CRAZY new view of MOTIVATION

WOW! Click the pic to watch a mind-bending 10 minute talk with remarkable data on how we as humans respond to incentives; or in other words, what drives us. It's by Dan Pink.

It makes sense that's life changing and should be culture-changing. DON'T BLOW BY THIS!

Reel in the Flash

The worst thing about a picture taken with a camera's built in flash (whether it's a point & shoot or a DSLR) is it looks too darned "flashy." (The top pic was taken with a $1,000 DSLR's pop up flash with normal default settings.)

Every camera from cheap to expensive has flash settings. You can simply dial back the flash intensity (usually -1,-2,-3, etc). You can also increase the flash, but that's rarely necessary.

The bottom picture was taken with the same camera settings, but simply dialing back the flash a few steps.

So find the flash settings in your camera menu and start getting warmer "less flashy" pictures!

Is "easy" the enemy of "significance?"

I was reading Unstoppable Force his morning. In the first few minutes it felt like work; felt intentional. A few minutes later I fell into the rhythm of the read and I felt momentum. It was flowing; not feeling like work at all.

In between it "feeling like work" & "flowing" a thought darted in, "Just log on to Facebook."

I'm confident the motivation was "easy." Facebook holds updates that I click on taking me right to the last thing I did. The posts are short quips. I don't have to think much. Click, scan, post, repeat.

Reading involves more mental muscle. It's also more rewarding. I feel richer afterward.

I was talking with my friend, Curtis, fresh from 5 months in Haiti. There he walks everywhere with his friends. He said, "It's amazing how much people do things by themselves here in America."

I said, "Yes, but with Facebook we trick ourselves into believing we're connected."

Facebook is easy. But me actually meeting Curtis at Starbucks. Me actually meeting my friend George for lunch, requires intentionality; a bit of work.

But I'm sure this afternoon, I'll feel richer and more rewarded than if I'd Facebooked for an hour at Starbucks by myself...

I have but one life. And so do you. Let's work at life, growth and relationships.

Nikon AF Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8

Finally took the major plunge and bought a pro level telephoto lens for shooting baseball, indoor events etc.

I was able to score a Nikon factory refurbished one at Roberts in downtown Indy for $895! (The newest version of this lens [w/VR] is around $2300.) Nikon's reputation on refurbs is A+ and comes with warranty.

I've only taken a few shots but already I can see a HUGE difference over my $200 Nikon 200mm lens. Can't wait to shoot some baseball tomorrow!

This isn't a VR lens, hence mucho savings. Last year I borrowed a VR version of my old $200 200mm lens and shot with it for a week (little league baseball). I compared images between the two and found virtually no difference. For me the VR lens didn't net better or less blurry images.

I'm not saying VR isn't cool, but I couldn't see shelling out nearly 3 times the money for a VR version of this 2.8 lens.

Hopefully by mid summer I'll have earned enough money to cover the total cost of it. (I have half already). Photography has been the one hobby that has nearly paid for itself--that's good times ;-)

Here's (the great) Ken Rockwell's take on this lens.

MLB Evangelism

I was watching the Yankees mangle the Tigers last night and was impressed with Phil Hughes' pitching. Then I noticed the close up of his glove that is normal for TV coverage of pitchers.

Usually you see their name elegantly stitched into the leather; I saw that and a huge "Phil 4:13." That's Philippians ch. 4 verse 13:

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

When I see a guy like Hughes who can "do things" at a level that 99% of us cannot--at a level that commands millions of dollars--it impacts me to know that he believes his ability doesn't come from himself, but God.

So I guess last night God didn't like the Tigers ;-)

Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone

Jonathon Malin, one of Oakbrook's Protege's and son of senior pastor, Mark Malin, stepped up to deliver his first talk for OSM 5.2.10.

Parents Mark & Ronda, his aunt and cousins came to support him.

The talk was originally slated as an interview. I asked Jonathon, "Why not just give it as a talk?" He looked scarily interested. I followed with, "Did you get into Protege to play it safe or to take some stretches?" He was very receptive.

This says it all.
I don't think this is Jonathon's last talk...