There’s no special gift I was born with, anybody can do this. Props to all my friends who are a part of the rock stars of my generation: the coders, the wizards, and the creators.

In this world we are the few creators filling needs created by the vast majority of consumers in the US and around the world.

We don’t just use Facebook, we understand how the XHTML, PHP, and SQL work together. We don’t just perform mindless Google searches, we are trying to reverse engineer algorithms for fun and profit.

I love to read lists of the best companies to work for each year, because it’s no secret what separates the good places to work from the great places to work. You don’t need a degree in HR to understand that the companies with strong cultures, led by level 5 leaders, are usually at the top of the list year after year.

“Happiness is really just about four things: perceived control, perceived progress, connectedness (number and depth of your relationships), and vision/meaning (being part of something bigger than yourself).” ― Tony Hsieh

Politicians aren’t solving the debt crisis, so entrepreneurs around the world are. Bitcoin, a decentralized digital currency, was created in 2009 based on an open-source p2p internet protocol. Think of it as the Napster of the international economy.

In late 2011 a bitcoin was worth $2, last week it was $180, at times reaches as high $218 per bitcoin. Now there is more than a billion dollars of bitcoins in circulation, and the number keeps growing. The chart below shows the market value (in USD) of a bitcoin over the last 12 months.

Usually new years resolutions seem pretty daunting to me, partially because I know that a year is an awfully long time to break a resolution.

Enter the Matt Cutts 30 day challenge. This year I’m going to see if I can have more success with a monthly approach to tackling new things.

Below I’ve outline a 30 day challenge for each month of 2013, comprised of everything I’m passionate about: self-improvement, public speaking, music, philanthropy, etc.

Tonight I got around to making some updates to one of the smaller websites I manage. It’s mainly more of an SEO playground that I use for testing new theories, ya know one of those builds that was made to be broken. I rarely check the source code, and usually just tweak content and watch analytics and monitor rankings.

Disclaimer: I have no idea how much Matt Cutts makes, nor is it really any of my business. I just thought his visibility and transparency made for an interesting hypothetical and analogy. OK read on…

I was driving home a few days ago, thinking about a persons “value” to an organization. Not what they think they deserve because of pride, not what their friend at an agency makes, but how much they truly bring to the table.

Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. -Raymond Chandler

A few years ago I was vacationing with some friends in western Maui. It ended up being a great opportunity to get away, reflect on life, and enjoy some beautiful scenery.

While I was there, I met a woman who introduced me to a motivational speaker named Wayne Dyer. By the end of the trip I had read excerpts from many of his books, and marveled at his ability to influence others.

It doesn’t matter how you start, it’s where you end up that counts. I got home from work today and was going through my closet. I came across this old t-shirt, from when I launched my first website back in 2007. I was 22, a senior in college, and had the whole world in front of me.

I didn’t know about corporate life, acquisitions, mergers, or exit strategies. All I knew was that I had a fun idea and wanted to try it out. So one day myself, along with my friends Jaymes and Jonathan, started a website.

This is the Story of Sun Country Airlines, Flight 504

Update! On June 22, Sun Country reached out and offered a detailed explanation of what happened on flight 504. After hearing them out it seems it truly was the perfect storm of weather, gridlock, and other problems beyond their control. However, I still stand by my belief that communication could have been better on this flight. I was encouraged to find out that Sun Country really listens when their customers are upset, and takes these kinds of problems seriously! Thanks to all those who are working toward continuous improvement.

Like this Young Jedi You Can Balance Your Diet

I’m fascinated with algorithms and equations. Part of me thinks that I don’t actually love optimizing for Google, as much as Google is the most profitable equation the world has ever seen. I see websites in terms of +/-, a + for keyword density and link profile, a – for too many on page links and shallow content. So obviously when I started looking at my health goals for 2012, I took to it with the same mindset.