365QOD-Day363

"Make sure you visualize what you really want, not what someone else wants for you"-Jerry Gillies

Almost year a ago I started to write this blog.  My personality type is that I get excited by new projects.  This works well for my job since I work as a Project Manager. 

But in my personal life attacking multiple targets has led to many great starts and many unfinished ones.  After a few years I eventually decide that an unfinished project is no longer worth it and I erase it from my mind.

This is why tackling this project was important to me.  To be focused for a year on a goal is something I have never done.  It involved creativity and maybe that is what made it easier to focus and to reach the goal line.

The big secret I think was that I kept at it a little bit at a time.  At times I wrote the posts daily.  Sometimes I wrote them several at a time and delay posted them.  The output was fairly consistent.  It looked as if it was achieved daily. 

The big question now is, will I stop?  Absolutely not!  This is like a drug.  My daily drug of creativity.

The biggest challenge to me is to keep reading and experiencing life in order to share what I learn and experience with you.

Today's question is:
"What can you achieve in a constant effort over a year?"

365QOD-Day362

"A career is wonderful, but you can not curl up with it on a cold night"-Marilyn Monroe

I often observe the people that work around me.  They have developed their work habits over their career and I enjoy observing them. 

What do I see?

The younger ones are often working harder than others as if trying to let everyone know that they belong.  The more mature ones see the end and are now coasting.  They feel as if they are fire proof. 

The ones in the middle, like me, work a little more than needed but enough to go home and have a life.

It all boils down to a single word: balance.  In my opinion, what we see as balance varies with our age.  Hopefully, at the end of our lives we can say that we achieved that balance. 

Today's question is:
"In which group do you belong?"

365QOD-Day361

"The secret of all those who make discoveries is that they regard nothing as impossible"- Justus Liebig (I love his last name!!!!)

We limit ourselves.  Big time!

Yesterday I did something unusual.  I ran next to a bicycle.  My wife got a new bike and she went out for a ride next to me as I ran my 10 mile practice run.

She did not know the rules.  In my mind I expected her to ride her bike next to me.  She sometimes got excited and paddled up ahead.  Sometimes she followed me from behind. 

This change of pace forced me to run my practice run 10 minute faster than I have ever run it.  I made the discovery that I can run faster.  I now believe that I can run even faster than I did Saturday.

It was a discovery.  I knew it was not impossible.  I, however, never pushed myself to that level.  I hope she goes again.

Today's question is:
"What is currently impossible in your world?" 

365QOD-Day360

"One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives"-Euripides

I sometimes think that God gives us the friends that we have to make up for some of our family members. 
Some of those "tough" family members are like rough sand paper. They are abrasive and only make us better people for tolerating them.

Then there are our true friends.  The true friends make our lives smooth.  They provide the polish.

Today's question is:
"Are you the sand paper or the polish to the people in your life?"

365QOD-Day359

"Challenges are what makes life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful"- Joshua J. Marine

I am training for a half marathon.  I try to run once during the week.  It is usually a short run of 7 miles or less. But on the weekends I try to push myself to do more than 10 miles. 

The other day I was in Virginia, I woke up at 6 a.m. and put my running shorts and shoes on.  It would have been so easy to stay in bed since I did not have my first meeting till 9.

I left the hotel and started down an unknown street.  There was a guy up ahead with a hood over his head.  He was walking.  I asked him if he was going to run.  He said that he was done.  I asked him to run with me and to my surprise he did.  We ran a few miles while talking. 

During the time we ran we talked about our lives and the run seemed so short.  He is at the same place I was two years ago, just starting to run.  It was up to me to nurture his pursuit.  I did and I hope he keeps up with it. 

The easy thing would have been to just keep quiet and continue to run without speaking. 

Today's question is:
"Did you nurture a stranger today?"

365QOD-Day358

"There are only two ways to live your life.  One is though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as if everything is"- Albert Einstein

The other day I got in a conversation with a friend of mine who is a non-believer.   I do not judge people if they believe or they do not. 

It is not my business BUT this friend asked me how I as a scientist could believe.  At that point I have to respond.  I fall into the second way that Einstein mentions in the quote.  I see perfection where there is imperfection.  I marvel at why we have five fingers instead of 10.  When I wake up and I am running as the sun is coming up I marvel how we can be so close to the sun and yet not be as dry as Mars. 

Yes, I marvel at the miracle of life. 

Today's question is:
"Which way do you live your life?" 

365QOD-Day357

"It is so annoying that I can not take my eyes of it"- reason people give when asked why they watch a bad show

I just read a story in USA Today about a YouTube sensation Dane Boedigheimer hit Annoying Orange.
Amazing!

I have never watched the show. I have not interest in the topic BUT I can appreciate the brilliance behind creating a simple video show and parlaying that into a popular show.

The story did not indicate how profitable the show is but with millions of viewers I am sure it does well.  I guess it is a simple ideas that translate well to shows.

Today's question is:
"What idea that you have that can be translated into an Internet video show?"

The story can be found at:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/talkingtech/story/2012-01-24/annoying-orange-youtube-tv/52776276/1

365QOD-Day356

"The only time teammates seem to approach him at this point is when they begin to the see the end of their own careers. He recognizes the look in their eyes, the panic that comes from facing a truth that they won’t be able to do the only thing they have known. They have heard the same stories all football players hear, that the first two years after football are the worst, and they wonder how Williams has peace. They wonder if they can handle what is about to happen.

“I don’t feel [the fear],” Williams says. “I was talking to my doctor about this the other day. And because I have found something that I love and that I want to do when I’m done I’m sure I’m going to miss it, but because I’ve been able to look that monster in the face I’ll be better prepared. Some people are afraid of it so they try to delay it as long as they can.”- Yahoo story

I read a story about Terrell Owens today and was reminded of this quote.  In the story, he is described as someone who earned close to 80 million dollars and now has financial troubles.  His monthly child support alone is around 50k.  He did not spend money crazily but made many bad investments.  So now out of football he is struggling.  He can not move on to the next phase of his life.

Ricky Williams was also very destructive in his life but it seems like he has turned it around.  He even returned to football after being kicked out for drug abuse.  It seems as if he is in peace with himself.  Without that peace he would not be able to come back.

Today's question is:
"What are you transitioning to?"

Ricky's story can be found at
 http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=lc-carpenter_ricky_williams_ravens_010912

365QOD-Day355

"You are a genius"-my English 9th grade teacher's (Mr. Howard Schmidt)words

Those are hard words to forget.  What did I do to deserve them?  I do not remember exactly but never the less they still make me glow.  (He is the main editor of my first book)

But as the old saying goes....So what? 

Being something and actually doing something are different.  One is about having potential and the other is about achieving that potential.

Imagine a marble on the edge of a building roof.  It has a lot of potential energy just sitting there.  Unless it is given a push, a nudge, it never takes the leap.  Once the leap occurs the potential energy gets converted into kinetic energy, the energy of motion. 

Today's question is:
"Are you Mr./Ms. Potential or Mr./Ms.Kinetic energy?"

365QOD-Day354

"So sad"- my reaction

Unless you have not heard the news Joe Paterno passed away Sunday.  I never attended Penn State.  But I can feel for the students and alumni of the school.  He was a legend.

Why write a post about Joe?  Well, I was wondering if we could learn lessons from news stories.

What lesson would we learn from Joe?  He was passionate about football. He coached the team for 46 years.  Wow!  He won national championships. 

Unfortunately, some people will judge him by his response to his assistant molesting children.  Maybe his focus was too much on football and not enough on the world around him.

I do not know all of the facts but I believe that he probably did not do enough.  He had a lot of power at Penn State.  He could have pushed the issue.  But for reasons we will never know...he did not.

I believe that the weakest link determines the strength of a chain.  If the location is such, the link can be removed.  But if it is in the middle then you can not easily do it.  The chain becomes a couple of smaller, less impressive, chains.

Today's question is:
"What is your weakest link and how can it get you in trouble?"

365QOD-Day353

"It is only bad news"- my friend's opinion of the news

I often look through two newspapers.  Out of two papers(one local and one national) I rarely read more than one or two stories total.  It usually takes a few minutes each day.

When I get magazines from the library I go though them and mark the corner of the stories that appeal to me.  Then I start reading only those stories.

Similarly, I scan the stories of the most popular stories on yahoo without reading them.  I just get the jest of the story.  Sometimes I do read a story or two per day.

This focus allows me to read stories that nurture me instead of wasting my time.  It is my choice to do it this way.

Today's question is:
"How do you reduce your information input?"

365QOD-Day352

"She looks great"- my impression of Jennifier Hudson's weight loss
I can not help but notice the many ads Jennifer appears in these days.  The journey she undertook was challenging.

The other day I read a story about a guy named Ben Davis who has posted a video on youtube called "My 120 pound journey".  Pretty inspirational.

Both stories made me conclude that when a human being sets their mind to achieve a goal then the only person that can prevent them from achieving the goal is the person who set he goal.  I believe it.

These two individuals are inspiring and made me wonder if my goals are big enough. 

Today's question is:
"Who inspires you?"

365QOD-Day351

"He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life" Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yesterday I used Mark Twain's quote that advised to live fully.  My advise was to allow give your all and except that at times your best might not be good enough.

Emerson adds another bit of advise- conquer some fear everyday.  Start by first identifying what scares the shit out of you.  Create categories and identified several things that you fear happening.  Make it a point to tackle one per day.   I need to create my This Stuff Scares the Shit Out of Me list. 

Today's question is:
"Which fear will you tconquer today?"

365QOD-Day350

"The fear of death follows from the fear of life.  A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time."- Mark Twain

I love this quote.  In my opinion it advises that we live life fully.  By doing so, we can truly live and we will not fear death. 

What can anyone ask of you?  In my opinion it is to do your best.  By doing our own best at each moment we would be living fully.  You would not have time for dark thoughts or fears.

So if it is that easy...just simply live fully..why don't we live fully?  Because sub-consciously we believe that our best might not be good enough. Therefore we fear.  We have to understand that at times our best just won't be good enough. At other times it would be better than good enough.  You will only know by being fully engaged and allowing yourself to fail if it isn't good enough.  Hint:  the world will not end if you are not good enough at one thing or several things.

Today's question is:
"How prepared to die are you today?"

365QOD-Day349

"... I came across it in the book Breakthrough Entrepreneurship (which I highly recommend) by entrepreneur and teacher Jon Burgstone and writer Bill Murphy, Jr. Of Stevenson’s definition, Burgstone says, “people often need to say it out loud 50 or 100 times before they really understand what it means.” Here it is:

Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.

"-Howard Stevenson.


So how does one pursue the opportunity without regard?


"Burgstone puts it:

Every time you want to make any important decision, there are two possible courses of action. You can look at the array of choices that present themselves, pick the best available option and try to make it fit. Or, you can do what the true entrepreneur does: Figure out the best conceivable option and then make it available."

As human beings we always want to make the best choice.  Notice that Burgstone advises to conceive and then make available NOT pick the best option and make it fit.   In other words see the end(the best conceivable option) and the steps in between the start and the end in order to make it available.

Making the "best" available option fit does not make it the optimal solution.  

Today's question is:
"Are you working towards the best available or are you conceiving the optimal solution?"

The article can be found at:
 http://www.inc.com/eric-schurenberg/the-best-definition-of-entepreneurship.html

365QOD-Day348

"An estimated 60 percent of former NBA players are penniless within five years after hanging up their sneakers."-Yahoo story

I read this fact in a story about a former NBA player who has prospered after his career.  What made the story more impressive than the success was the fact that the majority of the other players failed so miserably.

Isn't this true for most Americans?  Imagine averaging 50k a year for 30 years of your career.  Some years you are below and some you are above but you only average 50k a year.  Over a 30 year 35 year career you would have totaled over 50*35=1.75 million dollars.  Lets give you a boost and round it up to 1.8 million.  Uncle Sam will take a third or 600k.

Roughly you would have kept 1.2M.  Let us assume 50% of your net income goes towards bills.  This might be low or it might be high.  Now we are left with 600k.  If you can get 5% returns on the average it means you have a 30k per year pension or $2500 per month before taxes being taken out.

If we just save you would be OK.  If the 50% is closer to 90% or more you will not have the safety net.  Moral of the story is that with planning one can retire even if one has a median salary.  With  smart investments one can even retire more "comfortably".

Today's question is:
"How comfortable are you?"

365QOD-Day347

"Q: How do you eat an elephant? A: One bite at a time."- conversation with Patrick Mallot

I published a book in August.  It is available in both paperback and as an ebook from Amazon.  The price is the same 9.99.  Why?

After many MBA courses in which students argued about the price they most often concluded that by selling it at a lower price leads people to believe that it is not worth the purchase.

The other day I read a USA Today article about Amanda Hocking, an author who has written 22 published and unpublished ebooks and sold more than 1.5 million copies of her books and earned an estimated $2 million by pricing her books from 99 cents to $2.99.  She just signed a contract with St. Martin press for $2 million.  Amazing!  Great for her!

So what is the right price to sell a book?  I do not know.  Maybe mine is overpriced?  Maybe hers would have sold the same amount even if they were 9.99?  Maybe she would do better selling her books instead of going through the publisher?

Amazon's Kindle allow you to earn 70%  of the book price.  Create space, Amazon's paperback partner,  is a lot less.  Maybe $2-3 per book.

My first royalty check was for $27 dollars. It was not a lot money BUT the idea that it was residual income.  Money earned without having to show up and trade time for money.... nice..very nice..

Her first royalty check was $15.72. I think I will take a picture of mine and frame it...It will inspire me to write my next book.

Today's question is:
"What can you do to bring in residual income?"

P.S The article can be read at 
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/story/2012-01-03/amanda-hocking-self-published-author/52345642/1

365QOD-Day346

"..headaches come in many forms"-Tommy Henderson

The other day I was having a conversation with a friend when he uttered this phrase.  I complimented him and registered it for later use.

Our conversation was about another friend who suffers from constant migraines.  This was a physical form of a headache.

Tommy was talking about mental headaches.  This is when we are struggling with major decisions for a while without knowing the best way to play out our destiny.

In my humble opinion the only way to get rid of a headache is to decide.  Often times the decision is painful but so is pulling off a band-aid.  It has to be done and done quickly.

Today's question is:
"What is your biggest headache?" 

365QOD-Day345

"Embrace change"- a wrist band

I sat in a hotel lobby the other day. A young gentlemen was there to interview.  He was smiling and we struck up a conversation.

While talking I noticed his wrist band.  It said, "embrace change".  I asked him what it meant to him and he said that it was an extra wrist band that his cousin had given him.  In other words it had no special meaning.  Maybe it looked cool.

I thought the slogan was cool and spent some time thinking about what it meant to embrace change.  To me it means that when my deck gets shuffled I respond by thinking first and then executing my plan.  Accepting the event that has changed is the key.  Often times wed want to fight that reality instead of modifying our strategy.

If we know where we need to go then a change just slightly modifies our journey.  It should not completely change it.  I think by embracing it we relieve a lot of stress from believing that we can stop it. 

The best way to explain it is to look at the difference of Aikido vs. other traditional martial art styles.  Other styles confront an attack by reacting to it.  Aikido welcomes the attack and uses it against the attacker.  It "embraces" the attack. 

Today's question is:
"Are you reacting or embracing change?"

365QOD-Day344

"Make a conscious decision to look for what is right and pleasing in others. Create a new habit of complimenting those around you. Turn judgments into blessings."-Wayne Dyer

I am a bad social networker.  Besides posting to my Facebook page and twitter accounts, I don't spend enough time to read and write comments.  However, I did this morning and read this quote on Wayne Dyer's account.

It is amazing how it is easy to lift people up instead of tearing them apart.  I got in an elevator yesterday and when a couple came in I smiled and started a conversation.

The gentlemen had a nice bag.  It looked rugged and worn.  I complemented his bag.  The construction, the material, etc.  I can tell that he loved the bag.  He smiled.  I can tell that he felt proud of his bag choice.

I could have just as easily smiled and said nothing.

Today's question is:
"How will you lift people up today?(...chose your victims without much thought..)"

365QOD-Day343

 "The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird sleeps in the egg; and in the highest vision of the soul, a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities..." - James Allen

Even the smallest starts from an even smaller part.  Even the big bang started from an "unknown" source of energy.  It is the seed.

Currently I am nurturing two seeds.
I want to run a marathon this year.  This is my physical goal. 
I also want to publish a book on lessons we learned from Steve Jobs. This is my mental goal.

Many years ago I used to watch people that worked with me retire and die within two years.  They had no seeds that they were nurturing.  They no longer had to do physical work and they stopped mentally challenging themselves.  They had no dreams left in them.

Today's question is:
"What are your dreams?"

365QOD-Day342

"The ultimate fusion of music and fitness"- Motoactv.com ad

Several years ago I read an article that argued that people with not want a singular device.  They wanted a cell phone that served as a cell phone only.  The article said that most people did not want a camera on a cell phone.

How foolish this article appears today.  Most of us can not imagine a dumb phone.  A phone without a camera.  Forget about it! A phone that does not keep your busy schedule.  No way!

The ad I mention above is a new type of fitness tracker and music player with a brain.  It appears that new trend is starting to develop in the fitness arena.  The device you took along for entertainment is now tracking your performance as well.    

Today's question is:

"What changed our views so fast?"

365QOD-Day341

"Surfing is not about your ability to maneuver a board, but rather it is about how completely you experience the moment" Ryan Levinson Outside magazine's Chief Inspirational Officer

How many things do we do on automatic?  We wake up and drink our coffee.  We drive to work.

Do you remember the taste of the coffee you had this morning?  Do you remember the details of your drive.

The answers are most likely no.  We maneuvered a few thousand pound weapon without conscientiously experiencing the moments.

Why? Maybe our brains are not designed to handle that level of processing.

Today's question is:
"What do you think would happen to our brains if we experience more moments?"

365QOD-Day340

"We can waste our lives dreaming big but letting insecurities blind us, or we can look up and see life as a series of moments to be experienced rather than conquered"- Ryan Levinson Outside magazine's Chief Inspirational Officer

I recently read an article in a running magazine in which the author talked about how he had done many races in his life. He raced and raced but never really appreciated the scenery. 

Imagine that.  He ran at some fantastic races but never enjoyed the scenery and only worried about the win.  He was trying to conquer the race but did not appreciate the moments.

The only person I race against is me.  I can care less if I do great or not.  I only care that I finish the race.  While I am running I am constantly noting my surroundings and the people within them.  Their expressions, their form in the scene give meaning to the moment.

Yesterday was December 31, 2011.  I ran 7 miles in about 100% humidity(fog).  It was very memorable.  People looked like they came out of clouds.  I will remember that run for a long time because I lived in the moment.

Today's question is:
"Are you conquering life without experiencing it?"

365QOD-Day339

"Do not disturb my circles"-Archimedes last works before being killed by a soldier

On Christmas day my right hand wrist started hurting really bad.  I opened my hand very wide and put a bandage to help it not move and strengthen a bit.  No problem.

On Monday after Christmas my hand felt a little better and I put the bandage on early in the morning.  Again I opened my hand wide.  The whole day my hand felt a little better.

Monday night I decided to write a few posts.  I sat down to write with the laptop on my lap with a cooling fan underneath it.  I wrote and wrote.  Man I was in the flow.

The number of readers for December was up and I wanted to improve my posts so I wrote my heart out.  A couple of hours later I stopped writing and put my laptop down and walked over to my wife.  She looked at me and asked me the question, "What happened to you?"

I looked at my hand and my right hand was twice the size of my left hand.  It was huge.  I did not notice it at all while writing it.  It took almost a day before my hand regained its original size. 

If I ever had any doubts about the idea of flow, they were removed.  When I am doing something creative I lose myself to it.  I flow with the moment and the world around me stops.

Today's question is:
"When is the last time you were in the flow?"

365QOD-Day338

"New Year, a new me"- a common belief

At this time of year we often think in terms of what we want to start doing.  Some people want to eat better.  Others want to start exercising.  Everyone is looking for a change that leads to a better self.

I am instead thinking about what I can stop doing.  I read an article in Harvard Business Review about the 5 things you should stop doing.  It is a good article.

Most of my October month was spent asking myself "What next do I want to accomplish?".  I had a project that I had planned and after some long thinking sessions I concluded that I want to write a book about Steve Jobs.  So I started and after a month I stalled.

Maybe I need to stop?  Maybe I am doing too many other things I need to stop in order to focus on the book?  I know I need to stop something.  What? Maybe I am saying yes to too many things? Which things?

I currently do not know the answers to my questions.  Maybe by the time this post appears I will?

Today's question is:
"What 5 things should you stop doing in 2012?"

P.S. The article can be found at
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/12/five_things_you_should_stop_do.html

365QOD-Day337

"I thought about doing that 5 years ago!"- my thought

Five years ago I was taking and teaching martial arts classes.  I noticed that students were progressing through the ranks too fast.  It seems that most systems and instructors are in the game of constantly rewarding a student in order to keep them coming.  The next belt is a carrot.  The student knows that if they come to class and do what they are suppose to do they will progress in rank and achieve the black belt level within 4 years.

I recently read an article about a ballerina who spent 40,000 in order to be able to teach her classes on line to at most 12 students at a time.  I thought that this was pretty high until I saw that her client base increased more than 400 percent to about 10000 users in 50 countries and she now offers DVDs available for purchase.

Back to my story...
I thought to myself that it would be best for the student to learn a particular form and in the same time learn how to do the form by using weapons.  That way the student would be required to master a form, same form with sword, same form with nun-chucks, same form with Bo-staff, etc. The constant would be the foot work.  The hands would be busy using the weapons while doing the same footwork.  So I developed sets of forms from white belt to black belt with each of these weapons.

Then I thought to myself... one can offer this online.  A student can sign up for a class and they can watch a course during which the student is taught all of these forms.  They can then be asked to come in and test for rank or submit a tape of themselves performing the forms.  So someone would progress more slow but by the time they reach black belt they would be an expert with open hands or weapons.

Today's question is:
"Could you offer your product online to a real audience?"

P.S. The article can be found at:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220713

365QOD-Day336

"Everything could be made adaptable"- my belief

I was reading the December 2011 issue of the Entrepreneur and came across an article by Michelle Juergen on a company Day2Night. Why would an article about women heel height excite me?

Being a guy I could care less about women's shoes.  They look painful just to watch them try to walk.  I especially can't get the new styles where the heels are so high and the front is also raised.  Makes absolutely no sense to me.

So why did I get excited about Day2Night's idea?  Their shoes come with five heels of different heights that can be switched out with a push of a button.  A women can go from a 1 inch heel to a 5 inch heel.  Brilliant!
They did not change the concept of a shoe.  They simply changed a part of a shoe to make it great.

Could the same concept be made for guys?  Probably not in the same way but imagine a company making a running shoe with 5 different heal structures for training on different surfaces.  Wow!  I looked at the bottom of my almost 2 year old Pegasus 25 and noted after all of the miles I have put on these shoes they look white as snow and almost brand new.  The only part that was worn out was my heel.

Today's question is:
"What sub-part of your system could stand a little adaptability?"

P.S. the original article can be found at
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220729

365QOD-Day335

"The top 1% owns 36% of all wealth"- Fortune Nov 7th 2011

This country has become very polarized.  The gap between poor and wealthy is getting bigger.  The media is constantly reporting this fact. What good does it do me to know that someone is getting richer or poorer?  I do not earn their income.  I do not know what they had to do to earn their income. 

What worries me is that people are focusing on the wealthy and not slamming the real crooks- the politicians.  How many of them were millionaires before they entered public service?  Probably only a few.  So how does a guy become a millionaire by being a public servant earning 175k a year and having to maintain two homes?  Very good question. 

Our founding fathers were statesmen.  We now have career politicians.  Founders expected people to give of themselves for a few years and go home.  They never envisioned an animal that loves to eat from the public troft for decades. 

By focusing on the rich or taxing them more it does not do the common man any good. Are there inequalities in the system?  Many!  US CEOs make 475 time the salary of the average worker.  
In Germany the ratio is 12 times. 
In Japan 11 times. 
In Britain 22 times. 
In Canada 20 times. 
So what is reasonable?  Venezuela 50 times or Mexico 47 times. No!

I think that every CEOs salary should be tied to the average pay.  Whatever the magic number is(I like 20) let the company decide.  So if the average salary is 50k then the CEO can make the most 1M.  No options, no extra perks. Keep it simple sweetheart!  If the CEO wants to raise their salary then they have to increase the salary of the average worker.  How do you do that?  Produce better and cheaper products. And do not allow a CEO of one company to serve on another board.  By being in bed with one another they have increased their salaries to 475 times the average salary of a worker($23.16 in US). 

Today's question is:
"In your world, what ratio is the right ratio?"

365QOD-Day334

"What makes a good business book stand out from all the others?
The best books always give us an opportunity to organize our experiences--to take what we know and give it shape and meaning and context. I've always said that we are all experience-rich and theory-poor. And to me the point of business books is to remedy that problem."- Malcolm Gladwell interview by Kevin Ohannessian(link is below)

A few post ago I wrote about So what? moments and stopping to think about what the meaning of those 5 posts is to you.  When I read the interview that Malcolm did, the line that we are all experience-rich and theory-poor stood out. 

This is another way of saying we read, do, and experience things BUT we do not always understand them(theory-poor).

Today's question is:
"When you are confronted by different sources telling you the same, how do you make yourself believe the information?"


P.S.  The link to the interview is
http://www.fastcompany.com/1800273/malcolm-gladwell-tipping-point

365QOD-Day333

"I can't live off of free"-my sentiment

While reading December 12th issue of Fortune I came across an article by Verne Harnish about how to think a little bit different.  It made me think about how to apply these ideas.

First idea was about finding a new way to do "free".  It mentions a software company called Atlassian.  Instead of giving the product away that it normally sells for $10, it promised to donate that money to a global literacy charity.  This lead to many folks on Facebook mentioning it.

Since the company made the offer back in 2009 it has raised $1.5 million for charity.  WOW!  (in other words 150,000 customers bought at least the basic product)

It has sold $8 million in products to customers that traded up from the basic $10 product to a higher end product.  WOW! (in other words $8M/150k~$53 upgrade)

The moral of the story is to do good and the money will follow.  Do not follow money it will not lead you to good.

Today's question is:
"What product that you create/produce that can not be given away for a donation?"