Today plus sixty

Look at the date.

Now add 60 days.

Birthdays? Vacations? Marketing campaigns? Product launches? Holidays? Changes in season?

Yes, living in the present should always be the goal.

But don’t forget to consider what’s ahead and get ready for it.

Winter is coming.

Where are you going?

Feeling lost? Or like you’re just treading water?

Put yourself in front of people who will ask you where you’re going.

An interview. Some media. Partners. Whatever.

Assuming you don’t want to tell them “No clue. The journey is the destination.”, you’ll have to have a good answer.

An answer that’s the truth. That’s inspiring (to you and them).

The answer to where you are going.

That’d be great

If someone wants to do something nice for you, what do you say?

  • No, but thank you.
  • Yes, that’d be great.

Notice nowhere in there are there open-ended follow-up questions assessing how much of a burden it will be for them to complete said nice thing.

Why?

They want to do it.

So let ’em or don’t.

First, last, best

Interviews. Lectures. Sales pitches. Projects. Games. Customers. Products. Lessons. Calls. Updates. Visits. Days off. Blog posts. Songs. Batches. Parties. Drinks. All the things you do, create, consume.

Take heed of Jay-Z (amongst a gazillion others).

Treat your first like your last and your last like your first.

How else can you be sure you did your best?

Sophisticated trolls

Some write carelessly. Some write without spelling or punctuation or grammar.

Some make zero sense at all.

Those trolls are easy to ignore.

Other trolls are careful. Thoughtful, even.

They write in perfect grammar. And they appear worthy of your time.

The sophisticated trolls.

Then there are the non-trolls. The people who ARE worth of your time.

It’s tough to tell the difference between the sophisticated trolls and the non-trolls.

When in doubt, though, they’re probably just a sophisticated troll. And thus, not worth your time.

 

Richard Branson on Success

He’s a business legend. He’s worth gazillions.

When asked about his secret to success, he keeps it simple: happiness.

Many assume my business success has brought me happiness. But the way I see it, I am successful because I am happy.

Of course, success is not just defined by money. It’s so much more than that.

And so when I say my #1 goal right now is to keep living this happy life, it’s nice knowing I’m in good company.

Interest

If you can sell your art, great.

But always make it for yourself.

Because if it’s not for you, you’ll lose interest. And once you lose interest, you become completely uninteresting.

Then nobody wants to buy your art.

Do it for you.

New business, old business

It’s fun to go find new business.

It’s exciting. It’s challenging.

It’s gonna grow your business.

But what about finding new business in your old business? Your customers and clients with whom you already have a relationship.

No, focusing on old business is not exciting. Nor is it challenging.

But don’t you want to grow your business?