Steve Jobs

"The minute that you understand that you can poke life ... that you can change it, you can mold it ... that's maybe the most important thing."

I never really knew much about Steve Jobs until after his death.  I know he was an amazing visionary, but since his death he has become more of a guide for me. 

How can I poke life?  What can I do to change the world, to mold it?  

Fahrenheit 451

In this marvelous look into a future, Faber, an old man who is a retired English professor and friend to Montag, says "Those who don't build must burn.  It's as old as history and juvenile delinquents."

Those who aren't creating are destroying?  What is your interpretation of this?  I've heard the quote, "If you're not growing, you're dieing."  Is this similar to that?

The platform or mantra that I have is "To Help People Create."  This is my goal and this quote is another good argument for helping people understand their innate need for self-expression and working with their hands to create permanence in their lives.

The Compound Effect

Darren Hardy, publisher of Success Magazine, wrote The Compound Effect about how small things done consistently over time have big outcomes.

This effect is more powerful if large groups of people are doing the same thing. 
THink of Angry Birds.  In roughly 3 years people around the world have played and accumulated 200,000 years of the simple game.  Your 15 minutes, my 5, his 90, add up to big results.

Opening weekend box office receipts tally $50-$100 million.  My $7, your $15.

150 less calories in our daily diet adds up.

Small inexpensive products purchased and consumed by groups and tribes combine for great profits, markets and niches.  Think Silly Bandz, soda, chap stick. 

Is there a product or service I can create that people will use in small ways and large numbers?

National Debt vs. Deficit Questions

What is the difference between the national debt and the budget deficit? 
How is each created and paid off?
What are the problems of having a natl debt and budget deficit?
What is being done  about them and by whom?

ADD #1

Attention!!  Deficit Disorder!!

Though the federal budget deficit is shrinking slowly, at what rate of decrease is enough to see a significant positive change?  What dollar amount is good for my children?  What % is it decreasing at now and why?
More to come.

Too Big To Know

T. S. Eliot wrote :
Where is the life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

Signals abound that information is everywhere.  That a kid in Africa with a smart phone has access to more information than the US President did 10 years ago.  Pretty amazing, and potentially pretty dangerous.  Dangerous for those who, as Seth Godin says, want to be revolutionaries.  The fact is, Seth points out, that we all say we want to be, but few of us act on it. 

Escape It or Face It?

Escapism is overtaking our lives.  Running to food, shopping, TV, video games alcohol and drugs and the internet.  But can we run forever?

Even criminals on the run will express relief when they are caught.  At some point we must turn and face the things we are running from.  When the average American watches 5.5 hours of TV a day and movies make millions in opening weekends, we have little emotion, energy or desire to tackle new things.  We have little money or resources to invest in ourselves or families.

Can we get out of debt, fix up our home, or buy inspirational and educational material to help our families?
Turn and face what we are escaping.