What is the best way to start a work day? I get up, I stretch, I shower, I eat breakfast… I get to my desk… and then… what is the best way to start? I think I have it. Choose to suffer for the first 15 minutes. Decide to do the most important, most scary … Read more
Freedom is dangerous without self discipline. Few people will get anything important done in life without a boss, a parent, a teacher. It is the removal of freedom that allows creation. Completion requires constraints: deadlines, scope, format… We chaff at the chains, but they serve us. My boss is an idiot, but without her insistance … Read more
You don’t need more time management. You need to say “No” more. I watched an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert recently. She said “When I was young I used to think that if I said No to people, they would feel rejected, get angry and feel let down. Now that I am older I realise that … Read more
I just spent the last 60 minutes wasting time. I sat down at the computer with a clear intention to write an article. I opened Scrivener, my writing software. I looked at the blank page… and allowed myself to open email… check facebook… Google+, and have just now surfaced from a 60 minute black hole … Read more
At IESE this week, Steven MacGregor ran 3 sessions on “Sustaining Executive Performance”. Keeping healthy is one aspect of successful executives. The human being functions best under conditions of stress followed by recovery. Too much stress leads to breakdown. Too much recovery leads to atrophy. The best form of recovery is sleep. How can you … Read more
Seth Godin’s blog post today is Easy and Certain. The lottery is easy. It is not certain, but it is easy. Many choose an MBA because it feels certain. It is not easy, but it feels certain. Once you’ve got the diploma on the wall… success is inevitable… There is a spanish word “chollo”. “Un … Read more
The US Aikido master George Leonard in his book “Mastery” speaks of 4 approaches that we take to learning new disciplines. It scares me that I might be a regular Hacker… how to shift my approach and push through “good” and reach “better” and one day “expert”?: The Dabbler – The Dabbler’s learning curve rises very quickly, … Read more
“Be water my friend.” Bruce Lee What does Bruce Lee mean? What is it to “be water”? On “being water” What is it to “be water“? Water flows and adapts. It has no plan, but deals with the environment that it finds. It fully explores the space. It has no expectations of what it will … Read more
Two months ago, I was at IESE business school with Verne Harnish and his wife Julie. We were talking about entrepreneurial success and achievement. He shared with me a quote that comes from his father-in-law: “How you do anything is how you do everything.” Verne’s father-in-law has apartments that he rents out. What criteria does … Read more
The Psychology of High Performance I spent yesterday afternoon in Puigcerda with Kilian Jornet, an athlete who dominates two sports: alpine skiing and mountain trail running (skyrunning). He is 23 years old, but his values and approach to life and sport transmit a maturity far beyond his 23 years of age. Kilian’s mother says “I … Read more