desperate for change

When I first encountered the realm of self-help books nearly a decade ago, I marveled at how I could have frequented libraries for so long and not come across the genre. There were all kinds of amazing things like: How to Achieve Everything You Want By Using the Power of Your Mind, or How to Be Happy All the Time, or Being the Powerful God of Your Life. Okay, I have totally made up all those titles, but you get the drift.

My logical computer brain has been longing to make sense of the non-logical life that we live and these authors seem to know a thing or two. Some more, some less.

Fast forward to today. Am I a little bit disillusioned yet? Maybe at myself for not being able to convert any of what I read into any concrete results. Am I still dazzled by these self-help gurus? Let’s just say that I am more discriminating now. Do I still want more? Yes, please, but only the good stuff. (Don’t get me started about “The Secret”.)

Another thing I have found over the years is how touchy the subject of self-help is. It is spoken about in the same hushed whispers that one does, when talking about religion. I dare say that it is easier to boldly proclaim one’s Christian denomination publicly than to admit to enjoying the writings of Steve Pavlina (which I do enjoy). Whenever I get asked what I like to read, I usually just cough and mutter “business and computer books” rather than admitting to what I was actually reading.

I personally have a friends who is totally disgusted by anything self-help related; we fortunately have other interests that we agree on. The types reactions to the subject of “self-help” are almost equivalent to the types of reactions that one might get when talking about religion: neutral nodding smiles; near-foaming at the mouth snarls; or evangelical enthusiasm.

One reason for not wanting to admit to reading self-help is that it is almost like admitting that I have a problem with my life. Really I don’t have a problem, other than wanting to make my life today better than what it was yesterday. Maybe for other people “the way” is kind of obvious.

For myself, I will admit that I am still pretty clueless, but thankfully not as clueless as before.

Did anybody watch Google World on CBC?

If you follow the online grapevines and feeds, there would be nothing in this documentary that would be particularly shocking or new. In fact I would say that quite a lot of it is just old news. However, I did find the part about the beginnings of the company interesting. Upon discovering that they had the magic formula for determining search relevance using a system cobbled together with spare computers and cheap parts, it was a matter of going all out and taking the idea to the end.

For the true academic, he or she might have been satisfied with publishing a paper and getting a PhD. Fortunately for Larry and Sergey (and fortunately for users of Google today), they set out to see how far the rabbit hole goes.

“I think to build a great company you need to have a well defined hypothesis based on a theory for a market’s evolved future. And I think the most effective way to enter that market is to build a company like a scientist testing the theory. As an experiment.”
-Dustin Curtis on The Science of Entrepreneurship

At the heart of all entrepreneurial efforts are experiments to test out different kinds of theories: Can I provide something of value? Can I build it with a minimal defect rate? Are there people interested in what I am offering? Can I make money out of this (which in Google’s case wasn’t even an issue at the beginning!)?

I have followed some rabbit holes in my days – going to grad school, starting new hobbies, online dating, starting a blog. Some have turned out to be more interesting than others. If I give some advice to a younger Alfred – go down rabbit holes, and don’t be afraid to go all the way to the end; who knows maybe a Wonderland of some kind is at the bottom.

(PS – I originally came across Dustin Curtis’s blog and essays through Hacker News. There is a Seth Godin-ness about the writing, if you enjoy that kind of thing.)

A lot of my techie friends and co-workers are disappointed with the iPad. They were hoping for a MacBook with the keyboard trimmed off; not a giant sized iPhone.

In case you haven’t seen it, here is a more passionate response: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQnT0zp8Ya4

Mark Cuban has a very different point of view of the device than anyone I’ve seen. Rather than whining about the shortcomings, he is able to see all kinds of possibilities. Okay question – for those of you who have young children, are you giving your kid your iPhone to play with while you are busy pushing the grocery cart at Safeway? I have seen this before not just at the store but also in restaurants – as something to keep the kid occupied. Parents are willing to spend spend spend when it comes to improving the lives of their kids. Perhaps there is something here.

Let us step back for a second: the techies see this as a disappointment, yet Mister Cuban is able to look at the possibilities. Is this the difference between the average person versus someone who is a successful businessman?

As a nerdy geeky techie, we (and I specifically) are more naturally comfortable with factual things. We are most comfortable with one point of view of the world – our view. In order to go beyond, we need to be able to see things from more than one point of view. Specifically, it is precisely when you are feeling negative about something, that is when it is the best time to try on the “Yellow Hat“.

I was in the UBC BizzComm Club back when I was doing my masters and there was a seminar offered where the Thinking Hats system was introduced to us. We actually tried out the different “Hats” and tried to see something from the different point of views. It was interesting how some people’s opinions were so strong and entrenched that they were not giving all the hats a fair chance – in particular the “Yellow Hat” of positive points, when they have already decided on the opposite point of view.

Being objective is easy – because you are dealing with facts. But being able to force yourself to try out different points of view just for the sake of seeing things differently – it is truly a challenging exercise. If you weren’t thrilled about the iPad, can you think of something positive about the product in ways that it can make your life better? What ideas do you have about the iPad when you have the Yellow Hat on?

I was on Derek Siver’s website the other day and came across his free e-book on how to market yourself as a musician. I filled out the form – and guess what? I got an email from Derek asking for more information about myself and how he can help me out, presumably to further my music career. I emailed back and told him how I am beginning to get started with GTD; he replied back to tell me about the follow up book Ready for Anything – and reminded me to get going on my outstanding projects.

So what just happened here? I have just made contact with the founder of CD Baby. Holy smokes, Internets! And it was him that was proactive about making contact with me. Almost wished that I got some business or marketing questions ready to ask him.

By the way, his e-book is excellent, even if you are not in the music industry. The lessons in there apply to anyone wanting to get ahead in any industry. Highly recommended.