Archive for the 'Success' category

No More Angling for the Best Seat; More Meetings Are Stand-Up Jobs

Feb 02 2012 Published by under Goals, Motivation, Success

No More Angling for the Best Seat; More Meetings Are Stand-Up Jobs – WSJ.com.

I’m all for standing during meetings and throughout the day; I stand almost always during calls. However, I think we would all be more productive if we had less meetings. Cut meetings and conference calls in half. Most do not amount to nothing but wasted time and tangental conversations.

If you do have a meeting keep it short and end at the stated time. Do not go over. Start on time, even if people are late. And when the stragglers phone or stroll in, do not recap anything that was said prior. Nothing pisses me off more than having to hear a recap because someone was late.

Ok, got that off my chest!

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Innovate Without Mercy Is the Lesson of RIM’s BlackBerry: View – Bloomberg

Jan 26 2012 Published by under Goals, Motivation, Success

Innovate Without Mercy Is the Lesson of RIM’s BlackBerry: View – Bloomberg.

The biggest takeaway from this: you must be your biggest competitor. Don’t rest on your laurels. Don’t get comfortable.

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Clay Shirky: Sopa and Pipa would create a consumption-only internet | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Jan 19 2012 Published by under Goals, Leisure, Motivation, Success

Clay Shirky: Sopa and Pipa would create a consumption-only internet | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk.

Shirky writes that this upcoming SOPA and PIPA bills would create a consumption-only internet, leaving the large, politically-protected media firms as the sole providers of content, just like the the good old days when publishing nearly any form of content was prohibitively expensive.

The internet made everyone a publisher; everyone a content creator. The cat’s been out of the bag for 15 years. It just gets easier every year with better and cheaper tools. Look at the recently released iBooks Author app from Apple. This free app lets anyone easily create a book and sell it on iTunes. Amazon and Barnes and Noble make it relatively easy and cheap–read free–to publish eBooks on the Kindle and Nook. I know because I’ve done it many times. You can even publish your own softcover book through CreateSpace for a nominal fee (the cost of shipping a proof of your book is the only charge.) Anyone with a Mac, Garageband, a mic and an instrument can make music that would have cost tens of thousands in equipment and studio time not too long ago. Movies are still expensive but the price has come down considerably over the years. Just think, the iPhone 4s can shoot video in 1080p resolution! You could make a movie with that and a Mac running iMovie for editing. It’s been done countless times.

The point is, the media companies are desperate to protect their aging, declining business models. They say it’s about piracy, but it’s not. They are using political means to protect their business. Media companies are zombies, being kept alive by their friends in Congress.

We still go to the movies, we still buy books and movies, and we still watch TV shows. We have far more choices now beyond the large media companies, and we want to consume our content on any device we own. The days of sitting in front of the tube at 8pm to watch sitcoms is long gone. We create, we consume and there’s nothing the media companies or Congress can do about it. They can censor what we do on the web, but we’ll find another way. There’s always another way.

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Iran squeezes Web surfers, prepares censored national intranet | InSecurity Complex – CNET News

Jan 07 2012 Published by under Leisure, Motivation, Success

Iran squeezes Web surfers, prepares censored national intranet | InSecurity Complex – CNET News.

You know there are quite a few people in D.C. clamoring for something like this here. Don’t think it can’t happen.

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Barnes & Noble Considers Spinning Off Its Nook Unit – NYTimes.com

Jan 05 2012 Published by under Finance, Success

Barnes & Noble Considers Spinning Off Its Nook Unit – NYTimes.com.

It’s fascinating to watch what is happening with the large booksellers, make that the large–singular–bookseller. Borders couldn’t compete and shut their doors. Barnes and Noble is increasingly selling less and less physical books and more Nooks, toys, games, and stationary products. Now Barnes and Noble is considering spinning off the Nook business.

The question now is can Barnes and Noble continue to operate its flagship stores and still be profitable? The Nook business, while selling briskly and taking away market share from Amazon’s Kindle, is still not profitable. The option of spinning off the Nook would allow more time for it to become profitable as shareholders in the parent company are not that patient. They should be, but quarterly results trump long-term growth and profitability.

I don’t think the stores will last. I don’t know how long but it won’t last. Barnes and Noble have closed stores in the past due to rising rents, so it’s not out of the question if a larger number of stores close over the next few years.

I use Barnes and Noble as a shopping guide for new books, and to grab a tasty caffeinated beverage and pastry. I find a book, then buy it with my Nook app on my iPad. No waiting in line, and no paying full retail. Even after my 20-40% discount for being a Barnes and Noble loyalty member, it’s still cheaper to buy the Nook version. It’s worth it just to not have to stand in line, or pay sales tax.

I want the Nook to succeed and provide more competition to Amazon and Apple. However, they need to make the Nook tablet a full-blown Android tablet and not hobble it with a restrictive interface.

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Tying iWork ’12 To The iBookstore And EPUB

Jan 04 2012 Published by under Goals, Motivation, Success

Tying iWork ’12 To The iBookstore And EPUB | Apple Bitch.

If Apple holds its event this month in New York and the rumors are true, then I’m excited. As a writer and publisher, I’m always looking for tools to make it easier to publish my work. I use iWork ’09 to write all of my eBooks and convert them to EPUB format. It’s relatively easy, but it’s not as elegant as it can be. iWork ’09 can convert documents to EPUB but cannot natively read them. I have to use a third-party EPUB reader, or move the file to my iPad to proof. I would like to see an iBooks application for Mac. If Kindle and Nook both have Mac apps, Apple should have one for iBooks.

iWork ’12 should see native support for EPUB and default templates in the Pages application. I also expect major revisions to Numbers and Keynote, with stronger compatibility with Microsoft Office. And I expect iWork.com, still in beta, to be integrated into Apple’s iCloud services.

Rumor has it Apple will also make it easy for unsigned authors to upload and sell books directly through iBooks, competing directly with Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Regardless, I’m looking forward to Apple’s announcement this month.

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Live Interactive Map of the Iowa Caucus

Jan 03 2012 Published by under Finance, Goals, Motivation, Success

http://www.google.com/elections/ed/us/results

Google has a nice interactive map of the Iowa Caucus. This is for entertainment value only. It won’t matter who wins. The race will be between Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Romney versus Obama. As much as it would tickle me pink to see Ron Paul win the nomination–just to stick it to the neocons–it will never happen. The Republican establishment will never let Ron Paul near the nomination. It’s been Romney from day one.

Rick Santorum could win Iowa tonight and he’ll have some momentum but Romney will easily win New Hampshire, then probably take South Carolina and Florida, thereby wrapping up the nomination by the end of the month.

Like I said, this is pure entertainment and nothing more.

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Are we on information overload? – Salon.com

Jan 02 2012 Published by under Goals, Motivation, Success

Are we on information overload? – Salon.com.

David Weinberger’s new book, “Too Big to Know,” has a different take on information overload in the digital age. He sees information as “networked facts” with a digital network. He believes, “we have entered a new golden age, one in which technology has finally caught up with humans’ endless curiosity, and one that has the potential to revolutionize a wide swath of occupations and research fields.”

I’ve been dealing with information overload for years. Everything is available online, all the time. Nothing is removed, only archived. We can only filter the information. Clay Shirky speaks of “filter failure” and or inability to cope with the onslaught of information. In the realm of physical media, filters were more apparent, i.e. book publishers, record labels, movie studios, television networks, etc. Those filters are still with us, but in the digital world, everything is available without a filter.

As part of my New Year’s goal of purging, simplifying and creating, I’m increasing the use of my own filters to staunch the flow of information. This will help me focus on only the information I need to create new products and services.

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Purge. Simplify. Create.

Jan 01 2012 Published by under Goals, Motivation, Success

“#1 Productivity Tip: Spend 10% of your time consuming and 90% of your time producing. Make more stuff. Watch less. Read less. Do.”-Scott Hanselman

2012 is here. Will it be the end of the world? Who knows? Who cares? Each new year brings new opportunities. It is seen as a fresh start. We all have our resolutions and we all fail most of them. That is human nature.

Will you succumb to another year of mediocrity? Another year of shattered dreams? Another year of excuses? Another year of complaining about your job, your relationship, your finances, your health…all of the above? Or will you rise above the masses and achieve something important to you? Will you change your life this year?

Motivation is always strong in the month of January. The trick is keeping your motivation going all year, through the ups and downs, the good times and bad. Your ongoing motivation and persistence will single-handedly ensure your success.

Three Words

Author and speaker Chris Brogan eschews the typically vague New Year’s resolutions in favor of three words. Three words will define your goals for 2012. My three words are “Purge”, “Simplify”, and “Create”.

Purge. This began late last year. My criteria is, if it doesn’t add value to my lifestyle, purge it. This opens up space in the house and office. Less clutter in your physical space, less clutter in your mind.

Simplify. Simplification goes hand-in-hand with purging. I’m consuming less physical items. I’m reducing the number of tools I use to create. I’m making what I have last longer and replacing it when it’s absolutely necessary. For example, we had our Nissan Sentra for 11 years. We maintained it regularly but the time had come where repairs were becoming too costly, so we bought a new Mini Cooper. Now we have another great car for 10+ years.

Create. This is the big one for me. 2011 saw me publish two e-books along with blogging, but my creative juices were not flowing as strong as I would like. I would come up with excuses. Creating felt like work. I’d rather read, watch a movie or watch sports. Not this year. I’m going to write more blog posts with more substance. I have five e-books projects in various stages, and I’m going to release new audio programs. Video blogging via my YouTube channel is on the very near horizon. This year will be my most creative yet.

Produce More. Consume Less.

The opening quote from Scott Hanselman is my motto for the year. I will spend 90% of my time creating and 10% consuming. I have enough books, audio programs, and video to consume for several years. I’ll read to keep up with world events, but I will no longer use reading, viewing, and listening as a crutch to avoid creating.

Bottom Line

The bottom line for all of this is to increase my income from writing, blogging, music and speaking to make this my full-time gig. With my laser focus on creating new products and marketing them, I know my goal is well within reach.

What is your bottom line? How will you make the most of every day of the new year?

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How the War on Terror Has Militarized the Police – The Atlantic

Jan 01 2012 Published by under Goals, Success

How the War on Terror Has Militarized the Police – Arthur Rizer & Joseph Hartman – National – The Atlantic.

We don’t need to repeal Posse Comitatus, local law enforcement are being militarized at breakneck speed, thanks to the bogus “War on Terror.” We are turning police officers into soldiers. From the article:

Americans should remain mindful bringing military-style training to domestic law enforcement has real consequences. When police officers are dressed like soldiers, armed like soldiers, and trained like soldiers, it’s not surprising that they are beginning to act like soldiers. And remember: a soldier’s main objective is to kill the enemy.

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