If you are not already on the Gaping Void mailing list, you really should sign up because little bits of inspiration will show up in your inbox like this which got me all sorts of giggly this morning.

I fought the urge to buy the print for multiple reasons (I have a mini gallery already in my house), but I love everything this says.

If you’ve been listening to Managing the Gray lately, you know I’ve been really getting on people for standing in their own ways. Combine that with the fact that I’ve always believed in asking for forgiveness rather than permission and you can start to see where I’m coming from.

I think this is why I have a entrepreneur mindset. I want to control my destiny. I want to be the one making decisions because whenever I’m not, I’m a whole lot less happy with things. I’ve watched this happen over and over in my life and it is why I was joking with friends the other night that I just might be unemployable because I do want to be the one driving the ship surrounded by an awesome crew to help me succeed.

If you resemble this remark then maybe it is time to think about a change. To put yourself in a position where you are the one making the approvals, because just like Hugh is saying it feels great when you don’t need it to do it.

I realized last night that I had passed my 8 year anniversary of this blog. In the past I had mentioned it in some way or talked about it and this year I didn’t. No biggie. I was too busy doing other things that mattered more than patting myself on the back and I’m good with it. Realizing that it had been eight years did make me a little reflective though.

People ask me all the time how I got to where I am and the answer is always the same, I’ve worked hard every day and it hasn’t been easy.

This usually gets a laugh or some other strange reaction that I have never understand. The concept of working hard to be successful seems foreign to so many people.

Why is it that in a world where the news breaks faster then lightning and anyone can publish and share anything they create, do people not appreciate the fact that it takes a lot of work and years of experience to be successful?

Sure, there are overnight hits and lucky breaks. Luck plays a lot into everyone’s career when you look back at decisions you’ve made and directions you’ve gone in. But, the most successful people in the world are the ones that work the hardest.

When I wrote my first blog post, I did it because it was the latest technology I wanted to check out. Before that I was active on Usenet and discussion forums. I had taught myself HTML while “on the beach” at my first job. I had been online since the first moment I found out about it and was always trying to figure out what more I could do.

What is the point of this post?

It is just to remind you that hard work is your best chance for success. Most of us who find any level of success are never satisfied and want the challenge of something new and we’ll work even harder to make it happen.

Don’t assume that anything will get handed to you or that someone had it handed to them. If you have dreams, goals and success that you want in your life then buckle down, plan it out and work your tail off trying to make it happen. Don’t ever wait for success to find you. If you do, you’ll be standing there for quite some time all alone.

That is what I wanted to share with you this morning.

The latest mind bending marketing campaign that I’m involved with at Campfire went live this week and I hope you’ll check it out.

Discovery Channel wanted something to raise awareness and interest in Season 2 of The Colony, so we thought we’d play up the fictional viral outbreak leading up to the premiere on Tuesday, July 27th at 10 pm.

Of course we wanted to do this in a way that was logical and realistically how we believe something like this would play out if it were to happen in today’s connected world.

Watch the video below and then Join The Colony.

If you’d like to read a bit more about the project, head writer J.C. Hutchins shares them. I’m sure glad he is #StillHere

I have always wanted to visit Colorado, but for some reason I had never been there before this past weekend. Now I can’t wait to get back.

My good buddy Jason was getting married and there was no way I was going to miss that. We checked into our room at 2 am on Saturday morning and had the wedding at 4pm. We slept for a bit, got up and then found breakfast at this awesome restaurant called The Egg and I. After a post-breakfast walk I saw a sign for Rocky Mountain National Park and we had to head that way.

A National Park Ranger suggested we take the Old Fall River Road up through the park and then come back down the Trail Ridge Road. He said it should take us a couple of hours and we couldn’t think of a better way to spend the day.

Being a big outdoors guy, this was mind blowing amazing. After a few minutes of this, anyone can appreciate why we have National Parks. I thankfully took some pictures and you can see the whole set here.

I can’t wait to get back and spend more time there. Laura and I both are already making plans for a return trip.

Three years ago when I set out on my own and ended up launching a marketing agency with good friend Steve Coulson, I had no idea that I’d be here today writing this note. I’ve certainly been taking my own advice and following the road less traveled throughout my career, so why stop now? *grin*

It has been twelve months since The Advance Guard was acquired by Campfire and I’m writing this note to announce that I’m moving on to my next adventure at the end of this month.

I’ve enjoyed my time with Campfire and I’ll remain on as a silent partner and look forward to all their future success.

We continue to do amazing work for a variety of clients (including one that will launch shortly and I can’t wait for you to see), but I’ve decided to pursue new and exciting opportunities. I’ve learned a lot working with the team here and I know we’ll be doing more great work together in the future.

So what will I be doing?

I’ve got some new things brewing that I’ll talk about soon, but I can say that I’ll be focusing on finishing and promoting my first book Content Rules, pursuing more speaking engagements and turning Digital Dads into the media property I always wanted it to be.

Finally, I’m available for specialist freelance jobs as they come in and am excited to work with agencies and brands who are truly ready to embrace change and take things to the next level.

I’m very excited about the road ahead and continuing to blaze my own path. It is the only way I know how to live and am surrounded by friends and family who support me fully.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you! I’m only an e-mail away.

If you want to know what I’m up to subscribe to my newsletter or connect on Facebook. That is where things will be shared first.

Before it was the “in thing” for everyone in social media to do, I’ve had the life long goal of writing a book.

I never knew if it would be fiction, business or something else, but I’ve always wanted to have a printed stack of binded paper on a shelf with my name on it. I’m happy to announce that in the very near future this is going to be a reality.

Slated for release in December, Content Rules, is the book I’m co-writing with the amazingly talented Ann Handley. It will be coming out from the good folks at Wiley and will have a forward from my buddy David Meerman Scott.

I could ramble on about what the book is about, but how I boil it down is that no matter what the latest and greatest shiny new online tool is that comes out, at the end of the day you need to have quality content of all types to be successful. We not only lay out our rules for successful content, but also tell you how to create it, what to think about and how to integrate it into all of your initiatives.

This isn’t a book about blogging, Facebook or Twitter, but they are all in there for sure. We wanted to write this book for the preacher who wants to grow their congregation, the small shop owner down the street or the Fortune 500 CMO who really wants to take their online marketing to the next level. The goal was to provide an educational, but also entertaining read that won’t bore you to sleep.

You can pre-order the book now and really make me smile or wait until it hits shelves and pick up a copy then.

If you need a final giggle before you order the book watch this little video announcement we made. We decided after this one, off the cuff take, that it was too much fun NOT to use. Plus, it illustrates one of our rules about having fun with the content you create.

This weekend is Father’s Day and I’m a damn lucky guy to have an amazing dad and be blessed enough to be a father myself.

Now that I run Digital Dads, it is interesting because I find myself creating a lot of content surrounding being a dad on a regular basis. Add in recording and publishing Cast of Dads every week and that is even more. Don’t get me wrong, I love all this content around fathers and it is a lot of fun, but I stopped and looked at it all and went wow for a moment.

So what have I been creating? Here are some links to the latest.

• Cast of Dads 23 – Talking about what we think would make great Father’s Day gifts
• Books for Father’s Day
• Technology for Father’s Day
• Something different for Father’s Day
• Father’s Day Nookie (isn’t this really what a guy wants?)

If this doesn’t make you smile on a gloomy Monday morning I don’t know what will.

I love doing anything outdoors. One of my favorite things is to spend the day in a canoe paddling by nature and loving every minute of it.

So, the idea of getting a kayak is both awesome and confusing to me.

You have to understand that when it comes to the world of paddling there are canoe people and there are kayak people. Sort of like dogs vs. cats or Nikon vs. Canon. Having always been a canoe guy, it felt very weird walking into L.L. Bean and buying my first kayak.

I was determined to get it into the water as soon as possible and I brought along my camera to capture the moment.

Many people have asked me which kayak I bought and the model I purchased was the Pungo 140 GEN2 Kayak by Wilderness Systems®. So far I love it and I can’t wait to take it out a bunch more.

I spent this past weekend with a small group of amazing people in Baltimore taking part in Kinnernet US 2010.

What is Kinnernet you ask?

I was asking the same thing for a couple of months from the time I got the invite until the time I showed up and found out. I had looked online for the answers ahead of time and found nothing. Now, I understand why. It is an event that can’t fully be summarized in words and that you must experience to fully appreciate.

At the most basic of basic levels, Kinnernet is an unconference that brings together a group of people from around the world to inspire each other. While there are some planned activities, the meat of the days are spent with open discussions on a variety of topics that anyone can lead.

With such an open ended description it is inspiring the variety of topics that occur. Personally I know some of the more powerful ones I took part in were on what education could look like in 2020, the power of programmable cities and game mechanics in business. See what I’m talking about? Big topics, with big thinking discussions. No fluff here.

I was excited as I looked at the participant list leading up to the weekend because I only recognized 3 names on it. While that might scare most people, I viewed it as a chance to make all new friends and spend time getting to know people I might never cross paths with otherwise. So much of the weekend was spent talking, debating and having fun together.

I need to give a deep, heart felt thank you to both Jeff Pulver and Yossi Vardi for allowing me to be part of this weekend. Being invited to take part of something so special and inspiring means more to me then I can fully express and you made it possible.

Don’t fear the unknown. Embrace it and experience it. I promise you’ll grow a bit and come out a better person.

I’ve been very open in my love for the art of Hugh MacLeod and have several of his works hanging on my walls, but while I didn’t order a one of today’s, I had to share it with everyone because it says SO much in SO few words.

On one side it describes what most businesses fail to realize about social media and how it all really works.

On the other it describes what way to many people who want to “make it” online seem to forget about and only do half of it.

Finally, it sums up the way I like to approach work relationships and the balance that is needed.

Thanks again Hugh for doing what you do. Sitting at the kitchen table every day sure is a hell of a way to make a living! Way to go.

I love the outdoors. While I don’t get to do as much hiking, canoeing and camping as I use to, it is still something that I’d rather be doing then just about anything.

This weekend we finally put our canoe back in the water and I got to see one of my favorite views.

You might need to be into canoeing to fully appreciate, but it is hard to top this view as a Dad and a lover of the outdoors.

Hope your weekend was good as well.

This weekend as you enjoy the cold beers and meat the grill be sure to remember the men and women who serve in our armed forces and put their lives on the line every day for us. It is because of people like them that we get to have weekends like this.

Saw this video on CNN today and the photographer and the human in me was touched by it.

I’m rather distracted this morning as my Mom is having some surgery done today and it is eating away at the back of mind. But, while I’m dealing with that I wanted to share two new pieces of content that hit the web over the weekend.

1. Cast of Dads #20 covered a variety of topics from shopping for a lunch bag to what it feels like to have a son graduate from college.
2. I was also a guest on BeanCast #105 where we talked about all the latest news in the marketing world.

I had a great weekend spent with my family doing tourist stuff in Boston and then two lacrosse games yesterday with Dylan.

Make it a great week everyone.