WOW: Multiply Excellence and Chutzpah

Finally, The Shortcut to Excellence and Chutzpah

Excellence is hard. Very hard. You have to refine, improve, analyze, redo, ... all the time and with everything you do. In short: You have to work. But compared to chutzpah, excellence is easy. Chutzpah is where it's at. You need some basic charisma for anything even remotely resembling chutzpah. You have to be creative and bold at the same time. Even more so, you have to constantly deliver peak performance, even on short notice. Otherwise, you reputation suffers.

Now, after years of research and weighing the pros and the cons, there is a shortcut, here is the solution for experiencing the multiplication of excellence and chutzpah.

Try excellence × chutzpah on for size in a holodeck-like multi-dimensional and multi-sensational simulation. It won't last all too long and you aren't going to feel all too good afterwards but trust me on this one -- after giving it all in real life, after going all out, all the way -- do you think you'd feel fine with the tension over and the climax gone? Not exactly.

The shortcut: Cocaine. No hard work, no struggle with timidity. Peak performance on demand. Reputation protected.

Its possession, cultivation, and distribution are illegal for non-medicinal and non-government sanctioned purposes in virtually all parts of the world. Although its free commercialization is illegal and has been severely penalized in virtually all countries, its use worldwide remains widespread in many social, cultural, and personal settings.

But you know what? We're trying to accomplish something here. There are no rules.

Change the rules and make them yours. Bend them until they break. Any rule that can be broken is worthless anyway. As a rule at least.

April Fools Alert

Of course. But once a year it is OK. The joke that is, not the coke. The only thing that works is kaizen -- constant and never-ending improvement. There is no substitute, no shortcut, and definitely no magic pill nor powder.

Again: Constant and never-ending improvement. Nothing else works.

Labels: april+fools, chutzpah, cocaine, excellence, humor, insanity, kaizen, lifehacks, lifestyle, marketing, personal+development, productivity, rant, success, vanity

Opinionated? Hell Yeah!

edited by Alexander Becker

Chris Garrett asks whether your blog -- or mine, for that matter -- is opinionated.

The answer is of course, hell yeah, is my blog opinionated!

Let me give you an example: Chris Shugart at Testosterone Nation has that Phoenix Theory, where from its own ashes, the fiery bird is reborn. --

The failure — the person who hasn't begun properly and hasn't set himself on fire — will find plenty of reasons to avoid the tough exercises and rationalize laziness.

The phoenix — the angry person who has burned away all his previous excuses — will get mad at himself for slacking. He'll remind himself that he must earn his post-workout drink, and if he needs to, he'll slap himself across the face until he feels like getting into the squat rack.

Think I'm kidding? This is how truly successful people push themselves. They're not hand-holders; they're ass-kickers... even if it's their own ass that needs kicking. They drive themselves, and usually not with positive affirmations.

While the theory sounds familiar and I definitely subscribe to it, the opinionated part is yet to come. Here goes --

Phoenix Theory goes against what most hand-holding motivational "gurus" preach. But I'm not a motivational guru; I'm an experimenter and an observer. I'm not interested in what works in corny "personal growth" books; I'm interested in what works in real life, in the field. And what works in the real world isn't always pretty. But the results are.

That is pretty much the point where some ways have to part. Call it Elite, Machiavellian, Utilitarian, Biblical, even Cold-blooded, or Insane, I call it Excellence X Chutzpah, and it is always based on higher principles. I am always here to make you look good, whatever it takes.

It is not for everybody. While everybody is invited to try, some are here to stay. That is my opinion.

Labels: bible, business, chutzpah, decisions, elite, excellence, lifehacks, lifestyle, machiavelli, marketing, opinion, personal+branding, rant, success, testosterone, wow-bits

Be Productive or The Law of Specificity

edited by Alexander Becker

In chemistry, specificity is --

The selective reactivity that occurs between substances, such as between an antigen and its corresponding antibody.

Processes and methods that are more specific have more impact than general tools and strategies. What works in business is not supposed to be applicable in leisure or education, even more specific, what works in my business like a charm isn't necessarily guaranteed to work in your business at all.

An antigen and its corresponding antibody, that's the key here. Some concepts just don't match while others -- sometimes and with some people -- match squarely. You are only as productive as you are and you most likely improve within your own realm. That said, most tips will -- if anything -- only initiate an improvement that you are responsible for yourself.

Over on lifehack.org, Dustin Wax dicusses the five productivity ideas he's not buying (yet?)

The body of work on productivity, life-work balance, and personal achievement sits uncomfortably -- perhaps perilously -- close to the genre of “self-help”.

I agree. I agree wholeheartedly. Here are the five examined points --

Mind mapping.

The 80/20 Rule.

The power of Brand You.

Making productivity a habit.

Visualizing success.

Mind mapping? It works for people who would work this way anyway. If you never draw ideas then there's a good chance that mind mapping isn't for you. It certainly isn't for me either.

The power of Brand You. It works if you're so inclined -- it won't work for everybody but for those in need and with a corresponding personality, it works wonders.

The 80/20 rule. Obviously it's ridiculous to examine projects and calculate percentages -- but the concept is certainly valuable and at least inspires people to think.

A question is whether --

... it [is] possible to increase this small number of high-performing causes while at the same time decreasing the relatively high number of underperformers?

Now, take a look at the opposite --

In order to increase the quality of your work, you have to increase your output in quantity.

It's a matter of reflection and analysis, ever so short of the proverbial paralysis. I don't think that any recipe or laid out how-to hack whatever part of your mind does indeed work as advertised or prescribed. Instead, it's the one spark contained in one article out of hundreds, the one way out of the dozens of X ways to do Y written in almost robot-like staccato all over the place with hardly enough resources to finish yesterday's 25 ways with today's 50 ways already waiting to get socially bookmarked and overwritten by tomorrow's -- hey it's sunday, let's present the 100 ways of non-productivity and hope that nobody notices that ... don't worry, nobody does ever notice the dupes, because of severe how-to overload.

By the way, making productivity a habit is a great example of a concept devoid of any meaning at all. Isn't productivity being productive in the first place? The short form of this truly revolutionary concept is to be productive -- wow. I mean WOW.

This is Zen. I love Zen.

Who's the intended audience of the content-avalanche, anyway? (I use the term content in its most generic form and not for the lack of a better word here.)

The desperate need for serious help is directly anti-proportional to the willingness to accept it and follow even basic recommendations. People become help- and advice resistant when they need it the most.

The rant is over now. Thank you for your patience. Have a great weekend and when it's over, make sure to be productive again.

Labels: business, decisions, lifehacks, lifestyle, marketing, personal+branding, productivity, rant, success, wow-bits, zen

Be Yourself Without Making it an Excuse

edited by Alexander Becker

Be yourself and be the best you can be.

I was just being myself is supposed to be a declaration of excellence and no excuse or explanation for mediocrity.

You are absolutely beautiful being everything you can be, on the other hand, trying to be beautiful like someone else makes you, by default, less beautiful. In fact, it makes you ugly.

Being yourself does not mean to get lazy or to stop trying. Being yourself is excelling at what you think is that which you are best at. Being yourself is not letting go of everything. Being your worst is not being yourself. By definition, being your best is.

Ultimately, do not be yourself for him or for her, instead and most importantly, be yourself for your self.

Do not insult the people you're with, do not insult yourself with a mediocre performance just because we're among friends here -- we are among friends, but even more so, do not disrespect your friends' realm. Everyone deserves your best. Not just the few you really want to impress. Your excellence is calculated across all your actions, some select peak performances may improve your overall score but in the end, everything counts.

Understatement is a form of speech in which a lesser expression is used than what would be expected.

Understatement is a function of humility and pride, it is not pretending to be average. On the other hand, your understatement could very well be mistaken for arrogance. Make sure to always combine understatement with eventual over-delivery of your performance.

Play with expectations, but never let go of your excellence.

Labels: arrogance, beauty, business, decisions, excellence, lifehacks, lifestyle, marketing, performance, personal+branding, personal+development, rant, success, understatement

Pay What You Owe

edited by Alexander Becker

Everyone has to pay what they owe.

Whether you pay first and receive later or you receive first and pay later, one thing is for sure: You're going to pay, no matter what.

Please review the suggested protocol, which is obviously not set in stone --

What? Know what you want.
That. Accept that you have to pay a price.
How much? Determine its exact value for you.
Really? Determine whether the price is worth paying.
Close. Pay and receive or vice versa.

You wouldn't walk into a store, ask for something, and just take it with you without paying. You want something, you give something in exchange. You want more, you give more. How much is it worth paying for? How badly do you want it? Of course, the more you want it, the more you're prepared to pay. If it's worth having, isn't it worth paying for?

What about bargaining? Isn't bargaining a sign of less wanting within the pay-for-what-you-want sense?

Bargaining is a type of negotiation in which the buyer and seller of a good or service dispute the price which will be paid and the exact nature of the transaction that will take place, and eventually come to an agreement.

Referring to #3 of the above outlined protocol, you determine the exact value for you. Ultimately, you bargain exclusively with yourself.

Negotiate solely with yourself and know that and what you are going to pay.

You want it all, I know, but don't you want it all, only to avoid making a decision in favor of the definite outcome, the one thing you really want?

Now, pay and receive.

A simple negation, yet, a quality of its own: Do not pay what you do not owe. Very simple indeed but you and only you decide what it is and how much of it you really owe.

Labels: acceptance, bargaining, business, decisions, negotiations, personal+branding, personal+development, rant, reputation, success

Anti-Hero of the Day: The Constantly Whining Business Man

edited by Alexander Becker

When determining the best isn't worth the effort or the options are few and written about over and over, it's helpful to consider the other end of the spectrum.

In other words: Let's look at the negative to get a glance of the positive.

Three possible reasons explain -- not justify -- why a business man would constantly complain about his particular business and for good measure, about the economy as a whole --

To convince his vendors and suppliers to drop their prices;
To prevent his employees from asking for higher wages;
To express his ignorance and that he really doesn't know what he's doing.

Now, it's possible to get your vendors to offer better deals without whining. That is called negotiating. And while the art of negotiation certainly includes acting and pretending to be whining, it's not required and it doesn't have to become the state of mind of the constantly negotiating negotiator. The art of negotiation is related to the art of war; ask Sun Tzu.

Next, how is it perceived to whine when a No is too hard -- for you? You whine as an excuse? Instead of an excuse? Also, employees who are denied the money they deserve plus having to endure the whining are double likely to eventually leave.

In the end, the always whining business man is probably ignorant and incompetent. It's a matter of honor to stop complaining, otherwise quitting is an option to consider -- for vendors, employees, and ultimately, for the poor man himself.

Labels: art+of+war, business, leadership, motivation, negotiations, personal+branding, rant, success, wow, wow-bits

WOWOW: Starred Sodium Lightbulbs

edited by Alexander Becker

What have salt and lightbulbs in common and why should you care?

Both have issues. While I think that Eat To Live is potentially superior to many, if not most, dietary recommendations, the salt question is an interesting and apparently emotional one, culminating spectacularly in the Salt Wars: The Phantom Menace --

Salt also pulls out calcium and other trace minerals in the urine when the excess is excreted, which is a contributory cause of osteoporosis. If that is not enough, high sodium intake is predictive of increased death from heart attacks. In a large prospective trial, recently published in the respected medical journal The Lancet, there was a frighteningly high correlation between sodium intake and all cause mortality in overweight men. The researchers concluded, High sodium intake predicted mortality and risk of coronary heart disease, independent of other cardiovascular risk factors, including high blood pressure. These results provide direct evidence of the harmful effects of high salt intake in the adult population.

Without implying an actual call for prohibition, ... there is a great line in the movie Demolition Man which is the vehicle to deliver today's point --

Stallone:

Do you have the salt?

Bullock:

Salt is not good for you, hence, it is illegal.

... hence, it is illegal. Does anyone see a problem with this kind of reasoning?

Let's take a look at the call to ban inefficient lightbulbs in EU --

Germany's environment minister Sigmar Gabriel has written to the European Commission proposing that inefficient light bulbs be banned in the EU.

It gets even better with House Inspectors checking your light bulbs --

They will go into every room to calculate the number of low-energy light bulbs and while in the kitchen they will even examine the cooker to see if has automatic ignition or a permanent pilot light.

It is the verboten approach which rings bells -- at least it should do so -- all over the world.

While we're there, this is what you'll do --

Stallone:

You'll get a little dirty...

... you, a lot clean.

And somewhere in the middle...

You'll figure it out.

Just take action and change things for --

... each event triggers -- almost domino-like -- the next and the following ones with the result becoming inevitable because of cause and effect.

Moderation is important to break up black-and-white thinking since nothing is perfectly black nor white. Moderation is the complete scale from black to white and so is life which is -- to stay with colors -- taking continuously and simultaneously from the whole spectrum, including the extremes, incorporating every color that is imaginable, all side by side.

Or is the old concept of moderation all of a sudden broken? I don't think so.

Note: The weekly Linking Park editions will become less weekly and more themed, for there is no day and night on the internet, nor are there timezones and certainly no weeks to adhere to. In the meantime, please check out the starred items provided in the sidebar.

To your excellence.

Labels: commentary, demolition+man, diet, google, inspiration, lifehacks, lightbulbs, linking+park, moderation, movies, rant, reference, review, society, sodium, sylvester+stallone, trends, wow

Questions and Answers from the Editor

edited by Alexander Becker

Q: Why WOW?

A: WOW is a blessing and blessings are, in my experience, a subtle, yet very powerful way to change realities.

Q: What is this all about?

A: It's about a healthy diet, fitness, and beauty and the mindset to achieve and maintain these goals.

Q: Why are you doing that?

A: I am experimenting with diets and keep getting great results. I research about nutrition and exercises and I want to share my findings and my inspiration with you. Many people don't know where to start or how to make progress after a certain point; I am here to help.

Q: How do you train?

A: I am doing bodyweight exercises exclusively for half a year now. I never lifted weights and I never went to the gym to pretend lifting weights either. My seven days a week routine consists of 20 - 30 minutes of high repetition calisthenics like hindu squats, hindu pushups and variations, handstand holds, wall walking, and pull ups. I occasionally run and I start my days with breathing exercises and an abdominal workout as assembled by Matt Furey.

Q: Bodyweight means...

A: No iron. Believe me -- your bodyweight is more than enough to lift at various angles and for slow, high intensity repetitions.

Q: What's your workout goal?

A: To be able to handle my bodyweight in any position.

Q: What's your current diet?

A: I am on the warrior diet which is about almost fasting during the day and eating big -- really big -- at night. Make sure to read my review and recommendation of the book The Warrior Diet by Ori Hofmekler. In addition I am eating vegan. I am constantly experimenting and I consider eating fish for a while now.

Q: What else?

A: You are beautiful!

Labels: answers, bodyweight, calisthenics, diet, exercises, health, interview, personal+branding, personal+development, questions, rant, training

WOW: Multiply Excellence and Chutzpah

For Example

Recommended Sites

Most Popular

Starred Items

Handpicked Quote (more)

WOW Search

Finally, The Shortcut to Excellence and Chutzpah

April Fools Alert

Opinionated? Hell Yeah!

Be Productive or The Law of Specificity

Be Yourself Without Making it an Excuse

Pay What You Owe

Anti-Hero of the Day: The Constantly Whining Business Man

WOWOW: Starred Sodium Lightbulbs

Questions and Answers from the Editor

Previous Posts

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For Example

Recommended Sites

Most Popular

Starred Items

Handpicked Quote (more)

WOW Search

April Fools Alert

Related Items

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