Location or Quality?

What is more important? Is it location, location, location? Or, is it quality, quality, quality,? I'm starting to believe it is quality that makes the biggest difference of all. We have a sandwich shop that just opened down the street from us which proves that quality is more important than location. It is located on the backside of an office building and you can't see it from anywhere except if you're standing in front of it. In spite of this poor location, the place is always full. Why? Because they make a great sandwich at a good price. They also have a unique system in that you fill out your order on the back of a paper bag, and then they make your sandwich for you. But though the novelty of ordering is interesting, the reason I keep going back is because the sandwiches are great. Quality at a good price will always make you money.

What do you think?

Reasonably priced quality

You do not have to reinvent the wheel to make a living. All you need to do is provide a quality product or service at a reasonable price and you will be just fine. I am at a local burger chain here in town called the Habit. They make good burgers and grilled sandwiches at a reasonable price. The place is clean and the service is good. As a result the place is busy and they are making a nice living. The recipe for success is not a mystery. Make stuff that's good. Provide quality service. Sell it at a reasonable price. Rinse and repeat.

What do you think?

Creatures of habit

I did something today that reminded me that I am a creature of habit. I was driving home with the intent of picking up lunch on the way. My mind drifted off and I completely forgot to pick up the food. I didn't realize that I had forgotten until I was pulling into my neighborhood, so I had to turn around and go back and pick up the food. How can you tell your a creature of habit? When your mind is not focused, what do you find yourself doing? For me it was driving home instead of going to pick up lunch. My body is so accustomed to going on automatic when I going home that I completely forgot to go and pick up food.

We are all creatures of habit. It is also our habits that either help us to be successful or hinder us from being successful. I think it's a good idea to take a look at your life and take stock of what habits you currently have. Maybe it is time to make some changes? Now stopping a habit it is very difficult. It can be done, but it takes a lot of energy, effort, and time. What is easier is to start is a new habit. Maybe that's all some of us need? Maybe all we need is to start a new habit that helps us be successful?

What do you think?

Is it to late?

Is it ever too late to get started on something? I see this question asked all the time on the social media site Quora. For example, I have seen someone ask: "am I too old to learn to play an instrument"? So, is it ever too late to start learning to play an instrument? The answer is depends. If you want to be a virtuoso soloist and you are older than 10, then the answer is yes it is too late. If all you want to be able to do is play the instrument well, it is never too late. I think this applies to just about anything anyone would want to start doing. If you want to be in the top of your field, or a top professional, or some kind a virtuoso, you must start at an early age (or even younger) because of the level of competition. The others at that level have started when they were early and you will just not be able to catch up. If you just want to be good at something, and maybe even make a living from it, it is never too late to get started. I know this firsthand. Now I have been a musician for 40 years. That is I have played the drums for 40 years and I have also been a professional at it. I am also currently a music teacher in the public school system here in California. About a year ago I decided I wanted to learn to play the saxophone. Was it too late for me to get started? Well if I wanted to be a jazz soloist and make records, yes it was too late. But if all I wanted to do was learn to play the saxophone well, then it wasn't too late. I'm here to inform you that I can actually play the saxophone fairly well. Will I make a living playing saxophone? Probably not. But I can play just about anything I want to.

So, the bottom line is it is never too late to start. But, you might not play with the New York symphony if you are a little older than 10. Is that a bad thing?

What do you think?

Become and Idea Machine

I read a book today called "Become an Idea Machine". The whole point of the book was to come up with 10 ideas a day, every day for the next 180 days (six months). Why? Because after that point coming up with ideas will become a habit. But why do it in the first place? Because ideas are what create value and wealth. It is ideas that create "currency". It is ideas that make your life amazing. Just think of anything in your life that is positive and at the root, there is an idea. for example, I am using a Chromebook at this moment. The Chromebook came about because a software programmer at Google needed something that booted quickly in order to see if the changes he was making were working. So he decided to boot an operating system (Linux) from ram instead of a hard drive. In doing so he developed the seeds of having a computer that booted from ram and worked only in a browser. Google ran with the idea and developed the Chrome OS. Thus I have my Chromebook and an inexpensive way to do all I do on a computer. It all came from an idea.

Ideas rule the world!

Now, what ideas to I have that I can use to make the lives of others and myself better?