Shane & Peter interview the titans…and me
by Jonathan Fields | 12/6/07
So Shane Pearlman from the rocking Shaneandpeter.com blog, recently asked me and a bunch of other entrepreneurs to respond to a list of questions about life, inspiration and entrepreneurship and I thought I’d share my answers with my fabulous community here, too. And, be sure to go check out Shane’s blog and see what everyone else said.
What’s your personal mission statement?
To spend the greatest amount of time absorbed in activities and relationships that fill me up, surrounded by people I can’t get enough of…oh, and to change the world!
What’s the biggest mess you’ve dealt with this year?
My hair (or rapid loss thereof)!
What current entrepreneurial efforts consume your time?
- Growing my yoga center, Sonic Yoga NYC
- Finishing a book on careers for Random House
- Launching my Awake At The Wheel blog
- Marketing & direct-response copywriting through my company, Vibe Creative
- Preparing to launch a series of entrepreneurship and career-change trainings and products, both live and online
- Making sure I am having fun along the way!
Why do you do what you do? What inspires you? When do you get most excited?
Simple-I am possessed with the process of creation, that and changing lives
Boxers or Briefs? or as Naomi says, Bikini or Thong, duh?!?
Commando!
What do you do when you’re not [designing | programming | managing | writing | toiling for the wo/man]?
Play with friends and family, hike, climb, ride, play music…and one game of bacci every 10-years
What one thing made the biggest difference when getting started?
Support of my family, it’s always been make or break
What’s your exit strategy?
Death, I love what I do, why would I ever want to stop?
What is the last thing that made you belly laugh?
My daughter, pretty much every day.
Have you ever been in business before?
Most of my life
At what point do you consider yourself successful?
See my answer to question #1. If I am doing that and comfortably supporting my family and lifestyle, it’s all good.
What was your first experience with a computer?
Radio Shack Trash 80 – 48K of ram and a tape player to record programs on cassettes
Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates in a jello wrestling match, where’s your money?
Depends on the attire. Steve wears some pretty form-fitting stuff, not a lot to grab onto, plus, he always struck me as just a bit more badass, so I’d have to with Jobs.
Where do you do your best thinking?
When I’m outside, not thinking about doing my best thinking
What does your average daily work / life balance look like? How much time do you work, play and sleep?
To me, work/play is one. My challenge is that I like it so much, I have to remember to take care of myself and sleep more.
If I could introduce you to anyone, who would it be?
Richard Branson
What stops you from giving up when you are frustrated?
Green & Black organic 70% dark chocolate.
If Chuck Norris and Steven Hawking had a baby (hey it’s my damn interview), would you vote for her for president?
Depends, if she got Steven’s brains and chuck’s looks, maybe. If she got Chuck’s brains and Steven’s looks, hmmm…what’s the yogic way to answer this?
Flight or invisibility?
Invisibility, then I could bum a ride on a plane, whenever I needed.
As always, feel free to share your own answers to these questions in the comments below…or ask even more! PS - you might be seriously penalized for being too serious.
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18 comments
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December 6th, 2007 | 3:20 pm
wow, i am excited for you and your several entrepreneurial projects! i’ll make sure to visit sonic yoga when i stop by nyc. keep on trucking jonathan!
December 6th, 2007 | 3:42 pm
Johnathan - Thanks so much for posting! I am amazed how many pots you have in the fire - does that make you a shotgun entrepreneur rather than a serial one?
December 6th, 2007 | 6:36 pm
[...] Jonathan Fields had a good answer to this question: Death. [...]
December 6th, 2007 | 7:45 pm
Your answers (and your blog) have made my day. I totally didn’t guess the hair thing.
Fabulous stuff.
December 6th, 2007 | 10:52 pm
@ gale - thanks, come by for a hug when you’re in NYC!
@ Shane - Brother, I think I am more of a dancing, juggling entrepreneur
@ Naomi - Glad my perilous hair could put a smile on your face
December 7th, 2007 | 12:35 am
[...] Shane & Peter interview the titans…and me Filed under: The Self [...]
December 7th, 2007 | 3:50 am
I like your chocolate answer. I’ll have to send you some from Belgium!
December 7th, 2007 | 1:40 pm
Ses - didn’t your elementary teacher tell you that if you are going to give some to johnny - than you have ot share with everyone!
December 7th, 2007 | 3:04 pm
Always read and enjoy your articles!
About losing your hair -
My balding Dad always said, “Grass don’t grow on busy streets!”
What are commandos?????
December 7th, 2007 | 4:26 pm
@ ses - bring on the chocolate my friend!
@ Shane - hmmm, holiday time, maybe we all invest in a case!
@ Corinne - Love your dad’s quote, I’m gonna have to use that sometime…with your permission, of course!
December 8th, 2007 | 12:07 am
Yum, chocolate! Ok, I love this blog.
Have you tried Scharffenberger? (Which reminds me … I need to order another bulk box of 1oz bars… it’s for baking… really… 
)
December 8th, 2007 | 1:12 am
I’ve heard some pretty amazing dad quotes recently.
We were at lindsey’s 30 birthday (peter’s wife) last week and I got seated in front of a realestate broker who runs a local office. First off all - I am amazed at how similar running a realestate brokerage is to running a software firm. We both use all contractors. More on that later.
Anyways - as I was chatting with Data (yes thats his name - no he clearly predates start trek TNG) - and he told me his dad gave him a powerful piece of advice when he was in his teens and now in his 40s it is starting to make sense.
“Life gets better the older you get, as long as you pay attention”
Been thinking about that a lot. I like it. Definitely true for me.
December 8th, 2007 | 1:33 am
@ Corinne - Commando means going without underwear. Aren’t you sorry you asked?
December 8th, 2007 | 8:53 am
@ Rose - Never tried Sharfenblahblah, but if it’s chocolate, you can pretty much assume I love it!
@ Shane - ain’t it amazing how much more dads seem to know as we get older? But, dude…DATA? For real?
@ Naomi - honestly, even I didn’t need that visual first thing in the morning…and it’s my ass we’re talking about!
December 8th, 2007 | 9:09 pm
[...] Shane & Peter interview the titans…and me [...]
December 21st, 2007 | 4:21 pm
[...] Shane & Peter interview the titans…and me [...]
December 23rd, 2007 | 6:43 pm
[...] or invisibility? (from Jonathon) Flight! Definitely flight That would be so cool, ultimate freedom, ease of transportation, no [...]
December 24th, 2007 | 12:03 am
[...] or invisibility? (from Jonathon) Flight! Definitely flight That would be so cool, ultimate freedom, ease of transportation, no [...]