Category Archives: Life

What They Really Want

When someone walks into your store, they’re not looking for a new blouse or a baseball mitt or a new car.

They’re seeking something intangible.

  • A new look.
  • A greater edge.
  • An enhanced identity.

Sure, an individual item can help get them there.

But often, it’s the add-ons that get them what they really want.

The necklace to wear with the blouse. The batting gloves to wear with the mitt. The tinted windows on the car.

And when they get what they really want, you have more than a customer.

You have a client.

A client for life.

Remember this When Dealing with Social Media Obligations

Yes, social media sucks to do.

But here’s a good way to look at it.

Social media is how some of your customers, fans, students consume their content and ideas and info. If your content and ideas and info is what they need, it’s your duty to provide it via their preferred medium.

Here’s the reversal.

If you don’t distribute your content / ideas / info via social media, they’re lives will be worse off.

So even though email is more effective, social media is important, too.

It’s your duty.

[HT to Maria Popova]

Offices with Plants

When it comes to having a plant in your office, you have two choices:

  • Have one.
  • Don’t have one.

The former will make you 10-20% more productive than the latter.

Your call.

P.S. Fake plants work, too.

[HT to an uncited yet believably reasonable stat from a lifestyle magazine]

For anyone who uses email

One question to ask when sending an email:

Would I enjoy getting, reading, engaging with it?

If the answer is “yes,” then proceed.

If the answer is “maybe” or “no” or “I don’t know,” then don’t hit send.

Choose right, and you just made the world a better place.

Chose wrong, and you’re just another piece of clutter.

You pick.

Swapping in Mores

These thoughts:

  • More popular than me.
  • More wealthy than me.
  • More opportunities than me.
  • More beautiful than me.
  • More WHATEVER than me.

Stop giving a shit about he or she or them or it.

And here’s the thing with all those above thoughts:

If you swap out an “I was” for “me,” it feels a lot better.

It’s a lot more productive, too.

Yoga and the Important Parts

A wise old yogi once said, “What you do in your positions is less important than how you begin and how you end them.”

It’s true.

And it applies all over life.

  • Jobs.
  • Relationships.
  • Projects.
  • Days.
  • Nights.
  • Massages.
  • Vacations.

You name it, and it applies.

Ease in. Ease out.

The middle is less important.

[HT to yogi Natalie for sharing this wisdom.]

23 things I learned last weekend

I spent last weekend in Orlando. Here’s what I learned.

  1. Work trips can’t be vacation until the work is done.
  2. Crowded resorts can be annoying. But deserted resorts equally bizarre.
  3. The culture and people at big consulting firms never changes.
  4. The culture and leadership at small consulting firms never changes either.
  5. Twitter is like a big circle jerk of retweets and mentions.
  6. You can always get a little bit better.
  7. You are never your best editor.
  8. Pre-select participants for on-stage demos.
  9. When speaking, nerves are good. Stress is, too.
  10. Easy laughs are like playing the hits. You may not find them satisfying. But they’re not for you.
  11. Networking still sucks. Making one or two new friends never does.
  12. Nobody smiles while visiting Disney Parks.
  13. Now days, simulator rides make me nauseous.
  14. Roller coaster still don’t.
  15. 45% tax on rental cars is one reason why there’s no state income tax in Florida.
  16. A quality protein powder is crucial for decently healthy traveling.
  17. Good events require good coffee.
  18. SWAG bags should have unique and useful items. Otherwise, we’re just creating trash.
  19. Little things make a big difference at events. You might not notice them when they’re there. But when they’re missing, it’s glaring and disappointing.
  20. Working outside of the comfort zone remains the best kind of work.
  21. They best reviews come from the most unexpected places.
  22. Fried food doesn’t really do it for me anymore.
  23. Stay humble.

Easy Outsourcing Opportunity

Outsourcing is all the rage.

  • Someone to do your email.
  • Someone to do your social media.
  • Someone to do your support.

But outsourcing takes work. Training, feedback, etc.

So when outsourcing requires zero work, do it.

Having Amazon gift-wrap and deliver your gifts is a perfect example.

Just check the box.

Outsourcing doesn’t get any easier than that.

 

House of Feng Shui

Don’t forget the golden rule of home ownership.

Take out the trash every time you leave the house.

Some trash.

Any trash.

Otherwise your home becomes just that.