GregDunnett.com

2009, we all need it to be better then 2008.

No predictions, resolutions or any other forward thinking that I will ignore in two weeks (if I make it that long).

My only goal for 2009 is this: To live life with the same openness and fearlessness as my daughter does.

• Too find amazement in the little things (like your own hand)
• Too smile at everyone who says hi to me
• Too try new things, usually by putting them in your mouth
• Too enjoy food and cover your face in it if necessary.
• Too love your family the most, and appreciate them every day.
• Too not be defined what I did yesterday, too grow and make progress every single day
• Too laugh, yell and cry as loud as necessary to get what I want
• Too be open too new ideas and not be repressed by my previous thoughts.

If I can do that as well as Evelyn, I will have the best year of my life.

But if you can take your years of equity and relationships and still be as fresh as if they took you out and put you in a new company, doing the tough stuff to your own people and your own strategies, you can be one of the best leaders going forward. That’s the decision you have to make.”

So that’s the key: Fire yourself, hire yourself.

- Andrea Jung, Avon

Start your job over! What changes need to be made to make a more efficient and successful company?

It is easy too say, “If I got a new job tomorrow, this is what I would do differently….”

Become extraordinary Today! Fight through your previous mistakes and build greatness. Difficult, Yes. Impossible, Hardly.

Jung’s actions were based on necessity. She realized that survival was dependent on progressive decisions ignoring the sunk cost of decision-making. Had she been unable to admit incorrect strategic decision, her demise would have been certain. However, she fought through the politics of change and formulated growth for her organization.

You need to do the same…before, its too late.

The Nurse and I just spent the last six months sequentially watching each of the 86 episode of The Sopranos. Two or three times a week we would sit down and watch an episode (or two or three). It was such an incredible viewing experience that we can not decide which series to watch next as it will pale in comparison.

As Journey abruptly stopped playing, we both looked at each other and asked:

Did Tony Soprano Die?

My initial reaction was that Tony’s life continues to go on (and on and on and on). That he would continuously be in disarray, in constant fear until the gangster lifestyle inevitably swallowed him up. One of the greatest aspects of the series was that stories just faded in and out, we (the viewer) were being faded out for good.

Also, throughout the series assassination plots were always given a story before they played out and we were led to believe that Tony had once again escaped by getting to Phil Leotardo before Tony got to him.

However, my curiosity got the best of me and I spent 4-5 hours researching online and I found articles like this that have enough circumstantial evidence to lead me to believe that Tony actually was killed by the Members Only Guy.

Personally, If Tony lives, I love the perfect ending to a perfect series…If he dies, I hate the ending, it goes against everything the show stood for the previous 85 hours.

Favourite Characters: Tony, Tony’s Mom, Silvio, Ralphy
Favourite Episode: The Russian in the Woods.
Favourite Scene: The Monopoly Fight Scene (Reminiscent of the Dunnett Family)

get that job promotion, I will start staying an hour later.

Get through this stressful time, I will stop smoking.

Get the time, I will start exercising.

See her looks my way, I will approach her.

Get an apology from him, I will apologize.

Get a break, I will make the most of it.

Is the wrong way of going about things. Try…

I will start staying an hour later and get that job promotion.

I will stop smoking to get through this stressful time.

I will start exercising by making the time.

I will approach her and make her looks my way.

I will apologize to him and hopefully get an apology from him.

I will make the most of this opportunity and catch a break.

Success is not reactive but proactive.

This blog has had very little direction in both its previous and current versions. What I wanted it to be and what it was were completely different things.

Seth Godin discussed the difference between a personal blog and a blog about the readers…reflection indicates that too often this blog has been a personal blog.

Unfortunately, that was not the goal for this blog when I started it. I want to be a blog that you visit because it is entertaining and you can take something away from it every day (like Godin, Fred Wilson or Guy Kawasaki).

Ideally, I want you to learn about what a parent should be doing not what a great parent I am. I would hope Evelyn could read this one day and learn about parenting from her father: all the ups and downs that it brings, how I handled them and how I would have handled them better. Or what I needed to do to catch up on my career, after getting by on my intelligence through most of high school and university and what I have learned.

So the synopsis of this blog will now read: Learnings in fatherhood, career and life.