Day Zero

So, today was Day Zero.

Today, we got as many people together as we could, and we started the team back up. We’re coming out of hibernation; most of us have spent the summer doing nothing that looks remotely school-related.

We’re back, and we’re better then ever!

Of course, by definition, better means different. Our smartest team members left last year for college and careers and life, and now we don’t have them to lean on. In the words of Thirteen Days, “There ain’t no old man here. [censored] it’s just us.”

Am I scared? Yes. Am I excited? You bet. It’s that strange mix of fear and excitement that you feel at the top of a roller coaster, when the ratchet has done its job and gravity is about to take over. You look down the track, and two thoughts pop into your head (or mine at least): “This is going to be so much fun,” and “What have I gotten myself into?”

The gap between fear and excitement is where performance happens. That’s where people hit their peak. That’s the part where you shift your Corvette into sixth gear, and you feel the rumble of the engine and you know that the car, if it could, would enjoy it.

There’s another gap, this time between the past and the future. Everything happens in that gap, but one thing in particular: innovation. Between the past and the future is where things like the iPhone and the drink pouch come. In Stephen Pressfield’s words, “When a crazy idea pops into our head and we think, “No, this is too crazy,”… that’s the idea we want.” That is the heart of innovation. Innovation is taking something that is good enough, and making it better. Dyson’s bladeless fan is an excellent example of this.

We’re here because we’re next.

Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, all the tech giants are hoping for us, betting on us, planning on us being better at their jobs then they ever were. And at some point, we’ll look at each other and realize, “There ain’t no old man here. [censored] it’s just us.”

And we’ll be ready.