Chase Jarvis
Creativity is a new literacy
Hacker mentality - develop it in yourself
Once you are great at your craft, the rest is vision, hack the system
Negotiation is an essential life skill
Being great at your craft is a requirement
Learn to position yourself in marketplace
Be great at telling your story, storytelling is a great influence tool, packaging story is mission critical find ways to hack the system
How do you differentiate yourself in market place? be different, not better...zig when everybody is zagging
There are no more gate keepers like magazines & publishing houses...there is internet
Take ideas from other spheres, industries to be great at your skill
Be different not better
22 laws of marketing book
blue ocean strategy book
business model generation book
share your work, austin cleon book
smartcuts, kevin kelly
polymaths vs hyperspecialists
specialization is for insects -Isaac Azimov, be polymath!!!
Kickstarter
Indiegogo
Youtube
Patreon
It is permissible to be polymath
If you spread yourself too thin vs. if you have predisposition with right tools, you can become good pretty quickly
What did you start saying no to for reaching your goals?
Set limits to number of activities to be able to reach your goals 20 % customer make 80% of your income
Showing posts with label thinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thinking. Show all posts
007 cliff notes from Tim Ferriss show podcast
Stephen Dubner
Freakonomics book coauthor
Storytelling is very important skill
1st come up with as many ideas as it is possible
2nd kill all of them
3rd take those ideas that did not die and use them
Thinking fast and slow book
Correlation vs. Causation
Daniel refuted stories, experts may not understand your idea, thus do not rely on their expertise, question their & your own assumptions
Test assumptions
Uncover biases
Become a better thinker
You are yourself in all circumstances
People try to replicate other successful people by reading their biographies, that is common bias among many people
Freakonomics principles & rules
Train to think in objective way
Put away your moral compass at considering all kinds of issue or while thinking
Be curious like a child
Writings is crystallizing your thoughts, clearing thinking
7up series documentary - sociology, decision making, nurture vs. nature
Clothes you wear influences your thinking & behavior
Levels of the game McPhee book
002 cliff notes from Tim Ferriss Show podcast, Josh Waitskin
Playing simultaneous chess games is like juggling balls
Constantly be learning
Cognitive biases: sunk cost fallacy, confirmation bias, false constructs
20/80 analysis
What rules people following that are not required that I can exploit?
Who is good at skill, who shouldn't be?
Questions you ask yourself and your internal dialogue defines your thinking
Meditation is a very powerful tool at self improvement, you start seeing yourself from side to meditate sit cross legged in comfortable position, follow and return to your breath
Journaling is another useful tool for self improvement
Cultivate habit of relaxing and working, turning on and turning off set and practice morning and evening routines
Dao de Jing
Shantaram
Collect & ask questions to yourself, they define your thinking
Ghandi Lao tzu
Buddha
https://ja.player.fm/series/the-tim-ferriss-show-1578275/episode-2-joshua-waitzkin
Constantly be learning
Cognitive biases: sunk cost fallacy, confirmation bias, false constructs
20/80 analysis
What rules people following that are not required that I can exploit?
Who is good at skill, who shouldn't be?
Questions you ask yourself and your internal dialogue defines your thinking
Meditation is a very powerful tool at self improvement, you start seeing yourself from side to meditate sit cross legged in comfortable position, follow and return to your breath
Journaling is another useful tool for self improvement
Cultivate habit of relaxing and working, turning on and turning off set and practice morning and evening routines
Dao de Jing
Shantaram
Collect & ask questions to yourself, they define your thinking
Ghandi Lao tzu
Buddha
https://ja.player.fm/series/the-tim-ferriss-show-1578275/episode-2-joshua-waitzkin
Start following information diet to regain mental clarity
 |
| Pearl by Pawel Kuczynski |
Do you feel constant
urge to check your mobile and social media?
Do you spend most of
your time staring at screen?
Do you often forget what
you have heard few seconds ago or what you need to do?
Do you feel as if your peers
are doing great things and achieving their goals while you are stuck in the
same place?
Are you failing at
focusing at task at hand and not reaching your life goals?
If you are answering yes
to above written questions then I suspect you are not following information diet and consuming more content than you can process. Too much information and
constant use of information technologies will have a negative impact on your
mental health and your life in general. You start wasting huge amount of
precious time on useless things, fail to finish your tasks for the day and be
stuck in the same place (career position, financial condition, and professional
level) for many years.
I was very bad at
following information diet for many years. Several years ago, I even did not
know that I have such a problem. It seemed to me that diving into Internet and
spending time in social media for several hours a day is a normal thing and assumed
that many friends of mine do this. Furthermore this was and still is such a fun
thing to do. However, by passage of time, it became clear that I need to limit
my time and care more about what I am directing and spending my attention in
daily basis. Then I learned about information diet and started following it. In
last few years, I made good progress at cutting out most of information that do
not make any useful contribution to my life. During this period I came up with
few ideas that made good changes in my life. I want to share them with you
here. Most of these ideas are not new or innovative, I learned them from
Internet, and you also can search, learn and follow information diet, here is the link. So let’s
start.
Information diet
Practice info diet – ignore all irrelevant, time
consuming and unactionable information. Most of things you learn do
not make any contribution to your life at all, why you spend time on them? Start
cutting out such useless information from your life.
Maintain peaceful environment. Spend more time in quiet and peaceful
environment. Eliminate all noise. Set distraction free mode in all devices and
information channels so they do not beep or give some noise to pull your
attention.
Limit news, social media TV,
music, and movies. News and social media feeds are the most
useless and junk information you inject to your brain. Limit time you spend in
front of TV and watch only few movies in one week. Limit time you spend on
social media (mine is 30 - 50 minutes per day, want to limit even more) and do
not check email 1st thing in the morning.
Make search list in advance & avoid
netsurfing (jumping into rabbit hole of hyperlinks). Start
forming a habit of making search list to search later or cut out social media
while you are working on your device so you can focus on your task and finish
it.
Select fun stuff wisely &
limit its number. Choose few best movies, books or TV shows
from available options, less is more. I try to be selective at reading books
and watch up to 2 movies a week not more.
Socialize
with your community. Spend more time with friends and do not
use mobile phone while having fun with your friends.
Information channels
TV set. Choose few important channels and unsubscribe from
the rest.
Radio and music. Select few radio channels and music lists
and delete the rest.
Mobile phone. Set your mobile on
distraction free mode. Turn off all notifications except few important ones. Delete everything useless in inbox, sent
& draft messages, contacts, pictures, audios, videos, apps and other files.
Emails. Maintain empty email. Delete useless information from
inbox, sent, archive, contact lists and other folders. Avoid posting and
sharing your email in public web pages. Set spam filters.
Browsers. Sort out and delete old tabs. Uninstall useless and
annoying apps, widgets, gadgets, and add-ons. Install apps that block ads and
other distractions. Update browsers.
Social networks. Update all your profiles. Follow few
important friends, influencers, groups and block the rest. Turn off email
notifications. Modify privacy settings to limit distractions. Deactivate useless
accounts.
Blog and news websites. Choose few important blogs and unsubscribe
from the rest of information sources.
Podcasts. Unsubscribe from all podcasts you do not listen and keep only 2-3 of them
that you listen on regular basis.
Computer. Set simple theme on desktop. Select and backup
essential materials and delete the rest. Go through documents, pictures,
audios, videos, software and other files. Update essential programs, firewall
and antivirus.
How to track goals like Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin was a prominent person, polymath and one of the founding fathers of United States of America. He was printer, politician, diplomat, scientist, inventor and very productive person. Just brief depiction of his biography, achievements, inventions and legacy demonstrate high level of productivity. For this reason, I wondered whether we can learn something useful from this person about tracking goals and being productive. I read this and these articles and learned about two questions he used everyday for checking what he has done on that day.
Franklin’s questions are very simple yet effective. You just ask two questions to yourself and give honest replies. Before using these questions, review the goals you set for yourself. If you have read my previous post about setting goals and reaching them, then, I assume you already have set your goals for this year or some near future. So review your goals every day and use these two simple questions for tracking your performance.
The 1st question, while planning a day, ask yourself:“What good shall I do this day?”This is very effective question, it makes you consider your goals and current activities and list tasks that you need to get done. I often try to write down my tasks so I will not forget about them. And I also try to have only up to three tasks for one day, not more.More than three tasks often will not get finished in one day.
The 2nd question, at the end of the day, ask yourself: “What good I have done today?”This question is also very actual and almost identical with 1st question. Just go through your to-do list and tick the tasks you have done from the list. The tasks you could not do today can be reviewed and get done tomorrow also.
This is all you need to do every day for reaching goals and producing good results. With these two questions, evaluate your performance every day. To be honest, before coming across these two questions, I rarely reviewed what I have done during my days. Though I used to make a mental or written list of tasks and finish most of them, I rarely consciously reviewed my performance with questions. From now on, I will try to use these questions and see what will come out of this process.
Franklin’s questions are very simple yet effective. You just ask two questions to yourself and give honest replies. Before using these questions, review the goals you set for yourself. If you have read my previous post about setting goals and reaching them, then, I assume you already have set your goals for this year or some near future. So review your goals every day and use these two simple questions for tracking your performance.
The 1st question, while planning a day, ask yourself:“What good shall I do this day?”This is very effective question, it makes you consider your goals and current activities and list tasks that you need to get done. I often try to write down my tasks so I will not forget about them. And I also try to have only up to three tasks for one day, not more.More than three tasks often will not get finished in one day.
The 2nd question, at the end of the day, ask yourself: “What good I have done today?”This question is also very actual and almost identical with 1st question. Just go through your to-do list and tick the tasks you have done from the list. The tasks you could not do today can be reviewed and get done tomorrow also.
This is all you need to do every day for reaching goals and producing good results. With these two questions, evaluate your performance every day. To be honest, before coming across these two questions, I rarely reviewed what I have done during my days. Though I used to make a mental or written list of tasks and finish most of them, I rarely consciously reviewed my performance with questions. From now on, I will try to use these questions and see what will come out of this process.
How to set simple goals and reach them
Goal setting process is 1st step of strategic thinking, yet very few people do it. Even if, they set goals, they do it in hasty manner and do not give much thought to the process. I am writing this post as a reminder for myself and also as a mental tool for future. According to the article posted in Psychology Today, setting goals has several of benefits to people who engage in this activity such as increasing productivity, becoming more frugal etc., here is the link to the article if you want to read it.
Brainstorm. What goals you want to reach? Do you have a list of goals? If not, then start to think about such a list. To ease this process, think about what is important to you in life. In one or another way, all people have similar list of things that are important for them in life. Here are few things that seem to me as important in life.
Health. Good health is indispensable value. Without it, you cannot do anything. Even if you can do something, you will pay little attention to that activity, since all your attention will be tied to ailment or disease you have. For this reason, consider your current health condition and pay attention event slightest symptoms of health problems. Have a medical check up and make sure you have good health for pursuing your goals and enjoying life. In order to maintain good health, eat healthy and nutritious food, do workouts, sleep enough and maintain good hygiene.
Family and Friends. Do you think about your family and friends on frequent basis? Do you spend enough time with them and say things you want to say to them? I often (always) cannot say everything what I think and feel about them. It is really important to spend more time with them, listen to them and be in the moment with them.
Dreams and Fun. Having fun time and making effort to reach dreams are essential for contentment and happy life. Without dreams and exciting activities, life becomes boring and senseless. I try to spare time for having fun with friends. Set and protect fun time from other activities. Have fun time and pursue your dreams.
Work and Money. I wish I could enough money. I think all people wish they could have enough money for pursuing their dreams and goals. Hard labor and earning money are part of life. Without them, we will not value what we have, thus working is good for us. However, everybody wants to make more money. For this to happen, one needs to think about it. One needs to consider various options and choose the best choice of work with highest benefits. Ideal case is to have work or business that could give you life you want, but that requires thinking and working for long time.
Self-improvement. Learning new things, mastering skills and professional growth are also important for happy life. I always feel like that I am not spending enough time on self-improvement. Try to read books, learn new things and write every day. If we want to reach dreams and goals in life, study and training should be part of our daily life.
Afterlife. This last point may not be much important to you right now. However, think about a time when you will be gone. In your absence, what kind of life will be living yourfamily, friends and community in general. Will you leave a good name and legacy, will you leave this world a little bit better after yourself? Death is unpredictable and may come at any time and especially when you expect it least. No one is guaranteed to live till certain age. Thus think about afterlife situation in short and long terms. At this point, this idea of death reminded me the inspiring speech of Steve Jobs in Stanford University in 2005.
Write down your 1st draft. After considering and finding what is important to you in life, write down 1st draft of your goals. Brainstorm and list all goals that you want to reach. Just having a list of goals in your mind is not a good idea, you easily forget them after passage of few weeks. Written goals are much better than ideas in your mind.
Choose life changing goals. After coming up with a list of goals, review them and ask yourself which of these goals will have the biggest impact to your life if you reach them. Choose the most promising 3-5 goals, not more. Pursuit of too many goals will leave you with nothing attained. Can the goals you have chosen make a really big change in your life? Are you really motivated to pursue these goals? Think about how much time is required for reaching the goals you have selected. If a goal takes more than 1 year to reach, then divide it into sub-goals and chose 1st stepping goal from the group. So far you should have few goals with time limits that can make real changes in your life. If you do, then go to next paragraph.
Simplify your goals. Make your goals as simple as possible. Ask yourself the following questions: Are you complicating your goals more than they need to be? Are you making them harder than they need to be? How they would look like in their simplest forms? I learned about this idea of simplifying goals from Tim Ferriss interview on 30 days of Genius video-cast. Ask these questions and get rid of useless fluff and focus on what you really want to reach. Review, simplify and rewrite your goals with above given questions in mind. Cut all secondary details of your goals and keep only what is really necessary.
Every day review your goals and take actions. After formulating, selecting, simplifying and writing down your goals, review them every day. Make it a routine to review them. Ask yourself what you can do now, today, this week or month to reach these goals. What actions can you take to come closer to reaching your set goals? Every day take actions, analyze your results and be consistent. With routine and consistence, you will reach your goals. I often forget to review goals, but once they come to my mind, I review them and think about what I have done to reach them.
Brainstorm. What goals you want to reach? Do you have a list of goals? If not, then start to think about such a list. To ease this process, think about what is important to you in life. In one or another way, all people have similar list of things that are important for them in life. Here are few things that seem to me as important in life.
Health. Good health is indispensable value. Without it, you cannot do anything. Even if you can do something, you will pay little attention to that activity, since all your attention will be tied to ailment or disease you have. For this reason, consider your current health condition and pay attention event slightest symptoms of health problems. Have a medical check up and make sure you have good health for pursuing your goals and enjoying life. In order to maintain good health, eat healthy and nutritious food, do workouts, sleep enough and maintain good hygiene.
Family and Friends. Do you think about your family and friends on frequent basis? Do you spend enough time with them and say things you want to say to them? I often (always) cannot say everything what I think and feel about them. It is really important to spend more time with them, listen to them and be in the moment with them.
Dreams and Fun. Having fun time and making effort to reach dreams are essential for contentment and happy life. Without dreams and exciting activities, life becomes boring and senseless. I try to spare time for having fun with friends. Set and protect fun time from other activities. Have fun time and pursue your dreams.
Work and Money. I wish I could enough money. I think all people wish they could have enough money for pursuing their dreams and goals. Hard labor and earning money are part of life. Without them, we will not value what we have, thus working is good for us. However, everybody wants to make more money. For this to happen, one needs to think about it. One needs to consider various options and choose the best choice of work with highest benefits. Ideal case is to have work or business that could give you life you want, but that requires thinking and working for long time.
Self-improvement. Learning new things, mastering skills and professional growth are also important for happy life. I always feel like that I am not spending enough time on self-improvement. Try to read books, learn new things and write every day. If we want to reach dreams and goals in life, study and training should be part of our daily life.
Afterlife. This last point may not be much important to you right now. However, think about a time when you will be gone. In your absence, what kind of life will be living yourfamily, friends and community in general. Will you leave a good name and legacy, will you leave this world a little bit better after yourself? Death is unpredictable and may come at any time and especially when you expect it least. No one is guaranteed to live till certain age. Thus think about afterlife situation in short and long terms. At this point, this idea of death reminded me the inspiring speech of Steve Jobs in Stanford University in 2005.
Write down your 1st draft. After considering and finding what is important to you in life, write down 1st draft of your goals. Brainstorm and list all goals that you want to reach. Just having a list of goals in your mind is not a good idea, you easily forget them after passage of few weeks. Written goals are much better than ideas in your mind.
Choose life changing goals. After coming up with a list of goals, review them and ask yourself which of these goals will have the biggest impact to your life if you reach them. Choose the most promising 3-5 goals, not more. Pursuit of too many goals will leave you with nothing attained. Can the goals you have chosen make a really big change in your life? Are you really motivated to pursue these goals? Think about how much time is required for reaching the goals you have selected. If a goal takes more than 1 year to reach, then divide it into sub-goals and chose 1st stepping goal from the group. So far you should have few goals with time limits that can make real changes in your life. If you do, then go to next paragraph.
Simplify your goals. Make your goals as simple as possible. Ask yourself the following questions: Are you complicating your goals more than they need to be? Are you making them harder than they need to be? How they would look like in their simplest forms? I learned about this idea of simplifying goals from Tim Ferriss interview on 30 days of Genius video-cast. Ask these questions and get rid of useless fluff and focus on what you really want to reach. Review, simplify and rewrite your goals with above given questions in mind. Cut all secondary details of your goals and keep only what is really necessary.
Every day review your goals and take actions. After formulating, selecting, simplifying and writing down your goals, review them every day. Make it a routine to review them. Ask yourself what you can do now, today, this week or month to reach these goals. What actions can you take to come closer to reaching your set goals? Every day take actions, analyze your results and be consistent. With routine and consistence, you will reach your goals. I often forget to review goals, but once they come to my mind, I review them and think about what I have done to reach them.
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