Month: December 2016

There’s no need to chase around every BBD (bigger better deal). Quick rich schemes don’t work. If there was a faster way to get from point A to point B, someone would have figured it out by now. Everyone is already using the short cut.

It’s exhausting running down every customer or reader that walks by. Shouting from the rooftops doesn’t work either.

But, somehow, we think that if only we had a bigger platform or more VC money that we will reach more people and make a bigger impact. So we end up spending our time on the wrong things: creating noise, spamming, gathering more Twitter followers, spending too much time on the logo, preparing for the big launch. And we end up ignoring the important work. The hard work. The work that matters.

Which leads to broken promises, un-remarkable work, and a failure to ship.

Being the real deal comes down to tackling one project at a time. Pushing through the Dip. Going a little further to the edges. Surviving today, so that we can do it all over again tomorrow.

We need your generosity, imagination, and leadership. We need risk takers. There is never going to be a shortage for people to care enough and be bold enough to make something better. So design things worth designing. Make big promises and keep them. Make better art.

Planes are more dangerous on the ground than in the air.

After sitting around for too long they begin to rust and malfunction.

They’re made to fly.

People are the same.

We’re not meant be sitting around, waiting to be picked.

We should be out there, making things happen.

Humans are the only species on Earth that measures time.

We have places to go, people to see, things to do.

Somehow, with all of this measuring and tracking, we can’t seem to make enough time to do the work that matters most.

Why?

I think about how tonight, I will travel in my car to get home. I’ll cover more miles in a fraction of the time than people ever did two centuries ago. I think about how I won’t have to till the ground or chase down my meal. I think about how I have more access to more knowledge than anyone ever in the history of the world. And it’s only one click away. I think about how I don’t have to keep the fire burning all night to stay warm. Or how I don’t need to go find clean water. Or that I don’t need to wash my dishes or clothes by hand.

I can go on. The point is that many of us live a life of convenience. More luxuries than ever before.

So what’s my excuse going to be today of why I didn’t have any time to do something that makes a difference?

[Anyone who spends an hour a day watching television, just demonstrated they have an hour of their time to solve an interesting problem, volunteer in their community or do work that matters.]

Right now, you might be standing on the edge of something really great and daring.

But then at the last second, you blink. You hesitate. You stop believing.

You’re probably thinking that you’re a fool to believe you could do something that matters.

[What difference does it make? I’m nobody. What makes me think I could ever do something so audacious? Why fly higher?]

But it does matter. You matter. Everything we do matters.

If we realized the dramatic effect that the choices we are making (the small, incremental, day by day kind) has on our outcomes, we would see a happier and healthier people.

It’s scary to think of a society of people who are uneducated. (Thank you public school.) But I think it’s more frightening living in a world where people believe that the choices they make don’t matter anymore.

[Do you recognize yourself? Do you have dreams and goals and things you want to accomplish before your time is up? What’s keeping you back? Probably has more to do with going on in the inside then what’s going on in the world.]

You’ve checked and double checked to make sure everything is perfect. You’ve crossed all your T’s and dotted all your I’s. You’ve made everything as convenient and accessible as possible.

But sometimes customers don’t do what they say they’re going to do. They don’t keep their promises and they fall between the cracks. They’re angry. And they demand that you fix the situation.

The question then becomes: Do you want to keep this customer? Is this someone you want to work with? Is this for them?

If the answer is yes, then simply say thank you. Don’t try to argue with them. Don’t point to the fine print. Just say, thank you. Even if you delivered what you said you were going to do.

But if the answer is no, then the only choice is to fire this customer. This takes enormous courage. Offer their money back. Tell them that you’re sorry this didn’t work out. If it’s not for them, it’s not for them. People think that this is crazy. But just because the tide is out, doesn’t me there isn’t enough water in the ocean. 20% of your customers will usually take up 80% of your time. If that 20% is gone, what would you do with all that extra time? Could you make bigger promises? Could deliver something bigger, something unexpected, something remarkable to the ones that deserve the most attention?

The thing to remember is that you’re an expert in what you do. On a scale of one to ten in knowledge and skill and expertise, you’re an eight. Or if you’re really good maybe even a nine. But your customers, operate at a two or a three. They’re not buying what you are selling on an intellectual level. It’s an emotional one.

[It’s apparent to me no one ever reads the fine print. So why do we insist on having it?]

Inequality only comes from one thing.

And that’s when people do things that are wrong.

It not the governments fault or the system or the lack of opportunities.

It’s people doing things that they shouldn’t be doing.

It’s fun to be connected with so many people at the same time. The mass of input. The chance to discover something new. It’s exciting to keep up with what’s going on around the world.

But when was the last time someone wrote an update that changed you?

A tweet that took you to a place of discomfort? An Instagram that challenged your world view? When is the last time someone wrote a Facebook post that changed your mind?

That’s the beauty of good books and teachers. They give you a chance to learn about one idea. They help turn down the noise, and for a moment, help you see the world as it is.

It’s increasingly concerning how we are spending our time using these tools. We’re not taking full advantage of them to learn and grow. And too often they interfere with the important relationships around us, which is what these tools were made for in the first place. Watching cat videos distracts us from the things that matter most in life.

Forget about your 20 year goals.

No one knows what’s going to happen between now and then.

Instead, make a 20 year commitment.

The key to making any significant impact is to start making the change you are seeking to make in the world. Everyday. Little by little. Drip by drip by drip. One by one.

Resistance will tell you that you’re no one. I say, start by being somebody to someone.

Chen Si is no one to everyone. He’s a courier in China. Making couple hundred bucks a week. He gives half of his money to his wife. And the other half, he uses for his work.

Every weekend, Chen goes out to Nanjing Yantze Bridge. The most popular place in the world to commit suicide. Chen saves people from jumping off the bridge. He’s been at it for over a decade now. I don’t think he will be stopping anytime soon. He’s saved over 300 people. It’s his work.

Chen Si is somebody to someone.

That act of bravery, to dare and change the world, one person at a time, is what makes all the difference. It’s desire over love or money or fame.

No one gave Chen permission. He just went out there and did it. That’s what you should do too.

Put something in before you can get something out.

Contrary to what is being pushed from the culture, you can’t continue to accumulate more junk.

It has to end.

[Debt:Junk Ratio Graph]

Eventually, you run out of resources: Time, money, attention.

The problem though, is that debt continues to grow. Because you are getting charged 35% interest. And it compounds. Getting worse and worse. Which amplifies the story we are telling ourselves about money.

Today, Americans are spending more money on storage units than going to the movies. Think about that for a minute.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t get nice stuff. By all means, I love nice tools. But if we are going to build a culture that we can be proud of, we have to start saying enough with the pursuit of more. And learn to love what we have.

[We all take for granted what it means to be warm and to have food and clean water. Along with education and opportunities to recreate.]