Sharks Inspirational Quotes

You might not think a hippo could inspire terror. Screaming “Hippo!” doesn’t have the same impact as screaming “Shark!” But I’m telling you—as the Egyptian Queen careened to one side, its paddle wheel lifting completely out of the water, and I saw that monster emerge from the deep, I nearly discovered the hieroglyphs for accident in my pants.

Louie found the raft offered an unlikely intellectual refuge. He had never recognized how noisy the civilized world was. Here, drifting in almost total silence, with no scents other than the singed odor of the raft, no flavors on his tongue, nothing moving but the slow porcession of shark fins, every vista empty save water and sky, his time unvaried and unbroken, his mind was freed of an encumbrance that civilization had imposed on it. In his head, he could roam anywhere, and he found that his mind was quick and clear, his imagination unfettered and supple. He could stay with a thought for hours, turning it about.

An adventurous life does not necessarily mean climbing mountains, swimming with sharks, or jumping off cliffs. It means risking yourself by leaving a little piece of you behind in all those you meet along the way.

I would rather go swimming with great white sharks than wade in romance 'cause I can never find the courage to ask her to dinner or even to dance.

Taking chances almost always makes for happy endings.

You were never created to please people; you were created to please God.

The greatest loss is the loss of one’s calling because we were listening to the wrong voices.

Like a shark, your environment can eat you completely and it can heal your life like a medicine; depending upon its form

In calm waters you still find sharks.

Sharks aren't the monsters we make them out to be

When you are walking on water it is fear, not sharks, that sinks you.

If size really mattered, the whale, not the shark, would rule the waters.

That sense of inferiority is just another word for fear. And fear is simply the self-deception that you are about to be separated from the thing you most value.

Sometimes in life, you try to hit life with a 'hui-tcha', but then life decides to hit you with a 'hui-tcha.' Do you know what you do in this predicament, when life hui-tcha's you? You go AGAIN!

Sharks don’t eat fish because of anything the fish do. They don’t eat fish because those fish aren’t good enough fish, or because those fish aren’t nice enough to the sharks. Sharks eat fish because they are sharks.

Blue ocean shift is a systematic process to move your organization from cutthroat markets with bloody competition—what we think of as red oceans full of sharks—to wide-open blue oceans, or new markets devoid of competition, in a way that brings your people along.

He who cannot swim should neither chase the dolphins nor play with sharks. For him disaster awaits like sunrise.

i would rather be a shark in a small pond with small fishis then a shark with bigger sharks then you

Nothing can shark the wheels or crush the spirit of a determined people, said Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu

Fetch me more sharks that I might jump them!

If you are looking for a pathway to your dreams that won’t require you to have courage, you’ll be looking for the rest of your life.

Be bold! Be courageous! God’s grace is backing you!

Why do we try to look for sharks? Why do we try to please the sharks that hurt us, hold us back, and keep us from our destinies?

If you allow sharks to dictate your decisions, they will try to exert their will on you more and more.

God has called us to love people, to be an example, and to be kind, but we have to take courage and be wise because there are sharks out there.

We don’t need to be fearful of sharks, but we do need to have an awareness of them.

Satan wants to use sharks to move you from your purpose. Don’t let him!

People may betray you, but you don’t need to take it personally.

If you let sharks call the shots, control, and manipulate you, it will lead you down a road of burnout, hopelessness, and even depression.

We may not be able to make people’s decisions, but we can choose to forgive and be made whole in Him.

You can never do for someone what they are not willing to do for themselves.

We must be compassionate but not enable people to blame or shame us out of God’s blessings.

We must have heart and overcome if we are to thrive in life and not merely survive.

If we are living for the approval of others, we aren’t living for the approval of God.

You only need one approval, and that’s God’s!

If you have to perform for people’s approval, trust me, it’s not worth having.

Trust God and follow His will for your life! His love is unconditional.

Fear and intimidation is the most common and easy shark attack to fall prey to.

Our goal should be to represent Jesus in every situation. When I was dealing with sharks, I didn’t have the answers, but God did.

If you keep your eyes on Jesus and prioritize your walk with Him, you’ll build your life on the right foundation.

The feeling of obligation can cause you to make bad decisions for your time, family, and destiny.

It’s not always destruction that keeps us from our destiny; it’s distraction.

Sharks will try to steal your time and intention, but you have to protect your focus. Keep your eyes on Jesus! He will carry you through persecution to victory!

We have to fight the battle for our destinies, not the battle for approval.

We can’t sacrifice the will of God for the approval of people.

People will criticize the very thing God has called you to do, saying it seems impossible to them, or too hard for them- but that’s why God called you to do it, not them.

When a shark has influence in your life, it makes you want to stay in the boat.

Conquering can give you courage.

I must be at the command of the Lord, not the dictates of people, pressures, or my own issues.

Emotional hurts are like cancers of the soul. If we don’t get them out, they can poison the whole soul and body.

I've spent years like a dead fish, now it's time to rule the sea like a shark.

The decisions you make every day are either building up or tearing down your life. What you meditate on, what you think about, and how you use your time set the course for your future.

Consider roadblocks in your life as sharks in sea and than imagine what you will do if you are swimming in sea. Will you stop swimming on seeing sharks or double , quadruple your efforts to reach the shore ?

You are not someone’s answer. You are an example of what the answer can do in someone’s life, and you are compelled to share how you did it by God’s Word and His grace, but only their yielding in obedience to God is their answer.

Sometimes people will misjudge your heart or what God has called you to do, but it’s not between you and them, it’s between you and God. When we stay focused on the call of God for our lives, He is able to create a legacy for us beyond anything we could have hoped or imagined!

what if the whole world was an ocean, do you need a horse to transport you above the water? or you have find a tree grown onto water to stand onto it! no, you have to get all you weapons, learn to swim and become a shark under water! thats when storms of the ocean will never bother you.

God has a plan for your life. He wants you to get your hopes up and to dream big, but I would not be wrong to tell you that there are going to be situations that come about which are intended by the enemy to hurt you, bother you, hinder you, and keep you back from your destiny...but the journey is worth it.

Inside the terminal at Keahole, they sat waiting to board, watching husky Hawaiians load luggage onto baggage ramps. Arriving tourists smiled at their dark, muscled bodies, handsome full-featured faces, the ease with which they lifted things of bulk and weight. Departing tourists took snapshots of them. 'That's how they see us', Pono whispered. 'Porters, servants. Hula Dancers, clowns. They never see us as we are, complex, ambiguous, inspired humans.' 'Not all haole see us that way...'Jess argued. Vanya stared at her. 'Yes, all Haole and every foreigner who comes here puts us in one of two categories: The malignant stereotype of vicious, drunken, do-nothing kanaka and their loose-hipped, whoring wahine. Or, the benign stereotype of the childlike, tourist-loving, bare-foot, aloha-spirit natives.

Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, Saga University in Japan, and the University of California, Davis, proposed creating an artificial inorganic leaf modeled on the real thing. They took a leaf of Anemone vitifolia, a plant native to China, and injected its veins with titanium dioxide-a well-known industrial photocatalyst. By taking on the precise branching shape and structure of the leaf's veins, the titanium dioxide produced much higher light-harvesting ability than if ti was used in a traditional configuration. The researchers found an astounding 800 percent increase in hydrogen production as well. The total performance was 300 percent more active than the world's best commercial photocatalysts. When they added platinum nanoparticles to the mix, it increased activity by a further 1,000 percent.

Leaves are also teaching scientists about more effective capture of wind energy. Wind energy offers great promise, but current turbines are most effective when they have very long blades (even a football field long). These massive structures are expensive, hard to build, and too often difficult to position near cities. Those same blades sweep past a turbine tower with a distinctive thwacking sound, so bothersome that it discourages people from having wind turbines in their neighborhoods. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also estimates that hundreds of thousands of birds and bats are killed each year by the rotating blades of conventional wind turbines. Instead, inspired by the way leaves on trees and bushes shake when wind passes through them, engineers at Cornell University have created vibro-wind. Their device harnesses wind energy through the motion of a panel of twenty-five foam blocks that vibrate in even a gentle breeze. Although real leaves don't generate electrical energy, they capture kinetic energy. Similarly, the motion of vibro-wind's "leaves" captures kinetic energy, which is used to excite piezoelectric cells that then emit electricity. A panel of vibro-wind leaves offers great potential for broadly distributed, low noise, low-cost energy generation.

As a grown man comfortable with his own vulnerability, he inspired his students to enter an uncommon domain, a place where fear, sadness, and rage were worthwhile experiences rather than things to smile through or tuck away.

...the reality is that most people (aka the public at large or wantrepreneurs with no skin in the game) see "Shark Tank" and think that all they need to be multi-millionaires overnight is to come up with a cool idea and pitch it to a group of fatcats. You can't have sales without business development and you can't have business development without sales. It's like digital marketing without SEO, eCommerce, branding, design, and content. It's popular and easy to see complex processes as simple one and done single items, but it's not the real world. When we break down goals into realistic point by point objectives needed to achieve that goal, then break down steps in a chain needed to attain each objective point, then figure out how we have to behave and who we have to become to put that chain into action, things get done quickly.

My iTunes playlist of sad-girl songs played in the background. Sometimes it helped with inspiration. Other times, it helped to remember why I refused to give love a second chance. Who needed that headache and heartache? I’d rather be eaten by a shark. Slowly.

A rippled ceiling of light hid the sky. Growths of fire, and smoke rippled across it. Vast spurs of blackened metal cut through the fire cloud like shark fins through an inverted sea. And then, as fast as it had arrived, it was gone. After a minute it was a fading star on the opposite horizon. Then everyone was shouting, and calling out. Amidst the clamour, the queen stood silent and still, staring at the abacus on her table. ‘Do you see now?’ asked the daemon. ‘The fire of inspiration falling from the sky,’ said Ahriman. ‘The manifestation of something so great and terrible, and outside of comprehension, that it opens these peoples’ eyes to the limits of their knowledge. If you know me as you claim, then you should know that this illustration of the power of enlightenment is wasted. ‘ ‘Yes, but no. Look at her face. Really look at her face. Think of the strength that was in those eyes before. There was worry of course. Doubt, naturally, but what is there now? ‘Fear, determination, anger, curiosity.’ ‘And what is gone that was there before.’ ‘I… do not…’ ‘The consolation of ignorance Ahriman. The simple comfort of knowing that no matter the terrors and possibilities that the world offers and threatens, those things are understood, measured. Known.

Over the past three years, I have been stopped on the street by great folks telling me their own stories: How they didn’t back down from the sharks, how they didn’t ring the bell, or how making their bed every morning helped them through tough times. They all wanted to know more about how the ten lessons shaped my life and about the people who inspired me during my career. This small book is an attempt to do so. Each chapter gives a little more context to the individual lessons and also adds a short story about some of the people who inspired me with their discipline, their perseverance, their honor, and their courage. I hope you enjoy the book!

The only sharks I’m afraid of are the ones that wear three-piece suits and write memos.

As a Shark, I’ve been in the tank with these entrepreneurs and I can tell you Rachel gets right to the heart of how they succeeded,” said Barbara Corcoran in her endorsement of the book. “‘Shark Tank MOMpreneurs’ is a must read for anyone looking to learn the inside secrets of getting on ‘Shark Tank’ and landing a deal, or getting the publicity that’s essential for any successful business.

Whatever business you have, if you truly believe in what you’re doing, you’re capable of going any place and doing anything. Pursue Your Dreams!

Graphic footage of shark attacks and feeding frenzies might make for thrilling entertainment, but they actively damage public sentiment toward animals whose very survival is in question. By misleading audiences and inspiring fear and terror, these television programs are harming the conservation movement.

The lotus is one of the most commercially successful sources of inspiration for biomimetic products. Apart from their intoxicating, heavenly fragrance, lotus plants are a symbol of purity in some major religions. More than two thousand years ago, for example, the Bhagavad Gita, one of India's ancient sacred scriptures, referred to lotus leaves as self-cleaning, but it wasn't until the late 1960s that engineers with access to high-powered microscopes began to understand the mechanism underlying the lotus' dirt-free surface. German scientist Dr. Wilhelm Barthlott continued this research, finding microstructures on the surface of a lotus leaf that cause water droplets to bead up and roll away particles of mud or dirt. Like many biomimics, this insight came quickly, while its commercialization took many years more. The "Lotus Effect"-short for the superhydrophobic (water-repelling) quality of the lotus leaf's micro to nanostructured surface-has become the subject of more than one hundred related patents and is one of the premier examples of successfully commercialized biomimicry.

A spoon with a Lotus Effect surface can be dipped into honey and come out totally clean-without a hint of stickiness. As just one example, perhaps we could reduce the need for high water use and environmentally damaging detergents in dishwashers by keeping our plates and utensils cleaner to begin with.

We clear-cut forests and destroy entire habitats to produce paper when superior, cheaper, and far less destructive bamboo alternatives are available.

books sales out dramatically! Plus, the more reviews each book gets, the more it inspires me to create new books for you to enjoy. Thank you so much and have a wonderful day!

A courtroom, Lawyers, Judges, rainbows, tilts, a card shark, a Royal Flush, a Bachelors Dream and a poker table is one hell of a story.

The Rooster taught me to wake up early and be a leader. The Butterfly encouraged me to allow a period of struggles to develop strong and look beautiful. The Squirrel showed me to be alert and fast all the time. The Dog influenced me to give up my life for my best friend. The Cat told me to exercise every day. Otherwise, I will be lazy and crazy. The Fox illustrated me to be subtle and keep my place organized and neat. The Snake demonstrated to me to hold my peace even if I am capable of attack, harm, or kill. The Monkey stimulated me to be vocal and communicate. The Tiger cultivated me to be active and fast. The Lion cultured me not to be lazy especially if I have strength and power that could be used. The Eagle was my sample for patience, beauty, courage, bravery, honor, pride, grace, and determination. The Rat skilled me to find my way out no matter what or how long it takes. The Chameleon revealed to me the ability to change my color for beauty and protection. The Fish display to live in peace even if I have to live a short life. The Delphin enhanced me to be the source of kindness, peace, harmony, and protection. The Shark enthused me to live as active and restful as I can be. The Octopus exhibited me to be silent and intelligent. The Elephant experienced me with the value of cooperation and family. To care for others and respect elders. The Pig indicated to me to act smart, clean, and shameless. The Panda appears to me as life is full of white and black times but my thick fur will enable me to survive. The Kangaroo enthused me to live with pride even if I am unable to walk backward. The Penguin influenced me to never underestimate a person. The Deer reveals the ability to sense the presence of hunters before they sense you. The Turtle brightened me to realize that I will get there no matter how long it takes me while having a shell of protection above me. The Rabbit reassured me to allow myself to be playful and silly. The Bat proved to me that I can fly even in darkness. The Alligator/crocodile alerted me that threat exists. The Ant moved me to be organized, active, and social with others. The Bee educated me to be the source of honey and cure for others. The Horse my best intelligent friend with who I bond. Trained me to recover fast from tough conditions. The Whale prompted me to take care of my young ones and show them life abilities. The Crab/Lobster enlightened me not to follow them when they make resolutions depending on previous undesirable events.

There is no greater thing you could do in your life and your work, than following your passions- in a way that serves the world and you.

There's nothing wrong with show business when you're old enough to swim with sharks, but until then, beware the flame.

The real issue, according to Brent, is a combination of cynicism and outright hostility from the status quo, which is quite typical with new paradigm-changing technologies, and the efficacy or otherwise of management, funders, and commercialization tactics. "The biggest obstacles we face in this world are doubt and greed," says Brent. "The world needs this technology. It's whether it happens now or in thirty years. It's just a matter of time before we're faithfully copying nature and creating benign cement.

Nature is always showing us the best model," explains John. "Because of my training, I know that molecules can be stretched to do something that doesn't suit their fundamental structure, but they'll always strain to go back to where they were before. A biomimetic way of looking at them is more behavioral. Instead of forcing molecules to interact, I 'ask' molecules what their role should be by studying their fundamental structure. For example, some molecules have strong adhesive properties. If it wants to do that, let it be a paint molecule. The benefit is that in chemistry, molecular structure always impacts the manufacturing process, so if you go along with that-like a molecule that already 'knows how' to be a paint molecule-it's going to be a more facile manufacturing route and straightforward product development. We have to let go of ego and let the inherent properties of materials teach us what to do." I understand John's orientation. At PAX, we let fluids in motion show us how they prefer to flow, rather than starting from what an engineer's diagram wants them to do.

The greatest wealth and satisfaction of our desires lies not in clear-cutting forests, stripping the oceans, or spewing billions of tons of toxins into the atmosphere but within the forces of nature's wild movement and growth. Nature is the mother of all invention and many of humankind's greatest achievements have been made by copying nature. However, our copies have been rough. We haven't succeeded in mimicking nature's grace, efficiency-and most importantly-sustainability. We're coloring outside the lines and making a mess. Let's look again, using nature as our model as the earliest humans did, but aided by the tools of science. With nature, it's never too late. Nature is a survivor. Nature never gives up. She heals all wounds. Nature pushes up tiny little blades of grass through city concrete and asphalt and overgrows Mayan cities. She keeps putting out billions of seeds, spores, and baby spiders, growing mountains, evolving new species. She is always creating. It's not just okay to feel optimistic, it's natural, and essential. Combining our human intelligence with optimism is the best way we can give back to our earth. Right now, across the globe, we humans, the products of nature, have the skills and the technology to solve just about any problem we're facing, without sacrifice-if the will is there. There is a way, if we allow ourselves to be guided by nature's optimism and nature's wisdom. We can do it.

Our deeply troubled world can be reinvented through biomimicry. Nature's trillions of solutions throw open the door to far-reaching opportunities for building a better world; rescuing our ailing environment and atmosphere; and giving rise to a powerful, new, sustainable economy. To quote rock musician Tom Petty, "The future ain't what it used to be." No matter who you are, you can be a pioneer and leader in creating a new golden age on earth. A sweet twenty-first century and a third millennium are possible. Imagine. It's your life, your world, your opportunity, and your responsibility. The possibilities are endless.

There are around two million new businesses started each year in the United States. Fewer than one thousand receive VC funding (a chance of one in two thousand). Typically, fewer than one hundred of those portfolio companies will create really significant wealth (one in ten VC investments). These are steep odds, so venture capitalists have developed fierce survival strategies about how, and in what, they invest their funds. They seek as high a return on their investment as possible in as short a time as possible-hundreds of times their investment within three years, if they can get it. Remember that a VC firm typically sees one significant success out of ten start-up companies. Your start up company, if successful, must therefore make enough profit, and the VC must have enough ownership, to compensate the investment firm for their other nine failures. That puts a lot of pressure on you to deliver.

It's essential to do exhaustive due diligence and consult with specialized legal counsel before committing your technology to a VC contract. Interview management and staff at other companies in the VC firm's portfolio including some that failed. Research the history of how employees and other common stock holders fared as the companies grew. When in doubt, listen to your gut and speak up-and get any promises in writing.

There are four hundred billion tons of carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere, with billions more added each year due to human activities-and burning fossil fuels is not the only major source of humans' contribution. The release of carbon dioxide in the process of cement making for concrete is a leading source, because one ton of traditionally produced cement generates at least one ton of carbon dioxide. As concrete is the most traded material in the world after water, cement production has become the third largest contributor of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, at three billion tons per year.

Coral is built by trillions of tiny organisms called polyps that extract magnesium, calcium, and carbon from ocean water to build a community of skeletons. In a similar way, Calera, which Brent founded in 2007, creates cement by running carbon dioxide from flue gas from a nearby power plant through water containing calcium, magnesium, sodium, and chloride-such as seawater. This combination of chemicals and minerals also converts the carbon dioxide in the flue gas to related materials called carbonates, which are heavier and precipitate out of the salt water. After removing the water and drying, the product is ready for use as cement. In effect, the company makes chalk, and indeed, Calera's cement is bright white. As a side benefit, the source water has had its salt removed and can be purified to fresh water with only a few additional steps. Finally, and perhaps most significantly, rather than giving off carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, Calera's process absorbs half a ton of carbon dioxide for every ton of cement it produces.

I asked Brent if he had any tips for other aspiring entrepreneurs. "Do something that has significance," he replied, "something that makes a difference and that you have passion for. Second, successful entrepreneurs are the ones who follow through. As Winston Churchill said, 'Never, never, never, give up.' Third, don't set goals too high. Fourth, do it without raising lots of capital. Fifth, stay focused. Sixth, every quarter, make an operating plan, and stick to it.

The shell of the scaly foot possesses a number of additional energy-dissipation features compared to typical mollusk shells that are primarily composed of calcium carbonate." The industrial opportunities already anticipated include superior helmets, protective armor, and new structural materials. Pyrites and gregite are also cheap being evaluated as an alternative to silicone for the creation of cheap, abundant solar cells.

Through poorly managed drag or friction, we waste two-thirds of the energy we produce and, by so doing; we're destroying our environment and atmosphere three times the rate than if we didn't waste energy. The United States burns two billion dollars' worth of oil every day. The world burns four cubic miles of nonrenewable fossil fuels every year. That's a mound four miles long, four miles wide, and four miles high, equivalent to 21,120 feet-the highest mountain in the Andes or three-quarters the height of Mount Everest. We're very clever and resourceful extracting and processing more and more fossil fuels but we're pouring that energy into a bucket full of holes. We're wasting a large part of this energy by trying to force flow into straight lines.

Of all the species on earth, we seem to be the only ones lacking an "enough" gene. In the wild, dogs, lions, cows, monkeys, apes, even mosquitoes and houseflies, eat until they are satisfied. They don't keep eating to obesity. Animals from squirrels to blue jays store food for winter-and some do store a little more than their needs. This might be seen as suboptimized evolution, as if they weren't evolved enough to remember where they'd hidden all their stores. However, the leftovers benefit other animals and move seeds to new growing sites. It's all part of a balanced ecosystem with zero waste.

If indigenous peoples have a sense of "enough," what has happened with the rest of humanity? Many of us in the developed world have tamed and caged and bored ourselves. Like animals domesticated for use, we have become fat and unhealthy. With more than half of us living in urban areas, we've largely lost our connection to nature and the historic initiation rites that oriented us to our place in the cycle of life. Instead, we distract ourselves with everything from shopping to stimulants to video games.

The cochlea of all mammals matches the spiraling design of a seashell, while the shape of our outer ears echoes the curled-up embryos of humans and many other animals-a feature utilized by acupuncturists who treat ailments in various body parts by pinning needles into the location on the ear that corresponds to those body parts.

There is not a scientist on earth today who can fully explain and replicate the flight efficiency of a single insect or the swimming ability of any fish. No man-made pump and piping can match the efficiency of the human heart and vascular system. Globally, we devote huge amounts of energy to cool our computers, yet nature's super-computer, the human brain, has not heating problem at all. As we'll see repeatedly throughout this book, nature always uses the least energy and the least materials for the job. Nature and humans use dramatically opposed strategies for drag reduction and neither borrows from the other.

Lift one hand in front of you now and inscribe a circle in the air with your finger, taking one second to complete it. As you're completing this process, the earth that you're sitting on is spinning on its axis and progressing radially with the rest of the solar system through space at the same time. Our earth travels through the solar system at 18.5 miles per second, and the entire solar system is barreling through space at 155 miles per second. So by the time your finger comes back to the starting place of your air circle, you will have arced more than 155 miles through space. Your circle looks like an expanded, uncoiling spring that is more than 155 miles long. In the same way, a brick falling from a tall building seems to travel in a straight line, but in the seconds that it takes to hit the ground, it has actually traced a long spiral relative to the universe. This applies to linear accelerators or anything traveling in what seems to be a totally straight or planar line. Incidentally, if a person is lost in a featureless desert, it has been found that he or she doesn't actually walk in circles as popularly thought. In reality, the meanderings follow spirals.

The whole known universe is made of and according to nature's spiraling geometries-and nature uses them exclusively to move energy.

Unbridled desire-the more, more, more syndrome-shows up over and over in humans interacting with the material world. We all want more-more money, more security, more luxuries, a better car, a bigger house, new clothes, to be more famous, a better job, a better spouse, a better nose or boobs, to be more enlightened, or for the world to have more peace-or more sex, more power, more hair, better weather. Everyone wants something he or she doesn't have and goes to great lengths to get it. And when we've got it? We want something else. We alone, among all the millions of life-forms on earth, seem to spend virtually no time satisfied. This appears to be a defining characteristic of modern humanity-the incessant, seemingly obsessive, often illogical striving for more.

A new green economy can easily suffer from the same predatory form of capitalism that created the global economic meltdown. As Kenny Ausubel of Bioneers notes, "The world is suffering from the perverse incentives of 'unnatural capitalism.' When people say 'free market,' I ask if free is a verb. We don't ave a free market but a highly managed and often monopolized market. We used to have somewhat effective antitrust laws in the United States. Now we have banks and companies that are 'too big to fail,' but in truth are too big not to fail. The resulting extremes of concentration of wealth and political power are very bad for business and the economy (not to mention the environment, human rights, and democracy). One result is that small companies can't advance too far against the big players with their legions of lawyers and Capitol Hill lobbyists, when in truth it's small and medium-sized companies that provide the majority of jobs as well as innovation.

Over the next couple of years, we built and tested a series of prototypes, started dialogues with leading manufacturers, and added business development and technical staff to our team, including mechanical and aerospace engineers. Our plan was that PAX scientific would be an intellectual-property-creating R & D company. When we identified appropriate market sectors, we would license our patents to outside entrepreneurs or to our own, purpose-built, subsidiaries. Given my previous experience on the receiving end of hostile takeovers, we were determined to maintain control of PAX Scientific and its subsidiaries in their development stages. Creating subsidiaries that were market specific would help, since new investors could buy stock in a more narrowly focused business, without direct dilution of the parent company. We were introduced to fellow Bay Area resident Paul Hawken. A successful entrepreneur, author, and articulate advocate for sustainability and natural capitalism, Paul understood our vision of a parent company that concentrated on research and intellectual property, while separate teams focused on product commercialization. With his own angel investment backing, Paul established a series of companies to market computer, industrial, and automotive fans. PAX assigned worldwide licenses to these companies in exchange for up-front fees and a share of revenue; Paul hired managers and set off to sell fan designs to manufacturers.

When we can say, in all humility, that we still don't know everything, and that there may be better ways of achieving our goals, we can look with fresh eyes and discover new and more relevant paradigms.

Biomimicry offers the opportunity to meet our resource needs and to reinvent almost every industry on earth. But as we all learned in school, an object at rest wants to stay at rest, and an object in motion doesn't like to stop or change direction. Like all engineers who must deal with those two fundamental laws of physics (as yet still proven), innovators must cope with this corollary to our survival instinct: resistance to change and the resulting inertia created by systems and institutions that are already in place. The trick is to find the path of least resistance. All it takes is for each of us to be willing to recognize our human nature and take ourselves in hand. We are voting every day by our action or our inaction, by what we buy and what we talk about. Whether by supporting biomimicry education in our schools, speaking up for a biomimetic project or practice in our businesses, showing up for a city council meeting on sustainability, or researching the products we buy, each of us can be a tremendously powerful force for positive change.

By constantly creating conditions conducive to life, with zero waste and a balanced use of resources, nature is clean, green, and sustainable. Following nature's design mastery, we can achieve greater wealth and economic sustainability.