Ever wondered what a reporter looks like after a bird poops on them? What about roses made of bacon? Will Wonka? All that and more in this week’s BWE!

Best Tweet of the Week: Quit Ministry?
Amen and amen. If you’re in ministry and you’re consistently miserable, it might be time for a change. Life’s too short to hate your job.

there is nothing holy, godly or admirable about a “calling” that leaves you drained, empty and exhausted.

— Mike Foster (@MikeFoster) February 2, 2012

Best Video of the Week: I Love Sonic

For some reason, this video had me in tears. It’s not terribly funny, but I laughed throughout the whole video. Sweet.

Best Truth of the Week: Northface

In high school, only the rich kids wore Northface. I wish I would have had this retort back then

Best Video of the Week 2: Hunger Games

Say what you want, I’m a Hunger Games fan through and through. I cannot wait for this movie to come out.

Best Food of the Week: Bacon Roses

The caption says it all. Someone needs to make this. For real.

Best Tattoo of the Week: Tree Half-Sleeve

A scene from “To Kill a Mockingbird”. That looks painful. And awesome.

Best Video of the Week 3: Poop in Mouth

My favorite part in this video is how the reporter tries to act all nonchalant about his unfortunate accident. Then, well, that’s when the fun starts.

Best Animated GIF of the Week: Bravo, Good Sir!

Animated gifs are never wrong. The good folks at Gentlemint greet you with this fine chap after you’ve signed up for their service. Bravo!

And that’s all she wrote for this edition of Best Week Ever! Hope you had a great week. What made your week great?

A fixture of the community who has been there for decades, bringing you the latest news from around town. All with perfectly-coiffed hair, skin tanned to perfection, and an ability to read off a teleprompter with two arms tied behind his or her back.

Des Moines’ version of this is John Bachman. He’s a legend (and has the Emmy to prove it). He’s also retiring at the end of 2012. Des Moines is losing her Ron Burgundy.

Bachman’s been doing the same gig for 40 years. 40 years. This in a day-and age when 80% of people hate their job.

What’s his secret? I wondered. How does one guy do something for so long and truly enjoy himself along the way?

The answer came after I read an interview with John from the Des Moines Register. It all started to make sense. Here’s an excerpt outlining Bachman’s path to Des Moines:

From there, Bachman headed to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., where he studied English. He continued at Luther Seminary in St. Paul and Oxford University in England, where he studied theology.

…

“I knew that faith would be important to me,” said Bachman, who attends St. John’s Lutheran Church downtown, “but I also knew that I wasn’t going to be happy or fulfilled as a parish minister.”

Whoa. Wait. That last part. Can you read that again? Yeah. That hit me like a ton of bricks.

Why?

Because that was me. John’s story was my story. At least in part. Let me explain…

For those who may be new to the site, I was in Christian ministry for seven years before taking my current position at Monk Development. Like John, I went to seminary with the idea of becoming a pastor of a local church. I thought that’s where my “call” was. That’s what I’d be doing for the rest of my life.

But somewhere along the way, I started thinking, I don’t think this is it. I feel like I’m supposed to do something else. A scary and dangerous thought, for sure, but one that needed to be entertained.

I simply couldn’t shake the feeling that being a pastor wasn’t the right fit. There were just too many signs that signaled, “You’ll be unhappy if you choose to do this.” Not to diminish the role of ministry or the pastorate at all. I simply couldn’t see myself carrying out the responsibilities of pastor, day-in, day-out.

Like Bachman, I went through the necessary theological education, but returning to life as a pastor quickly began to lose its appeal.

We…Are…The 80%!

An article by Alyson Shontell turned up on the Business Insider recently. I mentioned it earlier, but here’s a snippet that grabbed my attention:

Most people — 80% according to Deloitte’s Shift Index survey — are dissatisfied with their jobs.

While some unhappy employees muster up the courage to change careers, others opt to grin and bear it.

That seems unbelievable to me. Yet, I believe it. You know people, like I do, who truly hate what they’re doing on a day-to-day basis, simply because they need the paycheck.

This is wrong.

I know that if I didn’t make a career change, I would be in that 80%. I wouldn’t be happy as a pastor. I’d be doing myself, my family, and the people of any congregation I served a grave disservice.

My dad has always told me to do what I love, where I want to do it, and make sure I’m setting the limits for how much I could earn. A tall task, for sure, but his advice has cultivated a mindset that’s helped me (and my siblings) achieve our goals.

I am forever thankful for his advice. It enabled me to make the decision to leave a potentially life-draining career.

But what about you? Maybe you’re there right now. Maybe you’re in the 80%. Maybe you believe that lie that things will always be the way they are and you can never change them.

I’m happy to tell you that you’re 100%, unequivocally, categorically, wrong. Isn’t that nice?

How to Know if You Hate Your Job

Here’s a quick test to let you know if you’re in the 80%:

• You dread going to work in the morning. Probably one of the most obvious signs of being the 80% is loathing the process of going to work. You dread getting up. You dread driving to your office. You dread actually doing the work that you’re paid to do. It’s a process, not a privilege, to get going.
• You look for new jobs at work. This is a biggie. If you’re actively looking for jobs at your current job, you’re probably not happy. Listen to yourself and see if you can determine why, then have the integrity to make the switch.
• You watch the clock. If your first order of business is to look at the clock after being in the office for 15 minutes, you’re in the 80%. If you’ve ever uttered, This day is going so slow! and it’s not even lunch, it’s time to move on.
• You look forward to retiring. Even if it’s 35 years away. Guilty. As. Charged.
• Friday becomes a holy day. Everybody loves the weekends. Don’t get me wrong. But the first thought (or tweet, or Facebook status) in your mind on Monday morning shouldn’t be, “TGIF! C’mon weekend!”

My dad switched careers (like, hard-right, things-toppling-off-the-dash switch) at age 50. He wanted to follow his own advice and make the change. So he did. And if he can do it, you can do it.

And a special word for those of you in ministry: This applies to you as well. Throughout the years, be it at denominational functions, in seminary classes, or even within the context I was serving, I know that there is an 80% in ministry as well.

There are good-hearted, faithful people working in churches who absolutely dread going to work everyday.

There, I said it.

If this is you, you need to realize that your job, even a ministry job, is just that: A job. And you can leave your ministry job the same way you can leave your job as a butcher, baker, or candlestick maker.

Trust me.

Don’t let yourself or the people around you over-spiritualize your ministry position. You are not being unfaithful or disobedient or whatever else if you decide to go from the ministry to the marketplace (or vice versa). That’s a determination that you, and you alone, get to make. No one else.

Be in the 20%

John Bachman says that he knew it was time to retire when being a news anchor stopped being fun. That’s why at age 64, after 40 years in the business, he decided to call it a day. But he provided himself and his family with a career that brought him joy, life, and excitement nearly everyday.

Don’t you deserve the same? Don’t be the 80%.

What resonated with you? Are you happy and fulfilled where you’re at right now? If not, what are you going to do about it?

• I’ve never been more appreciative of grace. This past week we had a major snafu with an event I was running. Thankfully, everyone involved had a good perspective and made it easy for me. I was already mortified enough!

• Speaking of events, I’m slightly revamping my approach to Social Des Moines. We’ll be offering the next one for free and capping it (solidly) at 30 participants. First come, first serve. Watch this site for details.

• One of our local news anchors will be retiring in November. I know it sounds silly, but I’ll miss John Bachman. He’s been behind the news desk at NBC since our family moved into the area. I have some more thoughts on John I’ll share later this week. You will be missed, Mr. Bachman!

• I cannot say enough good things about our small group. The idea of facilitated community has never sat well with me, but this one works. Love the fact that the group of us gets together every week, kids and all, to talk shop and share a meal. Underrated, for sure.

• I had a thought (scary, I know) when I was reading over the weekend. If you want to succeed, excel, and beat your competition, all you need to do is be consistent. I swear it’s the most overlooked value out there. If you’re consistent in your business, relationships, disciplines, etc., you’ll be better off than 95% of the general public. Consistency shines.

• Does anyone else find it ironic that one of the most compelling, cogent, and grace-filled critiques of Mark Driscoll is being written by a woman? Rachel Held Evans is sharp.

• “Stop sending resumés,” say some companies.

• How to work with someone you hate.

• I’m almost through The Hunger Games trilogy. As you’ll remember, I bought the first one by accident and couldn’t put it down. Now I’m having that familiar feeling of, “What will I read when it’s all over?” Sad. Sidenote: Reading fiction is important for the brain. Sometimes you need a (good, healthy) break from reality.

• “Pay the farmer now or the doctor later.” These words hang in our kitchen for a reason. Never have I been more convicted of what I put into my body than this season of life. My son’s food allergies have been a blessing in disguise. Turns out some of the (FDA-approved) foods we were eating were slowly poisoning us.

• This should make your blood boil.

• Below: A freaking 14-lb. baby born here in Des Moines. We grow ‘em big, folks!

• What’s the latest and greatest in your world?

So this week, we talk Lutherans, dessert, Grandpa Al, and more. These was so much going on this week to make it the Best Week Ever. Did you have a good week? I hope so. Let’s sit back and reflect on the week that was with BWE!

Best Tweet of the Week: Lutherans Light it Up
Being a lifelong Lutheran, this one resonates with me. Big time.

Methodists raised me, Baptists saved me, but Lutherans taught me how to be a Christian.

— Leonard Sweet (@lensweet) October 15, 2009

Best Video of the Week: Grandpa Listens to Dubstep

This really is the best thing ever. Even though I’m a fan of Skrillex, Grandpa Al makes it cool to not like that “electronic myoosic”.

Best High School Yearbook Photo of the Week: Snoop Dogg

He looks so…normal.

Not high.

Best Nerd of the Week: iMacdonald’s

I would totally do this.

Best Desserts of the Week: WANT SOME

Best Tree of the Week: Cocooned Trees in India

When floods hit parts of India, the waters took so long to recede that spiders had to take up residence in the trees. This is what it looks like.

Spider Man Lives Here

Best Prank of the Week

This is what happens when you send your number out to Facebook and a random person texts you. You make their life miserable.

And that’s all she wrote for this edition of Best Week Ever! Hope you had a great week. What made your week great?

That’s right. It works. That’s what makes name-dropping so insidious.

Dead man walkin'.

Name-dopping happens when people don’t know who they are. They use the reputation of other people to prop themselves up. It’s like an emotional version of “Weekend at Bernie’s”.

When you can loosely affiliate yourself with another person of equal or greater stature, in whatever haphazard fashion, you appear greater. More powerful, influential, or wanted.

You reap the rewards with little to no consequences. (At least, that’s what you think.)

While name-dropping might work in the eyes of others, there’s ultimately a price to pay. That price? Your soul. Your soul believes the lie that who you are isn’t good enough, smart enough, or liked enough to make it in the real world.

Sad.

The next time you’re about to tweet about a 10-second conversation you had with so-and-so, blog about all the people you know (or think you know), or update your status with all the amazing places you’re going (even if you’re stretching the truth with some of them), ask yourself a question:

Why am I sharing this?

If you can’t come up with a good reason, well, yeah. Chances are you’re name-dropping. And you’re better than that.

• What’s crack-a-lackin’ nephews? Did you know that Snoop Dogg was on the Price is Right recently? Methinks Snoop is spending too much money on his greenery.

• Rest and relaxation is underrated. I took two naps, each day, over the weekend. That felt good.

• I like my Kindle more than my iPad. Maybe it’s a phase. Maybe it’s not. All I can say is, the smaller the better.

• Joe Paterno is dead. I’ll be honest, I’m really conflicted on this one. One one hand, you have a guy who did some amazing things for a lot of people. But, even in the midst of that, I can’t help thinking about the fact that he didn’t stand up when it mattered most. Here’s a great, level-headed response from one of our local newscasters.

• I grow weary of endless name-dropping. It’s unfortunate to watch good-hearted people believe the lie that you need to name-drop to get ahead in life. The reality is that it makes us look weak and petty. Know who you are. Know whose you are.

• I’ve started drinking apple cider vinegar. Why? you may ask. The benefits are wide and varied, but suffice to say it’s keeping things moving, ifyouknowhatimean.

• Pats v. Giants? Blarg. The only good that can come of this Super Bowl is watching a homeless-looking Bill Belly-check lose. And Eli winning, I suppose. Not a more underrated quarterback out there. Also, former Hawkeye T-Sash is on the Giants. I’d love to see him be a part of the Super Bowl-winning team!

• My favorite line from “We Bought a Zoo”: “Would you choose people or animals? Me too. People!” (Also, the film’s music score was done by none other than Jonsí. A please surprise!)

•Really like the guys over at BufferApp. Easy-to-use service and they retweet the crap out of my posts. Not a bad combo

• You owe it to yourself to listen to Avicii’s New Year’s Eve set on Pier 41. It will make you a better person.

• Did I mention the world could use a little less name-dropping?

• Below: Gary Vosot: Westchester’s finest. (And he’ll kill you.)

• What’s the latest and greatest in your world?

I started a new series last week: BEST WEEK EVER! If you missed the inaugural edition, go here. Otherwise, sit back and reflect on the week that was with BWE!

Best Tweet of the Week: What makes a team.

People in close proximity don’t constitute a team.

— Justin Lathrop (@justinlathrop) January 19, 2012

Best Video of the Week: Sh*t Nobody Says

What a great freaking video. Sh*t nobody says. I found myself agreeing with nearly all of them. Made by some great guys, too.

Best Retro Ad: TV is good for you!

TV is good for you!

Best Post of the Week: Productive people.

You want to be more productive at work. So do I. The challenge is not necessarily working harder, but smarter. Learn how to do that in this post about productivity.

OctopusMG.

Best Home Office of the Week: Office Pod.

What an awesome idea. As a remote worker myself, I appreciate the psychology behind this idea, even if it is a spec. (HT: Ben Arment)

Best Awkward Family Photo of the Week: Clowns!

I almost can’t look at this. It’s sad, goofy, weird, and fascinating all at the same time. So meta, yo.

Grandma thinks she's somewhere else.

Best Tug at Your Nerdy Dad Heartstrings of the Week: Droid Dad

As a dad, and as someone who used to try the Jedi mind trick on people in college (unfortunately, that’s a true story), I loved this.

Best Minimalist Design of the Week: Movie Posters

Best Truth of the Week: Netflix

And that’s all she wrote for this edition of Best Week Ever! Hope you had a great week. What made your week great?

Wipe that smug look off your face, Email.

Blarg. That’s what I say. People who complain about their inbox are like people who whine about the weather. But not you. You’re different. You know how to tame your inbox before it tames you. Here are some shortcuts to make sure that happens.

I process just over 115 emails per day through three different accounts. 95% of the time, my inbox is cleaned out before I shut down for the day. It doesn’t mean that I’ve responded to all those emails (that comes later), but it does mean that I have a clean, fresh start to the next workday.

Here’s how I do it:

1. Set up filters.

This is the first and most important step in setting you up for email domination. I have my filters set up into three main buckets:

• Follow Up: Emails I need to respond to within 24-36 hours.
• Long-term Follow Up: Emails that need attention with 3-5 business days.
• Bacon: Newsletters, summary feeds, etc. that I actually enjoy reading but don’t want going to my inbox.

Look, Ma, work filters!

Personal & Project email filters

I use these filters as a guide. They show me, at first glance, what’s most important. If I’m crunched for time, I know where to allocate my responses. Easy breezy, yo.

2. Clean everything out of your inbox.

My son has to have his toys cleaned up before dinner time. All the blocks, trucks, trains, and books need to be in their proper place before we eat. It teaches him order and discipline.

Same principle applies here. You’re about to learn email discipline.

Before the end of the day, put all of your emails “away,” so to speak. Put them all in the filters we set up earlier. You don’t have to respond to them all, just do something with them.

You’ll feel better about opening your inbox the next day and it’ll give you the psychological advantage you need to thrash ‘dat inbox. Here’s a look at email zen:

Email zen.

3. Use Three Sentences.

I love this site. So very much. The simple reminder to keep emails short is enough to shout it from the hills.

This just might save your life!

Here’s the thing: no one likes reading long emails. No one. Keep your responses brief and to-the-point and you’ll be better off for it. (So will the sorry chap on the other end of your reply!)

4. Set a timer for responding.

This might be my favorite shortcut of all. I set a simple timer in the menu bar of my desktop. I give myself 25:00 to respond, and get at it. When the timer’s up at the end of the day, I’m done responding. I file the other emails away until the next day.

This is sexy.

But I could never do that! I hear some of you thinking that right now. And you’re wrong. You can. You just choose not to.

Here’s the thing with email, it follows Parkinson’s Law which says,

Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

So if you give yourself 25 minutes to answer email, you’ll get done what you need to in the block. If you give yourself unlimited time to answer email, well, we’ve all been there before. Right?

Limit your email time, and, magically, you’ll find yourself getting a lot more done in the timeframe you allow.

5. Consider batch responding.

This one’s not for everyone, but Tim Ferriss suggests answering email only twice per day. Admittedly, I’ve tried this approach before and haven’t found it to be the most effective for me. That said, I know there are plenty of people who this would be perfect for.

Don’t give yourself an excuse to dwell in your inbox. If it doesn’t need to be open, shut it down. Set the times when you’re going to answer and stick to it.

6. Pick up the phone.

Whenever I find myself sitting in front of an email I know will take more than three sentences to respond to, I pick up the phone. It’s much easier (and efficient) to hash out what you need to over the phone than typing a freaking phone book back to said person.

Holla!

If you can, call the person quickly (or go to their office, cube, etc.) and chat it out. Your fingers (and productivity) will thank me.

7. Delete, delete, delete.

Ah, yes. The “delete” key. how I love it so.

I find that 30-40% of the emails I get on a daily basis don’t need a response of any sort. You know what I do with them? Delete them. Quickly. If you’re wondering what emails you can delete, use Seth Godin’s rule. Ask yourself, “would this person be offended if I didn’t respond?”

Most times, as you know, the answer is “no!” All of us have way too much email. That person will most likely thank you for not adding an email with the words “sounds great!” to their inbox.

The best part is (at least with Gmail, anyway) that the “delete” key is actually an “archive” key. So if you do find yourself needing to respond later, you’re a simple each away from doing so.

If you use these shortcuts, time in your inbox will melt away. You’ll find yourself able to spend more time doing the work that matters. Email is a necessary evil–you have to answer it. But that doesn’t mean you need to spend your whole day wading through.

You’ve got the tools to succeed. Now use them!

How do you cut down on your email clutter? What are some tips and tricks you’ve adopted that might help the rest of us?

One of the questions are hear most often is, “what social media resources do you recommend?” I’ve never taken the time to put them all in one place. Until now. Here are my “I reseve the right to change this list whenever I need to!” must-have social media resources, in no particular order:

Social Media Books

• Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith – If you’re going to read one book on this list, read this one.
• Content Rules by Ann Handley – A phenomenal, practical “how-to” guide for developing content ideas. Really great resource.
• Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky – A 30,000-foot view on how we got to where we are with social media. A readable history of human communication.
• The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuck – A great mix of practical advice and theory. I appreciate the no-nonsense of Gary more than anything else.
• Socialnomics by Eric Qualman – If you’re needing a basic, basic guide on how to do social media well, pick this book up. It’s not necessarily for the deep-divers, but this book is pragmatic when it needs to be.
• Groundswell by Li & Behrnoff – The seminal work in social media literature. If you don’t read this book (at some point), you’re missing out on a piece that has shaped most of the other authors on this page.
• Flinch by Julien Smith – Not explicitly social media related, but a helpful guide for doing work that matters.

Social Media Websites/Blogs

• Social Media Examiner – More content than you can handle. Spot-on with nearly every post.
• Ben Arment – Not explicitly social media-related, but a great thinker with practical, real-world advice and perspective.
• Seth Godin – I have a love/hate with Seth, but I think that’s the point. Another person who I look to to be challenged.
• Michael Hyatt – One of the main inspirations for this blog and great content to boot.
• Daily Blog Tips – True to its name, this site gives practical, real-world tips (are you sensing a trend?) on how to be a better blogger.
• Dan Zarrella – The main reason why I love Dan’s material is because he backs it up with data. My distaste for social media snake oil salesman is shared by Dan, and he goes to great lengths to provide data for his recommendations.
• HubSpot – Hubspot is a content machine. You have to decide how you’re going to drink from this firehose, but a great resource nonetheless.
• Bryan Allain – I like Bryan. That’s the main reason he’s on this list. He also is starting a blogging conference that I think will be around for some time.
• Business Insider – BI, where do I start with thee? This site catapulted my interest in social media in a major way. I owe them a lot and visit frequently.
• Mashable – The standard.
• BufferApp Blog – Buffer makes two appearances on today’s list: one for their web app (below) and one for their blog. Truly one of the better social media blogs out there.
• Silicon Prairie News – Depending on where you live, SPN has fresh tech news to deliver to you. If you’re in the Midwest (or beyond, even) and want to stay up-to-date on tech trends, read SPN.
• Monk Development Blog – Ah yes, my beloved Monk. One of our favorite places to share some of the things we’re learning along the way.

Social Media Web Apps

• BufferApp – Be Awesome on Social Media. Buffer lives up to its promise of raising your Klout score, too.
• ifttt – Put the internet to work for you. Endless uses for this fun-but-helful web app.
• SocialBro – Browse your Twitter community. Now that is integrates with BufferApp, there’s no stopping me!
• Timely.is – A free, more basic version of BufferApp.
• Hootsuite – My social media anchor. I don’t know where I’d be without Hootsuite…It keeps me sane.

Other Important Stuff

• MonkDev Social Media Calendar – This one’s not for public consumption Want to know more? Holla.
• #SM – One of the best hashtags on Twitter.
• Social Media Twitter List – My go-to for social media news on Twitter, all in one place.
• Skrillex – This is like sonic caffeine. Truly thankful for this artist.
• Avicii – Another tremendous artist, this time of the progressive trance variety.
• KapSlap – My favorite mash-up artist. More fuel for the productivity fire!

Do you have any that you’d add to the list? Share something that’s made an impact in your life! Bust on down to the comments below and make ‘em say, “UGHHHHHHHH!”

• Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, everyone. Do you have the day off?

• Took nearly the entire weekend offline. I cannot tell you how refreshing this feels. Have you ever tried to go a whole weekend without accessing the Internet? I feel like Morpheus, “free…your…mind.”

• It’s not true, Eminem. People do listen to techno.

• I accidentally bought The Hunger Games on my Kindle last week and couldn’t put it down over the weekend. I had no idea what the book was about, but I’m hooked. Word on the street is that there’s a movie coming out this Spring, too. What was the last book you couldn’t put down?

• At that gym this past weekend, I noticed a trend: young kids goofing off on treadmills. If you’re a parent trying to teach your kids to be healthy, I applaud you. That said, there are other ways to educate them besides setting them loose on an already-packed treadmill area. It’s not the child’s fault (it usually never is), so parents, do a better job at watching your little ones.

• I did a fun little interview with Sean Cannell over at THiNK International. We talked social media analytics, strategy, and more. Check it out. And while you’re there, watch Scott McClellan’s interview as well. The first three minutes showcase Scott’s perfectly dry-aged humor.

• The food you’re eating? It’s not really food. At least, not like we think it is.

• Twinkies are hosed.

• We have consistent wi-fi issues with our early 2010 iMac. It drops out after waking from sleep (if it ever connects at all). I’ve tried literally every solution I can find online. Bubkus. Anyone have a solution for me? Help!

• Naps are underrated.

• Tried to get my Tebow on, but the Broncos got spanked Saturday night. Bummer. Cue the #jesusjukes.

• Twitter makes it really easy to connect with people you’d never be able to otherwise. For this I am thankful. Made some needed and important connections last week, all thanks to Twitter.

• Below: A baby sloth, yawning.

• What’s the latest and greatest in your world?