Seeking greatness….a personal odyssey resumes

December 28, 2009 – 1:47 pm
2009 whipsawed me in more ways than one.  Despite this, I remain upbeat...much to the chagrin of my enemies, who are numerous. See, I understand that my wealth lies not in my bank statements, brokerage account or salary level...... but in my mind. Its capacity to produce income and wins is beyond reproach.  Therefore, it is an extremely valuable asset.  In fact, it is capable of creating so much wealth and paper money that it makes paper money virtually worthless to me....which may seem like a contradiction, but I can assure you is not. "But Andy," you say, "isn't the fact that you lost money in 2009 evidence that your mind is NOT the asset you think it is, you blowhard?" And with that, you've nailed the great caveat. The mind, as an asset, must be asked....no, DEMANDED!....to produce. For most people, this occurs very rarely....typically in times of great peril.  Indeed, you will recall ...

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What matters now (as it always has and always will)

December 15, 2009 – 2:24 pm
Winning. Now figure out what you want to do, and go win.

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Navigating the “risk” side of social media

December 14, 2009 – 10:56 am
Social media allows people to connect with each other with ease.   According to the penny-stock-promoters turned mortgage-brokers turned social-media experts, even BRANDS can connect with people now! You mean companies can interact with their customers?  Holy hell....someone call Ray Kroc.  That's profound. But, there is a fly in this magical ointment:  A large percentage of people are idiots. Don't believe me?    Check out any "trending topic" on twitter that starts with a #.  Watch for approximately 20 seconds, and you'll find a majority of posts look something like this. This isn't a minor point.  Twitter is the prince of social media (facebook has to be king).....and as soon as it made  the valuable concept of "trending topics" available to the public, the public ruined it.  That's what happens when something with no barrier to entry takes off.....it becomes the digital equivalent of a free air show down by the river. The moral of ...

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Face it, you’re screwed.

December 11, 2009 – 3:22 pm
An endless fountain of ideas.  I've lost count, but I'd guess an average of 2.5 killer businesses come forth from your brain on an annual basis.  Unfortunately, they get mugged by reality and disappear into the vapor of lost dreams just as quickly as they were formed. Obviously, there are several reasons for the canyon between your "entrepreneurial" vision and your accomplishments: Geographic location --- no one where you live can code or invest like the hippies in San Fran.  Why fight that? Debt obligations -- Far be it from you to actually take your standard of living down a notch while trying to do something "revolutionary".....meanwhile, men jump on grenades. Muted enthusiasm -- If your friends aren't instantly enamored with the 6th complex idea that you describe without having built anything yet, how will anyone else "get" your brilliance? Idea pirates -- Obviously, your idea is so unique and valuable that everyone will steal it, take ...

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Panels, Vision, Yapping and Waving

December 1, 2009 – 4:50 pm
Google Wave, as it stands right now, is useless to me and 99% of people not pretending to be smarter than everyone else.  The other 1% are fooling themselves into loving an amazing technology that solves no problem....YET. But, it does get me thinking about hype. "The next ____".  etc. You go watch a "visionary" presentation, and essentially it's a string of soundbytes intended purely to make the speaker appear smarter than the world. You go watch a "panel discussion" on a topic, and essentially it's 4 people pushing out soundbytes trying to one-up each other, despite the fact they all agree. They all know where the web is headed. They all know what is dead. Then, you realize...these are the same types that told us RSS was going to kill the website.  These are the "flying cars by 2000" technology-porn stars of today.  These are the climatologists and this is their perverted version of "peer review". And ...

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Selfish generosity, or the value of n+1

November 10, 2009 – 4:23 pm
Sometimes you can save by giving. Take the hot rolls at O'Charleys, or some other fine dining establishment with a national footprint. The rolls are complimentary, and therefore a negative to the bottom line.  The less they give away, the more money they save.  Yet, at the same time, it is very important to appear generous with these popular yummies. So, what does O'Charleys do? They give you one more roll than you need for your table (n+1).  If you have two people, they will bring you 3 rolls.  4 people get a basket with 5 rolls. This is a calculated wager, betting on the politeness of lunch and dinner companions. Here's how it works: O'Charleys knows that when they put out a basket with one extra roll in it, the most likely scenario is for everyone to have one roll immediately.  At that point, there is a single roll remaining in the basket.  Each of the ...

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Leading to great things….

November 9, 2009 – 8:50 pm
Lead through clarity of purpose. Inspire through an unwavering commitment to ideals (in this case, liberty). Be unapologetic in the description of your goals. Demand great things. Win. p.s.  Today should be a world holiday.  It marks the freeing of hundreds of millions of slaves from their Statist elites-turned slave-owners.  Do not allow history to be whitewashed of the tragedy and greatness of the leaders who saw to its end....and had Germans waving American flags in the streets. A shining city on a hill.  A worthy goal, despite the poor leadership and bad mistakes of the past couple of decades.

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BE your audience

November 6, 2009 – 4:49 pm
Johnny Cash, the millionaire entertainer, was able to become "one of them." He wasn't above them. He wasn't scared of them. He was genuine. And they were inspired. BE your audience.

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Bricklayer or Cathedral Architect?

November 4, 2009 – 12:32 pm
One of the toughest things about running a business is performing exceptionally well in both of the areas that matter most:  execution and vision. The key is balance. The way I like to think of this is to imagine that you are building a physical structure. You want your business to become a grand cathedral. Have a vision of its ultimate state.  Be committed passionately to achieving that vision...to building the cathedral. But, you have a small team....so you must also lay bricks in order to achieve anything.  You must do the work, AND maintain the vision.  This is difficult. So...... Surround yourself with people that understand and appreciate your vision, and who want you to succeed in building your cathedral. Take the time before each day starts to step back 50 yards and honestly assess your building.   Visualize its completed glory, and commit yourself to laying the bricks that will help get you there ...

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Halloween recession thoughts

October 30, 2009 – 2:37 pm
When a book called "the four hour work week" became a best seller to the American public, it was clear that society had peaked.   How classic is that....a dumbass that sells sugar pills to idiots---- sells the literary version of a bottle of sugar pills to greedy idiots so that they can learn how he did it.  That's gold. So, it plays out.  "Get rich quick and spend the future money now" America gets kicked in the nuts.  Solution?  A 1,990 page attempt to bring the exact same mentality to health care.  Note to the rest of the world-- if you think you're almost broke now giving "free' healthcare to your dependents citizens, just wait until the profit motive is taken out of US private company R&D and technology initiatives. Interesting that we paid $24,500 to convince each person that wouldn't have bought a car but did because of  cash for clunkers ...

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