Once in a while I see a diagram that captures my thoughts / opinions so well, I can't help but to share it. That's why I am thankful to Bud Cadell for his brilliant blog post. It's brilliant enough that it needs no explanation.

I can't tolerate most self-help books. They all seem say the same thing and few of them focus on others as a means of bettering yourself. That's why this book caught my eye.

Keith Ferrazzi, author of NYT and Amazon.com bestseller  'who's got your back' suggests, if you choose to work on a better future, that you must commit to four vows:

1) We've chosen to help others and stop worrying only about ourselves.
2) We've chosen to let our guards down so others can help.
3) We've chosen transparency and candor over politics and BS.
4) We've chosen to hold each other accountable so that we don't fail.

Food for thought.

Setting: A boat docked in Ferragudo, a tiny fishing village in the Algarve region in the South of Portugal.

An American tourist approached Peixoto and complimented the Portuguese fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

“Not very long,” answered Peixoto.

“But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the American.

Peixoto explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs… I have a full life.”

The American interrupted, “I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.”

And after that?” asked Peixoto.

With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to a great City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise.”

“How long would that take?” asked Peixoto.

“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the American.

“And after that?”

“Afterwards? Well my Friend, That’s when it gets really interesting,” answered the American, laughing. “When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!”

“Millions? Really? And after that?” said Peixoto.

“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends.”

”But sir, replied the humble fisherman, I already have that.”

Sorry for the silence. Life has been a roller-coaster as we are nearing the end of my wife's chemotherapy treatments. Managing the kids, her well-being, my work, the collective emotions and our relationships has stretched my spirituality as well as my time-management skills. I'll blog about all the lessons learnt when it's all over and the dust has settled.

One of my students at the engineering school I teach Entrepreneurship at, had an interesting quote  that she put at the footer of her emails. I thought it applied well to me when I read it and it applies even more to entrepreneurs caught in a spiral of self-doubt about their choices.

Excellence can be obtained if you :
care more than others think is wise, risk more than others think is safe, dream more than others think is practical and expect more than others think is possible !

It reminded me of a little story I read as a child that stuck with me and fueled me on those days when I had nothing left:

A retired business executive was once asked the secret of his success. He replied that it could be summed up in three words: 'and then some'.
'I discovered at an early age,' he said, 'that most of the differences between average people and top people could be explained in three words. The top people did what was expected of them - and then some.

'They were thoughtful of others, they were considerate and kind - and then some.

'They were good friends to their friends - and then some.

'They would deliver on their promises at work, at church and at home - and then some.

'They could be counted on in an emergency - and then some.

'And so it is when we put our trust in God's goodness. He returns our love - and then some.'

Every once in a while, I come across a video that makes me say: 'wow, that's so true' and 'where were you all my life?'.

This is one of those.

I've been on the receiving side of these discussions for years when I had an agency and an IT service company. One of the hardest things I had to learn as an entrepreneur was not to renegotiate in these situations. Since I'm a 'nice guy' who believes the best in people and that a handshake is more binding than a contract, well, I got chewed the wool off my back more than once.

But I sleep better at night believing the best and not always supposing the worst. I've just become 'cautiously optimistic'.

This video flies in the face of the notion that 'the client is always right'. He's not... but he does need to be educated sometimes.

An excellent graphic designer, cartoonist and (I'm honored to say) a good friend Eric McKenty has done something amazing.

Loosely inspired by episodes / characteristics of my life, he drew a beautiful cartoon where the main protagonist looks a little (ok, a lot) like me. He faithfully reproduced my passion for technology, but I like to think I'm a little more patient. ;)

This is a classic example of how you can get known for your talent in a viral way.

Good job Eric, keep 'em coming!

Johnny Famous Ep.1

In the last months, I've researched and studied quite extensively the phenomenon of personal branding and all that it entails. From high-flying strategies to down-to-earth tactics, with the help of hundreds of books, blog posts and bookmarked pages, I’ve mindmapped and vulgarized the concept. And I've come to one single conclusion:

It's stupid and false.

The foundational premise found everywhere in personal branding is that we need to identify within ourselves that ONE thing that distinguishes us, that makes us different, that renders us unique in the eyes of the world. I had to find the answer to the riddle : 'I am that (insert something here) guy'. What was it: that digital strategies guy ? that IT entrepreneur guy ? that Christian or church guy ?

After months of too many suggested tests and soul-searching questions later, I became frustrated at my lack of finding that ONE thing to pin everything on. I already knew what my core values were (link) as well as my belief system (link). BUT what was that ONE thing ? What made me special in the eyes of the world surrounding me ?

But wait… who was that world surrounding me ? Who did I need to develop my personal branding for ? Whose my target demographic ? My wife and kids ? My parents ? My friends I grew up with who knew me with all my zits ? My clients ? Anonymous readers on my blog ? My Facebook ‘friends’ ? People I didn't know who see me in conferences ? My students at my alma mater ? And what if I didn’t care about anyone and just focused on what I thought of me ? And what about God… isn't that who I am ultimately accountable to ?

The authors of personal branding applied some age-old marketing principles used for corporations to individual human beings, perpetrating the narcissistic and hazardous notion that we are developing a Me Inc. society. The relationships we end up developing become a matter of ‘what’s in it for Me Inc. ?’ And that is what I dislike about the whole social media wave: the notion that we make ourselves out to be important people by showing off our wonderful belly-button-looking side.

I cannot adhere to the principle that we are defined by ONE thing and that we need to push that image on others as some kind of single source of validation. If we want to sell our expertise and demonstrate our knowledge, fine. But we are so much more than what is in our head.

Therefore, there is not ONE single element that will define me, be it my work, my knowledge, my experience, my values, my relationships, my service, my social standing…whatever.

I’ll look up as the basis for my beliefs, look inward as I try to become a balanced and whole person and then look outward to see who I can help.