“Most don’t want to be trailblazers, but everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon.”

Trailblazing is NOT EASY. I define “trailblazing” as when one swims upstream, against the current, against all odds, following one’s heart, beliefs, intuition and gut to prove to oneself and others that what they instinctually believe to be true is, in fact, the case. Trailblazing is the norm for many in all fields, from technology to psychology to astronomy.

Anytime someone does something different, new, and innovative that challenges the status quo, people will attempt to criticize, attack, condemn, and do everything within their means to assuage their deeply embedded fears and unconscious feelings of inadequacy. Most of the time, people are not even aware of how their cognitive patterning drives them and their basic human need to fit in, to be part of the herd, to be followers, and not to stand out. But when the innovator, the target of their hostility, succeeds and his idea becomes reality, they turn into his biggest supporters. They say they “knew it all along,” when of course, like everyone else, they simply joined in the criticism.

There are, however, individuals who thrive on being different, on being the “black sheep” that challenge the status quo, push the envelope, forward think, create, envision. These are the innovators, artists, CEOs, philosophers, entrepreneurs, writers, and visionaries who add value to this world, which would not be nearly such a wonderful place without their gifts!

“Everything that each and every one of us uses came from someone else, somewhere, sometime.“

There are many well known examples of these legendaries being condemned at the time for their forward and out-of-the-box thinking: Columbus, Copernicus, Newton, and Socrates, to name a few. Today, they are remembered as geniuses and they will forever occupy vital places in history for their global perspectives, self-belief, determination, and conviction.

These innovators made a huge difference for the rest of the world. They risked their lives, reputations, and everything they had for what they felt in their hearts and souls was right.  No matter how many times they failed, or how much criticism and skepticism they attracted, they continued to blaze trails for what they believed in.

We all have the ability to do great things. I suggest that if you believe in something, and you know in your heart of hearts it is right, then for God’s sake get out there and do it.  Go after it. Put 110% into it and bring whatever it is to fruition for you and the world to see . . . today, tomorrow, and for all of eternity.

Humans over-complicate all too much, and achieving what you desire boils down to four simple steps.

1. Belief – 100% Belief and Conviction
2. Action – Take Massive Action
3. Reinforcement – Continual and Constant Reinforcement
4. Reward – Meaningful Reward Upon Completion

Continually follow these four steps of the Cycle of Achievement and you can achieve ANYTHING.

Texas is known for oil, New York for Wall Street, and Los Angeles for Hollywood. All of these places have their own cultural nuances, which have a direct affect on the socioeconomics of regional business. The cultural differences among geographic regions are perhaps nowhere more apparent than when we compare the Midwest to Silicon Valley.

First off, the Midwest (Minneapolis/St. Paul) really does suck for anyone who is an innovator or visionary.  It’s like an innovation vacuum that can suck the fun, energy, creativity, ingenuity, and life right out of you. I should know. I’m from there, and that’s why I left.

Most people in the Midwest are not big thinkers.  They are trained in mediocrity and conditioned to take safe bets. I never fit in with or liked that attitude, which was why I followed the great American tradition and “headed west” to Silicon Valley (the San Francisco Bay Area).

Here, in “the Valley’s” markedly different business environment, success is the expectation, fueled by the regional norms of big thinking, creativity, innovation, thinking outside the box, collaboration, helping one another, taking risks, and having a ton of fun while making lots and lots of money.

Being from Minneapolis–and having been an entrepreneur for 12 years–I offer these further observations of the two regions’ contradictory attitudes:

1. Risk Taking

Midwest: Always mitigate any risk at all costs.

“Don’t take risks; you might fail.”

Silicon Valley: Take risks. That’s what being an entrepreneur and investing are all about. It’s simply a numbers game.

“Fall down 6 times; get up 7.”

2. Innovative Thinking

Midwest: Don’t ever be anything more than evolutionary.

“You might want to prove that model out.”

Silicon Valley: Be revolutionary.

“Wow, that’s amazing! How can I help?”

3. Goal Setting

Midwest: Play it safe and don’t reach too high.

“Jeez . . . I don’t know if you should try that.”

Silicon Valley: We’re after home runs and grand slams.

“Go for it! Give it your best shot!”

4. Failure

Midwest: Failure is an indelible black mark. We enjoy kicking a man while he is down.

“He’s got the plague. Let’s stay as far away from him as possible.”

Silicon Valley: Failure sucks, but it creates great entrepreneurs.

“Try again. Here’s more money; I bet you learned a lot that time.”

5. Acceptance of Others

Midwest: We stick together and don’t trust new people.

“Outsiders can stay out.”

Silicon Valley: New people bring new ideas. We welcome them.

“One for all and all for one.”

6. Business Models

Midwest: We must see tangible assets and major profit before we will invest.

“Wait a minute…so you’re saying it’s not real estate?!?!”

Silicon Valley: We evaluate investments based on team members, product ideas, and targeted users.

”We love online revenue models. Just show us a potential market.”

7. Investing

Midwest: We want a controlling interest in your company. If your venture fails, we will come after everything you own.

“I want a personal guarantee on everything, including your organs.”

Silicon Valley: We have to put our money to work, we understand early stage investing, and we know that only a few ventures will come to fruition.

“Angel investing is fun!”

8. Bringing Home the Bacon

Midwest: Just keep a steady job with one company.

“What do you mean, you don’t get a paycheck every Friday???”

Silicon Valley: If you believe in yourself and are willing to sacrifice, then you should go for it.

“I am sick of eating Ramen, but I know my endeavors will pay off in the long run.”

Being an entrepreneur and venture capitalist is about HIGH RISK-HIGH RETURN, which Silicon Valley is great at. The West Coast is also great at attracting the world’s best talent and being a tractor beam for big thinkers, innovators, and those who are willing to stick their necks out for what they believe in. When you think about it, there is very good reason why guys like Evan Williams and Marc Andreessen left the confines of the Midwest.

So I say to you, any Midwestern visionaries, big thinkers, and innovators–GET OUT NOW!!!

In the famous words of Donald Trump ~ “If you’re going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big.

The only one thing constant in life is change.  Today I decided to change my blog “matt’s blog-business and philosophy.” It’s lack of focus has been bothering me for some time, not being as hyper-focused as I would like and essentially writing about whatever I felt deemed worthy.

So starting today mattcrowe.com will be about business only, focused on my passion for building companies through the eyes of an entrepreneur turned VC. My personal development, psychology, and philosophy writings are going to be launched on a new website – dedicated purely to self-improvement.

Lastly, I also decided to pursue my passion for politics by beginning to regularly write Political Commentary for The San Francisco Chronicle, giving ALL Conservatives a voice during a frightening time in our country’s history as liberals and their socialist leader attempt to change the very  fundamentals America was founded upon.

Stay tuned…..

Is there a cell phone epidemic? Or could it just be a society full of insecurity?

My prediction: BOTH

People are generally insecure. That includes me, you, and anyone else who may try to give you a guarded response saying that they are not.  We all were at some point in our lives TOTALLY and COMPLETELY dependent on others. Vulnerable little babies needing our mothers and crying for their attention, barfing all over everyone, and shitting ourselves on a daily basis. Needing love, compassion, food, and a fresh diaper change. All it takes is one time for mom to not reach out to us while needing her and WHAM – imprinting starts and insecurity begins to develop.  More and more of this over the next 18 or so years, which happens to be the most impressionable times in our lives, as we become young adults. Essentially, that conditioning from our parents establish the basis for whom we all are, and become. (Part 2 of 2 will be describe how to overcome this faulty and improper conditioning).  Muscle bound guys are insecure, 99% of ALL women are insecure, and yes, even the people you would think are least likely be…are as well: CEO’s, Celebrities, and even the President.

Here are my observations:

People are starting to use their cell phone and connectivity (or perception of connectivity) in moments of insecurity.  I see it every day.  The girl in the elevator who is nervous, guys staring at their phones alone in bars, for no good reason – checking their Email, Facebook, or Twitter, or people walking down the street hunched over like Quasimodo hoping, wishing, and praying for a friend or anything online to connect with.  It gets worse; I will even take my hypothesis a bit further and say that in the current teen generation…a global epidemic has begun.  I first experienced this in Tokyo a couple of years ago while observing the Japanese glued to their cell phones, and now I see it everywhere! It appears that when people feel alone, sad, scared, or depressed they reach for their cell phones. If they don’t get a Text, Email, Tweet, Facebook Comment, or Phone Call every few minutes they reach for their phones to try to quench that thirst for security.

I think that for the first time in our history humans are able to EXTERNALIZE their insecurities in a more easily identifiable fashion than ever before, through a device that can be widely and easily correlated to being insecure.

The scary part is not that our society is breeding more and more insecure people.  But that they are turning to their cell phone, internet connection, text messages, or some other form of “perceived” connection in insecure moments.   While in reality, trying to cope with insecurity with a “connection” will not solve the problem, fill the void, or bring a TRUE sense or security to anyone, anytime.

What are your thoughts on this???

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” ~ Walt Disney

Books are great.  They are a way for knowledge and wisdom to be passed down from one generation to the next and a way to continually educate yourself in just about any subject you like just as long as you have a little bit of self-discipline.  I never went to college or even read books as a kid.  The first book I ever read was How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci by Michael Gelb at age 19 and have been hooked on reading ever since. I read voraciously and would say that consistently I have at least 3-5 books, audiobooks, and eBooks going on at any one give time and am constantly consuming as much information as possible on a daily basis.  All that said, it’s a choice to pick up a book and ready instead of turning on the tube for some reality trash, or listen to an audiobook while working out instead of jamming to Metallica.  I have read hundreds, if not thousands, of books and am not about to stop reading anytime soon. If anything, I wish I where like the robot in the movie Short Circuit where I could read hundreds of books a day from the bookstore bookshelves!!!

Some books, however, are better than others. Obviously, I’m not telling you anything new.  However, when you are someone like myself that would be considered very well-read in the areas of psychology, personal development, self help and the like, you start to become finely tuned for books worth reading and ones that are a complete waste of time.  It’s simple really: if it’s a great book, you refer it to your friends.  If it’s not, you don’t. There is one main exception, which is also the topic of this post:

Value

The past couple weeks I plowed through the books Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman, Flow by ­­­­­Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and Excuses Begone by Wayne Dyer. Well, to be completely honest, I read Learned Optimism, listened to Flow in my vehicle, and listened to Excuses Begone from my iPhone while working out. All three are all very similar, yet all very, very different.   The first half of Learned Optimism had me wanting to read more and more, although his research-based writing style can be quite boring for the average Joe. I was just about to give his book a rave review until I got the last half of the book. What a massive disappointment.  Seriously. Learned Optimism, in a nutshell, explains why people are optimistic vs. pessimistic, why we think the way we think, and offers advice on how to change your improper negative thought patterns through clinically researched methodologies proven by rats, dogs, and humans.  But here is the thing: It doesn’t give practical advice for the everyday American to be able to apply these techniques to their lives. I’m sure it was greatly appealing to research psychologists (this book was a bestseller), and I’m a huge fan of Mr. Seligman’s pioneering work in the field of positive psychology, but I just get perturbed when smart people don’t have the ability to relate to others in a practical, easy to understand, simplistic way.

So then I decided to move onto Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi who also is an innovator and pioneer and has worked closely with Seligman in the field of positive psychology.  Again, highly disappointing.  And to believe both of these were best sellers! Pretty sad really.  Both of these men are research psychologists. Their writing is for research purposes, so I guess it makes sense their books are not going to provide practical solution-based advice but, rather, fact-based reason for why something is or isn’t. Essentially, that’s psychology in a nutshell.  The problem with that nutshell is that you can get stuck in it-and never get out.

Lastly, I just finished Excuses Begone by Wayne Dyer, which is what inspired me to want to write this post.  For starters, he essentially gives the same/similar message as Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, has the same educational accreditation (not that that matters, in my opinion) yet gives the readers a practical way to put into practice the core message of the book.  America is full of people who like to voice their opinions and in reality have nothing of any value to add.  We are far better off as a species and culture to provide others with the tools necessary to help them become better people in all areas of their life.  This goes without saying for areas such as your personal life, like in this book, but should also be applied to areas like politics, education, health, and in my opinion, most importantly our how we think which is the foundation for our thinking an everything we do in life.

Excuses Begone is another one of Dyer’s greats, and I’m pretty sure I have read all of his books. It’s no classic by any means, but is worth a days reading to consume a new approach to getting what you want out of life and, like the title says, get rid of excuses.  While this book is worth the read, the other two you can check off your list knowing that your friend Matt wasted many hours reading something that could have been summarized in under a few minutes.

I’m partial to books that better the mind, body, and soul, and that’s not for everyone.  I have a strong conviction that more people should read books such as Happiness Is A Seriousness Problem by Dennis Prager, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, Man’s Search For Meaning by Victor Frankl, and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill rather than wasting time and energy on Danielle Steele type novels that are really just as much an escape from their reality and life as television is.  But I can’t force anyone to do anything.  You have to want to better yourself. You have to want to increase your intelligence.  And you have to consciously decide and choose to read books that will make you a more well-rounded, open-minded, and cultured individual.

“Reading has changed my life and taught me more than family, friends, or schooling ever did and I truly hope that it has or will for you too. “ ~ Matthew Crowe

“Our lives are the sum total of the choices we have made.” ~ Wayne Dyer

Today I was surfing Facebook and came across some old friends from high school.  These are people I haven’t seen for years, since I decided to move away from where I grew up and spent all of my childhood in pursuit of my dreams.  It made me think that everything in life just boils down to one simple thing:

Choices

I chose to move away and get out of the small town where I grew up and the small town mentality that came with it.  It wasn’t for me.  Was it right or wrong?   Neither.  Just different.  It makes me a bit sad to think all of the people I spent so many years together with only to have a quasi-relationship with now because we are friends on Facebook (which is quite stupid when you think about it.)

Where I am going with all of this is that I “chose” to move into the cities and have chose all the decisions of my life which have led me to where I am today.  We all have the ability to make choices – right or wrong, good or bad. We can choose mates, jobs, friends, where we live, our thoughts, diet, and just about anything, really.

Our choices make us who we are.  For me, many of the choices that I made were not easy and came at a cost.  Some choices in my life didn’t work out as well as I thought. Some really hurt years later.  Others I would never trade for the world, and some juicy choices would make amazing stories that someday will be shared with the world.

When we wake up in the morning we all have the ability to do one thing: choose.

Choosing happiness, sadness, anger, love, regret, remorse or any decision that involves free will is the one differentiator that sets human beings apart from the rest of the animal kingdom.

I chose to take the harder path in life for sure.  A constant, uphill, upstream battle.  Why? I don’t know.  To live life to its fullest, maybe? To be all that I can be?  Probably because I felt deep down in my core that I wanted to do and be more.

All of the people I grew up with are still in the same town doing the same thing and hanging out with the same people. Good for them.  It wasn’t for me.  I chose to get more out of life.  Have I gotten more?  Who knows, too early to tell. Will I get more out of life? Who knows, that depends on my choices.

This small town guy who came from nothing has traveled the world, managed millions, had ups and downs in life most could never dream of, educated myself, mingled and became friends with some of the world’s most influential people, dated women so beautiful they would make you speechless, laughed, cried, loved, lost and truly lived. Yet I always know that when tomorrow comes I will have the ability to do that one simple thing: make choices that define who I am, and so do you.

If you liked this article, and think it would benefit someone you know, please share by one of the services below:)

Lets be honest here. Most people in American Society are sheep.

Most people are followers. Most people unknowingly (and knowingly) follow what society says is right or wrong, what their family and friends think is right for them, or what is safe at all costs to prevent straying away from the pack.  All the while not listening to their inner voice, their soul, and their true self where their purpose resides.

You see it all over the place: Politics, Companies, and Fashion to name a few.

I don’t believe we are here on this planet to live lives of mediocrity. Not a single damn one of use.  Sadly, much of American Society is made up of this and today society says that if you go to college, drive a minivan, live in the suburbs, have 2.5 kids, watch reality television, and eat McDonalds then you are living the American dream.

Baahhhhhh

Well let me tell you something…SOCIETY IS WRONG.  VERY, VERY WRONG.

We all have the ability to be extraordinary.  Each and every last one of us. Each of us has special individual talents and gifts unique only to us. It is imperative that we spend time discovering our true self, buried under layers and layers of social conditioning that came from the media and marketing playing on our insecurities and fears.

How do you know if your one of those “sheep”???

Real Simple. Take the “Am I A Sheep Test”:

1.  Do you watch more than 1 hour of Television/day?

2.  Do you just go along with what everyone else says it cool, right, to do?

3.  Do you blend in so you don’t have to stick out?

4.  Are you following the voice of others rather than you own internal compass?

5.  Are you negative or pessimistic and bring people down with you?

6.  Do you live in a constant state of fear?

7.  Does your wool need to be sheared annually? ***

***If you answer yes to question #7, I suggest you see doctor, or a certified New Zealander trained in the fine art of Sheep Shearing immediately.

Some parts of American culture makes me sick, supplication to mediocrity being one of them.  Human beings are capable of anything so stop being a sheep and start listening to yourself.  Stop being a sheep and start following your dream.  Stop being a sheep and stand up for what you believe in.

We need more people speaking out. This country is not overrun with rebels and free thinkers. It’s overrun with sheep and conformists. ~ Bill Maher

Many of the answers we need in life can be found in nature.   Water is the essential function that all animals on our planet need to survive.  Maybe this ant had a tough day and needed to rest for a moment after carrying loads all day long.  I don’t know.

What I do know is that we all need to take a “drink” sometimes. A “drink” not in the sense of going to the local bar and having a stiff cocktail or not even in the sense of downing a glass of water.  But a drink in the sense to just simply recharge.

Much like animals in nature we all get thirsty at times which is perfectly OK.

Drink up, for the only thing certain is that we will ALWAYS get thirsty.

If you liked this article, and think it would benefit someone you know, please share it by email, on del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, or Twitter.

I came across this very powerful photo and wanted to share it with my followers. We we all see things through different lenses so I would like to know what this photo makes you think. Leave comments below……