Journey of a thousand thoughts

moving meditations - emotional attention and attachment

2010-05-13T04:26:00.003+02:00

Some of the most powerful thoughts that capture our attention is the spectrum of emotions that we absorb or interpret for any given situation. It is most poignant from those close to us, those we care about even if we wish to deny it. Can one change the story so that the experience of painful emotions is muted?
Maybe so, but should we just also let ourselves give into the pain, that it needs to be experienced fully so that it can have a good chance of dissipating?
For me, family has been the source and giver of the most intense emotions - something that I thought I had left behind, but realise will always be there no matter how old I grow. The joy of a new edition, of seeing a pure smile from my youngest nephew was amazing to experience again.

That is what we get from our children - the chance to experience some of the things we lose along the way or forget that we still have inside of us

Life's lessons

2010-04-17T14:53:00.008+02:00

"Help only those who want to be helped"

"Friendship is about what you are willing to sacrifice for the benefit of your friends - time, effort, attention"

"Crisis offers the most opportunities for growth, helps you focus on the important things that matter most to you"

Never believe that your assumptions are reality

simple, focus, community, attention, useful, goals are words worth knowing

Startup basics - Sean Ellis

2010-04-05T06:55:00.006+02:00

1. Market Fit
"If you’re targeting small business owners or sole proprietors,
I believe it’s better to keep your product free until you find the product/market fit. I would however
recommend creating a formal beta program where the company locks in a 50% discount in exchange for certain commitments (like a 15 minute interview and monthly surveys). They should understand that they can use it for free during the beta period, but if they want to continue using it after the beta finishes, they’ll need to buy."

The “40% very disappointed” metric
"..at least 30 responses, which is where I start to see results stabilize. Of course more responses is better."

MEASURE MARKET FIT use:
http://www.survey.io

Notes based on the principles espoused by Sean Ellis

Pre - evalution of idea

Does this product/service as spec’d solve a problem or a need customers have?” Is our solution compelling enough that they want to buy it or use it today? Steve Blank

Day 1 - VALILDATE Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
problem exists?
is it worth solving?
minimum set of features to solve it
- then meet prospects

Where’s the Love? “the flock always finds the best grass.” Vinod Khosla
Start looking for a signal about who loves your product and why as soon as you release your MVP
Most products have at least a few people that truly consider it a must have. These people hold the keys to the kingdom.
Learn everything you can about them including their specific use cases and demographic characteristics. Try to get more of these types of people.

Expose the Core Gratifying Experience
find core user perceived value and exposing it in messaging optimized for response.
remove complexity from the initial user experience and messaging in order to highlight this core user perceived value.

Metrics

Start Charging

Extreme Customer Support
first marketing expense should be to expand the customer support team.
Anyone that cares enough about your solution to contact customer support is a great source of insight about your target market.

Brand Experience Over Brand Awareness
most entrepreneurs understand that brand awareness campaigns are a waste of money for startups
Instead, it’s much cheaper and more effective for startups to focus on creating a fantastic brand experience.

Driving Growth
CEOs must take an active role in driving customer growth whether or not they have an interest in marketing.
It’s important to stay aggressive and take all slack out of the market.

Business building
Fast growing businesses are difficult to manage. This is the point where you should bring in some experienced operations people if they aren’t already on the team.

1. Determine Market fit
1.1 Create a free or beta program of your product - get at least 30 users for feedback
use http://www.survey.io to assess at least 40% of users saying they would be “very disappointed” without your product.
x BAD response? engage existing and target users to learn how to make your product a “must have.”

2. Promise: Highlight the benefits described by your “must have” users (those that say they would be very disappointed without your product).
3. Economics: Implement the business model that allows you to profitably acquire the most users.
4. Optimize: Streamline a repeatable, scalable customer acquisition process by testing multiple approaches and tracking to improve the right metrics.

11am meditations

2010-01-19T01:15:00.002+01:00

To truly have 100% focus you need to take care of or eliminate if possible, the distractions.

What is your underlying fear that you are not aware of that prevents you from taking action?

- experience with coasters.com.au > great product > great service > good seo yet no substantial sales? what is missing? marketing, sales tatics, business/marketing relationships with the right people

- no sales yet of new servicing offering - need to review pricing, try ozbargain

Criterias for successful collaborations?

What do they have at stake?

If they can't get it done, what have they got to lose? their livelihood? children, family, house, food
What environment are they working under?
Have they undergone hardship and understand the true nature of having nothing?
What are you learning from them, is there a pushback on your efforts?

1. print the digital art
2. send out portograph for vendors

what do you care about?

2010-01-13T01:55:00.005+01:00

notes to thyself...
So I got upset about something this morning, and as a result felt agitated, had a rush of emotions and continued onwards with my 11am meditations.

Increasely distracted by the influx of information data - I have been slightly addicted to the need for constant data feed. Which results in a lot of knowledge floating around in my mind. Which in turns contributes to decision paralysis, inaction and procrastination.

Having too much to think about is a bad thing, as business requires quick instincts from a constantly faster changing environment.

I care about what other people think about me, my efforts sometimes a bit too much. I care about making things work, creating beautiful things that I would happily look back with a smile.

I care about the suffering that goes on around the world, my social network, my family.

Change the story, change the emotions.

Awareness
Acceptance or Action
Change

Dance, Dance, Dance

2010-01-11T23:47:00.003+01:00

To learn how to dance. You have to learn the steps before you can have fun with it.

role models

2009-12-17T01:00:00.002+01:00

Why is it these days we worship performers rather than people who better the world through action? The real Heroes.

Is it we have no time for each other, or that the main medium of consumption for the mind is filled with crap. It's probably most easy to satisfy our need for instant gratification sitting on the comfort of the couch, rather than undergo through the efforts in changing the messiness and the ugliness of most interactions.

How do you shift the attention to thinking of the needs of others?
In the age of self-centred consumption - does family get you there - is being a parent make you focus off from the TV, Internet, devices and all the distractions the age of abundance has given us?

art of travel

2009-11-09T18:59:00.003+01:00

“the normal is the rarest thing in the world,” and when he was traveling he spent little time looking at the sights, but went off instead “on the search for emotion,”

“A novelist must preserve a child-like belief in the importance of things which common sense considers of no great consequence,” he wrote late in life. “He must never entirely grow up.”

I want to see life and death, and the passions, the virtues and vices, of men face to face, uncovered.”

“What is the use of hurrying to pile up money when one can live on so little?”

Somerset Maugham via http://www.worldhum.com/features/travel-books/the-perfect-traveler-20091026/

determination

2009-11-09T04:14:00.001+01:00

"So here in sum is how determination seems to work: it consists of willfulness balanced with discipline, aimed by ambition."

from the blog of Paul Graham http://www.paulgraham.com/determination.html

Room for rights?

2009-11-07T20:10:00.003+01:00

An individualistic society equals more room for depression?
When you have to look after the needs of more than a billion people is there room for rights?
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4867151,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf

art of hiring future stars

2009-10-27T20:11:00.002+01:00

Excellent article from Harvard Business
http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/cs/2009/01/the_interview_question_you_sho.html

Main points:

Ask the correct question - What do you do in your spare time?
"Obsessions are one of the greatest telltale signs of success. Understand a person's obsessions and you will understand her natural motivation. The thing for which she would walk to the end of the earth."
With different occupations narrow down to 2 or 3 spare time activities which are most important

art of marketing hustle

2009-10-07T14:16:00.003+02:00

"The art of hustle is being willing to set everything aside to get what you need and want. It is about doing what it takes in the moment to achieve what you need to move forward. It is about taking action again and again and getting better at it. It is about implementing and profiting."

"When you need to make things happen hustle is the key to success, do what needs to be done, put your pride aside and get to work. There is no failure except in doing nothing."

"Success is a series of actions that you take even when you don't feel like it and don't want to, it is not something that happens by buying a box of anything."

"Practice fearsome focus, work hard, do what others don't want to do, follow through, leverage your time and your money, keep what you earn and make it grow, take some time out for yourself now"

http://boldapproach.typepad.com/bold/

coaster canvas

2009-10-06T00:07:00.007+02:00

new samples of the commerative 100 years of Audi - well done to the company for pushing the levels of high design.

on friendship

2009-10-01T04:25:00.003+02:00

" Direct contact is the basis of a true relationship. Writing a letter, picking up a phone, hey - even meeting in person. The positive action that provokes a response is the bricks and mortar of a real relationship. "
Chad Taylor

on choice
The Paradox of choice - options make us miserable? does more choice achieve better results?
" to be rendered choiceless is to be free.."
Sarah Wilson

consulation for restless soul

2009-09-22T00:52:00.003+02:00

Travel reminds us not to get annoyed at the little things, to realise that we don't need to carry around so many material things to enjoy the excitements that life has to offer.

It allows us to be braver towards other people, to gain confidence in ourselves to overcome that initial fear or invisible barrier that we put up between ourselves and people.

In an age where we continually push ourselves to be better and compare ourselves to the images of perfection, sometimes what's broken is authentic and enjoyable.

Design is pervasive

2009-09-20T06:18:00.002+02:00

Cooper's mantra was that good design is good design, regardless of the medium, a position Strausfeld has shared with her current colleagues.

http://www.fastcompany.com/design/2009/featured-story-lisa-strausfeld?partner=mod

Daily distractions

2009-09-03T10:49:00.001+02:00

Thought for the day

There are so many things that you will come across daily that will stop you focussing on the important things....empty the noise.

MIBAZAAR: Your Latest Twitter Status on Google Maps

2009-08-18T13:15:00.000+02:00

cool way of combining googlemaps and tweets
MIBAZAAR: Your Latest Twitter Status on Google Maps: "
View Larger Map"

Attention seeker, emotional seeker

2006-05-14T03:09:00.000+02:00

* http://www.businessweek.com

Enter Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the eccentric ad shop in Miami that's known for using viral marketing and creating nutty characters like the Subservient Chicken for Burger King Holdings Inc.'s ailing franchises.

It famously helped solve Burger King's irrelevancy problem, especially with consumers aged 14-25, with the Subservient Chicken Web site, where a visitor could make a chicken do almost anything on command -- dust furniture or play air guitar.

That simple, inexpensive, wacky idea has generated a staggering 460 million-plus hits in two years and helped Burger King post its first string of positive growth quarters in a decade. The agency's relaunch of the MINI brand helped the unit of BMW surpass sales targets by 80%. Crispin's success has fueled growth in its own staff from 105 in 2000 to 438. As it transforms marketing messages into entertainment time and again, "the agency has been redefining what consumers even recognize as advertising," says rival and admirer Jeff Goodby, co-chairman of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco.

Crispin's employee handbook says advertising is "anything that makes our clients famous."

German-accented, dominatrix-type blonde bombshell named Helga. She appears in ads with an effete German engineer named Wolfgang, whose message to introduce the GTI hatchback is "Unpimp Your Auto," a swipe at the over-accessorized, high-performance small Japanese cars often dubbed "rice rockets." Billboards for the GTI read "Auf Wiedersehen, sucka" and "Fast as Schnell."

Helga and Wolfgang, says Hicks, are an example of taking an audience to a place they didn't know they wanted to go. "A lot of advertisers try and mirror what the research tells them. What we do is try and make the brand part of the pop culture."

"Cups, beer labels, door handles are all places to make a worthwhile brand statement, not necessarily an ad," says Jim Poh, Crispin's director of creative content distribution.

Book summary - Made To Stick

2009-08-03T14:58:00.003+02:00

Made to Stick
by Chip and Dan Heath

One of the best books that I have read recently on the art of communicating, whether it be in
teaching, marketing or for a presentation or pitch.

http://www.madetostick.com/excerpts

SUCCESs
Simple
Unexpected
Concrete
Credible
Emotion
Story'
s
- a checklist designed to be a tool for normal people in normal situations to make a profound difference with their sticky ideas.

Book can be purchased at the book depository with free worldwide shipping.

Chasing up clients for late payments

2009-07-06T05:13:00.003+02:00

Some really useful info and guidelines for current economic climate:

https://mybrc.com.au/Money-Legal/Managing-Money/Business-Finances/Pages/Five_Essentials_Invoicing.aspx

source:Debt collection guideline for collectors and creditors: joint publication by ACCC and ASIC

Full guide here

21. Legal action and procedures
[a] This section should be read in conjunction with part 2, sections 19 and 20 of
this guideline.
[b] Creditors and their agents have a right to pursue debts through the courts.
However, in pursuing or threatening to pursue legal action you must comply
with the consumer protection laws.
[c] Do not make misrepresentations about the legal process. For instance, do not:
• misrepresent the nature or purpose of correspondence. Ensure the layout,
wording and design of documents (for example, letters of demand) are not
likely to create the impression that they are court process or other court
documents, or that they come from a solicitor’s ofﬁ ce, when this is not
the case73
• suggest that telephone calls are recorded ‘for training purposes’ (and, by
implication, only for such purposes) when those calls may also be used
as evidence
72 See Ofﬁ ce of the Privacy Commissioner website at: ww.privacy.gov.au/publications/.
73 See also s. 26(2)(a),(c),(f)(g) Fair Trading Act 1992 (ACT); s. 21(2)(a),(b),(c)(f) 2 Fair Trading Act 1999 (Vic.); and 9
s. 43(2)(c) Fair Trading Act 1987 (SA). These provisions relate speciﬁ cally to misrepresentation regarding 7
documents, court process etc.

• misrepresent that failure to pay a debt (where no fraud is involved) is a criminal
or police matter, or is likely to be referred to the police74
• misrepresent that you are a police ofﬁ cer, court ofﬁ cial, or have some ofﬁ cial
capacity that you do not have to claim or enforce payment of a debt
75
• state or imply that unsecured basic household items can be seized if the debtor
is made bankrupt
76
• state or imply that you have instructions to start legal proceedings when this is
not intended, or you have received no such instructions
• state or imply that legal action has already been taken, or judgment entered,
when this is not case.
d] In certain circumstances the way legal action is threatened or employed can
amount to unconscionable conduct or harassment. For instance, this may be the
case if you start or escalate court action against a debtor when you have agreed
not to, or when a payment arrangement is in place and is being complied with.
e] When you know or can reasonably obtain the debtor’s current address, we
recommend that you issue debt recovery proceedings in the jurisdiction where the
debtor lives.
77
In some circumstances, limiting a debtor’s ability to contest court
proceedings by starting those proceedings in an inconvenient jurisdiction may
constitute, or be part of a course of conduct constituting unconscionable conduct.

assertiveness - Dale Carnegie

2009-07-06T03:57:00.003+02:00

1. Describe and summarise the facts of the situation
2. Express your thoughts and feelings
3. Clearly state your wants and needs (and hopefully include the benefits to the other party)

Vietnam - back to the beginning

2009-06-30T07:13:00.003+02:00

street peddler taking a rest in streets of Vietnam

Just some of my thoughts upon returning to my place of birth after over two decades. I personally feel a sense of empathy when I witness how people survive the day, whether it be a woman in her 60's carrying 20kgs in the heat of the day or a cyclo peddler sweating with perspiration during the same time. Life still is hard for the many in this developing country, and I was struck by how safe I felt, there was hardly any beggars on the streets as I saw in Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangkok.
People here seem to give anything a go, they are really resourceful with the little that they have, some things are slow, unplanned, unstructured and there are opportunists everywhere.

I had a great 3 weeks travelling through the country with my friends, discovering the coast of Vietnam in Hue, Da Nang and Ho An (was one our favourite places due to the rustic architecture and shops). My top 3 foods were the mini banh xeo (off the street-Saigon) Fruit-fed suckling half wild pig (Tay Ninh farm) and the Hue specialty - lotus shoot salad (Hanoi)

Social media - Entrepreneurship forum

2009-05-25T02:11:00.004+02:00

The 3 lines you can base your business relationships from:

This is what I can do.
This is what I can't do.
This is what I won't do.

Customer service
- give customers individual attention
- have convenient operating hours
- give customers personal attention

Maintaining contact with the customer after sale is more powerful than advertising

Referrals are based on 90% relationship
Power of networking, "who do you know in this room to get you where you need to go?"

Trends
- more CRM (automated)
- less choice
- loyalty is a novelty (jump without thought)
- customers are far more knowledgeable

Notes from presentation by Heath Kilger www.footytips.com.au

business background
+ 20 million page hits
+ cold calling via phone by asking for the right person who organised the footy tipping within business
+ fortunate to be around when Victorian Labour govt came into power delivering on a political promise of national footy tipping competition

- cashflow issues
+ creditbility: bought by Tattersalls
+ sites licencing backend software from www.footytips.com.au
started in 1998
+++ media assets worth much more than software assets
FOCUS on goals of business

Social media
+ genuine engagement
+ ebay and amazon as social networking
+ sharing information (reviews)

Moving meditations - Relationships

2009-05-15T00:40:00.007+02:00

How real are the relationships around you? In the advent of access to unlimited access to possibilities, which ones affects you the most?
Have you given up the hardest ones?
Would you rather enjoy the passive ones that elicit tears without the actual experience of undergoing the pain?
The excitement on an imaginary character's face when they sate their curiosity?
Our attention and ultimately, our efforts in this world is increasingly being divided into multiple slices. Without properly attending to, or being very disciplined in our natural tenancies, we will indeed become "slaves to the machine".

The machine being whatever we choose to spend our most energies investing into - your iphone, your TV, your virtual world.

Wonder what the behaviours of the next generation will be like:
"rather be somewhere else?"
"I read enough about you already to bother trying to engage you?"
"it is quite a privilege for us to be having a real conversation, as it has been determined that our psychometrics match nicely"

So where is your emotional attachement? and does it help you grow, can it be nutured and is it like a living thing?