Archive for the 'Blog' Category



In pursuit of boredom

Right now, at this moment in time, there has never been more things competing for your time.

It’s a weird world, where at the end of the week, people are so drained they simply want to do nothing. Not from physical exhaustion but mentally drained, consumption absorption I call it. Some ‘dated’ studies suggest we read 54,000 words/day, or see/hear 100,000 words/day.

I daresay for a typical knowledge worker this is not uncommon.

What this means is the death of boredom. No matter where you are, with an internet connection you have access to entertainment.

But so, recently, thinking about this, I’ve been pursuing boredom. Where I’ve done everything I need to do and there is simply nothing to do and I’m stopping that habit to seek out something just because it’s there. An amazing feeling.

It’s in boredom, that we sit, we think, we come up with new ideas, we get creative, we get proactive!

And that is increasingly a rare skill. See if you can get bored in the next week! It’s a worthy pursuit.

 

November 28th, 2015

Free pizza at the gym

It’s the anti-gym gym, once a month Planet Fitness offer free pizza at the gym.

A friend of mine, who was a member, said it actually did entice them to go to the gym. Knowing he could have pizza afterwards.

And I guess that’s the idea at Planet Fitness, the market needs an entry level, for the casual gym user.

And pizza + gym, they’re too concepts which don’t meld together, they sit un-naturally in your mind. So you pay more attention.

And I like that.

Update: This post, synthesizes a discussion on Planet Fitness, how they use this and other tactics, to maximise gym economics, that is get as many members that don’t attend frequently as possible.

November 20th, 2015

My favourite books, for fellow entrepreneurs

Give how much I read, I thought I may as well share my curated favourites. This page is designed so you open a few tabs, then go through them, I have hooked up Amazon affiliate links, so if you grab anything, it helps me get a few more books 🙂 I hope you don’t mind.

If you’re not sure where to start, simply buy all the books in a section, why not? Investing in yourself is the best investment (and return) you can make, an extra $30-$50 will only return dividends.

My most recommended books

The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield

This talks through the process of creating something from nothing, it just gives you that prod you need to keep at it. Another second read by Steven is Do the Work, also excellent.

Steal Like An Artist, by Austin Kleon

This encourages us all to collect and then curate ideas that interest US. You, being the key filter, it’s about the things you like, that inspire and motivate you. As these are what help provide the input to all the work we create.

The Dip, by Seth Godin

Tremendous read, it’s for the moments when you’re evaluating, should I continue or leave this project. Often I find, the projects that you care about the most, to then read this book are the ones that you should absolutely stick with. But buy it, give it a read now, then revisit as you need to.

 

For people on the start of a journey

For first time entrepreneurs

  • Built to Sell by John Warrillow A checklist of what makes a sellable business, co-incidentally they are also what makes a strong business. An important read even at the formation of a new enterprise, then every 18 months. I read it, and then used it as a checklist of things to improve on.
  • The E-Myth by Michael Gerber One of the most popular small business books, it helps founders adjust their mindset to building systems & processes, which create repeatable value – and steps them through how to do that step by step.
  • Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss An early favourite of mine, helps you focus on what’s most important, and maximise effectiveness.
  • Rules of Thumb: 52 Truths for Winning at Business Without Losing Your Self Alan is the co-founder of Fast Company, over the years he’s picked up some interesting insights, a favourite of mine is “Crisis is opportunity hidden in disguise”. Worth a quick read.
  • Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur Similar to Rules of Thumb, this book by Derek Sivers, founder of CDBaby, authors of the infamous customer service email – shares some thoughts & ideas on how to think about your business.
  • 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch Timeless classic, identifying the 20% of causes which create 80% of the outcomes. I’ve done this time and time again. Where can I as a founder focus my time most effectively. What one or two things if I achieve those, the rest don’t really matter.

For downtime

For travelling

  • Vagabonding by Rolf Pott An inspiring read to help you get out the front door and travel more frequently. Some great tips on travelling cheaply but also to be more daring in your travel.
  • The Art of Nonconformity by Chris Guillebeau Hand in hand with vagabonding, Chris shares great tips for travelling, as well as sharing his journey on going independent. Lots of learnings all round.

For business stories

For leading 

For Culture

  • Rework by Jason Fried This is how millenials think, I hate using the term – but if you’re a founder/entrepreneur this is worth a read, if you’re wanting to adapt your culture to the emerging workforce a great place to start.
  • Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh A reminder of how the customer is king, practical tips for building a culture around that.
  • Maverick by Ricardo Semler The business book in early experiments in radical transparency and empowering staff to grow the business.

Best biographies

For business planning

On international business & entrepreneurship

Economics

On design

On investing

On change

Workbooks, some guided workbooks to help you achieving a specific goal or project

On business growth

Great stories

On creativity

On excellence

On marketing

On War Stories

Challenging Thinking

On startups

 

November 1st, 2015

What are you doing all the way down here? You could:
- View my about page
- Or for first timers the New Here? page
- Or maybe email this to a friend
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