When Success is your Enemy.

As I read Blake Mycoskie's "Start Something that Matters" I began to to compare his journey to success with The Fuzzy Peach journey to success. We made a lot of the same steps, influenced by a lot of the same people including Branson, Godin, and Turner. We both started our business with extreme bootstrapping, neither of us really had any assets to invest except time and a willingness to learn. We both enjoyed early success, not having the problem of "having to get our name out there". But then it dawned on me that maybe success was our enemy. We were so successful so quickly that we felt we were invincible. There's no doubt we still had a lot to learn - I am still learning everyday. So maybe money should have been used wiser. We certainly have not spent money in excess (we own a '92 ford pickup) but we did get out of the stores as quickly as we could. Whereas last summer and fall, I was legitimately devoting 70-80 hours a week to the business, we got away from that this spring. Not working in the stores gave us the freedom to work on the stores, or so we thought. I wonder if we spent too much time working on the stores and not enough in them. I'm thinking we enjoyed our successes too soon and maybe we have since missed out on opportunities by not continuing to boot strap. Of course, if we didn't decide to franchise, we would have $75,000 more in our pockets right now but that was a strategic decision and we need to see it through. I guess my ultimate takeaway from this post is to not enjoy success too soon. Continue to work hard, work lean and instill in your company the values that got you to where you are no matter how fat your bank account might grow.

What does Howard Know?

"One thing about Starbucks is obvious - the coffee is really and truly delicious. The reason is simple. Howard Shultz loves coffee. He refers to everyone who hasn't had their first cup of the day as "precaffeinated." He spent months in Italy, drinking and learning. He has a coffee otaku. Where does remarkable come from? Often it comes from passionate people who are making something for themselves. Are you obsessed or just making a living?"

I've been thinking up this blog for a long time but didn't know where to start it. The above excerpt is from Seth Godin's "Purple Cow". I chose this as the initial post because I think it sets the standard for what our lives, personal and professional, should be all about. It sets the tone for where my life is going and how this blog is going to follow my journey there. If you are not 100% committed, totally obsessed, and in love with what you are doing, why are you doing it?