Last week’s post resulted in a number of lovely emails and positive feedback. Thank you for all of your kind words! Writing these articles is a lot of fun, but getting little notes from you makes it even more enjoyable! It’s a beautiful day here in Vancouver, and what better way to start it than with a few random observations?

51. A lemonade stand on an abandoned street

Real estate on the moon is likely inexpensive. (Pity there isn’t any oxygen.)

I used to see opportunities in inexpensive storefronts that seemed amazing compared to costly mall space. As such, we often started our efforts in places just off the beaten path.

Customers, however, like the beaten path, and without them, you’re going to run out of air. Quickly.

52. Figure out who’s buying

This blog generates no revenue. It’s about communicating with peers. Unfortunately, our peers don’t buy what we sell.

It’s always nice to interact with your friends. If you want to make a little money though, it might be smarter to communicate with those who actually want to buy your stuff.

53. Life doesn’t happen behind a desk

A lot of people use life as an excuse for not working. I often use work as an excuse for not living. Both scenarios are problematic.

54. Sometimes standing still is faster

A lot is said for change, so we often jump quickly with little to be gained from having done so.

Think about switching from one line-up to another in the grocery store. Lots of moving, but you end up further behind in the long run.

55. Your friends don’t want your advice

One often feels the desire to lend a hand by making suggestions about a friend’s career, health, love-life, and the like. Although well intentioned, this typically is unwanted and might be worth avoiding.

People do what they like, and only change when they feel the need to do so. Relationships are easily ruined by misplaced good intentions.

56. Get lucky

When I feel lucky, good things tend to happen; the opposite holds as well. I think I’m going to continually remind myself about the good things just to see what happens.

57. Perspective

We spend our life chasing things. My guess is that we’d trade back all those things for a life, once the end comes.

58. Chasing the new

Everything felt new and exciting when we were young. As we get older it’s not so easy to be surprised. As such, we have to work harder to consciously expose ourselves to new people, places and ideas.

Although it’s easier to just stick with what’s comfortable, doing so tends to make us boring, and our minds dull.

59. One hit wonders

It seems that succeeding once is like finding a winning lottery ticket. It’s hard to repeat, and can cast a shadow that’s hard to escape from. (Do you think Bobby McFerrin ever wants to sing “Don’t Worry Be Happy” again?)

Perhaps we need to think less about success and more about doing good work consistently. I don’t know for sure, but I think that might lend itself to a healthier (and more replicable) model.

60. Whatever works

When things work out immediately one can become suspicious, looking for reasons, patterns, and sometimes even a way to make things more complicated. What if we just get to what works and accept it for what it is?

Want more?

Random observations – Part 1
Random observations – Part 2
Random observations – Part 3
Random observations – Part 4
Random observations – Part 5