Hierarki level seems to be directly positively correlated...

...to the relaxed and down-to-earth level of people.

Atleast in the organization here - the further up I get, the more down-to-earth people are.

Interesting. Maybe because they have fewer people to worry about above them.

Today there were several learnings...

...and one small one - but important I believe - is how you can determine if people are telling the truth. I've been studying it for a while, and it's amazing how simple questions how help you determine this. Questions like: "I am sorry I was late, I had an important phone call." "Ohh yeah, you spoke with Rik right? What did he say?" (which he did not). Too much hesitation = high probability of a lie.

Also, overexplaining reasons to an action seems to be indicating that something is not being told or is not entirely correct.

Also learned that maybe Rohan was right when saying that it was too easy here... atleast the impact seems big with sometimes minimum effort.

Part of it may be that you're coming from the outside, brining a fresh new perspective on things.

In any case, it appears that many corporations are amazingly ineffective when it comes to daily operations. People tend to get caught up and loosing the big picture of what they are doing and where they are going.

Ohh, and learned the importance of remembering lunch - the cantine closes at 2:30 PM.

Learned: How great it feels...

...when you have experienced people working with/for you. 

You feel so much more productive - even when you're taking a break.

I am ready...

...to take on bigger responsibilities already, much bigger than I had imagined. 

Something needs to happen soon - the capaibilities must be used.

CELEBRATE! Today I learned how great it feels...

...when weeks of hard work starts to pay off.

This time is critical, and celebration is an absolute must to be able to make it through future tough periods with lots of work again.

So join me as I celebrate myself and the hard work I've been doing by myself over the last couple of weeks.

Well - being selfish for 15 minutes once a year should be ok ;-)

Today I learned one very important point...

...how great it is to have a friend like Antoine, who helps you makes sure you get the most out of life - and reads your daily learnings ;-)

And Yes, this even despite his very funny French accent.

Know where you are going...

...to not get overwhelmed and keep the focus and motivation.

Always remember and re-enforce the purpose behind your actions - I was reminded of that today.

Outsourcing is time-consuming...

...as quality needs to be assured.

Perhaps you can outsource the outsourcing process?

Wow... can't let go of my new venture...

Somehow I am overly excited about being back in the real early stage entrepreneurial venture, and simply can't let go of it, working late until I can't keep my eyes open anymore every day.

The corporate world is definitely not my place...

Habits habits habits - they rule our lifes!

...if only there was an easy way to "install" the coolest and best habits any person would want - such as exercise on a regular basis, eat healthy, and generally make the _right_ decision in any situation.

But wait... there IS! Next challenge is is that habits needs to be re-installed/repaired once in a while, as you everyday install all kinds of strange new habits without knowing it - e.g. when watching advertisements or other people doing various stuff.

So... ahh... First step before installing habits, would therefore have to be to install the habit of re-installing habits on a regular basis. There you go :)

Lean expert in one day...

If you need advice on lean management, just let me know - I'll reduce your lead time in no time :)

Wonderful to see how kids can change people's lifes...

...to a much more relaxed and down-to-earth life, where caring about themselves and their kids is first priority. Nothing else seems to really matter that much suddenly, such as an angry boss or a financial crisis.

It could be a lesson to all of us.

VAs can be much better...

...than I anticipated. Very positively surprised about the potential skills and creativity of these VAs.

Finding these high quality VAs at an affordable price is the next challenge. Already looking forward to it.

Confirming: Being ill is Gods way of...

...telling you to relax just a little tiny bit Michael. You can do it!

Explain feelings and thoughts more clearly...

...do not always try to wrap them up in a nice package that may end up never being opened.

The receiver always wants the learning from you, rather than just getting pure positive/petting feedback.

Pay yourself first!

Is a great thought. 

Whenever you find yourself spending time on yourself, e.g. exercise, self development, training etc., make sure you pay yourself for the effort you spend on improving your life.

How much is each hour you spend on yourself worth? That would be the hourly rate you should pay yourself.

Finding truly inspirational people is a challenge...

...so make sure you hold on to and connect to all those you do already know.

Every single person I meet always has something inspirational to share...

...you just have to look for it and guide the conversation to help the person finds his/her inner passions for life.

Apparently you can MS.NET for BlackBerry's...

...which may not sound that amazing, but will actually save me a ton of money and time :)

Always make your master shine...

...never outshine your source of inspiration!

Daily habits in the morning and evening are amazing...

...and makes life so much better.

The concept is simple: Take care of yourself, and make sure the machine (your body) is oiled, polished and always in its prime condition!

You deserve it!

Motivation various from person to person...

...and could be defined by a motivation profile on Achievement, Affiliation and Influence.

Interesting this is that my profile should be strongly driven by Achievement and Influence/Power as a dedicated entrepreneur... well... I could not agree more :)

http://www.minnpost.com/minnov8/2009/01/06/5602/why_executives_dont_get_social_media

Motivation is so much stronger...

...when you feel competition is there, and could potentially take something away from you.

And you therefore need to complete things quickly!

Somehow, not sure exactly how, this also relates to Parkinson's Law of complexity.

It seems that with competition, you also force yourself to simplify the task (because you have less time), thereby reducing the complexity and allowing you to complete the task faster. Thereby competition also makes you do more in less time, in addition to the motivation.

So as always, competition is a great thing - that is, IF you want to accomplish many things here in life and develop yourself! Do you?

Set a few simple goals each morning...

...and do them. This is a simple effective way to get started doing more, and procrastinating less.

Just do it :)

Commit to your 2009 goals...

...by telling your best friends about them. The more they trust you, the better. In case you happen to not walk your talk by ignoring your commitments, your friends will loose faith in you, which is must tougher, than just not following through on your commitment.

Rereading books is a great idea...

...especially when you pick those good ones. It quickly reminds you of all the great learnings you got out of it, and you can relive the feelings of motivation and inspiration you had when first reading the book. 

Vermont just keeps on getting better...

...and might soon be _the_ place for virtual companies: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080701/a-haven-for-virtual-companies.html

Make sure the battery on your car...

...is always fully charged, by un-plugging any device from the car power supply when leaving the car all alone for several weeks.