Buy My Mustache
November 4, 2009
A few days ago, I started growing out my beard like I always do at this time of year, but this year is different. It’s mustache time. And no, it’s not because the new quarterback for my Oklahoma Sooner football team favors the ‘stache.
It’s because of this great charity event that friend and coworker Aaron Strout got me involved with called Movember, which benefits men’s health – most notably putting money toward prostate and testicular cancer through the Livestrong Foundation here in Austin. The gist of the charity is that you join up and grow a mustache (or “mo,” as they are called in Australia) through the entire month of November, and then you ask people to sponsor your ‘stache.
I think that’s great, and I’ve joined and started laying down the foundation, as you can see in the pic (yes, that’s just three days growth). However, I want to make it a little more interesting. I am prepared to style my mustache in the style dictated by the individual who donates the most money toward it on my “Mospace” page.
Yes, you can put a Fu Manchu on me, or a Zappa, or a Franz Josef. The complete display of options are below. There are only two rules. One, it has to be a mustache style, meaning there has to be hair on the upper lip and no hair on the goatee area of the chin (some of these below don’t qualify). The other rule is that I won’t do the Hitler-stache, because I just don’t roll like that. Anything else is fair game!
On Sunday, November 30, I will determine the winner based on who has made the most cumulative donations (you can make more than one to up your bid) and will shave my 4-week beard down to the selected ‘stache style. I will then announce the winner and post a picture of my ‘stache here publicly on my blog. Then, I will proudly sport the winning ‘stache style for the entire week, including the Movember gala in Austin on December 3rd.
So you should ask yourself now, when is the next time you’ll get the opportunity to determine someone else’s facial hair fate?
Act now and join the bidding for a great cause!
Putting It On Goal
November 3, 2009
A good friend of mine and co-founder of CaptainU sent a video along this morning that reminded me of a concept I learned from playing certain sports – most notably soccer and (during a few years in Tulsa) roller hockey.
In those sports, where both sides are shooting at a goal and much of your success is governed by the positioning of players and the angles of the field/rink, you’ll often hear team members encouraging each other to put the ball or the puck “on goal.” Putting it on goal is basically taking a shot at the goal where, if it was unblocked, it would go in, even if there are visible obstructions (like the goalie).
The reason you want to put it on goal a lot is that you really don’t know what will happen. The puck might ricochet, the ball might take a weird bounce, and the goalie might just miss it. The goalie might go to the ground to block your shot and a teammate might get an open look on the rebound. The more attempts you make, the more chances you have that something will break in your favor. But if you dribble the ball or control the puck around the perimeter and never take a shot (because you’re waiting for the perfect look), you have no chance.
As the video shows below, even the most ridiculous attempts lead to success sometimes. But you’ll only know one way or another if you try. And try again. And try again.
Social Marketing, Music, Business, Culture, Tequila. I live in 
