Tyler Jorgenson is a California based entrepreneur. Join him on his quest to discover the remarkable and extraordinary in himself and others.
“Just because the tide is out doesn’t mean there is any less water in the ocean.” – Seth Godin
"Life gives to all the choice. You can satisfy yourself with mediocrity if you wish. You can be common, ordinary, dull, colorless, or you can channel your life so that it will be clean, vibrant, useful, progressive, colorful, and rich.”— Spencer W. Kimball
Tim Ferriss shared a post from the blog Free Pursuits. It was simply 50 photos from around the world designed to inspire the viewer to become a Digital Nomad. I’ve been longing to travel more with my family. If my wife would get on board I’d pack up the whole clan and travel the world for the next year or so. But after 7 years of wedded bliss I’ve learned to pick my battles and settled on a two week road trip around the Western United States. We had a blast… but now I want more.
I turned the pics from the blog into a video with some music. It’s nothing fancy, I’m not a video editor by any means, but it’s a nice way to enjoy the pictures and let your mind run free wandering about the world without that pesky interruption of having to scroll down on a web page.
Here’s my hypothetical for today’s post.
You’ve just been granted 45 days paid leave from work and you have to leave the country since the local Cheese Makers Union is about to riot the Gouda factory. You’ve got the money to travel, so budget isn’t an issue and your passport is up to date. What country(ies) would you visit?
Yesterday morning I had a conversation with a group of young men about the power of our thoughts. As an exercise I gave them the ‘homework’ assignment to pay attention to how they felt when they listened to different types of music. They were supposed to pay attention to emotions and physical changes more than just whether or not they liked the music.
Later that afternoon my wife thought it would be a good idea to pile all the kids on the couch for quiet time. She turned on a movie… Hannah Montana. I wasn’t overly excited. My wife was out cold pretty quickly with our 3 month old so I was left to maintain quiet time order with the other 3. It worked out ok, and I had a chance to do my homework.
Most of the music in the movie is pretty bubble gum country pop but not as bad as I like to pretend. One song affected me in a motivating and uplifting manner. The Climb. Video and lyrics are below but it’s about the general concept that life is a journey and not a destination. Sometimes we’re so focused on where we want to be that we lose focus on the beauty all around us. We just returned from a long drive (Southern California – Las Vegas, NV – Provo, UT – Capitola, CA – Southern California) and I was pretty worried about the longest leg of our journey from Utah through the Nevada high desert back into California as I heard it was a barren wasteland. I did the drive once as a kid but slept the whole way. I ended up really loving the drive and found great beauty in the different climates we drove through. The song and the drive combined to remind me that a lot of life is about perspective.
The Climb lyrics Songwriters: Alexander, J; Mabe, J;
I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there’s a voice inside my head saying
“You’ll never reach it”
Every step I’m taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking
But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high
There’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb
The struggles I’m facing
The chances I’m taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I’m not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I’m gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going
And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on
‘Cause there’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb, yeah!
There’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Somebody’s gonna have to lose
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb, yeah!
Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It’s all about, it’s all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa
Ever since watching Back To The Future in the 80’s and learning about the space/time continuum I’ve had an awareness of time. There is a lot of discussion in business on how one spends their time, eg if they are productive, but this video helped me think about time in a different manner.
What is your attitude about time? Are you future oriented?
The interview had gone really well up to this point and the USC admissions director, closing the interview, said “Is there anything else that you feel the admissions committee should know about you?”
“I think you should see my socks.” I replied.
Most days I now wear socks like this. They’re great quality and very comfortable and they serve two additional purposes.
1. They remind me to never take myself too seriously. Life is to be enjoyed and is far too short to be lived in an uptight manner. For me, these socks remind me to laugh, to live and to savor every moment of it all as my unique life experience.
2. They remind me that anything is possible. Jonah Staw and a few friends started a company back in 2004 with the idea of answering the problem of the missing sock by selling 3 mis matched pairs to a pack. Their target market usually doesn’t even have their own money, 8-12 year old girls. Seth Godin mentioned that their annual sales are now over 40 Million USD. Check out Little Miss Matched.
The interview went really well and the socks were just the extra touch I was hoping they would be. I got my acceptance letter to the USC MBA program last week. Time to come up with some $$ to pay for tuition.
Earlier this year I read ‘The 4-Hour Workweek’ by Timothy Ferriss and it’s been making ripples in my life ever since. I’ve listened to the book on tape, read the 2nd edition and read the author’s blog. I bought the book about a year and a half ago when a friend blogged about it, but it just got stacked on the pile of books to read.
Of the many bits of wisdom I got from the book one was to eliminate clutter and excess from our lives. I talked about the concept of choice paralysis a while back. I started in my closet and eliminated these 10 pairs of shoes. Why did I have an extra 10 pairs of shoes? Anybody wear a size 12 and need some gently worn kicks?
I like quotes that inspire and make me want to do and be better. Today started with a few golden quotes. I’ve compiled them here for me to remember them and hopefully they can touch at least one other person.
1. You stand up for your teammates. Your loyalty is to them. You protect them through good and bad, because they’d do the same for you. Yogi Berra
3. Eddie Torbati Your behavior & your beliefs are in your control. If you’re negative, you’re choosing negativity. That’s fine, just stay away from me.
4. It’s never a bad time to start a business unless you’re starting a mediocre business. #crushit
5. Alice: Oh, no, no. I was just wondering if you could help me find my way. Cheshire Cat: Well that depends on where you want to get to. Alice: Oh, it really doesn’t matter, as long as… Cheshire Cat: Then it really doesn’t matter which way you go.
In summary: Be loyal, be positive, be remarkable and begin with the end in mind.
Seriously, how am I supposed to get any work done with this little guy around? He’s too awesome to not hold. With his older sister and his Mom taking their ‘turns’ holding him I have actually had some pretty productive days recently but who would blame me for stepping away from the office just to get my fix?
I’ve been working from home recently. Usually I have work stuff out of the house at least a few times per week but I’ve been staying close recently since my wife is nearly 9 months pregnant with our fourth child. People often ask if working from home ‘works’. Usually it does. I can close the office door when needed and have been getting a lot done. The real problem is the proximity to food.
I’m sure I’ve put on some sympathy weight this pregnancy! I’m going to have to start using that gym membership soon. I wonder if I can find the card.
Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.
When I find that it’s hard to reach out and help somebody I find it’s usually because something isn’t right with me and not the other person. When we seek to happy, which is a choice and not a result of our environment, we put ourselves in a position to positively impact the world around us.
I read an article recently that talked about the primary reason, in the authors opinion, that some people are successful and others not despite having apparent similar talents and looks. The answer didn’t surprise me too much but did seem to be worth sharing. The key distinguishing point is this:
Those who fail want other people to make him feel good about himself.
Those who succeed makes other people feel good about themselves.
The author was specifically talking about being successful in dating, but I think it’s on point no matter what the relationship. Whether you’re wanting to make a connection with the cute Barista at your local Starbucks or make a memorable connection with a sales prospect the same thing applies. I once wrote about the Rules for a Perfect Day and this part stands out:
I will treat everyone I meet today the way I would like to be treated. I will strive to have them like themselves better when they’re with me.
It’s not always easy to focus on other people and their needs, especially when we may feel needy, but it’s much more rewarding. It’s the small and simple things that touch people’s lives.
