There are now thousands of people gathered together using their iPhones (APPL) to upload videos to YouTube (GOOG) on AT&T (ATT) and Verizon (VZ) networks, sipping Starbucks (SBUX) and taking bathroom breaks at McDonalds (MCD). They are dressed in clothes from GAP (GPS) and American Eagle (AEO), writing on paper signs from International Paper (IP) with markers and pens manufactured by BIC (BIC). People are demonstrating against the very companies that they depend on every day to provide them everything from food and clothing to communication and entertainment.

The idea of corporate greed is altogether wrong.

Corporations don’t have desires, people do. People are greedy. People want more. They want more service from companies for less money. They want higher paying jobs. They want cars and homes they can’t afford. They want a better lifestyle for themselves and their family. They want it not because they have earned it or because it makes fiscal sense, but because they feel they deserve it. Entitlement spans the entire gamut of society from the rich to the poor.

This is the real greed that is ruining our country.

We need to look no further than our government to see the collective greed of the people. We are $14.8 trillion dollars in debt and have an annual budget deficit of $1.3 Trillion. The government is hemorrhaging money and we continue to increase the debt ceiling to fuel the unrealistic demands of the general public. We all want more… we push our politicians to get more… and we are drowning in debt as a result.

We are in this situation because most of our politicians don’t have the strength to say, “NO”. Our system rewards the short term “YES” despite the consequences and long term fiscal health of our country. Democrat or Republican, it doesn’t matter. Politicians get reelected on platforms of increased allocations, not cuts…tax reductions, not revenue generation.

The exact opposite is true in the corporate world. CEOs are selected and rewarded based on their ability to grow the top line, manage the bottom line and make the hard cuts when needed. Most major public corporations are profitable. It is not because they are greedy, it is because they are fiscally responsible and have a duty to their shareholders. I am not going to say that their aren’t issues with corporate governance, but I wish our government was managed more like a corporation.

Every CEO would love to pay their employees more, offer more benefits, increase dividends, upgrade infrastructure and make huge investments in the future. The reality is that there is only so much money to go around and they can’t do it all. CEOs can’t print more money… but the government can and does because of us… because of the peoples greed.

Corporations are not our problem. We are our problem.

Redirect the Energy

The energy of this movement is exciting and intense; I just feel it is wasted and misguided. I believe unemployment is at the heart of the unrest, causing people to point fingers and look for a scapegoat. Protesting about corporate greed doesn’t create more jobs. If anything it freaks investors out, drives the markets down and devalues the very corporations that could be hiring. If the organizers of the movement really want to have an impact they should change the message to be one of job creation and entrepreneurism.

#startupwallstreet

What if those thousands of people came together to create startups instead of protesting? What if we were able to harness all that negative energy, hate and resentment to turn the world into a better place? What if those gatherings created hundreds of new companies, with new lives and futures for people who are currently unemployed? What if the organizers actually welcomed corporations to sponsor the movement and provide seed capital to the new startups?

Instead of #occupywallstreet how about #startupwallstreet?

I believe that there are positive ways to approach any problem. America was built on optimism and capitalism, let’s not sit around complaining about corporations keeping us down… lets go out there and create a the next generation of corporations.

We need corporations, but that doesn’t mean we can’t change the way they are run. If you think you can do it better go out there and start your own!

Two people have stoked my entrepreneurial fire for as long as I can remember… my father who literally created me, cared for me, mentored me, and supported everything I have ever wanted to do… and Steve Jobs, a man who I have never met or corresponded with in any way (despite many attempts of mine).

Steve accomplished so many things in his life that I can’t possibly list them all, but I believe his biggest contribution to the world was being an iMentor. Steve’s boldness, perseverance, work ethic and incredible attention design have guided me without our physical paths ever crossing (though I was so close at one MacWorld). I can’t tell you how many times I have thought to myself “what would Steve do?” I know I drive my development team crazy at times and it is thanks to Steve teaching me that good isn’t good enough. I want things to be “insanely great” and I am not alone.

An entire generation of entrepreneurs have been iMentored by Steve. His mark extends far beyond the iPhone in your hand or the iMac on your desk. From movies to music to robots and quantum physics, the people that are changing the world draw strength from following Steve’s long road to success.

Steve taught me that disruptors are often hated before they are loved, that the best ideas come from your heart (not focus groups), and most importantly to never give up on something that you believe in (even if your board or investors do).

Apple burst on the scene with the Apple I & II and that was incredible, but what really impressed me was the long term commitment Steve made despite what seemed like insurmountable odds. Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy and Steve came back to transform the company with his vision and commitment to innovation.

I have been there. I have been running on vapor. I have had everyone tell me I was crazy. I have been told, “don’t waste any more of your money.” I have been told to “just give up.”

I knew Steve wouldn’t give up. My dad doesn’t give up. I never give up.

I am no Steve Jobs. There is only one. However, I do hope that in some way my actions, failures and success can iMentor a new generation of entrepreneurs, developers and designers following their dreams.

I will miss you Steve. Give iGod a high five for me. I will buy you a beer when it is my time.

Things have changed over the years. I spend most of my day in meetings. I travel constantly. Inspiring brainstorms with designers and engineers on beanbags have largely been replaced with giant oak tables lined with lawyers, bankers and investors. I am pursuing the same dream, but in many ways it feels like I am living a different life. When I was in college I considered myself to be an artist that happened to be entrepreneur, in reality I am an entrepreneur that happens to be an artist.

I don’t think I am alone in this. Many founders struggle with identity issues as their organization grows and their roles change. Some fight it. I have chosen to adapt my creative energy to my changing role over time.

Creative Energy

You may think of yourself as a coder, a designer, a writer or photographer… but what you really are is a creative. You do things differently. You are an inventor… a visionary. Once you recognize that your true asset is raw creative energy, you can learn to adapt and convert that energy to overcome any challenge (and make any task fun).

Business as Usual + Unusual = Art

I spend a large part of my time these days meeting with people in suits. I am talking buttoned up, cuff link-wearing, hard-core wall street types. I could grab my suit and conform. I could be absorbed into the machine and “act like a public company CEO”. Instead I see these meetings as an opportunity to adapt my creative talent and demonstrate what makes our company special. I don’t want my meetings to be business as usual. I want to share what makes our business unusual.

I walk in wearing cowboy boots, jeans and the biggest smile they have ever seen. I yell with excitement. My pitch includes offbeat photos, jokes and enough passionate energy to power a small city. I blaze through 60 slides in 20 minutes. I rock their world.

I have spent hundreds of hours tweaking my investor presentation. It features photos and videos I have personally created. It is story that includes my wife, my dog, my trials of the past and vision of the future. It may not be a new website or logo, but when I deliver it in front of an audience it is art.

I am still an artist, I just paint with different tools. You can find an opportunity to adapt your creativity in virtually any job role. Every change is a new canvas begging for your paint.

(Except for accountants. Sorry, I don’t want you guys getting creative.)

People fear what they don’t understand. There will always be those that down play the big idea, criticize it or even personally attack those behind it. Don’t let the naysayers get to you. Don’t let their small mindedness cause you to question yourself. Believe in what you are doing. Go against the grain. Make the dream a reality.

Most of all never ever stay off the field because others don’t like the game. Get out there and run like hell.

You can do it Bobby Boucher!

Just as we were about to head back to the Jeep a group of adventurous tourists appeared out of nowhere. They were covered in mud and out of breath. “There is another waterfall up this path,” one of them said. “You’ll get dirty but it is worth it”. Tara and I looked at each other, then back at the people who had just come down the mountain, then back at each other. “Let’s get muddy,” I said. Tara agreed and we started up the path.

Neither of us understood what we were getting into. Not only was the path covered in overgrowth, rocky and extremely slippery, it lead us to a 30 foot tall bridge that had a 2 foot wide path and no guard rails. I am not afraid of heights, but I didn’t like this bridge at all.

In the end it was definitely worth it. The waterfall was gorgeous. It was clear, cool and so remote it felt like our own special treasure.

Don’t Be Afraid of a Little Mud

Life is full of opportunities. The best opportunities often lie at the end of a trail that will leave you muddy, winded and a bit beaten up. Some people avoid the mud all together. Some people jump in and celebrate every dirty step forward. Life is simply too short to always play it safe.

Go on… it is time to get dirty.

While my father has great artistic talent, the images he creates are rarely designed to be art. They are visualizations of the world of opportunity he sees as an entrepreneur, engineer and visionary. Each drawing, painting or video he produces has a story… a reason for being. This painting focused on his fascination with linear induction motors. He believed that high powered magnetic coils would be used to levitate and propel all sorts of things, including trains. The magnets would be used to create a friction-free rail, reducing noise and energy consumption while increasing the speed of the train.

At the time my father’s floating train sounded like science fiction to most people. Fast forward to today and it doesn’t seem so crazy… because it is starting to be true. High speed trains are popping up all over the world, many of them using a variation of magnetic levitation and propulsion technology.

While he never built his train, he did use his vision to build and sell a company. He invented the original baggage handling system for the 747 airplane.

Big Visions Take Time to Mature

One of the hardest things about being an entrepreneur with a big vision is that the market rarely matures as fast as you want it to. New ideas scare people. They disrupt the old ideas, causing the people vested in the old ideas to dismiss or even attack the new ideas. The bigger the new idea, the more resistance, the longer it takes to gain acceptance. It is one of the reasons why we still have gas powered cars.

Celebrate The Victories

Your big vision may take years (or maybe even decades) to come to fruition. If you want to see it through it is important to celebrate and contribute to the milestones along the way.  My father knew he didn’t have enough time or money to build a new type of train, but he could help advance the technology that would be used on a bigger scale in the future. He scored a win for himself and a win for the big vision at the same time. I am sure it puts a smile on his face every time he hears about a new high speed rail project.

Tongue Tip

You may not change the world overnight, but the world won’t change as fast without you.

The Dark Road

On the bus ride home I couldn’t help but reflect on what I had just endured. This run seemed to parallel so many facets of life. At times we all feel like we are on a dark road, running uphill towards the unknown. Sometimes we put ourselves on that road, and other times the sun sets around us. Either way it is an uneasy feeling to run into the abyss.

Perseverance

I know a lot of people are dealing with their own uphill battles right now. Unemployment and foreclosures are off the charts. The fallout from the economy is tearing apart lives, relationships and impacting personal health. But I am here to tell you that there is hope. No hill goes on for eternity… even the longest hill eventually breaks. It may be tough to remember that when you can’t see the top, but I promise it is there. If you keep running you will eventually make it over the crest.

Run Harder

The only way to reach the top of your personal hill faster is to run harder. Don’t slow down. Don’t let the darkness disorient you. Don’t lose focus. Don’t let the little setbacks cause you to give up and walk. Visualize yourself reaching the top and imagine how good it will feel coasting down the other side. You can get through this. You own this hill.

At 8:45pm I will board one of eleven buses headed to the middle of nowhere, about 2 1/2 hours outside of Vegas. I will wrap myself in reflective tape, turn on my flashlight and wait for the gun to fire at midnight. I will be running 51 kilometers in the ET Marathon tonight, that is  just over 31 miles (a marathon is 26.2 miles). A marathon is hard enough… but this in the desert… at night… and the aid stations are at least 3 miles apart. It is going to push the limits of my mind and body like never before.

People often ask me “why do you do crazy stuff like this!?!?” The answer is because I can.

I know I won’t always be able to do the things I can right now. Whether my body grows older, the desert night grows brighter or my life takes me in another direction there is no time like the present. I don’t ever want to look back on my life from a hospital bed and say “I wish I would have”. Our bodies are changing, our lives are changing and the world is changing around us. Some opportunities truly are once in a lifetime.

So tonight I head off on a new adventure. When I get back home I will mark it off and set my sights on the next one. No matter how big or small your adventures are I hope you are doing the same.

The truth is I want my team members to be a little nervous. Not nervous for the sake of being nervous, but nervous because they care about what they are working on. This particular developer is leading a team that is rolling out IZEA’s next big service. We are less than a month away from the launch date and there are plenty of little issues (and some big ones) that have to be addressed. There is a ton of excitement… but there are also a lot of unknowns. All of us want this to be a huge success and we have invested time and money into making it work. Should this person be nervous? HELL YEAH! I am.

I’m nervous like a heavy weight boxer stepping in to the ring.

I look at every new initiative as a new fight for the belt. I have won some and I have lost some, but every time I step in to the ring I am full of an unexplainable energy that keeps me from being complacent or over confident in my abilities. I can’t sleep. I can’t stop thinking over the win/loss scenarios. I think about every detail. My legs bounce… my eyes twitch. I am consumed by the task at hand. My heart and mind are committed to success.

So…. when a fellow leader in my organization tells me they are nervous about a launch I am happy. I want them to be nervous. I want them to be attached. I want them to be thinking about where things can wrong. I want them to feel like they are in my corner of the ring. I want them to be ready to come out strong and go the distance.

You are nervous because you care. You are nervous because you want to win. I love that. Let’s kick some ass.

Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble launched in 1990 and has transformed the way we look at creation itself. The farthest objects Hubble has seen are galaxies well over 12 billion light years away, not long after the Big Bang. Here are a few of my favorite images. You can see more at the official NASA site.