I don't know about you guys, but in life, sometimes I need a change of pace or something outside of my usual daily routine to give me a feeling of refreshment or a jolt of creativity! It's easy to get wrapped up in routine and hustling through things that need to get done, and while that's all well and good, it's also crucial to work in some activities that add a little spark to life

Don't forget the importance of finding time to rest, recharge, and re-center! Whether it be a nap, a new hobby, starting a new book, or a conversation with someone that motivates you, recharging allows us an increase in productivity, creativity, and mood! Here's a few ideas: 

(Good Morning Crusaders. We'd first like to inform the company that Trevor N. is no longer with SlideBelts. We appreciate his contributions over his time here, and wish him best in the future with both his personal and professional endeavors.)

So I rescued a cat a few months back. I found her on my property emaciated, sick, and frail. It was obvious she’d been on her own for quite some time, and she was definitely less than a year old, so what else could I do? After nursing her back to health, getting her fixed, and giving her all her necessary shots, needless to say she is very thankful. I named her Spanky at the time (not sure why..it just seemed fitting, and I have a weird thing for animal names, as my dog Bearison Ford will tell you).

I have two theories about Gopher-Guts at this point:

Either A: she is a very thankful kitty, and she feels she is doing me a service by ridding my pasture of gophers once and for all...

Or B: This is a silent threat that says “If you ever stop feeding me, this will be you one day”

I’m going to base this loop on the first theory, but I’m still only about 80% sure it’s the right one. She's pretty savage.

Moral of the story is: take a lesson from Gopher-Guts, and never stop being thankful to those who have helped you along the way to be where you are now. This goes for parents, mentors, bosses, friends, teachers, etc...anyone who deserves a thank you. Don't ever be afraid to acknowledge the attributions of others to your success. It doesn't take away from your accomplishments or hard work at all. A simple “Thank you so much for helping me get where I am today. You helped me in ___ areas.” goes a long way to remind people of the positive impact they've had in your life. And if it doesn’t, you can always bring dead gophers to their doorsteps.

How many times should you try before rationally quitting? Intuitively, you would think there is a number that most people will attempt before the survival instincts kick in. What is that number? Apparently, it is much higher than one would think.

Many people believe that the startup world is seemingly full of instant successes but reality is, that is few and far between. As our CEO has said before, in order for a startup company to have long-term, sustainable success, you need to be in “marathon mode”, not “sprint mode”.  

Persistence will always make impossible things possible. Tenacity and determination always wins.

Here are some great examples: 

300 times the founder of Pandora.com approached investors before he got funding.

400 times Richard Branson launched companies before he finally founded one that is out of this world [Virgin Galactic] pun-intended.

1,009 times Colonel Sanders, who started KFC, was turned down when he tried selling his fried chicken recipe.

1,500 times Sylvester Stallone was rejected when he tried selling his script and himself as what would become the film “Rocky”.

5,126 times James Dyson created failed prototypes of his vacuum cleaner before succeeding.

10,000 times Thomas Edison created failed prototypes of his electric bulb before succeeding.