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This post is similar to the "want" vs. "would like" post a few months ago.  In other words, you get to hear my rant on self-help philosophy.

I find myself saying this all the time, and perhaps you do to: "I need to [get something done]".

• "I need to write this blog post"
• "I need to call that girl"
• "I need to be productive"

But saying "I need to" often translates into "when I get around to it"--there's no intention or motivation to do these things.

If you find yourself saying "I need to" and it rarely results in getting things done, there's a quick fix. 

If this is something you really must do, and not something you're planning on "putting off" anyway, try this: "I will..."

• "I will write this blog post"
• "I will call that girl"
• "I will be productive"

And to be even more effective, add a time, deadline, or call to action:

• "I will write this blog post today"
• "I will call that girl at 8pm"
• "I will be product now"

If what you need to do is really meaningful to you--meaningful that it gets done--then just changing a few words may change your effectiveness.

The commitments I make to myself are the most important.  When I fail to make these commitments, it hurts more than anything.  That's not to say that I am selfish, or that I am content breaking promises and falling through on commitments to others.

When you fail to meet your own expectations and goals, you're likely to do so for others'.

So what are your commitments to you?

Here are a few of mine:

• Eat healthy
• Exercise 5 out of 7 days of the week.
• Relax
• Kaizen: continuous improvement
• Follow through with daily and weekly "to-do's"
• Scrutinize every new obligation you consider taking on (this can be as little as adding another RSS feed to your reader to picking up a new hobby)
  

That is, don't let others tell you what you just saw/heard/felt/experienced.  You know yourself and your reality better than anyone else.

That's what Tom Kelley said tonight at the Dean's Speaker Series here at Haas.  I'll tie this quote back in, in just a bit.

His talk, based on what he calls the "Red Queen Effect" (derived from Alice Through the Looking Glass), can be summed up into this: businesses must constantly innovate.  Not only that, but businesses must innovate faster and better than their competitors.

In his book The Ten Faces of Innovation, he outlines the various roles required for successful innovation within an organization.  One of which he calls "The Anthropologist"--the people who go out and observe, looking for problems. 

Many times these problems exist in plain site and most go on with their lives without noticing.  Not the Anthropologists.  They say, "What was that? What was that that I just saw?".

Kelley gives the example of a turn-style in an airport that enters into a train station.  The problem is that these turn-styles are small, narrow and difficult to navigate with baggage.  Being that it is a large international airport with a major rail line leading into a city, people have a lot of baggage. 

With both hands full of baggage how do they insert their token to get through?  They must drop the baggage, throw it over, pass it to their spouse, etc....Not exactly hassle-free.

The anthropologist saw the problem.  The architects who built it didn't.  From the administrators to the janitors who walk by this problem everyday, they all missed it.

So, the next time you see something with your anthropologist eyes and say "Hey what was that?", don't let anyone tell you it's nothing.  You are the expert of your own experience.

By the way, this guy was an excellent speaker.  See him if you have a chance.

Is success inevitable?

Is entrepreneurship simply a game of playing the odds and eventually succeeding? Or, is entrepreneurship learning from failure in order succeed?

Some would say it is both, but these questions are really irrelevant in the light of failure.

Acceptance of the possibility of failure is a must, as is acceptance of failure itself. 

Acceptance of the prospect of success is a must, as is acceptance of success itself.

Whether you believe success in entrepreneurship is luck or education, or both, you must accept failure to succeed.  If you believe it is luck, then you accept failure and roll the dice again.  If you believe it is education, then you learn from your failures and try again.

Whether you believe success will come by luck or learning, you will always face failure.  Not accepting failure, either way, is what causes your suffering.

Blindly rolling the dice until success is failing blindly.  Those who fail to see success, fail to succeed.

I don't mean this in any negative way.  On the contrary, I think quitting is often the best move to make sometimes.

Let me backup and clarify.  I don't want to convey the message that you (or I) should quit when the going gets tough.  In fact, my wrestling coach always used to repeat to me: "when the going gets tough, the tough get tougher". 

I strongly believe in staying the course and fighting the good the fight...when it makes sense.

If there is one thing I have learned from all of my "failed ventures" and past experiences on the Internet it's this: learn when to quit.

Sticking it out just because you won't let yourself give up may well show mental toughness, but it may also show stupidity.  Pride is irrelevant, especially in business.

Here are a few examples from my short life's experiences, some more mundane than others:

IVxChange

Our very first site/venture was IVxChange.com--a college community website for UC Santa Barbara and the Isla Vista community.  We worked our asses off getting it off the ground: Russ coded and built the site while Drew and I pounded the pavement soliciting businesses, landlords, and students to get involved on the site.  Two competitors launched at the same time for the same school and geography!  One was another student group and one was Uloop.com.  After months of hard work, the competition was too stiff--we were out-manned and out-"dollared".  We quit.

 
Friend Buddy Pals

Another venture was FriendBuddyPals.com, an online fansite, community, blog, and financial resource site all packed in one and built around Jim Cramer's show "Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer".  Again Russell built and coded; Drew and I wrote content, recaps, analyses, etc; and we all promoted the hell out of it to drive traffic to the site.  After hours of endless work there was little to show.  There was no way anything would materialize without a major time commitment each day.  It simply was not worth our time.  We quit.

PPC Arbitrage

Russ and I were running a PPC arbitrage campaign a while back on the insurance industry.  There was potential to make a ton of money and we were on track to make it but it took up entirely way too much time.  It was a clear trade off of time for money.  This was no good in my opinion.  We quit.

A Book

I like to read 3-4 books at a time and switch back and forth among them otherwise I get bored.  I used to force myself to read through all of a book even if it was terrible. Now, I know to put a book down if there is nothing I can get out of it.  No more needless "pride".  I quit.

 
A final word

I heard someone quote another person the other night.  The quote was: "Fail quickly".  It's better to figure out that you screwed up quickly so that you can cut your losses, mend your wounds, keep your friends, and get out.