Domino Theory

Neat Sites: Social Entrepreneurship & Trackable Kindness

Two Sites That Explain My Thinking Better Than I Can.

I'm driven to Social Entrepreneurship...

Thanks to Carol Ross at A Bigger Voice, I found this site: encore.org.  Encore brings together people that for one reason or another are getting involved in businesses that "make a difference."  The site is geared towards people who are late in their career.  Check it out and you'll get a very good feeling of how I view my shift from serial tech entrepreneur to social business...

I Believe In Tracking Actions, especially ones that make the world a better place..

I was amazed when I came across ConnectWithKindness.  They are doing with coins what we're doing with dominos.  Great minds think a like!  I sent them mail this morning see if they want to collaborate.  Looks like they are just getting rolling as well.

Quit Saying You're Too Old

You know, it really bugs me when I hear people say "I would have tried that when I was younger, but I'm too old for that now."  Age is such an artificial barrier, especially when it comes to accomplishing the goals you always wanted to.   What that's really about is fear and self doubt.  Fear of getting hurt, failing, not having the strength to accomplish the goal (mind or body).  Often, the ideas about what's NOT possible are way overblown. 

Take Liz Parrish for example:

From the Anchorage Daily News:
Oregon musher, Liz Parrish, has spent the past 10 years training, dreaming, and saving - all for the 2008 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The self-employed innkeeper of the pet friendly Crystal Wood Lodge in Klamath Falls, Oregon - Parrish accomplished her dream by finishing the 1,049 mile race from Anchorage to Nome while simultaneously celebrating her 50th birthday.

"Since then I have felt incredibly fortunate to have done it and shared it with the dogs. I can't get my head around the whole thing -- it's too huge," states Parrish.

Now that's someone thinking like a Toppler!  She sets a long-term goal, lines things up, works tirelessly, and doesn't let the "you must be crazy" voices win out.  It's really just that simple.

Come on.  Ask yourself: if you could do anything and not fail what would it be?  Not an easy question is it.  All the reasons why "I can't" come flooding in.  That's the mindset I was in when I hatched Domino Theory several years ago.  I wanted to dream big, but the path looked impossible.  But it isn't.  Just try to think like a toppler, you might just find yourself sledding across the tundra, or writing book, or... 

If anyone is brave enough to share with me their dream, I'll be happy to try to coach you how to accomplish it by thinking as Toppler.

Inspirational Message: You Suck

Another post of inspiration that I write to myself, but share with you.

Hey Herb...

You're good at a lot of stuff, but like everyone there are a few things you just need to accept are not your strengths.  As your friend Brad says, "Know what you suck at."  Here's what you suck at: You take on too much. 

So, sure not everything with Toplers is going just how you want right now, but what do you expect when you are trying to do so much?!  Either keep pushing on all fronts and get used to lots of things happing at a slower pace, or clear the decks and push one things really far.  Both are fine strategies, just quit getting down on yourself about the side effects that come with sucking at something.  We all suck at something.  And, our strengths are usually the inverse.  Be happy about the strength, and surround yourself with people that are good at what you suck at.

Topple On....

Can A Domino Knock Over a House?

Today's post was inspired by a conversation with my friend Jim...

Have you heard the story about the guy who traded up from a single red paper clip to a house?  You can read all about it with this link, but basically:

He posts on Craigslist that he wants to trade a single red paper clip for "something."  He gets a taker, then uses that item to trade up, and so on.  14 trades later, and only 1 year of work, he owns a house.  He's now trying to trade the house.  His name is Kyle McDonald and he's kind of a Internet celebrity at this point.

The Domino Theory take:

People participated in this experiment because they thought it was fun.  A curiosity.  It amazing how much easier it is to get people behind something fun than it is something serious.  It's kind of ironic really.  If he had set out to accomplish something like "build a house for homeless kids with aids" he probably wouldn't have made it very far.  In the last few months this point (that fun is good) has played out a number of times for me.   The more fun, the better, no doubt.

The purpose was perfectly clear: A paper clip traded up to a house.  Further proof that chain reactions work best when you keep the message super super simple.  A few people have come to me in the last couple months seeing if we should set up a topple for an idea they have.  I always ask them for the purpose, and to keep it simple.  You would be amazed how hard that can be.  But I know that it's necessary.

One of the Domino Theory core concepts is:Impact Energy Increases as the Topple Grows.  In other words, each domino in the chain tips over with enough energy to tip over another, thus the summation of the entire topple's energy is always increasing.  That increase of energy means it's more powerful.  So, as Kyle's trades continued on, and people saw they were part of something fun, it became easier to get more valuable stuff.

Here's the main point for aspiring Topplers:

Have the courage to try something.  Keep it fun, and simple.  Recognize that the more dominos you get moving, the more powerful each next action can be (so capitalize on it).

Video of the Week: Hard Drives

I received a link to this video from one of my readers (thanks Ben!).

I am making it the video of the week in honor of my nephew's visit this week.  He and I always bonded over video games, although I'm a Sony guy not MS/Xbox... 

For you Taylor...  Keep thinking about how you can set something big in motion.