Disqus - Latest Comments for sbspalding

Re: Your Competition Doesn’t Exist

sbspalding — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:58:12 -0000

I think everything boils down to expectation management and you're right, the first expectation that needs to be managed is your own.

Lucid point as always Justin, thank you.

Re: 3 Out Of Every 4 Businesses Die Of Neglect

sbspalding — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:44:39 -0000

Ha! Indeed. ;)

Re: 3 Out Of Every 4 Businesses Die Of Neglect

sbspalding — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:44:08 -0000

Thank you for reading, I really appreciate it. :)

Re: You’re Just Like Everyone Else

sbspalding — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:40:59 -0000

Thank you! As for your question, the pictures always come from the good people at Flickr through http://search.creativecommons.org/

Re: 3 Out Of Every 4 Businesses Die Of Neglect

sbspalding — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:02:48 -0000

It's incredibly easy to get caught up in your own little bubble, especially when you spend as much time blowing it as entrepreneurs do. Getting some outside advice is almost ways what ends up making the difference.

Re: 3 Out Of Every 4 Businesses Die Of Neglect

sbspalding — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:01:23 -0000

There are more people than even I'd like to admit who open businesses (especially online businesses with small startup costs) without any real consideration of what they're in for.

They are passionate but they are passionately heading in completely incorrect directions. I mostly agree with you though, passion is critical but if your ship is pointed towards the rocks, it doesn't really matter how quickly you row.

That being said, I've seen passionate people do some amazing things so my heart is definitely with you on that one.

Re: 3 Out Of Every 4 Businesses Die Of Neglect

sbspalding — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:50:57 -0000

I definitely agree. Trying to "go it alone" is a quick way to go completely crazy. You need someone (preferably outside of your crazy bubble) to keep you on track and give you perspective. Great point per usual Robert.

Re: You’re Just Like Everyone Else

sbspalding — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:10:04 -0000

In many ways I see this as optimistic, though I completely understand where you are coming from here.

My point was that while everything is intrinsically different and while differences drive success, we shouldn't forget that a big part of the reason that things work is because they are "sufficiently similar."

If you take it to the extreme, consider "experimental filmmaking." For every Blair Witch project (which succeeded because it was slightly off-key with what was out there at the time) there are dozens and dozens of movies that fail utterly because you simply cannot relate to them. They are so out there that they really speak to no one. I would argue that Blair Witch succeeded because it relied heavily on classic horror tropes but twisted them just enough to make something meaningful.

Your employee idea is spot on but I would argue that "culture fit" is critically important as well. If someone is an incredible visionary but doesn't fit into the culture (can't relate to others or see things from a wider perspective) the relationship will not work. More basically, the two biggest aspects of leadership are vision (a function of being unique) and team building (a function of appreciating similarities).

I think this post was my response to this belief that it's only differences that are meaningful. I've written before on the subject and I believe you have to have something unique to bring to your project or it's not worth doing, at the same time though I think it's a mistake to forget that despite our differences a lot of what makes things work is the understanding and appreciating of our similarities.

Thank you for the comment!

Re: 80% of People Quietly Despise Their Lives

sbspalding — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:09:15 -0000

It's crazy people thinking like that that puts you in the 20% Mr. Dempsey. Heh.

Re: 80% of People Quietly Despise Their Lives

sbspalding — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:08:05 -0000

Mr. Durden was filled with wisdom. Heh, great quote.

Re: 80% of People Quietly Despise Their Lives

sbspalding — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:07:23 -0000

Congratulations on the change mate! It can definitely be hard but almost everyone I've known whose done it ends up happier in the end.

Re: 80% of People Quietly Despise Their Lives

sbspalding — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:06:23 -0000

Exactly, money is a means and very rarely an ends. When people confuse that fact it often leads to them putting things on hold that would make them happy in order to chase down money they might not necessarily need.

From an entrepreneurial perspective, while it is critical that you have a business model that generates real income, it is also important not to get so hamstrung on that model that you forget that the only path to success is providing people with value.

Thank you for the comment!

Re: 80% of People Quietly Despise Their Lives

sbspalding — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:03:16 -0000

I think there are two extreme views that people fall into. The first is that they need to press forward on their life goal in spite of -anything- and everything that gets in their way. This is fantastic if you can pull it off but tends to get sidetracked when life calls.

Then there are the people who are trapped as you so eloquently put it, they believe that it's impossible to dig their way out of their responsibilities long enough to do much of anything.

I have always thought there was a middle ground here. You can't do everything but you can do -something-, and I think it's excruciatingly important to do -something- because if you don't you are just going from day to day.

Thanks for reading Miiko, definitely appreciate the comment and hope we run into each other soonish.

Re: Zomblogalypse

sbspalding — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:18:51 -0000

Looking forward to new episodes!

Re: I Am Not Infected

sbspalding — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:37:14 -0000

No problem at all, we love the show, keep up the good work!

Re: 80% of People Quietly Despise Their Lives

sbspalding — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:45:00 -0000

Thank you for the reply. I think I meant to say that after we graduate we spend quite a bit of our remaining years helping ourselves survive and doing the same for our families, friends and loved ones.

Thank -you- for reading. I always appreciate lucid and insightful comments.

Re: The Most Dangerous Myth of Entrepreneur

sbspalding — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:53:19 -0000

Like most things it just depends on how long your "nights" are, I guess.

Re: The Most Dangerous Myth of Entrepreneur

sbspalding — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:52:28 -0000

It's really strange how quickly people forget things like that.

Re: Wage Slaves

sbspalding — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:53:44 -0000

I was not actually aware of that fact.

Yea, it's a minor thing really but some kind of explanation for those of us who aren't used to that sort of thing would be nice.

Thanks for creating such great content, I'm looking forward to season two.

Cheers,

Re: A Nonpartisan Guide to Healthcare Reform

sbspalding — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:58:57 -0000

I think you're right and upon reflection I can see how video six might do more harm than good if only because it serves as a distraction.

I am a big fan of factcheck and I cited them in several parts of this guide, I feel they go a great job of cutting through the cruft.

I also like Cato's approach to discussing politics even if I don't entirely agree with them on some issues. Typically, they try to raise the level of discourse which is something I appreciate.

If nothing else, I'm glad we were able to discuss this reasonably. I admit that this isn't a perfect guide, there is too much information for a single person to parse even given the amount of time I spent working through it. The issue is complicated further by all the misinformation that is floating around.

That being said, I hope more people like you will read this guide and point things like that out. It only serves to help people see that you can discuss a hot button issue like this without all the name calling and general insanity that I've seen in recent policy debates.

Thanks again!

Re: A Nonpartisan Guide to Healthcare Reform

stephenKaaaa — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:55:03 -0000

I sincerely appreciate what you are trying to do. It is not easy for
a whole host of reasons not the least of which because it is
incredibly complicated. I am looking for sites that put forth
articulate viewpoints - even if they are not what I agree with - so
that I may at least understand others' perspective is and their
reasoning.

My primary issues with your site

- This discourse is already far too emotional. You can't possibly
make it devoid of emotion. By taking a satirical approach -
especially a mean-spirited one - only throws gasoline on a fire.
- I think there is pretty universal acknowledgement that healthcare in
America needs to be reformed, the issue is the type of reforms. An
enumeration on the points of (general) agreement and disagreement
would be helpful. Especially if the areas of disagreement were (non-
emotionally) articulated taking into account the general
perspectives. This is NOT an easy task, but would likely be the most
beneficial (which is why I was hoping that someone had already done it).

Some sites that are helpful? A couple of suggestions: www.cato.org
(a libertarian perspective with a long history of having strong points
of agreement and disagreement on major political issues and
politicians from both sides of the aisle) and factcheck.org.

Cheers

Re: A Nonpartisan Guide to Healthcare Reform

sbspalding — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:28:42 -0000

I'm sorry you interpreted it like that but I think you might be misunderstanding the point of that section of the guide, and that's my fault for not explaining it well enough.

Nonpartisan does not mean devoid of emotional content. Both sides of this debate have strong opinions that are colored in large part by politics.

Video 1 shows a group of people fighting for what they believe to be unnecessary or poorly structured reform. Some of the statements they make might be considered -highly- inflammatory if you happened to be on the other side. Video 6 shows a very similar thing except the makers of the video are on the other side and are using satire to make their point.

Videos 2 and 3 show what I consider very reasoned arguments from both sides of the debate.

Videos 4 and 5 (the videos on bringing guns to town hall meetings and Obama's take on the reform respectively) are highly interpretative. Video 4 is seen through the lens of someone who is pro reform talking to someone who is against it. Video 5 is seen through the lens of someone who is against reform commenting on someone who is (obviously) for it.

The point here is that section was designed to give a cross-section of public opinion in this debate after presenting the facts. Public opinion has been, for the most part, highly partisan. If you look at some of the videos out there you'll see that the ones I picked are no where near as one-sided as the vast majority of the material available. Not only that but they explore both sides of the issue.

Again, I don't know where you stand on healthcare reform and I'm not about to guess but I'd say look at the entire "guide" again as compared to the public debate on the issue. What I hope you see is that it is as close to a measured response as you can really hope to write about an issue this partisan.

If you have any videos, links or other materials that you think would "balance" it I'd love to see them.

Thanks for taking the time to comment.

Cheers,

Re: The 20 Weirdest Zombie Movies Ever Made

kenhthefilmscreener — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 23:51:35 -0000

Deer Woman was Great, but I prefer Landis's second season outing, Family, with George Wendt playing a delusional and sexually perverse serial killer who argues with dead bodies.

MOH wasn't that great but did have some good entries, like Valerie on the Stairs, Fair Haired Child, Dreams in the Witch House, Sounds Like, We All Scream for Ice Cream, and of course, John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns.

Re: The 20 Weirdest Zombie Movies Ever Made

sbspalding — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:40:54 -0000

Another great set of additions to the list. I've never even heard of Grace, I need to check that one out.

Yea, MoH doesn't count but Homecoming was one of the better ones. Right up there with Deer Woman (which I found vastly entertaining).

Re: The 20 Weirdest Zombie Movies Ever Made

kenhthefilmscreener — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 03:32:04 -0000

Some other ones you may have missed:

Fido - The Alt-Reality Zombie Comedy where in the 1950's Zombies are kept in captivity as public workers or pets. Billy Connelly plays a young boys Pet Zombie, and it also stars Tim Blake Nelson, Carrie Anne Moss and Dylan Baker as a dad who's not a pedophile.

Undead or Alive - Chris Kattan. Zombie Cowboys. The Imdb summary does it justice.

Versus - Zombies plus Kung Fu, Supercops, Cannibals, The Mafia, Highlander Swordfighting, Corrupt Cops, Gunfights, and Magic.

Route 666 - Lou Diamond Phillips fights highway-haunting Zombies due to their deaths at the hands of corrupt cops. A Sci-Fi Channel must watch for shitty cinema.

Grace - Jordan Ladd gives birth to a dead baby... and it comes back alive. I've heard this film is as great as it is brutal.

Outpost - Ray Stevenson and a gang of multicultural mercenaries vs. Zombie Nazi's. A great blockbuster night rental.

Lastly, I know Master's of Horror doesn't count...

but Homecoming is a great twisted piece of Zombie Entertainment. Joe Dante directing a political horror comedy about Dead Iraq War Soldiers coming back to destroy the republican party. As ridiculous as it is, it's decently written and well acted.