Multi-Tasking
My morning coffee ritual is more like an assembly line but with only one person. I measure, grind, fill, froth, add and stir precisely the same way every morning. It’s a series of small tasks towards the perfect cup. A cup that’s perfect for me.
The funny thing is I’m fooled into thinking I’m a great multitasker. Fooled because it’s physical… not mental. My mom claims to be a good multitasker. She would brag about driving her VW Bug while smoking a cigarette, holding a bottle of coke, shifting gears, all while ensuring my safety as I stood in the front seat. No one died or got burned.
It turns out we can multitask but we can’t multi-focus. Making coffee or shifting gears doesn’t take much thought. Thoughts that require attention. Attention switching is the real problem.
Switching from one thing to another has a cool feeling of momentum. Imagine checking emails, then you get a text, then a phone call, then someone pops by your office all while working on a spreadsheet. You get your stuff done and walk into your next meeting feeling like a savant.
Most mornings you don’t get it all done but today you did. The truth is, this form of multitasking is inefficient.
You want to be fast and accurate? One thing at a time, start to finish.
P.S. Still not buying it…??? Click the Star K below and take this fun test that’ll make you anxiously sweat when you realize how wrong you are :)
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The Exchange
Privacy is important. Important because no one wants to be violated or open the door to being exposed. Some people are more private than others. What’s appropriate? Are those who cover the camera on their laptop paranoid?
How does ego play in? Are they egomaniacs? Assuming “people” would think their life is interesting enough to snoop? What’s the line?
We see movie stars getting caught in the “act” all the time. Does that mean people care about our act?
Maybe… but likely not.
Some people avoid social media because Zuck might steal their info. Info that is likely already stored… and available to the highest bidder.
So do you hide or let the cat stay out of the bag? You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube but you can use your head.
Guarding all your data would be a full-time job. Is it worth your time? Are you that interesting? Are you willing to exchange convenience for privacy? If Alexa hears you talk about needing more toothpaste and then you see it as a suggested item on Amazon, do you feel violated?
No one likes to be violated but we also don’t like to be surprised by the cat.
Scarcity Mindset
If you think you may run out you probably will. The need to preserve or stockpile is a trap. Your main resource is your mind and the ability to connect. Stockpiling assumes you’re going to be alone and the truth is you won’t.
Hoarding suggests you’re not willing to ask for help. Help is hard to ask for with a scarcity mentality. Being self-sufficient is good and has its limits. True power comes from teamwork and collaboration.
Striving to be the one people will call for help might be the wrong goal. Stockpiling might suggest your fear of not having what it takes when it hits the fan.
The question is… What will be the currency?
My answer: Creativity
6 Ft Under
They say that everyone has a million-dollar idea. I wonder if “they” are right?
Some of the very best ideas end up between the ears of a dead guy 6 ft under. Why weren’t they shared? Because sharing is vulnerable. If you let your idea out into the wild, it might get laughed at or criticized. Feeling embarrassed or ashamed is something even “they” want to avoid.
The fear of this feeling keeps ideas hidden. Hidden because it’s safer. It turns out your humanness has a hard time separating physical pain from emotional pain… It just defaults to playing it safe.
Playing it safe keeps the ideas the world needs trapped between your ears, and eventually buried for good.
Go make your mark!
Proformas (Stupid Tax)
I’ve yet to do a deal or scale a company where the proforma was correct. They are always off, and completely inaccurate. Things cost more OR if you’re lucky, less than you expect. The ramp-up usually takes 2x what you thought.
So if proformas are always wrong, what’s the point? The point is despite their inaccuracy they are helpful. They force the creator to think. Think about the upside and downside.
The proforma becomes a receptacle to expenses and income streams as they occur to you. A place to contain surprises. It might not be “right” but “right” isn’t the goal.
The goal is to mitigate irreversible consequences.
As time rolls on your proformas get smarter because...you’re smarter.
On 3rd
If you’re standing on American soil, count yourself blessed. The land of opportunity has the largest GDP in the world which means people like it here.
It likely wasn't your choice to be in the U.S. Someone before you made that happen. Which means you don't get the credit. It no doubt takes some work. Work that slips our mind.
Do you know your great great grand dad’s full name? When was he born?
So here we stand on 3rd base feeling a bit like we just hit a triple. The work that paved the way… The lives lost defending the way… aren’t that visible at first glance.
Recognize the work, respect the work, and do your own work so you aren’t thrown out trying to steal home.
Accreditation
Licensing is a necessary evil in some industries. Before you get a license, make sure you like the work first.
Getting an accreditation of some sort as an exploratory journey is a fool's errand...
Any license you get in real estate centers around memorizing the penalties for doing stupid things… Then you get tested and voila, you’re licensed… It doesn't actually teach you anything about how to be successful but instead highlights what happens to you if you don't comply.
This makes the accreditation useless if you aren’t willing to do what it takes to be awesome. Find someone that IS awesome and work for them for a season. Then, if it’s a “hell yes I love this”, go get your license. Chances are you’ll be WAY ahead of your classmates.
Competition
We struggle to be truly happy with ourselves if we aren’t a little “better” than the next guy. This thinking forces us to compare. Comparing is mostly a distraction. A distraction from doing our unique work.
The work we do lives in two categories:
The work anyone can do (Tasks)
The work that only you can do
If you are building a business it requires both. If you want to “win” you’d better work ON your business(#2) and not IN it (#1).
Instead of trying to beat the competition, employ your unique talents to frustrate them.
Go make your mark!
Pro Tip: The real win is to have your competitors move from initial frustration to eventual inspiration…
Fine Wine
The results are conclusive. A $500 bottle of wine doesn’t taste better than a good $20 bottle. If the cat is out of the bag why aren’t people picketing the vineyards? How are sommeliers still employed? Why is some wine still $500/bottle?
If the blind folded wine expert likes the taste of the $20 bottle how does the free market support high dollar wine? The answer?
Narrative.
Story is powerful...very powerful. Powerful enough to increase the value of a bottle of wine by 2500%.
If those around you believe the narrative and you order the expensive wine (without sniffing the cork) Your status was just elevated.
It feels good to elevate our status. Sometimes the truth isn’t as fun because it kills the story and the status benefits. The only thing more valuable than the $500 bottle? The Narrative.
1984
It was one of the only books I read in highschool and Orwellian thinking has been woven into my worldview ever since. The notion of Big Brother and government motives of total control complete with thought police is outdated.
Perhaps Big Brother has a new plan. A plan that is far more simple, cheap, and subtle.
A plan to distract.
Distraction from what is important and true. Distraction from better choices. A distraction from making a difference. A distraction from creating.
The New Big Brother Says:
Hey man, look over here. It’s so shiny and new, it will make you feel good. Don’t get left out because you don’t know what happened in the game or who got voted off the island. Stay connected to the feed. Because the feed is easier. It’s easier because all you have to do is consume.
Don’t bother thinking (we’ll do it for you),
Don’t bother creating (we’ll do it for you)
Don’t bother with anything.
Stay where you are.
Hardest Questions
When you feel heavy emotion after an interaction with someone (enter knot in stomach, tight chest, blood rush to neck and face) There are really two things going on.
Your body has detected danger (It turns out it’s hard to tell the difference between physical and emotional threat)
You go into protection mode...
If it were a lion you would run. If it was a direct attack on your character you might also run.
The point worth understanding is that your ability to think rationally has left the jungle. Your entire being wants to survive. There is nothing you can do to eliminate this.
But...you can reduce it with truth. The truth is complicated by the tapes in your head. If you were bitten by a dog, you might play the tape “Dogs can’t be trusted”
The hardest question has two parts:
Is it true [Dogs can’t be trusted?]
What would life be like if I dropped the belief that [“Dogs can’t be trusted?”]
Don’t let the tail wag the dog without asking the hardest questions.
TrailBlazer
As a leader sometimes the path is crystal clear. So clear it feels like it should be obvious to everyone who is following. It’s helpful to understand why this assumption causes setbacks.
The trailblazing leader jumps out of the fox hole and charges forward. He risks it all and doesn’t ask for cover or let everyone else know what the plan is. He gets hit several times and finds a better position.
A position that will help win the battle.
A position that everyone will love.
A position that frustrates the leader who just lost the battle.
The leader who accidently fought hard only to lose alone.
Painting Profit
Money as a measuring stick of your worth confuses the merit of profit. Profit isn’t personal. If you don’t know how to make a profit something is wrong with you...or if you make a lot of money you must be taking advantage of others to get rich.
This thinking paints profit into a corner (you’re either out of business or you're greedy.)
What is profit for? Profit creates space for what’s next. Profit tells the story of what the market thinks of what you’ve created.
Profit paves the way. Go make a profit.
Taker Maker
There are two types of people in this world. The ones who make and the ones who take.
Not a selfish take but more of a consumer take. They’re both morally neutral and symbiotic. Are you a creator or a consumer? Do you buy or sell or do you buy so you can sell?
Don’t just consume...the world needs you to make what only you can.
Common Denominator
Circumstances sometimes overwhelm our ability to see our part. Look for patterns in your life. Are you always out of money? Are you always “mad” at someone else? Does your health slow you down?
Some things we control and some things we don’t. Separate the two and remember the common denominator… YOU.
Brain Picker
If you know an expert or someone who is well accomplished, never ask...
“Can I pick your brain?”
This person likely doesn’t want to have his mind pecked by a vulture. Buzzards are takers and you’re not the first person with this type of request.
A more useful way is to say something like:
“I’ve been inspired by the trajectory of your path over the years building __________….I have a few questions I’d love to ask. I’d love to get a better understanding of the hard work it took.”
Get prepared for the meeting and write your questions out. Let them see you’ve put thought into it. Take notes.
Successful people are wary of throwing pearls before swine. Swine that are looking for a shortcut.
If you aren’t a vulture and you execute...they’ll be shocked and send a constant stream of pearls your way.
Your Personal Brand
How do you develop your personal brand?
It’s a question no one was asking 20 years ago. The ability to amplify your message and the ease at which people can find out about you validates the question.
The bad news is you already have a personal brand whether you like it or not. It’s bad news because we don’t want to be misunderstood. We don’t want others to think one thing when we intend another.
The age of integrity has arrived. As Bob Marly says “you can fool some people some time but you can’t fool all the people all the time.” Your brand already exists. The cat is out of the bag.
So then...we curate. How do we want to be perceived? What do we want people to think of us?
Posturing is a slippery slope but authenticity has gription. It has gription because it’s you. Yet it’s easy to see when you’re “trying” to be authentic. Curated authenticity is a messy first step because it’s forced.
Being YOU is a full-time job...why work overtime?
Mastermind?
The think tank concept is so attractive.
Having a bunch of super talented people put their brains together to solve problems seems like a good idea.
They usually, however, meet a few times then fizzle. They fizzle because it’s virtually impossible to give equal value to everyone.
If you’re the smartest guy in at the table it’s a time suck albeit ego-stroking. If you are the “pledge” you’ll likely feel a bit lost or behind. So what do you do? Perhaps a long-term mastermind is a fantasy.
An alternative worth considering:
1. Curate 1-1 relationships with people that want your success and are happy to teach you.
2. Create a digital tribe of smart people that will awaken your inner awesome.
My guess is the alternative is more effective than trying to herd a bunch of wise cats.
Alexa... Sell My House!
Amazon announced they bought a Real Estate Brokerage (Reology) The amount of money sellers are willing to pay to sell their house is falling and the complex process is being automated.
There is always room for humans to make money in an automated world for one primary reason...Emotion.
My heart has never raced while ordering a phone charger or booking a flight. Most people, however, are a little on edge about buying or selling a house. It will be a minute before AI can detect fear and the nuances of our complex emotions.
There inlies your value.
The web has stripped the need for 90% of what needs to be done by an “expert.” You don’t hear your uber driver asking for more money because he can get to the destination without a gps. No one cares.
Doing long division in your head or knowing all the state capitals is a parlor trick that has no real practical use.
Your value is in that remaining 10%. The question is...what is that worth? Distill the human value of what you do and double down on that ability. People won’t pay much for searchable knowledge in an automated world.
Sell your emotional intelligence...your ability to “see” the humanness is where the gold is.
Cowlike
I have so many mixed feelings about my school experience. I mostly hated it. I hated the compliance part.
Here...memorize this…
Why?
Because it’s on the test…
If you got straight A’s you were seen as smart (might be true.) Get bad grades you probably got a diagnosis of some sort for not following the school model.
I was one of those kids who hated being a cow in the herd. Waiting in a cattle pen to get my branding, a number in my ear, or a few shots...so "they" could keep tabs.
I’ve always despised hoops...and despised the game of school where the cards were stacked against my true talents.
If I complied I would get rewarded with an A. But...for what...for who?
The poor teachers have to play too. Your students do crappy on a standardized test and suddenly you get ushered off to slaughter as a "bad teacher."
Pro Tip: Break the rules "they" set and....
Go make your mark!