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Megan and I decided to go to Central Market today to use a gift card she got for Christmas. If you’ve never been to Central Market, it’s awesome. They have a great selection of foods, coffee, alcoholic beverages, and more. Their Cafe on the Run has delicious cafeteria-style dishes.

Megan ended up getting a king cake and told me I could get some beer. Central Market has an awesome Mix-A-Six option that’s perfect for people like me who like to try new brews from time to time but don’t want to buy a six-pack of an unfamiliar beer.

My lovely assistant Megan shows off the Mix-A-Six disclaimer.

I got quite the eclectic brew selection: Samuel Adams Cream Stout, Samuel Adams, Cherry Wheat, Dixie Blackened Voodoo Lager, Shiner Frost, Landshark Island Style Lager, and Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre.

The Mix-A-Six option is more expensive than buying an average six-pack of beer, but I feel that the convenience is worth the price. As I said earlier, I don’t have to buy a six-pack of each or go to a store and find individual servings of each. Just another reason I love Central Market…

I think we’ve all heard it before: it’s not what you know, but who you know. That’s only part of the equation. It’s all about knowing people who like you.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, chances are that you’ve never asked yourself if you’re a likable person. I know people who believe they’re well-connected because of the number of people they know. But they’re focused on quantity and not quality. You can namedrop all day. But if those people don’t talk about you in a pleasant manner, you’re hurting yourself more than you’re helping.

We all have different personalities and personas. Some people have friendly and inviting personalities. And then there are those who are hard to get along with. Some people seem to pride themselves on being difficult. I personally don’t understand this. Why would you want to have a defense? Why would you not let yourself be likable?

Being likable has its advantages with networking. But it also has advantages with your immediate profession. Let’s face it, you’re going to mess up from time to time. It’s been my experience that if people like you, there’s a good chance they won’t freak out as badly as if they didn’t like you.

But there’s a flipside to likability. You should also try to like as many people as you can.

Friends come in all sizes!

As I said before, we all have different personalities and personas. If we really wanted to, we could find something not to like about every single person we know. Everyone has a quirk that can drive you mad if you let it. But is it worth it? Is it worth getting so upset over? Some people can not let the smallest of differences go and let the pettiest details ruin what could be a great relationship.

I believe I get along fairly well with people and have a healthy variety of friends and colleagues. Most of my associates have very little in common with me. There are very few people who share my interests in music, movies, literature, etc. Sometimes I think about this and wonder why I’m friends with these people. And the answer is this: We get along. And that’s all that should matter.

So allow yourself to like and to be liked. Smile, be pleasant, listen to people. And forgive people if they’re not just like you. Maybe that’s what will make them valuable to you in the future.

I’d been talking about touring the Rahr Brewery for a while. When my wife told me that a group of our friends were going, I decided it was finally time.

Admission was $5 and well worth it. At the door, we got three tickets, each good for a sample of brew. We also received a free glass with the brewery logo. There were two offerings, so Megan got one design while I got the other.

That’s my mug, nobody cares about Megan’s.

I tried the Rahr’s Blonde, Ugly Pug, and Red, all of which I’d had before. But it was cool to get to see the brewery.

The tour itself wasn’t too exciting…

That was the tour, some guy with a megaphone telling the brewery’s story. Unfortunately, I could hear only a quarter of what he said and it was too hard to piece it all together. But let’s be honest, that’s not the real reason I went…

That’s right, baby. I came for the Pug!

I saw a bunch of these big tanks. If I could have heard the speaker, maybe I could have told you more about them…

All in all, I had a great time. The turnout was higher than I’d expected. Unfortunately, there was one bad thing about the tour…

Starting February 3rd, the tour prices are going up to $7. But still, not a bad deal.

I worked for three summers at a little ol’ place called Med Camps of Louisiana. Med Camps of Louisiana’s mission is as follows:

“We believe that all people, regardless of medical or special needs, deserve to experience life to the fullest and that camping is an American tradition which epitomizes normalcy and provides participants with a sense of well-being, belonging, accomplishment and self-worth. In light of these beliefs our mission is to provide at no charge a medically supervised residential camping experience that supports growth in the physical, social and emotional aspects of the life of a young person with special needs by developing normalcy, confidence and independence within each participant.”

In other words, the mission is to provide a fun and safe camping experience to children with physical and mental disabilities. While working here, I learned many life lessons, but I credit this place with teaching me one very important lesson early on: Things don’t always go according to plan. Be ready.

I don’t remember how many times our plans were derailed by the weather. The whole day would be mapped out, only to have plans changed due to a massive storm sweeping through. Maybe you’d have to stay inside for most of the day and have to find some way to entertain a cabin full of kids. And if anything interfered with swim-time, you could have a mutiny on your hands!

It was at Med Camps of Louisiana that I first realized that although plans and goals are very important, you have to know when to be flexible. And this lesson continues to be enforced on a daily basis.

When I went to college, I planned on earning a journalism degree and writing for a newspaper. I changed that plan. 3 or 4 times, before majoring in marketing.

I don’t know what my plans for relocation were after college, but I know my plan was not to move to Texas. Yet here I am in Dallas-Fort Worth and loving it.

My senior year of college, my plan was to look to the future: graduate, find a job, get the hell out of town, and start over somewhere else. I got a little sidetracked that year and met my future wife.

When I was in the natural gas biz, my plan was to try it for a couple of years and see if I should stick with it or pursue something else. I got laid off just after a year and had to start looking for a new job sooner than I had wanted to.

My advice to you is this: if you’re one of those people who has to have everything planned to the finest detail, stop. Let go. Don’t obsess over how to make everything go your way. Obsess over how to make it work regardless of what may happen. Everything will not go your way. You have to get over it and make the best of it.

Also, if you’re in the north Louisiana region, please check out Med Camps of Louisiana. It’s a great organization with a great focus and a great leader in Mr. Caleb Seney. If you can afford it, donate to their cause. If you can’t afford it financially, donate your time. Maybe you’ll learn some life lessons out there just as I did.

We’ve all heard them. Maybe you’ve muttered them yourself. Yes, folks, I’m talking about excuses revolving around the state of the American economy — the recession.

One of my most-hated lines is “Don’t complain about your job too much. You should be glad to have a job right now.” That’s okay, if you aspire only to have a job. But that’s not cool for me. If I wanted only a job, I wouldn’t have wasted time and money on a college degree.

If you’re not content, don’t fake it. Faking it is what gets you stuck at a dead-end job you hate for fifteen years. If you hate your job, hate it. Don’t be afraid. But don’t just talk about it, do something about it!

I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!

We can’t sit by idly and just go with the flow. Now is the time to grab hold of our futures and take charge. Be daring. Be bold. Be what you want to be.

I know I’m hardly a recession success story. But I’m going to come out on top somehow. I refuse to sit in the pit of mediocrity just because so many others are doing it. I’ve never been like everyone else, and I don’t want to start now.

This rant is pretty much the conversation I have with myself every day. And that’s where it starts, in your head. Don’t brainwash yourself. Don’t take the easy way out.

Get mad. Get busy.

You can’t let the recession get the best of you. ‘Cause guess what, kid — recessions, they come and go. Are you going to succeed only when it’s easy?

Be honest, did you ever think you’d live to see the day that the New Orleans Saints would be in the Super Bowl? I know some people will be eager to scream YES! from the top of their couches, but let’s be honest. You never thought you’d see this day. I know I didn’t.

Before the 2006-2007 NFL season, the Saints were mediocre. At best. The team had had no real success, winning only one playoff game in 40 years. But that all changed in 2007, when the Saints were one game away from the Super Bowl before losing to the Chicago Bears. And now, in 2010, they’re on their way to Miami.

Why? What changed? Well, for one thing, it was the acquisition of this guy…

Maybe you’ve heard of him, he’s Drew Brees. Only one of the league’s hottest quarterbacks.

Yes, it all started with Drew Brees, who has stepped up as a leader in New Orleans. But I believe that management gave Brees a great cast of role players. They gave him something to work with. The right people for the right time.

And The Saints are on a mission. A mission to bring a Lombardi Trophy to post-Katrina New Orleans. For the players and fans, the Saints’ run is about more than football. It’s about helping a city that’s still healing after one of America’s most devastating natural catastrophes.

I think the New Orleans Saints are a tale of inspiration for everyone, even those who care nothing about football or sports in general. The Saints have shown how, when surrounded with the right people believing in the right story, we can all accomplish great things. When I start my own business, I’m looking for my Drew Brees and my role players.

P.S. I know I’ve given the Saints a lot of love in this post, but I’m still picking the Colts to come out on top, 34-24. Don’t ask me to justify that score, it just sounds good.

Until I figure out how to make my YouTube videos fit on this blog, I’ll have to post links to them.

Video Blog: Are Super Bowl Ads Worth It?

As I type this post, I am watching It/ll Be Better Tomorrow, a documentary about the contemporary author Hubert Selby, Jr. Selby wrote novels such as Last Exit to Brooklyn and Requiem for a Dream (which was adapted into one of my favorite movies).

Part of Selby’s story is very dark. He spent most of his life sick, on the verge of death at any moment, and addicted to heroin. He also lived in a sanitarium for a few years and was determined to be physically and mentally unfit to work.

But there’s also a brighter side to the story. Selby eventually got sober. After a near-death incident, Selby was worried that he would die with having accomplished nothing. He pondered what he could do. He had no skills. He had been a merchant marine, but that was no longer an option. His education stopped at the eighth grade. But he knew the alphabet, so he figured he’d try writing.

Selby’s style was unconventional. Drugs and sex were some of the milder themes in his books. He didn’t follow the established rules in regard to capitalization and punctuation. (The title of the documentary is a line from one of his books: It/ll be better tomorrow. He replaced apostrophes with backslashes). The dialog in his stories aren’t designated by he said or quotation marks. It flows with the rest of the story. Some may feel that this makes Selby’s stories difficult to read, and that’s fine; his stories aren’t for everyone. That’s not the point.

The point is that Selby’s style was his own. Few authors put such a stamp on their stories. You can look at Selby’s stories and know that they’re his own.

And this is the challenge we all face, no matter what we’re trying to do. How do we distinguish ourselves from the rest? How do we make ourselves instantly recognizable? How can we be the Hubert Selby, Jr. of our niche?

Selby’s story is both heartbreaking and inspiring. But most inspiring of all is this quote from Selby:

“Being an artist doesn’t take much, just everything you’ve got. Which means, of course, that as the process is giving you life, it is also giving you death. But it’s no big deal. They are one and the same and cannot be avoided or denied. So when I totally embrace this process, this life/death, and abandon myself to it, I transcend all this gibberish and hang out with the gods. It seems to me that that is worth the price of admission.”

RIP Hubert

Is there any better feeling than being in your zone? Knowing you’ve got your mojo, you’re commanding and conquering. You’re taking the world by storm. You’re on your way to the top.

And then…

You lose it. Maybe it happens over time. Maybe it happens in the blink of an eye (but chances are that it happened over time). The truth is inevitable: you’re in a rut.

I love the feeling of being confident. I love that rush, that assurance that it gives. And I hate doubting myself after all confidence has seeped out. I start second-guessing myself. I start wondering what the hell I’m doing.

That’s where I’ve been the last couple of weeks.

But then, one little event took place that gave me a boost. A tiny little lift. One small compliment.

And now I’m pulling myself out of the rut.

I don’t know about you, but I can be my own worst enemy. I let myself get down, and I beat myself up too badly. Instead of adding fuel to the flame, what I should be doing is reminding myself of one little thing: I am awesome.

So whoever made this sign wasn’t an awesome speller. But he’s still awesome!

Seriously, tell yourself this. What’s that? Don’t believe you’re awesome?

Then no one else is going to believe it either. And you’re stuck in that rut. Forever.

Sometimes I remind myself of that one little fact (that I am awesome, of course!) That’s all you really need to know. Don’t tell yourself that you’re competent. Or qualified. Or experienced. Or capable. All of those terms are synonymous with awesome.

And if you took the time to read this post, you’re awesome!

A friend of mine told me that one of his superiors made the comment that if an opportunity arises — and you’re interested — you owe it to yourself to check it out. I agree wholeheartedly for many reasons. First of all, people don’t stay with one company their whole careers and retire with that company as they did in past generations. Employers are constantly downsizing and changing their company structures, so you can’t count on your job always being there.

You can’t allow yourself to be content, even in this economy. People may say “Well, consider yourself lucky to have a job right now,” but is that really good enough? You know you’re not some average joe on the street. You’re you, and you want to be happy. If you think a new opportunity may lead to that, shouldn’t you take it?

Sure, there are risks. There always are. But there are risks with not taking opportunities too: you can stay at a job you’re not happy with for years. Your job happiness affects your personal life too (or at least it does with many people I know). But as Seth Godin said, in today’s economic climate, safe is risky.

One day, I asked a co-worker who specializes in another area about her job. Apparently, I was digging too deep because she said that she felt I was trying to make a career change. Although I wasn’t thinking about going for a job such as hers, I admit that I would never rule out the possibility. I believe we should always be looking for opportunities, even if we only turn them down. At least we know they’re out there.

I enjoy asking questions about other people’s jobs. You never know what you’ll learn. Yes, most of the information may be irrelevant, but I don’t like to say that it’s useless. Something from another field or industry may be adapted for your job. Opportunities are everywhere. Don’t be afraid to take them. You owe it to yourself.