Uncle Thor's Lessons, Anecdotes and Humor

We started our publishing in 1990 with a used XT computer and a dot matrix printer. The computer ran DOS and WordStar 5.0 There was a company that sold software packages at a discount, so we upgraded Dos and added PC Paintbrush and WordStar 5.5.

IBM had stopped making XT computers three years earlier. Ours had a 10MB hard drive and a black and white CGA screen capable of displaying graphics.

We were always somewhat behind the latest equipment and software. Money was tight. I had to figure out tricks to keep us running. One of the best things for us was a company that sold discount software. I forget its name. They had great prices and introduced many things that were new to me. One of the things was software by an outfit called KeySoft, sold as “SoftKey.” KeySoft acquired software that had just been superseded by an upgrade. They sold it at cheap prices, and most of it was pretty good, That was in the days when Windows was just a word. DOS ran everything.

Our first upgrade was to a 286/12 with 1 MB of RAM and a 40 MB hard drive. That computer was a miracle, as was the laser printer we managed to acquire. (The laser printer finally died in late 2005). We also moved to WordPerfect 5.1. Most of our current publications were originally produced on that system.

I learned a big lesson then. Rather than wait until I had everything I thought was needed, I used what I had. That was good enough to get started. Time and success and knowledge allowed me to get more and do more. However, nothing would have ever happened if things did not begin when they did.

Of course, I followed up to search out other examples. The result merely coincided with my own experience.

An enterprise cannot begin on wishes for the future. The first step cannot be a virtual one. You have to take a step and make a move, no matter how small. You have to use what you have. Certainly it would be nice to have everything you think you need, but that is not always possible. Do not focus on what you lack. Take account of what you have. If you start using it, you will find that you have more than enough to begin.

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There are many dreamers out there who hesitate. They want to start a business or a club or some other thing, but they wait. Some may even have acquired a few of the things needed to start, but they still wait. Their partial hoard of equipment languishes in basements or attics or garages. It may wait so long that it becomes obsolete, but by then the possibility of that enterprise has long since evaporated. That is how many an endeavor dies in a haze of wishes and dreams and “…maybe tomorrow…”.
As the saying goes: Use it or Lose it.