Lemonade Anyone?

The other day I happened to come across a clip of Richard St. John’s well-known talk at the 2005 TED conference entitled: “Secrets of success in 8 words, 3 minutes.” Needless to say (though I’ll say it anyways), I was thoroughly impressed after just 2 words, 1 minute.

In fact, I was so inspired by Richard’s life-lecture that I decided to examine my own experiences to see what eight words I might retrospectively come up with. However, as fate would have it (and in my case it usually does), something very peculiar happened when I unlocked the dilapidated filing cabinet otherwise known as my head, and opened the drawer labeled “Akash’s Kick-Ass Pearls of Wisdom.” Rather than pull out the two most obvious, relevant and comprehensive binders – the ones chronicling my recent experiences as both a business owner and a business controller – I was compelled,  for reasons unbeknownst to me, to reach all the way into the back and pick out a solitary, dusty, beaten folder from my youth.

Twelve years ago, you see, I decided to do what most kids do when they’re bored senseless in the middle of July and looking for an extra little cash: wake up every morning for four weeks straight, set up a little table, little chair, little sign, and little cooler on the corner of busiest intersection in my neighborhood, and holler until I no longer sounded like a prepubescent – all in an effort to sell lemonade.

Little did I know however, that over a decade later those dog days of summer would hold the keys to a lifetime’s worth of success:

1) Purpose – In order to succeed, you must first find a purpose. Back then of course, mine was to buy a pool table, but as I’ve gotten older those kind of things have become less and less consequential; and I’ve come to realize that nowadays more often than not I’m at my best when I “hitch my wagon to something greater than myself (Obama).”

2) Reputation – Reputation is everything. Even today, folks from the neighborhood still come up to me and tell me that the only reason they bought lemonade from me in the first place was because I shouted so loud (so consistently) they figured if they gave me money, I’d shut up! But hey, I must have done something right because they all kept coming back.

3) Flexibility – To succeed you must be open to and willing to change. Had I not constantly tweaked my signage, slogans, and offerings (e.g. I started selling popsicles and pink lemonade) to meet the demands of my target audience I’m not sure I would have achieved my goal as quickly as I ultimately did. 

4) Friendship – Success is not a solitary endeavor; on the contrary, the degree to which we succeed is directly proportional to the number and quality of people we connect with. Many of my customers for example, ended up being regulars not because I sold “the best lemonade ever” (even though that’s what I advertised), but because I developed genuine friendships with them – friendships that in many ways helped shape my views on life, love, and growing up.

5) Persistence – Success ain’t easy. I still wonder why, even when things didn’t go well (and trust me, there were more than a few occasions when they didn’t), I refused to quit. Part of me thinks it’s because I had nothing better to do with my time; part of me thinks it’s because I really wanted that pool table; but deep down I think it’s mostly because I was and always have been one determined S.O.B.

6) Joy – You must enjoy what you do. I can’t tell you how excited I was to jump out of bed every morning, scarf down my breakfast, gather my things, run outside, and set up shop; for in my mind, another day meant another chance to: inch one step closer to my goal, run my own establishment, feel like a “grown-up,” and chat with the regulars.

7) Journey – Oftentimes the journey is just as meaningful, if not more so, than the “result” itself. Case in point: even though I never got that pool table (um, thanks Dad!), the primary reason I am able to look back on those days fondly, is because they yielded something far more valuable: perspective.

8) Love – Finally, in order to succeed we need a little love. I’ll never forget my Mom coming out to give me words of encouragement, my Dad driving me to the grocery store specifically to buy lemonade and popsicles, or my best friend and neighbor helping me out for hours at a time even though I didn’t give him a dime; if that’s not love I don’t know what is.

Thoughts?

We Are the Ones

Though I don’t necessarily think a blog of this nature is an appropriate forum to discuss politics, I feel compelled and almost obligated to say a few words in light of today’s historic inauguration.

Like many of you, I am profoundly humbled to be alive and of an age that I can comprehend the magnitude of this extraordinary moment; and like you I suspect, I pray with every fiber in my body that the next 4-8 years live up to the hopeful and optimistic sentiment that surges through the veins of millions here and abroad.

However, celebration and promise aside, I believe deeply that this is a critical opportunity for us to reflect on the immense challenges ahead as well. For in spite of the kinship and unity we no doubt feel as Americans today, the world has in many ways never been more fragmented: In October of 2008, the global financial/sub-prime crisis and ensuing federal response poignantly underscored the widening discrepancy between rich and poor; in November, citizens the world over stood in stunned silence as 173 innocent men, women, and children fell victim to terrorist attacks in Mumbai, causing relations between India and Pakistan to fray even more; and in late December, Israel for right or for wrong (I will let you decide) launched an offensive that ultimately left 1300 people dead, a country’s GDP in shambles, and a region in disarray.

Thus, it stands to reason that if we are to truly live up to our considerable potential, if we are to truly form a “more perfect union” between people of all colors, creed, and beliefs then it is imperative we start to focus on something larger than ourselves each and every day. Be it making one more person smile, listening to someone just a few minutes longer, opening up to one more facet of the truth, or genuinely engaging someone we normally would not talk to. It doesn’t matter.

Today, whether we’re ready or not, the sun rises anew. But let there be no mistake: it is solely up to us to ensure that it rises even more gloriously tomorrow.

Mimicking Reality

It seems like everyone and their mother likes to make predictions around this time of year; and so clearly, being the fun-loving guy that I am ( really, I am!), I thought it only appropriate that I join the party. However, as is usually the case with me, there’s just one slight problem: a key prerequisite to making predictions is that you have to have something to make a prediction about in the first place! So okay, let’s see here. How about sports? Eh, considering Seattle just completed the worst year in sports history that’s not likely (seriously, Oklahoma Thunder?!). Fine, then how about women? Ha! Yeah, no I’m not touching that one, sorry mom.

*Sigh* so I suppose that wasn’t too hard after all. By process of elimination that leaves me with: web-based business, specifically as it pertains to social media. If you ask me, many of the largest and most reputable social media companies today have achieved critical mass because of one thing and one thing only: they mimic, consolidate, and expedite what we do on the web. For instance:

1) Facebook – If you really think about it Facebook and other social networks like it became ubiquitous because they enable people to connect and communicate with contacts from their past and present through one simple, yet powerful interface. Rather than through instant messenger and email, which are inefficient and fragmented mediums at best.

2) Digg – Next, Digg has become a phenomenon because it successfully leverages its large user base to create a repository of “interesting” content. So now, instead of browsing through sites and sharing content one at a time (which is what people used to do on the web), people can simply sign into their Digg account, and find/submit content for all their friends to see.

3) Twitter – Finally, for its part, Twitter capitalizes on the interconnectivity of the web/mobile phones to faciliate micro-blogging through multiple mediums (e.g. AIM, gmail, Facebook etc). So instead of updating their friends one person at a time and one medium at a time (which, again, is what we used to do), people can now chat with and provide real-time status-reports to all their “bffs” at once (e.g. “OMG. The Jonas Brothers are sooooooo HOT! xoxo”).

Of course, I’m oversimplifying things for the sake of brevity. Facebook, Digg, and Twitter each provide far more value than I give them credit for above. However, my sense is that at some point, if not in 2009 than shortly thereafter, mimicking the web (i.e. increasing the proximity of information) will simply not be enough; and in order to succeed, the next generation of social media companies must and will learn how to mimic reality.

For, as useful, wonderful, and mind-blowing as some of these current sites are, I predict that one day soon we’ll look up blurry-eyed from our monitors, iphones,  blackberries, blueberries and strawberries; and realize in a moment of (ironic) clairvoyance that there’s just no subsitute to engaging and impacting others in real-life.

Thoughts?

Taking the Plunge

It’s funny how life works. Sure, inspiration strikes when you least expect it; but who knew that inspiration strikes when you are least willing to accept it as well?

To illustrate, the other day I decided to message social media/marketing goddess Shannon Paul on a whim really, if only to make an introduction. She, being the gracious, wonderful person that she is, wrote back immediately offering words of encouragement and support: “…Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you. Do you have a blog? If so, please send a link.”

In retrospect, my reply was rather embarrassing.  I wrote, and I quote, “Unfortunately, with [job-hunting] the way it is, I haven’t had a chance to put together a blog yet…” with the implicit assumption being of course that searching for a job was simply taking far too much of my “valuable” time to devote energy to writing (I mean come on, who DOES that?). Besides, I (stupidly) reasoned, what could I possibly say that would hold Shannon’s interest for more than 30 seconds!?

Ugh.

I kid you not: the second I clicked “send,” viscous black guilt started to seep into my lungs, effectively replacing all the “hot air” that I had let out until I couldn’t breathe (okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating  just a tad).  But was job hunting really taking that much of my precious time?  Did I really not have the mind-share to dedicate to a blog? Or was I just being a big wuss? Was I simply too afraid to admit to myself and to others that the real reason I had never decided to join the blogosphere was because I was terrified of what people might think? Petrified that I would not be thought-provoking or interesting enough…

Of course if you know anything about me, you would know that I could have gone on analyzing and rationalizing forever, and probably would have, had I not been slapped lovingly in the face by an epiphany: the point is not to be interesting, the point is to be interested. For, as uncomfortable and naked as you might initially feel, only in pursuing that which you are passionate about do you truly become relevant.

So there you have it. Here I stand on the precipice of the unknown, willing myself to take the plunge – all because some incredibly smart, kind soul guilt-tripped me. The nerve!