Hello Everyone,
Once again the summer has come and gone. I hope that the passing of the autumnal equinox has left you with fond summer memories to relish. A few days ago I had to take my daughter to the pediatrician for her eighteen month check-up. During the visit the doctor coached me and my wife on the importance of establishing early boundaries, an area we both admittedly had been overlooking. I mean, why would we want to stifle the exploration and creative growth of our child, right?
As most know I’m a chronic multitasker, this distinction was even documented through an award bestowed upon me by my cohort in business school. It’s becoming clearer to me as I mature however that even though passion and drive are clearly essential components of success, their effectiveness is exponentially increased when coupled with an equal part of discipline.
So how do these two anecdotes fit together? Steve Jobs is quoted in an old edition of Business Week as saying (about Apple), “I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.” Bill Cosby famously stated, “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” And Olav Sorenson taught us that when planning and designing for success one is probably better served studying and avoiding the failure of others rather than trying to pursue replicating the success of outliers. In short, boundaries, or in professional jargon: practice guidelines, help us channel our energy towards worthy pursuits. It’s a tough lesson for a dreamer like myself but I’m coming around to its merits.
Entrepreneurship: I’m super excited to bring you this quarter’s interview with Gary Vaynerchuk who is a multi-faceted entrepreneur, TED presenter, New York Times best-selling author, and sought after public speaker. For most readers he really needs little introduction, my interview with Gary Vaynerchuk about passion and authenticity can be found here.
Health and Wellness: Ari Meisel is a wellness and productivity optimization expert who coaches a portfolio of clients on optimizing, automating, and outsourcing. Ari’s Achievement Architecture coaching program is an optimization framework designed to help people improve their effectiveness and reduce the amount of time they spend doing. Ari’s personal website The Art of Doing Less has become a go-to resource for those seeking to improve their well-being and productivity. My interview with Ari Meisel about wellness and productivity tracking and hacking can be found here.
Life Experience: If you are the father of a daughter then you have likely come across the Life to Her Years blog post 50 Rules for Dads of Daughters. Moved by the message in this post I committed to attempting to honor all 50 items. In the spirit of Rule #14 I purchased my first pair of Chuck Taylors (yes, for some reason up until now I have never owned a pair); I also purchased Sloane her first pair of Chucks too.
We broke in our new kicks by visiting the Bay Area Discovery Museum for the first time. Whether you have a young daughter or son I highly recommend this little find right past the Golden Gate Bridge. It is a great day for the kids… and winding down the day with your favorite adult beverage at Farley Bar on your way out is also recommended.
Contribution: This quarter my contribution came in the form of donating my Cannondale to Cycles of Change. Cycles of Change is a great local charity that provides a host of Bay Area community services, in part providing reliable transportation and job training to underprivileged youths and adults.
Thanks for making it all the way to the end. I wish you a tremendous fall season and I will catch back up with you in December if our paths do not happen to cross before then.
Warm regards,
Michael
P.S. For my entrepreneurial friends trying to fund their business a very important part of the JOBS Act went into effect today. You can read the story here featuring Live Life Love alum Todd Dipaola. Tim Ferriss has also posted about the importance of this event on his blog here.
