"But one that seems remarkable about Jobs is that he's really, really good at a great majority of important things. He might not be the best at any one skill he has, but he's among the best in a huge variety of skills.
So I asked, then, what do Jobs and Jefferson and da Vinci have in common? And then one of my favorite quotes hits me. "Real artists ship."—Steve Jobs Could it be that the difference between a generalist and a dabbler is just saying "this is as done as it's going to be" and shipping the work? I think maybe yes. If you look at a Jefferson, da Vinci, Jobs—they shipped. A lot. I think the dabbler moves on when he's 95% complete, so he never gets the completion, satisfaction, and feedback from completing a work. Also, by completing a work in a field, you gain some renown and prestige, which makes it easier to get in touch with other successful people, which speeds your learning curve. The dabbler moves on when things get tough. The generalist keeps going until he puts enough work out that he feels complete in a particular field, and then, and only then, is he on to the next thing. Both of these outcomes only emerged from action—I had this vague thought that maybe I wanted to be a painter, but I was never really excited about it until I did it, and then I saw a couple sparks of inspiration and passion starting to grow. Do you know what I think the difference is between a generalist and a dabbler? Shipping. Completing and delivering things. There was only 40-some subscribers the first edition that went out, but it's grown steadily since then up to 219 now. Also, only two unsubscribes total across the whole time—I think that's pretty phenomenal, less than 1% of the people who signed up canceled … so that's going well. The key thing that ties everything all together is to produce and ship things while you have a current interest. If you get into a new kind of music, write up your thoughts and first impressions on it—either on a blog, or even just Amazon reviews. The mindset shift from being a consumer to being a producer is huge, even if what you produce doesn't see all that much use at first. But more and more, I'm looking to build/produce/ship things when I have a passing interest. But if you have a sincere interest, then why not try to write an analysis or critique or user guide or quick-start manual or observations or … something? Producing, shipping … it's cool. I think it's basically the way for people whose interests jump around to achieve lots of good stuff in the world." Ikigai by Sebastian Marshall The great myth of “networking” is that you start reaching out to others only when you need something like a job. In reality, people who have the largest circle of contacts, mentors, and friends know that you must reach out to others long before you need anything at all.
My advice was to start finding future clients today. Had he thought about what kind of industry he wanted to specialize in? Had he thought about where the top people in that industry hang out? Once he could answer those questions, the next step was to go hang with this new circle of people. “The most important thing is to get to know these people as friends, not potential customers,” I said. “Though you’re right about one thing: No matter how friendly you are, if the people you approach are any good at what they do, they won’t hire you right off the bat to do their PR. Which is why you should offer your services for free—at least at first. For instance, maybe you can volunteer your time to a nonprofit organization they’re involved in, or aid in publicizing a school fundraiser their kids are involved in.” “But won’t my employer be angry at my expending so much energy on other things?” George asked. “Doing good work for your employer comes first,” I told him. “Finding time to manage your outside work is your responsibility. Concentrate on an industry that your present employer doesn’t service. Remember, if you haven’t done the necessary legwork on the day you decide to open your own business, you’ll be back at your old job in no time flat.” Too often, we get caught up efficiently doing ineffective things, focusing solely on the work that will get us through the day. The idea isn’t to find oneself another environment tomorrow—be it a new job or a new economy—but to be constantly creating the environment and community you want for yourself, no matter what may occur. Right now, there are countless ways you can begin to create the kind of community that can help further your career. You can: (1) create a company-approved project that will force you to learn new skills and introduce you to new people within your company; (2) take on leadership positions in the hobbies and outside organizations that interest you; (3) join your local alumni club and spend time with people who are doing the jobs you’d like to be doing; (4) enroll in a class at a community college on a subject that relates to either the job you’re doing now or a job you see yourself doing in the future. All of these suggestions will help you meet new people. And the law of probability ensures that the more new people you know, the more opportunities will come your way and the more help you’ll get at critical junctures in your career. The big hurdles of networking revolve around the cold calls, meeting of new people, and all the activities that involve engaging the unknown. But the first step has nothing to do with strangers; you should start connecting with the people you do know. Focus on your immediate network: friends of friends, old acquaintances from school, and family. I suspect you’ve never asked your cousins, brothers, or brothers-in-law if they know anyone that they could introduce you to to help fulfill your goals. Everyone from your family to your mailman is a portal to an entirely new set of folks. So don’t wait until you’re out of a job, or on your own, to begin reaching out to others. You’ve got to create a community of colleagues and friends before you need it. Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi, Tahl Raz I would argue that your relationships with others are your finest, most credible expression of who you are and what you have to offer. Nothing else compares. - Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi, Tahl Raz
Why do your personal networks matter? Why does who know matter? It isn't about what they can do for you, it is about what you can do for them, so you can work with them, learn what they know, learn from their mistakes and their wins. It is all about knowledge and skills. It is often said, and I believe it, that you are the average of those you know. If you want to get better, you need to upgrade those you know and learn from those people around you that you can. You want to get better at sports, you play against people who can play better than you as much as you can. You want to learn chess, you don't play people worse than you at chess, you play those people that are better than you at the game. If you want to be a chess master, you play chess with masters. You want to be a great entrepreneur, you compete, you talk to, you work for and with the best business people you can find. Being an entrepreneur is all about taking the opportunity when it comes, and the more opportunity you can get coming your way the better the odds one of them will work and that you will succeed. D "In 1968, when William Jefferson Clinton was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, he met a graduate student named Jeffrey Stamps at a party. Clinton promptly pulled out a black address book. “What are you doing here at Oxford, Jeff?” he asked. “I’m at Pembroke on a Fulbright,” Jeff replied. Clinton penned “Pembroke” into his book, then asked about Stamps’s undergraduate school and his major. “Bill, why are you writing this down?” asked Stamps. “I’m going into politics and plan to run for governor of Arkansas, and I’m keeping track of everyone I meet,” said Clinton. That story, recounted by Stamps, epitomizes Bill Clinton’s forthright approach to reaching out and including others in his mission. He knew, even then, that he wanted to run for office, and his sense of purpose emboldened his efforts with both passion and sincerity. In fact, as an undergraduate at Georgetown, the forty-second president made it a nightly habit to record, on index cards, the names and vital information of every person whom he’d met that day. (Bold Mine. D)
From Clinton, two lessons are clear: First, the more specific you are about where you want to go in life, the easier it becomes to develop a networking strategy to get there. Second, be sensitive to making a real connection in your interactions with others. There is almost an expectation among us that whoever becomes rich or powerful can be forgiven for high-handed behavior. Clinton illustrates how charming and popular you can become, and remain, when you treat everyone you meet with sincerity. Until you become as willing to ask for help as you are to give it, however, you are only working half the equation. My point is this: Relationships are solidified by trust. Institutions are built on it. You gain trust by asking not what people can do for you, to paraphrase an earlier Kennedy, but what you can do for others. In other words, the currency of real networking is not greed but generosity. From my earliest days growing up in Latrobe, I found myself absorbing wisdom and advice from every source imaginable—friends, books, neighbors, teachers, family. My thirst to reach out was almost unquenchable. But in business, I found nothing came close to the impact of mentors. At every stage in my career, I sought out the most successful people around me and asked for their help and guidance. I would argue that your relationships with others are your finest, most credible expression of who you are and what you have to offer. Nothing else compares." Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi, Tahl Raz What is Ramen Profitable?
Ramen Profitable is a phrase used in startups to determine when you are cash positive. You making some money, not much, but some. The goal with ramen profitable is make enough money that you can survive, you may have to eat instant ramen every night, but you make it. Getting to this point is important. Positive cash flow is good, it is the point of the whole project. Making money is what allows you to continue, to grow, making money gives you opportunities. We are starting our businesses to make money, build our skill set, and increase our network. You do that and you are far ahead of the rest of the pack. Most people never start. Many only dabble or merely try with no goal or idea of why you do it. If you do this, and you increase the number of people in your network, and you learn more and know how to learn, and you make money doing it, you just became an entrepreneur. D Who knows which user will catapult you into a business that gets 35 million unique visitors a month10/1/2012
I would argue that your relationships with others are your finest, most credible expression of who you are and what you have to offer. Nothing else compares. -
Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi, Tahl Raz When you get your first users for your product, readers for your blog, treat them well, because these wonderful people will make or break your product. Somewhere in this first hundred, there will be only a handful of people who are actually going to drive your product, and you cannot afford to alienate any of them. Yoiu need to take care of them, learn from them. Who knows which user will be the one that drives your website, the one who catapults you into a business that gets 35 million unique visitors a month? If someone is going to take the time to write you one week after you’ve launched something, then you had better respond to them as quickly as possible, because that’s a potential power user, someone who saw something in your website and cared enough to write an email to some random person they’ve never met and tell them how they think your website could be better. You need to treat these people like gold, because that is exactly what they are. And you need to make sure they know it, too. D ?Disciplined dreamers all have one thing in common: a mission. The mission is often risky, unconventional, and most likely tough as hell to achieve. But it is possible. The kind of discipline that turns a dream into a mission, and a mission into a reality, really just comes down to a process of setting goals.
Turning a mission into a reality does not “just happen.” It is built like any work of art or commerce, from the ground up. First, it must be imagined. Then, one needs to gather the skills, tools, and materials needed. It takes time. It requires thought, determination, persistence, and faith. The tool I use is something I call the Networking Action Plan. The Plan is separated into three distinct parts: The first part is devoted to the development of the goals that will help you fulfill your mission. The second part is devoted to connecting those goals to the people, places, and things that will help you get the job done. And the third part helps you determine the best way to reach out to the people who will help you to accomplish your goals. It’s a bare-bones, straightforward worksheet, In the first section, I list what I’d like to accomplish three years from today. I then work backward in both one-year and three-month increments to develop mid- and short-term goals that will help me reach my mission. Under each time frame, I create an “A” and a “B” goal that will meaningfully contribute to where I want to be three years from now. (Example of the Plan)............So she set about filling out the worksheet. Her “A” goal three years forward was to be a teacher. Her three-year “B” goal was to be a teacher in a well-respected district located in a place she wanted to live. Then she filled in his short-term A and B goals. In ninety days, she wanted to be well on her way toward becoming certified as a high school teacher, enrolling in some type of program that would help professionals transition into the field of education. In a year, she wanted to be teaching full-time; she made a list of some of the best high schools in Manhattan that she might enjoy working at. In the second part of the Plan, broken up in similar time increments, she had to name one or two people for each A and B goal who she thought could get her one step closer to making her goal a reality. Within a couple of weeks, Jamie was on her way. She started to see the symbiotic relationship between goal setting and reaching out to the people who can help us achieve those goals. The more she accomplished, the bigger her teaching network grew. The bigger her teaching network grew, the closer she came to accomplishing her three-year goals. This process can be used by almost anyone, whatever your career. After completing the worksheet, you’ll have a mission. You’ll have the name of a flesh-and-blood person who can help you take the next step in achieving that mission. And you’ll have one, or perhaps several, ways to reach out to that person. The purpose of this exercise is to show that there is a process, a system if you will, involved in building a network. It’s not magical; it’s not reserved for a select few born with an inherent gift for being social. Connecting with others really just involves having a predetermined plan and carrying it out, whether you want to be a ninth-grade history teacher or start your own business. Your goals must be specific. Vague, sweeping goals are too broad to be acted upon. They must be concrete and detailed. Know what steps you’ll take to achieve your goal, the date by which it will be accomplished, and the measurement you’ll use to gauge whether you’ve achieved the goal or not. Your goals must be challenging and demanding. Step out of your comfort zone; set goals that require risk and uncertainty. And when you achieve your goal, set another one." Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi, Tahl Raz Reed's Law: "The Value of a Network Increases Dramatically When People Form Subgroups for Collaborations and Sharing"
Networks: why do networks matter? It is often said, and I believe it, that you are the average of those you know. If you want to get better, you need to upgrade those you know. You want to get better at sports, you donít play people worse than you at chess, you play those people that are better than you at the game. If you want to be a chess master, you play chess masters. Being and entrepreneur is all about taking opportunity when it comes, and the more opportunity you can get coming your way the better the odds one of them will work and you will succeed. Metcalfe noticed that the value of a network is proportional to the square of the number of users of the system. Two people with telephones can only make one connection. Five telephones can make 10 connections, and twelve telephones can make 66 connections. This is the network effect: The value of a network is proportional to n2, where n is the number of users. Your network is one of the most important assets you have, and like Reed's Law, the value of your network dramatically increases as you collaborate and share. Social networks matter. Social sells. Making money involves other people, and other people involved means that making money is social. There are three different types of networks: one-to-many (like TV and radio networks), one-to-one (transactional networks such as emails and instant messaging), and a group-forming network (many-to-many) Value your network. Expand it, and most importantly respect it and support and defend it. Use social media, use the phone, meet people on the street, meet people networking, Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, crawl, run, walk, and cold call, but meet people. You need people to make money, and you make money by solving their problems.To solve their problems you have to know their problems. To know their problems, you have to know them. Your network becomes more valuable the more connections it has. D Your world is a place of constant interconnecting streams of transactions. A infinite amount of possibility and opportunity surrounds you.
Your business can be anything you create, if you work at it, and you think and experiment, because of this work, the business and you grow. Look at all the things you own, your computer, your book, your TV, your clothes, and know that is is all connected and all the result of transactions. Some yours, some other peoples. All of it is connected. Everywhere and everyone and everything is connected. This is a very important concept, because if you can see the transactions around you thrn it means that you can also see the opportunity. I am sitting on a plane when I write this on my phone, looking at all the connections around me. My phone is full of apps that I bought, full of music that I listen to (Cat Power - Sun) and while I listen, I watch people drink sodas put on board as a incentive to buy them again off the plane and each is a promotional roll out by the soft drink manufacturers. We eat peanuts that given for the same reason. Thank you California Growers. I am flying Southwest and I have read books about the company, and their structure. I have taken some of their ideas and made them my own. Their web site linked me to the rental car place, each side benefiting from the connection. At the car place (Avis) I learned all about bad customer service and what not to do. I am reading the $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau on my Kindle. the book written as Chris traveled the world, probably edited in Portland. The Kindle, thank you China. Drill down further. I used to manage a plant that made the cleaners for the seats and surfaces of aircraft. I helped produce the materials to see cracks in plane parts under black lights. I have made inks that are made to print the newspapers next to me. Everything is treated, created, and made. Each of those steps is a transaction. These are opportunities. The clothes we wearing are from around the globe, different countries, different carriers or freight companies, different retailers with unique styles or brands. Some imported, some exported. The supply chains built by companies today are amazing and they exist for every imaginable product. Every single thing around uou is the result of a transaction. Start looking a little closer. D Here are 6 Reasons Why You Should Raise Your Prices Immediately;
1. You are long overdue. When was the last time you raised your prices? It probably has been a long time since you have raised prices, and everywhere you go you are now paying more for gas, groceries, everything. What was the price per gallon for gas the last time you raised prices? Have you kept pace? 2. Raising Prices increases your confidence. People always undervalue themselves and then by extension their products or services. Raising prices and seeing what the market values you at and not what you value you at really increases your confidence as an entrepreneur. Don’t be a bottom feeder. Best customer surveys say; That the customer thinks that you have great quality, great customer service, great technology, but high price, and that is a great survey response. The customer is telling you why he buys from you and why they know your higher price is worth it. 3. Raising Prices gives your product added value. Do I want to learn marketing from a person charging me for a $9.99 eBook and I try and figure it all out, or would I prefer someone charging me $2,000 to get me all set. Price sets expectation. 4. Raising prices allows you to get more profit. That is why you are in business, right? Seriously, this why you are here, right, this is why you sell. Enough said. 5. If you raise Prices you make more margin, which is more money. With more money, you can work less and still make the same amount of money. Maybe money isn’t the end all be all, but having time is crucial. It is how you build, reinvest, grow, and live. I can get more product, ideas, make more money, hire more people, but time is finite. You cannot get more. Use it. 6. The final reason to Raise Prices: Raising prices is scary and very hard work, but the fact that raising prices is scary is the very reason why you should raise your price; How will you know what your business can do or what will work if you don’t try. So try. If it doesn’t work, just go back. Growing a business is all about experimenting. Go experiment. D PS: If you have decided to raise your prices, I will soon show you how. There is an art. D |
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Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” |