The Best

• Created Badge – a proprietary presentation assessment tool
• Went to Disney World in November with my family
• I visited the following cities: Chicago (4x), Denver, Washington DC, Winston-Salem, Searcy, Greenville (2x), and Orlando
• Saw the the Foo Fighters at Bridgestone Arena
• I played Heroes of the Storm for the first time (inspired the acquisition of a professional team)
• Created Kreese Gaming with a business partner
• Created 2 additional gaming Meetups which are showing promise

The Worst

• Father-in-law passed away
• I only read a handful of books
• No triathlon training
• Revenue decreased for Ethos3 from last year

Overall, on paper this year did not look that great. However, my family is healthy and my kid is healthy and growing like a weed. This year was really all about discovering fatherhood which has been quite the adventure.

Looking forward to maximizing 2016!

The post The Best and Worst of 2015 appeared first on Scott Schwertly.

The world lost a good man on November 24th of this year. He was an admired colleague, a caring mentor, a devoted husband, and the side I saw the most – a loving father to my wife. It just breaks my heart that my son will never get to experience the fun, wisdom, and countless wonderful things of his Papa.

As I reflect back on his legacy, there are few items that I want to document so I never forget:

Invest in People
One thing that stood out to me is that Alan made an impact on a lot of people. He would give the shirt off his back to help someone in need. Others always came first and it was highlighted by all the many positive comments shared with me during the week of his passing. His bank account was not huge, but his deposits in others was endless.

Keep the Faith
I always enjoyed my discussions about faith, religion, and science with Alan. Our deep conversations are something I always cherished. We both went through our seasons of hard core faith and hard core doubt but in the end he put his ego aside.

There is No Finish Line
In the 15 years that I knew Alan, he had good seasons and bad seasons with his career. Unfortunately, most of those times were bad but even near the end he was still fighting for that next big opportunity.

Validation is Priceless
Alan was my biggest cheerleader. Outside of Cara, no one cheered me on like he did with my ventures. I’ll miss having him in my corner.

Alan, you left us way too soon. Cherish your loved ones and don’t take for granted all the good people in your life.

The post Lessons from a Funeral appeared first on Scott Schwertly.

Looking back on that time, there was no YouTube, apps, or fancy tuners. It was just you, your guitar, and hopefully a teacher. Fast forward to today, and the hobby seems incredibly the same but also incredibly different. My iPad for instance has changed my approach, outlook, motivational levels, and speed of learning. Many thanks to this remarkable device.

Here’s how:

YouTube
There are so many guitar channels out there where you can play, practice, pause, play again, etc. It’s like having a guitar teacher just a few feet away. It’s an absolute game changer for anyone wanting to learn guitar. While we are on this topic, I happen to be a big fan of Marty Schwartz and Andy Crowley.

Guitar Tuna
I remember back in the day where I had to wait an entire week before my guitar teacher could tune my guitar. It was obnoxious. And, if I missed a week, it was even more painful. With apps like GuitarTuna and many others, tuning a guitar is simple and essentially painless.

Tab Pro
Similar to the above, I would have to wait an entire week to get a new piece of tablature from my guitar teacher or be willing to drop $3-$5 for a new tab sheet. Those days are gone. A few days ago, I spent under $20 to have an entire year of access to almost any song I would want to play. Absolutely amazing.

Yousician
If any of the above gets old, I can always switch over to Yousician – a Guitar Hero of sorts for beginners like myself. It’s so much fun. They basically gamified the guitar.

This one device has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for a hobby that I thought was strictly analog years ago.

Amazing.

The post How the iPad Improved My Guitar Playing appeared first on Scott Schwertly.

My wife was also so kind to put this picture together for me. It now rests right next to my desk at work. I love it!

These past 4 months have been amazing. I wouldn’t change anything.

The post Happy Father’s Day for a New Dad appeared first on Scott Schwertly.

Looking back, I wonder how I propelled myself from that failure and the plethora of other shortfalls in my life and I think it has a lot to do with taking ownership after things settle. Rather than looking away or blaming others, I always have pointed the finger back at myself. My internal dialogue generally consists of ownership statements like:

“I was let go because I cared more about my side business more so than my employer.”

“I suffered a DNF at this Ironman event because I got lazy with my bike training.”

“I failed to hit our numbers last year because I didn’t teach my sales team better follow-up and close techniques.”

I obsess about owning my endings. Is it easy? Absolutely not.

Is it incredibly empowering once done. Yes.

The most beautiful thing about this exercise is that it makes you self-aware and savvier. It’s difficult but you become a better person in the long run.

Now, that I have made my confession…what are some ownership statements you would like to share?

The post The Importance of Ownership Statements appeared first on Scott Schwertly.

You can learn more here.

The post Introducing Badge: Your Presentation Assessment Tool appeared first on Scott Schwertly.

It’s time to remove the barnacles. The past is the past. My failures and even successes leading up to this point don’t matter anymore.

What matters is today.

I’m ready to begin.

The post Scraping Off The Barnacles appeared first on Scott Schwertly.

You entered our life on March 5th at 4:50am during the middle of a blizzard here in Nashville. Your arrival was unexpected (16 days early) yet gratefully welcomed. Your Mom and I are super in love and so proud to be your parents. You continue to take our breath away, and you have changed our lens about life and family forever. We love you so much!

As you grow up, life is going to beat you up and kick you when you are down. It owes you nothing. Remember that always. All I ask is that you continue to get back up. Again. Again. Again. And again. Never quit.

Not only do I not want you to quit, but I want you to:

Fight for what is right.

Trust your gut.

Aim for consistency.

Pick your battles.

Make smart choices everyday.

Take the high road.

Go the extra mile.

Be kind.

Be humble.

Do what is right.

Eat your greens.

Respect your elders.

Read.

Don’t get comfortable.

Dream.

Don’t let others determine your self-worth.

Do what you love.

Don’t chase money.

Stay away from debt.

Find a wife you adore and who will make you a better person.

Exercise.

Get a dog.

Don’t be afraid to hire people smarter than you.

Maximize your strengths.

Remember that life rewards the dogged.

Know that grit always beats IQ.

Always be curious.

You have one fun, crazy, exciting, challenging, and deeply rewarding journey ahead of you. Welcome to the world! We can’t wait to show you around.

Love,

Your Dad

The post A Letter to My Son appeared first on Scott Schwertly.

Why?

I never figured it out until this morning. When I started my company back in 2006, I lived in coffee shops and I got a lot of crap done. I mean… a lot. I was a beast. However, over the last few years as I have increasingly become more of a manager (sitting at a desk), my productivity has stalled and the business seems like it is stagnant.

I’m not creating.

I’m not dreaming.

I’m not feeling like myself.

Therefore, I decided to pick up my bags and leave today. I’m writing this post at a coffee shop right and it feels good – really good. I’m actually getting crap done rather than just pushing paper.

The post Where No Progress is Made appeared first on Scott Schwertly.

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced is has ambitious goal of putting man on the moon before the decade concluded. It was bold, and it was ambitious. And, he did it.

I feel like for the last 2 years, I have been drifting without a moon goal in relation to my career. Don’t get me wrong, we are doing some really great things at Ethos3, but I feel like I am personally stagnant. I need to dream bigger and bolder. I want to do something great – I just don’t know what it is yet.

The post Going for the Moon appeared first on Scott Schwertly.