Tag Archives: entrepreneurship

My “Where you want to be”

This job? That job? This project? That project? This marketing tactic or that one?

No worries about that “how I’m going to get there” stuff. I’ve figured out where I want to be.

I want to be an influential leader in the American Health and Wellness Advocacy community.

That’s it.

Notice there’s no “doing verbs” like change or sell or build. That’s all “how you’re going to get there” stuff. That’s all stuff I’m doing, but most of it is getting me “where I want to be.” Anything not getting where I want to be should and will stop.

Want the formula? Fill in the blank: “I want to be a ________ (adjective and title/impact) in the _______ (specific community/niche).”

Some more examples:

  • I want to be a well-respected trial lawyer for personal injury plaintiffs in Illinois.
  • I want to be an innovator for the women’s apparel business in the Midwest.  (Hi, Mom.)
  • I want to be an active, present, and retired grandfather to my family.

Your “where you want to be” can and will change. For a while, mine was a “calculated risk-taking entrepreneur in the road-warrior consultant world.”  Now, it’s “an influential leader in the American Health and Wellness Advocacy community.” Later, it will be different.

But, I like where my “where you want to be” is now.

How about you with yours?

TGIDST: Daylight Savings Time and the Fortunate Few

Daylight savings not just so farmers have an extra hour of sunlight in their workday.  It’s not just based on needing to use less candle light (energy).  Daylight savings time helps some other people, too.

What about the bar owner who can serve Jager bombs for an extra intoxicated hour?  Daylight savings time helps him make more money in the fall.

What about the posturing apartment manager who can leave a memo on the elevator reminding us to set our clocks back and have a pleasant weekend? Daylight savings time helps him look like he’s doing a good job.

What about the fortunate ones like me who never set an alarm, but choose to wake up with the sun? Daylight savings helps us get started earlier.

But since very few people can empathize with a shrewd bar owner, or an incompetent apartment building manager or a guy who proudly quit his day job, why are we still doing daylight savings time?  Studies show it actually causes a 1% increase in energy consumption a decrease in public health.

What if daylight savings time was a choice? But instead of setting your clock back, how about just scheduling breakfast back an hour?

Could there be an easier way to decrease energy consumption and improve public health?

I bet there are several lobbyists out there who have some ideas.

Dang it. Guess you’ll have to deal with our packages.

What’s your relationship with your customers?  There are two options:

1. The cable company model

2. The social model

  • Use your monopoly to their advantage
  • Get off to their joy

Fortunately, there are now more alternatives to companies using the former.  As well, it’s easier than ever to start something like the latter.

All bets are off

Horse blinders are common in thoroughbred racing. They keep the horse from seeing what’s behind. And to the side. By wearing blinders, the horse stays focused on what’s ahead. Focused on powering to the finish line.

For it’s the jockey’s job to look around. To survey the competition. To strategize.

Meaningful projects are similar to the horse and jockey.  The challenge is keeping blinders on the horse.  Cause if you remove the blinders, all bets are off.