Mediocrity is very common, it means being average. Average people are average. Mediocrity is for losers. The reason mediocrity is for losers is given the choice of five places to eat lunch, are you going to pick the mediocre one? Given the choice of five people to hire, are you going to pick the mediocre…
The Unheard Story of David and Goliath: Underdogs and the Art of Battling Giants
One of the most fascinating stories of our times that I read about in Malcolm Gladwell's latest book David and Goliath and after doing my own mini-research is a story of something that happened 3,000 years ago, when the Kingdom of Israel was in its infancy. And it takes place in an area called the…
The question every small business must ask
If you are running a small business I think you have to make a choice. Are you going to be a junior, smaller version of a big business, if you make that choice, you are likely to fail. You cannot be cheaper than big companies, you cannot be better at following policies than them. You…
Why most businesses misunderstand the internet
Most people misunderstand the internet because they think it’s like TV. They think the job of the internet is to be like what it used to be but for free. If you view your website, or your banner ad, your YouTube videos, or your twitter account as more chances to hell at more people with…
Make your own path
Success is a funny thing. A lot of people who want it are looking for a map, looking for instructions, looking for a step by step way to get from where they are to where they want to be. For a long time, the way to do that was to follow in someone else’s footsteps,…
Observe those little birds that clean the teeth of very big hippos
My daughter was blown away by the hippo at the Pretoria Zoo. This giant rhino, bigger than a typical 4x4, with its mouth open, and there, in the mouth of the beast, are a bunch of little birds. “What are the birds doing in the hippo, Dad?” She wanted to know. As always, I told…
Own your dreams
If you announce what you want, if you are clear about what’s on offer, if you set goals: - the chances of accomplishing your goal go up, and so does - the chance that you will be disappointed For many people, apparently, it’s better to not get what you want than it is to be…
The Bootstrapper’s Manifesto
I am a bootstrapper. I have initiative and insight and guts, but not much money. I will succeed because my efforts and my focus will defeat bigger and better-funded competitors. I am fearless. I keep my focus on growing the business—not on politics, career advancement, or other wasteful distractions. I will leverage my skills to…
Patience is for the impatient
When you are getting your business started and you are struggling for cash and your in-laws are starting making faces at you, or you are not sure if you will be able to pay the rent this month, you don’t even know why you are still living in the posh suburbs in Sandton to begin…
Its called a PowerPoint presentation because….
it should have a powerful point that ignites change. No power, no change, no point. If you find yourself putting paragraphs on a slide, just know you have missed the point. It's about points not paragraphs. You don't present paragraphs, you email them for people to read. You present points to ignite change. A presentation…
Growth is messy and dangerous. Life is messy and dangerous.
Thanks to technology, (relative) peace and historic levels of prosperity, we've turned our culture into a crystal palace, a gleaming object that needs to be perfected and polished more than it is appreciated. We waste our days whining over slight imperfections (the nuts in first class aren't warm, the Gautrain was not cool enough, the…
Just do it, then do it again…
Some of the most successful people I know have one trait in common. They are consistent. I’ve struggled with this personally in my past, but know that when I consistently execute on a process or a plan, results happen. Consistent Sounds Dull With all of the talk about following our passion, escaping from cubicles, and…
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