Creating Magic

This year we went into the national forest through three feet of snow to sort through hundreds of trees that were not quite right in quest of "THE" tree. After hiking up the mountain for a couple of hours at 9000 feet we did indeed locate a beautiful 15 ft tree that would fit perfectly in our living room 800 miles away.

We went through that effort of buying a permit, searching, cutting, driving and decorating all for the handful of seconds of magic that occured every time friends and family walked through our front door on Christmas eve. Magic is rare and exceptionally valuable to every individual, family or organization. Those that capture it win in every way.

500 years ago some guy in Europe decided that cutting down a fir tree and placing it into their home to celebrate Christmas was a good idea. Their friends and family probably thought they were nuts but a few days ago 35 million American homes had a "real " tree in their living room replicating that poor soul's idea from the 1500's. With 350 million new trees growing right now specifically on farms for Christmas' yet to come a billion industry is secure for sometime to come.

Starbucks did something similar by taking a simple cup of coffee and turning it into an experience rather than a commodity. Commodities like boring coffee beans or pine trees get sold for the lowest price but magical experiences are nearly priceless.

Amazon was originally to be named Cadabra because they were bent on making the buying experience of everything different and they made it so. They started with a simple product like books. They didn't write or publish books but they changed the experience of buying an existing commodity forever. They turned a simple thing into an experience that creates a smile. Any business that can buy a commodity and turn it into magic have earned the right to exceptional bottom lines and their own place in business history.

As we launch into a new decade that calls for even more vision, every wanna be entrepreneur simply needs to ask and answer a simple question - what boring thing do I know a lot about and how can I turn it into magic for the world to enjoy?