Bragging is a stupid type of marketing. Sadly, many entrepreneurs use that approach in business. But bragging about how great you, the company, or the products are, will get you roughly the same raised eyebrow. Plus minus a few middle fingers. You see, bragging is an attempt to position yourself above others, a way of saying: “I am better than you”. And even if you fail to recognize that, people will still see it that way. Don’t act surprised if … Read More

Humans can’t beat computers at chess anymore. That’s old news, I know, but do you know why? Simply put, a powerful enough computer has access to all played games in the history of chess and can also calculate all endgame outcomes of every possible move on the chessboard. For us and our lives, that would be like having all experiences of all previous people and being able to see how our life plays out for every decision we could possibly … Read More

Marketing is a modern form of business communication, but its roots are as old as humans. People are tribal. It probably started with survival, but tribes evolved to become communities of people that share similar values and beliefs. To show they are part of the same tribe, they used characteristic colors and ornaments and engaged in specific behaviors or rituals. By doing this, they communicated to others their beliefs and what made them different.They used verbal and visual language along … Read More

You should always ask for 100% up-front payment and offer 100% money-back guarantee for your work. This is especially important for project-based services. It avoids scope creep, tightens the schedule, and you will have peace of mind if the client goes dark. But there is more to it. When a client refuses to pay up-front, it’s either a trust issue or the client doesn’t have the budget. Both are huge red flags. If the budget isn’t there… that’s a no-brainer, … Read More

Every major shift in human “world order” was disputed in a war. Many, many wars changed the world’s balance of power, but just to name a few: World War II marked the end of the British Empire and USA’s take over, The Battle of Waterloo was the end of Napoleon and the Roman Empire ended… well, that’s complicated because they had a bunch of wars. In case you’re not aware, we’re in a few wars right now, like the ‘endless’ … Read More

Real success isn’t about creating a business or making money.It’s building a system that can manage the chaos of life. One that can bring order to the chaos around AND inside you. You can’t learn the whole system from others.Sure, you could borrow some ideas, some principles to get you started, but in the end you would have to build it yourself. Then you would have to test it – do real R&D on life itself to see if it … Read More

Get this: there are two kinds of intentions. The ones you just say and the ones you truly mean. If you say you want to be healthy and productive but then relax and watch a movie till 1 am, your true intention was to relax not to have a good sleep in order to be at your best the next day. There is nothing wrong with relaxing or watching a movie, but telling apart your true intentions from declarations is … Read More

If you boil down success or failure, you will always get to clarity. Take any of the successful people, and you will find they knew what they had to do. They also stuck to that clear vision even when others called them crazy. They didn’t care because they had clarity. Having that level of clarity is like having a compass or a blueprint: do this and get there.It’s predictable, it’s clear, it’s easy for your mind to follow through. It’s … Read More

Evolution is learning from experiences. Without learning, you would have to relive the experience. Without experiences, you wouldn’t have what to learn from. Such a simple and elegant design, jet, so many don’t get it: without experiences and learning, there is no evolution. If you can learn, even the tiniest amount, you can be better after every experience. Therefore, if you would pass when given the chance to have a unique experience, wouldn’t that leave you a bit stupid? And … Read More

“The purpose of thinking is to let the ideas die instead of us dying.” ― Alfred North Whitehead This is perfectly true only if you don’t account for people’s tendency to overdo it. A lot of us – myself included – tend to overthink, transforming idea-slaughtering into some kind of odd hobby. While eliminating stupid ideas is fine, and playing with thoughts can be a good mental exercise, it becomes counterproductive if it hinders you in bringing ideas to life. … Read More

Business is not your life.It’s just a piece of your life, a good way to generate value in your lifetime. You won’t be able to make a good plan for your business if it’s not aligned with the plan of your life. But you can’t plan your life, if you don’t know what you want to accomplish by the end of your life. If you don’t know what you want to accomplish by the end of your life, you can’t … Read More

People are like mirrors: they will reflect back. There are mirrors that make you look thin. Others will make you look fat.Some will reflect a different color while others will reflect at an angle. There are also the broken ones, where every piece will reflect something different, forming weird kaleidoscopes, making it almost impossible to recognize yourself in it. Here and then you will also find crystal clear mirrors but fail to recognize them as such. If you stared to … Read More

Discipline and order go hand in hand. It takes discipline to stay organized and if you stay organized, you will have it easier to stay disciplined. But you can’t have order without rules. You need to know where to put all the stuff around you or you will soon be in the middle of a chaotic tornado. That is true for objects, thoughts and actions alike. Rules are strategic precommitments: you set up a shelf and commit that it’s going … Read More

This is a continuation of my previous post on discipline. Scroll down or click here to read it. Personal development isn’t egoistic. It is the best life strategy. Don’t be ashamed to take time for yourself and to invest in your own development. I’m not talking about video-games here. Whatever higher goals you have set in your life, being it saving the world, financial success or carrying for your family, you won’t be able to achieve them without first doing … Read More

Scarcity is considered high value. That’s why gold and diamonds are so expensive. Now translate this to humans. Wouldn’t it be great if you would have something that is scarce and would almost guarantee your success in life? How about if it is something that you can develop yourself and no-one can take from you once you acquired it? You don’t need any money to get it but you can make money using it. People would admire you for having … Read More

Waiting for something special to happen before you start? The perfect plan, the perfect setup, the perfect logo, the perfect constellation alignment? Are you constantly delaying actions, procrastinating, finding other priorities?  How many things did you put on your “need this to start” list? Are you telling yourself nice stories to support all the above? Congratulations! You are one of the billions who do the same every day. And you are going towards a life full of regrets, depression and … Read More

Most of us can handle some little shit (💩) coming our way here and then. As long as the problems come one by one or it doesn’t happen to often, we can handle even bigger ones and say that this is just life’s way of keeping us alert, and we can usually deal with it. When shit hits the fan is when we fret. Suddenly, there is shit in all forms, consistencies and shapes flying around, hitting us from all … Read More

Do you have something valuable to say but your message doesn’t get through? It’s because most people are already in some conversation, therefore you won’t get their attention. Imagine yourself in the middle of a huge crowd. A sea of people talking, arguing, some even screaming. Do you want to be heard? Do you want people to pay attention to your valuable message? Do you want your message to spread? Then, you better start talking. At first, no-one will listen. … Read More

You can’t actually make time. You can’t manufacture or multiply it. You can’t even make it up. Making time is just another unfortunate word entanglement we easily throw around without understanding the deeper meaning. For this reason, so many people end up saying “I don’t have time”. Maybe we say that because deep down we know we can’t actually make time. You can’t make time! You can only steal time. And you can only steal from one activity and use … Read More

There is a quantity of well-being everyone needs in their lives. You will feel miserable if you won’t reach your quota and won’t stop searching until you satisfy the need. Some will get that good feeling from relationships, religion, business or sports, but the most won’t really commit to such complex endeavors and will instead reach for shortcuts. Alcohol, smoking, even bad eating habits… are just ways to patch the void. What most won’t realize, is that voids can’t be … Read More

A way to change the world As a hole, people are curious creatures but at individual level you will often encounter a lot of resistance towards the new. Take links for example: you usually don’t click them if you’re not clear about where they’ll take you. It’s the reason why most web designers will stick to the rules and place your logo in the top left corner, will have the menu top right and will populate it in a classic … Read More

Growth is a fundamental human need, and you will be chronically unhappy until you satisfy it. Without growth, you will feel unfulfilled and the moment you stop developing, you’ll start dying. Growth is progress. It requires action. To generate action, you need a growth mindset. That means shifting a fixed mindset like “I can’t do this” – which doesn’t generate action but depression – to “I can’t do this YET” – which leaves a door open and generates a question: “What do I have … Read More

Working towards a potential future, one that we imagine, is what separates us from animals. Animals react – we are able to anticipate and act with intention. It is this super-power that enabled our evolution, and it is the only power that can save us from destroying our future. Be health conscious now and you will have a long healthy life.Grow a brand now and you will develop a future-proof business.Protect the environment now to save the planet for our children. It’s not easy. We … Read More

You are not fat because you eat fat! Likewise, assholes don’t eat any… holes. This myth, along with “breakfast is the healthiest meal of the day”, “fat causes heart disease”, “eat healthy cereals” and similar BS, is why we face this global worse-than-corona overweight pandemic. Understand this: carbohydrates turn into glucose – the so called blood-sugar. Glucose triggers insulin -otherwise you could die. Insulin “commands” fat cells to get rid of the sugar – this becomes high priority. Fat cells … Read More

This world has forgotten the positive effects of discomfort. Half the world is overweight because exercise and dietary restrictions aren’t comfortable. Weak bodies and frail immune systems are what you get by avoiding cold and heat exposure. And forget about mental toughness if you avoid failure or any kind of stress. So why is discomfort perceived as dangerous when in fact it’s helping us become stronger? Isn’t strength, health and mental power what we should strive for? When has it … Read More

If you find yourself telling your doctor what to do, you either need to change the doctor or your attitude. So, if you know more than your doctor about the illness, you should find a more specialized one or become one yourself. If you’re not that good but still trying to tell others what to do, like micromanaging everyone, you are again in need of a specialist. A psychotherapist or a good coach. Keep that example in mind the next time you as a … Read More

Growth is a fundamental human need. You will be chronically unhappy and unfulfilled until you satisfy it. The moment you stop developing, you start dying and you are setting yourself up for a depressing life full of regrets. You don’t want to reach the end of your life and realize you just wasted your time and are now about to die in vain. I know people, even younger ones, who already gave up. They are in a bad place. When asked, they describe void, lack … Read More

Your mindset will either make or break you. Therefore, understanding and fixing your mindset is critical for anyone seeking success. If you think “I can’t do this”, your mindset is called ‘fixed’ and you won’t have a chance to grow beyond that believe. If instead, you say “I can’t do this YET” you will not only set yourself up for growth but you will also have a direction for your action: “I have to do this, to get there”… and so, the CAN’T … Read More

Think of design as intention.  ‘By design’ we say when something was purposefully crafted and didn’t happen by chance. It’s a way to predict results and to mitigate risks. We design the world around us to be able to control it and generate purpose. Design is intention. It has purpose.  So should the looks and feels of your business be.  Designing the customer touchpoints of your business should never be left to chance. How you show up is a statement! So is … Read More

Teaching the principles of Future-Proof Businesses in the middle of a global pandemic is like describing the most delicious, decadent chocolate cake recipe to drooling hunger strikers. But the timing isn’t really wrong – I’d bet you are paying attention now. More than ever, actually. Because if your business is in lockdown, almost dead, craving for the tiniest crumb… of revenue,  you probably have abundant time for self-reflection and for finding out what you could have done better and how to avoid it … Read More

Stating “The client is always right” is like volunteering for slavery. It’s diminishing. If that’s your fetish you should visit another kind of site. My fetish is to help YOU be the dominator in your business.  It is a positioning problem. It shows that you desperately chase your clients and that you rely on luck to close a deal. It tells how rare prospects find you attractive, or proves that you are just a commodity. That there are many like you, … Read More

Fake it ’til you make it is one of those ‘like and hate’ expressions. I particularly don’t like the negative connotation of the word fake. I don’t like fake people! But just like many other sayings, this one hides a useful truth behind the unfortunate wording.  To make a point, I’ll jump right into some neuroscience-voodoo, but without the fancy terminology.  Out of the many entities living inside us, we’ll focus on two that live on opposite ends of the spectrum. … Read More

I know you are looking for some answers, for a magic bullet even. You’ve searched around, tried so many things, but you still can’t find the answer. Everything you’ve tried has got you a bit further, but every time you also realized that it wasn’t what you were looking for. You felt stuck and started the search again.  You have that urge to keep searching. Because you can feel it’s there. It has to be! You felt that more than once. … Read More

Your mind is ready to start become smarter now. It’s designed to do this on its own. Just by processing the sensory input, by thinking about a subject, by exploring an idea in your mind, you become smarter. It’s figuring by its own how things work. The one fucking up this process is you!  You are constantly working against your own progress. If I can get you to stop at least some of the mind-fuckery, you will become smarter by … Read More

Freedom is not the same as happiness. In some ways, it’s better.  Being free from financial burden, free from any obligation, free from disease and having freed your mind is like having happiness at your fingertips. You could  just dip your fingers and lick’em whenever you’d feel like it.  Freedom is easier to grasp, easier to explain, easier to pursue. It’s not as abstract as happiness.  If it’s easier to understand, it’s easier to apply.  If you can apply freedom in … Read More

Looking for guaranteed success? Here is 1 way that works in 99% of cases. First, note that the wealth of the richest 1% population equals the wealth of the other 99%.  That means, only one percent are really successful and ninety-nine are not. So, one person out of a hundred does something that the other ninety-nine do not. So, in order to succeed, we need to identify WHAT the one percent does. Fortunately, it’s easy to see WHAT the one in a … Read More

Although I’m not a doctor, I get to answer questions about taking vitamins every day. People want to get healthy, right?    It’s true, I absorbed tons of knowledge about nutrition over the years and I know a few neat tricks on the subject, but that’s not what I get asked. It’s just common sense stuff that – at least in my limited imagination – should be clear to everyone.  You won’t find medical advice here. Get yourself an open-minded … Read More

Imagine, we could bridge time and tie the first cigarette with death from lung cancer years later. Like smoking one cigarette and perishing in agony right after. That would be a bummer for the Tobacco industry! Well, it wouldn’t be a guaranteed death. More like a Russian roulette. Some would still try it out. And it’s not only Tobacco that kills you. Food can do it too. Imagine eating Fast-food, instantly becoming obese and dying of heart failure a few … Read More

So many of you speculate about how to become successful yet fail to fiddle the right questions.I see it all the time. What microphone to use, how often to post or finding the best hashtags seem to be the main concerns. That’s “putting the cart before horse” definition!  Marketing and gadgets are not responsible for success. You are. Your voice is.  It’s the loud and clear voice you use to talk about the subjects that excite you. It’s about sharing … Read More

Did you consume a ton of content on building the perfect life and successful businesses and still haven’t changed your life?  There are so many great people ranting on those topics, and I’m sure you have learned useful stuff by consuming their content. But have you applied that knowledge jet? Do you read articles and say “Hell yes!” but still don’t have a clue where to start? That’s normal and your will-power might not be the culprit. You might just need … Read More

Which came first: the chicken or the egg?  Considering only results, who cares? Once started, the system works!Being able to create any of them will start the process.  It’s what I care about.  Because people need results.  But you ain’t getting any without starting first.  Some will need to start some healthy routines first. That will give them the necessary energy to start chasing their dreams. Having a purpose in life will generate even more energy. That will inevitably lead to … Read More

Long time ago, as a kid I promised myself to never be late. It’s a very simple rule that everyone could and should apply without exception.  Basic rules like this can be very powerful. In fact, everything we know is based on a simple set of rules that evolved and formed a complex universe. Here is how it applied in my case:  The basic rule was to never be late. NEVER! That meant being well organized and planning in advance. That meant … Read More

How do you make decisions? And how can positioning fight stress? We are wired to make decisions by comparing stuff. It’s how our brain works. Comparing details and finding differences is what we constantly do, sometimes without even noticing. But you will notice tension and stress rising if you fail to find something that will help you make up your mind. Similarly, finding yourself in front of too many choices, is confusing and stressful. Mainly because, if nothing stands out, you’ll … Read More

Talent is overrated and widely misunderstood. If you understand what talent is, you will know how to transform your life. Talent is not a superpower you discover and can use instantly. You are not born a “talented” painter. You become one by obsessively exercising your craft. Talent is the ability to do the hard work. That obsession that provides the strength to not give up. The ones we call talented are just the lucky ones. The ones that discovered a passion and … Read More

A good percentage of my clients hire me for Strategy and Marketing related work. Most of them add my lifestyle performance coaching to the list to better understand how to be healthy, live longer and master their lives.  There is good reason why I teach business AND life optimization, despite it sometimes harming my own marketing strategy.  I deeply believe you can’t separate business and lifestyle. Not if you want happiness and fulfillment in your life. Not if you prefer to be successful without … Read More

If you find yourself in a very competitive market, without setting yourself apart from others, you will rather sooner than later find that your only leverage is to compete on price. That is fine if you do it on purpose.  But here is how I find most of my clients.  Margins are low to start with. That is a self-regulating mechanism in a crowded niche. It’s normal.  To counter the small margins, you have to sell more items. And how do … Read More

“Eight of out 10 businesses fail within the first 18 months” was the myth spread by Forbes in 2013. Don’t let this journalistic marble scare you. It’s not that bad. Jet, the real numbers still show you have to do your homework. So lets start right now: Half of new businesses fail during the first five years, of which 30% in the first two years, … seem to be the accepted rough numbers across multiple institutions and media. For me, that is … Read More

You will never operate at peak level if you ignore sleep. You will never be as good as you could be. You will regret it later in life.  Trust me, I have solid first-hand experience. Up to my mid-30s, I was convinced that sleep is the biggest waste of time ever. I was young and was owning/running a huge disco. And that was just one of my businesses.  I wish I knew better. It’s one of those mistakes that will … Read More

You want to be respected?You own the business but don’t feel like your own boss?You want to be The One in your industry? Position yourself as an expert!  This is good advice for life in general, but I find it important for business in particular and critical for service providers.  As a result, you won’t be pushed around or micromanaged and your recommendations won’t be questioned. You also won’t have to pitch because they will turn to you asking for help, … Read More

You can’t ignore competition. It has the power to destroy or boost your business, depending on how well you understand its position in your market. The way to start understanding it, regardless if you are a startup or a seasoned entrepreneur, is through an audit.  The competition audit is one of the best tools to help you assess your business and the environment in which you operate. Whether you do it yourself or bring in an expert, here is what … Read More

Are you happily employed? You better skip this post then. I’m about to argue against employment.  Let’s say you have some average job and you go to work every day. The entrepreneur, your boss, will have to sell your work for more. There is no other way. He/she will have to pay you as little as possible and sell it for as much as possible.  Clearly, the entrepreneur has to pay for a lot of stuff, like rent, materials, marketing, … Read More

Communication is vital, jet so many misunderstand and misuse it with regularity.Here are some arguments to raise your awareness:  Without communication, we wouldn’t be.  Society was built through communication and every relationship is a communication game. We communicate with ourselves and our organs communicate to each other. So are our cells. Even microbial invasions depend on communication.   Disrupting communication is an efficient way to destroy almost anything.  Being able to communicate better than others is how you gain leverage.  Communication is … Read More

There are essentially two ways of doing business: short term and long term.Most don’t think about this. I bet there are in the short-term game.  Capitalizing on opportunities isn’t entirely wrong.  Jet, it’s a good way to fail in the long run if you are not aware of its finite life cycle.  Take trends, for example. You could earn a pretty penny out of today’s trend, but be aware, the opposite might be preferred next year. If your organization is not built … Read More

Merry Christmas everyone!I’m having a great time this morning being the brand advisor of The Grinch himself  🙂  First thing I notice, is that being the Grinch isn’t the worst thing. Being unknown is far worse.And having Santa as a rival is also a good thing: it’s just one.  Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who don’t like Christmas. There are plenty of reasons for that. Take religion, for example. And then there are the folks who … Read More

We’re about to complete another year and maybe you feel like writing a review. It’s not the trend that should drive your action, but the need to evaluate your progress.  How do you feel about the past year? How did you change? What did you learn?  Here is my guideline: If I’m looking back at my one-year-younger version, and I’m not ashamed, then, I didn’t learn enough.  I heard this a few years ago and it stuck with me. It became … Read More

Not so long ago,  only the gods determined our lifespan. Meanwhile, they got bored and quit giving a crap. But they’ve set some weird rules before retiring. So, if you eat fast-food, get poor sleep and don’t work out a bit, you get to meat them sooner than expected. For the most of us, that’s common knowledge.  We also figured out some stuff. Like, not killing each other as often. That increased our life expectancy a lot. Hygiene is another big one. … Read More

It’s funny how people confuse the two so let’s clear it up quickly.   Brand design is about designing a brand. It’s not design used to create brand elements. It’s the architecture of a brand and it happens in the planning phase. A good sample of that is when building a personal brand that sprouts other brands. Elon Musk and his Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity, Neuralink, etc. brands is a good example.I’ll write more on this under “Planning for my Brand”  Design … Read More

Value based pricing is by far the most discussed and most interesting pricing method out there. It’s also the best. In theory, it could be applied to almost any pricing situation. Depending on your business, value based pricing can be a game changer, however, you need to be aware of its limitations.  There are two main ways to understand value pricing.  The more classical one, is usually applied to products and productized services that only have some differences when compared to … Read More

Convenience is one of the biggest driving forces in decision-making.  We try to cut corners every day. We give up our privacy, just to be able to buy with one click. Some even prefer stomach surgery to dieting.  We would do anything if it would spare us some effort. Most people can’t fight this kind of laziness, it’s part of evolution. Nature needs to be efficient and preserve energy whenever possible. As a result, we are on a shortcut hunt all the … Read More

Are you looking for a good Bio-hack? One of the best nootropic stacks that will change your life? One that will make you a better leader and entrepreneur by promoting courage and empathy? Something that can mitigate PTSD, anxiety and depression, boost your good mood, enhance your productivity, cognition and creativity? How about nerve and brain regeneration, like regeneration of vision and auditory neurons? Reduction of the beta-amyloid plaques to prevent Alzheimer’s? Without known negative effects? How about all the above in just one small gulp? … Read More

Are you unhappy? It’s because life didn’t evolve the way you wished.In the past, you wished for a future state that didn’t materialize. Now you don’t like your current state.  There is also a future state that you wish for right now.  The current state is a manifestation of your past actions. The future state is a manifestation of your current actions.  So what do you expect? Having a better future without changing your current actions? The future will look … Read More

If you don’t plan your life, others will. Acquiring skills can be a good plan for your life. At least if you also have a good plan on how to use them. Maybe you are lucky and don’t need a plan. With a bit of luck, a set of good skills will get you a job.A job is not your plan. It’s how you contribute to someone else’s plan. If you’re lucky, they included you in their plans: a job you don’t hate, … Read More

There is a lot of confusion around the two terms and a lot of people use them wrongly. What is a Freelancer? Originally the word Freelancer described a “medieval mercenary warrior” or “free-lance” who’s lance was not sworn to a lord or master. Are you free and carry a lance? You are a freelancer. And don’t worry, other weapons will do, as long as you know how to use them. Today we mostly refer to professionals who are self-employed and … Read More

Do you feel like a fraud for not having original ideas? Are you censoring yourself because of that? Do you call it a writer’s block? Coming up with original ideas, ideas that no-one before has articulated, is really, really hard. Someone said it before, someone has written about it, someone thought about it before you. Good luck beating Socrates on original ideas. People share inspiration for as long as we have been a species, so it’s getting harder every day … Read More

Why are you here? Are you interested in building a successful business or career? Do you want to live a long, meaningful and healthy life? How about both? I, too, have searched many years for those answers. I started my first business in high school, became a serial entrepreneur in my twenties, employed hundreds of people, tasted success a few times, failed badly more than once and restarted my life from scratch three times. Throughout my career I had the … Read More

Most people wander around like zombies and don’t even realize it. Most likely you are one of them.  Not having inexhaustible high energy and a razor-sharp clear mind are the prime symptoms. Health issues, bad mood, lack of motivation, unfortunate decisions, uneasy relationships and most forms of depression, on top of addictions, would accompany this sluggish party too. Performing at 60% or less is where I find most of my clients start at – and by extension, that’s also the world … Read More