Star Wars: The Experience

Posted on March 21, 2011 by James

Star Wars: The Experience at the Pacific Science Center was amazing. The production models and costumes were simply works of art. I can’t believe that they worked with mostly off the shelf technology, yet they produced something so realistic. I was so close to the original Millennium Falcon model that I could see the laser burns on the hull. It’s like they were telling a story through a sculpture of wood, LEDs, and molded plastic tank parts. 501st legion also showed up to pay their respects and pose for some sweet photographs. And then there was the Millenium Falcon theatre thing! I feel so bad for having Sara wait in line for all that, but it was all so totally worth it!

I wish I could work on something like Star Wars. I guess I’m unique in that when I look behind the magician’s curtain, it doesn’t ruin the magic for me, it makes it more exciting. I feel as though I’m looking at the product of a real life philosopher’s stone: Something as mundane as lead has been turned into gold through the power of illusion.

I love hearing stories about how they made this entire universe out random junk they found at a medical surplus store. All the failed plans and wrong turns just fascinate me. It took all their ingenuity and cunning to do what they did. No one told them they needed this degree or that skill, they just had 12 million dollars and a deadline to hit, and they did it! They turned a potential disappointment into one of the most important cultural forces of the last century. When my mid-life crisis hits, you can spare me your sports cars and fantasy baseball or fantasy rock and roll camps. Anybody who wants to profit off of my self-actualization can send me to Industrial Light and Magic camp.

Thoughts on the Japan Earthquake

Posted on March 14, 2011 by James

I remember when the Kobe earthquake happened in 1995. Back then, like now, there were the scenes of toppled buildings, the rising casualty counts, and the security camera footage of offices shaking themselves to pieces. Still, it all seemed so far away coming from hourly news broadcasts and newspapers.

Maybe it’s because of all the social networks I’m on, maybe it’s because I’m older and have a much wider network, but seeing my friends check in with their loved ones overseas is making this situation a new kind of emotional reality. It feels like this is happening to our neighbours instead of on another continent. I’m thankful for the good news. Most of the statuses have been about friends and family being safe and sound. It’s made donating a lot easier. I’ve already given to my local Red Cross, and I probably will again soon.

There have been a few insensitive remarks about the disaster from within and without Japan about how this disaster is somehow Karma. Typical baseless human pattern-seeking behaviour. It’s bound to happen any time a reasonably powerful developed country is in trouble. It happened during 9/11, and it’s happening here. The Pacific Tectonic Plate doesn’t care what kind of economies are sitting on its edge. It’s going to move just the same.

All in all, I believe the major lessons of the Sendai Earthquake of 2011 are:

-Building Standards Save Lives.

-Donate to the Canadian Red Cross by texting REDCROSS to 30333.

-This Earthquake prevention guide from Shizuoka prefecture is both handy and easy to read.

-Distance is no longer a factor in the human cost of natural disasters. No matter where we are, no matter how far away, we are all in this together.

Abandoning My Post For Jan 3rd-24th and Jan 24th-Feb 3rd

Posted on February 14, 2011 by James

15 days between posts. Before that, 21 days between posts. For a guy who wanted to energize people with the story of his meteoric rise to entrepreneurial success, this is a serious gap in communication. This time I don’t think I should go on as before. I don’t think I should pretend nothing happened. I failed a personal goal of mine, and I need to figure out why. At the very least, it saves me from having to think up a new post idea.

If I’m to stop posting on this blog for a while, it should be for one of two reasons. One is that I’m off doing exciting and wonderful things that I’m sure to tell you all about when I get back. The second is that I just looked at that keyboard with a sidelong glance and thought in my heart of hearts, “Screw this, I’m playing Super Robot Wars”.

Luckily, the truth of this latest post drought sort of blends the two. I’ve been pretty busy these past couple of weeks. I’ve written two speeches for Toastmasters (in other news, I’ve joined toastmasters), I’ve launched a website of one of my favorite local restaurants, (Ann Marie’s cafe, a 50s diner with a chocolate peanut butter milkshake to die for) and I’ve got three projects on the go through my subcontracting work.

But even with all this I should have had time to put out 5 posts a week. I’ve been keeping up with 750 words in all that time. Surely something should have dropped out of my keyboard that I could post on this blog!

Yet I didn’t. After I wrote the “just start” post I “just stopped” writing for the blog. Why? An uneasy feeling came over me when it came time to write every night. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. When I decided to write about why I wasn’t posting, it hit me: That “Just Start” post was one of the most intellectually dishonest things I had ever written. And I had taken a university course on beat poetry!

I was turning my writing into something I hated. It was going to be another one of those blow-hardy, self-help entrepreneurial blogs. This is an entrepreneurial blog only in the sense that it is what I’m doing right now at this point and time. The world doesn’t need one more blast of hot air screeching “YOU CAN DO IT IF YOU JUST WANT IT ENOUGH!!”. Or, God help me, it would turn into something like Seth Godin’s blog. I think Seth’s work on permission marketing is definitive, but when I read his daily exhortation, he talks so much about linchpins, ships, and lizard brains, I feel like I’m reading a letter from the World of Warcraft.

Besides, blogs like that don’t come from any place real. The Seth Godins, the Guy Kawasakis, or even the DHH’s of the world have already arrived where they are. They don’t have to worry about where their next buck is coming from, or even if they can live in a house sometime this century. I’m still fighting for my place in this world. I’m looking for my talents, my shortcomings, and my livelihood. Most importantly, I’m looking for my voice. After all, this as a blog of essays. It comes from the word Essayer, French for “Attempt”. Maybe with enough writing, enough attempts, I’ll find my voice, but I am only going to find it with more posts.

Workshops and Seminars

Posted on February 9, 2011 by James

Me and Michael Gerber

A couple of weeks ago I attended a seminar and luncheon hosted by E-myth author Michael Gerber called “The Dreaming Room”. It was essentially a sales pitch for Gerber’s attempt to create a franchise out of his E-myth coaching seminars. Sure, I paid $100 for the privilege of sitting through a 4-hour commercial, (to be fair, they did give us lunch) but sometimes you just need to bask in the church of the entrepreneur.

It’s one thing to read about owning your own business, it’s another thing to actually see someone talking about it. Books can only take you so far, audio or otherwise. Socrates was on to something when he preferred oration to the written word. Body language, facial micro-expressions, and uncontrollable randomness of presence are all lost whether you’re reading the words out of a book or getting them channeled into your skull via earbuds. If one is to maintain the industrial grade levels of enthusiasm necessary to carry on a business enterprise, it’s a necessary expense to buy a seat in front of the myriad of motivational and business speakers that travel this world. You need to remind yourself that what you are doing is real, what you are doing is good, and that there are hundreds and thousands of people like yourself who are trying to make the world a better place through the power of their wits and hard work.

And speaking of those other people. These places are a great place to network. You might not come away with that big sale right then and there, but you are more likely to run into companions on your journey. Like you, they’ve left the comforts of corporate life to pursue something better. Getting to know more people in your situation reminds you that you are part of something greater than yourself. It’s that sense of connection that’s going to motivate you when times are tought.

Then there’s the speaker himself. Michael Gerber is a dynamite salesman. He oozes passion and authenticity from every extremity. Even if you don’t buy into his “Dreaming Room” program, you can learn a lot from how he sells to people. He truly believes in every word he says, making him look supremely confident on the stage. He judiciously uses repetition and dramatic pauses to get his point across. When he wraps up, there is always a call to action, no matter how small. One of the questions at the end asked him how he would create an enterprise that was socially responsible. He launched into a story of a friend of his who was using his techniques to build a suicide hotline in the Southern United States called “Not On My Watch”. He called on members of the audience to put their business cards on the stage with pledges for donation. When I got up there, I noticed a surprising number of zeroes on some of the cards.

When you are trying to learn the art of the sale, being sold to is not a bad thing. We are expected to market ourselves the minute we leave school, so why not get out there and watch how it’s done? Seminars like these demonstrate sales techniques, and they also physically get you in front of people, which is the only real way to build a customer base anyway. So if you’ve been toiling away alone in that home office for too long, put on a nice shirt, head out the door, and see for yourself what real salesmanship is like.

Just Start

Posted on January 24, 2011 by James

At times running a business can feel like you’re wrestling an octopus. You know all the book-keeping, HR, Marketing, Insurance, production and taxes that the captains of industry get other people to do for them? For now, all those duties fall to you, sunshine. Which job will you do first? How will you do them? Will you do it right? God help you if you don’t do it right! 70% of businesses fail within their first year, you know!

I haven’t been in the entrepreneur game long, but I find there’s one little strategy that gets me going in the morning: I start.

Every morning, I open my project management software, my e-mail, and a text editor, and I start. Bad work, the kind you’ll kick yourself later for doing is infinitely better than no work done at all. So what if it’s not the best balance sheet/business card/website/elevator pitch in the entire world? As of right now, you may be the only person on this enterprise, and therefore you’re the best you’ve got. You can get help if you’re really stuck, but help might not know what you want if you don’t pick up that keyboard and start. So if you’re an entrepreneur, staring a blank laptop, you will be much better off if you gather the trappings of what you think you’re supposed to do. Whether it’s a book for research, your schedule for this week, or your bank account spreadsheet, your purpose will become that much clearer if you Just. Start.

New Year’s at the Tsubaki Shrine

Posted on January 3, 2011 by James

It was another raucous New Year’s in Seattle. I made new friends, tried new drinks and made a complete ass of myself on the new Microsoft Kinect. After we had convalesced from hang-overs and sleep deprivation, my friends and I decided on a change of pace. The Tsubaki Shinto Shrine in Everett was hosting its yearly New Year ceremonies for the year of the Rabbit. Sara and I hadn’t been to one of these Shrines since our trip to Japan, so we were curious to experience one without the jet-lag!

IMG 2282 225x300 New Years at the Tsubaki Shrine

It was sunny when we set out to find the shrine, but as we drove into the small forest, where it was located, it was like a Yuki-onna(Snow Woman) had descended on the place. Cars were having trouble with the parking because of the ice. Icicles hung down from the well where we were supposed to wash our hands before entering the shrine. Luckily, the volunteers had set up a bonfire for us.

We registered for the ceremony and bought a few Omamori charms at the gift shop. The ceremonies were being held once every 45 minutes, so we waited on the second floor of the shrine and had tea. When it was time, we were led into a large room with an elaborate shrine at the front containing offerings of food and drink. There were chairs to sit on, but I decided to be a trooper and kneel at the front. A drum sounded, and the priest came out. He gave us instructions for when to bow in English and in Japanese. He waved a wand called an Onusa and chanted the prayers with a solemn sing-song tone and cadence. He called out the names of those attending and blessed them. When he was finished, he gave a short sermon about the 2011, the Year of the Rabbit. It is to be a year of great change. We shouldn’t necessarily accept things as they are, but to use our energy to create a new world from the old. We should also make these changes from a place of thankfulness, not negativity and pessimism.

Maybe I was caught up in the pageantry of the whole thing, but that priest’s sermon sort of felt right. I do want to create a new reality for myself, my friends and my family. I want to take a good hard look at what I’m doing, and if it doesn’t reflect my goals or values, I have to change it. My first order of business is to get re-acquainted…with everyone. I know my success doesn’t just come from my own work. The community decides. Customers, colleagues, friends, or people just watching your story develop are part of the same tapestry. If I want their approval, I’m going to have to listen to what moves them, what excites them, even what scares them, and try to help where I can. This year’s going to be full of crazy money making schemes and fierce conversations. Every week’s going to have a story, a product, or at least something that I can present to the world. I want this to be the year that I will make happen, but I want to have everyone else on the ride with me.

Christmas 2010 Part 7: The Christmas Letter

Posted on December 25, 2010 by James

The Christmas Letter is a tradition I would like to see more of. I know it’s going by the wayside with blogs, facebook, twitter and rock-bottom long distance rates, but it’s so great to open a Christmas Card and get a story of one year in the life. You can take stock of all the important events that happened in the year to people you care about. As I’m getting older, I want to hear more about what my friends are doing, and what’s going on with their families. Yes, that means you, dear reader. But not to worry, I’ll start everyone off.

Once the dust had settled at the yearly New Year’s Bash at Sandy’s house in Seattle, I returned to a grim outlook for 2010. There were no jobs in sight. My EI benefits had dried up, and I was helping pay the bills through intermittent website contracts. It still didn’t stop me from squirreling away what little extra income we had. Sara and I were quite keen on owning a home, and I wasn’t about to let a little thing like the recession get in our way.

We looked high and low for a place that was in our price range. Everything we found either needed serious renovation or had dimensions that were too liliputian for my tastes. One weekend Sara and I went to check out this apartment building that my Mom had recommended. It was lovely. It had 2 bedrooms, a full balcony, a walk-through closet, and as I lived and breathed, 9-foot ceilings! After the tour I thought there was no way this would fit in our price range. But then, I saw the price.

Things moved along fairly quickly, and by the end of May we were all moved in. Along the way I learned a few things. Here they are, without going into too much detail:

-House purchasing is the exact level of complexity when all education and experience will fail you. Real dyed in the wool adults will forget to tell you important details, like whether your washer and dryer installation comes with the purchase.

-It’s your house, so don’t get excited over every nick and scratch you make moving everything in.

-While you can keep a cool exterior under stress, never, ever deny that you are stressed. Take some time for yourself to get a handle on things.

-Working on your computer on a deck in the Summer is awesome.

Now that I had the mortgage, there was still the matter of paying it off. After so many months without regular employment, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I decided to swear off of the job search and start my own business. The government was giving grants to people who had recent EI benefits, so I applied for one through the Fraser Valley Self Employment program. It was quite the process. I had to do market research over the phone, take stock of my finances, and fill out pages and pages of forms, but at the end of it all, my new company, V2S Web Design was born. I now have several clients in the Fraser Valley, and I hope to do a lot more business in the New Year. I’ve found a whole new dynamic community of entrepreneurs who are looking to make something out of this new economy.

In many ways, I feel like this was the year I really became an adult. Sure, there was the mortgage and the new business, but through that I’ve really had to take control of my own destiny. We are all our own best advocates in the decisions that really matter. People can give you advice, but when it really comes down to it, you’re the one in the driver’s seat. There’s still so much more work for me to do, but I think I’m coming at it from a much better place now. I hope you all are having a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. God Bless all of you, and stay golden.

Sincerely,

James Strocel

Christmas 2010 Part 6: Heirlooms

Posted on December 23, 2010 by James

This is a picture of my wife’s favorite snowglobe. It only makes it out of the box at Christmastime. It came from Costco, and was most definitely made in China. It’s ornate, heavy, and takes up a lot of space, but Sara loves this snowglobe dearly. It belonged to Sara’s grandmother, her Nana, who passed away when Sara was 16. Nana was the member of Sara’s family that she took after the most. She was small, shy and quiet, but brought passion and dedication to everything she did. I think she inspired Sara’s best qualities, and I regret that I never got to meet her.

I realize that’s a lot of emotion tied up in one knickknack. These days it’s become trendy to decry the evils of material goods. Words like “compulsive hoarder” have penetrated our collective consciousness. We are compelled to “de-clutter” and “simplify”. Is it absolutely necessary that we keep nothing of ourselves in the objects we own? Aren’t we robbing ourselves of some aspect of our memories, and eventually our history when we don’t hang on to anything? What is the difference between clutter and antique? I for one think that there is a middle ground between over-consumption and nothingness. We don’t need to keep everything we buy, but there is room for those objects that last. There is room for a life expressed through a few simple keepsakes.

Christmas 2010 Part 5: Last Minute Shopping

Posted on December 22, 2010 by James

I’ll let you all in on a little secret. Sometimes, even when all my Christmas shopping is done, when I have no reason to, I make my way down to to the local mall and just kind of drink in the atmosphere. There is something just so sublime about Last Minute Christmas Shopping. Maybe it’s the predatory pace of the crowd. Perhaps it’s the stress of the Christmas retail staff. It’s a sense of purpose and anticipation that you don’t get at any other time of year.

I can understand how Christmas shopping can feel like an imposition, especially if you’ve put it off until now. Free individuals wouldn’t put themselves through this kind of ordeal, right? To me, freedom isn’t simply avoiding hardship. True freedom is staring down, the traffic, the parking, the crowds, the acres of shopping mall and saying, “I am now going to buy gifts for everyone on my list, and there is nothing you can do to stop me.”

Christmas 2010 Part 4: Decorations

Posted on December 21, 2010 by James

Decorations are one aspect of Christmas that seems to get all the bad press. Oh no! They’re being put up earlier every year. Heaven forfend! They’re going up on government property! Is there no separation of Church and state? Great Caesar’s Ghost! They are simply morasses of glass, tin and plastic that serve no purpose whatsoever other than to take up attic space! I like to respond to these exhortations with one question: What is the reason for the season? Jesus you say? Ah yes, but what did we celebrate before we heard of the Prince of Peace? That’s right! The Winter Solstice, a.k.a the longest night of the year!

It’s like this. Every season has its own tree decorations. In spring we have the buds and flowers, in summer we have the harvest, and in the fall we get the coloured leaves. What do we have in winter? Snow, long nights, and naked branches. In our neck of woods you don’t even get the snow! It’s just damp death and desolation everywhere you go in nature. This leads to something called Seasonal Affect Disorder in humans. Symptoms include depression, pessimism, and getting screwed on vacation packages to Mexico. Sure you could take a vitamin supplement, rent a tanning bed, but where’s the fun in that? Why not give winter its very own tree decoration? It’s not some kind of religious indoctrination. We’re merely trying to mimic nature. It’s also uniquely human that we write a different ending for the story of winter. Free thinking creatures that we are, we like to create our own fate. Instead of rolling over and succumbing to the cold and misery around us, we turn it into a festival of gold, silver and coloured lights.

www.James-Strocel.com

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