Israel Discovers Oil
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
New York Times
The most important competition is between you and your own imagination, because energetic, innovative and connected individuals can now act on their imaginations farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before.
Those countries and companies that empower their individuals to imagine and act quickly on their imagination are going to thrive. So while there are reasons to be pessimistic about Israel these days, there is one huge reason for optimism: this country has a culture that nurtures and rewards individual imagination — one with no respect for limits or hierarchies, or fear of failure. It’s a perfect fit with this era of globalization.
“We are not investing in products or business plans today, but in people who have the ability to imagine and connect dots,” said Nimrod Kozlovski, a top Israeli expert on Internet law who also works with start-ups. Israel is not good at building big companies, he explained, but it is very good at producing people who say, “Wouldn’t it be great if you could do this ...,” then create a start-up to do it — which is later bought out and expanded by an Intel, Microsoft or Google.
“The motto here is not work hard but dream hard,” Mr. Kozlovski…
My guess is that the flatter the world becomes, the wider the economic gap we will see between those countries that empower individual imagination and those that don’t. High oil prices can temporarily disguise that gap, but it’s growing.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
I just sent this email to a few friends:
((Hi--Please forward this along to anyone you know who
might find any of these meetings this week helpful, OK?
Thanks! John))
RSVP "yes" or "maybe" to any of these meetings you plan on attending,
"no" if you can't attend this time but would like to get an invitation next time.
I'll be personally leading each one, they are free and open to all:
Tonight, Monday June 11.
6:30 p.m. New Denver Republican Meetup, a GOP Welcome Wagon,
for people who want to help get good local candidates elected in the
metro-Denver area. RSVP at http://republican.meetup.com/511
Thursday, June 14
7 p.m. Socrates Cafe Meetup, good discussion about important
topics. No preparation required, great practice for thinking more
clearly and communicating your beliefs and positions effectively.
RSVP at http://socratescafe.meetup.com/82
Friday, June 15
2 p.m. IDEA Cafe Meetup, for people starting a new project, business,
career, or campaign. We share startup experience and brainstorm.
RSVP at http://ideacafe.meetup.com/1
_________________________________________________________
Would you do me a favor?
I'm about to publish a 2nd edition of my little book on startup called
Daring Mighty Things. Would you do me a favor and take a look at the
text file, then give me your feedback? And let me know if you know anyone
who might be willing to share his or her startup story in it. Text file is at
www.JohnWren.com click on link on bottom left of front page. Thanks!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, I'm in the process of starting a new Franklin Circle. It will meet
once a week for 6 weeks each Saturday morning from 8:30 to 10 a.m.
near I25 and Colfax starting July 14. Suggested contribution is $350,
scholarships are available.
If you might be interested, I'll get you the details. Just email me at
JohnSWren@aol.com with Franklin Circle in the subject line.
But do it now, while it's on your mind.
Let's not miss this chance to work together!
____________________________________________________________________
I just got this from my friend Mark Skousen, who talks about the insights he gained
into Ben Franklin doing research for his book that was published last year:
What lessons did I learn in compiling and editing The Compleated Autobiography, the final 33 years of Franklin’s career?
First and foremost, Franklin overcame incredible odds. He survived and prospered during the American revolution despite personal and financial setbacks, family losses, and criticism from friends and enemies alike.
He had an unflinching drive to succeed in “the cause of all mankind, the love of liberty.” In 1774, the British fired Franklin as postmaster and colonial agent, cutting off his entire earning power (£1,800 a year).
Fortunately, he had practiced what he preached, and he had over the years built up a considerable nest egg, including real estate and savings accounts, through frugality and economy. Thus, his fortune was never in jeopardy, because of the financial techniques he mastered as a printer and retiree. "No revenue is sufficient without economy." He died in 1790 a very rich man.
Franklin had a remarkable gift of prophecy, showing an unflinching optimism. He never doubted that the Americans would win the war, even in its bleakest hour. And after the war, he prophesied that "America will, with God’s blessing, become a great and happy country."
Yet, even though the United States won the war for independence, Franklin intensely disliked the idea that war was somehow romantic. He repeatedly told his friends there was no such thing as a “good war.” He learned from his own sad experience that war destroyed friendships and family, and usurped the time he would have spent pursuing inventions and science.
But Franklin never let criticism or bad luck get him down for long. “Enemies do man more good than harm,” he wrote a friend. “They point out to us our faults; they put us upon our guard; and help us to live more correctly.
"The best men have always had their share of envy and malice of the foolish and wicked, and a man has therefore some reason to be ashamed of himself when he meets with none of it. My good friend Rev. Whitefield once said, When I am on the road and see boys in a field pelting a tree, though I am too far off to know what tree it is, I conclude it has fruit on it.”
I also discovered that Franklin underwent several changes in his personal philosophy during the final years of his life. He went from being a slaveholder to the president of the first abolitionist society...
He went from a being religious free-thinker to a believer in an activist God. The American revolution, which he considered a “miracle in human affairs,” turned him into a believing theist. At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he told the delegates, "I have lived a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that GOD governs in the affairs of men!"
John S. Wren, MBA+Grassroots Educator & Consultant for Startups.
Inspired action since 1979.
960 Grant Street, #727 Denver, CO 80203
(303)861-1447 JohnSWren@aol.com
((Hi--Please forward this along to anyone you know who
might find any of these meetings this week helpful, OK?
Thanks! John))
RSVP "yes" or "maybe" to any of these meetings you plan on attending,
"no" if you can't attend this time but would like to get an invitation next time.
I'll be personally leading each one, they are free and open to all:
Tonight, Monday June 11.
6:30 p.m. New Denver Republican Meetup, a GOP Welcome Wagon,
for people who want to help get good local candidates elected in the
metro-Denver area. RSVP at http://republican.meetup.com/511
Thursday, June 14
7 p.m. Socrates Cafe Meetup, good discussion about important
topics. No preparation required, great practice for thinking more
clearly and communicating your beliefs and positions effectively.
RSVP at http://socratescafe.meetup.com/82
Friday, June 15
2 p.m. IDEA Cafe Meetup, for people starting a new project, business,
career, or campaign. We share startup experience and brainstorm.
RSVP at http://ideacafe.meetup.com/1
_________________________________________________________
Would you do me a favor?
I'm about to publish a 2nd edition of my little book on startup called
Daring Mighty Things. Would you do me a favor and take a look at the
text file, then give me your feedback? And let me know if you know anyone
who might be willing to share his or her startup story in it. Text file is at
www.JohnWren.com click on link on bottom left of front page. Thanks!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, I'm in the process of starting a new Franklin Circle. It will meet
once a week for 6 weeks each Saturday morning from 8:30 to 10 a.m.
near I25 and Colfax starting July 14. Suggested contribution is $350,
scholarships are available.
If you might be interested, I'll get you the details. Just email me at
JohnSWren@aol.com with Franklin Circle in the subject line.
But do it now, while it's on your mind.
Let's not miss this chance to work together!
____________________________________________________________________
I just got this from my friend Mark Skousen, who talks about the insights he gained
into Ben Franklin doing research for his book that was published last year:
What lessons did I learn in compiling and editing The Compleated Autobiography, the final 33 years of Franklin’s career?
First and foremost, Franklin overcame incredible odds. He survived and prospered during the American revolution despite personal and financial setbacks, family losses, and criticism from friends and enemies alike.
He had an unflinching drive to succeed in “the cause of all mankind, the love of liberty.” In 1774, the British fired Franklin as postmaster and colonial agent, cutting off his entire earning power (£1,800 a year).
Fortunately, he had practiced what he preached, and he had over the years built up a considerable nest egg, including real estate and savings accounts, through frugality and economy. Thus, his fortune was never in jeopardy, because of the financial techniques he mastered as a printer and retiree. "No revenue is sufficient without economy." He died in 1790 a very rich man.
Franklin had a remarkable gift of prophecy, showing an unflinching optimism. He never doubted that the Americans would win the war, even in its bleakest hour. And after the war, he prophesied that "America will, with God’s blessing, become a great and happy country."
Yet, even though the United States won the war for independence, Franklin intensely disliked the idea that war was somehow romantic. He repeatedly told his friends there was no such thing as a “good war.” He learned from his own sad experience that war destroyed friendships and family, and usurped the time he would have spent pursuing inventions and science.
But Franklin never let criticism or bad luck get him down for long. “Enemies do man more good than harm,” he wrote a friend. “They point out to us our faults; they put us upon our guard; and help us to live more correctly.
"The best men have always had their share of envy and malice of the foolish and wicked, and a man has therefore some reason to be ashamed of himself when he meets with none of it. My good friend Rev. Whitefield once said, When I am on the road and see boys in a field pelting a tree, though I am too far off to know what tree it is, I conclude it has fruit on it.”
I also discovered that Franklin underwent several changes in his personal philosophy during the final years of his life. He went from being a slaveholder to the president of the first abolitionist society...
He went from a being religious free-thinker to a believer in an activist God. The American revolution, which he considered a “miracle in human affairs,” turned him into a believing theist. At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he told the delegates, "I have lived a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that GOD governs in the affairs of men!"
John S. Wren, MBA+Grassroots Educator & Consultant for Startups.
Inspired action since 1979.
960 Grant Street, #727 Denver, CO 80203
(303)861-1447 JohnSWren@aol.com
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