After 95 years, the Oregon Ducks football team are the Rose Bowl champions.

If you’ve known me long, you know that I have a great affinity for the state of Oregon, and it’s not just the football. From the mountains to oceans, skiing to rock climbing, Tillamook cheese to Stumptown Coffee, let’s not forget maple bars, and to family and lifelong friends, the state is full of things that bring fond memories of my childhood and subsequent visits. So, it is of great pride that I too, claim this victory alongside my fellow Oregonians.

As for the Oregon State Beaver fans—uh-hum, my sister—sorry. Maybe next year.

Let’s hear it for the boys!

PS. Did you see those killer helmets? Check it out

 

My marketing team likes to break loose and get down from time to time. This Happy New Years video will not disappoint. Oh, and watch out for my cameo at 1:08.

Happy New Year from Halogen TV

Just yesterday, I told my wife that I wasn’t going to blog anymore. I resigned to be a not-blogger.

Today, I reconsidered.

Then I redesigned and now, I relaunched.

Truth is, I know what the “successful” bloggers have to do to be successful in this space. Given that I’m a diehard marketing guy, I’ve been lured into the success model. The problem is, I just don’t have time to put that kind of effort into it. So, I wondered what would happen if I broke all the rules and blogged about whatever I wanted? If I didn’t watch the numbers, tweeted every post, or tried to push it? I wondered what would happen if I just let it be? Thoughts of this have already reinvigorated me. I can’t wait to blog again.

For the 166 of you who subscribe to my blog via RSS, THANK YOU! It’s my hope that you find something of value here. If not, feel free to unsubscribe; no hard feelings. But if you stick around, I invite you to become part of the conversation. I promise I’ll reciprocate, leave comments and follow you on Twitter too. All of this is more fun when we’re building community, don’t you think?

Oh, and one more thing: in true marketing fashion, I’m going to test a new format. Rather than only posting my content, I’m going to post content from around the web that I think is interesting. What this ultimately means, is that I will be posting a lot more frequently about topics, articles, research, resources, technology and other areas of interest. Think of it more like a virtual catalog of interesting stuff (to me anyway).

And if you’re here for the first time. Welcome!

For the first time in years, I’m actually excited  and simply just write. I hope to see you around.

It’s with great pride that I introduce to you, Daniel Noble Chowning. Born on December 29, 2010 at 7:53am in Charlotte, NC, he weighed in at 8 pounds 5 ounces at a healthy 20 inches long.

The Name

Many of asked about the origin of the name. Both Daniel and Noble are family names.

Daniel is named after my father-in-law: Daniel Keith Kitchell. He’s known by most folks at Keith, but Daniel is his first name and we couldn’t be more thrilled to use it. Daniel “Keith” is a man of valor, integrity and strong convictions. He’s taught me a lot about life in the short amount of time that I’ve called him my father-in-law. To give my son his name is both an honor and high bar.

Noble was the name of both my grandfather and my great-grandfather. The name is rich in legacy.

My dad’s dad, Noble Jr., died in a plane crash when my dad was 16, while looking for a friend of his who went down in a plane just days before. He died doing a noble deed, thus living up to his name.

My great-grandfather was Noble Sr. I was fortunate to have had a relationship with before he died in 1997. He was a business owner, entrepreneur, visionary and a man who was dedicated to his family, faith and life. A little fun fact: In 1991 I purchased my first car from him: a 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback that Noble Jr. originally purchased. I still own it and plan on passing it down to my boys someday.

And that’s my boy. He’s growing like a weed and full of life. I couldn’t be more thrilled and honored to be his dad.

And no, this isn’t about the movie Inception—although it could be if this next post is really about a dream.

It’s official. I’m a Charlottean.

This past Saturday, I arrived in the Queen City after a beautiful drive over the Smokey Mountains from Nashville. As you can see, I had my first car in tow. It’s a 1968 Mustang Fastback that I’m proud to say has been a family car since it came off the lot. My grandfather bought it (I have the original sales invoice for it still), my parents dated in it and I’ve had it since 1991. But I digress.

The plan was to arrive in Charlotte and unload our new house while Kristy and the kids drove over from Nashville to arrive to a half-way unpacked house.

As of today, Monday, I’m staying in a hotel in Charlotte and my wife and kids are in Nashville waiting for me to call with good news.

We’re in limbo…

To be honest, I am not genetically created to like out-of-my-control situations (just being honest).

Since arriving, I’ve looked at exactly 10 more rental houses, on top of the 20 or so that I’ve seen on previous trips. I’ve pursued four homes, only to have them be too expensive, rented or mysteriously unavailable. Also, it turns out that 90lb labs are an issue too.

We’re in limbo…and I’m still not really liking it.

Yet, strangely, I am.

There’s something about this process that is frustrating, yet fulfilling all at the same time. While I’m very much in the middle of my transition, here are three things that I’m holding onto for dear life right now:

1. Change, really is fun!
   Think about it, you can either get mad, worry, be full of anxiety, or, do your best and trust that it will work out—because it will.
2. It’s not what you think it should be
   This can be the most frustrating because we spend a lot of time crafting the perfect change, only to realize that what we think change will look like, and what it will really be, is two different things. It’s best to plan really well, and be faithful to walk with one foot in front of the other—no matter what comes your way.
3. Don’t get distracted
   This is the most dangerous of them all because it can come in many, unexpected forms: self-pity, lingering in the frustrations and doubt, just to name a few. Here, you begin to second guess a lot. If you’re here, do what you can to find the off-ramp and fast.

Nobody is perfect at change and embracing it looks different for everybody. Personally, I claim to really like it, which is me believing #1. I “really like it” because of the unpredictability of #2, which is ultimately supposed to be about #1. But right now, I’m looking for off ramps.

The reality is, in the next few days, or even in the next couple of weeks (#2), my family will be settled (#1) in our new home here in Charlotte and the difficulties of this change will begin to subside. I only hope that next time, I’ll remember these days and strive to fully embrace change. After all, it really is fun.

You may resume your regularly scheduled reading.

Every night that I put my 2 year-old to sleep, I look forward to a really sweet time of hugs, laughs, kisses and singing. My songs consists of those that are short, easy to sing and hopefully, easy to remember so one day, she’ll sing them with me. But seriously, have you considered the content in nursery rhymes?

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop,
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock,
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby, cradle and all.

Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.

All sad and violent endings to otherwise great beginnings.

Does anybody else wonder why we sing these songs to our kids?

So I was thinking about LOST today and probably like you, I’ve been wondering why the dual plot lines. One moment, Jack and crew are still on the island. On another, he’s landed safe in LAX. But why? Here’s my conclusion so far.

In the end, they will go back in time, blow up the shaft again, and the show will end with Jack and the crew landing in LAX. As to the reason why Jack had vague recognition to the other passengers has to do something with him being the hero. At some point, he will have to lead the way and separate himself from the rest resulting in them living a normal life and Jack having recollection.

There. It may be right. It may be wrong. What do you think? (comment below)

…to Charlotte, NC.

Over the past 18 months, I have been working closely with a very talented group of people to dream, craft, strategize and launch Halogen TV. It’s been a lot of fun, a huge learning curve and a tremendous challenge. During this time, repeated conversations came up about my involvement and I was asked to consider taking the open slot as the Vice President of Marketing.

As of January 1, I have stepped into that position.

There’s a lot that needs to happen before we actually move. In the next week or two we’ll put our house on the market (want to buy it?), I am beginning to transition out of being a full-time consultant, and we’ll start looking for a new home in Charlotte.

Don’t worry, there are Chipotle’s in Charlotte too. (haha)

In all seriousness…did I mention that they have an IKEA?

Okay, really serious now. Leaving Nashville is going to suck on so many fronts, but we are going confident that there is a story that God has for us there that is waiting to be written, and we can’t wait to see what it’s all about.

So, thank you to our friends for strapping into the roller coaster of “do we move to Charlotte, or not?” for the past year. We can’t thank you enough for the counsel, advice, insight and wisdom you’ve shown. You’re welcome to come with us! Thank you to our parents for being so supportive. Jacob & Tara, wanna move with us? Come on, it’ll be fun. To the Halogen crew, this is going to be a fun ride—I can’t wait.

To the friends we’ve yet to meet, the church we’ve yet to find, the paths we’ve yet to cross and the worlds that have yet to collide…we’re coming and we can’t wait to meet you.

To my wife, who had no idea what she was signing up for when she married me, you give me the strength to live this story with enthusiasm, anticipation, boldness and the dare to believe that we really can change the world. I can’t wait to live out this new story with you. And to Savannah and Caleb, I love it that you’ll be with us no matter where we go…well, until you decide that mom and dad are fuddy duds and want to write your own story. Until then…

I started my first Sunday of 2010 at Cross Point church here in Nashville. The title of the teaching was “My Prayer for You” by pastor Pete Wilson.

The title didn’t immediately hit me, so as he started to talk, admittedly, my mind wasn’t fully present until he said, “You may not want me to pray this for you, but I’m going to anyway.”

What? Why would he say it that way?

His message was simple:

1. Faith
2. Purpose
3. Wisdom

But what he said wasn’t.

He spoke about faith, and fear, and limitations, and lack of faith. He said things like…

“Fears establish the limits on your life…”

and

“The reason why you’re paralyzed by fear is not because of fear, it’s because of “little” faith.”

All of these were fine to listen to, but I didn’t really hear them, like I hear a harp, until he started talking about money (of course). Basically the story went like this…

A man commits to giving $600, because it was doable. God asks him to step out in faith and commit to $2000. Man does. Questions his commitment. Man get’s a $2080 raise three days after.

But provision is not the point of the story.

A man commits to give what he knew he could. God asks him to commit to a number that wasn’t possible. Man’s heart was turned and expectant upon God. God surprises him. Man is overwhelmed. Man’s faith increases.

I wondered what $ amount I would have to commit to see my faith exercised? Then I wondered, “if God can do all things, what stops him from sending $100,000 my way, to commit and giveaway?”

My faith.

Honestly, I don’t believe that I have the faith to commit to that kind of faith. That’s just scary faith…like stupid scary faith. It would surely end up in failure? Right? I mean, how in the world could I dare to believe that God could do that?

And there you have it. My own “little faith,” rooted in fear, has already established the limits that I put on God’s ability to use me like that. This, my friends, is messing with me in ways that have only just begun.

For Discussion: Imagine if I/you really did believe that God could, would and will use me, you, us, like that? What then, could be possible? What’s stopping you/us from believing like that?