Forget Barney. The ubiquitous, purple, fun-loving dinosaur is cool. But only kids (like Kahzmir) think so. Me? He ain’t so cool. That’s the thing with dinos. They are old relics of the past. Their glory days are little specs in the rear-view mirror.

Bell Canada, IMHO, is a dinosaur. Or maybe a beaver. Their beaver ads have been all over the place over the past number of years. Yesterday, Bell launched their brand new advertising campaign. Many of you may have seen the “er” ads all over town (at least here in Toronto). These ads actually got me wondering, “What the heck is er?” Pretty clever.

Bell is trying to become more relevant and hip for today’s tech savvy, iPhone-dialing, Guitar Hero-playing consumer.

My argument is that Bell is a dinosaur and they can never be relevant. Serious. It’s more than being savvy in your marketing. Bell has to become more innovative in their pricing policies and product offerings. You can be as cool as you want. Today’s consumer is voting with their pocketbook.

Are you open to take a look at Bell as your “media” provider? (To comment please visit the ORIGINAL post)

Karim

There is just a ton of stuff happening this weekend!

Tonight there is an Argos game at the building formerly known as SkyDome. So what? Well, I recently highlighted two of their players – Ibrahim Khan and Graeme Bell – here. I’m doing some volunteer stuff for the Double Blue and hope to sneak away and get a word or two with these two guys.

Saturday, I’m going to grow my business network.

Sunday I’m busy. I know God rested on Sunday. Seeing that I didn’t create a whole universe in my first 6 days I figure I should stay busy. Have a birthday party in Mississauga, a concert/green event with Jack Johnson in Barrie, then a special meeting with some business mentors to wrap up the night.

Monday, the Ontario government is giving me the day off. So, I’ll join 50 close friends to watch the Blue Jays out-athletic the A’s.

So, I hope to get enough content to fill this bandwidth next week.

Maybe I’ll sleep next weekend….

Have you asked yourself this question recently?

Everyone knows that there is discussion happening around the world and blogosphere about China hosting this year’s version of the Summer Olympics. You have to be living under a rock in Northern Saskatchewan not to realize this.

So two articles caught my attention today.

The first is that the Chinese government is setting up a number of locations where people can speak freely. Really?! Why, thank you very much. I wonder if they will let athletes win from countries other than their own?

Do you think the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has anything to say about this? Maybe not. They are too busy barring 4 – as in FOUR! – Iraqi athletes from competing in these games because of some government disagreement.

OK. So I stopped being naive last week. But still! At least show me that the IOC is impartial and not just a money-grabbing conglomerate that could care less about the original Olympic ideals!

Just what are these Olympic games for anyways?

Like Canada’s game this post will have 3 downs!

First down. Interesting book I am reading right now called, Developing the Leader Within You. It’s by John Maxwell. Like many of you, I’m putting together a team of people. Excellent book for ANYBODY interested in being a leader.

Second down. Cool website called Life is Sport by Ken Coleman. Includes a podcast from some of sport’s most interesting characters.

Third down. Another INSPIRational story from the CFL. This one is about Offensive Lineman, Ibrahim “Obby” Khan. (Thanks to Aneez for the head’s up!)

Touchdown!

The name of my blog has always been INSPIRation. I wanted to focus on inspiring people and their stories. Over time, as you can tell, I’ve gotten away from inspiration. However, I think you’ve enjoyed most of the stories we’ve told here.

Today we go back to basics.

This story would not be told if it were just about a private citizen. Not to be cruel, but this is the truth. Stories like this one happen everyday. We just don’t hear about them.

Why this one? Because it’s about Graeme Bell. Fullback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

I told you a ball can change the world.

Enjoy.

Karim

I remember my childhood bedroom. I think it was even bigger than my parent’s room. However, they did have a walk-in closet and a walk-out balcony!

I actually had a couple of other rooms in that house in east-end Toronto. The second was in the basement. My own floor! The third was my last before I left home. It ended up being the smallest. My younger brother took my big room when I moved in the basement. Now my grandmother lives in that big bedroom.

What does this bedroom have to do with heros? Nothing really, but it does remind me of a drawing on the wall many years ago when my brother resided there.

The shirt label. Wash in warm water, Tumble dry, Have Heros. Heros? Yup. Amazing, eh? I think we all need heros. Super-Heros and Everyday Heros.

Even heros we’ve never said thank you to. I hope you enjoy THIS.

I think we can all agree that the Canadian real estate market is weak(ening). It’s not that I have an agenda to push or a service to sell as a result of this recent phenomenon. Facts are facts: There are more listings on the MLS, closing times are being increased, and listing prices are coming down.

What does this all mean? In my opinion, it means that if you just bought, you better hold on for the long haul and hope 1) you have a secure job to continue your payments, 2) you have a VRM and 3) that you don’t end up with negative equity. If you’re looking to buy, RELAX. Wait a while. I guess it depends on your local community but prices are coming down. Your deal is soon to be had.

Are you interested in following some cool articles on real estate? Then follow me on del.icio.us. I’ll post articles there instead of links here.

Have fun and stay profitable!

Karim Kanji

Presently, I am sitting in the lobby of a quaint inn in hot and sunny Greenville, SC. I had the opportunity to meet a number of residents here. Southern hospitality is far from dead. In fact, it is thriving.

However, this quick post is about a lesson learned from a conference I am attending here. MENTORSHIP.

Mentorship relates to a relationship between people for the sole purpose of coming away from that relationship better than when it was formed. Many people also call this a Mastermind. Nevertheless, it is an important piece of enabling growth. Meaning, one cannot outgrow her own experiences and therefore needs the teaching and experiences of others to personally grow and thrive.

Is there someone in your life that is mentoring you? And how so?

(You may comment here or leave a note on the original post.)

Karim

Vision. Some people have it. Others are getting it…I hope.

You can have a huge vision like Gandhi did for India and his people. Or maybe a vision to date the girl next door. Whatever. The point is to have one.

One person who has a vision is Andrea Baxter.

A great story. I hope you enjoy it!

Every once in a while I’ll come across something interesting. It can be a blog (Mike Wilner’s Miked Up), a company (ZipCar), web app (Twitter), or even a blast from the past (Thomas Dolby).

(By the way, did you know that Thomas Dolby is not just known as the guy who penned the famous song and video “Blinded Me With Science” BUT is also the genius behind Nokia’s ring tunes and various other tunes on video games? AMAZING!)

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to listen and watch a new “discovery” of mine. While I can’t be the one to claim sole discovery of this new “land”, I think that this gem should be unveiled.

ThatRadio.com and it’s brother station ThatChannel.com.

Minaz Asani-Kanji (my wife!) – Executive Director of TorontoGreen.ca was a guest on their Liquid Lunch show with ThatFounder (?) Hugh this past Monday afternoon. LL seems to be a variety type show which delves into interesting local news and social issues. They also like to promote the next upcoming new band!

ThatRadio and ThatChannel produce a variety of interesting shows exclusively for the “online” consumer. Making a difference and having as much fun as possible. This is their mantra. They claim to be Canada’s #1 Internet broadcaster since 2004.

Be sure to check it out. You’ll be impressed.

KK