spreading fertilizer at 10,000 feet...

I love to read Seth Godin's blog every morning. There's such a "simpleness" to it. Almost like a moment of... "why didn't I think of that," after you've read it. I also think I like it because Seth writes in a style that makes it easy to apply to an idea I've been working on. Only, he doesn't know what I'm working on. :)


Can you be vaguely-specific?
(Daily oxymoron... check.)

I believe it's completly possible to write in a style that is broad enough to apply to many people... but can be a catalyst at the ground level for each individual project. Compare it to spreading fertilizer at 10,000 feet...

• Farmers crop-dust much closer to the ground because they only want certain plants to grow.


• Taking a 30,000 foot view (standard business POV) of a country side is too broad! It's like saying I plan to target my product to a 25-54 year old demographic.

But if you zoom to the niche level... say 10,000 feet... the fertilizer you spread will cover much more ground. And the things that grow will be much more varied! Almost like the plants that really want to grow.. will grow.

This is how I see Seth Godin's daily writings. He floats some amazing insight and ideas out there to his tribe of readers... and they cultivate some great work!

Here is Seth's post from today that hit close to home. I recommend subscribing to his daily blog here.

16 questions for free agents

1. Who are you trying to please?


2. Are you trying to make a living, make a difference, or leave a legacy?


3. How will the world be different when you've succeeded?


4. Is it more important to add new customers or to increase your interactions with existing ones?


5. Do you want a team? How big? (I know, that's two questions)


6. Would you rather have an open-ended project that's never done, or one where you hit natural end points? (How high is high enough?)


7. Are you prepared to actively sell your stuff, or are you expecting that buyers will walk in the door and ask for it?


8. Which: to invent a category or to be just like Bob/Sue, but better?


9. If you take someone else's investment, are you prepared to sell out to pay it back?


10. Are you done personally growing, or is this project going to force you to change and develop yourself?


11. Choose: teach and lead and challenge your customers, or do what they ask...


12. How long can you wait before it feels as though you're succeeding?


13. Is perfect important? (Do you feel the need to fail privately, not in public?)


14. Do you want your customers to know each other (a tribe) or is it better they be anonymous and separate?


15. How close to failure, wipe out and humiliation are you willing to fly? (And while we're on the topic, how open to criticism are you willing to be?)


16. What does busy look like?

10 things i learned during bike-to-work-week...

10. make lunch plans ahead of time. it's rough hopping on the bike for a lunch-run with a dress shirt and slacks on!

9. Google Maps new "route by bike" feature doesn't have an "AVOID THE HOOD" option.

8. Google Maps new "route by bike" feature doesn't really care about the big "Motorized Vehicles Only" sign posted alongside the recommended route. (only happened once)

7. what seems like a flat straight-a-way on my normal commute... is actually an incline that will kick your a$$ pedaling up it!

6. biking 13 miles before 8am is MUCH easier than biking 13 miles after 5:30pm!

5. going to sleep before 11pm, which is normally impossible, was no trouble at all. in fact, i had to do everything in my power to not go to bed before 8pm.

4. i never realized how much i enjoy the freedom of being able to leave the office and drive to an appointment if i needed to.

3. driving to work the next morning in my car was exhilarating! going up hills was so effortless!

2. saving a day of gas was very nice!

1. miles 26, 27 and 28 for the day were looooooong! but i can totally see myself doing it again!

why i think some people just don't get twitter...

i've been a big twitter fan for a few years now. and even though many of us are heavy users of the little, blue tweet-goodness... we forget that there are still many many people out there who don't see the atttraction.

ever wonder why some people just don't get twitter? maybe you're one of them.


imagine walking into a firehouse. and all you see is bunch of guys sitting around. they're relaxing... shooting a basketball... grilling up some burgers... maybe washing a truck. doesn't look too impressive, does it?

maybe because you don't really see the full potential of that firehouse until something big happens! the alarm sounds... and the action starts! all of a sudden a well-tuned machine jumps to life and everything starts coming together. in under a minute firefighters are dressed and loading into trucks. equipment is stowed, the trucks roll out and the trained teams are on their way to the scene. something big happens. something that makes a difference.

i look at twitter much in the same way. the first time you get on, there's not a lot going on. and for the most part, you see a lot of "going to grab some lunch"... and "whoa, big day today! i'm nervous!" honestly the whole "twitter"-thing to a beginner looks rather boring. but this lull is much like the firehouse!

the value of twitter comes from how people respond during life events! perfect example... a person is flying into LAX one afternoon, and they hear something about an earthquake that had just hit southern california. a quick google search would pull up articles written about earthquakes in the past. geological surveys looking to predict future quakes... and possibly even a little known rock'n roll cover band from PA who dress like the amish. but no reference to something that happened moments before you landed.

but if you were to go to search.twitter.com ... and search "earthquake" you would surely find a detailed conversation that's exploding with first-hand reports of that recent event. perfect example of how twitter is changing the game. twitter provides 'search' in real-time.

if you don't believe me... try watching a live awards show on tv while surfing twitter! it's like walking into a room filled with people talking about the show! how this band sounds horrible... or that dress looks like 'bubble-wrap'... or can you believe taylor swift just got "kanyed???!!"

plus i've found twitter reports news faster than most respected websites, tv and radio stations... and light years ahead of newspapers! check out @BreakingNews sometime. sorting through their recent list of tweets will put you on top of the day's news!

esentially twitter has introduced us all to a new concept... "live search." and whether or not twitter is the next google of facebook... live search has definately proven it's value, and is here to stay.

background on the name...

i love the this quote...

“If I have seen farther than other men, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.”

but up until now i wasn't sure where it came from. well i just happened to come across a post on the Freakonomics blog that runs an ongoing quote search. and someone submitted this quote. here's the background:

“We are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they, and things at a greater distance, not by virtue of any sharpness of sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size.” Bernard of Chartres(French philosopher), quoted in John of Salisbury, The Metalogicon (1159).

good show Bernard!