offered the job as the first managing editor.

Here are three main things I learned from our thought-provoking and often hilarious conversation:

1. Try new things to slow time down, but know the speed of time never really changes.

2. Be selfless and helpful to people in your network. This landed Bennett a position as a pioneer of the Internet. She was the first person to connect text with images in online news.

3. Attend and/or organize events. Getting out from behind the computer and meeting new people or your online friends in person is always a healthy move to grow your network.

Take some time now to listen to my original interview with Ronni Bennett. I promise you will be laughing and thinking about age in a new way. 

Is time going by quickly for you too? Have you figured your own way to make it slow?

10 Tips to Choose Yourself from James Altucher

One of my favorite people (who I have never met) is James Altucher. James is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has had big wins and plenty of failures throughout his career. I like his somewhat kooky approach to life. I’m somewhat kooky too, so he appeals to me that way. He’s a big fan of comedy, I am too. He writes from the heart, I do too. He’s had some dark days in his life, moi aussi. 

James’ blog is prolific and his podcasts are always enjoyable. I enjoy listening to his amateur sounding interviews with his stellar guests and amazing questions. You can tell he listens intently and truly gets excited by his guests. I don’t mean amateur in a negative way. I mean that he comes across sincere, with a voice unlike professional broadcasters. That’s what podcasting is all about. 

James has written several amazing books, but the one that has impressed me the most is Choose Yourself. The following are ten takeaways that stuck with me from the book. Consider each point for your own life.

10 Takeaways From Choose Yourself

1. Every second, you have to choose yourself to succeed.

2. Rejection - and the fear of rejection - is the biggest impediment we face to choosing ourselves. 

3. Only think about the people you enjoy. Only read the books you enjoy, that make you happy to be human. Only go to the events that actually make you laugh or fall in love. Only deal with the people who love you back, who are winners and want you to win too.

4. The past and future don’t exist. They are memories and speculation, neither of which you have any control over.

5. What does purpose mean when we are dead? We might as well choose to be happy now.

6. Think of two people in your network who don’t know each other but you think can add value to each other’s lives (I added this idea to my daily goals document). 

7. All you have to do is stay in the present. When you catch yourself upset about the past or worried about the future, say to yourself, “Ah, I’m time traveling,” then STOP.

8. If you don’t promote yourself, nobody else will. 

9. We only ever remember the things we are passionate about.

10. We never learn when we are talking. We only learn when we are listening.

Bonus: Pretend everyone was sent to this planet to teach you.

I recommend you pick up a copy of Choose Yourself today. Get started.

What book have you read this year that left you inspired? Leave a comment, I would love to learn more about the books that mean something to you. 

Six must-know tips to work from home

Part of the purpose of this blog is for me to share things I have learned about being an entrepreneur who works alone. While I’m not a huge fan of the word “solopreneur,” it does encapsulate my work life. I also work from home, so if you do, too, this post is for you. 

Six tips for people who work from home - people like you. 

1. Your couch is dangerous.

Ella was sick, she was home from school with me for a few days recently. She spent the day on the couch watching tv, reading, and resting. I spent the day next to her on my computer. When she returned to school, I worked for two more days from the couch. My back was aching, and I felt much less productive. The couch is a symbol of laziness and procrastination. 

If you work from home, you must carve out your corner. Set up an ergonomic workspace that is distraction-free. Avoid the couch at all costs (unless it’s to console your sick kiddo). I’m back in my office now and feeling much better. 

2. Schedule time daily to use social media to connect with people.

I’ll be the first to admit that social media can distract from getting the work done. However, if you are genuinely being social, it’s not a bad place to pop into. If you work alone, you need interaction throughout your day. People need people. Allocate a little time through your day to log into Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn to say hello. See what your friends are up to and meet some new people. Use an app like Freedom to switch off access to social networks when your time is up. 

3. Beware of the kitchen. 

When you work from home, your fridge is close - too close. Making snacks is a form of procrastination. Your kitchen equals lost time and gained weight. If you must stretch your legs (and you should), pop into your kitchen for a quick glass of water instead. Staying hydrated is essential, and your increased bathroom breaks will get you up for a stretch. 

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4. Stretch!

https://spinecenterbr.com/simple-stretches-to-relieve-back-pain/

Take breaks every hour to stretch. Reach for the sky, reach down to your toes, and get up! The best thing about working from home is nobody hears your grunts as you get into the downward dog position on the floor.  

5. Find a professional lunch or breakfast group you can join or start your own. 

Find a good group of professionals who you can network with. I wrote all about this in my book, New Business Networking. Getting out of your house to meet people is a positive way to spend some time each week or two. If you can’t find a group to join, consider starting your own. 

6. Reward yourself.

When you work for a decent company, rewards are given for meeting milestones. Do the same for yourself. Set your goals and get to them. If you meet your monthly goal, reward yourself with a movie or a hike. Do something for the fun of it because you deserve it. 

Working from home isn’t always easy. Staying productive is vital. Time is your most precious commodity and a terrible thing to waste. 

I'm a Sucker for Nostalgia

I fondly recall Ireland every time I'm out in a misty rain, listening to Planxty, or sipping a creamy pint of Guinness (Zero). I have many reasons to long for Ireland. Galway is where I met my best friend and wife, Heather.

I miss sitting in Neachtains with Heather on a relaxed Saturday afternoon, playing cards by the peat fire. I miss taking seaside strolls along the Salt Hill promenade during the warm days. I loved Thursday nights upstairs with friends at The Crane. We would sit, listening to the finest Irish traditional music in the world. It's also where Heather and I had our first date.

There's much I miss about Galway and my adventures hitchhiking across Ireland. The truth is that I miss the feeling of the time; I'm a sucker for nostalgia. Ireland was carefree freedom. Before meeting Heather, I didn't even care for myself. She taught me how. She gave me a reason to. That's the part I don't think about enough.

We choose our memories to dwell on. I don't consider the loneliness, the hangovers, the poverty, and the dreadful weather. I miss Ireland and our friends, but I know it's the freedom I miss most.

The Freedom Still Exists

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I'm a husband, father, and consultant, I can't run away to find freedom again. Instead, I need to realize that freedom still exists. I work for myself; I make my own hours. And on a rainy day like when I wrote this when the nostalgia has kicked back in, I'm free to slip away to my local pub for a pint of the black stuff.

Savor your recollections, but don't let your selective memory fool you. It was never all roses (or four-leaf clovers). Take a deep breath and be thankful for what you have. 

May the best day of your past be the worst day of your future. 

10 Thoughts About Self-Image, Self-Worth, and Self-Doubt

Lucrecer Braxton has a wonderful podcast called, Hello Friend. Each episode features a conversation with an awesome person. That sounds good, right? On the latest episode, she interviewed my friend, John Michael Morgan.

John is a best-selling author and business coach. I don't get to see him enough, but when I do, I always leave inspired and filled with ideas for my businesses. The conversation between Lucrecer and John left me excited to share some of his wisdom with you here. 

10 Thoughts About Self-Image, Self-Worth, and Self-Doubt

I love John's thoughts about self-image, self-worth, and self-doubt. The following are 10 points I took away from the interview. Consider these for your own life.

1. Have a “Why not me?” attitude. 
2. You’re never going to outperform your self-image.   
3. If you’re not spending as much time working on your self-image as you are your business, family, and job, you’re doing yourself an injustice. 
4. Your fears can’t hurt you, but believing in them can.
5. Ask yourself, “Who do I have to become?" Make a list of the beliefs and behaviors that person has. 
6. Write with the word “YOU”, not “I”. Use the story about you, but it has to be about your readers too.
7. Too often we are chasing approval instead of results.
8. The more you can create a theme around your content. The more people will come to it. 
9. Be careful who you are taking advice from. Consider what makes them an expert.
10. Give people acknowledgment. 

John runs the Achievers Alliance group for entrepreneurs. You should take a look at it and decide if it's something that could help you. John also wrote the excellent book, Brand Against The Machine. 

Listen to Lucrecer's full interview on the Hello Friend site or down below.

How to Fend Off a Jerk

When I was fifteen, I worked for a full-service gas station and auto repair shop. I know what you're thinking (unless you're in New Jersey or Oregon), "what is a full-service gas station?" Yes, there was a time when a smiling gas jockey would greet your car and fill up your gas. You didn't even need to step out of your vehicle.

Most customers were nice, many even tipped me. One day, a guy in his early 30s pulled up in a Porche with more attitude than his car. He rudely told me to fill it up, check the tires, check the oil and levels, and "clean my windows, kid". I did all of the above and returned to his window when the gas stopped filling. 

I politely asked him for the total amount due. He glanced at his window shield and grunted, "You missed a spot." I sighed and grabbed the squeegee to do his entire window again. When I returned to the customer he told me to clean his headlights. It was obvious he was on a power trip, and I could do nothing but oblige him. I grabbed the squeegee and wiped down his headlights. 

He didn't say a word as he paid me for the gas. He didn't thank me, he didn't even look at me. Then he screeched off the lot into the night. 

I returned to the office and was clearly angry. My boss, Ed, noticed my sudden mood change. When he asked me what happened, I explained the guy was a jerk. He just smiled and sat me down.

Ed gave me some of the best customer service advice I have ever received. This is something I've used in many jobs over the years. When someone is clearly trying to antagonize you, act happy. The worse they get, the happier you get. 

I took Ed's advice on a future customer who was attempting to piss me off. Each time the customer was rude to me, I was friendlier to him. To the point that he was exasperated from trying to get a rise out of me. It was hilarious because I was completely over-the-top friendly - my smile was ridiculously wide.

The results will leave you laughing. 

When I returned to the office, I was laughing out loud. The jackass didn't get me in a bad mood, far from it. I was in an even better mood than before dealing with him, because I won. He couldn't have complained about me being too nice! 

Try this the next time someone is obviously trying to get you annoyed. Smile, act happy, agree with everything he says to you. The results will leave you laughing. 

A Star Wars Public Service Announcement

If you have been sleeping under a rock, you might have missed the big news. Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens Thursday. I read today that fans are already lining up at the Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. Now that's dedication. 

I have mixed emotions when it comes to Star Wars. It was 1980, my brother and I sat in the back of my dad's car. We were on our way to the opening screening of The Empire Strikes Back. It was a huge deal for any young boy at the time. 

I remember the rain in the late afternoon. Mike and I happily bounced in the back of the car, as Blondie was singing, "Call me" on the radio. I expect Mike was as excited as I was, but I couldn't see his face through the thick smoke from my dad's cigarettes. 

We had arrived at a parking lot near the cinema. My dad parked the car and we hopped out. The smoke billowed from the car, like a scene from a Cheech and Chong movie. The three of us happily walked down the street towards the movie theatre. Mike and I were slicing and dicing ourselves with imaginary lightsabers. 

It had been three years since Star Wars had premiered in Toronto. We didn't see it in the theatre because we were too young at the time. Now we were big kids, I was eight and Mike was five.

My Dad was already 47. He wasn't a movie fan, nor was he interested in Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, or the rest of the ensemble. He was simply a divorced father who was trying to entertain his kids on one of his weekends. What better way than to take them to the opening of the most anticipated movie of the year? 

The hell with this!

As we approached the theatre the rain began to fall harder. The weather gods didn't hinder our spirit. Suddenly, the unthinkable happened. We stepped around the corner to discover a queue of people longer than the opening credits of Star Wars. Hundreds of people were there!

With our hands in tow with our father's, we stood frozen in horror. Mike and I innocently glared up to our dad, who abruptly exclaimed, "The hell with this!" 

Before we could object, our dad did an about-face and we returned to the parking lot. We sunk back into the rear seat of the car. We hadn't been gone long enough for all of the smoke to dissipate. My dad lit another cigarette, and we drove home in silence. 

The force was not in our favor that tragic day. 

Thirty-five years later, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is upon us. Much technological progress has occurred since the early days of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. Animatronics and hand-crafted models have advanced to green screens and CGI. You don't have to rely on TV and newspapers for Star Wars news, you can get everything online. Most importantly, movie tickets can now be purchased in advance. 

The moral of this story? Don't be my dad. Get your tickets for The Force Awakens today.  

The Art of Non-Conformity

This old cartoon came up on Reddit today. It's a thought-provoking illustration by Gavin Aung Than from ZenPencils.com. The content within the cartoon is by Chris Guillebeau, who is an award-winning author, conference organizer, and world traveler. 

I've met Chris a couple of times over the years, he's a good person with inspiring messages. His book, The Art of Non-Conformity, was especially important to me. Chris chose freedom as his highest personal value and learned to construct a life around that choice. 

I read The Art of Non-Conformity when I was working a job I was unhappy with. I specifically remember sitting in a Thai restaurant, reading and highlighting sections of it. 

15 Life Lessons from The Art of Non-Conformity

1. We tend to regret what we haven't done more than what we have.
2. Since a lot of adults have not figured out what they really want, they naturally find it difficult to pass on the values of soul-searching to children.
3. Create a "life list" or "bucket list" of anything and everything you'd like to accomplish before you die. Break it down into measurable goals.
4. Fear is normal.
5. Change can only come about when the pain of transition becomes less than the pain of accepting the status quo.
6. If you're not happy with the way something is done, you don't have to accept it.
7. Motivation comes in three forms: inspiration, education, and entertainment.
8. You want to lift up your followers and improve their lives in a meaningful way.
9. Say goodbye to unnecessary tasks, obligations, and expectations. Welcome in a wide range of other things that enrich your life.
10. Ask two questions: "Why should I do this?" and "What will happen if I don't?" 
11. Saying no is critically important to seeing the terms of your life.
12. Create a To-Stop-Doing List.
13. Begin thinking about your legacy right now.
14. Even highly individualistic goals, like writing a book or visiting every country in the world, can benefit greatly from the support of a small army of loyal partners. 
15. Let the world know you are looking for help.

The point of this blog is to help you too. Working on your own can be lonely. Your inner critic can shut you down with fear. It happens to me too. 

Let's do this together.

Leave a comment with what you are working on. How can we help each other?

Are You Doing This For Your Children?

If you have ever played Dungeons and Dragons, you know how annoying the process is of creating a new character. You have to roll the dice countless times in order to determine the level of your player's characteristics. 

I used to play D&D all of the time when I was a kid. My first computer was a TRS-80, the one by Tandy from Radio Shack with the cassette tape recorder for a disk drive. I've never considered myself a programmer, but I know enough HTML and CSS to be dangerous (hardly). 

One day, a million years ago, I was flipping through PC Magazine and discovered a simple script in BASIC to randomly draw numbers. Bingo! I created a program my friends and I could use to help us generate new characters for D&D on the fly. We just fired up the program, entered the character's name, hit the return key, and presto. The new character would instantly print out from my tiny POS-style printer. We could get right back to playing. 

Now, a million years later, I encourage both of my kids to code. Code.org is a great starting point for all children. If you are a parent or you have kids in your life, you must check it out. 

Programming is a basic literacy in the digital age

Two years ago, I bought my kids a MakeyMakey. It's a wonderful piece of hardware that plugs into your USB port. You attach alligator clips to inanimate objects like Playdoh or bananas to create remotes. These remotes replace what the keyboard would otherwise do. Here's Sam playing his banana piano. 

Banana jamming #makeymakey

A video posted by Dave Delaney (@davedelaney) on Apr 5, 2014 at 11:23am PDT

Last Summer Sam attended a camp to learn Scratch, which is a free programming language from MIT designed for kids. They programmed their own Pong-style games and used MakeyMakey as the controllers. It was awesome. 

This year we will be getting a Raspberry Pi, which is a tiny, inexpensive computer that can be used to learn programming through cool, little projects. It's time to take my kid's coding skills to the next level. I can't wait to get geeky and to start playing with the device. Teaching them is bringing out the kid in me. 

Programming is a basic literacy in the digital age. Are you teaching your kids to code? 

You Have 3 New Messages

Amber Case is a cyborg anthropologist, author and speaker. A few months ago, she spoke at Hubspot's Inbound Conference about Calm Technology. Calm is a term coined by Mark Weiser. The concept is for technology to improve our lives, but to step out of the way. 

Amber used electricity as an example of Calm. It exists all around us, but we only really notice it when it isn't working. It's time to think about Calm, since we live in an era of interruptive technology. You probably have received a few annoying notifications since you have been reading this post. 

50 Billion devices will be online by 2020. 

1. Technology shouldn't require all of our attention, just some of it, and only when necessary. She used a tea kettle as an example of this. 

2. Technology should empower the periphery. It should be around us, but not in our faces constantly competing for our attention. I loved her example of the Hue Light Bulb that changes color based on the weather. 

3. Technology should amplify the best of technology and the best of humanity. She adds that machines shouldn't act like humans, humans shouldn't act like machines. How many times have you repeated something for Siri to understand in your best robotic voice?

4. Technology can communicate, but it doesn't have to speak. I just added the LumoBack Smart Posture Sensor to my Christmas wish list. It gently vibrates to alert you to sit up. I need this right now. 

5. The right amount of technology is the minimum amount to solve the problem. Amber points out a simple toilet occupied sign as an example. 

Her presentation hit home to me. you can bet I need to avoid distractions (and to sit up straight). I encourage you to pick up her book, Calm Technology: Designing for Billions of Devices and the Internet of Things. 

How are you dealing with countless notifications? What are your thoughts on Calm Technology?  

Why You Should Take a Cold Shower

I walked Max yesterday and froze my butt. When I checked the temperature, I noted it was colder in Nashville than Toronto. The weather app told me it was 28 in Nashville and 41 in Toronto. For the rest of the world that's 5 degrees Celcius in the T-Dot and -2 in Music City.

The cold weather reminded me of a long walk through Montreal one frigid February night. I was on my way to meet my friend, Julien Smith, for poutine and pints. It was -28 that night and I had about a 40-minute walk. I handled the cold way better than I do now. I guess I've been spoiled living in Nashville for eight years. 

When I arrived home from my walk with Max, I was ready to jump into a steamy shower. Then I thought about Julien's excellent book, The Flinch. Have you read it? It's a short, inspiring book about facing the things that make us flinch in our lives. 

You Should Take a Cold Shower

Julien Smith photo by Loic Lemeur from Flickr.

Julien encourages us to take a cold shower. He writes, "As the cold water hits you, you might shout or squirm. But the discomfort lasts only a second. You quickly get used to it. You get comfortable with the cold, instead of trying to avoid it. You put yourself in the path of the shower to speed up the adjustment process. Remember your reaction. You can use this method for everything."

Julien is one of the smartest people I know. I've enjoyed watching him face the cold water through his career. He's gone from renegade podcaster and blogger to a New York Times Best-Selling co-author. Did I mention his start-up, Breather, just received $20M in funding? 

I sucked it up and braced for the cold water this morning. Julien was right. It was shocking at first, I think my scream scared Max. My heart was racing after the cold shower and I felt more alert all day. There are scientific studies that prove taking cold showers can even help with depression and improve memory.

Download a copy.

Do yourself a favor and spend less than $3.00 for a copy of The Flinch. There is much more inspiration inside that will leave you ready to make some changes for the better. Leave a comment here if you read it, I'd love to know what you think.

How about you? Are you going to take a cold shower like I did this morning? Do you already take cold showers? 

How to Solve Problems

Last night, after dinner the kids told me they couldn’t close the fridge. We have a nice refrigerator, it’s only a few years old. I figured the answer was simple, something was probably blocking the door. 

Ella and Sam didn’t stay in the kitchen long enough to investigate the problem with the fridge. Sam had a Minecraft creeper to deal with, and Ella was in the middle of reading one of Louis Sachar's excellent Wayside School books.

I climbed out of my comfy, red leather chair and entered the kitchen to discover the cause. I pushed the ajar door closed, but it bounced open again. Yep, they were right. Something was stopping the door from closing. 

I glanced down and noticed a half-full (I’m optimistic) bottle of wine. The bottle had slipped over and was likely the cause. I reach down, adjusted the bottle, and attempted to shut the door. The door didn’t hold closed, it sprang open once again. Hmmm…

I had to get to the bottom of it.

I kept trying and retrying to shut the door, but it would not seal closed. I considered rebooting it because that always works with technology. My IT knowledge didn’t seem to apply to household appliances though. 

Fear of an expensive repair bill entered my mind, just in time for Christmas. I decided I had to get to the bottom of it. I ran my hand along the seal on the top of the door and along the side. I tried the door again, but no luck.

I finally lowered myself to my hands and knees, and I glanced under the door and found the problem. Butter. 

A quarter bar of butter had fallen below and become wedged between the door and fridge. I had approached the problem from multiple angles and found the solution. I also saved myself the embarrassment and expense of having a service person discover the slippery, fattening culprit. 

What problem are you facing? Have you approached it from every angle? 

Six Life Lessons from a Blues Legend.

Imagine meeting your favorite musician. Now imagine being invited backstage and ultimately to join the band as a roadie. This happened to me with blues legend, Albert Collins.

This story includes some big life lessons learned from the experience, plus a run-in with The Black Crowes and The Kids in the Hall.

Lesson 1.

Always treat your fans with love and respect.

I was twenty years old, my friends and I were parking the car across the street from the venue where this story begins. As we were pulling in, a tour bus pulled up along the side of The Concert Hall (AKA Masonic Temple). My favorite blues artist, Albert Collins and his Icebreakers had arrived. My friends pushed me to run across the street to say hello. We weren’t star struck types, but it seemed like a great idea.

I stood at the base of the steps of the bus, trying to peer in through the tinted glass door. Suddenly it opened and Albert Collins appeared smiling to me. I said welcome to Toronto, and he thanked me and handed me his guitar in its case. Albert fans know him as The Master of the Telecaster… he handed me “the telecaster”. The side door of the venue opened and I was guided in by security. It was surreal.

Albert and I got to chat for a little while as the band set up. I explained my deep love of blues and how much I enjoyed his music. He introduced me to the band and his road manager. I hung out as the band did their soundcheck. Meanwhile, across the street my friends wondered if I had been hit by a car. When it was show time they gave up on me and went into the venue. A missing friend was no reason to miss seeing a blues legend perform.

Just before it was show time, Albert asked if I wanted to come backstage after to hang out and chat more. He even invited me to bring my friends along. I was on cloud nine! He was the nicest guy I had ever met.

Lesson 2:

Give your fans more than they expect.

The band began playing and I caught up with my friends. I was still in shock with how the evening had already unfolded. They were equally excited when they learned they were invited to meet Albert and his band after the show.

We joined Albert and the band after their outstanding performance. We all got to hang out and enjoy the conversations backstage. At the end of the night, Albert asked if I wanted to join them on the tour bus to their next gig in Kitchener to a club called Pop the Gator. He said he could teach me how to carry his guitar cable, so I could assist him as he performed his classic guitar solos walking through the audience. I was flabbergasted and said of course I would love to join them.

As we departed, the road manager pulled me aside to let me down easily. He said Albert loved inviting his fans, but it was unrealistic. I understood. The night was one of the best experiences of my life. No worries that I wouldn’t be able to join them.

Lesson 3:

Get your own hands dirty too.

The next morning the road manager called me bright and early. Albert had insisted I be invited to join the band. I jumped in a taxi and hurried to the hotel. Albert was waiting for the band in the bus, his bus. He drove and maintained his own tour bus! We sat inside waiting for his band and he recollected stories of when he jammed with Jimi Hendrix. Here I was sitting in a tour bus, about to be a 24-hour roadie for a living legend.

Lesson 4:

Surprise and delight your fans.

That night, Albert taught me how to carry his guitar cable as he played his solo. My job was to be sure he didn’t trip on it — scary stuff. If you are not familiar, Albert would play his solos through the audience, but he also sometimes exited the club and went out onto the street. Sometimes the audience would even follow him outside. He once entered a convenience store and bought a candy bar — as he was doing his guitar solo. Amazing.

The adoring audience screamed with joy as he jumped off the stage and began working the room during his solo. I scrambled behind him catching and regrouping the cable. Smiling fans kept patting me on the back and shoulders. It was exhilarating.

Lesson 5:

Don’t be a jerk.

Albert and I kept in touch between his visits to Toronto. When he returned the following year, he invited me to join the band and help with the cable again. The gig was upstairs at the El Mocambo in Toronto, I was not expecting to meet several famous people there.

When my friend and I entered the club we immediately zeroed in on members of The Kids in the Hall (KITH) sitting at a large table with Chris Robinson from The Black Crowes. I didn’t care much for The Black Crowes music, but seeing the KITH in person was exciting. I was a diehard fan.

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Long-haired Dave with Albert Collins and friends.

I decided to go over to say hello and to tell the KITH how much I loved their show. I wasn’t going over to annoy or bother them. As I walked towards the table, Chris Robinson turned and looked at me. He immediately waved over a security guard, who intercepted my approach and shooed me off. He told me not to try to visit the table again. During this encounter, Chris Robinson smirked at me. What a jerk.

Albert had an amazing set. The crowd was thrilled as he played his guitar solo walking between tables and eventually out on to the street below the club! As we planned, I carried Albert’s cable once again.

After the show, Albert and I sat behind a small table in a hallway. He always signed autographs and met his fans after his shows. I told him about what had happened earlier with Mr. Black Crowes, and he shook his head in disappointment. He explained how you have to fight letting fame get to your head.

The line of fans waiting anxiously to meet the Master of the Telecaster began to disperse. Then at the end of the hall, Chris Robinson appeared. As he approached the table he recognized me sitting next to Albert. Suddenly, Albert called over security and instructed the man not to allow Chris Robinson to come any further. The look on his face was priceless.

Lesson 6:

Reflect on what got you where you are.

As I helped Albert and the Icebreakers load his bus, he turned to me and surprised me with an offer. Albert asked if I wanted to join the band as a permanent roadie! Without hesitation, I said yes. On his next trip back to Toronto, he would pick me up and I would begin officially working. It was nuts. I was prepared to drop out of college to become a roadie for one of the most famous blues guitarists of our time.

A month or so later, as I continued to study radio broadcasting, I received sad news. Albert had passed away. The host of a nationally, syndicated blues radio program happened to be a professor at my college. John Small invited me to join him in the studio to share my story on Blues North, which friends heard across Canada (and into the States). After doing the show, John hired me as an intern to co-write and co-produce the program with him and his producer, Shawn Levine.

I got my first taste of working in radio because of Albert Collins. I didn’t pursue my career in radio, but I did end up working in different media companies like a newspaper and a television network. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have started podcasting without knowing what I know from my radio education. It’s good to stop and reflect on where you came from.

So there you have my Albert Collins story and the lessons I learned from the experience. Albert taught me to be humble, kind and outgoing. He was an amazing talent and person. Be sure to check out this clip of Albert in action.

Bloody Passions and a Weekend of Horrors

I was probably ten years old when I got my first taste for (fake) blood. It was quite by accident that a local television network aired the uncut version of Friday the 13th during the day. Their plan had been to play the edited version during the afternoon (you know, for the kids), and the uncut version that night — Halloween night. Man, they buggered that one up.

There I was in the basement of my childhood home on October 31st with a couple of friends. I think my little brother, Mike, also witnessed the televised bloodbath at Camp Crystal Lake. Scarred for life? Hardly. In fact, I believe it was watching Jason Vorhees’ mother (spoiler alert, it was her doing the killing in the first one) murder all those sex-addicted, camp counselors that gave me an interest in horror movies.

Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors in Toronto

30 years later, today is Halloween. I’m writing this reflecting on how my interest in the horror genre led me an interest in film-making, acting, and makeup effects. I’m no expert in any of these, but I love to dabble.

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18-year-old, Dave and Skinny.

When I was 18, I had the time of my life at a hotel near the airport in Toronto. I was there with my best friend, Skinny. The two of us had saved up enough money to stay at the hotel and attend Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors convention. If you know horror movies, you know Fangoria.

Back before this whole Internet fad, we had to find information about our interests elsewhere, often in magazine form. Fangoria (and also Gorezone) were our two favorites. Both publications specialized in the horror genre. They wrote lengthy articles about the latest slasher flicks, cool makeup effects, and featured interviews with actors, directors and makeup artists like Dick Smith, Rick Baker and Tom Savini. Fangoria hosted an annual convention where horror geeks would truly rejoice — in 1990, it was hosted in my hometown.

Swimming with a Scream Queen

Skinny and I freaked out as we swam in the hotel pool and noticed, Linnea Quigley. We were both awkward boys, who couldn’t muster up the courage to say hello to the gorgeous scream queen. On the show floor at the convention we lined up with fellow Evil Dead fans to meet Bruce Campbell. He was as outgoing and gracious as fans would expect. We also met my favorite horror makeup artist (and actor), Tom Savini. Even Kane Hodder was there, who I credit for my being at Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors in Toronto. I credit him because he played Jason in most of the Friday the 13th series.

We were so into the horror genre that Skinny and I both had fishing tackle boxes filled with horror makeup. After school (and sometimes skipping it), we would meet up at each other’s houses to dabble in gory effects. We would even make short films, and later freak out our families with our bloody wounds. Good times.

Reflecting on all of that blood

Ouch, this burn sure did hurt. Or did it?

I find it is a good exercise to recall something you were passionate about as a kid. Think of what you learned from your experiences, and consider how you use them in your adult life. Here are some examples for me.

Makeup — Halloween fun for the family. Severed fingers.
Filmmaking — Creating short films of Max and other weird stuff.
Convention going — I absolutely love attending (and speaking) at conferences and conventions.
Embracing your inner freak — I’m writing this now, right? Chris Brogan even wrote the book about it.

Skinny is a filmmaker now and even runs his own advertising company and studio. It’s funny where life takes you.

How about you? What were you passionate about as a kid? How has it helped shape your adult life?