Live Your Dream Life

If you’re anything like me, you love life.

Time can be your friend or your enemy. The choice is yours. When we spend time doing things that we love than time is your friend. Otherwise time can be doing everything to make your life hell.

Why did I bring up loving life and time?

We each only have 24 hours in a day. The way you spend that time is your life. Think about that. Your life is how you spend the time that you have. Sooo…

Hate your job?
Hate your house?
Hate your _____?

Why are you doing it?

You only have one life.

Go out there and do things that you love. Even a little bit of it. If that’s all that you can do your life will be better.

So that’s what I’m doing. Spending a little more time on things that make me happy.

More time at home. More time working on the business. More time finding clients. More time coding. More time running.

Slicing my time into smaller pieces and doing these things daily makes my life better.

That’s all we can ask for. A better life. A life created and lived for one person: YOU.

So, if you take one thing away from this blog post. Do You!

 

My Favorites on YouTube

Trying to come up with new ideas is hard. I spend a lot of time watching videos, reading articles, and surfing the web. Looking for the perfect piece of content. I’ve decided to change it up and show you some of my favorite YouTube videos. It spans categories and themes, so hang on for the ride. Decided to limit it to only three videos, but they are worth your time. Hope you enjoy them!
 

My Favorites on YouTube

Legacy | Future of Everything with Jason Silva | Singularity University

 

This is an amazing video that makes of you think about the future. Not thinking about it by putting your head in the sand won’t work. Here’s their summary: Futurists and entrepreneurs Peter Diamandis and Ray Kurzweil created Singularity University to communicate the implications of exponential technological progress. Humans are only wired to think about change linearly, but exponential change is here, and the impact of exponential technological change will be incredible.

Now, this is a video of a different feather. It’s about making yourself better. Doing more while doing less. And applying lessons learned from others. I heard about this from Tim Ferris and it doesn’t disappoint. Here’s their summary: Video Seminars for Efficient and Graceful Freestyle https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list… Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/swimlikeshinji Questions are welcome! I will solve your problems. Learning materials and free videos are available at http://swimlikeshinji.com/ This video finally got ranked No.1 worldwide among famous swimmers (on June 11, 2012). Thank you very much for watching the video!

Geeked out over the organization in this video. I’m a huge fan of functional organization. Things need to be where you need them when you need them. Casey Neistat does a great job with this. Here’s their summary: This video was produced by Gizmodo and made by Michael Hession. See the original posting of the videos as well as Michael’s writing in the links below
 

Marketing Works

I do a lot of thinking about business. I take action on these thoughts all the time. That’s my process. Think, do; then adjust. It works most of the time. But it means I fail a lot. It’s the scientific method applied to marketing. And for me it works. But that’s not why I do it. I learn these techniques to help others apply them. Here’s an example.
 
My client is an author. He’s written his first book and working on his second. Before me he was on social media and getting it done. But as he says, it was ripping time away from him. He works a full-time job, takes care of his family. While writing his second book and on top of all that he’s supposed to be on social media. Commenting, replying, putting out content, creating graphics. How? It’s possible, but not sustainable.
 
That’s where I come in. I take that hard part and make it easy. How? I do it. My company produces all the content based on who you are. We get to know you. And this is my favorite part. We get intimate by building trust. We become friends. And that’s why I love my business. My clients are my friends. Yes, they pay me. But even if they didn’t I would still do this. It’s great to see a post do well. To see people respond and say how much they love the content he’s putting out.
 
At the end of the day my client could do this himself. But he wouldn’t have time to focus on everything else he has to do. And it’s a simple choice. Do this or do that. No pressure on my end. Either way I’m going to keep providing this service. It’s a benefit to my clients. I know if I don’t provide it they will search somewhere else for this to get done. But that employee you hire won’t care as much as you do. To that person you are putting food on the table. That’s not my case. I’m building a business I can be proud of. Or that employee does care, but you also have to provide benefits and some months you don’t have the funds. With me don’t worry about it.

No long-term contracts, no benefits. Only our deal. You like what we do, stay with us. You don’t, let us know and you can leave at the end of the month. No hard feelings, but it is personal. So I will want to know why.
 
Back to my client. He loves the service because I provide guidance. Not everything I say will work. But I will work through it with him. I will be his Chief Marketing Officer dedicated to getting results on social media. He has an idea and I will do it. Test it and show the results. At the end of the day it’s about results.
 
Results matter. It’s not about the number of likes, follower, or re-tweets. Even though those things matter. At the end of the day it’s about what happens. The feelings that your customers get from you. Their experience. And, results. Guess, what? Marketing works. And the best marketing is by telling your story. Over and over again. To as many people as will listen. But to each person as a person. Not a robot. Not a salesman. 
[clickToTweet tweet=”But as friends having a conversation. And that is the best type of marketing that works.” quote=”But as friends having a conversation. And that is the best type of marketing that works.”]

Thanks for reading! Did you enjoy it? Leave me a comment below. Would mean a lot to me and I appreciate it. All feedback welcome.


I can be found on Twitter @winstonash1 and Instagram @winston_ash where I love to talk about business, politics, tech, self-education, and success.

 

Gambler and Banker

I admit it. I’m addicted. The high of winning is greater than the low of losing; and, I crave that moment right before I know the answer. The moment of truth. Where options abound and the probabilities are endless. Fire in my belly from both fear and excitement. Losing only hurts for a while, but winning. That can hold me over.

Photo by Charlotte Coneybeer on Unsplash.com

Photo by Charlotte Coneybeer on Unsplash.com

 
When I have decisions that have consequences – read, all. I try to figure out all the angles and outcomes. Then I assign a probability to them. All this happens in an instant. At the end I make the best guess and roll the die. Win, lose, or draw the game is on now. And I’m excited.
 
Why do I say gambler and banker? Because that other side of me is a banker. The conservative, penny-pincher with T-rex arms when it comes time to paying. This part of me makes sure that every move makes sense and pays off. Getting this guy to put up money is like getting an addict to part with drugs. Not a pretty sight. Smart, consistent play that maximizes long-term wealth generation is what I’m all about on this end. What does that mumbo jumbo mean? 
Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash.com

Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash.com

[clickToTweet tweet=”In two words: Don’t lose.” quote=”In two words: Don’t lose.”]
And in that space where both are happy is where I try to live my days. Blissful ignorance of the greatest upside. But a wary eye turned toward the downside risk.
 
Where do you spend your days?

 Thanks for reading! Did you enjoy it? Leave me a comment below. Would mean a lot to me and I appreciate it. All feedback welcome.

I can be found on Twitter @winstonash1 and Instagram @winston_ash where I love to talk about business, politics, tech, self-education, and success.

 

#GTD: Be More Productive, Do Less

It sounds counter-intuitive but it is the truth. How is it possible? I want to say philosophical things here. But the truth is, I’m lazy. I want to get the most done with the least amount of effort on my part. Being the lazy person that I am, I’ve adopted rules. Touch things only once. If I’m going to be doing it again, make it into a template. Forms and checklists are the easiest templates. They are fast to create and easy to use.
 
Be as specific or as general as needed. I know, very helpful. But it’s true.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Your system needs to suit you.” quote=”Your system needs to suit you.”]
My wife and I have completely different ways of handling information. Me, I love seeing everything but without the details. I want the big picture. My wife wants each item on paper and detailed. What goes where, and when is it due. My system and hers are different; guess what, that’s ok.
 
Here are the basics of my current system. FYI: It changes without warning.
 

Tools

  • GTD – This is my strategy for handling everything thrown my way. I’ve read all three books and implemented this system. Do I follow it perfectly? No. But I have come a long way since putting this system in place.
  • Trello – I use this for my major projects, to gather information, and to deal with clients. Trello is my go-to for everything visual. I put clients work in here and then send the link to my clients so they can stay informed. The best part of this is that I only have to do work once. By having it available all the time my clients have access on demand.
  • Todoist – This is my task manager of choice. I needed something that could connect to my phone and sync seamlessly online. This gets the job done. The only negative is that there is no client for my Mac. If they had a Mac client then I would be able to keep everything connected across my entire technology stack. Hope this is in the works. Either way, a great piece of software.
  • Calendar – Anything that must get done on a specific date goes here. Recurring tasks, meetings, deadlines. All entered into here. My calendar is the holy grail. I live by it and allow it to control my life.
  • Evernote – This is my online reference system. I used this for a task manager but it was not built for that. I use it as my second brain now. It holds all my memories and things that I need to know.
My recommendation to you. Find a system. Start small and go. Nothing needs to be perfect. But this will allow you to get more done and have a greater impact.
 
With my system in place, I have more time at home. More time to learn. And my favorite thing – read more books. I encourage you to try this out for yourself. Let me know how it goes.
 

Secret Formula to Winning

Helen Keller said, “… I learned that the power to rise in the world is not in the reach of everyone.”

While I agree with the words I disagree with her intent. Keller means that social class keeps people down. I disagree. There is no such thing as “People”. Individuals don’t do the work it takes to rise. Plain and simple. And then when it gets hard they stop.

Want to rise in this world?

Here’s the secret formula to winning.

[clickToTweet tweet=”It’s not pretty. And it’s hard. But it works. ” quote=”It’s not pretty. And it’s hard. But it works. ” theme=”style2″]

  1. Do the fucking work.
  2. Put on a helmet – it’s going to be a bumpy ride
  3. Shut up, stop complaining and pull your weight
  4. If you don’t like what you are doing then stop
  5. You are in control. The choice is yours
  6. Do the WORK