Author: jeff noel

Retired Disney Institute Keynote Speaker and Prolific Blogger. Five daily, differently-themed personal blogs (about life's 5 big choices) on five interconnected sites.

Three Big Answers

Be Willing To Burn The Ships
Be Willing To Burn The Ships

Unrelated to yesterday’s post about questions, wanted to share some very interesting answers from a man on the plane a few days ago.

He appeared to be a very successful business man. Not by the way he dressed, but by the way he talked. So I asked him, “What advice would you give to someone starting their own business?”

1.  You must have unquenchable passion for the “failure is not an option” attitude.

2.  You should not borrow money to finance your business. Early on it becomes too big a burden.

3.  Never be afraid to ask anyone anything.

He’s doing well at what he loves.  His office is attached to his home, and overlooks a pond in the mountains of North Carolina.

Make Work Fun, Make Fun Work

This Indiana Store Sign Looked "Fun"
This Indiana Store Sign Looked "Fun"

How much freedom do you have at work to have fun, to be fun, to creatively express yourself?

How often do you enjoy that freedom?  And how often do you share the fun with others? One of my blind spots is that the comedian in me is struggling to shine through the “serious” nature of this blogging mission.

All of us are challenged in some way, shape or form to be authentic, to express our true and passionate selves. What do you do to not give up, to keep marching forward? I share things like this, an article from Everyday Health, on 13  creative ways to express yourself, and make work more productive.

Perhaps The Most Difficult

Do You Think His Life Is Easy?
Do You Think His Life Is Easy?

Rule number one – Life Is Hard!

And perhaps the most difficult thing is to not give up. To not succumb to the pressure, the pain, the doubt, the fear, the sacrifice, the unknown.

Have you ever felt like this?  Do you feel like it now?  If you do, great!  If you don’t, perhaps you should be concerned. Concerned that you’ve slowly but surely lost the fire in your belly to do something great.

As Randy Pausch challenged the world in his book, The Last Lecture, to revisit our childhood dreams before it’s too late, I’m picking up where were he left off, when he died nearly two years ago (July 25, 2009).

Once you accept difficulty, your life opens up to enormous possibility.