Recently, Jim Heppelmann (President and CEO of PTC, the company I currently work for) was featured in an article in the Boston Globe talking about PTC’s exciting move to the Boston Seaport, A.K.A. The Innovation District. The article also featured the story of how Boston’s Mayor, Marty Walsh, came to PTC for a visit and spoke to the employees at one of our famous socials. He praised the company and the employees for making the move to Boston’s newest up and coming hub for business and cultural innovation! And the seaport is pretty much an amazing new innovation district at that—especially with all the incredible simultaneous construction projects going on down there. However, it might be interesting to take quick walk down memory lane to reminisce about Boston’s other innovation districts, of the past. Let’s go all the way back to Colonial times. Over by where North Street meets Moon Street is Paul Revere’s House. This historical landmark is located in Boston’s North End district, now synonymous with the Italian-American community. However, back in the late 17th Century, this area was well known for it’s silversmiths (like Paul Revere, an innovator of his time), blacksmiths, artisans, journeymen, and laborers. For a city that was founded in 1630, this part of Boston became its innovation district of that time. Fast forward through the Industrial Age which affected the entire world, Boston included, and you will see that another innovation district presented itself. This time on the Boston waterfront known as Boston Harbor—part of which is where today’s Boston Seaport Innovation District now resides. For over two hundred years, Boston Harbor, which compromises all the famous Boston wharves such as Long Wharf, Rowes Wharf, Fish Pier, Commonwealth Pier, and Union Wharf to name a few, were the gateways to shipping, railroads, international commerce, jobs, markets, construction, and of course innovation. Without the wharves of the 18th and 19th Centuries, Boston could not have grown...
Spirit
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July 3, 2017Sometimes I have too much time on my hands; sometimes I never seem to have enough. I don’t know, I can be a big procrastinator. But I can be so crazy-focused on the job at hand that I won’t rest until it’s done. Go figure. I love to exercise, and I love to write. And most of the time I get to do both. But there are times when I go through periods that I won’t do both. I don’t know why. Anyway, I wake up one morning and all of a sudden I’m driven again to work on my body and my books! I know it may seem weird but it’s me. What can I say? And when the writing gets ratcheted up, I feel amazing. I like that amazing feeling. I suppose that’s what gets me up in the morning. That promise that today I will create something new and awesome! With that in mind, here are few things you can do to help motivate you in the morning to be productive: Get up early. Yep! That’s a oldie but a goodie. Getting up early will always make you feel more alive and in touch with the day to follow. Even if you stayed up late, it’s better to sacrifice a little sleep for a more productive day. And, you will “hit the sheets” a little earlier that night! Have your coffee before your morning workout. That’s what I do. Some people will hold off until after their workout but I really need a jolt of java to get me going, and get me downstairs to my home gym. Also, get a coffee maker with a auto-timer/brew function. You’ll be so glad that you came out to the kitchen with a hot freshly brewed pot of JOE waiting for...