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...

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...

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...

“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...

“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...

“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...

“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...

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...

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...

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...

It’s considered high-minded right now to come out railing against patents.  Everyone is doing it, from Mark Cuban to Fred Wilson to Twitter. It seems to me that the picture...

There is a big difference in the question of “what if” vs. “so what if.” They are two completely different ways of looking at every decision or circumstance one is...

This is my 300th post on this blog. I have been at best inconsistent and at worst negligent.  I used to pay attention to all of those “10 steps to...

I am reading a fascinating book right now called The Master Switch : The Rise and Fall of  Information Empires by Tim Wu.  The premise of the book is that information...

I heard this quote last night while watching a TED talk.  Theodore Roosevelt’s “The Man in the Arena.”  This should be posted somewhere where you have to walk by it...

On last week’s 350 Third podcast, Anders and I talked a lot about the evils of Captcha (shameless plug).  It’s a technology idea whose time has come and gone.  I...

The question that trumps all other questions when starting out with a new idea: “What is the question you are answering?” If you can’t articulate a concise response in less...

There are times when it’s appropriate to take on new things.  Opportunities present themselves that seem like they will lead somewhere, and so time and energy is committed and spent....