Help! Help! I'm a granola!

Someone commented to me this week how much of a granola I've become. My first thought was, what the hell are you talking about? I don't hug trees while wearing hemp clothing. Matthew McConaughey is not my hero. I drive a BMW for chrissakes. Then they pointed out that over the last two years, I've:

• Switched from PC to Mac. (Since when do granola's use Macs? Right, since forever).
• I carry my lunch in a Get Hip Get Green bag (hey...it was given to me). 
• My kids go to Montessori school. (only because it's better than DISD)
• I make fun of SUVs (you gotta admit, fuh2 is good for a laugh. And they take up too much damn parking). 
• I stopped buying bottled water (it's too damn expensive). 
• I've switched from a Reagan supporting conservative to an Obama supporter. (it's this Sarah! that makes me crazy).

That's when it hit me...when did I become a granola?

Do you remember the video that made JibJab a phenom? As a fluke I watched it again. Kerry's jabs at Bush were spot on. If we knew what we know know, how many people do you think would have voted differently? I didn't vote for Bush in '04. Actually, I didn't vote. Bush was going to carry Texas whether I went to the local elementary school or not. Plus, I just didn't care. I couldn't see how one President would make a difference one way or the other. But, if we would have voted for Kerry, do you think we would still be in Iraq today? Interesting to think about.

This Land! | Funny Jokes at JibJab

How to get rich

The internet is a great leveling device. Anyone, no matter where you are in life, can publish information. One of the great things about this is reading the personal thoughts of people who you wouldn't normally be able to meet.

One of these I've run across in the past week or so is Mark Cuban. Mark, being a technology guy, has apparently had his own blog for quite awhile. I just learned about it recently, so I subscribed and have been reading some of the more popular posts. One of the best ones for me was a recent post How to Get Rich (You didn't think I was going to tell you how, did you?)

I liked it because it explains how he made it (reading the Success and Motivation parts are just as good). Cuban didn't get rich because he got lucky. He got rich because he worked harder and smarter than 99% of everyone else. He paid the price. He figured out ways to make it work when he had no money and no clue on what he was doing. He read. He sacrificed. He didn't have a vacation for 7 years. He lost girlfriends who didn't understand. He pissed people off by trying harder. He made the best of what he had and eventually it paid off.

That to me is motivating.

I'm in year 2 of a business. Often I have no clue how ends will meet. I wake up and try to figure out the best way to make payroll, to find a new customer, to offer something unique and a bland and flooded market. I didn't graduate with an MBA from Kellogg. I'm learning as I go. But I love it. I try to read as much as I can about the industry. I haven't ever had to sell before, but I'm figuring it out. It certainly doesn't guarantee success, but not doing all these things certainly guarantees failure.

Thanks Mark

New York people aren't rude, just focused

I just got back from a trip to NYC to meet with a potential client, see my best friend, and to show a first timer around. It's a unique city for one that's never been there before. I remember being in "The City" (as it's referred to by everyone within 200 miles) for the first time and thinking I've never seen so many people crammed into such little spaces. It has a sardine effect on you. People are everywhere. I lived in NYC during the week for almost 2 years. I got to see how the city breathes. I saw how people act differently in different parts of the city. It was during this time I discovered people aren't rude in NYC, they just don't see you as a person. 

To the average NYC person on the street, people are faceless obstacles that are either irrelevant or preventing you from getting to your destination.

Think of it as an obstacle course. You don't say hi to the rope wall before you climb it or wait for the tires before you step through them. You quickly asses ways around (or through) them in order to reach your goal as quick as possible. To a NYC commuter, the goal is the 5:10 express train back home. And no offense, but he's getting on that 5:10 whether you're in the way or not. Because the next express is at 5:40. And who wants to wait in a crowded, hot train station for 30 min because some part of the obstacle course decided to choose a new ipod track while on the stairs. Right, no one.

With 67,000 people EACH square mile, you don't have time to say hi to everyone around you. If you tried to say excuse me to everyone you bumped into, the daily walk to the train station would sound like, "excusemeexcusemeexcusemeexcusemeexcuseme" until someone finally yelled for you to shut the fuck up.

So if you're ever in the city and wonder why no one even looks at you, it's nothing personal. Imagine the tv, radio, itunes, and youtube all playing at the same time while you're trying to read a passage from Dostoevsky. You get overwhelmed and block out everything else. It's not rudeness, it's focus.