Image by Sigurd Decroos

But there is such a thing as semantics.  Words mean things.  But we try and attribute new meaning to words so they don’t sound so bad, or we try and frame them in a more positive manner.  The word failure is one of these words.

I just wrote a post about allowing ourselves to fail and how failure is required to truly reach success as a creative being.  Of course, I don’t think we should go around calling ourselves failures and we shouldn’t revel in our failure.  Instead, we need to understand that failure or whatever is the opposite of not succeeding is what takes us one step closer to success if we let it.

In our culture today we are taught to be afraid of failing and shown how to avoid failure.  I believe this only prevents us from reaching our highest potential.

So whether you call it failure or something with a more positive spin, we all know that what we are talking about is something that makes us stronger and better prepared for reaching our ultimate goal – SUCCESS.

Photo by Dagney Scott

Our schools have forgotten to teach kids how to fail.

They are too busy scaring our kids into getting A’s and keeping a 4.0 GPA that our kids aren’t willing to meet failure face to face.

I was a mediocre student in elementary school.  In junior high I figured out the system and started getting A’s.  By the time I was in high school, I could get by in class with hardly cracking a book.  And the classes that looked like they might be too challenging, I avoided.  What I found was that I didn’t really need to learn in order to get good grades and graduate.  All I had to do was be ready for the test and as long as I knew those answers, the rest was fluff.  What had happened was that I was conditioned to perform for a letter grade instead of performing for excellence.

The result of teaching our children to perform for a grade is a diminished quality of work over the long term.  Our kids come out of school with a sense of how to get by at work and not excel.  We teach our kids to be afraid of failure because if they get a bad grade, it will be reflected on their report card and those grades will stay with them the rest of their lives. They learn that risk taking is considered a bad thing because it may lead to failure.

I remember being told in 7th grade that all my grades would be in my academic record for  the rest of my life.  I was scared.  I was scared of failing. Yet to this day, I’m not aware of anyone examining my junior high transcript.

Sometimes the only way to find success is through failure.  Thomas Edison conceived of over 3000 lighting systems.  Lincoln lost bids for Vice President, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House before  becoming President.

How do we teach our children to be willing to fail?  It comes back to really allowing our children to be creative.  Our schools are stealing our children’s creativity when instead our schools need to be encouraging creativity and modeling a way of integrating art/creativity within all academic disciplines.  Math, Science, and English do not exist in a vacuum in the real world.  They are deeply connected with creative thoughts and practices.  So why are we rarely practicing this in our schools?

So again, how do we teach our children to be willing to fail?  We let them know that as humans we are creators and to fully excel at creating we have to be willing to fail.  And then we allow them to fail so they can see the reward in failing.  What is that reward?  Another step closer to success.  In fact, for anyone who wants  success, failure is the only option.

Photo by Alexandre Duret-Lutz (Creative Commons license)

At least one time everyday, I hear that question.  “What time is it?”  In the past, I would generally look at my watch or the clock on the microwave and call out the answer.  Seems pretty logical right?

Lately though, whenever that question is asked, my four year old will holler, “Adventure Time!”

Our ten-year-old son is a big fan of Adventure Time on Cartoon Network.  I can’t say that I share his fondness for the show considering that it’s very strange, occasionally crude, and mildly disturbing.  Needless to say, we don’t let our four year-old watch the show.  And even though he doesn’t watch Adventure Time, I love his enthusiastic spirit when asked about the time.

The more I’ve thought about it, the more I love his exuberant spirit and response when asked, “what time is it?”  This is how I want to live.  In many ways I have, but I want to do it more.  Life should be an adventure.  I want every minute of my life to be deeply connected to and in the process of the adventure.  Whenever asked, I want to be able to respond to, “What time is it?” with a resounding, “ADVENTURE TIME!”

How’s your adventure going?

Photo by Jason Antony

I wanted more traffic to my site, so I wrote this post about sports.  That’s what it takes.  Nobody really cares about my musings on pickles or art, but I drop the name Peyton Manning or something sports related and people start clicking.  I’m pretty sure anything NFL related get the highest traffic.

I have to admit, I’m a sucker for a story about Purdue basketball, the Colts, the Pacers, or the Cincinnati Reds.  And I’m not really sure why I care.  I really wish I didn’t.  I know that sports are great for a community’s healthy interaction and vital economic engines that create jobs through merchandise sales, restaurant sales, and tourism to name a few.  Indianapolis is one city that has done very well in profiting off the sports market by hosting multiple major events such as the NCAA Final Four, the Big Ten basketball tournament, the inaugural Big Ten football playoff game, and now the Super Bowl.

In Indiana, we’re a bit sports crazy.  My wife insists it’s at a different level compared to other places.  I’m not sure I agree considering we’ve never experienced first hand the insanity of Green Bay, Cleveland, or Pittsburgh.  She bases this comment on the intensity of the youth sports programs here, but we didn’t have kids who were sports playing age before moving to Indiana, so her theory has lots of holes.  I think, as a whole, we have all just become a little more sports centric.  Culture demands it because so many businesses are dependent on sports.  Without a strong sports culture, the bar scene would probably be cut by a third.

Sports have become a vital part of our culture.  If a business doesn’t actually trade in sports, sports is at least used as a social object, a conversation piece, or something to rally around over business meetings, lunches, and coffee breaks.  Maybe if sports never existed we’d spend more time talking about the theater and the arts, but probably not.  Instead we’d probably just invent sports.

Photo by Pop Culture Geek

Did you see it?  Tell me.

Did you?

Yeah, neither did I.

But unlike other years, I actually did want to.  I truly thought about.   I thought about carving out a few hours to dabble in the Hollywood glitz and glamor of The Golden Globes.  I thought about dressing up in a tux and setting a fancy dinner and drink and pulling my table close to the TV and pretending to be part of the Hollywood elite.  I thought about pretending to be on edge just in case Ricky Gervais told a zinger about me.

I guess, truth be told, I’ve never really been into awards shows.  Two years back, we did a little Oscars party and contemplated making it annual thing, but it didn’t happen.  Maybe that’s because we rarely get to see any of the nominated films.  That changed a bit last year when they nominated ten films for Best Picture.

I don’t figure this year will be any different.  I’d say 75% of my movie viewing has been of the animated variety (yes, I saw Gnomeo & Juliet), and I can’t think of any film that I saw that would be on the level of The Artist… unless the final installment of Harry Potter counts.

Now there was a time, when I lived in the Los Angeles area, when I participated in an Oscar party or two, but that was before we had kids and we didn’t have to think about school the next morning.  Now that I’m in the Midwest, school and work come pretty early the next morning.

The funny thing is that entertainment related award shows are pretty silly.  Think about it.  Big time actors and musicians get all gussied up, climb out of a limo, walk along a red carpet, get interviewed by Hollywood Tonight, pose for the paparazzi, wave to the fans, get critiqued for their wardrobe, and pat themselves on the back.

So there, you see? It’s confirmed.  I’m jealous.

Photo by Bright Tal

I took my daughter to see We Bought a Zoo the other night.  My wife and son had seen it the week before and really liked it, so on their recommendation we ventured out to the movies.

As a film, it was good.  Not great, but very good.  I found myself teary-eyed a few times (I’m becoming sentimental with age).  As a father, it struck a chord with me.  It challenged me in how I should communicate with my sons; how I should listen.  However, the biggest takeaway for me was the “20 seconds of courage.”

I can think of numerous times when I chose not to do something because I was afraid.  I was afraid of rejection.  Afraid of failure.  Afraid of the unknown.  I really hate fear.  Of course fear is not all bad.  It helps guide us so that we don’t do something so risky as to meet an early demise.  But it’s also that thing that holds us back from taking the appropriate risk.  That risk that elevates us to success.  Managing that fear really shouldn’t be that difficult, but it often is.

In We Bought a Zoo, Matt Damon and Thomas Haden Church’s characters talk about how it takes “20 seconds of courage” to propel yourself forward past the fear.  I like this idea because it’s so finite.  All you have to muster up is a third of a minute’s courage to take on the task that otherwise seems so daunting.  And if you survive the 20 seconds, you’re either on your way to success or ready to move on and face the next challenge.

It’s that 20 seconds the pushes us guys forward to ask out the beautiful girl.  It’s that 20 seconds that helps us make a phone call that we’ve been avoiding.  It’s that 20 seconds that allows us to walk on stage and talk to tens, hundreds, or thousands of people.

Many times in my life I have conjured up those 20 seconds of courage.  And sadly, many times I have not.  This film reminded me of many of those missed opportunities.  I hate that I’ve missed out and never want to miss out again.  Will I succeed?  I’m counting on more times than not.

Photo by Nadja von Massow

I said it almost a year ago.  And then I said I told you so a couple months ago. Now I can say I really told you so.  This one can be filed under the “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” category.  Right after the Golden Globes faded to black and everyone started clamoring about how offensive Ricky Gervais was as the host of the often disregarded awards show I said that he would be back as the host again this year.  A couple months ago, they made the announcement of his return while pretending to be trepidatious.

Here’s what I wrote on January 20, 2011:

Don’t be fooled for a minute.  All this hubbub about whether Ricky Gervais went too far with his jokes while hosting the Golden Globe Awards is pure Hollywood.  We all know the saying, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.”  Well, this is one case where the saying is proven true.

Who was really offended by what Gervais said? The Hollywood Foreign Press Association?  Bruce Willis?  Mel Gibson?  Angelina Jolie?  Okay, maybe some of these people were a little hurt by Gervais’ comments, but so what?  Famous people are always subject to criticism.  Especially in the form of insulting jokes.  And when you hire someone like Ricky Gervais, what else would you expect?  You’d expect a guy who doesn’t give  a rip about the Hollywood establishment, to rip the Hollywood establishment.

And the Golden Globe Awards are the biggest beneficiary of Gervais’ outlandish, insulting performance.  I can’t remember the last time I watched the Golden Globes.  I couldn’t name past hosts, presenters, or winners.  For years the Golden Globes has been irrelevant.  While people would say that the Globes was a gauge for the Oscars, rarely did the winners of The Globes ever predict the winners of the Oscars.  So what has been the public opinion of the Golden Globes?  It’s been a resounding – SO WHAT!

Until now.  When was the last time anyone was still speaking about The Golden Globes a week later?  Thanks to Gervais’ outrageous behavior, all the news channels are still talking about The Globes.  Gervais is doing interviews on CNN.   If you type “Ricky” into Google, Ricky Gervais is the first choice to pop up.  Gervais has not only made The Golden Globes relevant for the first time in years, he has upped his star power too.  Sure he created The Office and HBO’s Extras, so he isn’t a no name, but until now I would not have said Gervais was a household name.  However, after his performance last Sunday, even the casual TV viewer may know the name Ricky Gervais.

So who’s really upset about Ricky Gervais going off on the Hollywood elite?  No one.  The Globes couldn’t afford to pay for this type of publicity.  So don’t be fooled by all the media hype over Gervais going too far.  I’ll go on the record right now that if Gervais is willing to come back as a host next year, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will be glad to have him.  And next year, I may actually watch.

So here we are less than a week away from the “big” event and Mr. Gervais is set to host.  Surely you’re not surprised.  Obviously, I’m not.  And I really just may watch.  We all know Mr. Gervais will push the limits.  In fact, I would guess that he’ll push it a little further this year and the powers that be will act offended and pretend to have been caught totally off guard considering all the safety precautions they implemented.  And then… Mr. Gervais will be back again in 2013 ready to offend again.  Hollywood loves sequels.

Photo by Maggie Mudd

I’ve decided that pickles are going to be the next big thing.  The next “bacon” if you will.  Why not?  Bacon’s had a very nice run and still tastes yummy, but why not pickles now?

Pickles are more complex in flavor and take a more mature palette than bacon.  Also, they’re a little friendlier to the heart and its network of arteries and vessels.  My daughter, Cali, thinks they are just the coolest thing ever… although she won’t eat them… yet.  But I think pickles are about to really break through the way bacon did a few years back.  In fact, I’m pretty sure you can do just about as much with a pickle as you can with bacon.  Maybe more.

Plus, 5,200,000 pounds of pickles are eaten in the U.S. every year.  That’s nine pounds per person!  Top that bacon! Okay, I’m sure bacon can top that, but bacon’s heavier to begin with.

Here are some of the great things about pickles:

• Pickle juice cures muscle cramps.  And you can have it on hand for all your sports events.
• Pickles may prevent scurvy.  Now that will come in handy.
• You can make milkshakes with pickles.
• Pickles are green.
• You can fry pickles.  Have you ever tried pickle chips?
• Shakespeare favored the pickle and used the word as a metaphor:
  • Oh, Hamlet, how camest thou in such a pickle? (Act 5, Scene 1)
  • Tis a gentle man here a plague o’ these pickle-herring! How now, sot! (Twelfth Night, Act 1, Scene 5)
  • What say you?  Hence, Horrible villain! or I’ll spurn thine eyes like balls before me; I’ll unhair thy head; Thou shalt be whipp’d with wire and stew’d in brine, Smarting in lingering pickle.  (Anthony and Cleopatra, Act 2, Scene 5)
• Pickles are nonexclusive.  They make themselves available to all religious communities unlike bacon (mainly because pickles don’t have hooves).
• Pickles are phallic.
• Come to think of it, you can pickle bacon.  Why you would want to, I don’t know, but you can. I’m pretty sure you can’t bacon pickles.

Ultimately, the word pickle is funnier than the word bacon.  Yes, they are both funny words according to the theory that words with the k sound are funnier than other words, but pickle ranks even higher on the funny scale because of the “ick” sound.  Let’s face it, “ick” is funnier than “ake.”  Right?  Just saying the word pickle should bring a smile to your face.  And I know from my comedy writing work, pickle is a go to word.  When all else is failing for a comedian, the three go tos are sex, cussing, and the word pickle.

So join me as I make this the year decade of the pickle.  It’s time has come.

My four year-old son is a big The Incredibles fan.  He dressed as Dash for Halloween and has worn the costume to my other son’s Christmas program and then shopping the other day.  And in the last two days, he’s racked up two more viewings of the movie.

So file this one under the “Like Father, Like Son” category because as I listened to the movie play from my office, I thought about how much I liked the movie too.  In fact, I think it’s probably my favorite Pixar film.  Of course most of their work is top notch, but today this one really resonated with me.  Especially Mr. Incredible’s character (not because I think I’m incredible or can leap tall buildings in a single bound). What I relate to is his plight.  He was created to be incredible, a super hero, but one day he was relegated to a desk job handling insurance claims.

Just like any career, taking care of insurance claims is important work, but I think we’d all agree that it was not the work Mr. Incredible was created to do.  As I have thought about this more and more, I believe that many of us are lured into that “desk job” because of social pressures, a desire for money, or merely a desperate need for money.  Instead, we should be looking at our futures with both head and heart.  We should look for a way to combine our calling (a heart issue) with a way to make a reasonable living (a head issue).

I believe there is a divine relationship between who we are and what we do or should do.  Sounds pretty logical, but is there that connection in your work life?  What if it were as simple as going back to when we were between the ages of five and ten and looking at our response to the question of what we wanted to be when we grew up?  Of course, we’d have to create a filter for the typical fireman, baseball player, ballerina response and take into consideration that there are a lot of jobs kids don’t know about.  But how did you answer that question back then?  It was probably a decision made solely based on dreams, passion, and love instead of one based on outside pressures, skewed perceptions, and obligation.

Maybe we could actually get a better read on career selections by looking at the five year old’s answer instead of personality and IQ testing.

If Mr. Incredible had existed when I was five years old, I’m pretty sure I would have put that career on my “when I grow up” list.  Now at 42, I’m daily pursuing the goal of being “Mr. Incredible.”  Yes, I want to be a super hero (when I grow up).  Actually, what I want is to pursue being incredible, and the only way to really do that is to do what I was created to do.

I want this for my kids too.  So next year, when my four year-old turns five, I’ll have to schedule an appointment to help him with his career planning.

This is a very risky post.   Sometimes it’s just wiser to stay out of heated debates and avoid the risk of others disparaging your character or intelligence.  Especially when all I’m talking about is football.

Right now the Indianapolis Colts are in the throws of their worst season of the teams almost 60 year existence.  That’s somewhat hard to believe considering all those years through the 80s and 90s when the team could essentially be excluded from playoff consideration after the second preseason game.  Those were the years that the Colts did an excellent job of devising a plan on how to be an abysmal failure by racking up gads of high first round picks who would be busts within two years.  The Detroit Lions worked the Colts plan to perfection thoughout the first decade of this millennium

Then the Colts had to go and mess up their string of futility by drafting Peyton Manning.  Of course Manning’s first year with the Colts was not much different than most of the preceding years, but gradually the team got better.  Many fans gave credit to the owner, Jim Irsay (probably deserved).  Others touted the genius of Bill Polian (maybe true).  Certainly, most fans sang the praises of the developing future Hall of Famer, Manning.  I’m not even factoring in the three head coaches during Manning’s tenure.  The truth is that through the efforts of all three men, the Colts became a powerhouse in the NFL for over a decade.  A very good run.

However, with the latest events (I’m referring to Mannings’ neck), it has become clear that one of the three men was more important than the other two.  Owners have a lot to do with creating a successful team, but I believe they have more to do with making a team an utter disaster.  We can think of several owners who just can’t seem to get out of their own way.  General managers obviously have a direct affect on the specific personnel taking the field, but once in a lifetime quarterbacks make all the difference in the NFL.  And while other players may be irreplaceable, superstar quarterbacks are 100% irreplaceable.

While I’m a big fan of Irsay and think Polian is a pretty good GM, the real reason the Colts have been a success is because of Manning.  No, duh, Einstein.  But the real debate, when it became evident that this season was lost (game 1 or game 2), was whether the Colts should  start planning for the future by drafting Andrew Luck (the sure thing, ready for the NFL quarterback) and move on from Manning or keep Manning and trade Luck for picks and players.  The other argument had the team keeping both quarterbacks but seems far less sensible to me.

Here’s what I think:

If (and it’s a big “if”) Manning is healthy, the Colts have to keep him and trade the Luck pick for more top draft picks and starters.  If Luck is as qualified and desirable quarterback as all the experts are saying (I wouldn’t know, I’ve never seen him play and don’t possess the expertise even if I had seen him play), then his value as a trade is sky high.  Maybe I’m delusional, but I believe many of the younger players on this year’s team are gaining valuable experience that will make them better next year.  Add that to the new and some top tier, experienced talent for the next season or two… and Manning, and the Colts have a chance to make a couple more runs at the Superbowl.

If the Colts were to ditch Manning (who has brought untold fame and cash to Indianapolis), the team would definitely be in rebuilding mode for the next several years.  The Colts know what they get with Manning.  He’s a smart, hard working, talented, elite quarterback.  With Luck the team gets a ton of potential.  Fans quickly get bored with, and GMs and coaches get fired because of potential.  This is a now society, and I believe the Colts have a better immediate future with Manning.