Gretzky: Take the Shot

“You will miss 100% of the shots you never take.” – Wayne Gretzky

This week I really want to throw this post out to you. I want to understand what thing(s) you have done that seemed like an absolute “failure” or misstep at the time. In retrospect was this thing as big a monster failure as you thought? Did it lead you in a different direction that put you right on path for where you want to be now, or was it a missed shot that brought you closer to your goal? I want to hear your comments on this.

In actuality, this is an issue of embracing two P’s— positioning and perspective.

As marketers (for ourselves if not business purposes), positioning requires making constant adjustments. Which means, taking an endless number of shots and fine tuning until you hit the sweet spot. Knowing the goal is key; otherwise you end up shooting at air. Sometimes, you shoot and miss the target by a long shot. When all is said and done though, the stats chart your attempts just as much as they credit your successes, right? We bank on the fact that that trial and error leads to greater successes over time.

As people, perspective drives us forward when we otherwise feel our efforts might have been in vain.

My intention for this post is not to restate the obvious; it is to entreat people to share stories that reveal potentially life-changing shifts in perspective that lead to a repositioning which may have brought you to exactly the place you never knew you wanted to be.

Go ahead: let me know what that event was and where it landed you!

A Quote That Will Blow Your Mind (Hopefully)

Growing up my parents always taught me that if I was going to do something, I needed to do it right. I needed to put all my efforts into whatever that thing of the moment was. Belive me, there were quite a few "things of the moment." Looking back I can't believe they tolerated my hopping around and indecision.

I had brief affairs with everything from clarinet and saxaphone playing to tennis, theater, ballet, tap dance and who knows what else. While I was tap-dancing my way to understanding what made me tick, my parents were right there behind me giving 100% support--leading by example. Amazing.

This must be why I enjoyed the following quote by Jonathan Fields .

"The goal of a business, product or experience should never be to 'effectively serve' a market. It should be to blow peoples' minds."

Take from that what you may. I look around and find myself frequently frustrated by all the people who seem to be okay with doing a half-ass job. In the end however, consumers are aware and undercredited. People who operate on the "75% is close enough to 100%" mentality will ultimately find themselves at the mercy of those who won't settle for less.

Women + Entrepreneurs = Upward Curve

It seems that everywhere I turn right now there are reasons being argued for new business startups. The economic downturn has provided an upturn opportunity for some savvy people who know when to jump on a business idea and have the guts to do it. While devouring this month's Entrepreneur magazine I happened across a very inspiring article by staff writer Jennifer Wang. This one was worth sharing with you (and archiving for my own sake).

Apparently, not only did the unemployment rate of men recently surpass that of women. We (women) are are jumping on the entrepreneur bandwagon at twice the rate of men. Wang cited an study by Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute that estimates, "women-led companies will account for as many as 5.5 million new U.S. jobs by 2018".

That's not to say there's no glory in falling in line with a company. These are interesting times and I predict (as do many other people) that they will only become more and more interesting in the next couple of years. Personally, I just find it exciting to know that gutsy gals might end up being one factor toward leading the way out of the current downturn.

So, that being said - lead on...women and men!

New Home Needs New Visitors!

We've moved from the 'burbs into Seattle. You know what that means? Yes--it means we want to see some visitors knocking on our front door. Let me tempt you with some perks:

• Only blocks from the Space Needle (www.spaceneedle.com)
• Walking distance from Downtown Seattle & Pike Place Market (www.pikeplacemarket.org)
• Awesome restaurants and sights to be had everywhere - check out a few of my new faves: (5 Spot - www.chowfoods.com/five/index.aspx, Peso's Kitchen - www.pesoskitchen.com)
• Rooftop patio with a view of the Puget Sound (ideal for wine sipping)
• Only a couple of short hours from a hop over to the San Juan Islands (www.sanjuanisland.org)

Come and rest, relax and let us show you around the Pacific Northwest. First shrouded in fog, cold and an irritatingly steady rain, it's now quickly blooming into summer and it doesn't get better than that. Well, okay...Barton Springs, BBQ and Austin in the summer is nothing at which to scoff!