office of the dean

That quote is from Seth Godin.

I saw this quote at least two or three times this week across my various social networks. I thought it was great but it wasn’t until today that I really “got it”. 

This morning I was reading an inspirational email that was sent to me and in it was a link to a website that I frequent often when I need to reference something.  When I went to the link, I thought about a very good friend of mine who often posts links from that very website to her Facebook page. I’m sure she does it because she finds the information helpful— and regardless of if she ever finds out whether or not others find her links helpful, its not about her but about hopefully helping someone else.

So today, like my friend I decided to share the link I was reading. As I clicked on the share button, Seth’s quote came to me.

You see about four years ago, I would go to this same site very often and want to share what I was reading but the site had no share buttons! It was just a plain ol’ site. Look up what you want and that’s it. I decided to email the owner and tell them how much I enjoyed the site and would often cut and paste what I was reading to share it, and if they added some Share buttons for social networks that would be really helpful to me and probably others. 

A few weeks later the company emailed me, thanked me for my idea and said they had implemented share buttons on their site. 

A share button. Something so simple yet so big. Bigger than me.

So back to the quote. 

Some people have an SAT score or degree that will prove Seth Godwins point. Others may have something to share or a simple idea to build something bigger than themselves. The point is, regardless of whether you realize it or not, you have everything you need.

Engineering

Have you been feeling a little Cutlerish lately?

If you're not sure what that means it refers to someone I discovered the other day named Jeremy Cutler.

You see, I was trying to make some changes to our tumblr page and realized that what I wanted was not readily available through tumblr forums so I immediately did a quick google search to find the perfect extension to make tumblr do what I wanted it to do instead of what it's FAQ suggested.

In my due diligence to make sure the extension was not some link booby trap, I stumbled upon a soap opera of sorts surrounding my newly discovered tumblr extension, 'Missing e'.

Seems Mr. Cutler, an engineer aka Cutlerish developed Missing e to tumblr's dismay and tumblr user's delight.  People would ask tumblr questions about the extension which they had nothing to do with, and they felt overwhelmed calling Mr. Cutler's Missing e, a hack (gasps). Some tumblr users were upset by this and suggested that instead of calling Missing e names, they should hire Mr. Cutler because in their opinion, it was a true value to tumblr.

Some people would have bowed their head and dismantled but Mr. Cutler continues to maintain, update and manage his unofficial tumblr extension that so many use. That's being Cutlerish.

I'm not sure of the premise behind the naming of Missing e but there is a lesson to be learned here. 

So, about your missing e. 

Lifestyle

I have always felt like my ideas were too big for most people.  

Even at the beginning of my career I was always told, "you have great ideas but..."Whenever I heard that, I felt as though my poor, big idea was being pushed to the side never to be seen or heard from again.

Not too long ago I had a client whom I was brainstorming with and I could feel inside that warm fuzzy feeling I get when I'm about to unleash a great idea and then I stopped myself.  I took a breath, held my idea in my mind and decided to keep it for myself.

For this idea was special. I could not waste it on some new client who would "love it" but couldn't take care of it or give it the time it needed to flourish and become GRAND. Now don't get me wrong.  I give my ideas freely because I believe they will make a difference. That's why for so many years I wasn't afraid to give them away. But this time? This time I had to look at the situation for what it was. As much as I thought this idea could help this clients' business, I knew deep down inside it wouldn't be a priority for them and rightfully so, this idea would be a small part of their overall business and their overall business was the big focus.

So, I've gathered up this idea and my ideas of past and arranged them neatly and ever so carefully in a manner ready to be unfolded in my own grand spectacular way.