When some are asked, “What are you going to do different in 2012?” you hear the general simple responses of:

• work out/lose weight
• eat healthier
• quit smoking/drinking
• put away money in the bank
• volunteer
• floss…

But then by the time February 1st comes, those simple goals are given up on. Let me ask you, are these goals either too simple or not detailed enough? Sure, anyone can make a goal but when are you going to take the time to plan out the HOW so giving up on yet another resolution is not as simple.

2011 has been such a stretching year but my wife and I seemed to accomplish a lot of our goals due to detailed planning. New Years 2011 we were living in Tampa with full time jobs and we were surrounded by family and friends. Our resolution was to find jobs in New York and then move there over the summer. That is not something that can be done on a whim and with a lack of planning. As detailed as we had to plan a life change such as that, what makes you think the list above does not require some details? You are not going to quit smoking one day because you feel like it. You are not going to quit drinking while being with the same crowd that frequents the bar every Friday and that is the only time you spend with them.

What about a change of mindset or work ethic? In the past month, I feel like I have given initiative-based advice and recycled phrases due to peoples circumstances, so, I might as well make it public and someone else can benefit from it.

Ask yourself these questions: Are your work ethics on the offense or defense? Do you take action when you see it is necessary or do you wait for an action to then deliver a re-action? If your new years resolution is to get a better position at work or at another job, what actions are you taking to do so? Or are you waiting for your boss to recognize how you work to then give you a raise? If that sounds like you, maybe some things that I have gone through can help you create a more detailed 2012 new years resolution.

I enjoyed reading and listening to The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. I got the book for my mornings lunches and nights and I also got the CDs for the car. While you cannot follow this process word for word unless you are trying to create a start-up business, follow along with it and see how similar principals can be applied to your life. The primary phrase that I live by daily in my work ethic is, “Are you productive or are you active?” I have this taped on the top of my monitor. There were some many things that I did day to day that just made me active but I did not feel like I was being very productive.

I assessed my daily routines and figured out what could be altered so there was not unnecessary repeated processes. My main one was to take my Outlook off of the “refresh every minute” mode. Is it absolutely necessary to interrupt your production to get your email updates every minute? Or could you possibly have your notifications to come through every 10 minutes? I have increased to not checking emails for an hour and eventually, I want to get to the point where the duration is longer than that. There are so many things that can be done when you do not have the audible and visual notification that you need to stop what you are doing and see that you have another spam message or something that can be taken care of later. If it is absolutely important, generally people would call for immediate assistance.

Every year, I take a step back and actually think, “What can be changed this year?”  Do not let another resolution fade away. Set a goal, jump in the driver’s seat and get it done. Do the necessary planning that will keep you accountable and tell others that are as excited about accomplishing their resolution too. Are you being productive or just active?

I had an interesting dream last night, considering I typically don’t dream. Usually I stare at the back of my eyelids and the highlight of my slumber would be waking up and feeling refreshed. Last night, I had a dream but it does not make a lot of sense but the difference between this dream and any others I have had, I remember details about this dream. Usually everything is vague. That is why I want to document it while I still remember it.

I was sitting on a bench in a small theme park near a carousel on a spring day. Colors seems a bit more vibrant than reality so I was just taking in the sights. While sitting and people-watching, two guys walked close to me and one had an ice cream cone in his hand. The one without the ice cream cone was telling a funny story that seemed to be wrenching his friend into deep laughter. I wish I could have understood them and hear the funny story but they were speaking in a language I have never heard before.

Then, after he was finished telling his story, he pointed at the ice cream and said something. I translated it to be, “can I have a bite of your ice cream?” The friend either did not understand what he was asking or was trying to avoid the question. He asked again with a little bit of a louder voice and a joking manner. The friend hesitantly handed over his newly purchased melting treat and then pointed at the bottom of the ice cream cone and said something. I understood, “take a bite from the bottom because I do not like eating the cone.” The holder of the ice cream dessert pointed at the bottom and said a very questionable phrase, lifted up the cone and then just kissed the cone.

The purchaser pointed again and in very clear wording seemed he was instructing, “If you want to take a bite, you eat the cone because I do not want it.” He took a bite and received no ice cream because the waffle was woven too tightly to let any of the creamy goodness pass through. He put his other hand out and said what appeared to be, “are you happy now? I took a bite and tasted no ice cream. Here is your cone back!”

That was the dream. Why did I dream about two friends arguing in a different language over an ice cream in a theme park next to a carousel? Or maybe this was the point. I could understand the conversation without knowing their language. I understood them better then they understood each other. And why was the purchaser so stingy with his ice cream? If he would have had the sharing spirit and gave his friend a small bite, the friend would have been satisfied and there would have not been any confrontation. They could have kept walking but because of selfishness, they had to stop and discuss the ice cream while they could have been at their next destination in the park.

Any thoughts on this?

“As long as you feed me and walk me, I’m completely self sufficient.” says Rhino. “I’m gonna be up in your business as caninely as possible because I need attention like woah.” says Ellie. I’m glad they balance each other out very well. Especially living in such a small place compared to the Tampa mansion!

They are wonderful dogs and I have absolutely zero room to complain about them. I kinda brought them into this new world, this new lifestyle, this new smell. Of course when we walk through uncharted territory with a lot of people surrounding us, they should be stepping faster than normal. Or when the bus is kneeling and the air lets out from the hydraulics, I would jump a bit when I’m from a quieter neighborhood for the past 4 years. Cut them some slack Brett!

Well, that’s just embarrassing…

On Wednesday, I was on the phone with GoDaddy about the sluggish speed of all of my hosted websites. After about 30 minutes of talking to them while going through and erasing unnecessary files and folders, I must have erased the very theme that BrettRush.com uses. My website was white for a few days and I had quite a few people visit during this time thinking that I erased my blog. I did, sorta. But not on purpose!

This gives me a reason to work with a new look anyway. Enjoy!

I have a difficult time working with others sometimes. It’s not because I am not a team player. On the contrary. Usually I’m able to get the team to work together. My difficulty with working with others is when people are not giving work 100% of their focus. Often do I find someone kind of working or not really giving too much effort and this is what upsets me. Am I a perfectionist? Yes, and I want to make sure all of my work best represents who I am.

One case recently stands out while I was at my church. I am the lead sound engineer for Element Church in Tampa. We put envelopes and welcome cards out before the service and if I see they’re not out before 9:30, I start putting them out myself. On this morning, someone put them out but just threw the envelopes and cards on the chair. In my mind, the seats looked like a wreck and not very welcoming. I went behind this person and straightened every envelope and card. One comment I received was, “No worries, I just won’t do the cards anymore and we won’t have this problem!” Another comment was, “Crazy?” 1. Wrong answer and 2. No. If you can give something a little more effort, do it. Don’t do a sloppy job and then condone someone for cleaning up after you to make the job look like it was done properly. I would rather exceed someones expectations than to just do what was asked of me.

I strive for perfection even though I always fall way short. That doesn’t matter though. What matters is I actually give 110% every time I do something whether it’s work or play. My wife and I take ballroom dancing lessons and the running joke every Monday is, “What did you injure this week Brett?” only because frequently I’m either trying something new or pushing myself to be better at something.

Why am I writing this? To vent a little and to encourage you to think about your work ethic. Are you giving it your all or are you spending too much time in la-la land that could be well spent focused on a project? How do you think your co-workers, peers, family and friends see you? Do they trust they can give you a project and you’ll do it as accurately and as quickly as possible or are you the procrastinator? Do less multitasking and more single job focusing if completing tasks is an issue. That’s my suggestion.

April Fool’s Day is among us once again. That means one thing. I’m another year older than I was last year. What do I want to do different while I’m 29? I’m still trying to figure that out. I do have some personal goals that I don’t want to blog about but as for right now.

What have I accomplished this past year? I took over as lead sound engineer at Element Church. Our house church, CasaRush, has grown in size and spiritually together, I’m getting more proficient at WordPress 3.0, I hosted my first concert benefiting Amnesty International, I took on a night job at Busch Gardens as a haunted house tech, I went to Cornerstone Festival for the first time and I grew even closer to my beautiful and loving wife.

This year, I plan on traveling more, hosting more concerts, finding new friends and working out more. I’m sure you really wanted to know that! p

Wanna get me a gift? I’d rather you donate the money to Element Church! If you’d like to “give me a gift”, you can donate here through Paypal.

The problem is I’m passing 4 homeless when I’m driving to Cafe Hey in downtown to go get my caffeinated liquid bliss. “But it’s not like I have $5 cash, I’m using credit.” There’s excuses we can keep but all in all there are definitely people that could use a little more help that would last more than my 10 minutes of creamy coffee heaven.

Sometimes I just want to ignore the person on the side of the road. “You can get a simple job and get off the street” I’ll try to tell myself. The problem is, I’ve spoken with these guys. It’s not that simple to go down to McDonalds or Walmart and get a job when you don’t already have a physical place of residents. The Salvation Army doesn’t count when trying to get hired. Most companies would look at it as unreliable. Another thing I’ve heard mentioned is, “well, they’ll just use the money on booze.” How do you know that? You don’t. You’re completely assuming that is the action they’ll take. We have no clue what they will do with the money we give them. I was talking with a guy recently that has a wife and kid that were sitting on the other corner. They were just trying to get enough money for some necessities and to pay for their hotel room.

So, I drank a Cafe Con Leche this morning and felt convicted by doing so. No, I will not be able to single handed take care of the homeless issue. Yes, I try to help when I can, when I have cash in my wallet. What are your thoughts on this topic?

A month passed when I received a Facebook message. “Interested in booking Campbell the Band? Contact us!” So I did that, and asked, “How soon can you make it to Tampa?” Two months later, they showed up ready with new songs in their set.

Backing up 24 hours from the show, I’m talking with Grant, the player of the keys. He’s my contact with the band and we had been keeping pretty close contact the week of the show. The last time we spoke, they were going to drive through the night and show up on my doorstep Friday at 7am. Anxious to see them, get them settled in and head to work, I give them a call to see exactly how far away they are. No answer. 8am, no answer. 8:30 I give one last call before I just leave to go to work. “Fine, I’ll have to meet them during lunch. They’ll have to go to the beach or something and wait on me.”

10, 10:30, 11, 11:30…”Where in the world are these guys?” I get a text from my wife, “I heard there was an accident with a van in North Carolina.” What… Not what I want to hear! I’m Googlin anything I can to find info about this van wreck all to finally stumble on the fact that it was a prison van. “Don’t think they’re driving that!” I’m checking wrecks in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida. Nothing. What am I suppose to do? I have 2 other bands booked, NOS energy drinks has donated cases on cases of drinks, Manhattan Pizza is bringing all of the food, Amnesty International is expecting to gain some cash from this, I’ve already sold some tickets online…what would I tell the crowd about the main band that I can’t get in contact with?

1:20 I get a call…”Dude I’m so sorry! We fell asleep at our friends house in Lakeland!” “What time?” I asked. “Like around 7am or so.” They didn’t want to be an interruption that early in the morning but they also didn’t know I had a borrowed air mattress, second bed made and couches waiting with their name on it! Everything worked out. I met them at The Warehouse at 5pm when they started loading in equipment and practicing.

Backing up 2 more days from the day of the show, my lighting designer Kristen Easterling and I begin creating a completely different stage look from what it currently appears as. We build a light curtain taking long into the early morning to construct and hang up. Day of the concert, I get a text saying, “I couldn’t get the dimmer to work on the lights so we’ll hope for the best!”

At around 6pm, it seemed all of the craziness I was up against finally all came together. Campbell the Band was practicing and sounding amazing. Kristen got the dimmer to work and the lights were twinkling in sync with the music. The other 2 bands, Caleb Hyers Band and Despite Distance are all there and simply waiting to go on stage but in awe of the band they’ll be opening up for. NOS and Manhattan Pizza show up. Everything is coming together nicely.

7:45pm the doors open, people start to gather into The Warehouse and 8(ish) Despite Distance open up the night sounding ten times better than the last time I’d heard them live at the Pegasus Lounge. Caleb Hyers Band goes on second with this being their debut performance of a solo project away from Beyond Ariose. Also, Caleb went with me to Cornerstone 2010. The sound techs I’d trained over the past few weeks are doing a knock-out job and all of the volunteers are all working as a team. There wasn’t anything else I could have asked for except more attendance to be able to experience this night.

Then, Campbell the Band sets up their gear. From the first note, I knew I made the right choice to bring them down here. I have friends, co-workers and people I’d never met about to experience more than the three songs I was able to experience in Bushnell, Illinois. With their all-or-nothing attitude towards music, all five members put 110% into their playing and performance. Their ambient soundscapes fill the ear drums of a group of awestruck newly made fans wondering where this band has been and craving more of their vibe. 45 minutes go by in seemingly a blink. I couldn’t believe it was already over and knowing that would happen, that’s why I hired videographers to capture the night as well! I will have better photos coming soon. These were all with my phone.

Will I do this again? Absolutely. There’s actually some talk of a partnership with a well-known venue that wants to host concerts but didn’t have a company to do the band work. More to come later on that topic!

http://matthewbrown.net/2010/09/to-hire-or-not-to-hire/