There is a weblog entry which really worth to mention. Bob Parsons, CEO of GoDaddy.com, shared his life and his 16 rules that he used for his survival. Go Daddy is well known domain name registration company. Those rules are extremely good advices if you are going to start a business. With his permission, here are his 16 rules he tries to live by:
… There’s an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”
- Get and stay out of your comfort zone. I believe that not much happens of any significance when we’re in our comfort zone. I hear people say, “But I’m concerned about security.” My response to that is simple: “Security is for cadavers.”
- Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just because what you’re doing does not seem to be working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity.
- When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think. There’s an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”
- With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be. Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of “undefined consequences.” My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, “Well, Robert, if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you.”
- Focus on what you want to have happen. Remember that old saying, “As you think, so shall you be.”
- Take things a day at a time. No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don’t look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.
- Always be moving forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.
- Be quick to decide. Remember what the Union Civil War general, Tecumseh Sherman said: “A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”
- Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.
- Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.
- Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.
- Never let anybody push you around. In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you’re doing as anyone else, provided that what you’re doing is legal.
- Never expect life to be fair. Life isn’t fair. You make your own breaks. You’ll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).
- Solve your own problems. You’ll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you’ll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: “You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others.” There’s also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: “A wise man keeps his own counsel.”
- Don’t take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.
- There’s always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you’re really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: “We’re not here for a long time; we’re here for a good time.”
The above rules for survival is included with the permission of Bob Parsons (http://www.bobparsons.com) and is Copyright 2005 by Bob Parsons. All rights reserved.
“Robert, they can’t eat you!” My rules for survival. – [Bob Parsons]
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thanks for the info, may i copy this..
Disgusting man. We’ll all be looking for billions sent to wild animal refuges to account for this grave injustice.
Rule#17 Use the money you amass to destroy what is in the world. Be an arrogant ass and justify all sociopathic actions by trying to make yourself look good despite the obvious fact that everyone can see through your B.S.
Parson’s gets off shooting animals for sport and mounting their heads to prove his failing manhood. But using his logic for shooting the elephants and dozens of other animals….I hope that Parson’s two dogs are never considered “problems” by his neighbors should they bark too much or pee on their lawns because according to Bob-those neighbors would be justified in shooting Bob’s dogs, mounting the dog’s heads on trophy boards and hung up in the neighbor’s den as long as the neighbor takes the rest of their carcasses to a nearby homeless shelter to feed poor people.
Now the insensitivity of the Go.Daddy commercials are starting to make sense. Making fun of effeminate men and using the stereotypical female models to flaunt the bags on silicone they have had sewn on their chest.
Am guessing misogyny goes hand in hand with the need for a pathetic, insecure fat old man to reassert his fragile masculinity by taking the life of a standing animal that offers no sport. The gutless wonder even had to shoot the poor elephant at night. Good thing the elephant hadn’t sneezed before being shot or Bob would probably still be running across Africa in soiled pants. This wimp was transported close enough to take his shot and then transported back to his five star abode. The funny part is how he has deluded himself into thinking he is some kind of big game hunter when in reality he is nothing more than a rich asshole that uses his wealth to destroy rather than for good and now a fine animal has lost it’s life simply so a sycophant can feed his fragile ego.
As we previously mentioned, this explains a lot when it comes to the type of commercials he puts out. Thankfully, most companies are wise enough to appeal to our greater instincts but there are those few scummy organizations that are so limited in imagination that they can only think of appealing to our lowest instincts. This speaks to the shallowness and limited imagination of Bob Parsons. He really thinks he’s some kind of smart businessman? Hardly. Instead of forging new roads with an innovative creative process, his sexist commercials ride the coat tails of those who have gone on before him by dragging out the same tired old commercial styling that was appropriate twenty years ago but are a mere yawn in the 21st century.
Bob Parsons flying around the world and killing animals for the sake of killing, for your own self gratification, self edification is sickening. You have made a lot of money but to me you are lower than a snake in a wagon track.
No one is perfect and it’s easy to find fault in Parsons’ recreational choices if you want to. However, his is the quintessential business success story and I find these tips these tips to be inspirational.
Interesting.