Celebrate Like A Mascot

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(Click Here if you can’t see the video above.)

It’s Friday.

There’s a new NBA Season right around the corner.

But who cares about Lebron James or Derrick Rose when there’s inflatable mascots dancing around at halftime? That, my friends, is where the joy is.

I can’t explain to you why mascots make me smile so much. They just do. Hopefully this video of ridiculous inflatable NBA Mascots wobbling around the court will make you smile too.

Celebrate the weekend, the fall weather, basketball, and all your many blessings with the same abandonment to joy as a mascot.

Happy Friday.

POP GOD POPcast: Episode 10 – Mayor Deke Copenhaver

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Welcome to Episode 10 of the POP GOD POPcast – an exploration into the lives of people seeking God in the present tense.

This week’s guest is Mayor of Augusta Deke Copenhaver. Deke has been serving as mayor for 8 years and is a great ambassador for the city. We talk about his dreams growing up, the struggles of being in the public eye, his foundation for staying grounded, his Half Ironman training, and the childhood dream he still hopes to pursue. Plus the Mayor takes the Pop Quiz, reveals how he became a (minor) movie star, and so much more. Enjoy this deeper look inside the life of a public servant truly seeking God in the present tense.

Listen Here:

[audio http://adoriot.podbean.com/mf/web/8vgyb/popgodpopcast10.mp3]

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Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, rate it, leave a comment, listen to all the other episodes, share it on Twitter and Facebook and anywhere else. I’d really appreciate it. Thanks.

I’m so excited to open up POP GOD and share more stories of people seeking God in the present tense. I’d love to hear your feedback. Leave me a comment and let me know how to improve things, what you’d like to hear discussed, and give me your ideas as to who you’d like to see on the POPcast.

What You’re Missing By Missing The Reference

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

I know a few serial movie memorizers. It’s kind of a generational thing. Our parents didn’t have the chance to watch and rewatch their favorite movies on demand like we do.

Since now anyone can watch the Austin Powers Trilogy every night before they go to bed, movie quotes have become their own sort of lexicon. To twenty-somethings (especially males), learning to quote movies is an essential foreign language.

I don’t memorize movies well. I watch a lot of movies. I enjoy them. But I don’t rewatch a lot of them. And I don’t ingrain the dialogue to my brain. (Not judging those who do – in fact I’m often jealous of them.)

I’ve got a handful of go to movie quotes. But they’re not that original. I usually end up sounding like the recent slew of news anchors profiled on Conan who all thought they were being quite clever covering the news of Mike Myers’ new addition: Continue reading →

Why You Should Break Up With Bad Television

/ Alex Doriot / 6 Comments

wdeadI used to watch “The Walking Dead” religiously.

The first season was one of the best I’d ever seen – suspenseful, surprising, and wildly entertaining. I could not contain my excitement for season two.

Then Rick Grimes and his crew showed up on Herschel’s farm. Everything went downhill from there for me.

I plugged along and kept hoping the show would return to the fine form of season 1. But halfway through season 3 I realized something.

I was becoming the audience equivalent of a walker – a television zombie.

I was not watching “The Walking Dead” anymore because I liked it. I was watching out of habit and hating myself for it.

This is not me trying to dissuade you from watching “The Walking Dead”. 16 million people still seem to be really enjoying it. If you’re one of those people, keep cheering on Daryl and the gang.

This post is me challenging you to not become a television zombie. Continue reading →

20 Things I Learned At The Storyline Conference

/ Alex Doriot / 11 Comments

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“What will the world miss if you do not tell your story?”

This weekend 1,000 storytellers gathered in Nashville for the Storyline Conference to ask this profound question together. Hosted by Donald Miller and inspired by the logotherapy process of Victor Frankl, the Storyline Conference was a fire hydrant bursting forth knowledge and inspiration for dreamers wanting to live a more meaningful story.

Going into the conference I was confused and frustrated as to where my life was headed. After hearing from so many incredible speakers and beginning to go through the process of editing my life, I am finally finding clarity as to my purpose in this world.

I’d pay everything I have to send you to the Storyline Conference. Do yourself a favor and sign up for the next one. If you can’t make it to San Diego or Nashville next year, here’s a sampling of what I learned about sharing your story with the world: Continue reading →

Rethinking Goliath

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

What if we’ve been wrong about David and Goliath this whole time?

This is the question posed by Malcolm Gladwell at the center of his new book David and Goliath. Gladwell is the revolutionary brain behind The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers – 3 books which revolutionized the business world and my personal thinking as well.

Gladwell’s books consistently offer fresh perspective on seemingly obvious thoughts we take for granted about success. In David and Goliath, Gladwell asks us to rethink the idea of underdogs – the heroes who seemingly overcome great adversity to triumph in battle. Gladwell posits that perhaps some disadvantages are really advantages (and vice versa).

The book starts off with a reexamination of the first and greatest underdog story ever recorded – David vs. Goliath. As we all once learned in Sunday School, David was the meager shepherd who, forsaking a warrior’s armor, brought only a slingshot to take down a mighty giant.

Generations have been taught this story as an example of the power of God to use the smallest of men to slay the tallest of enemies. But what if David wasn’t the underdog here? What if David was actually the prohibitive favorite against Goliath?

Gladwell’s research shows David was not an underdog at all. He was actually a strategic mastermind. Continue reading →

Who Goes To The Opera Anymore?

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“Really, do people still go to the opera? Opera is still a thing? What am I doing here?”

All of these thoughts ran through my head this past Saturday night. My girlfriend and I attended the Atlanta Opera’s production of “Tosca”.

The opera was impressive, extravagant, and I must admit, entertaining.

Never in my life did I think I’d be writing a sentence like that. If you were to tell me two years ago I would soon become a regular attendee of the opera I would have believed you, only if you were referring to the soap opera of professional wrestling.

Then I met my girlfriend. She’s an opera student. She opened my eyes to a section of the arts I did not know was still vibrant and relevant.

So there we sat Saturday night, taking in a 3 hour opera performance.

This is not a post for me to brag about what a wonderful boyfriend I am for gritting my teeth, forsaking football and enduring the opera. I would be lying if I said I did not enjoy the entire experience of dressing up, drinking $9 champagne, and taking in the incredible Italian singing.

This post is just to point out sometimes you do crazy things for the ones you love. Continue reading →

Jesus and Jerry Seinfeld

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

Jerry Seinfeld would have made a great Young Life leader.

Can you imagine the talks he would give? “What’s the deal with forgiveness? Have you seen this? Have you heard about this?”

It’s not just the jokes Jerry would kill at. Jerry Seinfeld is really good at relationships.

For the past few months Seinfeld has been putting out a web series called “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee.” The show is exactly what you think it is and is absolutely worth 15 minutes of your time.

Each week Jerry phones up one of his famous funny friends, picks them up in a classic car, and picks their brain over coffee.

I’ve never not laughed during an episode. The wisdom from legends of comedy like David Letterman, Larry David, and Don Rickles is valuable for anyone in entertainment, business, or even ministry.

In between the laughter and the glamour shots of Lamborghinis and latte art, what I really take away from each episode is just how simple relationships have to be.As Chris Rock put it in his chat with Jerry, “Everything is about company. A gourmet meal with an [jerk] is a horrible meal. A hot dog with an interesting person is an amazing meal.”

Jerry Seinfeld, unsurprisingly, is really comfortable at talking with people. His conversations with comedians are at once light and deep. It’s something Jerry Seinfeld has in common with Jesus. Continue reading →