Friendly Intelligence – February 9, 2008
So its been an interesting week for me. I started a round of Adderall, and have been blogging about my decisions why and how I feel.
When I started blogging, it was like my tattoos: it was for me. I didnt care if people read my stuff so, again like my tattoos, I wrote what I wanted to write.
Blogging has now led to three things that I never thought possible: Money, Love and Respect.
Money: I got to know Tara and Todd at Lijit, and we both decided that working together would be cool. I landed on the front page of my personal digg.com, Feld Thoughts, which isnt “cash” money, but like “so” money I didnt even know it.
Love: Here is what blew me away. The friends that I have met through my blog (some through Twitter, since blogging led to twitter). People I have always wanted to know, like Dave Taylor, Chris Brogan, Jim Turner, Erin Kotecki Vest, and many others (which will soon be listed on the page HamSwords Members, since they are RockStars idea stolen from Chris Brogan.) But, even more so, when I began posting about my decision to treat my ADD, the phone calls, tweets, emails, etc. have be awe inspirin, and frankly, humbling. As often as folks talk about it, good people make good community.
Respect: More important to me than Money and Love is Respect. Because there is no faking Respect, and its easier to lose than Money and Love. Respect is Truth. The Absence of Truth always accompanies the Lack of Respect. After a couple of years of losing the respect of anyone and everyone that mattered, I have slowly been working to regain that respect. Now almost 2 years into that project, the comments and reaction to my blog posts are indicators to me that I am having some modicum of success.
But, this weekly post isnt supposed to be about me. Its supposed to show the wisdom of my friends. And while this week, there are only a couple of posts I am highlighting, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on how powerful the community I am lucky to be a part of is, and how important it has become.
Enough of that emotional crap. Must be the Adderall. ;) On to the posts:
Colorado Caucus – Andrew writes about his experience at the Colorado Caucus. For those that know Andrew, most of his posts are short or pictures. To see him write this post is to learn about something he is very passionate about. Which I completely respect since I have no interest in politics at all, and dont vote.
Twitter Daily Ski and Weather Report – One of Lijitinauts (?) Lijitsters (?) Lijit-e-mates (?) um…folks that work at Lijit is Daniel. Besides his dorky, geeky sense of humor (please never dance again, my friend), he has that unique desire to understand. He spends a lot of time doing techy things that end up doing cool things, but he also takes the time to ask questions about the business. Just the type of person you want on your development team.
Bad Ass SXSW Awards Finalist – I guess the theme for this week’s post is “Passion.” My new found passion for blogging, Andrew’s passion for politics, Daniel’s passion for tracking snow, and finally, Brian’s passion about Viget Labs. He clearly loves what he has built with his father and brother.
I had that passion once for Current Wisdom (which like the blog has waned) and for search marketing. In many ways, I think entrepreneurs are like Captain Ahab in Moby Dick. They have seen the white whale, lost the white whale, and will do everything in their power to see the white whale again. And, if we are lucky, that white whale will hook us up with lots of blubber that we can sell at a significant markup.
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Micah – great post. First, thanks for including me here. You are right about the passion for Viget, and what makes it rewarding (and doable at all) is being able to work with and for inspiring people that I respect and admire. It’s a ton of work (as you know) but I consider myself very fortunate to be able to do something I love with the people we have at Viget.
Second, my compliments to you for being willing to openly share your treatment experience. I know you’re doing it for you, as you should be, but I expect it will be a real inspiration for others. At the very least, it will provide a reality check for those looking for the real deal — you are nothing if not unfiltered (I mean that in a good way).
Great post, Micah. Truer words were never spoken: “good people make good community.” People can make fun of the whole social networking thing, and consider it the buzz of the moment, but really it’s about creating intentional community and surrounding yourself with good people you might not know or be as close to otherwise.
How about “Legitimates?”
So…sxsw? Is that where I get to hug you?
@erin I will wave. I dont touch RedWings fans.
@paula that sounds like Clay-mates, but I think we are getting warmer…
@brian, so I can get you to comment, but you lost my phone number? Thanks for the compliment.
Nicely spotted, Micah: Melville’s warning to entrepreneurs: Don’t be an Ahab. Or, do, and recognize it, and enjoy the wild ride in your little skiff. :)
PS – what a ridiculous comment system you’ve got here!
@tom Thanks. I plan to install Disqus later this afternoon. Or, should I say: “at least mine has trackbacks.”
Yeah, you really don’t get a choice with me. I tackle on site.
Red Wing Cooties ! Red Wing Cooties!
@erin I imagine you tackle like the Detroit Lions. I have no worries.