This Thanksgiving weekend, a friend called to say he was reaching out to the people he was thankful for – and just wanted to let me know how he felt.
My mind immediately began thinking about what else the call could have been about? I remembered that I intended to send him a book. I thought about the last time we talked. And then it hit me, he was actually exercising his ability to be thankful.
Wow, what a concept.
Were you actually grateful and thankful this weekend?
It is a choice. It is a habit. For me, it is something I aspire to exercise more regularly … What about you?
Looking back over the past few weeks, I recognize that I have been pushing hard – with a focus on finishing the year strong. Maybe it's time to recognize how much progress was made and intentionally focus on making people feel appreciated and capable instead?
Scar tissue, resentment, frustration, and fear are unnecessary and counterproductive. It's time to figure-out what feels good and do more of it.
With that in mind, here is a picture of me with my awesome wife and oldest son at the Cowboys game. We had a great Thanksgiving. Hopefully, you did too.
This public service message has been presented by the part of me that knows better. Hopefully, the part of you that knows better will notice it.
This Thanksgiving weekend, a friend called to say he was reaching out to the people he was thankful for – and just wanted to let me know how he felt.
My mind immediately began thinking about what else the call could have been about? I remembered that I intended to send him a book. I thought about the last time we talked. And then it hit me, he was actually exercising his ability to be thankful.
Wow, what a concept.
Were you actually grateful and thankful this weekend?
It is a choice. It is a habit. For me, it is something I aspire to exercise more regularly … What about you?
Looking back over the past few weeks, I recognize that I have been pushing hard – with a focus on finishing the year strong. Maybe it's time to recognize how much progress was made and intentionally focus on making people feel appreciated and capable instead?
Scar tissue, resentment, frustration, and fear are unnecessary and counterproductive. It's time to figure-out what feels good and do more of it.
With that in mind, here is a picture of me with my awesome wife and oldest son at the Cowboys game. We had a great Thanksgiving. Hopefully, you did too.
This public service message has been presented by the part of me that knows better. Hopefully, the part of you that knows better will notice it.
Inspiring and Fun! Seems appropriate for the start of the Holiday Season.
Beware, these three short videos may encourage you to travel, learn something new, move your body, or create something.
3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage… all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food.
Inspiring and Fun! Seems appropriate for the start of the Holiday Season.
Beware, these three short videos may encourage you to travel, learn something new, move your body, or create something.
3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage… all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food.
Looking back over his career and body of work, it is clear that Steve Jobs deserves credit.
He was a world-class innovator and showman.
More importantly, Steve Jobs said "I want to put a ding in the universe." He did!
There is not an app to replace Steve Jobs. He was one of a kind.
One of the phrases people associate with Jobs is "Think Different!" He did. Bill Gates said he wanted to put a PC on every desktop. Steve Jobs put magic in your pocket.
As we mourn his death and celebrate his life, here are a few of Steve's quotes:
"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."
"Be a yardstick of quality. Some people are not used to an environment where excellence is expected."
"You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new."
Apparently he knew when it was time to quit.
When he stepped-down from his role at Apple, HBR pointed out that Jobs knew something needed to change. Perhaps it really is time for Jobs to go home, as he put it, to a "wonderful family" and an "amazing woman" and re-reflect on a few of the provocative questions (slightly altered) that he posed to the world in his 2005 Stanford Commencement Address.
Are you wasting your life "living someone else's?"
Do you "have the courage to follow your heart and intuition?"
Are you nurturing a "great relationship," one that "just gets better and better as the years roll on?"
Do you tell "your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months" or days?
Do you make "sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family" when "the single best invention of Life" takes its toll?
Do you say "your goodbyes" before it's too late to say them?
For almost four decades Steve Jobs has certainly tried his best to "put a ding in the universe."
It Matters that it Matters."Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugar water — or do you want to change the world?" That's what Steve famously asked John Sculley. Translation: do you really want to spend your days slaving over work that fails to inspire, on stuff that fail to count, for reasons that fail to touch the soul of anyone?
Do the insanely great."When you're a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you're not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it." We're awash in a sea of the tedious, the humdrum, the predictable. If your goal is rising head and shoulders above this twisting mass of mediocrity, then it's not enough, anymore, to tack on another 99 features every month and call it "innovation." Just do great work.
Those aren't the only lessons, nor probably the best lessons. There are lots to choose from.
Umair Haque challenges: Steve took on the challenge of proving that the art of enterprise didn't have to culminate in a stagnant pond of unenlightenment — and won. In doing so, he might just have built something approximating the modern world's most dangerously enlightened company. Can you?
What a great thing career he had. He ends his Stanford speech with a quote that sums it up well. "Stay Hungry … Stay Foolish."
Looking back over his career and body of work, it is clear that Steve Jobs deserves credit.
He was a world-class innovator and showman.
More importantly, Steve Jobs said "I want to put a ding in the universe." He did!
There is not an app to replace Steve Jobs. He was one of a kind.
One of the phrases people associate with Jobs is "Think Different!" He did. Bill Gates said he wanted to put a PC on every desktop. Steve Jobs put magic in your pocket.
As we mourn his death and celebrate his life, here are a few of Steve's quotes:
"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."
"Be a yardstick of quality. Some people are not used to an environment where excellence is expected."
"You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new."
Apparently he knew when it was time to quit.
When he stepped-down from his role at Apple, HBR pointed out that Jobs knew something needed to change. Perhaps it really is time for Jobs to go home, as he put it, to a "wonderful family" and an "amazing woman" and re-reflect on a few of the provocative questions (slightly altered) that he posed to the world in his 2005 Stanford Commencement Address.
Are you wasting your life "living someone else's?"
Do you "have the courage to follow your heart and intuition?"
Are you nurturing a "great relationship," one that "just gets better and better as the years roll on?"
Do you tell "your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months" or days?
Do you make "sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family" when "the single best invention of Life" takes its toll?
Do you say "your goodbyes" before it's too late to say them?
For almost four decades Steve Jobs has certainly tried his best to "put a ding in the universe."
It Matters that it Matters."Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugar water — or do you want to change the world?" That's what Steve famously asked John Sculley. Translation: do you really want to spend your days slaving over work that fails to inspire, on stuff that fail to count, for reasons that fail to touch the soul of anyone?
Do the insanely great."When you're a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you're not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it." We're awash in a sea of the tedious, the humdrum, the predictable. If your goal is rising head and shoulders above this twisting mass of mediocrity, then it's not enough, anymore, to tack on another 99 features every month and call it "innovation." Just do great work.
Those aren't the only lessons, nor probably the best lessons. There are lots to choose from.
Umair Haque challenges: Steve took on the challenge of proving that the art of enterprise didn't have to culminate in a stagnant pond of unenlightenment — and won. In doing so, he might just have built something approximating the modern world's most dangerously enlightened company. Can you?
What a great thing career he had. He ends his Stanford speech with a quote that sums it up well. "Stay Hungry … Stay Foolish."
Most people say they want to be healthy. That's the easy part … it's more challenging to do.
To be fair, life happens … and it is hard to find sufficient time to exercise. Nonetheless, in this case, procrastination can be a real killer.
Procrastination doesn't just happen with exercise. Many things get put off while waiting for better circumstances, more data, or for it to be the "right" time. Well, it turns out that it's always a good time to take right action.
Here is a great video called "How Bad Do You Want It?" It is inspirational and worth watching. It's not just some exercise video … there is a great message in there worth hearing about business and life, too.
How Badly Do You Want It?
Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought "how did that happen"? Pictures of me on the beach resembled the image on the right.
Perhaps I should blame genetics. My grandfather was a professional wrestler who tipped the scales well above 300 lbs., and my Dad spent plenty of time north of 300 as well.
A year-and-a-half ago I was Twinkie away from there myself.
At 265 lbs., my doctor told me I had a 10% chance of having a heart attack in the next year. That was my wake-up call.
I'm down to 228; and I am committed to being healthy and vital. That makes all the difference.
You Manage What You Measure.
One of the things I really like about the Fitbit is that it's constantly monitoring and reminding me about the actions I take – or the amount of non-action I tolerate.
Here is a screenshot of my Fitbit home screen. It's graphically pleasing and lets me quickly focus on the number of important fitness and activity metrics.
Notice that there is an activity graph that shows the amount and intensity of my activity in five-minute increments throughout the day. It updates wirelessly, and automatically, without me having to press any buttons.
In addition, here is a graph that shows the days activity broken into intensity levels.
I use a graph like this to figure out whether I'm happy with what I'm doing. At work, I do something similar. I ask the team to think about whether we are 'walking', 'jogging', 'running', or 'sprinting'? More importantly, to achieve what we want, what's the right mix?
It's one thing to tell yourself you're working hard; it's another to compare your levels with benchmarks or standards. Here's another area that Fitbit excels. This graph shows that last week my activity level fell in the 90th percentile.
However, this graph shows that recently my sleep patterns fell in the bottom 2%.
While I am competitive and want to increase the number of steps or the percentage of time I'm in higher levels of activity, the quickest way for me to improve my health is probably to get more sleep.
The point is Fitbit doesn't just focus on activity; it helps you figure out the right activities on which to focus.
There are lots of other things I could tell you (like, it is about the size of money-clip) … but the most important is to just go get one. It is about $90 at Amazon.
Most people say they want to be healthy. That's the easy part … it's more challenging to do.
To be fair, life happens … and it is hard to find sufficient time to exercise. Nonetheless, in this case, procrastination can be a real killer.
Procrastination doesn't just happen with exercise. Many things get put off while waiting for better circumstances, more data, or for it to be the "right" time. Well, it turns out that it's always a good time to take right action.
Here is a great video called "How Bad Do You Want It?" It is inspirational and worth watching. It's not just some exercise video … there is a great message in there worth hearing about business and life, too.
How Badly Do You Want It?
Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought "how did that happen"? Pictures of me on the beach resembled the image on the right.
Perhaps I should blame genetics. My grandfather was a professional wrestler who tipped the scales well above 300 lbs., and my Dad spent plenty of time north of 300 as well.
A year-and-a-half ago I was Twinkie away from there myself.
At 265 lbs., my doctor told me I had a 10% chance of having a heart attack in the next year. That was my wake-up call.
I'm down to 228; and I am committed to being healthy and vital. That makes all the difference.
You Manage What You Measure.
One of the things I really like about the Fitbit is that it's constantly monitoring and reminding me about the actions I take – or the amount of non-action I tolerate.
Here is a screenshot of my Fitbit home screen. It's graphically pleasing and lets me quickly focus on the number of important fitness and activity metrics.
Notice that there is an activity graph that shows the amount and intensity of my activity in five-minute increments throughout the day. It updates wirelessly, and automatically, without me having to press any buttons.
In addition, here is a graph that shows the days activity broken into intensity levels.
I use a graph like this to figure out whether I'm happy with what I'm doing. At work, I do something similar. I ask the team to think about whether we are 'walking', 'jogging', 'running', or 'sprinting'? More importantly, to achieve what we want, what's the right mix?
It's one thing to tell yourself you're working hard; it's another to compare your levels with benchmarks or standards. Here's another area that Fitbit excels. This graph shows that last week my activity level fell in the 90th percentile.
However, this graph shows that recently my sleep patterns fell in the bottom 2%.
While I am competitive and want to increase the number of steps or the percentage of time I'm in higher levels of activity, the quickest way for me to improve my health is probably to get more sleep.
The point is Fitbit doesn't just focus on activity; it helps you figure out the right activities on which to focus.
There are lots of other things I could tell you (like, it is about the size of money-clip) … but the most important is to just go get one. It is about $90 at Amazon.
Steve Jobs deserves credit. He is a world-class innovator and showman.
Despite what the cartoon says, there is not an app for that. Replacing Steve Jobs will not be easy. He was one of a kind.
His latest accomplishment is that he figured-out how to get everyone to eulogize him while he's still alive.
Brilliant.
To be fair, these may be the last years (or days) of Jobs' life. But, as HBR points out, if so, Jobs no doubt knew that something needed to change. Perhaps it really is time for Jobs to go home, as he put it, to a "wonderful family" and an "amazing woman" and re-reflect on a few of the provocative questions (slightly altered) that he posed to the world in his 2005 Stanford Commencement Address.
Are you wasting your life "living someone else's?"
Do you "have the courage to follow your heart and intuition?"
Are you nurturing a "great relationship," one that "just gets better and better as the years roll on?"
Do you tell "your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months" or days?
Do you make "sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family" when "the single best invention of Life" takes its toll?
Do you say "your goodbyes" before it's too late to say them?
For almost four decades Steve Jobs has certainly tried his best to "put a ding in the universe."
It Matters that it Matters."Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugar water — or do you want to change the world?" That's what Steve famously asked John Sculley. Translation: do you really want to spend your days slaving over work that fails to inspire, on stuff that fail to count, for reasons that fail to touch the soul of anyone?
Do the insanely great."When you're a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you're not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it." We're awash in a sea of the tedious, the humdrum, the predictable. If your goal is rising head and shoulders above this twisting mass of mediocrity, then it's not enough, anymore, to tack on another 99 features every month and call it "innovation." Just do great work.
Those aren't the only lessons, nor probably the best lessons. There are lots to choose from.
Umair Haque challenges: Steve took on the challenge of proving that the art of enterprise didn't have to culminate in a stagnant pond of unenlightenment — and won. In doing so, he might just have built something approximating the modern world's most dangerously enlightened company. Can you?
What a great thing career he had. He ends his Stanford speech with a quote that sums it up well. "Stay Hungry … Stay Foolish."
Steve Jobs deserves credit. He is a world-class innovator and showman.
Despite what the cartoon says, there is not an app for that. Replacing Steve Jobs will not be easy. He was one of a kind.
His latest accomplishment is that he figured-out how to get everyone to eulogize him while he's still alive.
Brilliant.
To be fair, these may be the last years (or days) of Jobs' life. But, as HBR points out, if so, Jobs no doubt knew that something needed to change. Perhaps it really is time for Jobs to go home, as he put it, to a "wonderful family" and an "amazing woman" and re-reflect on a few of the provocative questions (slightly altered) that he posed to the world in his 2005 Stanford Commencement Address.
Are you wasting your life "living someone else's?"
Do you "have the courage to follow your heart and intuition?"
Are you nurturing a "great relationship," one that "just gets better and better as the years roll on?"
Do you tell "your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months" or days?
Do you make "sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family" when "the single best invention of Life" takes its toll?
Do you say "your goodbyes" before it's too late to say them?
For almost four decades Steve Jobs has certainly tried his best to "put a ding in the universe."
It Matters that it Matters."Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugar water — or do you want to change the world?" That's what Steve famously asked John Sculley. Translation: do you really want to spend your days slaving over work that fails to inspire, on stuff that fail to count, for reasons that fail to touch the soul of anyone?
Do the insanely great."When you're a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you're not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it." We're awash in a sea of the tedious, the humdrum, the predictable. If your goal is rising head and shoulders above this twisting mass of mediocrity, then it's not enough, anymore, to tack on another 99 features every month and call it "innovation." Just do great work.
Those aren't the only lessons, nor probably the best lessons. There are lots to choose from.
Umair Haque challenges: Steve took on the challenge of proving that the art of enterprise didn't have to culminate in a stagnant pond of unenlightenment — and won. In doing so, he might just have built something approximating the modern world's most dangerously enlightened company. Can you?
What a great thing career he had. He ends his Stanford speech with a quote that sums it up well. "Stay Hungry … Stay Foolish."
