needs doing

Two things that hit me this morning:

1. The power of the unexpected
2. How successful entrepreneurs tend to get their Big Ideas: based on someone else's bright spark.

Now the first happened because I read a post in the Huff by Mark Olmsted here. And I thought Mark you're damn right: things happen all the time we don't plan on and it's hard to foresee the future, even more so because things change so fast. Should we give up trying to assess where out future is going and simply focus on that which is important to us? Focus and doing seem to be the most essential items in the tool kit.

The second thing clicked in my blond brain simply because I thought of a friend who told me how he got his Big Idea and set up for early retirement which was listening to someone else who gave it to him, also I finally watched The Social Network which showcases how Mark Zuckerberg (supposedly of course) got his Big Idea for The Facebook and consequently I thought of other stories that came to mind, all with the same scenario: Big Ideas are seldom unique, they are simply built on that which already was before. It's catching the strands of other ideas and connecting the dots.

I realized another thing: I connect dots but don't always utilize this ability as things usually move too fast for me to do something with it. What I decided is to de-fluff. Some ideas, especially those filled with nostalgia or grandeur might look pretty and be fun, but ultimately now is a time of practicalities. It's simply about finishing things and getting stuff off our to do lists. Boring? Perhaps. Sensible? Absolutely! Great? It's the answer.

For me finishing things on our farm in order to continue the plan of action that involves more then I'm willing to share at this time is paramount. Working simply to generate income to finish said plans is two. I had to reshape my planning idea I had a while back as my time-slots simply didn't allow all the things I wanted to do. This forced me to choose. Back-scaling to the essentials therefor is both simple, pragmatic and ... feasible. So I'm done with the many Big Ideas and am working on that which just needs doing. If I have time left over I will work on that prototype I'm developing. Which is an actual feasible and sensible idea.

As Mark Olmsted so aptly stated in his blog-post for the Huff: "The one thing that we can be sure of is that we can't be sure of anything. But we can expect the unexpected."

So my new motto is: stuff needs doing, just get on with it. How are you dealing with your plans?

Picture source: Spoon-Tamago

to grok

Yes it's a word. Used by Steve Jobs no less too. (There's an endorsement statement for you: go grok y'all.) "To grok is to share the same reality or line of thinking with another physical or conceptual entity“. (Wikipaedia)


I digg this completely and utterly. I was reading the Huff today regarding the TEFAF international art and object fair and looking at pictures of some of the work exhibited. Fascinating. Naturally artists have been inter-relating for as long as we can remember. Surely the Neanderthals must have had some grokking skills at perhaps a more basic level. So what is it with this communication that bounces to and fro and then voila! An object comes to life. It's puzzling. Where does it all start and does it really mean something? (Of course for Steve it worked out well.) I loved this post about the internal hobnobbing in Maastricht: here.


Now I grok on various levels. I think it's a beneficial activity and is hard to be avoided unless one wishes to be a hermit. Joi and have been working hard to get our Mooodlies on the road. The first collection "The Teaparty" has been finished but not released yet! The excitement builds. We are working like little squirrels on the second collection now that is in its final stages: #SOLD. (Which reminds me I will send Joi a sample of the kinky backing material.)


Mooodlies is all about grokking, actually it all revolves around: the interaction. Nothing else is relevant. Joi made me realize this again the other day when we were emailing to and fro about how we are going to approach the launch exhibition. Also I have started reading the excellent The Thank you Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk. Same deal: listen, love them or go home.


So there you have it: a part of the new age is to be able to communicate so well, that you can crawl in someone's skin, know what they are thinking know what they are feeling and love them in such a way that you are willing to have them in your life and talk to them on a regular basis. In our case: remember to have a laugh and interact wherever there is a Mooodlie near, they function like totem-poles: to be spotted from far distances and who carry the story of its owner to bring peeps together: (wiki) "Poles illustrate stories that commemorate historic persons, represent shamanic powers, or provide objects of public ridicule." Also: the mooodlies are good to cuddle up with.


For me Mooodlies are a vital part of the expression of process.
One thing says it best: "Grok y'all !"


source of the grokking concept: Jeff Bullas's blog