Brand-On Life

So, President Steger is officially retiring after 13 years at Virginia Tech. I feel eternally grateful for his leadership and guidance to my alma mater. When I was Student Body President at VT, he showed that he genuinely cared about students and our success. He was extremely strategic (planning the Arlington VT center, the Carillion Partnership, etc.). My degree is worth more to the market because of Steger’s leadership.

I am more impressed with his calm demeanor and ability to create consensus. Whether it was him leading VT into the ACC, or helping our campus through the largest tragedy on a college campus, President Steger did it with a sense of honesty and composure.

For those people trying to damage his reputation and say that he was responsible for lives being lost at Virginia Tech, shame on you. Cho is the only one responsible for the tragedy that occured on April 16, 2007. He would have killed people that day, whether they were in Norris or D2. 

I was talking with a good friend and mentor of mine earlier, Drew Lichtenberger. This is what he said following the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

“Think of Virginia Tech as one body who just got attacked and we’re lying in the hospital bed. We need to use all the energy of our body to heal our wounds. What does a person go through who has just been maliciously attacked? Shock, vexation, confusion, anger, sadness, grief, disbelief, denial, etc. We’re trying to survive and make sense of what happened and gain clarity and perspective. Many questions are asked and some we will never have the answers to.

Some people are at our bedside asking us “shouldn’t have Tech done this or that? Why didn’t someone do their job?” I hope people are not intentionally trying to cause more distress but we need all white blood cells on the wound, we do not need to be wasting energy dealing with more confusion and second guessing.

We need love, healing, comfort, consolation, forgiveness, and service to each other.

The worst thing we can do as a Hokie Nation is to let the toxicity of the second-guessing and doubt to invade our own body and have our own community turn against itself. In a time like this where community members have confusion, vexation, and anger, it’s easy to mistakenly want to place blame. We cannot blame the administration or ourselves; Virginia Tech did NOT ask for this tragedy nor bring it upon herself, it’s not our fault. I believe our administration and police leadership did the best they could, but that is beside the point. Right now we need to band together and support EVERYONE in our Hokie Nation. Please encourage each other to serve one another and come together.

Right now my Hokie family needs me to be supportive and serve them. I need to support Dr. Steger and the entire leadership and not let anything divide us against one another.

Let’s not be remembered as the massacre university, but the university who embodied her to her motto, Ut Prosim and came together as community. I hope and pray we can serve one another in patience, kindness, goodness, forgiveness, and gentleness in our time of great need and agony.

Please feel free to pass along this message to anyone it might help.

God Bless and Ut Prosim,

Drew Lichtenberger

Virginia Tech, B.S. 2000”

In closing, Virginia Tech is better because of Steger. We are stronger because of Steger. Thank you, President Steger, for your amazing leadership to the most amazing University in the world. You have showed us the true spirit of Ut Prosim. 

Can be found in this link: I will be writing a 5 part series in the near future that has a ton of important information specifically for young professionals. But, for now, this is a great place to start. 

As a society, we have lost our sense of wonder. We are no longer curious beings; it seems that the world is just one cog in a machine focused on tomorrow, instead on what the future can be. Every day, we hear what is wrong with America. We constantly bash our President and our Congressman and Congresswoman, but we, as a people, face some very serious challenges in the next decade. Just to put it into perspective, we are fastly approaching a 100% debt to GDP ratio. We have so many long-term debt obligations (public pensions, social security, medicare), and we will not survive as a country if we don’t make some extremely drastic changes within the next few years.

I firmly believe that the reason we excelled as a society in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s is because of one simple statement that President John F. Kennedy said on May 25, 1961, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important in the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish”

That statement made us curious. It had Americans talking. It had us thinking about the future. How do we put a man on the moon? What are the next steps to put a man on the moon? Most importantly, it had never been done before. President Kennedy challenged the American people to accomplish a goal so profound that it was damn near impossible. And we did it. 

As a byproduct, we ignited the technical revolution. It inspired the entrepreneurs to solve real world problems. Our country, based in capitalism, shocked the world and our GDP exploded. Random fact: My Grandma Gloria (most beautiful person I’ve ever met, RIP) worked on the ENIAC, which was the first computer ever built in the early 1940s. That was a big deal because she was a mathematician during a time when most women were housewives and not breadwinners.  

And look what came from NASA.

Imagine a world where President Obama challenged our country to solve a problem that seemed impossible to solve. What if he said during the Inauguration Address, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before my term is over, of making New York City into the first underwater city?” Obviously, this wouldn’t be the actual challenge (or could it?), but what would this accomplish?

It would invoke curiosity. We would question “how.” We would begin to critically think as a nation to solve a problem. That is…powerful. That would ignite a revolution. Dare I say it would help solve some of the most critical problems facing our nation.

I was talking with Nathan the other day, and he obsesses over the idea of never losing our sense of curiosity.  To him, life no longer has meaning if we are no longer curious. So, Nathan met with a couple of local high school students. They had an idea to launch a rocket from space by using helium balloons to carry the rocket to space and then launch it from space. They feel like it can go a lot farther if the actual launch is from space. Also, they thought about putting solar panels close to the sun and beaming that energy back to earth. Nathan challenged them and told them that he would fund their idea if they came with a prototype next weekend. They were so excited! They’ve been pulling all nighters thinking about their idea. We are also going to have some Aerospace Engineers present to help them with their idea.

Why does this matter?

Think hard about the last time you thought about the impossible. It took me awhile. Honestly, it took me until I heard Nathan’s story about the high school students idea that I started to critically think about the fact that I didn’t “wander” enough; I was not curious enough. I firmly believe that we can learn more from children and the elderly than we can from “adults” and people aged 24-55, yet we don’t respect their time or their opinion. Kids dream too much and are idealistic and we place the elderly in nursing homes and forget about them. There is so much we can learn from someone who grew up during World War II, or saw how computers have impacted our daily life.

Recently, I read a book called “Curious?: Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life. My best friend, Shane recommended this book to me after he heard Dr. Todd Kashdan speak at George Mason, where he is an Associate Professor in one of the best Positive Psychology programs in the country. There’s an actual science behind curiosity. In his book, Curious?, Dr. Todd Kashdan offers a profound new message missing from so many books on happiness: the greatest opportunities for joy, purpose, and personal growth don’t, in fact, happen when we’re searching for happiness. They happen when we are mindful, when we explore what’s novel, and when we live in the moment and embrace uncertainty. Positive events last longer and we can extract more pleasure and meaning from them when we are open to new experiences and relish the unknown.

Think about how this applies to the vision a leader, such as Barack Obama, can have for a country. Why do Presidents do the same thing year after year and expect different results? There are always (x) amount of State of the Unions. Some special speeches. Positions in the Oval Office for the most part remain the same. What if the next President’s vision was to invoke curiosity and focus entirely on empowering the citizens of the United States to solve real world issues by asking questions. By talking about ideas and figuring out ways to execute them? Would this change the way the press approached his speeches?

In my opinion, we need our leaders to act more like John F. Kennedy in order to invoke more curiosity in us all. To end this blog post, I will leave you with a quote by Walt Disney, arguably the most curious person to have ever lived:

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

UPDATE: They have processed a refund. It still shouldn’t have taken all of this to get a refund. 

Alright, so has anyone heard of the story about United Airlines breaking guitars? In business, you should always treat your customers with the utmost respect. Screwing over customers has got to be the stupidest business model in the history of the world. A few years ago, I read a book called “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000.” It’s a great book and I highly recommend it. In other words, as an angry customer, I am 1,000 times more likely to tell everyone about my experience than if I am a satisfied customer. With that said…..

I have had the worst customer experience in my life by trying to cancel my Lifetime Fitness gym membership. Like beyond belief bad.

….and it’s still ongoing.

Let’s rewind for a second and take it back to November 28, around Thanksgiving. I went in to cancel my membership, because I had hardly gone to the gym. Just an FYI — it costs $94/month and is a luxurious gym located in Potomac Maryland. I actually spoke to a man named Steven Gold and he said that I would be charged $94 for the month of December (their cancellation policy), but then I’d be good to go after that.

Nope, January 1 comes around and I was charged $94 again. And yesterday, I was charged once more!

So, on January 3, I called their office and they said they had no record of me canceling my membership. And to make it even better, they had a rule that stated I had to cancel in person (which I already did). The only problem was that I had just moved to Blacksburg, VA and I didn’t want to drive all the way down to Maryland to cancel something that I already canceled. And, it had to be me there….physically. I couldn’t Skype or have my Aunt go in my place. 

So, like anyone else, I e-mailed and called Steven Gold. It’s weird, because him and I had a great conversation. I talked with him for about 45 minutes! We talked about economics, relationships, and more. Below is the exact e-mail that I sent to Steven Gold from Lifetime fitness on January 3:

Hi, Steven:

…no response. I called him and left him voicemails. No response. I even called and left his manager, Gadi, a voicemail and I received no response. Another e-mail as a follow up…..no response. What’s weird is that he always answered my e-mails when I was just a prospective client.

So, I said, you know what, that’s fine. Maybe it was two months worth…I’ll bite $94 as long as it doesn’t continue.

As it neared the date (February 1), I called the Corporate office at 952-947-0000 to see what the situation was. I talked with a woman named Tanya, and she was wondering if I could forward her the e-mail. Unfortunately, Verizon doesn’t let you talk and browse the internet at the same time, and I was on the road, so I told her I could call her back and we would go from there. I call her back, and someone else answered and I wasn’t able to continue my conversation (It’s honestly not a big deal, but it seems like they are corporate and have structure….for the sake of being corporate and having structure — they aren’t thinking logically).

Anyway, I follow up again and they said they would look into it and e-mail me back. No e-mail. And….whaddya know, I have not received a response. 

So, on January 31, I begin to get pissed. I sent them an e-mail basically saying that if I was charged on February 1, I will write a blog about, go to the press, the BBB, and passionately recommend to all of my friends in Maryland that no one ever goes to the gym.

Well, I was charged $94 yesterday, I am pissed. I am passionately recommending that no one ever go to Lifetime fitness.

Here’s the lesson: If you treat your customers right, if you actively care about them, they will always treat you right. Business…is personal. It’s not a “dog eat dog” world out there anymore. 

Oh, and It looks like I’m not the only one who has had issues with Lifetime fitness.

So, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about what makes businesses/individuals successful. What is it? How do businesses scale…fast?

I lead a team of 8 highly talented, self-motivated marketing geniuses. It’s been the most amazing experience so far. I love marketing. I love learning. I absolutely love the psychology behind marketing/relationships. I live, eat, breathe, sleep, and dream it.

I have found and I firmly believe that if businesses/individuals focus on NOT building a personal brand that they will build an absolutely amazing personal brand.

When I was Student Body Pres at VT, I got a lot of press. So what? I honestly could have cared less about getting press/getting my name out there. I genuinely was not trying to get press, nor did I give a rat’s ass about my own personal brand. It was the late night meetings with administrators, where they knew that I cared that allowed me to get shit done. By getting shit done, we got noticed by press. I wouldn’t have been able to get shit done if my intent was not genuine….if I cared about press. 

Thus, I built a personal brand, but it was a secondary outcome, not a primary one.

So, how does this apply to Heyo? In today’s society, no one wants to be “sold” anything. So, how do you sell? You add value. You look for ways to help your potential “customer” and honestly don’t care if they become a customer. As Gary Vee would say, you jab, jab, jab, jab, jab, jab, jab, jab, right hook. The right hook comes once you build trust and have permission from them to even bring up the potential to buy a product that could help them. 

Our team’s mottos are as follows:

1) “Who does that?” I want our clients to say that…to be overwhelmed with value and amazement (think Zappos). So, I empower my team to always go above and beyond (to actively care) so the clients reaction is…..”holy shittt…who does that?”

2) Screw it, let’s do it. If someone has a creative idea, execute it. We are a start up. We are young and hungry. Let’s do it. 

So, don’t ever boast about your personal accomplishments and you’ll have more accomplishments. It’s ironic.

My previous employer, Vanguard, manages over $2.2 trillion (yes, with a T), but we never sold to our clients. I was paid a salary and was given bonuses based on metrics such as Net Promoter Score, not on sales. Ironically (not really), it brought more sales. Actually, our net cash flow was more than the next 9 largest mutual companies….combined. 

If you want to build a billion dollar company, your goal shouldn’t be to build a billion dollar company. The only way to truly succeed is if that is not your primary outcome. Facebook’s primary outcome is to make the world more open and connected. They just happen to have a $50-100 billion dollar business (depending on how the stock market reacts on that certain day).

So, what’s the takeaway?

Everyone is out there promoting themselves, their own brands, etc. Marketing has become a bunch of one-way messages, hoping someone will care. Stand out. How? Go and join conversations. Go and add value to others. Comment on other blogs. Add value to Google Communities. Be genuine about your intent and don’t expect anything in return.

Ironically (not really), your return will be tenfold. 

Ironically (not really), that’s how you will win. 

Build a brand by not focusing on your brand.

As I enter a new year, I have been thinking a lot about 2012. What went right? What didn’t?

Just to recap, I had a great job at Vanguard, moved to Maryland to work for an education startup in Rockville, went through a depression, got out of said depression, and I committed myself to having a career in marketing/entrepreneurship.

At Vanguard, I performed very well. I had very deep relationships with my clients (I managed a book of business of 620 high net worth families, with assets at about $1.4 billion), had some amazing co-workers, and could have easily seen myself there for 20…30 years. I still talk with some of my clients regularly, and some of my co-workers are friends for life.

I was under contract on a house; I now understand the home buying process. I bought a truck; I know how to research cars/trucks. Had a wonderful relationship (for the most part) that ended. Learned a lot. Had an amazing dog (still miss the little guy). And then, I moved to Maryland when another opportunity came calling. I worked with teachers and understand a lot more about the education problems facing our country. I understand venture capital (for the most part) and how it all works. I acquired some marketing skills, and I networked with some great people who I am excited to learn from.

So, how do I define 2013? For me, I hope it is my best year professionally and personally. I hope I become more focused, reliable, and just crush it. Last year was a bit of a rollar coaster ride for me , but now I know my strengths and what to work on. I was just diagnosed with a mild form of adult ADD (who would have thought?), and I am excited to work through it.

So, below are my 2013 goals, as well as, a TL:DR, and things for you to read/takeaways.

First and foremost, I am moving back to Blacksburg to work for Heyo. I am starting in early January, and I am excited to learn a ton and help the company flourish.

1) Digitize My Life. I finally am a believer in the Kindle. I want to buy/download every book that I own in print and put them onto the Kindle. I only want keep a select few in print. It’s an investment (will be a good chunk of change), but I believe it will make my life a lot easier and more fun. Think about it. Before bed, I will be able to pull out my Kindle and choose from a complete library of books! Traveling will be easier and I will have a lot less clutter in my house/apartment. I also want to get rid of all of my CDs/music and switch to Spotify unlimited or premium. I want to move my entire life into the cloud, as well as, organize all of my files.

2) Make My Health A Priority. As some of you know, I am only have one speed, which is “all out.” I want to get back to this look, but 10-15 lighter! Eating healthy and consistenly working out are priorities for me moving forward. I am going to try to take baby steps and make sure it is something that is sustainable. Before getting a new wardrobe (see next goal), I want to have the right physique, so I can buy tailored clothing. I have a goal of running a half-marathon by the end of the 2013. There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs. I’m ready to take baby steps towards this goal.

3) Buy A New Wardrobe. In the past few months, I have really started to understand and appreciate fashion and style. I used to just buy random outfits at like Kohls or JC Penneys. I have two walk-in closets full of clothing. I want to sell/donate a lot of my “stuff” and own a simple, quality wardrobe. A nice mix of professional (3-4 suits), with some casual, and some workout clothing. I own a lot of nice clothes already; it’s just a matter of sifting through it all, talking to some fashion afiancidos, and by the end of the year, be happy with my wardrobe.

4) Build A Personal CRM. One of my faults is that I struggle to “keep in touch” with people. I meet someone at a conference, follow up with them via e-mail, and then fail to keep in touch with that contact after a few months. I want to build a system that works something like this: a) Meet someone, exchange information. b) Follow up with them via e-mail/LinkedIn, c) Find something of value to share with them, d) Have a system automatically notify me in like 3 months to follow up with them, e) Modify/adjust and repeat. I want to create a system of efficiency for my own personal relationships. I want to make it a priority to maintain (and sustain) relationships with family, friends, mentors, etc. I want to personally write birthday and holiday cards to people and mail them to their address. I want to automate all of that. It is so important to dig your well before you’re thirsty!

5) Automate My Life More. Perfect segue into my next goal. I want to automate my life. I have always automated my finances, but I want to figure out how to automate my laundry. How do I automate healthy eating? What about a workout routine? I’ve always been a fan of Ramit Sethi and Tim Ferriss. The more time I can spend automating “routine” tasks, the better my life will be. I can spend more time traveling, maintaining important relationships. The more I automate my life, the more I’ll be able to ensure I don’t live a life with regret. I also want to automate some tasks at work, so I can spend more time on high-level, creative ideas, and less time on figuring out who to respond to following a marketing campaign.

6) Become More Of A Minimalist. I have a lot of stuff. I mean….a lot. By digitizing my life, I will be able to live with less clutter and stress. Also, it will save me a ton of money for the long-term. So many people have so much “stuff” but how much of it do we really use regularly? Becoming a minimalist will take some work and some time, but I will be so much happier after I have accomplished this goal. So, I will be selling a ton of stuff on eBay, donating a lot clothes to the YMCA, and more.

7) Learn A Ton Of New Marketing Skills. I have realized that I absolutely love marketing. Even moreso, I love the infusion of psychology and marketing. In 2013, I want to become a subject matter expert in word of mouth marketing, evangelist marketing, and social media marketing. That means that I may want to join WOMMA. That is what I get excited about: How to create an experience so amazing, so rememberable, that a client/customer spreads your message/product for you? How to make a brand so personal that people feel like they are a part of something bigger them themselves. However, I am most excited about learning marketing analytics. How do we optimize a funnel for user acquistion? What’s the most effective way to use KISSMetrics? What do we measure? How often? What are the the important KPIs? After talking with one of my mentors, he explained to me that the idea of user acquistion is simple: a) Find your customers, b) Get them to use your product, c) Get them to tell us how we suck/how we can improve (continuous feedback), d) Fix the problem (if any), give them all of the credit, e) Follow up consistently, f) Repeat. Testing and iterating. Testing and iterating. My life will be. Wake up, data. When I go get food, data. When I go to the gym, data. Bathroom, data. Before bed, data. In my dreams, data. If you don’t have data, you’re just a jerk with an opinion. Anyway, in digital marketing, there are many channels to acquire and sell to potential customers. Writing amazing content, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, putting ads on random blogs where your customers go to for content, social media, webinars, customer relationship marketing, and more. I am excited to build a CRM platform that takes Net Promoter Score into account and evangelizes our customers. It’s about the little things, like remembering that (Suzie) likes homemade goods and sending her homemade cookies on her 1 year anniversary as a customer, along with a handwritten card. The real question is….how do you scale that? New marketing slogans for 2013 are “Who does that?” and “Screw it, let’s do it.” I know the what, I just need to learn the how. I can’t wait.

8) Get Involved With Actively Caring Again. When I move back to Blacksburg, VA, my number one priority will be working with Heyo, helping it succeed, and learning new marketing skills. However, actively caring is more than just a movement; it is a values system. I believe in the mission and I want to incorporate daily intentional acts of kindness into my life again. Once I learn the proper marketing channels (how to measure, iterate, etc), I will be able to apply those to actively caring and assist in any way that I can. When AC4P was in my life, I was a lot happier. Committing intentional acts of kindness will lead me down the road of self-transcendence.

TL; DR:

• 2012 was an interesting year. Very much a learning experience. In two words: Roller Coaster
• I loved it at Vanguard, still have a passion for personal finance. 
• Gained an understanding of how to purchase a home, finance a car/truck, manage a lease and all of my utilities, stick to a budget, take care of a dog, and be in a committed relationship. 
• Took a risk and worked for an education startup. Learned a lot about venture capital, and have a true understanding of the education issues facing our country
• Goals for 2013 are as follows: 1) Digitize my life, 2) Make my health a priority, 3) Buy a new wardrobe, 4) Build a personal CRM, 5) Automate my life more, 6) Become more of a minimalist, 7) Learn a ton of new marketing skills, 8) Get involved with actively caring again.
• My goals aren’t “SMART” goals. Rather, they are a framework for me next year.  

Next Steps For You:

• Read MBA Mondays (a free MBA). Just do one per week.
• Bookmark Fred Wilson’s AVC
• Subscribe to Mark Cuban’s Personal Blog
• Buy these books: 4 Hour Chef, Tipping Point, Linchpin
• Watch this TED talk.
• Get involved with Actively Caring. Buy some wristbands and spread intentional acts of kindness throughout your community.

My next blog post will be titled something like, “Everything you need to know about personal finance” (creative, right?). It will mostly likely be a 3-5 part series, where I will cover basically everything I know about managing personal finances. Background: I am very close to being a CFP, I earned my securities license (7 & 63), studied applied economic management, and worked at Vanguard for 1 1/2 years, where I helped high net worth families manage their wealth.

Alright, so I am going to start blogging a lot more. I enjoy writing, have opinions/thoughts that I want to share with the world, and I read…a lot….and feel like I should share what I learn from other people/books. I am going to write about psychology, marketing, personal finance, and entrepreneurship. I also will publish some of my poetry. 

So, the other day, I met with someone who I look up to….a lot. Great guy. Brilliant. Smart. Accomplished. Most importantly, genuine and authentic. And, we were talking about the DC scene.

I explained to him how it was frustrating for me to go to these events with these high-profile people, because I just felt like I didn’t fit in. I was constantly asked questions such as, “What do you do?” Questions to gauge “How successful are you?” People dressed in really expensive suits. White hair slicked back. Investors looking for a profit. Many who have an ivy league educations. Sometimes condescending. I was never once asked, “Who are you?” “What do you care about?” “What are your values?”

I’ve learned that I want to spend my time with people who share my values. As Abraham Lincoln said, “It is much better to a man of value than a man of success.” So, maybe I won’t ever be a guy who can goes to $1,000 dinners. I won’t ever learn how to laugh like I am wealthy. All I know is that I want to be happy.

Anyway, I’ve also gone on about 6-7 dates over the past few months. Some have been fun, and I’ll probably stay friends with those girls. Others I’ve ended early, because the conversations were completely surface level. I’m definitely not ready for a relationship, but it’s been an interesting experience to say the least. One date in particular comes to mind…I went to a nice dinner with a girl who graduated from UC-Berkeley. Right away, I knew I wasn’t interested. She talked down to the waitress. It’s the little things that matter to me. So, we were talking (and going out to dinner sucks because it’s not like you can just leave) and we were talking about the typical stuff. Surface level stuff. When I told her I went to VT, she asked me right away….”Well where do you want to go to grad school?”……as if VT wasn’t an awesome place to get an education? When I explained to her that my life goal was to make an international difference in the world (because we only live for so many years), she assumed there was some ulterior motive. She worked at one of the big consulting firms, and all in all, it just wasn’t me. I just can’t be fake and act like success, monetarily (or by how I dress, what car I drive, what clubs I go to) matters to me. It just doesn’t. 

Over the past few months, I’ve had a ton of time to reflect. I think…a lot. In the US, there are over 27 million people who take anti-depressants. About two months ago, I saw a therapist because I was just so depressed. I was prescribed anti-depressants. I hit rock bottom, honestly. Having a girl break my heart really took a toll on me. I understand the word empathy from an entirely new perspective. I truly know what people go through when they say they feel like a different person and they’re depressed. Self-doubt. Lower self-esteem. Trust me, I’ve been there. It is so unbelievably tough to go through.

I’m fine now, and I never took those anti-depressants. Instead, I focused on happiness. Last week, I read the Business of Happiness by Ted Leonsis, as well as, re-read parts of Stumbling on Happiness by Dan Gilbert. I leaned on friends and family….a lot. I think of people like my mom, my Aunt Nita, my sister, Joey, Deepu, Shane, Luis, Caitlin, and more. You really know who your friends are when you need to lean on them. 

I went to Blacksburg this weekend, and I felt rejuvenated. To me, it’s crazy to think how much the environment affects happiness. 

So, back to the point (as most of you know, I love to go on tangents, and screw it, it’s my blog). 

Growing up, we learned what not to do. We learned not to do drugs, not to have unprotected sex, not to drink and drive. How often did we learn what TO DO? How often was positive behavior taught in school? It’s the same thing with happiness. We all know about the symptoms of depression. How depression affects the brain. But, what about the science of happiness?  And trust me, it is a science. What if instead of prescribing an anti-depressant, doctors prescribed a pro-happiness? 

As I reflect, I think about Actively Caring and Shane’s research. He was able to reduce bullying in schools by 50% without once mentioning the word bullying. How? He focused solely on pro-social behavior. And it’s amazing, because we receive notes like this that show the impact of our work. We truly make a difference to reduce bullying and the kids never even know it’s a “bullying prevention program.” Can’t that same idea be applied to happiness and depression? I think we can reduce the amount of adults and kids on anti-depressants without ever talking about their depression….by just focusing on happiness.

When I met with one of my mentors, he told me about the story about how he knew of a Harvard-educated lawyer who made $800,000/year with a trophy wife, a Maserati, prestige, and had what seemed like everything. Yet, he committed suicide. Why? Or, my mom’s fiance told me the story about how one of his clients (he owns a lawncare business) got a divorce…and he was completely shocked. The family seemed like it had everything. Perfect family. Soccer coach dad. Two beautiful kids. But, in reality, their marriage failed. No one knows what happens behind closed doors. People (myself included) do a great job of putting on a “face” that everything is fine, when in reality, sometimes it’s not. Wealthy moms popping pills. Stressful dads having affairs. It happens every day. Isn’t it crazy to think that there are people in third world countries who smile all of the time, but there are millionaires in the US who have had multiple wives/husbands, no relationship with their children, and the only thing they really love is money? The person who comes to mind is Kevin O’Leary from The Shark Tank. Just no empathy or compassion (those who watch the show will understand).

Sometimes, I feel like the you can cut tension in DC (and around the world) with a knife. We should have a happiness “index.” Instead of “Gross Domestic Product,” we should have “Gross Domestic Happiness.” In fact, Gross National Happiness already exists. The irony, in my eyes, is that if employers and everyone focused on happiness, our GDP (and corporate profits) would ultimately increase. If people looked for shared values and commonality in a significant other, rather than if they were eye candy or “successful,” they would find peace. They would have a healthier relationship (and I am not preaching, because it is easier said than done)

So, how does this all tie together? There’s a website my mentor told me about called ITalkToStrangers.com. It’s a similar concept to Actively Caring, and it’s focused on just bringing people together through random conversations. I firmly believe that if we just talked to people more and got to know them on a personal level, we’d be happier as a society. I firmly believe that happiness should be studied and that it is a science. I firmly believe, that life is too short to be incredibly unhappy and to constantly compare yourself to others (as someone I know said….”DC is like a constant dick-measuring contest”)

TL:DR

• I am never going to be into the “material scene”
• Shared values matter more to me than anything else. I care more about who someone is than what someone does.
• Doctors should prescribe less anti-depressants and more pro-happiness
• Happiness is a science and it should be studied
• We should adopt a Gross National Happiness as an important metric to the overall success of a society. 
• Talk to people more. Ask them how they’re doing. Mean it. 

Next Steps:

• Watch this speech by Bill Clinton at Harvard in 2007. The best part of the speech is when he says, “I see you.” You’ll understand after watching it (it’s 30 minutes long)
• Try to talk to a stranger every day.
• Look into the science of happiness. Start to follow people like Dan Gilbert. 

Any business whose sole focus is to “sell” or to “make money” will lose. Making money/selling should be a secondary outcome. The primary outcome should always be the relationship. I am a big fan of Seth Godin. In one of his most popular books called “Permission Marketing,” he talks about the marketing world has changed. The key is to get strangers to become friends and get friends to become customers. Trying to get strangers to become customers is exhausting, expensive, and most importantly, it’s a dead end. You will not win if you are not genuine about your intent and if your primary goal is to make money.

So, how do you sell in this day and age? 

1. You care. You actually give a shit about your customers. You genuinely are interested in their story and who they are. For your benefit, it may be beneficial to keep a CRM (customer relationship management) database.

Quick sidenote: When I was at Vanguard, I had some of the highest customer loyalty scores. How? Because of little things. I’d be on the phone with a client and he would tell me that he liked to play golf. Well, I would put that in the CRM system, make a calendar reminder for 3 weeks from now, automatically ship him out some golf balls, and write an e-mail to see how his golf outing was when I got that calendar reminder in 3 weeks. The key was…I actually wanted to know what he shot on 18. And whaddya know, eventually he brought over 2 million more in assets.

2. Do it passively. After AlwaysPrepped announced that we received funding, the amount of e-mails I received was mind-boggling. This company does this, that company does that. I was appalled with how….lazy and disingenuous….these companies were. Here’s a sample e-mail that I received from a company:

“Hey Brandon,

Thanks for taking the time to speak with me last week.

Like I said on the phone, we are very similar and have all the same partnerships and certifications as companies like CDW, NewEgg, and TigerDirect, but we are not a 6,000 employee shop. So I can often offer better pricing to my customers. With that said, we do have what is called teir-2 partnerships with them. If I ever don’t have anything in stock I can see their availability and we can order from them, without having to change the pricing we offer you. I know you hear it all the time, but it is the pure definition of a one-stop shop. We do this to make it easier on you… Instead of you having to reach out to 5 different reps, you can give me a call and I can find it somewhere for you.

Please take a look at our web site, www.buyvpc.com, and let me know if there is anything Jason or I can help you guys with.

I didn’t give him permission to sell to me. I don’t know what the hell he is talking about. I have never had to work with different “reps” before. I sent him this response:

“Jordan,

So, I was thinking the other day….what drives me? Why do I work around the clock, always thinking of ideas and execution? 

I am driven out of spite. Of course, I am driven to leave a lasting legacy, a footprint if you will. But, when someone tells me I cannot do something, it drives me to work harder than most think is possible. When someone is disrespectful or doesn’t believe in me, it lights an indistinguishable fire. 

I will never forget when I ran for Student Body President at Virginia Tech. The current SGA President at the time almost did not sign my approval form that allowed me to enter my name into the ballot. Why? She told me that she didn’t think I had the focus/dedication and that I would be like a chicken with my head cut off. That stuck with me. Hard. It motivated me to never sleep, to work my ass off, to actively care about the students’ interests, and to make an impact and leave a legacy. As a team, we accomplished a lot. New website, new logo, 24/7 Torg, VT Bus Tracker (national news), $40,000 for Haiti, Hokies on Fire Blackout, Hokiepedia/iChange, Reusable water bottles in the dining halls, Counter-Protest against the Westboro Baptist Church (national news), 30 days of Blacksburg, Maroon 5 concert, Night with the President (with Steger), Reusable bags in Dining Halls, Dining Hall Coupon initiative, and more. Those are just off the top of my head. Every second that I thought about taking a break, I thought about the bigger picture (impacting students), but I also thought about the doubters and how much it meant for me to prove them wrong.

Actively Caring. So many people did not think it would be what it is today. My family (and friends’ families) thought that it was “fun” but did not have a lot of potential. It wasn’t a business/non-profit; it was a “hobby.” Today, we’ve sold over 40,000 wristbands, and we have programs in schools across the country. As Shane finishes his PhD, the evidence based program he is creating will impact thousands of students. And this is just the beginning. It’s still my life vision to positively impact the world through Actively Caring.

Always Prepped. Trying to partner with other companies has been tough. We’ve heard a lot of positive feedback from teachers, but there is a lot of arrogance out in the “ed-tech” space. I have tried to have genuine conversations with some companies, and I have been turned down and/or looked over. Building a community is tough. Yet, in just under a month, we have over 1,000 twitter followers, and I have received so many positive notes from teachers/educators about how they love our enthusiasm and potential. Seeing other companies try to build community motivates me. It brings out my competitiveness, and their arrogance keeps me going.

I don’t know if this is sustainable, but it keeps me going. It may not healthy, but in the end, I’ll win. 

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

As I have said over and over, what’s a life without risk?  If there is one thing I have learned at my ripe age of 24, it is this, “Follow your heart and you’ll never be let down.” Even if AlwaysPrepped doesn’t make it (don’t worry, it will), at least we tried. At least we took the chance to do it. 

So far, the transition to the startup life has been an adjustment….to say the least. I still feel like (at times) I have the corporate mindset. I need to remind myself that it’s not a 9-5 anymore; it’s all the time. Below is a list of 5 things that are different in the startup world compared to the corporate world:

1. I have more of a direct impact to the company’s growth and success in a startup. In my first two days at AlwaysPrepped, I have already worn many different hats, and I am taking it all in. My next hour, minute make a difference. The word “focus” takes on an entirely new meaning.
2. I have more autonomy and flexibility in a startup. I don’t see my role as a “job” anymore. If I want to go workout at 2pm, I can do it. If we need to meet on a weekend to get connected to some potential partners in the EdTech world, then we will meet on the weekend. It’s that simple. 
3. It can be scary, but at the same time, extremely fun/rewarding in a startup. Nothing is guaranteed anymore. I am starting literally from the ground up. The future is unknown and unclear, but I get to help shape it, whereas, in the corporate world, you get the feeling of security and a clear path.
4. There are a lot of extremely intelligent and driven people in the startup world. Now, there are a TON of brilliant people who work in the corporate world (see all my co-workers at Vanguard), too, but I feel like there is a special sense of urgency in the corporate world. People just think differently. There is a lot I will learn from connecting with people who are trying to make it happen.
5. There is always someone out there who is smarter than you and who has a better idea than you…the key is execution. I have spent the past two days researching a ton of EdTech companies. Wow. I am blown away with the amount of amazing ideas and talent out there. Winning in this world is like a game of chess. It’s strategic and to perfect it takes time. But, time is not on your side. Therefore, to win takes thinking differently from all those who already think differently. It means executing flawlessly. 

In summary, I am excited to work in a building called the “Rockville Innovation Center.” Our next door neighbors are entrepreneurs and everyone is just hustling. It’s just fun.

So, follow us on Twitter and come along for the ride. Any feedback on our free educational software is greatly appreciated.

All in all….what I’m so glad I have learned at my age is that the journey is the destination. 

Carpe Diem.