Vision Beyond The Lens by -J.J. McQueen-

From the time that I was old enough to participate in organized sports, I've had the privilege of having been around the best players of my generation. Today many of us are far removed from being those players and organized sports. With the boom of social media, we've reconnected in recent years. However, in the quiet moments of life, there are some who have found themselves struggling with identifying with others in society that don't work or play hard like our old teammates. I've had this conversation my friend/business partner David as we talk about what it takes to build a good team. I believe we both agree that it's one of the most challenging tasks of life and entrepreneurship. Fortunately for me, I've had tremendous influences around my entire life. Most of which have helped me identify great talent and great people. Several months ago on a flight to New Orleans, I met what I believed to be another great talent. He stood about 6 foot 7 i...

Instant Vintage The Moment During my playing days at ECU , my head football Coach Steve Logan always stressed to me that when he called my number that I'd only get one shot at greatness. He never told me that I'd get a second chance if I got it right the first time. That's the beauty of sports. If you stay healthy, learn the system and produce you get chance after chance. That doesn't happen with entrepreneurship . If you get it right 9 times and on the 10th try you mess up, people will be hesitant about calling you back. Today I met with a very influential person in the Baltimore business community. For the sake of privacy I'll refer to him as, "Mr. Glass". I'm sure he has wealth beyond my years, but the conversation felt as if I had know him for 32 of my 33 years on earth. He was a scholar and a transparent gentleman. He was also and Alum of Princeton University . Princeton happens to be on my 7 year old daughter's college watch list. ...

This past weekend the CRU was amazingly productive. We traveled to Dallas, TX to film the Under Armour Youth Sports Combine. The first day that we were there it was 75 degrees. On the second day it was 85 degrees. On the third day is was a record breaking 40 degrees and rainy. On our final day it was 75 degrees and sunny. Why am I giving you the play by play of weather? It's simple, with such a promising weekend who knew that on the most important day of our shooting schedule that it would turn out to be the worst weather day of the trip. However, there was one individual or bright spot that stood out. Her name was, "Hello". The way that she greeted us was unique because "Hello" changed my entire perception of the city of Dallas. She was sweet! She was tall! She was warm and even though her day was cold. She told me about her travels. She even welcomed me back to her gorgeous streets. Although when the CRU and I first met her, her day seemed to have...