Every morning I take my cat Winx for a walk.  This may seem strange, as most people do not walk their cats, but my cat loves it.  I do not have a leash, or anything like that.  I have a patch of grass on the side of my house, and some wooded area behind it, that Winx loves to explore.  It is like he becomes a kitten every time we get to go outside. I simply take out my laptop, sit in the field, and let him roam free to do what cats do.

‘Stay hungry, stay foolish.’

I bet many of you know that Steve Jobs is the CEO of Apple. However, I bet a lot of you didn’t know that he was fired from Apple too. This inspirational speech he gave to the graduating class of Stanford is filled with priceless advice from the life experiences of one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time…

Enjoy your weekend!

Stumble It!

Today I had a big sales meeting with huge ramifications for the future of my company.  We were under pressure to come in and show a client why we were worth a lot more money than the competing offers.  My company had done a lot of work for the opportunity to close this deal, and today was crunch time.  Either we walked out with the deal, or we did not.  I also had an added reason to be nervous about the meeting.

Last night we found out that a Web Development competitor proposed a price to our clients that was not only a lot cheaper, but supposedly faster as well.  This was of course, not possible.  But how was I to know the client believed me?

Tony Robbins is one of my favorite Orators.  He really emphasizes many of the points I strongly believe in, especially the idea of pursuing what you love.  Nothing is more important to our well being than doing something we love each day.

Enjoy your weekend.

Growing up, I was always taught to do my best.  Although I did not handle losing very well, I loved to compete in just about anything.  As I grew older, I learned that I had to work harder and smarter than the next man if I wanted to get ahead in life.  It was a constant competition.  Now, however, I realize that times have changed.  In this day and age, getting ahead is all about cooperation, and nothing about competition.

The world has opened up itself to us.  In the last 10 years, China has become a major market and world trade has become more lucrative than ever.  With the internet especially, you never know where your market will come from.  I have a friend who is a big hit with his website in a small section of Canada.  He has never been there, nor does he look or sound Canadian.  But for some reason, he appeals to them.

This past weekend, I was in Cape May, New Jersey for the first time.  What a beautiful, wonderful place pulsating with history.  A little known fact about Cape May is it is the only ‘entire’ town to be declared a historic landmark in all of the USA.

Cape May is also a beautiful beach town and America’s first summer getaway.  Perfectly located where the Delaware Bay feeds into the Atlantic Ocean, it is a town that benefits tremendously from its thriving sea ports. It was at one of these where my wife and I purchased tickets to take a boat out to see dolphins and other animal life.  The tour took us out of the cape and through the nutrient rich waters off the southern tip of NJ, until we finally found a group of dolphins.

I always speak about the unlimited power of the human mind. With great power comes the need for great control. That’s why the mind is only great if it is used properly. If it is not understood, the mind can create limits that cause the illusion of entrapment.

Our mind is an incredible tool. Think of how many thoughts go through our head as we are reading this paragraph….

Do you like it? Should you keep reading? I read something similar. I wonder what this guy looks like?

All this just in the back of your head while you read. Your mind produces an incredible amount of thoughts per day…

Not many people enjoy confrontation. Since I happen to be one of them, I figured I’d shed some light on why. Confrontation to me, is one of the most important aspects to understand & master in life. Without it, we can not move forward. Avoiding it causes us to move sideways, and ultimately backwards. Conquering confrontation allows us to excel in life.

What exactly is confrontation? Oxford American dictionaries defines it as:

…a hostile or argumentative situation or meeting between opposing parties.

Sounds wonderful. So why do I look forward to confrontations? The simple answer is that only through confrontation can you to get a glimpse of other people’s viewpoints and ways of thinking. Consequently, it expands your knowledge. Plus, even simpler than that, most confrontations are unavoidable anyway. Basically, there is no logical reason to wait because your health depends on it!

When I went to film school, one of the biggest things I had to deal with was how to properly take open criticism. It is not easy when an entire class gives you pointers on something that took you 5 months to write. Some will say they don’t like it, others will be more specific. But how do you know what is right?

Ego plays a bigger role in all our lives then we would like to admit. We all have different levels of Ego and it affects our every action. One of the toughest things I have noticed for people to do is to properly take criticism. People can get defensive, annoyed, distraught, hopeless, and all sorts of terrible feelings from just a simple piece of criticism. So today, we are going to learn a few simple ways on how to take criticism.

Yesterday, after a frantic last few weeks, my company, Reimagine, finally finished our first commercial. It took about a month or so to complete, from concept to final cut. Over that time period, I had to scramble for money, find odd jobs to pay some bills, sell off any assets I had, cut my expenses, and deal with all the doubt that comes with it. Yet, after yesterday, I can tell you it is all worth it.

There is nothing like the gratification you get from setting a goal and accomplishing it. No one can take it away from you. You set out to do it, you said you would do it, and then you actually come through. Accomplish enough of these small goals, and before you know it, you will turn around one day and realized you just accomplished your big one.