Carpe Diem: Riding The Wave To Success
In 23 BC, Horace first introduced to us the idea of Carpe Diem. Carpe Diem, or “seize the day,” has since become a way of life for some, and for others, a constant reminder of the importance of ‘living’ each day. In the business world, carpe diem can be seen all around us. For entrepreneurs, carpe diem not only serves a motto, but also a beacon for new opportunities.
Seize The Day
When Horace first mentioned carpe diem, it was part of a longer message from Odes Book I.
In full, Horace writes: carpe diem quam minimum credula postero.
In translation this means: Seize the day and place no trust in tomorrow.
Dream Like An Entrepreneur
When we go to bed at night, we enter a whole new world. A world where you can do things you never imagined and where nothing seems out of the ordinary. While it may just be a dream, for entrepreneurs, dreams don’t just stop when the alarm goes off. The dictionary defines ‘dream’ as “a series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.” For entrepreneurs though, it means more than that. What makes dreams unique is that it more often than not, the chances of it happening in ‘real life’ is impossible. Whether it’s flying through the air like a bird or exploring the depths of the ocean with no worries about oxygen, dreams for the most part are just a ’story’ told during our sleep. Still, what if you decide that anything is possible. The moment you stop believing that dreams are impossible, that is the moment you begin to dream like an entrepreneur. (more…)
Entrepreneur Island
As the sun begins to set, the work day does not end. Instead, work continues late into the night with sleep the last thing on one’s mind. This is the life I have chosen. — An Entrepreneur
As an entrepreneur, if you want to ’survive’ and make it off the ‘island’, then you must succeed. Failure is not an option, yet it is the most common result. In what can be called odd, so many people choose to play this game of ‘entrepreneurship’ even though they are fully aware that odds are against them.
The biggest question that one may ask is “Why play?” For some it is the thrill of watching their dreams take flight while for others it just comes natural. Just how some are born natural athletes, some are just natural entrepreneurs. For those that choose to follow their dreams and ideas, they find themselves stranded on an island with only one way off: success. This is as real as it gets. No one tells you how to play the game, nor how to succeed. You have to trust your instinct and most of all your dream. (more…)
Aspire To Be The Leader, Not The Follower
When you first enter a job, one of the first things that you need to understand is your role within the company. Are you the leader or are you the follower. While their are obviously more followers than leaders in a company, that doesn’t mean you should accept that role and not try to be more. One of the biggest complaints that I hear people say is that they hate their job because their is no chance for them move up. To this I ask: Have you done everything you can?
If they answered yes, that means that you have put in the extra hours, you have offered to help out in areas that aren’t your own responsibility and you have taken an active role within the company to try and bring value. If not, then it you need to ask yourself: Why? While their is nothing wrong with being a follower, people remember leaders, not followers. In the workplace when a project has positive results, typically the leader of the project will get most of the credit. It is true that those involved in the project get some credit as well, but the bulk of the credit will go to the leader. When a project goes bad, the opposite will happen. Someone has to take responsibility for a failure and that means one of the ‘followers’ are subject to scrutiny.
Why Be The Leader?
Failure: Why Are People Laughing?
If you have ever used Twitter, you may have come across the infamous ‘fail whale.’ While you may wonder what the fail whale actually is, it is quite self-explanatory. When their is an error or an overload of users on Twitter, users will find themselves staring a whale being carried over water by tiny birds. With so many errors on Twitter and users finding themselves staring at a fail whale so often, one would expect angry and annoyed tweeples. Instead, it is quite the opposite.
The fail whale has become something of a phenomenon in that what was just supposed to be an error page for Twitter, has now become an iconic logo. Originally created by Twitter user yiyinglu, the fail whale has made ‘failure’ profitable and also amusing.
Enjoying Others Fail
So what is about the fail whale that makes failure acceptable? Most would agree that failure is a disappointing and it would be shocking to hear someone say that they take pleasure out of seeing someone ‘fail.’ Still, it is a growing trend that is making failure become laughable and amusing.
The biggest reason for this growing trend stems from the direction that television shows and most recently the internet have begun to dip toward. For the last 19 years, America’s Funniest Home Videos has been bringing laughter to families across the nation. While shows consist of dogs doing tricks and kids saying funny things, it does include segments where someone ultimately ‘fails’ and gets hurt. This has been AFHV’s bread and butter. Without it, they wouldn’t be the same. Audiences watch because they want to see failure. Not only do they want it, but they almost demand it.
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