Albert Einstein on Simple
November 17, 2008
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” – Albert Einstein
Why did Google do so well in the beginning? Because it was so simple to use. A white page with their logo and a search box. You weren’t swarmed with choices to make like Yahoo and MSN.
Simplicity is a principle of success in business and in our personal lives. Instead of adding things to your life. Try taking something away.
Designers are big on making things simple and avoiding “feature creep”. They know when they are done when there is nothing left to take away.
It’s not the Economies fault
November 14, 2008
On my drive home today from work I was listening to the news. Every story began with the phrase “Because of the Economy”. I hate to break it to you but the economy did not get us into this mess and it definitely will not get us out of it.
What did get us into this?
I’ll tell you the truth no one has yet admitted to, it’s all . . . “Because of the Jones’s”.
It’s “Because of the Jones’s” that we bought more then we could afford.
It’s “Because of the Jones’s” that we just had to have a mansion.
It’s “Because of the Jones’s” that we bought the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S.
Now that we have a name for the culprit of our down economy, we can move on. They did this. With there nice house and there fancy cars. If they can have it, why can’t we?
The problem is we wanted the American dream without the working for it. By looking for the next “get rich quick” scheme. We saw all the easy money to be made buying and selling homes. We saw how much money traders and investors made in the stock market. We were looking for an easy way to make money, a way where we wouldn’t have to work.
It is time to stop cutting corners and to get to work. I don’t mean working later or staying up all night searching the internet. I’m saying we “Do Less” not more. Stop avoiding the tough decisions in your life and decide today to face them head on. That’s hard work.
We also need to stop defining success by what we wear, what we drive and where we live. Start doing things because it is something you are passionate about. Success is the completion of a worthy goal. Have you ever accomplished something that really meant something to you? That’s success. That’s the real American dream.
The story that our parents told us “go to school, get good grades and work at a large company, you’ll be safe”, is false. There is no security at a large company. The world will pay what you are worth, period. You can’t hide from your responsibility at a big company.
I graduated college two years ago and life has been tough. However, I stopped looking for the easy way out because it doesn’t exist. My goal is not to get rich quick but to work my way out of this challenge. It is not easy learning a new skill that you need in order to accomplish your goals and reach your potential. But if your passionate about change, about making a difference, about accomplishing something that matters to you, then the hard work isn’t work anymore. The journey becomes as rewarding as the end goal, if not more rewarding. Somewhere along the way you’ll find something you love and the world will start paying you for it. Instead of taking, we now have something to give.
We need to stop “blaming the economy” and start taking action for our own futures. We can start innovating as a country. We wouldn’t need to “bail out” the big companies that stop innovating in order to maintain the status quo, who are afraid to make the tough decisions that comes with change and risk.
There is no easy way out of this. The sooner you admit that to yourself the sooner we can get on with changing the world.
The War of Art Part III – “Beyond Resistance”
November 5, 2008
In this final section Steven Pressfield stressed the importance of “professionalism”. The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying. Doing brings power as we site down and do our work.
It took Steven 10 years before he got a check for something he had written and ten more before a novel, The Legend of Bagger Vance, was actually published. When he finished no one else knew it but him. Nobody else cared. But he felt like the dragon he had fought his whole life had dropped dead at his feet.
Rest in peace.
The next morning he went to a friend’s house for coffee and told him he had finished. His friends reply, “Good for you, start the next one today.”
Why did he say that?
Sales people are told that when you make a sale you should get back on the phone because chances are you will make another one.
A quote in the book “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it. Begin it now.” – W.H. Murray
When we begin.
When we make a start.
When we conceive an enterprise and commit to it in the face of our fears, something wonderful happens.
Resistance feeds on fear. We experience Resistance as fear. But fear of what?
Fear of consequences of following our heart. Fear of bankruptcy, fear of poverty, fear of insolvency. But this is not the Mother of all Fears, the Master Fear. That fear is:
Fear That We Will Succeed.
That we can access the powers we secretly know we possess. That we can become the person we sense in our hearts we truly are.
We fear discovering that we are more than we think we are.
We know that if we embrace our ideals, we must prove worthy of them. And that scares the hell out of us.
A hack is someone who second-guesses his audience. When the hack sits down to write, he doesn’t ask himself what’s in his own heart. He asks what the market is looking for. Trust what you want and not what you think will work for the target market you are writing for.
The key to all of this is that we must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause.
Are you a born writer? Were you put on earth to be a painter, a scientist, an apostle of peace? In the end the question can only be answered by action.
Do it or don’t do it.
Remember this, if you don’t do it you hurt not only yourself, but also everyone else.
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, Part II, “Combating Resistance, Turning pro”
September 22, 2008
“Aspiring artists (replace artist with anything you want to do) defeated by Resistance share one trait. They all think like amateurs. They have not yet turn pro.”
Consider the differences:
- The amateur plays for fun. The professional plays for keeps.
- To the amateur, the game is his avocation. To the pro it’s his vocation.
- The amateur plays part-time. The professional full-time.
- The professional loves it so much he dedicates his life to it. He commits full-time.
I love this quote by Somerset Maugham when asked if he wrote on a schedule or only when struck by inspiration, he replied, “I write only when inspiration strikes, Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp”. That’s a pro.
We must sit down and do our work. Stop resisting and get to work.
Another important part of doing your work is something that Stephen Covey taught in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The Principle of Priority, which states (a) you must know the difference between what is urgent and what is important, and (b) you must do what’s important first. We must not let that which is urgent be at the mercy of what is important.
Be patient and know that if you are continually doing the most important things each day, the success and the consequences will follow.
I think the important thing about Resistance is learning to love the journey and stop being so focused on the result. A professionals goal is not victory (success will come by itself when it wants to) but to handle himself, his insides, as sturdily and steadily as he can.
I think the greatest fear that keeps us from doing things is the Fear of rejection. Fear of rejections isn’t just psychological; it’s biological. It’s in our cells. Resistance knows this and uses it against us. It uses fear of rejection to paralyze us and present us, if not from doing our work. All you can do is your best, we must learn to stand apart from our performance.
So how do we turn pro? It’s a decision, we make up our mind to view ourselves as pros and we do it. That’s it. Tom Peters in the Pursuit of Wow says “you decide in a nano second to exercise, to write, etc. but it takes a lifetime of persistence to stay at it.”
Whatever you are resisting you can change today. Just decide to be pro, and work at it everyday. You only FAIL when you give up.
The War of Art, Part I “Resistance, defining the enemy”
September 18, 2008
The book starts out “Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”
How many countless goals and dreams are not realized every year? How many times does a new gym pass go unused? How many great ideas does someone have but never actually starts anything? I could go on but you get the point. What Steven Pressfield says gets in the way is “Resistance”. It is an enemy that we are all fighting. There is a symphony waiting to be written inside us all.
A lot of the unhappiness in the world right now is due to people resisting their true callings. The more important a calling is the more we resist doing it. Why? Is it fear? Fear is good. Fear is an indicator which tells us what we have to do. Guess what, fear isn’t going to go away. Henry Fonda was still throwing up before each stage performance. The battle must be fought a new each day.
What does resistance feel like?
Unhappiness. We’re bored, we’re restless. We’re disgusted. We hate our lives. There’s guilt but we can’t figure out the source. We’re depressed. Sounds like life, well it isn’t. It’s Resistance.
We all enjoyed watching Michael Phelps break world record after world record (everyone except his competitors). Michael Phelps has resistance too. Every morning he wakes up at a certain time. You are wrong if you think he doesn’t want to stay in bed.
I heard about another great swimmer that would get so nervous before each race that he would throw up, every time. Where is he now? He gave up. He lost the battle against resistance and he can rationalize it anyway he wants. The truth is, he lost and resistance won.
As Socrates demonstrated long ago, the truly free individual is free only to the extent of his own self-mastery. While those who will not govern themselves are condemned to find masters to govern over them.
Never forget: This very moment, we can change our lives. We have the power to alter our destiny. This second, we can sit down and do our work. Resistance can be beaten, if it couldn’t there would be no Fifth Symphony, no Romeo and Juliet, no Golden Gate bridge, no Google, no Apple, and the list goes on.
Johnny Cupcakes is Genius
August 27, 2008
A few months ago I was watching CNBC and they were interviewing Johnny about his t-shirt company. The first thing that attracted me to this interview was the logo of his company. Who doesn’t love Cupcakes? Another thing that grabbed my attention was that all of his t-shirts were exclusive. On the show he mentioned that he only makes a thousand shirts and then never makes them again. Who has ever seen someone wear the same thing you either own or have worn before? Not cool. I loved the whole concept so much I went to his website and bought my first t-shirt.
My life hasn’t been the same since. There are three things I love:
- The logo (Design)
- The Experience
- Scarcity
Every time I wear the shirt I have to tell his story. Someone always comments about the shirt, without fail. The logo is brilliant. It gets people talking because it because it is so different and so simple.
It doesn’t stop there. His attention to detail is amazing. He must have read the Design book by Tom Peters (highly recommended by the way). Everything matters!. It’s all part of the Experience. The packaging he sent the shirt in is so much different then anything else I have ever received in the mail. In the box he sent me a button with the logo, a johnny cupcakes mint, and a Save by the Bell college years trading card. He talks about how he likes to do little things like this to make people smile . . . it worked. The tag on the shirt is an oven mitt. All of this matters. It is all part of the experience.
His stores in Boston and his new one in LA are set up as bakeries that don’t sell pastry’s. They sell a t-shirt, they sell an experience. How many times have you camped out at a retail store for the release of the new design of your favorite t-shirt company? Over 600 people camped out this summer for his Summer Freshly Baked goods. If you are stunned you should be. There are only a few companies that come to mind that have this kind of effect. Apple, Nike . . . that’s all I could think of.
Finally!
August 26, 2008
I’m finally writing my first of many blog posts. It has been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time now. I read a lot of blogs and they have inspired me and taught me many things. There willingness and even eagerness at times to share their thoughts and ideas have inspired me to do the same.
Purposes for writing this blog:
1. Write down my experiences of being an Internet marketer and aspiring entrepreneur. Things that I learn along the way and thoughts and tips for those who are doing or want to do something similar.
2. Write about things I’m passionate about. Including: Experience, Design, Marketing, Analytics, Entrepreneurship, Productivity, Self-Mastery, Discipline, and Leadership.
3. Discussion. The true power of having a blog is that it enables a conversation among people with shared interests.
5. I read a lot so I want a place to share with others the books I read. Discuss some of the ideas presented by the author. You can find out what I’m reading by going to Shelfari page.
My number one goal is to overcome resistance and write a few times a week. Because I know that if you want to be a good writer, or be good at anything for that matter, you have to do it every single day. As Tom Peters says in the Pursuit of Wow “It takes a nanosecond to be a writer (entrepreneur, composer, etc.), it takes a lifetime of hard work and dedication to do it.”
