Simply put, they are the greatest professional sports franchise in America.

But we are in trouble in 2011.

First, Jay Cutler goes down with a broken thumb.

Then, this week, Matt Forte goes does down with a knee injury.

That’s our best two offensive players DONE for the season. Shit.

I’m not sure this is necessarily going to be one of those “where were you when you heard Steve Jobs died” sort of things or not. But I know I’ll always remember. I had just finished dinner, grabbed my iPhone and read this tweet.

My heart immediately sunk.

I went to Apple’s homepage to see this.

“Damn. Too soon.” That is all I could think.

My History with Apple

Apple Computer is one of those companies that has always been in my life. In 1980 I went to kindergarden in rural Montana to find one Apple II Plus in the classroom. The first time the school had ever had a computer and certainly the first time I’d ever seen one.

I only bought one non-Apple computer (a “PC”) in the 30 years since. It lasted less than a year.

But I didn’t order my Apple Fanboy card until after Steve Jobs returned to the company.

3 Lessons I’ve learned from Steve Jobs

1. Popular Opinions Don’t Mean &^%$

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 the company launched the famous Think Different campaign.

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The rebels. The troublemakers. The ones who see things differently. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

What a message. It was powerful and inspring; especially as someone who had just left home and was off to explore the world.

And it was vintage Jobs. The year before he was pushed from Apple his company aired the most famous ad in television, 1984.

And Jobs always believed it was his mission to tell us what we wanted. Not the other way around.

He had no time for the guru’s or experts or naysayers. He knew what was right. And #$%& you if you’re too dumb to get it.

Its rare to be able to listen to your inner voice when everyone else is telling you to go in another direction.

2. Beauty Matters

This is the wrong title; but its something like that.

Making art is important. And everything else follows it. Function. Profit. Good business sense.

I have no doubt that Steve Jobs saw himself as an artist before he saw himself as many things. Beauty mattered to Steve Jobs. Whether it be the software or the hardware, it had to be beautiful. Not just ascetically, but also functionally.

I bought my first non-Apple computer just a few months before Steve Jobs returned as CEO of the company. There was nothing special about this Compaq laptop. Nothing inspiring. After Jobs returned he released the iMac and then the PowerMac G3.

They were beautiful. And after I ordered the PowerMac G3 I stood stunned at the box alone upon arrival.

But its beauty was also in its simplicity. There was this door that opened the side of the computer where I could access everything. No screws. No screwdrivers. No scratches. Just… a door.

Anyone can pick up an Apple device and it just works. That’s beautiful.

3. Follow Your Dreams

As far as I know, Steve Jobs has only once just talked about life publicly. In 2005 at Stanford University Jobs gave the commencement address. The year before he had been diagnosed with the cancer that I’m assuming lead to his death today.

His message was simple. Life is too damn short to live someone else’s life. Follow your path. Follow your dreams.

Its so cliché.

But here was a man who did exactly that and changed the world. How could you not listen?

I’m still trying to listen.

Steve… ugh! You will be missed.

I’ve been a bit self reflective recently, I admit. I’m not sure what the deal is, hopefully not cancer of the brain or something.

Whatever is going on I ended up watching this video 4 times today. Its making the rounds on the interwebs. The video is of Sloan Churman, a 29 year old woman who is recorded as she hears ANYTHING for the very first time. Its truly an inspiring experience to watch.

The First Time is Special

Its a gift to be able to see things with fresh eyes and with a new perspective. Too often we get distracted by what we already know to look for what we don’t. Its hard, I admit (again).

But that’s one of the things that make sunsets so special. You can see a new one everyday even though its the same event. Same set of characters. Same circumstances. But its always an outcome that has some unique qualities to it.

I need more of that in my life.

The First Time Matters

I’ve come to a point in my life where my “firsts” come farther and farther apart from each other. The result is I’ve begin to lose that wonder that we experience when we do those things for the very first time. Life even becomes a bit drab. Or at least it can. And that everyday wonder I should have is robbed from me.

Its those firsts that remind me–us–that life matters. And that life is full of surprises. And I should look for those everyday; not just some days or one day soon.

Of course there is something to be said for seconds and thirds too. A lot to be said actually; but its the magic and wonder of the first time that makes it special even if it doesn’t make it practical.

Or maybe…

Boise. Man, this place is awesome.

I don’t know which it is;  but I thought I should just write something down, anything, to make my feelings on the matter public. Boise is a great place to work and live. In fact, people love lists so much I’m going to come up with my top 5 reasons Boise is awesome.

1. Cost of living. When you compare your cost of living to other Rocky Mountain cities such as Denver, CO or Salt Lake City, UT or to other Northwest cities such as Portland, OR or Seattle, OR you quickly find the Boise has the best cost of living of any of them! Obviously in today’s economic times that’s a plus. Go peruse Boise Real Estate and tell me I’m wrong!
2. Outdoor Activities. This could be reasons 2 – 4. Having a great cost of living comparison doesn’t mean much if you can’t do many of the same things as in those other places. Fortunately Boise has as many, and in many cases MORE great outdoor activities. Fishing, skiing, camping, mountain biking, hiking, etc, etc. And Boise’s Greenbelt (the river that runs through Boise that has parks along most of it) can’t be compared to many other places period!
3. Nightlife. You might expect Boise to come up short in the “I like to boogie” department, but Boise has a great restaurant and entertainment scene. I’m not going to feed you a line of bull that its better than the other cities I’ve mentioned here; but if you are worried that Boise doesn’t have great places to eat and party you are wrong. You start your evening at Bittercreek Alehouse for a great Northwest Beer and then head over to Chandler’s Steakhouse for a crazy good dinner before heading over to Bardenay Restaurant  & Distillery to meet a few friends and then finish your night at The Modern Hotel & Bar. Crap. I just figured out my next date with my wife. And any of these places could easily end up being the only place you go that night.

OK, so that’s only 3 thing! But… my time is up and I’ve got to go!

I over reacted. But you watched the pre-season too, didn’t you? We looked HORRIBLE. Completely hapless. I think I had every right to freak out. And after all the expectations of last year burning up like a super nova before our eyes I wasn’t going to make the same mistake going into the season. Sure, I may have swung a little to far into the Deeply Depressed Camp; but I’m here to announce that I believe we have a really good football team on our hands.

Not everyone thinks so yet. But after tonight they will. The Green Bay Packers were picked by many to win the NFC. And for good reason. They are a tough football team. The focus is usually on Aaron Rogers, and for good reason – he’s good. But they also have a tough defense and pretty competitive Special Teams units. But they aren’t without their flaws. Like the Bears, their Offensive Line could be much better. The O-line is so critical to the success of any team, but especially for teams like the Bears and Packers who want to throw the ball. But the biggest problem the Packers have is the lack of any sort of run game. Right. Its 2010 and nobody in the NFL runs the ball anymore. Well, I’m here to tell you its still important, especially in close games.

So, tonight is Bears vs Packers. The Bears are going to win this game easily if they can convert 40% or better on 3rd down and win the turnover battle. They will still be in the game even if they can’t. Its going to be a good one.

Bears 24 – Packers 17

One of the guys I’m following is Tony (@Schlanghole). He owns a successful business here in Boise (don’t bother heading over there if you’re on an iPhone… the whole site is Flash, except the footer. Boo, I know.). Tony recently started a blog to share some of his thoughts and musing on life and business. Last night he posted a great, uh…  post on his staunch “No Prick Rule“. I loved it! Basically Tony believes that the people you hire matter. Not just what they do (which is important) but who they are (which matters more). I think we should all adopt this rule.

But it got me thinking about how different people interact with one another in team environments. My personality type has been known to cause more than a little conflict on teams. And I’m no exception. Playing devil’s advocate comes very easily to me and I have to keep my desire for conflict in check at times.

Having said that though, I know that I do my best creative problem-solving when I have 2 or 3 or even 4 divergent views being advocated for vigorously by invested parties. I call those times of discussion–those times of conflict, creative conflict. I love creative conflict. Its a tight rope though. It can easily just become conflict with winners and losers, victors and… well, you know. Creative conflict isn’t about winners and losers. Its about solutions and win-win. Its about that 5th way (in this case) that brings everyones ideas to the table and finds the best way to move forward for everyone.

I know… it sounds ridiculous. There are always winners and losers. And I suppose that’s true. But when you work somewhere that has a “No Prick Rule” you’ll care less when you lose… and more importantly you’ll care less when you win. And that’s when “creative conflict” can happen. I wish there were more business owners who followed Tony’s philosophy.

Now, before I go any further, I could be totally wrong. This is a simple hypothesis I’m chewing on. In fact, there’s a pretty good chance by this time tomorrow I’ll think something completely different. But, until then, this is what I’m going with.

The entrepreneur believes in tomorrow. Tomorrow holds even greater possibilities and profits than today did. The worker believes in today. Today put food on the table and helped pay the bills.

The entrepreneur believes in rocking the status quo and risking his security. The worker believes in putting in a honest days work for a honest days wage.

The entrepreneur believes in himself. The worker believes in others.

Now, for the record, I don’t think the entrepreneur is better than the worker, or the worker better than the entrepreneur. In fact, one without the other is dangerous for the sanity of all those around him or her. And I think for any small business to succeed you need both the entrepreneur and the worker. The entrepreneur gets all the street cred, but its the worker who makes the world go round.

My 2 cents on this fine winter day.

I don’t know how I got to where I am today. I suppose a little reflection on my part would illuminate that… but that’s for another time. Somehow I signed up for “boot camp” through my gym and last night was the kick off. Sad story short 20 minutes in I wasn’t sure I was going to leave on my own two feet. I physically got worked. Hard.

I didn’t have any delusions of grandeur going in–check that. Of course I had delusions of grandeur going in, how else can you explain someone like me signing up for something like this?! I clearly thought I could do it before showing up, but a group of mostly women showed me up for the better part of 60 minutes waking me to the reality of how bad things are for Camp Neal right now.

I’m 33 years old and 273 lbs. About 1/3 of that is pure fat. Shit. That’s hard to say. But that’s the truth. The last time I was at a healthy weight I was just out of high school… over a decade ago. I don’t want to go to boot camp again today, but I will. And I’ll go again and again until it either kills me or until I reach my goal of getting to a healthy weight. I’ll keep you posted.

But there is something God given about fear.  Not the kind we usually practice, or the spiritual kind that you may think I’m referring too… but the primal kind.   I came across this picture this week and just can’t stop staring at it… its a picture of fear and trembling and somehow its making me a little more whole.

Penn says that, “…anyone with a love for truth outside of herself has to start with no belief in God and then look for evidence of God. She needs to search for some objective evidence of a supernatural power.”  Penn has come down on the side that there is no evidence for the existence of God, and thus, believes no such creature exists.

My religious impulses immediately want to shout something about faith and love and how everything can’t be proven, bla, bla, bal… but after a second or two and some warm tea I’m mellowing out a bit.  The question I keep asking myself is, would Penn believe if it was one of his friends who went to Jesus and was healed?

I know you’re probably expecting me to write up some creative little essay about what I believe, but I’m not going to. The truth is, I believe in God because what he’s done in my life and in others lives… would I believe if I hadn’t seen God do those things?