There's an expression that conveys the powerlessness of wishing. "You've got 'wish' in one hand and 'sh*t' in the other." You can wish all you want. Until you do something you won't produce anything. 'Should' is worth less than wish. 'Should' is like 'wish' dressed up in intention. It doesn't lead to much either. I hear people use should all the time. They use it more often than wish. It's usually in the form of "I should start that project to change the world" or "I should … [Read more...]
Stand still or step forward
June 8, 2011 by
Do you want to succeed? Of course you do. Who doesn't? Even if you have a fear of success, somewhere inside whispers a voice that yearns for success. I've tried to suffocate mine with a pillow. But it keeps talking. I've come to accept it. Your definition of success might be different than mine. You still have a definition of success. You might as well pursue it. You will screw many things up on your way to succeeding. If you don't, you probably won't be succeeding. You might as … [Read more...]
Life is Long. Today is Short.
June 7, 2011 by
A journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step. - Lao Tsu A thousand mile walk is about 1,800,000 steps. Sounds like that would take forever. I bet it goes by a lot quicker than we'd think. It goes by one step at a time. The time will go by whether you take the journey or not. It all starts with a step. Life is the longest thing you will ever experience in this world. It goes by quicker than we'd think. It goes by one day at a time. I want to live the life of a lifetime. I … [Read more...]
Be the squirrel.
June 6, 2011 by
Squirrels gather nuts for the winter. There's no food in winter. The nuts are a solution to a problem. Squirrels gather solutions. They don't grab broken nuts and empty shells and bring them to their squirrel lair. They bring good, hearty nuts that will keep them fed. Most people gather problems. "The website is down." "We can't find the shipment." "The client can't meet on Friday." "The customer won't let us do that." Problems don't feed anyone. Solutions do. What do … [Read more...]
How do you learn how to ride a bike?
May 23, 2011 by
I was writing in a coffee shop last week. Two guys are sitting next to me. They're studying a book about project planning and execution. They discuss the process of innovation. The topic: ideation - idea generation without judgment. Their conversation is driven by the statements: "Here's a great idea." and "I'm skeptical of this." These judging statements are the antithesis of the process they are exploring. I'm not sure they're getting the concepts in the book. They haven't … [Read more...]
Give back, get more.
May 4, 2011 by
Last week I was speaking with my friend, Ben*. He's a business owner who opened his doors a few weeks ago. His business is built on high touch, face-to-face sales. One of his employees asked him if she could start using the Internet and phones to sell. This would be a BIG change to his business model. He had many concerns. Legitimate concerns about things like costs, closing ratios, and the like. He was trying to come up with all of the answers himself. This happens a lot. A manager … [Read more...]
Wrong today, right tomorrow.
April 26, 2011 by
I had a great surprise on Saturday morning! I woke up, picked up my phone, checked my email. I saw an email from Feedblitz. When I opened it, I saw my post from the day before. Sweet! My subscriber service is working. Just visit my blog site to sign up. I've been setting up Feedblitz to handle subscribers to my blog. It's been a bit frustrating as I've muddled through unsuccessfull a few times (I'll take help if someone wants to offer). The email form wasn't perfect. I'm still … [Read more...]
Where do you want to go today?
September 28, 2010 by
Do you feel lost? What's your destination? If we decide where we want to go, we are more likely to go there. If we choose nowhere for our destination, we're likely go there, too. Do you want to go somewhere in life? Pick a place. Go. Take the risk, one step at a time. Don't worry about being wrong or right. You can change your mind … Related articles Stop Dreaming and Start Doing (inc.com) … [Read more...]
What’s your enemy?
September 19, 2010 by
Who's ever found themselves working on something only to get to where you say, "Eh, that's good enough!"? When is good enough, good enough? If good is the enemy of great, when is good enough great? When does the pursuit of great become perfectionism that keeps us from delivering? When does Pareto and his insight about peas bring us to our knees as we pursue the good enough of 80% to the great of 90-100% Good may be the enemy of great. But great is the enemy of possible. I read … [Read more...]
