• getting an mba
• corporate america
• firm handshakes
• finance
• business is not about “networking” (networking should just be a life attitude, as in “I can learn something from everyone”)
• business is not about “being serious” and never saying “fuck” in public.
• and lastly, business is not just about making money. Money is just the byproduct. It’s certainly not the end goal.

What Starting a Business IS about (in no particular order):

• creating something. doing something. acting on your ideas
• the pleasure of meeting and talking with different people every day
• the reward that comes from taking on new challenges and experiences
• the fun and laughter in a relaxed and healthy work environment of your own choosing
• the fascination in the work itself
• the great feeling when you finish a job and do it to the best of your abilities.
• the excitement that comes with seeing your ideas take shape in a very real way
• the new things you learn every day – even without looking to do so
• developing skills you never knew you had
• being true to yourself
• being creative
• being passionate
• exploring possibilities
• having no clue until you figure it out
• being self-directed, and the empowering feeling that comes with you being the only force behind something
• taking full responsibility for the direction you want your life to take
• and the thought that there are many, many people who would swap their own situation to be able to work for themselves on something of their own making.

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The world’s a different place than when Richard Branson first started selling records out of the back of his car, and the internet is a large part of that. But when it comes down to it, you still need people to help you get where you want to go. I tried for a year to get my photography website up, sitting there trying to learn html like some OCD-addled idiot, and not getting anywhere. Then I met mike and he cranked out my website in 3 days. We sat next to each other passing ideas back and forth and somehow it always ended up being 5 am when we were at our creative best.

We had fun, most of all. And those are the kind of connections you need. That’s the networking that’s important to me: finding someone to work with who brings out the humor, the fun, and the daring in you. I’m talking about those people you can talk to and get excited with, about ideas and more. They just make you feel right. Mike is passionate and raw (loud and blunt, most people would say). He’s emotional and can infect you with his energy. Combining our strengths, we get stuff done. And it feels good to be working on stuff that you’re excited about.

Sometimes it’s hard to connect with people. Maybe it’s the culture, that coffee shop, your mood. But sometimes there are those that just draw you to them, they have that energy that leaves some left over for you. The Economist article goes on to mention that the mba today is teaching people how to harness the innovative resources that should be present in every thriving business. That means “creating an environment which encourages new ideas and approaches“. Right now, for me, that means meeting and connecting and creating with as many interesting people as I can find.

Problem is, most encounters leave me frustrated. Most people disappoint when you take a closer look. They’re only healthy in small doses. They’re all fire and color when they pass you at 50 mph but then when you chase them down, question them, try to dig deeper, there seems to be nothing there. They laugh and take swipes at those who put their heart out there and really push themselves by not being afraid to question and make fools of themselves.

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People snap.  They dump it all, they go to Hollywood to discover themselves, they get a job, they become a bum or go to grad school.

It’s why no one does it, its why morons can become rich just cause they tried longer.

It’s why people are drawn to positions or titles of empowerment.  CEO, Doctor, PHD.  We feel they found the secret.  We want to be close to it.  Absorb it.  Learn by it.  More often than not its nothing but a well constructed veil of attitude, arrogance and false self entitlement.

I went to a Entrepreneur meeting, the purpose to bring investors and inventors together.  40 inventors.  1 investor.

The inventors all danced in front of the camera, the investor sat in the rear with arms crossed, look of old time wisdom across his face.  The look of blue bloods judging a prize horse.  All was needed was a pipe and a “pip pip bravo” coming out his mouth.

Turns out the investor was a retired businessman with a need for power but no means to attain it.  He’d been around for years, so the organizers snapped him up to be their one investor.  Even 40 inventors, dorky as they were, might not buy “This show will be seen by thousands of investors on the Internet!”.

And the drudgery of going to all this stuff.  Meetings and consultants cramming business cards in your hand going “I got what you need!  I can fix all your problems!”.  Why not ask me if I need anything at all!.

The out of work consultants are the worse.  I went to a chamber of commerce lunch meeting…my last.  Sat at whats called “The round table”…just round tables that people sit at.  Some speech by the president of the chamber on why were so much better than New York..blah blah blah.

When we did the “round table” speech and introduced ourselves, I said what I did and 9 cards flew at me.

I thought I was in some trick magic show where the goal was “who can slide the card the fastest and make it appear on top of the others before the others do”.

I’m like…uh…no…I can’t afford 2 lawyers, 3 business consultants, 1 accountant, and a weekend clown for children’s birthdays…pony included.

The reasons this happens is I supply a product.  They support the product. Like vultures on carrion…Kaww…Kaww…moneeeyyyyyyy!!

My suggestion, lie.  Say your a window washer…a bad one.  Broke your arm once falling 2 feet up off a basement window.  They will stare at you…blink…then look at the next guy and lick their lips.

This is one reason why people give up.  It’s why they quit.  No ones clean.  Can’t tell who from what.

It’s easier to sit in a cube, sip a latte, tap on a key or two, look at the clock.  Once or twice a day have your boss come over and shove a list at you saying.  Do this, do that.  You got what I need yet.  You lie, perhaps have it ready, perhaps shit yourself.  But then the bell rings and you go home.  No meetings to attend.  No pocket full of white hard little cards screaming “Do you remember me!!  I was that guy with the suit, I was that girl in the hat with the pin”.

The world is filled with morons my friends.  Two bit Presidents.  Two bit PHD’s.  Two bit Doctors.  All passing themselves off as the truth, the real deal. They wear it well.  They push it hard, yet might not appear pushy.

Seeing past them is no easy trick.  So be wary.  If your gonna work with these people, you have to gain a thick skin till you meet one of them who’s worth their weight.

Dark I know.  But sometimes this game just feels dark.

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1 million dollars seems to be that magical number for people, that unreachable goal that would fix everything. But what’s our goal here? Winning the lottery wouldn’t change much in the grand scheme of things. My business partner says to me out of the blue the other day: ” If we had $10,000, we still wouldn’t know what the fuck to do.” Slightly worrying, but what he meant is: throwing money at problems doesn’t exactly encourage you to solve them in a creative way. Having no money as a startup does have some advantages, it turns out: you start being really creative. I’m not talking about using food stamps to pay for dinner with potential investors. I’m talking about coming up with really clever viral marketing campaigns because you can’t afford to pay for traditional print advertising. We’re still working on that viral idea for my main business. But if it pays off, we’ll get a bigger payoff than we ever would have with a traditional media campaign. I’m not saying having a bit more money wouldn’t be nice. But a lack of funds means we’ve had to put off impetuously launching all of our products, and has actually forced us to brainstorm and come up with some pretty good long term strategies in the meantime.

My goal is to create a self-sustaining source of income. Money is just a means to and end, a means to much more creative endeavors. For me, an automated source of income is a way to free up my time to focus on the things I really want to focus on. Not that those things are clearly defined. Yet. Why can’t I just work at Starbucks and do this whole entrepreneurship thing on the side? I admire the people that can work on great projects while keeping their day jobs. They’re pretty focused, and persistent. For me, though, the opportunity cost of working a day job is just too great. The cost is not only time, but the wasted opportunity of working on becoming financially independent. I also really hate getting up at 8 am if it’s for someone else. If it’s getting up at the crack of dawn to post offensive ads for my portrait photography business all over campus, I’m all for it.

Tim Ferriss had the right idea in The Four Hour Workweek: a person who earns $40,000 by working 4 hours a week is richer than the guy who earns $500,000 a year and works 100 hours a week. In terms dollars per hour, the first guy is making more. Time is my most valuable asset right now. I can use the time and freedom I have right now to create even more opportunities for myself.

Money can then serve as a springboard to bigger and better things, if you reinvest your money into bigger projects and get your money to work for you instead of working for money. It frees up your time to focus on the things you really want to focus on. And that’s what being rich means to me.

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A few weeks ago I was talking to Rio about getting to some store/bank/somewhere, and she goes “You can’t”. I ask why. She says “because its Saturday”. I laughed … cause it was Thursday.

You know you’re in the mix and moving forward when time is irrelevant, especially when it’s Saturday night and you’re not spending the time on a drinking binge.

So when you do this and find yourself looking around going “Why are there so many people? Is something going on?”…it might just be Sunday.

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