(totally stolen from something I read today at Fast Company.)

It’s way easy to try and compare myself to some of my creative & producer peers. It’s a talented group of musicians, video shooters, photographers, graphic & motion graphic designers. All too often I catch myself saying “Man I wish I had their gear” or “Holy cow, that project is way better than the ‘baby-food’ looking piece that I just put out.”

I’m secure enough to say I’m not where I’d like to be, but I’m better than I use to be. Awhile ago I decided against freaking out and going no where thinking of my weaknesses, and instead focusing on my strengths.

I’m basically a fifth grader when it comes to design and especially motion graphics, thats why its not something I try to sell to clients asking for video work. I feel my strengths lie in shooting and editing.

I’m also working to improve my conceptual skills when it comes to projects. Because of the often routine and quick turn around nature of my day job, my so called ‘concept muscles’ have atrophied into the likes of a jr. high boy with no hair under his arms. So sad…

I can’t say enough about the importance of personal projects… Talk is cheap and doesn’t count if you’re not producing something worthwhile. It might suck at first, but keep working and remember you’re that much farther than the other guy who’s just talking about it.

from Fast Company

If you keep track of green technology companies, you may have heard rumblings about Bloom Energy, a secretive company that has raised nearly $400 million from investors like Kleiner Perkins for its supposedly game-changing fuel cell device. Now the eight year old company is finally emerging from the shadows with the Bloom Box, a $700,000 to $800,000 machine that 60 Minutes calls “a little power plant-in-a-box.” So what exactly is the Bloom Box?