The DV Weekend Pickup #13

This weekend let's lighten the mood with a little humor...

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

What I like best: It's funny! I'm always concerned when I buy a book in this genre - comedy, dating, etc - it's going to be just someone's long winded and repetitive rant. Aziz does just the opposite because he actually teamed up with NYU sociologist Eric Klinenberg to develop a year long research project to give the book a backbone. As well as consulting with many of the worlds top social scientists. The project spanned from America (urban, rural, and suburban) to Tokyo to Buenos Aires - all with VERY unique dating cultures as you'll find out. He contends, "the world is available to us, that may just be our problem" and "there's no dating service on the planet that can do what the human brain can do in terms of finding the right person." Asking us silly questions like:

“Why did this guy just text me an emoji of a pizza?” “Should I go out with this girl even though she listed Combos as one of her favorite snack foods? Combos?!” “My girlfriend just got a message from some dude named Nathan. Who’s Nathan? Did he just send her a photo of his penis? Should I check just to be sure?” 

Personally I really enjoyed when he gets into the differences between our generation and prior generations when it comes to dating or marriage. Suggesting at one point it was basically like, "if the guy had a decent job and a good mustache, lock it down girl." SO funny. If you want a light read that tackles the modern dating scene - texting (yes, sexting as well), dating sites, relationships, marriage, social media, etc. - then definitely pick this book up. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Best Quote: "We have two selves: a real-world self and a phone self, and the non sense our phone selves do can make our real-world selves look like idiots. Our real-world selves and our phone selves go hand-in-hand. Act like a dummy with your phone self and send some thoughtless message full of spelling errors, and the real-world self will pay the price. The person on the other end sees no difference between your two selves. They never think, oh, I'm sure he's much more intelligent and thoughtful in person. This is just his "lazy phone persona.""

DV

College Loans Are Exploiting Students

I recently watch an interesting TED Talk by Penn State business professor Sajay Samuel.  He presents a potential solution to the overwhelming cultural issue of college loan debt in America. Although I can probably find a few flaws with his argument I think he does a good job presenting a solution that is workable to a problem that absolutely NEEDS solving.

The college lending business is a farce, a giant bubble waiting to pop.  A friend brought this idea to my attention awhile back, since that conversation the writing on the wall has become even clearer.  The ultimate wolf in sheep's clothing.  Gordon Gekko masked as Mother Theresa.

Quite simply, the heavily protected "education market" is being utilized for extreme financial gain by lenders at the expense of naive kids.  Talk about a curtain to hide behind, a crutch to lean on - selling the American dream - providing kids a higher education, which they undoubtedly do - but at what expense?  I'll contend a high one, entirely too high, handing out huge debts to kids with no income, and no way to pay them back.  

No income, big loans, and easy to obtain.  Sound a little familiar?  Maybe, like another bubble that popped in 2008.  Here's the scary part, at least you got an asset in return for those loans, but THESE loans, they come with no guarantees, nope, not even a promise.

With average incomes declining and college costs rising higher than ever this presents a huge problem for America.  I get it, this raises many questions:

• What kind of "product" is our university system providing today?

• What skills are actually required to sustain a career in todays world?

• What should we do with kids that want but can't afford a formal education?

• What keeps driving the cost of tuition higher and higher?

However, when is enough, enough, and too much, just too much.  Let's consider the evolution of our workforce, advancements in technology, and modern day companies that don't require a college degree.  The world is changing rapidly, and we need to keep pace.

Thoughts, comments, or concerns?  How would you solve this problem?

DV

Is Failure a Good Thing?

Today I wanted to share with you a segment pulled directly from Track 4 - Vulnerability in my audio groundupSALES: It's A Mindset.  It needed the spotlight. The concept is just too important!

"The biggest reason I see fellow associates not live outside the comfort zone is fear of failure. Failure is this idea we've built up in our minds as something that is terrible and negative. In order to easily be able to ask for somebody's business, have that conversation you've been thinking about all night, or bring up price - ahh everybody hates talking about price - you need to view failure with a positive outlook.

Let me introduce to you the "pendulum of success" as described by Darren Hardy, publisher of SUCCESS magazine, mentor, and prominent personal development speaker. The pendulum of success suggests that in order to achieve the joy, happiness, achievement, and financial awards success brings first we must push that pendulum as hard as we possibly can in the other direction, yup that's right - straight toward failure! We must continue to do this until we build enough momentum, experience, and know how that when all of a sudden the pendulum swings back in the other direction toward success it does so in direct proportion to how far and hard we have failed. Think of it like this: if you're only willing to push that pendulum slightly then it will only rock back slightly - yup, you guessed it that's the comfort zone."

The interesting thing about this theory is that technically the less you know the better. Why? Because it leads to more failure so no excuses. Be more vulnerable to failure and even enjoy it. You need BIG failure in order to have BIG success. 

DV

PS - Checkout this book by Darren Hardy. SUPER impactful. It was my first book review.

Most Important Quality of a Restaurant ISN'T the Food?

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of dining at Girl & The Goat, the flagship restaurant of former Bravo Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard. The new American Chicago eatery has been open 6 years and it was easy to understand the buzz. I don't give astounding reviews often but I applaud G&TG. Surely I went for the food which was both adventurous and delicious. I mean whether it was the kohlrabi salad, duck tongues, goat belly, lamb shank, charred vegetables, octopus, pot de creme - not ONE dish fell short.

Above all though it was the service that was most impressive to me. Maybe it was the complimentary cocktail or knowledge of the food. Possibly the recommendations on how many dishes to actually order or what order to bring the dishes out. Or maybe their energy and personalities - it was all spot on. They just cared and it showed. Kudos to you G&TG staff.

I went in for the food and I'll go back for the service. I think this is a great reminder of a lesson we all know but at times neglect. Service matters in a BIG way and GREAT service is memorable.

Crush the week! 

DV

The DV Weekend Pickup #12

The Dip by Seth Godin

What I like best: The author for one, but you already know that. It's his third book that's been featured in the DV Weekend Pickup series.  This book takes on a taboo subject, quitting. Through the years quitting has been viewed as a loser's move. Seth contends, "the old saying is wrong - winners do quit and quitters do win."  Losers either fail to stick out the right dip or never find the right dip to conquer.  Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt.  In fact, it's the superstars who know how - quit the best - escape dead ends quickly while still maintaining their motivation and confidence.   Superstars chose (on purpose and will continue to do so) a field with a steep dip - a barrier to those who try and those who succeed. They've got to get get through that dip to the other side but they believe they can.  This isn't for everyone. If it were there would be no superstars.  But this isn't a book about superstars, being best in the world, or losing.  It's about the dip. 

"If it's worth doing, there's probably a dip." - Seth Godin

Ah so what's the dip?  The dip is that long slog between starting and mastery.  The dip happens right after the honeymoon stage of any new endeavor.  The dip is the set of artificial screens to keep people like you out.  It's the garage band playing to an empty club in the middle of nowhere. It's the difference between beginners luck and real accomplishment.  It's any rough patch, bureaucracy, or busywork you have to deal with en route to your big goal. The dip is where success happens.  "The dip creates scarcity; scarcity creates value," says Seth. The dip (the book) teaches you how to use the dip (the theory) in order to know when to stick it out and when to quit. 

Best Quote: "The essential thing to know about the dip is that it's there. Knowing that you're facing a dip is the first step in getting through it."

DV

I Love the Past BUT I'm Sticking with the Future

When we're with family or friends why is that all we talk about is the past? "Hey man, do you remember the time..." or "we use too..." - c'mon we ALL do it. The funniest part is we can embellish (outright lie at times) the past to make it sound better than it actually was, ha. The tale is always growing! Why? Most people weren't even there so if it sounds like it could have been true it probably was, right? The people that were there, they want to make it sound better than it was because after all, they were there man, ha! Silly, but true. Either way people seldom call you out on the past.

"The past is a nice place to visit, but I certainly wouldn't want to live there." - Anonymous

What happens when we speculate about our future with friends or family? "In 2 years I am going to be..." or "next year we'll..." - c'monnn think about it. Everything is the exact opposite when we talk about the future. Maybe there's a shaking of the head, a "yeah okay", or somebody plain out trying to shut you down. People always assume were lying about the future. And just forget about trying to embellish? You know talking about those BIG dreams and BIG goals. Absolutely can't happen, ha!

I'm not suggesting we should stop reminiscing about the past because it has a time and place. Heck, I love it! However, maybe, just maybe we should give more reverence to our future. Personally I'm doubling down on it.

DV 

An Interesting Correlation Between Optimism and Your Immune System

I'm back! I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. I had the pleasure of seeing one of my childhood friends get married over the weekend. It was an enlightening experience. I was extremely happy for him and his wife. It also go me thinking about the future and more importantly my current VIEW of the future.

Ultimately I was lead to this video below by Andy Core.  He uses a study done on 124 law students to illustrate that optimism in your future view has a positive impact on your immune system. In return enables you to operate better under stress. Encouraging us to analyze, improve, and patternize our future view. 

As always thoughts, feedback, and comments are ALWAYS welcome! Crush the day!

DV

The DV Weekend Pickup #11

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend! I will be taking the next 3 days off from the blog but fear not, I will be back to delight you next week. Without further ado here is the MDW 2016 weekend pickup...

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

What I like best: First let me start by saying this is the first book I've reviewed (more like suggested) written by a woman, not by intent. I read female selections quite often but for some reason I just like to draw attention to random facts, its a weird personal thing, ha! But for the record, I firmly believe women in general are both amazing and inspiring. Especially women who are pushing boundaries, defying social norms, and challenging the world. Anyway now for the book...

Isn't the title just tempting? C'mon, I think so. Elizabeth Gilbert says "If you're alive, you're a creative person." Asking the question, is it possible to live creatively while being fearful? Probably not. Begging us to lead a life driven by curiosity as opposed to fear. The fact that I agree probably made the book much easier to enjoy. Gilbert takes you through a 6 part journey on how to bring out your creativity - courage, enchantment, permission, persistence, trust, and divinity.  Personally I love the thought she shares on, what happens if you don't act on an idea? It will leave you and even worse it will go to someone else!  If it sounds hokey, you're right. Until you hear a couple supporting stories - her own especially - and you'll understand why she feels the way she does. She takes a rather deep and complex topic and makes it light and enjoyable to read - perfect for MDW 2016.

Best quote: "Basically, your fear is like a mall cop who thinks he's a Navy Seal: He hasn't slept in days, he's all hopped up on Red Bull, and he's liable to shoot at his own shadow in an absurd effort to keep everyone "safe.""

DV

It's All About Attempts, Ask Alex

Don't believe me? The leading goal scorer in the NHL this past year was Alexander Ovechkin with 50 goals. Nobody mentions that he had a league high 398 shot attempts (over 100 more than any other player.) The leading rusher in the NFL last year was Adrian Peterson 1485 yards. Nobody mentions that he had a league high 327 rush attempts. The NBA scoring champion this past season was Stephen Curry with 30.1 point per game. Nobody mentions that he had a league high 20.2 shot per game average. Trust me, I get it, when you're the best you get more opportunities. Christ, I'm not living under a rock but could it be they have more chances because they took more chances? Could it be the amount of attempts provide more confidence hence more success? Could it be they are actually getting better because they get more attempts? Could it be they're just lucky? Not sure. All I know is the highest levels of success are in correlation with the highest levels of attempts - year after year after year.

Personally I think this is something we can translate into our own lives individually, case by case. Challenge yourself. Think about it. At the very least this is something to highly consider. If you want more win's, more yes's, more dollar's then you need more attempts. Will you be the top dog? The leading scorer? The best?  I don't know. You'll have to attempt it.

DV

Nice job Alex.

Uber Partners With Toyota

If you know me, you know I love Uber. Uber has been an enormously disruptive force in the transportation industry over the last 6 years. Since their birth they have blossomed with new ideas, slight innovations, and changes but most recently I came across this article citing their new partnership with Toyota. Uber was "modeling" the success of their competitors Lyft (partnered with GM) and Gett (partnered with Volkswagen.) Hm, interesting, sounds familiar.

Anyway this was a great reminder of the value in partnering. Business partnership is a great way to expand your reach, get referrals, and drive new business. Most importantly you provide additional value to your customers and/or employees. Being a good partner doesn't mean you have to put your partner first. Being a good partner means you have to provide value to your partner.

Okay so this might take a little thinking, but you can do it, I'm sure of it. Today brainstorm 3 potential business partners. Who can you provide value too that can also provide value to you back? Then reach out them and pitch the value of your potential partnership. This small activity could be the difference in additional 10k a year, a month, a day - who knows?? 

DV