One of the key personality traits of an Entrepreneur is that we like to hustle, try new things, and fill our workday with variety. A negative side-effect of this is that we also have a hard time giving up control. As an entrepreneur, we must learn to delegate certain tasks to others. Without delegation, the sad truth is that we stall the growth of our companies because there is only so much time...
The goal of reading for learning isn't to make it through as many books as possible in a given amount of time; it's to squeeze meaning and/or inspiration out of them. How to Read a Book is a blueprint for how to do exactly that.
Ed Catmull is the president of both Pixar and Disney Animation Studios. He is an innovator in technological and creative spaces, and this book is an entertaining and informative look behind-the-scenes of some of today’s most popular animated films. What impresses me most about Catmull, however, is his ability to keep high spirits amongst his team, even in face of the threat of low morale. His...
Tony Hsieh, the founder of Zappos, runs his company in a slightly unique way. Instead of focusing strictly on the bottom line, market share, or outdoing the competition in sales, he is passionate about delivering happiness to both his employees and his customers. For example, the budget that most companies would spend on paid advertising, Hsieh invested in customer service and customer experience...
Have you ever wondered which direction to take your content marketing? After finishing up my most recent series of blog posts, I had to make a decision on which direction to take my next series. In addition, it was time to perform an analysis of my overall strategy during the past year. I needed a method of digging up answers to the following questions: Which posts of mine have done well in the...
This week I finished reading Made to Stick by brothers Chip and Dan Heath. The book is centered around six principles of sticky ideas and is geared toward marketers, writers, leaders, coaches… anybody who has ever needed to get a message across.
Last week I wrote a review of Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath. One of the qualities of the book that impressed me most was the large number of stories used to illustrate its main points. The book would have been much less inspiring without them. I decided after reading that book, that as I publish my own books, I will be sure to make them rife with stories.
Job titles, income, social following, successful businesses, free time, attitude about life, physical fitness, excellence at a hobby…These are things that I see other people excelling at over myself daily, and if I’m not careful, comparing myself to them on one of these metrics can potentially strip me of contentment with who I am, and what I am good at.
I feel that the quest to be productive will last my whole lifetime. Every time I think that I have it figured out and put a system in place, the smallest change usually sends the system crumbling. However, I’ve recently settled on a few tools that are starting to stand the test of time, and I thought I’d take a moment to share them with you.
Most of us know how to tackle large tasks: You make a plan, set aside time, and execute. However, how do you make sure those little, pesky to-dos get done? Put new batteries in the camera. Call the bank about that letter. Pick up some milk while you’re out. Small to-do tasks are easily forgotten because they just aren’t important enough to stay at the top of our minds.
HI, I'M RYAN. I believe the best way to learn and remember is by writing things down and sharing them with others. This blog exists to help me synthesize and process my journey towards self-improvement.