Threadless Co-Founders: Just get it done

Great takeaways from this video. Its a good example of following your passion and really getting larger results than expected. Personally, I'm glad to hear them speak about the people they have added to their team. "Keep it Scrappy" to them is keeping the corporate culture in sync.

Good work Jeffery, Jake and Threadless Team.

A Good Foundation

A good foundation makes the difference, majority of the mass of plants is below the surface with its root strucuture. In our area, there are a few places where the sidewalk has cracked because of the pressure of the strong growing tree roots.

These trees grow higher than the houses, and are stable because of their root system.

Lets take this concept and say you are trying to build a fast car, with budget not being the primary option, which car would you choose to start with as your foundation for a championship race car?

I understand the aftermarket car market enough to grasp the appeal of the Honda Civic. It is affordable, has numerous parts and modifications available, and has a strong community of Civic owners.
However, if we look at the 'total investment' after all that work has been done, I feel there are some better options out there.

Be smart with your time and money, it makes more sense (and cents) to invest in something quicker. A good buy would be the last body style of the BMW M3. Its slightly higher than the civic upfront, however, there are no mods needed to keep you quicker than the civic.

My intentions are not to slander Civics or their owners, I apperciate the work put into their cars and the results are very often a masterpiece. The illustration is to show the ultimate car for your buck.

Inspire Yourself with Motivational Music! Sweet Caroline

Traditions are had to break. Typically, they have strong meanings and they bring back very fond memories. Like we mentioned about Queen - We are the champions in an earlier post, when you hear the song you can easily recognize the tune and know what is going on.

A perfect example; every home game, Red Sox Nation collectively signs Sweet Caroline. Neil Diamond performed following the Boston Red Sox most recent World Series Championship.

Another motivating song, hope it puts a smile on your face.

Ghost Town

Foundation in place, increditble content and you've got no traffic.

Lets fix your site - 3 basics that you can do quickly and easily moving forward!

Keep the content coming, Google loves fresh content! Make sure that all content is relevant. If you had to choose a general theme or describe what you've got to offer, it needs to be simple.

Moolah: Success, Motivation & Personal Development.

That's mooooolah in a nut shell.

Everything is related to one or more of those topics. We're not trying to confuse anyone or disappoint our readers when they arrive.

Link Back to your relevant topics. Comment on other's blogs which have the same or similar topic. Create a network.

As dumb as this may seem at first it makes sense online just like it does in life. You wouldn't want to go and play soccer with a bunch of people who don't have the slightest clue about the sport. You would much rather play with others of the same caliber. Same is true for your site.

Utilize your meta tags or labels. This will make is easier to find certain topics and further specify about your content. Many times, I'll use catchy titles that may not reflect the topic because I'm using a common analogy - something that more people can relate to. A perfect example is this blog entry: Ghost Town We're taking a common idea and relating it to lacking amounts of visitors to your site.

Keep it fresh and relevant. Your readers will come, and your success will grow!

Schedule = Dishes?

After washing the dishes after dinner and placed them into the drying rack, I was reminded of a story I was told years back. By the way, that image is not my sink - didn't want to you have second thoughts if you we're invited over for dinner.

A science teacher was demonstrating volume to his class. He put a 3 Gallon glass beaker on the podium and started his lesson by filling it with rocks. When the level of rocks reached the top of the beaker, he asked his class, "do you all agree that the beaker is full?"
"Yes," responded the class.

The teacher then pulled out a container full of gravel and poured in on top of the rocks. The gravel went into the spaces between the rocks.
He then asked his class, "do you all agree that the beaker is full?"
"Yes," responded the class.

Then the teacher brought out a bucket of sand and proceeded to pour it into the beaker filling the spaces between the rocks and gravel.

Again,he asked his class, "do you all agree that the beaker is full?"
Now catching on, "No," responded the class.

To finalize his point, the teached brought out a pitcher of water and poured it in, truly filling all remaining spaces in the beaker.

"If the water had gone in first, there would not be space for the rest of the items," Explained the teacher, "If we added anything more, the water would overflow."

Putting the dishes on the drying rack made me think of this and how scheduling is so important. If the big, important items, like pots and pans aren't put in first, the glasses won't have space to dry. Just like scheduling your day, if you don't put the big items in as priority, its easy to waste a day. I know I've found myself in this position where it seems like its been a busy day, however, at 5pm, the major things on my check list haven't been touched.

With effective use of your schedule, I believe you can really stretch the productive time in your day.

Celebrate the Holidays!

The holiday season is just around the corner and our Christmas Tree is up. Its always nice to have the tree up and decorated.

I think this is something relevant or similar to what you can do with your career : Celebrate!

Celebration, typically, brings out the best in people and that's exactly what you should be doing all the time. If you can be like that around colleagues and clients, you'll have a great time and probably have better results than usual.

Keep in mind to celebrate while you're marketing or branding. Bring the enthusiam to what you're putting your efforts towards.

Happy Holidays! Look forward to Santa coming in a few short weeks

Nice Ass!!

Alright, alright, I'm thinking the same thing you are. She's got the nice ass; not, the girl with the cute butt is pulling a nice ass. Anyway, its got your attention; this brings up a couple of topics:

Be Cautious of Perception: Sometimes you message may not be heard quite the same as you intended. Is it still clear enough for your point to be made? That's something all PR people have to be very concerned with. I think it should be the same for all of us when communicating. We don't need a license to talk, but we should be aware of it.

Publicity is All Good: I remember the first time Donald Trump was in the news for bankruptcy and the quote, "Even negative publicity is still publicity." It has stuck with me and of course is true. Getting your name in people's homes works. "Nice Ass" is not quite what you were expecting in this article, but it somehow has worked.

Right now, we can't get enough of Tiger Woods in the news with his Escalade Accident and his recent uncovered transgressions. As tough as it is right now for the biggest golfer in the world, its still gaining him huge publicity, even leaving this weekend's tourney in the shadows.

Well, thanks for reading this post on Mooooolah, back to your searching for a Nice Ass!

A Sense Of Urgency

A Sense of Urgency, the last ditch effort, whatever you want to call it. I've been trying to avoid as many sports related entries as possible and leave those for the Bravado Sports Blog, however, this is the most relate able analgy.

How does a team play in the dying minutes of a game when they are down and the game is close? They dig deeper and have better chances and more opportunities than they seem to have had through the rest of the game.

Where was that through out the whole game?

Non-existent since the reality of losing had not quite set in. Its amazing how much more you have to give when you're up against the wall.

I think this is true for all aspects of life. I've seen it (and done it myself) in school for project or paper deadlines and we're all aware of the night prior to a mid-term or final. Time to get through the assignment or studying so we can get that grade.

This should be how we operate on a daily basis. If what you are working on is as important as the final exam in a college course, work it as if its the day before the exam -- always!

I'm not trying to suggest to work to the bone or burn out, but please give your task the respect it deserves.

Even if its simply landing the next client, work it like you're down a goal, your goalie is pulled and its game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Make it happen, you'll see the difference!

A to Z of Success - Z is for Zero Excuses

Z – Zero Excuses. Majority of the time Excuses are the same thing as Reasons to succeed. When excuses seem to arise, don’t cave – look to them as motivation and an additional reason to succeed.

A to Z of Success - Y is for Yesterday was Productive

Y – Yesterday was productive. John Maxwell, leadership master, has mentioned in a few of his books that he can tell how successful you will be by looking at your schedule. Was your yesterday productive, will your schedule warrant the goals you desire?

A to Z of Success - X is for Xbox Revolution

X – Xbox Evolution. When Microsoft launched Xbox 360, it was a huge leap forward. It was a gamble, however, the industry was ready and very excepting to this incredible new technology. Have the confidence to know what your working for will be just as well received.

A to Z of Success - W is for Work Ethic

W – Work Ethic. Help your time management by having good work ethic. Work Smart. At times work hard, but try to always make the most of the time. Working smart can take time to develop, however, prioritizing your tasks to keep high-priority and urgent assignments will make this easier. Who’s tasks are urgent, which have deadlines, which require daily effort and management? Some people color code, others number each task – whatever works for you will help. Try it out.

A to Z of Success - V is for Vision

V - Vision. Visionaries are sometimes hard to find, however, it truly lies within each of us. Start with a dream or goal. Work backwards to see the steps on how that dream or goal will be accomplished. As you paint each of these steps to your team, keep the end dream or goal in mind. Seeing how a small or seeming un-important task fits into a bigger picture is usually a great kick-start.

A to Z of Success - U is for University is Optional

U – University is Optional. Talent and Education can always be out worked. Don’t let your lack of education be your crutch; on the other hand, don’t hide behind your degree. Keep a level playing field so the hungriest will achieve.

The Difference Maker

The difference between those who accomplish and those who fall short can really be summed up in the following excerpt.

Albert E N Gray gave this speech to a group of top Insurance Sales Professionals; Successful people form habits and are willing to do things that unsuccessful people are very unwilling to do. Here’s what Gray had to say about successful people:

But if they don’t like to do these things [that unsuccessful people won’t do], then why do they do them? Because by doing the things they don’t like to do, they can accomplish the things they want to accomplish.

Successful people are influenced by the desire for pleasing results. Failures are influenced by the desire for pleasing methods, and are inclined to be satisfied with such results as can be obtained by doing the things they like to do.

Successful people have a purpose strong enough to make them form the habit of doing the things they don’t like to do, in order to accomplish this purpose.

Gray then responded to this question asked from the group of sales professionals, “But if I have a family to support, isn’t that enough of a purpose?”

No, it isn’t. For the simple reason that... it is easier to adjust our selves to the hardships of poor living, than to adjust ourselves to the hardships of making a better one.

These truths are timeless. Although this is from many years ago – it still rings true today. One book I’ve found which helps on these topics is The Difference Maker by John C. Maxwell, the master of leadership.

A to Z of Success - T is for Time Management

T – Time-Management. Continuing from yesterday, keep a balance and be hands on, but don’t let your time be eaten up with day-to-day tasks that could be automated or managed by someone else. As you continue to learn, teach your team so any of them could fill in for you. The more respectable position a leader can be in is leading other leaders. Although this sounds like this could be “L is for Leadership” it truly will help with your time management.

Outside of your project and responsibilities, keep your life some-what balanced so you can breathe easier. Everyone around you will be relieved to see you out of the office and getting some quality “me” time. As much as you can feel fulfilled each day, don’t run ragged over making your business work and thrive. Keep up the pace, but never forget how to unwind.

A to Z of Success - S is for Simple

S – Simple – Establish, expand, franchise. Familiar to most projects – however, the franchise aspect is usually a huge revenue source but it takes simple processes for duplication to occur. If you can serve the masses you will live with the classes. Make you idea simple enough for anyone to do and for the general public to understand.

This will also alleviate the toll on you being the glue holding everything together. If you need to be hands on with majority (or all) of the decisions, your business may be simple, but you can never remove yourself without the business collapsing. Keep it simple – become versatile so you can soon be free from the daily tasks!

A to Z of Success - R is for Resilience

R – Resilience. You will only have obstacles which you can handle cross your path. The size of your goals and dreams are determined by the size of the obstacle which stops you. Do you have a huge goal?

A to Z of Success - Q is for Question, Question, Question

Q – Question, Question, Question. Never will you have all of the answers – seek help and ask the experts. Professional athletes all have coaches through-out their career. Don’t think that you will get to the point where you no longer need education or mentorship. If you were a professional athlete – that means you are retiring. Let’s hope you aren’t “retiring” your business, keep learning and asking questions.

A to Z of Success - P is for Practical

P – Practical. The fluff and stuff is always fun, but is it within your budget to hit your goals. Sometimes practicality is not the most fun you could have, but necessary to stay focused and on track – on the Fast Track! Have the fun revolve around the goals accomplished instead of the urges to go and play. I’m not suggesting to get completely out of balance, however, balance maybe something you can’t have until you’ve reached goal number 1 or 2 on your list.

I’ve learned from a few of my bosses and mentors over the years to look at practicality as a necessity in daily life. A good rule of thumb is to look at companies who have been very successful with their IPO (initial public offerings). These companies have been very practical and investors have seen this as a viable opportunity to put their dollars behind. Typically its a good solid investment because the company is operating very lean; not a lot of excess waste or frivolous spending. I wouldn’t want my hard earned dollars being invested into a company who would go and “expense” it on shopping sprees.

Are you a good investment? If someone took a look at how you are progressing in your life, would you have a solid IPO?