written by john c ashworth
I’m on the plan today.
For the first time in a long time I took a flight to North Carolina to visit my family. I needed to visit my Dad. His health has been ailing for quite some time now and you just never know. I mean you never really know. My father-in-law’s health was in pretty good shape back in December but when you fall off the top of a combine and your almost eighty-four-years old, the odds of survival are not that good. He didn’t make it; and as those kinds of experiences in life are want to do, it lit a real fire under my ass about getting to Charlotte to see my Mom and Dad; and my sister and her family.
On the way back we ended up in a long line of planes waiting for departure on the tarmac and I had a chance to do some good reading inside the in-flight magazine. I’m always amazed at how interesting these publications can be; and their ability to inform and inspire me in unique and interesting ways.
As a side note, you should almost always consider this publication as an opportunity for your direct-marketing efforts. You benefit from a captive audience and often with lots of idle time on their hands. I saw some great ads in there and I've included a couple of them below.
I also discovered a short and informative article that is the point of my story. I’m meandering a bit because after a good visit with my Dad, who likely won’t be here that much longer, I’m embracing more and more the idea that this is the true stuff of life. The meandering...
The article featured, Robert Harjavec, one of the Sharks from Shark Tank. I wasn’t aware that he made his fortune with a focus on cyber-security. Long before the rest of the world was talking about it very much, if at all.
I shared it with my son Carl who made the trip with me. I’ve been encouraging him to consider this as a career, because even though we’re not nearly as far ahead of it as Shark tank guy, Robert Harjavek, we’re still on the front edge of the mountain. The long walk to the face of Everest that most climbers avoid in leu of a more convenient and expedient means of reaching the base of the mountain where the real climb begins.
The first thing you need to do to to get ahead of opportunity is read a lot. I mean a lot. And work regularly to expand your horizons and read things you wouldn’t normally read. When you do this regularly, you will find your world expanding like the universe; and soon discover that while there is a whole lot you don’t know and will never know, your potential for success is really just waiting for your willingness to create an environment that is destined to put you on a collision course with a great idea that has the potential to explode at any moment.
I started encouraging Carl’s look into cyber-security more than a year ago when I read something that revealed a still uncommon nugget of knowledge. That sometime around now, the cost of cyber-security would begin to outpace the revenue being generated online.
Think about that for a moment...
That’s huge.
Keep reading the ash flash. Your next big insight or idea might just show up here. I’m always working for you in this way.
Until next time, I also encourage you to spend some time reading about cyber-security and then spend some time thinking about the things you might do inside your own business to protect yourself from trouble and unwanted expenses.
You can start right now by reading about this amazing new app called, JUMBO.
I won’t elaborate here but I discovered this great little startup while reading the Washington Post one morning and not only was it a great first cyber-security step for me, but I learned an awful lot about the potential perils we all face as we work to protect our privacy in the face of so much radical transformation in such a short time.
-John
