How Seth Godin Manages His Life

To the loyal readers of this blog, I don’t have to do any introduction to Seth Godin. But, let’s just say he is a specialist in the area of shipping and marketing.

I have found his writing and talks to be utterly fascinating since I first stumbled across him about six years ago. Since then, I’d devoured what I can online. I have read a few of his books, but not as many as I should do. If you knew what my book backlog looked like, you would know why.

But, Seth Godin is someone you need to enjoy in either audio, or video – or, as I’m so jealous of, in person like my friend Fraser did whilst volunteering for one of his courses in New York.

And that’s why I’m recommending this podcast episode to you. I think it makes for the ultimate example of Seth Godin at his best. You will certainly come away with some great learning from this experience.

Stick your headphones on and do the dishes to this one.

Listen to the episode here.

Becoming More Likable Is Far Simpler Than You Think

We are drawn to likable people, the individuals who is ooze charisma and energy, and personality. But is it all about what they say? Actually, it’s not.

So often, life can seem complicated, full of barriers and limitations. But, as I’ve come to find, the things in life that can unlock your real potential are simple concepts that can be easy to put into action.

Becoming a more likable person is just the same.

Be More Present

• Put away your phone
• Actively listen
• Maintain eye contact
• Shut the hell up

By not doing anything, letting that other person talk, showing them that you are engaged with what they are saying, allows that other person to feel a connection to you. You get them, you want to be with them, and you care about their input.

But, our modern life and its ticks get in the way of this. Avoid the distraction of notifications by sticking your phone in your pocket, or in a bag.

For the outgoing person, the most difficult thing for us to do is to stop talking. It’s not because we like the lime-light, but because it’s our natural instinct to want to fill silences. But you need to keep in your mind that this other person needs their chance to talk.

Make Someone Talk

Some people are not used to their opportunity to talk, or they feel their views and ideas are undervalued. So, as a person seeking better connections with people, it’s your job to coach these individuals into talking.

How do you do that?

Use open questions: why, how, what, when type questions. These are very difficult to answer with a yes / no response – unless this person really has difficultly with social norms.

Asking a person “what do you think about…”, “how did you do such and such”, “when was a time you…”, this gives the individual the opportunity to really talk.

Get Your Drill Out

But, if you really want to understand a person and their view on a topic, that initial line of questioning might not be enough. You need drill a little bit deeper, that where the meat of the topic is.

The deeper you go, the more the other person will feel you are interested in what they have to say.

Hook onto something they have said, a thought, a reason why they can’t do something: “why do you think that?”, “who says that?”, “when did you realise?”

And the amazing thing about drilling questions is that you can keep going further, and further, until you really find the pearl that is hidden deep inside.

Isn’t This Fake?

It’s true that some people would use these kinds of tactics to be a very fake person. But, with great power comes great responsibility. A false person will always be find out. So, be honest.

The reason you need to use these kinds of tactics is that, deep down, individuals want to be changed and influenced, and heard. So, isn’t it up to you to help facilitate that in the people you meet?

And, by following these techniques, they will to you being seen as a very likable person, increasing your opportunities to help more people, growing your level of influence.

Your level of success is dependent on the success of the people around you.

So, help others.

Make This The Year You Start Your Journey To Fulfilling Your Ambition

We all have career and life goals, and they seem so difficult to attain. But, here’s the thing. This can be the year you start your journey.

And it’s easier than you think — not to reach your end goal, but to start the journey there.

As Casey Neistat says:

“It’s not the ideas that matter, but the execution.”

That means you need to start, and do, and work, and finish.

All of that is going to be on top of the day job — or the three jobs you hold down. But, the sooner you start to do the real work you’re dreaming of, the sooner you will achieve your end goals.

This year can be about starting and doing. You just need to start.

If you want to be a Youtuber, you just make an account and start making you first video. If you want to be an artist, then you be start making some art. If you want to have your own business, then you best start working on your product/service.

Don’t Have A Definite Goal?

If you’re not sure what you want to do, then you need to start doing more of anything. It’s only through action that you will find your purpose.

Because sometimes, your purpose will be a surprise to you.

Go and meet more people, experience more things, say yes to what you makes you scared (especially if it’s about what other people will think of you).

Adventures are meant to be scary.

You can make this year what ever you want it to be, you just need to do it.

Tell me what you are going to do with this year in the comments.

How To Be MODERATELY Successful

I hope it will not seem conceited if I say that I am a moderately successful person. I have a job I like. I wrote a book that is doing quite well. I have managed to trick a human I love into believing that it is a good idea to live with me. I’m reasonably happy most of the time, and think anyone who says they never feel like crap is lying.

Things are going grand and, truth be told, being highly successful sounds stressful. So I’m taking it upon myself to share the closely guarded secrets of moderately successful people. Practise these and you too can muddle along just fine.

Don’t forget we’re all human. 

Disconnection and Becoming More Present

As I write, I’m sitting in the lounge of a cruise ship in the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii.

The majority of creature comforts have been taken care of, except the one that has come to define our world – there is no free Internet (access is at a premium we’re not willing to pay). We are completely cut off, with no means to search for an alternate source of Internet.

With no deadlines, and no reason to connect with anyone, forgetting about the web and social-media came very easily. Instead, we have been forced to adopt a willingness to small-talk with strangers, share Ping Pong tables, sit and mull on things under the sun, or stare out at sea.

Being in this situation makes you realise, you don’t NEED followers, connections, likes, faves, or any of the stress and anxiety that comes with it. Instead, you WANT all those things.

There is an important difference between want and need that we need to keep in the forefront of our minds. It’s easy to think that you need everything, when – really – the majority of things in life are wants. If it’s not anything to do with health, wealth, love, and happiness, you can live without it.

It’s not to say that it’s bad to have followers, readers, connections etc. Instead, you just need to keep in mind why you have these things. It’s a mean to an ends.

For me, it’s about building an audience so I can reach people to help and make a difference, to share my stories with people through my books, and to leave a scratch on the world before I leave.

For you, makes sure you are conscious of the feelings dopamine will give you about social-media. Know why you want likes, faves and more followers. And, if what you’re doing makes you feel down, or stressed, just realise that you can walk away at any time.

The other aspect that I have come to appreciate from our disconnection, is that I feel more present. I have seen sights with my eyes (not through the lens of a camera, or an image) that will stay with me for life. I have been able to appreciate the geological mechanics of the world, I have accepted how small and insignificant I am in the context of the world and time. But you know what, that’s fine, because it’s the way things should be.

Be present, go see the world, and strike up conversations with strangers. That’s how you experience a great life.

Let me know how you’ve been present in the comments below and please help someone else by sharing this post.

KG Heath is a healthcare technology professional, horror author, podcaster, and self-improvement blogger. You can get his debut novel free here.

How Wil Wheaton Rebooted His Life

Wil (the actor who played Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: TNG) describes the seven areas of his life he is focussing on as part of a life reboot. So many of us don’t realise we have sleep walked into unhealthiness and that it’s really hurting us.

About twenty years ago, I had a portable spa in the back yard of my first house. One day, the heater stopped working, so I called a repairman to come out and look at it. He told me that there would be an $85 charge no matter what, and I told him that was okay. When he got to my house, he opened up the access panel where the heater, pump, and filter lived. He looked inside, then looked back at me.

“Did you try pushing the reset button?” He asked.

“Um. No,” I said.

He pushed the reset button, and the heater came back to life.

“That’ll be $85,” he said. I paid him.

This post is about realizing that I was sitting in cold water, and not doing anything to turn the heater back on. This post is about how I hit the reset button.

Read the full article. 

Status Update

Life is hard work, and about discipline. I’ve started a good many things in the last 10 months, but it’s time for a status update:

Diet – I lost a few pounds since the start of the year, but not where o want to be no know how, the thought patterns are there. I am making a big change in cutting sugar from my coffee which I will use to get back in the groove with my diet. 

Podcast – production is slow. I went into this to learn more about producing and recording a podcast. I’m an even bigger believer in the audiobook format for a podcast. FOM is not dead, and I’m working to get the next big chapter released over the next four weeks. 

Books – I’m rereleasing my horror / fantasy novel under a better title (the original that I should have stuck with) The Marsh. I’m going to ramp up launch for the holidays. It’s still ebook only, but will launch free to my subscribers and connections. Ten years in production. I’m also writing a Positive Pragmatist ebook which will also be free. 

Exercise – getting there. My arms are getting bigger and I can feel the muscles below my fat belly are toughening up. I just need to get this fitness training to be more consistent. 

Blog – I’m still seeing high rates of engagement, thanks to all of you. The blog is very much alive. Posting frequency is massively dependent on my other work levels. You can only operate to a certain high level. I still believe in quality and value over link-baitness. WordPress is a great platform for sharing and engaging with readers, and I’m glad I made the shift off Tumblr. 

Email newsletter – rather than reposting articles, I want the newsletter to be a bit like a free members area. Big, valuable freebies will now only be shared there. 

As always, I don’t have all the answers, but I see my mission as bringing my lessons learned and experiences to others and allowing you to reach your full potential. 

Jack Reacher Writer, Lee Child, On His Sunday Routines

Lee Child, the author of the Jack Reacher crime novels, starts a new book each September and finishes sometime in spring, 20 books in 20 years. The most recent, “Make Me,” just took over the No. 1 spot on the New York Times best-seller list. He spends Sundays the way many writers do, in his own bubble. “It’s hard for others to understand, because you’re living in this made-up zone of fantasy, where that seems real to you, and the real real stuff seems odd,” he said. Mr. Child, 60, whose real name is Jim Grant, lives on the Upper West Side with his wife, Jane Grant

Read the full article. 

Shadow Work – Do You Know About All The Jobs You’re Working?

You’ve been there, you’ve finished an average day at work and you’re absolutely exhausted, like you’ve had a full day of physical labour. 

You haven’t lifted a thing all day.

Are we really working harder than we ever have before? Apparently, working hours have reduced. So, what’s increased?

With all the jobs that have disappeared (secretaries, maids, pump attendants, social event planners, shop attendants) the tasks that were being completed by these people have not disappeared. 

You’re doing their jobs instead. This is called Shadow Work.

While Bill hasn’t done anything physically strenuous during the day, he crawls into bed feeling exhausted. And with good reason — for in addition to performing his “real” job at the office, he also worked a wide variety of other positions: driver, news editor, gas station attendant, banker, waiter, bus boy, secretary, cashier, grocery bagger, cook, housekeeper, travel agent, and salesman.

Though Bill nominally only works a 9-5, he has in fact been toiling around the clock.

Read the full article now.

Dyson: Story of How Playing the Long Game Leads To Quality Products

Dyson is a privately owned company, allowing them to take their time to develop products over the span of years until they are of an amazing quality inside and outside. 

Like his products, Dyson has evolved since he set up his company in a coach house in his garden near Bath in 1993 to launch the DC01 dual cyclone vacuum. But he is still recognisably Dyson: still ambitious, impatient and relentless; still intolerant of mediocrity and the status quo; still his brand’s posh, evangelical salesman; still urging the UK to revive the spirit of Victorian engineers such as Isambard Kingdom Brunel and 20th-century industrial designers such as Alec Issigonis.

Read the full article.