Who is Steve Job's Muse?

As I watched Steve Jobs' keynote presentation launching the new Apple Tablet iPad, I was delighted at how excited he was about his new project. Pure passion. This was a man proud of what he was presenting and it was a soft sale. Look at how easy it is to use. Here was our goal and how we accomplished it. Bing. Showing his roots back in 1976, playing Grateful Dead and Dylan tunes off the iTunes Store, and letting us know how it's grown into a multi-billion dollar business, the largest mobile service provider in the world. If he can do, can we do it? What does he know that we don't know?

He may be the visionary and he also knows who to put on his team. People like Scott Forstall and Phil Schiller, who spoke with the same calm excitement and knowingness that Steve Jobs did. They explained what the App Store and iWorks could do in simple terms so anyone could get it. There were game developers, Mark Hickey from Gameloft, Travis Boatman from EA and Chad Evans from MLB.com, showing the improvements on the larger screen.There was a presentation of Brushes, an iPad drawing app, by Steve Sprang, that opened a new creative world. The best is yet to come. Even the NY Times developers were there to give us a glimpse of digital journalism to come. Will it help the newspaper industry? Let's hope so. Developers can go to Apple.com and download SDK to build apps right now. What great potential in this field.

The newest addition to their iTunes and App Store is iBooks with bookshelves and a secret door. Who thought of that? What a fun idea!

I love this new Apple iPad and I can't wait for it to ship. It's just what I've been wanting. That and the feeling that there is so much out there yet to be discovered and experienced.

We're Not Supposed to Struggle

Sweat it out, yes. Work hard, take risks, and make mistakes, yes. Struggle, no. There must be a joy, excitement and passion in knowing that you're doing what you were meant to do. You know the feeling. Time flies by. You're in a joyous, creative state. It feels right.

What are people doing these days? Everything and anything! What are your priorities? Paying the bills. What are you doing in your free time? Don't tell me you don't have any -- we all do. Less TV, computer, email time and more research, working on social media, networking, growing your connections, and your value.

What do you know about? What is effortless? What brings you joy everyday? What did you want to be when you were a child? What were you told to be? Did you listen? There are some many clues for you to unravel in these questions. And when you come up with an idea, then ask WHY?

Observe, Listen, Question & $olve

It's important to get a handle on the problems that you and your community are facing. What is keeping you up at night? What are your friends worried about? What's going on with the kids? What do you hear strangers discussing? What can you offer that will make a difference? What can you add that will help the situation?

If you see a problem, you don't necessarily need to know how to fix it. You can learn to do that or outsource a solution. The key is in observation and having the "aha moment" of how you can make the situation better.

Some people are great at this. Joy Mangano, for one, invented many products that solved organizational and space problems, especially her hangers. She started with an idea for a better mop. The campaign for Windows 7 tauts how users created the idea for it and you see them smiling with pride. Kim Kardashian has tapped into a few businesses, i.e., shoedazzle.com, exercise videos and a cleanse, that are providing services that people are buying. It also helps that she has the visibility of a TV show. Nonetheless, people are interested in what she is doing and they want it for themselves. That's what it's all about.

What do you notice in your life that isn't working? What would you like to see improvements in? Everything around us started with someone's idea, the chair, desk, light, phone, computer, pen, paperclip, calculator, stapler, post-it, scotch tape, mouse pad, water bottle, paper cup. What would make a difference in your life? It would probably make a difference in others too. Don't be discouraged or impatient. Listen to the kids since they have less fear and lots of imagination. We all have great ideas if we could listen to others and trust our own thoughts. Ask what would it be worth to others if you could provide this service and Go for it!