Just Do It

I’m writing this as I sit on a deck on Whidbey Island, overlooking Puget Sound. While  daydreaming, listening to the birds, and contemplating the beautiful island scenery I got thinking about my recent missive, Will Anywhere Do? It occurs to me that there’s a counterpoint to knowing where you’re going and planning the best path to get there. My connections with leaders of two companies, Tova and Artifact Technologies, demonstrate how there is a place for, well, just doing it.

I’m a board member of Artifact Technologies and am spending this afternoon with two of the company’s co-founders. We’re working on finalizing a new product called Momento that we’re preparing to launch in the fall at three major events: in Brooklyn, in Las Vegas, and in Beverly Hills. Momento: Capturing the magic of shared moments.

Tomorrow, I’ll have another meeting; one with a client and his partner to plan the future of their company, Tova. They have FDA certification for their product, a device which is the gold standard for assessing ADHD and other attention deficit issues for therapeutic and educational purposes.

While I strongly believe that creating a vision of where you want to be in ten years will guide you and your company there more effectively than wandering hither and yon without a destination, my work with both of these companies came my way from just—wandering.

I met many of the most interesting people I know including many of my clients, by just doing it.  By just doing something or going somewhere simply because it sounded interesting. I met Chris Holder, CEO of Tova by deciding to accept an invitation to the Summer Gathering far off at Hollyhock on Cortes Island, way north of Vancouver, a place ridiculously difficult to get to from my house 3,000 miles away.

George Henny, Chairman, and Brent Friedman, CEO, both of Artifact Technologies, entered my world when I decided after hearing about them for several years that I just had to meet them. Several rounds of emails later I spent 12 hours traveling to see them on Whidbey Island via two airplanes, a shuttle, a ferry, and a few car rides.

We get caught in our routines.  So many of us always go to the same place on vacation and out to dinner at the same restaurant, repeating the same experience again and again.

Just doing it helps you break free. It exposes you to new people and experiences and widens your perspective. New thoughts and ideas flow through your mind. And with a new perspective comes greater clarity to envision exactly where you want to go and how to get there.

Break free and just do it. You might discover a wonderful little independent hotel or a spectacular restaurant.

Or find a new client…