Blog - Page 12 of 108

Here’s the read, watch, stop:

What Happy People Know: How the New Science of Happiness Can Change Your Life for the Better is a book I reread yearly. The author’s description of the book is “How to live a happy life–made so simple and doable that you believe it’s achievable.”

Watching a Seinfeld before hitting the hay is a great way to finish the day with a laugh. My kiddos can recite most of the punch lines word for word.

Take a break from the constant news cycle. News flow can be overwhelming between streaming channels, websites, and newsletters. I take a news fast from time to time, and the world continues to work just fine.

Here’s the read, watch, stop:

Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich is the foundation for most people in today’s self-improvement industry. If you haven’t, check it out.

Curb Your Enthusiasm featuring Larry David, the co-creator of Seinfeld, always brings a cringe-worthy laugh in every episode.

Stop accepting invitations. I don’t mean stop all invitations but stop those invitations that are just that, an invitation without a strategic fit or meaningful reason. I’d take any meeting, speaking engagement, or group membership early on. Today, I strategically think about why I accept an invitation without guilt.

Here’s my reading, watching, and stopping for this week:

When defining incentive plans, I found reading Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us to be invaluable. Based on studies and data, he outlines what truly drives performance.

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey is an excellent series on science. It does a great job breaking topics into understandable chunks from evolution to space. Like Steven Hawking’s Genius series, it’s fun to watch and discuss with your kids (if you have them).

Stop not delegating. Anytime I do a task, I ask whether or not someone else could tackle it. From managing board meetings for the next year to setting up the weekly newsletter to approving requests for donations from our Foundation, I have my trusted team work the details.

Here’s what I’m reading, watching, and stopping:

Early in starting Intertech, I read The E-Myth. It focused on the importance of consistent systems in running a business. The author, Michael Gerber, shares how Mcdonald’s with systems built a business on getting kids to do in their stores that most can’t get them to do in homes.

Watch Wampler’s Ascent, which is a documentary on a man who has severe EP but does a climb up “El Capitan.” It’s inspiring and reminding that all is achievable in life if we have the right attitude.

Stop services you may have been using but no longer need. In reviewing credit card and other statements for myself and the firm, some services and charges are no longer required. For example, for the local paper, I choose digital. Yet, The Economist has more comprehensive, in-depth articles that I like to read in print.

Here’s what I’m reading, watching, and stopping:

Read The Economist. I first came across The Economist on a trip to London. I find it an a-political commentary on what’s happening in the world. In particular, I like the Schumpeter column.

Watch I’m Not Your Guru featuring Tony Robbins. Robbins is someone that folks either love or hate. This insight into his seminars and what happens behind the scenes, I’ve found interesting.

Start asking your employees what to stop doing. As part of our strategic planning, we have employees meet for a “Town Hall.” In the Town Hall, management is not present; employee’s facilitated feedback is anonymous and aggregated. One of the common questions is what is something the firm should “start doing,” “stop doing,” and “continue doing. ” For the item we should stop doing; it helps eliminate processes, tasks, or other things bogging down the company.