dannykolke.com

Will I be upgrading to Snow Leopard you ask?

2009-08-28T11:01:17Z

No.

Boy I sure like writing posts this short.

Oh, you want to know why?

I lost the update fever a while ago. I don't see anything that excites me enough to take any mental energy to do the update.

I get most of the use out of my computer now through my browser. The rest of the machine is more and more just something I have to use to sync my iPhone and photos.

I would like to check out the latest garage band, but that's not really snow leopard related.

Will I eventually update? Yes. Just not in any hurry.

What would make me do it?

How about some real innovation? Please? I want a newer and cooler experience as a consumer. I am bored with my laptop.

Seems that most upgrades these days just have features that you thought should have been there already.

So, if you want to go for it; don't call me for support. I got other stuff to do and my computer works great as is.

Later

My No-News News Report

2009-08-14T08:52:32Z

Since I have been on a recent news media diet; I duct-tapped my business hat to my forehead and started grinding my nose as hard as I could in an effort to turn my own economies around. I'll update you later on what I have been up to more specifically.

Meanwhile, today I thought to myself, "I wonder what I am missing out there." Let me see if I can guess at it.

On Politics:

Congress is proposing more fees and programs to collect fees to help cover increasing costs of government programs.
Congress is looking to expand government programs and increase the number of people that are on government entitlements.
35% of the country thinks this is a good idea, 30% are undecided and 35% are opposed.
Congress's approval ratings continue to plummet.
The Presidents approval ratings are declining but people are hopeful that things will turn around.
Someone shot someone today and violent crimes are on the rise.
Experts are surprised that the economy is still stalling and conditions are worse than they expected.
Congressional hearings are being held about big businesses role in something and the problems they are causing.
Little grandma's and kids and victims are being paraded to capitol hill for their PowerPoint presentations - so politicians can get sympathy plays for their lobbyist pet legislation and hide their true motives.
The world will end in 10-25 years if we don't act quickly.
The country will go bankrupt - if it hasn't already, although they can just print more money and cause hyper deflation so technically it's not possible.
Everything is someone else's fault and no one will accept responsibility for their stupid decisions.

On to the World of Software:

Google announced something, it's going to revolutionize the world of software. Microsoft is skeptical and Gartner says it's not sure how effective it will be in the market.
Apple announced something, it's users are really excited about it and can't wait to get it but it will take 6-9 months before it's available in the Apple stores or for purchase on iTunes.
Microsoft is announcing that something will be happening soon, by 2010 at the latest and it's committed to doing the same sort of stuff that other companies (like Google) are doing but theirs will work better - when they release it.
Experts say that the internet and web based applications and solutions (now called cloud based - because we need new terms to keep analysts interested) are on the rise.
Revenues at enterprise software companies are down. It's the economies fault, not that there is a shift in how solutions are being used on the web and the economics of software are transforming how software is developed, distributed and consumed.
Twitter users continue to grow.
Users are speculating that Facebook is buying somebody - if they haven't already bought somebody.
Yahoo is still in trouble and still talking with Microsoft.

How am I doing so far? Did I get anything wrong? Not sure I really want to know.

General Interest Stories:

Caffeine is either good or bad.
Local politicians want to pass a bag tax, as if that's going to help anything other than increase revenues.
Exercise is healthy but not too much exercise.
Wine is good but not too much wine.
Believing in God leads to longer life.
Smoking kills but may have certain health benefits; ask Mable who is 104 and smokes cigars and drinks whiskey.
People are getting by with less but maybe happier.
Schools are suffering with the down economy, but who isn't.
Someone did something great with no self serving interest and we close the news with this story because it demonstrates that there are good people out there and they still do good things.

That's the no-news for this morning.

How did I do? Did I get it right? Am I close on anything? Am I close enough?

Why am I on a media diet right now? Seems like the best thing I can do to turn things around is to take action on my own. So that's what I am up to. Perhaps you should do the same?

Go out and do something to make a difference. Pursue something you are passionate about and start living the life you were given to live.

Later.

What declaration shall you make?

2009-07-02T07:32:18Z

Just think that 233 years ago; the continental congress was in the final hours of deliberating what to do. They decided to risk everything so we could have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They stood up to the oppression of a King's rule across the ocean, under penalty of certain death so that one day our citizens would have the right to call 911 over missing McNuggets and French Fries. How pathetic have we become? Suck it up Americans and do something great once more.

Liberty came at a heavy price; don't squander the investment by trading liberty for entitlements. Be something exceptional. Uplift each other. Support one another. Not out of governmental quotas but out of brotherly love. Do the right thing, not out of regulation but integrity of character.

Clean up your messes, care for the sick, help the poor by teaching them how to fish and how to farm. Build industry, don't tear it down. Clean up your streets. Capture those that would commit crimes. Rise above and stand up for liberty for others.

Take care of your resources. Use them don't hoard them. Do what you must do. Be entrepreneurs and alchemists alike. Take the land you have and make it produce. Take the community you live in and serve it with a product or service. Do the best thing you can do to help and eliminate your need for dependence. Celebrate independence by becoming independent.

I am a first generation American. My parents were refugees, they were sick, they were beaten and oppressed. You liberated their countries and they sought you out to become one of you. In 1976 my father was sworn in as an American citizen. I was just 5 years old and I remember the day. I know of Americas greatness first hand.

Today our elected officials barter with each other, trading the wealth of their constituents like poker chips in a growing pot for pet legislation and ear marks. Selling out restrictions on liberty in exchange for pork and more pork. Citizens vote for entitlements not liberty and cast off the heritage that freed the world in exchange for a caretaker.

And so it begins to end? Or perhaps not?

What will I do? I will pursue happiness. I will pursue independence. I will never give up. I will suffer defeat and set back, but I will carry on.

And you who would do this; trade your liberty for cheeseburgers and teeth cleaning? You believe in rights of entitlements and government guarantees? You have already decided that forever you will not be free anymore. You are wards of the state. You are dependents not independents. A conflict of interest on every vote. Inseparable from the motive of your vote. You are in it for you. And you are part of the masses. You vote to punish, to take away, to levy charges and enforce punishment. You take away life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in exchange for what? What do you think you deserve? You do not realize that you are voting for slavemenship to the state. That you are selling your liberty and taking away others in a trade for entitlements. How is it any different? How is it right? Where is the justice in this?

It's been said that history repeats itself. How tragic is that? That we don't learn from the fall of other democracy and preserve our republic. That we go from protecting individual liberty to the oppression of the majority? How tragic to vote to take away from the minority? And so it is today.

Your congress has for too long acted with no more accountability to their constituents; other than bribes and ear marks. To take the money from others to give to their own. To serve as Lords over the people, taking away and giving back. How tragic. How tragic that our Lords lie to us, and we know that they do. While promising not to levy new taxes they levy new fees on industry. Who will pay these fees? The customers of utility companies, the owners of homes, the sellers of homes, the buyers of products. How is it that a fee on tea is not considered a tax? How gross is this? Where will it end? What is too much? What's my fee? Tell me? Is there a fee I can pay to be left alone? No. There is no more liberty. I am trapped. They will come for me.

All I know to do is to work to escape the oppression of my masters. To earn and try to buy my freedom. To pay the taxes and leans against me. As they rise, pay them again. As they decide to take more, pay more.

I go to war? No. I go to business. I go out and risk it all. I fight for others, for my employees, for our shareholders. It's what I do. I will do what I can to take the tiny bit of freedom that I still have and leverage it into something better for my family and community.

I pray that today you would consider the same. And the next time you have the chance to take a freedom away from someone else, you say no. If the Feds offer you a handout, you say no. You say NO! What's in it for you? Nothing. Suck it up. Stand on your own and do what's right. You are either proud of your independence or not. Choose wisely.

On this day, remember that it was others that chose to risk everything so that you may be free. They voted to cut themselves off. They voted to preserve justice. They voted against taxes. They risked it all and many of them gave it all. And what have we done with the liberty they gave? We've voted to gradually take it away.

No other country in all of history has done so much to ensure the liberty of so many. It's called freedom but it was not free. It came at a tremendous price and a tremendous risk. It started as a declaration. What declaration shall you make? What now will you do?

Procrastinate Your Way to Success - Seriously

2009-06-29T07:17:56Z

Okay, it's time to procrastinate your way to success.

Sounds odd doesn't it? After all why do today what you can put off till tomorrow?

If you are like me you have had it beaten into you that procrastination is bad. You've been told all your life to, "Take action. Do it now. Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today." Blah blah blah yada yada yada. Over and over again. Enough already.

For me procrastination has been the toughest battle I ever fought. I started to study myself and specifically why I procrastinate about things that I "should" do. I started to work on tactics to overcome procrastination. Some of the gimmicks work for a bit, but I'd just end up procrastinating until the point that I beat myself up and say things to myself that I wouldn't say to my enemies. That's all bad.

How about a different perspective?

What if it's a good thing? It's only recently that I learned how to use procrastination for my benefit. You have to admit that most people wouldn't tally up procrastinator in the strengths column. But after all if I am so good at procrastinating. Is there a way to use it to my benefit instead of the alternative and amassing huge piles of guilt?

For those of you who don't know how to procrastinate, I've decided that you should figure out how to do it. Seriously. Why? Everyone out there seems to say that procrastination is a bad thing, so they have to be wrong. Here goes why:

First, as a leader of an organization - doing everything is a bad thing.

Entrepreneurs are notorious for 'doing everything' and working themselves to death. As a leader in their organization the temptation is to 'do everything'. The stereotype has the owner of the business jumping in to rescue the employee at every bad turn. The employer is upset that the employees can't handle it and the place would just fall apart if they weren't around. And so on.

The same is true in parenting. I think getting the kids to clean their rooms is more important than doing it for them. Getting them to take out the garbage, vacuum, clean bathrooms, etc. All the things I would rather procrastinate on and have the kids do anyway. You have to admit this is starting to sound pretty good.

There is a fallacy that I see in the world of success thinking; that you have to do stuff to get stuff done. I disagree. Obviously you can't do everything. And doers are important; but so are thinkers and communicators.

I have learned that one of the most valuable things I can do to help someone succeed, is let them fail. If I wasn't a procrastinator, I would respond more quickly and bail them out. When employees ask me how come I didn't bail them out, I just tell them that I trust them and it's okay if they make mistakes. I ask them what they learned and what we should do next. This works really well in team building.

Because I am a procrastinator I let other people lead. I build leaders. I remove myself as the bottleneck.

Second, procrastination can be a fuel for my strategic and personal creativity.

I use procrastination over issues to think through the strategic scenarios. This helps me act more wisely when the time comes. If I don't need to take action - I don't.

Procrastinating on things allows me to rethink tough issues, over and over again. Avoiding hasty decisions in my role has proven to be very useful. Rushing to judgment without thinking through enough scenarios is dangerous.

So being a natural at procrastinating gives me time to prepare. I prepare for presentations and discussions. I have better outcomes in those meetings.

Third, cash management for tough times.

Paying bills at the latest possible moment helps with cash management. You could say that this is a procrastination technique already employed by many successful businesses in these hard economic times.

Fourth, you'll get more done if you are a strategic procrastinator.

You probably are still laughing a bit at this topic, but I am serious. Okay maybe it should be called tactful delegation or something else. Because I am a procrastinator I do less actual work and get more work done. Strange, but true. Other people I work with pick up the slack for their roles because I don't watch over their shoulder ever 20 minutes to see how they are doing. Well, sometimes I can't help it but it's the rarity so when I do it they know that there is something really urgent and I need them. Procrastination helps me get more done if I leverage it the right way. (Boy that sounds really weird to the PMA people reading this right now.)

I created my CEO todo list because of this very issue. I had to learn that my role was very different and working with and through others was more important than me doing everything. My list? Think, talk, listen, buy food and wait to sign things. Serious. (See my previous post on this.)

Are you procrastinating now? Awesome. Here are some questions to help you analyze your procrastination potential.

You can turn procrastination into a success principle for yourself too. The next time you are stuck in a procrastinatory state, here are some questions to ask yourself and some of the ways I handle it:

1) What should I be thinking about while I am procrastinating?
2) Should I be making notes on something?
3) Should I just ask someone to take care of this for me?
4) Am I stuck and I am procrastinating because I don't know what to do?
5) Am I just afraid to do it?
6) Am I lazy?
7) Am I the only one that can get this done?
8) Can I ask someone to work through this with me?
9) Is this something I can just say "no" to?

If you are procrastinating because you are stuck, schedule time with someone to talk through the issues and work it through together. It's a simple accountability partner thing. Even better, do it with someone that can take the workload off of your plate. It turns from a procrastination, I'm stuck can't figure it out into a planning session - delegated and done session. Pretty cool eh?

If you don't know how to do something or you are insecure doing something - procrastination is good there too. Find someone else to figure it out with you. This becomes a team effort.

If you are lazy, ask someone else to help. Wait, this is a recurring theme? Yup. For all of these issues find a "procrastination buddy". But let's apply it to beer. You are sitting on the couch watching TV and your friend gets up to go to the restroom. You're lazy so you say; "hey since you are up can you grab me another beer?" You didn't realize that you have deployed the main principle in successful delegation. You are getting someone else to do something for you, while they are doing something else, and most likely they are glad to do it. Nice.

Do you need to say 'no?' I've learned that this is my biggest problem. I need to say 'no' more often. (See previous post on this one.) Too many times I let my good intentions mess up a relationship because I want to help, but my gut knows better. Now, I can't say no to everything, that's ridiculous. But I've learned that I need to be willing to say 'no' more often.

If you are the only one that can do it, do you have to do it alone? Can you have someone help you work through the issues and organize what you need to do. Perhaps even do the work when it's all said and done. I am amazed how many times I thought I was the only one that could do it; and in reality someone else got it done and even did a better job than I could have myself.

I find that most people I talk with are too busy to actually strategically invest in their business or their lives. They just run from one thing to the next and it's total craziness all the time. For once in your life, probably the best thing you can do is 'nothing.' Try giving yourself some more free time to think through a decision. Find someone to help talk it through with you.

I'm not saying that procrastination is the answer to everything. Obviously someone has to do something otherwise it's just plain silly. But the next time you are procrastinating, notice it and ask yourself why and see if there is a way to turn it into an asset instead of an expense.

Remember, procrastination is your friend.

If you are in a position of leadership, what is it that you fear?

2009-06-20T17:39:34Z

If you are in a position of leadership, what is it that you fear? Do you fear letting others down? Do you fear criticism? Ridicule? What is it? Do you fear the potential negative outcomes? Do you fear failure? Does fear stop you? Are they rational or irrational fears?

Fear is interesting to me. Fear motivates probably more than any other emotion. People do things both good and bad because of it, or in spite of it. To one person fear paralyzes, to another it inspires. Fear is a tactic for those in power, a technique in sales and marketing, fear is a dangerous chemical, a volatile explosive substance.

Do you live in fear? To a certain degree you should. Fear gives you alarm against the dangers that would do you harm. Fear gives you wisdom, instinct and courage. Fear. Fear is the cure for complacency, if it inspires you to take action.

It's important to recognize that fear outlives it's usefulness. Like any other dangerous substance fear can paralyze. Most people can't break past the fears that hold them hostage. They are stuck and can not break free.

So what do you do with fear? Ask yourself a few simple questions when you encounter fear in your leadership position.

Is this useful? Is it useful to me to be afraid right now? Exploring if what you are afraid of is useful to you is very valuable. If you can approach it logically, you separate the fear from the actual situation that is causing the fear. You can then start to address the thing you fear with a strategy to take action. Is what I am afraid of something I should be afraid of? Why am I afraid of it? Is it useful to me?

Is it stopping me? Is my fear stopping me from doing something that I should do? Am I afraid of giving a presentation? Am I afraid of making phone calls? Fear of rejection is a real problem for many people. What can you do? Think through the possible outcomes both good and bad.

What's the worst that can happen? If the answer is something that can kill you, then your fear is well founded and natural. There are those in leadership where this is a very real answer and we have our freedom because of these types of leaders. Most of the time the answer will be not that severe. So explore what it is. What is the worst fate that you can suffer in your experience. Can you handle the worst? Can you accept it? Will life go on?

Am I afraid of peoples response? Do I fear what people will say to me? Do I fear criticism? Do I fear what it will make me feel like to be criticized? What can I learn from it? Suppose I am criticized, supposed I suffer the worst? Does it change whether or not I should do what I am supposed to do? Can I learn from this experience anyways?

So now what? I suppose that if you've made it this far you can probably relate, that there is something that you are struggling with doing. I hope that some of the questions posed in this post will help you think it through and take the courage to act.

Dealing with fear is a very big part of leadership. It comes down to controlling the thoughts that would prevent you from taking the proper action. It's hard. But those that have dealt with their fears will tell you that it is well worth it.

Remember, it's natural to feel afraid; especially when taking on a position of leadership.

On Greatness

2009-06-18T08:07:49Z

What makes someone great? What creates greatness? Do leaders ask to be great? Do they desire to be great? Or do they come from ordinary stalk and somehow make the decision that something has to be done. Do they wake up and realize that if they don't act, things will get worse?

I venture to guess that most great leaders in history rose up out of dire circumstances. It was out of the trials and fires and ugliness of their circumstances they grew strong. They did not choose to be great, but in tough times they chose to do something great.

Granted that a case can be made for those that plot a course to be great, but it's those that did not start out that way that we truly hold up as great. Whether by accidental invention or by incidental responses, the stories we read of great leaders are interesting to us because of what they have gone through. And yet, many of us; no most of us would not choose their path for ourselves. Who would chose economic suffering for themselves? Or disease or oppression? But here is where the furnace refines those who become great.

Look at the great depression, out of that came the greatest generation. Following worst economic times come the best economic times. Following oppression comes liberty? Why?

Greatness is in you. You have the capacity to be great. You may not know it and you may not feel it. And you probably don't recognize it. For those that do great things, rarely do they recognize it as great. Their tasks are as minor as yours to start. Dr. King's first speech was not the crowds on the steps in DC, and Washington didn't start out as a General, and the list would continue on as we look upon the stories of those we now call great.

It starts with little things. And it's these little things that compound and are refined. And not doing things is as important to greatness, by not choosing the easy path, not resting when there is work to do. There is plenty to not do from giving up to selling out.

I'm not one who can speak of greatness personally. I am just an ordinary person who has fought some challenging battles. I wonder an I think about what I do and am supposed to do. I'm probably a lot like you. And I know a lot of you who will read this are doing so when you are discouraged.

So today, remember this one thing; if you aspire to greatness or if you just aspire to be a little more - there is no difference. That is greatness. That inspiration is a gift; and you must act on it. Whether in business, in family, in love, in music, in art, in politics and in faith; do the thing and do it well. Don't be satisfied with less than you are called to do. For some, you are called to act out in greatness; it's your turn to do something about it. And the rest of you, stay on the couch and change the channel. Maybe it's best if you just stay where you are at.

Leadership is Difficult - If you think you can't do it, you are right... and?

2009-06-12T17:21:09Z

Leadership is difficult. The burden of doing what is right with what is trusted to you is heavy. And it's certain you will stumble and you will fall. You will make mistakes and you will make missteps. The longer you lead, the more burdens you will bear and the heavier it can seem.

And if you are in a position of leadership and you are pursuing big goals and big dreams one day you will say to yourself "I can't do this anymore." And you will be right. You can't. But is that a bad thing? I maintain that its good news. You have come to the end of your skills and you are now dependent on others to succeed.

If you are in a leadership role facing a project that is bigger than your skills can handle - you need others. The larger the vision the more dependent you are on others and the more certain it is that you will face days where you say to yourself, "I can't do this".

I'm not sure you are getting my point. You can't do it. That's right, you can't do it. Let that sink in. And as a leader you are not supposed to do it. You need others to help you. And your new role is in service to finding that team and helping them achieve their goals. To quote Rick Warren, "It's not about you". In this case, it's about them.

So about this burden of leadership and about the weight of responsibility; is it possible to lighten the load?

I've found personally that you can lighten the load by accepting what you can do and finding others to do the rest. You transfer the weight of doing things, but not the weight of responsibility. And certainly not the pressure of getting things done. A good leader doesn't blame the team if in the end the task is not done. Don't pass the buck. Don't pass the blame. It's still the leaders responsibility.

When your team makes a mistake the best thing you can do for them is to take the blame. Cover the responsibility. Do what you have to do to protect them. This helps your team trust you more. It helps them want to work harder because of your loyalty for them. Take the arrows - that's part of serving the team when you are the leader.

Help others create their ownership and help others have a win. Design for them to be successful. Make plans for their success. Don't focus on you. Focus on them. Service is key.

That's right. Leadership is really service. As a leader you must serve your team, your customers, your shareholders. Serve serve serve. You need more than yourself and when you focus on yourself the burden can seem too hard to carry. When you focus on how you can help your team, your customers, your shareholders - strangely the weight shifts. It's as if by magic.

Leadership is about service to others. Remember that you can't do it alone and you need others and your burden will lighten up. Keep it that simple.

Spoken from experience. ;)

CEO Tip: When you can't turn it off

2009-05-23T07:31:19Z

It occurred to me what bothers entrepreneurs on the "balance thing" (see previous post). It's guilt. They feel like there is a point where they have to turn off the thoughts of the business, they can't and it consumes them. So there is an accompanying guilt that starts spinning up. This guilt is fueled by a self dialog that goes like this; "I should be able to shut this off, but I can't."

I get that. It's as if you have no control. You don't own the business anymore. The business owns you. I'd like to speak to this issue from a few different perspectives, perhaps even radical perspectives.

1) Should you turn it off?

Seriously. Is it a foregone conclusion that the right thing for you in your circumstances is that you should turn it off? If your house was on fire and your family was inside, I would not expect you to walk away. If your factory is on fire you probably shouldn't walk away. I don't believe you should you necessarily walk away if there are problems to be dealt with. Avoidance won't necessarily help things improve and although absence makes the heart grow fonder, it doesn't apply to your business challenges. You need to deal with it.

2) Don't accept what you should or should not be able to do as true.

Even if you aren't faced with a problem right now, where does this notion come from that you should be able to turn it off? Can you disconnect your arm? Can you disconnect your brain? You are a whole person that lives in your life. I can't turn off who I am am. I am either the whole person or I am not. I don't live in rooms or compartments. When I am inspired to work on something or get the inspiration to solve a problem, I am thankful for it. When there is a big problem that must be solved, I commit my energy to it. It's my instinct that is telling me that I have to deal with this problem. I have to take care of it, it's what I am supposed to do.

As for me I don't want to "turn it off" until I am finished working on a problem just like I don't want to set a book down in the middle of a chapter. I want to close that section and I would suspect that if you are an Entrepreneur you are the same way. So work to bring closure for that chapter and then set it down. For me it helps to say, "I am going to finish __________ and then take a break". That allows me to close a chapter and create some definition.

3) Close the chapter by changing your perspective

I find that when I am dealing with issues that need to be solved, it's best to approach them from a different angle. For me going to a new coffee shop with a new pad of paper and a pen helps me review things from a new perspective. I usually can get down what I need to bring closure to the issue or at least get my plan of attack articulated so I can deal with it.

4) Don't solve the whole problem

If you are problem solving, break your problems into several pieces and address them one at a time. Articulate them carefully and make sure you got them all down on paper. Then address them one at a time. I find it also is best for me to come up with multiple approaches to solve the same problem so my solution is not dependent on only one way to solve it. Come up with Plan A, B, C, D and E and F even if you have to. Don't confuse panic with productivity. It doesn't work either. You can't solve all problems at all times. Pick the battle and address it with strategy.

5) Pick a method of waiting

When the solution is put in motion I find that lot's of waiting ensues. I have to wait for meetings to happen. Wait for decision makers to evaluate and deliberate. Wait for budget approvals. Wait for this and wait for that. Waiting is important and it is very real. Just like planting a seed, you have to wait. And when waiting you have to do something else. This waiting is where I see entrepreneurs spin out of control into worry. All I can advise on worry is that it's important to recognize what you are worried about and that you are worried, then move on. Pick a method of waiting. Pick something else to do. This is why I came up with my CEO to do list. It gives me things to do while I wait.

6) Communicate if you are worried

Communicate with those that are important to you. Share with them the reason you are consumed and that you need to deal with it. Communication allows them to understand. If you have a spouse that is not empathetic then I can't really offer advice on this one. I do know that isolation doesn't work. You need to let them know why you are stuck on something and why it's bugging you, even eating at you.

7) Take a nap, meditate, pray

Once I have written down something I need to let it germinate a bit. For me I nap, meditate and pray, not necessarily in that order. I think through the problem and the very components of it. It takes me time to think through each element and articulate it to myself and to articulate it in my prayers. I believe in prayer. I pray for inspiration. I meditate. I think. So when I am inspired with a potential way to solve a problem, I believe it may be an answer to prayer and I seek out that answer. When I can reflect on it calmly I feel better about being able to confront the challenges after my rest. It prepares me.

8) Pick something to do next

If you want to put it down for a while, pick something else to do. Passion that has no substitute leaves a void that can be upsetting or even depressing. If it's the energy that drives you, turning it off is not good without another driver. It's best to chose something else to do when you don't want to work anymore. Sounds simple, but it's true. Music, books, hobbies, family, movies, dinner out, whatever it is - pick something to do next.

9) What do you want to do?

Deciding deliberately what you want to do is a profound power that you have over your circumstances. Being able to say "I chose" to do this or that and getting it done will create value or detract value from your life. You are not trapped. You can put it down. You can walk away. You can quit. But do you want to? Being an entrepreneur is difficult because your choosing a tough road. You are creating something from nothing. You are investing everything you have. You are risking heavily. And for what purpose? What do you want to do?

If your priorities are such that work is the most important thing and most exciting thing than perhaps you shouldn't turn it off. Perhaps you are working on accomplishing something that you believe in it passionately. Perhaps you are working because you are trying to close a chapter. Perhaps you are trying to reach a goal in life.

10) What do you believe in?

So what do you believe in? What do you find strength in? Where does it come from? Acknowledge it. Choose to work. Choose your reasons. And when things get tough remember why you chose to do what you do. Remember who you are obligated to. Remember what it is you are living for. Remember whom you serve.

And if you don't know what you are living for, seek it out. I cannot express in words alone how important it is for me. I believe in a God that created me and I am supposed to chose to live my life in the best possible way. I am obligated to serve others. I am obligated to do good works. I must continue on.

It is what drives me. Call me a fanatic. Call me a nut. Call me whatever you want to, I don't care. I carry on and I carry on because I believe I am supposed to carry on.

In conclusion

I have a great appreciation for those people that can just turn off things. For those that have a job where they can clock out and go home. I am not that way. I am on the opposite side of the world. I try to bring my family along and experience some of it with me. I try and fail often to spend more time with them. And I have learned that just spending time doesn't mean that I am really there. If I am dealing with a storm, I can't leave the factory until it's secured. I have to take care of things. It's what I have to do.

And when things are taken care of, I have learned to depend on others. It's the team that allows me to go do other things, at work and at home. If I have a team I can count on, I can move on. When it's something I have to take care of, well; I have to take care of it.

I don't know your circumstance. Hopefully my perspective on things can help you deal with the guilt when you feel like you "should" be able to "turn it off" but can't.

Say No More Often

2009-05-20T07:56:34Z

If there is something I don't do enough of, it's saying "no". Far too often I am influenced to attempt more than I should. After all, I want to help. I want to contribute. I want to give my time. I want to help. I don't say "no" and I let people down as a result.

My capacity is not always proportionate to my desire to help. The desire to say " I can do that for you" backfires on me. At the end of the day, good intentions are gone and I am left with remnants of trust.

Just recently I have some commitments that I have to go back to friends with and revisit whether or not I have the capacity to deliver what they really need. I'm discouraged about letting them down. They put trust in me and my abilities and I foolishly accepted. When it would have been hard at the time to tell them no, now it's harder because I am obligated to help them work out of the situation they are in. Not saying no leaves me with regret. I have to clean that up.

I am still learning to say "No". I struggle with the excuses too. Instead of articulating it well, it comes out vary awkward. I just need to nail this. I just need to say "no". So I now apologize when I say no. I'm sorry, I'd love to help but I'm afraid I am not going to be able to give it the time it deserves. You'd be better off to find someone else. Saying no is probably more important than saying yes. At least for me.

Saying no is Hard.

Saying Yes is easy.

It's hart to say no if "everyone is doing it". It's hard to disagree with the masses. And its hard to say no when a friend asks you. But no is often the place where we stand our ground. It's how we define limits. No is the end. It's definitive and it's hard.

I'm not saying that we should always say no. But certainly we shouldn't always say yes. For me I say yes too often and it backfires. My suggestion is that if you are like me, check your capacity to deliver before you commit. and its okay to say no. It will be better for everyone in the end.

Overcoming Problems with What's Next

2009-05-19T12:07:54Z

If you are faced with seemingly insurmountable problems, one of the most important questions that you can ask yourself is "what's next?" What should I do next, work on next, finish next? Granted context is extremely significant to what you can do next. I find that those who get stuck can't break down their problems and just focus on "what's next".

When you break down your problems, don't worry about what is next. Visualize separating worry from the challenge and focus merely on the details in your steps. While you go through chaos it's critical to focus on what you can control at that moment - almost to the detriment of all else. And controlling it in increments that you can manage. In this way you can break down seemingly the biggest problems and overcome them.

Yes, every task can seem impossible if you don't break it down. But pick it apart and you can get to work at remaking it into opportunity.

No, I don't believe problems are opportunities. Problems are problems. It's what you make them into by breaking down the elements that can convert them into opportunities.

Just like a chemist refines a barrel of oil into the many materials we see everyday. Near sludge converted into fuel, plastics, clothing, pavement, even thread and strings. Just think of it, there are 1000's of uses from sludge. We too are to be chemists on our problems, breaking them down into elements we can reuse and combine to create opportunity and abundance.

Is there any reason to let your problems overcome you? Is there any reason to let the things that bother you continue to do so? Maybe some problems are not worth the fight, or so they may seem so on the surface. But to what cost is it if you surrender? What do you gain in that loss? I maintain that if you are to give up, you better know why. You better know in order to protect your own self, and your own courage.

If all is gained in quitting is defeat, there is no strategy for a greater purpose and the weight of your defeat will increase over time and you will suffer more loss and more loss. There will be no rest for you in this result. Quitting is the fuel of regret.

So what is next for you? What's next today?

I don't know what you are going through. I don't know the details. However I can offer you this testimony. I have failed many times. I have quit. I have been fired. I dropped out of high school. I have lost the game many times. I have given up on dreams and desires of my own heart. I know the pain, the discouragement and the suffering. I know what it's like to be poor and dependent on others for even food and money to put gas in my tank to get to work. I know what it's like to get a foreclosure notice. I know failure. I have let others down and I know the pain of letting them down.

However, I stood my ground. I drew a line and made it my front in my own personal war. And no matter how tired nor how defeated I felt, I declared that it was time to move that front forward. I broke down my problems into it's elements and I looked at the pieces. And when I realized that many of the problems were bigger than me I realized that I am totally incompetent to solve them on my own. They were bigger than me. So? What next? I asked myself, "what can I do to solve them anyways?"

I looked to others to help solve my problems. And find them I did. Through my failures I rebuilt and found people who would rally to the cause. Together we put into motion strategies and plans and we regained the lost ground and then we started to advance.

I can offer you testimony that if you are building character, you too will find people who will rise to the occasion to solve problems that are too great for you alone. And there is no defeat you can suffer that cannot be overcome, unless you surrender.

What is next for you? What next should you accomplish? No matter how big the challenge you can break it down and you can overcome.

CEO tip: It's okay to lose your balance

2009-05-16T08:56:24Z

I have an adverse reaction every time I hear someone give advice about living a balanced life. It doesn't matter who it is, it drives me crazy. I was talking with my pastor and it finally occurred to me what it is.

It seems that this concept of "balance" teaches that there is the perfect middle ground between your priorities that allows you to stay "balanced". That if you "balance" your life you can be happier in everything you do. Not only is it technically impossible to live a balanced life it's a total farce as a recipe for happiness or success.

Balance implies every priority is of equal weight in your life. Balance also implies that time spent should be proportionate to your priorities. After all, if something is important to you - you should spend more time on it. I believe both of these assumptions are flat wrong. Let's see if I can articulate why.

Suppose I was going to proportionately distribute my time to things that are important to me. My wife is more important to me than my job, so I should spend more waking hours with her than work. My children are more important to me than my career, so I should spend more time with them than work. My parents, same thing. My brothers, my friends, dittos. And then there is my music and writing and composing are also more important to me.

If I were to live a balanced life, economically speaking I would be a bum. Actually, I'd have no time to be a bum. My faith in God is my most important thing so I'd be a monk instead, seek exclusion and abandon all other priorities in my life and spend all my time with him.

Maybe that sounds a little extreme. So lets take a look at this "balance" thing with another approach. Perhaps I am supposed to give all of my priorities equal value? In that model my wife is equal to my work, etc. Let's just stop right there. That won't work for me at all.

If I am to lead a "balanced life" I either need to spend more time in each area of my life that is important to me and less where it's not or I need to admit that my life is out of balance. While I would love to spend more time in areas that are important to me, I still choose the later.

I believe in being out of balance. I believe in being passionate. Out of balance allows me to focus at what needs to get done when it needs to get done. Balance is a principle that leads to moderation and eventually the withering and contraction of good things.

I maintain that being out of balance is a God made principle that creates growth in nature, in relationships, in education, in every area. When you boil water you don't "balance" the water temperature. When an airplane takes off from the runway, it doesn't do it at a balanced speed. It takes tremendous energy overcoming great resistance to do a thing of any significance.

I like to call these periods of being out of balance "seasons". Just like there is a season to plant and a season to harvest there is a season to work hard, and there is a season to play hard. But this principle does not only apply to planting and harvest time. It's seasons that make life work. You don't balance it out and say, "we just planted 5 minutes now it's time to harvest 5 minutes." How absurd is that?

If you make the assertion that less time spent means less value, you are wrong. It's impossible to balance your life in this way. Based on that assumption, I should never leave home. And there is a multitude of things I should never waste my time on because their value is insignificant compared to what's really important. I work because I love my family, I love my friends, I work to serve others and in a season of work I am out of balance because of my priorities.

So in Danny's world, time spent has nothing to do with balance or value. The second it takes to plant a seed is not equal to the time it takes to grow the seed or the time to harvest. Which is most important? Can you have any harvest without the time it takes to plant that seed?

But it's not just my world in which this "balance" thing doesn't work. The concept of balance is foolish especially when it comes to economics and politics. A balanced vote is a no pass. A balanced government is non decisive. A balanced view of liberty means you are not free 50% of the time. Balance in a spiritual sense means you are in heaven 50% and hell 50%? Balance is not a good thing in any circumstance where goodness is what is being balanced.

We can not equally distribute our lives among the things we value, we must be out of balance. Balance is for mediocrity, I want to be out of balance. I want to live.

It's foolish in my mind to try to balance your life because priorities should not be of equal weight. And concerning time management, you cannot be balanced between your priorities because sometimes it just takes more time to do things that aren't very important.

One final thought on balance. If you believe that balance is a good thing, odds are that you believe you can mitigate the affects of bad decisions, policies or even destructive behavior with balance. That there is an equilibrium that exists. If I balance my drinking, I won't become an alcoholic. The absurdity of this statement is that you don't spend 50% of your time drinking to become an alcoholic. Nor does it take drinking 50% of your liquids. And if someone is an alcoholic, they don't stop being an alcoholic through moderation. They have to get out of balance and stop drinking all together.

I'm not saying that you should drink obsessively, that's even more absurd. I am saying that the principle of balance is bogus. The concept of balance as a means to avoid obsessive excessive behavior is a bogus principle. It doesn't work. You cannot balance or mitigate the affects of a destructive behavior or policy. You can't balance it.

It's an excuse for not taking responsibility and not being accountable. Whether in relationships, social governance, or drug addiction - balance is an excuse for letting something happen with the false assumption that you can contain the affects.

In conclusion

Personal accountability requires at times for you to be out of balance and that's a good thing. In fact, you cannot balance your life. Sometimes you cannot chose the seasons and sometimes you can. You have to invest in what's important and sometimes you have to do things that are a complete waste of time. That's part of the seasons. Don't deceive yourself with "balance" to make your life work. You have to make it work. You have to take action.

More importantly don't use balance as an excuse for mediocrity. You are better than that.

I probably have angered some of you who are balanced-life believers or advocates. I don't really know what to say about that. Perhaps if you believe in it to the level that it would upset you, you are probably out of balance yourselves.

Hmmm. Now it's time for me to get back to work. And I feel good about that decision. I am supposed to be out of balance right now.

A CEO todo list: think, talk, listen, buy food and wait to sign things

2009-05-09T09:23:08Z

There was a phase in the business where I did everything and now I can't seem to do anything. My day and the tasks that make it up have shifted so dramatically for me over the years that it's hard to feel the same value I used to feel personally, when it was mostly my own actions that created part of the products that we sold. Now, it seems that I get to the end of the day and I don't "do" anything. I am dependent on others to get virtually everything done.

A while back I came to the realization that my changing role can be summarized into a very short list. If you asked me what I did for a living, this is what it would be.

I think
I talk to people
I listen to people
I buy food
I wait to sign things

Granted, there are other details that get done in a day but I am not really adding value by doing those. These are the areas that I add the most value.

On Thinking

I have said before how I believe that it is important to think and be able to express your thoughts clearly. Thinking is serious stuff. Some people call it planning and others call it strategic thinking or brainstorming. Whatever you call it, thinking is something that takes time to do.

If I don't make time to think, I end up shifting my entire world into a reactive mode. I stop creating opportunities and start reacting to challenges. It's a big problem. So I work on thinking. I sit and think, I walk and think. Sometimes I think with paper and sketch diagrams. Sometimes I write words and journal. Sometimes I meditate and pray. Sometimes I lie down to rest, and think.

Becoming comfortable with silence, starting and completing a thought gives me strength to take on the challenges that come, but more importantly it gives me courage to take the action that I need to. Thinking for me is tied to "not doing things." I have to not do something else to take time to think. I have to not check email, not check voicemail, not read the news, listen to the news. I have to stop all of that and take time to think.

Thinking is a big responsibility. It's my main role. When I talk to people I express my thoughts. When I listen to people I get new thoughts. When I wait for the team to create something they ask me "what do you think about this..." All of these things require that I know what is important and I have taken the time to think it through.

Thinking is serious stuff. Don't not think. Don't get so busy that you don't have time for it. If you don't take time to think for yourself, odds are someone else will do your thinking for you. And you will be very disappointed with the results.

Talking with People

Obviously talking with people is very important. Many would group listening into the same category as talking but there is a reason that I have it as a separate item. Let me see if I can explain this.

It's easier to talk to people when you are reacting to conversation. It's easier to respond and interact. For me it's difficult to create the conversation by talking first. As the leader my team and an evangelist for the business much of my communication is projected out in messages that are not reciprocated. I am charged to initiate the dialog, give the speech, share the vision.

Talking to people is where the value is created. Calling people before they call. Reaching out with messages, thoughts, ideas.

Now granted, much of the messages that I reach out with I am looking for dialog and feedback that is true. But it takes initiative to start the conversation.

There is a lot of power in calling someone to tell them something. Especially if you are doing it to start the idea or the conversation. Perhaps you are calling someone to say that they are doing a good job and that you appreciate them. That message is best delivered verbally. Calling someone to share a concern over issues. Also that message is better delivered verbally. As a leader, you have to talk. You have to reach out. You can't sit back and wait to react.

It's harder in this digital age to talk. With digital barriers and larger socially connected circles it's a challenge to reach people. I leave a lot of messages. I have to write emails to break the ice. I have to send a chat message before making the call. I have to blog, I have to do all these things to start the conversation. But the goals is to talk with people.

Listening to People

Equally important is listening. I find that most people do not articulate well what they really want to say. So listening to them is hard. They say one thing and it's only a fraction of what is really going on with them. So you have to dig a bit to get them to really express well what they want to say.

It's hard to listen. You may have heard various techniques for active listening. There are coaches out there that specialize just in this. I have found that what helps me is asking them questions if I understand what they are saying. Being honest when I don't understand something, or tell them "I'm not sure I get it. Say that again." Boy some people must think I am dense. I used to jump to conclusions and finish sentences for people. I would make assumptions for them on what their message was. However, that burned me bad and created relational problems for me. I have since learned that it's better to question myself and ask if I really do understand... and where I don't feed that back to them.

Listening is humbling and strengthening from a character building perspective. Sometimes you endure criticism. And many times the criticism is ill-founded or flat wrong. It's tough to keep listening without jumping into a defensive attack. Just keep listening.

I find listening to be difficult because of the patience it takes. Again, it seems that I have no time to wait. But listening takes just that. Time.

Listening is an investment in the people that you care about. Encouraging them to talk builds value in your relationships together. Yeah, it's hard to stay in a listening mode. But it is really important.

Buying Food

Buying food I have learned is an environment building exercise for teams. It's a trust building exercise for business partners and it's a relationship building experience for friends.

Buying a meal for a team at the office that is working on a project is both rewarding as well as extremely productive. It encourages dialog and it helps clear the air on issues. It's a really simple way to solve problems. It forces people to stop doing work long enough that they can clear their minds and share what's really going on. It's great for creating a listening environment.

Buying lunch or even just coffee with an employee away from the office helps create conversations which can inspire initiative and lead the way to achieving tremendous things. It also can be a way to deal with difficult issues. Talking away from the office forces people to disconnect from their work environment. They disconnect from their desk and email long enough that they can think with you about what's important and what needs to get done.

Buying lunch with a prospective business partner or customer can help nurture and solidify that relationship. The same benefits apply. Talking on the phone is not enough sometimes. Just merely exchanging digital communications as well. It's good to sit down and break bread and spend that thing people call "quality time". (Personally I am not a fan of that saying. Because time is time... but that's for another blog post on another day.)

For me it's really easy to get busy and stay busy and forget to take care of people around me. Buying them lunch or coffee and taking the time to physically be with them is a tremendous way to build that relationship and focus on them.

Waiting to Sign Things

Now I am going to take some creative liberty with this one. I group lot's of things in the "waiting to sign things" category. I generally group all things that require my official approval as "waiting to sign" them.

I am amazed at how much waiting is required in business today. Granted I run a company that is public so a lot of the documents that I sign are being created by professionals and experts, therefore I am waiting for others to review before I sign. What do I wait for? I wait to review contracts, disclosures and non-disclosures. I wait for proposals I wait for SEC filings. I I wait to sign checks I wait to review financials. I also wait for developers to complete projects. For marketing people to prepare reports and strategy plans. I wait for this and I wait for that.

I wait I wait I wait.

Patience is hard stuff. It's hard to wait for the team to get their work done. It's hard to wait for developers to finish something. It's hard to wait for the auditors, the lawyers, the sales guys, the this team and that team. It's hard to wait. I am working on this one the most and I'll probably be working on this one the most for a long time. I try to not hover over someone while they are working.

I find it best if I focus on things that I can control instead. I use the time that I am waiting to be creative and constructive on the Thinking Talking and Listening front. I acknowledge that I am waiting so it clears the air. And I ask whomever I am working with to set the expectation for me so I don't bother them 20 times in the next hour to see where things are at.

Waiting waiting waiting. It's hard. But it's a very real part of the responsibilities that I have. When I can wait and allow for the team to do their work it demonstrates trust in them. When they set an expectation and then they meet that expectation, it builds confidence in them. Yeah, it builds confidence in me too.

When my job on a project is to wait, there is almost nothing I can do. It's like waiting for the sun to rise. I just have to wait. That's usually a good time to do some thinking. ;)

In conclusion

Next up for me today is working on my list. I have thinking to do, people to talk to, people to listen to, people to buy food for, and there are things I am waiting to sign.

Hope this helps with the perspective of how important these little things are to get done. It's easy to feel guilty about not doing anything. Especially if you used to do it all. But if your role is like mine these 5 things really are the most important things that you can do.

After 10 years: I still can't stop the rain

2009-05-07T11:54:27Z

So it was on May 6th in 1999 that I incorporated a business called Etelos. The journey hasn't been a straight one. It's no secret that we have seen some pretty big challenges even within the last year. As a public company, it's impossible to hide that. Instead of boasting about successes, I thought I would take a moment and write about some of the lessons that I have learned the last 10 years and memorialize some of the events that led us to be here at this time, 10 years later.

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Reminder: this post is on my personal blog and a representation of my personal thoughts
and experiences. This is not an official communication for my employer.

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Here are the top 10 lessons that I have learned:

Lesson #1 - I've learned that I cannot stop the rain.

As profound and simple as it may seem, there are those that think they can. It may help me that I live 30 miles east of Seattle where it actually rains more than downtown Seattle. I routinely talk to others who apparently are victims of their geography because they think they can do anything. I'm not under this impression. Actually, I have learned that I can't do anything without other people. It's these people that get things done. I am here to serve them and that's my purpose. They are the ones who accomplish amazing things. I am amazed by them.

Lesson #2 - The road of an entrepreneur for some is harder than others.

Some people are lucky and others work hard at it. I have seen in the last 10 years a slew of simple concepts well funded because they were web based - and apparently that's all. I don't really need to ramble off the list, do I? Being in the right place when a market moves is really important. Inventors who come too soon can suffer horrible fate. Those that come too late the same. Remember that being well funded is not the same as being successful. There are some business plans where obscene funding overcomes poor execution, but that is the rarity. More often than not, poor execution will bring lucky entrepreneurs down - the hard workers eventually get it right.

Lesson #3 When people say "just trust me" run away.

I learned that when people say "trust me" there usually is a reason that they have to say it. Trust is always earned. To give your trust away before it's earned is both foolish and dangerous.

Lesson #4 - I learned that children grow up no matter what the economic condition is.

In 10 years my baby grew up to be a beautiful young girl, and my two sons were born and are in school. They are precious to me and they don't care about what happens at work nearly as much as they care that I am their dad.

Lesson #5 - I learned that my wife is a great person.

It's true. My wife is a great person with enormous character and devotion to her husband and family. I am amazed. I am humbled. I am inspired. I don't know what I would do without her. It has been said that behind every great man is a successful woman, I don't think I would call myself great. But I would be a shadow of myself without her.

Lesson #6 - I learned that my faith is more important than anything else.

Without my belief in a God who loves me, I am not sure I would have endured the troubles that I have. For in my journey, there has come many points where I have reached the end of my knowledge; and I am blessed to be surrounded and supported by incredibly talented and gifted people who are there to help at the right time. I can't explain it. I have learned to trust in my faith and a God who sustains me, no matter how good and no matter how bad things may seem.

Whether you believe in God as I do, or you believe that a series of random unplanned sequence of events (probably trillions of them) in which you have somehow survived and which has lead to your very existence - either way, be thankful for this day. If nothing else is true, the very fact that you exist, it is a miracle - and be thankful for it. I recently have noticed an abundance of miracles happening every day in my life. The tougher the circumstance, the more amazing the miracle. It's building in my life more acceptance over the challenges and confidence in knowing that things will work out.

Lesson #7 - I have learned that the government does nothing to help business and seemingly everything to hinder.

While even if we assume these actions are not done 'deliberately', the 'unintended consequences' of increasing governmental and accounting regulations make it extremely difficult for an entrepreneur to succeed. Whether it's a tax code that taxes paper transactions that have no cash value, or mark-to-market that causes inflated values for both losses and gains on a P&L or Balance Sheet; it doesn't matter. Governmental and accounting regulations only become more complex and their impact on the market only creates less opportunity. While you can argue that such regulations serve to protect, there is no government or accounting rule that can be passed to help a company produce a better product for it's customers. Only increased competition can create an environment where customers reward good products and punish the bad. When government makes any rule, the potential consequences need to be examined more than the rule itself. A ruler never judges themselves by the results of their actions, only by their intentions. Remember that well. It's the consequences of their actions that impact generations.

Lesson #8 - I have learned that there are a lot of stupid people in this world.

There are people that say and do hurtful things. They tend to group together in mobs with seemingly complete disregard for the consequences of their actions. Some of these stupid people however if you talk with them one on one are quite intelligent. So how then can smart people do such stupid things? I'm still working on this. Right now, I am working hardest on not making stupid decisions myself - especially if the experts tell me to do it and everything in my gut says.... "YOU ARE WRONG". It's foolish to do something merely because everyone else is doing it. And just because everyone is doing it, doesn't make it the right decision.

Lesson #9 - I have learned that there are some incredibly good people in this world.

There are some amazing people out there. Genuine people of character that will support you, work with you and take care of you. When you believe in what you are doing, it's amazing who will come to your aid to support you. Remember to take care of these people. I have noticed in my life a team of individuals working together to work miracles. Not any one of them doing anything extraordinary but when combined as a group; they seem to accomplish miracles and they seem to move mountains. The more practical a solution, the more basic and simple the solution; a bigger miracle it seems when combined as a group. Incredibly good and amazing people.

Lesson #10 - The greatest thing you can do in business is to serve your customers and not quit.

Make a product or deliver a service that your customers want. The closer you work with them, the better your success will be. If you quit, you quit on your customers too. The more customers you serve, the easier it becomes to measure success. When you stop serving customers, the end will soon be near.

In Conclusion

As for me, I am here today to serve our shareholders and our customers. It's that simple. It's our customers over time that will either make us successful or not. This rule is no different than any other CEO or any other entrepreneur. Serve your customers. Those who lose sight of this will fail. And your shareholders will be thereby well served.

I hope this perspective serves you well today and inspires you to think for yourself, if nothing else. A company is a funny thing. It is an entity of its own where people come to make things: to meet people that want to buy things and people who want to participate in the benefits of the enterprise. We are those people; whether customers, workers, or shareholders.

I hope you are enjoying your journey. No matter what happens. I am.

Chasing the clouds away

2009-05-05T18:33:53Z

I'm watching the sun chase the clouds away. It's as if the weather doesn't remember how cruel it was a few hours ago. The camera on my iPhone really doesn't do this picture justice - I'm amazed at how beautiful it is. It's so bright and refreshing and energizing, and yet it was really ugly, dark and dim just a few hours ago.

A few hours ago I said something I regret saying and I can never take it back. I have apologized but I still feel horrible. I let myself overreact. No, I didn't curse or insult or say anything demeaning; but I definitely showed my anger. I took offense to what someone said in an email and I ranted. I screamed in ALL CAPS and for me that's a big deal. It's way out of character for me.

I know better. I know not to loose my patience and I know not to rant. I still did it. And I know that I hurt whom I threw my words at. I really didn't want it to be hurtful, but it doesn't matter. It hurt them. Unintended consequences, damage done.

I wish I could be like the weather and let the storm blow over. I wish I could chase the clouds away and let the sun warm the ground below. It's so amazing how quickly the weather can turn. And for me it's harder to forgive myself than it is for me to forgive others. Meanwhile, damage done, time wasted, and for what purpose?

I cannot think of a valid reason to say hurtful things to anyone you care about. And more often than not, I am sure what we say is not meant to be hurtful. Regardless, ideas expressed whether out of defensiveness or aggressiveness - if they are expressed in anger, they hurt.

It's very unwise when you are angry to take quick action. It's most certainly unwise to rant and show your anger. What good does it create in the end? Better to hold back your wrath and see if the storm passes. Better to wait and see. Better to look at their intentions and not rush to judgment and worse; express condemnation on anyone else in anger.

If you must attack an idea; do it with intelligence and do it with tact and resourcefulness. Do it with planning. Express your concerns and ideas in a way that is articulate and constructive towards a positive end. If you need to tear down an idea, even more so - do it on the basis of solid expression of ideas. No reason to devalue your concerns by acting out in anger.

Put your words to better use than shouting. Remember to construct them carefully; there are more important things that need to be done.

I'll endeavor to do the same.

Another Day Another Miracle

2009-04-30T09:42:50Z

Whether you believe in God as I do, or you believe that a series of random unplanned sequence of events (probably trillions of them) in which you have somehow survived and which has lead to your very existence - either way, be thankful for this day. If nothing else is true, the very fact that you exist, it is a miracle - and be thankful for it.

I recently have noticed an abundance of miracles happening every day in my life. The tougher the circumstance, the more amazing the miracle. It's building in my life more acceptance over the challenges and confidence in knowing that things will work out.

For example, I have noticed in my life a team of individuals working together to work miracles. Not any one of them doing anything extraordinary but when combined as a group; they seem to accomplish miracles and they seem to move mountains. The more practical a solution, the more basic and simple the solution; a bigger miracle it seems when combined as a group.

I have noticed the confidence that comes from the courage to make a list and get it done. To hold your attention on that list as a group, and get it done. It's an absolute miracle.

It's a miracle to think that something as simple as writing down a list and getting that list done builds confidence. It builds teams. It builds families. There seems to be nothing as powerful as this.

There comes a certain point in seemingly every journey to where the logic ends and I can't explain it anymore. At the end of that road is where faith strengthens or weakens. For those that believe in miracles, they seem to happen. For those that don't... I don't know what to say.

In my prayers I have come to realize that things work out. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. But they always do work out. Sometimes I understand a deeper meaning, sometimes I don't; but regardless of what I understand... things work out.

I'm not saying that all bad is good or anything like that. Bad is bad, and if you know me personally; you know that I am not an optimist. I know bad things happen to good people, it's foolish to think otherwise. In fact I have been know to say, "don't worry, it can always get worse," and not only do I believe that - I have seen that.

What I have come to learn as if things are really bad, nothing helps more than making a list and starting to get things done on that list.

I count it another miracle. I pray that you do too.