Optimism

Over the years I’ve learned a little and messed up large. The majority of my calamities were created by looking outside of myself for ideas and answers. If I have learned anything it is to trust my instincts and to seek my own counsel first. My advice can’t be taken on faith, you have to experience it by engaging the one person who can create you own perfect world – yourself.

To thrive in our current environment, it’s necessary to adapt and evolve. The small successes I’ve had are a direct result of reinventing myself and my work. To a one, all of those I know who have set out to find themselves are still looking. I think it far better to create by thought. Regardless of what you are looking for, seek your own counsel first, but brutally honest with yourself at the same time. Within you is the new and better you, not waiting to be found, but waiting to be created.

While the solution may not always be obvious, there’s a way around every obstacle. It takes a strong commitment and the will to think outside of the box.

While it may not be possible to replace his lost eyes, Daniel Kish has learned to do anything a sighted person can. Rather that attempting to restore his sight, Daniel developed a kind of  sonar using only his mind and senses. More of his story is here.

Daniel is proof that the way to a goal may not always be direct or obvious. If we can be flexible about how we reach it, there is always a path that will take us there.

Facts are stubborn things,,, - Ronald Reagan

Have you made real, measurable progress but haven’t advanced much towards a goal? You may have been overly optimistic about the point you started from. It’s impossible to make any real improvement in our lives without learning to accept the reality of our circumstances. The common human state of denial can be a very stubborn fact in and of itself. It takes a very focused and brutally honest self examination to overcome denial. Often, it helps to have the input of a trusted and objective friend or relative.

Mass delusion can be another road block to progress. The background noise of our daily lives is filled with memes that have nothing to do with reality. Be careful what you accept as fact. Making life decisions based on noise created to advance someone else’s agenda will rarely further your own.

After you’ve found the real baseline from where you began, you’ll discover how much you’ve progressed. Tuning out the noise alone the way will help keep you focused on the reality your journey.

Mike Matthews has probably influenced guitarist’s sound more than any other person since the electric guitar itself was invented. Mike originally got into the effects business looking for a way to feed his family while he pursued a career as a keyboard player.  Making a pure seat of the pants decision to jump into this new business, he quickly found himself too busy building stomp boxes to have time for a band. Mike’s success was temporarily stalled by union thugs and unreliable suppliers. Staging a comeback, Mike may have single handedly saved the electron tube from extinction, insuring that the tube based amplifiers most musicians and many audiophiles prefer are still in production today. He bet his company on purchasing an obsolete factory in Russia and has fought to keep the factory open amidst that country’s inconsistent policies. He’s confessed that his company does no market research and that new products are still brought to market very much on instinct rather than statistics.

Mike’s company, is a supplier to my business. The guy lives and breaths his business, and it’s his voice that greets you on the automated recording you’ll hear when you call New Sensor.   As I come back from the biggest failure of my life, I’ve found great inspiration in Mike Mathews. Most of the bad decisions I’ve made have been done going against my own instincts. I’m not saying trusting my own counsel more would have changed the outcome. I can say with certainty taking my own advice will be the reason for my comeback. As Mike would say: “Rock and Roll!”

Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.
- Tom Landry

As the coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Tom Landry had the unique ability to bootstrap a collection or ordinary players into extraordinary teams. In selecting players he always took attitude over talent. He always had a plan, most often far beyond the moment and even the current season. Tom Landry’s career included losses.  He took lessons from every loss, adjusting his plan accordingly. More often than not he won.

If you’re bootstrapping, especially in today’s economy, you’re probably climbing a very steep hill with very few resources. Reaching the summit will be slow, treacherous and will require a plan. Sticking to the plan and making lots of adjustments along the way without losing sight of the goal are essential. With scarce credit and the most loyal of customers hesitant to spend, the climb could be slow. It’s very easy to get frustrated and give up, losing sight of the goal. When I’m about ready to quit  I try to remember the stoic image of Tom Landry on the sidelines, often hopelessly behind his opponent, still planning his next set of moves to win.