Erlend Wilhelmsen

Opportunity

It’s all around you every day. Your opportunity to grow. To take a chance on something new. Do something special. Break through and make a big impact. Your chance is right there. You see it?

But we miss our chances. We forget to make everything special. We don’t make an impact. We toil mindlessly. Repeat the same tasks over and over again. Make the same mistakes. Then we close our eyes. Another day. Just another day.

It’s all you.

When in Alpha

• Don't hide your product
• Push it out early
• Get feedback from everyone
• Listen to emotional response
• Ignore minor details
• Focus on the big picture
• It's about the process
• Enjoy it

I see...

I've started visualizing structures for brands and products. Really seeing it in the air. I know, it's a bit strange to say it, but it's true. I didn't see it so clearly before. It was all just a bit hazy and I was sometimes uncertain about what choices made sense for certain companies, brands, or products. It suddenly became a lot easier. Almost overnight I can stop thinking about it and just see it.

I suppose artists or athlethes have this sort of vision quite often. I just didn't know that it could be so pronounced in business and that it could materialize so fast. 

I'm quite excited about this discovery. I don't exactly know what to make of it yet.

Believe in what you're doing

We got some news today. Some people didn't believe in what we were doing. They wanted something different. They didn't want our idea. They didn't love the concept. What's new? Everyone has their own opinion. It doesn't matter. What people think is good is bad. Pop-culture is horrible. It's popular. I despise what's popular.

I've come to believe that almost no one believes in a good project from the start. We once built an art car. It was a snail pulling a mushroom. That's it. We thought it was brilliant. Maybe it was. When I told some friends in Norway, they just looked at me as if I was nuts. Maybe I am. Maybe we were. Was it good? Yes, it was great. It was a great experience. I learned a lot about my friends as we built that art car. I learned more than I knew I could learn.

The point is: It doesn't matter what people think. It is what you think that matters. If you did your best and put your heart into it... that's it. That's what you wanted. That's why it's great.

One more glass of wine and I'm done.

Doing something you love?

It's not a big deal really. It's just the one thing almost no person I know actually does.

WORK ON STUFF YOU REALLY LIKE and/or WOULD BUY.

In the past few years, I've worked for clients and brands I didn't care about. I've worked on products designed to trick someone into doings something they didn't probably want to do. I've worked on stuff that was designed to sell something I would never - ever - buy myself.

This has been a waste of my time. Now, I know why people do this. It's not that complex. You got to make some money and/or reach your goals (financial usually) or you can make up some twisted reason why it makes sense for you.

But you know the truth, right? You don't care about it. It's the kiss of death. Passion. All of it. It all goes down the toilet. The truth is that... If you don't work on products or campaigns for stuff you would actually buy yourself and/or CARE about, you have an uphill battle. It's not impossible. It's just harder. A lot harder.

I think it's worthwhile thinking of what you WOULD do if you had limited time here on this planet. You do, after all, have limited time. You probably won't be the Rockstar you are now in 20 years. Unlikely. You'll be old. You'll look at the Tweens going: "what? that makes no sense" (I just did that today, so maybe I'm ahead of myself.)

While you're figuring out what to do, here's what I'll do:

• Only work on clients, brands, and projects I believe in
• Focus on products and brands I actually buy myself
• Spend time with people I like and I respect

When you have fun - life is not that short.

(I write this under the influence of wine. Lot's of it. And, I don't edit or review it before posting.)

Make things happen

So many people spend so much time thinking about stuff. Not enough time doing. You got to make things happen. You have to take initiative. You got to be the one who stands up and says: ENOUGH. Let's go make it happen. Life really is short. You have 2,100 hours of work in a year. You got 50 years? That's 104,000 hours. Maybe. What are you going to do with those hours?

I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to work with people and brands I really believe in. People such as Dan Samson, the Founder of Lovin' Scoopful - a cool ice cream brand making a difference. Josh and Steve at Dogasaur. Greg and Magnus from IKEA. Everyone at Fabric Interactive.

With the right people, you can do amazing things. Life is good.

Life is your shot at doing amazing stuff

It's not really that difficult. It's just that you have things to do. Little stupid things, such as work, Facebooking, and checking e-mail. So, while you're off doing that stuff... big things happen. People make Art and create amazing stuff. A few people choose to work on what matters and stop checking their e-mail - every hour. Some travel and find love in places they didn't even know existed. Some people just care more about people than themselves so they go help people who are really less fortunate. Some even go build fantastic companies that change the world.

I know some friends who are so smart it's scary. They have ideas. They know how to create. They know what they need to do to make it happen. Some do it. Most don't.

Meanwhile, you go to work. You work on stuff you don't care about. You do the job that someone else told you to do. You happy with that? Is that why you are here?

A friend died today

The good ones. It's true. Christianne was a good person. She loved life. She had a great family. Great friends.She enjoyed work. She didn't win the battle, but the won the price. The best person. It is not an easy one to win.

Rest in peace Christianne. We love you.

Mistakes made in 2009

• Thinking that my perception of reality was indeed reality. It was not. It was my reality alone.
• Believing that I had the data I needed to make a good decision. I was wrong and made a bad decision.
• Spending a lot of energy on something I knew could not succeed. Did that twice.
• Exerting emotional energy on non-sense. Did that many times.
• Staying in my comfort zone. It is not where lessons are learned.
• Taking far too few videos of Torsten - my son. He won't think much of it, but I do. Maybe he'll forget.
• Working on the December 24th. Yes, I did it. I will probably do that again. Never learn. Passion wins.

Make mistakes

If you're not making mistakes, you're not doing interesting stuff. How many work hours do you think you have left in life? 500,000? Sounds like a lot? Do the math. What are you going to do about it? Leave a legacy or just pass?

The best entrepreneurs make a lot of mistakes. Look at Morten Lund. Felix Dennis. Branson.

I talked to some young Internet entrepreneurs today. They asked what I thought about trying something different. I wish they didn't ask. I wish they just did it. If it doesn't work, they'll know withing days. They can re-group in 5 minutes. It's wonderful. The Internet. Truth. So fast.

Keep up the pace. You don't have forever.