12/31/07 - What I Learned
Mark Cuban: The One Thing in Life You Can Control: Effort
"In sports, the only thing a player or coach can truly control is effort. The same applies to business. The only thing any entrepreneur, salesperson or anyone in any position can control is their effort."
"I had to kick myself in the ass and recommit to getting up early, staying up late and consuming everything I possibly could to get an edge. I had to commit to making the effort to be as productive as I possibly could. It meant making sure that every hour of the day that I could contact a customer was selling time and when customers were sleeping, I was doing things that prepared me to make more sales and to make my company better."
"And finally, I had to make sure I wasn't lying to myself about how hard I was working. It would have been easy to judge effort by how many hours a day passed by while I was at work. That's the worst way to measure effort. Effort is measured by setting goals and getting results. What did i need to do to close this account. What did I need to do to win this segment of business. What did i need to do to understand this technology or that business better than anyone. What did I need to do to find an edge. Where does that edge come from and how was I going to get there."
"The one thing in our business lives is effort. Either you make the commitment to get results or your don't."
Raphael Kang
12/29/07 - What I Learned
Mark Cuban: Success & Motivation
"There are no shortcuts. You have to work hard, and try to put yourself in a position where if luck strikes, you can see the opportunity and take advantage of it. I would also say it's hard not to fool yourself. Everyone tells you how they are going to be"special," but few do the work to get there. DO THE WORK."
"Do your homework and know your business better than ayone. Otherwise, someone who knows more and works hard will kick your ass."
Portfolio.com: Market Movers: Explaining CDOs, Overcollateralization
12/28/07 - What I Learned
Mark Cuban: My New Facebook Strategy and the FB Power Level
1st layer: my real friends
2nd layer: people who I have tangential connections to (i.e. live in Dalls Fort Worth, Mavs, MMA, movie fans, or in groups I'm in)
3rd layer: "The Power Layer" - one shot layer. If you have an idea or thought, you get 1 shot, per year to get their attention.
Lakers' youth starting to develop
o Kobe Bryant: “Hi, I’m Kobe Bryant and I want to win a championship.”
o Farmar about Kobe: "He has done a lot better job being a teammate,” Farmar said. “He’s been great this year. His focus is with us on the planes, going out to dinner, and practicing more when he could be resting up. He’s a member of the team, not bigger than it. He wants us to be great.”
LA Times: On Magic Johnson
o Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you've got.
Mark Cuban: The maverick
o Cuban: "When I die, I want to come back as me.
o Cuban: About Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead: "It's about the strength of the individual, of a person's spirit. You define yourself by yourself, not how other people see you."
12/27/07 - What I Learned
Scott H Young - Double Your Reading Rate
1) Remember, reading is not linear.
2) Stop subvocalizing
3) Practice reading
4) Use a pointer
5) Eliminate distractions
6) Find your motivation
Scott H Young - The Critical 7 Rules to Understand People
Rule One: Never blame malice for what can easily be explained by conceit.
Rule Two: Few Social Behaviors are Explicit
Rule Three: Behavior is Largely Dictated by Selfish Altruism
Rule Four: People Have Poor Memories
Rule Five: Everyone is Emotional
Rule Six: People are Lonely
Rule Seven: Did I Mention People Are Self-Absorbed?
Life Hack - How to Set an Appointment with Yourself
Your personal appointment should answer several key questions:
o What are the results I’m getting in the different areas of my life?
o What mistakes am I making frequently?
o What do I need to stop?
o What extra energy/money/time do I have to invest?
o Where would that investment create the best returns?
12/25/07 - What I Learned
Step 1: Process of Elimination
o Pareto Rule
o Goal 1: find inefficiencies to eliminate them
o Goal 2: find strengths in order to multiply them
Step 2: Cultivating Selective Ignorance
o All input and no output
o Learning to let things wait
Step 3: Outsourcing your life