Try this:

1. Unplug your computer from the internet.
2. Work.

Try that for an hour.

(Or, even 10 minutes.)

See how much more productive your become.

1. Before the web = productivity high.
2. After the web = productivity low.

The Candy Store

Keeping your computer online is like walking into a candy store without touching anything.

1. You'll be okay at first.
2. But, temptations will eventually drain your productivity like MoFo.

And If You Really Need the Internet...

Sweet action plan:

1. "Before I touch the computer, this is what I want done..."
2. "Now, I will get those things done..."
3. Repeat #1.

See how productive your freakish boo-tay becomes.

Unplug. Work.

Boss says: "Let's innovate!"

Team typically goes through this process:

1. Start: "Hey, we gotta research what the market wants!"
2. Middle: "Let's build feature X, Y, Z -- because that's what we believe the market wants!"
3. End: "We failed! We didn't understand what the market wanted! BOO!"

How does innovation happen?

1. You can't plan for success.
2. Only the market can approve your success.

WHAT?

Segway.

1. Segway had the world's best innovators drawing up its plan.
2. It was supposed to transform roads and commerce.
3. Mr. Big Shot Innovator (Steve Jobs) said himself the product will rock the world.

It didn't.

The well-built machine discovered a market that wasn't too keen on paying $6K for a two-wheeler whose top speed stood at 12 MPH.

1. Drawing up the filthiest plan in the world won't guarantee you a place in the Innovators' Hall of Fame.
2. Prominent inventions don't come by way of comprehensive "strategic" business planning.

Oh no; it comes by way of this kabillion-dollar practice:

1. Throwing your invention out there.
2. See if people likey-like it.

That's it.

Release a Stream of Innovations

The world's greatest innovators produce a ridiculous number of inventions in the fastest time possible.

• See Exhibit A.

They throw their projects on a platter, go around the room, and see which suckas stick with folks:

• "Yes, I see that the market likes this and this..."
• "I also see the market is not catching on to this and this..."
• "Kabambo! I just innovated like a champion."

Comedians Innovate Better than Businesses

How do good comedians add stuff to their repertoire?

Before they risk their reps with bigger crowds, they try new jokes on smaller crowds:

• If peeps laugh: "Add to repertoire!"
• If peeps smile: "Throw it away!"

Simple.

That's how innovators become innovation-master-king-combo champions of the @#$%^ world.

1. Publish quickly.
2. Gauge response.

Win.

Bow to the market.

You have two choices:

• Option A: Build a state-of-the-art, custom-built enterprise system that integrates the works (e.g. CRM, ERP, EAM, SCM, wiki, etc.).
• Option B: Get something up quickly. Combine many smaller pieces of independent applications, and have them communicate with each other (e.g. through their APIs, etc.).

Mr. Techno-Wizzo tells you:

Option A:

• takes frickin' long to build (years, if ever)
• has a humongous chance for failure
• its modules become obsolete quickly
• you drain revenues fast while it's under development
• painful to tweak things as your business changes
• if you ever finish, you'll probably outgrow many of its features

Option B:

• quick, and flexible -- can get something up freakishly soon
• causes slight dents to your cashflow, as you get an application module up quickly to use
• allows you to use best-of-class for every included application
• interchangeable (e.g. a state-of-the-art applications can be integrated into the system easily and continuously)

Option B = winner! Yay! Yay! Yay!

Use Whatever You Can -- Quickly

Microsoft Excel?

• You: "Oh no! I hate Microsoft! They-so-greedy! Bill Gates? More like BILLS Gates!"
• Mr. Techno-Wizzo: "Look pimplebutt: No one cares. Use the sucker if it helps you get from Point A to Point B."
• Mr. Techno-Wizzo: "If you outgrow it, then build an application to compensate for Excel's shortcomings."

You don't need fancy technology to stay on top of your game.

Use what you can -- now.

A startup that uses Excel to thrive with its customers will kick the ass of any aspirational startup that's building an entire state-of-the-art application to bring in business.

While the latter is draining resources and time, the former is focusing on a plethora of other things to fatten its bottom line.

Remember:

1. Technology becomes obsolete quickly.
2. You'll likely outgrow your technology in a few months.
3. Taking too long to build something you needed months before = waste. BOO!

So, get something up quickly -- then revise, reconfigure, and deploy your application as necessary -- as you're moving toward your destination.

Rule of thumb to tech-fabulous: "Hey! I don't even notice we're using state-of-the-art technology! WOW! KORUMBA!"

Deploy quickly.

Think of a 6th grader.

• Her full-time job involves 8 hours of school a day.
• Then, she practices with her basketball team for 2 hours.
• She then has 3 hours of homework every night.
• And on the weekends, she has 5 hours of ballet.
• Don't forget her daily chores and acting as therapist to her BFFs in boy-crises mode all-day-everyday.

And yet, she still manages to:

• Eat a hearty dinner with her family, nightly.
• Hang out with friends at the mall.
• Watch her favorite TV shows.
• Chat up her little buddies online.
• See movies.
• And, still go to bed at 9 p.m. every night.
• ...to sleep a ridiculous 8 hours.

Oh, and she remains the same jolly-joyful-upbeat hip-hip-hooray kid we all know.

@$%^$#@ &^@#&!

We Adults Suck

We're 5% as productive as kids, but think:

• "We have no time for fun because we have so much work to do!"

Boo.

Schedule Like a Kid

Set constraints for yourself.

1. Schedule more fun.
2. Sleep 8 hours.
3. Challenge yourself to bigger goals.
4. Increase your daily workload.

Then, see how you just "magically" become 9869048372581 times more productive, and a kabillion times more happy.

Work more. Play More. Live more.

What would you do?

• a) Learn what's more important for tomorrow.
• b) Learn what's more important for ten years from now.

But...what if you could do both (a) and (b)?

That is:

1. You learn something that you could apply soon.
2. You learn something that you could also apply ten years from now.

You'd reach:

Peak Learning Goodness

You learn to the maximum-of-the-super-maximum by encompassing what you could apply for the rest of your ridiculously dope life.

Advantage: You, for eternity.

Learning What?

Having knowledge that you could use for the rest of your life compounds your advantages for your future situations.

We call that stuff your Lifelong-Learning-Knowledge Juice (LLKJs).

For instance:

Take Sue.

1. Sue learns about how managers make their employees excel.
2. Sue volunteers as a youth basketball coach.
3. Sue applies her management wisdom to Streetblue Ballers.

Or, a more direct business analogy:

1. Sue learns how to optimize her little 3-person-team performance.
2. Sue becomes CEO.
3. Sue applies her knowledge of rocking small teams by building hundreds of little teams -- each optimized for maximum performance -- and, collectively forming one ridiculous company.

Lifelong knowledge = Gifts that keep giving -- if you're looking.

But where to look?

Where to Focus Yo-Self

Learn what's needed; but, dig deeper, and uncover what you can use for the rest of your life.

For example:

• Learn how to cook Mushroom Risottos, but focus on delivering delectable meals.
• Learn the Python programming language, but focus on programming methodologies.
• Learn to give your introductory speech, but focus on communicating your message.

In other words:

Learn what you need for tomorrow; but, focus on what you can grasp for a lifetime.

How to Exploit Your Juice

Think of a little compartment in your brain that stores your LLKJs.

More of that knowledge juice gives you more advantages to rock out.

For example:

Sue, who uses her several LLKJs, including knowledge of (1) optimizing teams, (2) managing egos, (3) handling conflicts, (4) exploiting individual strengths has a much greater basketball coaching advantage over Joe Schmo who starts coaching completely from scratch.

Win: Sue.

The more you fill your brain with lifelong useful stuff, the greater advantages you'll give yourself.

So, to rock out super-FAB-tastically:

1. Repeatedly fill up more LLKJs into your brain's compartment that stores them.
2. Use those juices liberally in anything you do to your advantage.

The result:

1. You exploit knowledge that took you years to accumulate.
2. Joe Schmos of the world would need years to catch up to learn what you specifically know.
3. Therefore, you increase your chances of rocking -- significantly.

Win.

Life-long-useful stuff. Scrumptious.

Following your dreams is crazy-cool-oh-yeah, but then there's also that practical side:

• Ensuring you'll live that dream forever-and-&^%#!-@#$%-day.

How do you do it?

Do it by building your business like you're gonna sell the sucka.

(Even if you'll never sell your business.)

We'll explain.

The "Sell My Business" Mindset

Why do private equity companies ridiculously increase their firms' values over a short time?

According to a recent HBR entry by Goold and Barber, private equities use the "build-the-sucka-to-sell-the-sucka" approach.

That is:

1. They buy high-potential companies.
2. They pimp them out.
3. They sell them for high profit -- ASAP.

Private equities know they better deliver something awesome that's promising both short-term/long-term -- or risk their futures.

The Benefits

Over a short period of time, private equities:

• Place people where they'll thrive.
• Get dope advice from the brightest.
• Cut bureaucracy inch-by-inch.
• Cut communication with costly customers.
• Bargain with vendors further.
• Automate repetitive tasks.
• Write ridiculously-detailed operation manuals.
• Seek growth opportunities.
• Yadda, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Result: Freakishly fattened value provided to their firms.

Build-to-Sell Mindset = Sexy Profitable

Adopting the build-to-sell mindset gets you focused on the more profitable aspects of your business (i.e. the bigger picture).

Because your mindset tells you:

• "I have to build my business where if hand it off, it'll still rock as if I'm not there!"

You automate your business's profit machine to continually churn bla-bling without your presence.

That makes your business more adaptable for growth, cuts costs, and increases its agility.

Exponentially Awesome

With (1) exponentially reduced time spent, (2) exponentially reduced money invested, and (3) exponentially reduced energies expended, what do you get?

Exponentially increased value/profits/sales/yadda.

Shabam!

"So, how do I start?!"

Challenge yo-self:

1. You have 7 days to sell your business.
2. What would you do?
3. Ready. Set. !@#$% Go!

(You'll surprise yourself to your business's true potential.)

Build-the-sucka-like-you're-gonna-sell-the-sucka.

Scenario: "Dude, I'm the greatest decision-maker in the world. I have no regrets, as just about every one of my frickin' decisions are correct. High-five!"

Think back to your last debate/disagreement/quarrel.

You were oh-so-totally 100% correct, while that other mofo was oh-so-totally wrong.

You probably ended the conversation, thinking:

• "That person really doesn't get it."
• "I'm sure s/he'll come to her senses, eventually."
• "Wow, that person is l-o-c-o."

But...but...if Craig thinks he's right, Sally thinks she's right, and Miguel, Tony, Bobby, Miguel, Johnny B., Chrissy, Efrain, and Miguel -- who's wrong?

Here's a hint:

Unless Johnny B. has hard 100%-objective data on his assertions, he's probably wrong 50% of the time. (As with the other folks.)

Says The Research...

According to psychologist researchers at Psychology Today:

We filter out evidence that contradicts our beliefs, particularly the mistaken idea that the opposite of a true statement must be false.

That's why you rarely hear the coveted three words:

"I'm wrong, b!tches."

El Conclusion Our brains drive us to make horrifically bad decisions based on horrifically bad insight; that, in turn, corrupts our chances of success.

To boost your chances to kick ass, start manipulating your brain with gradual 'check-yo-self'ers.

We'll explain.

How Our Brains Suck

According to Jim Collins and his chimps' research, visionary companies start every discussion by first confronting the brutal facts of their realities.

But, that's easier said than done.

Sure, your rationale might tell you that you just hafta-gotta-need-a confront the facts of your realities before you make wise decisions.

But, your subconscious tells you something differently:

• "Hey, we're not mediocre! We're superstars! High-five!" we blindly tell ourselves.

We humans hate to admit our faults, so we rarely confront the absolute brutal facts of our realities.

That's cognitive dissonance at its finenst:

The sucker prevents us from kicking really juicy ass -- and instead, drives us toward our usual mediocrities.

Remember: If you don't confront your faults/mistakes, you'll repeatedly commit them over, and over...and over -- gradually destroying your potential.

How to Unblind Yo-Self

Start manipulating the unconscious side of your brain:

• In 30 seconds, admit one mistake that prevented you from being more efficient last week.

Hint: Write/type the sucka down. You'll "un-blind" your brain much quicker.

We'll wait.

LalaLalaLalaLalaLalaLalaLalaLalaLalaLalaLalaLalaLala.

Done? How'd that feel? A little uncomfortable, eh?

Not a problem: as with tackling any bad habit, it takes baby steps.

Now if you're feeling like an adventurous mofo, start listing out two additional mistakes.

The trick to all of this:

Habitually Check Yo-Self

..in increasing amounts.

At Trizle, we started with a frequent routine:

• Week 1: Admit 1 small mistake everyday.
• Week 2: Admit 2 mistakes everyday.
• ...
• Week 10: Admit 10 mistakes every morning.

Of course, customize the process to your own preference.

Try it for 21 straight days, and you'll build an awesome habit that's crazy-hard to break.

Once you get in the habit of confronting the absolute brutal realities of your situation -- as Collins's six-year research asserts, you'll make astronomically awesome decisions that will dramatically boost your chances for major @#$%^ success.

Check Yo-Self.

Scenario: "Do you feel motivated to work hard? If you do, yay!"

Buh-laaah.

What question drives you to seriously kick some major donkey behind and take names?

You probably won't find it with those motivational speakers who sell you books/cds/tapes/manuals/their-mamas.

Instead, the question -- simply:

"What result do I want to achieve?"

According to consultant Robert Fritz in a Harvard Business Review article, that question drives you from complacent mode to proactive mode.

That is, instead of lounging around waiting for what the world wants you to do, you tap your inner psyche to chase down some ridiculously crazy goal and beat it into submission.

That internal motivation drives you to produce ridiculously productive results, and dismiss external distractions that are beyond your control.

You start:

• strengthening your phat future
• using your time freakishly efficiently
• producing more value to those around you
• imprinting a lasting legacy

The Very Fine Line

There's fine line between (1) working hard, and (2) producing results.

Conventional wisdom thinks the former automatically translates into the latter.

You can work 80 hour work weeks for a client; but, if Hector down the street produces more value to Client Timmy than you -- and he only works 20 hours, guess who will ultimately win.

At the end of the day, it's not how hard you work -- the would couldn't care less; it's the results you produce.

The more honest you answer it, the more you'll compel yourself to rock every second of your fabulosity.

"What result do I want to achieve?"

Scenario: "Dude, we have so many repetitive things to do. That means we must hire more people to do those repetitive things. Yay!"

Thriving businesses focus on repeatability; that's the easiest/fastest/sweetest way to grow their revenues.

Yet, with repetitive tasks -- comes tedious time-wasters.

1. Now, what if your company could increase its productivity by 40%?
2. What if you gave your salespeople of 30% more time to sell?
3. What if you freed 50% more time for other creative tasks?

How much would your profits increase?

Good sign? Consider automating your business with software built to the soul of your company.

Why Off-The-Shelf Software Sucks

Off-the-shelfers make your business run according to the software -- instead of having the software complementing your already-fab business.

That is, instead of accelerating your profits by making your company more agile, you start impeding its momentum by working around software built for different agendas.

Like a billion personalities in this world, your company is unique to you -- and you need something that improves how well you already run your business.

Why Custom Software Rocks

Custom software helps you increase productivity by automating those uniquely-repetitive tasks catered to your business's needs.

For instance, instead of:

1. Hiring a team to send a hundred invoices a day.
2. Sending informational email to every single lead.
3. Manually organizing your appointment times.
4. Upselling a thousand customers on Product X.

You automate the process where you decrease/eliminate labor.

Instead of taking hours, you now take minutes (or nothing) doing the same task.

That saves you resources, energy, money, sanity, and your business's creativity juices for other -- more lucrative -- opportunities.

Beautiful. Growth. Ahead.

But Do You Really Need the Thang?

Two drawbacks to a custom software:

1. It's costly.

   If you're just starting -- unless you see tremendous/concrete signs of growth -- hold off on it. You could always get by with off-the-shelfers (e.g. Excel, Quickbooks, etc.) Remember: you only want custom software to accelerate your already promising results, not build something that you speculate you might need.

2. It rarely comes to fruition.

   Most software projects never get built because of: (1) incompetent programmers, and (2) enormously-big ambitions. Be cautious if a software team promises a 500-day completion. Those long project cycles rarely get built competently -- and in the unlikely scenario that it does, your needs will have already changed.

The type of software your business gets depends on the adaptability, smarts, and experience of your software team.

Get those who have proven track records, and can help you build a releasable Version 0.1 within weeks.

Growth Like a Beast

If you can overcome the barriers, a custom-built application will grow your revenues astronomically.

Just don't let it run your business. Instead:

Make your software your company's b!@ch.

Scenario: "Dude, don't think about it. Just stop. Be strong. Yay!"

What do you do when fear strikes?

• a) "I'll try to run away from it!"
• b) "I'll embrace fear like it's free pizza!"

If you try running away from fear, something super-crazy happens: Fear remains. It sticks with you. It destroys your confidence.

Why? It's the association factor:

If someone sends you the following command: "Don't think of an elephant."

What do you do?

You start thinking of a fat-freakin' elephant. !@#$!

Similarly, when you tell yourself:

• "I will not think of fear!"
• "I will escape it!"
• "I will not think about it!"

Why Embrace Fear

1. Your heart starts pounding.
2. Your breathing becomes shallow.
3. Your muscles start contracting.

Instead, when you fully embrace your fear, something paradoxically cool happens physiologically:

• You start breathing fuller/deeper/sexier.
• That calms your nerves.
• Your brain becomes clearer/smarter with more oxygen.

Then, you start freakishly getting more energy/determination/power to overcome the fear.

Win.

Ways to Approach Your Fear

The moment you start feeling that fearful thingamajigger, embrace it:

• "Come to me, baby."
• "I love you. Come, come."
• "Yes, I feel you fear. Oh, yes."
• "I surrender to you, baby."

By confronting that fear (i.e. not running away from it), you ready your badass to gradually defeat the mutha-!@#$%^.

And Remember...

The more times you confront your fear (i.e. the more times you expose yourself to it), the likelier you'll destroy it.

Prep yo-bad-self:

• "If I fear sales, I'll sell ___ times next month."
• "If I fear networking, I'll network with ___ people this year."
• "If I fear failing, I'll intentionally fail ___ time this year."
• "If I fear rabbits, I'll visit rabbits ___ times this week."

Sure, you'll probably start out sucking. But as you progressively expose yourself to it, fear gradually diminishes.

Rule of thumb: You'll steadily demolish a fear the more times you confront those fears.

So the next time you're feeling fear:

Start embracing the mutha-!@#$%^.