{"id":6481,"date":"2015-11-16T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-11-16T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/johnfreeborn.com\/words\/?p=6481"},"modified":"2025-01-31T22:41:37","modified_gmt":"2025-02-01T06:41:37","slug":"thats-when-youre-lost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnfreeborn.com\/words\/thats-when-youre-lost\/","title":{"rendered":"That\u2019s When You\u2019re Lost"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes going to bed is really hard for me. I like to maintain the state that I\u2019m in\u2013no matter what that state may be. Once I am in bed it\u2019s done and out out like a light. But I never want to wake up. It doesn\u2019t matter how many hours I\u2019ve slept. The same goes for being awake. It doesn\u2019t matter how long I\u2019ve been going, I just want to stay awake and keep doing stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stuff. What is this stuff I do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes I write. Other times I veg out and watch \u2018How It\u2019s Made\u2019 until the infomercials come on. Video games are always an option. I work in the garage on random projects. Computer projects can kill hours. I never have trouble finding something to work on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hard part is keeping it all straight and prioritizing my efforts. That is the real struggle for me. I\u2019m easily entertained, curious and interested in many things. Everything has potential. I\u2019ve recognized this fact and I\u2019m making steps to improve my focus but it\u2019s not easy. I like the beginning of projects the most. That newness of a raw idea and the energy that it gives me is really hard to ignore. I like diving in and solving the problems, making the big plan and sorting out the details. Of course, I always buy a domain name to match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem is when you have all these projects and ideas nothing is real. I test things in the real world. Small tests to gauge interest. I\u2019ve read that this is smart, that you need to create the MVP (minimum viable product) to see if your idea has traction. The problem is that many ideas, some of the best ones, are really bad in their early stages. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created their legendary \u2018blue box\u2019<\/a> as their first venture. This illegal device was the beginning of Apple computer in some ways. No one would have suggested that if they kept working together they would create the Apple Computer we know today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cIf it hadn\u2019t been for the Blue Box, there would have been no Apple.\u201d \u2014 Steve Jobs<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

There are many other examples. Have you seen the first versions of Amazon or eBay. AirBnB was passed on my so many high-profile, genius investors because the concept seemed so ridiculous early on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you recognize the germ of something in the chaos of a young idea? Can you really trust the public to see that, or is it something you have to personally feel, nurture and develop\u2013despite the forces telling you to stop. It\u2019s probably a lot of both. I haven\u2019t cracked the code, but I will keep trying.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes going to bed is really hard for me. I like to maintain the state that I\u2019m in\u2013no matter what that state may be. Once I am in bed it\u2019s done and out out like a light. But I never want to wake up. It doesn\u2019t matter how many hours I\u2019ve slept. The same goes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[117,22],"tags":[8,127,71,126],"class_list":["post-6481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-design-work","category-personal","tag-design","tag-priorities","tag-process","tag-productivity"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnfreeborn.com\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnfreeborn.com\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnfreeborn.com\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnfreeborn.com\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnfreeborn.com\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6481"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/johnfreeborn.com\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6483,"href":"https:\/\/johnfreeborn.com\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6481\/revisions\/6483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnfreeborn.com\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnfreeborn.com\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnfreeborn.com\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}