LegendaryLife Blog

There are two kinds of companies out there, the “me-toos” which see how successful others are and try to replicate it with a few changes in order to enjoy the same amount of success and the “what-the-___” ones who create their own unique niche and take years to get steam. I’ve had a very bad habit of creating “what-the” since I was a kid, always thinking of the world in a very different way than most others.

I use to deliver newspapers and much to my customer’s puzzlement, would only collect money from them on a bi-monthly basis ONCE (if they weren’t home, it would be another 2 weeks before they saw me) after I realized the more customers owed me, the higher the tips were. Giving 10 cents tip out of 3$ is too easy, not having change for a 20$ when they owed me 17$ was more profitable.

I began a 3D animation studio when most companies had no clue what it was (ironic considering how much “3D” type articles you write about now) and in vain tried to acquire 3ds.com but Dassault Systèmes beat me to it – hence i3DS.com which is starting to sound like a lot of the names of 3D systems out there. Convincing the DELL phone sales rep that I was an industrial company needing a 10K workstation for CAD so it was fine selling it to me.

I was given a line of credit while in university which I promptly cashed-out a few months later (giving my parents two weeks notice in the process) to travel abroad alone for two months to Japan, Australia and Malaysia! I even got another line of credit to help fund my business while learning how to fly!

Since September, WoodMarvels.com has really been on a tear… in the most positive sense of the word. Sales keep going UP, people are more and more offering me great opportunities which, based on my past, I don’t say no to. I still remember the time when I first started WoodMarvels.com, there was just me and my computer (that hasn’t changed much) but the pictures of the resources available all showed hand-crafted toys with guys wearing mustaches showing their handywork. There were screws, nails, extensive material lists and MEASUREMENTS (I hate math!). Suffice it to say, I knew there had to be a better way, computers, 3D animation, no measurements… this seemed like the path forward! Back then, I didn’t even know about lasers, on-demand manufacturing… I was designing things using wooden dowels meant for jigsaws but kept looking for a modern equivalent. I had visited industrial companies around North America and they showed me what was possible… so I designed based on what I saw, not on what I knew.

Barriers to entry where steep, I had no way of cutting much less knowing if my designs worked other than what my computer told me but I didn’t let that stop me… I plowed through. I didn’t know how to design toys but that didn’t stop me. I couldn’t draw but I didn’t let that stop me. I didn’t have any money! That didn’t stop me either! Basically, I saw a door and come hell or high water, I was going to open it!

I wanted others to join with my company as well, and to this day, I still actively look for other designers to have their stuff on my site – nothing worse than going to a store that sells only one style of things… and after each of those collaborations, I learn a little something that helps me improve on my designs!

The more I design for WoodMarvels.com, the more it surprises me that there are no equivalent sites to it. Sure, there are a few hobby places here and there but doing things the way I do? Nope! The cost of entry is huge – you need to get a full time 3D artist (not cheap especially now!) or learn yourself (very steep learning curve), build products out of thin air (easy for me now but incredibly difficult for me when I started), build a brand and partnerships (again, very difficult without an extensive portfolio) and even if you have all of this… finding customers to make it a profitable enterprise! If anything the barriers have only increased, not decreased with time.

Suffice it to say, I believe I created my very own niche and for however a short time I dominate it, the ride has and continues to be fun! That being said, I’m always trying new things… I really and truly love what I do here at WoodMarvels.com and anything I can do to grow the audience and customer base – I’ll give it a try.

There is a motto that I feel myself living through quite often, there is nothing to fear but fear itself – when you realize you have nothing to lose – and go for it… the journey might take a few years with challenges along the way, but taking the initiative and jumping off the diving board without knowing how high or even if there is water in the pool… makes life worth living!

I feel like I’ve been living in a cave for the past three years, working crazy hours building up WoodMarvels.com and now that I got some momentum going… am finally able to stick my head out and let the sun shine on my face for a change before I head back in and get my Vitamin D from my computer screen once again.

When I started i3DS and my journey into entrepreneurship over a decade ago, I never could have predicted how crazy the ups and downs would have been. One thing though, throughout all these times that I haven’t forgotten about was the value of partners to get you to where you wish to be in life. Whether they are somebody whom you love that keep you grounded or business partners who allow you to enter new markets and spread knowledge of your existence to their client base.  If you run a business especially, partnerships are the way to make something good into something GREAT!

I’ve been so busy in the trenches of relevance that today it struck me how far I’ve come along in my entrepreneurial journey when I took a few seconds to review the headlines on the WoodMarvels.com blog.

• Partnership with one of the world’s largest laser cutter manufacturer (Trotec) showing my stuff at the VIIE Sydney Australia show
• Partnership with one of the USA’s largest CNC router manufacturers (ShopBot Tools) showing my stuff at the 2010 NY World Maker Faire
• new product launches
• hitting a hundred youtube subscribers
• having my products featured at Ponoko.com’s website
• … and the launch of another company!
• … and just for fun, I’ve done all this while moving to another foreign country with nothing but three pieces of luggage to my name with associated headaches!

This all happened in less than 3 weeks! Insane! Cool! I honestly had no idea, I spend a few minutes writing then move on right to the next thing. If the conversations I’ve had with entrepreneurs go through… this month will be even crazier than the previous… and the previous before that one.

The Bottom Line

Passion is a dangerous habit, it makes you forget the pain and live in the pleasure of accomplishment!

I believe each person has their own special gift, not given to them… just by random chance, their brains got configured in a different manner than the rest of us and this leads them down very different paths. One such person is Kim Peek.

Legendary Savant

Thanks to the movie Rain Man, the existence of savants got some attention by the media and hence, the the general public. His brain was larger than the average and looked noticeably different than the average but somehow, it allowed him to enjoy the benefits of a true photographic memory (eidetic memory). Everything he had ever read or seen, he remembered instantly! I wrote about his special abilities briefly in my book titled “Transform your life from blah to Legendary!” (page 95) which included reading a book, two pages at a time, one eye per page in only a few seconds!

The Rain Man affect

Kim Peek was transformed after the movie came out, he opened up regarding his abilities and developed a more outward personality… he came into being his own, thanks to the dedication and love of his father. I never met Kim but he was on my list of people that I would have really enjoyed taking out to lunch.

His joy of life was incredible and in my book, he led a truly legendary life! May Kim Peek rest in peace, he was a truly original man with an incredible talent teaching others the amazing abilities of the human mind!

You can watch the video outlining his life at ABC News.

Only 12 people have ever been there...

There are two aspects of ultimate achievement I find fascinating, the first, is the unlikely climb, coincidences and shier luck that lead to it and then, “what happened after wards?” There are firsts for everything, many of which have been forgotten by time, but let’s explore what happened to twelve individuals who landed on the Moon, the most rare of feats.

Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong was the first to land and walk on the Moon, he made that famous speech that is at the tip of everybody’s tongue. How did he react? Well, he shied away from the spotlight and went into teaching and running a business. He later came out of his shell for a biographical book about his achievement but is rumored to be skipping-out on the anniversary party with NASA. His admiration for all the hard work and sacrifices by others along with his patriotic duty have forced him into a corner of thinking of the entire experience as a fringe benefit to his job with NASA… though, I am sure deep-down, he had a hell of a time! He was described as a reserved.

Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin

Yes, that is where Toy Story got the name from, now that we have that out of the way, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin took the opposite route of his co-worker Neil Armstrong. He went on lecture and book writing binge and continues to play an active role in space exploration with a plan to reach Mars and three patent applications relating to space station devices. He shows all the enthusiasm you would expect for a guy lucky enough to walk on the Moon, and he isn’t afraid of showing it! He was described as an avid explorer.

Charles “Pete” Comrad

As the first man to ever dance on the Moon and I prefer his reaction to walking ont he Moon to Neils which was:

“Whoopie! That may have been one small step for Neil, but it’s a long one for me!”

After retiring from NASA, Charles “Pete” Comrad went into business but died from a motorcycle accident in 1999 at the age of 69 years old which happens to be the same digits as his Moon landing, in 1969. He was described as anything but reserved, a cowboy at heart.

Alan Bean

Alan got into painting soon after his return from the Moon. He has tried to recreate the excitement and emotions he felt while he was there on canvas, including parts of lunar dust and memorabilia with each of them. He was described as an artist.

Alan Shepard

Alan Shepard was doubly lucky, the first man in space and the fifth to ever set foot on the Moon! He is probably most recognized for playing golf on the Moon. Although he died of leukemia in 1998, he left around a legacy illustrating how fragile our Earth really is. He is described as mix between a jock and a philosopher.

Edgar Michell

The entire experience of landing on the Moon profoundly affected Edgar Michell, he came back convinced that aliens are a real phenomena (which they are) but that they are visiting us (which I doubt, the smart ones at least). The shier number of galaxies out there in the universe  points to the fact that there is intelligent life out there, the argument is now whether one civilization would be able to visit another in their given lifetimes as the distances involved are massive, even if light-speed travel were possible. He is described as a maverick.

James Irwin

James Irwin walked on the Moon and came back a very religious man after seeing such a fragile and small Earth from outerspace. He was forever changed by the experience and dedicated his life to his beliefs soon after returning. He died of a heart attack in 1991 at 61 years of age. He was described as the spiritual anchor.

David Scott

After dedicated his life towards becoming an astronaut, once he returned from the Moon, he got hit by the “what do I do next with my life?” disease. What did he do? He started a company specializing in space project management. He was described as the youngster of the class of 12, being only 39 when he walked on the Moon!

John Young

John Young has pushed heavily on the development of colonies on other planets because, as he describes it, all of humanity can be wiped-out in one shot by any host of cosmic or Earth born afflictions. He is described as the futurist.

Charles Duke

At the age of 36, Charles Duke spent more than 71 hours on the Moon! After leaving NASA, he started his own company and ministry. He is described as the wide-eyed.

Eugene Cernan

Eugene Cernan was forever changed from the entire 73 hours he spent on the Moon, he found a spiritual calling and is quoted as saying:

“I felt that the world was just too beautiful to have happened by accident. There has to be something bigger than you and bigger than me,” Cernan said “In the Shadow of the Moon.” “And I mean this in a spiritual sense, not a religious sense. There has to be a creator of the universe who stands above the religions that we ourselves create to govern our lives.”

Which I find interesting, as, he is essentially saying that all religions on Earth are created by Man. Now, I just hope this would sink into people and would stop the silly “my religion is better than yours” crap that plagues far too many minds on this planet. He is described as a philosopher.

Harrison “Jack” Schmitt

Harrison “Jack” Schmitt was the last man to ever walk on the Moon. He joined politics after returning then a freelance consultant and writer.

“But sometimes people just want a description of what it was like,” he continued, “The black sky, the brilliantly illuminated slopes of the mountains, the bright sun, and then our Earth as a big blue marble hanging over one of the mountains. The physical feeling of walking on the moon is like walking on a giant trampoline, to some degree.”

So what can we learn?

Astronauts are no different than other high achievers, they are changed after going through their experience, trying to find a new goal to work towards. I do find it interesting that most of the astronauts decided to leave NASA and were never given an opportunity to return to the Moon. I also wonder why the program was ever stopped, they had momentum on their side and, it seems, the experience gained from having a colony on the Moon would have been incredibly valuable towards discovering what would be possible on Mars.

The Bottom Line

Turning a lifelong goal into reality is only getting half way, it’s what you do afterwards that turns a life into something truely distinguished.

Buzvia: The 12 Moonwalkers: Where Are They Now?, NASA

Long ago, before we had the luxury of convenient and grocery stores, modern agriculture and “civilization”, we use to have to hunt and gather each and everyday for our days food. Each day was filled with trying to live one more using nothing but our wit, strength and endurance. The reason our bodies are so impressive today is because of the work our ancestors did, each and everyday, in order to allow our species to conquer this planet.

I watched this video a long time ago and was incredibly impressed by the use of persistence to hunt down large prey. What was once common place among our species seems sadly foreign to me, I never had to “earn” my life like our ancestors. I believe this is the reason why our species suffers from depression, anxiety and invests in materialism instead of itself, we have lost touch with our inner senses and nothing quite fills that void like earned nutrition. Notice in this video, the guy isn’t 20 years old either, he is probably healthier than most people half his age… this guy, who never had a job his entire life, never owned anything of (our perceived) value and nor has any wealth to speak off has both my instant admiration and respect. We can truly be amazing animals when the desire and circumstances warrant them. I would feel honored to be able to do this, at least once, in my life.

Could you imagine having the mental and physical strength to run for 8 straight hours in the burning sun with nothing but a spear for your diner? Think about it.