by Rich Lazzara
The scenario is this, you’re on your death bed and the question is presented to you, “What were your biggest regrets?”. So what do you say?
That’s the question that was answered recently in, Top 5 Regrets of the Dying.
As I read through each of them I reflected on those areas in my own life. Just look at the first one…
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people have had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made
Wow, a powerful one for sure. The commentary on it really gets to the heart of the issue. I just wrote about our dreams here and how important it is to go after them.
Some other interesting things to me were two of the other items..
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by Rich Lazzara
In the middle of entrepreneur are two little letters…PR. Two letters that immediatley bring to mind, press release, marketing, telling the story. So why is it the PR in entrepreneur seems to be missing?
Quick name five entrepreneurs. Now name five athletes. Im sure the latter was easier for you.
Today we hear more about politicians, more about athletes and more about Hollywood stars than we do about entrepreneurs. Its a shame because the reality is that entrepreneurs are the most important ones of the bunch.
Instead of ESPN, where’s EPN - Entrepreneurial Programing Network. Just imagine, on draft day we could watch the best young entrepreneurs get funded to develop their ideas. The X games would be a series of ideas put the tests to determine who’s invention faired best.
Now I know its crazy to think about this and I’m well aware of the many media channels that cover business as it stands. The thing is the entrepreneur is not being celebrated enough and marketed correctly. Not only is the entrepreneur responsible for the success of so many different industries (sports, politics and Hollywood included) they are responsible for the success of America.
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by Rich Lazzara
Since the 90’s the number of start-ups has hovered at about the 500,000 a year mark, according to a Kaufman survey. What’s happened to the American Dream?
A special report in Inc Magazine entitled Revitalizing the American Dream looked at various ways America could implement a more entrepreneurial friendly environment. In all there are 16 ideas, everything from schools to banking to government are addressed. Its a very good article and something we should pay attention to.
Revitalizing the American Dream couldn’t be more appropriate. It’s whats sorely needed not only in the business world but the world at large. The “American Dream” is an idea that’s ironically infusing passion into many entrepreneurs around the world. It’s what fuels the youth in India or the business in China.
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by Rich Lazzara
What is the most resilient parasite? An idea. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules..” a quote from this summers hit movie Inception.
Inception is all about the concept of planting ideas in other peoples minds and is a great lesson for entrepreneurs.
The concept was for the main character, Cobb, to plant an idea in someone else’s subconscious thus changing the reality for that person. The idea wasn’t true but none the less would manifest itself as if it was.
The idea is different than reality.
A single idea has rocked Apple’s world this summer. With the advent of “antennagate” the idea that a “perfect” company could have made such a huge mistake was much to big of an idea not to take root. It’s blossomed into a full blown debate for years to come. The reality is that “antenaegate” will more than likely have very little negative affect on Apples market share or stock price.
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by Rich Lazzara
Could you go 60 days without using Social Media? No blogging, tweeting, fb status updates, etc.?
Well I did it….kinda. Here’s what I learned.
In some areas I was more successful than others. I haven’t blogged in two months. As for tweeting and fb the longest I went without using them was 30 days. Honestly it was harder than I thought it would be.
So Why Did I Do It?
1) I wanted to unplug. It was time to take a step back from being “plugged in” and just take time to think. I turned 37 this past May, which puts me closer to 40 than ever before 
I really wanted to take a break from some of the noise that was in my day to day life and just take some time to reflect on where I’ve been and where I’m going.
2) I wanted to really see if “technology” was hindering or helping me to have a “better” life. I can honestly say that being unplugged from social networks for a long period of time left me feeling out of touch with people. As humans we have a basic desire to connect and have relationships. I will write on this more later but to sum it up, being connected, even if only by a status update, is a good thing.
3) I wanted to get a sense of whether Social Media was indeed here to stay or just a fad. Without a doubt Social Media is not going anywhere…ever. I know that’s a big claim but I believe it.
It aligns too closely with basic our human needs to have relationships and be connected. Who we are and who we want to be are all played out using Social Media channels. It certainly will evolve but it’s not just a passing trend.
4) Is Social Media consuming all of my time? The answer was no. Moderation, balance, prioritize…are all words that come to mind when I think about using Social Networks, blogging, etc.
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