A projector the size of a matchbook.  Robots with downloadable emotions.  A space elevator held aloft by a balloon. Voice recognized mobile search engines.  It’s almost too much to take even for avid technologists who revel in the bold and new.  So how do you wade through the innovations of tomorrow to make a technology decision today?  You listen to your grandmother…of course.

When I first heard that salt was bad for you I asked my then 85 year old grandmother to cut down on her intake.  She replied, “Jimmy, mankind has been building cities alongside salt flats since the dawn of time.”  “Do you think I’m going to listen to what these young doctors say when 1000 years of history tells me different?”   For a woman who saw the emergence of the automobile, the telephone and watched the first Michelin man walk on the moon, she was attuned to change and had grown immune to hype.

“But, Mimi they didn’t know how bad salt was for you back then and they didn’t have the sophisticated testing techniques to prove it like they do today,” I said.  “Don’t get salty with me,” she replied.

What she taught me though was to make sure that new ideas are qualified by practicality and not only by present tense accreditation’s.   I think this is a natural tendency of man who is inclined to mistake rhythm for safety and stick with that which is familiar.  However, with the emergence of digital delivered expertise from virtually every sector, it’s easy to see how we are being affected by glowing reports of new ideas.  Suddenly, expertise that had to be proved to a suspicious publisher, can now be extolled thrugh infomercials, ads and blogs without standard practices of responsible editorial review.

Now, as I sift thru the projected uses and innovative applications affecting the future of our mobile phone industries I remember to take all their hype with a grain of salt.

If someone is going to believe in your dream, it might as well start with you.

In the late 90’s before the VC’s shut their doors and the bottom fell out of the IPO marketplace, we managed to raise seed money for our entertainment company.  We had a crazy idea to build a skateboard park made out of dirt and hold a competition for Motocross riders.  That event became the sport of freestyle motocross and our investors did real well in the end.  But we had to convince them first.

It’s a tough task to convince anyone, irrespective of their level of success that they should invest in something they just can’t understand.  The only way that seems to work is to build it first.

When I wanted to build portable snowboard mountains in 1995, I tried in vain to raise some dollars.  Then I got a contract from the 1995 NFL Experience in Miami and built my first portable quarter pipe there.  The success of this first installation helped me ge funded in a hurry.

In 1997, when we hit upon the idea of Freestyle Motocross I had numerous financier meetings and labored to articulate the vision of flying motorcycles selling tickets.  So we had to go for it again.  We promoted the first event, got industry and rider support, sold out our event and… lost everything I borrowed to put into it.  But our future investor attended the event and subsequently funded us.

There really is no experience in life more rewarding than following your dreams. Going for broke, burning the boats in pursuit of something you believe brings rewards far before the dollars flow.

Believing and Be Living are closely entwined.

The Tao-te Ching was written over 2000 years ago during a period of prolonged civil warfare in China.  Taoist lore proposes that invincibility and a level of no conflict can be attained through “deep knowledge and strong action”…

As an entrepreneur, you will often be hard pressed to maintain focus on your vision amid financing and economic challenges.  I have always faced adversity with passion but the Tao-te Ching proposes that we should seek rational, rather than emotional approaches to our problems.  This was a tough task for me.

What I find helpful is to…read.  I subscribe to every magazine related to my business.  I read about the successes and strategies of competitors and labor through articles that may be unrelated, but helpful.  My desk is usually  piled with a tapestry of titles such as, PC Magazine, PC News, Wired, Entrepreneur, Mobile, Scientific American, etc.  Reading gives you a broader understanding of your marketplace and increases your knowledge of your core business.

In a nutshell by increasing your understanding of the battlefield you can act more decisively and approach business decisions with better vision.  Deep knowledge of your person, business, relationship or otherwise will bring more clarity and lessen conflicts.

Before you embark on your new business venture it is important to set goals.

Here are some 168-49 Goal Setting tips:

1. Define a specific goal:  Establish a clear goal that is concise and one that you believe you can achieve.

2. Firmly establish it in writing: Document your goal in words as a mantra or position statement that you can recount at will; and do so constantly.

3.Determine if your goal is Action, or Production based: Goals that are based on actions enable you to qualify progress at regularly intervals.  Production based goals are generally long-term and require tangible results to verify progress.

4. Define your Short, and Long Term Goals: A short-term goal can be achieved in less than 90 days.  A good balance between short and long-term goals ensures that you both maintain an active focus on the goal and don’t loose interest.

5. Constantly review your Goals: No goal is set in stone and constant analysis ensures that you adjust goals according to personal, family, and business changes that will arise.

The most important step in starting a business is starting the right business, at the right time, in the right way.

Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of following their dream too soon and fail.  Businesses that lack adequate financing,business intelligence or a qualified business model will fail.

If you are truly an entrepreneur, I expect you to protest, just as I did, that you have the passion, drive and ability to mold your interests and desires into a business.  According to the US Small Business Association, it is not just lack of funding or experience that causes businesses upwards of 50% of small businesses to fail in the first 5 years, other factors include:

Poor location

Poor inventory management

Over-investment in fixed assets

Poor credit arrangements

Personal use of business funds

Unexpected growth

When you add competitive products and the challenge of securing sales, it is easy to see why half of small businesses, including some of my own, were destined to fail.  In the SBA’s list of the best small business start-ups in 2010, there are a number of company options that don’t require a lot of cash to start, or operate.  However, as you read above it takes more that  adequate funding to ensure your business will survive, let alone thrive.