Small Desires

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about a close relative of mine, Jenny (not her real name). Jenny has been struggling for most of her adult life to be independent from her parents. She has dealt with many years of drug addiction and two failed marriages. About six years ago she began to find her way onto a path that was leading her in the direction she wanted to go. She had a new boyfriend that treated her well and a job that paid her well. She was also back in school and was doing better to cover all of her bills without the help of her mother than ever before. One day however, she decided that he needed to buy a new car. Her finances would only allow her to buy a cheap used car but her mother stepped in and offered to buy her an almost new Honda S2000

Now receiving help when buying a car is nothing terrible, it can be necessary in many cases. However, when your goal is to be independent, having your mother buy you a very expensive sports car can’t exactly be called helpful. Being a car fanatic myself I get a call just about any time somebody in my family is looking to buy a car always wanting to know my opinion on their choices. Jenny was no different. Except that when she called she was crying almost hysterically. After calming her down she explained that she wanted the car very badly, but felt incredibly guilty at accepting such an extravagant gift. In the end, despite shedding copious amounts of tears, she decided she wanted the car more than she wanted independence.

From that fateful decision forward her life has been on a continual downward spiraling path. Soon after she cheated on, then left, her boyfriend of four and a half years for a string of abusive relationships. She has relapsed back into her addictions and most recently watched as her latest boyfriend died in front of her from an overdose of drugs she purchased for him.

So what does the purchase of a car have to do with the current changes her life has taken? It’s just a car right?

“Some will sell their dreams for small desires…”
This is the first line of the last verse to the song “Subdivisions” (1982, Rush, Signals).

Some might consider this trite, I prefer to think of it as proverbial. Either way, in Jenny’s case, this is exactly what happened. She desired that particular car so badly that she was willing to give up her dream of being independent in order to have it. In so doing, she began to give up on other dreams as well. Her conscience could only be quieted with drugs. And her desire to be appreciated in her new car led her to older wealthier men who treated her like an object to be used and abused. In the end she pawned the car for about half of its value and wasted the money on drugs. She is now entirely a financial ward of her mothers once again.

What does this have to do with creativity? Everything! Obstacles and distractions abound. Being a designer or an artist requires extreme focus. There are hordes of people and things that will play on your temptations and will only ask that you give up something tomorrow in order to have what you desire right now. Don’t be fooled, don't sell your dreams for small desires. Keep the long term focus close to your heart and while you enjoy your journey never lose sight of the goal, whatever it may be.

Announcements

So it has been a fairly long time since I last posted. In that time a lot has happened.

1. My wife gave birth to our second child, a beautiful little girl we named Violet.

It took a lot of effort and almost six years to get her here but thanks to some very talented doctors and a very determined wife on June 12th 2007 Violet entered into our lives. She came in at 7lbs 12oz and was an answer to all our prayers. Her big brother Max has been asking for a little sister for over two years now and we couldn't be happier to oblige him.



2. A product that I co-invented and have partial ownership of hit the shelves at Wal-Mart.









We call it the Applecore.
There is a lot that I could say about this little design, however, at the risk of sounding like a cheap promotion I will only risk just one brief ego inflating anecdote.
While the design can be scaled to meet a variety of cord sizes, currently only the smallest, made for earbuds, is in production licensed through Handstands as The Core.
This past January Handstands promoted the Core at both CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Vegas and at Mac-World in San Francisco. We went to Vegas as it is closer and allowed us the opportunity to visit with other possible international licensees. It was fun to see the display that they had create for it as well as the strong reception that it was receiving. However it was at Mac-World that the real story happened.

I imagine that we are all pretty much saturated at this point with information on the iPhone. News coverage, commercials and Blog reviews are everywhere. Rightly so I am sure. If it is anything as intuitive and useful as my iPod then it deserves the accolades. It was at Mac-World this past January before a heaving throng of Mac-Zealots that Steve Jobs anounced the iPhone to the world. However, the real story happened just moments later.

After ending his keynote address Steve and his entourage of bodyguards and hangers-on strolled around the show to visit with the many vendors at their booths. As I am told, they approached the handstands booth and Steve was given an Applecore. He held it in his hand for a second appraising it then as he turned to leave he was heard to exclaim, "That's Genius."

So anyway I thought that was sufficiently cool enough to allow a little big-headedness. I hope you don't disagree too much.