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Time to write your haiku about your thoughts and emotions towards the New Year. Join the conversation (and yes, I cheated on my syllable count below - I had to much to say - sorry):

Fear no more my friends
For 2009 is the year of optimism
Life is all perspective

Now, it’s your turn.  Write your haiku in the comment box below.

…time to put a penny in the old man’s hat.  Sorry - inside joke among friends here.

But, back to the point at hand here.  KillROI is mixing it up with some Christmas dignitaries in my house. It’s getting a little out of control here as this guy really gets around - hanging with some Nutcracker royalty, then he makes his way onto the Christmas Tree hanging with Big Bird, and now, he’s chilling with our angel - don’t get any ideas.  I’ve been a bad boy with missing a couple Haiku Mondays recently, so let’s get our groove on with haikus about KillROI. Comment with a passion below.

Yellow Warrior
Why do they call you KillROI
When you just spread love

(more…)

Many many cocktail conversations with friends this 4-day holiday weekend and the general tone of them was very upbeat, while still being quite realistic.  My favorite conversation was when a neighborhood friend and I were talking about how fear breeds fear and the media, the blogosphere, and everyone’s psyche is consumed by fear.  Towards the end of the conversation, we completed the following phrase after a long pause with the same exact word “fear is so………..Bush.”  This blog post isn’t intended to be negative or political.  In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

I’m experimenting here, but I’m deeming December as the month of optimism.  Many will call it naive. Others may say it is a pipe dream. But, I think that it will produce positive results, reduce stress + anxiety, and make it a far better month all around.  It’s not going to be easy to take this stance - the stock market rose 17% over the past 5 business days, and media is refusing to write about anything that doesn’t focus on “disaster”, “crisis”, or “depression.”  F*** it - I’m going with optimism - join me - it’s the good side of life.

BTW - today is Haiku Monday, so write about some December optimistic memories, experiences, or themes.

I believe, believe
in optimism optimism
Life is better that way

Last week was a real rollercoaster. Projects that should have signed off the week before, then Mon, then Tues, then Wed, finally signed off on Thurs and Friday - phew.  We’re on a roll now at eROI and this week is going to be all about optimism. We’re going to jam away on all the work we have in the door and create some new opportunities as well.  It’s only a 3 day week, but a good 3 days.

Optimism runs deep
Behold, we’re launching a
New site - it’s awesome

Let the haikus flourish like Jack Black in KungFu Panda.

I regularly give speeches on the importance of blogging.  It is one of the core pieces of our grassroots marketing effort, personalizes our brand, engages a 2-way dialogue, helps search engine optimization of all eROI sites and blogs, seeds some press that we get, and indirectly generates some leads through all of this.

That being said, there are weeks like the past one where it is really challenging to make blogging a priority as a CEO. Over the past 2 months, I’ve gotten a lot more engaged in the company and am actually working a bit harder (60 hour weeks vs. 50 hours before).  My focus has shifted more towards Sales, Speaking Engagements, and Product Development (and I’ve kept the same high level of commitment towards interacting w/ employees).

I am not making excuses (actually, that’s exactly what I’m doing), but that’s why I haven’t blogged in 8 days. My biggest reflection of this poor blogging discipline is that I missed Haiku Monday (by 5 hours at is now 5am on Tuesday). After a brief, private flogging, I now forgive myself for this major faux-pas.  Let the haikus roll like water in a rocky stream:

I had my daughters
To myself this weekend and
We laughed and danced.

Tom Szaky lit
Up the stage at eROI - telling
Huge successes of Worm Poop

We’re going to have a theme to today’s Haiku Monday - November Rain.

In Oregon, rain
Can mean fluffy mountain snow;
I pray for more snow.

Please share your haiku today.

A vote tomorrow
will make a huge difference,
big change will happen

Please share your comments below. It’s the only way to start your week.  BTW - huge thanks to eROI employees who wrote birthday haikus to me on my card for this weekend.  Yes, this is my first blog post as a much wiser and more distinguished (laughable) 34 year old.

This blog post = simple.
Intent = you have more value to add than me. You are the master - show us the way with your wise haiku. I saw KungFu Panda in the movie theater w/ my girls this weekend, I have found peace, and am inspired to read your haikus.

Have faith eROIdays peops
I would not could not forget
haiku tradition

What has begun can
not end. Like energy, it
cannot die or be destroyed.

Please add your Monday Haiku in the comments below.  Even if it’s after Monday this week, you can still contribute.  thx.

Yesterday, many of you did not submit your haiku on this blog.  While, I am deeply upset about this, I realized that I didn’t give you a lot of outside inspiration.  I think the Internet was built for the sole purpose of searching for, reading, and submitting a haiku for the greater good of all of us to enjoy them.

Here are a few sites to check out:
http://www.haiku.com/
http://www.ahapoetry.com/haiku.htm
http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/92q4/elechaiku.html
http://www.yuckles.com/bellyup.htm

Here are some haikus from David Joslin on U.S. politics:

What sound do I hear,
From the nation’s capitol?
Oh! Paper shredders!

Deer in the headlights
With a grin from ear to ear –
Have they told him yet?

Draft dodger, pot head,
Womanizer and waffler.
Still better than Bush.

I’m a huge fan of a quintessential Oregon entity called Live Wire! Radio - a mix of edgy humor, music, and Garrison Keillor-style story-telling and political humor. My wife and I went to the show w/ other folks from eROI and one distinct thing that they do at every show is the Audience Haiku.  Let me preface this blog post by saying that I am clearly no poet, haiku expert.  In fact, they may be so bad, that they are laughable.  But, it’s Monday morning and I want to have you, my loyal blog readers, participate a little more and inspire me with some of your haikus.  Here are only two ground rules - 1. it’s got to be as close as possible to 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables; 2. theme can be edgy, vulgar, random, whatever, but NO excessive swearing please.  Let the absurd poetry of haiku begin.

dark in the morning
cold as hell on my red bike
I am refreshed

Anticipation
of Halloween begins and
finance market scares

Yellow leaves cascade
slick as banana peels squish
under Nike Air

Now, it’s your turn.  Comment with your haiku - you could win a free eROI collectible gift of a robot named KillROI - the famous hero in www.KillSpammer.com!