Reading Time: < 1 min I’ve talked a few times about my big reading shortcut, and how I can spend less than an hour to extract almost all of the best information from almost any book. It works amazingly well, but it’s a very focused hour to get it done (20 minutes reading, 20 minutes pulling more quotes, 20 minutes […]
Learning
Don’t try to be the best – just be better
Reading Time: < 1 min Striving to be the best at something can be a great approach in some areas. If you want to win a gold medal in the Olympics, you literally have to become the best at your craft. For most of us, though, becoming the “best” isn’t attainable, or often even measurable. If I wanted our marketing […]
Where is your perimeter?
Reading Time: 2 min It’s important to know what you don’t know. I shared last year about two “intermediate” website developers who are actually miles apart in terms of skill. One underestimated their skills, while the other overestimated theirs. In the case of “Alex” in that post, he was someone that really understand where their perimeter of knowledge ended, […]
Is reading work?
Reading Time: 2 min In episode 179 of The Long and The Short Of It podcast, hosts Pete and Jen argue that reading for knowledge should be considered “work”, and therefore it’s acceptable to do during the workday. I don’t disagree, but it’s tricky. I read quite a lot, and most of it is for the benefit of our […]
That was a dumb decision, right?
Reading Time: < 1 min We all make bad decisions from time to time, though it’s often a good thing. Thomas Edison failed on nearly 6,000 types of filament for the light bulb, including some crazy tries like hairs from a friend’s beard, but that’s what helped lead to his genius invention. When I make a seemingly dumb choice, there […]
Routines versus practices
Reading Time: < 1 min Having strong daily practices can be a great way to get ahead in life. With solid practices you can consistently work to become healthier, smarter, and more well-rounded. When I was using the Full Focus Planner regularly, it focused a lot on daily practices (which they call “daily rituals”) and it got me to reconsider […]
Define what you don’t know
Reading Time: < 1 min If you run a business, it’s important to be aware of the things your company intentionally doesn’t do. For example, at GreenMellen we build amazing websites, but we don’t take on large eCommerce projects. Those are a different beast, and require companies that can focus on those. By knowing that we don’t do those kinds […]
New information needs to tie to old ideas
Reading Time: < 1 min Last month I shared the idea of “anchor & twist” when it comes to marketing. You need to anchor your new product to an existing idea so that people will understand what you have, and then you can twist them to the new benefits that your product can bring. The same can work for your […]
Discuss ideas
Reading Time: 2 min You’ve likely heard this saying before: “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people“. It’s often attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, but seems to track back to Henry Thomas Buckle, as explained in this great research about it. While I’ve heard and appreciated that quote for a while, it’s only recently that […]
I let the “other” Mickey handle that
Reading Time: < 1 min Years ago, Jerry Seinfeld told a joke about “night guy versus morning guy”. You can see the clip below, but he essentially says that when he stays up too late, that’s him as “night guy”, and he’s not concerned with what “morning guy” needs to deal with. Here’s a clip: I’m finding that I’m the […]