The expert

A nice and hilarious way to explain what is my new job about 🙂

Leave Early

Next time you go to a party. Maybe even it’s a political party. Or a charity event. Or a dinner. Or a conference call. Or a sales meeting.

Do this:

Find the most valuable, fun, creative thing you can learn as quickly as you can. The one thing that will add value to your life. Hone in on it FAST. Learn something.

Then leave.

Even in a sales meeting: if you learn from the customer, the customer will buy from you.

Even on a first date. Get the kiss. Leave early. It gets better later if you leave early today.

Someone said to the great pianist, Artur Rubinsteain, «I love the way you play the notes!»

Artur Rubinstein said, «Ahh, the secret is how I play the silences between the notes.»

The real you is the silences between the notes.

Not the you in the meetings. The talking you. The worrying you. The you trying to please the date or the boss or the trolls. The you that HAS to respond!

I try (sometimes not so successfully. Sometimes horribly) to play the silences in between the notes.

How many things can you leave early today? Be honest about it. This is the only gift we were given when we were born. The ability to leave things early.

Without the silence, we would never know how to distinguish a beautiful sound.

By James Altucher, influencer in LinkedIn.

Deal with laziness

Warning! I’m about to speak in code. We like to think of ourselves as:

• “Not interested in making big money”
• “Not overly ambitious”
• “Focused more on life than work”

Code for all these excuses is “I’m lazy.”

Being lazy is something we don’t like to admit to ourselves, much less to our own mother (who will love us no matter what, except when being lazy). We will substitute other words and rationalization for our behavior. You think we can’t tell, but we can. You’re lazy, and second to bad body odor, no one really wants to be around that, even if you’re charming. (OK, maybe if you’re charming, but only then.)

If you’re in the ranks of people of whom I’m describing, you need to pay attention to what I’m about to share. Someone needs to give it to you on the chin.

You may have reached a point in your adult life where you realized you don’t care if you get ahead, excel on the job, get a promotion, or even much of a salary. Lazy is about effort, and you discovered you simply didn’t want to put in any. You were willing to forego these things as a trade off.

As a lazy person, you have learned to do things to try to hide the blatant truth about yourself. You have tried to look like you didn’t care if others passed you by. Perhaps you even attempted to look like those things were too materialistic. The great thing about rationalization is that it seems to sound good and even logical to some extent. To you perhaps.

I’m here to expose your ugly truth. We really can tell. As much as lazy people think they’ve hidden the truth about themselves, at some level the rest of us know. We pretty much let you keep thinking that we can’t see what you’re all about. You didn’t ask “does this rationalization make me look lazy?”

Here is some of the other code this signifies. It says that while you might truly just not want to do anything, it says you haven’t checked in to life. You don’t get it. We’re at our best when we are productive and contributing.  We’re even better when we’re so passionate about our work that we can’t wait to get to it again.

It says you might be afraid to try or might not be able to stand the failure that comes with striving. What you’re missing is that it will make you feel great about yourself. Not because you kept up with other people or met some type of social standard. You would feel great because you had something you strived to achieve and did it.

As a co-worker, you aren’t our first pick to work with. You can’t be trusted. If I know you’re lazy, I’m not sure what you will or won’t do. Many times, in your attempt to look like something you aren’t, you may inflate what you know or will do.

Most of the time you don’t know what you will or won’t do. Your rationalizations are filed under “Ignore.” You’ve preordained your outcome because of your “lazy-speak.” We can all see through this and because, even if you’re charming, what good is working with someone you can’t trust? The best people I’ve had a chance to work with are generally running faster than I am.

Where does this leave us? If you’re lazy, you’re missing out on a big chunk of life. I recognize some people think there is a magical dividing line between work and life, but I’m here to say the line doesn’t exist.

This is your life or at least a big part of it. Stop trying to fool yourself. The effort you think will be so painful will be the best time of your life, if you just let it. Try some career management. Fall in love with your work.
Read more at http://www.careerealism.com/career-management-lazy/#D4Lh5UYC8TGkWrMy.99

Ten layers of absolute freedom

Found this awesome article here, and I had just to share it. Enjoy and reflect.

It feels really crazy good to make out with someone, doesn’t it? Remember the first time you did that? Amazing!

My first thought was: why didn’t anyone ever tell me it was going to feel this good?

Ok, I just had to get that off my chest. Now for some serious stuff: like quitting, going broke, stealing, lying, and maybe even killing someone.

Did you quit your job? If so, you can skip the rest of this article. Go find someone to make out with. If you’ve never done that before I can tell you it feels really good.

The world is divided into angry people and free people.

Anger is a subset of fear. Maybe you are afraid to be lonely. Or afraid to be broke. Or afraid to die?

In 1994, 2001, 2005, 2008, and 2010 I was so angry and scared I didn’t know what to do.

I thought I had to have a purpose, a goal. But this is BS.

There is only ONE purpose: TO BE FREE.

There are layers of freedom.

FIRST LAYER: Free from your own past and future. Which means: free of all regrets and petty hatreds from the past and anxieties and worries about the future.

This is very hard. I have to practice this every day. When you practice something, you get better.

For instance, I’m angry at someone who wrote me an angry email a year or so ago. That is petty. And he or she has his own fears. His own insecurities.

Freedom is a daily practice. If you get 1% better every day at freedom then you become not just free but an explorer. Explore as much as possible before your last breath.

#2: The next layer of freedom is to be free of other people’s opinions of you. You never ride above the clouds if everyone is holding you down into the rain.

One time I ran into a co-worker who gave her opinion about something I was about to do at work: «you CAN’T do that. Nobody does that.» She still works there and is still unhappy. 20 years later.

Another time several years ago someone wrote an article being somewhat cruel to me and taking things out of context.

At first I was really bothered. I actually cried and said, «why did he do this?» We had been friends and he twisted it. There’s no answer. I had to give up trying to answer everyone else’s fears.

#3: The next layer: be free of the opinions of the masses.

While everyone is wearing surgical masks and staying indoors because of Ebola and the fate of the dollar you can be outside enjoying the sun.

Everyone jumps on the latest trend. That trend gets weighed down by all the people jumping up and down on it.

Don’t look towards the future for trends. Look towards the past. What worked before? Do it 10 times better.

PayPal is a great example. People have been paying each other for centuries. But with cash or credit. Paypal was 10x better. How about paying someone via email?

#4: The next layer: be free of the word «CAN’T».

I need to explain that one. Let’s say I’m interested in basketball. I’m not going to be a professional basketball player.

Realistically, I can’t be one.

Primarily because I’m 46 years old. Otherwise I would definitely be one, no question about it.

But I CAN write a novel about basketball. I can be an agent. I can work for a team. I can be a marriage counselor for pro basketball players. I can be a referee. I can design homes with basketball courts inside of them.

Don’t think of an interest as a goal. Then you will spend your life with «CAN’T» as your lover. Think of your interest as a theme.

DO THIS TECHNIQUE:

a. I draw on a big piece of paper the names of all the themes I am interested in. games, writing, art, business, stocks, entrepreneurship, psychology, health, rap music, podcasts, TV, comic books, comedy, etc.

b. I make a bunch of dots of what I can do with all of these themes. One dot might be «write a novel». Another dot might be «start a podcast». Another might be «start a food truck».

c. Then I draw lines between the dots to connect them in various ways. Label each line. A line between games and psychology. Well, I can write about the psychology of a good game player and how that relates to business.

Suddenly I have 100 careers to choose from. And guess what? I’m allowed to choose more than one. Nobody can stop me. I CAN do that.

#5: The next layer of freedom: find someone who likes what you are doing.

A standard technique in Internet business is to give away great value for free.

Because then you get people to know who you are and like what you stand for. Steve Scott puts up a ton of free slideshares on how to build good habits.

But then he writes a new book every three weeks about building good habits. In just a few years he went from making $0 a month writing books to making $60,000 a month writing books and newsletters about habits.

He’s not an exception. I know 100 other people doing this at least.

#6: Now that people like something you are doing, start thinking of something you can charge for. A premium version of what you are doing.

If you’ve never done this before, it feels overwhelming at first. I have a friend, Molly Hahn, who emails out doodles she makes every morning.

Every doodle has a Buddha character in it and a quote. How the hell is someone who does that going to make a living? She emails out free doodles of Buddhas.

This past year she made a six figure income selling things in her online doodle store.

I have a Buddha carpet, for instance. It’s beautiful. I lie down on it throughout the day. She figured out what to give out for free and what to charge for. She’s not an exception. She RULES.

#7: Another layer of freedom: ONLY do your best work 2-5 hours after you wake up.

We are only at peak productivity two to five hours after we wake up. Here’s what I do: I read for the first two hours after I wake up and then I write.

After that I might still work, but mostly just followups and phone calls. Then I make out with people.

#8: You don’t need a lot to live like a king.

It feels great when all of your bills are paid. It feels even better when you know you are doing something that will pay your bills for a long time.

If all you do is that then you are in great shape. If all you need is «enough» then you are the king of the world.

#9: Freedom is a path you choose every day.

When everyone else is afraid they are «stuck», it’s great to know that you are on your path to freedom.

It takes years or even decades to be in your full stride so don’t punish yourself if you are not «there» yet, wherever «there» is.

When I interviewed the rapper Coolio he told me it took him 17 years of writing every day before he had a single hit. But he was free to do it every day. Then he wrote one of the bestselling songs of all time. «I’m going to make money off of that one song for the rest of my life,» he told me.

When I interviewed the standup comedian Jim Norton he told me it took him 6 years before he was making a living as a comedian. Now he’s one of the most successful comedians in the world, 20 years later.

Do your themes every day because you love doing them. Remember that persistence + love = abundance. But persistence is measured in years, not days, not months. Go back to #1 when you forget this.

#10: Final freedom layer: Realize that everyone you meet today has been sent down from an alien mother ship to teach you a lesson. Learn those lessons.

This sounds like I’m making it up but it’s true. Nobody will admit this of course. But trust me, it’s true.

If all you do is this layer of freedom, then nothing can ever stop you from living the best possible life.

I know billionaires who don’t do that final step and they are miserable every day. They even get to make out with a lot of people and are still miserable. Angry. So they try to make more money and they get angrier. Then they die.

If you do any of the above, have a little celebration. Put a candle on a cupcake. Love yourself.

Take a break from asking «why me?». Instead say «wow».

Go from «Why?» to «Wow!»

Good luck and good night.

Rock your next interview

Super interesting post found in LinkedIn

1. Be early, but never too early. You want to make sure you are on time for an interview but when you arrive too much before your scheduled time, you become an inconvenience. People have to tend to you (get you water, show you where to sit, worry about you being there) during a time they hadn’t planned to. Never arrive more than 15-20 minutes before an interview if you can help it. You might be labeled as inconsiderate if you do.

2. Send a thank-you note. Thank you notes go a long way. They show the interviewer that you have an interest in the position. They also are just a nice gesture. People like feeling appreciated. When I started interviewing others, I was surprised when I received no thank-you emails. It made me wonder if the individual really cared about the opportunity. Don’t ever let the interviewer think you aren’t interested (unless you really aren’t.) Make sure to get a business card after your interview is over. The thank-you note will be the last impression you can probably make on the interviewer. It also may be your only chance to do so. Once when interviewing at MTV, I lost my interviewer’s business card and wasn’t able to get it from her secretary due to confidentiality terms. I had to do some major scouring later on because I failed to be organized.

3. Let your personality shine. I know this may be a hard thing to do, but don’t go into an interviewing with getting the job being the only thing on your mind. I’d suggest having the mindset of making yourself likeable. At the end of the day recruiters are looking for the best fit. If they called you into an interview, you’ve probably already been screened and they see you as atleast potentially capable. Interviewers take notice of your personality and who you are as a person. Be yourself.

4. Dress and groom appropriately. People will talk about you if you walk into an interview for a corporate job in a mini-skirt. Know the culture of the place that you are interviewing for and try to dress appropriately. Men, don’t engulf yourself in cologne. Not everyone’s noses can take strong smells. Bad breath is a no-no. Chipped nails could become a point of conversation. Just saying. I’ve heard and seen the conversations that can ensue when people come into an interview looking cray-cray.

5. Do your research. Imagine you’re on a second date and your date forgets your name… How would you feel? Confused? Angry? Upset? Think of an interview as a second date ( the first one being the organization reading your application). Know some things about the company. You don’t want to go into a interview for tech consulting and talk about non-profit granting. You’ll look really unprepared in the interviewer’s eyes and potentially be labeled as a joke. Don’t be a joke. Be a winner. Know some facts and current news about the industry/position you’re applying for. Impress the interviewer. It won’t hurt ya.

6. Ask the right questions. It’s an interviewer’s job to answer specific questions about the company or position, not give you an overview of the company. Make your questions worthwhile. And please, I repeat, please ask questions. It’s a personal pet peeve of mine when I ask «So do you have any questions?» and the person replies «No.» If you did your research (as outlined in step #5), you’ll probably have some type of question. Good questions are:

1. How would the employees describe the culture of the organization? 

2. What would be the ideal candidate for this position?

You can even be a bit forward and ask:

3. What are some of your concerns about whether I would be a good fit for this position?

Though that question seems pretty odd to ask, it’s actually a good tactic for identifying what might make you not get the opportunity and then making your case for why you should. It might also make you aware of something about the organization that you don’t like such as «everyone here works by themselves»… Maybe you like working at organizations that value teamwork, so this place might not actually be a fit for you.

7. Don’t lie. If a interviewer asks you a question that you don’t know the answer to, don’t lie. This is especially important if it involves fact-based things or specific skills set. If you don’t know how to code, don’t tell an interviewer you do. It could come back to bite you in the ass.

8. Don’t Lie, but you can be IMAGINATIVE. We all freeze up sometimes. I once asked a prospective student I was interviewing for an admissions interview the question:

If you could go back in time and ask anyone anything, who would you pick and what would you ask them?

I must have scared the life out of this girl because she looked terrified. I wasn’t expecting for her to take the question too seriously. I basically wanted to get a better sense for her imagination and thought-process. She eventually answered that she’d want to ask Velma from Scooby Doo about her mystery solving skills. To me, GREAT ANSWER! However, she probably thought it was a weird question.

Sometimes interviewers will ask you things to throw you off. They are probably testing your problem solving abilities, response to pressure, and communication skills.

Instead of thinking about being right, think about being creative and coming up with an answer!

9. Don’t Talk Too Much. Just like you, interviewers get bored. Just like you interviewers, zone out. The person you’re interviewing is probably not your friend and doesn’t care about the intimate details of the questions you asked. Keep answers to the point. Provide substance when needed. You want interviewers to remember what you said and not have to sort through their memory’s clutter to remember the sound bites that might make or break their decision to hire you or bring you back for a second interview.

10. READ ABOUT INTERVIEWING. I DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING. I’m an avid reader and think everyone can always benefit from reading more. There are plenty of other articles out there that have great advice. Some good ones I recently found were Huff Post’s The Top 10 Interview Tips for College Graduates and ABC News’s The Top 5 Interview Tips No One Mentions.