Maybe YOU are the next superhero

The new superhero of the 21st century I remember a time when almost exclusively it was the movie & music celebs that got all the major attention. Those were the shining stars (no pun intended) that many looked up to - the ones who seemed to enjoy almost superhero fame status. But with the heavy influence of the internet, this admiration has shifted. When I'm going to events and meet people from all over the world, there seems to be a new superhero type on the horizon - the self-starter, the person who DOES things, also known as the entrepreneur. When someone like Steve Jobs gets treated like an A-list celebrity, you know the era has changed. Politicians have failed our trust by constantly breaking promises, celebrities lost respect through hedonistic obsessions and overblown payments  - it's now the entrepreneur that seems to be the new hero type with endless role model potential. After all - it's them who change things through their businesses, whether it's revolutionizing how we use technology or how we as a race connect with each other. Baaam. We live in super-x-citing times. Becoming an entrepreneur has never been easier - creating a compelling idea, having internet access and working one's soul off is "all you need" to become the next superhero yourself. Let's do it..

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Don't break your eggs. But do "break"

It many parts of the world, it's Easter time, and that usually means : Eat lots of candy and hang out with the family. More or less. But it means something more - it's also the time to: quieting it down, leveraging your lazyness, chilling it coolio style. Especially if you're an entrepreneur & maker. Yeah yeah, I know. I always talking about doing something everyday, and keeping up with the creative momentum. It's true that constant work is the way to impacting the world and creating awesome stuff. But being on maker mode 24/7 will actually diminish this super-important creation ability - it's the notorious workaholic syndrome. You think you're creative & productive, because you're working your soul off. But you end up being busy all the time, without creating any real, valuable work. So, this weekend, even if you're not into Easter at all, take a 180 degree break. Do something that's COMPLETELY different from your working schedule - something that stimulates wayyyyy different parts of your brain. This refreshment will not only feel like heaven, but also stimulate your creativity. So that you appear rejuvenated on your working day, powered up to create epic shit.

The 3 step formula to a kick-ass creative life

I hate it when people over-complicate things. Life is complex, it's not that simple, it's messy -  so they say. Really ? Honestly, deep inside, I believe that the most powerful principles are those that are based on simple mottos : No pain no gain ( you have to push beyond your comfort zone if you want to "grow" ) Just Do It ( don't think too much - act !) No risk no reward ( results come through moving into the uncertainty ) Those principles feel simplistic, but they are not. Simple "simply" means it's crystal clear and obvious. It doesn't mean it's easy. In fact, to live by these principles is hard as hell. You know you have to push myself. You know you have just to act. You know you have to risk things if you want to see results. But you also know - it takes endless courage to do 'em. But they worth aiming for, because they enrich your & their life (your peeps & audience), and that's the value an entrepreneur/maker brings to the world. So, whenever the confusion of life holds you in a deadlock, when complexity strangles you and you're grasping for air, take a deep breath and remember the basics, the simple lines that a creative life is all about: 1) Get up. 2) Be amazing. 3) Go back to bed.

Smoke VS. Fire

NO ANIMALS WERE BURNED IN THIS CARTOON MAIL. Too many people believe that energy JUST comes from healthy food and stimulants, be it through coffee or Red Bull. In fact, I have even met people that claimed that smoking will help them concentrate and be more productive. Ehhhh. They think that they only get the energy for their work from outside substances. Bull S-H-I-T with a capital SHIT. Good, clean energy like PASSION  feeds itself - the more fire you have for your work, the easier you will become inflammable AGAIN. It's like your personal generator that can be conditioned like a muscle - it consistently refuels itself by applying it, and it doesn't come with any NASTY side effects. No stimulant will ever replace the energy you create for yourself by being passionate. In fact, being on fire is more than just being passionate - being on FIRE means you are completely OBSESSED WITH YOUR WORK. You pour your soul into your products & services, and that energy almost wants to melt them like chocolate cream butter. Your clients...or better - your raving fans will FEEEEL that energy - your work will have an aura that seems to come from another planet. Energy that comes from within YOU and not OUTSIDE substances. Never smoke. But always be on fire.

What made a Japanese girl crash into the wall ?

A 404 error. Let me explain > I recently watched a tiny TED talk that changed the way I look at my website (and maybe changes yours as well). The speaker talked about 404 pages, you know, the error pages you see when you want to access a page on a website that doesn't exist. On most websites, you see a generic error page that goes like this "please go back / return / go back to homepage blah blah". It's annoying to get to 404 pages - so why don't you turn this unpleasant experience into a enjoyable one ? If people accidently hit your 404, will they see a regular "404" page or something unique - something funny or memorable that will turn a mistake (a false page) into something that makes your visitor giggle and bond closer to your brand ? After watching that talk, I changed my 404 page immediately. It now shows a battered Japanese girl (see above) and talks about how accessing this error page caused a disturbance in the space-time continuum and caused the J-girl to hit a brick wall. Yeah, it's nonsense, but isn't that more fun than reading your standard "ooops 404 error page" ? I think so. So what the hell is your takeaway here ? Simply this - little things on your website matter a lot. It's important to have a slick site design and a nicey banner, but THAT'S what people expect from a pro like you. If you really want to woo them, you should worry about the unexpected things - like creating a fun contact page, a heartwarming welcome message or in this case - a unique 404 page that makes your visitor SMILE.

C-C-C-Changes ?...No > C-C-C-Crisis

Do you like the size of this thing ? I made it extra-large for ya. Back to topic: In Chinese, the two signs for crisis mean "danger" and "opportunity" - and I think that's a sweet-a-licious idea. It reminds me of the past: I used to be the righty doom & gloom crisis cry baby (and sometimes I still am). Whenever I faced a crisis in the past, like when I got fired (maaaany years ago) or when I lost all of money, I often FAILED to look at the opportunity - in those cases STARTING ANEW. And even tiny things like my eguide launch in the next two weeks make cringe inside - is a crisis comin' up ? But hey, it's all paaaart of the game. I have learned. Learned that crying over a crisis won't do you any good. It already happened, whether it was your fault or not. You might as well SEE THE OPPORTUNITY in it. And that's when I embraced the C. Whenever you're facing a crisis in your life & biz, think about the Chinese meaning: "danger" and "opportunity". Be like the yellow guy in the cartoon. Focus on the opportunity. Crave Crisis.

Why you need to kill PP if you want to succeed

Passive Paul lives within you, and he's the worst lodger...ever. You know this culprit  -  he makes you postpone your projects, consume more than produce, procrastinate every action you need to TAKE NOW. But you know what ? If you're passive in life, you'll lose out, no matter what you want to accomplish: if you don't pay taxes (in time), you can screw your financial life & biz if you wait for others to pick you, you'll never create a career if you wait for the right idea/moment instead of shipping your work NOW Believe me, I experienced enough problems with all of the above because I was listening to Passive Paul. But once you're stuck in reactive mode, you're only coping with negative consequences (which are caused from NOT acting). And you don't want to spend your life coping with things. And you know what ? When YOU are taking initiative, life has to cope with YOU. And that's a fun and rewarding game to play. Look at your (biz) life right now: what's your passive/active ratio ? Are you reacting more than taking action ? Then kill your inner Passive Paul, too ;)