Rewarding Faster

There’s a reason
instant wins are so popular.
We want our ‘rewards’
as fast as possible,
even if these rewards are small.

Talia Wolf
shares

“Hyperbolic discounting
is a psychological trigger
that has to do with the way
we evaluate rewards.

When given a choice
between two awards,
we tend to prefer the one
that arrives sooner
even if it is worth less.

In other words,
people favor an instant reward
and discount the one
they have to wait for.”

“Reward” customers
as soon as possible.

Published
Categorized as Sales

The Importance Of Focus

I admit to being a shiny object person.
If I’m working on one big idea
and I see a new big idea,
I want to switch projects.
That’s death.
As I tell other writers,
we only get paid for the projects
we finish.

Bryce Maddock,
co-founder of
TaskUs,
shares*

“Focus is really essential for us.
If you look at our initial model,
we kind of did
anything for anyone.
To be really excellent at something,
you need to focus
on a subset of tasks.”
“Decide on one thing
you are going to do,
and then throw your weight at it.”

Focus on one thing
and do it well.

* January/February
Men’s Health

Sit Up Straight

There’s a reason
why we often straighten
our shoulders
before walking into the boardroom
or another intense situation.
It improves our chances of success.

January/February 2015
Men’s Heath
explains

“According to research
from the University of Auckland,
New Zealand,
slouching can sabotage
your work performance.
People who sat in a slumped position
did worse in mock interviews
than those who sat upright,
and their self-esteem ratings
were about 10 points lower afterward. ”

Sit up straight.

Kevin Hart And Taking Time Off

I’m a competitive person.
I write faster
when I’m benchmarking against a writing buddy.
I sell more
when I’m surrounded by best selling writers.
I believe many successful people are.

Comedian
Kevin Hart
shares
in the March 2015
Men’s Health

“If you stop,
or even if you slow down,
you’re going to look up
and realize that
somebody has passed you.
And that’s my fear, I guess.
It’s the fear of being passed
or caught up to, you know?
When you get hot,
you can choose to stay hot
or you can say,
‘I’m going to
take some time off now and relax.’
I don’t see the benefit of that.
That’s how you get left behind.”

Consider benchmarking
against a more successful person.
Test if that drives you.

There’s No Perfect

I find if I don’t write
every day,
my writing skills deteriorate.
When I write,
I learn,
I push myself,
I become a better writer.

In the March 2015
Men’s Health,
Chef
Michael Solomonov
shares

“There’s no perfect.
There’s no absolute.
But if you’re not getting better,
you’re getting worse.
If you’re stagnant
or complacent,
you’re going backward, right?”

Did you get better
at what you do today?
Why or why not?

The DUFF And Responsible Marketing

The experienced marketers
behind the movie
The DUFF
had a couple of ways
they could possibly go.

They could have used the term
DUFF – Designated Ugly Fat Friend
as a rally cry.
We’re the fat, the ugly,
the unpopular, the outcasts.
Here’s the story of one of us.

Or they could have an actress
of below average weight
and above average attractiveness
call herself
fat and ugly over and over,
playing this marketing multiple times
in a hour,
targeting image sensitive, insecure teens.

Both tactics serve the primary purpose
of the marketing
– getting bums in movie theater seats.
Choosing to hurt their target market
was deliberate.
It saddens me that these marketers
used their knowledge and experience
to f*ck with teenagers.

Make the world a better place.
Be responsible with your marketing.

Published
Categorized as Marketing

Start Up Pains

We’re working hard,
investing long hours
and the little income
we’re earning,
back into our businesses.

We’re not alone.
This is a path
many entrepreneurs have walked
before us.

Eric Hillman*,
co-founder and CEO
of
Europa Sports,
shares

“Wednesday through Saturday,
I’d bounce until 3 a.m.,
wake up early to train,
and go back to work at Europa.
And then I’d rest on Sundays.
That’s how it was for a long time
[seven years] –
I worked another job
so I didn’t have to draw
a weekly paycheck,
and I could put the profits
back into the company.”

No one said changing the world
was easy,
only that it is worth it.

*Jan/Feb 2015
Men’s Fitness

The Words You Use

The average person
uses the same words
over and over
(yes, even writers do this
– this is one way
we define our style).

Some of the words
you may be using
are doing more harm
than good.

A loved one was using ‘stupid’
again and again.
It’s not a professional word.
It’s not a powerful word.
I noticed
and told him.
He was surprised.
He hadn’t noticed he was doing that.
He has since erased this word
from his vocabulary.

You likely don’t know
you’re using a harmful word also.
What can you do?
Record your conversations for an entire day.
Replay them
(perhaps on your commute).
Note the words you use.
Can you improve these?
Make them stronger?

Monitor your speech
(and your thinking).

Published
Categorized as Sales

Vacation Days And Social Media

I confess to
having taken mental health days
while I was in corporate.
I’d call in sick
when I wasn’t truly sick,
taking a day off
to think about things
and to recuperate.

I sincerely believe
that going to work angry
will do more harm
to a career
than taking a day off.

BUT you should stay home
and stay away from social media.

“In a new CareerBuilder poll*,
31% of bosses confessed to
checking up on absentees
-some asking for a doc’s note,
others calling them at home.
Twenty-four percent said
they’d gone on Facebook or Twitter
and found ‘sick’ employees sounding
-and looking-
just fine.
And 15% admitted to
driving by a no-shows house.
(We hope you don’t work
for one of those.)

If bosses did bust AWOL-ers?
Half chewed them out,
while 22% fired them.”

Stay off social media
during sick days
(legit or not)

And, if your boss is checking up
on you,
consider it a sign that
you’re not doing your job
while you ARE at work.

* Jan/Feb 2015
Men’s Fitness

How To Fail Faster

We’re entrepreneurs.
We’ll fail.
Often.
One of the deciding factors
in our success
is how long it will take us
to determine a failure.

In December 2014
Men’s Fitness,
Mario Armstrong shares

“I like to apply
the scientific method
to any task.
After devising a hypothesis,
like ‘Can I run 15 miles each week?’
I test it by seeing
if I can accomplish my goal.
If I can,
I keep pushing –
maybe my next hypothesis will be
to see if I can run 20 miles each week.

If I ‘fail,’
it’s back to Step 1
and creating a new hypothesis
based on the results of the first experiment.
I couldn’t run 15 miles in a week
but realized I could run 7,
so my next hypothesis is
to see if I can push myself
from there to 10 miles.

Technically I never failed –
I just discovered something
about the current version
of myself,
then started working
on a ‘system upgrade.'”

Test your hypothesis.
Determine success or failure.
Adjust that hypothesis.
Repeat.