Blog

I’m not a weekend warrior, but I’ve traveled on some of the longest flights in the world, and I’ve experienced enough conveyer belt shuffles at the end of a TSA check to give anyone a heart attack. This is my definitive guide to air travel, from booking to packing to flying: my whole process and all my recommendations for rocking your next flight. Whether it’s a one-hour puddle jump or a 16-hour international hullabaloo, you’ll be ready to travel like a pro. ...

Last week I attended a simulcast of the Global Leadership Summit. Here is practically a complete transcript of the event provided by Ben Patterson. My jaw hurts from all of the leadership information I’ve been chewing on. As I was midway through the two-day conference, I thought to myself, “Why is that people go crazy for conferences? Why do people pay hundreds (or thousands) of dollars, travel long distances and take off work to hear a few speakers who all likely have TED talks you could watch online?” Here’s what I came up with. ...

I naturally enjoy verbal sparring and debates. It’s a part of being a Myers-Briggs ENTP. My wife recently explained to me that not everyone enjoys this as much as I do. There are, however, a few things I absolutely refuse to even discuss. Discussion, for me, nearly always reaches the zone of argumentation and losing friends and/or limbs (I’m working on it). The following topics are utterly pointless. I’m not saying these things don’t matter, but I am saying they don’t matter enough for me to get into it with someone about them. I define “getting into it” in these situations as a simple disagreement that extends beyond two exchanges. If you want to beat me in an argument, just bring up these topics and I’ll instantly fold. I’m trying to keep friendships from ending, and that’s why I give up. I’d love to hear in the comments the arguments you need to stop having. ...

I’m always looking for the next best thing in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. The next best product, the next best app, the next best whatever that will make what I already do easier, faster, more effective. In the process, I’ve spent my fair share of digital cash on apps and software. A lot of my friends and family proudly tell me they never pay for apps. They own $600 unsubsidized smartphones and likely pay $75+ a month for them, but paying a buck or two for an app–come on! They aren’t billionaires. God bless irony. Sticking with free apps is absolutely their prerogative (and there are lots of good ones out there), but here’s a few reason why I regularly pay for apps. ...

The Dollar Shave Club commercial intrigued many. [Warning: some strong language bleeped out and one unbleeped dirty word]. It’s hilarious. Ridiculous. Completely over the top and worth talking about. As Seth Godin would say, it’s remarkable. I was tired of paying over $3 per cartridge (and many times closer to $4) for a 5-blade Gillette Fusion razor. It’s expensive because they market the Fusion as if it is the only solution to caveman-like beards. Guys, it’s not! It’s not the only way! Enter our friends from Dollar Shave Club. Their marketing alone sold me on the worthiness of trying it, at least for a month. This is a comprehensive Dollar Shave Club review in every sense of the word, so grab tightly to your can of shaving solution and get ready to nix your neck hair. (Here’s a quick synopsis of my Dollar Shave Club review: it rocks. Their blades rock, their service rocks, and I’m a believer. If you want to buy your next razor from them right now, here’s an affiliate link that gets me a month of free razors and will help keep my blog afloat as a nice little razor subsidy for me. If you want the full analysis, read on. Also, there’s a hefty amount of comparisons between the DSC razor and the Gillette Fusion because everybody and their mother has the Fusion. It was also my last brand-named, overpriced razor.) The Dollar Shave Club Blade Options ...

I hate wasting time. I’m totally on board with not multi-tasking, but some things are meant to be done simultaneously. I like listening to non-fiction audiobooks (library, FTW) when I drive and podcasts when I’m doing the dishes. They make driving and dish washing much more pleasant. Before I launch into a big pile of dishes, I always queue up a podcast. (Note: I normally do the dishes because Niki always cooks the delicious meals that made the dishes dirty. There should be a rule in families that no one can cook and do the dishes. That’s the worst) Here are a few of my favorite podcasts. I’d love to hear some of your favorites in the comments. ...

**Most things we need to do to succeed are boring. **But we all want a perfect formula that does the work for us. Something new, flashy, easy. That’s why ridiculous fad diets, get-rich quick schemes and overnight success are all the rage. We know what it takes to change, succeed, and win, but we know those things are hard. Everyone knows how to lose weight. You just need to burn more calories than you consume over time, and viola the number on the scale starts reading lower. Building a popular blog means writing well, over time, and boom you’re an overnight success. Retiring well means spending less than you earn, over time, and investing wisely in boring mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that return well, consistently, over time and wham you’re a millionaire who never even made six figures a year. Building a movement of university students fits here too. Helping students walk with Jesus, by sharing your faith with them and teaching them to do the same, over time, leads to lots of people walking with Jesus and leading others to him. But it takes time. You want an instant formula for success? Here you go. ...

The mouse was a beautiful invention for the personal computer. But it’s mostly unnecessary. I still use it quite often, but I’m trying to move more swiftly through the digital world, rocking the keyboard instead of the mouse. It’s faster because you don’t have to move your hands and waste time repositioning (wow, I’m a nerd). (Confession: I just used the mouse and now I’m kicking myself. I definitely haven’t mastered this yet.) If you’re ready to be so fast and so furious, so you can get back to the things that matter, check out my favorite shortcuts below. I haven’t included every keyboard shortcut, but only the ones that I find the most helpful. I’d love to hear what some of your favorite shortcuts are in the comments. ...

This is a guest post by Mike Mobley from Before the Cross. Mike is “Saved by grace through faith. In love with Jesus, his Glory, and obviously my beautiful wife Joelle and daughter Peyton! Seeking Him in everything to glorify Him and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.” You can connect with him on Twitter as well. We all have opportunities from our past that we missed out on by not acting. Regrets can fill our lives. We can sulk in our guilt for and keep beating ourselves up, saying, “I could have done this. I could have done that.”The reality is, you won’t get that same chance again. To keep living in the past shows a lack of trust in God and results in a waste of time in the present. “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6 Let’s remember that for those who have a relationship with Christ, that we have God. There is no reason to fear or be afraid. Instead, be strong and courageous. God is not going to leave you or forsake you. Here is a good example from my past: ...

I write about the apps I use really frequently (I need to justify owning an iPhone somehow). I recently discovered MacSparky, David Sparks’ website. He often highlights the home screens of his friends’ iPhones, and since I don’t have any friends, I decided to write about my own home screen. My home screen is in constant flux. I’ve moved the icons around a dozen times in the last week since being back in the States (au revoir, MagicJack and Ljubljana Bus app). It was time to get all efficient. I normally sell you on why I love apps, but this is more on how I use them and my general iOS workflow instead of just great apps. I’ve been thinking a lot about workflow lately thanks to the Mac Power Users podcast (by David Sparks and Katie Floyd) and my incessant urge to be ever more productive and efficient. ...