#ocri

I once had a Jain roommate and he was a gentle soul.  Despite his devotion to his religion, he ate eggs (not sure if he still does).  But he never ate ham; although if provided the green food colouring for his eggs, I think he would give swine a try.  Before graduating, my Jain pal scored a place of employment that would make an Occupier shake their head and pitch a tent.  I was proud of him.  He worked hard.  And before my Jain pal started his profession, his profession provider allotted him two gifts: running shoes and Dr Seuss’ Oh, The Places You’ll Go.  And off my Jain pal has gone.  There is much to see.

  It is almost one year to the day that this blog has been chiming out anything and everything.  Where it is now is not where I thought it would be in the beginning.  But I am here and have seen many things.  I wrote 56 blogs on this platform (I scribbled over here http://talentbridge.ca/blog/).  26 replies from complete strangers were sent my way.  I have a 46 percent success rate? 

  I dabbled in sex, drugs, rock n’ roll, smartphones, smart people, dumb people, dumb relationships, and wonderful causes on this platform (NOTE: sex and relationship observance is one hell of a comment driver).  It is time to halt the dabbling and specialize.  But that is not what I am here to explain.  Besides, it is part of the “much to see.” 

   Anyway,…

  Diving into the blogosphere changed me.  I am a better person.  I ponder, read, write, and debate more than I did in 2010.  It has been a blast.  I am going to keep it up.  And I am going to do my best to keep up.

  The accelerating pace of life is enthralling.  Tomorrow is not like today, and with an open eye you are able to locate a passion, cause, a means for success.  You just need to look.  I have been looking around.  Smartphones, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Hypemachine, Tumblr, Google+, Youtube, Foursquare, etc. (the mediums of our world’s axis) have my attention.  What they do and what people use them for is a story worth telling.  The character pool is endless.

  So why did I use a Jain character?

  Well, the Jain character and I not only lived together, we bussed home from classes together.  We talked during these excursions.  The grand Life Debate took place on the regular.  And the Jain, one time, told me he did not know where my life was going.  I did not take it well.  But he does not know that.  And I do see his point.

  I am a genetic dabbler.  Some would say I need Ritalin.  I would say they need a passion.  Because I have mine and it is one dandy of a paved road I am speeding along.  I see where I am heading.  I sense others do as well. 

  Arriving here was not easy.  Finding the next place will be just as difficult.  But overcoming challenges leaves you with one thing: success. 

  So it looks like my mountain is waiting.  And I better get on my way.

  I bid you all adieu. 

  Sincerely,

  -         The Chameleon, Stutter, That Guy, That Annoyance, That Thought,….AKA Kyle Sergeant

Young entrepreneurs are Beasts.  But do not fear.  They feast on telecom wires, SEO and SMO needs, marketing necessities, the call for social enterprises, the allurement of owning a local pub, the pride earned through skilled labour, and the majestic realization that your idea – yours and no one else’s – has never been done before.  Know these Beasts are not herded by a shepherd wielding the stick of the past.  They leap forward through the tall grass of complacency on their own, hell bent on biting into tomorrow.  But where will tomorrow be?

  The Beasts have an idea.

  Admiring these Beasts can be difficult.  You need to be in their mindset.  You need to expand and look around – they are here.  You need to locate their watering holes, their hubs.  There, you will find intuitive discussions surrounding political, social, economic, and technological issues.  You will hear the precise voices of these Beasts pushing the issues forward.  These Beasts have a firm head.  When words leave their craniums – realms of constant circulation – you, the Observer, need to listen, watch and prepare to act.  Because these Beasts will only watch you for so long.  Snippets from your Wonder Bread of yester year will not alleviate the Beasts’ hunger.  They will want more, crave nourishment.  And the Beasts will go looking for it.  So nurture the Beasts.  Because the ingredients are here, and the Beasts are ready to eat and dash off to remain lean.  None of the Beasts enjoy complacency.  The here and now is not their lush pasture.

  Know the Beasts smell complacency.  Be proud it is only a meandering odour, like sports socks left on a kitchen table, the beasts smell.  But know the odour must dissipate.  Fear is not appetizing for the Beasts.  They will trudge through the long grass and strengthen their limbs to escape it.  Learning to manoeuvre the unknown lying over there and over here is where the Beasts thrive.  It is their pasture.  It is lush.

  The Beasts feel this place is here.  In Ottawa. 

Two minds walk into a room with a white board.  Neither mind is alike.  We will call one Left and one Right.

  There is a problem on the white board.  Left turns to Right.  Right is looking at the board.  Left looks at the board.

  “That which is not here is here.  Therefore must be?”

  “Seems broad,” Left says.

  “Needs to be broken down,” Right says.

  Left cracks his knuckles.  Right pulls out his laptop, turns it on, signs in, and opens a new page.  Left stands in front of the board.

  “We should start tossing ideas at this thing,” Left says.

  “I’ve already started on here,” Right says.  “I’m categorizing them.”

  Left smiles.  Right remains stern.  The problem remains unsolved.

  Two hours pass.

  Left has jot notes under the message.  They are incoherent notes and resemble basement clutter.  Right has his categories.  They are color coded.  Definitive words are highlighted in a rotund black font.  There are no answers.

  “What do you got?” Left says.

  Right glances up, and then back to his screen.

  “Got any of this?” Left says, and points to his basement clutter.

  “A few,” Right says.  “But in a different context, I think.”

  So Left thinks, glances at the board, recites the message three times, and turns back to Right.  “We should compare notes,” Left says.

  Right obliges and slides over.  Left joins him and begins to recite the message again.

  “I have it right here,” Right says, and taps his computer screen.

  Left gives it a gander, and starts asking questions.  Right soaks in the dialogue.  There is silence.

  “Why were you asked here?” Right says.

“To work on a team,” Left says.  “Wasn’t given much info, really.  How about you?”

  “The same,” Right says.  “I was expecting a larger team.”

  Left chuckles.  “It would make things easier,” he says.

  “Exactly,” Right says.

  Left and Right sit.  Left looks at the organized thoughts.  Right sorts through the basement clutter.

  “I have an idea,” Left says.

  “So do I,” Right says.

It happened today.  It happened yesterday.  It will happen tomorrow.  An idea will crawl up the backside of an Ottawa citizen, latch onto their skin and pump power into their veins.  The seeds will have been sown and now they will be an entrepreneur.  The world will stand for them to grasp, mould, and foster growth.  This is the everyday of our community and will continue to be.  Here, in our Nation’s Capital, people know how to leap at the chance, but more importantly love taking the leap.  

Because entrepreneurs live here. 

We will celebrate entrepreneurship as One, as a community.  Global Entrepreneurship Week has arrived.  We finally have our own celebration to coincide with the excitement.  Our imagination, innovation and creativity deserve this.  It is about time this happened.  It is time Ottawa Entrepreneur Week stood tall within a nation of cities begging for relevance.  For we have always been relevant.  And will continue to be.  We are not afraid.  We create solutions to the fear.  We are bubbling over with entrepreneurial exuberance and view risk as a necessity for success.  We are standing up, proud members of an international celebration of Entrepreneurship, and making a clear bold statement: We belong here. 

This is our time, this is our moment, and we will not let it slip away.