Why I'm obsessed with this pen

Someone much smarter than I once told me that real passion comes out in the details.

To be totally honest, I didn't get it right away. After all, I like to think of myself as more of a "big picture person". But, for some reason, this idea has never strayed far from my consciousness. And recently, as I started to pay attention to it, I mean really pay attention to it, I realized that interest in details may in fact be the best measure of my own passion.

To be clear, it is just a pen. It is not a stylus or a laser pointer or a recording device or even a taser (although that would be awesome). Why I care so much about this simple pen is that I see it as a measure of someone else's passion. It took David Smith over a year to find this pen.

This particular pen, or one shaped just like it, was originally spotted and immediately admired by the owner of Envision Creative Group in the lobby of a high-end hotel. To David, a gifted photographer and designer, it was a thing of understated elegance. To the hotel staff, however, it was just a pen that some corporate person thought belonged in their lobby. Someone clearly thought it was beautiful product well-suited to the high-end setting, but in a classic case of corporate apathy (I can only assume), that passion and attention to detail failed to make its way down to the so-called people people on the front line. Now, this saddens me greatly, but what I want to focus on is the person DID appreciate that beauty and set out on a year-long endeavor to find it, acquire it, and put his own brand on it.

You may very well be thinking that I'm blowing this out of proportion and that a pen is just a damn pen, but let me tell you this....

If I'm going to spend my money - or more importantly my client's money - on design services, you'd better believe that I want the guy who is THAT passionate about "mundane" details. That might just be the single greatest qualification I can imagine when it comes to choosing a creative professional. I want a guy that doesn't cut corners... but molds them. David Smith is such a guy.

Clearly, I'm a huge fan of Envision Creative Group. That's because I'm a connoisseur of purpose and passion in business. THOSE details interest me greatly. When I find them, I obsess about them. I am inspired by them and I find myself compelled to tell anyone who will listen that such details prove what you say you believe.

I am so moved by David's passion for design - and the incredible team he has put together around that passion - that I recently reached out to one of my favorite authors in the world. I asked for permission to partner with Envision and do something very special with his book. Luckily for all of us, he said yes.

Our top-secret project will be done very soon and I can't wait to show it to you. It's going to be awesome.

So. Very. Awesome.

In the mean time, let me just leave you with this thought. Hopefully it will stay as close to your consciousness as it has to mine.

Trust passion. Lots of people claim to love what they do... but the truth can always be found in the details.