What beats passion?

There are some things in this world that I never get tired of seeing and I never seem to get enough of. One is extreme talent - not your everyday that-was-cute talent but extreme talent that makes you go WOAH. And it can be any facet of life - sports, management, even a great bedside manner from the baby dentist. I love it love it and love it some more.

The other thing I just EXPLODE when I get to witness it is PASSION. In this mediocre-driven society where teens strive to be cool by not being cool, and where disinterest is a feeble sign of social maturity, I go against the grain (nothing new there) and strive to find people with PASSION. Those who love what they do, do what they love, and tell you about every step of the way.

One such person is Gary Vaynerchuk. From humble beginnings as the family business cashier, Gary has grown his personal passion into a marketable brand with an international following. The keys are Passion and Patience as he told the TED conference back in '08. Gary now hosts WineLibrary TV where he dishes on all things wine and of course, his beloved NY Jets. Gary teaches you about wine in his online TV spots and teaches about pursuing your passion PASSIONATELY by his very example.
LL

Ladies and gentlemen, Gary:
The Wine Library

Composing a Career and Life

excellent lecture given in May 2009 as part of MIT's speaker series. inspirational story. the message? Follow your nose!

There's No Inspection Like...

You've heard it a thousand times before. "You've got to inspect what you expect". "Follow up, follow up, follow up!", and other phrases designed to remind you of the vital step in achieving goals of measuring achieved progress vs. desired expectations. Nowhere does this hold more true than in one's educational pursuits.

I recently had to come to grips with the fact that my knowledge and associated performance in one of my classes was significantly less than what I desired and dramatically less than what would be useful in the workplace. Since there was no avoiding this, I reached out to my MBA advisor for some much needed guidance. Without dragging you through the gory details, suffice to say I received the assistance I needed in a professional and timely manner. This simple step and process could save people and companies countless chunks of time, money and other valuable resources. Honest assessments of how you are doing at all times is a must. It profits neither the individual nor the organization to project a status of achievement as a balm to mask the pain of underachievement. Why expend the energy in fooling yourself into thinking everything is OK when you could invest that same time and energy correcting the wrongs and building a better tomorrow?

Honest assessments allow progress to begin. Learn to be glad you're a cat...
LL

Where do you get your news?

With such a dizzying barrage of media available to us today, what are your most preferred sources of current business news? Here's a quickie list of sites I've fallen in love with:


Reuters

The Wall Street Journal

Yahoo Finance

Google Business News