I had a blast at TechStars last year, and I’m thrilled that they’re having me back again this summer.  This coming Thursday I’ll be immersed in start-ups in Boulder, teaming up with the guys from Slice of Lime to do a talk on user experience.  From what I can tell they have put together another solid group, and I’m looking forward seeing them.

Because any time in Colorado is never enough, I’m heading out today so I can spend the first half of the week catching up with old friends and hopefully making a few new ones.  It’s no secret that we (Viget) want to reach out west more as the business grows, and I hope this trip sparks a few more.

The week wraps up with my family joining me for some R&R up in the mountains.  I can already tell that it’ll be hard to come back.

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Watching the NBA finals on Father’s Day reminded me of a childhood memory that has stuck with me. My dad was more into football than basketball, but he was a sports fan and would generally watch the big games. When I was 11, we watched some of the ‘87 Lakers-Celtics finals together. My only memory of the whole series was the most boring play in all of basketball: an early-game foul shot.

Magic Johnson was at the line. His free throw bounced on both ends of the rim, and went in. It went in. Count it. Score. But when Magic took the ball, he was clearly disgusted with himself. He was acting like he’d missed.

I remember thinking “what’s he so mad about? It went in.” It had gone in, but it hadn’t gone in the way he wanted it to.

I realized quickly what separates great players in the NBA from all-time great players like Magic: personal standards. The lesson I took away was that your personal standards matter more than everyone else’s expectations of you and even more than the rules that you play by.

At Viget, we talk about having higher standards than our clients, to push ourselves to do great work. I love working with people that are motivated by, above all else, their own personal standards for what they’ll be proud of.

It’s not always about working longer hours or making more money or generally “exceeding expectations.” To continue with the sports analogy, I remember missing lots of shots in lacrosse that I was pleased with, because the mechanics of my shot felt right and I knew it was making me a better player.

The rules of business are even less clear. If you spend your career focused on keeping score the way everyone else does rather than deciding for yourself what qualifies as success (both in daily challenges and as a whole) I predict you’ll ultimately be disappointed. Set your own standards — then always try to exceed them. You’ll be happier and most likely more successful by any standards anyway.

It’s possible that Magic missed the next free throw and smiled because his shot felt right. But I doubt it.