West Coast Baby
You know you are on the west coast when you see a Ganja and Bob Marley flag posted out front of your beach spot!
Cali baby!
Archive | Cool Stuff
Eric Thomas – The Truth
During the last few weeks I’ve become pretty good friends with a stand up comedian named Kyle Cease. He’s such a devoted, hard working and driven person when it comes to his craft. Watching him in his element on stage has been a tremendous learning experience for me during the last month. His energy and commitment to growing and teaching has been very inspiring.
So yesterday I get a message from him on Facebook and he says…. “Watch the video posted on my page labeled the truth. so good!”.
So I did, and wow! This guy Eric Thomas has some serious mojo. Thanks for sharing this Kyle, and feel free to share this with others using the image/link below.
(Correction made. At first I was under the impression this guy’s name as Sean Walker. Apparently that is wrong, and Sean just may of been the guy that was sharing this video. His name is Eric Thomas and he goes by The Hip Hop Preacher. You can find his YouTube channel at… http://www.youtube.com/etthehiphoppreacher )
If you enjoyed this video feel free to share on Twitter by clicking the image below.
Right In Front Of Your Face
I want you to follow the directions on the sign below, and be honest with yourself. Count how many F’s are in the sentence and write it down. “DON’T LOOK TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST UNTIL YOU’VE DONE the EXERCISE”.
Seriously, you won’t be able to test yourself if you read the answer below. So give this a honest attempt and come up with your number for how many “F’s” you can find in this sentence…
So how many “F’s” did you count in that sentence?
Please post your answer in the comments, and please be honest. Then scroll down to find the answer…
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
If you are like most people, you’ll count 3 or 4 f’s. Of course, you are wrong if that is the number you came up with. There are actually 6 f’s in the sentence. Yes 6. Go back and read it again and see if you can spot them.
Truth be told, it took me about 4 minutes to find the damn letters. I sat in the museum and watched each person approach the brain tease just so I could see them fail too. I really wanted validation that I wasn’t that dumb and unobservant. Apparently, many of us are pretty oblivious to obvious things right in front of our face. ie my lost car keys, only to find out they are sitting in my pocket or worse yet, in my hands. How many times have you looked for your sun glasses and they were on your head?
I’m really keen to find out how others do with this exercise. Of course many are going to lie to themselves and pretend they were able to spot all the letters, but they will only be fooling themselves. If you were able to find all 6 of the “F’s” then congrats. You did better than I.
There are a ton of things in life that pass us by because we are non observant or think we already know it all. Myself, I passed right over the words “of” in that picture because they seemed irrelevant. But are they?
Sometimes it’s the little things that matter. Don’t forget to pay attention to things that may be right in front of your face.
Cheers,
Jason
Cool As Ever Tech Event At Del Mar Races
What are you doing tomorrow? Wanna hang out, enjoy some frosty beverages, gamble on horses and hang out with internet geeks in Del Mar?
Well, that’s what I’ll be up to tomorrow and I’d love to see ya if you are in the neighborhood.
Cool As Ever Tech
The second annual Cool as Ever Tech event will bring together SoCal’s web/tech scene for an interactive event hosted at the Del Mar Racetrack on August 14th, 2010.
Join over 600 social media peeps from noon until 6 PM, as we geek out on Foursquare, eat, drink, tweet, people-watch and bet. There will be a real-time Twitter wall, a livestream of the event, gadgets, goodies, and giveaways that will make even the geekiest of you scream with delight.
I went to this event last year and it was a good time. I expect this year to be even more fun. And to make the event even more festive the event is running side by side with Reggae Fest and Jimmy Cliff performing.
Some come on down and join me and the gang where the turf meets the surf at old Del Mar tomorrow. The event is free but you might want to secure your tickets before they are all gone. Grab free tickets at… http://www.coolasevertech.com/
Expanding Your Comfort Zone
I’m not into stagnation. I like things that flow. Things that grow. Things that blaze new trails and pioneer new paths into the unknown.
Doing the same shit every day is almost like prison for me. I need variety, and I need it bad. Without new adventures I quickly tire of the same old same old routines in life. Hence why I’m always signing myself up for wacky ideas and oddball experiences at a moments notice.
Today I’m taking a leap of faith and embarking into a new world. It’s a world full of adventure, laughs and risk. Truth be told, I’m kind of scared. But if I wasn’t scared there wouldn’t be much on the line would there?
I like to gamble and prefer risky over safe. Basically, I really enjoy expanding my comfort zone beyond my normal threshold so I can experience instant growth.
I’m not going to mention what this adventure is just yet. In due time I will. However, for the next few days I’d like to just bask in the experience and soak up as much knowledge and fun as possible. I’ll be surrounded by some amazing people who have incredible stories to share. Hopefully when I get back, I’ll have a handful of tales myself.
All I know is this…
I want to have fun at the highest level. I want to build relationships with people that genuinely like to uplift the spirits of others and without a doubt, I want to have an amazing time doing it.
So that is what this weeks journey is all about. Expanding my comfort zone and trying something new in hopes that it will bring more joy to the people around me.
1 2 3 JUMP!
Cheers
Jason
PS: There’s a good chance I won’t be very responsive via phone, email, etc this week. Just a heads up.
The Simplicity Of In And Out Burger
One of my biggest health vices are cheeseburgers. I know I shouldn’t love them but I do so very much. It’s as if I turn into Wimpy from Popeye at times and can’t help myself or my beef addiction. Especially late at night. It’s not very helpful that there is a In And Out just one exit away from me on Interstate 5 either.
Anyways, this blog post isn’t about my desire for burgers but rather the way in which In And Out structures their business and drive thru for maximum profits. Every time you drive by a In And Out there is always a line of cars waiting to get their orders. Most of the time, that line is about 10 to 15 cars deep too. However, people seem to have no problem waiting in line to get their Double Double.
Here’s why I think they go through the trouble to wait for their orders and why I think In And Out is so successful at what they do….
1. The burgers are damn good. I mean really good. They are by far the best fast food burgers you’ll ever have. The fries suck though, which I find weird. How can you make such great burgers but botch the fries so badly? I will often order a burger from In And Out and go across the street and get fries from McDonalds because they are so much better.
2. The employees are always super polite and nice. If you go to a Burger King, Wendy’s, McDonalds, etc. you often get a disgruntled minimum wage employee who could care less about you or your order. Every time I’ve been to a In And Out they are exceptionally nice.
3. The main reason why I think In And Out is so successful though is because of the simplicity of their menu and ordering process. There is really only 3 main choices and this really helps to speed things
In And Out Menu
Of course In And Out veterans can customize their order by making their burger animal style or substituting lettuce instead of buns but everything is super easy and basic. I’ve heard rumors that you can order grilled cheese sandwiches there too but I’ve never seen them on the menu. Personally, I stick to the drive thru menu and so do most of people that visit there. That menu is so simple and to the point.
The simplicity of the menu really does make the line go much faster. Customer always know what they want, and the employees have little troubles making it because it’s the same things over and over again.
Simplicity often gets lost by people with thoughts too grand or those who want to be ultra unique. I have nothing against being unique and separating yourself from the crowd but in business doing so can be often be to your own detriment. Especially in a business like fast food and burgers. Keep it simple stupid. And In And Out does just that.
Have you ever been to McDonalds or Wendy’s and looked at their drive thru menu and been mind boggled about the dozens of options in front of your face? Maybe there is a reason there is 2 cars in the McDonalds drive thru and 16 across the street at In And Out?
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” ~ Albert Einstein
Peace,
Jason
PS: Sorry people who don’t live in California, Utah, Nevada or Arizona. You have to drive a long ass way to get your hands on these late night munchies. I’m puzzled why In And Out has not spread across the United States like wildfire. Maybe they are running some scarcity marketing as well?
PPS: So I’m curious, do you think In And Out is the best fast food burger joint? I’m not talking about comparing them to Ted’s Steak House and Burgers, but rather other fast food places. Can anyone beat In And Out? What’s your opinion?
How To Get A Fair Deal With Auto Mechanics
Today I’m going to share with you a method I use to ensure I won’t get hosed by auto mechanics. This strategy can also be used in other industries but today we’ll discuss how to avoid getting burned by shady mechanics.
I’m posting this because I saw a friend on Facebook who was very irritated after getting ripped off for thousands of dollars from a mechanic. He’s pretty intent on destroying the company with various methods of social media and I assume blogging. And he probably has every right to blast them.
However, I’d like to help you avoid ever having to get into a situation where you’d want to write a scathing review or be so pissed off that you want to destroy a business. I employed this method the
Broke Down M-5
So here’s what you do the next time your car breaks down…
The first thing you need to do is go to Google Maps and type in your particular area where you are at. Then hit the “Search Nearby” using the keywords “auto mechanic” or something similar. You’ll get a variety of balloons that pop up around you. From here you want to start looking for businesses that have been reviewed by past customers. Google will have a 5 star rating system and it will tell you how many reviews have been left.
Google reviews is similar to Yelp.com except most people forget about it and pay it little attention. Sift through the reviews and find the mechanic that you feel the most comfortable with. Once you find the mechanic you are about to roll the dice with, here’s what you do…
Take your car to the shop and speak with the manager, owner, or highest level employee you can find. Make sure that you start out by complimenting them on the reviews that you saw on Google. Say something like… “Hey Jack, I saw the 8 good reviews on Google about you guys and thought you looked like the best option. I always check the review section first because I’m one of those guys who leaves reviews from all my business transactions so it’s nice to see others saying good things about you”.
It’s important that you start with a compliment about the establishment for the previous good work they have done instead of warning them that you are the type person that leaves pissed off reviews. You want to mention it, but your intention is to leave them a good review. No business wants you talking trash about them, especially on Google.
Once the manager or owner knows that you are a computer savvy person who openly voices their opinion, you have a much better chance at getting a fair deal when getting your car repaired.
I believe in offering fair feedback for companies and not abusing the review system. Unfortunately, people are quick to bitch about companies online yet are slow as molasses when it comes to complimenting them. Keep that in mind when checking the reviews of places. One or two bad reviews may not be a correct assessment of a establishment, but rather just two really pissed off people that had a ax to grind.
Fair is fair. If you got good service, let other people know. And if you got hosed, well, let them know.
Best of luck, and feel free to share this strategy with anyone who is in need of a car mechanic.
