Over the top! Banff Springs, Canada

Wow! God is great! Banff is incredible. I'm attending a business development workshop for creatives, which is in an old castle in the resort at Banff Springs. Truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen (stay tuned for the pictures).

In effort to strike a better balance...I brought my wife. Traveling with your spouse (and without kids-in-tow) is pretty cool. I highly recommend it! Each year the two of us try to take 4 or 5 days and travel abroad. (Out of 365 days a year, that doesn't sound like too much balance.) Over the past several years we have visited, the crystal blue waters of St. Lucia, a volcano in Costa Rica, and now a castle surrounded by snow-capped peaks in the Canadian Rockies! Next week we are joining the entire Blackwell family (minus a couple) for a cruise to the Bahamas.

My cup overflows. I believe that creativity is born from life and the experiences it provides us. On my worst day I have been truly blessed. It's not about me, and it's truly over the top!

How Design Conference - Boston

The How Design Conference was a blast! A couple days after my return from Oslo, I was able attend the How Design Conference in Boston with my entire team. From a conference standpoint it was about 50-50, but overall it was a great team building and learning experience.

If you haven't heard of Bill Stewart from Pittsburgh you should "google" him. He is an awesome visionary!

Game 7 Courtside: Boston v. Cleveland!

I guess it was a true blessing, but I was fortunate to get a court-side ticket for game 7 in Boston. It was a once in a life-time opportunity and I took it! (And I would do it again in a heartbeat - Stub-hub is a Godsend!)

Here are some pics from the trip:

On the way out

Today is my last day in Oslo. I had a great opportunity to interact with other designers and creatives from Norway, which has been a real treat. After a day of many meetings my host took some of us out on her boat and then to dinner. It was a great evening.

It has been and excellent networking and relationship building trip. I am eager to get home and see my wife and kids before I set off again. This month has been pretty crazy from a travel standpoint.

Oslo, Norway Trip

Oslo, Norway

Oslo is beautiful.

As I am putting together this blog, I have noticed that the sun sets around 10p and rises around 3a.

Note to self:
Take train not taxi from airport, and don't complain about gas prices when you get home. I think the 30 minute taxi ride cost almost as much as my flight from Detroit to Amsterdam.

What's Up with Blind Faith & Purple Cows

Hmmm . . . Specifically, "Blind Faith" is the name a project completed by one of our clients, and "Purple Cow" is the name of a book by Seth Godin. There is a little more to it than that—if you're really interested drop me a note and I'll go deeper.

Refocused

Welcome

For the first time in my life I finally feel comfortable in my own skin. I have found my focus through my refocus. Focus is something that we often talk about in the professional world used to direct our attention. It is a great concept however, we often miss the mark because we didn't have the correct focus in the first place.

It is time to take the proverbial "breather"—our cultural pace has skyrocketed out of control. We need to come up for air, take a breath, and refocus. Whether it is your family, your faith, your marriage, your job, or your project—take a second look, there is too much at stake for you to waste your resources on the wrong focus. Being refocused isn't the end-all, it's just a part of the process.