Thank you to Gil Gerretsen for sharing “Desiderata,” by Max Ehrmann via email earlier this week:

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;

they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals,

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love,

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,

it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life,

keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

To take a moment from the grind, I started Monday off in more relaxed fashion: I met Cass Tyson, a web marketing consultant who is new to the Upstate, for a great cup of coffee at Liquid Highway.

As we shared stories and laughs about what to say when a prospect asks, “How much does a web site cost,” to how the professional guidance we offer may seem so new-fangled that the client must simply trust and take some real guts to go for it. (Cass recalls encouraging a real estate client in the early 1990s to put their listings online. The client thought it was crazy talk – but they did it, left other firms in the Dark Ages dust, and are still successful today.)

Our conversation moved to the challenges of keeping up with technology, social media tools, and the tools that help you manage the dang tools…My challenge is finding a healthy balance between executing client work and keeping on the forefront of what online technology is available, understanding it, and being able to integrate where necessary or appropriate to help clients achieve their goals.

Being the perfect definition of a “late adopter,” it’s not typically natural for me to jump in on that stuff full-throttle. Growing up, my family was the last family to get a computer. An answering machine. Cell phones. We’d have to go to the Smith family house down the block to play Super Mario Brothers. When my brother Billy got a Gameboy, we’d all fight over who got to play it during 16-hour car rides to Milwaukee. My dad types with two fingers and my mom to this day is “off the grid” without an email address. (I love them for that, though.)

As an adult, I’m having to re-program myself to get over my reservations when learning about and integrating everything that is on the web.

And, I have to be OK with missing something. It’s impossible to read every post, tweet, email, or link. The point is, which Cass reminded me about, is that it’s all about developing genuine connections and communication with people. That’s what technology helps us do. It helps us start those conversations with prospects that could lead to great client relationships. It helps us get everyone to Barley’s for beers.

It gives us a platform to share and build what is important to us in life.

Joining Twitter was big decision. I’d rather watch paint dry than have to filter through even more online noise. But, having another tool to connect with people was. To connect in a genuine way, though, is a whole other challenge.

Several months ago values coach Joe Tye gave his take on Twitter. He noted a significant difference between people who focused solely on themselves (“mirrors”) versus focusing on other people (“windows”). Are you a “window” or a “mirror”? I joined Twitter to not only connect and network in ways that could lead to new business relationships, but to hopefully help people or learn new things from others.

@brewgnome’s goal is to be a window. My reasons may be different from others who tweet solely for personal reasons. That’s cool. If you’re tweeting for professional reasons, though, think first about your intentions and goals. What do you want to accomplish?

Oh, snap! Chow, a close friend on the West Coast, mailed me two pieces of Team Wonderbike flare from New Belgium Brewing! Real mail is a rarity among all the junk these days. I love this brand and several of their beers. New Belgium, featured in Beer Wars earlier this year, does a lot of cool things to make their people happy and proud to work there. They’ve got the awards to back it up, too. After your first year of employment at New Belgium, you get a sweet bike. After five years, you get a trip to Belgium. More companies need to get on the bike, yo.

I need to sport my flare and install my “I Heart My Mom” bike bell the next time I ride.

What do artisan coffee and gourmet design have in common? The guys at Orange Coat arranged a coffee cupping at Liquid Highway yesterday to learn how to taste and talk about specialty coffee. The larger lesson was to have us experience how this exercise can be similar to how we strive to create a common language when talking with clients about design. A client saying they want something with “edge” or the color “green” is most likely going to mean something different from one client to the next.

While we smelled, stirred, slurped and savored the coffees, there was some passionate talk about how to help clients articulate and explain what they want. I agree with much of what was shared – understanding the client’s ultimate goals with their business is a major starting point – not asking “what is your favorite color?”.

One approach Big Gnome uses is to ask clients to share their feelings on the brands they love intrinsically and visually. If that makes sense and works well with their goals, we’ll use that as a muse. Unfortunately, some clients cave in too quickly to what they think their customers will want or expect their identity to be.

When a business owner is afraid to do something different or to be themselves, they fall back on what everyone else does or what’s traditionally accepted. For example, they want a globe in their corporate mark design because the word “global,” “international” or “world” is in their business name.

I think often the client’s choice to be bland is rooted in fear. Fear of rejection from their customers. If it is fear, we try to uncover the reasons why and evaluate how to more forward. It is awesome when we can help clients tackle those fears and go somewhere new and more effective with their identity. Sometimes it feels like design therapy. If there’s no road to recovery, we have to decide whether or not Big Gnome is really a good fit for them.

I’m stoked about the first-ever ConvergeSC conference tomorrow in Columbia, S.C. It’ll be a mix of web development, design, marketing and sales folks – and an arsenal of awesome speakers, including Robert Prioleau of Blue Ion and Geno Church of Brains on Fire. I’ve had the honor of working on one of Blue Ion’s creative teams in past, and wow, these guys don’t make web sites – they make web experiences.

It will also be great to reconnect with friends and colleagues. Sitting in Amoco Hall on the USC campus, it’ll be like the class we never took together in college.

And, who’d ever turn down a conference where you don’t have to wear a power suit? I’m so there.

Last week we did a photo shoot at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School for their new web site. St. Anthony’s is a small Catholic elementary school with a strong Franciscan tradition and African-American heritage in Greenville’s West End neighborhood. For a school that is so undeniably unique and vibrant, it is only fitting that we create and use original photography to communicate that. St. Anthony’s will be using the new site to help raise awareness about the school, to increase donor interest, as well as continue to attract new students and faculty. It will launch later this year.

We’d like to thank St. Anthony’s leadership, staff, teachers and students for being so hospitable and loving. And, a big thank you to Matt Daniel Photography. Working with them resulted in probably the smoothest and most fun shoot ever. The kids thought Matt and Jenna Daniel were rock stars – yet they were the ones taking the pictures! Here’s just a taste from the photo shoot. You can view more on their blog.

But here’s the disconnect.

This has been on my mind for awhile. I’m disappointed when a craft brewery puts lip service into their brand about being radical, experimental, unique or bad-ass, and their product falls short. If your flight of craft beer is uninspired and forgettable, no amount of strategic messaging, advertising campaigns, quirky copy, or re-branding will matter. A forged personality will only take you so far before the poor quality product or service is exposed.

The positive call to action? Create (or drink) amazing beer. Be confident and unafraid in how you position your company. You may lose some of your audience. (But you’ll lose everyone if your product stinks.)

Thanks to a close friend, I now love someecards. They get my “Keeping it Real” award of the week. And with the tagline, “when you care enough to hit send,” and other little nuggets, in just mere seconds I got a very clear idea of what they’re all about. It’s hilarious, irreverent, memorable and easy to use. They may win for most creative reply when you sign up for their e-newsletter: “Celebrate by sending an alarming number of cards.”