This could be anything, big or small. If you’re doing the same thing you have always done there is no adventure to be had. This could be doing the same thing in a different way, but never doing the exact same thing. This means venturing into the unknown. No matter how small or big the unknown is generally a scary place. This is why inexperience creates adventure. When you do things you have never done before it also exercises your brain in a way that no repeated action can. The unknown is literally good for you.

Right in step with unknown things is unknown places. It’s the same concept. Venturing out into the unknown place leads to new discoveries, stories, people, food and more. The most basic of trying new places to eat to the most extreme of unknown counties, states or countries. I’ve been to China, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Canada and Hong Kong. With every single one of these places I have so many adventures associated to each. Unknown places always leads to adventure no matter how big or small.

Experiencing the unknown alone can be great in the moment, but it rarely has the same lasting impact as adventures experienced with others. Looking back on my adventures the ones that include others are burned into my memories so much deeper than any of the others experienced on my own.

New things, new places, new people. It all induces risk. Risk is what makes adventure great. Don’t be afraid of risk. I’m not suggesting going skydiving with a torn parachute. I am suggesting stepping out of your comfort zone to create memories that last. To live a life story that’s worth re-telling to your grandkids. Go have an adventure Take time to be sure to light some stuff on fire. Some of my best memories are around a campfire, or trying to learn how to juggle flaming sticks, or lighting my skateboard on fire and riding it down a hill. I am not saying you should be a pyromaniac. All I am saying is to be sure to have some adventure. Innocent adventure for no good reason. Fire is often involved in such adventures, sometimes dry ice works too.

Ecclesiastes 8:15

Please don’t live your life without having adventure. Real adventure. Real fun. When you remember life you will generally remember the extraordinary. All the times that I will most remember in life, the times that I will still remember when I am 80 are the times that I had adventure. Real adventure takes at least 4 things.

1. Something you have never done before

2. Some place you have never been before

3. Other People

4. Risk

I was about 15 and I wanted to get an iPod. I had saved up my money from doing magic at little kids birthday parties and I wanted to blow it on an iPod video. It’s so funny how outdated that sounds now. Regardless, I was determined. It was going to take every dome I had but i wanted to get this thing so bad. My mom simply said no. She didn’t agree or understand and thought it was a stupid way to spend all my hard earned money. I was understandably upset and pouted like a little girl. I was angry because it was my money that I worked for and this is what I wanted to buy. Regardless, she wasn’t going to let me buy it no matter how much I complained. Looking back I’m proud to say that I was a resourceful punk. I decided that if she would’t let me buy one that I would get one for free. Somehow, someway. I entered every contest I could for one, all I got was junk-mail. Finally one day I had an idea. I would just ask for one from apple. I thought to myself they are a huge company, what’s one iPod to them right? So I started writing letters. I probably wrote about 5 letters to any department I could get an address for within apple. I simply said that I was a teenage kid who loved the iPod and I thought they should give me one. They actually responded. I would get back these postcards with a form letter that said something to the effect of:

“Were sorry to inform you that the apple corporation is not giving any donations to individuals or organizations at this time, thank you for your interest.”

After I got a few of these back I could see that it wasn’t working. If I was going to do something then I would have to get past the intern who is mailing back these stupid cards. So I put together a petition, stupid I know but I was a punk kid and it seemed like a fun idea. Regardless, I started going around with a clipboard that read at the top, “By signing this petition I hear by agree that the apple corporation should give John Salzarulo an iPod free of charge.” I would take it everywhere, even stand outside of Walmart to gather and collect signatures. I made t-shirts to promote my cause and gave them to friends. I collected well over 1,000 signatures for my cause. I packaged it all up into a big manilla envelope along with photos of gathering signatures and my friends in the t-shirts to promote my cause. After months of mailing letters and sending emails into the company, standing in front of stores to gather signatures, after all this work and time I finally I mailed it to apple. I waited and waited. I felt like Ralph on “a christmas story” waiting for his decoder pin. I was so anxious, I thought for sure they would reply right away. Why wouldn’t they? then, after a month with no response I gave up hope. I completely gave up on the whole project. A lot of my friends made fun of me because I put so much time into something and got nothing out of it. I was disappointed and frustrated to say the least.

About 3 months later I got a phone call from none other than Greg Joswiak Vice president of the iPhone and iPod for the apple corporation. “Is this John” he asked, “yea” I sheepishly respond. “I can’t believe I’m talking to you!” he said in an excited tone. He went on to explain how it took a while but my package had made it all the way into an executive board meeting the previous day. He told me how all the executives were laughing their heads off as he opened up the package and showed them the big stack of signatures I’d collected and the t-shirts I had made. “In their laughter they all agreed that we had to give you your iPod, so what kind do you want?” I was dumbfounded, my brand new iPod came in the mail 2 days later.

Never give up, and when there is a will, a real desire for something, and if you are creative and work hard, there is a way to make it happen. I have remembered this story all through my work and personal life. There is always a way to make something happen. You just need to work hard and be creative.

Great journeys happen one step after the other, great art is created one brushstroke at a time.

Using an iPad very quickly exposes the broken internet that we all use. Go ahead and download an app for a popular website. ebay is a great example. I would way rather use ebay on my phone than the desktop site. Some other great examples are amazon, and the app for reading the bible by youversion.com. There are dozens that follow this parallel, a great iPhone / iPad experience, visit the website and it’s nearly unusable.  

Apple taught people how to design, they set a new standard of design and thought into application creation. They have taken this noisy complex terribly designed internet and applied it so that the “even man” is comfortable with it. It’s Apples “App-ification” of the web.  

Below are just a few observations of major websites that are terribly designed. Most sites you know have at least one of these problems with it:  

1. Every page has some kind of huge sidebar or header.  

Why? Navigation can be subtle yet intuitive, look at how the iPhone and iPad handle this with the click through navigation, also search solves a lot of these problems as well, why do we have to click though 8 menus to find something? A few letters in the search bar solves the problem for us.  

2. Every page is overloaded with confusing and non-relevant images, ads, text, etc.

If I removed 80% of what is on the ebay homepage I guarantee a better click through rate. It’s so nauseating. No wonder people feel overwhelmed and go to craigslist or something simpler. No wonder I can’t get my 55 year old father to embrace it.  

3. Why does every single page have a copyright notice?  

Is this really necessary? If it is then why is it not on every applications page? Because it’s not. It’s clutter. it’s noise. Get it off the page. Even apple makes this mistake. Get rid of the noise. It’s so bad.  

4. So much text

If I filtered down ebay or amazon into a book it would take days to read. It would be a huge reference novel. I am not including search results or product pages. Just the main pages. It would look like an encyclopedia if I printed this all out. It would be so much clearer and effective just removing so much of the pages and text. Even Apples site has 4 different places to see each product and it’s features. 

5. Identification

Facebook has started to solve this problem, but there is incredibly far to go. I feel like all I do on the web is fill in forms. Name, address, email, password. Isn’t there a way to unify this and information like payment methods? I know that there are things like open ID and others attempting this but seriously, why is this so hard? All the data is there let me just give it to you. Worse still is you have people running around who have 35 different identities. Everything is anonymous and it sucks. We wonder why there is so much fraud, manipulation and things like cyber bullying on the web, it’s because everyone wears masks.  

6. Sidebars, Title bars, navigation, sub-navigation, Headers, Banners oh my!

Way to many way to move through pages. Looking at apple, amazon, ebay, I can get to a product page 3 different ways. And none of them is intuitive. I am told the iPod touch has “fun written all over it” on 5 different pages on the apple site and I’m not really sure how I got to any of them.  

7. I’m trapped in like a casino

I understand the concept of burying the lead or putting the milk in the back of the store, but we have taken this so much further. Simply trying to keep you on the page there is so much noise and neon and signs and text and slogans and this labyrinth of navigation and content. “Don’t leave! Don’t leave!, we need retention on our anylitics or were not doing our job!” This is just manipulation and bad design.  

8. Am I supposed to be able to read this text?

The font sizes on webpages are so small. I am young and have decent vision. No wonder old people hate the internet.  

9. What’s the metaphor?

Pages, tabs, headers, it sounds as if it’s supposed to be something of a book or magazine. If I printed out amazon.com and grid to give it to you as a magazine or catalog it would look terrible. If it’s a catalog, let’s make it such, if it’s a magazine let’s make it such, if it’s a book let’s make it such, if it’s a business card, let’s make it such.  

We are so far from the potential of what our web and technology and most of it can be blamed on just poor design. Every time someone introduces some better design the market usually follows. From Windows to Mac, from Myspace to Facebook, from US cars to Japanese Auto makers. When will someone realize the value of good design the direct impact it has on their products performance?