Tyler Jorgenson

Back in April I wrote about The Battle.  The War rages on.

Resistance continues to wield it’s bloody sword in it’s effort to keep us from our potential.

But, it hasn’t won.

Remember that I’m here for the war. Join me in the fight and let’s build something epic together.

Some quotes on Resistance:

You don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to. You can do good things for yourself and make the world a better place at the same time. – Chris Guillebeau

If you haven’t read about how Chris Guillebeau is changing the world, you need to visit his site, follow him on twitter, become a facebook fan, etc.  He has four basic tenants of his philosophy.

The essence of my philosophy is this:

1. You don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to.

2. If you don’t decide for yourself what you want to get out of life, someone else will probably end up deciding for you.

3. There is usually more than one way to accomplish something.

4. You can do good things for yourself and help other people at the same time.

Most people that I know live their life based on projected values and desires.  For example a son may become a Lawyer because his Father always told him he should.  One thing I see happen quite often is the dating/marriage/baby/home cycle.  A couple dates, then gets married because that’s the next step.  Soon they take the next step and have a baby.  Of course now they need to buy their own home because, well, that’s the next step.  Of course non of these steps is wrong, evil or bad.  They are all great steps IF it’s what the couple wants.

Recently Baker over at Man Vs. Debt packed up the few possessions he and his little family owned and jumped into an RV to travel the United States for a year.  It may not be common and the idea may scare some people but it was what they wanted to do, so they did it.  Baker got his blogging fame started by selling his ‘stuff’ and going on a global expedition.  How many people do you know that can list all of their possessions on a one page excel spreadsheet?

I was in the real estate and finance business for about 8 years.  More than once I advised my potential clients against buying a home.  Buying a home can be a great investment and can be the right thing for somebody looking to put down roots for a while.  Many times though my clients could not answer my questions about how long they plan to be there, if they liked the area for the long term or what type of home they want to raise their family in?

We get so caught up in checking things off the list we sometimes forget to evaluate the list and make sure it’s something we want.

The idea on nonconformity is not the same as being different for the sake of being different.  Sometimes what you want is to have a Mac, other times you do it because you want to be different from the guys with the PC’s.  Do things that you want, and do them the way you want.  Remember Chris’s #3. There is usually more than one way to accomplish something.

What do you want out of life?

Ok, now really. What do YOU want out of life?

The dawn of a new year brings with it the setting of resolutions and thinking about goals.  Most of these goals and resolutions are centered around two things; losing and getting.  We want to lose weight, clutter and attitude.  We want to get health, wealth and wisdom.  Somewhere during the year we usually end up getting more weight, buying more clutter and being a wise-@$*.  Last year I met some amazing people that gave me some great advice.  One of them was Seth Godin (who is coming to Orange County in March, buy your ticket here today as they sell out fast).  Seth talked about why our current efforts for success are often met with disappointment, especially in the wealth category.

Many people will say, ‘I have chosen (Insert your chosen occupation/business here), how can I succeed?

We should instead say, ‘I want to succeed, what should I do?’

At the beginning of 2009 I found myself owning and running a struggling Real Estate and mortgage company.  The markets had settled but the crash had left me worn out and frustrated.  I kept thinking of new ways to breath life into the business and get things going again.  Finally, I realized that I was asking the wrong questions.  I sat back and asked myself ‘I want to succeed, what should I do?’ and to my surprise the answer was to leave the career I had built over the past 8 years and close my company.

In 2010 I closed my last real estate transaction and am officially ‘retired’ from the industry.  I am not at the pinnacle of my success goals yet, but I finally am making progress up the right trail.  On the last of the 31 DoBA I will share with you some of the projects I’ve been working on along my new path.

Every New Years Day my family and I go down to the beach and meet up with friends to enjoy the day and watch the first sunset of the year.  This year when we got to the beach the tide was lower than I can ever remember seeing it.  My wife I and took the kids out on the rocky tide pools of Laguna Beach and saw countless sea stars, sea urchins, mussels, crabs and all sorts of ocean animal life.  I took the picture below and was reminded of another thing Seth Godin said,

“Just because the tide is out doesn’t mean there is any less water in the ocean.”

The opportunities we need to be successful are out there.  Are you on the right path?

Read 31 DoBA day 1
Read 31 DoBA day 2
Read 31 DoBA day 3
Read 31 DoBA day 4
Read 31 DoBA day 5

I read a lot of great books this year, a few of them I read on my phone.  Whenever something struck me I would take a screen shot of the quote.  I was going through pics on my old phone and came across this gem.

The quote is from Robinson Crusoe.  At one point while stranded on the island Crusoe cuts down a large tree and then carves it out into a good sized boat.  The entire ordeal takes Crusoe a considerable amount of time and energy.  Crusoe stays motivated through the work with the hope that the boat will carry him away to freedom.  After finishing the boat Crusoe realizes that he’s built it too far away from water and, try though he may, the boat is destined to be landlocked.

For those who seek to complete a project, launch a business or complete a goal it is always good to begin with the end in mind.  Sometimes we have to go at it alone, like Crusoe, and it’s really important to know our strengths and weaknesses.  Luckily we aren’t stranded on an uninhabited island when we endeavor on a new venture.  We can build a team, learn from a mentor or otherwise ask for help.

but I can’t help but think that the hands of fate were involved with this beautiful lady married me.

Follow her makeover journey with the fabulous Mama Kat as photographed by the uber talented Kamee June.  A very big thank you to Kitch by Kat for sharing your gift with my wife. You’re a rock star and don’t even know it.

Originally posted at http://blog.tylerjorgenson.com/2010/10/make-your-own-luck/

Ever since watching Back To The Future in the 80’s and learning about the space/time continuum I’ve had an awareness of time.  There is a lot of discussion in business on how one spends their time, eg if they  are productive, but this video helped me think about time in a different manner.

What is your attitude about time?  Are you future oriented?

The interview had gone really well up to this point and the USC admissions director, closing the interview, said “Is there anything else that you feel the admissions committee should know about you?”

“I think you should see my socks.” I replied.

Most days I now wear socks like this.  They’re great quality and very comfortable and they serve two additional purposes.

1. They remind me to never take myself too seriously.  Life is to be enjoyed and is far too short to be lived in an uptight manner.  For me, these socks remind me to laugh, to live and to savor every moment of it all as my unique life experience.

2. They remind me that anything is possible.  Jonah Staw and a few friends started a company back in 2004 with the idea of answering the problem of the missing sock by selling 3 mis matched pairs to a pack.  Their target market usually doesn’t even have their own money, 8-12 year old girls.  Seth Godin mentioned that their annual sales are now over 40 Million USD.  Check out Little Miss Matched.

The interview went really well and the socks were just the extra touch I was hoping they would be.  I got my acceptance letter to the USC MBA program last week.  Time to come up with some $$ to pay for tuition.

Yesterday’s post reminded me of a great quote.

Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.

Og Mandino

When I find that it’s hard to reach out and help somebody I find it’s usually because something isn’t right with me and not the other person.  When we seek to happy, which is a choice and not a result of our environment, we put ourselves in a position to positively impact the world around us.

Choose to be happy, then spread it.

I read an article recently that talked about the primary reason, in the authors opinion, that some people are successful and others not despite having apparent similar talents and looks.   The answer didn’t surprise me too much but did seem to be worth sharing.  The key distinguishing point is this:

Those who fail want other people to make him feel good about himself.

Those who succeed makes other people feel good about themselves.

The author was specifically talking about being successful in dating, but I think it’s on point no matter what the relationship.  Whether you’re wanting to make a connection with the cute Barista at your local Starbucks or make a memorable connection with a sales prospect the same thing applies.  I once wrote about the Rules for a Perfect Day and this part stands out:

I will treat everyone I meet today the way I would like to be treated. I will strive to have them like themselves better when they’re with me.

It’s not always easy to focus on other people and their needs, especially when we may feel needy, but it’s much more rewarding.  It’s the small and simple things that touch people’s lives.

At night I read Fiction books to clear my mind and escape a little.  Recently I finished my first ebook by reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen on my iPhone.  Although it is the favorite book of a large percentage of women I found it to be enjoyable to somebody such as myself, who is a man.  One quote struck me early on.  It was said by the female protagonist, Elizabeth Bennett, who had a sharper eye and keener wit that the other women in the book.  Speaking about a man that was handsome, bright and wealthy some of the ladies commented that he was vain.  Elizabeth Bennett commented that:

“Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.”

I am not a supporter of unfounded pride, or the type of pride that causes one to look down upon others.  This is more of a post on the vice of vanity.  I’ve spoken with a lot of people that have had a hard time at work, or some other interpersonal situation, where they felt criticized and discouraged by the opinion of others.  If you are doing your best work and you are proud of what you’ve accomplished do not let others take that away from you.  Most likely they’re being critical because they aren’t doing their best and they don’t like seeing you do yours.

The rub to all of this is that if you aren’t doing your best, if you are doing the average and the ordinary, then you deserve to be the recipient of all the fiery darts of criticism.  Allow yourself to feel the pain of doing something mediocre, then resolve never to do so again.

One of the songs that I sing to my kids at bedtime is ‘Up On The Roof’ by The Drifters.  I don’t know how it started, but it’s one they choose quite often.  I was singing the first verse to myself today and thought that although I don’t actually go up on the roof to escape each of us must have somewhere we go to just escape.

Where do you go to escape?

What is your ‘roof’?

This is me on a roof in Sandton, South Africa

	James Taylor – Up On the Roof .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

While discussing business plans and ideas with a friend today the concept of causing a market disruption was introduced.  Reference was made to Clayton Christensen, a Harvard professor and author of whom I had not yet been acquainted.  Upon visiting Christensen’s site I found this key concept:

Disruptive innovation, a term of art coined by Clayton Christensen, describes a process by which a product or service takes root initially in simple applications at the bottom of a market and then relentlessly moves ‘up market’, eventually displacing established competitors. 

As readers of this blog know, I am a big fan of Seth Godin.  Seth often quotes a banner he saw in Wal-Mart that says,

“You can’t out Amazon, Amazon”

What that means is that you can’t beat them at their game, their model or their business plan.  To become a major player in that marketplace you have to disrupt the market and cause a shift.  If you think of companies that have made it big in the last 5 years I doubt you will think of any that are following an old business model or operating under and aged paradigm.  To make it big a company must shift the market through innovative ideas and brilliant execution.  It certainly isn’t easier, but it’s certain to be a short cut.

Consider this concept in your job or in a relationship.  If you truly want to get things to the next level can you really expect to get there by doing the same old thing?  ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got’.

I don’t normally even open email forwards, but I did the other day and found this gem. 
Quick Lesson in Judgment

I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven’s door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp–
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.

Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus, ‘What’s the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How’d all these sinners get up here?
God must’ve made a mistake.

‘And why is everyone so quiet,
So somber – give me a clue.’
‘Hush, child,’ He said, ‘they’re all in shock.
No one thought they’d be seeing you.’

Judge not & Remember…

Just going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Every saint has a PAST…
Every sinner has a FUTURE!

I had a meeting in LA this morning and took the advice from a friend
to check out the Loews Hotel in Santa Monica for lunch.

I’m about to dig into my salmon.

And then write out some goals while enjoying California’s brutal winter.

Tyler Jorgenson

I am excited to see the movie Invictus. In it Nelson Mandela gives Francois Pienaar a copy of the poem of the same title, but in actuality Mandela gave Pienaar a copy of Teddy Roosevelt’s speech The Man in the Arena. The most quoted excerpt is below:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

As I prepare to write resolutions for 2010 I will reflect on the dust and sweat and blood of the last decade. When 1999 came to an end I was in a small apartment (we called them ‘flats’) in South Africa. We weren’t sure if computers were going to crash and all mayhem break lose when Y2K hit, but we all made it through just fine. Over the past decade I have done a lot of things. I returned home to California in 2001, went back to school, bought a restaurant, got married, sold a restaurant, started a career in mortgage banking and real estate, started a family, invested in real estate (won some, lost some), moved a few times, graduated college, started a business or two, closed a business, made good friends, lost loved ones, went on a game show, traveled, and on and on. It’s been a busy decade of my life, and I have learned much.

Sometimes in the arena of life we achieve greatness and are privileged to feel the thunderous applause of the crowd and other times we may stumble and be met with boos and disdain of onlookers. The approval of the crowd is a fickle friend and one who lives his life thus seeking will be met with an empty reward. As I prepare for this next decade I commit to live my life boldly and in the pursuits of worthy causes.

In light of my post on the poem Invictus I now present another response written about 100 years ago.

“The Soul’s Captain”
by Orson F. Whitney

Art thou in truth? Then what of Him
Who bought thee with His blood?
Who plunged into devouring seas
And snatched thee from the flood,

Who bore for all our fallen race
What none but Him could bear–
That God who died that man might live
And endless glory share.

Of what avail thy vaunted strength
Apart from His vast might?
Pray that His light may pierce the gloom
That thou mayest see aright.

Men are as bubbles on the wave,
As leaves upon the tree,
Thou, captain of thy soul! Forsooth,
Who gave that place to thee?

Free will is thine- free agency,
To wield for right or wrong;
But thou must answer unto Him
To whom all souls belong.

Bend to the dust that “head unbowed,”
Small part of life’s great whole,
And see in Him and Him alone,
The captain of thy soul.