Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Ben, thanks for the response ...

But thats it ... from the #1 Hotshot of Start-ups today????

Sorry, guy, but I do have to say that I`m a little dismayed by your lack of depth here ... and just wanting to pitch the sale of the book.

The art of success, IMHO, is the ability to apprerciate one`s success .... and willing and able to foster that success in others ... and it may not neccessarily mean ... by selling a book.

I wish you the best ... but I`m, for one, am a little dismayed by your portrayal of "living in the moment" rock-star type "life plan" is what has helped you to succeed. You have been blessed with some incredible talents and good furtune, at such a young age. In your response here, it apprears that those talents and good fortune may have wasted on youth. I`ll give you the benefit of the doubt, and chalk it up to youthful enthusiasm and exuburance of the wild ride you`ve had so far.

I`m confident that many here are looking for a little more depth from your responses ... not just a pitch to buy your book.

I, for one , don`t agree with that type attitude. (Even if you have earned big $$`s) 

Here is a better link to the NYT article.

blondieblue - I feel you are basing your response on his age. It`s funny that people wouldn`t think of correcting someone they felt had more maturity ... but because he`s "a kid" in your mind, you`re going to knock his life plan down?

A life plan isn`t about following rules. It`s about doing what works best for each individual person. I don`t have a 3/5/10 year plan either ... I feel it brings me down more than helps me, so I skipped that little detail. I just change my 1-year plan every 6 months.
An open mind is a good thing ... it`s wonderful just to ride the ride and see where it takes you.

I didn`t knock his life plan at all ... what I was knocking is his lack of substance in coming here to the forums. He entered plugging his book ... comes back with a very terse and non-defining  "life plan" ... a question that one of the members here asked about ... not me ... and then continued to plug the book.

IMHO, I`m NOT impressed. And my comment re: an obligation and a resposibility to share one`s success secrets with other fellow enterepreneurs stands. 

Any one of the members here, would give their "eye teeth" to have 1/100th of the public exposure he has received so far ...and would be much more humble re: their experience also.

 (My notation re: his youth is true ... his "being in awe of himself" is apparent in his lack of depth in his postings and his plugging of his book. To be humble when basking in the lime light (when others around you are struggling) comes from maturity ... not age.

 

 

A life plan isn`t like a business plan. In fact, it`s because we`re blasted with stupid corporate jargon everywhere we turn that there`s some confusion.

No, it isn`t a life *plan.* The underlying idea is to have a sense of your life and its purpose. The point of calling it a plan is to focus people on the idea that a business, no matter how successful and complex, is still only a "step" in one`s reaching out for a life of Gusto (to borrow from an ancient commercial).

I thought about posting the biography of Phil Katz, who revolutionized sofware with PKZip. Then figured, nah...maybe not appropriate. But I also was seeing that sort of "rock star" viewpoint blondieblue refers to.

Enh...to each his (or her) own. Success comes and goes, but it`s always part of lessons learned toward personal development and an evolving consciousness.

I`m going to randomly speak for Ben because he`s probably off toweling himself with $100 bills after his afternoon swim. (It`s pretty warm out here today.)

Rock stars win. It`s as simple as that. Rock stars exude confidence and success, and that is exactly what they get.

Someone told me once that they met Lance Armstrong, and that he was kind of a dick. Of course he was - because you just don`t make it through 3 weeks of grueling physical torture without thinking that you are god`s gift to cycling. It`s the same kind of thing around here. You won`t make it through 80-hour programming weeks and never having a moment`s rest if you don`t believe in your abilities to the point where you need to share your talents with the world as much as you need to eat or breathe.

I know you guys don`t live here in the Bay Area, but I do. And although I`m a bit older than Ben, I was in the same environment and field that he`s in when I was coming out of college. Still today - there are SO MANY ads on Craigslist and Monster.com looking for "rock star programmers" for new startups. Companies out here don`t want lemmings. They want innovative, confident, out of the box thinkers to take their company to the next level. They want risk-takers who ride motorcycles and do all their networking at happy hour.

If you never think like a rock star, you`re never going to be one. And then you`re just another silicon valley has-been. That easy-does-it mentality may work in other industries, in other parts of the country ... but not here, and especially not in high-tech (where if you snooze ... 7 other people have made their companies with the same ideas and you can`t even get people to return your calls anymore). Do you think Page and Brin thought their idea was "just sort of OK" and built that into a giant empire? And man, if you want a "rock star" .. look at how Steve Jobs carries himself. And yes, they are all what makes the bay area great sometimes ...

So, Ben - Rock on, buddy!

It great to see that you have turned into a "Ben" groupie sooooo fast ... thats good to see.

I truly believe you missed the point of my observations. I agree Lance Armstrong and other true winners have a quality know as "self-confidence" - yet it is tempered with modesty.

There is a saying ... thet "Real Lions don`t Roar .... they don`t have to. They already know they are the King of the Jungle."

Your "boy" came bouncing in here ... promoting his book. Expected everyone to fawn all over him. We welcomed him with open arms ... in fact I was the 1st to do so.

But when folks truly wanted to "meat and potatos" from the "Golden Child" all he could muster was ... "I really don`t have a "life plan" I just wing it and live day by day. A life plan is too "confining".

If you asked the same question to Lance Armstrong or other true winners, you would find a much more disciplined and focused answer. And a willingness to share that vision and passion ... without having to buy the book.

Your "Ben" `s answer showed a lack of maturity ... that comes sometimes with age ... but not neccessarily. All that we got from the "Golden Child" was basically ... buy my book.

Like I said before ... REAL Lions don`t roa. (And they show true leadership ... by sharing their success with others ... and not for a price. (Unless they are into personal gratification, self-indulgence, and self-promotion ... rather than serving those that need or want inspiration.)

The "rock star" mentality isn`t about winning. In today`s world, we could use "a Michael Jordan" mentality to closer define the situation.

Rock stars win, that`s true, but using what capabilities, tactics, and strategies? Do they win because they intend to become rock stars....or because they hoped to do so?

The point is that Everyone "hopes to" become successful and rich. But what happens when you get what you hoped for? Without a life plan or SOME sort of concept of context, what do you do next? What`s the point of that success?

Then, of course, you have the countless rock stars who kill themselves out of stupidity, excess, or boredom. What is it that keeps some rock stars on top, while others flash across the sky as "one hit wonders?" Isn`t it that life plan?

Nobody`s arguing that Ben isn`t spectacular, nor that he isn`t mature (yet). Instead, there`s an opportunity here on SuN to gain some insight into that potential for growth. There also seems to be a lack of interest or perceived value in it.

That`s fine. But there are plenty of older people who`ve become completely jaded, have nothing to look forward to, have more money than they possibly could spend. They look back and wonder if perhaps there`s more to life than making money and having a successful company. Why do you suppose Bill Gates is leaving Microsoft?

Pretty amazing far this thread has come since I last checked in! I didn`t know how intimate this community was....still learning....

Sorry if I came across terse. And too sales-ish for my book....which you can buy today! 24% off at Amazon! Do it now!

I`m hurt by Blondie Blue`s generalizations and presumptions, but I`d rather focus on the issue at hand which is life plans.

Craig`s says: "The underlying idea is to have a sense of your life and its purpose. The point of calling it a plan is to focus people on the idea that a business, no matter how successful and complex, is still only a "step" in one`s reaching out for a life of Gusto (to borrow from an ancient commercial)."

Well, if this is a life plan, then I definitely have one! But that`s not what I think of when you say the phrase "life plan".

I spoke at a college in April. A student told me for his class he had to write a life plan. He emailed it to me. It was 15 pages and very detailed. Tons of goals and scenarios. Incredible. And very stupid, in my opinion. That`s what I thought of when you asked, "What`s your life plan?" The answer is I don`t have one.

If the question is, what`s your underlying passion / purpose, it`s to make the world a better place. Sounds cheesy, but I believe it.

On the whole rock star idea, I guess I don`t relate my work and life in that fashion. I agree w/ nhgnikole`s points, but I don`t adopt that way of thinking for my own life. And i shouldn`t be anywhere close to Lance Armstrong, Sergey, or Larry in a sentence!

thanks for the comments....

It`s not about "hoping" to succeed. It`s about truly believing in it.

You only think Lance Armstrong is modest because A) you didn`t know him before he was all over TV, B) nearly dying gives you plenty of time to think about what a dick you are, and C) you only see him when he`s "on" for those interviews (he`s a lot more PC on camera than he is off).

So by your reasoning ... Rich Sloan isn`t a lion, right? Because he charges for his book? Should he just print them all for free at his expense? Should I give away all my services for free? That`s not modesty ... it`s stupidity.

Before you insult the guy for not sharing with you personally ... why don`t you try Google? Ben has lots of posts in places like this one where he shares with people. I swear, it`s like the tabloids ... you write a book and someone feels free to jump down your throat because it`s sensationalist instead of factual. I`ve read some of the stuff people have written about him online ... and boy, it makes me glad I`m not the one with my face on that book.

And I still don`t think either of you understand anything about programmers in Silicon Valley.

Sorry Ben - sidetracking is the norm around here.

People also assume that you have nothing to do but post all day.