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Seth Godin writes “Seven Years Gone,” asking

Seven years from now, what will you have to show for what you’re doing right now?

I have an answer: “200,000 words of original content owned free and clear of any intellectual property encumbrance.”

What’s your answer?

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Here’s my backstory…

Over the last 10 years, I’ve worked on 4 really amazing software projects. Amazing software that you have never heard of. Software that ended up DOA (dead on arrival).

I don’t own any (or enough) of the intellectual property rights for these projects. Other people have the controlling interests. I could point you to old, stale links for 3 of them. You could probably find them by doing a really deep search on Google on my name. Boring. The fourth, last, and coolest project was for a DARPA contractor. It’s not totally classified, but there are trade secrets involved. That was 2.5 years of my life.

Think about it: a decade goes by, and I don’t have anything to show for it.

Man, that sucks.

How much of your last 10 years do you own?

—-

2009 is different.

I own – outright – 99% of what I’ve done in 2009.

That last 1% is client work, which I’ll be doing more of in the future.

How much of 2009 is yours?

How much of 2010 will be yours?

By the way, if you’re in a corporate or government job, and want to start building your intellectual property, a sideline information business, or your personal brand in a manner acceptable to your current employment, drop me a line and I’ll help you get started.