Monthly Archives: July 2015

What do you do when

You screw up with lots of people watching?

Do you stand there frozen, feeling like an idiot? Vomit? Apologize quickly?

Or, do you:

  • Laugh at yourself.
  • Appreciate that it could have been worse.
  • Realize that people enjoy top performers’ moments of imperfection.
  • Take steps to avoid doing it again.
  • Deal with it by writing about the experience.
  • Use the experience to study how people reacted.
  • Laugh at yourself some more.

Yeah. The latter. All of it.

What else are you gonna do?

[Inspired by this email I just sent to 50% of my Life is NOYOKE list. ]

Reserves

If it’s glorious outside, take advantage.

If you’re at the lake, take advantage.

If you’re on the mountain, take advantage.

You might think you SHOULD be doing something else. Perhaps you’d get more done or be more comfortable or be more rested if you just didn’t.

But soon it’s gonna be miserable outside and the lake will freeze and the snow will melt.

And you’ll need to access those glorious moments. The ones you did in excess and put into reserve.

Take advantage.

You’re gonna need the reserves.

Everybody is watching, listening, and will read about it

I should be careful what I say. You might write about it.

It’s true.

I might write about something you said. Or did.

But given I’m (rightfully and thankfully) not invited into your bedroom or bathroom, why should there be any problem?

Shouldn’t all your words and actions be ones by which you stand?

Ones you’re proud of?

Ones you wouldn’t mind if they were published for the world to see?

Certainly things may be said in confidence, off-the-record, etc.

But for the most part, you should act as-if.

As if everybody is watching, listening, and will read about it.

[Inspired by numerous conversations and this dipshit who killed Cecil the Lion.]

Loops

Ever find yourself going in loops?

  • Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.
  • ESPN.com, Google News, Gmail, ESPN.com.
  • Google Analytics, Affiliate Earnings, YouTube, Google Analytics.

You know, start somewhere, go elsewhere and end up at the beginning just a few minutes later only to find that nothing has changed and you’re wondering if you’re possessed by the devil because no logically thinking person would behave in such a way?

Yes, they’re real, and they’re scary.

Avoid entering to avoid the inevitable.

[HT @bradrozra]

How do email anyone cold

If you lookup strategies for emailing someone cold, you’re already screwed.

They’re not replying.

If you try to spark their curiosity by providing vague, but enticing (or scary) details, you’ve already lost.

They’re not replying.

If you carefully describe the problems you want to solve and the benefits awaiting them for replying, you’re done.

They’re not replying.

But maybe, just maybe, if you are so honest, so self-depreciating, so relatable, you might stand out from the crowd.

And then, they might just reply.

I could give you the template that works for me.

But that would render it useless for all of us (see above).

(Unless! Unless I did tell you my cold email method.

Then, I could use the subject line, “My cold emailing method went viral and now using it makes me sound like a desperate moron. But now that you’ve seen my ability to influence the masses, can I ask for a one-sided favor despite not knowing you at all?”)

Moral of the story: Be super genuine with your cold emails. You might get a reply if you demonstrate awareness of knowing how annoying it is to get one.

This week was good

Right?

  • You got a lot done.
  • You learned a few things.
  • You’re setup for the next.

So shut it down for a bit.

Relax.

Work will be there when you get back.

Ever wonder

What people say about you when you’re not around?

Maybe they don’t say anything at all.

But don’t you think it’s better that they did?

Better yet, shouldn’t you know exactly what they’re saying?

The Consequences Failure

Understand them. Be aware of them.

But then let them go.

Because if it’s all you focus on, it’s all you’re gonna get.

Just do what you do.

Sure, you might end up dealing with the consequences sometimes.

But usually, you’ll get just the opposite: The glory of success.

10 things I’ve learned from watching Last Week Tonight

HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is my new Daily Show. I watch it religiously, and it’s my main source of the news.

Pathetic? To some, probably.

But here are some non-topical things I’ve learned from watching the show.

  1. The daily format is dead. (Sorry, uncleleosblog.)
  2. The weekly format is better for a million reasons. Applies to TV, blogs, podcasts, etc.
  3. Make a promise and keep it. (Theirs is 30 minutes every Sunday.)
  4. If you’re going on vacation, say it.
  5. Breaks make people miss you and improves the quality of your work. (Double benefit!)
  6. Make stuff worth sharing.
  7. Build a team with one goal.
  8. Embrace where you came from.
  9. Demand change.
  10. Love your work.

Aside from key lessons in business and life, there is so much to learn from Last Week Tonight (food waste, the IRS, prisons, to name a few).

Are you watching?

12 things I learned from watching Going Clear

I watched the HBO documentary “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief” this weekend.

Wow did I learn some things.

Aside from the obvious (Scientologists are crazies), here’s what I learned:

  1. Religions are a lucrative business. Similar to TM.
  2. Money and power can cause destructive paranoia (similar to the inevitable fall of movie-depicted mobsters).
  3. Taking through your fears can be cathartic.
  4. “I’ve already paid” is enough for people to proceed despite better judgement.
  5. Belief is a force to be reckoned with.
  6. People are lonely.
  7. People are scared.
  8. People need hope.
  9. Paying for the rights to a secret and being asked to keep it is a sign you’re being duped.
  10. After watching footage of L. Ron Hubbard, I’m really interested in what Jesus, Muhammad and other religion starters were like pre-holiness.
  11. I’m obsessed with living forever and am pretty sure starting a religion is the best way to do that. But, I’m not going to do that because…
  12. Forever isn’t a real thing since the universe, too, inevitably dies. (I didn’t learn that from the movie, but #11 combined with this video is a good reminder to live a life of love.)

Eye-opening movie for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, religion, or Tom Cruise or John Travolta.