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Flashy entrepreneurship is cool but what happen to old school street smarts?

Entrepreneurship is flashy right now because of The Facebook Movie and Silicon Valley mini-series but the people who'll walk away with fortunes at the end of this decade will be old school street smart entrepreneurs who don't buy into the hype. They'll be the people who exploit real value, hedge risks, make the right decisions and execute.

pets.com and Enron were flashy but the PayPal mafia a group of geeks were smarter. We only remember Palpal.

Pacquiao was flashy, but Mayweather was smarter. Mayweather won.

CNBC contributors are flashy, but Warren Buffett is smarter. Warren Buffett always wins.

Remember, flashiness sells, old school street smarts always wins.

It keeps them eating that block of Chocolate but never really tasting it.

"...that keeps them from really living their life. It keeps them drinking that glass of water but never really tasting it." - Jigsaw (Saw II Movie)

I love this quote because it reminds us that sometimes we don't really engage in the simple pleasures and that that keeps us from really living our lives.

Like when you eat chocolate, most of the time you're such happy because the cocoa butter mixed with the sugar makes it taste, or more importantly feed good. Most sugar mixed with fat taste good (that's debatable the problem of our modern lives and diet). But did you really taste the chocolate that you ate?

Today I had single origin chocolate. It was from Peru Noradino. Ingredients: cocoa solids and raw cane sugar. I could taste the strawberry and citrusy flavour notes coming through like it was single origin Coffee, or a bottle of wine.

But that made me think how many more things are we eating without ever really tasting it.

More Action Less Reaciton

Life used to be made up of many actions and few reactions. Reaction used to me reserved for when an animal chased you. Today it's the complete opposite. That's why we find it so hard to step back and reflect. Life is made up of many many many reactions and very little amount of action. Action is reserved for dire circumstances, rock bottom, or worse consultants.

Planning your day, is an action. Responding to email is a reaction. Answering facebook, twitter, checking notifications on your phone is reactionary. Doing that one task you know you need to do but haven't got the time for is pro-active action.

Reading twitter is a reaction, posting on twitter is an action. Even then many Facebook and Twitter posts are just reactions. For example: "listen up men my tweets are here to fav not reply to"

Reaction is maintenance, action is progress.

Pay attention to how often you're reacting and how often you're acting.

Don’t build services to make money; make money to build better services.

Mark Zuckerberg has a quote written on the walls at Facebook and has been quoted telling people "We don’t build services to make money; we make money to build better services.".

I came across this over the weekend and found this statement extremely thought provoking. It's thought provoking because it helps us realise what he sees as the cause and the effect, the means and the end.

It's important to take this view not only in business but in life.

We don't live to make money, we make money to live

Making the most of the ups and downs of life.

With the weather there are cycles. With the moon and there tide there are cycles. In the economy there are cycles. In our mood there are cycles.

Power comes from being aware of them, in recognising them and profiting from them.

If you aren't profiting from the ups and downs, someone is profiting from your ups and downs.

Jay-Z on being yourself.

This is one of the greatest clips I've heard about dealing with cultural differences, and has changed the way I approach unfamiliarity situations.

Review: The #AskGaryVee Show: 3 things that make it a must watch.

I was watching episode 80 and someone asked what can I do for you Gary. His answer tell your friends about the show on everything but twitter, e.g. BLOG POSTS, Instagram, iTunes etc.

So here's my take, I've followed the show from Day 1, I've told others to watch it. Think if you're a small business owner, work in a startup or work in brand/marketing you can't afford to not be watching the #AskGaryVee show. But let's be honest there are thousands of Ask So and So shows. Not to say they're bad, there's Ask Pat (Pat Flynn), Ask Altucher (James Altucher), or Daily Shows like Jay Today (Jay Baer). All shows I sometimes watch/listen to.

What sets the #AskGaryVee show apart is the relevance, detail and the big picture.

It's relevant, meaning it's timely. Gary does work as a VC, he does work with brands, he's often the first to talk about new apps when everyone else waits to see what everyone else things about it. He's not talking about what everyone is talking about. He's talks about what people are doing newa and isn't yet being talked about. New startups and new products in the marketing space get covered here first... and then people discuss it in the comments.

It's relevant. When answers someones question about how should a new real estate agent can use blogging and facebook to boost their career, this is relevant information. Anyone with a small business can relate and apply it to their small business. He's not throwing cliches terms or talk in vagities like reach out to people.

Thirdly he talks about the big picture. Ok Oculus Rift is here and it looks stupid, but it's a step in to the future weather you like it or not. Gary once asked "how many people in this room would implant their smart phone into their arm today" if they could some people raised their hands. then said something like how many of you wouldn't have wanted to 5 years ago, less right. 'Well I think the number of people who put their hands up to this will only increase in the years going forward' It's this sort of clear thinking that cuts through the noise to get to the real info about our society.

If you haven't see it yet, you might want to ask yourself why not.

GO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6pTO6FZBB8&list=PLfA33-E9P7FC0AoARnMLvgFgESJe4_Ngs

Willpower depletion is a real thing.

Willpower depletion is real. Our willpower is sometimes depleted even by not doing things. Inhibition of inappropriate responses is an executive function of your brain. It happens to all of us after a hard day. Hence why you're most prone to snapping or getting into a debate later on in the day. Ever feel like you can't make another decision, that's another example of willpower deletion.

In one example, volunteers who were asked to suppress their feelings as they viewed an emotional movie gave up sooner on a test of physical stamina than did volunteers who watched the film and reacted normally.

Most people are ignorant or don't believe willpower depletion is real and even fewer identify it when their own willpower is depleted. When it is, rest, relax, don't try to power through it. Start again tomorrow, experts say it’s like a muscle it will get stronger.

Felling tired is fine but only if you also feel accomplished.

Feeling tired is normal. There's nothing wrong with it. It's when you feel tired but still have nothing to show for it is when you should be concerned.

Just as stress can be positive or negative. Stress can be a fueling force when you do 2 hours work in 20 minutes. Pressure creates diamonds. Stress is only negative when it doesn't achieve anything.

Too many people feel tired because they go about their day, every day the same as the last and making no progress. If you're making progress don't worry about being tired. You should be tired because that means you're putting in a lot of effort.

...And it's the effort of our labour is what we can control, not the fruits.

Book review: Bold by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler

This book shows you the potential of the future. It's the discovery channel on crack. In 2027 the computing power of the average $1000 laptop should equal the processing power of human pattern recognition. By 2052, that average $1000 computer's computing power will equal that of all the human race put together. This isn't about computers taking over, it's about the fact that the technology in the world is growing exponentially. Look at Apple's stock price growth after Steve Jobs took over, it's exponential. Look at the rate at which Salesforce.com or Instagram acquires customers, it's exponenianal. The growth of Uber, exponential. Gone are the days of the mass marketer. Let's usher in the days of the engineering minded, exponential focused, growth hacker.

Less than a hundred years ago our grandparents didn't have electricity. Now we have more computing power in our pockets (in the form of a smartphone) than Bill Clinton did in his presidency.

But I'm not going to talk about examples, but this book gives many, exactly how emerging technologies could be coupled, to change almost all industries. Think of machine learning combined with medical diagnostics. You'll get a computer like IBM's Watson comparing your health data to all data available to man. You thought House M.D. was good at medical diagnostics this machine will be exponentially smarter and faster.

But what does this all mean to you? It means there are no more excuses. The gatekeepers have fallen. It means possibilities have increased. It means any problem out there can be solved, and the bigger the problem, the more money to be made from it. There's nothing stopping your other than your scarcity mindset.

That is the mindset this book will leave you with by the time you finish reading.

We are confusing the means with the end.

In philosophy, the term "means to an end" refers to any action (the means) carried out for the sole purpose of achieving something else (an end).

We live in a post-industrial consumerist world driven by marketing and media. This being the case, I think we're confusing what we want with what it takes to get what we want. We're confusing the means with the end.

Marketers sell us the end and not the means. Meaning, buy this car and you will have the top down, the wind blowing through your hair as you drive away. Your life will be full of spontaneity and adventure.

All of a sudden they've sold you the car, what comes with it, working towards getting that car.

Now you've replaced what you actually want, spontaneity and adventure, with working towards getting a car. Working to buy car doesn't give you spontaneity and adventure, neither does the car. It can help, but spontaneity and adventure gives you spontaneity and adventure, not a car.

If you haven't heard of Peter Diamandis, just watch the first 60secs of this

In all the doom and gloom, Peter Diamandis is someone providing perspective. Watch the first 60 seconds of this video and I challenge you to press stop and not watch/listen to the rest.

Book review: Tribes by Seth Godin

For millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another.

Tribes is a book about communities, teams, companies, groups, and followings. Tribes is about anytime we do things in groups. When you listen to heavy metal, you’re part of a tribe. When you use tumblr, you're part of a tribe. When you work for a company, you're part of a tribe, and when you're part of a team inside your company, you’re part of a tribe inside a tribe. When you own a Harley Davidson you're definitely part of a tribe.

It takes only two things to be a tribe: A shared interest A way to communicate

and it only takes one person to start a tribe, a leader. Anyone can do it, but everyone will think it’s stupid. Everyone will say it’s impossible, until someone does it.

One of the biggest takeaways I got from this book was Seth Godin’s view on the difference between a manager and a leader. People often use management a synonym for leadership, but that’s far from the truth. “Managers manage by using the authority the factory gives them. You listen to your manager or you lose your job. A manager can’t make change because that’s not his job. His job is to complete tasks assigned to him by someone else in the factory.” Leader’s are different, people not only listen to them, people follow them. They don’t use authority, nor do they do it, they use their passion and ideas to lead people. They might know how the organization works but only because this awareness allows them to make change.

And change doesn't come from pre-ordained authority, change doesn't even come from the best ideas, change comes from the biggest following and the most fearless leader.

So what’s holding us back of all becoming leaders? You have many interests. The internet has made it easier than ever to communicate. ...It’s just your fear.

Pursuing alternative states of consciousnes

After we have our basics essentials of life are covered (food, shelter, warmth, income security), the next thing we pursuit is a good social life. That is friends we love to hang out with and a big and broad networking, helping and getting along with as many people as possible. What’s the next step? A pursuit of different consciousness and realities. These you’ll come across in the forms of Spirality, religion, and psychedelics.

Some people, we can agree, have everything. For example, rock stars, high powered business men, politicians, artists, priests and retires. They're all doing something to pursuit a different sate of consciousness and reality.

Even chasing flow, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi who coined the term, calls it, is a a reality altering experience. Ancient civilizations, were all famous for their gods and spirituality. This includes Pagans (gods), Geeks (gods), Zen Buddhists (meditation and mindfulness) and hinduism (yoga and spiruality),

Even another commonly accepted practice alcohol can be considered a way to chase an altered consciousness.

So do you pursuit alternative states of consciousness and reality, or are you avoiding the fact that’s human to do so.

This is not just the founding of a new country, it's a new world.

The internet is a new land. Very young in age. The masses only discovered it less than 20 years ago. There are 3 billion users, that's more than any single country. and soon it'll be a more than just a new country it'll be a new world. It's borders will be less strong, more open and based on mutual interest rather than brute force, religion, or race.

The last time a major country was founded (USA), there were revolutions for acknowledgment. In the early days, no one took the internet seriously too, and many still don't. After the political revolution, and after the war however, there was a technological revolution. Wealth was accumulated by the bringers of this revolution greater than any time in previous history. Advances were made greater than any time in history and the rest of the world was forever changed.

Whether you acknowledge it or not a revolution is taking place. Those who ignore it will be forced by it, those to deny it will be punished by it. It's those who take part that gain. Jump on board.

Book Review: Essentialism, The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

“Once an Australian nurse named Bronnie Ware, who cared for people in the last twelve weeks of their lives, recorded their most often discussed regrets. At the top of the list: “I wished had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life thorns expected of me..””

This is a quote from the start of the book (first chapter or so) and this is the message I really took away from the book.

The book talks about living a life that’s more true to yourself.

We often do things because we don’t have the courage to say no. We accept an invitation because we don’t have the courage to say no, then we regret it when we’re there or when we leave the event. We miss sentimental events for insignificant “work” commitments. This addresses a fundamental problem we face in our hyper connect world. As our network, and number of friends and family increase, we need to adapt. We think we will offend people when we decline an invite but most of the time this just shows courage and discipline. Most often this only leads to people respecting your time more.

It’s talks about concentrating on the essential few things rather than the trial many. We are often told about effective people having vision and being future focused, not true. The book emphasised effective people are those who know what they have to do in the present to achieve what they want on the future. It's not about having a future goal or about being efficient or productive the present. It’s about your current action being influenced by a future goal not some trivial deadline.

All this is the result of the ‘paradox of success’ the author sates, and we’ve all experienced it. Think of a time when you set a goal, focused on it as your one and only priority and achieved it. That focus on the essential lead to the success. But yet, as soon as you got some success, you got more opportunities, thus more choices. You get more social pressure, and more options you can’t say no to. And all this gives then you the idea 'you can have it all', that you can have your cake and eat it too.

You can have 12 priorities, but you'll be able to put in one 12th the amount of effort, in each one. In summary:

Book Review: Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda

If you’ve never heard of yogananda check out this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdnrP1fMn7I and then watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rO_Vs4M29k

This book is one of the most humbling unique books I've ever read. Have you ever taken a chance on something, hoping or more importantly knowing, that things will be alright? also think back to the last time you did this, how long ago was it? This is a story about many things, but what I took out of it a story of faith and following what you think is your calling in life and destiny. Steve Jobs (coincidentally a big fan of yogananda) famously said “you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.” This is a story of exactly that. This is the story of a man trying to fulfill his destiny of being a yogi. Born with a spiritual but not the less businessman father, he searched life for his guru. Knowing he was destined to come to America and spread the word of Kriya yoga. On more occasions that I can count, Yogananda’s faith is tested. For example, his brother challenges him to test his faith in god and take himself and his friend to go to a far away city and return in a few days with no money. Yogananda with his faith in god, accepts and thought an unfolding of fortunate events he comes back. His brother accepts and gets initiated into kriya yoga as a consequence.

Initially it’s hard not to think this is a book trying to prove the existence of god, but that’s what the book is trying to do, Yogananda end the book by saying he is not trying to prove god nor can you, but what you take away is a humbling experience of a Yogananda’s faith in his destiny. From searching far and wide, high and low (literally) for his guru, to getting a college degree so he we is well received when he finally makes it to America, to creating communities and followers from nothing...this is a story about having faith and persisting through everything life throws at you.

Faith untested, gets smaller. This book reminds you to have faith, faith in what you’re here to do, faith that you will achieve your destiny, Faith that you will realise yourself.

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