What they want, what you want

It’s the stuff you care about. That you’re interested in.

The stuff you’re EXCITED about.

That’s the stuff people want.

If you lose the passion, move on. You can always come back to it.

 

Better, worse than you

Your work is better than you think. Think about the people who:

  • Couldn’t get your job.
  • Do what you do at a different place.
  • Do what you do part-time (or as a hobby).

It’s easy to find the people who are doing better than you.

But remember, there are a whole lot more people that aren’t. They’re just tougher to find.

And it’s the latter group that will take you higher. Not, contrary to popular belief, the former.

Your address (a shortcut)

Few people need it these days.

But if someone asks for it via text or email, chances are you’re getting:

  • A gift.
  • A check.
  • A friend with beer or a potluck contribution.
  • A guy from Craigslist who wants to give you cash and haul away your old things.

So you want to get them your perfectly typed and punctuated address ASAP.

But typing it out is such a pain.

Unless you have a shortcut!

All smartphones allow you to create keyboard shortcuts.

On iPhones, it’s under General Settings. Here are the steps:

  1. Set the phrase to be your address.
  2. Set the shortcut to some non-word that’s easy to remember and super easy to type. I use “addr”. “Azzz” would also work nicely.

That’s it. You just saved yourself several minutes of typing, clarifying, and being generally aggravated.

address shortcut

[Note: You can also use keyboard shortcuts to teach your phone to swear, a la my developer.]

Recent Purchases (I have and have not regretted)

I’m a minimalist.

To me, things are things.

I like spending my money on experiences and, once in a while, a thing that significantly improves the quality of my life over time (investments).

I recommend taking the same approach.

Of the recent purchases aI’ve made, here’s what I don’t regret (and do).

Purchases I do not regret

  • Vitamix Pro 750: Use it daily for much more than smoothies. Has also become a decent source of revenue and terrific partnership (that you can get, too, if you want.). (See current price)
  • MacBook Pro: Got mine like new from a guy on eBay. Came with a bunch of extras and three years of Apple Care. I presume it was from a college kid who realized he could sell it for $2,500, buy a PC for $700, and have $1,800 leftover for beer. Understandable. If you ever considered getting a mac, check eBay during the beginning of the semester.
  • This water bottle: Literally the perfect water bottle. It never leaves my side. (See current price)
  • My condo: Not to say you should buy instead of rent. But overall, no regrets.
  • My scooter: Few things bring me (and my fiancé) more joy in the warm-weather months. If only it had a sidecar for my dog.
  • Electric toothbrush: Total game changer. Enough said.
  • Plane tickets: The streak continues. No regrets on any trip I’ve made. Minimoons, bachelor parties, family visits, weddings, etc. It doesn’t matter.
  • New web hosting: In the last year I moved to a new web host for a few of my websites (lifeisnoyoke, to name one. Pretty fast, huh?).  I will tell you who I moved to, if you ask. But to avoid overcrowding (like that at my last web host), I’m not gonna just leave a link for the world. How elitist of me. But really, if you want the best, fastest managed webhost, email me and I’ll get you a referral link.
  • Motorcycle school: Certification and testing behind the wheel of a motorcycle (not scooter). Fun experience.
  • Engagement ring: Duh. Good experience buying online and getting a free in-store preview (AKA assurance from a jeweler that I made a good pick). (See the Ritani site)
  • Huge monitor: Got a 27 inch monitor for the home office. Helps keep posture and avoid squinting. (This one)
  • Power drill: I’ve been gifting Dewalt drills for weddings for a while. Finally got one for myself. Incredible feeling to be able to fix / assemble a million things by yourself. (This Dewalt)

Pretty good list, eh?

Let’s get negative and discuss the stuff I regret.

Purchases I regret

  • A crappy router: This was the second router for the house, so I didn’t think it needed to be as nice as the first one. Boy was I wrong. Never buy a slow, crappy, old technology-laden router. Ever.
  • Cable TV: I’ve cut cable in the past. All I had was Netflix, MLB.tv, and an over-the-air HD antenna for broadcast TV. It was one of the most productive years of my life. But in the last year, I resubscribed to Comcast for a few reasons. Live sports. Award shows (for the newly anointed fiancé / roommate). Baby sitters and guests (gotta have easy-to-use TV for them). But the results have been quite disappointing. Live sports unavailable for view (outages). More TV time (instead of other more engaging activities). An extra $80 per month. It really sucked to not have reliable TV during football season. But maybe billion dollar NFL will figure out a way to get me their product a la cart via Apple TV like the rest of progressive networks.
  • Too much Chinese food: There’s a lot of leftovers. Now I will either eat it to avoid wasting it. Or, I will throw it away and be upset about wasting food and money. Next time I’ll opt for the Small size instead of Large on all available options.

Things I did not purchase (because they’re free) and certainly am glad they’re in my life

  • Next Draft: The news curated by a witty dude. Daily. (See the site)
  • Focus Booster: 15 minutes on, 5 minutes off. Game changer. (Free)
  • Positivity: Yup.
  • Gratitude: Thank you.
  • Honesty: Welcome.

That’s it. I’m going to stare at my Chinese leftovers and mull over a tough decision.

 

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.