Posts

Identity Theft or Donation

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So much is said about startup and entrepreneurship. Especially if you run in the crowds I run in. Well...ran in. And, as you'd expect, most of it is geared toward founders. They are the ingenues, the mavericks, the risk-takers, and ultimately the visionaries that expand our thinking, change our perspectives, and get us to buy a new widget we didn't know we needed. Compelling stuff. The energy of all that is addicting - which probably explains why I am in it. And I'm in it as employee number two. Historically, I haven't seen a whole lot about employees number 1, 2, or 3. And I can attest to the probability that it's because the first onboard are 100% full-throttle, 24/7. They, *clears throat*, we completely immerse ourselves in vision: eat, drink, breathe, sleep that new startup. We are the first investors, the evangelizers, the swiss army knives, and ultimately the catalysts that drive progress, refine process, and fuel innovation. As an early investor with m

Conscious/Conscientious

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It - this rabbit hole - started with a song that was on the tip of my memory's tongue. The song was part of an instrumental mood station that Almighty Google offered up for the 'mood' of working: epic film scores. Who doesn't want the word "epic" in the title of anything...let alone the purposeful intent of "designing for a moment" - a term shamelessly borrowed from a friend and fellow journeyer, Jason Osburn . Typing along to the beautifully recognizable crescendos of "The Imperial March" and music from Batman Begins, the song "Sunshine (Adagio in D Minor)" stops me from my work. Instantly familiar but not from the movie for which it is epically scored. It took the better half of a day, crowdsource help from the brilliantly everything Jason Croft , and a trike ride around my neighborhood before the context dawned on me: "Sunshine" was the background music - BACKGROUND music mind you - for a YouTube video I listened to

Perspective

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#BreakingNews: my brain moves a mile a minute. And this is the justification I'm going to use for what's coming next. So, I pull up to #CityCentral, get out of the car, shut the door, and have that #BrianRegan "oh, no, today's the science fair" moment. I locked my keys in the car - which is a first. I've driven off with the gas hose still in my tank - those things are engineered surprisingly well by the way - but have never locked in my keys. Panicked, I go into the office and go right to one of the members, Marcus , for help. He's fantastic and one of those "gets stuff done" type of guys. We're (he's) messing with shims and hangers for a couple of minutes; I'm getting increasingly uncomfortable with the awareness that it's 346 degrees outside and Marcus has A LOT of work to do. This is when my dear friend, Raj , pulls up for a meeting. He assesses the situation and asks where the keys are at. I point to where my R2-D2 keych

Adopreneurship and Rising Tides

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I love mashups and remixes - like when Jay Z and Linkin Park collaborated on the Collision Course album? Or when Heath Ledger remixed The Taming of the Shrew ( 10 Things I Hate About You )? Oh - and when P Diddy, I think that's what he was calling himself at that time, sampled The Police? Yes. Please. My term, Adopreneur, is no different: it's an inspired mashup of adolescent entrepreneur. Inspired by and now a resume line item for my 12 year old hustler. About a week ago he told me that he wanted to earn some extra money (to support his Fortnite habit) and was posting an ad for his lawn mowing services on Nextdoor . And while independence and initiative is EXACTLY the behavior I reward in my home, I was apprehensive about the willingness of neighbors to hire such a young kid. And I was right in my concern - there was no response. He kept chirpily checking his post for responses - to crickets. Until this. We reached out to the husband who tells me how he has gr

Pontificating: Transition

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I used to be a little embarrassed by my resume. To meet me is to know that I'm a bit of an intellectual gypsy with a splash of adult on-set ADD. I love big concepts (and I cannot lie!), industry and societal trends, and their impacts. In my career transition from stay-at-home mom to working single mom, I have had the opportunistic luxury of following my curiosity and interests in my jobs - experiencing unique roles in diverse industries. Without the above paragraph as a resume backdrop, I might appear to be flakey or unfocused. However, I would argue the case for opportunistic as well as strategic work transitions. Complacency is the new risk. FOMO (fear of missing out) isn't just related to social media (which I low-key hate but more on that another time): absolutely employ the power of FOMO to your skill acquisition, interests, and ultimately...your work considerations. Two quotes inform my decision-making: "The master in the art of living makes little distinction