Lessons from Napoleon Hill

Great List of attributes to emulate:

“Here are Hill’s 14 habits of people who are so likable that others go out of their way to help them:

1. They develop a positive mental attitude and let it be seen and felt by others.

It’s often easier to give into cynicism, but those who choose to be positive set themselves up for success and have better reputations.

2. They always speak in a carefully disciplined, friendly tone.

The best communicators speak deliberately and confidently, which gives their voice a pleasing sound.

3. They pay close attention to someone speaking to them.

Using a conversation as an opportunity to lecture someone “may feed the ego, but it never attracts people or makes friends,” Hill says.

4. They are able to maintain their composure in all circumstances.

An overreaction to something either positive or negative can give people a poor impression. In the latter case, says Hill, “Remember that silence may be much more effective than your angry words.”

5. They are patient.

“Remember that proper timing of your words and acts may give you a big advantage over impatient people,” Hill writes.

6. They keep an open mind.

Those who close themselves off from certain ideas and associate only with like-minded people are missing out on not only personal growth but also opportunities for advancing their careers.

7. They smile when speaking with others.

Hill says that president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s greatest asset was his “million-dollar smile,” which allowed people to lower their guards during conversation.

8. They know that not all their thoughts need to be expressed.

The most likable people know that it’s not worth offending people by expressing all their thoughts, even if they happen to be true.

9. They don’t procrastinate.

Procrastination communicates to people that you’re afraid of taking action, Hill says, and are therefore ineffective.

10. They engage in at least one good deed a day.

The best networkers help other people out without expecting anything in return.

11. They find a lesson in failure rather than brood over it.

People admire those who grow from failure rather than wallow in it. “Express your gratitude for having gained a measure of wisdom, which would not have come without defeat,” Hill says.

12. They act as if the person they are speaking to is the most important person in the world.

The most likable people use conversations as an opportunity to learn about another person and give them time to talk.

13. They praise others in a genuine way without being excessive.

“Praise the good traits of others, but don’t rub it on where it is not deserved or spread it too thickly,” Hill says.

14. They have someone they trust point out their flaws.

Successful people don’t pretend to be likable; they are likable because they care about their conduct and reputation. Having a confidant who can be completely honest with them allows them to continue growing.”

Read more:http://www.businessinsider.com/habits-of-exceptionally-likable-people-2014-5#ixzz32wnVYrVO

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/habits-of-exceptionally-likable-people-2014-5

Travel Workouts

I have an upcoming trip so I decided to go ahead and look up some travel-friendly workout to keep/get in shape. My goal is to try one of these at least every two days of my 14-day trip (7 workouts).

 

Warmup
  1. 15-second Samson Stretch
  2. 10 Squats
  3. 10 Sit-ups
  4. 10 Bend and Reach
  5. 10 Pushups
  • 3 Rounds
Travel WOD 1
  1. 100 Push-ups
  2. 100 Sit-ups
  3. 100 Squats
  • 1 Round for Time
Travel WOD 2
  1. 30 Push-ups
  2. 40 Sit-ups
  3. 50 Squats
  • 3-5 Rounds for Time
Travel WOD 3
  1. 5 Pushups
  2. 10 Situps
  3. 15 Squats
  • Max Rounds in 20 minutes
Travel WOD 4
  1. Lunges (each leg)
  2. Handstand Push-ups
  • 21-15-9 Rep Rounds for Time
Travel WOD 5
  1. Squats for time (pick a number between 100-500)
  • 1 Round for Time
Travel WOD 6
  1. Burpees
  2. Pushups
  3. Situps
  • 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Rep Rounds for Time
Travel WOD 7
  1. 5 Handstand push-ups
  2. 10 Pistols
  • Max Rounds in 20 minutes

Travel WOD 8
  1. Double-Unders (jump rope)
  2. Sit-ups
  • 50-40-30-20-10 Rep Rounds for Time
Travel WOD 9
  1. Single unders
  2. Pushups
  • 50-40-30-20-10 Rep Rounds for Time
Travel WOD 10
  1. Burpees (50-150 – pick a number and go for it!)
  • 1 Round for Time
Travel WOD 11
  1. Handstand Push-ups
  2. Chair Dips
  3. Push-Ups
  • 21-15-9 Rep Rounds for Time
Travel WOD 12
  1. 21 Pushups
  2. 42 Squats
  3. 15 Pushups
  4. 30 Squats
  5. 9 Pushups
  6. 18 Squats
  • 1 Round for Time
Travel WOD 13
  1. 80-60-40-20
  2. Air Squats
  3. 40-30-20-10
  4. Situps
  5. 20-15-10-5
  6. HSPU
Travel WOD 14
  1. 50-35-15
  2. Leg lifts
  3. Pushups
  4. Situps
Travel WOD 15
  1. 30 HSPU
  2. 40 Jump squats
  3. 50 Situps
  4. 60 Squats
  5. 70 Double unders

Travel WOD 16
10 Burpees
  1. 10 Leg lifts
  • 12 Rounds for time
Travel WOD 17
  1. 100 Single unders
  2. 50 Squats
  • 5 rounds for time

 

Got a Nikkor 35mm Prime!

I just got a Nikkor 35mm Prime lens. Currently I’m shooting with a Nikon d3100.

In a nutshell, the benefits of the 35mm prime lens is that it offers greater clarity (due to less moving parts) and better low-light performance than a zoom lens. Visit Ken Rockwell’s post on it for more details here

Just fiddling around with it for now. Sushi Dinner time!

DSC_0419DSC_0418DSC_0428

Chromecast

Google Chromecast

Without a doubt, one of the most talked about tech gadgets this year is the Google Chromecast, which allows you to download a Chromecast app onto your laptop, smartphone, tablet, phablet etc. and stream to any display you connect your Chromecast to (Chromecast uses a HDMI connection).

So with all of its features, it’s not hard to see why so many are eager to put in an order for a unit.

What is a little harder to understand, however, is the price point. At only $35 a unit, the Chromecast is a steal, and it’s hard to see how Google ocean conceivably make any money on Chromecast when it’s primary competitors (AppleTV and Roku) both charge between $60 to $100 a unit for a comparable product.

This is where it is important to understand Google as a company. Google, above all else, is a data and information driven company. Its primary sales avenue is through its ability to match marketers with a hyper targeted audience of consumers.

Google never released the Chromecast with an eye towards making money from the sales of the units. Instead, what Google had in mind is that by aggressively pricing the Chromecast at an extremely arffordable price point, it could make the Chromecast ubiquitous. At $35, almost everyone can afford a Chromecast, and once the ubiquity of the Chromecast is established, TV manufacturers could be incentivized to manufacture Chromecasts-equipped television sets. And if Chromecast is uniformly implemented across all new TVs, Google has just created a new way to access TV viewing data, a goal that has long eluded traditional TV network providers. The old adage that you couldn’t really measure the ROI on TV and Radio campaigns could become a thing of the past.

For a great in-depth look on this, please check out this Great google Chromecast analysis

App Wednesday: Synchronize Time Sync App

Screen Shot 2013-06-21 at 7.04.20 PM

 

Picture this, you have a Skype meeting with a client on Thursday, and you both agree to a time to meet at 5pm. Thursday rolls around and at 5pm you log on to Skype and…he’s not there. Then you realize that you both didn’t take into account the time difference; you’re in LA, he’s in Seoul, Korea.

.

.

.


Fortunately, this week’s app is a great tool that can help you avoid just such a situation. If you travel a lot or have to sync up meetings or phone calls with people in different time zones, Synchronize App is just what you need.

Synchronize App is an app for those of us who are constantly on the go or have to coordinate with a team that spans several timezones. With the app you can set a up a meeting time on your local time clock and have it update any other timezone clocks you have on display.

For example, in the previous scenario, you can set an appointment in your local time (we’ll use 11am PST). After you set the dial to 11am in your local time, Synchronize app will “synchronize” the corresponding time in Seoul, Korea.

So if you start with the current PST time below:

photo 1 (1)

You can then use the bottom side scroll wheel to set the PST time to 11AM. As you do this, Synchronize app will automatically change the Seoul time to match what it would be when it is 11am PST. In this example, a time of 11am PST is shown to have a corresponding time of 3am in Seoul. Notice that the local time bar color has changed from pink to blue.

photo 2 (1)

Obviously, 3am Seoul time is not going to work for your colleague, so he proposes a meeting at 11am his time. You can then select the Seoul time bar and set it to 11am, which will give you the corresponding time in the local time bar. It looks like its a more manageable time of 7pm PST!

photo 3

You can download the iOS app here