What is the source of all wealth?

Ideas.

All innovation, improvement and increase begin in the mind with a good idea.

Broke is about a lack of ideas, not a lack of money. A lack of money can be solved with one good idea.

A relationship can be rejuvenated with the right idea.

Health can be restored with a new idea.

Ray Bradbury, the legendary sci-fi and fantasy author, said the key to his success was a voluminous diet of ideas. He immersed himself in experiences and his environment in an effort to fuel his intellectual fire.

While ideas are the source of wealth, they’re not the end.

Effort is what takes an idea from an abstract concept to a concrete reality.

Bardbury immersed himself in the source of wealth but then he acted. He wrote. Consistently.

Ideas without application are impotent.

Where are you getting your ideas from?

And what are you doing with the good ideas you have?

How quickly the past decade has passed. What have I learned?

Here are some of the things I’m thinking about at the close of this decade:

The quantity of information we consume and process does not equal the quality of our learning or our lives. In his book, The Cult of the Amateur, author Andrew Keen says that while the internet has helped the democratization of information the downside is that we live in an age of uncredentialed creativity.  Just having a medium to share ideas and opinions doesn’t necessarily make them useful or even valid; it is harder than ever before to separate faction from fiction and history from hyperbole.

We can be smarter but not wiser. What makes us wiser isn’t just learning but in remembering what we’ve learned and applying it.

I’ve never lost any money I gave away. When there is a downturn in the economy and investments are negative, it is a stark reminder that money invested in others is the safest investment of all.

Speed can be insidious. I recently read that young people are writing more words than ever, but they’re writing them faster. Think about the dramatic increase in texting. This haste causes poorer word choice. If we want to write better, we need to slow down.  A similar case can be made for how we live. Haste not only makes waste but it diminishes the quality of just about everything significant, from the written to personal relationships.

We can often accomplish more by doing less. That means eliminating the superfluous and unimportant activities that serve as a kind of anesthesia. Staying busy might make us feel productive but only achieving important results makes us productive.

We are saying more but communicating less. So much of what passes for public dialogue is nothing more than diatribe. The vitriol of those who disagree is so off-putting that thinking people see little reason to advance ideas. Someone recently observed, “More than being told to respect everyone’s opinions, we’re being told not to form our own opinions.” Disagreement too often comes coupled with contempt. Why? Could it be that people are so insecure in their own thinking that they feel threatened by those who h old opposing viewpoints? We learn nothing from name-calling, labeling and vilifying those with contrary ideas.

Fame is about the attention you get but greatness is about the contribution you make. Some are so consumed with the need for attention they fake emergencies and crash presidential parties. They are passing footnotes in the cult of celebrity. So many people are doing such great work and receiving so little attention. The man, woman or child who quietly serves will rarely be recognized with front page coverage or a show. But we need to remind ourselves and our children that greatness is its own reward.  Aristotle wouldn’t have considered fame as answer to “What makes for a good life?”

I am always happier when I focus on what I have instead of what I don’t have. Life isn’t an either/or game. The blessings are mixed with burdens and we need to acknowledge both but we can choose where we focus our attention.

When we have a memorable customer service experience–for good or for bad–what do we talk about?

We talk about the “who”–the person–that caused it.

When we stop patronizing a business or when we keep coming back, why do we do it?

We are loyal or leave because of the “who.”

When it comes to service, the what and the why are always a who.

I’ve written about Fred the Postman, the most incredible postal carrier I’ve ever met. Yesterday I encountered the postal carrier for my office. “Is it too late to mail a letter?” I inquired. She stuck out her hand, the non-verbal suggestion that “No, it isn’t too late, just give it to me.” I did and said “thank you” to a mute service provider.

Good or bad, it is always about the who.

I get gas and buy a newspaper at the same convenience store most days. I’ve become friends with Rick who works mornings. He’s been missing in action. I’ve learned he had a knee injury. Nobody knows when he’ll be back. The people filling in for Rick are okay, but they’re not Rick. I miss his upbeat demeanor and helpfulness. I’m less disposed to buying my papers or gas there until he returns.

Why we love or hate an experience and what we do about it inevitably comes back to the who: who did or didn’t perform. Who helped or hindered. Who solved the problem or who created it.

To get control of the what and they why, pay close attention to the who.