Sean Johnson - Intentionally - The Education of Sean Johnson

I’ve come to the conclusion that most solutions to problems are crazy. At least, that’s the feedback you’ll get if you present your solutions to other people.

You hear about it all the time in business - the visionary presents their new product or service, proposes a different way of looking at things, only to have their ideas fall on deaf ears. But the principle exists almost everywhere.

Men and women complain about their inability to find a suitable mate, one that will love them and treat them with the respect and attention and care that they deserve. Though when such a person arrives offering such character they’re rejected.

People across the country panic because they see their country slowly being destroyed. Though when presented with a possible solution, they ignore or laugh or openly mock the individual trying to help them.

Just last night I had a conversation with some friends about how my family has a history of heart problems, and how my eating habits have done nothing to decrease the likelihood of continuing that trend. But when I suggest a move to vegetarianism they look at me like I’m from another planet.

Try this next time you’re out with friends. Talk about the potential recession, about the subprime mess and AMEX and Citigroup and what appears to be the beginnings of a commercial real estate freefall and hyperinflation and the falling dollar and being in debt to China and the baby boomers retiring and pulling their money out of the market as mandated by government and the fact that in 2020 there will be more young people than old people for the first time in history.

Talk about all of that, and then throw in that as part of their investment plan they should purchase some silver. And wait for the reaction. It won’t matter that silver’s tripled in value over the past two years, or that it has historically held its value in economic conditions very much like today. I guarantee you’ll look like a nut.

I think being aware of the consistent aversion to real solutions should factor into how we make decisions as individuals. All to often, the desire to not look or feel “weird” keeps us from taking risks. We can all probably remember a time when we did something that went against what we knew to be right because we didn’t want others to think poorly about us.

But the problem with ideas that aren’t weird or a little crazy is that they’re generally wrong.

The vegetarian is absurd, the obese person normal.

The guy working the local precinct for his candidate of choice is weird, the gal texting her vote on American Idol is normal.

The guy going out of his way to make his girlfriend know they are beautiful and loved is quaint and a little odd. The guy making jokes about how his wife isn’t smart enough to read a map and isn’t nearly as pretty as the stripper in front of him is normal.

The guy who drops out of school, maxes out his credit cards and lives on Ramen noodles for six months to build a software company is misguided and naive. The guy who works for 40 years at various jobs he hates is normal.

More often than not, the solutions to our problems don’t lie in conventional wisdom. Perhaps the key is a willingness to embrace looking like an idiot in the pursuit of truth.

I learned that I spend about an hour a week being strategic and the rest of my time producing work, even though 95% of my value comes from that hour. That’s a ratio that could use some serious work.

I learned that I’m great at coming up with ideas but mediocre at implementing them, and that the reverse would be much more ideal.

I learned that my neighborhood was very recently a terrible place to live and still has its share of shootings, muggings, etc. I also learned that revealing this information to your family is not advisable.

I learned that I rarely fight fair. I may not be loud or angry, but I’m manipulative more often than not. While not always quick to get into an argument, once I’m in I usually want to win more than I want what’s right.

I learned that losing weight is unbelievably difficult. Maintaining the lost weight, however, is much easier.

I learned that trust is everything in business and in life. You can’t operate as a healthy team without trust.

I learned that if you’re stuck in the airport for a few hours, a day pass at the Red Carpet club is totally worth it. Nice chairs, desks, coffee, pastries and fruit, clean bathrooms.

I learned that condemnation and reprimands are rarely necessary and always scar. Even if you get the desired outcome - changed behavior, acknowledgment of wrongdoing, etc. - the cost is rarely (never?) worth it.

I learned that there actually are real people who, while not perfect, approach an ideal and maintain a consistency and sense of purpose that can spellbind you. I found two this year - one is running for President, the other is a hairdresser in Chicago. I’m still deciding which one will have a larger impact in the world.

I learned that being a “sprinter” at work is a double-edged sword. You can get an immense amount of work done in very little time, but it’s easy to become lazy and waste incredible amounts of time.

I learned that I’m a ridiculously bad manager right now. I don’t teach, don’t coach or encourage, and vacillate between not delegating anything and using delegation as a tool to stop thinking about projects altogether.

I learned that I can sell - that you don’t have to be a pit-bull to do it. All it takes is confidence in what you offer (which when you created big pieces of the product comes much more naturally) and have a willingness to answer questions (which is all objections really are anyway).

I learned that I can still shoot a basketball. As long as people stand far enough away from me and give me plenty of time. And ideally are covering their eyes.

I learned that I care a lot more about money than I thought I did. I always fancied myself a man who didn’t want a lot of things - our place is still extremely bare, I don’t have much in my closet, etc. But a number of big events happened in my company and my life that revealed me to be just as greedy and envious and angry as anyone else in the world. I learned that it can consume enormous amounts of energy, strain relationships and generally make you a miserable person to be around.

I learned that I (and basically everyone I know) have lived with our eyes shut more than we’d like to believe. I never fancied myself a conspiracy theorist and laughed at those who did, but watching this campaign so far has convinced me that there is so much more going on than we usually realize. The spin and misrepresentation is so blatant and consistent (and effective) that I’ve literally felt sick to my stomach watching it unfold.

I learned that my wife is a better Christian than I am. I may read more books and talk more lucidly about what I believe, but she lives it far better than I. While I think and talk and write about myself all day, she exhibits a level of selflessness and kindness and generosity and patience and humility that completely overwhelms me. I know more about God, she believes more about God. There’s an enormous difference, and I know very well which is more desirable.

I learned that Chicago is absolutely the coldest city on earth.

I learned that the best 10 minutes in the world exist when I close my computer at night, put on warm socks, lay down next to my already-sleeping wife and think about how lucky I am to be alive and to have this person to share it with next to me. You often hear stories about people in their waning years, and how they reflect and wish they appreciated what they had when they had it. For all my issues and problems and character flaws, I thank God that I get reminded of what I have for 10 minutes every night. It’s the closest thing to a peaceful heart that this arrogant, wound-up young soul has experienced.

My goal for 2008? To feel that way the rest of the day as well.

My pal Amit has a knack for starting big things. When I was living in New York he used to organize an informal co-working day at his house. He called it Jelly and it drew a bunch of really fun, interesting people. I had a blast every time I was able to go.

Fast-forward a year and Jelly has spread across the country. It’s been featured in Wired Magazine, NPR and more. There are now Jelly’s in Boston, Atlanta, Austin, even Sydney.

And now there’s one in Chicago.

The first Chicago Jelly will be next Friday, December 14th up in Rogers Park. If you live in the Chicago area and would like to meet some fun, interesting people, you can get more info and sign up here. Bring a laptop and a friend.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Al Gore wrote a fascinating book a few months back about the state of American political discourse. He wrote that the notion of what we now call America was based on the assumption of a “well-informed populace” - that is, that the majority of the people would care enough about their country and the gift of freedom that this “Great Expiriment” afforded them that they would take the care to make sure they understood what the issues were and why they believed one way or the other.

Gore argued that such an America no longer exists - that the people have become so used to being force-fed the opinions of pundits, both on television and in print, that they no longer think for themselves. They’ve given up reason for blind faith in an ideology handed to them. Regardless of which side of the fence they sit on, their opinions are no longer their own.

I think it’s why Gore refuses to run, why he’s chosen to avoid the absurdity of politics in favor of the pursuit of goal to save the planet. And I don’t blame him.

For six months I’ve followed a certain candidate, and have had dozens of conversations with friends, family and colleagues about the state of America and about the prospects of having a humble, honest man running the country. With one exception, every single person I’ve talked to has been a walking billboard. Few know anything about why they believe what they believe. They talk about how Guliani is a strong leader because of 9/11 or about how Hillary would save health care, in spite of the fact that they know nothing about what Guliani actually did during 9/11 nor have any clue about what Hillary’s plan actually is. They talk about what they’re told to talk about - no more and no less. No wonder they’ve never heard of people like Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich - their media won’t allow them to.

I believe that Paul’s chances are dramatically higher than they were when I discovered him back in March. I remain convinced that he would make our country better in a way unlike anything I’ve been convinced of in a very long time. He’s an honorable man, consistent in his thinking and acts on what he believes. When you’re up against a man that has no apparent inconsistencies, no obvious cracks in the edifice, and when you know that a discussion of ideas will be far more perilous for you than for the man who’s spent 30 years learning and making sense of why he believes what he believes….you better believe that the best course of action is to ignore him. But that’s becoming more and more difficult.

That said, I still think he has a long way to go. But I don’t think that the likelihood of him winning the nomination is a slight on him. I think it’s a slight on us.

I’ve been told before that I should have faith in “the wisdom of crowds” to make wise decisions. But the wisdom of crowds (of which I’ve been party to most of my life) decided that George Bush would be the most fitting person to run our country. The wisdom of crowds says that, in spite of the fact that our foreign policy isn’t doing anything but engendering hate and bankrupting our country, and in spite of the fact that we’re witnessing the repercussions of a fiat currency as predicted by Friedman and others, that the ideas of this 72 year old man about how to simultaneously keep our country safe, our soldiers alive and our finances healthy must be nuts. Because the wisdom of crowds is being told what to think, and we’re too damn lazy to think for ourselves.

I feel more than a little hypocritical writing any of this. I grew up reading Rush Limbaugh books, and as of four years ago was convinced that “the Pentagon’s new map” must be right and the liberal crazies who were parading down the streets of Manhattan needed to stop taking drugs and understand how the real world works. I was angry when 9/11 happened, and I can recall vividly sitting around with my college buddies talking about how righteous we were when we “shocked and awed” Iraq. I was a member of the more than half of our country that supported these ideas, that thought the Patriot Act reasonable, that thought a Christian had every right to believe in a policy of preemptive war.

I was wrong, on all counts. I’m not sure when the switch happened, but at some point I woke up. I’d like to believe that I’m now able to step outside of the normal “us vs. them” thinking, and am able to realize that they’re both saying effectively the same things. And I’d like to think that for the first time in my young life I’ve found someone who I truly believe in. And coming from where I’ve come, from knowing how I’ve been so easily manipulated and controlled in the past, it breaks my heart to see the same thing in those I love.

Maybe Paul isn’t the best person to run this country. Maybe his ideas really are crazy. Maybe Guliani really would be a strong leader that we need, and maybe Hillary really will solve our problems.

What I pray is that you make your own decision. I don’t mean that in the sense that we so often mean it in. I mean that you take Al Gore’s words (and by extension, the words of those who started this country) to heart. By yourself, with no television to tell you what to think and who to believe in, spend some time reading about these people. Have an open mind - forget about what party you’ve been affiliated with and about what that party means to your identity. Read about their pros and their cons. Read about their ideas, the criticisms of said ideas and the counterpoints to those criticisms. And then make up your own mind.

I don’t expect everyone to come to the same conclusion that I came to. But imagine for a second what it would be like if you believed in a politician the way that and so many others like me believe in Ron Paul. Imagine if you found someone who, while not on target with everything that you believe (because who is), exhibits an honesty and conviction and intelligence and consistency and morality and humility that makes your heart leap, makes you believe in our country again. I would submit that, whoever the candidate, anything less is unacceptable.

It’s a feeling I’m cherishing, for I’m pretty sure, as Al Gore is, that it will never come again.