I’ve got your back (via @sethgodins)

This is a straight cut and paste from Seth Godins’ blog. I thought it relevant because as an entrepreneur I have felt the very clear distinction between those who have committed their help, time, and advice to me and those that ‘said’ that they have my back. It is important to pay attention to this because one should never forget who really has your back.
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“I’ve got your back”

These are the words that entrepreneurs, painters, artists, statesmen, customer service pioneers and writers need to hear.

Not true. They don’t need to hear them, they need to feel them.

No artist needs a fair weather friend, an employee or customer or partner who waits to do the calculus before deciding if they’re going to be there for them.

No, if you want her to go all in, if you want her to take the risk and brave the fear, then it sure helps if you’re there too, no matter what. There’s a cost to that, a pain and risk that comes from that sort of trust. After all, it might not work. Failure (or worse! embarrassment) might ensue. That’s precisely why it’s worth so much. Because it’s difficult and scarce.

Later, when it’s all good and it’s all working, your offer of support means very little. The artist never forgets the few who came through when it really mattered.

Who’s got your back? More important, whose back do you have?

So you want to start a web startup?

This was so funny, I had to repost on my blog. I saw it on Techcrunch today. This was hilarious is because I have had a few conversations with web/tech start-up people over the last few months, and most have them have gone like this….especially the key points they make fun of:

• Going viral
• Launching next week
• Semantics web 3.0

From @SethGodin – Exploration and the risk of failure

I liked the concise way Seth Godin categorizes the two groups of people without alienating either group. This is a cut and paste from his blog.

Exploration and the risk of failure

People seem to be in one of two categories:

Those who seek stability, affiliation, work worth doing and the assurance it (whatever it is) will be okay.
Those who explore, need to know that failure is an option and quest to make a dent in the universe.
You can be in either category, the world needs and rewards both. But pick a brand and a job and a posture that matches your category, or you’ll fail, and be miserable until you do.

Hint: there is no category of: “does risky exploration, never fails.”