This is about Ghandi and Google. There have always been critics. I remember when Google started Gmail in 2004 and people were spreading rumors that Google was reading your email; as if AOL, Yahoo and Comcast hadn’t already been doing that for years to send you more finely tuned spam for low cost Viagra and mortgage refinancing.
I wonder if Ghandi was alive today, when he would check his email? Would he start at sunrise, after his morning prayer or the end of the day as he sat down to a simple meal? From this, I decided to change my schedule a few months ago. I wait until after I’m done with my yoga and daily prayers to open my inbox. Now some mornings find me answering a phone call from a frantic client but I’m able to stick to this schedule most of the time and it’s made a world of difference in my productivity. Now I know why people go work out at the gym at 6:30am!
So, back to the critics. Some people harp about Madonna and Brittney Spears to no end. They judge who’s fat, who’s having sex with whom and what thing you’ve been using all your life, like toothpaste, has toxic properties that will kill you.
Millions are losing their homes to the “mortgage crisis” and there are critics there too; blaming people for getting the cancer that caused them to fall behind in payments. No money and a load of medical bills; time to move to Canada. Everyone is crying about the price of gas but environmentalists saw this coming 20 years ago.
What is the trick to escape all this? What’s the secret? Ghandi has been quoted saying many wise things and the one I like in particular is,
“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.”
Google has become more than just a “technology” “internet” “startup” company; they have inspired millions of people and companies to just go ahead and do something. Who cares if it doesn’t work? They made “Beta” cool and accessible. In the 90′s, you had to apply and wait for a special letter from Microsoft in hopes you would get a chance to be a beta tester for one of their craptacular operating systems. Then, you weren’t allowed to speak about it. Nice marketing move Microsoft!
So, even though I’m going to be moving my photos for the blog to Flickr from Google Picasa, it doesn’t mean I’ve lost faith in Google. The ride has been great and that makes me receptive to whatever else they come up with.
