What were you thinking Burger King?

I saw the following commercial on television for the first time last night.

I'm a little disturbed that Burger King would use this Sir Mix-a-Lot classic with girls in tight outfits shaking their square butts to sell a Sponge Bob kids meal to my 2 year old.

I'm not usually one to make mention of this kind of stuff, but it really hit me the wrong way.

UNC - 2009 NCAA Mens Basketball Champions

It's always exciting when one of your favorite teams takes home the title. It was a fun year to watch and follow the North Carolina Tarheels.

This may have been one of my favorite college teams of all time. Beyond being great players, I really respected the attitudes and demeanor of each player this year. These kids really were a class act.

Photo Credit: CBSSportsline.com

Flutter vs Twitter

Here's a well done mock-umentary.

Not doing enough

If your boss, manager, supervisor, or team leader, knows everything you work on during the day, then there are two possible problems.

1. You're not doing enough work.
2. Your boss is an over-the-top micro manager.

Either way, both prohibit you from being innovative and stretching yourself. Don't be afraid to do more than you are asked to. You'll gain satisfaction and your boss will appreciate your efforts.

Be the best

It makes sense to be the best in the world at what you do. If you are not going to be the best in the world, then you are just average.

What if you fail at being the best in the world? You just become average.

So, what's the harm in trying to become the best, if all you are right now is average?

It would seem there is more to gain than lose.

I'd recommend reading Seth Godin's The Dip.

Junk is good

"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk."
- Thomas Edison

When something needed to be fixed, created, or improved, my parents' first thought was never "let's go to the store." It was always, "let's see what we can find in the basement." I never knew what we were looking for, but if it wasn't there, I'd hear, "Let's go check the carport and then maybe the shed."

Sooner or later they would manage to find two random things that didn't seem to go together and somehow combine them.

My grandmother saved every scrap of fabric she saw. Whether it was an old worn out t-shirt, a torn towel, or a ruined chair cover, she would take the bits and pieces and about once a year take over the living room by sewing together a bright and colorful quilt. The fabrics looked awful, but something magical happened when they were sewn together.

Innovation is seeing old things in new ways.

My New Adventure

Last week I had the opportunity of meeting with some very good people. Not only are they good people, they are very sharp. Nothing gets past these guys and they are always on their toes.

Anyway, over the last few years I have been working on a few business plans for a few ideas, and I had my chance to pitch it to these guys. I have to say that it was an incredible experience. They were very respectful of my ideas, helped me spot some of the holes, and gave me some good advice.

Even though they didn't like all my ideas (in fact they seemed a little annoyed by one idea) they did like one - a lot! This morning I got the call from their venture capital firm, letting me know they are going to invest $1.8 million into one of my ideas.

I took a big risk and it paid off! I can't tell you any details at this point, but we're pretty excited about the next 3 months as we start putting legs on this idea. I'll let you know how things shake out.

WOO HOO!