emendatio

This is actually a bit older, taken out of a Financial Times interview with Loic Le Meur, where he has come up with 10 rules for success in business:

1. Don’t wait for a revolutionary idea. It will never happen. Just focus on a simple, exciting, empty space and execute as fast as possible
2. Share your idea. The more you share, the more you get advice and the more you learn. Meet and talk to your competitors.
3. Build a community. Use blogging and social software to make sure people hear about you.
4. Listen to your community. Answer questions and build your product with their feedback.
5. Gather a great team. Select those with very different skills from you. Look for people who are better than you.
6. Be the first to recognise a problem. Everyone makes mistakes. Address the issue in public, learn about and correct it.
7. Don’t spend time on market research. Launch test versions as early as possible. Keep improving the product in the open.
8. Don’t obsess over spreadsheet business plans. They are not going to turn out as you predict, in any case.
9. Don’t plan a big marketing effort. It’s much more important and powerful that your community loves the product.
10. Don’t focus on getting rich. Focus on your users. Money is a consequence of success, not a goal.

Read the entire article: Financial Times - Share ideas to the maximum.

The Life Coaches Blog posted four videos of personal coach Tony Robbins explaining what he calls 3 pillars of an extraordinary life.

Check them out!

PS: As a bonus you might also want to watch this 12min interview with Tony Robbins.

A few weeks ago I started a new workout and fitness schedule. After one year without any regular training and fitness sessions I really felt how inflexible (and heavy) I had become.

One day it was just enough and I decided to become the sportive guy I was twelve months ago. I made a plan which said that I’d have to build up a base fitness first by running running running. After that base fitness the next step would be to start working on my muscles. But lets start with the running part. In order to get me into the right mood I bought the right equipment, Nike+ running shoes and a Nike+ armwrist sportband to track my running distance, just enough to keep a geek like me motivated. And it really works, I love to see my progress online, notice how long I’ve been running, how many callories I’ve burned etc.

Nevertheless there is one fact that really tries to keep me from running: my inner temptation. How often does my brain try to find an excuse not to go running. Sometimes I really have to fight with myself to get my ass out of the door. Therefore I did not only have to build a training schedule, but also develop a way to motivate myself each and every day.

Only recently I found a nice little post in The Happiness Project blog on 11 tips for sticking to a schedule of regular exercise. I found so much truth in there and I will try to follow these tips in the next days. One paragraph really struck me:

Think of exercise as part of your essential preparation for times you want to be in especially fine form — whether in performance (to be sharp for an important presentation) or appearance (to look good for a wedding) or mood (to deal with a stressful situation). Studies show that exercise does help.

This is exactly what kept me running over 10km in the last weeks. I want to get in shape to start playing basketball again in autumn. Check the entire list out and see if there’s something for you as well.

Link: The Happiness Project - 11 tips for sticking to a schedule of regular exercise.

Recently I changed my job due to a promotion now facing a lot of new tasks and project While some of them are a welcome challenge some others grow fear in me. Not fear on their own but fear to fail. In Scoutt Youngs blog I found nine ideas on how to overcome this growing discouragement and found them really helpful.

Link: Scott Young - 9 Ways To Overcome Discouragement

Guest author Scott Shane, Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University, writes in Guy Kawasakis blog about the top ten myths of entrepreneurship (love to type that word).

This post really holds a lot of value for me as I keep struggeling explaining people why I love spending time alone and what I take out of these precious moments. Working as a Sales Guy gives me the opportunity to get in contact with lots of ppl every day on the phone, via email or personally in a meeting. Quite often at 6pm I find myself not only happy that the day is over but really longing for some quite time with noone around me.

Over my years at the university I discovered that I can be most creative and relax the best while being totally on my own. I can totally focus on whatever I’m doing, I can dive deep into something or just sort stuff out that kept bothering me over the week. Very important as well is the fact, that after these few minutes our hours I got just for me, I really begin to look forward to the next “human contact”, meaning that this time improves my appreciation of human contact the next time I have it

Speaking of this, I found a great article on the ririanproject blog, stating the Benefits of Spending Time Alone, and How to Do It. I agree to all the points given there and would like to end this post with the same quote by Henry David Thoreau given there:

“I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”

Tim Ferris, author of the stunning book “The 4-Hour WorkWeek” explains on his blog why being a generalist, a Jack Of All Trades as he calls it, is making a comeback.

The devout specialist is fond of labeling the impetuous learner–Da Vinci and Ben Franklin being just two forgotten examples–a “jack of all trades, master of none.” The chorus unites: In the modern world, it is he who specializes who survives and thrives. There is no place for Renaissance men or women. Starry-eyed amateurs. Is it true? I don’t think so. Here are the top five reasons why being a “jack of all trades,” what I prefer to call a “generalist,” is making a comeback:

I personally agree with every single word in that post. I really appreciate people who are experts in their fields and I appreciate the effort it takes to become an expert. But I’d prefer to have a broader view, to know the big picture and learn new stuff from all around me. Tim calls this the diversity of intellectual playgrounds and argues that it will provide you with confidence instead of fear for the unknown. He ends the entry with two nice quotes I’d like to post here as well:

Be too complex to categorize.
Look far and wide—there are worlds to conquer.

Links:

• Timothy Ferris - 5 reasons to be a Jack Of All Trades
• Timothy Ferris - The 4-Hour Workweek

Don’t you hate it to get up in a bad mood, still feeling all too tired? Getting up early and enjoying it can be pretty difficult and hard to accomplish though it will improve your entire day. Today I found a nice article by Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project giving six tips how to get up with cheers. One particular paragraph really cought my attention:

2. Sing. As goofy as it sounds, I try to sing in the morning. It’s hard both to sing and to maintain a grouchy mood, and it sets a happy tone for everyone—particularly in my case, because I’m tone deaf, and my audience finds my singing a source of great hilarity.

The entire post can be found here:
Link: Six tips for keeping school-day mornings calm and cheery.

Update: Glen Stansberry of LifeDev points out 24 tips to become an early riser. Check it out.

I found a great article on motivation in the del.icio.us stream of a good friend, where Kevin Cornell from alistapart.com tells us how to stay motivated whenever we struggle with our motivation due to a lack of enthusiams, challenges or boredom.

Maintaining your motivation to create is actually a long-term endeavor. Starting out can be tough, but with discipline and consistency you will eventually reach a point where staying motivated only requires minimal daily maintenance—a simple matter of learning to make the right choices at the right time.

Link: A List Apart - Kevin Cornell - Staying Motivated