“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.

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.

Zen Rock Garden (photo by tiseb)

So, now that I’ve gotten my blog up and running, I thought it would be a good time to decide what my blog is all about and why you should read it.

My blog’s official title is:  “The Quest for an Entrepreneurial Voice in Gen-Y:  Building an HR Management Consulting & Publishing Empire = Really Hard Work.”  (Whew, what a mouthful).  Ok, so, what does that mean?  Let’s break it down and find out.

“The Quest for an Entrepreneurial Voice“ 

This is the main idea of my blog.  A search for my voice.  A search for my entrepreneurial voice.  Because if you can’t define yourself and what you’re looking for, you will never find it. Mainly, the thrust of my argument is this:  Find Your Voice.  Let’s break down further the elements of my main idea:

Quest

This is a somewhat romantic word.  I like romantic ideas, so this fits me nicely.  You don’t just merely search for something, you quest for it;  meaning that you put great effort into finding it.

Think King Arthur and the Knights of the Round-table.

Knight (photo by d4rr3ll)

They go on a Quest for the Holy Grail.  They fight dragons, sorcerers, and sometimes each other, but in the end they reach the prize for which they have laboriously sought.  That’s the idea here.  I don’t just want to look for my voice.  I want to quest for it.  This implies a passionate search despite trials and woes.  Now on to the next idea.

Entrepreneurial

This too has become a rather romantic word.  But, this word is more realistic in tone.  This is the pragmatic side.  An entrepreneur is someone who risks resources to achieve a goal, usually a profit from a business venture.  Entrepreneurs risk their reputation, their money, and their time to say, “I have a better idea, and I can prove it.”

The rubber meets the road when the world says, “Ok.  Prove it.”  Everyone then waits in silence, arms folded in skepticism, and waits for the entrepreneur to prove it.  Some succeed.  Some don’t.

The good ones, fail seven times, and then try the eighth time.  The bad ones fail once and go home to their mommy crying about how unfair the world is and how everyone should love them automatically. 

Cry Baby (photo by bbaunach)

Whiners don’t last long as entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs do one very important thing that others do not:  They accept 100% responsibility for their life, actions, and words.  If you can’t handle that, you won’t cut it as an entrepreneur.  The Entrepreneurial spirit is this:  apply the 100% responsibility rule to everything.

Bad grades?  Take responsibility for your bad study habits.

Bad mood?  Take responsibility for your emotions.

Bad date?  Take responsibility for your bad manners, your bad hygiene, etc.

Overweight?  Take responsibility for your health by exercising and eating right.

Get the idea?  Applying the entrepreneurial spirit to your daily life is what I really want to learn and teach about on this blog.

Voice

This is a tricky word.  We all have a voice already.  I talk a lot.  That’s my voice right?  Well, sort of, but not exactly.  The sense of the word I’m using is the one in which your words, actions, and attitude are aligned.  You find your voice when you discover your intelligence, your humor, your spirituality, your sexuality, your individuality, your conscience.

Your voice develops over time.  It takes nurturing, like a rose.

Red Rose (photo by alfaneque)

It feels and becomes a natural extension of your personality, part of what makes you unique in the world.  Your voice is a matter of saying, “I am like this, I am not like that.”  I hope that makes sense.  But, if not, that’s why I’m doing this in the first place, so that I get better and better at saying that so most people will understand me!

“In Gen-Y”

As in “Generation-Y.”  This is the context for my blog.  This means that I’m looking to find my voice from among the millions of other voices calling out for attention in my generation.

I want to speak to other Gen-Y’ers, yet also relate my generation’s experiences and viewpoints to those who are not part of my generation – and listen to their views.  It does no generation any good to ignore or put down the others.  That only causes harmful divisions among people; which is why Gen-Y spends a lot of time caring about what everyone thinks and wants to give everyone a seat at the table.  Most of the time.

There are exceptions, we’re not that fond of extremists – of any kind, and we have to work at giving those people a seat at the table as well.  No one is perfect, but we can decide to respect each human being as such and give attention to their views. Those you disagree with are often your best teachers.  They are called “Sandpaper Mentors” – people you learn from despite your reactions to them.

“Building an HR Management Consulting & Publishing Empire”

This is where the fun begins for me.  I had to think of what I would really enjoy doing whether I was paid to do it or not.  So, I decided that since I love reading, teaching, and helping that I would combine them into a career field that I have some experience in and have enjoyed:  HR.

HR, or Human Resources, is the business field that coordinates people at companies.  They make sure you get paid, get fair treatment, and they train you.  Some do an amazing job, and others destroy companies.  It’s like any other field.

I want to do my part to help be a positive voice and thought leader in this field.  I think that I can contribute a great deal and I’m eager to prove it.  Let’s look at the elements of this vision:

Building

This is one of my favorite activities.  I don’t know if you know this, but one of the techniques used by HR to help you determine your passion in life is by asking you what you liked doing as a child.  I liked building things.

My favorite building projects were Legos.  I love Legos.

I would spend hours painstakingly assembling my buildings.  I thought I should be an Architect when I grew up.  That is until I met mathematics.  I was taught early on in life that I was not good at mathematics.  So much for Architecture!  (We can talk about that in another post.)  Moving on.

Building things then extended to events, file systems, interior design, and many other projects.  I simply love creating something new, structurally beautiful, that is orderly and grand.  I want to translate that into my career by building a company from the ground up.  Now let’s look at the context for that building project.

HR

Human Resources.  Dilbert jokingly has Catbert, Evil Human Resources director running Dilbert’s company into crazy situations.  Some say that being an HR person is like trying to herd cats.  I would agree.  But, despite this, I like people.  And no, I’m not trying to be a tyrant, like Catbert, but actually the opposite.

Catbert (photo by AndWat)

I think that every company should have great HR people who are helpful and intelligent.  And many are.  They tirelessly work their butts off behind the scenes and only get noticed if something goes wrong, which is thankfully not that frequently.  At least at the good companies.  Unfortunately, as with any profession, there are bad HR practitioners.  I want to get rid of them.

I want to train the mediocre ones to get better, and encourage the great ones to stay the course and get even better.  I love the strategic nature of HR and want to apply that knowledge to the field within HR called OD&T – Organization Development & Training.

OD develops ways to improve an organization, and Training gets you from where you are to where you want to be.  That’s the fun part to me.  Building the solutions to the problems that impede progress for a company.  Fixing those problems and seeing the joy that it brings to people as they realize that the status quo is not the only way to do business is such a wonderful and rewarding experience.

Management Consulting

This is the field within the Business Services industry (which includes accountants and other advisors) that handles consultations to management, basically an advisor on how to do something or how to fix something within a company from management’s viewpoint.

The company I want to develop would be an OD&T HR Management Consulting firm.  In other words, one that fixes problems, teaches employees and managers to go from where they are to where they want to be and does this all within the strategic scope, or umbrella of HR.

Publishing

I also want part of my business to include a publishing component.  I want to make quality materials available to businesses, especially small businesses who get loads of materials, but only some that are of a high enough quality and are written in an appropriately brief, concise, and helpful way so as to really help them.

I would also love to make books because, simply put:  I love books!  It is one of my passions that even if I never made a dime my whole life for it I would do it until the day I die.  I want to build this component into my company as the communication arm for the philosophy that I plan to develop over time to help businesses succeed under any conditions and to do so in an ethically sound and environmentally friendly way.

Empire

I love this word.  I say, “Boo” to those who despise empires.

Caesar (photo by ConspiracyofHappiness)

This word is great because it tells you that this group means business.  The Roman Empire didn’t take any crap from anyone, and neither will my business.  If you defy me, I might just hostile takeover your whole business and make you sorry you crossed me!

Ah, delusions of grandeur.  Isn’t it great?  Well, not to most people, but I like the imagery of being powerful and able to muster great strength for my operations.  So, I like the idea of creating a business empire, something that withstands the test of time and proves that my worldview is valid and powerful.

Some people don’t like this kind of aggression, but I think it is necessary or you’ll get eaten alive in the business world.  I don’t think that means that you should compromise your values, but I do think that if you think everything is going to be peachy keen, you’re sadly mistaken!

Also, Empire is a great way to remind oneself that everything fades and falls, and so is a powerful reminder that my work must always be done vigilantly and with great care for what will happen afterwards as a result of my thoughts, policies, actions, etc.  Empires, whether nations or companies, are what built the world as we know it, for both good and ill.  Remember, those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, but those who remember it have a chance to improve upon the accomplishments of the past in order to make a more glorious future.

“=Really Hard Work”

This part was added by me as a nod to my humor, and also to remind me and everyone else that anything worth having in life is going to cost you.  Dearly.

There is no such thing as a Free Lunch. It is a myth propagated to the masses to keep them from doing the real work necessary to fulfill their destined greatness.

Really

This is a really important part of the idea.  It is like saying, “truly, truly, I say to you…” or “verily verily brothers…”  It means that you’re going to have to work super hard!  Word to your mother.

Hard

This is what it says.  Hard.  That does not translate into ‘sometimes,’ or ‘maybe,’ or ‘if I feel like it.’  It means consistent, persistent effort that requires sweat, blood, and tears. But the reward for such labor is so very sweet.

Those who labor hard have no insomnia, but rather are rewarded with sweet rest.  Think of when you were a teenager and you had to mow the lawn.  Remember how you felt afterwards, when the grass is all evenly cut, fresh-cut-grass-smell everywhere?  All sweaty, but oh so satisfying!

Work

This is probably one of the most misunderstood words in the English language, and that’s saying something because we have quite a few of those!

Work is what you must do to take something from disorganized to organized.  It is your physical, mental, spiritual, emotional effort exerted to produce something better than what existed before you started.

Some simply view this as a chore, a drudgery to be endured until the weekend comes and they can play instead.

Others, however, view it as a wonderful chance to make beautiful things from what is lying around here in this world.  How you look at it determines your attitude toward a great deal of life.

Work is what you get paid to do.  Do something that you love and it feels less burdensome.  Do something that you hate and you are sure to find misery waiting for you. Finding your voice also means finding your vocation, literally in Latin vocare – ‘to call’ (voice or calling).  When you find it you know it.  If you haven’t, you also know it.  Decide to see it as an opportunity to show the world what you’re made of and why you’re special, and the money will follow.

Let your passion speak to you of your purpose and people will begin to notice.  Dave Ramsey, the personal finance guru and entrepreneur, says that a wonderful thing happens when you do something for someone else, they show their appreciation for your work with a thank you called a dollar bill.

Dollar Bill (photo by photos8.com)

How many thank you’s are you bringing in?  How many do you want to bring in?  Think about it and then take action to get to where you want to go.  That’s what I’m doing.  I’m starting by deciding where I want to go and then taking steps to get there.  Won’t you join me?

Discussion Questions:

1. What are you passionate about?
2. What have you done lately to get you closer to where you want to go?
3. Do you agree with my views on work?  If so, why?  If not, why not?
4. Is there anything that I didn’t address that you think I should have?  Or anything that you think I should have left out?

So, yeah, I just got done ragging on Twitter in my last post.

But, that was before this happened!

GaryVee and Me Convo on Twitter

Now I think I’ll start saying nice things about Twitter again.  (Haha, maybe.  For now.)

Anyway, I feel high like a school girl fresh from a Backstreet Boys concert.  (BTW:  BBoys – nice website!)  I’m going to go enjoy that feeling before it wears off and I have to return to studying for my Statistics test (ugh).

Don’t say social media can’t help you.  It can.  You just have to be patient… funny, self-promoting, and a big fat suck up, but seriously, you can get noticed by the big boys and start making connections (and having fun at the same time).

And as we all should know by now, networking is king in Entrepreneurship.

“And knowing is half the battle” – G.I. Joe

Until next time.

Peace.

-Ryan.