Raise the Rent!!
Positive Inspirational Quotes ( PIQ)
Vacationing is good…but we should…(post by Kirk Weisler)
Vacationing is good…but we shouldn’t take a vacation from learning.
A couple of things learning from this vacation.
We are enjoying our time in Fort Lauderdale as a family. Rebecca and I have both remarked that having 6 of us packed into a typical sized hotel room with a couple of queen sized beds feels a bit like a sleep over. She says she loves having all of her kids in the same room. The younger girls love it too. It has reinforced our desire to downsize our home and further simplify our lives. A bigger home does not a closer family make.
Learning number 2 – No matter how early you get up to go walking – there seems to be people who are already there enjoying the peace and tranquility of a quiet walk on the beach. Lot’s of people even older than me… walking, even faster than me. I imagine all they could teach me about life as I consider all they have experienced…. I consider asking a few of them but don’t. Still it’s fun to imagine.
3) The picture above represents most of the books and magazines that made it into our travel bags.
Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography – Recommended by daughter Brittany who did not make it on this trip (college and stuff)
The China Study – The most comprehensive study on health and nutrition ever conducted. (It basically dismantles our Western style diets, eating patterns and health institutions) It’s a real wake up call for anyone who really wants to live a cancer free life and more. Highly recommended reading.
Delivering Happiness – The story of Zappos told by Tony… excellent! A culture building classic.
Quiet – The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain – My wife loves this book and I get to read it next. Are you an introvert? The world is run by them. http://www.thepowerofintroverts.com/
Find Something to Do – A book of no prop team builders and activities…by my friend Jim Cain (no relation to Susan)
Fit for Life – my wife reads and re-reads this book
The Original Kindle – lots of titles on it…but daughter Brooklyn is reading the e-book version of Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. Tech over turning pages.
We actually brought 4 copies of Ender’s Game – we are reading it as a family. Great book.
And a few others….about marriage, juicing, storytelling, and life. All good. All to keep us in a state of becoming. One thing we never want to take a vacation from is learning!
Kirk Out
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April Fool’s Day – Did you know??
Unlike most of the other nonfoolish holidays, the history of April Fool’s Day, sometimes called All Fool’s Day, is not totally clear. It is not like Halloween, where despite an interesting history, most people just put on Halloween costumes, get candy, and leave it at that. There really wasn’t a “first April Fool’s Day” that can be pinpointed on the calendar. Some believe it sort of evolved simultaneously in several cultures at the same time, from celebrations involving the first day of spring.
The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in 1582, in France. Prior to that year, the new year was celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25. The celebration culminated on April 1. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year’s Day was moved to January 1.
However, communications being what they were in the days when news traveled by foot, many people did not receive the news for several years. Others, the more obstinate crowd, refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the new year on April 1. These backward folk were labeled as “fools” by the general populace. They were subject to some ridicule, and were often sent on “fools errands” or were made the butt of other practical jokes.
This harassment evolved, over time, into a tradition of prank-playing on the first day of April. The tradition eventually spread to England and Scotland in the eighteenth century. It was later introduced to the American colonies of both the English and French. April Fool’s Day thus developed into an international fun fest, so to speak, with different nationalities specializing in their own brand of humor at the expense of their friends and families.
In Scotland, for example, April Fool’s Day is actually celebrated for two days. The second day is devoted to pranks involving the posterior region of the body. It is called Taily Day. The origin of the “kick me” sign can be traced to this observance.
In France and several other European countries, April 1 is often referred to as April Fish. The prank is to stick a paper fish on the back of another person without being noticed.
Mexico’s counterpart of April Fool’s Day is actually observed on December 28. Originally, the day was a sad remembrance of the slaughter of the innocent children by King Herod. It eventually evolved into a lighter commemoration involving pranks and trickery.
Pranks performed on April Fool’s Day range from the simple, (such as saying, “Your shoe’s untied, or I accidentally stepped on your glasses!), to the elaborate. Setting a roommate’s alarm clock back an hour is a common gag. Whatever the prank, the trickster usually ends it by yelling to his victim, “April Fool!”
Practical jokes are a common practice on April Fool’s Day. Sometimes, elaborate practical jokes are played on friends or relatives that last the entire day. The news media even gets involved. For instance, a British short film once shown on April Fool’s Day was a fairly detailed documentary about “spaghetti farmers” and how they harvest their crop from the spaghetti trees. And let’s not forget the IRS socks us with our online tax software deadline in April. Coincidence? You decide!
April Fool’s Day is a “for-fun-only” observance. Nobody is expected to buy gifts or to take their “significant other” out to eat in a fancy restaurant. Nobody gets off work or school. It’s simply a fun little holiday, but a holiday on which one must remain forever vigilant, for he may be the next April Fool!
Cruel, Stupid, Rude… or just Frightened? (post by Kirk Weisler)
“Whenever encountering a troublesome person, do not identify him as being cruel or stupid or rude or anything else like that. Instead, see him as a frightened person.” ~ Vernon Howard
We all know people who are habitually rude, obnoxious, or just plain jerks. Why they behave that way is usually based in some form of fear. Fear of being found out, fear of the unknown, or fear of being hurt (this one has many forms).
Yoda …may have been a fictional character but he taught a wise truth when he said… “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate…and hate leads to the Dark Side!”
The opposite of fear if faith… or a belief and a hope that things can get better, things can work out, that we can do it, or that others will and do want to help us succeed. Nurturing faith and hope through the creation of vision in others is one of the greatest challenges of leadership. But, hey… I know you can do it!! ~ Kirk
Why Weirdos Outperform Normals (thanks Kirk W. for sharing)
Posted by:
Michael Lazerow
My kids think I’m weird.
I talk in weird voices. I come up with weird games. I listen to Phish.
I like when they call me weird.
Weird is good, I tell them. Normal is blah.
You don’t want to be blah. Blah is boring. Boring people are forgettable.
I like weirdos.
They are interesting. They have crazy ideas. They have passion.
Weirdos separate from the pack. Weirdos change the world. Weirdos lead. Weirdos make us think.
When did weird become so weird? Why does the Merriam-Webster dictionary define the word so negatively? (“a person who is extraordinarily strange or eccentric.”)
We should teach our kids to be weird. Weird like Gary Vaynerchuk.
I had the opportunity to spend this weekend with Gary and his immediate family – his wife, Lizzie, his daughter and his parents.
Gary once offered to pay my kids to be Jets fans.
He hasn’t missed a PLAY in a Jets game in 30 years.
He comes over and goes right for the Fritos. And walks around the house with them.
He texts me just to tell me that he loves me. That’s weird. And I love it.
Gary is one of my close friends now. Weirdos seek each other out. And we stick together once we find each other.
Being a weirdo has worked out well for Gary. He operated 7 lemonade stands by the time he was 8. He retired from lemonade retail at 10 and turned to baseball cards. He was a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author by the time we was 35.
Gary launched an ecommerce store before you had ever heard such a thing existed. Gary helped invent online video thanks to a wine show that attracted 100,000 viewers a day.
1 million people follow Gary on Twitter and many more in real life.
Gary often appears on TV – Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, MSNBC, CNBC, CNN and NPR, just to name a few.
His latest company, social media agency VaynerMedia, has more than 200 employees and awesome clients, like Pepsi, Campbell Soup and others.
Gary thinks he’s going to buy the Jets one day. I won’t bet against him.
Most important to me … my kids love Gary. Gary is weird. Weird is good.
Further down the weird spectrum is James Altucher.
The first time I met James, we had breakfast at the Red Flame diner in New York. He ordered French Fries and a vanilla milkshake.
That’s weird.
Not as weird, though, as James wanting his daughters to be lesbians and drug addicts.
James doesn’t attend weddings and is the only guy I know who has screwed Yasser Arafat out of $2 million, and then lost $100 million himself.
James has admitted he is guilty of torturing women.
When the president of Chile asked James if he would like to be run over by a tank, James said no thanks.
You’re probably thinking two things: (a) how am I friends with James; and (b) there is no way James could be successful.
James is one of the most successful and content people I know. I wish I spent more time with him.
He was a world-class champion chess player. He made a fortune in the hedge fund business. And he is a prolific investor and writer.
James was one of the first people I spoke to about Buddy Media. He had recently sold a startup of his own, Stockpickr, to TheStreet.com. I wanted him involved.
James invested. And made a lot of money. Most Normals would never have invested in an app company built on a college social network started by a husband and wife team whose most recent company was selling golf stuff.
I love James. James is weird. Weird is good.
Meet Peter Thiel. Peter is very, very weird.
I first met Peter at the former Clarium Capital office in New York. We were meeting at lunchtime. I walked into his beautiful office overlooking Central Park.
We sat at a round table right in front of his desk. Or at least I remember it being round but I could be wrong.
His staff set the table — for one. The server brought out lunch for Peter. And then a drink. And didn’t offer me either.
I thought this was weird but was not even one bit annoyed. I was just happy to be talking to Peter. He’s brilliant.
Peter studied 20 Century philosophy at Stanford. Normals don’t go to Stanford, in the heart of Silicon Valley, and study modern philosophy.
Like James, Peter is a wicked chess player, a national master, to be exact. What’s with chess? I can’t stand the game myself.
Peter pays kids not to go to college, invested in a company that bioprints meat for human consumption and thinks death is a problem that can be solved. But while we’re alive, why not form independent ocean communities with their own laws and political system?
This all sounds weird, right? Maybe to all the Normals.
But remember …
Facebook seemed like a pretty weird idea when Peter made the first outside investment in the company, netting him close to half a billion dollars in gains.
Paypal seemed like an even weirder idea when Peter founded the company, which was eventually sold to eBay for $1.5 billion.
Buddy Media was just weird enough for Peter to invest personally.
Speaking of which, I just saw Peter earlier this month in Austin at SXSW. He barely recognized me, which is cool because we haven’t spent that much time together.
Come to think of it, he still hasn’t said congrats or thank you for the amazing outcome. Only in Silicon Valley, the home of weird, can you make someone a few million dollars in less than 5 years and not even receive a simple thank you.
If someone made me a few million bucks, I’d donate $100,000 to their favorite charity. Or name my next born after them (as long as their name wasn’t Herbert or something like that). Or maybe write a thank you note, at a minimum. Actually, I’d probably just send a text. But maybe I’m not weird enough.
Am I upset? No. Because I understand where Peter comes from. He’s a weirdo. Very smart weirdo. I love him for it and we need more Peter Thiels.
And we need more Cindy Gallops.
Cindy is half-British and half-Chinese. She was born in the UK and grew up in Brunei.
Cindy was the head of BBH, one of the world’s largest ad agencies, before retiring to change the world.
Her project IfWeRanTheWorld.com is trying to turn the world’s good intentions into collective good actions.
And she has turned her love of having sex with younger men into one of the most talked aboutTEDtalks and a new business to reinvent the porn industry, one crowd-sourced video at a time.
I love Cindy. Cindy is weird. Weird is good.
Gary, James, Peter, Cindy and other weirdos I know share a few common traits that propel them to reach their full potential.
Weirdos see the world as a blank slate for them to paint their masterpiece. Forget marching to their own drums. They make up their own instruments. Forget thinking outside the box. They don’t see boxes. They see circles and horizons and trapezoid.
Weirdos don’t see anything as impossible. Anything is possible. Just give us enough time.
Weirdos are contrarians. They think differently and act even more differently. Normals try to fit in. Weirdos stick out without really trying.
Weirdos aren’t driven by money. Money is a destination. Weirdos are all about the journey.
Weirdos don’t care what others think. They only care THAT they think and want to change HOW they think.
Weirdos come in all shapes and sizes, colors and countries. And they’re not new to the tech industry, or industry in general.
Weirdos thought it made sense to get on the Mayflower from England to settle in a new land.
Weirdos thought we should get rid of slavery.
Weirdos insisted that women should also have a vote.
The world would suck if it weren’t for weirdos.
Instead of trying to get our kids to fit in, we should help them celebrate why they are different.
Let’s start to teach kids to embrace weird. Weird is good.
And let’s not stop until weird is normal.
A Tale of Two Coaches…Which one are you? (shared by Kirk Weisler)
A Tale of Two Coaches…. Which one are you? There’s more to coaching than sharing your expertise. The way you communicate that expertise is as important as the knowledge itself.
(excerpt)=
I also occasionally played golf with another friend. I’ll call him Frank (not his real name). He was a good deal older than I, but a great golfer-even better than Victor. But the two were complete opposites when it came to coaching.
I still remember the last time I played with him. On hole number three, I sliced a drive into the deep rough. Certain it was unplayable, I dropped my club to the ground, and sighed.
“Well, that was a helluva shot,” Frank grumbled. “You didn’t finish your swing. You just kinda … kinda gave up on it.” He then frowned and snorted.
With that, he stepped up to the tee box and pinned his tee and ball to the ground in one seamless motion. Then, without so much as a practice swing, he blasted his ball straight down the middle of the fairway.
It was picture-perfect. Just like on TV. Speaking to no one in particular, he announced, “That’s how it’s done!”
He stood tall.
I felt small.
Unfortunately, this scenario was typical. Frank was always quick to point out my faults. If I happened to hit the ball well, he would say something like, “Well, you got lucky on that one, didn’t ya, kid?”
Not surprisingly, I always played my worst golf when I played with Frank. He chipped away at my confidence, and my performance unraveled as the game progressed. He made me want to quit.
In reflecting on these two different coaching styles, I realized I have a choice in how I lead.
I can either focus on what my teammates are doing right and thus increase their confidence, or I can focus on what they are doing wrong and thus increase their self-doubt. Both styles have an impact on their performance. And both have an impact on my effectiveness as a leader
(Take 3 minutes and read the full blog…it’s wonderful.)http://michaelhyatt.com/tale-of-two-coaches.html#more-20811
Mzsunflower's Say What? 