By the look of some of the other male nominees, I am challenging some pretty stiff competition, but I’m sure my Mom thinks I am better looking than the wildly popular Gary Vaynerchuck. According to the contest website, “It’s an honor just to be nominated… Right?”
The Hot Blogger Calendar is all about fun. Founded by two creative bloggers — Jane Couto and Sarah Morgan, the calendar also supports a worthy cause with 100% of sales going to the American Red Cross.
If you like my links look and want to support my quest to play on the PGA Tour, you can vote for me at http://bit.ly/HotBloggerCalendar. The contest closes on Friday, March 5 so please vote now. Let’s be sure to see a golfer in the Hot Blogger Calendar!
03.05.10 Update: According to the Hot Blogger Calendar website, I am ranked in the top five of vote-getters for the male category as of this morning. Now, I am quickly explaining all of my new female friends and bromances to my wife. Chest bumps for all of my manly buddies. Voting will close within the next few hours so please vote for me now. Thanks!
03/06/10 Update: Thanks to all of the people who voted for me, but apparently, I was not hot enough! This afternoon, the Hot Blogger Calendar revealed the pinups for January and February. The bad news is I did not win, but the good news is that representatives for the remaining months of 2011 are not yet announced and will be determined by the contest rules. So, if you want to see me in the calendar and have not yet voted, you still have a chance to help me win. Also, I encourage you to think about nominating another blogger for this fun contest. And the best part is that sales of the Hot Blogger Calendar benefit the American Red Cross!
In my experiences as an entrepreneur and in my quest to play on the PGA Tour, I have found that persistence and patience are two traits that are absolutely necessary to ultimate achieve success.
This morning, I watched the following video which reminded me that patience is a virtue. In the clip, Internet sommelier and social media guru Gary Vaynerchuck admonishes people who think they can build a sustainable brand or business in a short period of time.
Years ago, I represented golfer Joe Inman for appearances. After an outstanding amateur and college career at Wake Forest, Joe struggled and was a journeyman pro on the PGA Tour. In 1976, he finally won the Kemper Open, which was then played at Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. Overwhelmed after his victory, Joe — who can challenge Yogi Berra in a talk-off – said that he had waited his entire career to become an overnight sensation.
For me, Gary’s message and Joe’s example are inspirational. Accomplishing something of significance — whether in sports, business, or other areas of life — normally takes great patience as well as persistence and talent.
Please take a moment and share a comment. What character traits do you think are required for success?
The 700-page book is the most complete guide available for WordPress and is a comprehensive reference manual for beginners to experts alike. Aaron included tons of tutorials, references, screenshots and walk-thrus that enable the entire WordPress community to benefit from his knowledge.
Aaron received his review copies in January. Watch the unboxing video to see the author’s satisfaction at seeing his own words in print for the first time:
From personal experience, I wholeheartedly recommend Aaron for consulting projects. He is a great guy and a huge talent. He is a member of my Dream Team, and to me, his expertise ranks in the same league with Darren Rouse, Chris Brogan, Steve Rubel, and other rock stars who combine technical and business aspects in social media. You can contact him through his website at Emmense Technologies website, at his Technosailor.com blog, or on Twitter.
I attended the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show, in part, to search for equipment to help my game as I pursue my quest to play on the PGA Tour. After combing the 10 miles of aisles inside the massive Orange Country Convention Center, I am happy to share the best new products from the industry event:
Drivers: I saw some nice looking drivers, but I did not find any new driver that would replace my Bobby Jones Workshop Edition Driver by Jesse Ortiz, who may be the finest club designer in the game.
Fairway Woods:Tour Edge Exotics CB3 Tour is a refinement of the company’s popular CB2 fairway woods, which are the longest fairway woods that I have ever played.
Hybrids: With a slight offset, the Adams Golf Idea Pro Black is built for the better player and is the fastest growing hybrid on tour.
Irons: I hit the Fourteen Golf TC-550 — a great looking and feeling forged iron from the Japanese clubmaker — at the Equipment Test Center, aka the largest indoor range in all of golf.
Wedges:Scratch Golf, with custom fitting and grinding available, has attracted players like Ryan Moore and Cristie Kerr and must have other top wedge makers looking over their shoulders.
Putters:STX ProFIT 6 is part of a new line of the company’s soft face insert putters, which offer better control, less skidding, and truer roll than metal face and other insert putters.
Balls: For the last few years, I have played the Bridgestone Golf Tour B330-S after my original evaluation by the manufacturer’s Ball Fitting Challenge, and I am looking forward to trying the new Tour B-330RX, which will be available in March of this year.
Training Aids: The SKLZ Practice Pod provides a simple and lightweight solution to establishing a consistent practice station with proper alignment and ball position, and now, with the addition of a reflective mirror, the new Practice Pod Pro also allows monitoring of shoulder alignment.
Accessories:Cleatskins are designed to slip over shoes and take golfers quickly and conveniently from the golf course to the street and will become part of the daily wardrobe for someone like me who wears golf shoes, every day.
Video Analysis Software: For several years, V1 Pro has been the industry leader in golf swing video analysis, and the new version of the software offers even more capabilities for your local golf instructor to communicate valuable swing keys to you.
Photo Memento: Going beyond the shadow box design, the Ballkeeper is a patented three-dimensional memory holder that includes fitted spaces for a golf ball, photo, and signature card and will be an instant hit for memorabilia collectors and tournament committees looking for unique tee favors.
You may notice that I have not included products from the major manufacturers. When my nephew looks through my golf bag, he jokes that I am loyal to indie brands. As an entrepreneur, I am drawn to smaller ventures with interesting stories and innovative products. To be fair, Titleist, Callaway, Nike, TaylorMade, and other big companies make some great golf equipment, too.
In an effort to share my experiences at the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show, I had a blast filming some brief video clips from Orlando. I attempted to cover several aspects of the industry event and well as a cross section of products and services, and I tried to keep the length of each clip to a minute while still conveying a complete thought or idea. You can see all of the clips on my YouTube channel, or you can click the following links to see any of the individual posts and videos:
While I enjoyed my experiment at lifestreaming, I did encounter some technical difficulties in uploading large video files from my Blackberry Storm 2 to the web. For future lifestreaming, I am currently learning a great deal about mobile file compression!
I appreciate all of the requests that I received to cover specific companies. If I did not have a chance to visit with a business that you represent, please feel free to contact me. I am planning on adding product reviews in future blog posts on a regular basis.
This afternoon, I had the pleasure of meeting actor John O’Hurley and real-life catalog entrepreneur John Peterman at a small booth on the floor of the PGA Show.
A multi-talented actor for film, television, and voice as well as a classically trained music composer, pianist, and vocalist, O’Hurley has enjoyed a long and successful career in show business. Most notably, he portrayed a fictionalized version of Peterman on Seinfeld from 1995 to 1998. More recently, he was the runner-up on the 2005 version of Dancing with the Stars. He is an avid golfer who plays in a number of PGA Tour pro-ams and celebrity golf events, each year.
In an amazing case of fiction meets reality, O’Hurley became an investor of The J. Peterman Company. After declaring bankruptcy in 1999, Peterman sold his company, but when the acquiring firm also went out of business, the entrepreneur bought back the rights to his name with the help of O’Hurley and re-launched the brand name in 2001. Peterman wrote a fascinating account of the story in a book titled Peterman Rides Again.
On the floor of the PGA Show, the two gentlemen graciously greeted attendees in a modest booth that displayed their classic-styled shirts and sweaters. With the combined talents of O’Hurley and Peterman, I would not be surprised to see the J. Peterman name develop into a well-known golf brand similar to Clint Eastwood’s wildly successful Tehama apparel company.
Launched at the 2009 PGA Merchandise Show, Cleatskins are back on the show floor in Orlando, again this year.
Cleatskins are designed to slip over shoes and take golfers quickly and conveniently from the golf course to the street. The revolutionary design is crafted from SKINTEK, a ground-breaking flexible formulation of compression molded rubber. For someone like me who wears golf shoes on a daily basis, this footwear innovation is safer than plastic spikes for walking on hard pavement and eliminates the wear and tear that street-walking causes to soft spikes. Plus, Cleatskins look super cool!
Developed by former college athlete and father of three children, Rich Kay, with his wife Marianne, Cleatskins are a must-have for the athletic-minded family and are available in different models and sizes for various sports.
A couple of years ago, I met Susan Greene, who has written a series of children’s picture books about golf. Very graciously, she personalized and autographed copies of all of her books to Charlie, and his favorite is Consider It Golf. Reading these books together is a perfect way to introduce your toddler to the game.
and other online stores.
