Tag Archives: Entrepreneur

Book Notes and Comments from Derek Sivers

Posted on by

One of the great things about books and Amazon.com is reading comments left by other readers who’ve taken the time to post thoughtful feedback!

However, since I don’t know these people I usually feel somewhat detached from their opinions and recommendations.

That’s why I’m very impressed with what entrepreneur Derek Sivers (former owner of cdbaby.com) has done on his personal site.

derek-siversHe has a link to a page called Books | Derek Sivers: Books I’ve finished recently.

I spent some time checking out his selection and reading through the notes put together for each book.

If you don’t know much about Derek Sivers, look over his blog. He’s had one heck of an adventure in life and business.

I’m always interested to know what successful people like Derek are reading but I also appreciate how he’s shared his experiences (think ‘roller coaster’!) and learning in the blog. I can almost sense why some of those books are on his list!

And the one I most want to read?
‘The Talent Code’, by Daniel Coyle.

How about you?

- Mark McClure

Be Sociable, Share!

Rice Picker or Samurai – Which are You?

Posted on by

Are people born entrepreneurs or become so?

Are you a worker bee / corporate drone, or a samurai / free spirited entrepreneur?

In the link below, Jason Calacanis delivers a rousing performance to some Penn State students – all the more so because it was unscripted. A 37 minute master class in self-belief, desire and never giving up.

Yes, he’s controversial and outspoken. Drones around the globe will hate him with a vengeance. But hey, he’s a Brooklyn boy, and while acknowledging that rice pickers are needed, holds a special affection for the samurai (entrepreneurial) class.

The downloadable video and audio-only files are well worth keeping if you have even a smidgen of desire to start and grow your own business.

Jason Calacanis – Rice Picker or Samurai? (Oct 2011 Update: Broken link?)

Some choice quotes:

For the people who want to be worker bees and drones:

“…there’s really not very much to tell you. Your life’s going to be very boring. You’re not going to get much accomplished. And you’re going to die and regret not starting a company, and not being your own boss, and not doing something epic. But by that time it will be too late.”

And for those who felt and acted on an entrepreneurial calling:

“… you saw that you had a choice in life. You didn’t just have to get in line and go work for somebody. You could actually come up with an idea, execute on it and be responsible for your destiny.”

Interestingly, while he believes that entrepreneurs can be made, the roots usually come from the example or influence of entrepreneurial parents in a person’s younger years.

That being said, there’s no time like the present…

Mark ‘samurai’ McClure ;-)

Be Sociable, Share!

What is it You’re Escaping to?

Posted on by

Pamela Skillings’ ‘Escape from Corporate America’ blog links to a great video interview of her by Devesh Dwivedi.

I’ve posted the 22 minute video link below and recommend it to anyone still in the corporate world who’s thinking about ‘career change’ but not sure what to do next.

This is the first time I’ve encountered Devesh and I was impressed with his interviewing skills. He asked each question and then kept quiet while Pamela got on with answering it!

Some of the interview highlights that resonated with my experience were: Continue reading →

Be Sociable, Share!

2010 – Year of The Tiger

Posted on by

New Year’s Eve is upon us in Japan and in our house that means a quiet evening, a bottle of wine and occasional glances at NHK’s annual ‘Red/White’ singing contest on TV. (Susan Boyle is scheduled to sing live during one of the breaks.)

But I won’t be spending hours glued to the screen watching Enka and J-Pop artistes do their thing. Some time’ll be spent kneading the visionary dough for my 2010 goals and beyond.

Speaking of bread, we popped into a very crowded Isetan department store food hall this morning and picked up some delicious bread for this evening’s meal from Andersen’s Danish Bakery.

andersen-bread

The in-store leaflet has a mouthwatering summary of their Christmas bread ideas.

But what really caught my attention was discovering that they’re not Danish at all – this is a Japanese business begun by Mr. Shunsuke Takaki after WW2.

The company’s story is succinctly told on its web site (see the English language section in the link above), where the reader can get a sense of the owner’s vision for Danish bread and lifestyle as time went on.

What I find really visionary about Andersen’s business model is a sentence from the company’s ‘Quality Bakery’ statement:

“No matter how much the world changes, I believe every person strives for improvement and progress in their lives.”

The entire article is worth reading for anyone looking to develop and take action on a vision statement for their own business or life.

“Improvement and progress” can take many forms but I particularly liked how Andersen took their Danish bread business into overseas markets…

… especially into that of Denmark, itself!

Read this link from the Danish government’s “Invest in Denmark” web site (Oct 2011 update: broken link), describing how the “Andersen Bakery (is) exporting the concept back to its ‘spiritual homeland’.”

Food, indeed, for thought.

A Happy New Year to You and Yours.

- Mark McClure

Be Sociable, Share!

Break It Down Again

Posted on by

Ever find inspiration and hidden messages in the oddest of places?

Recently they’ve been making an appearance for me in song lyrics – take this from the 1993 Tears For Fears song, “Break It Down Again”.

Break it down again
It is time to dissolve
no more sleepy dreaming
no more building it up

Of course, with these types of signals, one person’s shining truth often means little to others at the time.

However, I doubt their indifference matters much.

It’s more important that the detector acknowledges the message and then chooses what to do about it.

The backdrop to what is making these words personally significant is described in this post about mid-career change.

How about you?

Noticed anything lately?

- Mark McClure

Be Sociable, Share!