Being laid off is refreshing!

"One of these things is not like the others..."

So you might be curious where did rolly go for the last two months? The truthful answer is that I'm not quite sure myself!

The last two months have been a complete and utter blur for me and I've barely begun to realize the lessons learned and all the experiences. It has literally been a rollercoaster of emotion, learning, surprises, disappointments, successes and juicy failures. It all started with the opportunity to work for the Centre for Social Innovation as their newly created position of Events Coordinator.

I am never one to back down from a challenge so I jumped at the opportunity to learn more about Social Innovation and systems change on what believe would be a on a strategic organizational level. Certainly it proved a challenge, not only because of the role, but more so of the grief and joy that constantly bombarded me over the past two months. It felt like such a roller coaster!

Words like "system change" "framing" and "push back" filled my head over the past two months, as well as pure e-mail grinding and learning to manage 4 e-mail addresses with the accompanying work culture spam that comes with them. I still do truly hate mass mailing lists because expected inevitably someone gets on a soapbox or doesn't read the pleasant reminder to "e-mail this person off list if you have an answer or are interested". These things simply did not help the 50 hour work week grind.

I have come to realize several things. One of the most important things is that I cannot stop being an entrepreneur. Its a perspective shift that apparently and unfortunately does not seem to jive well with the organizational culture. No matter how ideal you may think it would be, even if it is in alignment with your dreams and goals.

I really do feel like I a hamster in a wheel. The catch was that this time the carrot was good enough for me to be enticed. Still I've got the refreshing experience of being laid off and the integrity to know that I simply did all that I could humanly do as a contributing worker. It looks like it just wasn't "the right fit".

Food for thought:


"No plan survives contact with the Printer."

Revisiting Inspiration: Professor Randy Pausch

It has been A CRAZY few months!  As you may well know, it all started with me losing one of my "kids".  My wonderful chubby fluff-accordion of a Cat - Ookie; passed away on September 2nd.  From there its been a wonderful two months of joy, nervousness and new opportunities.

But before I continue, mid way through this rollercoaster that I'm still on, I needed to revisit inspiration.  I'm sharing it with you here.



Enable peoples dreams.  That's what I realized I created Simplicity for.  It originally was "to make a difference, no matter how small in peoples lives." Now this refines things to be more precise, perhaps, even more simplified!

You were awesome Ookie

Well as some of you may have guessed, I've been taking time away.  In this case, taking care of my dying cat Ooks.

There is nothing tragic nor traumatic about this event.  This is another one of those personal posts, for those of you that may wonder what makes Rolo so driven in what he does?

Perhaps some may say "it's just a cat", but when you've literally raised something from birth and hold it when it finally dies in your arms after living a long and colourful life with you, something happens in you.  Perhaps its the fact I bore witness to a long and joyful life so random and beautiful coming to an end.  Its a rare moment far beyond other experiences, when I reflect on what I've accomplished and in a way, what Ookie has accomplished.  Whats more, no matter how fleeting life may seem, its so vital that I keep striving.

Holding a new life in your arms, no matter how it may not be genetically yours, made me realize how obligated I am to continue to make a difference in this world.   I'm not sure how, but it does.  Ooks was one of those 4 new and randomly fortunate reasons that I accepted responsibility for wholeheartedly.  Ooks hissing at bubblebath foam, and being an utter clutz showed me that there are exceptions to the rules, even for cats.  As well, it reinforced the lesson of "expect the unexpected".  New kittens will pee anywhere, including inside warm and dark CPU's.

How many cats got the chance to grace the Simplicity Holiday Thank you card in our first year?  ONE!

I will always remember the goofy things you did, a clumsy and nutty gemini cat to the last.  Ookie Elizabeth Tecson you were a true creature of comfort and in my bachelor years, the start of a crazy furry family!

Your calico reminders all over my business formal wear, cardboard box shredding will be missed.  I'll never forget your dedication to being my furry cat headrest, and your involuntary magnanimity at being turned into a warm and grumpy "cat accordion."  Chibi will go unchecked without you, and your chubby warmth will be missed as you purposely lay over my arms as I attempted to get work done at the computer.

Thank you Ooks.  I will miss you. 

I'm going on...

Nothing could be a greater memorial for a great person than continuing on.

A personal post...

Today someone passed away for whom I had deep respect.  Someone who I believed in and continue to believe in through his work.  The last portion of his parting letter struck a chord in me and I'd like to post it here.


My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.

All my very best,

Jack Layton

Above all, the one line below means the world to me.  Not only was this his personal slogan but his campaign slogan, it also has been mine over the past nine years. To me, Jack Layton was not only a leader of people but also a thought leader and I strive to emulate his deep belief that people can create change.  I will miss him.

Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.

Whenever I get bogged down in the annoying tidbits of life...

I look at pictures like this.

This is a picture taken by the Spirit rover from Mars at Earth.  Pictures like this continue to inspire me to keep doing things despite the little annoying things that can often bog anybody down.  When you stop and think about the two NASA rovers themselves, which were only designed to last 90 earth days and ended up lasting 2,695 days. 


Now that is endurance.