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I Make Stuff That ___
Over the past year I’ve aspired to be a person who “makes things”. I look up to people who have a large physical or digital footprint of stuff they’d produced. The above pin was a kind of challenge to me for the last 12 months: be a person who doesn’t just talk about making things…
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Stories from the Christmas Tree
The Christmas season is filled with symbolism and memories. It’s always interesting to learn about the various Christmas traditions that families have. Now that we have a family of our own, Anna and I have been discussing what kinds of traditions we want to incorporate into our own family’s tradition as well. Growing up, one…
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My December Podcast Playlist
During the winter months it has become my routine to walk to work. Though it might not be considered efficient, it gives me up to 40 minutes/day of “margin space” to slow down, get some fresh air, and learn. Lately I’ve been exploring some new podcasts, and would like to share a few that I’ve…
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Three Lessons from The Accidental Creative
I recently finished reading Todd Henry’s “The Accidental Creative” (check out an earlier post about the book), which has amazing insights and suggestions for developing sustainable creativity. If you’re paid for your creativity (that’s most of us), this book is for you. Here are three lessons that I’ve been putting to action already. 1. Take…
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Logo and Visual Branding: Gifts of Light
The Bethesda Foundation for many years has put on the “Gifts of Light” campaign to raise money for health care projects in Steinbach. This year, Golden West partnered with the foundation, helping develop the campaign to give it more visibility and more opportunities for the public to be involved and give. The campaign included a…
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Share to Enjoy
Ever notice how natural it is, when you see something beautiful or amazing, to want to share it with someone else? For me, I’m a “sky guy”. My favourite time of day comes at sunset, when the sky transforms into an explosion of colour. Then, as the earth falls slowly to sleep, there’s the “blue…
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Where Brilliance Begins
I’ve been reading a super helpful book lately (thanks Kent!), The Accidental Creative by Todd Henry. Aimed at people who do creative work, Henry talks about the importance of being Brilliant, Prolific and Healthy in your work. If you want to deliver the right idea at the right moment, you must begin the process far…
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Happy Halloween
Apparently Halloween this year has been brought to the Manke residence by Disney and Rovio… Hope you enjoy an evening of fun, family, friends and neighbours! We’ll be spending the evening helping fill kids’ loot bags, and hoping Olivia keeps her costume on long enough to knock on some doors along our street (then trying…
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Always the Right Answer
Back in spring we took a day trip to the beach during our vacation in Holland. Maybe we were caught off guard at the 30-degree weather in May, or maybe we didn’t realize that Holland had some sweet beaches, but we came seriously unprepared. No swim suits or towels. Of course, Olivia made a beeline…
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Everything You Do
A while back I heard a McDonald’s franchisee share his, “Everything you do is marketing” mantra in talking about the importance of taking care of every customer that comes into his restaurants. Recently I saw this mantra in action at another McDonald’s restaurant. Last month, some friends of ours lost a wallet while they were…
