Who Is Your Toughest Critic?

September 5, 2012 — Leave a comment

Hey everyone! I’m glad to be back after a long Labor Day weekend.  Join me at Prodigal Magazine for a fresh post at my Art Room Parables column.

Who is your toughest critic?critic

You know, the person who really gets under your skin.  The person who can always find a tiny fault, even when you’ve done your best.

We’ve all dealt with critics.  Ever since we started school, someone was paid to tell us when we did something wrong.  They did it with red check marks and frowny face stickers.  When we went home, some of us had siblings that were all too happy to criticize us.  And our parents had to criticize us from time to time too, because kids can be gross.

But now that you are an adult, if your biggest critic isn’t you, then you’re letting someone else do a really important job for you.

Continue reading (and tell me who your toughest critic is) at Prodigal Magazine.

In Art Room Parables
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What I’ve Learned From Your Kids

August 31, 2012 — 23 Comments

You learn a lot around kids.kids-in-summer-art-class1

If you’ve been reading for a while, you know that I don’t have kids of my own, and that doesn’t look likely to change soon.

But I’ve learned a lot from other peoples’ kids.

I’ve been working with kids for years, as a youth pastor, a scout leader, and a teacher.  And whether you’re a parent, a teacher, a grandparent, or whatever, there’s a lot to know.  Yeah, teachers go to school to learn to teach, but most of this stuff, you just have to learn the hard way, by failing and being a crappy teacher for a while.

I’ve heard it’s the same for parents.

And with a new school year up and running, I’m hoping I’m more prepared than ever with the knowledge your kids (or some like them) have armed me with.

Here’s what I’ve learned from teaching your kids.

Continue Reading…

In education, family
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Meet Me (And A Bunch of Other People) at Bloggers Meetup

August 29, 2012 — 2 Comments

People don’t always look like their online avatars.

2012 meetup banner

I guess I would’ve learned the same lesson if I were online dating. But that’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned every year I’ve attended a Bloggers Meetup. People who I meet also often seem surprised that I am, in fact, a human being, and not a cartoon character.

Yes, it is that time again. Time to register for the 2012 Bloggers Meetup in Atlanta, the evening of October 3.

I went to my first Bloggers Meetup in 2009, and I was hooked. In 2011, I was asked to help put the event together, and I jumped at the chance. This year, I’m co-managing the Meetup, and we’ve found a great new venue, and we’re looking forward to a really fantastic night.

It is always a great opportunity to hang out with bloggers you’ve been idolizing from afar, and get acquainted with bloggers you never knew existed. We’ve expanded capacity to 150 people, and tickets are a paltry $5.00, so you’re practically losing money if you don’t go!

If you are anywhere near the Atlanta region on October 3 (or you are there already for Catalyst), you just have to be there. I’d love to meet you!

Give me a shout out if you plan on being there, or tell me the last blogger you got to meet in person!

In Miscellaneous
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In Which I Shamefully Admit That I Voted For Todd Akin

August 27, 2012 — 31 Comments

Yeah…120820_todd_akin_ap_3281

…Sorry ’bout that.

You’ve may have heard.  Todd Akin, running for Missouri Senate, made some incredibly dubious claims about women’s bodies, and now he’s on a quest to hijack American politics and stick his thumb in everyone’s eye.

To my shame, I admit I’m one of the quarter million Missourians who, just a couple of weeks ago, thought they supported Todd Akin.

It was an honest mistake. For real.

I want to take full responsibility for my part in this debacle. In true American political spirit, I hereby accept 1 / 250,000 of the blame.

But I’d also like to say a few words in my defense, and a few words of caution to the rest of you who are weighing the candidates in your states and the country.

Continue Reading…

In America, politics
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Why You Should Always Be Underpaid

August 24, 2012 — 18 Comments

What are you worth?s-UNDERPAID-large

I want to wrap up this week of talking about jobs with that question.

What are you worth?

Most of us think we’re worth a lot more than our employers think we’re worth.

We don’t get paid enough to do our jobs, to put up with the boss’ nonsense, to put out the fires and deal with the stress.  We think we are worth more.  My wife and I were sitting around the house a couple of weeks ago, complaining about this.  I know I’m worth far more than I’m paid.  My employer is getting the bargain of the century with me.

You probably feel the same way.  If you had the stones, you’d march right into the boss’ office and tell him so.  Then you’d write down an astronomical salary on a piece of paper, slide it across his desk and say, “You have twenty-four hours.”

Most of us probably are worth more than we’re paid.  Essentially, we’re getting ripped off.

But that’s the way it should be.  Down with class warfare.

Continue Reading…

In work
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Would You Let Your Boss Punch You In the Face?

August 22, 2012 — 24 Comments

Today, I’m continuing a series I started on Monday about work (since I’m back at work, looking forward to what will be my most challenging school year yet.)

Tell me about your boss.How-to-tell-if-you-have-a-job

I probably just opened a can of worms, didn’t I.

Yeah, at best, we have a tenuous relationship with the boss.  They can be great.  But the way most people talk, the world is run by Bill Lumberghs and Michael Scotts.

If I asked you about your boss, chances are I could listen all night about how your boss treats you.  How the boss isn’t as competent as you, makes worse decisions than you would, and is overcompensated for the privilege of hassling you.

Your boss asks you to do too much, pays you too little and recognizes your talent next to never.  Is that about right?

What I probably would not hear is how you treat your boss.

And how you treat your boss may make all the difference.

Continue Reading…

In work
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