Everything Enoch

Five lessons for putting on a great conference #WABCON

The "Enoch" — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:52:40 GMT

So roughly five years ago my business partner and I formed a Software Development company named Wasatch Dev. At the time we started looking into the normal Business opportunities for a startup. We ventured to many organizations to find which one would work best to help us grow. We ended on the Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce. Unfortunately, we found out all to late what many people before us had found. It didn’t really give us an opportunity to grow as a business.

The PoCoc had one event we found rather interesting: a program called Chamber University. The idea: to give any business the opportunity to train other business owners in a technique or trick to help them grow their business. This was perfect! It was the program we were looking to help us grow. We went to a couple of the events and were greatly disappointed. These weren’t trainings, but glorified sales pitches to business owners. “I would love to teach you about simple accounting skills, but their rather complex so you should have me do your books.” What a joke.

Being that I love education, I brought up the idea to my business partner about doing a Chamber University that was pure education. Our rates were a little too high for the small business owner, but if we could get them to be more successful they would be able to afford us. So we started brainstorming through ideas that would could teach small business owners. And we came up with about 100 different ideas. We could have been doing Chamber Universities for many years. We needed another thought.

Enter WABCON. A day long business education event that trained business owners, no sales pitches. But who would come and see two relatively unknown computer geeks talk about technology all day? We needed something else. A lot of small business clients we worked with would ask us questions about marketing, finance and business management so we decided to find the greatest minds in those areas and see if they would help us present for the day. And low and behold they loved the idea and wanted to be a part.

Lesson #1: Find an idea and stick with it unapologetically

We wanted to create the ultimate business education conference focused in four key business areas: marketing, finance, technology and business management. There were often times were people came to us and asked if they could present on a new book they just wrote or about a new product they wanted to sell. We would tell them if that we do not sell anything @ WABCON. WABCON was about pure business education. We have lost a number of presenters, but we have maintained a level of integrity with our clients that is important. We make sure that our clients know when they hear WABCON that they hear education.

It is important to be passionate about your idea. Now you can get too focused on the idea that you might miss some of the picture, but that’s where getting people to help comes into the picture. The trick is to compromise where it does not alter the original focus. Back of room sales, a new program this year, does not interfere with the pure education presentation, but it can entice certain key note presenters. Altering the program around the idea does not mean that you are altering the idea. It could, but the trick is to have your vision defined so you know where the boundaries can be pushed. Enhance your idea … don’t alter it.

Lesson #2: Find key people who share your vision and ask for help

We made sure that when we partnered with companies and people that they shared the same vision as we had. I know that the business decision maker needs to know about changes in the business environment. Having those people who understand that same idea is equally as important. Not only will they drive your message to their spheres of influence, but they will also help you keep on track when you begin to wax and wane. Making sure you have people around you who support your same ideas and want to see them succeed helps grow the brand and make it more of a reality.

When we first started WABCON it was Bryce and myself, with a few others helping spread the word. The second year we started planning the conference about 8 months prior with a few other people. Now we have a phone meeting every two weeks to plan events throughout the year. And each monthly event we have is a unique experience for the business decision maker. We have a rotating volunteer staff that helps on the phone calls to create the best education events possible for our clients. We want to see them grow! Success breeds success!

Lesson #3: Broadcast the word as much as possible

Stephen Sondheim once wrote, “A vision is just a vision if it’s only in your head.” This is true of products and services just as it is with events. Our first year we were involved with the PoCoC and did a lot of information through them. Granted they had a great person working with them who ended up getting a job in Texas. Once we lost connection with the PoCoC representative we stopped attending their functions. This dried up an aspect of the business community we were drawing new clientele. When we stopped our numbers started to dwindle. Sure we had a pool of people we were pulling from who would bring in contacts, but it wasn’t enough to make our conference grow where we wanted to be.

Enter in Kristin who started helping us spread the word in local networking groups.She joined the Orem chapter of BNI (Business Networking International) and starting attending the American Fork Chamber of Commerce (a phenomenal Chamber to belong). With the help of Kristin we were able to bring our numbers higher and get more clients. The key? Broadcasting the word. Bryce and I were so busy keeping Wasatch Dev alive that trying to get to all the networking opportunities was extremely difficult. But with Kristin helping out it made it easier and more effective.

Lesson #4: Get INCREDIBILE presenters who you TRUST

I have been charged with playing favorites when it comes to the presenters and instructors we have at WABCON. And to be honest, I am guilty of this accusation. But in my defense it is because I trust these presenters with the integrity of WABCON. There have been many people who have wanted to present, but after a little time with them, hearing their presentation ideas, and learning what other people have to say about them … I decline. It is important to me that our clients learn something from the presenters they can implement in their business and see results, than to have someone just speak and present in front of an audience. And the presenters we have are amazing people who I greatly trust with my clients. I do my research and make sure that others know what they are getting into.

I have been to many conferences where a key note presentation did nothing but ramble about the latest party they attended, or just talked about the latest gadget they acquired and gave no information pertinent to the business owner. Sometimes the presenter doesn’t understand the audience and speaks too technically or sophisticated for the attendee. We make sure that each of our presenters understand a couple key points: 1) Experiential is more meaningful than Lecture; 2) Teach to the Head (intellect), the Hand (implementation) and the Heart (excitement); and 3) Make sure that the participant walks away with something they can implement immediately. When you have a pool of presenters that you trust to get that message to your clients how often do you accept a source who does not care about those ideas?

Lesson #5: The Attendees are the most important people

The people who come to WABCON are the most important people in the world. To see them get excited about our events and come prepared to get education and learn tricks that they can use in their businesses is important. I love hearing stories from people about the exciting things that happen because of our events. And knowing that we are a part of those activities is greatly rewarding.

Many people ask what we get out of the conference. “You must be making a lot of money?” The truth is we don’t. We put on WABCON to give back to the community. We do it to help business grow and succeed. We do it for the fun of putting on a conference that helps people. Some day we are going to break the 250 attendee threshold that we have set for our conference. That would be great, however, I know if we ever get to that number then it will become increasingly more difficult to sit with everyone and see how they are doing. I love working together on the goals of the attendees. I love helping them get to the next level. I love engaging in those conversations. It’s because of the attendees that I hold fast to the integrity of this conference.

If you are in the Orem UT area around October 22nd, 2009 and want to see a great conference event. Please come and visit us. You can read all about our conference @ http://www.Wabcon.com and register for the event. And if I don’t know you, please come introduce yourself. I would love to see what I can do to help your business grow. And possibly, just possibly, show you how important you truly are to us.

Open Letter #4: the time with you …

The "Enoch" — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:48:44 GMT

Accepting all I’ve done and said
I want to stand and stare again until there’s nothing left out.
Whoa it remains there in your eyes
Whatever comes and goes I will hear your silent call
And I will touch this tender wall until I know I’m home again
it’s in your eyes …
In Your Eyes – Secret World Live – Peter Gabriel

Dear … mysterious known,

There is something about your piercing blues that have entered my daydreams over the past couple of days. Possibly because I am reliving a haunt from my past. Or quite possibly I’m projecting a future envision. What ever the reason I have seen my soul opening with a glance from your way.

It frightens me to think that I have projected you in my mind. The possibilities of the future is left to the dreamers … am I, or better yet, you one of those dreamers? I see you in the laughter of people around me and I hear you in their smiles. I want to stand and stare again in your eyes. But not knowing who you are makes me wonder where am I staring and where am I standing. And possibly … you are wondering the same thoughts.

The eyes are the window to the soul. That sounds so much more deep than I wanted to be. But if we can truly understand each other then shouldn’t we be able to understand our stares … our glances … our gazes. If I can’t look at you deeply and get lost in your stare then will we have a chance? With conversation, intelligence, wisdom and grace all being important aspects of us, if we can’t comprehend without words are we together?

I would like to think that being able to sit and look happily at you would be enough to sustain me. I would like to think that the physical, emotional and spiritual can be imprinted by you to me through a passionate gaze. I would love to see within your eyes “the doorway to a thousand churches,” A thousand places of peace, a thousand places of sanctuary. And maybe that is what I am missing in my searches for you.

In my rough placement for “the one” then I am possibly not seeing the fault in myself. How can I ask of you something I cannot do? I need to give the same temperament and treatment that I am expecting from you. And can you find that from me? Am I a sanctuary of a thousand?

So I will grow and progress to be that person. If you can accept me, then grow with me. Give me a chance and I will be a rock for you to find comfort. Then, when all is attained and adored, we will have “the light, the heat” and “be complete” in each other.

It’s in your eyes …

Open Letter #3: When time is running out

The "Enoch" — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:06:18 GMT

You are the new day …
   One more day when time is running out for everyone
   Like a breath I knew would come, I reach for a new day
   Hope is my philosophy … just needs days in which to be
   Love of life is hope for me, born on a new day
You are the new day!
You are the New Day – The New Day – The King’s Singers

Dearest friend,

There is a great quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay Friendship that says:

Dear Friend: -
If I was sure of thee, sure of they capacity, sure to match my mood with thine, I should never think again of trifles, in relation to thy comings and goings. I am not very wise: my moods are quite attainable: and I respect thy genius: it is to me as yet unfathomed; yet dare I not presume in thee a perfect intelligence of me, and so thou are to me a delicious torment. Thine ever or never.

It’s the last line, “Thine ever or never”, that I find the most troublesome. Ever or Never. I’m firm in my belief this life does not remain consistent in relationships. They are either growing or receding. I have never experienced a relationship that remains constant over time. Sometimes rebuilding the connection is not difficult, but other times it is extremely gossamer. So I do not want to waste our precious time together fiddling around with trivialities. I want to understand and know the whole of you.

Time is the greatest illusion. The idea there will always be more. The thought it is fleeting and we will never experience it again. The truth is these moments that make up our experiences together are flashes of rare emotion. And if you or I leave, those moments of rare emotion will recede our connection or strengthen our desire. The choice, I’m quite afraid, is made upon the strength of our relation.

If we were sure of each other’s intentions, sure of our potential to love, sure our feelings were unified, distance would hold no boundaries for us, and we would pine for the return. But if we lack slightly in any of those areas, then surely moving beyond the capacity of our current actions would be simple. Our tenuous connection would be severed and new bonds would be created with different people. It has happened to you and has happened to me.

So time is running out on us. It always has been ever since we met. And if we want to continue then we need to focus on the connection we’ve made. The hope I have is that we create our tie that is strong to outlast the trials of tomorrow … whatever those may be. So within the last moments we have, either this week or for years to come, let me fight for our unity. Let me fight for our understanding. Let me fight for our together. That way, when we part, I know that our sinews will be unified in the strength of Love, Hope and each other. Until we meet again.

The potential of a New Day is in your smile. And that, My dear friend, is what a delicious torment you are to me.

Thine ever …

Open Letter #2: What I’d Be Without You

The "Enoch" — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:55:04 GMT

“I may not always love you, but long as there are stars above you
you’ll never need to doubt it, I’ll make you so sure about it
God only knows what I’d be without you …
If you should ever leave me, well life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me, so what good would living do me?
God only knows what I’d be without you … “
God only knows – Pet Sounds – The Beach Boys

Dear “her”,

My thoughts have driven me to think about the life I could be leading and also the life that I lead. Effortlessly I drift along my own path tossing up fractured ideas about perfection. However … no, that’s the wrong phrase … With reluctance, I know that I am not the ideal, perfect man. My flaws are numerous and my weaknesses are many, but … I have no idea where I would be without your guiding light shining.

As much as I have foibles, I know that you are not perfect as well; we are equally flawed. But using your visage/countenance as a beacon I look at myself and hope for the best. I draw a path towards greatness and achievement, not because you demand it, but because you deserve it. I do this freely and without request. I do this to find a perfection in myself that is there and hopefully, one day, to be able to complete that perfection and deserve the ideal I have placed on you.

I ask only one thing in return … your understanding that I am not placing you on a pedestal to gloat or boast. I am treasuring the creature that is within, the underlying wonderment and amazement that is your potential. Please do not use this as an excuse to think you are all deserving of my affections and admirations. I am not to be used in a disposable manner. I want to have the vision and the goal to work towards. Guaranteed, if you and I ever found each other the hope that I could be placed on that same pedestal is there.

For now … I’m happy to astound from afar. It helps me become a stronger, better man that will be in demand. Possibly that triumphant, glorious angel could be you. But if not … then for a time we both had memories and moments that are happy and pleasant. In the process we hopefully grew as people too.

God truly only knows what I would be like without you,

Enoch

Open Letter #1: And You and I

The "Enoch" — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:09:45 GMT

“ … And you and I climb over the sea to the valley,
and you and I reach out for reasons to call …
I listened hard, but could not see life tempo change out and inside me …
In the end we’ll agree, we’ll accept, we’ll immortalize that the truth of the man maturing in his eyes,
all complete in the sight of seeds of life with you.
Coming quickly to terms of all expressions laid,
as a moment regained and regarded both the same,
emotion revealed as the ocean maid,
a clearer future, morning, evening, nights with you …”
And You and I – Close to the Edge – Words by Jon Anderson, Music by Yes

Dear “Muse”,

I have been doing a lot of thought about today and You and I. Mostly about I, but I can’t help but feel I should include You in the thought. Since there is no “us”, I need to find the words that might make something towards that idea possible.

I know that You are pursuing a course different than what was originally thought. Life has taken a direction that wasn’t planned, and for that You are trying to make sense of the journey that You now embark. I have watched You travel and have wanted to help, but my actions may not be reciprocated in the correct manner. You have your life to govern, while I have mine, and I do not want my care and concern to be unwanted interactions.

So I would like to propose an idea. You have found yourself in a position to make You struggle with the term “us”. You have had trials in the past with persons of selfish needs. People who look at the “us” as an end to grow the “self”. Or, even worse, People who use the “us” to limit the growth of “You” so the “I” will always be dominant. Many people have been in that situation, myself included, but I would like to propose a new venture … something that might change your mind on the idea.

I have found a newly found joy looking at joint possibilities. Collaboration with new colleagues who have given me the potential to grow. Grow in new and exciting ways. I retain my individuality while these collaborations let me see the power the group has over the self. And because of this collaboration I have been thinking about You.

I love the accomplishments and potential of what You offer. I would never want to diminish You in that way, which I know others have tried to do. I think … no … I know You are amazing and secretly hope that I can live up to the ideal placed on You. And I know if You are interested We can create amazing things the world has never seen. I would love to be a part of You to help achieve the next level … whatever that level means.

But this “We” only works if You see the same potential in what I offer as well. There can be no dominance in the joint venture. When the status quo of the collaboration shifts power then the equality of the team starts to become tenuous and strained. Of course at times You will win out over needs, but at times I need to win out as well. Together, We can build each other to a higher strength than ever imagined. But it needs to be a unified “we”, not a “We” that is unbalanced. We have both been in situations like that. We have found that it lessens our potential and ourselves, and we cannot be the people we are destined to be.

So what do You think of what I have proposed? A partnership together to create the best “us” that we can be. A partnership to never lose “You” or “I”, but together finding the best “You” and “I” imaginable by working together as “us”. Isn’t that what everyone wants? A person to boost them up when the silver lining cannot be found? A person to revel in their times of joy and happiness? A person who will celebrate the entire being of the other?

I am not trying to impose myself on You. I just want You to know that I appreciate all that You are. And I think … no I believe that You are a person that will change the world. I don’t want to miss out on that opportunity because You were never given the option. You and I … us … we can make it.

If it is something You want as well.

Sincerely,

A personal I

Open Letters to the Unknown Her

The "Enoch" — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:32:51 GMT

So I know that I have recently not been doing my share of contributing to the blogsphere. To use the terms found in torrents, I’m much more of a leecher than a seeder. To my defense … no there is no defense. I’ve been selfish with my time and not willing to contribute or share. And to those out there who are interested to what I have to say … sorry, I’ll try to be better.

The problem with writing about my “Love Life” is the fact that I really have no “love life” to speak intelligently about. There are certain people that I find intriguing, and there are people that I enjoy spending time hanging out with, but … no one really important enough to call “significant other” or even “special interest".

I know that seems a little crazy since those who know me have seen a torrid past that is up and down the roller coaster of relations, but … currently my affections lie with myself and hoping to be better to get to the next level with this mysterious someone. I’ve been out of the game for a little while. But I know if I want to attract that special someone I need to become the person with whom a special someone would be interested.

Which brings me to the “Open Letters”. I’ve decided to write some of my “dating” thoughts down so that people can interact with them and hopefully give me words of encouragement as well as tell me what I’m doing wrong. These letters will be addressed to an unknown her. I was thinking about using a name, possibly something that starts with an “A” since I’ve always had a fascination with females starting with the letter “A”, but I’ve opted to not include a name so that no one will get their feelings hurt or suspect that I am talking about them. If I use a name I’ll stick with “Muse”, the reason which you can decipher on your own. I trust you.

So that’s it. Hopefully you can follow me on my journey through the quagmire of companionship as I begin to write things down and get to the bottom of this troublesome journey. Plus … I hope you enjoy the adventure. Remember that these are just the thoughts running through my head. Like most good opinions and drives they will grow and progress over time to something that can be magnanimous. Please don’t lambast me too much in my infancy.

Happy hunting to you all!

The Budding Roses of Business Growth

The "Enoch" — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:19:00 GMT

In hopes of trying to get a little sleep in the evening I’ve been listening to a lot of different songs on my computer. I’ve almost burned my entire CD collection, which has been great to have in a portable organized fashion that doesn’t require me to scroll with my thumb. In listening to my eclectic collection I stumbled upon an old favorite of mine … the Shaw Brothers.

For those of you who don’t know the Shaw Brothers, they are a folk duo from New Hampshire that pretty much sum up the feeling of NH days in a simple musical style. The folk music is very Irish sounding and will by no means awe and inspire you if you are listening to them for the first time, but I was dragged to many a Shaw Brother concert growing up and found a closet love for them. They have a couple of songs that are traditionally sound: New Hampshire Naturally (NH’s state song), The Ballad of the Concord Coach and Seven Daffodils to name a couple.

The song that hit me pretty hard this evening though was “Take Some Time to Smell the Roses.” A simple phrase that is mentioned over in over with great platitudes from people. But this sentiment got me thinking about some of the clients that I work with in my Social Interneting strategy sessions. Most importantly about the breakthroughs that certain clients have had over the last couple of weeks.

One of the important aspects that I talk about with business owners is the importance of self reflection. We turn the mirror on each other and take a moment to answer 5 simple questions: What makes you special?; What are you Passionate about?; How do you communicate?; What are your strengths?; and finally what are your weaknesses? These appear to be simple questions that any person could take about 5 minutes to answer, but I spend a couple hours with a client to really focus on these ideas. Most people don’t analyze themselves with great depth and because of that struggle to position themselves in the world: virtual and physical.

Usually after working with a client in these arenas an idea will open up that makes the business owner smile and realize that there are areas they should be focusing. I have yet to have a client leave a strategy session where we work through these concepts leaving unsatisfied with the new direction they should be heading. The reason why the approach works is the simplicity of questions and where they can lead. The other trick behind it is taking the time to actually work through the answers. And it’s amazing what roses of realization occur when you take the time.

What are the roses? Some are ideas of who they want to become. Some are understandings of what they want to be doing. Some are just realizations of where they want to focus their lives. What we create is a simple blossom that needs to be tended and cultivated into something amazing. Most of the business owners I meet take very little “time to smell the roses” because of the busy schedule they live. When we work together we focus on themselves in a safe focused environment so that we can find the sprouting buds that have been hidden for so long.

So if I can give a little advice to business owners beginning and established. If you are finding the situations that currently exist a little challenging and burdensome, take some time to smell the roses. Look at yourself and what you are doing and ask a simple question, “Am I working smarter or just harder?” Find an exercise to focus a little attention to yourself and discover what is amazing about you. Then turn that into something that increases your business. You’ll be amazed at what an exercise like that can produce.

Oh … and if you find yourself having a little trouble … don’t hesitate to drop me a line. :)

“Take some time to smell the roses” lyrics

Take some time to smell the roses
before the summer time slips away

I was born on a farm in west Virginia
My daddy worked hard for a living all of his days
there was a whole lot of work to be done
but we always took time to have fun
And I remember what my daddy used to say

Take some time to smell the roses
As you hurry on your way
Take some time to smell the roses
before the summer time slips away

I left home one day to seek my fortune
When I think of the things I've seen and the places I've been
Oh I've been up and I've been down
but through the toughest times I've found
you can always rise and face the world again

If you just take sometime to smell the roses
as you hurry on your way
take some time to smell the roses
before the summer time slips away

Well I'm a married man with a young son of my own now
And I'm as proud of him as any daddy can be
But if I could give him some advice
That would last him all his life
I know for sure just what those words would be

I'd tell him take some time to smell the roses
As you hurry on your way
take some time to smell the roses
before the summer time slips away

The #SMCSLC February Panel of Love … and fame

The "Enoch" — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:00:33 GMT

So after a LOOOOONG day at work I was excited to see the alarm on my phone go off. "90 minutes to SMCSLC" was the alert. 5:00 already? That meant I only had 15 minutes to finish my coding and jump in the car. @DeanGirls was waiting for me to pick her up and ride up to Salt Lake City for the Social Media Club event and last time I was late … well …. Let's just say I can't be late again.

So we were talking about what was going to happen that evening. A Meet and Greet. Door prizes. And then a panel discussion. What were we going to discuss? Who knew? It didn't really matter because the last event was pretty cool (see Last Night at the Social Media Club …) so we were excited to see what was going to happen. I've been doing a lot of Consulting with local business owners so seeing other people's viewpoints is always exciting and educational. People grow by being willing to listen and understand various viewpoints.

So we drove and talked for the hour it took to get there. The location changed to the Neutron Interactive facilities in Downtown SLC so finding it for a non-local always takes a few more moments. So we found the place and parked. There were a bunch of people walking into the same building and heading up the elevator to the event so I hoped we didn't miss it … And you couldn't. Not just because @paco_belle and @jyl_MomIF were waiting for everyone at the door, but because IT WAS PACKED WITH PEOPLE!! This was great because a bigger crowd meant more people to meet with and connect.

But I was really hungry, so I mainlined to the drink table to get some water ignoring everyone around me. My apologies to all the people I was rude, but … I really needed something in the tummy. Afterwards I saw @ThomAllen looking at the big Twitter screen and I thought that I would say hello. @ThomAllen has been working REALLY hard on setting up the second PodCampSLC and I wanted to make sure things were going well. I also thought that I would offer help since I also put on a semi-big conference in the fall (WABCON) that Thom has presented at. Just as we were starting to converse the announcement came that the panel was about to start.

So first there were door prizes given out to a number of people. Some pretty cool ones to: Ski Passes to Park City, an eBay gift card, Tickets to Hoogle Zoo and various other items. Then the panel was introduced and given time to talk about themselves. Here are the people and a quick précis about what they said.

@apowerpoint – Anthony Power – A very diverse technological man with a degree in Psychology, Anthony talked about TRUST and what that means to the conversation in Social Media. He stayed very focused on marketing throughout the meeting and had some great insights and points. For a snippet of insight: http://apowerpoint.blogspot.com/2009/02/explaining-social-media-and-marketing.html
@todaysmama – Rachael Herrscher – A very insightful woman who spoke about mothers and how influential that demographic is becoming in the world of Social Media. She urged us to be mindful of this growing group and utilize that understanding in how we create campaigns and strategies for Social Media.
@jesse – Jesse Stay – A hugely popular Social Media connector and author who spoke about creating the "Real Connection" instead of just the virtual connection. He shared a story about a business startup that he was tweeting about that took the time to send him a thank you card and attention about his needs and desires for using their product. It showed that there are real people behind some of the these virtual personas that we sometimes fail to connect with.
@sarabanut – Sara Brueck Nichols – A strong mannered woman who spoke with great passion about not abusing the connections you have with people. She spoke about non-profits and how by providing information about what services you are provided how powerful that is in the minds of the people you are asking for donations. She also mentioned the power of twitter in the world of @Tweetsgiving and how there are other means of connecting with people who don't know who you are and what your organization is about.
@comcastcares – Frank Eliason – A surprise panel presenter who arrived a little late. Comcast Cares Frank has become a celebrity in the Tweeterverse with all that he has done for support with Comcast. He didn't have time to talk about himself, but shared some wonderful insights about being personable, connecting and dealing with people who are haters.

So the panel took about a half an hour to give their introductions which left a half an hour to ask questions.

How do you make a conservative executive take notice of Social Media?
- Get started using the technology and then show them how it's used
- Show how being connected can improve product quality and customer satisfaction
- Build excitement as people see what is happening
So is "Less is More" truly effective when it comes to getting your information out to the public?
- Yes. Engage the people who are like minded and you find successful in the future
- Don't focus on just making money, focus on the relationships
How do you differ from the "company" brand to the "personal" brand when you become a bit of a celebrity?
- It's better have advocates for the company than just the company
- Recommend looking at the "Zappos" model how to interact in Social Media
- Branding employee is also Branding himself
- Train employees to use the Social Media effectively and make the presence known
What are the psychological trends that make people want to share their lives?
- A tough question because that if it get's answered the experts would like to know
Do you fear of spoofing that might ruin your credibility/integrity?
- Having proof that you are who you say you are is important
- Link your social sites to your web-sites to prove that it's you
How does one manage the amount of people when you get above a certain number of connections?
- Twitter is about the information stream, utilizing applications will help manage the information

I wish I could remember all of the comments made during the evening. Unfortunately my memory isn't that strong but you can find out all the information by watching the UStream video that's online. It shows most of the Panel conversation so everyone can participate in what went on during the evening. On the whole … it was a great event with some very excellent insights.

But it wouldn't be a post without a couple critiques. Here we go:

Problem		Resolution
The "Meet and Greet" portion was a little unruly for first time people to feel super welcome in the group. You could tell the people who knew each other because they congregated and stayed close together. This makes new people not meet as many as they could.		Organize the "Meet and Greet" in a networking situation where people could meet others easily. Possibly a "Greeter" who could shuffle people to a "local celebrity" they could be introduced to and meet. Or possibly a "quick introduction card" that could be handed out that could gather information about Name, Twitter, Facebook, etc account.
Panel introductions and moments were TOO long.		It's great to have people talk about who they are and what they do, but without time restraints some people will start talking about things that lose relevance and pertinence. Plus it gives more time for questions that are what people were interested in hearing.
Panel answers were too long.		Same problems with the introductions above. Towards the end of the evening the moderator started putting pressure on the answers time, and great information was shared. More questions could have been answered with more insightful information if there were tighter time constraints.
Panel discussion topic was too broad		Having a panel of experts is impressive, but centralizing what the topic of the panel is about would allow the attendees to come prepared with questions and discussions. When the topic is so broad you can get some good insights, but some people will start to lose focus
The end was too noisy		You could tell that by the end of the evening people were ready to finish. The noise in the back of the room became overwhelming compared to the comments on the panel. It was distracting and undermined the "expertise" that the panel established.

But even with my insignificant critiques the evening went very well. Congratulations to SMC SLC on a wonderful evening. Keep us all updated on what's goin' on next. We're all listening.

Last Night at the Social Media Club “Out-Of-The-Box” Social

The "Enoch" — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:53:23 GMT

The dust settled across the room. Anticipation was in the air as the visage of "Chris," founder of Social Media Club, spoke from beyond the wall. The crowd anxiously waited to hear what this Orwellian person was going to say. The room was filled to capacity … twice, a pleasant surprise since no one really understood what the first meeting of the Salt Lake chapter was going to bring. @ThomAllen said it best during a Facebook chat: "not sure what to expect but I'm game for something new :)"

We were late, @deangirls and I, so we were part of the "standing room only". As I perused the crowed, straining to make my 5'6 ½" (yes the ½ inch is important) body taller to see people I recognized, it became apparent that this was the place where influential people in the Utah Social Media community were that night. Peering out of the corner of my eye I noticed the magnificent @RickGalan in his authoritative style @ replying me on his phone to glance over and say hello. I did … briefly, probably too briefly. I mean what do you say to a person that you stumble upon and follow on Twitter? Especially a person of influence? "Um … I follow you on Twitter." Was all that came from my mouth. Simple, straight and to the point. Friendly? No. But then again sometimes it's easier to be smooth talking in 140 characters than in person.

So Chris, the main SMC dude, finished up his little presentation. He was cool enough to have as a welcome/keynote, but I was anxious to find more people to follow, to get some information and actually put some of the thoughts and ideas we were to learn into action. The room dispersed and the whole motley crew moved downstairs. All of a sudden faces that I followed were alive and in person: @CarySnowden, @travelgirl521, to name just a few. And to see the herd move to the basement of "The Summit Group" was a little like watching the old R.C. Willey Memorial Day commercial: people rushing to get to the new thing. There was excitement in the air about what was next … but what was next?

After a few "Hellos" to those people we knew (the extraordinary @ThomAllen, mad shout out!). A person, I'm assuming a leader of the SMC, stood up and mentioned that we would break into 7 different groups to talk about Social Media: Newbies, Marketing, Development, HR, Non-Profit and two others that slipped my mind. I was stumped about where I was going. I could jump in Marketing, but it seemed that there were a lot of people in the marketing group. I didn't think that I would be of much help there. @DeanGirls was going to the Newbie class, so I figured I should do something different then her. I could jump into Development, but I wanted a different perspective then what I'm around every day (my company, Wasatch Development Studios, is a software consulting house). So I decided that I would jump into the Non-Profit for two (2) reasons: 1) I do a lot of work with various non-profit organizations so I thought I could help, and 2) It was all women (To be a geek in a sea of estrogen is a very powerful feeling, even if all of them were out of my league … and married).

The group's process went like this: 1) Read a scenario and 2) discuss different Social Media techniques to resolve the scenario. Our process went like this: 1) introduce ourselves and our organizations, 2) read the scenario, and 3) forget the scenario and ask what each person in the group was currently doing in the social media world. Which I think worked really well, because our scenario was pretty much, "You have a non-profit. How do you raise funds using Social Media?" It was much better our way because we could help the non-profits by giving useful ideas specific to what their needs were. And we had all sorts of entities there from Dancers, Mentors, Moms who wanted to find support organizations, and much, much more. (For those I forgot please message me and let me know!! http://www.twitter.com/dellojoio). Almost all the groups were on 'Da Book in various forms: Groups and/or Pages. So we had a brief discussion about the pros and cons of each. We then mentioned some of the applications that can benefit a page (such as My Blogs and Causes applications). I also piped in and mentioned that with the pages our organizations could create pay-per-click ads to target people during the "tax season" to remind them of the tax benefits of donating: "Need some additional tax relief? Remember the Children!!!!" – Link to your non-profit for donations.

We discussed for a short time and then came the "Okay people let's wrap up!" segment of the evening. Every group had a "spokesperson" that would deliberate the large ensemble about what the Social Media splinter cell discussed. Our moderator asked if I would be the spokesperson. I said "Sure." I wasn't really going anywhere and I like to hear myself talk … even when others don't. So the spokespeople talked about their scenarios. We all listened to see if there was anything that could impact our lives. For me, I was pretty aware of the technologies out there, but there were a lot of people who thought, "Oh …. That's a good idea. I need to remember that," which is what the whole evening was about: sharing information. Then it got to our turn.

So I need to take a quick aside. The whole evening I was tweeting (twittering? Posting? Updating? Texting the Bird?) away little things that I thought were interesting. As is the Twitter.com convention, I included the hash #smcslc in all of the tweets. While the evening wore on the group hosting the party had a TV monitor with http://search.twitter.com on and was refreshing the search so the new "Tweets" were put up on the big screen. Seeing this, and being the ego-maniac that I am, I saw my tweets and want to make sure I was always on the screen. So I continued to tweet away so that I wasn't being pushed off of the screen. The reason why I bring it up? I tweeted: "I'm gonna be the spokesperson for our group about non-profit. I hope i get refreshed on the bi g screen #smcslc". And just as I got up to speak … they refreshed the screen. I know at least one person got the joke.

So I spoke. We then concluded the meeting with a rousing version of Kum-Bye-Yah, Hugging your neighbor, and the obligatory sacrificing of a portable egg timer. Okay, so maybe we didn't do any of those things, but we did leave with a "thanks for coming" and a "mark next month" as well as "Get some pizza!" I stayed chatting for a while with this lovely woman (@mentors) from the non-profit circle, who's name I don't remember (all you white people look the same to me J ). We talked about views on social marketing and how it can help their organization. Some of her questions were very simple ideas and others where more complicated which got me to thinking about the meeting. Was it a good meeting? A worthwhile meeting? Or just a chance to meet people I only see virtually?

Here are my insights, take them for what they're worth:

Pros	Cons	Con Resolution
It's always great to see people in real life that you only know in a virtual world	Without structured time to meet everyone you never have a chance to meet as many people as you would like.	Possibly create a structured networking portion where you could meet and (more importantly) connect with those people
Seeing Chris the main SMC dude was really cool. It's great to have leadership be a part of the satellites	I got bored listening to his resume rather than his insights. A keynote speaker is great as long as they deliver "Meat" and not Fluff	If you are planning keynotes, bind their hands to a short presentation with guidelines. Enforce the information so people walk away with great insights.
Breaking into smaller focused groups to discuss is a great way to generate ideas and thoughts	There was no structure in the "group dynamic" so I didn't know if we were to introduce ourselves or start right into the discussion. I feel the introductions were important to who we were and our perspectives, but it took away from our time to be able to properly discuss the issue.	Possibly structure the group's time so that both items can be accomplished. Each person get's 20 seconds to introduce themselves, who they are and what they do. Then give the allotted time to the issue.
Tons of ideas flowing. Tons of good information. Tons of good people.	No way to capitalize on all of the discussions.	Possibly publish the list of attendees so we know who all was there. Promote Tweeting of thoughts and insights so people can garnish the information afterwards with the Hash search (#smcslc)
A great event that brought people together	I missed the focus of the group. Are we a networking group? Are we a problem solving group? Are we an information promoting group? Or are we just a bunch of people who like to get together?	If there is a focus possibly promote it better during the meeting so people can stay alert of what the reason for being there is. If there is no focus … possibly find a focus.

The whole evening was really fun. And as @DeanGirls and I drove back to Provo we talked about the evening and how it went. Both of us thought that it was a good time and that it would be something that was great to return to. In this day and age we need as much help as we can get to be better at what it is we're doing. Organizations like this allow the best of breed to come and educate the non-experts to a higher level. Let's keep it going and moving forward. Plus if I actually lose a little weight I might impress the "ladies of the non-profit." (New Years goal #1208). See you all next time!!

The Stake in the Ground … I need to take a stance!

The "Enoch" — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:25:22 GMT

For the past couple months I've been thinking about something very dear to me. This past year has been wrought with choices of change, voting for "causes" and people choosing things that are "right" over things that are "moral." Opinion has been running rampant over the web, emails and networking meetings that I have been attending. For friends who knew me in the past, you may come to find out that I have changed from when I was younger. Even during my youth I thought I was spiritual, but not very religious. It took me years of self discovery and meaningful research on what is "truth" to become the person I am now. And during those years I've learned things that I feel I need to stand up and speak out.

I've been thinking a lot about the saying:

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

Which has been attributed to Edmund Burke, however thanks to Wikipedia we know that it isn't his saying. Regardless, it's a saying that I have always liked and have thought about recently. Repeatedly this past year it has been impressed to me that in order for me to do what is right in this battle of "good vs. evil", I need to do something. I need to make sure that my beliefs are known and spoken about so that people can at least see where I stand. I need to put my marker in the ground and say from this day forward I will not turn my back on my beliefs.

The BELIEF I hold dear

I am a converted life-long member of "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." To a lot of people that means that I'm a crazy, non-Christian, that has "temples" where secretive services take place. This is entirely NOT true and doesn't make me anymore crazy than a person with strong convictions about anything. I'm still the same nutty person that I always have been. I'm just a little more firmly set in the belief of human potential that other people. I wish that I could go into all of my harden thoughts on religion, science, evolution and everything else that is part of religion, but this post would be huge. I will save those thoughts for another time where I can focus my energies on those concepts. I just wanted to lay a little ground work about where my beliefs are initiated.

A CONCERN that I hold dear

I know that once someone says they are a member of any religion that preconceived notions start formulating in the mind. I ask this of any person reading this entry … please do not judge me by thinking you know what I stand for, without asking me or reading about it. Please ask me about my religion. Inquire about why I believe something and let me answer these thoughts and questions. My life is an open book, good times and bad, which I'm not afraid of answering or commenting, and I want to make sure that friends and family know exactly who I am and where I stand on everything to keep my sanity.

The STANCE that I hold dear

A number of items in recent months have greatly concerned me. It feels that we are moving towards a moral decline in our nation that we are not ready or able to handle. I firmly believe that a person has the right and choice to do with themselves whatever they want to do (Free Agency), but to make decisions for one without recognizing consequences is a HUGE problem. Should a woman have an abortion? It depends on the circumstance. If there are medical reasons that might endanger her and the child's life, then the option should be weighed heavily and consultation considered. But saying that abortion is a means of birth control gives me great concern. The problem isn't in the action of the abortion as much as it is with the action of intercourse. If you're going to have sex then realize that a consequence of that action is potentially pregnancy. The act of pleasing release IS NOT the result of intercourse, but an added benefit. So the fact that a majority of the nation is "ok" with the act of pleasure without the act of consequence is problematic. It appears that we have things backwards.

But that's just one thought on a troubling problem. And I'm just one person who can't fix things without people looking deeper into their own situations and coming to terms with their own issues. My number one stance comes down to consequences. Each action we have in this world has a consequence: positive, negative or both. There is nothing that we do that doesn't have a consequence. As human creatures we want to have things that fulfill our desires, wishes and wants. Those may not be the things that we need to reach our ultimate potential. We need to change our perspectives to be aware of consequences. When that perspective change happens something interesting occurs. The realization sets in that it isn't about me, but about others that really creates a world of happiness. The rules of consequences show that thinking about others allows us to grow stronger than we could imagine.

I hope that as we embark on new times we can look to the future and let the governance of our actions be founded in the consequences we perceive. By focusing our energies in that positive manner this new year will be great.

What Happened to "The Music School": A Teacher's Perspective

The "Enoch" — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:22:00 GMT

So recently some big news in the Utah Valley Area is that The Music School has closed it's doors. It has been on the Television stations like Fox 13, Ksl Channel 5, and other media outlets.

It's interesting to see how much time they allow a news story to hit the airwaves. In a matter of 2-3 minutes the media outlets encapsulate a story and pick the pieces that are "of interest" to the viewing public. This is the norm for news stations around the world, but it's a shame to not be able to see the inner workings of what actually happened more in depth. Hence the reason for this post. I wanted to help clear my head about things at The Music School and at the same time, try to shed some light on how things worked ... from a teacher's perspective.

Some of you may know of my direct ties to The Music School. My direct tie being my brother, Caleb Chapman, was the founder and director of the institution. With that being said ... I will not touch base on things outside of an instructors insight at the school. I had some knowledge of other things that were happening that touched the realm of administration, operations and various other knick-knacks. I'll hold off on those little tid-bits of information for another post. For now ... I'm a teacher.

So I started teaching at The Music School around 2003, back when it was Crescent School of Music. I initially started teaching music theory. It was a fun gig that allowed me to let my insights with Theory shine light on subjects for a number of High School and Jr. High kids. It was a fun time. I did quizzes and tests and had grades for each student. It was part of my responsibility to record and get those grades into the office so it could go on a "record" of some sort. This forced me into thinking about curriculum instead of the "off-the-cuff" instruction that I was used to giving in trainings.

About 6 months into the instruction I was asked by my brother if I would be interested in teaching Guitar lessons. I had never taught a Guitar Lesson before. It was a nerve-wracking experience for me and I'm pretty sure that my first student wasn't that impressed. My problem with what I was doing was it lacked structure. I decided (two weeks into teaching) that I needed to structure a plan for me to teach Guitar like I did with Music Theory. I started down the road of creating a curriculum and focusing my attention to fundamentals instead of "playing songs." This approach worked really well for me and I was able to share a number of my insights into what I was doing for lessons with a couple of the other instructors.

Lessons were simple. I knew the assignments I was working on and the goals that needed to be achieved. After each lesson I took my "Teacher Binder" and wrote notes and checked off the lessons that I instructed. Each week a person from the office would pick up the binders and check things off so that we could get paid. The system had a couple flaws, but on the whole it was a very simple concept to the lessons. You want to be paid, you fill out the sheet and have the students sign it as well. Checks and Balances. It was great.

So things were going relatively well. Crescent was growing, but not fast enough. The facility we were in was pretty outdated and run-down. It wasn't the high-class establishment that Crescent needed to be. So as time went on the word was spreading about what a great opportunity this music school was for Utah's students. This is where things started getting exciting.

Enter Sentry Financial, a financial services company who wanted to invest money into Crescent and take the school national. The key here was they wanted to take the school "NATIONAL." A couple of things really interested them about Crescent that made it an appealing opportunity:

Curriculum Based Music Instruction - Much like what I had done for Guitar a lot of the teachers in other departments started to formalize a set curriculum for their instruments. This meant that each student would get the same "principled" instruction so there could be uniformity.
Ensemble Growth - More students in an ensemble would mean more potential for revenue results. If you could have an ensemble of 100 kids and only have to pay one instructor that is a lot better then having one instructor being paid for 100 ensembles of one.
Cutting Edge Music Instruction - utilizing the latest technology in music education (i.e. SmartMusic, GarageBand, Finale, etc) would mean that students would get an opportunity from lessons that they couldn't get anywhere else.
Franchising Opportunity - The reason why it was so appealing was the idea that this COULD BE REPLICATED!! If American Fork, UT could garnish a TOP institution then it would certainly fly in Salt Lake City, Denver, Boston, etc.

So Sentry came on board as an investment group and invested a lot of money. The first thing that happened ... name change: The Music School was born. Unfortunately some of the teachers didn't catch the vision of the new "re-brand." For some of us it was hard to take away the cool Crescent vibe and go with something so generic as The Music School. Second, a location change: The facility had to be changed to keep the "cutting-edge" vision of the school. Where we were just wasn't doing it. So a new facility was looked into and found. And after, what seemed like an eternity, the new facility was found and established and we could now enter and teach.

The new place was great. A renovated Gym/Spa location which meant HUGE space to have ensembles, lessons, a recording studio and a performance venue. The place was great, but from the teacher perspective it meant that it was going to take A LOT to break even ... and that could mean payroll cuts.

When I first started teaching at Crescent I had roughly 52 students a week and I was getting around 20 dollars an hour. Now at the new facility I cut my hours back because of other work commitments, I had around 25-30 students getting around 21 dollars an hour, but ... from what I understand with my students being billed out at a much higher rate then previously. I understand that the facility cost more and that meant more overhead, but there seemed like there should have been another means than not letting the instructors benefit. And, here's something that killed me, I wasn't allowed to know what I was being billed out to with my students. I got into a LONG discussion with one of the accounting guys from Sentry about that. My promotion for the Crescent was, "Come take lessons from me at Crescent. It's around $54 a month." I wasn't able to do any of that with the new facility because I didn't know what I was being billed out at (I've recently heard from some students that my last billings were around $80 a month ... and no pay raise). The argument told to me was that when you higher a consultant through an agency, the agency broker's the financial dealings and the consultant doesn't know what he's being billed out as. Being that my other job deals with Consulting quite often I had to disagree with that sentiment. All in all it became very difficult to promote and market for the school.

And speaking of Marketing... supposedly The Music School was going to market the teacher's to get them more students. I talked with the same Sentry accounting guy about what marketing was being done for me personally so I could build my studio. He said that they would mention my name on the phone when students inquired about guitar lessons. I looked at him and asked what type of marketing was that? Just because I go into a music store and ask "Where's the rap section?" and a person points in the general direction doesn't mean that "marketing" is being done.

The reporting system was new and improved as well ... kinda. The days of paper documents were over. A new system called "Jaco" was put in place and allowed teachers the ability of completing their instructions via a web-application system. Well ... I wrote a document that talked about all the problems the new system had and the bugs that were included. How it was very easy to "Dock" a teacher's salary and "Forge" false entries to get more money out of the school. I also stumbled upon some neat security holes within the application, but because the institution was becoming more "cutting-edge" there was no way to go but ... up. Hopefully. It seemed pretty funny to me that no one in the administration staff really liked "Jaco." All-in-all the User Experience was REALLY Lacking. And the investors kept throwing money at it to try to fix the mess, without really addressing what the INSTRUCTORS or ADMINISTRATION staff wanted. I had a hard time understanding why people didn't want input from their "clients" when creating a solution for them.

Mentioning the "Cutting-Edge" technologies ... each studio was outfitted with a new iMac that had a variety of applications that could be used to create a more productive music education. The problem was that most of the teachers just used the computers for surfing the web and playing with iTunes. It wasn't until later, when instruction on how to use the new cutting edge software was being held, that instructors started using the computers for something more productive. Sure there were the exceptions, but for the most part the iMacs because really modern looking paper-weights. Yet another cost that needed to be covered at some point.

So there I was teaching lessons. Every year, Caleb would get up at a company retreat and give a "State-of-the-Company" address. Each year new and exciting things would be mentioned that really didn't affect my world, but made things impressive for the investors: like "All-Star" line-ups of "Artist-In-Residence" programs (which was odd because none of the artists were actually living in the area); Free Weekly Music Theory Lessons (which was geared toward the Jr. High/HS crowd that none of my Adult or Elementary students really participated); new ensembles (that were a little out of my beginning students league) and other various items. The potential was great, and the showcase for the investors was keen, but it just didn't mean anything to my world.

So there I struggled. Trying to get Jaco to work "the best" for me, Combating with billing system rules that didn't make much sense (so if a student doesn't show up for lessons on his last day, I'm supposed to schedule a make-up lesson or else I don't get paid for the last lesson? But it's his last lesson he all ready said that he didn't want to take anymore? So if I can't reschedule what happens to that money? The school keeps it even though I was here to teach the lesson?), and most importantly trying to deal with the new politics that was being implemented everyday by over zealous management staff (When the CEO of The Music School pulls you aside and says "I need you to work on student retention" when you had a record of 85% student retention in a department that maybe had an average of 30%, it makes you wonder what you're doing wrong?) I started thinking that my days at The Music School were going to be numbered.

Now I understand that things needed to change ... heck we were going to be franchising this wonderful model. But I adhere to my main problem when it came to the investors: They didn't understand the musician's world. Now musicians are notorious for being bad in business, but artists are a certain breed unto themselves. You can't treat them like regular business people without giving some training and insight in what that means. The investors were trying to run a company full of "yes" men. But artists are creative people that don't believe in saying "Yes" all the time. And the artists/musicians weren't helping the business side either but it was mainly because they didn't understand how their role worked. Communication was lacking from all parties, but if it wasn't for the investors always pushing and taking a course of action that didn't make sense to the operational side (Instructors/Administration) how could it ever have worked.

Music Lessons are an extremely difficult service to be profitable in when dealing with LARGE SCALE MANAGEMENT. It can be very lucrative when it's just you managing you. The investors didn't understand that, nor were they able to communicate their vision so that we could understand them.

There's always next time. Don't you worry ... someday there will be a next time.

Two Hours into being Thirty-Two

The "Enoch" — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 07:49:00 GMT

So I recently read my post last year On the Eve of Thirty-One and started to chuckle a bit. Man I haven't done squat since that marvelous prediction of last year. I'm two hours into being thirty-two and realize that the only thing that really has changed is that I started to clean my room. Well ... that's not as positive a thing as you would hope. However, slowly after writing that masterpiece entry I started to go down a different path and direction. There are some key things that I think I should point out that have made this past year a successful year:

A Positive Outlook on Life. Not that I really had a negative outlook before, but everyone has their ups and downs. Sometimes my downs seemed more prominent than the ups, but I've started to look at life a little different. This is mainly because I have created stronger associations with much more positive people in my work and leisure. One such positivity mental change came with a friend Larry Stevenson when we were working together on the Wasatch Business Conference. Larry works with LDS Employment Resource Services and asked a number of volunteers to help with our conference. Each volunteer had something challenging happen to them after he asked, from heart problems to family incidents. I said to Larry, "Maybe this is a sign to not do the conference if the Church's volunteers are coming down with all these problems?" His reply changed my life. "Enoch, it's not heaven telling you to stop. The conference is such a good idea that the Devil doesn't want it to succeed." I told him I like that outlook and he replied, "Don't worry about it. We've been doing it a long time. You'll learn." That moment I did ... and since then I've been trying to have a more positive spin on things.
Take Control of the Reigns. Man there are times that I feel like I go a million miles an hour and lose control real quickly. However, this year I've been focusing (and that's a big word for me to use) on taking better control of things in my life. If something seems spiraling, which really doesn't happen too much with the "Positive Outlook" change, I look for the reasons why, take a deep breath, and try to regain composure. The nice thing about this is that I have found a number of people who are fantastic and willing to help out an oddity such as myself. And I think, surrounding yourself with powerful people allow you to "control" things in a positive way. This idea of a support system that many successful people talk about works.
Smile as Much as Possible. I got mad at my mother one day because she said to our church that I always have a smile on my face. I didn't think of that as a positive thing at the time. Don't ask me why ... I was young. But now I think that it's one of the best things a person can do to combat the viles of the world. I try to walk into rooms with a smile on my face and be as positive in my attitude as possible. Sure I have my off days, but I'll tell you a secret .... it's tough to have an off day when you have a smile on your face. Sure periodically people my think I'm going mad ... but that's half of the quirky charm I hold. Because really ... if some people think I'm mad right now, when I really do start going insane they won't be wrong.

So I may not be in a wholly different position than I was in last year. I went on a couple dates. Got shot down a number of times. Stayed at home more than I should, but that doesn't mean that I didn't progress. I find myself a more content, confident and positive person than I was last year. Sure, I still like being at home and watching TV. I still may have some weight to lose around the mid-section. And yes I may have the need to cut my hair at some point in the future, but truthfully ... I'm ready to work on those things.

So to set goals for the future (because it's always good to set S.M.A.R.T. goals): Get out more; Meet more people; Be a Positive catalyst for the Better. And for goodness sake ... start opening your eyes to the possibilities.

Thirty-Two is going to be a great year!!

Music, Business and the Importance of Letting Go

The "Enoch" — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:35:00 GMT

So recently I had an incredible day of music. First of I woke up to one of my favorite songs of all time playing on the radio: Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. A truly inspired work that has drama, tension and passion. I highly recommend to most people to get a recording of this work if possible.

Afterwords I went to a Marketing Meeting for the Provo Downtown Alliance. I know not a huge musical idea, but we talked about how to bring people to the downtown Provo, UT area and one of the ideas I mentioned was to hold a Native American Festival. We could invite Native American Flute Players, Native drumming groups, and Dancers and have a nice little festival out of it. One of my favorite Flute players is Joseph Fire Crow who went to school @ BYU. In the heat of great discussion I had to excuse myself, because I was extremely excited about the next part of my day.

I was about to have a Bass lesson with Victor Wooten. For those who don't know Victor Wooten, he is wildly considered the greatest living Bass player today. Many players aspire to be able to play his arrangements of Norwegian Wood and Amazing Grace as well as many other songs. Now I am an incredible elementary bass player, but I figured if I had the chance to have a lesson with one of the greatest anything around ... I would be an idiot to pass that up. So Vic (he said I could call him that ), asked me what I wanted to work on. I told him that I was very beginning so if he could show me some techniques then that would help me get off the ground running. I mentioned that I really liked his song Classical Thump and that seemed like a good place to start on technique. The next hour was a whirlwind of information that had me playing techniques that were new and exciting. I'm a guitar player at heart and it showed repeatedly during the lesson, which Vic was really nice about. He kept saying that I was different than most beginning students because I played lightly instead of really heavy. I chuckled and said that was because I'm strumming instead of thumping ... I'm working on it.

So the hour flew by, and at the end of it all I had a great moment where I started to feel like I could attempt Classical Thump. And afterwords I felt really good. I know that I'm not as experienced as Victor Wooten (heck I tell most of my students to not judge themselves by how I play because I've been doing it longer) and that I'm an infant in the world of bass, but I tried and that was what was important to me. I wanted to take advantage of a great instructor and garnish and learn. I did that, and now I play to keep that technique up and running. It has also given me a different approach to some of my guitar things ... which is also a great thing.

But my day was far from over. After my moment with Vic, I took my brother out for a spin in my new Volkswagen Jetta. He hadn't seen the new car so I thought that I would show off a little. During the ride we talked about how much I don't like the car stereo and how I wish it had different functions and features. I like the sound of the speakers, but the stereo is not as functional as I would like. As we sat talking in front of The Music School I put on a recent album that I've been listening to: Bruce Springsteen's and the E Street Band, Magic. There's a line in the song that really struck me at that moment:

I just want to hear some rhythm
I want a thousand guitars
I want pounding drums
I want a million different voices speaking in tongues

So after having a moment of inspiration with Vic, talking Native Music and the spirituality in that style, and speaking about sounds with my brother, all I really wanted was a thousand guitars, pounding drums, and a million different voices. So I went home in search of that sound. I dropped of my bass and went to work to see if I could work on some things for some clients ... still hoping for my ensemble of wonderment. My friend Bryan Pope Architect and Director of My Marketing Day sent me a text that asked what time the Victor Wooten clinic was and that he doesn't think that he would make it. I responded, with a million different voices in my head, you really need to go to this clinic.

Long story short, he went, as did I, and it was incredible. This is my 3rd time seeing Victor Wooten in a clinic and 4th time seeing him play ... and they are always really great. I don't know if I can summarize what he says, but if I can be permitted in short his clinic is not about technique (and it is) or really about playing (and really it is), but his clinic is about how he is music. And by virtue of that statement, if he is music YOU are music. The limitation that most people have is that they believe that they need to UNDERSTAND before they can PLAY!! But if you ARE music, then all you need to do is PLAY!!!! Music will take over the rest. A lot of what Vic talked about is in his book The Music Lesson. And this is a great read for musicians and non-musicians alike and has a lot of application to everyday life and not only music. The key is to be observant of the connections.

So after an amazing clinic and conversing with students from the Music School and my friend Bryan, I went home. The problem with my mind is that I find it wanders A LOT!!! I'll have and idea and there goes my mind focusing on that idea. The continuing thought that I had was this nagging feeling that small business owners would have gotten a lot out of that clinic. That the applications of getting out of ones way to let success enter is an area that many owners struggle. That one idea, "Music is all around us" can very easily be translated to "Success is all around us." We just need to get out the way sometimes to let it work.

Be willing to let go of an idea and let it germinate into something better.
Be willing to make the mistake and find the better solution.
Be willing to include others in the conversation to make the seedling grow instead of thinking it has to be only you.

These are all ideas that I took from Vic about playing music. But they work so nicely with business. And I've seen, and been a part of, many successful projects that integrate those ideas ... both in music and in business. I just find it refreshing to see truth in both worlds. So now I'm attempting to not worry about making the mistake. I'm going to PLAY and see where that takes me. And at some point ... because of that thought ... I know Vic is smiling.

Thanks Mr. Wooten.

The importance of presence

The "Enoch" — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 03:07:00 GMT

Recently my thoughts have been focused on presence. Presence of mind, presence of ideas, and presence of location to name just a couple of the ideas of presence that have raced through my head. The one idea that has been eluding me however is the idea of just presence: How am I shown and how am I known.

I've been doing a lot of things across different social networks lately. Sure some of the social networks are "Dating" sites, but then again that's another type of presence, right? During all of these networks I have tried very hard to interlink each system to another. My "Facebook" site knows about my "BoardGameGeek" site, which knows about my "GoodReads" site, which knows about my LinkedIn site and so on and so on. All in all I think that I have about 15 different sites that are out there with my information on them.

the importance of this for business

Now if you are a business looking to get a little more recognition in the world out there I think this is important. The more places that you link to one another the more chances you have to show up in searches and other lookups. With SEO being a big push out there more and more companies are looking for ways to stand out in the world of searching. Blogs and forums and things like that are good, but having only 2 locations where people can find you is not nearly as good as having multiple locations that people can find you.

Presence then becomes ... how much do I have in a world that isn't controlled by me? A couple little group notifications and other ideas can make the Internet work for you instead of you always butting your head against the wall. And since you have very little control about how frequently the Search Engines send their spiders out to search for you, this little trick might just give you a boost to being found a little easier.

the problem of this for personal

The Internet is literally riddled with information that people willingly divulge. Once you post it ... it's gone. And it is incredibly hard to stop it from being "known." So here is a problem. Don't put out information that you are not willing to have other people know about. Be careful with how, much information you share and with whom. There is nothing out there as a pure "Secure" anything. Servers are hosted by someone. Data is stored somewhere. If a site is asking you to share personal information, like a MyFamily.com, know that information is being stored somewhere and that people have access to it who aren't just you.

I want to make known here that I am a great supporter of MyFamily.com. And I really like the genealogical work that they are doing, but as a general warning to those Internet novices out there ... information has to be stored somewhere so it can be returned and displayed again.

in conclusion

I love the fact that there is a lot of information out there about me ... To an extent. I mean there are somethings that I want to keep personal, but even those are becoming more and more shared. And as long as more sites pop up that allow Closet Geeks/Nerds/Dweebs/Studs like me to join together with other like minded individuals, my "personal" will become more public. The reason why I like it is that you can Type "Enoch Chapman" into any number of search engines and most likely find me within 1 - 5 listings. This is great for when I release my Solo Album: "What I Like about Chess and other musical theater selections." or when I finally do start dating and get engaged to that special someone. Then I can tell everyone and see the world united for once. Man won't my mom be happy? I'm sure she'll blog about it somewhere ..... and I'll list it.

The New Year -- The Old Enoch

The "Enoch" — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 06:48:00 GMT

Ok. So I stated a little earlier in a post that I would try new things. Well . . .

It's not going very well for me. I think partially I've hit the Old Enoch impass: The habitual sloth. Now I know that confessing a deadly sin to the general public will probably get me a slow trip to ridicule, but if it's just between you and me, I think I will be ok. Just don't tell too many people.

My problem is that I get comfortable too quickly. Kinda ... I actually have two problems. The first ... I get too comfortable too quickly. I like my house. I like my books, computer, video games, tv, movies, etc, etc, etc. I also think that I'm a little too lazy to keep things going fantastically great. Possibly I need to start exercising and increase my activity status, but being a lazy person i think that will hurt to much. So I just relax and take my time to not do much, nor meet people.

Problem number two ... I feel old. Which is odd because I really don't feel old, but here in Utah Valley ... I FEEL OLD!!! I have a number of friends who tell me that if I was to move back to Boston area that I would be in my prime to meet people and hang out. Out here in Provo, UT ... I get the feeling that I'm expired produce. Of course that means that I don't enjoy going out as much as I should, but I'm trying.

Case in point ... I went out to a Utah Jazz game a couple of weeks ago with a nice young lady. She was very attractive, and fun to talk to. I had a good time that night, and I think that she had a good time as well. So what happened to her? Nothing. I mean I haven't asked her out again, possibly because I am waiting for something exciting to come along, but mostly because I just haven't thought about it. I come home and fall back into my old routine.

So here I am making a statement to my close friends ... I am going to try ... again. Or at least I will attempt more than I have recently. And if you find me not trying ... kick my butt in gear. As frustrated as I might seem, I think that I would be more frustrated if I didn't try. So hopefully the next post I put up will be better news than I bought a new bean bag chair and the indent fits my butt perfectly.

At least one can dream!!

The Utah Premier Brass -- a new side project

The "Enoch" — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:47:00 GMT

My friend is the conductor (instegator?) of the Utah Premier Brass and has recently asked me to help him out with some creative thoughts to help get UPB to the next level.

First, let me give you a little information about the group. The Utah Premier Brass, or UPB, is a semi-professional performance ensemble made up of 30+ brass players. The group is very much in the style of the popular English Brass Bands and brings a nice change of pace to performance ensembles that exist in the standard nomalclature of american music. The Brass Band is something that has been seen throughout the United States, but has recently been moved to obscurity because of the popularity of orchestras, wind ensembles and the other like. It is nice to have in this talented area an ultimately unique sounding group that showcases another side of creativity.

Now with that out of the way .... I've been a big fan of UPB and Alan Boyer, it's conductor/my friend, for a while now. Alan recently invited me over his house to help ferret out some ideas for UPB, namely:

Attendance
Corporate Sponsorship
Marketing

There were some other things, but I won't go into those right now. I wanted to talk about some reccomendations for each one slightly.

1) Attendance. No performance group can survive without fans and attendance numbers. Because of that we discussed that UPB needs to become a more recognizable brand to the Utah Valley community. When a specialty concert is promoted more people attend because the word is showcased more, but when it is a regular concert attendance drops by at least 1/3. And that's not good numbers. So in order to get numbers increased for performances we talked about getting some publicity done via newspapers/television/radio and other media mediums. Through the magic of social media outlets we will soon be launching small campaigns online. For instance ... You will be able to see a Utah Premier Brass group on Facebook, a social network that I'm a semi-active part of. And by utilizing campaigns with existing members we will hopefully start boosting attendance with the UPB conerts.

2) Corporate Sponsorship. No performance group can survive without monetary funds. With that being said UPB is launching a new "Corporate Sponsorship" program that will allow companies visibility in supporting the Utah Arts. As these ideas flush out more we will start posting more on the web-sites and other areas. This project is still in the works, but with some help we should be able to showcase some prominent businesses in the Utah Area for their support in a great performance ensemble.

3) Marketing. Now I'm not the best marketeer out in the business world, but by defining the Brand of UPB a little more I believe that we can boost attendance, sponsorship and general support of the Utah Premier Brass organization. There are many facets of this ensemble that are credible marketing angles: the volunteer performers, the heritage of Brass Bands in the establishing of the West, the transplant of the Boyers from across the pond to Happy Valley, etc. Each of these angles are great stories that should be showcased to promote the UPB organization to higher recognition.

The trick with all of these arenas is the ability to take the ideas and garnish them into actual viable campaigns and/or action items. I don't know if I have all the ammunition needed to help out much, but I will definately give this "side" project a good run. If not for anything else, but that I might try to compose a piece for the UPB and I need to keep my friendship so they don't make fun of it.

Hope to see you at the concerts!!

Reflecting on Gordon Bitner Hinckley - My Beloved Prophet

The "Enoch" — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:34:00 GMT

A great man passed away on Sunday. A pinnacle of spirituality that stood taller than his fragile stature would show at times. A person I never directly met, but whose influence made me turn my life around.

I remember a time back in 1997 when Gordon B. Hinckley was going to be on the Larry King show. This was one of the few times that a church leader had spoken out in such a public forum. I was excited to see what was going to happen. And interested to see what words of advice he had for a troubled nation.

My whole apartment sat around the television waiting to see what words of wisdom and insight were going to be said from the prophet of our church. I don't' remember much about the interview now, just a couple words here and there, but there was exchange between Larry and the Prophet that I remember and has stuck with me:

Larry - "How long have you been a member of the church?

President Hinckley - "All my life!"

Larry - "Have you ever doubted your faith?"

President Hinckley - (without a pause) "Never!"

It was the fastest response to a question that I think I had ever witnessed during an interview. And I thought silently to myself, "My goodness. I've doubted so often and struggled so long ... that is impressive that he could respond so quickly." From that moment on I have tried to build my testimony so that I can have that quick of a response to people. "Have you ever doubted your faith?" My response (without hesitation), "Yes, but I no longer do!"

Now I've had friends who've told me their problems with religion (organized or disorganized) as well as problems with spirituality. My past lives have not shown the strength in my convictions as my current life does. However, I am working at becoming better and stronger. The trick is to continue when it is easy to stop. To always pursue the excellence when common is all around. To work through the struggle when you feel like you should quit. With Hinckley's command of "Get your affairs in order" the struggle seems to lessen and the load becomes lighter.

I have had repeated chances to listen to President Gordon B. Hinckley speak, my beloved Prophet. Every time he has spoken something rings true to me and touches my heart and mind and helps me become a better person. I look at his accomplishments and stand in awe at what he has done. And I think to myself ... I wonder what I can do when I stop doubting? Even at 97 years old.

You'll be missed, President Hinckley, but I'll embrace you, and thank you, when we see each other again.

A New Business Idea (and all the stuff around it)

The "Enoch" — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 18:01:00 GMT

So I recently started a new business idea. It's a simple little venture that I am starting with some people I know to possibly bring in some "extra" monies. I won't go into too much detail about what the product is but I wanted to talk about things that I'm looking at to get this business started off the ground.

It is extremely good to have friends who understand what is going on in the world of business. My original ideas of how to set up the company, what is needed to get the business off the ground, and how successful this idea could be were drastically different then what ideas have been given me lately. If it wasn't for the people I've been talking too I don't know what I would have done.

First things first, you need an idea. If it is a clever idea or even if it is something that you are looking to start, try brainstorming with some people you trust. This not only let's you see flaws or problems that you might want to address, but it will also give you the incentive to keep things going if you have other people's opinions helping you out. There are many times, since I started this idea, that people have asked "So what is new with your project" and I can tell them what is going on and what is happening.

Second, get some insight in Business Entities and/or Structures. There are thoughts and ideas that I didn't even know existed out there that are extremly helpful in protecting your assets and finances. I thought that I had a good handle on certain items and events. I mean I know what C-Corps, S-Corps, LLC's, Partnerships and Sole Proprietorships are, but some of the things that can be done with these things are pretty cool. I am definately not a person to talk to about what is right for you or what is the best for your situation, so I would talk to an accountant or lawyer at some point during your start-up or growth phase of your company.

Third, find out about protection needs. If you are selling products, find out what type of liability insurance may be needed so that you don't loose your shirt if something happens. Find out what warning labels, Advisory warnings, notifications, etc. is needed to make the business flourish as best as possible. If you are retailing make sure that you have protection for your inventory, etc. If you are in services make sure that you are covered with all aspects of liability. We live in a day and age where people love to sue other people for any reason under the sun. It is best to protect yourself as best as possible and not wait until the last minute.

Fourth, Find a good accountant and a good finanical planner to help with the proper flow of finances. A good accountant will help with tax preparation, Accounts Recieveables, Payroll, etc. A good finanical planner will help your money grow instead of sitting in a bank earning 0% interest. Finding a pair that work well together will help get the most out of your profits. If you are really successful a strong financial team will help you look towards the future to make sure that success can grow.

Fifth, Marketing is a must. If you can't get sales then you can't go anywhere. This is where a lot of people get lost, struggle or just give up. There are more companies that couldbe successful, but fail miserably because of poor marketing schemes and/or poor promotion management. Find a person who is good in this area and can help your company grow. Or better yet a person who can teach you to understand all the things that are needed to better yourself.

So who do I have? Well I have a number of people whom I have talked to and are willing to help out in my different areas and problems. All of these people have been great and I highly recommend them.

Legal: Dexter & Dexter - http://www.dexterlaw.com

Financial Planner: Alan Boyer - http://www.boyerwilliams.com

Accounting: Dave Larsen - Main Street Financial

Marketing: Bryan Pope - http://www.MSICommunity.com

These are all fantastic people that I have worked with and helped get me on the right track. The big thing to remember is that information is easily available to gather, but the practical application of that information might not be the simplest thing to understand. Why try to venture alone if you have guides that have been there before? Use them, because generally, they want to guide you.

The Pureness of Pre-Missionary

The "Enoch" — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 17:36:00 GMT

This past Sunday I was able to witness a guitar student give his missionary farewell. It is always great to see people grow strong in beliefs, character and charisma; and this student of mine is by no means any exception to that rule. And I will say that watching him give his farewell address he had great poise and integrity that showed far beyond his years.

With that being said, there is something that I was a little worried about myself when I was sitting there observing the meeting. Elder Credille, my students name, spoke of testimonies and how one gains a testimony and strengthens his knowledge. He spoke of how a testimony is a witness of the spirit about truths, and that by desiring to seek truth and knowledge one gains those witnesses and understandings. This was all wonderful sentiments and thoughts, but I couldn't help but feel that there was an important thing missing for myself.

I'm going to admit something here that I shouldn't . . . I'm not a good person. I know that some people will dispute that fact and that other's will say "No shocker there!" The reason why I am not a good person is because I live amongst shadows of truth and belief and feel a lot more comfortable there then in the active spotlight. Oh, I'll hold callings and try to "magnify" them as best as I can. I may even go a little overboard in trying to be the best "calling" I can be. That isn't what I mean by living in the shadows. I think I live my life at times without being as active in my testimony as one can be and live amongst the shine and glow of those around me.

A little while ago, I was in a High Priest meeting with my father where it was mentioned that living your life shows how strong your testimony is. My problem is that I live that way too much. And, to return to my original problem, I feel like living your life without annoucing things prominantly doesn't make you stand out brightly. It is important to verbally re-enforce your beliefs. To hear your voice say the things that you belive and contemplate about what just came out of your mouth. Your testimony NEEDS a vocal component or else you are just living in the shadows like myself. Heavenly Father needs to hear it. Your friends, colleges and family need to hear it. And most importantly you need to hear it.

It's that reverberation in your ears that becomes important. It reinforces those actions that you live, but more importantly it puts those beliefs into the heads and hearts of others. A Testimony cannot live soly within ones self, but lives by the helping and upbuilding of others.

So my friend/student gave a great farewell. I would just add that, for me, without the adding of "shouting your beliefs from the rooftops" that we are not doing justice to our testimony. And as for me . . . I'm tired of living in shadows.

The LDS Employment Seminars

The "Enoch" — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 23:11:00 GMT

So I don't understand how this happened, but I am speaking at the LDS Small Business Groups for the next 3 months.

A couple of years back my partner Bryce Nielsen and I started a small consulting company lovingly named, Wasatch Dev, LLC. During the starting of this company we decided to join the local Chamber of Commerce: Also known to us as the PO COC (Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce). When we joined this organization we started going to its network lunches and other activities. One of it's activites was "Chamber University" where they had a prominent business person come in and talk about what it was that they did as a business and how it might work out better for your company. It usually turned into a sales pitch which was frustrating, but hey that's the capitalist mind at work.

So Bryce and I thought, "Hey we could do that." And decided that we should approach the chamber to see if we could present a topic on something computer related. I don't mean to speak ill will of the POCOC (or maybe secretly I do), but they were less than helpful with anything that we suggested. We then thought that it might be a good idea to try it on our own. So we came up with the idea of the Wasatch Business Conference, or WaBCon for short. We started bringing the idea around to a couple people that we knew and some that we heard about and everyone loved it. It was revolutionary. It was fresh. It was something that I thought everybody did! But it turns out no one thought that way.

So what was it? WaBCon is a FREE all day event that is geared towards training small businesses in areas that they might find useful: Finance, Marketing, Business Management and Technology. Local speciallists come and present for 50 minutes about a topic that they know intently. And the best part ... THERE IS NO SALES PITCH!!! If we find out that people are pitching their wares during their presentations they are not asked back the next year and are put on our "Black List." More on that to come later in another post.

During this run of marketing for the conference and networking lunches and meetings we met a wonderful person named Larry Stevenson. He is the person in charge of LDS Employment Services. And if you are a small business owner in the Utah Valley region and you have not met Larry you are not being productive in your business.

Well, after our first WaBCon (and we are on year three) Bryce and I asked Larry to help us out and be on our WBC Steering Committee. The WBC is an idea that came out after WaBCon. The Wasatch Business Community, or WBC, is an online community dedicated to taking off where some of the other networking groups have lacked: The Online Community presence. That is for another blog as well. But because of the valuable information and knowledge of Larry, we asked if he would help us out this things. And he accepted and has been a huge asset ever since.

Well I guess Larry has thought that I was knowledgeable in the community area as well because he asked if I could come and talk to the LDS Employment Groups about the WBC. My presentation is tomorrow and I hopefully will post what happened so you guys can see it. I only am presenting one day in the next couple months: Tomorrow to Provo, July to Orem and August to Springville. But that's enough for me. Because truly do you really want to hear me ramble on and one about more community stuff?

Of course you do ... that's why you're reading this!!!

The Brotherhood of the Shroud -- Julia Navarro

The "Enoch" — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:53:00 GMT

This was a fun book to read. I have been recently into the idea of secret societies. This book helped fuel and satiate that desire. The nice thing was that once I started this read it was relatively simple to continue reading without feeling like I had to re-read pages.

This book is a translation from Italian into English so some of the colloquialisms were hard to truly understand. It wasn't as fluid a translation as I think it could have been, but it read smoothly without much of a hiccup.

The bulk of the story revolves around the Shroud of Turin. It also attempts to address the issue of the Knights Templar. This story crosses time boundaries by showing scenes in History and juxtaposing them with scenes in modern day settings. The opening scene is a letter about Jesus Christ, which is pertanent if you know about the Shroud, and then jumps into a scene of a fire at the Church where the Shroud is being housed. The main heroes are investigators from the Antiquties Crimes Lab unit. And they don't give up, even when told that they should stop investigating.

I feel that the story is simple, which makes it interesting to devise what is going on and what is happening. I will say that the ending of the book is simple as well, and does leave a little to think that the author just needed an ending. But the story is intriguing enough to captive through the 250+ pages. I wasn't riveted entirely until about a third of the way through the book but I did want to see the back story more. The backstory, the historical scenes, are REALLY interesting espcicially when the unravling of the Templar stories becomes more active. And with all the movies and stories about Knights Templar going on recently the idea's about treasures and important items throughout history makes this story intriguing.

I can't give this book a complete 10+. I think that it's more of a 7-8 star rated book. It has great moments, but because of some of the translations, which can be awkward, and some of the plot twist resolutions I can't give it a complete 10. I think that it is an enjoyable read and something that can help pass the time if you are on a trip or need a page turner.

The Lord of the Dance (Watching)

The "Enoch" — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:10:00 GMT

Ok. So I made claims to the fact that I am going to attempt new things in my life. This can open yourself up to emberrassing situations as uncomfortable situations. And here I find myself describing a situation that I would never imagine myself being a part of again.

Let's look a couple of days ago. I have a friend, Pryan (to save anonymity), who I was at lunch with and he mentioned that he was going to be a chauffeur at a "Single Adults Dance." He chuckled because he said that the need of a bouncer is to keep out people who were drunk, or possibly polygamists looking for another wife. Just to make everyone here know: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or the Mormons) do not condone the activity of plural marriage. There was a time, but that practice has been long forgotten. Getting back to the story ...

So Pryan mentioned that the "Single Adults Dance" was for 35+. He chuckled and looked at me while saying, "Where does that put you? You're not a 'Young Single Adult' and you're not a 'Single Adult.' So what does that make you?" Purgatory?

Jump ahead in time to Friday. I'm getting home from work around 7:00 at night. My usual friday routine is something like watch tv, Eat some Ramen noodles, Play some video games, and then go to bed. Around 8:00 I get a phone call from my friend Pryan. "Hey you should come down to this thing. There are some pretty cute girls here and I think it would be fun." Usually it is at this moment when I think church dance, Friday night, single people, and myslef that my mind goes to sleep and I grab the nearest book I can. But my mind started to work and said, "You made a promise to try new things."

So I find myself instead of turning on the TV going to my room and grabbing a new shirt; Going to the bathroom and wash my face, and getting into my car to drive a couple miles out my norm to get to a small church building. I walk in the door and, to my friend Pryan's surprise (he wife, Pisa, has to pay on the wager) say hello to the people at the front desk.

So now I'm at a dance. I'll give you some insight on "The Enoch": I've never been good at dances. I'm not a huge fan of dance music (even though I was a DJ for a while), and I'm not a person who enjoys walking up to a stranger and asking them to do something without first getting to know them. I'm a person watcher, and I have fun interjecting my thoughts into people as I watch them. I'll create backstories and adventures that they have sojourned. I'll percieve into their minds to discern psyche and purpose. My friend, Pryan, was urging me to dance with someone but I was having fun being elementary psychiatrist.

Then I saw it. Sitting a couple seats away from me was an elderly gentleman. I don't know his name, but I did recognize his person. He was watching all the people around him and looking a little nervous at everyone . . .not wanting to get into the mix. A couple of friends moved towards him, sat next to him and urged him to dance at least once. He shook his head and said, "No. I don't think so." All his friends wanted him to dance "at least once," but the elderly man stood his ground. He was ok just "watching" the people around him. And to my perception, wanted to join in the fun, but not wanting to feel foolish. And then elementary psychiatrist Enoch took over: He is ME!!! or I was him!!! At that wasn't a good thing.

So my friend Pryan pushed me to dance. I could have stood strong and said, "No. I'm fine!" but I decided that I didn't want to be that stubborn anymore. Who knows what I have missed out on because of my stubborness. So I danced with someone. A nice young lady named Kristen (after an awkward foray into barn-dancing) who is a nurse from the Provo area and has a 6 year old boy. She is a nice girl. Not someone that I would be interested in right now, but times are changing and I'm trying to grow as a person. Who knows what might happen in the future, but with the next time I might have a little more determination to act faster.

As I left I was given a brochure for a "Single Adults Conference" and told that I should go to it with the mind-set of "I'm here to find a wife." Well I'm not in that mentality. And I can't bring myself to that action yet, but I will keep you all posted as to what is happening. My first thought when I got the brochure: shut off my mind. And we all know, now, where that lead to.

The Rated-R Decision

The "Enoch" — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 17:44:00 GMT

Recently I've made a decision to stop watching Rated-R movies. This has been a tough battle with me and some friends because I personally do not believe that Rated-R movies are bad. Sounds odd to say that, but I think that the MPAA Rating system is an odd system to dictate what is morally appropriate to view at what age. It's odd to think that a group of arbitrary people can define what we should or shouldn't watch. But this is not the place to fight or defend the MPAA. I want to explain myself.

Some years back The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints mentioned that people should stop watching Rated-R movies. This was a big issue with me because I didn't belive that Rated-R movies were bad. And some people that knew would condemn me over and over because I had Rated-R movies in my DVD collection or that I would go out and watch them in the theater. I had roommates who told me that I was being wicked because I would go to the movies and see a Rated-R movie about HIstory (Malcom X, Glory) when I would come home and they would be watching a PG-13 movie that was taking the Lord's name in vain over and over again. It seemed odd to me.

So I held on to my little viewing belief for a long time. Heck they show Glory during US History classes at High School and BYU? If that Rated-R movie can be shown why couldn't I watch my own movies?

Then came the edited movie craze. People could finally watch their favorite Rated-R movie in an edited PG format. That seemed odd to me. Now I know that it is nice to watch a movie that doesn't contain profanity, nudity and/or violence. But if you were worried about that to begin with why watch the movie in the first place? Did it really build up your life to watch the movie?

So I held on to my belief. Usually because the only arguement that I couldn't defeat with conviction was "The Church authorities told us not to." But then to watch those same people who would promote that arguement watch vile things just because it was an "OK" rating to watch seemed tragically hypocritical.

So why did I come to the decision? It has nothing to do with the Rating system. My thought was this:

My life is out of control!!!!

I live pretty much alone and have done so for a while now. I am self sustaining and have many things I can be greatful for, but I need boundaries. The simplest boundary I can put up right now is "No Higher Rating Content." I steer away from movies, tv, art, books, anything that can be misconstrued. The interesting thing is to take that time that was used to those pursuits and put it somewhere else. And sense I have a boundary now that I can guide myself against I can feel good about not steping into a grey world.

Does this mean that all Rated PG-13 movies are OK to watch? Heck NO!!!! I find some PG movies a little disturbing to watch. So what I do is research before I watch. Recently I've been watching a lot of kids movies. I just like to watch them to clean the soul a little.

So that's it in a nutshell. If you feel your life is out of control. Put a boundary in place and see what happens. I don't know if I'm a better person. I don't think I feel any different, but I do know that I no longer say to kids "You can't watch that movie" as often because I don't own as many movies that they shouldn't watch anymore.

The Trouble of a Movie Review

The "Enoch" — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 17:32:00 GMT

"I heard good things about this movie before I saw it."

That can always leave a rough taste in your mouth. Sometimes good reviews can make a movie worse or can make a movie better. Sometimes a bad review can do the exact same thing.

So if that's the case why am I doing movie reviews? Dunno. I'm opnionated and think that I'm always right!! Is that a problem?

No truth be told I just wanted to voice my opinions about certain films that I've seen and either warn people not to spend their money or give people a different viewpoint to assess if they want to watch the movie.

But before you trust my opinions let me tell you a little about my viewing styles:

I am currently not watching any Rated-R movies. This is a personal choice that you can read about in another blog post, but let it be known that there will be no Rated-R movies reviewed here.
The MPAA Rating systems don't mean anything to me. I know that this is odd since I just mentioned the "No Rated-R" thing, but what I want to get at is that, just because something is Rated "G", "PG", "PG-13", "R", or something else does not mean that it is by default "OK" to watch. If there is something I REALLY do not believe people should watch either on taste or good judgement I will voice my opinion.
I LOVE A GOOD STORY!!!! It's the Native American in me. I don't believe that special effects, camera angles/tricks and other cine-tricks can save a movie. If there is a problem with the story then it will bug me over and over again. It will also make me not like a movie that other people will be fanatical.

Those are just somethings to keep in mind as you read my reviews. Agree with me or disagree with me it doesn't matter. That's the beauty of the community!!

See you in the popcorn line!

On the Eve of Thirty-One

The "Enoch" — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 17:02:00 GMT

Ok.

So I'm about to turn 31 here shortly and I've been looking back on my life. There are a few times during the year that I review my life, bearings, boundaries and goals and assess what it means to be me: New Years; school semester changes and of course . . . my birthday.

Living in Utah doesn't help the fact that I am starting to feel old. The feeling of "ancient-ness" is in part attributed to the fact that people around me, friends and non-friends, appear to have a "significant other" that helps push them along and fuel the fire of progression. And here I am ... on the verge of becoming a "menace-to-society" and am currently not dating anyone. Please don't think of this as a complaint/fussy post. I know where the problem is and whose shoulders the blame should lie. This is just a reckoning that is needed. Also ... I've found out that the more I admit openly to myself where the problems lie that I can move forward to further my progression.

So where does this leave me? Well . . . I've been asked by many a friends kid (and if you count all the friends kids that I have become friends with I'm an uncle at least 40 times over), "When are you getting married?" And the answer to that question is . . . <shrug>? But I have made a conscious effort to try more in the future. At least more than I have in the past.

I love my house. It's messy and small and a little bit of a shambles but it is my place and it makes me feel comfortable. Too comfortable at times. But I have vowed, and now I make it public, to get out of my house more and try to make a name for myself in the "dating" scene.

Here are the problems I have with this scenario:

I don't know anyone. My singles ward is pretty youthful. I would have a small problem if my 18 year old daughter was dating a 31 year old man. And since I'm not in school or other "Young Adult" activities I don't meet as many people as I could.
I keep crazy hours. Since I work as a consultant and such my lifestyle is pretty much demanded by the workload that I have. This means that I control what time I do things and what time I don't do things. My only problems become the nights I teach guitar lessons. Those nights I don't get home until pretty late at night (around 10:00). This means that I kinda have control on where and when I can do things, but kinda not. So a person has to be flexible with "The Enoch."
I'm kinda an odd-ball. Yeah I know this comes as no shock to people who know me, but I have odd tastes in things. I'm an eclectic in possibly the worse sense of the word. I have 100's of Books, Movies, CD's, Toys, Gadgets and Gizmo's all over my house. It means I like a lot of things, but I'm also very set in my ways.
I'm set in my ways. This is my BIG hurdle that I'm overcoming. I'm working at it everyday and I have vowed to be adventurous and try things that I normally wouldn't do. I'm trying to grow here ...
Etc. If you know me you know what that means. I onced asked a friend to sum me up in a couple words ... She couldn't do it.

So I'm on a new adventure. One that will hopefully prove fruitful and a growing experience. And if things go well maybe I can answer the next little kid, "Next week! Why you wanna come?"

I'll keep you posted