The results are in!

Delivering Happiness book giveaway

A while back I entered to be chosen to receive an advanced copy of Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh, owner of Zappos. If chosen I would read the book and write a review. Well, I was chosen, and here’s my review.

I’ve read a few business books, and I have people recommend new ones all the time. The thing that caught my attention about Delivering Happiness was that this book was less concerned on giving you tips on how to make your business a million dollar business, and more concerned on how to deliver, well, happiness. It’s a different approach to typical business models, as Tony shares his passion in making sure that the customer experience was always the primary focus of Zappos, aswell as focusing on how to help his employees grow, both personally and professionally. That mentality, combined with hard work, led Zappos to become one of the highest ranking newcomers on Fortune magazines annual list of “Best Companies to Work For,” and an online retailer that’s making over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales annually.

This book was so refreshing, mainly because it proves that you don’t have to follow what everyone else is doing, and if you follow who you are, and what you feel in your heart to do, not only for your company, but also your employees, success will eventually come. It taught me to set my priorities, and stick to them, no matter what comes my way.  And it was a great reminder that hard work and perseverance will eventually pay off. 

When you read this book you will be challenged to ask yourself why you are doing what you are doing. Are you in it simply for money, or because you want to make a change in people’s lives. It will also challenge you to think outside of the box. What will you do in order to keep your business alive? I loved this book so much that I’m wanting to give away a copy to a lucky winner. With that being said, this is how we are going to do the giveaway.

On Friday, July 30, I will choose a winner at random.  All you have to do is click the “Leave a comment” link at the bottom of this post, and leave me your name and a message saying, “I want to win the Delivering Happiness book.” I will then put your name in a drawing, and will post a video on Friday morning of me drawing the name. If your name is chosen, you win the book.Entries will have till Thursday at 12:00 am CST. That simple! So get to commenting! Good luck!

****BREAKING NEWS!!! JUST ADDED A SHIRT AS PART OF THE GIVEAWAY!!! SO POST YOUR COMMENT NOW!!****

iPhone blog:Great weekend

The weekend started off right with the opportunity to finally taste the famous Wingfield’s burgers from South Dallas.

My brother has been hypin them all up, and it definitely lived up to it’s hype. If you get a chance, head out to Wingsfield’s burgers in South Dallas.

Friday night was such a great night. I met up with Thomas of Nerdy Fresh to simply have him share his vision for his company, and have him pass along any advice he could give. Let’s just say I left so inspired. It’s amazing how God will put certain people in your life to communicate something you are needing at that very season of your life. Thanks Thomas.

After my meet up with Thomas, I called Dustin Cavazos up. I haven’t hung out with Dustin in a while, so I headed to his place and found a handful of awesome people kickin it. It was great talking music and life, and we were all very excited for the following day, being that Dustin was having a huge show. 

 Throughout the week I saw these signs all over Town East Mall, and I knew the turn out would be great!

Usually when something like this is going on at a mall, people stop by for a few minutes, and move on. However, as Dustin was performing I would stop and look around and see the crowd building up, and staying.

One of the reasons why I love Dustin’s shows, is the musicians he plays with. These guys are truly amazing!

Congrats to Dustin and his crew for a great show!

Vision

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been noticing more than ever the importance of having a vision. I heard Bishop T.D. Jakes say that a man can lose all his money and still be alive. He can lose cars, job, and even his family, and he would still survive. But take away a man’s vision, and he dies. When I say vision I’m not referring to sight, but something greater. It’s “the act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be.” Vision is the only thing you have to hold on to at times. It’s the only thing that will keep you alive. It’s safe to say that you will not see great things happen in your life if you first don’t have a vision for where you want to go, or what you want to do.

Vision has not only been a crucial part of Aphesis, but my whole life in general. It’s easy to lose hope when money is gone, or relationships in your life are falling apart, but vision leads not by what you physically see, but what you believe you will see. It’s that push to keep going because you were created for something greater than how your current circumstances appear.

Where do you find yourself today? Do you have a vision? Maybe you had one at one time, but lost it. Get back to dreaming. As cheezy as it sounds, get back to shooting for the stars. Get back to the days when you believed that you could become anything and nothing and no one was going to stop you. Get back to the days when you believed that God created you for something greater than anything you could put together on your own. Remember, the only thing that stops you from making that vision a reality, is you.

Kicks and Habits

This weekend we were at the Kicks and Habits event at Studio 410. Overall it was a great turnout and a success for Josh and everyone at Studio 410. Here are some pics I took with my phone.

The Dj took everyone back all day with some great jams. I felt like I was in the movie Breakin.

And of course, this got all the B-boys hype and groovin. This brought me back to the days in middle school where we use to bring a piece of cardboard to the tennis court across the street from my apartments, and practice our moves. I was never good at ground work, but I could hold it down with some pop lockin. Ok, maybe not.

Met and ran into some great people. Finally got to meet the great people over at Loyalkng, really awesome guys who I have no doubt will accomplish great things. I also ran into my good friend Thomas, of Nerdy Fresh. Thomas saw me sweatin my behind off in 103 heat, and was kind enough to bring me a bottle of water.

There were a handful of independent designers representing.

Loyalkng

Love. Supreme.Dream

Fresh Kaufee. I thought this company was cool. Every shirt smells like coffee when you first buy it! It’s small details like these that will make people remember you. I’m still working on perfecting the art of small details. I’ve always believed that it’s the small details that create the big picture people see.

And of course, yours truly.

I don’t know much about the sneaker game, but it’s always inspiring to see the different styles, and seeing the passion that these collectors have. It truly is an art.

I don’t think I could pull these off, but they were cool to look at.

Clear/see through shoes. It would be great to wear these shoes barefoot with a diamond pinky toe ring. Just sayin.

Thanks to Josh and Miriam at Studio410 for allowing me to be a part of this great event, and thanks to those of you who stopped by our table.

Inspiration pt 2

When I’m in the area I like to stop by Northpark Mall and check out their windows. Good source of inspiration.

Inspiration

Every now and then,when I’m in the area, I’ll stop by NorthPark Mall for inspiration.

Here are some pics I took

I love, love, Barneys’ windows! This is the first window I head over to when I get to NorthPark.

Its like they think, “this would be a cool idea, let’s do it!” Love it.

Looks like soccer made it’s way into the fashion world this year. I wonder why? Hmmm…

Versace

Puma

Ted Baker

I never understand why people want to leave Dallas. I’ve always believed that it has great potential for huge things! Especially when it comes to fashion. I can’t think of any other place I would open my first shop.

I have more pics I took that I’ll post later.

Recap of the past few days

I’ve been soooo busy the past few days! A lot has happened in just a matter of a couple of days! Here’s my recap.

Found out my wife and I are having another beautiful baby girl!

Let me explain why this is such a big deal. For one, we already have a baby girl, but the main reason this is such a big deal is on my side of the fam there is no one to carry on our last name! My brother and sister both have all girls, 5 to be exact, and they are not having any more kids! Which means the pressure is on us to have a boy!

Either way, we are super excited to be parents again. We truly love it!

Of course there were fireworks to celebrate one of my favorite holidays!

Also, lately I’ve been getting hit by local fans of Aphesis wanting to get some Aphesis in their hands. I started doing this a while back, but I love being able to deliver the shirts in person to thank people for their support. It allows me to really communicate how much I appreciate it. Anyway, below are a few pics of some local fans of Aphesis.

Gabrielle, Mesquite, Tx

Torie and Taylor, Mesquite Tx

Biggest question I get asked

The biggest question I get asked is,”when are you gonna release some new stuff?” To be honest, I have plans to do  it as soon as possible, however, there are key ingredients needed in order to do it. To be honest, if I wanted to put new stuff out now, I could, however, in this period of not releasing a new line, I’ve stepped back and  I’ve thoroughly examined Aphesis. I’ve  asked myself, “What needs to improve? Where do I want to go from here? Is my next move bigger and better?,” and the biggest of them all, “What is God wanting to do with Aphesis now?”

It’s been almost 2 years since I released new designs. It’s interesting how in two years a lot can change. As frustrating as its been at times, I’m so grateful for this season of Aphesis. I’ve been able to truly think on what I want for Aphesis, and I’ve been able to learn many lessons. One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in this time is to work with whats in my hand. We can sometimes be so focused on where we want to be, and we think we have the plan all laid out, but if we were to just stop and notice what we have in our hands, we would realize that what we have in our hands is just what we need. Sometimes what we have in our hands can seem so ordinary, but I’ve learned that God has used something as ordinary as rocks and sticks to do something extraordinary.

So where do I find Aphesis at this point? Well, for sure it’s far from dead. I am more passionate, more focused, and more inspired than I’ve ever been. I have concepts lined up for the next line, and I’m waiting on God to give me the green light. In the mean time, know that behind the scenes great things are happening. I continue to passionately love my current lines, and I work hard to get it in the hands of more people. Just know that when it’s time, it will be the biggest and best move I’ve ever taken, yet.

To everyone who continues to believe in Aphesis, I can’t thank you enough. I say this in all honesty, your comments and encouraging words came at a perfect time many times. Know that I do what I do because of you.

-Aaron Castellanos

Aphesis in 2006