Perhaps the Greatest Saying Ever

A couple weeks ago I referred to Christmas and Christianity. This week, let me mention something for Buddhism.

I read the following quote, often, because I think it might be the greatest saying ever:

“Act always as if the future of the Universe depended on what you did, while laughing at yourself for thinking that whatever you do makes any difference.”

And that, my friends, is why I talk about paradoxes. Amazing!

Safe is the New Risky

A couple weeks ago I spoke of personal development as innovation. I think it was a decent post. And I think it's something you should think about. If you have not read the post, Go Here. It's really important that you read that post, as well as the previous post, referenced in the article. Here it is. This week let's elaborate on Druckers' ideas.

I hope you would agree that personal development is an element of innovation. Now, let me give you another powerful quote by Peter Drucker. In his book Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Drucker said the following, “Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs.”

Let me ask you this, have you ever wondered what an entrepreneur is? If you have, I think you are wondering about the right kinds of things. You see, I believe we should always be trying to improve the quality of our questions. The question “What is an entrepreneur?” is a pretty good question.

A lot of people think they know what an entrepreneur is. However, when I ask people directly, I get some pretty wild answers. A lot of people think an entrepreneur is a person who owns a business. But that is incorrect. Plenty of people would say that entrepreneurs love risk. And, again, that is wrong.

One amazing revelation is the following, what everybody "knows” is often wrong. We all know that entrepreneurs love risk. And, we're all wrong. In fact, it's just the opposite. True entrepreneurs avoid risk as much as possible. Let me give you a quick explanation.

First off, life is risky. No matter what you do there is risk involved. For example, let's say you decide to take the “safe” road and get a job with a large and established company. You always get to work on time, you are reliable, and you work hard. Every paycheck you withhold income and fully fund your retirement accounts. You are taking all the right steps to ensure the security of your future. How could anything go wrong? My response would be, ask the former employees of the Enron Corporation.

Now, I intentionally used an extreme example to illustrate the point that every decision contains the element of risk. I think we all know this. And, I think that is why so many people choose to be indecisive (Is that a paradox?)

One of the joys of true entrepreneurship is not risk, it is the containment of risk. I guess it is not that different from what a daredevil does. I do not think it is fair to say that daredevils love risk. I think it is more accurate to say that daredevils like to minimize risk. Stated differently, the stunt person is not looking to die. He or she is looking to cheat death. That is to say, there is a certain amount of joy that comes from flirting with death and living to see another day.

Daredevils do not love risk. They love being in control and conquering risky situations. An example, that just popped into my head, is Travis Pastrana. Pastrana is a motocycle exhibitionist and was the first dirt-bike rider to ever land a double backflip in competition. If you have not seen it, go to YouTube, it is super impressive.

Pastrana's jump looks practically impossible. And dangerous to boot. When you see Travis go backwards twice, in one jump, you think he must be out of his mind. What you do not see is the countless times that Pastrana practiced the double backflip into a foam pit. You see, many riders have built jumping ramps connected to boxes filled with a foam material. This arrangement allows any stunt to be practiced without danger. Again, it is not the danger that is attractive so much as the defeating of danger.

Now, let's go back to you and I. Back to us “normal” people. Part of the reason that personal development is so important is because it allows us to control risk. Obviously, personal improvement is the process of developing skills. A great skill to learn is the skill of mitigating risk. And, that is what entrepreneurs really wish to do. Entrepreneurs do not love risk so much as they strive to control it.

Life is risky regardless of what we do. And, the riskiest thing of all is to rest on our laurels. Better to be a lifelong student. Better to be an innovator who works on the most important product in the world, ourselves.

What I Learned From A Skateboarder

Have you ever heard the saying, “Fall down seven times, stand up eight”? I love it. In the world of physics, falling down is inevitable. Gravity sees to it. And, life in general, is an extension of physics. I guess that is why we call it the physical world.

Another way it is often put is as a boxing metaphor. You know the idea. The idea that it is ok to get knocked down. The only sin is staying down.

Have you ever heard of Rodney Mullen? If not, Mr. Mullen is one of the greatest skateboarders to ever live. If you have never seen his stuff, you really should check it out. So impressive! Some time ago I stumbled onto Rodney's TED Talk and I figured I would pass it along.

Humans are very visualize creatures. I know I am. And, I like to have a visual, in my head, to remind me of the ideas that I hold dear. One extremely important idea is the value of getting back up. It really starts with giving myself permission to get knocked down. Fall down seven times, stand up eight.

I think skateboarding is a great visualize, a great analogy for life. Click here to watch Rodney Mullen's TED Talk on YouTube.

Business is a Liberal Art

Over the Christmas break I was speaking with my sister-in-law about school. She is currently pursuing a liberal arts degree. And, the conversation gave me the humbling experience of thinking about how wrong I can sometimes be.

I studied chemistry in college and, I must say, it was pretty hard. But, I vividly remember the logic behind my decision. I thought, “If I can graduate from the chemistry department, at Berkeley, business will be a cinch.” I know, I know. Don't remind me. I now realize how foolish I was.

You see, I had always wanted to be a business owner. Although I could not put on finger on it at the time, the reason I wanted to be a business owner is because freedom is my number one value. I cannot sing and I cannot act. And, as you can tell, I am not a very good writer. So, I realized my only chance for true freedom was to build a business.

Now, despite my college folly, here is something I learned. Business is simple, but it is not easy. What's more, business is a liberal art. To succeed (I prefer the phrase “be effective”) in business requires a person to understand many things. You need to know about history, economics, psychology, sociology, marketing, morality, and on and on.

This is the exact reason I am such a student of Peter Drucker. Drucker covered all these subjects, in much greater detail, than any other author I know of. And, the fact that business is a liberal art has led me to write this blog. Though I do not profess to be an expert, I do have some experience.

I know I have nothing even close to the skills of Drucker, so I do not attempt to cover every subject. However, I do know a few things about psychology. And so, that is one of the subjects I attempt to stick to. I talk about emotions (mostly fear) because they are so central to life. And, I talk about paradoxes because they are so central to emotions (and to leadership).

Drucker is known as a management thinker/guru. Which is rather unfortunate because, if you study Peter, you know he was one of the most well-rounded individuals on earth. For example, Peter was well-known as a management expert. But, did you know that he was also a world-renown expert on Japanese art? It is true. Drucker studied Japanese art to train his ability to see. That is to say, his ability to observe and perceive. Pretty cool.

I remember being in school and thinking liberal art majors were a joke. I figured they were either lazy or indecisive. As it turns out, the joke was on me! Have you ever watched that TV show The Big Bang Theory? I think the show is hilarious because they completely nail the personalities types. One of the main characters, Sheldon Cooper, is a theoretical physicist. And, Dr. Cooper has very little appreciation for engineers, biologists, or even experimental physicists. So funny, because it is so true.

One of the things I am trying to say is I recommend we all commit to being lifelong learners. The universe is vast and complicated. And, it will probably take a lifetime to start to truly understand things. Again, a huge lesson is to always stay committed to learning.

I have had to eat a lot of crow in my life. And, realizing the importance of the liberal arts is just one dimension. Talking to my sister-in-law simply reinforced an important lesson that I hope to never forget.