We have seen that before...

I was reading my Kindle this morning and had to laugh a little bit.  I pretty much despise reading anything but my Kindle now.  I know that for a lot of people out there nothing comes close to holding a real book in your hands, but for me I'm about efficiency.  No matter where I am, I have a ton of books at my fingertips.  And, if I don't have my Kindle, I have the app on my phone.  Which is even more awesomer!

Not a lot of people know this, but when Jeff Bezos first pitched the idea for an e-reader to manufacturers, they all remembered the other companies that had failed not too long before Jeff decided to launch his project… “We have seen that before,” they would say.  It was so crazy that he had to keep the whole thing under wraps to make sure that a couple things didn't happen: nobody would steal his idea, and people would not begin to make assumptions before he could roll out the master plan.

I am a big believer in companies that go out on a limb.  What I like is that Bezos didn't really care about what other people were saying.  He had a goal and did whatever it took to get there.  Even when his own team did not believe in him, he pressed on anyway and made it happen.  My question is: what are the plans and goals of your heart?  There are too many people out there that are idealists.  They are always looking at what is possible.  I continue to ask myself: what is impossible.  That is what leads to innovation and greatness.  Go out and do something asinine today.

Easy answers...

I was reading a blog by my good friend and confidant and was very interested in his view of New Year’s resolutions. He said that they are never as easy as we would view them or hope them to be. You know; losing weight, quit smoking, etc. I immediately thought to myself that maybe it was that easy. I was in disagreement with him until I realized the reason I felt that way was because I have the accountability he was talking about. I guess the reason I feel that I reach more of my goals than many of my friends is simply because I have them. It is funny, because I miss more of my goals than I fulfill. This was disturbing to me for a long time. I was like, why even have goals if I am just going to miss them, you know??? It was mad frustrating. Then I talked to a mentor.

He asked me how many of my goals I actually hit during a year. It was an astonishing horrible 40% or so. I couldn’t believe that I was so bad at hitting my goals. But my mentor assured me that the more goals I set, and the harder I make them, the better I will get as a person. So I guess I am wondering the same about each of you. I have peeps in my life who keep me accountable to my goals. Sometimes I don’t want to talk to them because I know I have to tell them that I missed a goal. But then I realize that the goals that I do hit are because of my responsibility to me and those who pour time and energy into me. Do you set goals? Who keeps you accountable? How are you going to make this year better than the last?