Gapminder

I'm a big data guy and Gapminder is one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time. If you have twenty minutes, definitely check out this video from the TED 2006 conference. It's a fascinating talk by Hans Rosling on human development trends over the last 40 years. The speaker (and the software) does an amazing job of bringing the data alive. I've never seen anything quite like it. I'd love to give a talk like that sometime. So cool!

Goal setting

I'm reading a new book by Michael Neill called You Can Have What You Want. Here is one interesting excerpt regarding goal setting:

I once asked one of my most financially successful clients, a multimillionaire "super salesman," whether or not he set goals. He told me that he did, and in fact always had, but not in the way that most people do. Traditional goal setting encourages us to think big and reach for the stars, but also to keep our target constant while we do whatever it takes to achieve it. My client didn't do any of that. He would sit down once or twice a year over a good meal and a nice glass of wine and ask himself, "What would be fun and exciting to make my life about over the next year?" He would then take as long as he wanted to write down his ideas until he had a list that totally inspired him. As the year unfolded, he would check in with his "goals" every now and then and adjust them up or down depending on how things were going in his life.

When he saw how horrified I looked (didn't anyone ever tell him you're not allowed to change your goals once you've written them down?), he told me something I have never forgotten: "The only real purpose of a goal is to inspire you to fall more deeply in love with your life."

There's another good quote regarding goal setting at the beginning of that section of the book. Michelangelo said, "The great danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."

Thankful

Seeing as it's Thanksgiving, I thought it would be fitting to see a post regarding what I am thankful for this year. There are so many blessings in my life. I am quite lucky compared to most. I have a wonderful, supportive wife; two sweet, energetic sons; a brother and a sister-in-law near-by who are great supports to me and my family; loving parents and in-laws; a new job that I'm excited about; and good friends. I also have many material comforts that I too often take for granted (warm home, plenty of food to eat, financial security, etc). I couldn't really ask for more ... well, maybe instant knowledge of everything I need to learn for work. =) This is a really good part of my life and I am very thankful for that.

Borat

I went to see the new Borat movie yesterday afternoon. I thought I'd take advantage of the brief time off before I officially start my new job. Everyone who had seen the movie described it as both (a) "extremely funny" and (b) "very offensive" and/or "very disturbing" . I can confirm that's all true. I think I found the most interesting about the movie is how willing Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) is to put himself out there and do ridiculous stuff. Sometimes I wish I was more like that. I was a bit during the talent show that I mc'd awhile ago. But not nearly to Borat's level. When I first started in marketing five years ago, my manager would always encourage us to be in "the bozo zone" when we presented. The idea was that you should push yourself way out of your comfort zone ("the bozo zone") because, to the audience, it would only appear that you were being energetic or passionate about what you were saying. Having seen this movie, perhaps I'll rename that being in "the Borat zone".

Speaking of putting yourself out there and overcoming fear, Michael Neill has a new book out called You Can Have What You Want. In a newsletter that I subscribe to, Neill suggests that people try the following experiment:

For the next week, live as if fear is completely unnecessary. Don't worry about it if you feel it - a lifetime of conditioning tends not to disappear overnight. Just notice when you are about to do something if it is coming from fear or 'not-fear', and if it's from fear, don't do it. Any time you aren't sure what to do, ask yourself what you would do if you were not afraid and do that.

Be kind to yourself along the way - the path of not-fear is not always easy, especially at first. But after you've been on it for awhile, you may find it difficult to go back to living the other kind of life.

If that's a scary thought for you, ponder these words of Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and the president of Burma who has lived under house arrest for many years:

"Fear is a habit. I am not afraid."

Between presenting at a board meeting on Friday and starting my new job officially on Monday (see post regarding how much I need to learn), I'll have plenty of opportunities to conduct this experiment over the next week or so.

How Beauty is Made

My wife pointed me to this video the other day. I've heard about how makeup and Photoshop can enhance the beauty of a model but the transformation which is possible is pretty dramatic. At the end of the video, it comments "no wonder how perception of beauty is so distorted" - and that's true. Someone should make one of these videos for Playboy too. I hear that many (if not all) of the photos in that magazine are "enhanced". Would be interesting to see a before and after.

Veterans Day

Quick funny story. Last weekend, we drove down to Fresno to visit my wife's aunt and uncle. Her uncle (GH) is recovering from two strokes. All things considered, he's doing quite well and will hopefully continue to make strong progress in his recovery. While we were visiting, GH and I decided to go to a movie. He is a big movie fan and can't get out the movies as easily anymore. We decided to see Flags of Our Fathers, the new Clint Eastwood movie about raising the flag at Iwo Jima. Given the strokes, GH needs a walker to get around. As we were coming out the movie, a woman came up to GH and said "I bet you're a veteran". Apparently every "disabled" person who goes to a WWII movie must be a veteran. Turns out that GH was in the Air Force and the woman was happy to discover that. She shook GH's hand, thanked him for his service, and commented that he must be excited that Veterans Day was coming up. Then she went on her way. I commented to GH that I hadn't known he had been in the Air Force for two years but left it at that.

After we got out of the theater, I had to run and get the car. We had forgetten the handicapped tag for the car so I had dropped off GH and then parked in the main lot. As I returned with the car, I found GH talking to a man and his family. They had actually sat directly behind us during the movie. Like the first woman, the man was thanking GH for his service to our country and shaking his hand. Then he turned to me, shook my hand, and told me how lucky I am to have GH (which I am), and went on his way. More intrigued, I asked GH if he had seen combat - to which he replied "I was a dentist in the Air Force for two years to serve out my ROTC commitment" (and it was during the Vietnam War, not WWII). I just love the conclusions that people jump to.

To be clear, we should honor our veterans (including GH). Their sacrifice is so often forgotten. We owe them a debt of gratitude that is not easily repaid. Thank you! [For those interested in videos, see also this tribute or this commercial.] We should also remember the service and sacrifice of others - both big and small. Whether it is caring for a veteran, a patient, or someone in need, the everyday service of so many people goes unnoticed and underappreciated. Thank you! We can all learn from your example.

Today is Veterans Day. Enjoy your big day, GH!

Divine Nobodies

In the ExploreFaith.org newsletter, I came across a book excerpt from Divine Nobodies: Shedding Religion to Find God by Jim Palmer. The author describes the moment he realized that God's love is not contigent on anything we can do for him. As Palmer puts it:

What if there isn't anything I can do for God? What if he just wants me to lean against his face and receive his love? What if this phantom Christian I have been chasing is just a big distraction from resting in what God wants to really give? What if my value and worth to God are not contingent on what I do? Maybe this is why I am so tired inside. My soul has only so much energy, and the bulk of mine is being drained through striving to earn God's love and acceptance. What would it be like to truly know there isn't one more thing I ever have to do for God in order for him to be pleased with me?

I certainly believe that God wants us to live our lives by certain standards (e.g, the Ten Commandments). I also believe that God wants us to live with purpose and find our unique way to contribute to the world. But God's love isn't contingent on these things.

Startup-land

Yesterday was my last day at my old job. I don't officially start my new job until Monday, November 20. But I've already started unofficially. There is a board-of-directors meeting on Friday, November 17. Originally, I was just going to be attending the BOD meeting (to listen and learn). Now I'm presenting some stuff as well. To set expectations correctly, I think the first words out of my mouth will be "hi, I start on Monday, but here are some thoughts". I figure things can only go up from there.

I decided to go into the office today to work on slides for the meeting. Two startup moments from the "unofficial first day". About an hour after I got there, the head of R&D (who is effectively the day-to-day CEO) asks me if I could put together letterhead and business cards for the company. So I spent an hour or so playing graphic designer. Then, later in the day, I was having trouble connecting to the wireless network. I spoke with our bioinformatics expert (who doubles as the IT guy) and he said that the wireless network's a little unreliable and needs to be reset about once a day by unplugging the wireless router and then plugging it back in. So he ran off and did that and then everything worked just fine. Welcome to the world of 11-person startups. =)