Build a great company on a powerful foundation!
ON MONDAY I talked about Change Composites’ Umbo Helmet which they submitted for the Blue Ocean Challenge at CSU.
It was a day of great innovative ideas in a wide range of areas.
Today, I’m very pleased to see that this company just won second place in the competition yesterday, landing $5000 in prize money and nation-wide recognition.
Kudos to a great team with a powerful mission. You’re going to change the world!
DO YOU SEE THAT BUMP in the middle of the shield?
That’s an Umbo. It’s used to deflect swords and better defend the soldier.
So it’s interesting that a new company designing a better bike headgear has chosen to call it an Umbo Helmet.
This is a group with a mission, for sure.
J OSH DAPKUS 
manages the local Bayada Home Health Care marketing group. I confess that I wasn’t really aware of this company, but the more I find out the more impressed I am. Bayada has a range of services to help those wanting caring, supportive health care in the home.
But this isn’t really about the company. It’s about Josh’s journey to get to this destination.
Josh was strongly motivated by his grandmother’s experience with dementia. As you might imagine, this was stressful for him and the whole family. And it convinced him that he would love to spend his life helping others with these challenges.
WE ALL GET DISCOURAGED. It’s a part of the human condition, and a constant struggle.
But the fact is that those who reap great rewards are not so much those who are smart, talented, or lucky. It’s those who are persistent learners and adapters.
“Rewards” in this case might be monetary goals, fame, impact, or spiritual development. Doesn’t matter.
ALMOST EVERY INDUSTRY has some kind of seasonality. 
When I talk to someone about their business, it’s usually fascinating to dig into the cycles which are natural for them.
This came to mind today because I had a chance to talk with a lady who’s starting up a great business bringing products from South America and Asia here to Colorado. I suspect that many of these products will be used as gifts, which means that she’ll be connected to the gift-giving occasions around Christmas, Mother’s Day, and so on. Birthdays happen year round, of course, so that may help even out the revenue stream a little.
Her primary selling methods will be on her website and via markets and similar events – which means lots of activity during the warmer months.
ONE OF FORT COLLINS’ claims to fame is 
Tim Farnsworth, the M&E Painting sign dancer guy. He’s been working for the company for six years now and is an energetic asset to the community.
He cares deeply about his job. He’s an expert and puts his whole heart into what he does.
Let’s contrast this to, oh, the other twenty sign flippers around town. They stand there. Maybe they wave their sign around a little. It a fit of inspiration, they might even turn it around for ten minutes.
You get the impression that it’s just a job, a way to make a few bucks before moving onto something which will pay 50¢ more.
OUR CULTURE celebrates self reliance. 
We applaud the “self made man” as if such a thing could even exist, and we have a deep desire for independence and autonomy. The USA holds up the archetype as cowboy or business mogul as one who courageously takes on all challenges and doesn’t rely on anyone else.
It’s a wonder that society can exist at all!
The truth is that we deeply need each other throughout our lifetimes. Read the rest of this entry »
EVERYTHING IS A DISASTER. 
Or at least it seems that way.
But you get a different perspective when you’re able to reflect after the fact. It’s human nature.
We’re expert at focusing on the detail. If we didn’t do that, the magnitude of everyday experience would overwhelm us! But it also means that we shut out 99% of the world to focus on the 1%.
Especially when it comes to problems.
THIS WEEK I WAS CHALLENGED 
by a speaker named Todd Musselman to think about the concept of making choices. One of his key messages? “At every moment in time, you’re doing exactly what is most important to you.”
I have a resistance to this, as you might as well. It feels like an incredible amount of my time is spent on extraneous stuff, trivialities, and annoyances.
Yet, this is absolutely true.
SALVATION IS AT HAND! Christ is risen!
I would like to take this moment to extend to you the warmth and joy of this, our most holy day of the Christian year. Nearly 2000 years ago, Jesus showed us our path out of sin and into God’s loving presence.
Are you taking time every day to build this into yourself and your business? I don’t care if you market yourself as a Christian company. But certainly you should be letting your values shine forth.
The Values-Based Business 