the greatest gift I've ever received...

Growing up, my all-time favorite hockey player was Jeremy Roenick, the captain of the Chicago Blackhawks from 1988 to 1996.

As a big hockey fan, I grew up playing video games like NHLPA and NHL 95 for Sega Genesis.  The red, white and black Chicago Blackhawks were my team, and Jeremy Roenick was my go to guy.

I collected all of his hockey cards idolized the way he played - hard hitting and a big goal scorer.

As years went by and he retired, he became a hockey analyst on NBC for all of the games.  It became apparent that he hates the Pittsburgh Penguins due to his constant negativity whenever their star players are mentioned.  The reason has to do with the fact of the Pittsburgh Penguins took away his dream of winning the Stanley Cup in 1992 Stanley Cup Finals.

I get it.  They took away his dream... and for that, he has a bad taste in his mouth.  He will always hate the Pittsburgh Penguins.  It hurts a little inside to see my boyhood hero trash talk my hometown team, but I get it.

I don't know how I would feel if someone took away my dream of creating an enterprise, something that lasts... so that is why I left a company in 2008 and went out and started our own.  


Jeremy Roenick will forever be my childhood hero. Him and Evel Knievel, of course.

My friend Rob, that I met at the Duquesne University hockey tryouts, shares the same outlook.  We both wore hockey numbers that spawned from Jeremy Roenick's.


For my 29th birthday on August 10th, Rob wrote an email to Jeremy Roenick himself and asked him to send a copy of his auto biographical book, signed and autographed, with a handwritten note saying "Mike, This mamushka is for you!  Keep Moving Forward and you'll change the world". 

It arrived last night and he delivered it to me at the Mount Washington bar called Summit.  I had to hold back my tears in front of the waitress, but I would have at least blamed it on the allergies if a tear ran down my cheek.   

(you might catch the "Addams family" reference in that message)
And,  Just like in the movie "A Christmas Story"... it is the greatest gift I have ever received... and all was right with the world.


"Keep Moving Forward and you'll change the world" - JR

This book will be in my office until the day I die.


Thanks Rob

10to1...

As I have stated in an another blog, starting a business is a fight to the end.  The further you want to take it, the more fight you will need to have inside.  And, the battles only seem to get tougher. 

You see, I have always felt very confident about my abilities if I needed to defend myself in a fight.
Of course, that is when the fight is one on one.

The struggle of a business is that its tough to get it down to one on one.  Usually, we are outnumbered.  Usually its at least 10 to 1.  If one doesn't hit ya, the other will.  For the first few years, the trick is to get used to it.  To be able to take it.


Payroll
Insurance
Attorney fee #1
Attorney fee #2
Attorney fee #3
Mortgage
Utility #1
Utility #2
Utility #3
Utility #4
Technical interruption
Sales
Change in how we run the system
additions
supplies
increased support
missing a piece of the puzzle and finding a way to afford it
accounting fees
miscellaneous expenses
Palzy's mood
Service fee #1
Service fee #2
Service fee #3
Rent
Day to day decisions


If one doesn't hit ya, the others will.  It's inevitable. We have the black eyes, scars, and cuts to prove it. 

(SEE MORE ABOUT THIS HERE)


But... I feel that the feeling of being outnumbered is only temporary.  Making it to year 5 has shown us that we were able to last the 10 to 1 beating.   That want to see if we can take it is gone.

We know we can.

We have earned the right to start making it a little easier on us.

 It took us a long time to A)learn what we need to learn.  B)  build it ....and C) have the confidence to look a person in the eye and say "Pay me money for this product that took years to make".

The way we see it... If we were able to survive the ten to 1 fight, how well could we do in a one on one fight.

If the dream I had recently comes true, that's what our year 5 will be.

each night...

Last night, as I sat down at a table to complete a sale for $1700, I realized a few things.

One of which, was the reason why I failed at a few potential sales the week prior - I was not 100% sure/clear of what I was selling.  You see, the first thing that anyone will see is the person.  Not the product.

That is sometimes easy to forget.


If the product is badass enough... and expectations are matched by the potential customer,...  then there is only one ingredient that can alter the outcome... The person selling it.

When you look at someone, you can almost immediately tell:

How comfortable are they?
How well do they know what they are selling?
Do they believe in what they are selling?
How much can you trust them?

Any confusion will lead to an outcome that you do not want.


My first gig out of college, I sold a startup service to businesses.  It was my first sales gig And I failed big time.

I was not comfortable with the product.. or myself.
I knew a little about the product, but did not believe in it.
As a young lad, I was still unsure of what I wanted to do with my life, so I doubted my want to succeed at that company.

All of that combined led to a whole hell of a lot of confusion.  The outcome was not pretty.  But it did teach me a lot.

(Fast forward 8 years)

This past weekend, we met with Alexandra to discuss GoNextWorld's next step into the Health and Fitness tracking.  The additions are just a few things that I have been thinking about for the past year.  During the next few months, we must not forget that simple, yet easily forgotten lesson:  the first thing that anyone will see is the person selling it. If the product is badass enough, there is only ingredient that can alter the outcome... the person.

How well do you know your product?

(SEE MORE ABOUT THIS HERE)

skate or die...

One of my favorite video games for Nintendo (almost 20 years ago) was called "Skate or die". It was a skateboarding game with the premise:  if you fail to win the competition, you are out.  Basically, DO or DIE.

I know what you're what your thinking..."ok, mike, how can you tie a skateboarding video game to a blog about the lessons learned from starting a business."


Well, I will try...


I think there comes a time in any man/woman's conquest where two words enter a person's vocabulary. 

"Do or die".

I love that phrase.  

Some people live by it.  Some people ignore it.


You see, nothing stands still.  Especially when time, energy, money, and the dream is fleeting.  And if you are ever going to see that finish line, there comes a moment where you only have 2 choices.  

While getting this company off the ground, there were many things we did not want to do.  And we still do.  

Whether it be: Extra side jobs, Changing Directions or Sacrificing the stuff we would have taken for granted, there are many things.



But it was all done to buy one more day.  Maybe that would be all we would need.

If we didn't, we would be out.

August 21st.  It's do or die.

back to balance...

I turned 29 on Saturday.  Twenty-nine.

A friend of mine told me he felt as if a timer went off the morning after his 29th birthday.  Because, its common knowledge that everything gets a little more serious when they hit 30.

And yes, I felt that same timer click in.

The way I see it, I have one year to get everything back to where it belongs.  Back to balance.


We spent our twenties trying new things, testing all of the waters, strengthening our weaknesses, making mistakes, and spending time and money on things that ultimately taught us where we need to spend our next ten years.



The twenties were about sacrificing what others could not - A normal home life, relationships, vacations, a healthy diet, healthy living, a car with air conditioning, air conditioning at home, safety nets, insurance, cable tv, etc.

Our twenties were about surviving.   

The fear of regret when we hit 40 is what drove us.  Because, what you learn in the darkest days of surviving allows you to get back all of those things you've given up in a fraction of the time. 

And thats what this final year of my twenties is all about.  To put it all back to balance.     It's reassured by the progress our programmers each day.

Learn in your 20's.  Execute in your 30's.

29 is gonna be fun...

show me that you can do this....

Since we have entered a new phase, certain things have become clearer than ever.  Some things can't be taught.  It can only be learned.



You see, in life, there are drivers and there are passengers.

Drivers are the ones behind the wheel, that are held responsible, the ones at risk, and the people that have to figure out how to get to where they want to go.

Passengers are the ones that watch, learn, assist the driver, and the ones that wait until its their time to be the driver.

I think at one stage or another in everyone's life, each person takes the roles of a passenger and of a driver.



I felt like a passenger when I was

- when I was 15 years old, waiting to get my driving permit, and the day I could be on my own...

-or back in college, sitting in a classroom (probably listening to Bob Dylan's "Not Dark Yet), regurgitating information that I learned the night before onto a test .... waiting for my chance to DO and not watch others.

- or when I took my first job out of college in 2007, hated every moment of my day, and waited for the day that I knew what I wanted to do with my life. The day I can take the wheel.




But I will never forget when I turned 16 and my dad handed me the keys and said "show me that you can do this."



What I learned is I am not built to watch.  I do not excel in a classroom.  I do not excel when I don't know the end goal.

What I learned is that:   I do not learn by watching.  Only doing. 


What type of person are you?

Every time an opportunity arises, I still remember those words...

"Show me that you can do this."

getting home...

When you are creating/building/fixing/repairing something on your home or your car, there is often a mess leftover to cleanup afterwards.  This can be the old materials that were taken out, or some of the extra materials that you did not use.  Sawdust from the cutting of wood, oil from the car, tools on the ground, etc.

And actually, part of the job is the cleanup.  Its not just to get the car tunning, or to fix the sink, or to complete the porch, it also includes making sure it looks nice inside and out.  It may be the final step, but cleaning up what was used/not used is one of the most important steps.  Some people forget that.

This same type of idea goes for creating a business.  There are many things that needs interchanged along the way.  Many things that breakdown and need fixed.  Many things that need updated.  And of course, many things that need CREATED.

Naturally, the job site could be a little messy once the changes are made... and the job isn't done until its all cleaned up.  Once the last tool is picked up, the extra materials are put away, and the old materials are thrown away, then and only then could the worker feel like its time to go home.



This week, we are able to pay off two major attorney bills that we have had for a very long time.  Two less expenses per month will allow us to move a little faster.



Some people don't remember how hard the job was.  But they never forget what its like to finally get home...