A while back I wrote about Birchbox and how much I loved what they were doing. My wife treats the day that her Birchbox arrives like a holiday. A few months ago when the company launched Birchbox Man, my wife signed me up for it. It was nine parts curiosity and one part self indulgence. A […]
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Lessons From Seth Godin – Part 6 – Pick Yourself
We have been taught to stand around and wait to be picked. We stand and wait to be picked for the kickball team. We apply to college and hope we are picked. We look for that perfect job and hope we are picked. Instead of waiting around to be picked, pick yourself. Go and do […]
Lessons From Seth Godin – Part 5 – Why Aren’t You?
The big idea I took away from my day in NY was simply to keep asking this question over and over and over. If there are reasons why you are not doing the thing you think you should be, you need to be willing to get to the root of it. Make a list of […]
Lessons From Seth Godin – Part 4 – Follow No One
“How long have you been following Seth?” The question seemed innocuous enough, and yet it really rubbed me the wrong way. I was asked this while sitting outside after the event. I don’t consider myself a “follower” of Seth Godin. He is someone that I pay attention to, listen to, and certainly respect. Follow? No. […]
Lessons From Seth Godin – Part 3 – It’s About Connection
“We spend most of our time focused on the product. The focus should be on the harder work of connection.” As a builder of products, this is one that I have a hard time with. It’s hard for me to imagine that the connection is more important than the product itself. If you connect a […]
Lessons From Seth Godin – Part 2 – The Enemy is Obscurity
“The enemy is obscurity, not piracy.” This was a quote I wrote down about half way through the day. In an era where we can read any book ever written or listen to any song ever recorded, whether or not I can copy the material is of almost no concern. The much larger issue is […]
Lessons From Seth Godin – Part 1 – Entrepreneurs and Freelancers
“Many freelancers think that they are entrepreneurs, but they are freelancers. If the first person you hire to do the real work is yourself, you are a freelancer not an entrepreneur.” I have to confess that this one stung a bit. It’s something I am guilty of all the time. If I can do the […]
A Day with Seth Godin
I had the opportunity to spend last Wednesday with Seth Godin. Seth is a guy that I think has a great story, and is someone whom I hold in high esteem. The format for the day was simple. Seth gave a bit of a speech at the beginning on how he sees the world, and […]
The $100 Startup – A Book Review
A few days ago I got a welcome surprise in my mailbox: A copy of the new Chris Guillebeau book The $100 Startup : Reinvent The Way You Make A Living, Do What You Love and Create A New Future. If you are not familiar with Chris, he runs one of my favorite web properties, The Art […]
The Right to Install My Own Software
I recently got a friendly reminder from an application I use extensively on my computer called Growl. If you own a Mac, you probably use Growl as well. It is a great notification engine that lots of other applications use to send messages to the user from background services. The reminder was about the fact […]