The Art and Science of Creating Good Luck

Today's blog post is based on a podcast from The Art of Manliness:

When you think about serendipity, you likely think of strokes of good luck that happen entirely by chance.

But my guest today says that we can play a role in harnessing more lightning strikes of fortune, and create the conditions to both experience a greater number of meaningful accidents, and make accidents more meaningful. His name is Christian Busch and he’s a professor of economics and entrepreneurship and the author of The Serendipity Mindset: The Art and Science of Creating Good Luck. We begin our conversation with what serendipity is, and how it’s different than simple chance, and is instead a kind of smart luck, which requires acting on the unexpected and connecting the dots of seemingly random events. We then discuss the three types of serendipity, the obstacles to experiencing this force, and how the amount of serendipity you experience depends on how you frame the world. Christian explains how to develop a serendipity-seeking mindset, including how to intentionally seed triggers for it. We end our conversation with how organizations and not just individuals can take steps to strategically leverage the power of serendipity.

Here are the program highlights:

• How is serendipity different from luck or chance?
• How the discovery of Viagra was actually quite serendipitous 
• What it takes to develop a serendipitous mindset 
• Becoming more open and observant 
• Proactively seeking out serendipitous triggers in our life
• Leveraging technology to create your own luck 
• Managing serendipity overload once you become more aware of it 
• The beautiful power of used bookstores 
• How your bad luck can be turned around for good

Interesting days

Today - Chocolate Cake Day, World Breast Pumping Day and National Geographic Day

Tomorrow - International Lego Day, Data Privacy Day, Blueberry Pancake Day, Kazoo Day and Global Community Engagement Day

Next Wednesday - Carrot Cake Day and Golden Retriever Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Cheerleading Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: School Counseling Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Pride in Food Service Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Solo Diners Eat Out Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: African Heritage and Health Week

Jan 30 - Feb 6: Cordova Iceworm Festival Week

February 27 - Pokémon Day, World NGO Day, Kahlua Day, Open That Bottle Night, Strawberry Day, Polar Bear Day and Sword Swallower’s Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 20 - Feb 28: Real Bread Week

Feb 27 - Mar 7: Jewish Book Week

Feb 22 - Feb 28: Invasive Species Awareness Week

Feb 22 - Mar 7: Fairtrade Fortnight

Feb 22 - Feb 28: Engineers Week

Feb 21 - Feb 28: Take Your Family to School Week

 

The Excellence Dividend #TBT

Today's blog post was originally published two years ago:

Today's blog post is based on a podcast from The Art of Manliness, which featured an interview with Tom Peters, author of "In Search of Excellence".

Today on the show, Tom and I discuss why the human touch and striving for excellence is what will give companies and workers an advantage in today’s market. Tom shares why execution beats strategy in business and in life, how companies can develop a culture of excellence, and why the businesses that put customers first win in the long run. Tom then makes the impassioned case that business managers should see themselves as “coaches of excellence” and that they have more of an impact on the lives of people than we give them credit for.

Basically, I think it boils down to the human touch...something that SendOutCards makes easy.

Show Highlights

• Why Tom likes using the word “excellence” in regards to business 
• The real threat to American jobs here in the 21st century 
• Why Apple products actually succeeded (despite never appearing on time) 
• Why execution matters more than strategy, planning, and philosophy 
• Hotelier Conrad Hilton’s secret to success
• How can managers establish a culture of excellence?
• Why “soft” human skills are so important 
• Brett’s criteria for hiring contractors and vendors 
• Tom’s most important criteria for leaders 
• The art of managing by wandering around 
• The “14 = 14” idea 
• How managers can truly make a difference in the lives of their employees

Listen to the podcast to find out more.

Interesting days

Today - Hugging Day, Playdate Day, International Sweatpants Day, Women’s Healthy Weight Day, Granola Bar Day and Squirrel Appreciation Day

Tomorrow - Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day, Blonde Brownie Day, Celebration Of Life Day and Hot Sauce Day

Week long celebrations:

Jan 18 - Jan 22: Family Mediation Week

Next Thursday - International Lego Day, Data Privacy Day, Blueberry Pancake Day, Kazoo Day and Global Community Engagement Day

February 21 - Sticky Bun Day, World Whale Day and International Mother Language Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 15 - Feb 21: Random Acts of Kindness Week 

Feb 14 - Feb 21: Nest Box Week

Feb 21 - Feb 28: Take Your Family to School Week

Feb 20 - Feb 28: Real Bread Week

 

Four of the six income streams have been revealed

Four of the six income streams in "A Better Way" have been revealed...at least partially.

The six income streams are divided equally among the three types of relationships...relationship with self, others and business.

These three types of relationships are covered in the book "The Power of Human Connection" and I go over the book on the first three Saturdays of every month.

Kofy Bateman, in the following video, talks about how the relationship with self is made up of nourishing your mind and nourishing your body. The business discussed deals with nourishing your mind...an online university. The university will be based on a monthly subscription and courses will cover mindset, skill development, and more.

The relationship with others is made up of SendOutCards and this other stream of income complements SendOutCards. SOC will remain the business you will go to if you want to send a card to someone and possibly add a gift. The new business will be the opposite of that...you want to send a gift and maybe include a card, It sounds like these may be higher end gifts...Kody talks about how most gifts from SendOutCards are in the $3 - 15 range and the higher end gifts are not as popular.

The third type of relationships will cover an online business presence and follow up. One of the two businesses sounds like ir may be a landing page, or something similar per the description that Kody gives. And the other sounds like it may be something similar to MailChimp...these two are just my guess as to what's coming under this third category.

The offiicisl announcement is coming on Saturday, January 30th at 9:00 AM MST. Here's the link to the free event.

You can still join A Better Way for free...until the 30th. Here's the link again.

Interesting days

Today - Disc Jockey Day, Cheese Lovers Day, Buttercrunch Day, Penguin Awareness Day, Day of Acceptance, Camcorder Day and Museum Selfie Day

Tomorrow - Hugging Day, Playdate Day, International Sweatpants Day, Women’s Healthy Weight Day, Granola Bar Day and Squirrel Appreciation Day

Week long celebrations:

Jan 18 - Jan 22: Family Mediation Week

Next Wednesday - Chocolate Cake Day, World Breast Pumping Day and National Geographic Day

February 20 - Love Your Pet Day, Pangolin Day, Handcuff Day, Cherry Pie Day and Muffin Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 15 - Feb 21: Random Acts of Kindness Week 

Feb 14 - Feb 21: Nest Box Week

Feb 14 - Feb 20: Kraut and Frankfurter Week

Feb 20 - Feb 28: Real Bread Week

 

Master the Money Game With Tony Robbins

Today's blog post is based on a podcast from The Art of Manliness:

Today I talk to famous motivational speaker Tony Robbins about his new book Money: Master the Game. Tony and I talk about what he learned after interviewing the world’s most successful investors, and how average joes can apply those insights in their own life. Money: Master the Game isn’t your typical “Think and Grow Rich” personal finance book. This is the first major book Mr. Robbins has written in two decades, and the sucker is huge and gets into the nitty gritty of investing and wealth protection. It’s truly one of the more useful personal finance books I’ve read in a long time.

Here are the highlights for the program:

• Why Tony decided to come back with a book on the intricacies of financial investing after 20 years since his last book
• The sobering statistics on how much the average Baby Boomer has saved for retirement
• The myths about money that get people in financial trouble
• Why you shouldn’t invest in actively managed mutual funds, and where you should invest your money instead. (Hint: We’ve talked about it before.)
• How to build an investment portfolio that can weather the sometimes violent ebbs and flows of the market
• The most common characteristics between the most successful investors in the world
• Why being generous with your money is vital to maintaining a healthy relationship with it
• And much more!

Interesting days

Today - Popcorn Day and Tin Can Day

Tomorrow - Disc Jockey Day, Cheese Lovers Day, Buttercrunch Day, Penguin Awareness Day, Day of Acceptance, Camcorder Day and Museum Selfie Day

Week long celebrations:

Jan 18 - Jan 22: Family Mediation Week

Next Tuesday - Australia Day, Peanut Brittle Day and Spouse’s Day

February 19 - International Tug-of-War Day and Chocolate Mint Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 15 - Feb 21: Random Acts of Kindness Week 

Feb 14 - Feb 21: Nest Box Week

Feb 14 - Feb 20: Kraut and Frankfurter Week

 

Taking a dip in the (Leadership Bonus) pool

There's been a lot happening in "A Better Way" lately, including finding out that's not the name of the new company. I don't know what it is, but I know that's not it!

Last week and this week, on the SendOutCards corporate calls, they talked more about the Leadership Bonus pool plus some fast start bonuses. I'll go over some of it here, but check out the calls (FB Lives) for more info. If you can't see the Lives, let me know and I'l tell you how you can access them,

To be a part of the pool, you have to be a part of the pre-launch, which costs nothing to join but ends on January 30th. All of the commissionable volume from SendOutCards for the month of January, plus all of the commissionable volume from A Better Way (of which SendOutCards is a part) from February, will be put into the pool. To earn a share of the pool, you'll need to have volume from A Better Way...which is from everyone you've signed into A Better Way since November 6, so the more people you have signed up, and the more they spend, the larger will be your share of the pool.

The fast start bonuses are paid based on the volume generated by the volume on your first and second levels of people in your A Better Way team (the people that you bring in and the people THEY bring in).

This week's FB Live which can be viewed by anybody by clicking here. This video talks more about the compensation plan.

You'll get paid daily on your first level (customers and affiliates that you personally sponsor). You get paid monthly on your second - fourth levels. There's more beyond the fourth level.

Interesting days

Today - Sticker Day, Rubber Duckie Day, Make Your Dream Come True Day, Public Radio Broadcasting Day, Peach Melba Day and Skeptics Day

Tomorrow - Dress Up Your Pet Day, International Kite Day, Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day and Organize Your Home Day

Next Wednesday - Hugging Day, Playdate Day, International Sweatpants Day, Women’s Healthy Weight Day, Granola Bar Day and Squirrel Appreciation Day

Week long celebrations:

Jan 18 - Jan 22: Family Mediation Week

February 13 - Radio Day, Tortellini Day, Madly In Love With Me Day, Employee Legal Awareness Day and Get A Different Name Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Cardiac Rehabilitation Week

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Flirting Week

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Jell-O Week

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Great American Pizza Bake

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Condom Week

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Secondhand Wardrobe Week

Feb 7 - Feb 14: Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Feeding Tube Awareness Week

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Freelance Writers Appreciation Week

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Children of Alcoholics Week

 

How to Do the Impossible This Year

Today's blog post is based on a podcast on The Art of Manliness:

There are goals in life that seem very attainable. And then there are those which seem practically impossible — rising out of poverty and/or a traumatic childhood, becoming a bestselling writer, deadlifting 500 pounds. With impossible goals the odds seem long, and it isn’t clear how to get from point A to point B.

My guest today has spent decades figuring out the roadmap for making that journey. His name is Steven Kotler, he’s a peak performance expert, the Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective, and the author of numerous books, including his latest: The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer. Today on the show, Steven talks about how he defines an impossible goal and then unpacks the formula for making the impossible, possible. That formula begins with harnessing the five big intrinsic motivators that will give you focus for free and which you need to activate in a certain sequence, and then moves through the six levels of grit which should be trained in a particular order as well. We discuss the importance of creativity and continual learning, and how to assess the ROI of your reading. Steven also explains how flow amplifies the process of achieving peak performance, and why you need to rediscover the primary flow activity from your childhood. At the end of our conversation, Steven shares some things you can begin doing today to start tackling your impossible goals.

Here are the highlights from the show:

• How this book is a continuation of Steven’s work in The Rise of Superman
• What is the “impossible” anyway?
• Why flow is necessary but not sufficient for peak performance 
• Why do so many people fail to live up to their potential?
• How biology scales, but personality doesn’t 
• What is motivation and why does it matter?
• The five stages of motivation 
• Why curiosity is so important to your success 
• Why mastery is so effective 
• The case for reading books 
• What people can do right now to achieve the impossible in 2021

This was a fascinating podcast. I'm going to have to get the book.

Interesting days

Today - Step In A Puddle And Splash Your Friends Day, Heritage Treasures Day, World Sketchnote Day, Milk Day, Learn Your Name In Morse Code Day, Clean Off Your Desk Day and Hot Toddy Day

Tomorrow - Kiss A Ginger Day

Next Monday - Thesaurus Day, Martin Luther King Day, Blue Monday and Winnie the Pooh Day

Week long celebrations:

Jan 18 - Jan 22: Family Mediation Week

February 11 - Fat Thursday, Peppermint Patty Day, Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day, Get Out Your Guitar Day, Get Out Your Guitar Day, Pro Sports Wives Day, Satisfied Staying Single Day, Make a Friend Day and White Shirt Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Cardiac Rehabilitation Week

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Flirting Week

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Jell-O Week

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Great American Pizza Bake

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Condom Week

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Secondhand Wardrobe Week

Feb 7 - Feb 14: Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Feeding Tube Awareness Week

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Freelance Writers Appreciation Week

Feb 8 - Feb 14: Children of Alcoholics Week

 

The 10 most in-demand skills of 2019, according to LinkedIn #TBT

Today's blog post was originally published two years ago:

Today's blog post is based on an article from CNBC.

According to the article:

The United States is currently experiencing one of the tightest labor markets in history and many say that the country is currently facing a skills gap. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. currently has over 7 million unfilled jobs. 

This tight labor market has led many companies to become more open-minded when considering candidates. Companies including Google, Apple, IBM and Bank of America no longer require applicants to have a college degree. 

Instead of emphasizing the need for specific titles and experience, organizations are shifting towards a focus on the skills that a potential employee may bring. At tech companies like Facebook, this is especially true.

Employers are looking more for skills than for experience. So, what skills are in demand and where can you get them?

LinkedIn recently analyzed hundreds of thousands of job postings in order to determine which skills companies need most in 2019. They found that employers are looking for workers with both soft skills and hard technical skills and matched these skills with LinkedIn Learning courses that are free for the month of January.

Here are the 5 most in-demand soft skills in 2019:

5. Time Management
4. Adaptability
3. Collaboration
2. Persuasion
1. Creativity

And here are the 5 most in-demand hard skills in 2019:

5. UX Design
4. People Management
3. Analytical Reasoning
2. Artificial Intelligence
1. Cloud Computing

Check out the article on CNBC for a list of the free classes available this month for each skill.

I think the soft skills really came in handy over the past year and I think we'll need to add Zoom proficiency to this list. Here are some posts I wrote about Zoom last year:

The reason Zoom calls drain your energy

How to Elevate Your Presence in a Virtual Meeting

We Live in Zoom Now

Interesting days

Today - Tempura Day, Bobblehead Day, Harlem Globetrotter’s Day, I’m Not Going To Take It Anymore Day and Old Rock Day

Tomorrow - Bubble Bath Day, Joy Germ Day, Show & Tell At Work Day, Argyle Day and Earth’s Rotation Day

Next Thursday - Dress Up Your Pet Day, Organize Your Home Day, Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day and International Kite Day

February 7 - Yorkshire Pudding Day, Dump Your Significant Jerk Day, Ballet Day, Send a Card to a Friend Day and Wave All Your Fingers At Your Neighbors Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Cheerleading Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Will Eisner Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: School Counseling Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Pride in Food Service Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Solo Diners Eat Out Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: African Heritage and Health Week

Feb 7 - Feb 14: Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week

 

Happy #WeighInDay #MBM

Today's Meander Back Monday post was originally published last year:

Apparently, today is Weigh-In Day. According to Days of the Year, Weigh-In Day is celebrated (?) on the first Monday in January:

So, Christmas is officially over, and so are both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. You’ve slept off any hangover you may have had, relaxed, and now you’re ready to face the new year ahead of you and all of the challenges and opportunities it will bring.

Unfortunately, due to the amount of food and drink consumed during the holiday season, chances are you may have gained a bit of weight during the holidays, so Weigh-In Day is a great time to set your first new year goal: start eating better and exercising more regularly so you can not only shed that weight but improve your overall health. After all, what could be more important than your health?

I'm going to celebrate by weighing myself and then making a plan to burn off about 20 pounds by Memorial Day. My actual goal is to get my body fat below 25%. The last time I weighed myself was on the day after Christmas...my weight was 181.1 pounds, my BMI was 24.6 and my body fat was 27.7%.

I read somewhere that for a man my age my body fat should be below 25% to be in the healthy range. And right now that's looking like a weight of about 160 pounds.

I haven't really done any walking since before Thanksgiving, so I'm going to start doing that again and making sure I burn off at least 500 more calories per day than I take in. It's also time to drink more water and to start taking vitamins again.

I'll let you know how it's going from time to time between now and Memorial Day.

My goal is similar this year, but I intend to get down to 175 pounds by Easter. The last time I weighed myself was December 28th...I weighed 183.7, my BMI was 24.9 and my body fat was 29.1%. It looks like I put on about 2 1/2 pounds this past year. I had lost some last year but I put most of it back on during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Interesting days

Today - Trivia Day, Weigh-In Day, World Braille Day, Spaghetti Day, Pop Music Chart Day and Hypnotism Day

Tomorrow - Whipped Cream Day and Bird Day

Next Monday - Step In A Puddle And Splash Your Friends Day, Heritage Treasures Day, World Sketchnote Day, Milk Day, Learn Your Name In Morse Code Day, Clean Off Your Desk Day and Hot Toddy Day

February 4 - Thank A Letter Carrier Day, World Cancer Day, Sweater Day, Stuffed Mushroom Day and Homemade Soup Day

Week long celebrations:

Jan 30 - Feb 6: Cordova Iceworm Festival Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Cheerleading Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Will Eisner Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: School Counseling Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Pride in Food Service Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Solo Diners Eat Out Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: African Heritage and Health Week