Archive for the 'future' Category

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Losing my Virginity…

Published on June 22, 2007 in books, business, future and goals. View Comments

by Richard Branson.

I took some time a few weeks ago to re-read one of my favorite entrepreneurial books, Richard Branson’s Losing my Virginity. I love this book and consider it a must read for not only potential entrepreneurs but anyone who aspires to get all they can out of life. I could go on and on about this detailed, educational, and downright fun book, but instead I want to talk about a key lesson I pulled out of it: Life’s a game…if you play it.

The remarkable playfulness of Richard Branson is easy to pick up in this book immediately. He doesn’t ever get wrapped up in what he should or shouldn’t do, what he can or can’t do, what he knows or doesn’t know. He looks at opportunities, asks himself “Is that something I’ll have fun doing ?” If yes, then he acts on it. Now. I’m sure you’re thinking, “well he’s a billionaire, he doesn’t have anything to lose. He could lose lots and lots of money and still have more.” True, but the reason he is a billionaire is due to his playful nature. It’s not about the money. The money is an important part of the equation but for him it is icing on the cake. He goes after businesses that would be fun and potentially disruptive. With this approach he’s developed many successful and large businesses from Virgin Atlantic (airlines) to Virgin Mobile, Virgin Rails, Virgin Lottery etc…

What’s money for anyway? To make things happen. After years of building up the very successful Virgin Records he could’ve retired to a life of relaxation on his tropical getaway at Necker Island. But instead when an American lawyer called him up and said, “You should start an airline,” he said…that sounds like fun, I’ll do it (in the process leveraging and risking his Virgin Records success). By the way, he had no airline experience other than being a passenger like most of us. After a few years of struggles he pushed through, and Virgin Atlantic continues on as a successful airline. For him the process was what he sought, the experience, the thrill, the excitement, and the opportunity. Sure, he wanted it to be successful, but by focusing on the fun and possibility he ensured it would.

It’s easy to think ok, if I can just get this website working, then people will come and use it, and I’ll sell it for millions. This could happen, and does for some. But what about going out and just doing something that would be a lot of fun and not worrying about the end result just yet? Yes, this sounds risky, but isn’t the prospect of not living even more risky? I heard a great quote about Tiger Woods recently…supposedly he said “I strive for performance, not results.” This is a little more serious sounding than going out and doing what would be fun, but it’s basically the same message. Life’s about the journey, not the destination. Branson is an example of where a fun journey can take you.

Evolution of Electricity

Published on April 23, 2007 in Links, business, future and tech. Closed

I’m officially obsessed with the TED talks website. For those of you who don’t know, TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a conference held once a year to bring the best minds in the fields above together. It’s mission is simple: Spreading Ideas. Every year they get some of the best minds together and have them speak. They record every speaker and have 100’s of past talks posted on their website, which I’ve become obsessed with recently.

I really enjoyed a speech given by Amazon’s visionary Founder, Jeff Bezos in which he compares the state of the internet industry today to that of the electric appliance industry of 1916. I couldn’t agree more.

I went to Thomas Edison’s Ft. Myers home about 3 years ago, and I remember having this very same thought as I walked through his workshop with his scattered impressive collection of inventions. I couldn’t help but notice that at that time electricity was seen really as only useful for lighting and some heating. All the wiring and infrastructure that went into place was designed to deliver electricity just to do these two functions. In fact (as you’ll see in the video) the first electric appliances plugged into the grid with plugs that were nothing more than light bulb sockets. These first generic electric appliances were merely an indicator of things to come, a true unlocking of the power and versatility of electricity.

Interestingly enough the internet’s story is very similar to that of electricity. It runs through a wire to our homes, but is unable to offer any value until we actually plug into it. It was started really to create a communication network between computers, then built out to facilitate communication between people, and has exploded to facilitate self expression, commerce, and information sharing. But we’ve really only begun plugging our first appliance’s light socket plugs into the grid. Just as electricity’s infrastructure enabled a universe of appliances that bettered our lives (from the A/C to TV, to the computer and internet itself), so too will the very young internet infrastructure.

I’ve heard people say that all the good ideas are taken and the “gold rush,” is over. I’d say, we’ve only just begun. Exciting times ahead.

Check out the video.

Talk about your dreams without the “buts”

Published on March 22, 2007 in future, goals, nyc and personal. View Comments

I had dinner a few weeks ago with some friends from home while they were visiting New York. They were both extremely excited to be in the city, and mentioned that they would love to move up here…BUT they can’t because of this, this, and this. “You know how it is…”

Nope.

You can really learn a lot about people by paying close attention to their language. But is such a powerful word, it’s like a signal that says “everything I said before this is not really possible / real / true, here comes the truth.” As I sat there and listened to two people who seemed legitimately excited about living in New York ramble off all the reasons why they couldn’t and never would be able, I couldn’t help to realize they would get exactly what they wished for. Despite wanting to move up here, they were working hard at convincing themselves otherwise.

How often do you experience that free and pure feeling that dreams provide, and that fear driven urge to quickly add the “buts,” to the conversation? We all have dreams, we all have things we’d love to do, but often they can be very scary to pursue. Our dreams don’t care about our financial situation, our skill sets, the expectations of our peers, the expectation of our family, our current living situation…nothing. Your dreams bubble up from the deepest parts of your body, the little kid within you that doesn’t know fear. Buts come from the part of you that has learned mistakes can be painful and safety is worth sacrificing your dreams for. But the question is, are you really safer not pursuing your dreams? Nope. It’s an illusion. I promise, you have nothing to lose, only riches to gain from chasing your dreams.

What are your dreams? Can you talk to someone else about them without adding “buts,” to the discussion? Try something different, talk about what you want without adding why you can’t have it.  You might just get what you wish for.

Don’t obsess with finding the “great idea..”

Published on February 23, 2007 in business, future and goals. View Comments

There’s a great Q&A in this month’s fortune with management guru and accomplished author Jim Collins on entrepreneurship and leadership.

I was most interested in his answer to the first question of “If you were to offer advice to a beginning entrepreneur, what would it be?” He answered:

First, don’t obsess on finding the “great idea.” In fact, our research shows a somewhat negative correlation between pioneering a great idea and building a great company. Many of the greatest started with either no great idea or even failed ideas.

Sony (Charts) started with a failed rice cooker. Marriott (Charts) started as a single root beer stand. Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard’s great idea was simply to work together – two best friends who trusted
each other – while their first four products failed to get the company out of the garage.

They followed the “first who” approach to
entrepreneurship: First figure out your partners, then figure out what ideas to pursue. The most important thing isn’t the market you target, the product you develop or the financing, but the founding team.

Starting a company is like scaling an unclimbed face – you don’t know what the mountain will throw at you, so you must pick the right partners, who share your values, on whom you can depend, and who can adapt.

I’ll admit that I get stuck on finding the “great idea,” even though I’ve always believed what Jim said above. This idea really made sense to me after listening to a Venture Voice podcast last year about the founding of Paypal. While I think it is definitely important to have an idea or even more importantly a mission (such as Google’s “organizing the world’s information”) to bring together a team on, it is even more necessary to have a good founding team to begin with. I believe regardless of the idea, a good team will always be able to create success sooner or later.

I’m working on that team.

Did you know….

Published on February 23, 2007 in Links, business, future and personal. View Comments

*China will soon become the number 1 english speaking country in the world
*The top 10 in demand jobs in 2010 didn’t exist in 2004
*If myspace were a country it would be the 11th largest in the world (as of Sept 2006)
* The number of text messages sent everyday exceeds the entire population of the planet

You have to watch this video, it will simply blow you away.  Karl Fisch, the original creator of this video, is the Director of Technology at Arapahoe High School in Colorado. I think it’s an especially powerful message to our educators and education system. I agree with Ben, it’s system that is flawed in its focus and falling behind. This video is a pretty powerful wake up call. It just shows how we get so caught up in our traditions and procedures, that we forget the world is rapidly changing around us. Fascinating stuff.

[youtube]j7FP1kgtD8U[/youtube]

More links related to this video:
Dangerously Irrelevant

Via young entrepreneur Ryan Allis

Entrepreneurship: Nature vs Nurture

Published on February 22, 2007 in business, future, goals, personal and uniqe ability. Closed

After reading this post (great blog by the way) from successful entrepreneur Wil Schroter, I had to wonder…Are entrepreneurs born or made? Wil lays seems to think successful entrepreneurs are born with the ability to take on great risks, and because of this they are able to really get out there and learn all they need to know to make their venture or quest successful. Business success lessons can be taught, and learned by anyone, but the key to being a successful entrepreneur in his mind, risk-taking, can’t be taught.

If we’re asking whether or not you can take someone who does not support risk and teach them to embrace risk, I think that’s a long shot. I’ve seen lots of people try to fake their tolerance for risk while trying to be entrepreneurial and it just doesn’t work. You can’t teach someone to be OK with not sleeping at night.

Therefore, if you’re born to take risks, you can learn how to apply that risk-taking desire into the business world of entrepreneurship. Born entrepreneurs can be taught how to become better businesspeople. But businesspeople cannot be taught how to become entrepreneurs.

His posting was inspired by this Fortune Small Business article, which goes back and forth on all the entrepreneurs who say that formal education had no help in their success and the academics (and a few entrepreneurs) who say the right education can create entrepreneurs.

What do I think? I believe that Wil is right on.

The inherent natural risk taking ability is really the trait I’ve seen in all the successful entrepreneurs I’ve known (including Wil). I believe that the key to building a successful business and thus being a successful entrepreneur is the natural ability to really just go out there and do whatever it takes to make things happen. It’s never the right time, never the right situation, and never the perfect place to start a business, so one of the hardest things about being an entrepreneur is just starting.  A lot of people can’t take this leap because it will probably mean leveraging themselves financially, looking like a fool a lot of times to a lot of people, screwing up a lot, getting an ear full a lot, and being completely overwhelmed…a lot. Most really can’t stomach even the thought of going through all this. But with this complete immersion you are capable of learning and absorbing massive amounts of information that is relevant to the business. This rapid “expertification,” is what ultimately makes up your skill set in building your company and enables you to become a successful entrepreneur. If you can’t handle risk, you’ll never get that far.

So the short answer is (as Wil said)… A good education can take you a long way, but only risk tolerance can take you to the top. Whether that risk tolerance comes from a passion in your mission, hard work on your personal perspective, or is something your born with, it’s what you’ll need to be successful.

 

I love this

Published on February 21, 2007 in future, goals and personal. Closed

I remember watching this commercial as a kid and getting goosebumps, and while randomly looking through some Jordan highlights this past weekend on Youtube, I found this commercial again.
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And yes, the goosebumps are still there. Awesome.

Simply Amazing

Published on February 8, 2007 in future, goals, grieving, mom and personal. View Comments

I remembered today sort of randomly Steve Jobs 2005 commencement speech at Stanford, and how much I used to love reading it. My mom also loved reading it, and she actually had a print out that she read from the last few months of her life. She loved that speech. I did, and still do.

So this evening looking for a little inspiration and answers to some questions I’ve been having I turned to the video universe that is youtube in search of the actual speech. Sure enough, I found it and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone:

[youtube]D1R-jKKp3NA[/youtube]

Time is short and death is inevitable for us all. I learned so much from my mom’s death about my life. It really seemed to cut away all the nonsense, all the fears about what’s wrong or right to do, all the worries about doing what others think is right, all the concerns about making money or looking important. It forced me to forget for a moment all the layers of crap I put on everyday when I wake up, and just be, feel, and live. But even now as time passes I forget those lessons, and I continue to put on new layers each day. Why? For what?

Do you wake up in the morning and feel good about what you’re doing each day? I hope so. You deserve it. I know I do.

Goog / Tivo together?

Published on February 1, 2007 in business, future, stocks and tech. Closed

Google came out with blockbuster numbers yesterday prompting everyone but shareholders to gasp in awe. They had a profit of over $1B, nearly triple the amount from the same qaurter a year ago. It also appears that big brands, the slowest movers to the internet ad game, and also Yahoo’s one major advantage over Google are moving aggressively towards Google’s advertising platform. In an article in this week’s Business Week they review the Google call from yesterday, where they mentioned that these big brands such as Proctor and Gamble, Volvo, and Officemax have all placed video, banner, and text ads across google’s network.

I was most interested in the part of the article concerining Google’s ability to advertise on TV.

Schmidt even implied that television advertising was ripe for Google to handle. He said Google’s targeting technology can “really apply well” to TV, and allow television stations to charge much higher rates for that targeting. He said there was an opportunity for Google to use data from TV set-top boxes, which have unique Internet addresses, to do that targeting.

I think there is definitely a huge opportunity here for Google. But I think there may be an equally big opportunity here for a little company called Tivo. They are far and away THE brand of dvr devices. Like Google they have become a verb as people often refer to recording a program as “tivoing” it. My real question is when are they going to drop the hardware/service provider biz and start licensing their name/software to cable companies. If they would’ve done this already, they’d be sitting on top of access to the largest network of set top boxes in the world. We know they are building creative and interesting ways to deliver advertising by their recent patent applications, so why not move forward with the master plan already?

It’s been said before, but I’ll say it again…Tivo is an acquisition target. At $518M market cap, it’s worth less than HALF of youtube, a company with very little revenues at the time of it’s acquistion. For a billion dollars or less (less than Google’s profit this quarter) someone could most likely have Tivo’s loved brand, name, and service to call their own. Can you imagine what a company with deep pockets like Google’s could do with Tivo? They could preinstall google earth on every device, run video ads and video adwords, and even show youtube clips right on the tv. They could open up google video’s video marketplace to let people pay and view videos streamed. There are a million possibilties.
Google, what do you think?

(by the way, I’m a tivo shareholder)

What do you do?

Published on January 25, 2007 in business, future, goals and personal. View Comments

I hate this question. I’d love to know why even the anticipation of it makes me quake. I remember reading in “What Should I do with my life,” about one person in there also quaking whenever asked this question. This is how they knew they HAD to make a change. What’s the point of going out on your own if you don’t feel unbelievably proud and excited about what you’re doing for the world?

I would say that I probably spend way too much time thinking about what I should be doing, or do and too little time actually doing. Perhaps I’ve been thinking about what “I want to work on next,” for so long tha I’ve actually found something to work on…finding what I’m going to work on next. That has become sort of my calling and path for the moment. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy (obviously) spending time reading and working in perosnal development. But that’s like trying to learn how to ride a bike from a picture book, you can’t do it unless you feel it. I’ll always put an emphasis on personal development in my life because I truly believe we live what we see, and seeing is all about your perspective. Perspective and knowledge can consistently be improved and built over time. But personal development is only half the equation, the other half needed for a “successful life,” is action. I’ve been gunshy for a year now.

I’m determined to set a new course with drastic changes. It’s not as if I’ve been completely idle over the last 12 months. I have indeed spent a lot of time on a lot of projects, and while I’ve been able to make some money and learn some new things, I feel as if little progress has been made. The truth is doing these little projects is like running on a treadmill. You’ll use up a lot of your time, you’ll feel tired at the end of the day, but when you look up you realize that you didn’t move anywhere. That’s not fun for anyone. But this time, real changes need to be made.

It’s really hard to get an “outside” perspective from within. The problem is that everything you see and do in your life is affected by your own filter or perspective. But I think that paying attention the way outside events make you feel, you can cut through some of the potentially harmful beliefs you have put in place preventing a fresh personal perspective. I”ve been resting on the beliefs that I’m on the right path to finding my next thing. I approach it the same way, with my constant networking, brainstorming sessions, and project work. I “think” this will work, but I “know,” it won’t. I felt this more clearer than ever yesterday while meeting someone, who quickly quipped to me “What do you do?” Good question. I, of course, squirmed.

I can’t keep going down the same roads and expect to find a new destination at the end. It’s so important for me to have an answer to that question (what do you do) that feels awesome, important, inspirational, and right. That comes with time, education, and risk.

It’s easy to forget the famous Einstein quote “Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Time for a change.