365QOD- Day603

“My life has been one long obstacle course with me as the biggest obstacle”- Jack Paar

Can you think of a greater enemy than the one within?  It often tells us what we can and can not do. 

Unfortunately, the voice can mislead us to believe that we are not good enough to do something that we could easily accomplish.  This creates unnecessary walls which we have to climb over instead of focusing on running the most direct path.

So how do we get out of our own way?  The only way I can think of is to not believe everything we think as being the truth.  As a matter of fact we have to actively not believe what our mind is telling us are our limitations. 

This is not easy because we love to believe that which we think to be truthful and not needing to be doubted.  I am suggesting that we need to operate from the point of view where our thinking is wrong UNTIL it is proven correct.

Today’s question is:

“Can you accept being wrong all of the time as your starting point?”

365QOD- Day602

“Nikhil Arora and Alejandro (Alex) Velez are two recent UC Berkeley grads who grow mushrooms.” – inc 30 under 30 story

It is impressive to be an under 30 entrepreneur and to make it into the Inc. list.  What stood out about these two guys is the following:  “Arora and Velez made a crucial pivot: Instead of just growing mushrooms, they'd make a mushroom growing kit. The shift opened the way for more visible branding, and new market opportunities. “

Instead of trying to grow the mushrooms they instead started selling the kits.  The kits use leftover coffee ground waste.  Brilliant use of a waste product! 

The story made me want to get a hold of some mushroom pours and plant it in old coffee grounds to see how well they will grow.

Today’s  question is:

“What can be re-purposed that you currently consider waste?”

365QOD- Day601

“9 vs. 2… it will never work” – my thought

In Inc. online story about the company Blank Label, founded by Fan Bi and Danny Wong, it tells a story of how when men buy a shirt they tend to “Buy a shirt off the rack and you have two sizing options: neck and sleeve length. Blank Label, an online custom shirt retailer, offers nine,  and allows you to customize collars, cuffs, pockets, and plackets." 

Will this work?  Sometimes more choices create purchase paralysis and lack of commitment to purchase.  This was learned in an experiment with jam in a mall. When people were presented with three choices they tended to buy more often than when presented with 30+ choices. 

I love unique offerings but the more and more I tend to evaluate multiple offerings I tend to delay my purchase.  In this I do not believe that I am unique.  However, I do tend to think that maybe more options than two is needed but maybe nine is overkill.

Today’s question is:

“What is the right number of options for your product or service?”

365QOD- Day600

“The ubiquitous wd-40 lubricant got its name because the first 39 experiments failed.  It stands for water displacement 40^th attempt” – Fast company article

In these words I find great comfort and advice.  Most of us expect success too quickly.  We almost expect it to happen on our first attempt.  We will settle if it occurs on our second, third or fourth.  But after that we will look around so as to assure we are not making a fool of ourselves before making any additional attempts.

Unfortunately most often we tend to stop too quickly.  We just give up.  But as the story teaches us some things take a little while to perfect.  In an early post I told the story of how Colonel Sanders got over a thousand rejections before getting a deal for his secret recipe.

Today’s question is:

“Could you stomach 40 failures before success strikes?”

P.S. THANKS for 600 days of support

365QOD- Day599

“We must find ideas big enough to be afraid of again.” – Garland Wright, Guthrie artistic director

How true!  We often settle into a groove.  Sadly, the things we attempt are things we have tried before and with great certainty know that we will succeed. 

So we only try things we will succeed at and assure that we will never fail. The idea of failure is what stops us.  Unfortunately, this eliminates learning difficult subjects or stretching into new ideas.  Remember that without stretching our physical muscles get stiff and eventually weaken.  This is also true for other muscles such as: mental, emotional, spiritual, etc.

Today’s question is:

“How do you know you are stretching?

365QOD- Day598

“If you are this successful doing work you don’t love, what could you do with work you do love?” – Tama Kieves, This Time I Dance

Sadly many folks believe that they are in the wrong job.  Reality is that they over time have become pretty good at the role even though they do not love the type of work.  It is simply necessary for them to do so in order to make ends meet.

The quote above made me wonder how high the ceiling becomes if one is working on things one loves.  This could be huge if you find the sweet spot between interest, passion, and being financially rewarding.

Today’s question is:

“How successful could you be if you did work that you love?”

365QOD- Day597

“Let me look at my crystal ball” – my joke

Last weekend one of the inserts in USAToday was of 30 visionaries of different fields offering their advice on what the future will look like.  It was interesting article because it focused on the future 30 years from now.

The articles in the insert reminded me of a Yahoo story earlier in the week which showed French artists attempts at predicting the future on postcards a 100 years ago.  The predictions were amazingly accurate. 

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/historic-visions-of-the-future-slideshow/postcards-from-the-future-photo-1347289263.html

I wondered if we would do as well in predicting the future 100 years from now.  Our worlds seem to move at such a pace now that predicting next year is difficult.  Maybe that is the point.  These folks predicted long term instead of short turn. 

Today’s question is:

“What would you predict will be reality 100 years from now?”

365QOD- Day596

“Here is a copy of my latest book.” – my approach

I have written two great books.  Recently I worked on a manual for internal use that shows the work flow process that my group uses.  Well, it grew to over 200 pages and in order for people to be able to read it and offer suggestions I produced it as a soft cover book.  This has been a wonderful experience because the work immediately looked professional and it made the review process easier. 

What about elsewhere?  While reading a Fast company article Why Books Are The Ultimate New Business Card by Ryan Holiday the author explains that most self published books are not written for profit. If profit happens it is nice but the intended effect is credibility, speaking invitations, and consulting work.

I believe that having written a book could be a great advantage in many situations.  You have to be very strategic how you use it.  I have offered this advice to a couple of students nearing graduation without having a job and experienced hires looking to stand out.

Today’s question is:

“Could you produce a ‘book’ of your work that you could use in an interview setting to provide you a strategic advantage?”

365QOD - Day595

“Man I need a vacation”- the call of a frustrated co-worker

This is something that we often say out loud.  And I do believe that leaving for more than a week at a time provides time to re-charge one’s batteries.  Most people usually take one week at most when they go away from their routine.

An alternative to a traditional vacation was presented in a Fast Company article by Joss Whedon: You need a creative shift, not a vacation.  It suggests that a change of creative direction could serve to re-charge us. 

I believe that the author is correct.  I might be so tired of working on a multi-step project that it feels like it has used up all of my energy.  So when done, I will attempt a simpler project that is creatively different that will still get my creative juices going BUT offer the mind a shift.

Today’s question is:

“Have you ever taken a ‘creating’ vacation?”

365QOD - Day594

“Now, just eat it.” – a motherly advice

Most coffee drinkers do not think anything of reaching for a new fresh paper/Styrofoam cup.  If we are a bit more conscious or at a location like office or home we tend to use a ceramic/metal cup. 

But what if you could just simply eat the cup after you are done drinking from it?  As long as the cup is tasty, this could prove to be a great idea.  I read a Fast Company article, Cookie coffee cup that’s easy to recycle: just eat it, that describes this cup.

I have seen this same idea used for old electronics being re-purposed into new electronics.  I question the usefulness of this because by originally being discarded it could mean that the product is at the end of its life and we are trying to continue using it.

Today’s question is:

“Could something that is currently a waste in your world become new gold?”

365QOD - Day593

“What to do? What to do?” -  a persistent question

While reading Inc. magazine I came across a description of a new book, Worth It… Not Worth it by Jack Otter,  that supposedly boils each of life's financial dilemmas down to a simple question.”

As we all know life isn’t simple.  We often feel that there should exist simple answers to our big dilemmas.   Maybe finding a key question to ask could make the final decision as clear as black and white?

The purpose of this blog is to take new information, discuss it, and then pose a great question.  The question is suppose to make you think more deeply about the issue.  So I see it as a start of the thinking process.  BUT this book promises that the question should be the end of thinking.

Today’s question is:

“Does a great question lead to more questions or a simple answer?”

365QOD - Day592

"Every technology was invented for single purpose: Enable humans to take actions  faster" - Jack Dorsey

I can see faster but I think one can argue for easier, smoother, etc.  It would be based on the technology(tool) itself as well as the user.

So why did I note this statement?  Dorsey is the founder of Twitter and Four Square.  In other words pretty successful at creating technology that solves a problem. 

I believe that enabling people to take actions is the key.  When we are confronted by a problem we should be wondering what technology will solve it.

Today's question is:
"What tool will enable you to take action now?"

365QOD - Day591

"Why not all?" - my thought

I dislike Democrats as much as Republicans.  Neither party fits me and my beliefs perfectly.  Last night I watched Tony Robbins interview Marc Cuban, Steve Wynn, and T Bone Pickens. 

Three billionaires with different views of what to do about our country's problems. One wanted to make us energy independent.  Another wanted to reward creators with tax reductions. Last one cared about how schools trained future workers.

In the end every one made a great case for their ideas and I was wondering why we were not doing all.  The true answer is politics not lack of great ideas.  Unfortunately it seems that we are forced to stomach the ideas of one party for 4-8 years.  It is sad that we can not implement the best ideas but instead we must choose.

Today's question is:
"Do you use AND or OR thinking in your life?"

365QOD-Day590

"Don't follow your passion, follow your effort" - Mark Cuban's advice to a presenter

While watching Shark Tank I heard Mark Cuban utter these words.  I immediately understood the advice.  Often times we are aware of your passion(s) but yet we do nothing towards executing it(them). 

If we are honest and do a detailed analysis we will find that out efforts are going towards other pursuits.
The pursuit might not be a passion but it takes us away from fullfilling our passion.

In the eppisode I watched was a guy who was passionate about foot messages but was an active tri-athelete.  When he was asked about his efforts, it became obvious that it was not mostly on his passion.  He failed the shark test.  Hia efforts were not towards his passion.

Today's question is:
"Are you working on your passion or are you working on your side-pursuits?"

365QOD- Day589

"It is too late for me" - Mario

Mario is a great basketball player.  He ia fast and has great control of his body.  So I asked him why he isn't playing on a team.  His response above floored me.

Yesterday I ran a 10k race in 1:11.  It was tough to run over a tall bridge four times.  I kept putting one foot in front of the other.  Yes when I was Mario's age the time that it would have taken me to run would have been around 34 minutes.  But so what!

I never understood how great I could have been if proper coaching had been available.  But I have never ever felt that it is too late to do anything.  I am the guy who will run a marathon when I turn 100.

Today's question is:
"How do you decide that it is too late?"

365QOD-Day588

"Unique advice is worth nothing when everyone is going the same thing; that is the falacy of a fad" - F.W Contini 

I often see everyone thinking the same way and wonder to myself if they are even thinking.  If we are all doing the same thing then we are all just simply following the originator of the thought.  That does not make the original thought correct. 

Why is this important?  The two worst investments that I have ever made were based on advice I received from two trusted sources.  Their advice felt correct.  Man did I get burned. 

I learned to Think Different(Apple campaign) and more importantly Do Different(My belief) for myself.  I believe it to be critical to understand data, evaluate the source, do your own analysis, and make your own decisions.

Today's question is:
"Do you Do Different?"

365QOD-Day587

"Just because you can, does not mean you should" - great advice

The other day I went to a free concert by a trubute band to the Beatles.  I like the Beatles.  Even though I do not know all of their songs, the popular ones I do know.

While enjoying the multi-generational crowd I listened to the music.  All of a sudden a group of senior citizens jumped up and got on the make shift dance floor in front of the stage.  They did the unthinkable. 

They started dancing.  Not just any kind of dancing.  It was line-dancing to the Beatles.  Just when you think you have heard and seen it all I was shocked.  It did not make sense to force line dancing to the beatles.  That generation did not line dance when they first heard the Beatles.  But now they know how to line dance and they are foce fitting it to the past.  It is like forcing a square peg into a round hole.  It just does not fit.

Today's question is:
"Do you try to force your preconceived notions to all concepts?"

365QOD-Day586

“The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you.  If you do that you’re in control of your life.  If you do not, life controls you” – Tony Robbins

What a wonderful quote.  Learn how to use pain and pleasure and you control life.  If you do not, life controls you and you feel miserable.

How do you teach yourself to use pain and pleasure?  I believe we have to awaken and be conscious that each moment we make very small choices.  These choices either move us towards pain or towards pleasure.  We have to stop trying to move forward in order to recognize which one is driving us.

The key is to be conscious.  To be aware that you are given those choices and that you are actively choosing one over the other.  This is not easy to do even for one day.

Today’s question is:

“Can you be conscious of all of your choices for one day?”

365QOD-Day585

 “The big break for me was when I decided this is my life.”- Comedian Jon Steward

We often behave like tomorrow is guaranteed.  Oh, I will get to it tomorrow is a typical thought.  We believe that tomorrow is guaranteed and that we will be more likely to complete whatever it is we are pushing off.  Often tomorrow comes and the story repeats.

The quote above comes from a comedian.  He made a decision and based on that decided to change his life.  To do this he took responsibility that it is his life and the choices need to support that belief. 

As an old saying goes, ‘Life is not a dress rehearsal’.  It is actually playing out and you can choose to participate and drive it or you can be driven by it.  The choice is a make or break choice.

Today’s question is:

“Are you the driver or are you being driven in your life?”

365QOD-Day584

“If you could give you kids the best characteristics, what would you chose?”- my

question to my self

A while back I wrote a post in which I posed the question if parents had a choice to make whether their kid was a genius or a successful adult which one would they chose.  The choice would normally be a successful adult.  Most people realize that the skills to look like a genius as a kid do not translate into being a success in life.

But if you could enable your rug rat with the special skills that would lead to success what would they consist of?  In  a WSJ article by Paul Tough on Opting Out of the Rug Rat Race he mentions a University of Chicago economist, James Heckman, who concludes that information stuffing into the brain is not the answer.  The answer is to back off. 

Yup!  Allowing kids to ‘face adversity on their own, fall down and not be helped back up’ is the most valuable thing that a parent can do to help their children’s develop non-cognitive skills.  In other words, let little kids be kids and not hover over them when they fail and assure them that they succeeded even when they really failed by just trying.

Realize that college is too easy for most kids.  It is a matter of putting the time and minimal effort to get to the diploma.  The non-cognitive skills are what will make the kids a success.  So we all need to be less overprotective and more encouraging of failure and allowing kids to learn from it?

Today’s question is:

“Could you allow your kids to fail and not pick them up?”

365QOD-Day583

“Young people searching for their ‘real’ self’ must learn that the real self is not something one finds as much as it is something one makes; and it is one’s daily actions that shape the inner personality far more permanently than any amount of introspection or intellection”- Sydney Harris

Based on the quote daily actions is the key to success?  I  would like to add two words: consistent small daily actions. 

Why these two words?  The actions have to be small enough that we would just do them as a part of a routine.  The consistent part adds the dimension that it moves us towards a goal. 

Today’s question is:

“What consistent small action did you take towards your goal today?”

365QOD-Day582

“If a men will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts, but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties”- Francis Bacon

I allow myself the flexibility to change my mind.  I am swayed by a good argument.  Many would consider this a weakness but I consider it one of my strengths. 

As Darwin said, it is not the strongest or the most intelligent that survive BUT the most adaptive. I am adaptive.  For me it is rare that there is only one way of doing something.  By having multiple ways I am more likely to solve an issue without my feelings getting hurt because of having one way of doing it and not having it work out.

Often times some of the most skilled people are skilled because they are well versed with multiple tools.  They know how to work the right tool for the job by having it in their arsenal.

Today’s question is:

“Are you adaptive?”

365QOD-Day581

“It is thrilling to realize that we are the first people in the history of the world for whom geography is not a limitation to self- employment.  As geographical barriers go down, entrepreneurial imagination goes up.” – Barbara Winter

I spoke with a co-worker the other day.  He said something very interesting.  In his estimate he will most likely never retire in the U.S.A. This is a 30 year old guy who has given up on retiring here.  He felt that his money and healthcare would be better taken care of elsewhere.  Wow!

Several years ago I read an article how many people that come to the USA to pursue advanced degrees were going back home because they felt the opportunities where there and not here.  Wow!

I think the quote above ads a third Wow!.  It adds the idea that you can create a job and live anywhere without limitation.  In other words you are not limited to the opportunities of a particular country at all.

After being overseas for a month I can see how being able to create a job that you control from anywhere in the world is the way to go in the future.  It provides flexibility that the past did not.

Today’s question is:

“Where would you live if you your living and health expenses were not issues?

365QOD-Day580

“For a long time, I thought motivation and inspiration were two words describing the same thing.  I no longer think that.  As I see it, motivation is a force that generates action because of the consequences if we don’t.  It may not have anything to do with genuine passion or enthusiasm.  Inspiration, on the other hand, is a call to creative action.  We act because we want to, not because we have to.”  – Barbara Winter , Making a Living Without a Job

In an earlier post I told a story how I once asked students to tell me what could keep them from being successful.  Half thought that laziness was keeping them from achieving more.  Other half thought that they were not motivated.  I often wondered if laziness and lack of motivation are not the one and same.

When I read this quote I can see that I did not consider how inspiration plays into this puzzle.  The call to action is what is missing.  I often find that by taking a step forward ,when I least want to, I am committed to keep moving towards a goal.  It might still take a lot of effort BUT at least I am moving towards the goal.

So do I need inspiration to take the first step?  I never really thought about it.  I believe if you wait for the inspiration then you might not take that step.  If you are inspired by something or someone then you will definitely take the first step.

Regardless, just take the first step.

Today’s question is:

“What inspires you to make yourself take that first step?”

365QOD-Day579

“Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals” - Jim Rohn

Often we observe the success of stars in a field and all we see is the success and not the hard work that went into getting to that point.  This is a problem.

It becomes a problem because often when people want to be successful they make an attempt and after a little bit they give up.  The success they see looks easy to have gotten and they are confused why it is not easy for them.

As the quote advises success is neither magical nor mysterious.  It does require that you understand the basics and to apply them exceptionally well over a long time.

Today’s question is:

“How do you keep yourself from quitting too early?”

365QOD-Day578

“I wanted to change the world.  But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself.” - Aldous Hyxley

I t is very easy to look at the people around us or on our team and see dysfunction.  If this person would just do X then Y would be so much better.

If it was this easy then management would be simply wishing people into proper behavior.  This magically never occurs. 

The quote teaches us that we must start with us if we are to change anything.  Recently, I was going through a ‘bad attitude’ period.  I thought that other people were wrong and that I was right. 

The problem was not them, it was me.  I had to look in the mirror and decided that I had to change my attitude if my world was to change.

It is amazing how quickly things change when you change yourself.  And by the way, you can control whether you change or not.  You have absolutely no control of whether others change.

Today’s question is:

“Have you tried changing yourself first?”

365QOD-Day577

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change”- Charles Darwin

Probably one of the most misunderstood people in history is Charles Darwin.  I personally do not know enough to have much of an opinion of him.  I know he was a great scientist but I have also read that he was also very religious.  Interesting…

The quote above is very powerful.  It claims that when one looks at survivor of  a species, the most responsive to change is the one most likely to survive.  It is not the most intelligent or the strongest but the most willing to change.

Wow!  If we could only learn to be most responsive to change we will be most likely to succeed.  I believe that it starts with acceptance of continuous change as the norm and not an aberration.  We must go out of our way to look for the change instead of waiting for it to hit us between the eyes.

Today’s question is:

“How will you become more responsive to change?”

365QOD-Day576

“All startups should be thinking, what frustrates me and how can I make it better?  It might be a small thing or it might be a big thing, but that’s the best way for them to think.  If they think like that, they are likely to build a very successful business.”- Sir Richard Bronson

A few years back I used to sit down during lunch and think about what frustrated me that day.  I could usually find one or two items that just rubbed me the wrong way.  Once I have identified the source of irritation I can proceed to brainstorm ways of eliminating the frustration. 

Next day I would do the same.  It was amazing how one can almost come up with at least one new invention or a solution to a problem per day if one focuses on their frustration.

Sadly, I never did anything with the wonderful solutions I came up with.  There was definitely a lack of execution.  I never profited from all of those ideas.  It was simply mental masturbation.  It made me feel good but produced no useful fruit.

Today’s question is:

“What frustrated you the most today?”

365QOD-Day575

“For the last six years, I‘ve had exactly one employee. Me. This has changed my life in ways that I hand not predicted.  I can write an e-book and launch it in some crazy way and just see what happens.  If you don’t have to bet the farm on every launch, you are way more likely to launch more, which vastly increases your odds.”- Seth Godin

Seth Godin is a wonderfully creative individual.  Once in a while I have to go to his website and read a little and often download a free product.  He never fails to inspire me.

When I read this quote I can see that he is a sole employee.  He is the creator of his own materials.  This is unlike other self-help authors who have a team of people writing for them and they just provide the spark.  Nothing wrong with that approach either but they are not equal in my mind.

The quote urges the quick launch of products while minimizing the investment in money and time.  Launch, learn, improve, launch again, keep repeating.  The minimum cost is what allows this process to continue and to eventually get to a continuous success

Today’s question is:

“What prevents you from launching continuously?”

365QOD-Day574

"I should write one myself" - my thought

While reading Inc. Magazine I read a section called A skimmer's guide to the latest business books. It provides a short summary of key ideas from the book.

Being an author is cool. Now the goal is to drive some sales of the books. This section seemed perfect to self-write a piece and submit it. Is this cheating?  No if it helps me and it helps them.

All they can say is yes.  Going through the submiting process will at least teach me what it takes to get an article published in a magazine.

Today's question is:
"Even if you got nothing to lose, can you still make yourself  to do it?"