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Awesome Inc is planning its first conference – Awesome Inc Mobile miniConference. It is this Saturday, July 18^th from 11:00 am – 8:00 pm. The conference will feature presentations from a former Facebook Mobile product manager, a top 25 iPhone app developer, and Yahoo! Blueprint. There will also be a workshop teaching participants how to develop their first iPhone app.
 
The conference is shaping up to be solid.  It’s taken a lot of work and help from tons of volunteers.  I’ll be sure to post more about how it plays out and what I learned from this experience after the conference.
For more info: http://mobile.awesomeinc.org
To register: http://mobileconference.eventbrite.com

I’m sitting inside the offices of Awesome Inc at 3:00 am writing this blog post.  My business partner Luke has just fallen asleep on the couches in the break room.  We have to be up at 7:30 to give a presentation.  I’m thinking that I shouldn’t even be spending the 30 minutes to write this blog entry because it is a distraction to work I could be doing.   That’s the mentality that I have now about being continuously productivity - I don’t drive any where without making a phone call, when I fix and eat a meal, I’m reading an email, if I show up five minutes early to something I get mad because I just wasted five minutes.  I’m not saying it’s good or bad, healthy or unhealthy; it’s just how it is.  I’ve been called out by it several times by friends and family.  They might say, “Don’t you ever just sit and relax?”  I look back at them and wonder what they actually mean.  Do they mean watch a movie, read a book, or literally just sit there?  I respond with, “No, I’d always rather be doing something productive (or at least fun and active)?”
My typical day looks like this:

• wake up late morning.
• work for 7-8 hours.
• go play/coach soccer for 2-3 hours.
• go back to work for 6-7 hours (following the rule of 4)

The rule of 4 states that one out of every 4 nights instead of going back to work I do something fun with my friends/girlfriend/family. The past few weeks this has included activities such as rappelling into a pool, midnight golf, and running through the fountains downtown.

The reason I decided to write this blog post was that I think there is more to the success formula than what I am doing.  No one works harder than me.  However, there are people that are more successful than me…and some are even younger than me.  I think it has to do with how smart they work.  I consider myself a relatively smart person.  I guess I just need to figure out a way to work smarter too.  I’m open to suggestions.

- for the record, I love my work so working 13-15 hours each day, often through the late hours of the night isn’t something I mind at all.  Most days I look forward to 10 pm, which means I get to crank out 6 hours of uninterrupted work.

A lot of cool stuff has happened at Awesome Inc in its first month of operation. Like holding the first ever Forge Lexington meeting of over 65 entrepreneurs and investors.  Or the 4^th Geeks Night Out which had over 80 guests and featured a live DJ along with some fierce ping pong matches followed by a swing dance lesson from Premiere Dance.  Then there is the front page article on the Herald Leader Business Monday which promoted not only Awesome Inc but also the companies working out of the Awesome Space – aBetterOffice, APAX Software, BookExchange.com, Premiere Dance, Prosper MG – Done in: 60 seconds, Vision Business Solutions, and Xperience Education.  But all of this activity gets trumped by Awesome Inc’s most important contribution thus far – the small part it played in getting a homeless guy off the streets.

“I can cut in better than you,” yelled Pete from Main Street one night.  He was standing outside of Awesome Inc while I was on a ladder painting the front wall yellow.  My initial reaction was, “Oh great.  A homeless guy is critiquing my painting abilities.  I hope nobody heard him.  That would be a pretty serious blow to my confidence.”  I ignored him and figured he would go away.  Pete was persistent though and wasn’t going anywhere.  Instead he continued to tell me how bad of a painter I was and that he could do a professional quality job for just a sandwich and a drink.

I opened the door and let him in. He painted alongside Nathan and I for about an hour. He killed it and sure enough he didn’t ask for much. It was 2 am and I didn’t have a sandwich or drink for him so I gave him a $10 bill. I hesitantly gave him my phone number as well to call me and come back and do more work for us. About 3 weeks later, Pete had significantly contributed to painting the entire building and earned about $250.
I had no idea what Pete was doing with this money.  If I had to guess it would have been something irresponsible.  It wasn’t until he came by the Awesome Space one day and asked for a letter stating he had been doing part time work for Awesome Inc that I figured out what he was actually doing with the money.  He had been saving it (along with other income from side jobs, I’m sure) to get into a subsidized housing program and rent an apartment. 

Probably my favorite moment in the last month came when Pete came by not to do work, but to prove to us that he had closed on this apartment.  I’ll always remember driving Pete from the Awesome Space to his apartment the first night he stayed in it.  When we got there, Pete gave Luke, Matt and I the full tour which included his shoe collection in his closet featuring some Nike Jordan’s from the 90’s.

Pete’s off the street and in his new apartment.  And I think Awesome Inc played a role, even if it was only a small role. Pete is a quality guy who fell on some hard times.  He has a long way to go, but I believe in him.  Pete is available for inexpensive freelance painting and does a heck of a job. He is painting my friend Matt’s house this week.

My entire life I have been surrounded by great people. I was born into this world with the best parents, the best family, and the best examples of what solid relationships should look like. 

Twenty seven years later I have the greatest friends I could ever ask for. As I browsed through my facebook friends tonight, I looked down the list and said to myself, “quality friend, quality brother, quality business partner, quality teacher, quality mentor…”.  The list goes on. 

Quality – a degree or grade of excellence or worth. Every relationship I invest in I want it to have a degree of worth. Somewhere along the way in my 27 years of life I figured out the key to success in anything is surrounding yourself with awesome people. The best teammates = championship teams, the best friends = having the most fun when you hang out, the best business partners and co-workers = prosperous company.

It’s no secret that the people you’re surrounded by define your character more than anything else. That’s why when we interview a candidate for APAX Software we ask the candidate, “Tell me everything about your best friend”. 

Some of my friends from around the country often ask me why I don’t just leave Lexington, KY and live somewhere with better weather, cooler scenery, a better entrepreneurial community, or a beach. I tell them this every time, “If I could pick 100 of my closest friends and move them with me to a destination of my choice, I would move tomorrow.”  (if you’re reading this blog, you probably make the cut).

While, someday I probably will live somewhere besides Kentucky, up until now it’s not the basketball, the inconsistent climate, or the horses that have kept me here. It’s the billionaire valuation of my relationships.

Before I violate one of the most important rules (rule # 2: intellectual property), I need to give credit where credit is due on the term “relationship billionaire” (Luke, Dec. 2008, derived at the location of this picture).

At a recent entrepreneurial event in Lexington called Startup Weekend I got to work with the dreamteam on a fun, inspiring project that will most likely never put a dollar in my pocket (kind of reminds me of the BookExchange).  It’s called the dreamfear project.  If you’ve ever heard of post secret, the dreamfear project is similar, but instead of users posting their secrets, users anonymously post their dreams and fears.   The idea behind the dreamfear project is that if you think enough about your dreams and what you are afraid of then you might actually do something to achieve those dreams or avert those fears.

The project got me thinking about my own dreams and fears.  This is what I came up with.

I don’t think I’m alone in these dreams and fears.  I doubt I’m the only person who wants to be remembered for doing something big.  I also doubt I’m the only person in the world who lays in bed at night thinking – “what if I don’t find that special someone by the time I’m 30, or 35, or what if I’m 45 and I still haven’t found them…scary”.  I’m not alone and neither is everyone else when it comes to their dreams and fears. 

The primary purpose of the dreamfear project is to get people to DO something about their dreams and fears.  Let’s be clear that worrying about not accomplishing your dreams won’t do a bit of good.  Take it from Van Wilder who says, “Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but doesn’t get you anywhere…write that down.”  Worrying just creates panic and stress, it is a waste of time; constructive thought however, can get you to take action. 

The dreamfear project is an attempt to get people to think about, and ultimately do, the following:

- its ok to be afraid.

- its ok to dream big.

- realize other people have the same dreams/fears.

- dreaming or recognition of fears allows you to take action towards accomplishing those dreams or avoiding those fears.

 Check out the dreamfear project at: www.dreamfearproject.com.