I recently heard a new word. "Daedalian" . Venture a guess to what it means? I had no idea but I was told that it perfectly describes modern work life/work culture etc. So what is it?

I learned that it means - intricate, confusing & complicated.The irony is that why do you have to complicate the word “complicated”?  Now just think of all the “Daedalian” activities you have  to perform. Do you really want to go through all of this alone, my friend? We all need support, coaching, mentorship, professional training, at some point in our life, careers and work. The ability to recognize the need, is the ability to separate the wheat from the chaff. The best entrepreneurs, executives, people are performance trained much like athletes.  You typically can enhance your athletic outcome by reading a book, similarly reading just a book to enhance your outcomes with out a coach who can work through your strengths and weaknesses is a fools errand. You have to invest in your self both from the perspective of first parking your ego to accept that you may not know every thing, second to make a monetary contribution to getting started on seeking professional assistance.

If you have been following me/my newsletter for a while you know that I do selective onboarding a few times a year for providing support to founders, inventors, ceos, people looking to transition from the present to the future, those seeking clarity by having a specialized mentoring sessions. As the new year approaches, with so many of us looking to enhance our outcomes. I've decided to double the time on my  mentoring sessions (to an hour) so you can work through your Daedalian moments whilst keeping the price the same, only for the whole Month of Jan. (If you book this week for Jan, instead of 30, I will automatically add 30 mins additional to the booked time). Are you ready to invest in your self?

Outcomes

Actions Speak Louder than Words: Stop Talking-Do! 

Effective and capable people are in high demand amongst businesses and educational establishments. Companies are not getting the best out of their people. It appears that there is a gap between what people are saying they are going to do and what they actually do. 

I was reading a study by Quest (1997) , that considers that it is implied that there are two different types of people: those who do things and improve themselves, and those who merely talk but not achieve much. Quest suggests that managers/teachers, for example, should determine first, for people they manage, what their staff value (where are they now and where do they want to be, Fig. 1). Values are things that are important to human beings.

They underpin and influence people’s behaviors and the way they react. It is important for people to understand the impact they have. The outcome of this exercise will be of value to both doers and talkers. By being conscious of their values, people can understand better their behavior and the stress and frustration they experience when their values are compromised. It is then possible for people to choose to adjust their life so that their values and the way they spend their time become more attuned.

Quest purports that dreams in themselves will not get people anywhere. Talkers appear to be in a constant dream-like state which would explain why they do not get much done. It is the translation of these dreams into goals, objectives and actions that makes them real. The following tools (Tables 1 and 2) can help to turn dreams or visions into reality:

Will you use these to change your outcomes? Will you think rationally but act fast?  f thinking and personal insights to create their own wisdomMentoring is considered to be an effective way to help another person develop their own mindsets, ways o 

In the context of this research, talkers need to integrate experience and reflection so they create a better understanding, for example, what progress they are making to talk less and do more. It helps them to recognize how, and in what situations, to make the best use of their personal strengths, attitudes and aptitudes. It advances their abilities to develop powerful and pragmatic approaches, for example, to manage any weaknesses that may get in the way of achieving intended habit/routine changes. According to Owen, improved decision-making is a by-product of this approach. 

Those who wish to change their habits/routines would benefit from developing their ability to extract insights from their experiences. It will help them to manage uncertainty and complexity in the absence of guidebooks. Mentors can assist talkers, for example, to enhance their levels of wisdom by being more willing to be curious and willing to learn more about their environments and other people.

One New Thing (that I learnt recently)

After being scolded by a woman who felt that his shoes were too expensive for kids, Shaq forwent a $40 million deal with Reebok & signed one with Walmart. He then brought in designers from Reebok so that his Walmart shoes would look costlier than the $20 price. Over 400 million pairs were sold. There is opportunity every where, especially in doing the right thing.

Boring Stuff that Scales

I have been a huge fan of building chrome extensions. Not an easy task for most people, unless you are some what technically inclined. Up-until now that is. You may or may not be aware, that  I have invested over 100 hours on ChatGPT since it came out. But what blew my mind was this, ChatGPT creating extensions it self. If you have had an idea Like I did you can try your hand. So what is keeping you from test driving this. Output of my experiment below. 

What you should be Watching

How the rich get richer – money in the world economy | DW Documentary 43M

Exploding real estate prices, zero interest rate and a rising stock market – the rich are getting richer. What danger lies in wait for average citizens? For years, the world’s central banks have been pursuing a policy of cheap money.

The first and foremost is the ECB (European Central Bank), which buys bad stocks and bonds to save banks, tries to fuel economic growth and props up states that are in debt. But what relieves state budgets to the tune of hundreds of billions annoys savers: interest rates are close to zero. The fiscal policies of the central banks are causing an uncontrolled global deluge of money.

Experts are warning of new bubbles. In real estate, for example: it’s not just in German cities that prices are shooting up. In London, a one-bed apartment can easily cost more than a million Euro. More and more money is moving away from the real economy and into the speculative field. Highly complex financial bets are taking place in the global casino - gambling without checks and balances. The winners are set from the start: in Germany and around the world, the rich just get richer. Professor Max Otte says: "This flood of money has caused a dangerous redistribution. Those who have, get more."

Monetize your time

By cutting out the people who add nothing to your life. Be selfish, learn to say no, learn to move on, learn to not show up at places that don't matter. Time will not come back, morons continue too. So be smarter, give your self the added advantage of knowing when to stop spending good money over bad money. Meaning if you've invested time in bad relationships, bad employers, bad people, bad ideas, do not invest it them further. Cut your losses and move the f*** on.  It's easy to be find comfort in conformity. If you surround your self with people who are happy and content in what they do, but are always discouraging you from finding your contentment, you are in the wrong crowd. 

“It’s usually more important to be in the right room than to be the smartest person in the room.A person with great judgment and average intelligence will usually beat someone with great intelligence and average judgment. Judgment is knowing what room to be in"

Improvement is a battle that must be fought anew each day. Your next workout doesn’t care how strong your last one was. Your next essay doesn’t care how popular your last one was. Your next investment doesn’t care how smart your last one was. Your best effort, again.

What are you working on when time fades away? How are you working to monetize your time? Or are you just being the entertainment value in some one else's?

Made in Pakistan

Ginger Ale. Why is this epic at a time of crisis and dollar dramas. Well because some one created a local brand looking at demand for imported Ginger Ale that was priced at 90PKR a Can 4 yrs ago to 270PKR a Year ago to over 400 PKR today and some brands retailing at 700PKR.

Meet Schwebier, priced at 150PKR, when a regular can costs 70, they have been able to add over 50% premium on a product that has sustained demand, especially in the affluent segment of society and slowly started taking up space next to imported brands. Great win. What is some thing you can create locally that can be priced marginally higher than existing brands and but significantly lower than imported ones? Whats your Schwebier Moment?

One Last Thing

I have been thinking of how others would solve the problem of making money without taking shortcuts. Granted some of the ideas wont work. But this tweet has some fantastic suggestions to broaden your horizons. Will you just read the responses? Or will you take action? Will you at least think differently?