Happy Birthday to jungle jeff noel

Happy birthday to me.

“How old are you”?, people ask.  “How old do you think I am”?, I ask back.

The answer is I can’t tell you.  You won’t believe me.

Huh?

Exactly.

Many people thought Walt Disney was crazy.  I’m just a chip off the old block.

People thought he was crazy because he dreamt dreams that seemed impossible.  He questioned things, and many were uncomfortable with that.

He was rarely satisfied.  He was always pushing himself and others to think of the next great thing – something that hadn’t been thought of before.

As I reach this milestone today, I consciously give myself more permission to be a crazy man, in the same spirit as Walt Disney.

Anyway, just wanted to wish all you readers a very Happy Birthday, whenever your special day arrives.

Never let your memories be bigger than your dreams.  And if your goal isn’t impossible, you’re not reaching high enough.

Carpe diem, jeff 🙂

jeff noel Intrigued by Air Tran’s style

Walt Disney and jeff noel.

Two crazy (in a good way) men.

Both lived much of their lives with many people thinking and saying, “He’s crazy”!

I often have to clarify for our eight-year old son, when I say something “crazy“, that I meant it as a figure of speech.

Rather than clarify with text this time, here’s a You Tube jeff noel video.  At the end of this post, I may or may not share an additional crazy insight.

Carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂

PS. Please know that I’m not endorsing Air Tran, but rather, making some simple observations that impressed me.  How can that ever be a bad thing – the observing things that impress you, I mean?

Disney & Hurricane Season

Hurricane season and Disney.  What does this mean?

Hurricane season starts today, June 1.

It also means hurricanes are most likely two months away.

We have already been thinking ahead.  That is what great organizations and great leaders do.  They think ahead.

Because this is such a simple concept to grasp, many overlook it when faced with more urgent tasks, like getting through the business day in these turbulent times.

But the reality of hurricanes never goes away, no matter how busy or how distracted we become.

Same with other important and simple concepts, like our health, as a relevant example.

Diet and exercise right?

Those two simple concepts will keep your cholesterol and blood pressure in better shape than if you don’t focus on them.  Right?

Then why do so many of us struggle to stay healthy?

The health of an organization is two simple things as well:  Culture and Leadership.

What are you doing to stay healthy?

Carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂

Disney Twitter or Twitter Disney?

This morning’s Orlando Sentinel has great news, the Orlando Magic are going to the NBA finals.  Woo-hoo!

It also featured an article on Twitter.  Seems the Orlando Sentinel “newspaper”, which I read every morning, online, is now on Twitter.

The Sentinel’s Tech expert and writer, Etan Horowitz, explains in OS.com on Twitter.

What does this have to do with jungle jeff?

That’s right, you guessed it.  Everything.

At a nine-year old’s birthday party yesterday, while our son was having fun with his friends in the pool, another parent and I discussed his iPhone, my new MacBook, and a few dozen really cool social media apps that most people are not familiar with.

Twitter?  Yes, most have heard of, but few understand, it’s capability to market their business.  Just look up Twitter on Google to see the buzz.

One of those companies that does understand it is the Orlando Sentinel.

What about you?

Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂

Happy Memorial Day

Happy.  Memorial Day.

The two words seem to contradict each other.

While my Dad and my Father-in-law served our Country, both came back alive.

My Father-in-law returned from Europe after WWII.

My Dad came back from Japan after the Korean Conflict.

There are many Families that will have a different, and more difficult, time remembering this day than most of us.

This day is dedicated to the memory of their loved ones.  The ones that never came home to see their Family grow.

It is with the utmost respect, and deepest humility, that we should all remember the price for our freedom.

Freedom isn’t free.  It often comes with a huge price tag.  

Today is about the price that has been paid in full

Walt Disney once said something very close to this, “If you could look deep into my eyes, you would see red, white and blue stripes”.

The Star Spangled Banner is one of our Nation’s great songs.  Let freedom ring.  Peace, jeff