Here is the link: http://runningwithstethoscopes.wordpress.com/2013/10/04/alpha-pen/
Sure, I'm sharing the post because it makes me look good. However, the real reason I'm sharing it is because creating this kind of experience for someone is exactly why I do what I do...repeatedly pour myself into a humble object, put it into a box, and send it across the country (or around the world) to a complete stranger. It's kind of like a blind date: scary.
Most days each package, while visibly filled with product, is actually filled with the fear of failure. That is what makes running your own business hard, not the long hours or meager pay, it's doubt. The fact is, and the fact that I embrace daily, is that you can't make everyone happy. By way of advice to others, I'll take it a step further. You shouldn't even try, because there is greater value in making a few people exceedingly happy than making the masses ambiguously content. By definition, it means that you are doing something at least a little bit unique. A teacher of mine used to say, "if you aren't pissing someone off then you aren't doing it right." Cheers.
Most of the time my reward for taking this risk is a transaction, you paid me for the thing: thanks for your support! Very (very) infrequently I get slapped in the face by someone who thinks my work is the worst thing they have ever had the displeasure of paying for: no no, it's not you, it's me. Slightly more frequently someone sends me a nice note (or I stumble upon a blog post) from a person that thinks I nailed it: my humble thanks for a little bit of validation.
It's nice to get a little boost once in a while. So, this morning at least, I go to work with the confidence that what I do has value, purpose, and made a positive impact on at least one person's daily existence.