Today I’m going to highlight three guys that I pay a lot of attention to, and really I think you should as well.

Beyond their intelligence and the amazing information they deliver, each of them delivers direct from who they are.  There’s no one who could do what they do as well as they do it, because its who they are that really makes what they do so remarkable.

Julien Smith - InOverYourHead.net

I first met Julien in a bathroom.

I had no idea who the guy was who wondered, outloud, if it were better to shake hands before we dried them off or after (or something along those lines).  That is until we were at least ten minutes or so into a conversation about Montreal and what both of us did and he mentioned he had co-authored a book.

A book I had just finished reading which was sitting in my backpack.  Fancy that.  (The book is called Trust Agents.)

So, I met Julien at TribeCon, where I somehow managed to end up speaking as well.  However, Julien was the headline act, the guy who takes the show home at the end with the keynote.  And deservedly so.

Julien plays the real game.  He is smart, uncannily aware, and damn well informed.  Did I also mention he has a great sense of fashion?

Anyways, Julien writes about social media, digital communities and occasionally how not to be a douche.  There’s a lot more to dig into his writing but one thing I really respect is the connection to his personal experiences and life that he draws out.

In his own words:

“Understanding the core of what humans are all about is at the core of what I do. I’m trying to figure out what life is about, so I read a lot of books, get lots of new ideas from them, observe the world around me, and present what I’ve discovered. Nowadays I write books, like Trust Agents, about what I’ve found.”

Julien is authentic Julien and that’s a lot.

Charlie Gilkey - ProductiveFlourishing.com

I feel an odd kinship with Charlie, even though we’ve never spoken or met, because we both have an academic philosophy background.  There’s a certain diligence and rigor that goes into a philosophy degree and Charlie is taking it all the way with a PhD.

Charlie writes in a manner that is relatively unassuming yet confident, he even goes as far occasionally to say that he is unremarkable despite the evidence to the contrary.  Charlie’s writing is succinct, well informed, and doesn’t pander to the whims of the crowd.

What Charlie provides is an intense level of productivity tools and planners, which he releases basically every month for free.  On top of that his posts span a breadth of topics, from entrepreneurship to philosophy to productivity and flourishing.

The other thing that really stands about Charlie is his approach to business in terms of ethical and moral grounds.  He doesn’t shirk good behaviour just because he’s doing business, it’s even more important in business. He’s not out to make a quick buck, but to deliver something deeper than buyers high and the sale of an experience.

I can’t sum up the couple hundred posts he has in his archive, but go digging, you’ll find some amazing things in there.

Hugh MacLeod - GapingVoid.com

We’ve all seen those witty, sometimes snarky, drawings and sayings on the back of business cards.  If you haven’t, you’ve been missing out, or just not reading the posts where I occasionally include them.

Hugh’s background is, for all intensive words, an epic one.  Who would have thought that a copywriter would turn the doodles on the back of business cards into a full blown art and business.  His is a story that encourages me to believe that we can really do what we are passionate about.  He also has one of the best about pages around, replete with cartoons and entertaining story.

Hugh delivers with the slightest of words the power of a creative grenade.  If you want to understand how the social web, or Web 2.0, affects advertising and marketing, or how to be creative, really listen to the man, get his art and remind yourself with it.  He also has book out with a telling title Ignore Everybody (also in my library).

Personal note: I use a cycling series of Hugh’s drawings as my desktop of inspiration.  It’s a constant kick in the ass, creative spark, and reason to smile.

Drawing by Hugh MacLeod.

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