Is Overnight Success an Unbearable Burden?

The news of Flappy Bird's, demise has hit some fans pretty hard. The game was overnight success, much to the surprise of its designer. One of the hardest game apps on the market, the challenging nature of the game drove some users to contact the game's maker, Dong Nguyen, directly on twitter complaining of addiction. Apparently the pressure of creating a wildly popular and addictive game caused Nguyen to crack (pun intended) and take the game off the market.

Flappy Bird was reportedly earning over $50,000 a day in advertising revenue. Earning $50,000 a day in America would make one quite wealthy - just imagine what that kind of wealth equates to in Vietnam where the average annual family income is about $1800.

I can't decide what to think about his decision. Was it brave, wise or naive?

I do admire the man for knowing when he was in over his head. You have to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. Plowing onward blindly can cause far more harm than good and it seems certain that Nguyen felt out of control of his product.

If one isn't mentally prepared for success, its highly probable you could crash and burn pretty hard. With young adults claiming "affluenza" as a legitimate defense in court, one has to admire him for shying away from perhaps having too much money for one's own good.

While we don't yet know what made up his final decision to turn down such financial success, it does seem that he suffered mostly from a major moral dilemma regarding his customers' self-reported addiction to the game.

Which also makes me wonder as an aspiring inventor: Should one take responsibility for how your customers use your product? There are loads of companies that make household products that are used by drug addicts. Those companies continue on regardless of these known alternate, illicit uses. So, if you invented a game that "ruins" someone's life because they play it to their own detriment, is it your place as the maker to remove the game from the market entirely? World of Warcraft and Everquest makers certainly don't think so!

As an American Entrepreneur, constantly chasing financial freedom and success in business, I don't understand his decision to cease sales of his most profitable product. But, I do admire his restraint and arguably over-the-top empathy.

Sometimes Grit does Quit?

Great Forbes Article: "5 Warning Signs You May Have Entrepreneurialism"

This is the best, comical article on the disease sweeping the nation: Entrepreneurialism Disease. I found this piece to be spot on! Gosh, the constant urge to work for oneself coupled with all of these crippling symptoms really does feel like a disease sometimes! I thought the author showed a great deal of insight. I love that moment when all of things you've been feeling are finally capture perfectly!

I particularly liked this happy quote:

"A natural optimism and a cheery, cooperative personality could, unfortunately, spell entrepreneurial success as you age."

The only cure to ED… start your own business. Plain and simple folks!

Enjoy!

5 Warning Signs You May Have Entrepreneurialism

- Stay Gritty

To Have One Million Dollars

So, my mom and I have been keeping each other motivated to keep on entrepreneur-ing by saying we're going to make one million dollars. Each new investing idea, sales outlet or general business-like epiphany results in some great e-mails back and forth, keeping each other chugging along.

But there's this thought that nags in the back of my mind when I say it. When I say, I want one million dollars. Whenever I type it out or say it out loud, I have to admit that I imagine one million dollars plopping down in my lap. Its not that I want something for nothing or that actually I think one million dollars should or could fall from the sky and be directly deposited by ACH into my back account. Its just that I wonder what it really means to have or earn or make one million dollars.

I think...what counts as a million? What kind of one million dollars?

If mom and I are going to use the power of positive thinking to convince these million dollars to come on by and stay for a while, what is it that I really want? I need to be specific in my goals, here.

Naturally, one million dollars is 1,000,000 one dollar bills. But, really... I've done the retirement calculators online and I know that it takes about 1.5 million for the average American to retire. So, do I want one million dollars or do I want one million in my retirement account now, to earn interest over the next 35 - 40 years? Or do I want one million to spend on additional entrepreneurial goals? Or, it is enough to have one million in net worth? Maybe five hundred thousand in my retirement account and five hundred thousand in my savings/spending accounts.

I don't know what I mean when I say I want one million dollars. How odd is that?

What I do know is that I want to work hard now so that I am comfortable for the rest of my life when the time comes to retire. Even though, I full well know that I'm never going to retire in the sense that I stop earning money and start spending it all.

Maybe I really want about five million dollars...

Inspiration: Richard St. John

I loved this quick and simple presentation by Richard St. John. I stumbled upon it in the TED.com archives - it dates all the way back to 2006 but it still rings true today! Richard St. John interviewed 500 people over 7 years and has distilled what he's learned into a quirky, fun three and half minute presentation.

Are you a work-a-frolic?

Update: My Bucket List

I've updated my bucket list. I added:

Have the time and ability to be a first responder volunteer for national disasters.

Helping others during their direst time of need has always been something I've wanted to do. I don't have any training or experience in such things, but living in tornado alley, every spring and fall there is some small city in Kansas, Oklahoma or Texas that's seemingly wiped off the map. And every time I see the footage, I think to myself that I wish I were there helping. 

I heard recently that one woman in New Jersey took in 15 people into her own home. That's simply an amazing feat of selflessness. While, I don't aspire to house and clothe 15 people, I want to help all the same, make a difference.

Having quit my job this summer, I technically have "spare" time now, not having to calculate vacation time and negotiate taking that time off with a boss. All I need to do is get the financial resources together to be able to take off at a moment's notice. It won't be long before I can do that, I am just ready for the day to be here. 

When I quit my job, I knew I'd be living a sparse existence for a while. I did the math, I knew what I was giving up financially and what I was gaining in terms of quality of life. But all the same, I had these goals and ideas of what I could and would do when I had the joy of working for myself.

As it stands now, I have the freedom to work as hard as I can to meet my financial goals so that I can eventually mark things off my bucket list. That just requires working many hours a day to meet those goals.

My updated Entrepreneur Bucket List:

- Quit my day job. Stop being an employee - Start an online retail business
- Create multiple streams of income:
   - 2
   - 3
   - 4
   - 5+
- Invest a portion of my earnings and savings with the purpose of creating additional income
- Save significant amounts of money to, in effect, have my retirement funds squirreled away at at an early age.
   - Don't use the above for anything except income generation and retirement
- Self-manage at least a portion of my brokerage account
- Invent something, manufacture and sell it
- Have the ability to work remotely, abroad
- Give 10% of my income to worthy causes
- Make my first million
- Save my first million
- Go to an exotic location for Google for Entrepreneurs Week
- Go to more conferences, exhibits and fairs related to my businesses
- Have the time and ability to be a first responder volunteer for national disasters

Unexpected Inspiration: Macklemore

I love this song, "Cant Hold Us" by Macklemore. As I was listening to it, realized that it was pretty inspirational for me as a small business owner. "So we put our hands up like the ceiling can’t hold us
Like the ceiling can’t hold us" Heck, yea! No ceiling. No glass ceiling. No earnings ceiling. The sky's the limit, people!

Also, Macklemore is a true inspiration, a true gritty entrepreneur. He worked for 13 years as a rapper and hit it bigger than he ever expected. All without a label. His story is repeated so many times because very few artists in the music industry have accomplished what he has without the support of a record label. Its remarkably impressive and its exciting to think that he keeps a huge percentage of each sale on iTunes. Brilliant.

Well, played Macklemore. Well played.

The Reason I'm an Entrepreneur: #1

Genetically, I'm not an employee. I tried that for 6 years. Yes, I worked hard and made my team look great! I gave that company all of my time, efforts, thoughts and energy. Admittedly, I was happy achieving success over and over when I was employed. I was dedicated and hard-working. It didn't matter that I was paid the same everyday, I was driven. I am driven in just about everything I set out to do.

I'm not going to leave something undone or leave someone hanging. I'm proud that I was employed by the same company since graduating college and I'm proud to have been promoted twice during that time. But, I just could not stand to be managed. I was sick of being afraid of what my choices would render down the line if I didn't ask someone to ask someone to ask someone only to get an answer after the deadline. It was a crazy train of bureaucracy and I wanted off! Off I say!

For the last year and a half of my employment, the only thing that got me out of bed was Dr. Pepper. Dr. Pepper? Yup. I'd wake to my alarm, realize all the interpersonal hurtles I had to jump that day and get disheartened. I'd only get excited when I realized I could get a Dr.Pepper on the way in to work. I'd get dressed and ready thinking about it. Now... that's not physically or mentally healthy.

But, seriously, the number one reason that I am an entrepreneur is that neither nature or nurture have guided me to be a satisfied employee. My mom's dad was a cattle rancher and her mother owned a fabric shop. My dad's dad started a very successful air conditioning company. My father tried his hand at plastics manufacturing in the late seventies. And my mom...she's had a business since I can remember: custom drapery, a successful crafts business and now she's excelling at online retail. My family has set the example over and over - don't be an employee!

The problem, for a long time, was capitol. But I gritted my teeth, saved every penny and made it happen!

Google for Entrepreneurs Week 2013

Hey, ya'll! I almost missed Google for Entrepreneur's Week 2013! I was just milling around on the internet and saw a link for this great world-wide event! What is this craziness? Why is there nothing in Dallas, Texas? Who wants to go all the way to Barcelona and Milan? ;)

I have a new bucket list item for sure!

Google for Entrepreneurs Week 2013