A-Z of New Year Resolutions for 2010
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 14 Dec 2009, 10:40 PM – 4 Comments
Photo Courtesy: LightSync on Flickr
Revisit your Ambition. This is a great time to do it. Revise it. Renew it. Ensure that it is inspiring. The litmus test for a good ambition: Check how you feel about yourself when you wake up every morning. That should give you a clue.
Breakaway from the common and popular unless you want to produce mediocre results. Common and popular by definition cannot succeed. You have to stand out from the crowd otherwise you will go wherever the crowd is going.
Care for the concerns of people that you care about. The people who you care about (apart from your family)should include your employer, your customers, partners and your extended network
[Please read: Care as if it’s your own ]
“Demand more from yourself than anybody else ever will.” You can act when someone asks you to act (external trigger) or you can act simply because you want to excel (internal trigger.) In the long run, internal triggers always work better. (Inspiration for this from Michael Jordan)
Engage fully with what you are doing. It is not worth doing anything half-heartedly. Even if it is fun, engage in it fully. You only have 365 days in a year. With weekends and holidays gone, you have close to 250 days. That’s about 6000 hours. With sleep and TV and rest, you get close to half of that available to you. That’s about 3000 hours. If you are not engaged in these 3000 hours, you can be guaranteed that you will be stressed out in whatever hours outside of those 3000 hours.
Fail fast. Fail often. Fail brilliantly. If you fear failure, you will stop taking risks and when you stop taking risks you will do what is common and popular (in other words risk-free). It is difficult to “stand out” of the crowd and distinguish yourself when you do something that the crowd is doing.
Give first. No more explanation required for this one.
Humility is an “invisible” competitive advantage. With the world changing at breathtaking speed, there is no guarantee that what worked yesterday will work today and what works today will work tomorrow. There is no reason to have more pride than required.
Intensity wins. Big time. Think about the time you were playing a game and were totally engrossed in it. Those were the moments of high-intensity. Winning was important but at that particular moment, you were just playing with high-intensity. That is the way the game of life is played. With high intensity. Increase your intensity by a notch or two in 2010.
Join a tribe. Join a movement. Join a team. Join something that will make help you make a bigger difference in this world. You can only do so much on your own. With the right tribe, the possibilities are endless.Take the first step to make something happen in 2010.
[ Please read: Mini Saga #11 – The Team]
Knowing what NOT to do is equally important as knowing what to do. Before the start of the year, think of a few things that are not worth continuing. Dis-engage from these activities gracefully so that you have more bandwidth to do things that do matter.
Love your work or change what you are working on. How much you love your work shows up in your work. Putting your heart into what you are doing is that “extra” that can make your work extraordinary.
Make meaning. Both for yourself and people who you touch. Everybody is in search for more meaning in their lives. Help them make more meaning and you will help yourself. [ Inspiration for this from Guy Kawasaki]
Nurture relationships for the long-term. There are only two kinds of relationships – one is long-term and the other one is very long term. Very long-term relationships won’t happen in the short-term (that will be an irony) or by accident. You need nurture those relationships.
Be on the lookout for opportunities to contribute. Opportunities are everywhere. They come to those people who are ready and willing to put in the effort to capitalize on them.
Passion on the right priorities with the right amount of patience will create profits. Practice this and you can’t fail.
[Please read: Do your daily work with passion ]
Question your questions. If the questions you are asking until now have not given the results so far, it is time to question those questions. It’s time to ask new and powerful questions.
[Please read: Ask the right questions ]
Results matter. More than anything else. However, good your reasons for not producing results, they still are reasons and they won’t help you get ahead in your life and business.
[ Please read: Know your escape velocity]
Capitalize on your strengths. AND, find good help to handle your weaknesses. You are at your best when you are operating on your strengths. Imagine, in the new year, you are spending 10% more of your time (in comparison to 2009) how much more could you achieve?
Thoughtfulness may not cost you much but people notice it. It shows that you care for them and they are important enough for you to walk that extra mile.
[Please read: Taking thoughtfulness to a whole new level ]
Understand first and then people would want to understand you. If you think someone is not able to understand you, think about the possibility that they might be thinking the same way about you (Inspiration from Stephen R. Covey)
Check your values. They are the foundation for whatever you say or do. The building is only as strong as the foundation and you are only as powerful as your values.
[ Please read: Know your values ]
Be in a mood of Wonder to ensure that you are always learning. You can’t know everything. Not now. Not in a decade and not in a lifetime. Be in a mood of wonder as a student of life.
What is your X-Factor? If you don’t know it, get help to identify it. If you don’t have it, make a plan to develop it. Your X-factor has to be something that will set you apart from the crowd in an area that is “highly relevant” to your target audience.
[ Please read: Discover your Niagara Factor ]
Yearning for more knowledge today will yield good results tomorrow. Jeffrey Pfeffer said, “in order to know your level of incompetence on a topic, you need to be reasonably competent on that topic.” Be hungry and get to know how much more you need to know.
Zap negative thinking. Zap laziness. Zap procrastination. Zap skepticism. Zap anything that will reduce your capacity or the capacity of others around you. It is simply not worth carrying the extra baggage.
If you are interested in a new year resolutions generator (blast from the past), see below:
Life Beyond Code: New Year Resolutions Generator
Have a fantastic year ahead!!
Posted in the Main Page category.
What Matters Now – Free eBook
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 14 Dec 2009, 2:01 AM – 19 Comments
“What Matters Now” is a free eBook that talks about.. well, what matters now. You can click on the image above (or the download button at the end of this blog post) to download the eBook
Note: The file is more than 3MB in size so please ensure that your bandwidth supports downloading the file of this size.
Why “What Matters Now” matters now?
This is an 82 page eBook with more than 70 contributors. Each one of them have provided one word (along with a short 200 word essay on that word) that they think matters now.
It is a Seth Godin idea brilliantly executed by Ishita Gupta, one of the members of Seth’s MBA (SAMBA) project.
I am delighted to be one of the contributors for this exciting project.
Contributors for “What Matters Now”
Here are the contributors for the eBook.
The Contributions
The words contributed by each contributor are listed below. You need to download the eBook to read the accompanying essays.
- Generosity by Seth Godin
- Fear by Anne Jackson
- Facts by Jessica Hagy
- Diginity by Jacqueline Novogratz
- Meaning by Hugh McLeod
- Ease by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray and Love)
- Connected by Howard Mann
- Re-Capitalism by Chris Meyer
- Vision by Michael Hyatt
- Enrichment by Rajesh Setty
- 1% by Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell
- Speaking by Mark Hurst
- ATOMS by Chris Anderson
- Excellence by Tom Peters
- Most by William C. Taylor
- Strengths by Marti Barletta
- Ripple by John Wood
- Unsustainability by Alan Webber
- Autonomy by Dan Pink
- Poker by Tony Hsieh
- Momentum by Dave Ramsey
- Consequence by Saul Griffith
- Power by Jeffrey Pfeffer
- Harmony by Jack Covert
- Tough-Mindedness by Steven Pressfield
- Evangelism by Guy Kawasaki
- Compassion by Mitch Joel
- Knowledge by Alisa Miller
- Parsing by Clay Johnson
- Forever by Piers Fawkes
- Empathy by Karen Armstrong
- Neoteny by Joi Ito
- Celebrate by Megan Casey
- DIY by Jay Parkinson
- Adventure by Robyn Waters
- Dumb by Dave Balter
- Nobody by Micah Sifry
- Analog by George Dyson
- Independent Diplomacy by Carne Ross
- THNX by Gary Vaynerchuk
- Attention by David Meerman Scott
- Context by Jeff Jonas
- Change by Chip and Dan Heath
- Passion by Derek Sivers
- Magnetize by Fred Krupp
- Confidence by Tim Sanders
- Slow Capital by Fred Wilson
- Open-Source DNA by Kevin Kelly
- Technology by Phoebe Espiritu
- Expertise by Aaron Wall
- Fascination by Sally Hogshead
- Difference by David Weinberger
- World Healers by Martha Beck
- Sacrifice by John Moore
- Focus by Todd Sattersten
- Leap by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Women by Paco Underhill
- Timeless by Mark Rovner
- .eDO by Dale Dougherty
- Productivity by Gina Trapani
- Iterative Capital by Michael Scharge
- Willpower by Ramit Sethi
- Mesh by Lisa Gansky
- Enough by Merlin Mann
- (Dis)Trust by Dan Ariely
- Social Skills by Penelope Trunk
- I’m Sorry by Jason Fried
- Sleep by Arianna Huffington
- Knowing by Dan Roam
- Government 2.0 by Tim O’Reilly
- You Can’t by Aimee Johnson
- Gumption by J.C. Hutchins
Download the eBook
You can download the eBook for FREE here.
What can you do with this eBook?
Here, you have an opportunity to see what do the 72 contributors think matters NOW. You can get a peek into their minds in a matter of minutes and at no cost.
Each essay is less than 200 words so there is no reason to skip any entry. Once you go through all of them, mark the ones that you think will make the most sense for you personally and for your business or career or both. Print those sheets so that you can review them multiple times over the next few weeks. Better yet, use the information on those sheets – meaning take some action at the first available opportunity. What you use you remember.
Second, there may be one or more people in your network that should read the book. Send them the eBook or a link to the eBook so that they get an opportunity to read this too.
Have a great week ahead.
Posted in the Announcement category.
Mini Saga #48 – Persuasion
By Rajesh Setty on Sun 13 Dec 2009, 4:43 PM – Leave Comment
Photo Courtesy: Waynemah on Flickr
Persuasion has many flavors
Enjoy the story:
Persuasion
Boris lacked confidence. He was clumsy too. Succumbing to a wave of sympathy, Roger bought the magazine subscription and gave Boris some free advice on how to sell. Boris thanked Roger and as soon as he stepped out, he called his wife and smilingly said, “Honey, the trick worked again!”
===
Note:
1. A mini saga is a story told in exactly 50 words. Not 49 or 51 but exactly 50.
2. You can download a photographic manifesto of Mini Sagas at ChangeThis. Here is the link – Mini Sagas: Bite-sized Wisdom for Life and Business (PDF, 2.9MB).
3. For a complete list of Mini Sagas, please see the entire list here or at Squidoo.
Posted in the Mini Saga category.
Winning in the Attention Economy
By Rajesh Setty on Fri 11 Dec 2009, 12:20 AM – 3 Comments
Attention is at a premium and the information (and non-information) overload is making it worse. Competition is global and things are getting commodotized at a rapid rate causing stress around the clock.
The rules have changed to get attention in this environment.
I think the way to get attention today is to “be” someone that is worthy of paying attention and to “produce and distribute” content that is worthy of paying attention.
How do you do that?
You start by first finding out how people respond to online content (read related article on Lateral Action on this topic: 9 Ways People Respond to Your Content Online)
I have a short video on this topic that I recorded as an entry for the TEDxSV video contest. Here is the video:
Have a great Friday.
Posted in the Main Page category.
Mini Saga #47 – Control
By Rajesh Setty on Tue 08 Dec 2009, 11:57 PM – Leave Comment
Photo Courtesy: Eric J. Lubbers on Flickr
Agreed, you want to be in control all the times. But…
Enjoy the story:
Control
Tom hated waiting in shopping lanes. That day, the lanes were packed. He strategically picked a lane that had carts with only a few items per cart. His lane moved fast. Unfortunately, the system in his lane broke down just before his turn. “Darn!” he clenched his fist and frowned.
===
Note:
1. A mini saga is a story told in exactly 50 words. Not 49 or 51 but exactly 50.
2. You can download a photographic manifesto of Mini Sagas at ChangeThis. Here is the link – Mini Sagas: Bite-sized Wisdom for Life and Business (PDF, 2.9MB).
3. For a complete list of Mini Sagas, please see the entire list here or at Squidoo.
Posted in the Mini Saga category.
Mini Saga #46 – Stress
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 07 Dec 2009, 12:10 AM – Leave Comment
Photo Courtesy: Stephen Poff on Flickr
Before you complain about everything that’s causing you stress, take a look at how much you are contributing to your own stress.
Enjoy the story:
Stress
Bobby had a fully packed schedule. He had breakfast, lunch and dinner with friends and business associates. Discussions were interesting and covered economy, terrorism, politics, job loss and more. Once he was back at home, Bobby worked all night and finally made some progress on “real” projects. It was stressful.
===
Note:
1. A mini saga is a story told in exactly 50 words. Not 49 or 51 but exactly 50.
2. You can download a photographic manifesto of Mini Sagas at ChangeThis. Here is the link – Mini Sagas: Bite-sized Wisdom for Life and Business (PDF, 2.9MB).
3. For a complete list of Mini Sagas, please see the entire list here or at Squidoo.
Posted in the Mini Saga category.
Mini Saga #45 – Validation
By Rajesh Setty on Sun 06 Dec 2009, 11:22 AM – Leave Comment
Photo Courtesy: Kate Hazard on Flickr
If you are not careful, your people might give you exactly what you are looking for.
Enjoy the story:
Validation
There was trouble but the leader never believed it. He asked Tom to do a customer satisfaction survey. The results showed that most customers were “very satisfied.” Tom had asked customers rate them from 1 to 5. Tom’s internal labeling had 1 mapped to “Satisfied” and 5 mapped to “Loved.”
===
Note:
1. A mini saga is a story told in exactly 50 words. Not 49 or 51 but exactly 50.
2. You can download a photographic manifesto of Mini Sagas at ChangeThis. Here is the link – Mini Sagas: Bite-sized Wisdom for Life and Business (PDF, 2.9MB).
3. For a complete list of Mini Sagas, please see the entire list here or at Squidoo.
Posted in the Mini Saga category.
Mini Saga #44 – Argument
By Rajesh Setty on Sat 05 Dec 2009, 12:42 AM – Leave Comment
Photo Courtesy: Mintpics on Flickr
The best way to win an argument is not to have one. But sometimes you can’t avoid an argument and for those times, you need to be prepared.
Enjoy the story:
Argument
Bob and Nick held divergent positions on this point. As usual, Bob wouldn’t budge and finally Nick gave up. Bob left the room victoriously. Nick immmediately called his friend Jerry and said, “Jerry, we got what we wanted. The trick worked. I just had to argue against what I wanted.”
===
Note:
1. A mini saga is a story told in exactly 50 words. Not 49 or 51 but exactly 50.
2. You can download a photographic manifesto of Mini Sagas at ChangeThis. Here is the link – Mini Sagas: Bite-sized Wisdom for Life and Business (PDF, 2.9MB).
3. For a complete list of Mini Sagas, please see the entire list here or at Squidoo.
Posted in the Mini Saga category.
You may not like spam but we insist…
By Rajesh Setty on Wed 02 Dec 2009, 11:15 PM – 3 Comments
That’s what Citibank says.
I have been a Citibank customer for years and in the last few months, they suddenly started sending spam mails – offers from other companies. Yes, I understand that it may get them some revenue by selling their LARGE customer base and allowing other companies to spam people but if someone does not want to receive spam mails, they should stop instantly.
A few weeks ago, I opted out… sorry let me correct this… I tried to opt-out of the program and I got a notice that said that it will take a few weeks for their email systems to be updated to reflect my new preferences. In other words, they were telling me that I have to bear with their spam for a few more weeks BECAUSE their systems are messed up.
Today, I tried to opt-out again and I get the same message. They are very consistent with the message. Our systems will take a few weeks to update my preferences.
I am just imagining that someone will print out my preference, print it and send it in a horse carriage to a remote location where someone will stamp an approval and then return that in the same horse carriage to be updated by someone else.
Hopefully they will come to the 21st Century sooner than later.
The lesson here is in setting the expectations right. Nobody will believe that it will take a few weeks to opt-out of spam. So why make up things and lose credibility?
Posted in the Business Models category.
Mini Saga #43 – Notice
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 30 Nov 2009, 12:18 AM – 3 Comments
We notice what we notice and sometimes what we notice is not enough.
Enjoy the story:
Notice
The parking sign was clear – “No Parking from 6pm to 6am.” The time was still 5.30pm. Tim rushed inside the store. He came back in less than twenty minutes only to find a parking ticket clinging to the windshield. He just noticed that until 6pm it was “paid” parking.
===
Note:
1. Thanks to Jason Dirks, co-founder of Meylah for the inspiration for this story.
2. A mini saga is a story told in exactly 50 words. Not 49 or 51 but exactly 50.
3. You can download a photographic manifesto of Mini Sagas at ChangeThis. Here is the link – Mini Sagas: Bite-sized Wisdom for Life and Business (PDF, 2.9MB).
4. For a complete list of Mini Sagas, please see the entire list here or at Squidoo.
Posted in the Mini Saga category.