Career & Purpose

13 May

Posted at 11:20h in All Topics, Career & Purpose, Emotions & Happiness, Entrepreneurship, Health & Energy!, Love & Relationships, Productivity by

The80/20 Principle and Richard Koch Interview

Written by: Scott Dinsmore

Average Reading Time: 4.5 minutes

Ask Richard Koch and he'll tell you that life efficiency can be summed up in a sentence: 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort. My guess is we've all heard it before (especially if you read my resent post summarizing his book). But what might surprise many of you is that he sums up life happiness and fulfillment in just the same way. I had to learn more. After virtually following him between his homes in South Africa, Portugal and Sevilla, I learned two things. 1. He's not the easiest to track down and 2. He lives what he writes, to the T. He IS the 80/20 Principle. He of course wouldn't give a phone interview, only email--it was an 80/20 thing...

09 May

Posted at 11:44h in Career & Purpose, Emotions & Happiness, Love & Relationships, Meditation & Presence, Stewardship & Gratitude by

Slow Dance by David L. Weatherford

Written by: Scott Dinsmore In honor of Mother's Day today, I though I would share a poem that's been instrumental in my life and those around me. I hope it has the same effect on you. It was first brought to me by Tim Ferriss and I have kept it as a guiding light ever since-framed next to my front door in fact.

Slow down and take the time to appreciate your mother today. Without her where would you be?

Slow Dance

by David L. Weatherford

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round, or listened to rain slapping the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight, or gazed at the sun fading into the night? You better slow down, don't dance so fast, time is short, the music won't last.

03 May

Posted at 11:26h in Career & Purpose, Entrepreneurship, Investing & Finance, Simplicity by

Written by: Scott Dinsmore Average Reading Time: 5 minutes For one day each year, any and all of us get the chance to listen to 6.5 hours of live questions and answers with Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger (and even ask one of your own if you're lucky). This year almost 40,000 people took advantage of the opportunity. I was one of them. As I was last year and the two years prior to that. The weekend has become an annual highlight that words cannot describe. Despite the fact that it's important for our business in the investment partnership my partner and I run, this is one of the best weekends of the year for learning about life and personal improvement. I love it. The topic of the day: Life Lessons.

20 Apr

Posted at 11:19h in Career & Purpose, Entrepreneurship, Influence & Negotiating, Investing & Finance by
Negotiating a Fixed Price Written by: Scott Dinsmore Average Reading Time: 5.5 minutes When was the last time you were shopping for a pair of jeans and you told the clerk, "you'll have to do better than that" after seeing the price? My life experience would say that none of you have.  For some reason we feel like the number on a price tag is set in stone when we go to most shops--retail, grocery, etc. Well I have news for you. 95% of the time it's not. Those storeowners are using the rule of legitimacy on us and it's working--because it's been written and printed, we assume it's their best offer. Let's change that assumption.

05 Apr

Posted at 16:05h in All Topics, Career & Purpose, Entrepreneurship, Influence & Negotiating, Love & Relationships by

How To Ethically Influence Behavior A few days ago I got the chance to interview Robert Cialdini, best-selling author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion and Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive. Dr. Cialdini's work has done wonders for my interactions both personally and professionally. The...

21 Mar

Posted at 22:16h in All Topics, Career & Purpose, Entrepreneurship, Influence & Negotiating by

Average Read Time: 6 minues Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Roger Dawson, author of Secrets of Power Negotiating, after he saw my review a few weeks ago. Roger has earned the reputation of world-class negotiator from decades of life experience, teaching and writing. The tools packed in this interview were amazing. I hope you benefit from them as much as I have. Here are the questions we cover: 1. What has been the most consistently valuable and versatile technique that you've found in your years of negotiating? 2. What are your best tips for salary negotiation or pre-hire interview/job acceptance negotiating? 3. How do your techniques differ in the age of digital, online and virtual communication? 4. How important do you feel rapport, matching/mirroring, etc are in a negotiation? How would you employ these? 5. If your readers could only learn and use one of your techniques for the rest of their lives, what would it be?