External Effort - The Path, created by yourself, Not somebody else

"It's one thing to talk about your destiny but it is another thing to make the decisions necessary to actualize that destiny"

- Eric Thomas

Hey Guys,

Back again with one of my many drafted up Blogs - Yes ive kept my promise in writing a blog a day BUT for your benefit I have been organising these blogs to deliver a functional motivation boost - to enable you to change your life from excess 2 success.

This FABULOUS blog, is all about EXTERNAL EFFORT, What do I mean by that? Well its simple, If you are at school all day, At home with the kids or at work cranking someone else's orders - the only way to pivot yourself into your "success" is to invest effort in yourself, and in others.

Invest in yourself

What I have realised personally is, that all my learning's that I have had outside of my day job, have greatly changes my role within my day job. 

This is KEY

If you have ever had the opportunity to meet me, You would know I love learning - particularly when what I retain turns into an ASSET. whether this is specific to what I do best, To do with my role or just some random information.

The other day I made an effort to understand how Tree's suck water up to their top branches - check this out;

 

Why do I need this? who know, Did I LOVE learning about it - yes, Will I meet someone who finds this fascinating - Probably, Could I intrigue someone enough to want to learn more? I think so :)

 Bringing this back, If you are currently in a job, at home or at school and are relying on someone else to get you to where you want to be - reality check, DONT.

Everybody has their own agenda's like myself we all have our desired success outcomes. 

Let me tell you, Never rely on others to fulfil your movement in life, Any handouts or pull through's that happen to you are manifested through your self drive in your chosen direction.

Here is a quote that I LOVE, I see the truth in this and when I first heard this it cemented my current methodology in life.

"If you just reading the book she told you to read, you getting beat! You read what she told you to read and then you ask her what she reading, cause if you don’t get what she’s reading, she’s gonna always be the teacher, and you’re always gonna be the student!"
- Eric Thomas

Read it again.

Do whatever you do as best as you can, then do more by learning the up and coming game changers - become an expert - Run with it, and people will call upon and follow.

I did this specifically years ago with Agile... but i didn't stop at the delivery phase, I brought my learning's back to the actual decision and drivers for the project in the first place

• Agile Development/Engineering
• Customer development
• Business models Canvas
• Lean Startup Methodology
• etc

Why build something in quick iterations if what your building doesn't serve the customer expectation in the first place right, you would think this would happen but it doesn't.

The right skill set is needed and I have this. 

I have built up my skill set, and tested the knowledge I have accumulated, learnt some lessons and had man successes. Were all the hours spent learning, testing and learning from those tests worth it... YES. Do I hope that you see value in spending time doing something to help yourself...YES.

Like with anything, Think Wide and Broad, not everything is cookie cutter fit. But I assure you - invest effort in something that takes your forward... and DONT wait on someone else.

Now go back and read that quote again

Invest in new experiences

Don't know where you want to go? Ill be posting my blog about your "WHY" soon to try and help you with that question. 

For now though - go and do something completely different from what you normally do. If you are blessed to live in Wellington (NZ) go down to the harbour at lunch time for a kayak. Here's another idea, go to a cooking class, make friends enjoy yourself and eat what you have made with your hands and drink a nice wine, sign up again for the following week. 

JUST GET OUT THERE and be OPEN MINDED.

Invest in others
Its not all about you - don't be so selfish...I know I'm confusing you now, you were on the train with me until i said that and just about all of you jumped off.

No I'm not crazy

Investing time, in others - your partner, friends, family, new acquaintances or people you just don't know for no personal gain is amazing and has many benefits;

• Strengthen relationships
• Build stronger friendships
• Bring family closer
• Make new friends
• Reach new faces

The above are some amazing things to strive for just in general life - life is not all about $$ or fancy job titles, its also the legacy you build/leave with your name. 

• If your partner likes to dance, LEARN some dance steps
• If your friend needs help when your at the movies - go and help them
• If your family is segregated - host a large family dinner where they bring nothing.
• Feeling lonely? chin up mate, open your mind and put others first - FRIENDS WILL APPEAR
• That person you smiled at 3 weeks ago, sees you in a cafe - start a conversation, ask to sit down.. spend some time chatting.

Is the above purposely done to build your brand or try and influence opportunities? - NO its done out of kindness, if anything at all happens out of this I hope you see what you have done, and how the recipient pays it forward. 

You might actually find that you like doing these things.

Of course the above...is just my opinion on things and you don't all need to be on the bus, take it or leave it :) but of course I KNOW you soak it up like the sponges you are and start the new YOU.

Cheers

M :)

Today's motivator link sponsorship goes to;

http://etinspires.com

I don't know about you, but coming from my town of Naenae - Lower Hutt, This guy Eric just hits home with what he speaks about.

Rejection Therapy - Conquering the FEAR of failure

"Remember FAILURE is not the opposite of SUCCESS, It is PART of SUCCESS"

- Henry Ford

Man oh MAN whata busy day I have had - 4am I woke up, its now... 9pm, and I'm sitting here writing a blog! 

WHY?

Well, its because of a promise that I havent told you all until now! I have promised myself, that I am going to write a blog for EACH workday about a usefull topic that, 

A) Will help me write down my learnings 

B) Will spread the word of how I choose to progress through my life 

C) Help you, if you are in a rut, and wanting to get up and out

D) Teach you that moving forward in life is reliant firstly on YOU.

I hope my simple blogs give you the MOTIVATION , but also the CAPABILITY to move forward with your life.

Without Further Ado

This time with some further take home lessons! this time im going to touch on failure
Now dont get me wrong, Failure is humourus.. well... only if when you look back after the fact - you are usually meet with a *face palm* to the face, when you remember. We all do it im sure of it. Think of your failures being as commedic as the videos on Youtube, you know the people running into each other with swiss balls... or the people belly flooping into the water, ALL good laughs - even if your that person who failed.

Now why dont we treat all our failures in life like the funny videos on Youtube?

Recently I read a blog from one of my Fav blogs - www.liveyourlegend.net about Rejection Therapy. What is Rejection Therapy? well its just that, it is a framework designedto help you build up your courage around being rejected.

The five objectives of Rejection Therapy are:
1. To be more aware of how irrational social fears control and restrict our lives
2. Smash the tyranny of fear and reap the treasures (treasures include wealth, relationships and self-confidence)
3. Learn from, and even enjoy rejection
4. To not be attached to outcomes, especially when it involves the free agency of other people
5. Permit yourself to fail

I find it funny that, the fear comes from us - we assume somebody will react in a specific way.. and there it begins, we talk ourselves out of asking or inquiring without actually implying we are interested in the first place.The attitude of not being afraid to fail, is what we need to build up in people.

I have been placed in many situations where I had a choice... to be consumed by this fear that only I have or to lavish in the knowing that I have asked. I know for a FACT that when these choices have arisen - I have asked, why... well why not.

Many opportunities have opened for me because of the initial effort I have displayed, I asked. Its quite funny, that even in the bible there are teachings about asking.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." 

- Matthew 7.7

Being able to over come YOUR fear of rejection will open the doors for you. 

I know you all have different drivers from each other, but we all come to a point in our day where we need to ask for something, dont be afraid to ask - if you dont... well that opportunity might walk straight out that door.
 
Failure a common word with vast meanings - to me, the more I fail, the more SUCCESSFUL I become

M

Loss

Maxy, You are MY Best Friend

- Mark N

Today is a blog about life and loss - and the forgotten time limit we all have on this earth. I hope you find truth in what I say, and choose action over placebo 

I sit here today, 4 days after my best friend past away in my arms, I have lived through one of Wellington's biggest earthquakes in years, and have dealt with grief uniquely - as we all would,

Firstly I would like to touch on the Earthquakes - that still seem to be rumbling, Seddon - nobody has forgotten about you, Wellington if you a prepared - do not worry for which you cannot control, for this is stress that harms you for something you cannot change. remember to live, enjoy and help others.

The week that was on Friday was great, I had been given the opportunity by my boss to really stand up and create a capability model for Telecom - I hope all its ability will be used to deliver value to the entire company for years to come. Emma, and I were happy - we got home, saw our cute Maxy waiting at the door, smiling, waiting for my pats.

The world was perfect

Emma settled down to do her baking that she loves to do! for her blog theskinnybaker.wordpress.com I as a great leading Male, did what I do best... plopped onto the couch and watched Motorbikes :), for a brief second I got up to feed Max some left over roast chicken - Oh my lord he loved it so much! you know when you see a happy cat gleaming, this was Max.

Max, was no ordinary Tom - he was the most beautiful, adoring, caring, loyal, GINGER little Tiger I had ever meet - When I meet my Love Emma, I not only got her, I also meet a critter known as MAX - my best friend.

My world came CRASHING down.

The next few moments in my life were the hardest to comprehend, live through, and see. We heard a terrible scream in the hall way - there he was Max, laying there, I struggled to help Max through what ever he was going through, As I was comforting him, I saw him slip away.

I take COMFORT in knowing he was not alone and with people he loved.

It was tough, and it didn't get any easier... as I am sure it wont for a long time, my companion is Gone. However in the time of need you meet people that just, make tough situations easier, I thank the Nurse at Rappaw in Tawa - http://rappaw.co.nz/our-clinics/tawa/.

Learning for everyone:

You see, Max was young, fit and healthy - just like im sure you are. Yet he was taken to early. Thinking about this more and more over the weekend - DEATH is our timer, this is certain that it will happen to us however unlike a clock, we don't know how much time is left, how little or much. the one thing we do know is that we are ALIVE, you here, reading my blog - this is your time.

"Remembering you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There’s no reason not to follow your heart.”

 - Steve Jobs

Do you wake up in the morning and believe in what you are doing? Do you come home and know that you have done something, anything for the good?

Its funny that there have been studies done that show up to 90% of the population does work they dont enjoy.

Its kind of sobering writing this Blog, not only has it helped me establish my feelings for Max - and the need for a habitual thought of knowing death is around the corner. It makes me want to live a life, I have been wanting to live for so long - TODAY.

I know you all have your own talents out there, your own dreams, wishes etc - here is my advice.

- Do it before you die.

- Make a CHOICE to start today.

- Tomorrow may NEVER come.

I dedicate this post to Maxwell Castle, whos personality should be what everyone desires and should strive to have.

Cheers

M.

Vision - The Next BIG Property iDEA

“If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” – Albert Einstein

Hey Guys,

Over the next 2 blogs, I’m going to paint 2 pictures for a single idea, The first will be the “Build it and they will come” method, the Second will be around validation.

Why – I want to show you the power of some tools that will stop you

•     Wasting Time
• Wasting Money

If the above are important, keep reading – if they are not.. KEEP READING ANYWAY :)

The BIG Idea!

I knew it, from the minute I pieced the idea together in my head, That this would be *The Next Big Property Company*...

Since a conversation with my mortgage broker about property - said to me, he has brought some of his best properties that were NOT listed on the market. I asked, how do you do that and to which he told me…

I knew this was a game changer, as I a property investor I know the limitations of the current gorilla markets – private sales or Real Estate Agent sales. The market is flooded with first home buyers and investors buying long term “buy and holds” or Trading.

IDEA: I’m going to build a platform and automate the process

-          Search for property / Augmented reality iOS app

-          BIG Data overview of property

o    GV / RV, # Bd Rms etc

-          Capability to send *Offer* to Title Owner

-          Host of other value props

Why is the above the next big thing in property? This opens up a market to all that is only currently used by Investors.

You will be able to make an offer on a house that has no other offers on it – and work with the owner to settle a reasonable price.

“Build it and they will come” method

Build a set of Requirements

Get a team of Developers, work up a pipeline – Head down tail up, until built

Start marketing and engaging with customers post build

The idea was so certain the above would work without a doubt…. Right?

Well I know the above is not what I would do, in fact I didn’t do it at all! Why? Because my idea was simply a bunch of hypothesis surrounding the initial idea.

The first thing I did was build out a Business Model Canvas with all the assumptions that I had, these assumptions went through a test processes, and found either FACTS or raised more QUESTIONS.

The first one looked like this;

I found out some fascinating things while engaging with my first customer segment “ Property Owners” not only did they not mind if someone was interested in their house, if they were interested which 2 out of 5 said they would be – they would prefer to receive an offer range for example 500k-550k etc. One thing they were adamant about however was the need for the letter to be personable.

As each assumption was validated, a picture was beginning to be painted as to what needed to happen – however I had validated the business model canvas focusing on the property owners first….

When in fact if I was to validate the Investor , who I assumed would be my paying target market – as they make repeatable purchases and so repeatedly utilize my service. I would have found out that, this is already a simple process for them, and having a platform would possibly just add further complication..

I validated the process that an investor currently does to put an offer on a property that is not listed;

Due diligence

Title owner address

-          The above 2 form the process for the offer amount and being able to send a letter to the title owner.

Does my idea – deliver any real value to an investor?

What do you think I done next?

What are your thoughts about the Idea?

What would you have done?

Lay it on me.

Something for you: Watch this – Amazing how an innovative cost model can turn around a bankrupt company into a successful revenue generating company;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMxHApgcmoU

It’s a bit long so look at these times;

13:35min – the Xerox story and success

22:30 – onwards, Nespresso the story

Do you want a Business Model Canvas Template, you can edit as a doc? Let me know

Ill post the next blog in a week tell you where I went J

Cheers

M 

Supplementary:

http://steveblank.com

http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/