Life Changing Cheese - Business Lessons From Everyday Life

People naturally seek to learn about things they are interested in. In my case I am definitely interested in business. I have read numerous books off the Personal MBA reading list, I read business blogs, I listen to business audio books, and I did my undergrad in business management. Although all those sources of information are extremely valuable in developing my own business acumen, I am amazed at how some of the most valuable business lessons are encountered when you least expect them during your daily life.

This past weekend a few friends, my wife, and I went up to Portsmouth, New Hampshire for the day. Portsmouth is definitely a cool little artsy town with plenty of shops, restaurants, and bars. Our couple friends had been there before and were showing us around. We stopped into a quirky shop with tons of kitchen accessories, wine, and other knick knacks (definitely the least manly thing I have ever written). Our friends had mentioned that the place always had wine tastings and that they had this amazing cheese that we "just had to try."

As I approached the tasting area I saw a man behind the table pouring wine and setting up a platter. It was then that the man said something that caught my attention.

“Life changing cheese.”

Wow. What a great line! I am a very passionate person. When I am into something I am really into it. Whether it is hockey, music, my work, business, or playing guitar I am the kind of person who takes things that I am interested in or enjoy and I turn them into passions. For that reason, I am naturally drawn to people who are passionate about what they do. This wasn’t some person who was there to serve a few drinks and cubes of cheese to collect a paycheck. This guy was passionate about what he did and he was good at it.

The man went on to explain how the cheese was made in a cave in England and that the unique conditions gave it the "life changing" taste characteristics. He spoke of how many cases of cheese they sold a week and how they couldn't keep up with the demand. As he spoke I couldn't help but imagine little leprechaun looking dudes working away in a candlelit cave somewhere in the countryside of England. I must admit the cheese was amazing. The man wasn't just selling cheese, he was creating an experience!

As we walked through the streets of Portsmouth I wondered how influenced my friends were by marketing of the man selling the cheese. I wondered whether the cheese was really amazing or if it was just good cheese that was made great by the experience. I wondered how many other people went around telling their friends about "life changing cheese." I wondered how much cheese the passionate cheese peddler sold compared to the emotionless sample distributors at supermarkets. The fact that the "life changing cheese" experience stuck with me and that I put so much thought into a subject like cheese tells me that it was an example effective marketing at its core.

Not only was it a great day amongst friends, it was also a real life lesson in marketing that I will be able to reference moving ahead. How can I create "life changing cheese" in my own endeavors?

Full Circle - Lessons From One Sandbox To Another

Life is a funny thing. As you get a bit older and get some experience under your belt your perspective on things definitely changes. The older I get the more I believe that the majority of what has made me successful in dynamic team environments was learned at a very young age. This concept hit me pretty hard while I was deployed to Iraq.

Over the course of my time in Iraq I was in charge of a team of military, civilian, and contractor personnel. I have been in charge of different people, teams, and groups before but for some reason when I was deployed I was much more apprehensive about my capabilities as a manager and leader. Maybe it is because the military mission was smacking me square in the face. Stateside you do not necessarily always see the negative impact of your mistakes. On a deployment the stakes are high. My contracting team's failures directly impacted the war fighters and support troops in theater carrying out the mission. That reality was definitely something I took seriously. As my nerves and doubts got the better of me I was constantly trying to remember lessons learned from college business classes, from the numerous management and leadership books I have read over the years, and from the blogs I frequent. Due to the nature of my no notice deployment and the operational tempo in Iraq I was thrust right in without the convenience of being able to revisit and review leadership and management principles; I was forced to go with my gut and what I have internalized over the years.

Now that I have been back in the good US of A for a few weeks and have had time to reflect on the extremely positive management and leadership experiences I had in Iraq, I look back and my nervousness and insecurities and I almost laugh. I am amazed at how much of what made me successful as a leader over there weren't complex theories and cutting edge management formulas but lessons that I learned as a kid playing on the playground or in the sandbox. Here are a few lessons learned in the school sandbox that helped me immensely in the deployed sandbox:

Learn to Share: I tried to redirect all compliments and make sure that the credit went to my team. Careerists often struggle with this one. We all want to advance and be recognized but avoiding taking credit for the team's successes is crucial to continued team success. Your team will recognize your gratitude for their efforts and your superiors will, over time, see that you are a component of the team success as well even though you humbly redirect credit.

Quit Now Be A Quitter For Life: I distinctly remember my parents drilling this lesson into my head at a very young age and I am grateful they did. I think this simple but impactful lesson has been transformed into many clichéd life lessons. When the going gets tough the tough get going. Work hard and the rest will take care of itself. Quitters never win. The list goes on. Regardless of how its worded, the spirit of the lesson helped me immensely overseas. There were times where I just didn't think that I could do all the work that needed to be done. There were times that I didn't think that I had the stamina to make it through the remaining months. I was uncomfortable, tired, overworked, and most of all I missed my family and friends back home. Whenever I felt overwhelmed like that I just put my head down and worked through it. What other choice did I have? Not much to be honest but I think life is the same way. When you get dealt a bad hand you just have to keep working through it, because you can't quit life either.

TEAM = Together Everyone Achieves More: I still remember playing two hand touch in elementary school with my buddies. I can remember the exhilarating feeling I got when we put together a team that kept winning. That was my first taste of synergy in action. All throughout my hockey career and now into my Air Force career I have loved the feeling of being on close knit high performing teams. Those types of teams are not easy to come by but the feeling you get being a part of one of those teams is amazing. In Iraq being part of a team is a necessity. Deployments are not easy so you have to lean on people more than you are used to. But that vulnerability and shared experience creates strong bonds which was refreshing and reminded me of my old hockey playing days.

Cheaters Never Win: People always talk about integrity in the military. I often hear it described as doing the right thing even when no one is looking. That definition, although quite tangible and good to live by, does the spirit of integrity a bit of injustice. Having integrity in what you do and what you say makes you a precious commodity. Normally I am fairly non confrontational. Out there working with the Army things were a bit different than what I was used to working in an office setting in Boston. If you don't speak up and know what you are talking about in Iraq you will get stream rolled by higher ranking hard charging Army dudes! The stakes are high, the tempo is fast paced, and people are stressed out. It is definitely not the place to be timid. So saying what you mean and living by your principles and virtues is more important than ever. Over time I saw that the leaders above me recognized that I had an opinion. Generally that opinion was thought out, reflected my true feelings, and it was founded on a genuine concern for our task at hand and a desire to improve. Having that integrity to stand behind what I said and did made me a constant source of consultation for the senior leaders in our organization. It was a good feeling. It was refreshing to know that you don't have to be a "yes man" or a "brown-noser" to be recognized as valuable to the team. If you work hard and do in your heart what you know is right then you will be recognized for your contributions to the team.

I am sure I could think of a few more but these are the big lessons that come to mind. I would love to hear comments on other childhood lessons that have served people well in their lives. Thanks for reading and it is great to be back!

Optimist Optimized

Before I deployed for six months to Iraq I thought that I would write about the many lessons learned throughout my time there. If you read my last post you know why that didn't happen. I thought that upon my return I would write about some of the lessons learned during my deployment once I had some time to reflect on all that I had experienced. That really hasn't happened either so far. So I find it a bit ironic that after a week back in the states adjusting to my old (but seemingly new) life that my first inkling to write again is not on the topic of what I learned in the desert of the middle east but what I have learned about my life stateside.

I have always been an optimist. Not a blind idealist by any means, but definitely someone who seeks to find the best in most situations. However after being purged of all but a few remnants of my stateside life for last six months, I now find my optimism optimized.

Like balance in anything else sometimes it takes the tough times to appreciate the good times. Although I never want to deploy and be away from the life I have built again, I am grateful for the experience because it has given me the ability to truly see how blessed my life really is.

The first few days I was back in Boston with my wife I could not stop gazing outside at the colors that were almost blinding after six months of different shades of brown. The sight of people living, working, and playing together in the neighborhood was suddenly a beautiful glance into what we have in this country and what our freedoms are all about. Holding my wife on a nice comfortable couch enjoying some good tea and even better conversation was the most fulfilling and enjoyable experience in the world.

I feel that with my small contribution overseas I have been given the gift that many great men and women veterans before me have been given; the gift of perspective. I can see now why most veterans are passionate people that enjoy life and love their country. They have seen what other areas of the world are missing. They have tasted the bitterness of sacrifice, many of them much more so than I ever did. They have felt the deep longing for loved ones and for a simple life back home. Most importantly, veterans have experienced the overwhelming feeling of a return home to a familiar life with a completely unfamiliar but glorious clarity of just how great the gift of life truly is.

The Deployment Mirror - Part IV

Chapter I - Monday:

I wipe the sweat from my brow as the crew and I walk into the entryway of the guard shack leading into the dining facility (DFAC). I hand my ID to a Ugandan guard in a SOC uniform. He adjusts the loaded AK-47 on his shoulder, glances up at my face to ensure I am who I say I am and returns the card to me. I walk around the corner and into the DFAC to wash my hands. The paper towel saturates and rips leaving remnants of wet paper stuck to my fingers as I open the door into the dining facility. For some reason all the paper towels over here are the consistency of toilet paper. One of the small annoyances that whispers in your ear not so reassuringly reminding you that you are not in the comforts of home.

I scan my ID as I enter and am hit with the smell of DFAC. It is not an entirely bad smell but the multiple visits a day cause the smell to become an all too constant presence in the groundhog day that has become my life. I grab a tray, a plastic plate and silverware, and make my way briskly over to scan the line.

"Chicken sandwich day dude!" Heichs yells from behind me. Like a bird returning to the flock I swiftly alter course and head to the chicken sandwich bar that has become a regular on Monday's. We spread out and grab our various drinks, salads, and other items and reconvene in the back hall that somehow has a bit better air conditioning than the main area. We find and open table and plop down for a much welcomed break from the monotony of the contracting workload.

We sit down and start catching up on the few hours we have been dispersed carrying out our separate niches within the organization. The hustle and bustle of the various troops and contractors in the DFAC provides a backdrop of noise and movement that at first was overwhelming but is now the norm. The conversion inevitably turns to stories about contracting, another glaring reminder that I am deployed. Our job serves as our lowest common denominator of shared experiences and thus is often the topic of conversation. This is out of necessity and definitely not out of enjoyment. I have recognized a pattern in our conversations though. We often start with a contracting story. The story then leads to complaining. Not the type of complaining that comes from tainted and bitter people, but the kind that arises from those that are hungry and impatient with bureaucracy, injustice, and plain idiocy. The topic of conversation inevitably leads to higher ideals and principles that transcend our common deployed experiences and align more with our common human experiences and values.

I am amazed at how no matter where we start we end up talking about very high level, simple shared topics. We start bitching about contracting, navigate our way into strategic discussion on the way the war is being fought and how we fit into it. We then talk about what we would do if we were king for a day, and inevitably end up talking about our life goals and values like happiness, the importance of family, fulfillment, cultivating human relationships, and experiencing this gift of life that we are given.

I am no Socrates or Aristotle, but some of my best memories from this chapter of my life will definitely be centered on those shared discussions with my peers. People will want to hear about my travels to the desert. They will want to know how hot it was, how the palaces looked, and if I met any 'real' Iraqis. I will patiently answer their queries as these experiences will undoubtedly be cherished. But my foresight tells me that my best feel good moments will be the connections I established with my buddies and those moments in time where we got a glimpse into each other's souls and recognized the ideals we all shared; the things that are truly important to living an amazing and fulfilling life.

"You guys ready?" I ask the group. We stand up in concert and take our trays over to the industrial garbage cans lining the exits. I push open the swinging door and am once again blasted with a combination of dust, intense sunlight, and heat that pulls me back to the reality of where I am at. We head back to the vehicle and make the drive back to the office.

To Be Continued....

The Deployment Mirror - Part I

I was talking to my wife the other day and she asked me why I never write about being deployed? I didn't really have an answer for her. I guess I don't really think that my day to day activities are that exciting. When I told her that she said that she is constantly getting asked by friends and family what my life is like over here. She explained that she often did have answers to the little questions that people ask. That moment kind of made me feel bad like I hadn't let the ones I care about into my life over here enough. Perhaps I had been too concerned with my own sanity by wanting to know everything that was happening "on the outside" without me, and not concerned enough with giving my family and friends a glimpse into the world that has become my own over these last three months. After than conversation I actually started to get excited about the possibilities of writing a week in the life of post. My vision is to have the post read much less like a checklist of events and more like an experience through my senses. I haven't written in this fashion very often and I do not really know where this is going, so hopefully it turns out to be good. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them.

Chapter 1 - Monday:
The wave is bright and swift. Dragging me upwards like a powerful fluid vine ascending rapidly towards a destination unknown. The awful noise started far off at first. A repetitive wailing that approached me with a hunter's precision. Familiarity crept into my mind, yet I still could not place the sounds flooding my memory. The light pulling me upwards increased its intensity and my pace exponentially increased. I could feel my heart beating faster as the pulsating far off noise that plagued my mind intensified. As my rapid heartbeat hit a final note my eyes clicked wide open in unison. I was awake. My Westclox battery powered alarm clock had reached the second stage alarm that was even more annoying and awful sounding than the first set of beeps.

I had been having intense and very strange dreams since arriving in Baghdad almost three months ago. Some weird, some good, and few awful night terrors. It is amazing how diet, long hours, and intense workouts can change your sleep patterns. I leaned over and turned off the alarm and saw that it was 6:22 AM. I had made it through two minutes of my mind piercing alarm while struggling to surface from my ethereal dream. I reached for my laptop and cracked it open. My email account, left open from the night before, had six new messages. After deleting a couple LinkedIn updates and a Walmart.com promotion I started to read an email from Chris, a friend who works with me on Checking For Charity. As great as it was to see the charity I helped create flourishing in my absence, it also stung a bit being separated from it. The opportunity to be a part of something like my charity is just one of the many things I took for granted just three short months ago.

I open my Skype account and double click the Heidicell icon. It rings three times and I hear the voice I love hearing every morning. Luckily my room is equipped with wireless internet capability, which has made Skype a godsend for myself and countless members of the armed forces before me. I quickly think of the experiences both my Grandfathers had during World War II and feel a bit of guilt for my "wartime" amenities. My guilt is rapidly washed away by my wife's voice. We are on a ten hour time difference so the call times actually work out relatively well. We talk during my morning time and at least once during my night hours. I wonder how much harder my experience would be if I didn't have the chance to talk to her at will?

We catch up on her day and what her plans are for the week. She asks what my plans are for the week. I say little and quickly change the subject. For some reason it has proven difficult to share to her and my family back home. Maybe their lives are my only escape? Maybe I am just to lazy to try explain experiences out here that are relatively mundane and do not exactly lift my spirits? I tell her I love her and that I have to get ready for work.

I get out of my bed catch the unpleasant whiff of whatever chemical they use while boiling my laundry. My legs are still stiff from Saturday's workout. I walk over to the small TV that was left behind in my room that is used more for a nightstand than anything else and I grab my electronic razor. I step around to the side of my wall locker where I have taped up a cheap mirror from the base exchange and I begin to shave. My beard has been ridiculous out here. I have five o'clock shadow by noon every day. I attribute my enhanced beard growth to shaving seven days a week. No full days off out here. I finish shaving and gather a few clothes off of the floor to place in my laundry bag. I look around my CHU (containerized housing unit) and think how appalled my wife would be if our room looked like this at home. I have had little free time since I arrived at the Victory Base Complex almost three months ago and even less time that I am willing to spend organizing my trailer. For me, it was good enough.

I threw on my bathrobe and flip flops, always a conversation starter out here, grabbed my shower caddy and opened front door to head towards the showers. My face is slapped with the thick desert air. Baghdad is hot. There is no way around it. I have been to Arizona, California, Mexico, Jamaica, and numerous other places all of which are pretty hot during their summer months, however there is not a place on earth that I have found that has hotter air than Iraq. Every day feels like a hot blow dryer is being directed right in your face. Luckily, I have just left the confines of my CHU where I have had an oversized air conditioner pumping in cold air since I arrived in May. The warmth actually feels good against my face. I turn around and lock my CHU door, not out of fear of theft during my time in the shower, but because my Beretta M9 and clips of ammunition are laying on the empty bed on the other side of my room. Another reminder that life is a little different out here.

I walk through the dusty gravel that has become my city's concrete out here and across my 'street' to the shower trailer. I weave through the giant concrete T-walls used to protect the CHU's from mortar and rocket attacks. The door slams shut behind me and I am greeted by the overpowering stench of mold and sitting water. I see Heichs' and Sheeman's towels and shorts hanging from their respective favorite shower stalls. "What's up rookies," I shout out. "Did you check out the new quotes," asks Heichs. I quickly gaze over to the wall and see the picture of a not so loved senior officer that recently returned home. Someone put up her picture with some quotations next to it. We gave up trying to figure out who did it a few weeks back. The weekly addition of new quotes next to the picture speaks volumes of the impact she had on the culture and morale of the office, especially since her peers frequent these same showers and had yet to take her pseudo shrine down. Her mocked persona is a blunt lesson in leadership, just one of the many I have been exposed to in my short time in the desert.

I jump in the shower and begin the challenging task of adequately washing in the 2x2 foot shower stall. The water pressure is good but it is difficult to wash without banging loudly against the cheap plastic stalls. I am grateful for a daily shower though. I rinse off and brush my teeth in the shower and crack a few jokes with the boys before walking back to my CHU. The heat has become a bit less pleasurable as my hours of nightly air conditioning exposure begins to wear. I unlock my CHU and catch a glimpse of the clock that plagued my dreams just a short while ago. It reads 7:01 AM. I had nine minutes to get dressed and head to breakfast.

I throw on my ABU's (airman battle uniform) and curse the bastard who designed it. The winter weight denim texture is a slap in the face to those out in Iraq. We can spend billion's on a war effort but we can't even give deployed troops a non-winter weight uniform in Baghdad. The Navy did it right by adopting the Army's lightweight, athletic cut uniform. The Air Force tried to develop their own identity and instead developed a camouflage horse blanket. The uniform had become a constant gripe amongst our crowd. I think back to the other amenities I have and the fact I am walking into my own room and immediately feel the guilt creep back into my psyche. I wash down a daily vitamin and cruise Facebook for a few minutes before the guys stop by and grab me on the way to breakfast. The social networking site is both a blessing and a curse while deployed. It can be a great way to remain connected to people stateside. It is a way to feel that you are still a part of people's lives stateside. But it can also serve as a constant reminder that your time over here is time away from the life you have built, and it is time that you will never get back.

My guilt is eased slightly by the realization that with the new ways of war come new challenges. My Grandfathers' way of war is gone, and with it the unique challenges they faced. My situation is what it is and all I can do is get by the best I can. The true sacrifice is being away from those you care about. It isn't the lack of everyday conveniences we as a nation have become so accustomed to. People always say that life is like a roller coaster. You are always faced with the ups and downs. If life is like a roller coaster, then deployed life is the biggest damn roller coaster I have ever been on. The ups and downs are much more frequent and they seem to be more intense, if only just in my mind. My morale and daily mood is of constant importance and I try to actively ensure that I am balanced mentally. I cannot imagine the effects that some of my Army brethren are going through 'outside the wire'. Once again, I feel bad for my self pity. Be grateful for what you have, I tell myself before....

Bang, bang, bang. The door handle rattles back and forth after the obnoxious knock of my friends. I stand up and shut down my laptop. It is time to head to breakfast.

To Be Continued.....

Book Review: Start Where You Are

"Start Where You Are" is a book by Chris Gardner of The Pursuit of Happyness fame. I saw the movie and enjoyed it, however I never really sought out to find the book let alone a different book by the author. However during a long layover in Baltimore on my way out the door to my deployment I purchased Chris' book from the airport newsstand.

The book is described as a book that contains life lessons on getting from where you are to where you want to be. Although the book has some valuable lessons, I almost think I would have benefited more from reading the Pursuit of Happyness than Start Where You Are. For me it was one of those books that probably could have been written in about half as many pages. There were six separate sections with 42 lessons. Some of these lessons were pretty cool and told over the backdrop of Chris's unique life story definitely brings them into context. However, I felt like a lot of them were relatively mundane and repetitive. I almost got the vibe that the publisher mandated that the book be a certain length and left Chris to go back and fill in the gaps. The overarching message is clear. You should always pursue happyness, your destiny is in your hands, and start now! I just think that message could have been delivered a bit more succinctly. Overall, it was a fairly good read. Like I said before I think gleaning many of the lessons from Chris' life story would have been more impactful than having those lessons told to me through Chris's writing. But that just may be my learning style. I have included some notes from the book below.

Overture - Come In:
- Why not let the world be our true classroom? It offers everything we need for attaining our greatest good and highest aspirations.
- Whenever I am asked what happyness is to me, my first answer is that it is the ability to look where I am in the moment, wherever I am, to remember where I came from and how far I've travelled, as a father, a friend, a contributing citizen of the world and to be able to say - what a beautiful life this is, I'm so grateful to be here. More than anything happyness is being able to appreciate everything and know - wow, I created this!

One: Start Where You Are:
- "Live your life so that whenever you lose it, you're ahead." - Will Rogers
- The present throws out a welcome mat as an equal opportunity invitation to come into your own
- Every stage of the journey in what has been my life so far was exactly where I needed to be at that time

Lesson 1: Without a Plan a Dream is Just a Dream:
- The Navy gave me an education and taught me the fundamentals of pursuing those possibilities - discipline, character and initiative, all transferable skills that would serve me in every pursuit to come
- What is the single most important ingredient for successful pursuit? A plan!
- C5 complex: Clear, Concise, Compelling, Committed, Consistent

Lesson 2: We All Have The Power of Choice:
- We all have the power of choice in determining who we ultimately become

Lesson 3: The Calvary Ain't Coming:
- Reclaim the self reliant attitude that made him a hero in the first place
- Own up to where you are and how you got there. 9 times out of 10 I have come to the conclusion that wherever I am Ive arrived there by choice. Only then can you move to change your situation

Lesson 4: Start With What You've Got in Your Hand:
- Resourcefulness is next to godliness
- Believe in yourself and the infinite abundance of resources already at your disposal

Lesson 5: Baby Steps Count Too, As Long As You Go Forward:
- "Its always best to make friends before you need friends"
- MLK - "You may not see the entire staircase, but it is important that you that first step."

Lesson 6: Stop Digging Your Potatoes:
- Its often much easier to stay in our comfort zones, even when we've stopped being very comfortable, simply because it takes less effort to stay where we don't want to be than to summon the energy required to create the change to go where wed rather be
- Change is necessary for growth and if we don't instigate the change that we desire for ourselves, the status quo will eventually change on its own - in ways that can make adapting even tougher
- People want others to validate that their breaking the status quo will be successful and that they're ready, but no one can provide that
- "I was convinced the best was still ahead of me." - Ray Kroc

Lesson 7: What Would The Champ Do?:
- Meets Mohammed Ali and asks him if hes ever been scared
- "Yeah. I'm scared now. Ive got a disease and there is no cure. But I am still fighting" - Mohammed Ali

Lesson 8: Say Peace Be Still:
- The only way we can discover our true power is by living through the crisis we fear

Lesson 9: Even Lewis and Clark Had a Map:
- Start with the maps of others and eventually you will create your own path
- Don't be ashamed to copy your heroes

Lesson 10: Find Your Button:
- There is no plan B for passion, do what you love and love what you do
- There is nothing more practical than harnessing the power of passion
- You can and deserve to love something so much you'd do it for free

Two: The Thorny and Golden Past:
-History is a guide to navigation in perilous times

Lesson 11: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Yesterday?:
- He revealed things from his past he never had while speaking to middle school

Lesson 12: In Your Library of Resources Value All Experiences:
- Everything we've experienced is relevant and part of who we are whether we like it or not
- "All true learning is experience. Everything else is just information." - Einstein
- "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandella

Lesson 13: Draw the Line of Your Life:
- Draw a line and illustrate important events and choices along the way
- Mark an X at critical decision points. You will see its your decisions driving your line not the other way around

Lesson 14: Whose Child Are You?:
- Your identity is important

Lesson 15: Check Out Your Own Version of Genesis:
- "Forgive your enemies but never forget their names." - JFK

Lesson 16: Who's Who in Your Hood?:
- "Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right." - Henry Ford
- The more you appreciate everyone who has played even a modest role in your past- whether to reinforce, challenge, entertain, or inspire you - the more you can trust you have touched them as well

Lesson 17: The Red or the Yellow Bike:
- Don't go with what is safe. Go with what motivates you

Lesson 18: Sometimes You Gotta Give Up Christmas:
- 1. Know yourself (authority) 2. Be yourself (authenticity) 3. Choose for yourself (autonomy)

Lesson 19: No Test No Testimony:
- Life happens
- If you haven't been tested you have nothing to say and nothing to add value to the conversation
- "....the world is messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around....But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period....in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding --something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up." - MLK

Three: Hitting The Anvil:
- "I learned the value of hard work by working hard." - Margaret Mead
- There is no secret to success or only the elite would be able to attain it and that is not the case
- Success is the result of tactical and strategic applications of learned knowledge toward objectives pursued with passion

Lesson 20: The Law of Hard Work Is No Secret:
- Initiative is available to EVERYONE!
- I went to school with every man I ever talked to

Lesson 21: Core Strengths Forged on your Anvil:
- Confidence is one of those intangibles that can take individuals much farther that the skills or experiences on their resumes indicate they will go
- Confidence is a transferable strength

Lesson 22: Wizards Begin as Blacksmiths:
- Invest in your transferable skills

Lesson 23: Are You Bold Enough to Get Back to Basics?:
- He was going door to door when no one else on Wall St was

Lesson 24: Supply and Demand Ain't Rocket Science:
- Everybody's got their hustle. What they are providing the market
- Everybody is selling something

Lesson 25: Truth is a Hit:
- Effective communication needs a message so low that a goat could get it. Lowest common denominator
- Speak from the heart and only what you are truly passionate about
- Truth is a hit
- Truth, honesty, and integrity always make good business sense

Lesson 26: Learn the Ropes First, Then Conquer Rome:
- Top attribute employers look for is passion
- Its not how fast you get to the top but the wisdom you gain along the way

Lesson 27: Who's Who at the Office and in Your Spheres of Influence?:
- Its always best to make friends before you need friends

Lesson 28: It Takes As Much Energy to Bag an Elephant as it Does a Mouse:
- Don't sweat the small stuff
- Focus on elephants rather than mice

Lesson 29: Share the Wealth:
- Give back with advice and time and shared struggles

Four: Your Empowerment Zone:
- "One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself." - Leonardo Da Vinci

Lesson 30: Seek The Farthest Star:
- To achieve mastery you must see the upsides and downsides and take the risk anyways to go for the gold
- The experience of failure not only teaches how to succeed the next time it is the only way to combat the fear of failure

Lesson 31: Seeing Ghosts Reading Signs:
- Reinvention

Lesson 32: Opportunities, Like Pancakes Are Best Served Hot, But Sometimes You Gotta Set The Table Before You Can Eat:
- I also believe no matter what your endeavor, when you're open to possibilities that can and do show up on your doorstep, all the elements of timing can click for you too

Lesson 33: Stay Open But Don't Wing It:
- Dare to pursue your life's work but do so with a readiness to adapt your plans when needed on the fly

Lesson 34: Mo' Money Mo' Options Mo' Problems:
- Pursue mastery over money
- 1. Does it control you or do you control it? 2. Do you work hard for the money or do you let your money go to work for you? 3. Does money represent the calvary that you've been waiting on or is it only one resource in your pursuit of happyness
- Seek balance

Lesson 35: Money Is The Least Significant Component of Wealth:
- Success is nothing more than doing the little things that unsuccessful people don't do
- Only you can determine your true worth

Lesson 36: Conscious Capitalism: A Personal and Global Primer:
- The caveman with the biggest cave and the best stuff isn't necessarily the happiest
- Contribution makes you happy
- 1. The opportunity to create value for ourselves 2. The opportunity to add value to the world
- Will it have mattered that I was here?

Lesson 37: Make Your Dream Bigger Than Yourself:
- Be the change you want to see
- Don't always seek a mentor be one!

Five: Spiritual Genetics:
- You don't have to subscribe to a religion to be spiritual

Lesson 38: Embrace The Best of Your Spiritual Genetics:
- We all have our lightness and our darkness. Our human challenge is to continuously claim the light of the best that is within us - the best of our spiritual genetics
- "I am a human being; nothing human can be alien to me."
- Alliance for a New Humanity website has instructions to meditate

Lesson 39: Breaking Generational Cycles:
- When confronting tough choices or circumstances we a. emerge and rise b. be beaten into darkness c. maintain the status quo

Lesson 40: Your Divine Inheritance:

Lesson 41: God's In The Details:

Lesson 42: Passing The Torch, Raising The Bar:
- Go make yourself Proud!

Six: The Good Old Everyday:
- "Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Would the child that you were respect the man that you have become?

Lesson 43: Don't Postpone Joy:
- Do one thing for yourself that makes you happy
- Do one thing that makes you happy every day. Top of your daily to do
- Don't spend too much time pursuing whats next and not appreciating whats now

Lesson 44: Claim Ownership of Your Dreams:
- Happyness is a responsibility
- "Paid the price to control the dice, paid the cost to be the boss." - BB King
- Always pursue happyness!

Humility & Hubris - Learning From A Punch In The Mouth

When I was 18 years old I was playing in the United States Hockey League, one of the premier junior A leagues in North America. It was my first year in the league and needless to say it was a challenging transition coming from minor hockey. Not only was the league leaps and bounds above any level I had played at previously, but there was a new dynamic in the form of fighting. The league played NHL rules and fighting typically resulted in a five minute time out, a pat on the back from your teammates, and a few new fans in the stands. I was hesitant to fight in my early days, however I got into a few and eventually found that I was pretty good at it. I never took on the role of the team’s go to fighter or anything, but I was less than hesitant to shy away for a scrap when warranted. Well over half way into my rookie year I had yet to “lose” a fight. That is not to say I won every fight either, just that I left each prior tilt feeling at least OK about it. A little cockiness, that was only revealed in hindsight, started to set in. One night up in Rochester, Minnesota I started a fight with the wrong kid and proceeded to get pumped for over a minute straight. I was, at the time, too cocky and proud to go down and end the fight so I stood there taking a beating convinced I could come back and get the best of him. Standing outside after the game with some buddies, my face throbbing in pain, in subzero temperatures, waiting for the bus to be fully loaded, I was dished a healthy dose of humility. This was not the first time and it would not be the last, it was merely an extremely memorable occasion for obvious reasons.

This last weekend, almost a decade after getting speed bagged, I suffered another proverbial ass kicking. Although this time around it wasn’t a southpaw opponent, it was at the hands of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). I wasn’t necessarily cocky heading into the test as I had my reservations, but I really thought that my two months of preparation were enough to reach my goal score. The score doesn’t lie. My preparation wasn’t enough, and it hit me like a punch in the face. I was lambasted with all the standard emotions; disbelief, anger, self doubt, etc. However, when all the dust began to settle I forced myself to look at my GMAT setback like any other.

Getting a healthy dose of humility is never fun, but always necessary. Necessary in that it prevents the inevitable creep of hubris which poisons the human psyche. So what lessons can learned from this punch in the mouth that can be paralleled to future trials and tribulations?

1. A dose of humility is a stake in the ground – these unpleasant events are clear and distinct points in time where character decisions are made. Where do you go from here? Do you let the situation control your decisions moving forward or do you accept reality and continue to persevere towards your goal?

2. Humility serves as a reality barometer – After my emotions settled down I looked at my situation and said ‘it is what it is.’ That statement although simplistic and clichéd serves a purpose. That purpose is to help you get a grasp on reality. Things are never as good as you think they are when you are up and never as bad as you think they are when you are down. Although a dose of humility often puts you in one of the down spells, it has the effect of smacking you back into concert with reality. After you have recovered from the shock of recent events you can use the adversity to gather a firm grasp on where you are at; you can then accurately devise of plan of where you are going.

3. When you get punched in the mouth punch back – With the GMAT, I could take my score and move on. I could go do something else or alter my goals so that they are achievable without doing anything else, but I won’t. I want to take another run at it. I want to do as well I know I can do. I want reach my original goal. With the GMAT or anything else, sometimes you just have to use some old fashioned perseverance. I see this partial failure as just a step in process of success. There is no guarantee I won’t do worse on the next try, but at least I will know that I took another swing. Like a fight in hockey, it isn't really that important whether you "win or lose" but that you showed up in the first place!

Practice, Preparation, and Paralleling Reality

People practice in order to prepare. We prepare for things that we feel are important or things that have little room for error. So what happens when that practice is preparing you for something completely different than you intended? Likely decreased performance.

Last week I was in a military exercise. All the bases do similar exercises to prepare for deployments, practice first aid, and gas mask utilization. The problem is that we practice deploying using Cold War era methodologies. I cannot count the number of people I hear every exercise talk about how this is not how we really deploy. It is tough for someone like myself who is thirsting for knowledge and preparation surrounding how we really ship out. So why do we practice something we don't do and likely will never do again? Because the military values preparation. I don't want to say it is a box checking mentality but it is important in that culture to consistently test and evaluate ourselves. This is actually a good thing, and when it comes to training the military has a long tradition of implementing large scale training initiatives that have proven their worth through a string of successes in actual war time scenarios. With that being said I think the question is not whether we should practice, but are we actually practicing the right things? What is the end state? And is our preparation positively affecting that end state?

Athletes understand this concept. Athletes are constantly seeking training that most parallels their actual sport. Whether it be drills in practice or weights in the gym, athletes want to mirror the game as to best prepare for success. Don't think that the military is alone in their struggles to mirror future conflicts. In fact, given the nature of their business the military probably does better than most organizations.

I started to transfuse this concept into other areas of my life. What am I doing that is just wasted effort? Am I performing activities in the name of preparation that in actuality may have unexpected outcomes? I think I am going to make more of an effort to ask what the desired end state is for activities that consume my time.

A good example is blogging. Many people get into blogging with illusions of grandeur and dollar signs in their eyes. Doubtful at best. I personally blog to maintain a consistent writing presence in my life, to better my communication skills, to challenge and solidify my beliefs, and most importantly to grow. With that end state in mind the activities like finding content, brainstorming, and writing are worth the commitment invested. However, if my end state was to make money I would likely be performing the wrong activities. Yes content is important as that is what people ultimately come back for, but I would probably be better served spending more time growing my readership.

I am about to start my Kaplan GMAT preparation course. I chose to take the course because my end state is a high GMAT score. Kaplan not only forces me to go to class and study, which is much needed, but they also have a system that is highly aligned with the actual GMAT test. Everything from the practice problems used in previous GMAT years, to the way they segregate the question types, to the scoring methods, to the adaptive practice tests, and a practice at an actual testing facility mirrors the experience I will likely have when I take the actual GMAT. They get it. They know what the customer's desired end state is and they know that the best way to positively prepare for the future is to do the best you can to replicate it.

Are there any areas in your life where practice becomes something entirely different than what you were preparing for?

What You Can Learn From A Group Of Has Been Metalheads - Anvil: The Story of Anvil

A group of 50 year old Canadian 80's thrash metal has beens tour Europe to play for whopping crowds of 174 people on a good night fully convinced that they are going to make their big splash in the music industry. It doesn't sound like the storyline of a highly acclaimed documentary, but that is exactly what Anvil: The Story of Anvil is. I wrote a post on the phenomenon that is the Anvil movie back when momentum was really starting to build around the film. At the time I really wanted to see the film but never made it to an indie theater where the movie was playing. Luckily my parents, who loved the film by the way, bought it for me on DVD for Christmas this year. I watched the film last night and was amazed at how good it was. I will admit that I can relate in many ways to the guys in the film. I have been really passionate about metal my entire life. In high school my band Mask of Sanity used to play shows for 15 people most of which were high school girls that thought Good Charlotte was heavy. Needless to say we received all but rave reviews. I also grew up playing hockey in Portland which was anything but a hockey hotbed. Yet I slugged my way through marathon like van and bus trips across the country and Canada fueled only by my love of the game and my parents love to see me succeed. As you watch the film you can see why I would be so touched by these goofy metalheads and their 30 year plus career through obscurity. However, what really touched me about the film were the lessons that transcend the comedic Spinal Tap-esque backdrop. Everyone can learn something from these guys and if everyone had a little more Anvil in them the world would probably be a bit better off. Here are the things I took away from this inspiring film.

1. Passion - The film shows Steve Kudlow and Robb Reiner's enduring love for the music they love. At times their passion borders on delusional, but I must say there is something really moving about people who so passionately undertake what they love to do. Not only does that passion serve as the catalyst for way they live their own lives, but that passion is infectious to those around them. When you are surrounded by a passionate person you cannot help but feed on that energy. That is why I loved my band and why I loved the game of hockey so much. I was constantly surrounded by people who loved what they were doing. Those who didn't love it didn't last very long. That is the great thing about passion is that it is a self regulating virtue. In order to keep pace with passionate people or within a passionate team/organization you must exude it yourself. People would rather be around someone who oozes passion than a talented individual who coasts through what they do. Just watch the film and by the end you feel like you know the guys, like they were buddies you grew up with your whole life. I attribute that feeling to their constant display of intense passion which opens the door for outsiders to see what these guys are really about.

2. Dedication - "It can't get any worse than it is right now. But if it does then at least we know we tried." That is a quote by lead singer Steven "Lips" Kudlow regarding the stage of the band as the film was being created. I thought that quote was great because it gave a glimpse into the bands optimistic nature, but it also showed that they are willing to do whatever it takes to continue to do what they love. I know that my hockey career was filled with plenty of obstacles, sacrifices, and life changing events that often caused me to question whether it was all worth it. But I persevered and remained dedicated because, like Lips, I knew that it was something I loved and over time no matter what happened I would look back fondly upon my journey. I think that is when you know you are truly are dedicated to something. You have an unwavering commitment to something because at the end of the day you would rather persevere hellish experiences doing what you love than suffer through the alternative. Perhaps that says more about optimism than dedication in that you have faith that over time you made the right choice by soldiering on. However, it is that act of soldering on like Anvil that truly embodies dedication.

3. A Lust For Life - There was a point near the end of the film where the band is reflecting on what life is all about and Lips says what it is all about for him. He says that life is all about relationships and the experiences you have. He talks about the most powerful choices are who you share your journey with and what you choose to do on that journey. I loved that! We all face adversity, challenges, and unexpected twists and turns. But one constant theme in happy people's lives is that they are surrounded by other good people on their journey. When you are watching this film you can just see that these guys love to be alive. In fact I think it is much stronger than a love for life; it is a lust for life. They need to feel alive. They crave it like an addiction. It radiates off the screen. I think they maintain that lust for life by keeping their simple philosophy in perspective regarding what they choose to do and more importantly who they choose to do it with.

If you haven't seen this movie then go see it today. Like NOW. You will laugh, you will be shocked, probably be a little touched, and most certainly walk away having learned something. I made the mistake of waiting far too long to see the film that takes a glimpse into a real life happy ending. Don't do the same! I have included a trailer below for those that still need further convincing.

Lesson Learned From 5 Nights In Vegas

My posts have been light the last week with good reason. I was in Las Vegas with some of my best buddies competing in the 2009 Armed Forces Hockey Tournament. Besides winning the tournament and having an unbelievable time with the guys who shared the experience with me, I tried to take some form of learning away from a trip that most only see as a release of pent up adolescent debauchery.

I am not a big gambler. I am not morally opposed to it or anything like that, I just hate to lose. However, both times I have been to Vegas I have really enjoyed it. There is so much going on and there is always action to be seen, heard, felt, smelt, etc. Which leads me to my first Vegas takeaway.

Think In Senses – Vegas is often described as sensory overload. It may be true, but who knows. Regardless, what Casinos and other establishments in Vegas have figured out is that the sensory overload principle is memorable. I think that is why Vegas is so polarizing. People either love it or hate it and the increased stimuli is likely intensify that love or hate position. One day when I was in our casino with some of the boys I couldn’t help but notice that I was tuning into more of my senses. The slots were flashing, Eddie Money was belting out 80’s tunes in the background, I could smell the faint smell of cigarettes coupled with bad perfume and hotdogs, I could feel the cool oxygen enhanced air conditioning against my brow, and I was savoring an ice cold beer. Part of the increased consciousness of all my senses was the heightened stimuli, part was probably that it was a unique extraordinary vacation that had me taking in more of my surroundings than a standard day at the office. Regardless, I started thinking about how much more enjoyable and present one can be living like you are in a casino in Vegas. I am hesitant to make the comparison, but it is a similar parallel to people who have had a second chance at life. Their new found appreciation for life causes them to take increased notice of things that were once mundane and ordinary. Obviously having an external circumstance such as recovering from a disease or illness makes appreciating daily living almost automatic, but a conscious effort to “think in senses” I suspect will likely do the same to some degree. As Immanuel Kant once said “All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to the understanding, and ends with reason. There is nothing higher than reason.”

Customer Service Is More Important Than Ever – Another experience that is generally synonymous with Vegas is great customer service. Between the most luxurious casinos and hotels, the constant drink service and plentiful restaurants, and the battle to entice you, the customer, into one establishment versus the one next door it is easy for almost anyone in Las Vegas to feel as though they have achieved “high roller” status. Our team got a suite at the Bellagio for the last night. Wow. That is customer service! So if the Bellagio is the furthest point north what is the polar opposite? In this case it was my experience on my return flight home with a company we will call "ABC Airlines". Now in defense of ABC Airlines they have a lot of things going against them being in the industry they are in. Southwest is probably the shining star of an industry that is extremely price sensitive and generally unwilling to pay a premium for enhanced customer service. However, the experience a friend and I had with an “ABC Customer Service Representative” is a perfect example of the power and extreme importance of good customer service in an ever-increasingly connected world. Here is a copy of the formal complaint I submitted to ABC Airlines with the names changed to protect the not so innocent:

While checking in at the ABC ticket counter in the Las Vegas airport I experienced one of the most appalling displays of customer service I have ever had. Eanna the customer service representative who serves as the face of your brand and the customer experience began by greeting the entire line of early morning fliers with a scolding that the customer service agents weren't open yet even though her coworker opened the kiosks for check in. She then proceeded to challenge my friend and I on our active duty military permissive TDY orders. Instead of trying to politely clarify the miscommunication she inferred that two Air Force officers were liars in front of a crowd of fellow travellers and that we were really on leave status and not the permissive TDY status we told her we were on. When asked if she could read the status on both our orders she threatened to not help us if we "got attitude." Her display was not only embarrassing and offputting, it seared into my memory and undoubtedly into the minds of others that this is what the ABC flying experience is about. There is no need to reply for the damage from her display is most certainly done. In the future I would recommend screening more carefully the mouthpiece of the ABC experience.

Now before you start boxing me in as the complainer guy you must know that I am the opposite of that guy. My wife tells stories of the two of us at dinner where I get the wrong meal and don’t speak up to send it back because I feel bad for the waitress. I rarely complain. I am typically part of the majority, sadly, that doesn’t complain and merely chooses to never entertain a business with my business ever again. There are more dangerous people than me however that not only never go back but tell 10 of their friends to never go back either. I see myself as more of the Ghandi of customer service feedback. However, times are changing. I didn’t write this letter and mail it to ABC headquarters via certified mail. I typed it out on my phone minutes after a friend and I experienced the scenario described above. I didn’t have to wait in line at the gate or ask to speak to a manager. I just went to ABC’s website and submitted a complaint. It is easier now than ever for those who, in the past would have gotten home later that night and gotten over the urge to complain, to shoot a quick complaint via their phone to management. Not only that, but now I don’t even have to tell 10 friends about my shoddy experience. I can tweet about it, post it on Facebook, or blog about it. The post is the equivalent to telling the story once, but having it reach a theoretically endless audience. My intent is not to destroy the ABC name by trashing them online, although there are sites that do partake in such activity. You see in today’s world I don’t need to go on a crusade to destroy a business with poor customer service, for with the enhanced connectivity in today's world it is only a matter of time until companies without a customer focused business model destroy their business on their own.

Learning is a Journey Not a Destination

“Experience is the best teacher, but a fool will learn from no other.” - Benjamin Franklin (American Statesman, Scientist, Philosopher, Printer, Writer and Inventor. 1706-1790)

Here is an awesome post from a new blog I have been reading lately called Six Pixels of Separation. The post is on the importance of learning from everything! I think it ties in nicely with the BadskiBlog theme of a fairly average cranium looking to expand. I know that my blogs I follow list is getting fairly ridiculous but there is a lot of good stuff out there and I have to show the love. Here are some excerpts of the quality advice from the post above.

Last week, there was a Blog post here titled, 10 New Business Books Worth Checking Out. As I was sorting through which books to list, it was interesting to read the reviews surrounding these titles (both on the book retail websites and on Blogs, Twitter feeds, etc...). You could tell which reviewers were regular people (the silent majority, the mass population, etc...) and which were the ones who were neck-deep into New Media (those with their own Blogs, thousands of followers on Twitter, etc...). It should come as no shock, that when it comes to Bloggers we like to eat our own. We're quick to judge, comment and attack, but in seeing countless semi-nice reviews with lines like, "there is nothing new in this book" or "I didn't really learn anything I didn't already know," it wound up becoming somewhat comical.

The real experts, the ones who really are superstars don't do this.

After spending countless years in the music industry, it was plain as day who would be a successful artist/musician and who would disappear quickly into obscurity. The real geniuses, the real experts and the real artists were the ones who knew this one golden rule: you can learn something new from anyone at any time. The trick is in leaving yourself open to this experience. The trick is in always being a student.

30 Under 30 America's Coolest Young Entrepreneurs

Recession? What recession? You'd think the events of the past year would have curbed Generation Y's enthusiasm for the always-uncertain entrepreneurial life, but you'd never know it by looking at this year's 30 Under 30 list. It's a dynamic group of self-starters that has managed to raise money, launch new products, build new technologies, and tap into underserved markets. And they've done it with relentless enthusiasm and resiliency.

Inc. Magazine has released its 30 under 30 America's Coolest Entrepreneurs and I have brought it to you right here at BadskiBlog. Some of these business models are pretty cool, some underwhelm me; it looks like ALL are successful. Inc. Magazine does the 30 under 30 America’s Coolest Entrepreneurs every year and regardless of whether or not you agree with all their picks there are some valuable lessons to be learned. One of the things I liked this year was the emphasis on teamwork and partnering. Coming up a hockey guy I love the team environment. In fact the older I get it seems the more paralyzed I am by working alone. I just don’t see the value in working alone. It’s not realistic and more importantly it's not fun. I don’t feel any shame in reaching out for help and some of my finest life achievements come from standing on the backs of my teammates.

Every year, our 30 Under 30 list is populated by a number of companies that were started by partners. But this year, more than two-thirds of the entrepreneurs we feature launched their ventures with one or more co-founders. Curiously, I came up with almost the same number when I surveyed the people I interviewed for my new book, Upstarts! How GenY Entrepreneurs Are Rocking the World of Business. Sixty-four percent had started their companies with partners. So what's going on here?

Generation Y seems to thrive on teamwork and to crave social interaction, so it's no wonder that solo founders are less common than partnerships. But it's not just that these young entrepreneurs want company -- many seem to know what they don't know and are not a bit afraid to acknowledge the gaps in their skill sets. And if those gaps can be filled by a childhood friend, a classmate, or a spouse, so much the better.

Here is a slideshow detailing all the business models for these young entrepreneurs. I love looking at profiles like this because it helps me to see patterns in how successful entrepreneurs built their visions. Even if I would never create a new vintage clothing line or a bottle cap accessory business, I can still learn from their business model and experiences. I am huge fan of IdeaPaint. What a great business model. Simple yet worth talking about. I think the possibilities for markets are virtually endless as well. I can see everyone from coaches to music producers using this simple yet innovative product. Their website is amazing as well. They present their product in a manner that would make Steve Jobs or Garr Reynolds proud.

Another cool slideshow feature Inc. did this year was provide advice from the young entrepreneurs. BadskiBlog readers know my love for quotes and my propensity to latch on to any snippet of advice. So this section was great for me. Although the advice is fairly generic, it is like anything else in the sense that the masters of any skill or profession never take the basics for granted. Quotes are typically targeting the fundamentals of life, or lessons that a broad audience can and should learn from. Generic or not I like reading these types of quotes.

Stick With It

"Start-ups don't die, they commit suicide. In other words, 90 percent of start-ups fail because the founders get bored, discouraged, or something else, and they move on to other things, not because of some catastrophe. No matter how dark it is today, things will always better tomorrow."

-- Justin Kan, Justin.TV

What You Can Learn From A Homeless Guy, A Crowded Italian Restaurant, And Some Red Wine

For those thinking that you are diving head first into the depths of a story detailing drunken debauchery involving a homeless transgendered prostitute named Colombia, I am sorry to disappoint. You are wrong. Even without shock value and Hollywood story lines there are plenty of day to day experiences we can learn from, and I am making an effort to do a better job of being aware of my surroundings and committed to learning from my experiences and others. Last night was my wife's birthday so we thought it fitting to head into the North End of Boston to indulge in some authentic Italian food, drink some wine, and celebrate.

On the way down we were stopped at a busy intersection of Mass Ave and 16. There was a homeless guy with a sign trying to collect change from the windows of the cars. In Portland, Oregon these homeless guys typically sit on the corner with signs awaiting to be flagged over. In Philly these guys walk up and down the different lanes providing a guilt inducing death stare in hopes of some change. I guess it has something to do with the social demeanor of the state or city at large. People in Portland are generally less confrontational and edgy than people in Philly. This homeless guy was more on the Philly end of the spectrum and was weaving in and out of traffic as cars edged their way through the busy intersection. But this guy was different than most homeless guys I have seen. He held a sign like most other homeless guys but it told a different story, it had a different angle to it. Most homeless guys go for the standard "Will work for food" or the "Need change to feed my children" lines. Or if you are lucky you might run into the token brutally honest homeless guy who writes something along the lines of "Need money for beer. Hey at least I'm honest." Good for a laugh but not terribly inspiring. Mass Ave homeless guy had a sign that simply read "If you have no change, JUST SMILE!" Wow. That's awesome. If I was homeless that would definitely be one of those 'why didn't I think of that' moments. And it wasn't just the sign, this dude lived it. He was smiling wide as can be and dancing with his sign as a badge of honor over his chest. One of my friends rolled down the window and yelled to the guy to come over for some change. As he approached he continued grinning and asked us to turn up the tunes. As my other buddy stumbled through country radio stations and random talk shows to eventually land on Jack Johnson (not exactly the most danceable music I can think of) the guy just kept on laughing and dancing for the rest of the traffic/audience. It was pretty hilarious. As we drove off and rolled up the window my buddy said his breath smelled like "10 gallons of stale beer," or something to that effect.

We drove into the North End and jumped to the front of the line at the restaurant called Giacomo's. My friend's wife was waiting for us there and had been there for a little while. Yes, there is a line outside. And yes we waited to get in. Yes it was a Wednesday night at 6 pm in a neighborhood with probably a hundred other authentic Italian restaurants. Why? Well because our friends said that is what you do when it comes to Giacomo's. For those of you who don’t know what Giacomo’s is all about (like me until yesterday), it is basically a restaurant in the North End of Boston that is about the size of your kitchen. It has a reputation as being one of the better Italian restaurants in the area, which is saying a lot given the concentration of Italian restaurants. And there is consistently a line waiting to get in that often wraps around the corner onto the next block. We got in and got seated, and one of the first things I noticed was how easily my chair slid across the olive oil soaked wood floors. We sat down and honestly I must say it was some of the best service I had ever had. Everything was full speed ahead but it was personable and friendly at the same time. We had bread in seconds, the guy came back and mixed up some fresh ground Parmesan and garlic in the back for our oil. The plate of calamari was there in what seemed like minutes, steaming hot. It was great. What was surprising from a place that has such a solid reputation and a constant line to get in, was that it was very reasonably priced. The majority of the generous sized entrees range from 12 to 16 bucks and the bottles of wine are about $15. Most restaurants, especially those deemed as nice trendy ones, charge almost that much for a glass of wine. I had the shrimp and scallop linguine in a giacomo sauce which was a lobster red sauce. It was delicious and my water and wine glass never stayed empty for long. As soon as a plate was done it was gone. When all the plates were gone the bill was on the table. It was fast. They were churning and burning people through that place. But you didn’t feel rushed. Our waiter told us to take our time finishing our wine and we did. It was a beauty place.

Why I am recounting these stories on BadskiBlog? Well truthfully I want to immortalize my experiences in cyberspace so my grandkids can know what I did when I was drunk at 27….just kidding. I am setting the scene to describe what I learned from theses events.

1. Differentiation is a powerful thing – In order to be successful you must be different. I mean I guess you can be successful by your own standards and live a fairly uneventful content life, but I don't live my life that way. The Mass Ave homeless guy was different than other homeless guys. He told a story that made you want to give him money. He could have been like everyone else or even pulled the honest homeless guy approach judging by the smell of his breath, but he didn't. And I would venture to say he benefits greatly from being different. My friends remembered him and talked about him like he was more of a landmark than a mark on the neighborhood, and I am talking about him on my blog so he is obviously doing something right. Giacomo's follows a similar path. It would be quite easy to be just one of the many good Italian restaurants in the neighborhood. All those good Italian restaurants probably make a pretty good living just by being a good Italian restaurant in that neighborhood. But Giacomo's is different. They are a great restaurant in that neighborhood and they have established a demand for what they have to offer that consistently has people lined up down the street every day of the week. Whether you are starting a business or applying for a job it pays to differentiate yourself from the crowd.

2. If you believe in your strategy stick to it no matter what conventional wisdom says – This kind of goes hand in hand with differentiation but its a little different. I may be way off on this, but I imagine Mass Ave homeless guy chatting with some of his buddies and describing his new sign. I imagine them making fun of his approach and telling him how it won't work and that the best way get change is "strategy X". Judging by how this guy put on a show in the middle of a busy Boston street, he believed in his message. Like I said I could be way off and none of that was remotely close to ever taking place but you get the idea. Where this concept really manifests itself is with Giacomo's. Conventional wisdom would say that if you have a restaurant that has built a reputation for having great food and people are waiting outside you should either expand to allow supply to meet demand or you should raise your prices to maximize profits with the existing amount of people you can serve. However, Giacomo's didn't and doesn't do that. In fact by most standards their food is actually cheap. They have not expanded, and it seems like the line out front is almost part of the experience. What Giacomo's has done is create scarcity. They let their reputation for great food and great prices spread their message. Then they go for an increased throughput approach combined with great service. Their place of business seems like a collection of contradictions, but they believe in it and they have created an experience worth talking about which in turn has differentiated them from the masses. If they listened to conventional wisdom who knows where they would be right now. With the competitive nature of the restaurant business quite possibly out of business.

3. Create an ethos around your business and love what you are doing- Tell your story and live it. Both the homeless guy and Giacomo's created a living concept that embodies what they are all about. Those who come into contact with both entities know instantly that this isn't just an average corporate mission statement. They believed in it. Mission statements are boring. Living out an ethos is more exciting. Mission statements feel bureaucratic and structured. An ethos feels alive and carries an aura of what you or your company is all about. You can't fake an ethos, because if you fake it then it really isn't an ethos, its just a marketing strategy that you are doing a horseshit job of selling. Customers, employers, co workers, friends, people, etc. all instantly sense insincerity and inevitably will gravitate towards another entity that lives it.

I am sure I could probably dig for a few more lessons from the night, but I am trying to become naturally observant of the lessons surrounding me. If you have any other lessons based on my tales or life education lessons of your own please post them up!

Lessons Learned From A Small Biz Startup

The cliche that you don't live long enough to make all the mistakes yourself so learn from other people's mistakes, is a cliche for a reason. Because its true! Keeping that in mind I try and learn as much as I can from other people either through personal connections or through the immortalized lessons they leave behind in the form of text. I found an article on CNN Money about Viking Range, an innovative small business that merged two different market segments to create their own little niche. Founder Fred Carl Jr. was interviewed in the article published here. He had some interesting advice to give in the relatively short article, but there was one lesson that really stuck out to me. See below.

What advice can you give other entrepreneurs?

The line between stubbornness and perseverance is thin. If you're emotionally and professionally convinced that your idea is sound, then be very stubborn. And don't be afraid to tell Khrushchev to take a hike.

I have heard this advice in numerous different forms and I think it is great advice. If I had to put it into my own quote as to help me embody it in my everyday practice I would say that "you need to be stupid and naive enough to just go for it, while being smart and persistent enough to keep going once you've started!" Great advice for anyone who wants to start their own business or non-profit or whatever the case may be.

Cool Quotes Update

I haven't done any cool quotes on BadskiBlog in quite some time and I came across a few beauties the other day. Nothing like a daily dose of wisdom. Enjoy and post any additions in the comments section if you feel so inclined.

"Whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82, American poet and essayist)

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent." - John Donne (1328-1384, English reformer)

"A good plan violently executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week." - George S. Patton (1885-1945, General, USA)

Life Lessons - The Importance of the Safety Fund

I have written quite a bit lately about the different influences the economic downturn has had on the world. I have yet to really talk about how it has influenced me. I first started to realize we were in a recession when I was looking to buy an investment property with a friend. When we started talking about putting in the required amount for a down payment I realized that I had little to no cash on hand. I had plenty in investments and retirement but didn't maintain a safety fund with liquid cash. I try to optimize all my money right when it comes in so that my checking is as close to zero as possible at all times. However, without cash equivalents on hand I was assuming (dangerously) that nothing unexpected would arise. That assumption is a good way to start down the path of excessive credit card debt. In this case it also limited my opportunities to purchase an investment property.

When the market took a dive I watched like everyone else as my investments plummeted. Now I have a personal rule that I do not cash out any investments. I have yet to do so since I started investing. That will likely change when my wife and I purchase our next home. But what would have happened during this time frame if I had an unexpected life emergency and needed some cash? I would have cost myself literally thousands of dollars by locking in my losses in the market instead of riding out the paper losses and taking advantage of stocks on sale. That realization plus my desire to have some cash on hand in the event of a real estate investment opportunity caused me to start stashing cash, in a money market of course.

I have built up enough in cash reserves that I am now investing almost all of my money in the market again. But the other day I benefited from the life lesson that the recession taught me. I came back from being out of town for two weeks and my car had a flat. The tires were pretty old so I was already in the mindset that I was out about $500 for new tires. However, I got the classic call from the mechanic later that day that there were some other things wrong with my car. After going in and seeing for myself I negotiated a 10% discount and figured out what was necessary and what was 'preventive maintenance.' I got the bill knocked down from a whopping $2200 plus down to a slightly less painful $1600. Was I upset? Yeah I was pissed. But as the shock of the bill wore off I realized that I had put myself in a spot that I could recover from this setback. $1600 is a lot of money for me and for most people I know, especially when you don't get much tangible value out of it. But it had to be done and I was prepared. I put it on the US Air credit card to rack up some miles, I negotiated a discount on a big ticket item, and I had given myself the ability to pay it all off and replenish the portion of my safety fund in upcoming months. Adversity is learning and there isn't a purchase in your life that will put you through more adversity than a car.