Philosophy:

Constant Change

I often hear people talk about how fast the times we live in change.  It's true, our world is constantly changing and attempting to keep up with change can be exhaustive.  I have learned that I'm better off keeping my eyes on what lies ahead of me, the future, rather than focusing on keeping up with the change that is happening around me.

New Opportunities

While change is constantly all around us, the key to running a successful business has not changed, though the definition of "success" may very.  What is the unchanging key?  Relationships.  Businesses continue to be built on relationships.  Change is merely a vehicle that creates new opportunities.  New opportunities create new businesses.  And new business are built on relationships with customers, employees, investors, vendors, a community, the world... .

An Example

Take for example the windmills in this picture.  All the windmills get their power from the same source, the wind, yet they represent different resources to the people that created them in response to their changing times.

Focus on the Future...Learn From the Past

If the focus is on the future, what good is the past?  As a child, I didn't understand why I needed to study history since I didn't believe history effected me.

Today I understand that history provides us with an opportunity to learn from other's successes and failures, which in turn can increase our personal opportunity for success by increasing our knowledge.  And knowledge can be very powerful.  Have you ever said, "If only I knew what I know today" or heard "Hindsight as 20/20 vision."  How about, "I once was blind, but now I see." 

Wisdom on the other hand, comes by learning from one's personal experiences, whether achievements, failures, or mistakes.  Albert Einstein defined insanity as "Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results."  I believe the key words in his definition are "the same thing."   I believe his point was that we need to change our behavior if we desire different results. 

I believe that all people are naturally gifted with unique and personal talents.  These talents can increase a person's potential for success.  Now add perseverance, that is, the ability to keep going, to not give up, to direct stubbornness toward good. 

Some may say that success is a relative term depending on each person's definition of success.  Others may say success is based on timing, luck or chance.  I say, "The formula for success is knowledge + wisdom + natural talents + perseverance working together toward a dream."