I have wanted to write a blog for a few days, various things have caught my attention but nothing that has inspired that defining, ‘I MUST blog about THIS!’ moment. So, whilst tweeting away I asked my followers to come up with the subject of my next blog. The first reply came from www.twitter.com/DHS who gave me the subject ‘determination’. Interestingly, this subject is one that I have been thinking about over the past week and so it’s quite apt. This blog, thank’s to DHS, is on determination and here is what I want to say.

I used to know a guy. This guy was a wise guy and he used to continually state that we should ‘keep the main thing, the main thing’. This statement could not be more accurate in this digital age that we live in – there are heaps of things to do, masses amount of information to look at, lots of tweets to read and links to click on, lots of errands, calls, meetings and a heap of other stuff. I have this real sense of determination that drives me out of bed. My determination inspires me to get through a gigantic ‘to do list’, my determination keeps me awake at night, inspired, it is like a ball of energy that consumes me, overwhelms me and keeps me alive. Nevertheless, I have come to realise that we can become motivated or we can become de-motivated depending on the focus of our determination. Let me explain what I mean.

I have begun to understand that the focus of my determination has changed. When I was younger I had a secret dream that one day I would have enough money to pay for Alton Towers to be shut down for the day, just for me and my friends. I used to dream of having money beyond my wildest imagination. To date I have not acquired such level of finances and, as this had become the focus of my determination it had left me not only de-motivated but also, feeling, at times, like a complete failure. If I evaluate my achievements based upon a focus of money then in no way do I feel successful.

I knew I had to mentally asses this situation.

I have done heaps of stuff. I created a business in Fiji that became a TV show. I have worked for the TV production, Endemol. I have tried to convince channel 5 to hand over an hour of prime time programming to one member of the British public. I tried to create a crowd-sourced TV production company and heaps more things. Some of these projects succeeded, some did not succeed. Irrespective of the outcome of those projects what was it that got me out of bed in the morning, what drove me, what kept me determined? Possibility.

I can’t express, in a mere 2-D blog, how passionate I am about the possibility of creating something from nothing. I see the world as one great big playground of possibility.  I hold fast to a personal motto that, ‘we life life, once’ and I am hugely determined to simply see ‘what is possible’. After some self-evaluation the new focus of my determination is, ‘What if?’ As I evaluate myself based on this focus then I am permanently motivated, with such a mindset anything is possible so you keep going, keep exploring.

Another modern day example of this is a guy who I have always admired, Alex Tew. Alex created the ‘MillionDollarHomepage.com‘ and made a million dollars. Since MDHP Alex launched Pixeloto which lasted one season. Alex created PopJam which was a project that ended. Alex created the internet conga line. Alex then created onemillionpeople.com. Not one of these projects achieved the status that milliondollarhomepage.com did. Recently Alex Tew launched donothingfor2minutes.com which, in 6 days, gained significant worldwide media attention, which, in 6 days, gained 1million hits and over 250,000 likes on facebook. Amazing. Alex has been criticized by some because this site has not made money – they have placed their own ‘focus’ upon Alex. However, Alex’s own twitter page states his focus: ‘I create stuff’. And, irrespective of whether any of his projects have closed down, made money, or not made money. The thing that keeps Alex alive is ‘creating stuff’.

The internet has brought us into a new age. It has given people power in Eygpt. It is had enabled personal stories of cyclone endurance to be told, from Australia. It has made people into millionaires. I am adamant, however, that there are a whole bunch of talented people whose focus of determination is to ‘create’ and it is in this creation that we will create the advanced society that future generations will live in. That is damn exciting stuff.

As I go back to the DHS, who originally gave me the title for this blog. I know that he has previously been involved with projected that no longer exist. However, he is working on another pretty exciting project and indeed his twitter bio is speaks for itself, with one simple word ‘inventor’.

To come to some sort of summary: Have a think about what the focus of your determination is. Make sure the focus of your determination is inspiring you and not getting you down and if it is, change it.

DHS – this one is for you, keep inventing!