What do you do when you have a great idea? Do you run full speed ahead not listening to dissenting opinions? Do you ask your closest friends and confidants and hope they think it's a good idea? What do you do when you encounter opposition?

I used to have great ideas and run them by other people, only to have them say things like 'Google already did it' or 'How will you compete with [insert huge corporation or busines here]?' Not anymore.

I had a great idea, a phenomenal one. I had an idea that would catapult my skills into the mainstream and make reading RSS feeds a much less painful and a much more enjoyable experience. But when I ran it by two people who's opinions I trusted in the hopes they would shower me with encouragement, I got comments like 'iGoogle does it already' (which led to a nickname of Mr. iGoogle) and 'there are already too many rss readers out there.' I should have just gone forward with my concept in the face of such discouragement, but I didn't and the other day I saw MY idea done by someone else: introducing Times.

As annoying, anger inducing, and demoralizing as this experience has been, it's also taught me an important lesson: Follow your heart and instincts. (similar, but not exactly like one of my favorite lyrics of all time sung by Hot Water Music: "Live your heart and Never Follow")If you have an idea or concept that you think is great and you really want to create it, by all means ask for advice and bounce ideas off your friends and collegues, but don't get discouraged and stop when they say negative things about it. Find someone who likes the idea and encourages you or go at it alone and say screw convention and negative people who said you would fail. Google and Apple are great examples of success in the face of screaming opposition.

I know you have all missed me, I haven't posted on this blog in a while. I've been extremely busy with a myriad of projects and even a trip back up to Philly. Plus, having a girlfriend means I don't have my evenings to myself anymore. That's a good thing, I'm not complaining!

So, without further ado, here's the news:

I Moved to Orlando, Fl

I love Philly, I really do, but after 10 years of living in the north, I'm more than a little sick of winter. Before you start calling me a southerner, or saying things about me having thin blood, let me clarify. I don't HATE winter, I just wish it would last a few months shorter. In a perfect world, I would move down here for three or four months until the snow and bitter cold subsided. Too bad I'm not rich or I'd seriously consider it.

It's not all mouse ears and hot summers, my parents live down here, many of my clients are down here and my girlfriend likes Florida much better than the North. So far we're happy, but if anything changes, we'll let you know!


I'm Switching To WordPress.
I've had this blog with Blogger.com since the beginning, but honestly I'm getting sick of the lack of options, the not so great template system and simply put, I've found something better. I'll be posting a longer list of reasons soon.


New Clients + Work
Since moving down here, my work schedule has picked up. I'll be posting updates on this as well.

Labels: freelance, life, personal, travel