Is “life altering” an overused phrase? Well, I don’t care. This past weekend at SOBCon08, I was able to match flesh to avatar in downtown Chicago. Folks I’d only met through the written word were within sight. It amazed me how easily it was to find the folks I’d had the most online conversations with. Robert Hruzek was easy to spot in his traditional Texas head covering. Joanna Young was equally easy to find with her signature red hair (it helped that she was standing next to Robert at the time, too). And then there was Brad Shorr, yet another of the early faces who was spot-on to his avatar.

Now while recognizing faces from avatars might not seem that strange, this next part was. EVERY person I met at SOBCon08, who I’d had an online conversation with, sounded EXACTLY like I’d pictured in my mind. Liz Strauss sounds like Liz - not Fran Drescher (thank God). And while Terry Starbucker may have a passing resemblance to a short-haired Agent Smith, I can assure you he sounds nothing like him.

Some other random observances:

Christine Kane’s first name is Christine, not Carolyn. My apologies once again! I’m blaming it on the Fat Tire.

Jen Knoedl is the nicest person you’ll meet next to Buddy Elf.

Chris Brogan doesn’t like the song “Freebird”, but is good at flipping the bird to cabbies without GPS.

Phil Gerbyshak is the most genuine person I’ve met in an age.

I highly recommend a walk through the park with Chris Brown.

John Hong and I have very similar green raincoats.

Timothy Johnson and Stephen Smith were separated at birth. They could have easily given Lindsey Lohan a run for her money on The Parent Trap remake if Disney scouts had met them.

Sandra Ponce de Leon and Dawud Miracle need to form a secret society of kick butt names.

Rick Mahn knows how to talk politics and religion AND keep it civil.

Wendy Piersall is the real deal.

Stephen Hopson is the best listener I’ve ever met.

Pete Jones makes me want to work out. And get a new phone.

I like playing devil’s advocate with Kristen King. Shareholder theory rules!

I expect great things from Bryan Kress.

Shashi Bellamkonda is a multitasking monster.

And Thomas Knoll has the BEST bar game on the planet!

The weekend was enough to keep even my ADD in check (no small feat). Thanks for memories everyone!

Photo courtesy of Chris Garrett - Flickr

I’ve been reading H. Peter Karoff’s site today and was struck by the following analogy:

“You don’t have to be a Yeats or a Van Gogh to produce to high performance generosity. Robert Frost’s three-part definition of a good poem is relevant —did the poet have anything to say, was he true to it, and did he use good words. Variations of the same questions apply to each of us: what do we most believe in, did we act on those beliefs, and did we execute at the highest possible level. The very process itself, a mix of strong vision, mission, and execution has a simple genius of its own, one that is accessible not to the select few but to the many.”

Its all fine and dandy to believe in a cause but it takes action to keep it moving.

The great thing about giving and generousity is that we can all participate in our own way.  Start recyling, mentor a teen, join a service organization, or break out the checkbook.

Once you’ve started down the path, keep up the momentum.  You’ll be surprised how far you can get. Don’t be afraid of the first step.

I’m heading out to SobCon08 in a matter of hours with Tim Johnson and Pete Jones. Nothing like a 4:30am wake up call to start the weekend off with a bang! I have a feeling I’m going to need every ounce of energy to keep up with all of these folks:

• Cliff Atkinson
• Shashi Bellamkonda
• JJ Betts
• Chris Brown
• Chris Brogan
• Harry Brooks
• Anita Bruzzese
• Dave Bullock
• Mark Carter
• Brian Clark
• Tom Clifford
• Valerie Combs
• Chris Cree
• Lisa Cree
• Thomas Croghan
• Donna Cutting
• David Dalka
• Kevin Dixie
• Tim Draayer
• Andrew Dubber
• Monica Duncan
• Easton Ellsworth
• Kevin Ferrasci O’Malley
• Jonathan Fields
• Sarah Filipiak
• Mary-Lynn Foster
• Annie Galvin Teich
• Brian Gardner
• Chris Garrett
• Jon Gatrell
• Phil Gerbyshak
• Jared Goralnick
• Karen Hanrahan
• Joseph Hauckes
• Vicky Hennegan
• Scot Herrick
• John Hong
• Stephen Hopson
• Robert Hruzek
• Timothy Johnson
• Sara
• Pete Jones
• Todd Jordan
• Bob Kakoliris
• Christine Kane
• Adam Kayce
• Kristen King
• Scott Kolbe
• Jen Knoedl
• Stephen Koernig
• Bryan Kress
• George Krueger
• Amy L
• Tammy Lenski
• James G. Lindberg
• Eli Litscher
• Rick Mahn
• Sim Margolis
• Michael Martine
• Becky McCray
• Maria Meadows
• Cory Miller
• Ann Michael
• Dawud Miracle
• Debra Moorhead
• Matthew Murphy
• Paul O’Flaherty
• Tim Padar
• Jesse Petersen
• Melissa Pierce
• Wendy Piersall
• Sandra Ponce de Leon
• Karen Putz
• Susan R Quandt
• Levy Rivers
• Barbara Rozgonyi
• Jeff Sable
• Sheila Scarborough
• Mary Schmidt
• Derek Semmler
• Maria Sharon
• David Sherbow
• Steve Sherlock
• Brad Shorr
• Louise Silberman
• Sonia Simone-Rossney
• Julien Smith
• Stephen Smith
• Michael Snell
• Derrick Sorles
• Terry Starbucker
• Liz Strauss
• Jon Swanson
• Ruth M Sylte
• Windsor Tanner
• Michelle Vandepas
• Lorelle VanFossen
• Colleen Wainwright
• Denise Wakeman
• James D. Walton
• Randy Windsor
• Joanna Young

BTW, we’re having a little Utterz contest during the conference. You can check out my entry here. The winner gets some kind of Nokia phone (doubt half the features work in Iowa). If I should happen to win it, the phone will be placed on ebay the following day. All proceeds of the auction will be donated in honor of the SobCon08 attendees to Youth & Shelter Services, Inc. Be sure to check out their website. They do some amazing work for at-risk youth in central Iowa.

See everybody soon!