Categories
motivation

Problems Exist, and That’s Good

“The adventure of business is to know the problems exist, to hunt and eliminate them, and to grow a culture that does this continually.”

Thomas Anderson in Changed People Change Process

Problems will continually pop up. They are like a game of whack-a-mole. As soon as you address and solve one problem, another one pops up… and that’s a good thing!

If problems didn’t exist, if things went smoothly all the time, what’s the point of work? It would become quite boring. There would be less need for creativity. Problem-solving can be one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of the business.

As the quote suggests, problems become an adventure. If you read a story where the protagonist has a smooth ride and faced no problems, what fun would that be? Adventures involve facing and solving problems.

Embrace problems, analyze and solve them. You may become the hero of your own adventure. You will improve. And you will have fun doing it!

Categories
motivation

Adventures Involve Risk

Thrill-seekers love adventure. Sure, you can attempt to minimize it. You can wear protective clothing, helmets and use climbing ropes. You can go to an amusement park and ride an inspected roller coaster that’s been deemed safe. You can go to a haunted house with chainsaw-wielding fiends and fake blood on the wall, knowing full well they won’t hurt you because that’s bad for business. But if there is no risk involved, there’s no adventure, is there?

Cartoon of an injured boy in the hospital. He says to another boy, "Why is it whenever you have a taste for adventure, I end up in the emergency room?"

On the one hand, we yearn for some adventure. On the other hand, we are risk-averse. We want someone else to take the risk. We don’t really want to risk it all for the business, success or imagined glory. Yet that is what is required to move forward. Change is an adventure. Adventures are risky.

Seth Godin has defined creativity simply as, “It might not work.” That new product launch, the new marketing campaign, that career move may not be as successful as you hope. But deep down, isn’t that the adventure we are all looking for?

Categories
cartoon children cartoons

A comedy or a tragegy?

Cartoon of a sad boy. He says, "My life is going nowhere. At this rate I'll never sell the movie rights to my life story!"

It sounds great to have a movie made about your life until you realize all life journeys worth watching involve discomfort, pain and insurmountable odds. After all, nobody needs a hero if there is nothing to be rescued from.

Categories
adventure

Breakfast Cereal and Adventure 


I heard a few months ago that Millenials aren’t eating as much breakfast cereal as previous generations because it takes too much time to prepare.

Judging by cereal commercials, I think it is because cereal causes too much adventure. It gives us too much get-up-and-go. It makes us do crazy things like skateboard, try out for the dodgeball team or hike Pikes Peak with nothing more than milk and cereal for provisions.

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Adobe Illustrator adventure cartoon children cartoons gag cartoon Illustration Friday Parenting Cartoons single panel cartoon webcomic

Perennial Rides

Cartoon of a grandfather and grandson on a roller coaster.

I drew this for Illustration Friday. This week’s word is “perennial.”

When I heard the word, I thought about some people who may be up in years, but still love the amusement park rides. It’s always fun to see a senior citizen tackle a roller coaster. I also thought of the perennial summer traditions like county fairs and trips to amusement parks.