Remembering A Friend In His Second Life, While Shaping My First.

By Jim Calder

Friends, I am here to tell you that there is life after death. The verdict may still be out on the Heaven vs. Hell and reincarnation debate, but I swear that there is life after death. A recent road trip leads me to the realization of the powerful Second Life, which we all hope we may someday achieve. I am personally on the dawn of turning the page to age 33 in about one month from now. When I was a child, I had no idea what this age would be like. As an adult clinging to my youth, I still don’t fully understand. However, what I do know is that my view of life and death has drastically changed.

A Road Trip for the Soul

My wife and I recently headed on a soul-searching road trip across New England. We stopped in the beautiful town of Burlington, VT where my late friend Bryan Kapschull lived, worked, and played. Bryan left us in the summer of 2008 at age 30, but I have no doubt that his spirit and soul are with his friends and family often. Bryan was a brewer at Magic Hat, and we got a special tour of the factory, with the highlight of climbing the brewing tower to see a memorial the workers made for him. His brewing boots are bronzed next to his Magic Hat uniform. It was a touching and beautiful display.

The Second Life

The loss of Bryan has taught me that there is life after death. A Second Life is created through shared memories and experiences of others (some who have never met eachother).
Together we learn to slow down, to appreciate everything we are given, every hour of each day, to make time to shut down and appreciate. This second life is a celebration of the person’s life that had such a strong impact on us. Guilt is a common theme in the Second Life, and we all are going to feel it from time to time.
In Bryan Kapschull’s second life, I have connected, reconnected and been introduced to beautiful, talented and unique individuals.
Cathy Kapschull, Bryan’s mother is probably the strongest member of this group. Her strength and love for Bryan is a true inspiration to me.
Sarah Catherine Golden, the love of my dear friends life- is a real, artistic and open human being with a golden soul.
Jenna, Bryan’s sister, is another beautiful and kind creature who I could tell was hands down Bryan’s biggest fan from the days when she visited us in college.
As well as 67 other family members and friends who knew and still love Bryan Kapschull and have joined me in a social networking website dedicated to his life. Together, we created a social networking site honoring our friend’s memory. If you knew Bryan, email me a jim@prolongmagazine for the site address.

A Clearer View of My Core Beliefs

Thinking deeply about my old friend while visiting Burlington, left me with inner reflection on my own life. My views have grown, matured and developed into human beliefs. You may think that they sound like corny sayings found on the Internet, but I will remind you that might be because you are reading what some dude just wrote on the Internet.

LIFE

-I have come to the realization that life is rare and precious and the most beautiful thing in the universe. It needs to be respected and nourished.
-Loss of Loved Life is a lesson that we will all learn, and it will never get easier as the years pass.
-Every choice we make has severe and lasting consequences.
-Mentally checking out because the weight of the world is too much is not an option.
-Life is not a fairy tale. There is soul-crushing loss that will change us and leave us scarred to our core.
-There is betrayal by friends, loved ones and coworkers that we will struggle with understanding and never be able to comprehend.
-There is fear that will cripple you if one allows it in.
-If we don’t like the direction that we are heading we can turn the whole ship around starting right this second.
-There are too many things that can destroy us on their own to allow ourselves to become self-destructive.

LOVE

The songs are right, Love does not die.
-Love is the heartbeat to life. When you find it, hold on with both hands and never, ever let go.
-Always put your love and passions first, always.
-Love transcends spouses, family and friends. Love can be in everything you do, but it takes millions of daily choices.
-Love can rip you apart.
-Love leaves an impact on the brain that can be downloaded but never deleted.

WORK

-Employers only get so many chances to show you that they appreciate your work.
-Work is something we do to have an enjoyable life, not the other way around.
-There is work. And there is life. Knowing the difference between the two is the first step to the rest of your life.
-It is almost 2011, work is measured by your passion and your initiative not by how many hours you spend chained to a desk in your office.
-If you can’t achieve balance between work and life you will crash hard.
-Fear is not a motivational tool, it actually does the complete opposite of motivation.
-It is easy to become a workaholic, but it is more important to remember why we are working in the first place.

Everything

-Having ideas equals nothing without the ability to execute them.
-If you haven’t failed you will never do anything important in your career or life. Don’t fear failing, seek it out.
-Building is much more productive than tearing down.
-Our death is not the end, we all will live on in the hearts of loved ones if we make our mission to live a kind, loving, and productive life.
And finally as long as we have music as a form of therapy, we will all be okay.

What is one of your favorite core beliefs? Respond in the comments.

Jim Calder is the brand architect and co-founder of ProLong Magazine. Jim was born with the perfect combination of cockiness and self-consciousness. He has over 10 years of publishing industry experience and lives and works in Philadelphia, Pa. Jim strongly believes that the current 9-5 Monday-Friday format of “Work” is dying. Those that refuse to recognize this will be left behind in the decaying office complexes across America. He currently can be found on the greatest adventure of his life as a newlywed with his wife Melissa. Jim can be contacted via email at jim@prolongmagazine.com

Happy Birthday To A Terrific Community

By Jim Calder

ProLong Magazine turns one-year old this week and we couldn’t be more excited. During one of the worst economies the world has ever witnessed we have been able to bring attention to a long overlooked subject … YOU. As we all know life moves very fast, and seems to increase in speed with each year that passes. While we can’t control the speed of life, we hope that we have made you realize that you can at least control the tempo or maybe the bass. It is so easy to forget ourselves in this world in so many ways.

Our Focus

We started out (2009-2010) with a broad scope, because after all life and living is by nature HUGE. As we start to enter 2011 our hope is to narrow the focus of our articles and blogs giving you more of what you want in the years ahead. Our writers have given you their hearts, their souls, their passions and their love. We thank each and every author for his or her dedication and expression.

Feedback: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

In the last year I have received a wide spectrum of feedback. At a camp out this summer a physician friend from Hawaii told me that ProLong’s content is prolific and inspiring. Another friend relayed to me that a few acquaintances thought the brand was destined to fail. Those people most likely never thought we would make it to this day. They are confused by the definition of failure and success and think that success is only tied to wealth.

You Have Done This

I can proudly say on this one-year anniversary, that ProLong Magazine lives by its own rules. Our community continues to call the shots, and our audience is what has made us a success. YOU have proven that there is still passion in publishing. YOU have proven that you don’t need to start a business or a project with the sole intent of getting rich.
But most importantly, YOU have proven that You, Your Passions, and Your Life, should always come first. This was our core message since day one, and it will continue to be the message we hope that you help us spread until the end.

Help Us Spread The Word

As an advocate of social networking, I realize that this will be key to ProLong Magazine’s future growth. We need you, the reader most of all. You are our community and as we grow, so will you. You can painlessly and quickly help us grow right this very second. Please log into your facebook page and go to facebook.com/prolongmagazine.
Once you are there hit the suggest to friends button and click on all of your friends faces to suggest that they also like the Prolong Magazine facebook page. It is a little thing, but we would greatly appreciate your help in getting the word out about our brand.

As ProLong Magazine moves forward, please feel free to email me personally (at jim@prolongmagazine.com) any time you have ideas for an article, have a topic you would like to see addressed or would like to suggest an author or even write yourself. Thank you all for your great support, your inspiring comments and words of advice. Happy birthday to you all!

Jim Calder is the brand architect and co-founder of ProLong Magazine. Jim was born with the perfect combination of cockiness and self-consciousness. He has over 10 years of publishing industry experience and lives and works in Philadelphia, Pa. Jim strongly believes that the current 9-5 Monday-Friday format of “Work” is dying. Those that refuse to recognize this will be left behind in the decaying office complexes across America. He currently can be found on the greatest adventure of his life as a newlywed with his wife Melissa. Jim can be contacted via email at jim@prolongmagazine.com

What do you have cooking on your stove?

By Jim Calder
I was feeling burned out a bit today.
I had a chat conversation with a friend who laid it flat out for me. I am a workaholic or on a clear path to becoming one. A huge amount of what I do, he considers work. I work my 9-5 and them come home and work some more almost every night. I write/blog, I build brands, I build websites, I help others get their message out to the public, I create video projects, and I even fall asleep reading the best business and marketing books that I can find. His view was not critical, and was not taken that way at all but it did cause me to think.

Work vs. Hobby

Call me a dreamer but I never really looked at my passion in the hours after 9-5 as “work”. Still, maybe I need a break from all this “work”. I went up to the roof for a cigar and some deep thinking, armed with a notebook and a pen. As a writer I find it is best to sort out my words on paper. A few puffs later and the rain began to drizzle. Not enough to stop smoking the cigar but just enough to smear the words on the page. A sign from the sky? … Perhaps.

So I sat in the drizzle, smoked and pondered the meaning of life. Of course the entire time I was wishing that the rain would stop so that I could get these thoughts out of my head and onto paper. I have been writing since I can remember realizing that I was left handed and that if I didn’t hold my hand with a certain crook, the ink above would smear.
Earlier in the day my friend explained that his hobbies have nothing at all to do with work, hobbies are supposed to relax you and not cause any stress. He explained that I am turning my hobbies into work. Have I really turned my hobbies into work, and convinced myself that they are not? Could this be true? Even as I write this I refuse to believe it, but my point is quickly stifled as I am turning this into a blog entry for ProLong Magazine. However, I believe that I have my reasons.

My Mission

This discussion boils down to how or what defines us and our purpose in life. I have a mission in life, not some sort of weird religious crusade or even a higher purpose. It is more a personal mission to ensure that my life and work have meaning for myself. I refuse to believe that working towards creative goals is a bad thing. I refuse to settle in my career and want and need more. I am a simple builder; it is what I know and what I do..

I have realized that this will not always make sense to friends, family, coworkers and bosses … but I realize it just has to make sense to me. Everything that I do in my creative life has meaning and is calculated with purpose.

Too Vulnerable?

Loved ones have told me that I am too open at times and that this can make me vulnerable to be made fun of and to possibly be criticized for my thoughts, feelings and actions. But I have found that once you step beyond caring a little less about what others think or say negatively, you will find a clearer path.

I wish my work, my life’s work to have meaning and I refuse to become a cog that can easily be replaced. My value is irreplaceable, because my worth lies in my thoughts, my dedication, and my passion. No one can take this away. Once this realization occurs a calm persistence takes over on a sort of auto pilot. It is not always the easiest road, but the structure and foundation are in place.
When did wearing our hearts on our sleeves become such a bad thing? Maybe it is because we live in a PC world where every thought and action is over analyzed and scrutinized.

Finding Balance

During the conversation with my friend today he made some really great and lasting points that I am internalizing and hoping to focus on. Basically, I need to find some balance or I will stroke out before 40 (which luckily is still a bit off, but not that far … so yes change is good). I should never let any type of work come in the way of family or friendships. I know I have been guilty of this because there are only so many hours in a day. I need to find my own balance between relationships and my creative work. As life and time start to feel shorter I know that this will become a greater challenge.

At the end of this deep thought process, it is crucial to remember that we can also have both. Some sacrifices have to be made but it can be done. Facebook is something that is growing in my concern column. While I am all for social networking and technology, I believe it can be a danger in our lives in the area of wasted time. Don’t get me wrong, it is awesome for keeping up with friends and family around the globe. It is also a great tool to get the word out about your message and your brand. The double edged sword is that it is healthy to take a break from it once in a while and remember that it is just a website.

The Stove Top

I like to refer to my creative work as a stove top. In this day and age, if you can’t multitask something is broken creatively. My stove top is more like an industrial kitchen range with several burners firing at once. I have my 9-5. I have writing and blogging. I have building brands. I have video production. I have creating websites. I have helping others get their message out there. But the most interesting component to my kitchen is a giant pot in the back with many ideas brewing. Many of these ideas have yet to boil to the sub conscious level, but I know they are cooking.

Finding our calling is one of the most important things that one can do in life, but it can also cause a lot of hardship, frustration and angst. We are constantly evolving beings. While I do not want to become a workaholic or continue to be one, ideas are everywhere I look. I refuse to shut them off. It is also important to stop and do a system check from time to time.

My meaning of work life is creating and evolving and teaching and learning with and from others. Have you found yours?

Jim Calder is the brand architect and co-founder of ProLong Magazine. Jim was born with the perfect combination of cockiness and self consciousness. He has over 10 years of publishing industry experience and lives and works in Philadelphia, Pa. Jim strongly believes that the current 9-5 Monday-Friday format of “Work” is dying. Those that refuse to recognize this will be left behind in the decaying office complexes across America. He currently can be found on the greatest adventure of his life as a newlywed with his wife Melissa. Jim can be contacted via email at jim@prolongmagazine.com

The Working From Home Lifestyle Revolution

By Jim Calder

My wife woke up recently and said, “Wouldn’t it be great if we just had to wake up and walk downstairs to work? Think of all the time we would save, we could shower at lunch and wouldn’t have to spend an hour getting ready in the morning,” she said. “We wouldn’t each have to drive two hours every weekday.”
Just a few days later I was facing an hour and a half ride into work (my usual commute is only an hour each way) because of heavy rains. The horrible commute got me thinking, why don’t more people and more companies embrace the Work from Home (WFH) lifestyle?

My Manifesto

Most of the people that I know who seem to love their jobs also seem to be working from home. Some own their own business, others work from home full time, and others work from home only once a week. I currently work for an employer that gives me clearance to work from home once a week.
The common thread is the ability to balance our busy lives while merging our careers with our personal lives. This can only be found via the knowledge, understanding and foresight that the amount of hours spent in the decaying office parks of America do not equal doing great work. I know plenty of people who think they are fooling us. They show up first at the office and make sure that everyone knows that they were there the latest. These people are only fooling themselves. They are doing nothing original.

Not A Utopian Idea

A few decades ago this may have been a Utopian or even radical thought. But today it is just common sense. As we evolve as people we are beginning to realize the amount of stress that we take on through our careers. A major portion of this is from commuting to and from an office complex when we have all the tools that we need at home. As a proud member of the ROWE movement (Results Oriented Work Environment) ROWE , I am shocked that more people don’t work towards the goals of ROWE.
ROWE boils down to that fact that you are paid for the work that you do – your performance – not for the hours that you clock into an office.
One of my personal goals is to start to convince my current and/or future employers why coming into the office even four days a week is excessive for individuals who have proven their loyalty and dedication to their work.

Why People Don’t Get It

I think that there are common misconceptions that people have with the term; working from home:
Working From Home Doesn’t = Hate: Working from home does not mean that you hate your job, your office, your coworkers, or responsibilities. It just means that you would prefer more flexibility balancing your work and your personal life.
Abuse By Others: Putting “Air Quotes” around it when you say you are “working from home” is just about the dumbest thing a person can do. It makes you look like a total slacker and people pretty much assume that you don’t have a work ethic and just watch TV all day when you are working from home. But even worse, you ruin the experience and reputation of working from home for all of us who actually are more productive in the home office.
Jealously: Working from home is not for everyone. Doctors and nurses for instance would have trouble working from home all the time. Others are not dedicated enough and shouldn’t be working from home until they have learned to manage their workloads on their own without being told what to do. It is also difficult to work from home when you are in industries like retail and hospitality. However, for people in many office based industries it is not only a great option it is also an effective and smart move for companies.
It is Not A Day Off!: A common misconception about working from home is that it is a “day off”. There is nothing further from the truth than this statement. If anything you have to work harder on days that you work from home, because people are watching and waiting for you to screw up.

Why WFH Works For The Employee

1) Working From Home is a statement from your employer, that they believe that you are doing a great job and want to see you become even more productive.
2) Eliminates stress. Not having to commute and sit in traffic to get to an office will most likely add years to your life and make you enjoying your work even more.
3) WFH allows you to multitask and do house chores like laundry, running the dishwasher, and more while working, which gives you more time for living life.
4) Many who work from home claim to have less distractions. Think of all the times people pop into your office, just to chat about the weekend or what’s new. This is eliminated when we are working from home and it makes you more productive.
5) More time to take care of yourself and your families. Our schedules are more flexible to take care of ourselves and our families (parents, children, partners, grandparents) and to go see the doctors when needed.
6) Salaried employees don’t punch a clock. Yet, so many employers are still judging their work based on the time that they spend in the office. This must change and we know it.
7) Technology allows us to communicate with team members and perform our work just as effective as when we are in the office.

Why WFH Is Smart For Employers

1) Happy and healthy. Employees feel true and earned respect for their employers for allowing them to have a chance at a happier and healthier life.
2) Increases loyalty. Employees who have been waiting for better times to make moves with their careers are starting to do so. WFH increases loyalty for employees that the company wishes to retain.
3) Office space and equipment are expensive. Most employees would be willing to use their own phones and own computers for the opportunity to work from home full time or the majority of the time. This cuts down on the costs for the company.
4) The technology has arrived. There are no longer excuses to not be able to WFH. Employees can call or Skype into meetings. We are in constant communication with coworkers with instant message tools like Skype, gchat, AOL or others. Email allows us to work from any location on the planet. Most IT directors can set employees up with remote access to the company’s servers.
5) Be progressive. Companies that have employees who work remotely are viewed as progressive and living in the current times, instead of set in the stone ages. You will attract better, stronger employees with a WFH policy.
6) Healthier employees that have the time to take care of their health are more valuable to companies than sick employees.

Are you Ready for Working From Home? Find out by continuing to read the rest of this article RIGHT NOW at Continue Reading Article .

Another Way To Look At Things

By Jim Calder

Do you have trouble focusing? Find that you are staying up later and later on the computer? Feel like you can never just focus your attention on one thing or project? The solution is simple, turn all your shit off permanently and go see a doctor. However, if this is too extreme for you, you could just read this blog and see a new way of looking at things.

I am technologically overstimulated.

Thanks to modern technology I have the attention span that is the size of a gnat. I had a half-day at work today and planned on working on a freelance project but as usual I got sucked into many, many things. My work email, Facebook, Facebook Chat, a Youtube video or 10, Gmail, Gchat, organizing my Google docs, Blackberry Messenger, Texts, and so on.

I find some evenings I am online for hours and have lost focus. I yearn for the days before my day when people sat in half lit rooms smoking and drinking whiskey while slowly typing ideas on a typewriter. Think of all the “boxes of failed ideas” that existed on hard paper somewhere in the rooms of the past. Ideas must have been more valuable back then, more rare. They weren’t just tweeted, posted on Facebook or emailed out without thinking them through.

Just as my attention span was about to rip me from this google doc that I am typing this blog in, a brave new thought hit me.

What if our “modern Technology” – especially the virtual chats – equals today’s version of “boxes of failed ideas”? Today, we hash and flush out our ideas with others instead of forming the ideas in quiet rooms on our own. We run our ideas past small focus groups consisting of family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers with similar interests.

Ideas kept to yourself will never thrive. Share them and grow them with others.

PS: Don’t fear the boxes of failed ideas, they are your biggest asset.

Jim Calder is the brand architect and co-founder of ProLong Magazine. Jim was born with the perfect combination of cockiness and self consciousness. He has over 10 years of publishing industry experience and lives and works in Philadelphia, Pa. Jim strongly believes that the current 9-5 Monday-Friday format of “Work” is dying. Those that refuse to recognize this will be left behind in the decaying office complexes across America. He currently can be found on the greatest adventure of his life as a newlywed with his wife Melissa. Jim can be contacted via email at jim@prolongmagazine.com

By Jim Calder

I am in the construction business, and have been for several years now. I don’t physically build houses, buildings, roads, etc. What I have been trying to build—or better yet to help build—are people. On our team, the “construction people” we believe that the more people that do well increases our chances for growing and doing well ourselves. This is not rocket science, it just makes sense.In fact it isn’t a new idea either, but it is good to be reminded of it often.

Qualities of the Construction People

-We take the time to lend advice.
-We take the time to give feedback.
-We take the time to lend our knowledge.
-We offer resources when we can.
-We encourage and give positive support.
-We realize that we can learn from watching others do well.
-We realize that everything in life does not have to be a big competition.
-We are teachers and learners.
-We embrace failure, but more importantly learn from it.
-We care.

The Demo Business

On the other side of the spectrum are the people in the demoing business.They rip people down whenever they see an opportunity. In this quick life we all will come across far too many in the demoing business. Sometimes it can take form of people who are scared individuals snickering and casting doubt about your new business venture. They may say how it will fail, they may say that you won’t find revenue, and they may say you don’t know what you are doing. I don’t know why, when, or how these people choose to go into the demoing business, but somewhere they make a clear choice.
It is sad and it is just plain lazy to be in the demo business, and perhaps that is what makes it so easy for some.

The Mind Set of a Loser

If you constantly go around bashing other people’s ideas, hopes, and dreams you are really kind of a scum bag. These people are tricking their own minds, by justifying the fact that they are lazy and don’t want to try and do something extraordinary with their lives themselves. They think to themselves … these people are all failing, so I won’t even try … because I am afraid of failure. These people route for failure by others to confirm their own doubts.
I say that failure should be worn as a badge of honor. If you are not failing you are not taking risks. If you are not failing, you are not doing anything worth talking about. If you are paralyzed by the fear of failure you are most likely only doing enough to get by, enough to please the boss, and enough to stay unoriginal forever.

The Rewards of a Builder

Yes, it takes a lot more energy to be a builder. But the rewards are also much greater. The next time you hear someone is starting something, building something from scratch, really think about it before you judge. Before the instinctual negative words of doubt come flowing from your mouth, do us all a favor and take a step back. Take a moment of reflection and and inner look at your soul and guts and think about why you are about to spew negativity into someone’s world. It just may change your life.

Jim Calder is the brand architect and co-founder of ProLong Magazine. Jim was born with the perfect combination of cockiness and self consciousness. He has over 10 years of publishing industry experience and lives and works in Philadelphia, Pa. Jim strongly believes that the current 9-5 Monday-Friday format of “Work” is dying. Those that refuse to recognize this will be left behind in the decaying office complexes across America. He currently can be found on the greatest adventure of his life as a newlywed with his wife Melissa. Jim can be contacted via email at jim@prolongmagazine.com

The Age of the Worker

By Jim Calder

We live in a new age. An age where the worker is valued above all else. For years companies have devalued you as the employee by cutting your pay, increasing your hours, freezing your salary all in the name of the economy and more. That day is over friends. An individual today has extreme power. We have access to tools that previously were only available to a company with resources. We can create and build on our own, and that by nature is a threat to “the old way of thinking about work”.

We are motivated to succeed, for ourselves and for our families. We don’t respond well to fear tactics, and if exposed to them for too long, we move on. All because we realize that life is too short and we are too valuable. We learn new skills for the benefit of ourselves and our careers, before someone has to tell or ask us to do so. We value other things besides our salaries, such as working from home. The Internet has made us versatile. We teach ourselves to do almost anything with the help of our friends Google and YouTube.

Managers may still treat you like a cog that can be replaced. However, you are the one allowing them to do so. You are an individual with unique skills that you have learned and own, so be proud of it. Companies that refuse to change will be left in the past with the rest of the dinosaurs. Companies that only offer you the fear of losing your job as motivation have no place in today’s marketplace. Fear is not a motivation tool, it is a weak sign of a weaker foundation of a company, corporation or business. Advanced companies are well aware of this and making changes.

At your next review instead of joining the ongoing cycle and defending why you deserve your job, ask yourself this:
-Why does your company deserve to have YOU as an employee?
-What has your company done for YOU?
-Why is this company worth YOUR time, YOUR hours, a large portion of YOUR life?
-How has this company showed ME that they value the work that I am doing?

The message is spreading and quickly. ROWE (Results-Only Work Environment) is a human resource management strategy. This progressive movement was co-created by Jody Thompson and Cali Ressler (pictured above) and thrives on the theory that employees are paid for results (output) rather than the amount of hours one works.Their idea has been adapted by large American retails such as Best Buy, Gap, and other companies. This duo has created their own consulting group called CultureRx and their message is selling.

Not enough evidence that this way of working will work? Let me leave you with this inspiring video from the TED conference.

Jim Calder is the brand architect and co-founder of ProLong Magazine. Jim was born with the perfect combination of cockiness and self consciousness. He has over 10 years of publishing industry experience and lives and works in Philadelphia, Pa. He currently can be found on the greatest adventure of his life as a newlywed with his wife Melissa. Jim can be contacted via email at jim@prolongmagazine.com

And Drinking On Sunday

By Jim Calder

As I am writing this I just watched the completion of the Pro Cycling Tour TD Bank North Philadelphia International Cycling Championship. This year I was a little busy with some other projects and didn’t make it out to Manayunk nor a quick walk down the the Ben Franklin Parkway art museum circle to watch this race. But I had it on in the background of the house for the last six hours plus. I have been following/attending this race since 2002 when I first moved to Philadelphia. My appreciation for this race has changed greatly over the years. Years ago it was just a great excuse to drink all day on a Sunday and it still is for many!

The race is known as one of the most difficult one-day events in the US. The course is 156 miles long starting and the art museum down Kelly Drive through East Falls, Manayunk and Roxborough. According to Wikipedia, top cyclists have participated including Eric Heiden, Gred Lemond and Lance Armstrong. Armstrong actually stared his professional career when he won this race in 1993. Nine American cyclists have won the men’s portion of this race since its inception in 1985, even though this year an Australian took it home.

One of the best places to see the action (because it is the slowest part) is the Manayunk Wall. This also make for the best party and drinking spot. The steepest section of the wall boasts a 17-percent grade. This race represents the best of the city that we call home. In days past we would fill up water bottles, Gatorade bottles, etc with the liquor of our choice add some soda or juice throw it in a book bag full of us, which also worked as a self cooler on hot race days.
We would show up late and sometimes only able to catch one lap up the the wall, and end up drinking till it got dark. Sure back then I appreciated that these riders were doing something that I wouldn’t be able to do on my best day, but it was more like wow, where are we drinking next. Ah the memories come rushing back. I remember one year my future wife and some friends were trying to get on an outgoing Septa train that was too crowded. A friend to remain nameless and I jimmied a door to the train open an lifted the ladies onto the train until we got yelled at by Septa.

Today, watching it from a distance with the temperature at 87 degrees I feel real respect for these racers. Screw this respecting the race crap, next year I am going to refill the soda bottles with booze and join back in the Par-T.

Jim Calder is the brand architect and co-founder of ProLong Magazine. Jim was born with the perfect combination of cockiness and self consciousness. He has over 10 years of publishing industry experience and lives and works in Philadelphia, Pa. He currently can be found on the greatest adventure of his life as a newlywed with his wife Melissa. Jim can be contacted via email at jim@prolongmagazine.com

By Jim Calder

Have you ever had a bad boss? No, I mean a really bad boss. A boss that would micromanage you because she didn’t know how to run the department. A boss who whispers, whines and talks in circles. A boss who only cares about how many hours you spend in the office and not how much work you produce and how many innovative ideas you bring to the table.
My former boss at my last job was hands down the worst boss that I have ever witnessed in 10 years of publishing. The ironic part is that she was in charge of running two magazines about the publishing industry. There were many negatives while working under her leadership but over the years I have found that it is extremely unhealthy to focus on the negatives. It may be our most valuable gift as human beings, the ability to learn from past experiences, take it in and make internal changes to better oneself.

Here are some lessons that I discovered and learned during that negative phase of my career.

1) The details matter. Sometimes we are so focused on the big picture, the exciting “what comes next” part, that we gloss over the details of producing the best current project.

2) Content is not just articles. It is anything that deals with your brand. Discussion boards, comments on article pages, social networking, video, podcasts, and more. A true brand leader will take ownership of all content that the brand produces.

3) If I don’t stay up to date on technology I will be irrelevant in 5 years.

4) You can’t take on others’ anxiety. It is not yours and should be non transferable. I am an individual and I deal with stress in different ways. If someone on my team is freaking out, running up and down the hallways and asking why everyone else is not as freaked out as she is, I can not solve her problem for her.

5) Just because someone is in a leadership position, it does not mean that they know how to deal with people.

6) Bad time management is a cancer. Stay away from it because it will inevitably spread down to you.

7) Being a Manager is not the same as a leader. People can manage a team but it takes true innovator to become a leader.

Jim Calder is the brand architect and co-founder of ProLong Magazine. Jim was born with the perfect combination of cockiness and self consciousness. He has over 10 years of publishing industry experience and lives and works in Philadelphia, Pa. He currently can be found on the greatest adventure of his life as a newlywed with his wife Melissa. Jim can be contacted via email at jim@prolongmagazine.com

By Jim Calder

Anyone can have ideas. Many are fooled into thinking that just coming up with an idea is the hard work, when in reality it is the easiest part. I just had an idea for a screenplay. It is about a relationship between a man and his cat. It is a dark emotional story. I see something like the man and his girlfriend adopt the cat together, all sorts of events happen with the cat in the scenes. Then something happens between the couple that changes things. Someone cheats, the wife is in a horrible accident, etc. The man is alone and depressed and drinking away his sorrows. He is about to commit suicide when the cat brings some lost toy he forgot about out from no where and drops it at his feet. The man puts the gun down and decides to live.

In the right hands this could be a an Oscar Award winning film if someone really put the time in to develop the story line, characters and plot. With performances as bad as Sandra Bullock’s in The Blind Side, this is not that far off. But it will almost certainly never happen in my hands.

A true aspect of a creative innovative person that you want on your team is someone who is capable of saying no. This person recognizes when a project is not right for their hands.

I see it every day when someone has a great idea for a huge revenue generating project. They put the wrong person in charge. The wrong person is too afraid of loosing their job to say no. They take on the project and almost always will fail.

Getting back to the crazy man and cat tale with the twisted attempted suicide ending; it is not that I am afraid to dedicate the time needed for writing a screenplay. I have actually authored 2 screenplays in the last 10 years that I have never managed to get past the final editing stages. The important point here is that I have the ability in myself to recognize that screenwriting is not what I am best at. I know a successful screenwriter and I know the hours and dedication it takes him to craft a successful story that stands out above the rest. It consumes his life.

The next time your boss approaches you with an idea of a project that you absolutely know that your talents are not suited for, simply say that you feel that someone else on the team would be better at leading a project like this and that you would be more qualified for A,B, and or C type projects. If someone fired me for an honest problem solving answer like that I would not want to work for that company and would want out as fast as possible.

Saying no, will save you valuable time and energy for the right projects when you find them.

Jim Calder is the brand architect and co-founder of ProLong Magazine. Jim was born with the perfect combination of cockiness and self consciousness. He has over 10 years of publishing industry experience and lives and works in Philadelphia, Pa. He currently can be found on the greatest adventure of his life as a newlywed with his wife Melissa. Jim can be contacted via email at jim@prolongmagazine.com