Category — Getting Stuff Done
Advice From The Most Successful People On Earth
Years ago I made it my desire to be successful in life and be able to give back to the world. I was raised on the principle that you should leave the world a better place than when you came.
I have searched high and low, read books, magazines, websites, listened to podcasts, and watched videos seeking guidance in my goals to be, in the words of Borat, a “Great Success.”
Although the idea of success is different to every person whether it be money, fame, or something as simple as to have a good family life. I have learned that the rules and advice to reach your idea of success are the same everywhere.
Below is a list of the most common advice that I have collected from those who have made it. Note that in order to make the list, the advice, or some variation, had to of shown up more than once and from more than one person.
So here it is, what one should do in order to become successful.
Convince Your Brain That You Are Already Successful (Think and Grow Rich
I truly believe that the human mind is far more powerful than anything in the world. This is why navy seals can hold their breath for so long and why people can learn to ignore pain. With the proper training, you can train your mind to do about anything.
Convincing your brain that you have already achieved a goal makes you that much closer to it. I have learned that goals are much more difficult to achieve when they are placed up on a pedestal. Believing that you have attained them already keeps them on your level and makes them easier to achieve.
“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.” -Bill Cosby
Learn To Go With Your Gut Instinct (Anyone who has ever founded a startup)
I remember a high school teacher of mine telling me to always go with my first instinct on a test. Well the same rule applies in life and in business. Always do what feels right at the time. Although you probably won’t be right every time, you will be when it really counts.
“When in doubt, don’t.” -Benjamin Franklin
Life Is All About Relationships So Don’t Burn Bridges (Tina Seelig)
“The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.” -Theodore Roosevelt
You will run into the same people over and over again in life so you need to make good relationships now.
You are not going to like everyone and everyone is not going to like you, no matter how nice of a person you are or how much you donate to charity. Just take a look at Bill Gates. He and his wife probably donate more to charity than anyone, yet he still had a group of people who hate him.
“Don’t be so petty. Sometimes you have to do business with people you don’t like. It doesn’t mean you have to be like them or like them.” -Donald Trump
Learn to treat all people with respect, no matter what.
“When angry count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred.” -Thomas Jefferson
Learn Everything You Can On Sales And Marketing
“Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success… The value of an idea lies in the using of it.” -Thomas A. Edison
No matter how cool the newest technology is, it is useless unless it provides value to the user.
Would you use the slick looking iPod if it was difficult to use? What if it didn’t even play music? Would you use Google if you got back a “No results found” message everytime?
Create things with value to the user in mind before anything else.
Many Ideas Come Out Of Something That Already Exists
Barbara Carey has used this concept to bring over 100 products to market and acquire more than a dozen patents.
There’s a way to do it better - find it. -Thomas A. Edison
Be Persistent (Chapter 9 from Think and Grow Rich
I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work… Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress. -Thomas A. Edison
Successful people do not get that way accidentally nor do they usually achieve great success on the first try.
All you need is ignorance and confidence and the success is sure. -Mark Twain
Make Mistakes Then Learn From Them
Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure. -Thomas A. Edison
If the answer is no, find out why. If you get the wrong answer, learn the right one.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. -Winston Churchill
Know Your Weaknesses And Surround Yourself With Positive People That Can Do What You Cannot
This is similar to the “self-fulfilling prophecy” and why many people who are told that they will never amount to anything often don’t. If somebody tells you enough times that you are a mongoose, after awhile you will probably start believing them. Surround yourself with encouraging people that believe in you and you will believe in yourself.
If you are passionate about your idea, it is likely that others will be also and they will want to help you. Call on those people when you need them.
Learn To Say No
Saying no to someone is better than saying yes and not being able to give 100%. I used to think that I could and should do everything I had an opportunity to do, but have since learned that it is not possible.
“You can do it all, just not all at the same time.” -Tina Seelig
Try Lots Of Things And Keep What Works
When I have fully decided that a result is worth getting I go ahead of it and make trial after trial until it comes. -Thomas A. Edison
Ideas are like baseball, your going to strike-out more than you hit out of the park and your probably going to bat under .500.
Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won’t work. -Thomas A. Edison
When You Are Ready To Quit, You Are Closer Than You Think (Bob Parsons, Founder of GoDaddy)
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. -Thomas A. Edison
Many things that have failed could of succeeded with a little more effort.
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. -Thomas A. Edison
Learn When To Call It Quits (Om Malik)
In contrast you don’t want to beat your head on to a wall repeatedly and expect different results.
As I said above, try lots of things and keep what works. If nothing works and your most creative part of your brain is exhausted. Maybe you should pull the plug. After all, the most important decision that we make everyday is what we spend our time on.
Never Miss An Opportunity
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Always give 100%.
Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching. -Thomas Jefferson
Above is the advice that I have collected on my road to success, I hope it helps others as it has helped me.
-E
Technorati Tags: rules for success, Tina Seelig, Donald Trump, Thomas Jefferson, Bob Parsons, Thomas Edison, Om Malik, Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, Napoleon Hill, Barbara Carey, Benjamin Franklin, Theodore Roosevelt, success
May 27, 2007 1 Comment
Awesome Business Ideas That Got Stolen From Me
Every time I find an business or website that I have given serious thought to pursuing years before, I put them in folder entitled “Stolen Ideas.”
I suppose I could still pursue the businesses but there are only so many hours in the day. Plus many entrepreneurs have told me not to be the “Me Too” of an industry.
Shouldn’t I be jealous?
As an entrepreneur, no. The only person I have to blame for not pursuing any of the ideas is myself.
I am publishing them to teach myself a lesson and as a constant reminder to act faster when I have an itch.
I think I’ll look to the horizon to position myself in front of the next wave!
My advice for everyone that has a great idea is to act fast!
I am big on travel, in fact it is one of my favorite things to do. I thought it would be a great idea to allow people around the world to meet other people online that live in the area where he or she will be visiting in order to find a place to stay. Many of these websites exist now in the forms of Place2Stay.net, GlobalFreeloaders, CouchSurfing, and TheHospitalityClub although I’m sure there is more.
Postful converts your email into a real letter and mails it for you. My project was called RealMail.
My idea for this one was a peer-2-peer network for trading media (books, cds, dvd), while I have not seen any that allow you to trade anything, I have seen websites that allow you to trade specifics like Paperback Swap for books and LaLa for music.
FindMeOn is a website that tries to manage all of your online identities.
This one was more of a concept that I had back before cell phones were mp3 players and vice versa. My idea was to have a phone that acts as a music player but instead of storing the music on the phone, it would stream it from your home PC. Phling has a product that does just that.
I know gig boards (similar to a bulletin board for the web) are nothing ground breaking but I swear I had the idea way before anyone like 37signals and Lifehacker had theirs. Its a pretty simple concept and the only reason why I didn’t pursue this one is because I figured it would do well on a site that already had a decent amount of traffic daily. That was exactly what I was lacking. After all, you wouldn’t put a bulletin board in a place where no body would see it, would you?
Although this one might not be in the bag yet once I build more traffic on some of my sites, for now it is out of my mind.
-E
YouTube - Saturday Night Live: Sofa King Skit
Technorati Tags: business ideas, stolen, entrepreneur, start your own business
May 12, 2007 No Comments
Rules For Success From GoDaddy Founder Bob Parsons
Bob Parsons, The CEO and Founder of GoDaddy has an interesting article of things that he has learned over the years from a lower middle class family to almost losing his life to a millionaire and successful entrepreneur. Included in the article is his 16 “Rules For Success.”
My favorite “Rules” from the article include:
“1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone.”
I can relate to this because when I am out of my comfort zone, say in a foreign country, I learn much more, much quicker than I would if I were in my country.
“3. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think.”
I’ve been on the verge of quitting many times in the past but I’ve noticed that every time that I have pushed on, everything has worked out in the end.
“6. Take things a day at a time.”
There are only so many hours in the day and one person can only handle so much. Take things step-by-step, piece-by-piece.
and
“16. There’s always a reason to smile. Find it.”
I like this one because I forget it sometimes when I get so wrapped up with what I am doing. Some times it is just best to step back and smell the roses. You will find that you work more effectively after doing so.
Take a look at the full article and see how powerful it is for yourself. Via BobParsons.com
-E
Technorati Tags: Rules For Success, Success, Bob Parsons, GoDaddy, Entrepreneur
April 16, 2007 1 Comment
What To Learn This School Year To Prepare For Business
Guy Kawasaki has an interesting post about what schools should teach students in order to prepare for the business world. Much of his advice can be carrier over to aspiring entrepreneurs.
From the article:
“In college, you’re supposed to bring problems to your teachers during office hours, and you share the experience of coming up with a solution. In the real world, you’re supposed to bring solutions to your boss in an email, in the hall, or in a five-minute conversation.
“…force yourself to learn how to figure out just about anything on your own. There are no office hours, no teaching assistants, and study groups in the real world.
“How to explain something in thirty seconds…”
-E
Technorati Tags: Guy Kawasaki, 10 things, College, Students, Learn, Entrepreneur,
April 15, 2007 No Comments
How To Start Multiple Online Businesses
As the old saying goes, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” (no Easter pun intended), is still true today with regards to making money online. The internet changes so fast that what may be a excellent income stream today, may be gone tomorrow with little notice. That is why I recommend using the following tips to grow your online business presence.
Think Simple. Simple ideas are, well, simpler, both to implement and maintain. Leave the big ones to the big guys. Take the new domain naming service CleverSiteNames.com, for instance. Simple idea, endless possibilities.
Take each idea, feature, and business step by step. As Tina Seelig says, “You can do it all, just not all at once.” Break down your problems and solve them bit by bit, not as a whole. Your results will come much quicker.
Automation is your friend. Automate anything that can be automated. Software like WordPress has gazillions of plug-ins - feel free to take advantage of them, in fact, feel like your getting the bad end of the stick if your not using them. It will save you time and frustration. This is especially true if you are running multiple popular websites and/or online businesses. There are only so many hours in the day. Wouldn’t you rather be spending time with family, doing a hobby, or starting another business anyway?
Traffic is King, but the content which dictates traffic is Queen. Its like the saying goes “getting initial customers is expensive, getting sustained customers is where the money is.” (I’m just full of sayings today!) The same rule is true on websites, even if you are not selling anything per se. Without great content, it is difficult to get anyone to return to your site more than once.
User driven and constantly changing sites give people a reason to return. I’m not talking about layout, though. Change that rarely or you will probably piss off a lot of people and prevent them from coming back. I’m talking about content. Update and add new content often. You may not notice immediate effects, but in the long run, your traffic is likely to expand as your content grows.
-E
Technorati Tags: Multiple, Online, Business, Traffic, User Driven, Content, Wordpress, CleverSiteNames.com, Domain Name, Naming, Easter, Simple, Automation, Simple Business Idea
April 6, 2007 No Comments
Concepts for Turning your Ideas into a Thriving Online Business
KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid!
Most business are founded on a simple, direct, principal statement or idea (i.e. Google “Organize the worlds information”). Although the solution is not always so straight forward. So keep it simple. There are always more challenges that one originally sees even in simple concepts, therefore you must assume that more complex problems are bound to have more complex solutions.
Act Fast
I guarantee your not the only person in the world that has had your ideas for a new business. People are surprisingly more similar than we like to admit. Whether you like it or not, if you don’t act on your impulses, others surely will. Remember, its not he who has the first idea that wins, its the first to execute that idea. For instance, my newest venture was up and running in less than seven days from having the idea to a full working business. I’m not saying that all business can be up that fast but you get the idea.
You Have To Be Smart, Not Brilliant!
People start companies to solve problems, fill voids, and capitalize on niches, not to prove how smart they are. If you want to prove your intelligence, go get multiple degrees.
Always Move Forward, No Matter What Speed
Keep your business moving once you start, no matter how much or how little time you can devote. Keep on your toes and active.
Listen Before You Reply
From what I have heard, this is the number one reason that businesses either fall apart or succeed. Since the founder in a startup is usually the jack-of-all-trades within the business, they often get so wrapped up in their ideas that they forget to listen to what the customer really wants. So always make it a point to listen before you execute.
Test Your Hypothesis ASAP
Whats the point in spending hours thinking about and building a business if there is no market for your business. Therefore, you should test your hypothesis as soon as possible to test the waters for your idea. For example, if you can, give out samples to a target market and ask for feedback. You’ll probably be surprised at what you find out.
-E
Technorati Tags: Work From Home, Online Business, Internet Business, Ideas, Test Concept, Good Listener, Move Forward, Act Fast, KISS, Keep It Simple
March 30, 2007 No Comments
The Fastest and Easiest Way to Learn Linux
No one learns how to ride a bike from a video. People learn by doing. The same goes for learning Linux - or anything, for that matter (like a business, perhaps?). You need to do something more than just install it and browse the internet.
I learned Linux by setting up different types of servers on Linux. I, by no means, claim to be an expert, however, I am comfortable at the Unix Shell and know enough about it to troubleshoot my way through most problems.
The first project that I did on Linux was setting up a Jabber instant message server (I assume the same one Google uses for gtalk and Meebo uses for its web client). Previous to this I had some basic Linux experience but not much more than copying, pasting, and editing files and doing a couple of make installs. Although, at the time, this was one of the most frustrating things that I have ever done, I learned so much about Linux.
Since then I have done many projects on various distros of Linux including my latest project, a Personal Video Recorder. Each time I have expanded my knowledge and familiarity with Linux but none have been as challenging as the first.
This is why I encourage you to push your way through that first Linux project. Even if you get frustrated and don’t finish, instead of quiting, move on to something a little easier, then later come back to the problem you were having before. The experience of a failed attempt is better than no experience at all. -E
Technorati Tags: Linux, Learn By Doing, Learn Linux, Learn Business, Start a Business, Online Business, Computer Business, How To Learn Linux, Meebo, Jabber, gTalk, Google, PVR, Personal Video Recorder, Internet Business
March 22, 2007 No Comments
How to Work Less and Accomplish More (a tip for the perfectionist)
The other day I noticed that the more time I had allocated to work, the less I got done.
It sounds ass-backwards but the more I thought about my specific work/study habits, the more I realized how true it was. I, by no means, consider myself a procrastinator, however, I have noticed that I like to have some constraint on my work and a little bit of pressure with a deadline to keep me moving forward.
I am a perfectionist so if I have all the time in the world to work on a project and little constraints, I find myself constantly tweaking it and slowly moving forward.
On the other hand if I have a time and direction limit, I usually move forward quicker and generally get more done because I do not have the time to be too self-critical.
So, if you are like me, I suggest you set small goals for yourself, limit your time to accomplish those goals, and concentrate on getting only those tasks done. After all, you can always revisit a task and improve it later.
My new goal is to work less and accomplish more.
-E
Technorati Tags: Work Less, Accomplish More, Streamline Production, Maximize Time, Set Priorities, Work Study, Perfectionist
November 4, 2006 No Comments