This is a truly random episode of Random. What has Kevin learned in his new role as CEO of Digg? Which new books, people, and websites are we finding interesting? From management lessons to language learning (and a critique of Rosetta Stone), this episode meanders all over the place.
This is also our first sponsored episode — Sonos! It’s quite cool that we’re now sponsored by a company whose products made a cameo as early as episode 2.
Thanks to awesome readers DynastyDC and Ben, here are the show notes and links… Read More
Brute force seldom works with haters. Redirection does. (Photo: Deadstar 2.0)
I recently spent a week in Amsterdam enjoying bicycles, canals, Queensday, and… ahem… coffee shops. For real. Honest. The best coffee I’ve had in Europe has to be De Koffie Salon.
I also gave a short keynote at The NextWeb about how to deal with haters, protect yourself from (some) media, respond to FlipCams, and other personal branding self-defense 101.
Think you have crazy people contacting you or commenting on your blog? Me too. I share some of my favorite hater e-mails, Amazon reviews, and voicemails. It’ll make you feel better to hear the stories.
It is possible to learn to love haters. But it does take some know-how and tactical planning… Read More
“From all your herds, a cup or two of milk,
From all your granaries, a loaf of bread,
In all your palace, only half a bed:
Can man use more? And do you own the rest?” – Ancient Sanskrit poem
Total post read time: 5 minutes.
Living well is quite different from “doing well.”
In the quest to get ahead — destination often unknown — it’s easy to have life pass you by while you’re focused on other things. This post is intended as a reminder and a manifesto: keep it simple.
The following post is a guest post by John Hargrave, whom I met in 2007 at SXSW.
If you find large-scale pranks (Super Bowl, anyone?), impersonating celebrities, and other clever mischief amusing, he’s the king of the domain. His book Prank the Monkey is a guide to unleashing your inner Loki.
Given my interest in outsourcing and pushing the envelope with concierge services, he suggested the following post, which looks at just how far VISA will go to keep you happy. I’ve run similar experiments with American Express Platinum Card with similar results. There are no credit card affiliate links in this post, so no ulterior motives. Just eager for you to reap benefits you’ve probably never taken advantage of. Enjoy.
Please share your success stories, past or present, in the comments.
Herewith enters Sir John Hargrave.
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I recently signed up for The Visa SIGNATURE Chase Freedom card, for one reason: it has a concierge service. [Tim note: In fact, all of the "Visa Signature" cards have this concierge service, among other benefits]
A credit card concierge service is much like a hotel concierge service, except you don’t have to tip. A concierge is your own personal assistant, someone who will do anything you want them to do: make dinner reservations, book a trip to Hawaii, or shop for negligees for your grandmother.
We’re so used to being treated badly by credit card companies that it’s almost impossible to believe that they are serving you. But that’s how it works: they’re your virtual assistants, ready to help you with anything.
Anything?
I wanted to test the limits of my Visa Chase Freedom concierge service, so I spent a week making incredibly ridiculous requests, to see how they’d hold up… Read More
In the past several weeks, I’ve been asked quite a lot about public speaking.
While downing gin tonics over Brazilian BBQ at the SXSW Interactive tech conference, I was approached by the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) of a start-up I advise.
She pulled me aside to ask primarily two questions:
1. Where can I learn about the right social media tools to use? 2. What books should I read to learn how to get good at public speaking?
In this episode of Random — lucky #10 — Kevin and I hit the streets of San Francisco to discuss food, recent learnings, and a few feature: favorite books, people, and websites since the last episode.
Show notes and links are included below, but one new order of business: we are thinking of having sponsors for the Random show!
Here’s the idea: we have room for just three (3) sponsors at $1,000 an episode each, and you get both screenshots during the episode with your website/logo, and we also give you a shout out at the beginning of the episode. The sponsorship will allow us to treat Glenn to some fancy new shoes and support his video habit, as well as open up uber-cool options for topics and experiments.
Interested? First come, first served, so let us know at earliest via email: amyatfourhourworkweekdotcom with “RANDOM SPONSOR” in the subject line.
That all said, here are the show notes and a bonus safari video… Read More
The path to profitability doesn’t need to be complicated. (Photo: El Photopakismo)
I’ve known the guys at 37Signals for a little while.
I first met Jason Fried at SXSW in 2008, and I then got to know David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH) over e-mail and in person last year. On a fundamental level, I think, our philosophies just mesh well.
Comfortably situated in Chicago outside of the “start-up” echo chamber, 37Signals is focused on getting sh*t done instead of chasing the Silicon Valley venture capital death spiral. Financing has it’s place, but it’s a means to an end and shouldn’t be confused with an end.
The end is a profitable business. Now, let’s be clear: there are ways to play the acquisition game (or even financing game) and make millions without ever turning a profit. But don’t let the media fool you–you hear of the few successes because the stories are fun to tell. The thousands of failures that die sad but unspectacular deaths don’t get on the magazine covers.
More than 3,000,000 people worldwide use 37Signals products, including me. I use one of them, Basecamp, for project management, and it rocks in its simplicity. I’m not the only one who thinks so: Basecamp generates millions of dollars in profit every year.
37Signals’ employees–fewer than 20 total–are spread across 8 cities on two continents, and no matter how many rules they break, profit seems to be the end result… Read More
Rolf Potts is one of my favorite writers, and his book Vagabonding was one of only four books I recommended as “fundamental” in The 4-Hour Workweek. It was also one of two books, the other being Walden; Or, Life in the Woods, that I took with me during my 15+-month mini-retirement that began in 2004.
The following is a guest post from Rolf on the art and lessons of travel, all of which you can apply at home.
Enter Rolf:
Last fall I spoke at the excellent DO Lectures, which brings innovative thinkers from around the world for a series of talks in rural Wales (Tim was a speaker in 2008). My talk, which is available in full via the video link above encourages people to make themselves rich in time and to become active in making their travel dreams happen.
The talk itself contains essential advice and inspiration regarding travel — but what struck me on re-watching it was an improvised moment at the beginning of the talk, when I pointed out how “these aren’t really travel-specific challenges — these are things that can apply to life in general. Think of travel as a metaphor for how you live your life at home.”
Indeed, travel has a way of slowing you down, of waking you up, of pulling you up out of your daily routines and seeing life in a new way. This new way of looking at the world need not end when you resume your life at home.
Here are 5 key ways in which the lessons you learn on the road can be used to enrich the life you lead when you return home… Read More
This new, long overdue Random episode covers our personal resolutions–personal, business, physical, and otherwise–as well as favorite recent gifts (both given and received).
The video is recorded on two cameras, including Glenn’s new experimental HD delight. Topics include:
- Chocolate
- Powerlifting
- Filtering false friends
- Funny hats
- The art of the decline
… and naked ladies.
Best to give the video 10-20 minutes to buffer before watching. It’s a big ‘un.
Please let us know in the comments what you’d like our next show topic to be! If you missed previous episodes, all of them can be found here.
Here are the links to resources mentioned in the video, provided courtesy of reader DynastyDC. Thanks, D! … Read More
Most of you have never seen this. I really hope you enjoy it. To download, just sign into Vimeo and you’re set. If you Final Cut it up, please set to a Crystal Method or Sevendust soundtrack :)
In other breaking news:
I need only 120 more Amazon reviews to beat The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, a dream I’ve had since 2007! Not because I dislike him, but precisely the opposite — he’s one of my writing role models and I long viewed his book as untouchable.
If you’ve read the 4HWW but haven’t left a short review on Amazon, please take 30 seconds and help me here! The stars are, of course, up to you.
It would really mean a lot to me, and what a milestone it would be as a late Christmas present :)
Thanks for all the kind words and questions in the comments! Here are answers to a few common questions:
“Gaijin [foreigner] resentment from the Japanese?”
None whatsoever. Major point of conflict with the production company, as they wanted me to show I was ‘proving my teacher’ wrong, etc. for manufactured drama. Total nonsense. The Japanese teachers and students were some of the most gracious and generous people I’ve ever met. The Japanese get a bum rap for xenophobia, mostly by Americans who go over, speak to them in English, and them call them ‘inscrutable’ when they don’t respond in fluent, idiomatic English. Learn some Japanese and they are 100% fine. Business settings = negotiating = not a representative interaction. Get with the people and interact, preferably with something physical. I’ve never felt this artificial insider/outsider wall people talk about.
“Pre-bed and other preparations for physical only or also mental?”
Also for mental and learning. Pre-bed and mid-night language review is incredibly effective for improving recall.
“How much story arc vs. real issues?”
It was real. The fear of falling off was real. It came up only after arrival that injuries were much more common and severe than expected. The editing didn’t do justice to the drama. We had 100+ hours of footage, and there were some gems that could have replaced other bits in this 45 minutes. It rained for 2-3 days of the practice time, for example, and we couldn’t use the horses. The non-yabusame human-to-human interactions with the Japanese were also missing. Some really hysterical moments.
“Have I been back to train?”
Not yet. I love Nikko and would love to go back. I have spoken with both my teacher (Hayashi) and some of the Japanese crew, however. Truly wonderful people.
“Superhuman book to include cooking?”
The way I do it, yes. Simple stuff that tastes great and works. Boys, don’t worry — it’s bachelor screw-up proof.
“Doing a traditional Japanese martial art myself for many years do you ever get frustrated when you learn a skill and then to a certain extent ‘move on’ that you’re just scratching the surface?”
A few people asked this. I don’t try and “hack” everything and move on. I do believe in the enjoyment of constant practice as an exercise, almost like meditation. It’s important to balance achievement with appreciation, and there are skills that I continue to practice without abandoning them. In fact, I don’t feel like I abandon much. Even if I haven’t really practiced tango since 2006, for example, the skills and awareness I developed in tango are applicable to other things, even yabusame. I feel like each is intertwined with the next, so I’m — on a macro-level — constantly working on a process of skill-development that spreads across these various experiments.
In simpler terms, I’m just having fun and doing what makes me most excited. I see nothing wrong with this. For some, that will mean 1 skill a year, others 1 skill a month, and others still, one skill a lifetime.
