February 2012 – DanHerr.com

The Fiery Blaze of Entrepreneurship

One metaphor I have encountered is that entrepreneurship is a contagious fire with every successful flame infecting the desire for a burning blaze of entrepreneurship around it. All eventually burn off, and the first flames have the hardest work to do, but each fuels the heat of the fire and makes it possible for the blaze to burn hotter as long as their is a chimney to escape, fuel to burn, and fresh air to feed upon.

That flame of entrepreneurship is part of the human spirit (as I once heard from Daniel Isenberg). Entrepreneurship is no different than art, music or poetry; it has an element of creativity and it is a way of expressing yourself. Given the right conditions, that expression can be set free to the benefit of all.

But what are those conditions and how do you set your flame to work and provide it with all of the conditions for success? I pooled a group of my friends asking, “When you have a great idea, what keeps you from starting the business?” The number-one answer, hands down, “Capital.”

Question on Facebook regarding why Daniel Herr's Friend don't start businesses

Where does that answer come from and how many people really look hard for capital? Or is it mostly, “If I happened to inherit a load of cash I would consider it.” My intuition say that is rooted in fear in lack of capital as security. There is this fear of a gaping hole of failure sitting smack-dab between the 40-hour per week job and successful entrepreneurship. Few are willing to look down into the cavernous pit to find a manageable trail much less climb down and explore. The feeling to me seem to be a sense of inadequacy and uncertainty about whether you could, with your own free with and strength, climb back up (on either side) once down in this ditch of despair.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. – Mark Twain

I encourage everyone to see how far their ideas can go. There is no shortage of ideas out there, nor any lack of songs in your head or desires to dance; the real inhibitor is your own mind. In my opinion and experience, more than anything else, being an entrepreneur requires the courage to face, express, & conquer yourself.

Thank you for reading my blog – Daniel S. Herr.
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Fall Down 7 Times, Stand Up 8

“Fall down 7 times, stand up 8”
– Japanese Proverb

Determination is the key. Seeking and never giving up. Being creative and finding a way. If you want something bad enough there is no excuse for anything short of making it happen.

Gorilla gazing — Source: Meys Sebastian via NGM.com

In January I gave a presentation in New Orleans where I emphasized “Guerilla Marketing for yourself.” Many people refer to Guerilla Marketing in an annoynomous hacker, secret organization, crazy, “I don’t know who did it” sense; but then again, that’s the key. Do something so different and unique that people want to learn more about you. Capture their interest. Besides, it ‘ain’t all about you.

When you have a purpose, being unconventional can be a very effective means of getting where you want to be. The fact of the matter is that the “traditional” means of generations past are today’s lie. That lie of paying your dues, going to college, applying through traditional means (application, résumé, phone call, interview) and getting a standard 9-5 don’t work in today’s world. Succeeding today requires doing things unconventionally with a purpose. Personally, I have always had an extreme issue with tradition for the sake of tradition, even family tradition. Why do something just to do it? Why do something because it is how things have always been done? What you should do is use your creative genius and your own two legs to market yourself in the most cost effective means possible. The true definition of Guerilla Marketing is using low-cost unconventional means to get noticed.

One of the simplest means is one that I have used for every job that I have every had; find companies and ideas that pique your interest, tell the owner (or whomever you can get a hold of) that you have read about them, like the idea and would love the opportunity to hear more about the idea. Find a way to get in front of them by engaging them with one of their interests. People like to talk about themselves and brag about their successes; be willing to listen. Be persistent, but sensitive; and be genuinely curious and intrigued.

This is an article that was written about my style in the Reno News and Review. I am not saying it right for you, but the point is to be unconventional and you’ll get noticed:

“When Daniel Herr was trying to get a job… he didn’t go banging on their door with his résumé…

“…He gently knocked, asking a few questions about them, just out of curiosity.

“…He learned about their work researching, designing and installing wind, solar and solar thermal systems.

“…Then, as people do in such conversations, they asked Herr about himself.”

My approach may not always be right; in fact I am wrong many times per day. Regardless of how I am pushed and how I am wrong, every time I get knocked down, I stand back up. As long as you stand up more times than you have been knocked down, you are still standing. Cool concept hunh 🙂

Thank you for reading my blog – Daniel S. Herr.
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10,000 Days, One Thing

If I could give you one thing of value out of this post it would be:

If you want to get something done and you are serious about it,
write it down, post it on your mirror, and look at it every day.
(Or stick it on a note in your wallet. Make it the unavoidable mission in front of you.)

This year I will be hitting my 10,000th day in this world; one crazy thought. In another 10,000 I will be just shy of 55 years old. It never seems like there is enough time in a day, but I can’t help but think, what would I do if I knew I had exactly 10,000 days and counting? Few of us truly know the number to our days, but “What would you do with 10,000 days?” Perhaps something like this:

Visit and live in a beautiful foreign country like New Zealand
Go somewhere not knowing when I’ll come back
Go tornado chasing
Learn to surf
Learn a foreign language
Learn to play guitar
Start that business I’ve been talking about for years

What would you add to the list? If money was not a concern, what would you do? What value would you bring to the table? Its a question I have asked myself many times. I have found that it is a great exercise to spend 15-20 minutes at least once a year doing a mission critical status report for myself; a visualization of goals and direction.

Here’s more or less what I do:

Where was I one year ago? What was I doing? What was I working on? Where was I living? What were my goals? How was I feeling about life one year ago?
What about five years ago? What was going on in my life? Where was I? What were my dreams, passions and goals? Seriously take five minutes and think about it…
… no really, read one and two again and think about it… its okay, I’ll wait..
…
…
Okay now that you’ve immersed yourself in your past, where are you today? Have you achieved or worked toward those things you were passionate about 1 & 5 years ago? If not, why? What could you do to change that?
Write that down.
What do I want for myself in the next year? Where do I want to be? What do I want to have achieved? What do I want to work to change? Fix? Improve? … What about in Five years?
Now live in that for a few minutes. What does it feel like to have reached those goals? How has it changed me? Imagine everything about being there, in that new place.
Write down those goals; specifically. What do you want to have done, completed, accomplished, changed in five years? Be truthful to yourself.

There are guys I know that have made fortunes simply telling people, “Figure out what you should be doing, and then do that.” There are tons of blog posts about becoming a pro in anything with 10,000 hours of dedicated practice; in fact there is a young man I read about who is trying to become a golf pro by dedicating his life to practicing it (Dan McLaughlin’s 10,000-hours plan). I’m no rocket surgeon but I’m pretty sure 10,000 hours can fit in 10,000 days. Whatever it is that you truly want to accomplish, make no more excuses, there will never be a perfect time, make it happen. Get ‘er Done! Some day those 10,000 days will be behind you.

Thank you for reading my blog – Daniel S. Herr.
If you are interested, I invite you to follow me on Twitter @DanHerr
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P.S. – If you’re curious, me, as Daniel Herr, if I could give one thing to the world, I would create a non-profit organization with a mission to create, invest in, build, and support sustainable businesses. I envision an organization that reinvests what is earned into the community and the world around it. I want to build businesses not merely with the intention to get rich and the desire become the largest of the Fortune 500’s, but the goal of becoming the best businesses they can possibly be. Choosing instead of big, to be great. And I am working toward that end…

Freedom from Fear of Failure

“Game time t minus 2 hours. #runtostate” – 7pm 17-Feb

I spent the last few years coaching boys high school basketball in Truckee and Reno and honestly I don’t know that anything could be a greater honor and pleasure. The boys that I taught the fundamentals as their junior varsity and club coach for two years just played the last basketball game of their high school careers and lost 42-34 only scoring one basket in the last 2:30 of the game. These are tweets from those players:

Trent McMullen of Truckee going for a dunk in the Boys Varsity Basketball Game vs. North Tahoe High School — Source: Sierra Sun

“Nothing hurts more than falling short of your dreams #crushed” – 11pm 17-Feb

“Hate when u fall short of ur dreams and goals.” – 11pm 17-Feb

“Never hurt this bad, cried that long & cared so much.” – 4am 18-Feb

I understand the feeling; I too was there 9 years ago as the 3A high school team in Northern Nevada not only hoping, but expected to take state with our 6′-8″ center, dominant power forwards, best defense, and 9 seniors. Undefeated throughout league play, facing opponents we have dominated twice already. I remember the feeling in the locker-room at half time; the thought of, “what if we lose?” And I remember that fear of it, debilitating, mentally clogging, jarring you with every point on their scoreboard. I remember the coach’s yell at me during the timeout, “If you don’t learn to take that rebound back up now, you’ll never learn. You’re not going to have another chance.”

“It’s all over. Those four years went by way too fast. #nomore24” – 5am 18-Feb

“Still hurting” – 8am 18-Feb

When I got home I remember writing for hours into the night about how that was the “worst day of my life.” How not only had we lost a game, that I felt it was my fault, that one of our teammates cars had broken down on the way home, and another teammate had his house broken into and sports memorabilia stolen. In my mind I would never play basketball again and I would never have another opportunity.

But today that game and that night are one important lesson in my background, one of my many failures. I have failed many times since then, and I have been wrong more often than I care to admit. The point that I have found and the one I teach my boys is this:

Zac Trim dribbling down the court at Truckee High School — Source: Sierra Sun

Life is always going to throw stuff at you, place obstacles in your way and shit is going to hit the fan. Most of the time you can’t choose what will be thrown at you. The one real choice that you have in life is how you react.

Losses are something I used to fear, but are a very important learning opportunity. Frustration, anger and fear cloud your mind and can debilitate you. Having clarity is not in saying it does not matter; it is in realizing the life lessons. It is in getting back up, being thankful for what you have, and learning how you can do it better.

“Love everyone on my team couldn’t have asked for a better group of team mates.” – 17-Feb

Every outcome is possible when you walk out the door. You can win today and you can lose today. If you act in anger when you lose and do not learn from it, you will fear that anger and lose more often. The nirvana comes in accepting failure as a possibility, knowing what that would look and feel like, and not being afraid of it. Knowing that every end is really a new beginning.

“Im so proud of my teammates tho & if I had to do it again I wouldn’t change anything.” 18-Feb

In this clarity of mind you’re no longer focusing on the scoreboard, but instead on doing the best you can at whatever task is at hand. In not being concerned about winning and losing but being focused IN doing and not UPON doing. I argue that if you focus in doing your very best in the moment for every moment instead of trying to keep your score higher than the other’s, at the end of the game you will have racked up more points than you ever thought possible.

“I’m proud of you man I’m really gunna miss playing with you best three years of my life” – a Junior to fellow Senior player at 1pm 18-Feb

Adam Morgan, Trent McMullen, Eric Holmer, Clayton O'Connell — Source: Sierra Sun

Thank you for reading my blog – Daniel S. Herr.
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Awakening

We are in the midst of a paradigm shift, a metaphysical transformation, a change in the way we see and interact with each other an the world. The rise of the “new king” ideas, a new viral mindset that will not be overcome.

I’ve dreamt of my house among and a part of the forest, my bed among the trees. I’ve seen the winds that whip, blowing off the tops of the tallest evergreens. The fire that surrounds and only a fortunate few live to tell the tale. A meeting of the minds among the ashes to deliberate upon what we have done, an election and group decision about our fate going forward.

There was a dream of change some thought would be fulfilled by a new president, an Arab Spring, an uprising and a conquering of what we believed held us down. Victory at last! Only to realize our end was really a beginning; that the change that needs to occur is within. We found that we cannot affect change if we have not changed ourselves. We have a need and a desire to become individual heros while we debate about it and wander in circles. We sit on the couch wondering how; how will I know where to start?

But change cannot be wishful thinking: I think it, therefor it will be. Thoughts do not automatically dictate action; they have to permeate the collective subconscious first, they have to become deep thoughts; experience dictates that infallible belief. I’ve said and done what I said and believed over and over, I know that “I am.”

I love this video: Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.

I believe in being a change agent through action only; being thrown into the fire and failing quickly when you do only to stand up, dust yourself off and retred a new direction as necessary. My role in this world is to help you be that change, to seize life by the horns, open your mind to the world of possibilities, and show you that you are powerful beyond measure. My goal is to help you step off of that cliff into the water with your own willpower and show you that there is support beneath the surface. The future is what you make of it and today is the first day of the rest of our lives.

I intend to blog about conquering yourself, searching for truth, refocusing on what matters and building the balanced life we all desire.

Thank you for reading my blog – Daniel S. Herr.
If you are interested, I invite you to follow me on Twitter @DanHerr
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Transition

I have transitioned to WordPress.com for the time being and a new blog at danherr.com. Please feel free to browse my old blog at http://dananimal.blogspot.com/ while I get this one going.

Thank you for reading my blog – Daniel S. Herr