A friend of mine told me he'd just seen the new movie Melencolia. I asked him if he'd enjoyed it. He said it wasn't exactly that he'd enjoyed it, but that he was glad that he'd seen it. After seeing it myself yesterday with my brother Randy, I understand what he meant.

Life as we know it is constantly changing. I've been watching the PBS series on Nova about physics. String theory seems to keep coming up in discussions as a justification of one thing or another. Helps me to understand it is really just a philosophy, no real evidence for it.

Thanksgiving at Azura yesterday with my brother, son, and mother who is there for now was an experience. Mom didn't feel well enough to eat, so it was just the three of us for the meal.

If you're looking for a boost after the holiday, join us this afternoon for the Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshops. We have great speakers today and for the next couple of weeks.  This is not intended to be an every week thing for anyone, just a boost when starting in a new direction.

Socrates Cafe Beginners Group at 4 p.m. each Friday after the Denver IDEA Cafe, same place, Panera Bread, 13th & Grant here in Denver. We pick a topic, whoever suggested the topic speaks to it, then two others are chosen by lot to speak for 3 minutes. Then we take turns asking each other questions before everyone making a brief final comment about the topic. It's a lot of fun if you enjoy a good discussion.

I'm experimenting with this blog. More and more all business posts will be on http://www.SmallBizChamber.org

 In church bulletin: "Don't let worry kill you - let the church help."

I’m going to be on Corky Kyle’s radio show (click here to listen online) again this afternoon (Tuesday, Nov 22, 4 to 5 p.m.) please call with your questions or comments about grassroots politics or business.

We still need a few more beta testers for our new PioneerHQ.com (click here), our new Colorado Almanac and Small Business Directory. Our intention is help strengthen the small business community in Colorado, we plan on a formal kick-off in December, list your business or organization now to benefit from the publicity we expect and for the opportunity to make money sharing it with your online friends.

Your Small Business Chamber of Commerce http://www.SmallBizChamber.org (click here) is cooperating with local chambers of commerce across Colorado and beyond to encourage the formation of and participation in IDEA Café Startup Workshops and Franklin Circle Peer Advisory Groups.

Two ways to charge your battery Black Friday (Nov 25), to get a good start on your post-Thanksgiving finish for 2011: 2 p.m. Denver IDEA Café Startup Workshop (click here)--we share startup experience and brainstorm; 4 p.m. Socrates Café Beginners Group (click here)--we pick a topic, share our thoughts, and take turns asking each other questions. Both at Panera Bread, 13^th & Grant here in Denver near the Capitol, join us for either or both.

The first time you quit, it's hard. The second time, it gets easier. The third time, you don't even have to think about it. -Paul "Bear" Bryant, football coach.

Great write up about our speaker tomorrow (Friday, Nov 18) at the Small Business Chamber's Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop in new online journal foucused on startup, see http://tekhne.co/2050/its-hard-out-here-for-a-biomed-entrepreneur/

I've just posted thoughts about entrepreneurship education from Socratic Arts, new Harvard Tech Meetup, idea for entrepreneur or startup poetry, and an upcoming TV show about the psychology behind why  Israel is such  a big source successful innovators, your comments very welcome at http://Facebook.com/Small.Business.Chamber

Would you volunteer to help start a monthly IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop for your local chamber of commerce? Let me know if you'd be interested after you check out http://www.SmallBizChamber.org and attend one of the Friday Denver IDEA Cafe sessions that I personally lead each week.

As you can see, I'm continuing to experiment with this blog, trying to find the most helpful way to communicate with you each week. Your feedback is always appreciated, even if the suggestions don't always lead to immediate change. Thanks for any thoughts you'd care to share here or via email to John@JohnWren.com

 For John Edgar Wren, who passed on about this time of the day, the evening of November 15, 1979. This poem is from my sister-in-law Mary's funeral program:



Death Is Nothing At All

Death is nothing at all
I have only slipped away into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other
That we are still
Call me by my old familiar name
Speak to me in the easy way you always used
Put no difference into your tone
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed
At the little jokes we always enjoyed together
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was
Let it be spoken without effort
Without the ghost of a shadow in it
Life means all that it ever meant
It is the same as it ever was
There is absolute unbroken continuity
What is death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind
Because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you for an interval
Somewhere very near
Just around the corner
All is well.
Nothing is past; nothing is lost
One brief moment and all will be as it was before
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!
Canon Henry Scott-Holland, 1847-1918

We miss you, Pop.

This worldwide promotion of entrepreneurship is in it's 4th year, it's never really caught on here in Colorado for some reason.

We are holding two special IDEA Cafes to help celebrate, see link on http://www.SmallBizChamber.org 

Please share this with your Denver friends who have had a bump loosing a job or a bright idea, they might find the free meeting helpful.

 This is another test. Do you like this style for my blog? Does what I'm writing about here make you want to come back? Any feedback via email to John@JohnWren.com would be very, very much appreciated.

It was a beautiful day here in Denver yesterday. It was a great day for a Sunday walk around Washington Park's Smith Lake.

The trees are beautiful, the snow storm we had earlier in the week didn't take the leaves off, so as you can see they were beautiful against the clear blue sky.

Another snow storm is expected tonight, but fair weather is expected again by Friday. If you don't like the weather here in Colorado just wait a day or two, unlike Kansas and Iowa where I've also lived. When storms set in there it just stays winter until the spring thaw. Tis a privilege to live in Colorado.

 My 86 year old mother, Martha Jane Wren, was in the hospital. Tutu, as she likes her grand kids to call her, is getting treated for a back problem she's been suffering with, stenosis and scoliosis.

Dr. West, the neurosurgeon she connected with there in the hospital, comes very highly rated. He's treating her with a steroid injection she received today.

Growing older is not for sissies. When my kids were little and they would get a bump I'd say, "it's lucky you are tough. That's sure true for my mom right now.

Too much information? My iPhone makes it easy to "check in" when I go to church, so that's what I've doing, along with a picture like this one.

These posts show up on Facebook. My friend Jane made a comment that made me wonder if this is maybe just a little bit too much about me. What do you think?

Are you and I Facebook friends yet? If not, send me an invitation, OK? My Facebook address is http://Facebook.com/John.S.Wren Do you use Facebook much? I've made it a habit to post there several times a day. Seems to me it helps me remember what happened for the day.

 The new, free Denver Socrates Cafe Beginners Group has gotten off to a good start with two very good sessions. I'm going to chair it another time or two, and then we will start rotating leadership. We pick a topic at the meeting, so no preparation is required. You can participate in the discussion or just listen in. Details and optional RSVP is at http://meetup.com/Socrates-Cafe-Beginners.

Would anyone be interested in starting a similar Socrates Cafe Beginners Group meeting at 5:30 p.m. at Trinity Church on Thursdays, right before the 7 p.m. meeting? I think it would be a good way to attract new members for that meeting, which may already be benefiting from our Friday group.

 I lead the Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop for the Small Business Chamber each Friday. We invite speakers to share their startup experience and we brainstorm.

The hope is that this will be a model group for local chambers across Colorado and beyond to start similar groups.

If we are successful, we will lower the unemployment rate! :)  For more information about what we are doing, see http://www.SmallBizChamber.org. Let me know if you'd be willing to start a meeting once a month in cooperation with your local chamber. We also have a Facebook Page http://Facebook.com/Small.Business.Chamber

Your feedback about this style of blog post would be very much appreciated. Do you like the pictures? What do you think about mixing the personal info with the business stuff? If you like what I've done or if you hate it, your feedback would be very much appreciated. If you say something nice, I may quote you unless you prefer that I don't. Email me at John@JohnWren.com 

If you are thinking about going back to graduate school to study entrepreneurship, the University of Denver would like your opinions about what you'd like in a program. Please take a few minutes and respond to the survey I link to in the poll below in the post I made over the weekend, where you can also see my suggestions for life-long learning:

 I just got this email from the University of Denver. They are gathering information from alumni and others about a new program on entrepreneurship they are considering:

We want your input on the MS of Entrepreneurship coming to Daniels!

Hello everyone,

On behalf of the management department at Daniels, I am conducting a survey (click here) on the potential of a Master of Science of Entrepreneurship being offered at Daniels starting Winter 2013.

Please take a second to take this super quick survey and help us get this program off the ground!

Every participant has the chance to win a $25 gift card to Starbucks by random drawing!!

Thank you!!

This is the comment that I sent in response:

John S. Wren, MBA+ • I started to take the survey, but it seems to be addressed to people who are interested in possibly enrolling in the new program.

I suggest that DU consult with Dr. Amar Bhide about this new program. He is the author of The Origin and Evolution of New Businesses, which the publisher of Inc Magazine called the most important book ever written about startup. He spent a day on the DU campus a couple of years ago. http://bhide.net

Dr. Bhide told me at the time of his visit that he was researching the transfer of skill and knowledge in this area, what actually seems to increase the likelihood of a successful startup.

You might also want to take a look at my little book on startup, which Dr. Bhide has endorsed. It's available on Amazon, or you can get a copy of the free text file via the link on http://www.JohnWren.com

Also, I hold a free startup workshop each Friday and I organize and facilitate peer advisory groups called Franklin Circles. I've recently formed the Small Business Chamber of Commerce, Inc to cooperate with local chambers to start similar groups. Those involved with starting this new program at DU might find it helpful to attend one of the sessions, you can find more about them at http://www.SmallBizChamber.org