365QOD- Day873

" To achievers are improvisers  not perfectionists.  If you want to create more success in your life you have to move forward not knowing all the answers "- Douglas Vermeeren

We all love certainty.  When we come up with an idea then our baby must be perfect.  This in the end leads to frustration and eventual stopping of any forward momentum.

The wisdom in this quote is to realize that success is most often a road with many places where you will have to improvise.  Knowing this means that you hasn't to be comfortable being uncomfortable.  It is like moving into the dark without any light in front of you.

So forget about certainty and keep moving forward into the uncomfortable. Stop seeking perfection and enjoy the forward motion.

Today's question is:
"Can you move forward into uncertainty?"

365QOD- Day872

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life"- poet Mary Oliver

How many of us would classify our lives as wild?  Probably even less of us are aware how precious life is truly.

For me the second part is easy.  I believe it deeply.  I realize that each day a gift that I was given that at the end of the day gets thrown away.  I have 20000 presents left to enjoy.

The first part of the quote caused me to pause.  My life is anything but wild.  I live a pretty simple life.  Most people would even classify it as somewhat boring.

Maybe I am missing many things by the way I live?  Maybe I need to introduce a bit of the wild in my day to day to feel the effect of it.

Today's question is:
"Do you see your life as wild and precious?"

365QOD- Day871

"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone"- Pablo Picasso

I read this quote the other day in a group of 50 success quotes.  Ever since I read it, I could not get it out of my mind. Here are some of my thoughts about it.

I believe that we tend to spend most of or lives in two time modes: yesterday-now and now-tomorrow.  The only thing that those two modes have in common is the now.  Unfortunately, we tend to forget this.

Our lives are either spent reliving the past or planning for the future.  But the magic only occurs in the now. This why it is a'present'.

As the quote instructs we should not waste our time putting off our dreams till tomorrow because it might never come.  If it is that important to you then continue working on it today until you are spent. For if you are to die tonight, you would have done all you could towards completing it.

Today's question is:
"What dream are you willing to left undone forever?"

365QOD- Day 870

"Innovation is driven by questions that are original, bold, counterintuitive, and perceptive...  Coming up with the right question, the one that casts a familiar challenge in a new light, is an art and science in itself.  It demands that the questioner be able to look at existing reality from multiple viewpoints, including, perhaps most importantly, that of the' naive outsider'"-Warren Burger author of Glimmer

As you know, this blog is all about reading, pausing to think, and asking questions.  This quote is very informative on how to ask the right question.

To break it apart:  it has to
1 to be original, bold, counterintuitive, and perceptive
2 to cast a new light on a familiar challenge
3 to question existing reality
4 consider multiple viewpoints
5 bring the freshness of an naive outsider

Do you need all of these?  Probably not all but most would make it great.  I can see at least three out of five criteria.

Today's question is:
"How do you know you are asking the innovative questions?"

365QOD- Day869

"Bad strategy"- my observation

I love to watch NBA playoffs.  This years finals were especially interesting.

The two teams went back and forth winning games.  In each game you can see the strategic changes they made to overcome the other team's strengths from previous games.

The last game came down to the last minute with each team having a chance at winning the championship. It was a nail biter.  My choice, the Spurs, lost.

Why did they lose?  Bad strategy.  Even in a close game strategy is the difference maker. 

One of the Spurs players, Green, was hot for most of the playoffs.  He even set a record for most three point shots.  So the team wanted him to be hot in game seven.  It never happened.  He had an off night. In first half of the game he missed ten shots.

So why am I writing about this? In my opinion a team needs to have a game strategy BUT be adaptive enough to recognize what is different this time vs. the past.  The Spurs believed that Green would be hot but he wasn't.  They believed that James could not hit the point shots when he is not contested. He did 4 in a row.  They believed that Wade could not hit jumpers.  He did.

The Spurs needed a trigger for their strategy.  If Green misses 5 on a row, take him out.  If James his three in a row, put a hand in his face. And so on.

Darwin never said that the strongest survive. Spurs were the stronger and deeper team.  He did say that the most adaptive survive. Miami Heat were more adaptive.  They won.

Today's question is:
" Do you use triggers to force you to be more adaptive?"

365QOD- Day868

"Too much consistency inevitably leads to a plateau where weaknesses ossify and improvement becomes harder."- Scott Young

In past posts I have written about the power of a routine.  The power of routines is that they become automatic and do not require much conscious thinking to get things done.

But to grow we must stretch.  We have to constantly put ourselves in situations where we disrupt our routines, push the limits to a new limit, and get out of our comfort zone. So what is the sweet spot between routine and stretching?

Scott Young in his 99U presentation offers a way of striking a balance between routine and true growth. His suggestions are:"
1. Purposely taking on projects to learn new skills.
2. Setting "deep focus" hours to consciously push your skill set forward.
3. Instead of changing your habits, changing your environment in order to force habit change and learning
"
In my world, I believe that 20 percent of or time must be spent stretching and 80 should be spent developing routines.

Today's question is:
"What is the right balance between routine and stretching for you? "

365QOD- Day 867

"Fortes fortuna adiuvat " - Latin version of fortune favors the bold

In 2008 many people felt the economy collapsing around them.  Some people choose to start businesses.   Was it fear?  Was it having a great idea?  An Inc. magazine study reveals the reasons why people started their businesses.

In a story titled No Time Like the Present they report that 4 percent of founders cited job loss as reason for starting a business.  This seems low but maybe being forced to do something is not big enough of a reason to start a business.

Second group, 50 percent, believed that their idea will succeed even in economic downturn.  In other words the idea moved them forward toward executing it even if timing was not perfect.

Last group, 46 percent, recognized the gamble and could not resist seizing the opportunity.  I would say they were afraid but did it anyway because they believed it to be worth it in the end.

After reading this story I believe that the recipe is to be bold, 96 percent, brings favors from fortune.  Bold execution is everything. 

Today's question is:
"Do you move boldly toward things you want?"

365QOD- Day866

"How we hold our bodies affects our minds ,confidence, and our performance.  For instance, if you stand up straight and walk with purposeful long strides, it will make you feel more assured and powerful"- A.J. Jacobs

Amen! I believe this to be very true.  No doubt  whatsoever. But there is a problem.

I do not always follow this advice.  I slouch. My back is getting strained unnecessarily.  In the past I have had neck pain so bad that I had to take pain killers and do physical therapy.

So if I know this, why is it that I do not just do what I know.  The gap is somewhere in my mind. My brain knows that poor posture leads to problems.  The back and neck know how it feels when I do not walk purposely.  The only thing left is the mind. 

The mind must be controlling the brain and body for whatever reason.  I have to retrain my mind by walking purposely.  In my opinion I have to catch myself and correct myself continuously until I close the t gap.

Today's question is:
"How would you retrain your mind to eliminate a gap?"

365QOD- Day865

"Is it?" -my question to myself

On my wall is a sign that states,"The Year of The App".  Besides publishing an app a few months ago I have not been working on any new ones lately.

Because I often like to tackle many things I periodically have to ask myself, "Is it still important?" Or even better, "Why am I creating this product?"

Amazingly enough when I read article on 99u.com the founder of Jawbone Hosain Rahman he asks himself these same two questions.  It is his way of cutting though the noise and a way to revisit his core principles.

My answer about the apps is yes and that once I am done with my next two projects I will spend the last three months creating new apps.  I do need to change my sign to The Year of Some Apps.
Today's question is:
"How do you decide what is still important? "

365QOD-Day864

"What happens after the 'I did it' moment? "- Joshua Davis

After experiencing great success Joshua became uninspired.  The way he described it at 99u conference speech is, "That moment of being amazed by the unknown had left me."

Joshua felt the "sluggishness of the comfortable". In my opinion this is a very dangerous place to be.

During a meeting once I uttered the words, "when you feel comfortable, it is time to get uncomfortable." My then boss loved it and stated quoting it in larger meetings.

I happen to work in a chemical plant. Getting comfortable in a chemical plant is just plain stupid.  It is like working on to of a time bomb.  It is not whether it well go off, it is a Mayer of when it will go off.  We have a lot of procedures that force us to ask tough questions of ourselves when making changes.  Amazingly, even with all those procedures things always get missed.

Today's question is:
" How do you overcome the sluggishness of bring comfortable?"

365QOD- Day863

"1000 days out of 21000 "- my countdown

6/7/13 is the 1000th day since I awoke.  My countdown started on 9/12/10 in a bar while
on a solo vacation in Florida.  I decided that I wanted to live 21000 days- till 101.

Recently, I spent a day reflecting on the changes since that day.  As a matter of fact most are probably chronicled in previous posts.

In the last 1000 days I have:
Ran in several 5I, 10k, 20k(13.1mi) races
Changed jobs
Got promoted
Moved from Indiana to Texas
Continued writing my blog
Published a second book
(Finishing my third book)
Taught myself how to create apps
Published an app
Vacationed for a month overseas
Etc.

They have been busy 1000 days.  Maybe I could and should have done more?

I spent some time thinking about my next checkup.  Should I review my life every 1000, 500,250,200, or 100 days? Should it be at the end of a month or end of year only.

I concluded that yearly is too long. 500 or 1000 are also too long. Similarly, I also believe that for me it needs to be in terms of days and not months.

So, I have decided that every 200 days(a but longer than six months) to stop for a day and do a review of my life. During the review not only review the successes but also the failures. I will also review if I am on the path to achieving the big goals in my life.  The day will be spent reflecting.

Today's question is:
"How often do you reflect on your life? "

365QOD- Day862

"Sometimes we are forced into actions we ought to have found ourselves"- Bob Hopkins in Maid in Manhattan

While resting last Saturday I heard this line on TV as I was flipping channels.  What a great line!

We experience life.  Often we settle for what we get from others.  Sometimes we even have the strength to demand what we want.

However, this line indicates that at times we are forced to do something that we should be grown enough to do but have refused.  We might have thought about doing something but it did not translate into action.  In other words we gave ourselves an out.  The actions of others forced us into action.

" Can you make yourself to do something without others forcing you to do it? "

365QOD- Day861

"Overnight sensation" - an oxymoron

When I read a story about an overnight sensation I am doubtful that it is true.  This was the case the other day.

I noticed a story about a mathematician who published a solution to a difficult problem dealing with prime numbers that many great mathematicians failed to solve.

Dr. Zhang graduated with a doctorate but failed to get an academic position.  He worked as an accountant and in a Subway.  His life does not follow in a traditional path of a great mathematician.

The article also said something else that made me think.  It claimed that when one examines his work it is not that he was inspired and that it had a spark of greatness.  The article claimed that his work showed great persistence in applying existing methods and that other mathematicians failed to apply.  In other words he outworked them while they waited to be inspired.

It is a great story that illustrates that sometimes we might just need to persevere through our work instead of looking for a spark of genius.

Today's question is:
"Can you outwork most of your coworkers?"

365QOD- Day860

" I am leaving. "- Greg

Today I had a meeting with Greg.  He is a young chemical engineer that works in our chemical plant.

Before the meeting he told me that he is leaving.  The energy market is very hot so I would not be surprised if he left for a better deal.  So I asked him where he is going.  His response was surprising, "California, to join a startup".

Those words would imply he had landed a job but not in Greg's world.  He wants to go out to California and look around for a startup to join.  He figures he can always go back to a chemical plant.

Being a young and single gives Greg the flexibility to be aggressive about his future.  It is wise that he wants to see what else the world has to offer.  If he would have stayed he would have become a better process engineer but by leaving he will learn how to be an entrepreneur.

I wish his future to be brighter than he believes it will be.

Today's question is:
" How far on a limb could you go out on?"

365QOD- Day859

" Be quiet, I am catching up on my ultradian rhythm" a joke

What are ultradian rhythms?  Ultradian rhythms are mini mind and body breaks that one strategically takes during the day.

Our bodies need nourishment and rest to perform properly.  Without proper nutriment every 90-120 minutes they start getting hungry and the longer we go without feeding it we are more likely to overeat.  So when we override the 90-120 minute natural cycle we tend to do things that we should not.

Same thing goes for or minds.  If your mind does not take a mental break every 90-120 minutes it does not stay sharp.  It will start making mistakes more frequently.

Putting this together would mean that every hour and a half or two hours we should grab something light to eat and rest by closing our eyes and stilling our mind.

Today's question is:
" Could you take a 10-15 minute break mentally and physically every 90 -120 minutes"

365QOD- Day858

"I stand on the shoulders of giants"- giving credit

My first book, The Result, is a true story.  The idea that you always get a result and not to call it failure or success comes from Tony Robbins.  So my book is an application of the idea.

This morning I was reading an article on 99u.com site that discusses the idea of plateaus on the path to mastery.  The author does a good job of describing the types of personalities and their behavior when confronted by a plateau.

Unfortunately the author does not give credit for the idea originator.  If you get a hold of the book Mastery by George Leonard you will discover the the identical types.  The only difference is that George applied them generally while the author applied it to tennis.

The reason I bring this up is not to put down the author.  It is for us to realize and credit a source.  Maybe I did not communicate the giant as well as I should for my book?  I have to go back and re-read a part of my book.

Today's question is:
" Whose shoulder does your idea stand on?"

365QOD- Day857

"How may I help my customer?"-a great question

While looking through Success magazine in a bookstore I read through the adds for new books.  One of the books was called Youtility by Jay Baer.

In order to stand out and to create brand loyalty, the book suggests asking yourself questions in order to determine if you are:
"1. Giving your customers useful information through your website
2. Respond quickly to questions and concerns posted  on social media
3. Offer suggestions that are helpful to your existing and potential audiences"

For me  I believe that this blog gives useful information.  So I would give myself a high mark.  Maybe an 8 out of 10.

I usually do not give timely responce to comments.  I intend the posts to make you think for yourself and not open the door for arguing the validity of my opinion.  So maybe a 3. ( I answer text messages)

The questions are my suggestions for stirring additional thinking to take place. I believe that I do a good job. Maybe an 8.

Overall, I give myself 19 out of possible 30.  This is not an impressive score.  I immediately know what I can do better at to improve my brands helpfulness score.

Today's question is:
" How do you help your customers?"

365QOD- Day856

"pearls.com" - cool site name

While looking through a magazine I speed a story about pearls.com. It is a site that provides access to experts to answer your question.

The suite does a review of the person's qualifications so that the answer is valid.  It provides that access for a fee.

Many years ago I was teaching a business class on ebusiness.  During the class I offered an idea that people and businesses would be willing to pay to get an answer to a difficult problem.

Sometimes businesses do not know how to solve a problem.  If a site could assure quality, like pearls.com, then people can bid on solving the problem.  This would open it up worldwide, reduce the cost, and increase the quality.

I still think that there is validity to making the process open to bids from several people.

Today's question is:
" Would you pay someone to solve a business problem you are struggling with?"

365QOD- Day855

" We are sitting here - one is reading your book, the other is reading your blog" - text response

Yesterday I texted my kids, Stefani and Milan, to see what they were doing.  What came back was the above response.

It made my century.  As a parent the only thing I wish for is for them to become great people.  To be the kind of people others want to be like.  In the end to be the best Stefani and the best Milan they can become.

For my children to read my book and my blog tells me that they are still willing to learn.  Even greater is that they are willing to learn from me.  It inspires me to do better myself. 

THANKS Stefani and Milan. Stay teachable.

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

365QOD- Day854

"That scares me to death." -often heard

When I was young I was afraid of heights.  Anything above ground was too high.  If I had to stand on a balcony I felt my legs full of fear.  I could not lean over.

Over time I have managed to overcome this fear.  Now I can comfortably sit and lean over the edge on a balcony and never fear it.

At work I can climb large structures and never feel scared.  How did I overcome the fear?  I believe that just getting older and realizing that it is an unfounded fear.  Maybe exposing myself to heights?  I have never jumped from a plane or bungee jumped but I believe I could do it.

My last fear is snakes.  I have never held a snake without fear.  Maybe I need to overcome it?

Today's question is:
" What is a current fear that you have? "

365QOD- Day853

" Always look for at least one more option "- lesson I learned

I am currently working on a hot project.  The operations folks want to buy a replacement in kind for a piece of equipment. 

Normally that is pretty easy to do.  I challenged my team by asking for an improvement in kind.  In other words, what issues can be eliminated by buying a better piece of equipment from the same manufacturer?

I was happy with myself.  I changed the whether decision into a better whether decision.  However,  my balloon was busted by a person when they asked me if the team had considered another technology. 

Because of the needs of the plant and making the transition quickly, we looked for a replacement from the current equipment manufacturer.  But the point is very valid.  We should have given ourselves a legitimate second option.  We did not.   This makes our decision quality poor.

Today's question is:
" How do you force yourself to add a valid second option to your decision?"

365QOD - Day852

" Great entrepreneurship is in the execution.  Rare does the initial idea dictate the outcome- perhaps never.  Success is about the thousands of ideas and decisions that are made along the way and the speed at which those insights are implemented according to customer needs and feedback." - Eric Paley

While reading an Inc. article by Eric I immediately saw the wisdom being offered.  It is about executing and getting feedback from your customers.

Unfortunately, we trend to live yo generate solutions for needs that are at best wants or non existent.  Eric urges entrepreneurs to:
"focus more on falling in love with the problems that want to solve rather than their initial ideas.  As founders dig deeply into that original hypothesis, they well learn, adapt, hit walls, adapt again, and build critical expertise that they never considered when starting out."

This is the main idea of my first book, The Result. It is not about the single idea.  It is not about the single moment that you generated it.  The process is very iterative and adaptive.  Eric advises to see the process as:  " Great entrepreneurs build their success over time, not in a single moment.  Ideas are static. Entrepreneurship is dynamic. "

Today's question is:
" Can you dynamically iterate and adapt your idea ?"

365QOD- Day851

"The opinion of one is so easy"- Carrie Mathews

I happen to be a leader who is not afraid to be wrong.  As a matter of fact I assume that I am wrong until proven right.

Unfortunately,  some other leaders choose to believe that their input is the only valid input.  As a matter of fact, they seek no input.

When leaders do not seek input they do not open themselves up to the wisdom of crowds.  Often those top down decisions fail.  Failure might not be immediate but it is eminent.  As the old saying goes, "Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it. " 

A manager who does not get input from his people is simply doomed to repeat the mistakes from the past.

Today's question is:
" How open are you to differing input from others?"

365QOD- Day850

" There are still many opportunities."- my conclusion

Recently I read about a company that found an innovative way to do email on mobile devices.  They replaced many of the email functions with Swypes.

They were recently bought for 110 millions.  Wow!

What this story teaches me is that there are some new opportunities that have been created by mobile devices.  We just have to keep or eyes open to how people work and how to make it easier for them.

Today's question is:
" How have things changed on mobile platforms for you and how can you turn that into an opportunity? "

365QOD- Day849

"My priorities are...."- not so easy to determine

I believe as individuals we often do not know what we want.  You would think that priorities would be easy and we can just say them.  Unfortunately they are not.

How about in the business world?  Should a company know its priorities?  The answer is of course.  This is often driven from the top executives.

While reading the book on decision making by the Heath brothers I learned of a study conducted by MIT.  In the study they asked executives what are their top 5-8 problems.  Easy enough.

A week later they came back and asked the executives to review their calendars.  Amazingly enough there were no activities on their schedule that connected to the problems they had identified a week before.  In other words, we can tell what we should be doing but it does not necessarily mean that we will do it.

Today's question is:
"Does your calendar reflect your priorities?"

365QOD- Day848

"Let me tell you a story." - a good beginning

Recently I had a conversation with a friend who worked as a business consultant.   Our conversation eventually let to a story of a small company he had worked with through a change and quality improvement efforts.

The company was run by a father who wanted it done his way.  The owner had a son who was interested in the effort but his passion was sales.  He could sell anything.

The company had some quality issues with which my friend could give them a strategy to solve.  It was straight out of a textbook.

However, the effort to change never succeeded.  The owner could only see his way as the way to run the company.  In other words his approach was purely intellectual. The son was emotional about the sales but not about running the business. There was no clear path on which to place various success milestones along to guide them.

This story confirmed for me the wisdom of the Heath brothers book Switch.  In the book the rider ( intellectual ), the elephant ( emotion), and the path (mission) have to align. You must provide incentives on three path that aligns with your thinking and emotions.

My friend tried to connect those pieces for this business.  It is my belief that, without knowing the company, ultimately the company will fail. It was not flexible to adapt to new ways.

Today's question is:
" In your change efforts do you align the path, the rider, and elephant?"

365QOD- Day847

" Good for what horizon?"- my thought

Often times we just want to make a decision.  We just want to get over it.  In my opinion this is short term thinking

There exists a decision making technique called 10/10/10.  I believe it was originated by Suzy Welch.

In this technique you consider the effect of the decision
1. 10 minutes from now
2. 10 months from now
3. 10 years from now

Suppose you need to have an uncomfortable conversation with your boss.  10 minutes after the conversation you will still feel uncomfortable but you will be glad that it is over.  10 months from now you will most likely not worry about the effects of that decision.  10 years from now you will most likely now for for your boss and could care even less about this decision and conversation.  It seems
that decision making gets easier when you consider the different timeframes.

Today's question is:
"Do you consider the 10/10/10 effects of your decisions " 

365QOD- Day846

"Need at least two valid choices" - my conclusion

I am currently reading a book on decision making by Heath bothers.  In the book they mention a study of decision making. The study found that only five percent of the decisions involved three or more choices.  The other 95 percent were made up of two types: whether to do something or not(40), two choices(55).

Now it gets interesting. After some time has passed, the decisions got evaluated. Only six percent of the whether to do something or not were correct. 40 percent of the two choice decisions were correct.  Overall 46 out of the 95 percent were correct.

So about fifty percent of the decisions were correct.  What I learned from that story is that in order to improve we need to have at least two good valid options.

Today's question is:
"Do you have at least two valid options to choose from? "

365QOD- Day845

" A do not need your restlessness or your excitement.  A have enough Peter Pans, thank you very much.  What we need is a little more conviction in our difference makers. A need your focus, tort pluck, your courage. We need you to commit " - Jeff Goins

Many people are afraid of making a commitment.  They are interested but do not want to commit.

Without the commitment, a team suffers.  When the team members are not focused their efforts seem disjointed and not as effective. 

As the quote points out too many of us have excitement but no conviction.

Today's question is:
"Are you committed to your work? "

365QOD- Day844

"To 'know thyself' is hard work. Harder still is to believe that you, with all of your flaws, are enough- without checking in, tweeting an update, our sharing a photo a proof of your existence for the approval of your 791 followers. A healthy relationship with your devices is all about taking ownership of you're time and making an investment in your life. I'm not calling for any radical, Neo-Luddite movement here. Carving out time for yourself is as easy as doing one thing. Walk your dog. Stroll your baby. Go on a date- without your handheld holding your hand."  - James Victore

I love the line know thyself.  I have laid out a detailed outline of an autobiography.  It is intended for my kids to read and one day understand why I have made most of the choices in my life.

The second reason for writing a book like that is to spend some tome and truthfully examine myself and the choices I have made.  Maybe by knowing myself, I could make better choices in the future.

Today's question is:
"Do you know thyself?"

365QOD- Day843

" While this is obvious in retrospect, a  great easy to free up your time to work on something new is to give something up. Instead of optimizing every second of your day ( which is doable but very difficult to maintain), I believe the better option is to make a sacrifice"- Randall Degges

I have 168 hours each week.  You have three same amount.  We can try to squeeze as much as a can but eventually it will become unsustainable.

Since we can not make more hours then we have to figure out how to maker better hours.  By giving up some things that maybe have lost importance, we might gain enough time to pursue what is truly important to us.

Delaying a project is not the same a sacrificing. To me, sacrificing means to completely eliminate it from your future plans. that is the price for getting better hours.

Today's question is:
"What is on your schedule that could be sacrificed?"

365QOD- Day 842

" Building a moat: it takes time to digg the moat, but once established, it is nearly impossible to destroy." Steve Pavlina

The easiest way to think of a moat is the word advantage.  Steve continue in a blog post:
" If you stick to your chosen field long enough, it gets harder to fail with each passing year:
1. More people will be aware of your existence than when you first started. 
2. You'll have a bigger toolbox of strategies.
3. You'll have more clients and customers.
4. Your skills will increase.
5. You'll have more chances for fortunate opportunities to land on your plate. 
6. And you'll be committing against people with increasingly less experience than you have, relatively speaking."

I added the numbers for emphasis.  This quote wonderfully illustrates the benefits of sticking with something for a long time.  The advantages seem to outweigh the disadvantages. 

Having worked in several industries I can tell you that the only disadvantage I can site is that you will be pigeonholed as that industry guy. When I left steel to go to academia I was asked why I wanted to do this. 

When I left academia to go into consulting and running a business I was asked why I wanted to leave academia.  When I left consulting and teaching to go back to industry I was asked why?

My moat is creative solution to problems.

To me industry is not important. Academia is not important.  What is important is the application of creativity to solving problems.

Today's question is:
" What is your moat?"

365QOD- Day841

"My advice is to abandon the passion mindset which asks 'What does this job offer me? Am I happy with this job? Is it giving me everything I want?' Shift from that mindset to Steve Martin's mindset, which is ' What am I offering the world? How valuable am I? Am I really not that valuable? If I'm not that valuable, then I shouldn't expect things in my working life. How can I get better?" - Cal Newport

I have written about passion many of times in this blog.  I am a firm believer that without passion we can get good results but never great ones.

This quote made me realize that the passion mindset is very self oriented.  Maybe Steve is correct?

In the end we would be more fulfilled if we satisfy the needs of others.  By serving others we increase our value to the world. The greater the number that we serve the greater our value.  I believe that they can be combined into a valuable passion mindset.

Today's question is:
" Do you have a valuable passion mindset?"

365QOD- Day840

" Regardless of the city you're in, you get into your car and your preferences- climate control, radio and seat positioning settings, itinerary destination, even favorite restaurants- are already programmed in"- Luke Schneider

This morning I read a story about a new rental car company called Silvercar.  What caught my attention is that it only uses silver Audi cars and the based on the quote the car becomes customizable.

My first thought was that there isn't enough of a demand but maybe I am wrong.  Maybe we all want things to be customized to us.  It seems that our attitude is "it is all about me".

I can imagine that getting in a car that feels like yours could be wonderful. But sometimes the fun is in playing with the gadgets and the different settings.  It is fun until you get it just prefect for you.  I hate it when I let my wife drive my car and I have to make the adjustments.  This teaches me that once it is perfect for me I do not want it changed.

Today's question is:
" How customizable do things need to be for you to be useful?"

365QOD- Day839

"Pay attention to the little things people do." - my words to myself

Many years ago I learned a valuable lesson.  I shared an office with a co-worker.  He was younger than me and I helped train him.  He did not directly work for me.  We shared an office and a desktop computer.  I also had a laptop that was issued to me. 

I noticed that he would take things that did not belong to him as if it was issued to him. If I left a dollar on my desk, it became his.  Any tool that I had became his.   Since the desktop was company property I could not complain.  However, on the desktop I had some personal files for my part time teaching job.

One week I left to teach a plant course on Spc and when I came back he had moved out of the office and taken the desktop.  I went to his new office and asked to retrieve my personnel files.  He said that he completely wiped the computer clean and destroyed my files.

I was pissed.  I did not care if he moved out or if he took the desktop but the files he destroyed took a lot of effort to create.  When I confronted his boss he just shrugged his shoulders. 

The lesson I learned that day was to look at the little things that people do and extrapolate( predict) potential future problems with that individual.  I should have noted his and hits boss' behavior and lack of boundaries when it came to assigned equipment and predicted that he could do something like what he ended up doing.

Today's question is:
" Do you extrapolate future actions from the small things people do?"

365QOD- Day838

" Gloria Price, professor at UC Irvine, found that technology workers got interrupted on the average every 11 minutes then it took 25 minutes to get back on track." - source unknown

Recently I read an article that talked about two different types of schedules: a creative's and a manager's.  It immediately made me think about my schedule and that of the people around me.

I am on a manager schedule.  If there is an empty spot on it schedule a meeting and I will  be there. This type of schedule trends to work in one hour blocks.

The independent contributors, the creative workers, tend to work in blocks of time bigger than an hour.  So stopping in and asking a question throws them of their flow. As the quote above suggests, they lose their place and have a hard time getting back on track.  The non creative types need to give them freedom from interruption during those blocks.

Even though I follow the manager type of schedule I probably need to block out twenty percent of my time ( two for hour blocks for creative work).  This will allure me to create and respond to requests instead of rushing yo another meeting.

Today's question is:
" What type of schedule do you follow? "

365QOD- Day837

"Fundamental Attribution Error- the tendency to ignore context and attribute an individual's success our failure solely  to inherent qualities" - definition

When I read this line it made me think about fixed vs. flexible mindset.  The fixed mindset believes that all results are due to being smart.  The flexible mindset believes in working hard and figuring things out as you move through the challenge.  To me, inherent qualities brings up fixed, born with ideas. 

After  reading the definition a second time, I noticed the 'ignore context' portion.  A success in one field does not translate into success in another field.  If that was true then Michael Jordan would be also the greatest baseball player and the greatest NBA executive.  He was average in baseball and in being a boss.

Success in one arena could be due to your skill set, your willingness to fight for what you want, your focus, etc.  The place where you fight is also critical.  A great boxer in a rink might not do so good in a bar fight.

Today's question is:
" Do you consider the context along with your skill set?"

365QOD- Day836

"That is easy. "- answer to the first challenge

Jim Rohn's second challenge that he believed life poses is:

How do we wisely use all of our resources?

Resources that we poses are money, time, attention, love, etc. If for a moment we just focus on time we quickly notice that we are very often not the guardians of our time.  Someone walls into your office and you drop everything to accommodate them.

Similarly,  we trend to watch the Pennies while dollars get blown away.  That pop in the machine is a dollar but that dollar adds up over time to a fortune.

Same thing with the other resources.  We tend to waste them until we feel the poison of not having them.

Today's a question is:
" How do you make sure you wisely use your resources?"

365QOD- Day835

" I am up for the challenge" - my response

A couple of days ago I finished listening to a six CD set by Jim Rohn on changing one's life.  There were many great ideas in it.  In this and tomorrow posts I like to discuss a couple of life challenges.

According to Jim, life poses two challenges that we should pursue.  The first challenge is:

How do we develop ourselves to our maximum potential?

I love this question.  Often we are afraid to go after what we want because our best might not be God enough.  So we pull back from giving it our all.  In order to give it our all we must develop our full potential. This takes wisdom to self evaluate where your gaps are and to figure out how to fill them.

Today's question is:
" What do you need to do to develop to your full potential? "

365QOD- Day834

"Why the shape of a cross?"- a question asked by a priest during a sermon

Many years ago I attended a sermon that I would not forget as long as I live. The priest who gave the sermon asked this question.  He proceeded to answer it.

He said that if you really started looking at the term commandments you could summarize then into two:
1. How man should behave towards men ( he motioned side to side)
2. How man should behave towards God( He motioned from bottom up)

The motions made three shape of a cross.  I lived his summary because many years late I remember three message.

Today's question is:
" How are your relationships towards fellow men and God?"

365QOD- Day833

"Let me tell you a story..."-typical beginning

Can you retell the story of the Trojan horse?  Most of us had heard it in school somewhere along the way and can probably retell it just as well many years later.

The last idea from the book Contagious is to tell a Story.  

I'm a believer that a great story can move people to action.  But a many greatly entertaining ads illustrate often they do not tie back to the product.  The story must connect back to you.  The Trojan story links back to the Greeks who built it.  The story has a purpose and in the end it links back.

Today's question is:
" What is the story you tell link back to you? "

365QOD- Day832

" Now that is useful to know"- something I always say

According to the Contagious book, the fifth component of making an idea viral is for it to have Practical Value.

I used to be an academic.  But I never published papers.  I have been credited as author on a few papers but not as a sole author.  Publishing academic papers was never of interest to me.

I love writing books and my blog.  I believe that these contribute practical ideas to the world.  Writing a paper that stretches some theory a little bit is cool but of limited practical value.

So if your idea is of practical value then it has a chance.  People have to judge it a something of value that can be applied immediately.

Today's question is:
" How practical is your idea?"

365QOD- Day831

" Build to show, built to grow"- from the book Contagious

The fourth important feature for an idea or product to become viral is for it to make it obvious to the Public.

In the book the example of Apple cover logo being upside down vs. right side up is highlighted.  Apple logo is upside down to the user but when the cover is open the logo shows up properly to the public around the user.  This is pretty strategic.  If it was the other way around then the user is happy for a minute but the public wonders why the logo is upside down.

By placing the logo that way the user's computer provides free advertising to the nearby users that the user prefers the apple brand. 

Today's question is:
" Do you built to show?"

365QOD- Day830

" To keep a fire going, put some kindle in it." - old advice from my grandmother

In my opinion the most important thing to align in order to make sure something gets done is emotions. The how is easy but the why is hard.

In order for the why to be bigger than the how you need to do something to get your emotions moving you in the right direction.  You would do the same to get an idea to become viral.

According to Contagious book Emotions are necessary in order to make am idea viral. What will inspire people to talk about it.  What well kindle the emotions. What emotion will move people to act?

Today's question is:
" What will ignite feelings towards you or your product?"

365QOD- Day829

"Top of mind, tip of tongue"- Contagious book

Second thing to keep in mind when trying to make an idea viral is to consider Triggers.

Think of a trigger as a memory device.  If a cue is presented, would it trigger a memory or a response?

Consider if someone says peanut butter.  What is the first thing that comes to mind?  For most of us it would be jelly.

What about if you need to blow your noise?  What would you ask for?  Most likely, you would ask got a Kleenex.

Today's question is:
" What triggers in your customers mind when you or your product/service are mentioned?"

365QOD- Day828

" Check this out...." - an urging

Recently I started reading an ebook called Laptop Millionaire.  I started reading the book but quickly realized i needed to stop and create a product. I also ordered the book on order to be able to work with it a little easier than an ebook.

So when I got it in my hand I thought ok now nothing will stop me from reading and working with it.  Well, I got a call from my favorite library in town that a new book came in for me. 
The book Contagious by Jonah Berger has been in front of me the last week. Its focus is on determining what makes ideas go viral.  In order took make the ideas memorable it uses the acronym STEPPS.

First idea from the book is that what makes ideas spreadable is that the person who spreads the idea wants to increase their Social Currency.  In other words, by spreading the idea the persons image gets a boost.

In a sense the purpose of this blog is to increase my Social Curgency.  By posting content that folks want to read I am hoping to be recognized as a creative thought leader who can absorb a lot of ideas and make them a approachable. In other words, we share things that make us look good in the minds of others.

Today's question is:
" How do you increase your Social Currency?"

365QOD- Day827

"... you got to become one with the bicycle"- Tommy Hendricks

Last night I was talking with Tommy.  We started talking about the keys to success.

Tommy gave a great example.  In his example he asked the question if anyone ever learned how to ride a bicycle without falling.  The obvious answer is that no one ever learned to ride a bicycle without falling.

The effort to ride the bicycle involves falling a few times until you understand the balance required to not fall.  But once you master the balance, you become one with the bicycle.

This idea holds true for bicycle riding, book writing, cookie making, business building, etc. you become one with" it", whatever it means to you.

Today's question is:
" What are you one with?"

365QOD- Day826

"We do know that fifty percent of the tome people are online they're procrastinating.  But we don't know whether, in fact, they wouldn't just use something else "- Timothy Pychyl

The thought of people waisting 50 percent of their time online is unbelievable.  I mean I believe it but it just seems such a waste.

In the last six months I have been trying to do things more analog.  I tend to sit at a desk that does not have a computer so I can think.  I also trend to go to a lot of meetings in which I just bring a notebook and my cell phone.  If I need to check email I can quickly do it on my phone but most of the time I just take notes in my Moleskine grid notebook.

For me this prevents me from sitting in front of a computer and potentially waisting time.  I do believe that I can do better at answering the mountain of email if I sat at the computer but maybe that is my next procrastination hurdle.

Today's question is:
" How do you spend your surfing time?"

365QOD- Day825

" I am working fill time on my job, and I am working part time on my fortune"- Jim Round

I love this line.  It fits well with my AND thinking belief.

Many people believe that they can only work on something full time.  But then they miss out on working on their fortune part.

It is so easy to just come up with reasons. Reasons such as lack of time, money, to busy, etc. come to mind very quickly.

It all boils down to what is important to you: working for yourself or for someone else.

Today's question is:
" Are you working on your or someone else's fortune?"

365QOD- Day824

"Take a bite...go on" - an urging

In life, we are often presented with many opportunities.  These opportunities offer growth and adventure.
However, just because the opportunity for adventure is in front of us we might not take it.  And when we do, it might be too late.

Not pursuing the adventure leads us to discover less, achieve less, create less, etc.  In the end we live a lesser life.

Today's question is:
" What pulls you towards adventure instead of away from it?"

365QOD- Day823

" There is a business concept called opportunity cost.  When you choose one course of action, you miss out on all the other opportunities you might have chosen to pursue but didn't.  People rarely stop to consider that until its too late."- Steve Tobak Inc. magazine

This morning I spent some time thinking about how wasteful my weekend was in total.  Yes I got a few things done but no major items got ticked of my list.

This quote teaches a wonderful lesson.  I did not consider the opportunity cost of doing the things I chose vs. the big items I could have accomplished.  Maybe the value of the NBA game should have been lower than finishing the editing of my new book?

The realization for me is to periodically stop and ask myself as to what is my opportunity cost for choosing to do what I am doing instead of getting an important task not get done.

Today's question is:
" How do you establish your opportunity cost of an activity?"

365QOD- Day822

" Who are the people shaking up their field most dramatically? To answer that question, we sifted through hundredths of names in scores of categories to come up with a dozen disrupted less content to improve the status quo than to blew it up." Forbes April 15 issue

Usually a hook like this over promises but falls to deliver.  But this story did not.

The first disruptor was a company Snapchat which has managed to do something pretty unique.  They realized that when we send photos it might be desirable if the photo has an expiration date- "self-destruct ".
It made me wonder if other things should have a self-destruct ability. First thought that came to my mind was email.

What would happen to email traffic if people knew that after 24  hours the email would destroy itself.  Maybe people would follow up with a conversation?

Today's question is:
" What else should self-destruct?"

365QOD- Day821

" Wherever you are is the entry point" - Rumi

Most of us expect a magic starting point with trumpets announcing the beginning of something big.  Reality never lives up to this fantasy.

Everything has a beginning and an end.  Both the beginning and the end are often very fuzzy.  You seem never certain that you are just starting or that you are completely done.

So with this in mind, Rumi's advice is a jewel.  It doesn't matter if the start gun had gone off, just begin.  It doesn't matter if the finish tape had been removed, just keep going.

Both the beginning and the end are entry points.  Just continue.

Today's question is:
"What is this adventure an entry point for? "

365QOD- Day820

" How would you live your life if you only had six months to live?" - a big question

It seems at times we lack clarity.  We feel we can always get to it tomorrow.  Whatever the it we are working or thinking about now.

While listening to an audio CD by Joe Polish with Brian Tracy, Brian asked this question.  He said that he felt most of us would be forced to focus if that was the reality for us.

For most of us that life or death situation does not seem real.  So we delay. And delay because we feel that tomorrow will always come.

The most extreme position is to imagine if this is your last day.  This is a zen idea. 

Today's question is:
" If today was your last day, how would you spend it? With who? Doing what? Eating what? Saying good bye to? Finishing? "

365QOD- Day819

"Good conversation is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after. "- Anne Murrow Lindbergh

Last night I had a conversation with a new friend.  We talked about ideas.

He started telling me what he is working on.  I told him what challenges are stretching me.

In the end I felt refreshed.  My mind stretched.  But like the quote, it was hard to sleep and not think about the ideas we discussed.

Today's question is:
" Do you feel energized after a great conversation?"

365QOD- Day 818

" Another number story" - my observation

I can not help but notice that there are many stories that start with a number.  5 ways to become your best, 10 ways to be more productive, etc.

In my opinion, someone had figured out that a leading number catches the attention of readers.  So now they use it and use it and use it.

It makes me wonder when an effective technique gets old?  If you are getting results then you probably do not care but over time less and less people will read your stories.

Today's question is:
" How do you decide when you need to get a new method for getting a result?"

365QOD-Day817

" Can I have a minute of your time?" -common expression

I constantly work on several side projects.  And often I hit a wall.

The wall is usually a lack of knowledge or expertise in a subject.  Many times I even know who knows the answer.

While looking through Inc. magazine online stories it mentioned a site that offers access to experts such as Mark Cuban for a fee.  His fee is 160 dollars per hour. Some experts offer their time free. Gary V. offers 15 minutes for free.

It makes me wonder how valuable the short time can be and how to best use the short time.

Today's question is:
" What questions would you ask during a 15 minutes access to an expert"

365QOD- Day816

" But how?" - my former belief

Many years ago I sat at the end of the year on a beach in Florida writing out my goals for next year.  One of the goals was how much I was going to make next year.  This happened every year for three years I a row.

Looking back on those the years I made exactly what I wrote down.  Did I do anything special?
I am ashamed to say that I can not remember specifically what I did to earn the extra but I did earn it.

Today I was listening to an audio book in which Brian Tracy described the same technique.  He also said that he did not directly attribute it to anything the person does directly.

He recommended that each day we should write out our ten goals on a new page and ask ourselves what one action we could take towards the most important goal.

Today's question is:
" What ten goals would change your life completely if they came true this year?"

365QOD-Day815

" Be curious" - Ernest Chan

This morning our class discussed a technique for establishing relationships between several inputs and a single output. It was interesting.

Besides bring interesting, it was also somewhat trial and error.  You had to follow the
P-consider practical
G-graph relationships
A-analyze the data
technique.

But more than a single technique, you had to remain open and curious to the underlying relationships.  Without being open you could not find the relationship between variables.

Today's question is:
" How do you stay curious?"

365QOD- Day814

" I am the old dog" - my thought
Today begins the second week of lean six sigma green belt training course.  I am loving every minute of it.

Around year 2000 I was a mid level Engineering Manager in a steel mill.  Six sigma was being introduced in the steel industry and I was asked if I wanted to become a black belt.  I turned it down because I did not expect to be there very long.

Turning down the training was a mistake.  I have regretted that choice twice in my life.  Recently my company offered the training and my team and I decided to take advantage of it.  It is another problem solving tool in our toolbox.

Today's question is:
"Have you ever turned down training and lived to regret it? "

365QOD- Day813

"Can't teach an old dog new tricks " - outdated wisdom

This morning I read the April issue of Men's Health.  In it I found a sorry article about Mark Peterson.

Mark Peterson is a professor at University of Michigan.  His areas of focus are physical medicine and rehabilitation.

What made the story interesting is that even though he had a PhD he is working on a masters in clinical research.

To me this is impressive. Here is a guy who can easily rest in his education but instead he has decided to close a gap.

I believe that in the future Mark's reality will be everyone reality.  We will spend most of our lives learning new tricks. Without these new tricks we will limit ourselves and future opportunities.

Today's question is:
" How do you learn new tricks?"

365QOD- Day812

"Build it, they will remain" - bad networking advice

I have been thinking about network building lately.  There are people that constantly meet new people as a part of their job.

As an example, consider real estate agents.  They tend to specialize in an area of a city and get to meet people looking for a place in that area.  The looking process might expose them to the same people several times.  Enough to potentially bulls a friendship.

So what?

Just because you build a network of good people it does not mean that it is very strong.  If you sell these folks a house you have a temporarily gain but might never turn that into a future gain. 

I believe that the network has to be nurtured once it had been created.  To do this a person would have to periodically maintain contact with the network by carrying enough to call and inquire about people's lives outside of the work relationship.  In my opinion 10 percent of one's time needs to be spent on nurturing.

Today's question is:
"How do you nurture your network? "

365QOD- Day811

" Good habits are hard to form but easy to live with, bad habits are easy to form but hard to live with" - Brian Tracy

I was listening to a marketing CD when this little gem was stayed by Brian.  I immediately saw the wisdom in the statement.

I am a firm believer of having or developing great routines.  These routines eventually become so ingrained that they reach the habit level. 

So I asked myself how does one create a habit?  Well, in my opinion start with a low expectation and design a routine.  Since your expectation is low you give yourself the room to fail. 

Every day presents the opportunity to follow your new routine.  Make sure you monitor whether you follow it or you run the other way.  By placing your focus on the routine and recording the success or failure of it you will be more likely to succeed.  Keep track of how often you fail and work on reducing the failure rate until you have a habit.

Today's question is:
" How do you create a good habit?"

365QOD- Day810

"Accountability buddy" - new idea to me

I recently ran across this label in a couple of places.  This morning while getting rid of some old articles and looking for a source of inspiration for a post I ran into it again.

The Psychology article offered a suggestion by Stephanie Sarkis titled To Do 2.0
" Every morning, a friend and I text each other a list of tasks we need to get done that day.  As e accomplish each task, we text to check in"

I immediately started thinking through my friend Rolodex in my mind as to who can be my accountability text buddy.  Maybe try different people got a week?  Maybe text each other the 1-3-5 daily list I wrote about in an earlier post?

Today's question is:
"Who is your accountability buddy? "

365QOD- Day809

"Most businesses fail because owners work in their business instead of on their business"- Michael Gerber

I was listening to an audio book today and the author if Emyth stated a version of this quote.  I immediately agreed with him.

I have been around many CEOs and many do not have business that they can sell.  They have no systems.  They just show up for work and without them the business lows down or stops/

If you do not have training manuals for each position and training for new people in each role then you are not running a true business.  You are running lean and if any one decides to quit then you will feel immense pain.  The more systems you have the easier it is for you to convince an outsider that you are not needed for day to day operations and the business could be bought if profitable.

Today's question is:
"Do you believe in systems or are you just n business?"

365QOD- Day 808

" Inspiration is useless without perspiration" - Anonymous

I recently spent some time getting rid of old papers  While re-reading some articles I came across an old HBR article  by John Baldoni with this quote. 

I believe that I get inspired by many things that I read.  At times I might even get a piece of paper and start sketching my new derived idea down.

But, as the quote advises, it is useless without the perspiration.  I must be willing to work with and on the idea in order to make something of it.  Spending a little bit of time thinking and sketching is not enough.  The gods require sweat.

Today's question is:
" Are you sweating or are you simply thinking?"

365QOD- Day807

"Put the action step you want taken in the subject line of your email" - Jason Womack

I watched a video today in which Jason purposes this idea.  In my world this advice is worth gold.

I send and get a ton of emails each day and can not effectively answer most of them.  If I get 200 emails and choose to just open and read the emails might take anywhere from one to five minutes.  With 100 you are looking at 100 to 500 minutes.  When you have 200 then you have 200- 1000 minutes per day.  There are only 480 minutes in a working day.

The idea of what action need taking would save a lot of time.  This will be more and more important as more and more people read their email on mobile devices.  It might result in taking more actions in a day.

Today's question is:
" Would having an action listed in the subject line save you time reading?"

365QOD- Day806

" So the Muse( daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne) whispered in Beethoven's ear. Maybe she hummed a few dah-dah-dah-DUM bars into a million other ears.  But no one else heard her.  Only Beethoven got it." - my paraphrase of War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Many of times I have said that when God gives us an idea he takes out an insurance against us by giving it to many others.  God does not care who executes the idea but that the idea gets executed.

The quote above is another way of saying the same. I love his version.

I spent the day reading this book and thinking about the concept of Resistance.  Maybe we do not hear the sounds because we are resisting.  We have to be open to hearing God's voice and see his fingerprints in our lives.

The resistance leads us to live two lives. As Steven says, " The life that we live, and the unlived life within us.  Between the two stands Resistance"

Todays question is:
" Are you hearing the dah-dah-dah-DUM bars or are you Resisting?"

365QOD- Day 805

" Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, really simple, that is creativity" - Charles Mingus

While looking through a book called Red Thread Thinking I spotted this little gem. It immediately resonated with me.

For the last year I have been working on a product.  The product could potentially result in a mass appeal product.

Well having a billion dollar idea means nothing until you execute it elegantly.  Most of my solutions have been good but not simple.

The quote educated me that maybe I was stuck in a box.  I needed to jump out of the box and stretch my creativity. This creativity stretch resulted in making the product simpler.

Today's question is:
"Do you always choose simplicity? "

365QOD- Day 804

"Could have been me"  my thought

I watched the TV got the last couple of days and could not believe what was happening. It pulled me in.

When I moved to Texas I started running local races.  I ran in a couple of 10k and half marathons.  My goal was to run the Chicago and New York marathons in 2012.  Those were my training wheels before I attempted the most difficult Boston race.

If these events would have played out I would have been on Boston last Monday.  Wow!  What prevented me was the injuries along the way.  Maybe they were blessings in disguise.

Today's question is:
"Do you understand how fortunate you are?"

365QOD- Day 803

"Talent is like a sundial in the shade"- Ben Franklin

The other day while driving when I heard this quote.  How useful is a sundial in a shade? Not useful at all.

We all possess talents that make doing certain things easier.  We look magical to others when we are doing those things, because they might not have the same talent.  Their talent might impress us just like our impress them.

The message to me is that the talents have to be displayed in the right setting for them to be useful.  If they are, then they make us look like we are doing something magical.

Today's question is:
"How do you align your talents in your life?"

365QOD- Day802

"How do I explain it to you?" - my question

Recently a gentlemen walked in my office and asked me to explain the capital project flow.  So I started explaining it from start to end.

He said that he wanted to learn it from end to start.  The process consists of over 25 steps.
This exchange made me think.  I was presenting the ideal process to him.  He was interested in understanding the real process flow with all of the problems along the steps.

I believe that in order to understand a process I tend to want to understand the ideal flow.  This takes away the noise of reality.  But once the ideal has been learned then the real flew can be studied and optimized.

Today's question is:
"Would you prefer to learn the ideal or real flow of a system?"

365QOD- Day 801

"I would rather have a life full of 'oh wells' rather than a life full of 'what ifs'" unknown

I was looking through a few hundred photos that I recently downloaded and came across this quote.  It immediately got me to think.

I believe that most of us tend to live lives full of what ifs with some oh wells.  I do not think that it is all or nothing. 

The secret is to switch the two.  Live a life with mostly oh wells and almost no what ifs. How?
By confronting every fear that we have until the fog of fear is eliminated. In the end, by facing them we become more fulfilled.

Todays question is:
"What oh well will you face today?"

365QOD- Day 800

"The mundane is to be cherished" - sign on The School of Life

While reading the February issue of Psychology I saw this sign on a building window.  The article talked about how the school teaches life philosophy. It is idea of Alain Dr Button.

I do believe that or lives are full of mundane tasks.  These chores suck our energy dry.
That is only true if we let them. 

If we take on the mundane by cherishing it then I believe we would see the beauty of the quote.  If we can cherish it then it changes it into pleasurable.

Today's question is:
"Can you cherish the mundane?"

365QOD- Day799

"If you see different things, you will see differently" - Robert Trajkovski

Every day you brush your teeth with your dominant hand. Have you ever tried to brush them with the other hand? Probably it did not feel natural and you switched back.

When I write the posts for this blog I typically write them on a computer.  But lately I have been writing them on my phone.  It had been a change that I now welcome.  It forces me to read the posts more closely.

No it did not feel as natural as sitting in front of a computer.  I could not figure out how to do certain things but with time and effort I believe that it will become a true alternative.

Todays question is:
"What feels totally unnatural to you but might be a great alternative if mastered?"

365QOD- Day798

"A true measure of your life is how much you would be worth if you lost everything"- Robert Trajkovski

I read a quite today which stated that a true measure of your wealth is what you would be worth if you lost everything.  It seemed to me that it was missing something.

Wealth is but one dimension on which to measure life.  Recently I worked on a workbook of 26 power virtues that one would evaluate along physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, interpersonal, and financial dimensions.

Wealth is simply the financial dimension.  I thought of a complete loss of everything: wealth, family, career , friends, etc. would be more drastic.

Where would you begin to rebuild? Would you have the courage to even start?  Kind of a dark chain of thoughts.  In the end I concluded that any loss in a singular dimension should not stop you for too long, unless you let it.

Todays question is:
"Where would you begin the rebuilding process after a devastating loss in any one of the six dimensions?"

365QOD - Day797

"Big ideas are just that- ideas- until you execute"- Kristina "Z" Holly

It is amazing how many ideas I can get by just reading a magazine.  Let just say I can get 2-3 ideas from each magazine I read.  If I want more ideas then I simply just need to read more magazines or books.

The ideas that I get are how to apply an existing idea to another field, modification of an existing idea, or something new that was inspired from the story.  In the end the idea is like a dot on a paper.  If it is not connected to anything else, it looses any meaning and with time it fades.

It all boils to the execution of a subset of meaningful ideas to the best of your abilities.  Some are quick hits and others take a long time to nurture.  Until they bear fruit they are just ideas.

Today's question is:
"What subset of ideas are you going to execute?"

365QOD - Day796

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"- an old saying

IN March 2013 issue of Entrepreneur I read the story Shine on about Josh Opperman.  In the story Josh had given a $10,000 ring to his fiancee.  One day when he returned home he found out that she had left him and left the ring behind.

I am sure this was a hard experience to go through but Josh did something unusual about it.  He took the ring and tried to get his money back.  He was offered 35% of its true value.  This was not acceptable to Josh so he started a business online to re-sell engagement rings.

Why did I think this was interesting?  Well, it made me wonder how many businesses can be created off the idea of re-selling something of value for which the original seller will not offer close to true value for.  I always thought that driving a car off the lot and it being worth $2000 less is pretty sick.

A business could be very successful if they would just split the difference with the seller.  If an item is bought for 10000 and they can only get 4000 for it then if you split the difference (10000-4000=6000 then 6000/2=3000) and can offer that person 7000 they would purchase from you.  Even if you offered them 6000 and you pocketed the 1000 they would sell to you instead of the original seller. You can then re-sell it for 7000.

I think the idea is powerful.  Now the trick is to figure out a business to use it.

Today's question is:
"What can you re-sell for others?"

365QOD - Day795

"Now I got something to test it with"- my words

Recently I started reading a book called Laptop Millionaire.  While I was reading it I had an idea.  Instead of just reading the book and saying what a great book full of ideas it is, I decided to stop reading it until I can just apply it.

Well most of the products that I am working on did not fit so I decided to create a new product.  What!

I wrote a workbook in two days that is about 175 pages long. Yup! In two days. If you want
something bad enough then just do it instead of looking for excuses.  Now I can simply test the concept instead of just reading and wondering if the ideas actually work.

Today's question is:
"What price are you willing to pay to test an idea?"

365QOD- Day794

"If you play a good team then momentum will swing 3-5 times, with a great team it might only happen once"- paraphrase of Rick Patino

This weekend I found myself glued to the NCAA final four.  It had two very good games: Louisville vs. Wichita State and Michigan vs. Syracuse. 

I usually do not care who wins but I wanted Wichita to beat Louisville.  They got ahead by up to 10 points but in the end they lost.  Similarly, Michigan got ahead by 10 points but held on to win.

Observing this made me wonder why one team won and the other lost.  Was it talent?  Based on play I would say Wichita was the best of the four and should have won it all.  Athletically, all four teams had gifted players.

I believe that it all boiled down to belief.  Somewhere in the back of the minds of the WS player's was a belief that they did not belong in the championship game. 

Interestingly, the same thing happened Monday in the final between Michigan and Louisville.  Michigan came out and was smoking Louisville.  There was player on Michigan's team that scored six out of six three points in the first half but scored nothing in the second half.  Louisville believed and won the game.

Today's question is:
"What beliefs that you hold prevent you from reaching your next level?"

365QOD- Day793

"...Assume that on any given day you can accomplish one big mission, the medium tasks, and five small things.  Get those done a best as you can. Then, as your workday concludes make the next day's 1-3-5" Alex Cavaulacos, Muse

This advice is perfect four a crazy busy culture that we live in.  Place the big mission in front of you, THEN tackle the tasks AND lastly the things.

I remember seeing this done a an experiment with a big vase with big, medium, and small balls.  The same idea as the quote but then we were asked if anything else would fit.  We added sand. Lastly we added water.

It is amazing what you can squeeze in a day when the big pieces go in first, followed by medium, etc.

Todays question is:
"How do you squeeze in your 1-3-5?"

365QOD- Day792

"My gut feeling tells me to do X" - often heard expression

Recently I read an article that talked about the difference between analytical and intuitive decision making.  One is based on facts and other is based on feelings.

A lot of people make decisions intuitively. They can sense what they believe is the right thing to do it and just want to get to the doing stage quickly. The problem with this approach is that often opinions are based on a single past experience.

Other people need a lot of facts and figures. They live to analyze these until they feel 100 percent that they know what the right answer is to the problem. The problem is that you can never get to complete certainty.

In my opinion a blend is the best way to make decisions.  It is the 80/20 rule again.  I think that once you have 80% knowledge of the facts and figures you have spent enough time analyzing and should stop.  Now take a look at the numbers and ask yourself do you feel(20%) that what the numbers are telling you is the right thing to do. 

If the answer is yes then pull the trigger and go for it.  If you still feel discomfort then search for more data or another approach to solving the problem.

Todays question is:
"Do you know or feel your decisions are correct?"

365QOD- Day791

"How can they stay in business?"- my thought

I am reading a book called laptop Millionaire.  It is in an ebook format.  Easy to read but I decided that I want to purchase it on order to work with it.

I looked on Amazon and it was 13 plus shipping. Abebooks had it for 8 plus shipping.  When I called BN in Houston they told me that they have it in stock and that it is 22 but 13 online.
I immediately thought that there is no way Barnes and Noble can continue operating that way. 

I love bookstores.  I can easily spend hours looking through books and generate new ideas.  In a post before I even cried about Boarders on Michigan avenue in Chicago closing.  It broke my heart.

The bookstore business must be a very tough business. But when the discrepancy between online and brick and mortar store is so great then people will choose online.  Unfortunately online does not fill my other need of browsing the same way.

Bookstores, like coffee places, are places, like home and office, where one can spend time talking with people about ideas.  They feel like a nurturing space.  However, I am not convinced that their future is very bright.

Today's question is:
"What will be the next third place where people can just hang out?"

365QOD- Day790

"Fasting...I hate that"- my belief

As an Eastern Orthodox we tend to fast during lent.  I have never been given a great reason to fast.  I do not think God cares whether we do or do not fast.

But maybe I am wrong.

The other day I watched a PBS show in which a reporter showed the effects that fasting had on a person's health.  The  hour long show discussed the benefits of four different types of fasts.

The four types were:
1. reduced intake,
2.three day fast of only water, black tea, and fifty calorie soup each day,
3. One day 25 percent of normal intake followed by a eat anything day
4. Five day normal intake followed by two day fast.

The reporter choose the five and two and lost fourteen pounds and all his health screens were incredibly great.

I personally liked the one day on, one day off.  You would think that a person would stuff themselves the second day.  Reality was that typically people ate only 110 percent the second day.  In other words 110+25=135 or 62.5 percent of normal. This is a reduction of a little more than a third of normal intake.

This show completely changed my opinion because it clearly showed me the benefits of farting on health.

Today's question is:
"Could you be wrong about a practice?"

365QOD- Day789

"We asked everyday people to share with us the age of the oldest person they've known by placing a sticker on or chart" - Prudential ad

Of you see this ad you will quickly be pulled in.  The as displays a large canvas on which people place dots.  It quickly demonstrate that we all know someone who has lived in the 80-100 age group. 

The ad asks two questions as to why we are living longer but yet the retirement age has not changed and whether we will have enough.

Retirement requires long term planning.  Our society trends to reward short term thinking.  I believe that we must do both well in order to be successful. Some of my earlier posts offer formulas for you to check your level of readiness.

Today's question is:
"Will you have enough resources to retire well"

365QOD- Day788

"Two guys quit"-a surprise announcement

Recently a company I work with lost two key employees.  It was a shock to the leadership.

My question was to what their strategy is for keeping them or replacing them.  Both strategies seemed reasonable.

This event made me think how replaceable any of us are to an employer everyone is important to a team.  Some might even argue that some are more important than others.

I tend to think in terms of all of us being links in a chain.  So yes some are more important and missed longer but in the end the hole is filled by someone else.

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

365QOD- Day787

"Fear is a liar" - words on a wall

A couple of weeks ago I offered this quote to Maria, my co-worker.  This morning she came back at me with her own version, "Fear is expensive".

Wow!  I love her version.  It made me think how it is so true.  Fearing can reduce the number of opportunities that we pursue and ultimately it costs.

Today's question is:
"What else is fear?"

365QOD- Day786

"why did I stop" -my question to myself

While reading the book The Tools I learned that people that were helped with the tools will eventually go back to not using them.  This immediately resonated with me.

I am always learning something new.  But maybe it its too much.  I do not take the time to integrate it into my own system.

The only thing I can do is pause and capture my thoughts.  It might jar me into using the tool.
 
Todays question is:
"how do you make yourself use helpful tools?"