2025: Happy New Year Edition

I've done my best to be brief but I want this to be colorful and of course organized. Before you ask, no AI used in the writing of this Christmas Letter, these are my own words!  

Job 

2024 was a year of sustained upward momentum in all things personal and professional in my life.  I've now clocked 2 years at EVOTEK as an Account Director.  For those of you who aren't aware, EVOTEK is a San Diego based IT Reseller, high value engineering company, and IT Consulting  company.  At EVOTEK, I am basically the general store for all things IT and AI related for large enterprise clients in Southern California. AI is my next internet size opportunity and I’m fortunate enough to be able to capitalize on it, my franchise at EVOTEK is booming.  I find what is happening with AI fascinating.  I'm very fortunate, love my job, co-workers, and amazing clients.  

Home 

Since I work from home, I make it a point to love where I live. 

In April, I moved from my Bay Park apartment where I had been holed up since returning from Denver to San Diego.  I am grateful for the soft landing Bay Park provided me after coming back from Denver in February 2023 and re-rooting.  I am elated to report that I've now set up a first-class bachelor pad in Ocean Beach, CA!     

One epic summer and 9 months down, I'm happy to-report my new pad has surpassed my wildest dreams and it's only getting better.  The soundtrack to my life is a high tide outside my window and fresh ocean air.  I was able to recreate the surf in, surf out lifestyle I enjoyed so much in North PB where I lived for 6 years before going to Denver.  My pad is a 4 minute walk to feet in the sand and a board in the water.  It's also 12 minutes from the SAN airport, as travel will be a huge theme in 2025.

Fun  

I've kept up with my hobby of flying drones and video editing, you may have noticed if you subscribe to my YouTube or follow my Instagram. My focus is my content library for my YouTube channel www.DerekVeenstra.com  Feel free to check it out.  Since everyone asks me, no I don't make any money from my YouTube channel by design.  My purpose rather to limit Ads on my content for my viewers pleasure.  

Some fun analytics: Japan is 20% of my total traffic and my viewership is 98% male.  My biggest remixes are Top Gun Maverick related, beach, and surfing.  I’m having fun doing what I consider to be great work. 

Social Activities  

Some new stuff for 2024 and continuing into 2025: I'm back to playing on Monday Night Lights, co-ed soccer once a week.   I've picked up Beach Volleyball on Wednesdays, followed by trivia night with my new OB crew.  I caught my 100 waves of summer ahead of quota.  I continue improving my golf game with clients and playing pickleball. 

Family   

On August 31st, I became Uncle Derek to two beautiful twins, that live 25 minutes away in Encinitas.  It's the highlight of my year, I love them so much already and make it a priority to see them once a week.  

With the joy of new life, there is also sorrow of the life lost. In November, we  mourned the passing of my grandfather, Floyd Robert Veenstra.  While I understand death is natures change agent, it's never easy letting go.  He was 92, died at home without pain next to my grandma, his wife of 70 years. He's looking down on us now, gone to where good people go, his faith never wavering.  

Travel  

I traveled both domestically and internationally in 2024, although not as much as I wanted.  I crashed Nashville for my Companies Sales Kickoff for 4 nights in April, did 10 days in Washington with my dad fishing and tending to our cabin on Lake Quinault. I also got out of comfort zone and did an epic 17 day Solo Surf Trip to Costa Rica. Songs will be sung about that trip, and my short video montage video which will live in infamy. 

Future 

2025 will be epic. I have only one new years resolution, “Love thy Self”   I will be visiting Canada, Argentina, and Holland. I will complete another solo surf trip to warm water, and there's some big news coming around  involving an investment in Costa Rico, stay tuned ;)

Stay hungry, stay foolish. Lets go 2025!!

 

-Derek Veenstra 

Forest Gump and Derek on: Integrity

 

Derek Veenstra

English 101 

Western Washington University           

October 27th 2005

           Integrity 

During an English 101 class my freshmen year of college I was engaged in a class discussion regarding integrity. The question we were trying to answer was; what does Integrity mean? When I was first asked to answer this question my initial response was to give the meaning of integrity in the terms of honesty. Honesty however as I would later find out has little if anything to do with integrity. Someone for example can be completely honest about their involvement in the Enron scandal yet by all means lacks integrity. These types of examples were elaborated on by Stephen L. Carter’s essay, The Insufficiency of Honesty where I came face to face with the realization that integrity is comprised of much more then honesty. However ways in which Carter’s essay elaborated on integrity, such as the important role that discernment plays in determining whether someone has integrity were not reasons that I had considered when I was first asked to define integrity or now after analyzing Carters essay deem appropriate. How is it that two people can use the same word integrity, yet have entirely different versions of what is being referred to? In this essay I will try to answer this question while injecting my own ideas into Carters definition of integrity. I will also try to give you, the reader a better definition of a simple word that has been used for generations yet not widely understood. 

  There are five tiny ants in a certain yard struggling to lift a dead grasshopper onto their backs and bring it back to their ant hill. Two brothers live in a nearby house; the first brother Paul sees the tiny ants and approaches them. Propping himself up by forming a pedestal with his hands he watches. After a few minutes he becomes bored and walks away leaving the ants in peace. Once he is gone his brother Tim comes to see what Paul had been watching. Tim sees the ants, thinks to himself for a few contemplative moments and then stomps his foot on top of the ants crushing them instantly. Which child would you say has more integrity? Without much of a doubt most would say Paul the first brother because he demonstrated as Stephen L. Carter referrers to as two of the six pillars of a good character, respect and caring. His brother Tim however I will argue posses little if no integrity but by Carters definition of integrity, Tim could have an equal amount of integrity to Paul. Why? Carter explains in his essay that one of his three steps to defining integrity is the use of discernment. He rambles on to explain, that one who has used discernment, testing his truth against another and found his “good, right, and true” posses integrity. However how do you find something to be “good, right, and true?” In the case of the two brothers and the ants something being right and true differs from each brother. In the case of the second brother, Tim used “keen, practical judgment,” the definition of discernment and considered the fact of the ant hill under his deck to which the ants he killed belonged to. This ant hill made eating outside a practical impossibility. Using this knowledge he disposed of the ants because for him it was a good and right thing to do. Deciding whether something is good and right however is much to open for interpretation and I believe a more plausible definition of integrity is connected to morality where a more common ground can be reached. 

Suppose a person grows up in a racial community. Their entire life they are taught to hate others that are not of their race. According to Carter someone can not have integrity if they follow only what they are told because they have not used discernment to find their own truth. Two objections to this however can be easily raised.  The first is that by Carters definition of integrity a racist as the one described above would need to question for themselves why racism is good or bad before they could be regarded to have integrity. Assume they go out into the world and through brief observations see an African American gang performing violent actions towards others and anther African American selling drugs on a corner. With these two observations they return to their home believing what they had been taught to be correct and continue to be a raciest. Obviously they have not given ample time to observe African Americans before labeling their entire race as thugs and druggies. Had they had spent more time in observation they would have found African Americans to be not so different from themselves.  According to Carter this raciest used discernment if only a little in finding that their racism beliefs were right and true so by Carters definition have integrity. However in the example above, the fact that racism is unmoral is sidestepped by the use of discernment.  The accusation posed by the racial community in this one case was right and true and yet it is unmoral to label African Americans as such. Granted that in most cases using more then partial discernment would lead you to the conclusion that this raciest posses no integrity however the fact can not be overlooked that by Carters definition a raciest could posses integrity.  To seal this puncture I have made in Carters definition I will base my definition of integrity on morality where a common ground can be reached. 

Everyone can agree that stealing is wrong; killing an innocent is wrong, loving your neighbor as yourself is good and lying is wrong.  Each of these has its exceptions for example in the movie Schindler’s List when a factory owner lies to the Germans, saving the lives of thousands of Jews. Schindler lied to the Germans however a lie in this manner is regarded by almost everyone as the morally correct thing to have done. Our common coherence to moral laws such as the one of lying I believe should be applied to the definition of integrity where not loving your neighbor as yourself a cornerstone of morals would immediately rule out the raciest to not have integrity. 

My second objection to Carters definition of integrity is in regards to the inability to have integrity by doing only what you are told.  A prime example of not thinking for yourself and doing actions only because they were taught is a fictional character named Forest Gump. Forest Gump was made up by Hollywood however the way in which he portrays absolute obedience to what he was taught by his mom is un questionable and can be used to illustrate my point. Forest Gump throughout his life does everything his mother taught him when he was a child. As his life progresses his intelligence hinders him from questioning his mother and finding his own truths and he continues to follow the values and advice his mother gave him. After finishing college he joins the Army to fight in Vietnam. When his platoon comes under attack by enemy fire and most of his platoon is wounded he risks his live and dives back into the maelstrom to save his friend Bubba and Lieutenant Dan. Carter would argue Forest Gump posses no integrity because he only goes back to save his friends because his mother taught him the virtue of unselfishness, which he has never questioned why it is a good thing.  But does a solider have no integrity because they throw their life into harms way, following orders without questioning whether what they are doing is good, right and true?  Following what you are told as long as it is on the common grounds of morality in the case of Forest Gump enables you to have integrity by my definition.

As all my examples have illustrated the definition of integrity wavers from person to person. Carter may argue that Abraham Lincoln has more integrity then Forest Gump because Lincolns intelligence allowed him to question and explore why racism and slavery was wrong where Forest Gump for exampled believed that blacks were equal to him because his momma told him so. I would argue however that Forest Gump posses more integrity then Carter gives him credit. How do we judge then whether someone posses more or less integrity then the other, does forest Gump posses 6.5 points of integrity and Lincoln 5.5? I believe there is no way to judge high and low levels of integrity, whether through point percentiles or any mathematical method. If faced with the fact of stealing to feed your family or paying with your hard earned money the answer is to pay and by paying you have integrity by my definition and by Carters even by Merriam Webster’s, Integrity, “firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values.” Whether you have high or low levels of integrity however can not be answered by this definition as argued above and depends on your more in depth definition of integrity such as Carters or mine. 

It's a Trap! The brutal service industry, on the front line of abuse.

 

The first job I got, where the money didn't come from my parents, was at the eager age of 13.  I took my love of soccer, became a ref, and made it my profession.  It was a great gig, I worked one day a week and only when I wanted to, basically I worked when I needed more cash to buy things I wanted, and yes I was paid in cash or check, tax free (this was in the 90's.

I started with the little guys, U6 4v4.  I had fun with it, blowing my whistle infrequently, more an arbiter ensuring the rules of the game were loosely followed, that everyone was having fun, and most importantly that parents stayed out of the game if they were overly negative.  It was here my education of de-escalation began and which I would later use in college, working in the dining hall and turning around a failing retail store called the Late Night Ridgeway Market.  We closed at 2am at Western Washington University, I'm sure you get the rest. 

So, why did I say the service industry is a trap?  It's a trap because 20% of American currently work in this industry and here's the gab, historically only 1 in 10 Americans retire from this same career path.  Most leave, and start other careers, but some don't.  Best of luck in your career path, as in the Return of Jedi, even a trap can be sprung.  

Here's a great follow on podcast talking about the history of the service industry in America. Enjoy

The land of the Fee

Total War waged by Roman Engineers and a few good soldiers

The Roman empire is the longest standing empire in history, over 1000 years which is quite an accomplishment. In fact, Pontius Pilate under the command of Julius Cesar's HQ in Rome was the one who allowed the crucifixion of Jesus, his subsequent death and resurrection 3 days later. 

Why the Romans were a very large empire, they didn't conqueror their enemies quickly or overnight like the speedy Monguls before them. The Romans were instead very much methodical, generation after generation. At their core the Romans were engineers and builders, they were also more cruel than anyone who came before or after them. Julius Cesar invented "Total War" when he invaded the Gauls, present day Germany. 

Total War is the idea you pull out all the stops, anything goes, and that meant anything. What Commodus did to Maximus's wife and child in the Oscar hit Gladiator is just a drop in the ocean. Eye for an eye is simple, Total War is more strategic and attempts to exploit any weakness against your enemy, his family, his home, his county, and his dignity as an example to others to stay in line. The idea is you make war more painful for your enemy so they typically give up before any spears are thrown and thus become subjugated and members of the Roman Empire. 

Since the Romans were always outnumbered, they had to scrappy. Julius Cesar was the most refined of them all as he conquered all present day Germany & France occupied by the mighty Gauls. The Gauls were in fact, Rome's mortal enemies having sacked Rome BC 410 and again in years past.  

So where does all this lead? I live in America and we do not engage in total war even though we could. We have the best weapons and a huge defense budget rivaled by none. But America has learned a better way.  America believes in protecting freedom of all humans around the world, regardless of their social status or creed, we do not aim to kill innocents and civilians. We protect the downtrodden and let their people judge them such as Saddam Hussein. 

 In closing, since the Romans were always outnumbered that had to win in other ways, and those ways were very cruel, sometimes called worse than barbaric. They did however quite literally pave the way for future generations and hope that history would not repeat itself.  

To learn more and a good podcast in the car or office, Dan Carlin and Elon Musk discuss an Engineers War and the Romans way of doing things or Google EP17 Engineering Victory with Elon. 

Inflection points & leveraging the power of Technology

What a computer is to me is the most remarkable tool that we have ever come up with.  It’s the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds –Steve Jobs

My professional life orbits technology and selling the latest and greatest of it to my enterprise customers. By riding this technology continuum, I've discovered some tech short-cuts you should quickly implement. My hope is you can use these tips to future-proof yourself for tomorrow and better prepare for technology's Vast Future.  

To start, I believe technology in 2015 is at yet another inflection point.  It's standing at a deep chasm, looking down and ready to leap, less it get left behind.  This inflection point is very similar to the most well known and recent: the advent of the internet. True to its very nature, today's inflection point is also unique, quick flowing, and unchartered. Since I mentioned the Intenet, let us now put that inflection point under a microscope and see how technology's past can help predict its future.   

The Internet as we know it today became accessible to the general public in the early 1990’s. Although it took almost a decade to advance to this level, the intenet's evolution now becomes much make rapid. 

Those who embraced the Internet early such as Mark Cuban profited handsomely.  Now sure... Mark got very lucky and the wind was strongly at his back, however he was not the only person to catch this same technology typhoon.  Other technology moguls such as: Larry Ellison, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, or Larry Page were right there with him.  Albeit, these moguls were doing something completely different from Mr. Cuban however, they were still focused on technology, leveraging it, and all were positively affect by the internets's gravitation pull on eqch's technological genius. 

So, what does this all mean and why were these Edison's of our time immensely successful?  I believe it is because these individuals happened to recognize an inflection point in technology and made the most of it.   For those of you who aren't familiar with what an inflection point, let me explain.  An inflection point is a certain point, that once reached turns everything before it on its head.  An example is once water starts boiling it will never stop bubbling, it is forever changed so long as it is above 212 F.  Water turning to ice is another parallel example.

So in closing, I believe Technology has begun boiling again and is at an inflection point.  My advice to you is to leverage this shift, while of course making sure you don’t get burnt. Here are my top 3 tips for making sure you don’t get scalded and come out of this tech boom better than when you went into it.

These tips can be implemented immediately.

1. Purchase your .com domain name.  This can easily be done through Godaddy and costs between 1$-15$ (I own mine, www.DerekVeenstra.com)
2. Claim your LinkedIn URL and make it your name, exactly how it appears on your LinkedIn profile, here is a tutorial.  My LinkedIn profile URL is https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekveenstra for example.
3. Claim your name with a corresponding Gmail account, if you're not too late. Unfortunately I was outfoxed and had to settle for VeenstraDerek@Gmail.com  There are actaully 179,349 Derek's in the US alone.  10 Derek Veenstra's on Facebook last time I searched. 

Make your New Year’s Resolutions Stick

Nothing matters more than a goal -Unknown 

As we approach the New Year let’s use this time to reflect and dissect what this year has meant to us.  Let’s also not forget to celebrate this year’s accomplishments. Hopefully this includes the successful completion of some of the resolutions you made around this time last year.  If you fell short in achieving any of these goals, maybe this article can help you do better in 2015.    

Here are 6 of my personal tips for achieving this year’s, New Year’s resolutions. 

1. Write them down, or digitally store them in Outlook notes or anywhere they can’t get lost. If you think this is crazy, can you remember what your resolutions actually were for last year or the year before that?

2. Don't have too many goals. It's ok to just have one goal if you feel that having multiple goals will distract you from reaching any of them. Better something than nothing.

3. Make sure your goals meet the S.M.A.R.T. criteria (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, & Timely)

4. Tell as many friend and family members as you can. Scientific studies show you'll greatly improve your chances of reaching a goal if you publicly state it.  I've posted one my New Year’s Resolutions at the end of this post for this exact reason.

5. Use mile stoning if it's a long goal. For example if you're a commissioned sales professional like myself and would like to earn more than last year.  Calculate what you need to sell each month to be on pace for your goal.

6.  Use positive manifestation. If you want a new car in 2015 imagine yourself driving it into your garage as much as you can. 

Best of luck hitting all your professional and personal goals of 2015 & Happy New Year.  

** 2015 New Year’s Resolution: Have salad at least 3 times a week**

Karma takes care of the rest

“You will get all you want in life, if you help enough people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar

A quote that is many millennial older but also captures this same essence is:  "You reap what you sow.”   While both these quotes were coined well before the dawn of the internet and social media, they resonate even stronger today as most everyone (including my Grandma) has become only a Facebook message or #hashtag away.  But to not get off tangent here, I believe both these quotes can be wrapped into one word: karma.

Here's a short story which solidified my belief in Karma.

On a Europe trip before boarding a train in the Netherlands, I was unable to pay the ticket machine in either cash or with credit card because the machine didn't accept cash and my credit card wasn't chipped.  Frustrated; my only option was to board the train without a ticket and hope I could get some assistance once aboard.

Five minutes later on the train before I had solved my dilemma, I was randomly checked by a conductor for the very ticket I did not have.  I explained my situation and he let me go, but only once I promised to pay in full at the next station where I was getting off (The Honor System).  When I got to the next station I chose not to pay the fare in an effort to save myself $35 euro. 

A week later in Paris I was able to purchase a ticket, went through the scanner then threw the ticket away.   About five minutes later I was randomly asked by a conductor to show my ticket…. the same ticket I’d thrown away.  The French conductor was not as trusting as the Dutch one had been and she fined me $35 euro.  So in the end, I netted out equal, and learned that  Karma truly exists.  

So, in your job what does this mean?   Do you give a customer the specifications on a project you nurtured with them from the ground up and trust them not to take these specifications to another company in an attempt to get a lower price?  Most people may waffle when it comes to answering this question but my answer is to trust in Karma and that in the end it will all work out.  If people are going to go behind your back, they most certainly will and there is nothing you can do about it.   If you're always concerned about being back stabbed, watching your back will become a full time job and you will be the real loser.  

In order for any sale ever to be made, somebody, either the prospect or the sales person has to take a leap of faith.  My master plan is for me to be the first person to take this leap of faith.

So of course there are a couple disclaimers here.

1) Don’t be naive, take any leap cautiously and trust your gut however don't be afraid to take the leap first. 

2) Make sure you can actually leap far enough to cross the chasm otherwise you will fall every time.

In closing, be proud to take a leap even if it means losing a deal, fall softly when you fall which you certainly will, and be the first one to jump.  Karma will take care of the rest.  

This Blogs Vision/Mission Statement

For my first blog entry I want to communicate my vision, and this blog's mission statement.

This blog is about: marketing, technology, and breaking the paradigm of “flying with the flock.” In surfing parlance: it's about finding your own undiscovered wave and surfing it, sometimes even alone. This blog is also about how to find that next break, ride it's swell, and continue to enjoy the vast ocean playground.

Are you still reading this? I hope so because this is the most important part! This blog is about harnessing your intuition to do great things. Alan Alda says it best "You must leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition"  Don't think, just Do. 

I hope my blog will help you conquer your own wilderness and unequivocally help you in your personal growth, career, and life in general. 

How to make LinkedIn your workhorse part 1/2

Part 1/2

          

             

Six months ago I decided it was finally time for me to dive into the world of “social selling” for the very first time. After a few quick google searches, it became clear that LinkedIn would be my prime asset into becoming a social selling genius, so I decided early on to make LinkedIn my work horse.

Being a newbie to the LinkedIn community, I chose to do some exploring throughout the site and browsed as many profiles as I could to get an idea of how I could best create mine to be just as, if not more, effective than the profiles I viewed. After gaining a decent amount of knowledge in regards to getting started, I did just that. I created a profile, dove in head first, and began to take full advantage of all the resources and benefits LinkedIn can offer. Although this work horse of mine has proven to be a hell of a mighty horse that has greatly improved the effectiveness of our sales team and their retention, I have learned many of things along the way that I wish I knew sooner! In an effort to save you and other LinkedIn newbies from making some of the same crucial mistakes I may have made, I’ve listed a few key facts that would have been vitally helpful had I known them from day one.

•  If you only do one thing to your LinkedIn profile today, make that one thing to be claiming your customer LinkedIn URL. Go ahead, google “Derek Veenstra.” See what the first search result item is. Here is a link to claim yours.  

• Get yourself a professional headshot. This may seem unnecessary at first glance, but you’re creating a brand for yourself, for anyone and everyone to view with just one click. You want that brand to come across as professional and classy. As proud as you may be of that epic photo featuring you chugging the biggest beer of your life in record time;  that’s not a quality professionals are seeking.  Save those impressive photos for Facebook; LinkedIn wants you looking your finest as well as acting your finest.

• Don’t blindly add connections. LinkedIn will blacklist you and will actually freeze your account if need be.

• As you begin to establish yourself as a trusted LinkedIn member by adding people you personally know, start adding everyone you come in contact with that will remember your name and face.  Although you may feel like you're always the one sending connection requests at first, I promise you will reach a point when you start becoming the one who receives. Persevere, it’ll be worth it.

• Endorse people to stay in contact. Treat it like a “professional poke” version of a Facebook poke. Be strategic though! Aim to endorse each person for only one thing at a time. This will establish you as more thoughtful and make it clear that the endorsement was personal and targeted directly towards them.

• Create a profile that includes “buzz words” that will be searchable so you can be found when someone inputs those words.  I.E.  If you’re in sales, find all the words associated with what your company sells and try to integrate as many as you can into your profile.

Well that about wraps up Part 1 of my helpful hints in making LinkedIn your work horse in the path of becoming a social selling genius.  Part 2 is written and will post next week.  Make sure to provide your email so you can get updates as new and useful content posts to the Vast Future. 

Leaving your digital footprints

Is it bad to have looked at someone’s LinkedIn profile, take no actions, and then come up on their recently viewed list?

This blog is about: Leaving Digital Foot Prints on LinkedIn.

For starters, you can change your privacy settings on LinkedIn so you remain completely anonymous when viewing another member’s profile.  

The question I get most frequently though is: “Is it bad to have been seen viewing a prospect’s or friends LinkedIn?”

Is this creepy, or prying, or is it, as Amar Sheth would say – part of social selling?  Well, I have a very clear answer to this. I think it’s great to be a known viewer, and yes, it is part of social selling today.

Steve Richards from Vorsight hit the nail on the head with what he shared with me.  “If one of your prospects asks you why you were on their LinkedIn profile, you simply say I wanted to learn more about you and your business.” “This way I know how to better tailor my services to help you.”

In conclusion, digital footprints are a good thing.  Don't be worried about being a known viewer. Furthermore, may I suggest that you leave more footprints around as part of your daily routine.

Disclaimer: Now my rule of thumb here doesn't necessarily apply to your personal life and checking someone you meet out on LinkedIn.  Do you really want them to know you looked at their LinkedIn profile after you just met them in the lobby bar?  Probably not, discretion advised.

How to make LinkedIn your Workhorse Part 2/2

Part 2/2

1.  Give a recommendation to receive one.  The system is set up so return recommendations are easy to write.

2.  When you connect with someone; don’t leave the generic connection request line – be original and creative.

3.  If you want to connect with someone without having to say how you know them, connect with them on mobile or in the search page.

4.  Be authentic and clever in your profile.  You want to stand out.  I.E. "I help savvy marketers" ….everyone wants to be considered savvy, so they'll read on.

5.  You don't have to be perfect from the start.  You can hide profile updates just like you would if you ended a relationship on Facebook and didn't want the whole world to comment and “like” on the mini feed.

6.  Find peoples’ profiles you like, and model your own after the one’s you like best.  You don't need to re-invent the wheel, and there are no copyrights on anyone's profiles.

7.  Get to 500 genuine connections as fast as you can, and you’ll show up as having 500+ connections.  This makes you more valuable for others to connect with you because when you “like” their posts it’s shown to all your connections as well so greatly increases their exposure.