Archive for the ‘My Life’ Category
The Bridge
(photo from El Frito under a Creative Commons License)
Recently I watched this HBO documentary called “The Bridge” about the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The bridge is said to be one of the most popular suicide locations in the US and even in the world.
They say about 2% of people who try to commit suicide off of the bridge actually end up living. I guess they were able to land feet first and somehow deflect some of the impact on their body.
Survivors were asked what went through their mind after jumping before they hit the water. Almost all of them said it was at that moment after jumping that they realized all of their problems in life were solvable. Well, except for the problem of having just jumped off the bridge.
Life has it’s ups and downs, good days and bad days. We can’t control the hand we are dealt; we can only control how we play our cards. It’s the down moments that makes the good moments so wonderful. No matter what problems may be going on in my life, I try to think, “Is this fixable?” Fortunately for me, most the time the answer is yes. It helps me not take most things too personally. I don’t spend much energy worrying about the traffic on the freeway, or people who don’t like me for whatever reason, or politicians doing what they’re doing.
Just being able to wake up every day is a blessing. Every day is a new challenge and a new opportunity and I’m extremely excited to see what comes next.
Moving from failure to failure with enthusiasm
“A successful person goes from failure to failure with enthusiasm” -Churchill
So many young people worry about failure. It’s a shame really. Most people in high school and college, not to mention most people post-college have a very narrow view of the world and of success. They think success is something that is linear, when it is fact anything but.
The industrial-era mindset still persists in this country that one simply goes to school, gets a degree, then works a 9-5 job at one company their whole life and is able to retire with a nice pension and social security in their “golden years.” Fuck that shit.
These days are long gone. If you think living life by the book and playing it safe by other people’s rules is the key to happiness and fulfillment, I’ve got a some oceanfront property back in Missouri to sell you.
The truth of the matter is, nobody knows what the fuck they’re doing. Everybody is just sort of winging it. That’s the big secret I’m finally realizing as I get older… adults aren’t always smarter, they’re just… older I guess.
So, to you young people, get off your ass and keep failing until you figure it out. But whatever you do, don’t be afraid to fail. And don’t be ashamed of failure. Failure builds character! If it were easy to be a success, you wouldn’t appreciate it and would probably still find a way to complain. Hence, failure allows you to actually appreciate success.
You may not get the home run on your first at-bat, but keep stepping up to the plate! Any successful person has failed many times…. but not all failures have the tenacity to stick with it to succeed. Just get out there!
Look at Jay-Z, one of the greatest rappers of all-time, circa ’89 rapping way too fast, on a Jaz-O record, in a style that was probably outdated before the video even came out….
Then, here he is with Jaz-O again dancing like an asshole in a Hawaiian shirt with a horrible green screen:
But, he got out there damnit! Street cred be damned! Worrying about looking like a fool is pointless when you’re not successful.
Here you can see him circa ’94 slowly getting his style together… much more of that patented Jay-Hova swagger we all know and love:
You see, it took him many years and many false starts before he finally found his style. Would you believe that Jay and his partner (back then) Dame Dash actually had trouble getting a record deal? They finally ended up starting Roc-a-Fella Records to put their own music out. They never stopped hustling and eventually they got it right….they released Jay’s classic debut album Reasonable Doubt. And the rest is, as they say, history.
Hell, I was thrown out of the sales program at the University of Houston. Not for anything like conduct, or for a lack of sales ability, but for grades in their program. No, I’m dead fucking serious. I was busy out hustling across Midtown Houston with my buddy Steven promoting our nightclub events…. you think I bothered to worry about grades? Shiiiit I had 25 lighters (er, flyers) on my dresser.. .I gotsta to get paid!
Long story short: I didn’t take it personally. Hell, I knew I could sell ice to an Eskimo … I didn’t need those oxford shirt wearing, academic punks to tell me what I could or could not do. I knew the joke will be on them when they walk across that campus in 30 years and see my name on some of the buildings!
Fail early, fail often. Learn from it and iterate…eventually you’ll get it right. …And never let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do!
My Brother’s First Photo Exhibit
My little brother, Charles, recently had his first solo photo exhibition Colorado Photographic Arts Center in Denver. The exhibit was titled “The Flying Horsemen” after my grandparents farm in Burkburnett, Texas. The name was taken from my Grandfather James’ troop he flew with during WWII.
I must say it’s pretty surreal to see a piece of my family’s history in a museum…. not to mention my kid brother’s name on the wall right above the name of my grandparent’s ranch. Glad to see someone in my family has talent! :-D
Click here to see photos of the exhibit: http://charlesludeke.com/2012/02/15/photos-my-first-solo-exhibition/
Looking at the photos from the exhibit Charles put together gives me a flood of emotions: From a sense of sadness from having lost my Grandfather in August 2010, to humility reminding me how hard my family and ancestry have worked to provide a better life for future generations, to intense pride for my Texas heritage which goes back seven generations. No matter where I live, where I move, or where I end up… I’ll remain Texan to my core and intensely proud of my family.
The pictures featured in the exhibit are here: http://charlesludeke.com/the-flying-horsemen/
A Toast To An Incredible Year
Hard to believe we’re winding down the final hours of 2011. 2012 looks to be an incredible year as well.
Over this past year Gaby and I made the move from Houston, TX to Mountain View, CA. I quit my corporate job at Symantec and got a kickass startup job at isocket. We’ve gotten settled in nicely in our new hometown and have met some pretty cool people. We even were able to get out to Reno and Lake Tahoe one weekend to spend a day hiking and see my buddy Matt who I went to UH with and who’s now at Univ. of Nevada.
I was able to squeeze in some travelling to New York City for the first time since I was ten, as well as Boston, St. Louis, Austin, Dallas, New Orleans, and Memphis. It’s always fun visiting other cities. Lot’s of people I know got married in 2011 and plenty more will be getting married in 2012 (including yours truly).
I can only imagine what incredible things 2012 will bring. The Hustle don’t stop!
Making It In Silicon Valley When You Have Zero Connections
Ramit Sethi, the personal finance guru and master of behavioral psychology, has a new course he’s putting together on his site, I Will Teach You To Be Rich. His new material is all centered around readers finding their dream job.
I’ve long been a big fan of Ramit, from his blog to his book to reading his newsletter and even being a premium subscriber to his Earn 1K course. I’ve never been one to pay for self-help courses. I happen to think most people who are selling how easy building your own business is and that you should “never work for an evil bovine master” are completely full of shit. Entrepreneurship is hard. Damn hard. Most self-help people are selling feel good bullshit that’s been poorly researched and backed by pseudo-science and anecdotal evidence. I’m a salesman and a hustler to my core… you can’t bullshit a bullshitter.
Ramit’s work is another beast entirely. The work he puts out is incredibly detailed, researched, and thorough. Although I was extremely reluctant to give the man any money for more, higher quality material (an understatement to say the least), his work really is that good. Now, it’s finally time for me to pay it forward so to speak to give back to those trying to make it an industry and find their dream job with no connections… just like I did. And yes, I’m more than willing to admit right here in full view of the world that I have paid for quality courses to improve myself… have you?
Background
The time was April 2010, I was four months into what I thought was my dream job. Before I got my Sales gig at the large software company I was renting cars making $12.50 an hour. Now that I had my “academy” sales gig I thought I was big time. I had a nice corporate gig and a much, much higher paycheck. Then a tsunami in the workplace hit us all to our core: A new round of layoffs to start the new fiscal year (we were on a April to April fiscal calendar). All three people I worked for got laid-off. I still had a job, but knew that one day I could very well be the next to be laid-off.
Since I still had my job (at least until the next round of layoffs) I used all of my downtime to learn as much as I can about technology. In my free time, I would read everything about technology that I could get my hands on: TechCrunch, Hacker News, Silicon Alley Insider, and countless tech blogs. I still liked the line of work I was in, but was clueless what I would do next if I lost my job.
Recognizing Opportunity and Sizing The Moment
After a long, miserable summer of 2010 in my cubicle hellhole… not knowing when the next round of layoffs were coming, I signed-up for Ramit’s Earn 1K course in late August 2010. I think I was still going through the preview course info or one of the first lessons when Ramit’s course had me do an “Idea Generator” about finding a business to start on the side. I remember filling it out on the things that interested me and writing down what I did in my freetime and things I enjoyed. Then it hit me: I still loved technology, startups, and media. I needed to find a job at a startup.
Then I realized that I needed to leave Houston to move to Silicon Valley. I still love Houston to my core, my family and friends still live there, and I still watch my beloved Houston Cougars on Saturdays (#8 in the nation). But I needed to be where the action is and where startups are… and that meant I needed to move to the Mecca for startups in Silicon Valley.
Thus concludes the first lesson: A hustler must be able to recognize opportunity when it arises and capitalize on it when it presents itself.
A Hustler Is Always Prepared
I wanted to quit my job right away, but I was (and still am) engaged to a lovely girl who at the time was an undergrad at UH. So, we soon talked it over and made plans to move to Silicon Valley in May 2011 once she graduated from UH. In the meantime, I would start saving my money religiously and do as much research as possible about startups and Silicon Valley. I spent even more time devouring posts on TechCrunch and Hacker News and countless blogs from people in the industry.
While most people would waste their time Facebooking and Twittering, watching television, and going out and drinking three times a week, I spent my free time doing as much research as possible about the industry. That’s how I was able to judge that I was making the right choice in my career: I found it interesting enough to spend my free time learning more about it… without any external motivators.
Lesson #2: If you want to be successful, you have to know as much as possible about your hustle, your trade…. and know the industry you’re working in. A hustler must be prepared at all times.
Niche Thyself
Once I made it to Silicon Valley in May of 2011, I had absolutely zero connections. I didn’t have a job lined up. I was living off of savings. I was doing interviews at several different tech companies but not entirely sure what I was looking for, other than a job at a tech company to stop the bleeding in my bank account (it’s a little expensive to live in the Bay Area if you didn’t know).
I remember one of my interviews with another nameless large enterprise software company dealing with the arrogance of the recruiter. I was already fed up at this point with dealing with stupid corporate people after the 17 months I spent in my last job: The company had just quit was doing their second round of layoffs right as I quit my job in March.
In April, one month before I moved to the Bay Area, I was out here for another interview when I happened to see a post on Hacker News for job at Loopt when I cold emailed Loopt CEO & Founder Sam Altman. I scored an interview at his company… and while I didn’t end up getting the job Sam himself came out and introduced himself and shook my hand. I was floored. Here was a badass entrepreneur that I admired greatly and he took the time to come out and shake my hand.
Thinking that moment over in my head and thinking about the arrogance of the recruiter at the large corporate company, I decided then and there my litmus test for finding a job in Silicon Valley: The Sam Altman Startup Test. If the CEO of the company can’t at minimum at least come out and shake my hand during my interview at the company, it’s too big to be considered a startup and is now a full blown company (probably with shitty org charts). If I wanted to work at a startup and work alongside the entrepreneur running that startup, they’d have to pass my new Sam Altman Startup Test. Yup, it’s kinda corny, but it’s very specific and defines the niche of the type of job I wanted… to work for an entrepreneur and learn how to run a startup.
Too many people don’t have a clue what they want or what type of job they want. Nobody can help you if you don’t know what you want. You have to define what you want. It’s actually a bit easier that you’d think. For me, even though I didn’t know specifically what type of tech startup I wanted to work for, I knew specific things would make a role perfect for me:
- No middle-managers/pointy-haired bosses. I decided I’m only worked for the person who has the final word on all decisions… the Entrepreneur.
- No dress code
- No org charts: a flat organizational structure.
- No 9-5. Give me the work and tell me what needs to be done and let me do it. I don’t function mentally in a 9-5 box.
- And for the love of all that is Holy, no cubicles.
Lesson #3: Read Jason Freedmans’ kick ass blog post about hustling called, “You Don’t Get Shit You Don’t Ask For.” Notice how at the bottom he says not to ask for general advice. Get specific. Be the same way in your job search and when you tell people you’re looking for a job. After meeting Sam, I started telling everyone I met that I was looking for a job, and being specific: “I’m looking to work at a startup where I can work with the CEO and where I, at minimum, shake the CEO’s hand during the interview.” That narrows it down quite a bit. Fucking get specific.
Find a Mentor. Tell Everyone You Meet That You’re Looking For a Job
Find someone who’s working at a similar job that you want and/or working in your desired industry. Reach out to them and ask for advice. Don’t pull the, “Let me buy you a coffee and pick your brain” shtick. Honestly, you’re wasting people’s fucking time. But, if you can email them a short email asking for some very specific advice or a very specific question you can learn more about the industry you work in while building your network with a future peer. I did this and score both some cool industry peers as well as a few interviews.
Then, be sure you’re telling everyone you come in contact with that you’re looking for a job. Remember, its’ estimated that as much as 80% of all jobs are filled in the informal job market. I was reading a kick ass blog post by Jason Shen, who frequently gets his posts upvoted to the front page of Hacker News. The post was called, “Winning Isn’t Normal.” It blew me away. Jason soon started a mailing list and I eagerly signed-up for more sweet blog posts like that one.
In a short period of time after joining Jason’s mailing list, we started emailing back and forth and I mentioned that I had just moved to Mountain View and was looking for a job. He soon got back to me and mentioned that his boss, John Ramey of isocket had seen my LinkedIn profile and liked my resume and wanted to interview me.
Within a few weeks I was working for isocket. It was perfect timing because Jason was leaving to join his own startup as a co-founder and be part of the summer Y Combinator class of 2011 to found Ridejoy.
isocket is the perfect job for me: a ten person startup in Burlingame and I get to work alongside the CEO John Ramey. And of course he passed the Sam Altman Test with flying colors: Not only did he shake my hand when I came to interview, he interviewed me himself for two hours.
Lesson #4: Ask for very specific advice from people doing the type of work you want to do and mentors. Also, tell everyone you meet what type of job you want.
Be Fucking Tenacious & Brazen
The last lesson is probably the most important: Be tenacious. Other people will tell you that your ideas are no good and that your goals are impossible. Well you know what? Fuck them. Seriously, cut them out of your life.
I also can’t tell you how many people told me that moving out here was “ballsy” or whatever. I’ll never understand how so many can sit still in life and not push themselves forward. I always have to be pushing myself for bigger and better things. If betting on oneself is “ballsy” or “risky” or whatever, then you’ve got a problem. You should be able to risk everything and bet on yourself and know that 10 times out of 10 that you’ll come out on top.
Most people don’t return emails. Follow-up. Call people a few days after you send them and email with your resume. Send a handwritten thank you note.
You have to take rejection and it has to fuel you. It has to light a fire inside of you to push yourself harder and get brazen. Make people take notice. I can’t tell you how many times I got kicked to the curb, how many times I failed.
Conclusion
You may not know exactly what you want, but keep your eyes open for new opportunities. I could’ve wallowed in self-pity when there were two rounds of layoffs in my corporate sales gig, but I didn’t. I keep my eyes open and kept looking for new opportunities. A hustler never rests.
When the light bulb went on in my head thanks to Ramit’s courses, I begun the process of defining specifically the type of job I wanted over the course of several months and interviews. I didn’t just interview aimlessly, I eventually got very specific about what I wanted out of a job.
In the end, I got the job I wanted only a month after moving to Silicon Valley. If I can do this shit, you can too.
Now get out there and hustle!
PS: Hit me up on LinkedIn and tell me you found me through this post.
Edit: I mistakenly spelled Jason Freedman’s name wrong. My humblest apologies to Jason.
Are You Willing to Bet Everything on Yourself?
Are you willing to push your chips all-in and bet on yourself? Do you have the discipline to stay focused on your long-term goals and ignore instant gratification and the countless distractions that will come up along the way?
Overcoming Setbacks
My last job I worked at Symantec in an entry level software sales position. Four months into the role, around April 2010, I thought everything was going well. Then they decided to layoff half of our sales office in Houston and all three Reps I worked for got let go. I was devastated to say the least. Seeing good people lose their jobs was not fun.
I could’ve given up all hope. I could’ve sat there depressed and wallowed in self-pity. Now don’t get me wrong, I was confused and I felt like all my career momentum had been ripped out from underneath me. I had thought I was going to go the typical corporate route and get moved up the corporate ladder by working hard and doing the right thing. But now, after the layoffs, it became very hard to have confidence that I would be promoted when the company was in house cleaning mode.
But I remember a few days after the layoffs happened thinking over everything in my head. None of us who still worked there had any idea if we were going to be let go in the coming months or if it would happen a year later, April 2011 at the end of the next fiscal year. I remember at the time thinking to myself that the worst thing that could happen was that I’d be laid-off. Realizing that the worst that could happen wasn’t really that bad on the scheme of things, any fear about the situation began to vanish. Then I realized I had nothing to lose by being successful in my role while I still had it. I remember telling myself I needed to get brazen. If they were going to eventually let me go too, then fuck them, I was going to go out in a blaze of glory. I was going to be the best damn sales person on my team every single time.
So I ignored getting caught up in the self-pity and ignored distractions and made it a point to work harder than everyone on my team. My hard work and high activity level soon started paying off and I started blowing by my teammates in the rankings. Long story short, I finished first place every quarter there on out.
The Switch to Startups
Seeing the countless parade of middle managers above me not having a clue whether we’d have jobs going forward, I knew I had to get out of the corporate game. Instead of having five (or more) layers of Dilberted pointy-haired bosses above me on the org chart, making decisions about my future when they’ve never met me, I knew I wanted to work at a startup where I could report directly to the CEO. I know how unstable startups can be, but are they really any less stable than a corporate gig at this point with the countless layoffs? If I was going to lose my job, the person making that decision better be able to look me in the eye and tell me, not simply pass the decision down the org chart for his underlings to handle.
As much as I loved Houston, I didn’t want to stop working in tech. But Houston is to oil, gas, and energy as Silicon Valley is to tech and tech startups. There simply aren’t many tech companies to work at in the Houston. So, I began making plans a year in advance to eventually move to Silicon Valley to be where the jobs are.
The Move
Fast forward a year later. I had stayed as the #1 rep on my team every single quarter and had enough money saved up that I could leave the job right as they were doing the next round of layoffs. I was able to even do some travelling across the country before I eventually did the 2,000 mile move from Houston to Mountain View. One month after the move I was able to find a kickass startup job (a subject I’ll go into detail about in a later blog entry) and have been enjoying my time out here meeting people in Silicon Valley.
Takeaways and Paying it Forward
I don’t write this to brag about how awesome I am or to do any sort of self-promotion. I write it to pay it forward to the next wide-eyed kid out there, maybe from a Midwestern town like me (I grew up in Springfield, Missouri before moving to Houston for college) who is wondering if they should follow their dreams and quit that dead-end job that is dragging their spirits down. Honestly, there is no right answer and there is no one path towards success. All I can say is from my own perspective, I didn’t want to wake up one day at 50 years old wondering where my life went and why I never took any chances.
I’m not the greatest writer in the world, but reading the countless stories and blog entries from people like me, particularly on Hacker News, I knew I needed to share my story and pay it forward considering how much I had gotten from those who blazed the path before me.
People have said I’m “ballsy” and “crazy” and that I’m “lucky” to have found a job out here in the Valley after moving out here with no connections and no job lined-up. Perhaps. But I worked extremely hard to put myself in a position to be this lucky. I believe if you’re not willing to take a risk and bet everything on yourself with the confidence that you’ll come out on top no matter what happens then it’s probably time for some changes in your life.
Mark Suster says it the best:
“Life is 10% how you make it, 90% how you take it.”
If you’ve read through this far and have questions about making a big move like this or are in the Valley and want to grab a beer, feel free to shoot me an email at westonludeke(at)gmail(dot)com. You can also connect with me using one of those social media buttons at the right of this blog. Thanks!
15 CEO’s With Learning Disabilities
I’m very glad to know that I’m not the only one who felt constrained by the traditional education system. We spend our whole adolescence wasting away in boring, outdated classrooms for seven hours a day. In my case we didn’t even have air conditioning at the public schools in Springfield, Missouri. It was miserable. I remember getting chewed out by my teachers for not paying attention, usually because I was either talking to other kids or staring out the window. It isn’t ADHD, you’re just boring.
Then, these stupid teachers try to push homework on us to “prepare us for college.” I can’t imagine how much time I wasted in school with nothing to do, waiting for a class to end only to have the teacher convinced we needed more work. I remember telling my mom in 7th grade that I wasn’t doing any homework because, “If they can’t teach it to me in 7 hours, I’m not doing it.” She wasn’t pleased.
My seventh grade teachers pulled me aside and into a room one day and chewed me out for my slipping grades. Of course, it never crossed their mind that they sucked at teaching and I wasn’t paying attention because I don’t need to learn what they were talking about and they weren’t presenting it in an interesting fashion. They told me that I am a “minimalist”… whatever the hell that means. That I, “Do the least amount of effort necessary to get the job done.” I guess I’ve always been efficient.
High school was mostly a repeat of middle school. Lots of wasted time sitting around waiting for lunch. What a waste. I never understood why they couldn’t make school days… at least in high school, 5 hours long… then we could at least work 30 hours a week and make some more money. Isn’t that what school is preparing us for anyway, to be some cog in a corporate machine, to be slaves to some corporate MBA master five layers up on an org chart that we’ve never met? Until he looks at his spreadsheet and decides to lay us off because his comp plan will increase. But hey, as long as their stock increases all is well, eh?
“I’ve never let school get in the way of my education.” -Mark Twain
But, I digress. I’m done ranting for now. I’m actually lucky to have a free public education system. I’m lucky to have seen through the bullshit at such a young age. I’m not going to live my life answering to anyone who’s title isn’t “CEO” or “Investor” anymore. Life’s to short to be miserable.
My Pops In The NY Times
Where I got my Entrepreneurial Hustle from:
If you don’t have a subscription, just Google the title, “Hospital Groups Assess Health Care Law.”
And if you think I’m some spoiled rich kid… I am neither. I’ve got a huge chip on my shoulder to prove myself.
I won’t hesitate to take a sec to shout-out my fam when they’re doing well.
#StuntinLikeMyDaddy
You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train
I love this quote from Howard Zinn.
“You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train”
I often replay this quote in my head. I use it to remind myself of why I started this blog in the first place.
I used to be afraid of doing something like this out of fear that some perspective employer somewhere would use it as an excuse not to hire me… mainly before I get myself in a position to start my own company.
My attitude now is, well… if you don’t like what I have to say then, ahem, fuck you.
A better school of thought is to realize that perspective employers won’t get to know you unless you show who you really are. I wear my heart on my sleeve, there’s no point in trying to be someone I’m not.
So, I’m going to continue to plug away fighting the good fight: supporting freedom of press and freedom of speech, and exposing hypocrisies in businesses and governments… or as Assange says, “Crushing Bastards.”
Words to Live By
“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” -Apple, Think Different.
I Am….
Personality profiles and questionnaires intrigue me. I like doing these tests and seeing what various studies tell me about my personality. Sitting and looking at the questions of one test called the “Entrepreneur Personality Test” I came across many questions that describe my personality to a T. Some of the questions I found intriguing are as follows:
-If a co-worker is performing better than me, I HAVE to outdo him/her.
I am an extremely competitive person. Though, I wouldn’t say I’m competitive for the sake of competing. I play when I chose to play. That is, I’m not going to get in a pissing match with someone for no reason. I chose my battles very wisely and strategically.
-I tend to find it difficult to relax.
Perhaps it’s the ADD; though it’s probably the drive inside of me that causes me to feel as if I can never relax. ”I’ll sleep when you’re dead” is a quote I tell myself often to remind myself to work hard (it’s the name of an El-P album). I have this burning itch inside of me to succeed, this huge ambition that I have yet to achieve that pushes me towards success.
-I push myself so hard I may just burn out.
I work very hard. I’m someone who’s going to push extremely hard to the finish line and then take a minute to relax and breathe to keep from having a nervous breakdown. It’s impossible to be “on” all of the time. Even Michael Jordan probably took a week or two off after he won an NBA Championship to relax before getting ready for the next season. The key is to not relax until after you hit your goal. I work hard, I play hard.
-If I am ready to go but I have to wait for someone else, I become impatient.
I absolutely hate waiting on people. It shows people don’t have their shit together. ”In a New York minute” is a good mantra for this. Too many people aren’t punctual and have no sense of direction in their actions.
-I don’t want to rock the boat.
Too many people fear chaos and uncertainty. I learned from my father who has been a CEO and Hospital Administrator for thirty years that if you look at the world as in the state of constant flux and chaos that it is actually in, it helps you make a lot smarter decisions. Plan and expect uncertainty.
Re-Designed
And we’re off! WestonLudeke.com is up and running again. This site was and is a constant work-in-progress and I will work hard at keeping it updated.
I’ve been playing around with the design and I like this one… for now… though I reserve the right to change my mind.
To reiterate: I’m not going to have tons of lengthy, essay style posts. Most of my entries will be short and to the point. But, I hope to post at least on a semi-frequent basis.
I’m going to continue to use this site as shameless self promotion er, a running portfolio/resume of sorts so people can see what I’m working on.
More to come.
Best,
Weston
This site’s Raison D’etre
If you made it here to westonludeke.com and you’re not me, then welcome!
I created this website as a way for people to view my resume, see what type of projects I’m working on, etc. But mostly, this site is for myself.
I don’t Twitter much, Facebook gets old quick, and LinkedIn has limited functionality.
This site is for myself to have a place to keep everything about me in one location. For me to keep interesting articles, web tools, blog posts, etc. all in one place.
I’m not going to fill it with SEO, spam, or ads. My intentions with this site isn’t to get viewers or to make money here. It’s also a work in progress and I will be constantly posting and adding info.
I’m going to post mostly articles I find interesting and will share them with you, the reader.
Also, this site is for anyone (particularly potential employers, investors, etc.) who googles my name and may not know there are 2 Weston Ludeke’s or may want to find more info about me.
Mostly the topics will cover technology, sales, entrepreneurship, and general business (like career or financial advice). Hence the “Sales + Tech + Entrepreneurship” bubble/tagline up top.
Thanksgiving
I’ll use my first post on this site to honor my Grandfather James Ludeke who passed away last week, August 12th 2010, at the age of 86.
Every Thanksgiving my family would all come to my Grandparent’s ranch on 700 acres of land north of Burkburnett, Texas and south of the Red River. Each Thanksgiving typically would have close to two dozen family members at their house. All of the family members who come are from my dad’s side of the family. My dad is one of six kids so there is always lots of turkey and pecan pie for everyone.
Grandpa and my Dad, Max
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I never have to worry about buying gifts for people and worry about them buying me worthless things I don’t need. Plus, there’s family, food, and Cowboys football. What more could a 7th generation Texan ask for?
Thanks to my brother, Charles Ludeke, for the photos above.
The photo below I took on the 18th, the day he passed away. Beautiful.
The Spirit in the Sky
See you when I get there Gramps.
