Scratch your own Itch

"It's not about how long you live, but rather how well you live it." 

- Tim Ferris

Hey Bizspired Minds! First gotta apologize for not blogging a whole lot lately,  but I've been busy having too much fun with the eggnog if ya know what I mean ;)

Today I stumbled across a really good interview with Tim Ferris, who is known through his books and the business community as "The Most Interesting Man in the World." 

Actually I have read a couple of chapters from Tim Ferris' Book "The 4-Hour Work Week," which I must admit makes me want to drop everything right then and there to go travel the world that very night. (Probably why I haven't even gotten close to finishing it, but I'll have a post about the book when I do read it completely). 

This guy is one of a kind! In this video Tim shares his fundamental processes that allows you to master any skill.

Check it out:

Now the video is around 50min long and is packed full of tons of information, and in it there is bits and pieces of great insight for just about everybody so I broke it down for you guys if you want to skip ahead to topics that interest you more:

Intro/Shooting-the-shit with Tim about his newest book and mastering new skills - 0:00 to 10min or so

Marketing - around the 13:30 mark

On writing - 22 min

Haters - 26 min

Constructive Criticism - 31:15

Broken-Window Theory - 32:10

Appreciating what you have - about 36min in

Defining your goals - 37min

Making choices/Being efficient - 39min

Start up company's and leaders - 41min

Who are you, and why should I care?

Who are you, and why should I care? - The question that really goes through every interviewer's mind when considering if you should be the candidate that they hire...

But right there brings me to my point of this post, which is to

ESTABLISH WHO YOU ARE, WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT, AND HOW TO MAKE PEOPLE CARE

Lately I have been trying to figure out ways to answer just that Mr. Bart, and that's all thanks to a book I am currently diving into called "The Brand Called You," by Peter Montoya and Timothy Vandehey. 

This books is truly changing my perspective of how to take control over how other see me, think of me, and why they should care about what I have to say. It is an absolute must read for anyone who wants to make a name for themselves.

Being able to control how other's see you, and get to know what you are about before even meeting you is a very powerful tool to have indeed. And Thanks to Amazon.com, you can get this book used for only 30  freakin' cents! That's right, take all my money Jeff Bezos, all 30 cents of it you inspirational bastard!

Bart's caption up there is a prime example of Personal Branding. Just by looking at him and reading his dialogue you can dictate 3 things. Who he is (a cocky kid based off his stance), what he is about (being a punk-ass kid who skateboards), and if we should care (unless there is a "doh!" resulting from his pranks, then probably not).

Knowing how to express and control how others see and interpret you is such a powerful tool, I encourage all of my readers to take 5 quick minutes and help establish the brand called YOU.

Here are some tools you can take advantage right now in order to establish how you want to brand yourself so that you can start taking some control:

The Personal Branding Brainstorm

1. Talk to colleagues, customers and staff about how they see you.

2. Make a list of your strongest professional traits and skills.

3. Compare your list with what others tell you. How do things differ?

4. List your main competitors and their personal images.

5. List the things that make you different from your competition.

6. Write down the values, interests or traits you share with your customers (if non-retail, than what you share with your peers).

7. Start asking referral clients what the person who referred them said about you

8. Start a "genius file": Collect the branding materials of the professionals in your area who have great personal brands (like doctors, real estate agents, financial advisers, ect.)

A REAL LIFE EXAMPLE OF PERSONAL BRANDING VIA MY OWN RESUME

Whenever I am at a business fair looking for potential opportunities to expand my horizons, I want the employers to know 3 things about me.

1. I am a professional. 2. I'm different, superior, but yet authentic. 3. I am the valuable asset your business is looking for.

Check it out, think my resume does my personal brand justice?

(Honestly though I love feedback and open to all criticism, so please feel free to have at it!)

This bad-boy landed me a top-10 internship fall quarter! Not too bad if I do say so myself ;)

Now that you have been introduced into the world of branding, 

GET OUT THERE and starting letting the people know about a BRAND CALLED YOU!

What Jeff Bezos' knows.

Hey bizspired minds! Just stumbled accross a great insider video that Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com made to enlighten viewers about what he knows about business.


Check it out (*grabs pen and paper*):





Recap

1. Obsess over customers. 
 - Pay attention to competition but keep your main focus on customers.

2. Invent 
- FreakinLoveThisx100. Such a cool concept. (Some of Jeff Bezos' 1st employees were actually math majors becuase he wanted to have the ability to solve any problem. Got this info from a Amazon rep that came to my school and I got to grill with 100trillion questions for half an hour.)
- "You can invent your way out of any box." Don't accept either or thinking, always search for the answer to a problem.
- Creat an inventive culture.

3. Think Long-Term
 - Being able to do this gives your business a huge competitive anvantage over companies who can not.

4. It's always day #1
I agree Jeffro. One of my ways of thinking is that "every passing moment is another oppurtunity to turn it all around." Right Penelope Cruz? Wow she is too cute with that accent in Vanilla Sky, isn't she?

#mycrush

Leadership

One night while dreaming before sleeping, I asked myself "what makes a leader a man that thousands of people can get behind?"

And then when I couldn't find that answer myself, I asked google. Thank god for google.



Well turns out google found me a really cool website on leadership, so I'd thought I would share.


Check it out: http://leadership.uoregon.edu/resources/exercises_tips/leadership_reflections/a_wish_for_leaders


Here is an example of what you'll find on this site that I really enjoyed in particular

Here are 10 things that authentic leaders do on a regular basis:

1. They speak their truth. In business today, we frequently 'swallow our truth'. We say things to please others and to look good in front of The Crowd. Authentic leaders are different. They consistently talk truth. They would never betray themselves by using words that are not aligned with who they are. This does not give anyone a license to say things that are hurtful to people. Speaking truth is simply about being clear, being honest and being authentic.
2. They lead from the heart. Business is about people. Leadership is about people. The best leaders wear their hearts on their sleeves and are not afraid to show their vulnerability. They genuinely care about other people and spend their days developing the people around them. They are like the sun: the sun gives away all it has to the plants and the trees. But in return, the plants and the trees always grow toward the sun.
3. They have rich moral fiber. Who you are speaks far more loudly than anything you could ever say. Strength of character is true power - and people can feel it a mile away. Authentic leaders work on their character. They walk their talk and are aligned with their core values. They are noble and good. And in doing so, people trust, respect and listen to them.
4. They are courageous. It takes a lot of courage to go against the crowd. It takes a lot of courage to be a visionary. It takes a lot of inner strength to do what you think is right even though it may not be easy. We live in a world where so many people walk the path of least resistance. Authentic leadership is all about taking the road less traveled and doing, not what is easy, but what is right.
5. They build teams and create communities. One of the primary things that people are looking for in their work experience is a sense of community. In the old days, we got our community from where we lived. We would have block parties and street picnics. In the new age of work, employees seek their sense of community and connection from the workplace. Authentic leaders create workplaces that foster human linkages and lasting friendships.
6. They deepen themselves. The job of the leader is to go deep. Authentic leaders know themselves intimately. They nurture a strong self-relationship. They know their weaknesses and play to their strengths. And they always spend a lot of time transcending their fears.
7. They are dreamers. Einstein said that, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." It is from our imaginations that great things are born. Authentic leaders dare to dream impossible dreams. They see what everyone else sees and then dream up new possibilities. They spend a lot of time with their eyes closed creating blueprints and fantasies that lead to better products, better services, better workplaces and deeper value. How often do you close your eyes and dream?
8. They care for themselves. Taking care of your physical dimension is a sign of self-respect. You can't do great things at work if you don't feel good. Authentic leaders eat well, exercise and care for the temples that are their bodies. They spend time in nature, drink plenty of water and get regular massages so that, physically, they are operating at planet-class levels of performance.
9. They commit to excellence rather than perfection. No human being is perfect. Every single one of us is a work in progress. Authentic leaders commit themselves to excellence in everything that they do. They are constantly pushing the envelope and raising their standards. They do not seek perfection and have the wisdom to know the difference. What would your life look like if you raised your standards well beyond what anyone could ever imagine of you?
10. They leave a legacy. To live in the hearts of the people around you is to never die. Success is wonderful but significance is even better. You were made to contribute and to leave a mark on the people around you. In failing to live from this frame of reference, you betray yourself. Authentic leaders are constantly building their legacies by adding deep value to everyone that they deal with and leaving the world a better place in the process. 

CREDIT U OF O.

Good To Great / Lvl. 5 Leadership

"You can accomplish anything in life, provided that you do not mind who gets the credit." 

- Harry S. Truman

Periodically I well be posting key notes from a book I read by world renown business researcher, Jim Collins, who is has quite the unique perspective on businesses. 

The book Good to Great shows through 5 years of research the differences between the great companies (Walgreens, McDonalds, ect.) and ones that do enough to be above water, but didn't change the status quo like the greats did and still do today.

  

Since I don't feel like blogging about all of the great concepts that come out of this book and truly going into good depth (I do have a life ya know..) this post well hit more on some of the key concepts that Jimmy is pushing onto his readers.

Key Concepts from the Begining Chapters

- Good is the enemy of Great. When you settle for just "good enough," you will lose in the long run. NO DOUBT ABOUT IT JIM. Agreed 100%

-Level 5 leadership. What Jimmy noticed about all the CEOs that lead everlasting GREAT COMPANIES was that they all carried the characteristics of a level 5 leader..

Becoming a level 5 leader is something I personally strive to be everyday not only because of what the research has shown, but because you can truly relate these characteristics to great leaders like Churchill or even Herman Boone from Remember the Titans. 

What makes a level 5 leader

-They emboy a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will

-They are ambitious, but they are ambitious first and foremost for the company, not themselves.



"For me, my role is about unleashing what people already have inside them that is maybe suppressed in most work environments."
- Tony Hsieh 

-They set up thier successors for even greater success in the next generation, whereas egocentric Level 4 leaders often set up their successors for failure.

-They display a compelling modesty, are self-effacing and understated.

-They are fanatically driven.

-They are more plow horse than show horse

-THE BIGGEST LESSON I LEARNED?? (and need to work on personally..) was that LEVEL 5 LEADERS look out the window to attribute success to factors other than themselves. But when things go wrong, however, they look in the mirror and blame themselves, taking full responsibility.

- Also, they attriute much of their success to good luck, rather than personal greatness.


I CHALANGE ALL OF YOU TO PUSH YOURSELVES TO BECOME A LEVEL 5 LEADER. IT WILL HELP YOU GROW INTO SOMETHING BIGGER THAN WHAT YOU THOUGHT POSSIBLE, I garuantee it.


One more meme, then I'm done, I swear.. (well, for tonight):

But seriously, go buy this or check Good to Great by Jim Collins out from a library ASAP! Your future business well thank you.

Bulk-buy Roman

Sam Walton: The King of Walmart, the man who started discount retail. Also, the man driving us crazy with so many bargains!


South Park, as always, has the best view on everything including Walmart:

Enough discount bulk-buy roman to last me a thousand winters? Mr. Walton you got yourself a god damn deal!

In all seriousness however Stan does ask a great question. How is it that Walmart can sell so much for so little? To answer that let's dive into Sam Walton's biography Made in America, where he gives out all his business strategies, that drove his original dime & five stores into the multi-billion business that pretty much every American knows today.

To answer Stan's question, Walton would most likely respond with his quote: "Buy it low, stack it high, sell it cheap."

What Sam means by this quote is truly the essence of discounting, by cutting your price, you can boost your sales to a point where you earn for more. You can lower your markup price but earn more because of increased sales volume.

A very simple concept, yet Sammy boy here took it and ran as far as he could with it. His driving force behind this billion dollar retailer? Pure competitiveness and a few rules to do business by. Walton was so competitive to the point where if he wasn't in his own store, he was in his competitors stores' taking notes on everything to find an edge. From this strive to be the best Mr. Walton came out not only on top of the retail world, but also with his 10 essential business rules.


Here the rules that Sam laid down that lead him to to the top:

SAM WALTON'S 10 RULES FOR BUSINESS

1. Commit

Believe in your business more than anyone else and have passion for your business

2. Share your profits
Treat your associates like your partners, people are your greatest asset .

3. Motivate
"If you expect great things from folks, they'll expect it from themselves."

4. Communicate
Information is power; the more you empower your associates, the more they'll care.

5. Appreciate
Appreciate everything that your associates do for the business. "Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free- and worth a fortune."

6. Celebrate your Success
Find humor in your failures. Loosen up and everyone around you will loosen up. Have fun. Show enthusiasm, always.

7. Listen
Your employees are the ones that really know what's going on down on the sales floor. Get your employees talking about what they like/what can be improved.

8. Exceed
Exceed your customers expectations. Go above and beyond with your service. Don't make excuses - apologize and fix the problem.

9. Control
Control your expenses better than your competition. Have the lowest expense to sales ratio. Be efficient.

10. Swim Upstream
Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. Don't let the populace tell you you're going the wrong way. Go into the business that has the most promise for the least amount of money.


All of it is solid advice and each rule goes more into detail within his book.

 If you are an entrepreneur at heart, or any sort of businessman/woman, Walton's book is a must read simply because it is like Mr. Walton's brain is right there for the picking!

If I Fail More Than You Do, I WIN.

"The difference between freelancers and Entrepreneurs? Freelancers get paid while they're working, Entrepreneurs get paid while they sleep." -Seth Godin

If you're looking for some inspiration on how to market your business and yourself, this dude is an EXPERT.

Very insightful, not only on business but also doing what's right for you as a white collar worker. Take a look:

"Failing Until You Succeed"

Welcome to Bizspired!

To all the trailblazers out there who are entrepreneurial spirited and business minded,welcome to Bizspired! This blog is dedicated to providing a collection of knowledge that has been gained and currently gaining through business books, videos, and entrepreneurial experiences of a young adult who seeks the adventure of building a great company one day! I hope that the information that I post on this blog will not only help me reflect on resourceful business knowledge, but also help inspire readers to pursue their own business dreams.


1st rule of Bizspired? Anything you do in life from here on out, do it: