New York, Seth Godin, & Natalie Portman

Renzo Piano: The New York Times Building
Originally uploaded by Dom Dada

I found myself in New York City for the first time in my life this past Tuesday. Thanks in part to the VIP invitation I received from Seth Godin to his Tribes event at the New York Times. Many thanks to him for the opportunity. To say I was excited would be an understatement. It was great to be able to meet Seth in person and meet some very cool people who were there from all over the world (literally). Aside from meeting everyone, Seth's presentation was excellent. If you didn't walk out of there with some great ideas, inspiration, or a willingness to lead you must have been sleeping.

Then, there was New York. In the mere 24 hours or so that I spent there I was able to very quickly visit Times Square, Broadway, Ground Zero, & have lunch at La Mela's in Little Italy. It was a great experience. Especially for my first visit to the city. I look forward to going back someday, with more time to see the sights.

Highlights, quotables, & some lowlights.

• The "celebrity" I was most excited about seeing was not Seth Godin. It was Natalie Portman (sorry, Seth). I crossed paths with her at JFK as she and her dog boarded a plane for Los Angeles. We walked right by each other and for a brief moment our eyes met. If that doesn't sound stalkerish, I don't know what does.
  
• "Things don't spread because you want them to. Things spread because people want them to." ~ Seth Godin
• Lunch at La Mela's. Excellent food. Great conversation with the waitress, some of the other customers, and Able Ferrara (who I had never heard of before). I just really enjoyed the atmosphere in Little Italy as a whole.
  
• Times Square was great to see in person. A huge tourist trap though.
  
• My hotel was ah... er... less than desirable. Long story here, but let's just say I wish they could have provided an iron. Is that too much to ask?
  
• "Once there are no outsiders, there is no tribe." ~ Seth Godin
• The trip back turned into one long night. Diverted to Raleigh-Durham I ended up spending the night in the airport. Had an early morning flight out of there to Dallas-Ft. Worth and then to home (Kansas City).
  
• "Not Climbing the Corporate Ladder" ~ A t-shirt of one of those in attendance. I cannot remember his name for the life of me now.
  
• Going from the fast pace of New York City to um... the slow motion pace that is Joplin, Mo. is staggering.
  

I took quite a few photos. I had hoped to have them uploaded by now, but my Photoshop is having some issues for some reason. I'll get them up as soon as I can.