I try to only share actionable and inspiring stuff on Life-LongLearner, but a bunch of peeps told me they really liked this article I shared on my tumblr so I’m reposting it here.
A little less than a month ago I took a 10 day trip to China where I visited Shanghai, Biejing, and various parts of the Yunnan province (mostly Lijiang).
I thought I’d share what the trip taught me about China, myself, travel, and my general worldview…as well as pictures in front of China’s version of Paul Bunyon .
China
In order to properly frame my learnings, here are some candid observations I had. I recognize that many of these are influenced by my peer-group of American ex-pats in addition to my own …
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It’s time to be publicly accountable!
In November of last year I posted a set of goals for 2013 on this here tablet with the hope that it’d keep me accountable for accomplishing all that I wanted to.
Well it’s halfway through the year and I figured I’d let the team know how I was holding up. But first…
Did posting my goals publicly actually help with progress?
Absolutely. It comes down to understanding the human condition: there’s a theory that we all strive to be congruent and consistent with whatever we say we’re going to do because it signals integrity, a quality which we strive for.
I found this to be absolutely true. I was motivated by my desire to remain consistent with …
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“How can I help?”
Have you noticed the most notorious relationship building question in the book has it’s challenges…
What do you do when you’re looking to build a relationship with someone by providing value to them and they say, “I’m all good for now” when you ask how you can help?
You could say crap and pack it in, but I think there’s a better way that I want to share with you…
Photo Credit: IvanWalsh.com via Compfight
But in order to instill a greater sense of confidence around what I’ll soon propose, I want to highlight this important foundation:
Everyone and anyone regardless of how much “they’re crushing it” can have their progress accelerated by other people (whether they’re aware …
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I’ve tried this 4 times and I know it’s worked twice…
Having an understanding of how people behave puts you in a unique position to engineer situations so you achieve ideal outcomes…
Today I want to talk about a [theoretical] strategy you can use to further enhance positive feelings people have about you.
Have you ever been introduced to someone and totally rocked the in-person meeting? Feels good right…
In an ideal world, the person you just met reports back to your mutual contact that they got a lot out of the connection (and that you’re cool a badass). You want this to happen because it further supports your street cred and gives the connector a sense of gratification from the value …
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A little over a year ago I met Ryan Jeffery, Vice President of Business Development at Belly, a startup focused on enriching the loyalty experience for both local businesses and consumers.
When we met I could tell Ryan was a sharp guy…and I’ve been really impressed by the growth that Belly has achieved in the beast that is local. Naturally I thought he’d be fun to do an interview with : )
In this interview we talk about:
How they initially pitched and sold local businesses in MVP mode (WARNING: includes ipad glue stories)
The first thing they did after they got their very first customer
How they scaled once they had initial product/market fit
Insight into their hybrid inside/outside sales distribution strategy (and why this …
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Every month I put put a business development newsletter that features jobs, tools, articles, and the fan favorite “BD Tactic of the month”….
Since putting out my last one, 3 business development jobs and one internship have been sent my way that I thought people would benefit from knowing about. They are:
Skillshare – Business Development Manager (New York)
Awe.sm – Manager/Director of Business Development & Sales (SF)
Flurry – Senior Director Publisher Relations West (SF)
If you want to check out some old issues of BDNewsletter that 500+ others have enjoyed, feel free to check them out below:
BD #7: A Better Way to Ask for Meetings, Channel Partnerships, and 2 BD Jobs
BD #6: A Better CHECKING IN email, 7 BD Jobs, and …
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In this edition of the Life-Long Learner Show (that’s right I’m calling it a show now), I sit down with Jason Shen, Co-founder of Ridejoy and The Art of Ass Kicking.
Jason is an accomplished dude across the board: National Champion Gymnast, Y-Combinator Alum, Stanford Grad. The guy has done some cool stuff which made this interview really fun to do.
In this interview we talk about:
Some surprising benefits of being authentic about your self-improvement journey
A primer on rejection therapy: what it is, why he did it, and how to get started if you want to push your comfort zone
How evolutionary biology plays a role in human behavior
The power of branding a “habit change” and how this can actually make behavior change …
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As much as I love the crisp taste of a Hefewiezen, a few months ago I finally came to terms with the fact that continuing to indulge in alcohol was preventing me from becoming the person I want to be.
I’ve never had a drinking problem….but like a lot of people in their early to mid twenties, I’ve formed a habit of sometimes drinking more than I should, especially when going out.
For the longest time, it didn’t seem to be like a big deal to me. After all it’s what practically every person I hang out with does.
We’re going out? Let’s have a few drinks (to be more fun)!!!
But amidst the crazy next day stories and contrived “we’re having …
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