jungle jeff

“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
– Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, the American computer pioneer who cofounded Apple, is known for his intensity, his brashness, and his focus on elegant design. He was born in 1955 in San Francisco. At age 21, he and Steve Wozniac built the first Apple computer in his garage. Its successor, the Macintosh, introduced the mouse. After Jobs was ousted from Apple, he bought Pixar Animation, creator of Toy Story and Finding Nemo. On his return to Apple, he introduced the iMac and iPod, restoring the company’s luster. He now lives in California with his wife and three children.

Are you passionately following your dreams?

Being organized can help you keep your dream alive.

This is going to make traditional thinkers squirm. But it should make them squirm with delight. But amazingly, it won’t.

Ann Handley of Marketing Profs, mixes (happily and deliberately) business and personal on her Marketing Profs Twitter account. She discusses why business and personal tweets are critical to success. (I’ve been preaching it too). A word of caution, it’s 11 minutes long. I played it in the background last night while doing other work.

Ann Handley, MarketingProfs from Michael A. Stelzner on Vimeo.

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1 Commonly forgotten Business tip for personal and small business branding. This ain’t no shirt and tie message,  just common sense, following this morning’s run in the hot, heavy, humid Florida air:

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Life's Big Four

Thursday night our son(9) and I were enjoying the pool as the hot Florida sun was preparing to set.

As I floated on the raft, our conversation turned to business and I was explaining the money quadrant in the Mid Life Celebration model.

Listening to the echo of my own voice, I had to go inside and write this down:

“I thought I was worried about alienating myself from my friends. Turns out I was worried about whether I was right or wrong.”

Got A Flag?

Tomorrow is Seth Godin’s Linchpin Meetup. Raise the flag on June 14.

Do work that matters.

Or not.

An Apple A Day

In our lifetimes, we will see a few things that change the world. Changing the world takes a long time.

The automobile did it. Slowly.

Electricity did it. Slowly.

The telephone did it. Slowly.

Medicine did it. Slowly.

Apple is doing it. Slowly.

September 11th did it. Rapidly.

How’s your tolerance for waiting? We are an impatient society mostly. Excellence demands we be patient. But you knew that already.

A month ago, I bought an Apple iPad, and ordered the iPad Case, and never mentioned it. But yesterday morning, well, the email came, announcing that the iPad Case has shipped, finally.

It’s on a boat from China. Slowly.

Failure Is Not An Option

Impossible is for amateurs.

Impossible is nothing.

If you’re goal isn’t impossible, you’re not reaching high enough.

People will call you crazy. Get used to it.

People will tell you it can’t be done. Get used to it.

You’ll want to quit chasing your crazy, impossible goals. Don’t get used to it.

Are You A Creative Contributor?

Whether you love Disney or not, we all have to admit that Disney works tirelessly to provide the highest quality, the most creative and amazingly fun experiences for their Guests.

Walt Disney is a beloved American Icon.  And it’s Walt Disney’s legacy Bob Iger and the rest of the Disney Team is responsible for maintaining and perpetuating.

What about where you work?  What about you? Do you do your part to maintain and perpetuate your organization’s reputation? This Orlando Sentinel article reveals Disney’s latest announcement for a 2012 opening of Disney’s Art Animation Resort.

Are Snakes Trustworthy?

Recently, I asked a friend, “Are you ready to be famous?”

He said no. He wasn’t interested in being famous.  Can’t blame him.

But I had to plant the seed, because he needs to realize he’s on a path to become famous whether he wants to be or not.

Do you think being famous would be cool?

I don’t.

But I’d gladly pay the price for one wish.