“Planning is the beginning of wisdom.”  That’s a phrase I just made up because of desperate measures I’ve taken to get a set of tasks completed that ‘should’ have been done well in advance.  (The Procrastinator strikes again!)

Isn’t it amazing how often we get caught up in the busyness of daily ‘stuff’ and forget to plan out what we need to do?  I find myself in this quandary from time to time and really find it amazing how frequently we just happen to forget this one thing.  We’re fine when it comes to breathing and eating and sleeping, but planning?  Oh, no!  We forgot about that!  It’s pathetic really.

We need to remember that life should not happen to us, we should happen to life.  We must be actively engaged, making things happen not sullenly popping bon bons and moaning, “why me again?!”  The best thing to do is say, “Get over it, like now!!!”  Sometimes a swift kick in the tush is just what the doctor ordered.

Now that sleeping part of me is calling.  So much for getting all of those tasks done.  My pillow beckons and I fall for it every night.

Peace.

My little brother’s wife gave birth today to my first nephew! Hooray!

Today’s post is about kindness.  Yes, I said kindness.  Now I know what you’re thinking, ‘what does kindness have to do with entrepreneurship?’  I say, ‘a lot.’  To illustrate what I mean, I’m going to use two examples from experiences I had this week.

First example:  What NOT To Do.

Company:  Rainsoft.

Rainsoft provides water softener devices to residences.

My parent’s bought a Rainsoft water filtration system for their house.  Rainsoft installed the system and everything was fine, until their “customer service” gestapo started calling EVERY OTHER DAY.  Not cool.  Not only does this company NOT get that it is unkind to not trust your own customers (conversation goes like this:  “hi, this is so and so from Rainsoft, we’re going to be in your area and wanted to bring you some salt (to replenish…which they already did, and they don’t go through it very fast at all.  Like twice a year speed.)  “uh, we already got some thanks.”  Two days later…same phone call, different customer service rep.  Same problem.)  I feel like calling them and giving their manager a piece of my mind, but instead I’m talking trash online, too bad Rainsoft.  Let’s see if they ever find my post and do any damage control.  I doubt it.

Lesson:  Don’t be mean to your customers, especially in bad times, you will NOT be pleased with the results.

Now, what you should do…

Second example:  What To Do.

Company:  Starbucks

Actually, it’s not Starbucks, but rather an employee of Starbucks, who serves coffee at a Barnes & Noble store I go to on occasion.  This server knew what drink I wanted (after having served me a few days earlier, one time).  No prompting.  She just knew.  And started making it before I even paid (I’m in line behind someone who was taking their sweet time to order, “um… I think I’ll have … um…”).  Knowing what I wanted made my day.  (Forget needing to remember my name, remember my face and my favorite drink and I’m good!)  Not only that, she also made sure to offer me a fresh cookie (when her somewhat oblivious coworker was trying to get me the silly one I asked for after seeing it the window case.  (Hey, I like my chewy cookies!)  So, fresh coffee, fresh cookie, with a smile, and feeling like despite the weather, I’ve had a good day.  That’s service.  That’s kindness.

The kindness revolution is an idea I have for businesses.  “Be nice, it’s good for you!”  You never know if I was a traveling off-duty executive who happened to see your kindness and give you a promotion or hire you (from my competitor)!   Or, to contrast, if I got another complaint about your poor phone manners, I’d fire you, or talk trash about you online – where you can’t erase it…or even find it, haha.

Kindness is between people, but companies that are smart know that their first-line staff are their ambassadors – and treat them with respect.  And train them well.  They teach them to be kind, to show respect for their customers, and serve them well.

So, thank you Starbucks coffee server lady, you made my day.  And when I get a chance I’ll do the same for someone else.

What about you?  Who’s been kind to you in a business setting?  Did you return the favor? Why not spread good cheer all year by practicing daily kindnesses in your work life, and your personal life.  Then watch the wonderful things that happen, even if its that you know that you made someones day/week.

Until next time.

Peace.

So, I’m a big baby sometimes.  And since before the holidays, I’ve needed to upgrade my WordPress blog to the newest version.  I finally got myself together today and did it.  And guess what?  It was really quite easy.  Such fuss over nothing!

Well, hold on now, I had fears, real fears, that if they had proven true would have been very devastating to my blog.  Thankfully, though, the sky remained in-tact and all is well (so far).  So, I thought I’d address something today that I’m currently struggling with, namely, when do you upgrade your technology?

Upgrading your technology is scary for several reasons, but the most profound in my opinion is fear of loss.  Losing control, losing a file, picture, etc. to the great abyss of the digital netherworld.  And here is the simple solution:  don’t care so much and you will either:

a. be fine or

b. lose everything or

c. lose some stuff

So, as you can see, logically speaking, you’re liable to lose some things, maybe all of them, but you are also likely to gain the use of your new upgrade and blissfully return to your explorations.  No harm no foul.  So, why get all worked up over possible nothing?  Amygdala.  Yes, I said it.  Amygdala.  The “animal brain” as it is known.  This part of your brain tells you two things:  fight or flee.  No, “hi, let’s talk.”  It’s either “them’s fightin’ words!” or “run!”

So, to combat this obnoxious brain reaction to new stuff, like technology, find a helper to walk you through the change you need to make.

A friend of mine just happened to be on Twitter and asked:   “anyone need help?”  And so I said, “yes!”  And he helped reassure me, and I was back on track.

Isn’t it funny sometimes how all we need is a little reassurance once in awhile to help us get through tough changes (or when you’re particularly needy like I was feeling)?

What are you putting off upgrading?  What are you going to do about it…you big baby?! ;-P

Now that my final exams are behind me, I am re-focusing my energy on cleaning and organizing, well, everything!

I am notoriously disastrous when it comes to keeping up with, well, just about everything, so, I have to force myself to get organized.  When I do, I’m so happy.  Like deliriously happy.  Then I always end up saying to myself, “why didn’t I do that sooner?”  So, here I am again, doing the same routine, trying to organize and clean-up my spaces.

Now that I’m a proud new young fresh blogger I’ve gone and added yet another thing for me to have to organize, my online stuff!  Ugh.  Oh, well, better dig in, not getting any younger here.

So, I decided to tackle some WordPress organizing.  Since they say that your blog is like your living room, I figured I’d start there (or here, rather, ahem, onward with the tutorial!)  So, into the WordPress Codex I went, head first and hoping for the best.  And, not to disappoint me, they have great resources, lots of resources.  So many in fact I could probably start a blog just to talk about everything WordPress… haha, there I go again adding work for myself.

Anyway, I ran across this video tutorial and thought it gave an excellent explanation of content maps.  You know that thing you carry around with you telling you where you’re supposed to go instead of wandering around exploring everything and then complaining that you’re never getting anything done?  Yup, that one!

I, tragically, made some of those organizing mistakes that he talks about, so I too will be joining you in revising my site to reflect those more logical structures.  Now I know why those developers hate us so much.  We literally cause their brains “does not compute” errors.  Oops, sorry about that guys!

Enjoy!

Dear TinyChat,

You Suck.

Last night I was checking my Facebook and Twitter accounts and saw that Pete Cashmore (@mashable) and Gary Vaynerchuk  (@garyvee) were having a conversation together hosted by some PR lady (sorry, I forgot her name!) and I had the most excruciatingly bad time with your product.

Whenever Gary or Pete would try to speak, the video would freeze up.  People were in the chatroom making jokes about robot movements and Tourette’s.  It was not amusing to deal with such choppy video.  I have a few recommendations for you and your video-happy buddies:

1. A video and chat product does no one any good if it does not work smoothly.
2. Annoyed participants, both speakers and chatroom attendees, tend to get irritable, and fast.  Bad for you.  Really bad for you if they have a soapbox, like a blog, and decide to use it.  Like me
3. Do NOT release a product from BETA unless it works WELL 99.9% of the time.  When it doesn’t work, show us a “fail whale” type thing.  Something humorous to distract us from hating your guts for wasting our time.  (Haha, look, those little birds are trying to hold up that big ‘ole whale, haha.)
4. If I have to put up with choppy video streaming because you say, “this is a free service” then I say, “I’ll pay to NOT deal with choppy streams!”
5. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but uStream is kicking your butt.  I know, that’s a low blow, but, hey, you need to fix your stuff, fast, or you will lose fans – and fast.
6. If video interactive systems are not flawless, slap BETA back on it and fix the problems.  If a video takes more time to load than the length of the video or makes the speakers sound like robots (“Origato Mr. Vay-ner-chuk?”) then you have a serious problem.  Market share is gained or lost by the responsiveness of the company to correct an error.
7. Think like an entrepreneur:  fix it fast, or die trying.  Hustle matters, now more than ever, and you can’t afford to miss out on influencers, like me, who get ticked enough with you to write about you.  Bad press is bad press is bad press.  Don’t be inflexible, fix the problem. Make me sing your praises.  Really, I want to.  You’re just making it impossible right now.  Understand?

Thanks for listening.

Your Pal,

Ryan.

Until next time.

Peace.

-Ryan.

Welcome to Lucky Post:  No. 19 – Gaga For Molly Lewis.

Today I have a great video for you in honor of my 19th post.  (19 is my lucky number.)  And today, I’ll share that luck with you.

I started doing a Just For Fun post on Friday’s but I couldn’t wait for Friday to post this video.  I found it waiting for me in my Google Reader today courtesy of Wil Wheaton (pronounced with a heavy emphasis on the ‘h’, courtesy of Stewie ala Family Guy) who posted it to his blog.  (Wil is famous for Star Trek:  The Next Generation‘s Wesley Crusher character)

Wil is a full-blown nerd, and proud of it.  And he is very creative, and has very creative friends, like Molly Lewis.  They performed together at wOOtstock 1.1 in LA recently, to riotous nerd laughter (seriously the guy who recorded the podcast was near a crazy loud nerd who did the whole snorting laughter thing, and LOUD!).  These are serious nerds, who take their nerding seriously.  (Don’t mess with them or they might decide to rewrite the code to the internet and you won’t ever see your precious Twitter updates or Facebook feeds again. “Muah, muah, muah.”)

Molly is crazy funny.  And hot, in that weirdly nerdy way.  Also fun!

So, since funny came early this week, you get the Just for Fun post today.  It’s now your lucky day too.  Enjoy!

Molly Lewis does clever cover of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.”

This is creative quality in action.  Watch out world, this is your new competition.  You should be afraid.  Very afraid.

Until next time.

Peace.

-Ryan.

U.S. Marines raise the flag at Iwo Jima Memorial

Yesterday was the 234th Birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps.  Happy Birthday Marines!

Today is Veteran’s Day.  Thank you, veterans.  Thank you veterans’ families.

Freedom is NOT free.  Freedom exacts a very high price.  The lives of our Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, Sailors, Coast Guardsmen, and Reservists.  Their blood, sweat, and tears are like the rain that falls on the earth to water it, so that the crop we grow in America, freedom, may grow and prosper.  If you stop watering the land, freedom dies.  No water, no life.  Period.

I hope that all of you take time to stop and reflect on the freedoms you enjoy.  And remember to thank your veterans and active duty and reservists for providing that great gift to you.

234 years ago the U.S. Marines were founded – in a tavern, no less!  I am privileged to say that I served 4 of those years.  Happy Birthday Marines!

If you are a young man or woman who is down on your luck.  Or not sure of your destiny.  Consider joining the armed forces.  You will not regret it.  In fact, you will regret NOT doing it.  I couldn’t live with that regret, so I joined.  I’m very glad I did.  There is nothing like it in this world.  And there never will be.

Semper Fi Marines!

Thank you Veterans!

Thank you Active Duty and Reservists!

Thank you America!

I like my freedom.  Very much.

God Bless Us.  Every one.

Until next time.

Peace.

-Ryan.

photo by antigallery

It has been 15 days since my last post.  That’s half a month.

Wow, does that make me a loser?  Let’s find out.

I could easily make excuses about not writing.  Writing is hard work.  It takes consistency.  It takes effort to write, especially when you don’t feel like it.  Sometimes because you’re not inspired, sometimes because you’re not focused.  I’m prone to both inspiration running dry and losing focus; but I don’t think that is the worst problem I, or others I know, have.  No, I think the issue is very different, and needs a different way to solve it.

So, what is really going on?  Well, here are some things that standout to me:

When I don’t want to do something, I usually don’t.

That’s a real problem.  Life requires you to act, whether you want to or not.

• Example: I don’t want to work on my class essay or my term paper, but I must, or I fail and that will hurt my bottom line (can you say ‘financial aid repayment?’) – and my pride.

I get fear of rejection … easily.

That’s a problem because I need to be brave if I’m going to write.  I have to stick my neck out there and say what I think.

• Example: I’m furious about the shooting at Fort Hood.  I want everyone to wake up.  Violence is part of life, but, once again, there were warning signs.  Signs that were not taken seriously and now people are dead.  Some of you won’t like my bluntness, but that’s too bad.  The world is not a politically correct place.

Procrastination.

What a dreadful word.  It conjures only negative feelings.  But, that is just the problem, feelings.  Sometimes you just need to push past your feelings and bite the bullet.  Or, ‘eat the frog,’ as motivational speaker Brian Tracy says in his book Eat That Frog!

• Example: Well, yes, the essay and term paper fit here, but there’s more.  I’ve put off fixing my personal finances – and time is running out to get it fixed.  I have to eat the frog. Get it done.  Or else.

So, where does that leave us?  What are we supposed to do when we don’t want to take action, due to fear?  We push ahead.  We work through the issue, bite, by disgusting bite, of frog.

But, is that all there is to the problem?

Not by a long-shot.  Actually, there is a much deeper problem.  We feel the need to do something to make us feel worthy.  We really believe that we’re only worth something if we’re doing something.

I think I heard it best in a movie (which I can’t remember off the top of my head right now… and am too lazy to look up… I know, I know):   ”We’re human beings, not human doings.”

It’s very true.  We are valuable not for what we do, but for our very existence. Some of you don’t believe me.  That’s OK.  You’re not supposed to.  You’re supposed to figure it out for yourself.  You can’t be told by someone else that you’re valuable; you have to come to believe it yourself.

Now, some people go too far.  They think they are ‘God’s gift to the world.’  And yes, to an extent that is true, just not in the way they think they are.  You do exist because you were created to exist, but why you’re here is a mystery.  However, despite that mystery, you can be certain that you are valuable just by virtue of existing.

So, what does all this philosophical mumbo-jumbo have to do with our original problem of feeling like a loser for not working on what you know you’re supposed to?  That’s simple.  “You can do, or not do, but it is the try that counts. ” (Sorry Yoda, you were wrong…in this instance… just this once, ok?)  Human beings were never meant to be robots; otherwise we would all be robots. We are meant to fumble around, like losers, and then find the solution.

So, the next time you start to beat yourself up about stuff you know you’re supposed to be doing, just stop.  Smile.  And then go on trying, in your silly little way, to do what you can and leave the rest.

Take time to enjoy just being you.

Fix a cup of tea.  Watch some Hulu.  Write your blog post.  Write your essay.  Clean your bathroom.  You’ll live better knowing there is not so much pressure on you as you might have thought before you started reading this post.  And, you’ll probably actually get more done too.

Until next time.

Peace.

-Ryan.

This post is what I will call a “Just for Fun Fridays” post.  I will hopefully be serious and helpful every other day, but on Fridays I hope to start doing something silly, just because.

If there is anything that I’ve learned over the years when it comes to work it’s this:   take it serious, but know when to relax! I think it’s very important to work really hard…most of the time.  Then there’s those times when you just need to chill out.  Relax.  Take a break.  Laugh at something funny.  Life is too short to be a stick in the mud.

So, in this post, I’ve got a whopper for you.  As some of you may know I’m a huge Star Wars fan.  As you may not know, I love to sing.  Mostly, the singing happens in my car, while I’m blissfully alone.  I can hardly imagine seeing myself singing a Capella, without instruments, but I love the sound of it.

So, this post is a video post showing a hilarious a Capella tribute to John Williams, the composer of such films as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Superman, Jaws, Jurassic Park, and ET.  Basically, a whole bunch of my favorite films and my favorite film music scores.

Enjoy!

Until next time.

Peace.

-Ryan.