business

New Age Business Lesson

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Looking back at my schooling, I now notice there were a decent amount of business classes that did not prepare me for the real world.

I was being prepared for a career in scantron test-taking.

A quality education will provide you with a strong base going forward. It may open some doors and set you on the right path. However, I continue to see people giving up on learning once they graduate.

This is a crucial mistake.

My education outside the classroom has taught me so much more than anything within those walls. Until you get your hands dirty with the workings of the real world, you will be on a difficult path to a successful career.

This is true learning.

This is how you make real money.

This is how you separate yourself from the crowd.

I have spent countless hours developing a go-to system for myself. I have studied many people smarter and accomplished than myself. I have experimented with existing platforms to learn first hand.

Reading and studying will start you on a good path, but there comes a point when you need to dive in.

So anyway, I have my Masters in Accounting. Hypothetically, I could go teach business classes.

This got me thinking. What would be a quality assignment for students – that is both useful and relative to the times – that I would assign if I were a teacher right now in a general business class.

Most homework is straight from the book. I rarely had any assignments in class that utilized some of the most powerful tools we currently use online.

This needs to change. Here’s what I would propose.

Assignment for the day

There are 2 parts to this.

Find 5 people of influence in a certain field you are interested in. Make sure this person has a blog or some sort of platform (Facebook/Twitter/etc). This could be a CEO, a popular marketer, a member of a startup…you get the point.

Part 1: Evaluate the pros and cons of their online presence. Are their messages coming across effectively? Are they providing actionable advice? Have they differentiated themselves? Are they responding back to their audience consistently? Do they have a legit following? Are they spammy? Are they talking too much?

It’s important to be able to detect BS in this new world of social media and technology. This trend will not stop anytime soon. There will be more and more information coming out every day. There was a study in 2013 that 90% of the World’s data that was generated over the previous 2 years. I think you understand the importance.

Part 2: Choose 2 of these individuals (preferably ones you find the most value from) and reach out to them via Twitter/Facebook/Blog. When reaching out, spend a little time trying to provide value for them. This will increase your chance of being noticed and receiving a response.

The purpose of this assignment is to stress the importance of consistently providing value to others, finding quality sources of information, and eliminating the fear of reaching out to more experienced people in a field you’re interested in.

The state of communication, business, and influence is changing by the day. You can now reach out to some of the top people in their fields living across the country. This is an opportunity you can capitalize on.

It’s time to dive into the existing system right now while you can or else you will be spending all of your time catching up.

Don’t let that happen to you.

Give this a shot.

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The Barbell Strategy

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Recent grads and fellow people in your 20’s, this post is directed at you. We all need a wake up call. This existing employment structure is beginning to crumble and many of us are blindly putting all our eggs in one basket. Technology is taking jobs away from us left and right. It’s getting risky…no matter what you decide to do with your career. Sure, there is plenty of advice out there, but I’ve weeded through enough of that to last a lifetime. My conclusion – 99% is bullshit. So guess what I did? I made a decision to follow my own advice. And to tell if it is right or wrong would be ignorant of me. I just want you to start questioning a few things.

So let’s explore some options.

To play it safe or to go for it? Or both?

Let’s first talk about what playing it safe looks like.

You look on Careerbuilder, Monster, LinkedIn, Craigslist, and maybe go to some career fairs in search of a job.

You heavily rely on your resume, which is most likely filled with a bunch of big, meaningless words and a lot of non-relevant experience. Maybe you’re even lucky enough to know someone within a company who hooks you up with an interview. This will get you in the door somewhere.

You dress up like someone important. Suit. Tie. Shiny Shoes. Maybe a briefcase.

You sit in a small room, where someone asks questions when most are just looking to see if they like you or not.

You go after the highest paying job offer – assuming you get an offer.

You maybe get a cubicle and put your 8 hours in.

You get your paycheck. Pay off your debt. Pay off the essentials. You spend the rest on going out on weekends, putting some away in your 401k and maybe even saving for a nice house.

Your spare time after work consists of mostly watching tv or browsing the internet for hours.

Then you repeat.

Now don’t get me wrong, money is a hugely important aspect of our society. I love money. I want more of it. That is why I decided to work an 8-4 job. I now have the freedom to live on my own, eat healthy, exercise, have a car, and have a little extra spend how I like. This is where I want to hit on. This disposable income is what can make or break your future.

This is where I’m at. I’m working my day job to pay the bills and working on my startup on the side. This is The Barbell Strategy in the works.

The Barbell Strategy is a commonly used bond-trading strategy, but like anything, it can be applied in many different forms. A traditional example would be to put 90% of your assets in a very safe investment and 10% into a RISKY (probably lose time, money, etc) low-downside, high-upside investment. By low-downside I mean you will lose a minimal amount of time, money, etc in the grand scheme of things. By high-upside I mean there is a great potential for monetary or other valuable benefits.

In my case, I am applying this to my working life. I have my safe job that provides me with the money and benefits I need, while at the same time, I’m working passionately on a side project. I am dedicating a decent portion of my side income and spare time into this. It’s something I believe in. It’s giving me a purpose. It is calculated risk-taking.

There are a great amount of benefits associate with this strategy:

  • If my side project does not work, I lose very little money in the grand scheme of things.
  • I am developing skills on the side that no one else is.
  • My mind is becoming sharper.
  • It is teaching me the value of patience.
  • There is a high upside of my side project.
  • I am still making a steady living and don’t have to necessarily worry about money.

Going all-in on a startup idea out of college is a bold move…one too risky for me. I’ve been through the hardships of a first-time startup. You think you know what you’re doing, but reality eventually wakes you up. There are so many unforseen variables in play. It’s just too risky for my liking. My advice is make that move once you begin to see good results ($) and have reason to see it in the future.

For now, The Barbell Strategy is my best risk-taking option. It may be yours as well. Maybe you don’t want to put in the time to start a side project like me, but try to find a hobby or skill that you are 100% drawn to. It can be something as simple as drawing or reading. Remember: think low downside and high upside. Do this on the side.

Your future-self will thank you.

If you want more info about The Barbell Strategy, follow Nassim Taleb’s work.

Note to 20-Year-Old Self

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So things are going well, right. You’re in college. You’re meeting new lifelong friends. You don’t have many responsibilities. You’re free.

But with this freedom and free time comes a lot of decision-making.

You’re off to a good start in few areas. You began reading books, which will come in handy in many future situations, as well as put you on a good course to discover your creativity. But this is not the end-all be-all. It’s nice to have some confidence from reading a few psychology, success, and business books. But there are many people currently around you that instinctively have this knowledge without having to read this material. Continue reading books and articles that interest you. That challenges your existing opinions on issues. That leads to self-improvement. That opens your mind. By doing so, you will head in the right direction.

Your exercising habits are improving as well. It’s great you love to play basketball and hit the gym quite often. These will continue to put you on a course of discipline and being healthy. You’re still considered obese by health standards, but this will continue to improve if you keep this up and continue your education about healthy eating. Oh, quick tip. You have to really question modern advice. There is a lot of bad advice out there. Find trustworthy sources and test their ideas on yourself. Only then will you know what works for you personally.

I’m glad you’re having a good time with your friends. Some of these relationships you started will last for years, if not the rest of your life. Don’t take this time for granted. I would also say to be careful who you choose to spend your time with. Remember: You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.

I have to warn you about something though. You need a little help in this area. You’ve been taking the safe route a little too often. I notice you wait around for things to come to you. It’s almost as if think the universe owes you something. Now don’t get me wrong, you are a nice kid and you’ve starting improving yourself in some aspects of your life, but the world demands more than that. If there is one thing the universe requires in order for it to give something back, that would be you putting positive energy into the world. Focus on overcoming the habit you have developed of being passive in situations when you know you should take action. Do whatever it takes to pound this into your head. This is crucial.

In a similar topic, let’s talk about fear. I know you have found yourself in many situations that make you nervous. But you have to realize…this is normal. It’s better to attack this by paying attention to what type of situations cause this response, along with how you usually handle yourself. Energy can be transformed. Work on transforming your fear and inexperience into a positive by creating challenges for yourself and taking things less seriously. You have a long way to go. Take more calculated risks than what makes you feel comfortable.

You still have a lot to learn, Greg. Your path will not be how you anticipate it now. But that’s okay. Enjoy the highs and lows. There will be a lot of them. But don’t get too high or too low, as the opposite will find its way into your life quicker than you expect. Life is a journey that no one will be able to truly explain to you, even though many will say they have found the answer. Decide to learn on your own through your experiences. So make sure to have fun, spend a lot of time discovering yourself, and spread positivity around as much as possible.

In closing, all I have to say is:

Enjoy the ride my friend

1/20 Good Reads

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Here’s MLK preaching some truth! Now, some other quality and inspirational reading for the day.

What is a Warrior?

Here is a short, inspiration video from the powerful Aubrey Marcus, the WarriorPoet.

Because he believes in miracles, miracles begin to happen. Because he is sure his thoughts can change his life, his life begins to change. Because he is certain he will find love, love appears. – Paulo Coelho

How to Get an MBA from Eminem

One of the better reads on sales in a long time. This is a creative breakdown (wouldn’t expect anything less from James Altucher) of Eminem’s rap battle in 8 Mile describing how he used many common psychological biases to defeat his opponent. Very practical.  –  Also includes an addition from Tucker Max at the end

Portugal Decriminalized All Drugs Eleven Years Ago and the Results are Staggering

It’s always interesting to see different experiments going on across the world. One is Portugal decriminalizing all drugs (not legalizing). Huge reduction in addictions. Drug usage rates are down. Drug related diseases and overdoses have fallen. This is some useful data for the US. One thing is obvious, the “War on Drugs” in America is a failure and change is definitely needed.