Quixoting® - A Quest for New Ideas

When Ideas Are Able To Breathe

In the books on blogging they teach you never to apologize if you haven't written for a while.

But gosh it's been an awfully long time.

I've been writing though.  Just not here. Because as I may have shared before, Quixoting was an enabler.  A counselor.  And a type of therapy.

When I started Quixoting, it was because I needed a place to breathe. And a place to share some ideas that had been sitting around doing a whole lot of nothing.  Taking up space in my mind.  And bringing me down.

Down because I let them sit there.  It was my fault.  I spent too much time longing for their launch and no time actually launching them.

So it was repressive.

So after writing for a year or so here - sometimes with great effort and intent and other times with a lazy attitude - I decided to create an ebook about acting on ideas to summarize everything.

I did that and it felt good.

But once I did that the need to write more here dissipated. I did my job: to launch all the ideas in my idea book in some fashion.

Some here on the blog (so others could act on them) and some in IRL (in real life).

And that has made all the difference.

Because now there's no more longing. Just acting.  And doing.

Since I started writing this blog, I've done some important things, helped a lot of people and delivered against a few dreams that nearly died in my bottom drawer.

If you'd like to see what I've done in my "take action" world, check these out:

Tim's Strategy - Ideas for Job Search, Career and Life

Fix, Build and Drive - Marketing, Brand Development and Business Strategy Consulting

brilliant - Online Marketing, Social Media and Website Development Agency

You can also read more about my portfolio career on Tim's Strategy.

And if I can help you in any way, please let me know.  I've learned a lot about the process of kick starting a new action-oriented life.

I Can See Clearly Now: New Free E-Book Available

 
Well it took longer than I thought.  Like all things of interest I guess.

But it is done and here for you.

Download I Can See Clearly Now_Quixoting

I hope you like it and share it with others who may have ideas in their bottom door.  Screaming to get out.

This process of acting on my ideas has put my life on a positive new path.  And the book is a way to celebrate that path.

I hope that reading it inspires you to find yours.  Or at least kicks you in the pants to get started.

Don't Be Alarmed By This New Idea

I have a problem.  It's one that you might share.  In fact, half of the world may be with me on this one.

And it has to do with good intentions.  And an optimistic view of my ability to wake up in the morning.

You see I have this plan that each day during the week I will wake myself at 5:00 AM.  To write and otherwise work on the computer.  I truly believe that each day should start with this plan.  And each day my plan begins perfectly as the alarm sings out a hip song to sweep me out of my slumber, raise me out from under the sheets and gently guide me to the desk.

Sounds nice.  But it doesn't always happen.

Often what happens is that I wake my wife once.  Twice.  Three times.  As I hit that sweet slumber button.

Unfair to her and inefficient for me.  Even when I wake up at 5:00 on the first whistle, it often still wakes her.  And she doesn't sleep well as it is.

So I had an idea the other day. 

One that doesn't seem that difficult to invent and would solve two problems for me.

1. It would not wake my wife.
2. It would allow me the ability to wake up without the blaring sound of Fleetwood Mac.  I like Fleetwood Mac, mind you.  Just not at 5:00 AM.

Here's the idea.  I set the alarm as usual.  That part doesn't change.  But my alarm clock now has a cool added feature.

 . . . a fancy wristband.

And inside that wristband is a fancy little wireless transmitter.  And a small vibrating motor.

To wake only me.  Allowing my wife to sleep in peace.  Even when I gently squeeze the wristband to allow for 10 minutes more slumber.

This would really be a great new idea.  But my wife would like it even more than I.

Would you invent it for me?  I would be grateful.

Forever grateful.

Photo Credit

By the way, the e-book is almost done.  I promise.  Just reviewed the last draft on Friday.  :-)

The Idea Book Becomes A Book

After a few years of writing, here's an idea I've been meaning to take action on . . .

An e-book.  Built off the concept of this blog.  Another way to share the message that it's better to share ideas than keep them hidden.

So this is a pre-announcement of the book.  And once it is ready in a few weeks, it will be available as a free download.  Right from here.

Clues For The Clueless

One of the cool things about taking action on your ideas is the feedback you get. Verbal and non-verbal.

That feedback delivers guidance that I never had. Before I started writing this blog. To share my ideas and begin kicking a few over the ledge.

The feedback also shines a big bright light on your true passions. Never before had I felt the rush of creating online and rarely had I felt it as a writer.

And while I have truly loved writing here, I have to tell you that helping people is where my heart truly pounds. Helping people find jobs, navigate their careers and find some related purpose for their lives when "in between". I hope to hear my posts on Quixoting help you as well!

I do all this on my other site called Tim's Strategy (http://www.timsstrategy.com). It used to be called "spin strategy" before I decided to expand the scope and begin delivering the ideas more personally.

The rush I get from helping someone is unmatched. It is like fuel. And I never really knew that about myself. Not until I stepped out there on the ledge and tested the ground a bit.

And after 18 months of writing here and on Tim's Strategy, I now know things about myself. I am no longer guessing about my purpose in life. I'm now living it.

And while this post is a bit self-indulgent, it can also be educational. A learning opportunity for anyone who has been promising themselves to something with their ideas. Someday. Instead of letting them fester like an ulcer in your tummy.

I am now clean and cleared out.

No longer confused.

And ready to work with a clearly defined purpose in life.

To help others.

Testing An Idea On Twitter: My Results

A number of months ago, I began a test on Twitter.  To see if an idea had any merit.  I was curious if Twitter could be used as a free test market for a concept. After all, I could expose it to thousands of people, right?

So I announced my intention here on the blog and launched it:

Using Twitter To Launch And Test A New Idea

The idea was a website/platform that could be expanded to Facebook and other social media sites called Public Dreaming.  It was conceived as a community where people could share their dreams and life goals.  You see, a lot of people keep those things stuffed so deep down that the dream or idea never gets out to breathe. 

So I wanted to give people a place to express it.  And, I thought, the reward for that might be to have others view that dream.  If inspired, they might even offer some ideas of their own.  Or, in rare cases, grant that wish.  If they were all-powerful.  Or loaded.

The web concept was something like Twitter.  A public stream of dreams, goals, objectives.  Some simple, some grand and far-reaching.

Now my first impulse was to just get started on the website.  Build it and they will come.  But instead I shared the idea with a few people and got a funny look.  So I decided to do the test.

And now the results:

It was a miserable failure. 

While I got a lot of people to follow me (a few thousand), most were MLM folks or others wanting to do business on the internet.  One guy had a Twitter wishing well.  Similar, but different.  His idea wasn't working either.

I tried to get people to send me an @ message with their dream so I could re-tweet it.  A few did.  Most did not.

Perfect!  There's nothing like a good shot of clarity.  And here I was about to spend some good time and money building a site.  

Some could argue that this was not a real test.  That you can't take an idea out of context (without the real web site).  And you could argue that I quit too soon.  But I haven't quit.  I still own the url. 

I just am not diverting valuable time to it.  Because I know it is not an obvious hit.  Not on Twitter anyway.

Good to know, right?

The Things We Covet And Keep. Some Of Us, Anyway.

Sometimes writing is like a rifle shot.  A single bullet sent with targeted force at the reader.  Other times it seeks to reach a broader audience with content that is more generalized.

And sometimes we write because we need to do so. To get an idea out of our heads.  An idea that needs a new home.  A new place to dig.

Over the last 3+ years, I lost my Mom. And my Dad.  And what is striking is how different their passing became after we mourned.  Months and months after they died.

Of course there were many differences in their lives.  They were very different people.  And while they lived together for 22 years, their lives were not intertwined in matrimony beyond 15. 

They were very different people.  With some initial compatibility.  But not enough.  Not enough to stay together. 

And one of the key things that made them different was the things they kept.  And as a child you don't appreciate or seek to understand the stuff of your parent's lives.  Not really.  Until they are gone.  And then you get sentimental about items that you've walked past for years in the hall closet.

Jewelry they wore.

     Their favorite scarf.

          A military name tag.

               A college memory book.

          It even includes silly paperwork like the report from their driving test.

But you go through all of it as part of the remembering process.  And have to decide what to do with it all.  While very little of it has any practical value, each item is difficult to drop into a trash can.  I found it easier to place items in a grocery bag.  An interim place.  Prior to dropping that in a trash can later in the day.

 = = =

Now if you've read this blog before, you'll know that the principle driver is to take ideas from the idea book or active mind and release them to the world.  Well, as I write this, I am still waiting for the idea to take hold.  To find an opening in the writing to make itself known.  No luck yet.

 = = =

So I mentioned that my Mom and Dad were different.  Different in what they kept. And skipping forward, let me say that Mom kept it all and Dad kept almost nothing.  Mom gave us a house full of memories.  Dad left us a few small file cabinets.

After Mom died, there were months and months of decisions.  What to keep and what to donate.  What to release back to the earth.  It was hard to do.  But it was incredibly rewarding to touch and experience her life in this way.  To learn about her life as a family voyeur.  A thousand ways to say goodbye.  Every time I touched a piece of clothing or a trinket from a trip she took.  To Africa.  To China.

After Dad died, there were similar decisions.  Sure.  But the decisions were no where near as compelling.  No where near as powerful.  Because Dad keep next to nothing.  Over 70 years on this earth and so little saved.  No trophies.  No old letter jacket.  No golf clubs.  His old baseball mitt.

You see Dad was divorced.  He didn't have a garage.  But to me that's no excuse.  He should have kept a few things.  Things that mattered to him.

So they could matter to me.  Upon his passing.

So here's the idea, I guess. 

Keep your special things.  Somewhere.  Not as your way to live in or focus on the past.  Rather as a way to remember important moments in your life.  And as a way to share those special things one last time with those who want to remain close. 

After you've enjoyed your life and are ready to begin the next.

Ideas In The Idle Mind

I've been taking stock lately. Of my ideas.

Or at least the few that are coming these days. Oh sure, I'm still having them. But they are different.

Different in that they come at new intervals. And they are very focused.

Before I got busy with Tim's Strategy, the new job and a new flurry of kids sports, I had a mind at idle. To the extent that can be true of the mind.

An idle mind is allowed to rotate at its own speed. It takes in, I think, more random data and delivers more content back to the conscious mind. And more ideas.

Now I will say that the ideas produced in an idle mind are more quirky and niche. In fact, many are absolutely not worth a hill of beans. Except perhaps to provoke. An idea to build upon.

And because they come from data seen by the eyes and heard by the ears, they often are off-shoots of other ideas. Or, as dreadful as it sounds, may not be a new idea at all.

The idle mind produces more breakthrough ideas. I think.

I say that because my mind today is churning out a lot of content. But not necessarily any new ideas per se.

Part of the reason is that my mind is very busy today. I am forcing it to do a lot. Constantly. Early morning until late at night. And the ideas aren't coming in my sleep.

The other reason is that my mind is also highly focused. A few months back I decided to place limits on what I would focus on in life. At least for a bit. And I decided to put a big focus on the job search idea.

You see, Tim's Strategy allows me to put ideas to work, to share in a space where I have a passion and, importantly, help others.

So, busy and focused has not left much time. For just pure idea generation. And writing about the process. Here.

I've missed it and look forward to more fun here on Quixoting. Maybe the key will be finding a way that my writing here can help others.

That seems to be a new and key motivator for me in life. To focus on significance vs. success. Interested? Read a book by Bob Buford called "Halftime".

So, how can I help?

Signs That Your Idea Needs Love And Attention

Sometimes I get lost.  Not real bad.  But lost enough that I'm going to be late for something that matters.  A few weeks ago I was on the way to pick up my daughter at soccer practice.  At her normal field - one I've been to many times before.

This time I got lost.  Turned around.  Took a wrong turn.

I ended up two streets away and had to do a u-turn to get back.  The u-turn I took was an illegal one that forced me to do a 3-point version.  These are slower and potentially more embarrassing if someone comes driving up the other way.

And someone did.  Right as I was completing my turn.  And they were not happy.

But before I get to that, know that I found a purpose in the middle of my u-turn.  One that caused me to sit there in the middle of the road.  Facing the wrong way.

You see, I was in the middle of my turn (grumbling about making the original wrong turn) when I came upon the street sign above.  And decided to stop, get out my Blackberry and take a picture of it.

That's why I held up traffic for a short while.  After all, it's not often that you get a "sign" suggesting something in life that is actually a street sign.

But in this case, this sign is yet another quirky reminder that I am on a good path with Quixoting.  If you don't know the story, Don Quixote lived in "La Mancha" and his horse's name was "Rozinante".

So these signs and others along the way keep me going on this path.  To find the true path.

As blogs go, this one has a pretty small number of page views per day.  About 5% of the views that Tim's Strategy gets.  But that is OK.  That path is more clear.  And I found the right path sooner.

In the end, if this blog ends up being my own personal place to play and generate ideas that's OK too. 

But I'm going to keep looking for signs that something more is there.  Something that will allow Quixoting to live an authentic and well-followed existence.

As long as the signs keep coming.

Hungry For Breakfast? I Have An Idea.

So I had an idea this morning.  But I'll tell you that I'm a little bummed out that it came down to this.

You see, I had big plans this morning.  A little background story for you . . .

I was going to take my Triumph TR6 down to a little breakfast place called Corky's in Ladera Ranch (Orange County, CA) and enjoy a nice warm breakfast. 

Yes, that's my TR6 pictured below.  A car I have been waiting 20 years to buy.  And Quixoting helped me get it!  Yes, that's right.  Acting on my ideas.  Allowing in a little madness. 

 

So by now you have surmised that I did not go to breakfast because I decided to write this morning.  My family is out of town and I have an opportunity to get a few posts in the books. 

Now you might think the reason I am bummed is that I didn't get to drive the car.  Not true.  I had a full day with the car yesterday starting with Cars & Coffee and the Ford Design Center in Irvine, CA.  After that I joined a few Triumph and Austin-Healey owners for a quick drive down to Laguna Beach to a privately owned garage - owned by five car guys.  Very cool - see picture below.

 

A short but nice drive.  And then home to wipe the car down.

So are you ready for the idea?  Here I am starving to death writing to you instead of eating a warm breakfast.  Oh, the sacrifices.

Why isn't there a Dominos for breakfast?  Has anyone ever tried to deliver a hot breakfast?  Am I the only one who wants coffee, OJ, eggs over medium, hash browns and toast right now?  Hard to believe.

And knowing a little bit about the food business, breakfast is "HOT" right now.  It is a big area of growth.

Maybe it's because the experience of going out for breakfast is so great.  Or people wouldn't buy it because it might get cold.  Or perhaps it is too easy to make a few eggs and toast at home.  And cheaper.

But what if you came up with the world's best breakfast burrito?  One that could only be made by your company.  Unmatched.

Would people order a few?  And would they do it any other day but Sunday?

If you are an entrepreneur, take a look at this one.  I'm starving and feeling lazy.  Just give me your number and I'll call.  And order.

New E-Book Now Available! "30 Ideas. The Ideas of Successful Job Search."

So if you've followed along here for a while, you'll know that I started another blog the same day as this one. 

That other blog is called:  Tim's Strategy™ - Ideas for Job Search, Career and Life

And as that idea grows bit by bit, I want to share pieces of it - perhaps you can see how an idea can begin to take root and how you can slowly over time create a brand and a following.

I'm not saying I'm there yet.  Far from it.  After all, so many other great bloggers and job search experts are out there trying to reach the same people.  I mention a number of them in my new e-book.

One way that I decided to build Tim's Strategy is through the expansion of my ideas.  A book of ideas.  And since the new ebook is about ideas, I figured why not share it with you here at Quixoting.

It is called: "30 Ideas.  The Ideas of Successful Job Search"

You must know a few people who are out looking for work, right?  And maybe, just maybe, they'd appreciate a few new ideas to help them succeed along the way.

The blog post that includes the free download can be found here - 30 ideas. The Ideas of Successful Job Search..  

Let me know what you think, OK?

Need A New Place To Share Your Ideas?

In my last post, I discussed how easy it was - utilizing social media to launch a new idea.  Importantly, without cost and without risk.  

Using Twitter To Launch And Test A New Idea

Although if your idea is really bad, I guess your reputation can get t-boned.  But that's a risk we should be willing to take if we believe in our ideas.  Note: if you have any concern that your idea might be a stinker, tell 5 friends about it and tell them you can take the bad news . . .

Today I'm writing about another place you can share your ideas.  Or, in this case, a second home for an idea.  Quixoting is now also available as a "lens" on Squidoo.  Through the use of modules, you can build page after page on any topic you like.  You could even build a page for each idea you have.  And let the world tell you what they think.

Here's my new lens on Squidoo:

You can go there live by clicking here.  Stop by, vote on the content and leave a comment!

So there you have it.  No more excuses.  Twitter or Squidoo.  No cost, no risk.  

Priceless.

Using Twitter To Launch And Test A New Idea

The day I started acting on my ideas was one of my best ever.  All those years (20) of sitting on them was starting to build up as a bad headache.

So, on September 1 2008, I decided to start writing two blogs.  Quixoting™ and Tim's Strategy™

And since then I have been looking for ways to share all of my ideas - even if I lose ownership of them by doing so.  I've found that ideas left in a bottom drawer don't find soil, can't feel the warmth of the sun and cannot grow. Duh.

So as I find new homes for my ideas and as I come up with new ideas, I share them.  Publish them.

So today I'll share a new idea.

The new idea is called Public Dreaming™.  

And similar to sharing your ideas with the world, Public Dreaming is about sharing your dreams with the world.

In my opinion, a dream is a lot like an idea. If you secretly dream to be an astronaut and are quietly living out your life as an accountant, there's a problem. But what if you were to share your dream with your friends, family and . . .

. . . what if you calmed your fears and exposed your dreams to the general public? 

Scary, I know.  Sappy, perhaps.  But if someone saw your dream and had the ability to make it come true, would that be worth any public embarrassment?

So I've launched this idea with absolutely no cost and very little risk. You can click here to see it on Twitter.

You see, it doesn't need to cost a lot of money to launch your idea. Through Twitter, I will get critical early feedback and can, in fact, continually adapt my idea based on follower numbers and follower feedback.

The goal is to have people send their dreams to @PublicDreaming and I RT them back out to the world. Good karma if nothing else, right?

I grabbed the .com, .net and .org for "publicdreaming" just in case . . .

Will it become the next big idea?  Not sure.

But it will be bigger than any you or I have sitting in a bottom drawer.  :-)

What Motivates You? What Shapes Your Ideas?

Every one of us should have something.  Something driving us forward in life.

Yours might be desire or fear.  Narcissism or morality.

I've found that in life this motivating pressure has ebbed and flowed.  Sometime I am driven in ways I cannot slow.  Other times?  Not so much.  Life slows to a somewhat uncomfortable pace.

Of course, I know I should get comfortable with slow.  I should get comfortable with it all.

For me, many of these motivators are experience driven.  For example, back in elementary school I got into a scrap and had no idea what to do.  So I flailed around, backed off and ran.  Tough guy, right?

That motivated me to be prepared for a similar encounter in the future and, perhaps, to find ways to avoid the scrap in the first place.

In high school, my parents divorced.  And as the oldest living at home, I had new responsibilities.  I was, in fact required to be "responsible". 

In college, 6 months in, my dad lost his job and I lost my college funding.  So I got two jobs and made it on my own until, two years later, he got back on his feet.  I learned that I can make it on my own.  That "if it is to be, it will often be up to me".  I became independent after those two years.  I learned that I have a strong survivor instinct and that, if backed into a corner, I have the strength and confidence to find a way out.

This college experience was the most influencing of all.  But you combine it with the high school experience and I now see a pattern.  A pattern that explains one of the reasons why I did not launch any of my ideas up until now.

I was trained by these experiences to be conservative.  To not take big risks.

During the first 20 years of my career, I have largely played it safe.  Did what I had to do.  Late hours and long commutes (I had two separate jobs early in my career where driving 1.5 hours each way was common). 

Why did I do it? 

Well, I need to take care of my family of course.  They need primarily as a source of income, right?  Well, no, of course not.  They wanted me around most of all!

Now, looking back, I see my motivators being a bit twisted.  And as a good friend suggested recently, those motivators from high school and college served their purpose.  They got me through my hunting an gathering stage.  I made it!  A successful Vice President!

Now, as I head into my second half, I want to be less driven by conservative guarantees and more by the drivers in my heart. 

So it makes total sense that I am launching my ideas or letting them go.  Releasing them to the world. 

There's a great book out there about this time in life.  You will find something in this book by Bob Buford.  It's called Halftime - Changing Your Game Plan From Success To Significance.

It doesn't mean that you can't be successful.  Just that your reasons for wanting to succeed get adjusted (my conclusion, not necessarily the author's).

So what I am asking you to do today is: think about what has been your driving force over the past years.  And take some time to see if that force is still relevant.  Still positive.  Still correct.

Through my own discovery process, I've found a new motivating force.  One that is far less conservative and survival-focused.

I am taking more risks.  And that is a good thing.

Happiness. Where Art Thou?

So if you've read this blog a bit you know that by acting on my ideas, I now feel a sense of accomplishment.  A sense of having honored my ideas and myself. My ideas now have credibility with me and have the chance to be included in public discourse and, inevitably, be available for critical analysis.  

Meaning that people may not like them very much.

All that is pretty good.  And what I was planning for when I set out on this journey with Quixoting.

So why do I not feel a powerful sense of happiness about my efforts to date?  Because I still have a long way to go? Is it that I will never be happy with what I've done? Kind of a perfectionist?

What does happiness mean anyway?  Is it the same as joy?  Is one temporary and one long-term?

Well, to give this a little bit of sense, I've been keeping track of popular references to happiness and now thought I'd summarize it here.  

Am I covering the scope of the world's philosophy?  Of course not.  But I will, I hope, begin to crack the code.  For myself.  And perhaps you'd like to chime in . . .

So how does dictionary.com define happiness?  

hap⋅pi⋅ness

–noun

1.	the quality or state of being happy.

2.	good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.

Origin: 
1520–30; happy + -ness 

Synonyms:
1, 2. pleasure, joy, exhilaration, bliss, contentedness, delight, enjoyment, satisfaction. Happiness, bliss, contentment, felicity imply an active or passive state of pleasure or pleasurable satisfaction.Happiness results from the possession or attainment of what one considers good: the happiness of visiting one's family. Bliss is unalloyed happiness or supreme delight: the bliss of perfect companionship. Contentment is a peaceful kind of happiness in which one rests without desires, even though every wish may not have been gratified: contentment in one's surroundings. Felicity is a formal word for happiness of an especially fortunate or intense kind: to wish a young couple felicity in life. 

Antonyms:
1. misery.

There are many other ways to define happiness:

Happiness = The Anticipation Of Pleasure.  

This one worked for me for a while.  Basically, fill your life with interesting things and you feel good knowing that fun things are on the way.  But what if you only enjoy the anticipation and the actual happiness of the event is fleeting?  I wrote something quick on this a few weeks back . . .

Happiness = the anticipation of pleasure

I get pleasure from productive creative time

Productive creative time delivers a tangible idea

That tangible idea is made up of my mental DNA

Mental DNA includes me plus all that I experience

Experience gives thoughts relevance

Being relevant makes me happy

Happiness = The Absence Of Pain

The tough thing here is that pain is multi-dimensional and includes sadness, physical pain, stress, discomfort and the like.  How can we ever be absent of all that at one time?  I have had moments of complete mental freedom and those do feel good.  I remember one particular time in Yakima, Washington.  It was winter, cold and snowing.  I was sitting my garage with the big door open, watching big snowflakes fall on the driveway.  Me in a beach chair drinking a cold beer.  And I had one - a moment of nothingness.  Bliss.  

Happiness - Absence Of Knowledge Or a State Of Ignorance

Think of newborns (except when hungry/soiled, of course).  Think of Thumper in Bambi.  Sid from Ice Age or Donkey from Shrek.  Is that a fair characterization of their reason to be happy?  How does one become ignorant and does it really work?  Are shut-ins happy?  Hermits?

Happiness = A Life Full Of Distraction

I guess you could argue this is similar to or related to "anticipation", but this one came from a recent interview on NPR.  They were interviewing Woody Allen and asked him about happiness.  His view was that there will always be pain and discomfort.  Life will always be hard in some way.  But through filling your life with events and people who keep you busy, you pay less attention to the tough stuff.

Why this focus and why today?  In the middle of feeling the freedom from acting on my ideas, why focus on this?

Well, I find it interesting.  Always have.  While I did not major in philosophy, I always loved the idea that someday I would.  And I think that we as thinking creatures should always ponder life in this way.

I'm not the ignorant type.  Although I'm attracted to their characters in movies.

And, don't get me wrong.  I love what I am doing here at Quixoting and with Tim's Strategy.  But taking action on your ideas does not drop you into a nirvana swimming pool.  There will be frustrations and obstacles.

And having thought of them I feel better prepared to battle them.

In conclusion, I'll share a great poem by Carl Sandburg.  I wrote out this poem and had it on my wall . . . in High School.

HAPPINESS

I ASKED the professors who teach the meaning of life to tell
me what is happiness.

And I went to famous executives who boss the work of
thousands of men.

They all shook their heads and gave me a smile as though
I was trying to fool with them

And then one Sunday afternoon I wandered out along
the Desplaines river

And I saw a crowd of Hungarians under the trees with
their women and children and a keg of beer and an
accordion.

A Man Needs A Little Madness

So if you've read this blog you understand that it is based on the story of Don Quixote. His desire to take action on things he believed in makes him a great symbolic mentor. 

Of course you can argue about his mental state if you'd like... 

I'd like to say also that life is full of nudgings. Where they come from, I cannot be sure. But Quixoting came to me over a few months. OK. 240 months. As the time to act got closer I had a number of big indicators. Signs. Telling me it was time. 

So I started writing both blogs (this + Tim's Strategy) and the nudgings come more often. I must be doing something right! 

Well, a few weeks ago, a good friend suggested a movie for me. Made in 1964 and starring Anthony Quinn and Alan Bates, the movie is Zorba The Greek. It tells the story of a man (Bates)who travels to the island of Crete to manage land owned by his deceased father. Zorba (Quinn) meets him in a bar prior to departure when the boat has to wait for weather to clear. Zorba is looking for work. 

There is a great mismatch here as the man is uptight. Zorba, on the other hand, is impulsive - an adventurous soul. 

Near the end of the movie, there is a great line I wanted to share with you that fits beautifully with the philosophy here at Quixoting: 

(Zorba speaking) "Dammit Boss. I like you too much not to say it. You've got everything except one thing. Madness. A man needs a little madness. Or else ... He never dares cut the rope and be free."

Hmmm. How much madness do you have?

Finding A Fit For You And Your Ideas

If you are looking for work or looking for the right fit for yourself in the work world, I have a book for you.   

But, if you are secretly pining that you would rather be starting something new, writing a book or pursuing a crazy passion, you will absolutely relate to this book.  In a big way.

It has become a resource I come back to again and again.  You could say it helped to inspire Quixoting.  You see, the passion I don't pursue has always been a burr in my shorts from a career standpoint.

The book is called How To Find The Work You Love written by Laurence G. Boldt.  An innocent enough title, right?  In fact, it could be viewed as yet another self-help book preaching the same old advice found in countless others.  And, if you look on the web, you will find many books with similar titles.

But this one hit me square in the eyes a few years ago.  There are quotes from this book that knocked me back onto my rear end.  And it took me a few minutes to get up.

You see I have been searching . . .

If you don't know my story, I am a marketing guy.  But more importantly, I am an idea guy.  One that sat on his ideas for 20 years with absolutely no clue what to do with them.  So they sat there.  And every year they did, I felt less and less attached to them.

Deep down I knew there was a purpose for them.  A time to see the light of the world.  But that didn't stop me from beating myself up every time I added a new one to my idea book or re-read an old one.

Then on September 1, 2008 - nine months a five month break/job search - I finally took action.  I started this blog and began sharing my ideas with the world.  And I shared my psychological reaction to having done so with hopes that others might get inspired to act as well.  

This book contributed heavily to the mindset that allowed my "break" to be instrumental.

If you have ideas at rest.  Gathering dust. Or ideas that never even got off the page or out of your mind, that is a real shame.  The world is missing out and you are not experiencing the satisfaction of creating.  Creating something that was born in you.

So, here are a few quotes from the book that I hope will inspire you.  They are very supportive of the main message of Quixoting: To take action on your ideas.

HOW IDEAS CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

“Recognize that you have arrived in your current circumstances because of the decisions you have or have not made, because of the actions you have or have not taken.  Making new decisions and following them up with action gives you the power to change your life.”

THE RESULT OF NOT TAKING ACTION

“As long as we deny our individuality and fail to develop and express our unique talents and gifts, we miss the joy and creative self-expression.  We feel frustrated, repressed and trapped.”

FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN

“Only after we have stepped out into the creative emptiness do we discover the bridges that have been there all the while waiting to help us across.”

This last quote is similar to one I provide earlier from Kurt Vonnegut.  And it was one of the toughest aspects for me.  

What if I fail?  

The only way to find out if your idea has value for you or others is to act on it.  Each solid step you take triggers a new view as to what is ahead.  It is a cool experience!

I really had no official plan on where I would take this blog or Tim's Strategy (job search strategy).  Of course I had some ideas . . . 

So I built them and continue to push them forward.  And every once in a while, a round peg finds another and people react.

An d that feels good.  

An Idea In Motion. Built Here On Quixoting™.

Today I wanted to give you an update on the first idea I decided to launch from this blog (incubator).  I say incubator because the act of writing here has furthered my effort to come up with ideas to launch.

But I can't do it all.  So, for now, I write here when I can.  Allowing Tim's Strategy to be the focus.  If Tim's Strategy can become a valuable tool for job seekers, I'd love to take another idea and do the same.

Isn't that what entrepreneurs dream of?  Multiple ideas that find favor with the market?

What are you doing with your ideas?

I think the best ideas grow organically.  Lots of people telling lots of other people about what they found. And then you build on the idea so it adds even more value.  Mix in social media and you get something special.  Potentially.

So here's an update on Tim's Strategy.  After 10 months of writing, building tools, networking and sharing ideas, here are the stats:

Blog average page views per day ~ 600

Website average page views per day ~ 200

Linkedin group members ~ 814

Blog feed sign-ups ~ 436

Blog e-mail update sign-ups ~ 194

Twitter followers ~ 674

Successful?  Well, it's a start!

Here's today's post from Tim's Strategy.  You might enjoy it if you are wondering whether Twitter is for you . . .

Twitter. Like A Walk In The Park.

Now, of course, those are just numbers up above.  Only one way to measure success.  What I love the most is the helping power of this idea.  People are out of work.  Need help.  And it turns out that my ideas, delivered from the perspective of a hiring manager and a former job seeker, are really helping people.

That feels great.  And while I try to do some promotion of Tim's Strategy, most of my growth is coming from word of mouth.  People sharing something that helped them.  With others in need.

What's coming next from Tim's Strategy?  A brand new website!  I am very excited to take this idea to the next level and provide some real substantial value to job seekers.

But it has been a lot of work.  Pulling your idea out of the bottom drawer, blowing the dust off and introducing it to the world is not easy.  But, boy does it feel good!

Have an idea you'd like to share?  Let me know.  Happy to provide a blank canvas where you can introduce YOUR ideas to the world.  If interested, comment below.  I'll walk you through it!

What are YOU waiting for?

Where Truckers And Ideas Collide

 

I took a nice long drive today.  From Bass Lake, CA back home to Mission Viejo, CA.  It normally takes about 6.5 hours with a family + dog.  Today I drove solo and did it in 5.5 hours.  So that calculates as:

(Tim + Family + Dog) - (Tim Alone) = 1.0 Hours

No, I was not a math whiz in school.  But I knew it would be faster and I knew it would allow a little more thinking time on the way.  And if you know me at all, you know I like to think.  To a fault.

And, because I was driving during the week on the 5 Freeway I met a few truckers along the way. Now, let me just say I have not always been a big fan of truckers.  During sales training in Colorado, I almost got tossed off of a snow-filled highway by an 18 wheeler.  Who, by the way, did not slow down to see if I made it through the pass.

But, over the years, I've come to appreciate the work they do, the sacrifices they make and the life they lead out there on the open road.  I've even, yes, come to have some empathy for them.  Especially during the tough economy as fewer trucks are needed to transport fewer goods.

But even more present was the fact that I had recently indoctrinated my kids into the Smokey and the Bandit movie club.  You have to get a good feeling for truckers after watching that movie! 

So I had that on my mind as I drove along.  And, surprise surprise, an idea popped in.  One that should help truckers and potentially allow for a more friendly relationship between 4-wheelers and 18 wheelers.

It hit me as I was watching yet another big truck try to change lanes.  Not an easy thing for a truck driver to do, right?  Of course, if you have ever driven a car on the freeway, the last thing you want is a big old nasty truck in front of you.  Be honest.

You can't see around them, they are dirty, they spew black clouds and, well, I'd rather zip ahead of them and be done with it.

But I'm thinking "that's dangerous".  And it is.  And the more people do it, the more chance that someone will get hurt.  If they don't get hurt, my guess is that each "drive-by" begins to irritate the big guy in the trailer.  Not good.

With me so far?

After watching driver after driver rush ahead of one specific truck today, I had an idea to help. It came from a more dastardly place in my mind.  The one that says: 

"That truck driver just needs to move over.  That'll teach those cars to pass like that."

Of course I would never suggest anyone perform an unsafe maneuver in a big ol' truck.  I'm just saying that's where the thought came from originally!

So here's the idea.  

Each truck should be fitted with special tri-colored turn signal lights.  Here's how it would work:

1. GREEN - driver has initiated a lane change
2. YELLOW - driver will begin moving over in three seconds 
3. RED - driver is now changing lanes 

The thought is that everyone gets what they want.  A little communication and friendly, well known color patterns on traffic signals for the auto driver.  And a process that allows a lane change for the truck driver in a guaranteed amount of time. 

The industry could do some public service announcements to educate consumers on the new signals and their use can be part of the education shared in the driver's handbook.

So, when you go to get your license renewed next year . . .

Don't forget.  Green, yellow then red.

Oh, and, go hug a trucker.  They don't bite.

Never Share An Idea With Your Mechanic

A few months ago I was in to see my mechanic.  You see, the Jeep's potential inability to keep up with the hour long commute had me a bit worried about a very public breakdown.  

My mechanic is a really good guy.  Honest and straightforward.  Perhaps the best I've had in my adult car owning lifetime.

The only problem?

He didn't react to my idea the way I wanted him to . . . he didn't get it.

Now, if you are like me, you tend to fall in love with your ideas.  Despite hearing information telling you that you are being a bit naive.  But I tend to believe that if you are passionate about it, you should keep going.  On the theory that if it matters to you, you will not give up when times get tough . . .

So, back to the mechanic.

It all started when he asked me about the Jeep's license plate.  See above. You see, the last time I was in there, I had the old plates on there and he could not find the new ones in his computer system.

Here's how the conversation went:

Mechanic:  License plate?

Me:  Q-X-O-T-I-N-G

Mechanic:  Q-X-T . . .

Me:  Q-X-O-T-I-N-G

Mechanic:  Uh, OK.  Does that mean something?

Me:  Well, I write a blog about ideas.

Mechanic:  A what?

Me:  A blog.  An online journal.

Mechanic:  Like a diary?

Me:  Kind of.  I share my ideas and try to inspire others to do the same.

Mechanic:  You lost me.  What's the plate mean?

Me:  Oh, it stands for "Quixoting" which is based on the life of Don Quixote.

Mechanic:  I don't know who that is.

Me:  The book about tilting at windmills?  Written by Cervantes?

Mechanic:  (blank stare)

Now, before I say anything more, know that my mechanic is a pretty smart guy. So I really thought he would know who Don Quixote was and perhaps understand the connection.  Nope.

So, after I left the car with him, I started thinking about his reaction.  Had I completely screwed up in choosing Don Quixote as my namesake?  Am I as delusional as the Don himself?  What if this were my plan for income down the road?  Was I being selfish and pig-headed?  Don't answer that.

It is an interesting question.  Some small business consultants I'm sure would say: absolutely DO take all your ideas to your mechanic.  If he doesn't get it, toss it out the window!

I'm curious if any of you have experience here?  If an idea doesn't pass the mechanic test, should we drop it? Maybe change it?

Again, in my situation, Quixoting is not something I'm creating as a money maker. So, the pressure is off.  

But, is it really?