Reading

Reading is one of the most important things that you can do.

Far too many people read too little.

You should be voracious in your quest for knowledge, always seeking to learn and improve yourself.

Forget fiction. I mean not completely.  You should read fiction its fun. And reading in general is good. But fiction is kind of like TV.

When I say “reading” I mean non-fiction.  Book that can help you improve in the core areas of your life:  work / business, relationships, health, wealth / investing.  Perhaps hobbies, if that gives you meaning.

Don’t hesitate to spend money on books.  They are investments in yourself, which is the highest form of ROI. Turn on that one-click ordering on Amazon.

If you get a recommendation from a trustworthy source – click – download.  It doesn’t matter if you don’t read it straight away.

Get a kindle reader perhaps.  I got one. I like it because there are no distractions. No internet, no email. Just reading. That’s good. It’s not mandatory (all smart phones have good Kindle apps).  But the lack of distraction is definitely a plus.

Again. Don’t fret about spending those 10 bucks.  The ROI on this could be thousands of times over.

A major fallacy that we all somehow were ingrained with is that you need to read a book from start to finish.  Naval Ravikant in his interview with Tim Ferriss opened my eyes to this.  Skip to the interesting bits.  Don’t feel like a slave to page order.  A lot of books (business books especially) are filled with fluff.  So skim quickly through some sections, skip others entirely, focus on the ones that give you the juicy bits of information.

And another fallacy is that we should read one book at a time.  Also, thanks to Mr Ravikant I’ve embraced the fact that I have multiple books on the go. At the moment I have about 5 or so books at various stages of digestion.  And its fine.  I don’t feel it detracts in any way.

Sometimes I read kindle books.  Its the instant hit that it gives me.  Some, especially if I have high hopes for them, I’ll order through Amazon (or more usually Book Depository, it works out cheaper for shipments to Israel usually).

I’ll highlight stuff in kindle books or underline them and scribble notes on the margins of paperbacks.  Some lessons I’ll record in my journal.  Sometimes (and this is new) I’ll create a summary on this blog (this could be quite helpful on processing the info).  It would be good to write ONE action point that you will implement from each book (just thought of this now, but its a good one).

Summary

Buy lots of books. Invest in yourself. No hesitation.

Pick and choose section of books you read. Free yourself of the need to read a book cover to cover.

Read multiple books on the go.  Give yourself permission to read multiple books at the same time.

Get a kindle. Or at least the app on your phone. Read books instead of browsing the internet (and switch off that goddamn internet!)

Write down ONE action point from each book you read. Implement it (at least test it out).

 

With Winning In Mind by Lenny Bassham – Book Summary

From interviewing hundreds of Olympic winning athletes, they all answered that 90% of their game is MENTAL.

How much time do they spend on training mental part of the game?Usually answer is the same: very little or less than 10%.

What separates winners from others is mainly the way they THINK.

When athletes have mindset that they EXPECT to perform well, winning is automatically an option.  For others, hope is their mindset.

Desired outcome needs to be CONCRETE in your mind.

Process is primary.  Think about executing mental and physical processes, NOT about winning.  Thinking about winning can pull thoughts away from process. Need to think about PROCESS.

For business:  Think about how you improve your mental and business processes, rather than making a certain amount of money.

“One thing is certain however, your worth as a person is not equal to your score this day.”

For business:  Self worth not equal to net worth

“So, should we be concerned at all about winning? Certainly. And the best focus, in my view, is on a winning performance, not on finishing on top. I suggest that you goal set to have a winning performance on the day of competition instead of goal setting to win the competition. What is the difference you ask? If you goal set to have a winning performance you will always be process-oriented and not outcome-oriented. You will be much less likely to over-try in the competition because you are always focused on the next step and not counting your score.”

This is really critical for goal setting.  Focus on performance.

E.g.

producing x levels per week.

Producing x games per week.

Rather than making $x today.

Principles of Mental Management

#1 – Your conscious mind can only focus on one thing at a time.

At any point in time you are either picturing something that will help you or hurt you.

If you are focused on leaderboard (business: money) then your performance will suffer.  If you focus on performing well for the shot (business:  execution) then you maximize chance for success.

Take control of your thoughts so that they help you.

#2 – What you say is not important.  What you cause yourself or others to PICTURE is crucial. 

#3 – The subsconscious mind is the source of all mental power.

#4 – The self image moves you to do whatever the conscious mind is picturing.

“I realize that my self-image is moving me to perform what I am consciously picturing. I control what I picture and I only picture what I want to see happen”

#5 – Self image and performance are always equal.  To change your performance you must first change your self image.

The upper and lower limits of our comfort zone is defined by our self image.  If we perform below this zone, self-image will help us move back into the zone.  If we start performing above this zone, self-image will pull us down.  Change the zone to change performance.

If you believe that it is “like you” to earn $100,000 per year, you will trend towards that.

If your self-image is that it is “like you” to earn $10,000,000 per year, you will trend towards that.

#6 – You can replace the self image you have with the self image you want.

#7 – Principle of reinforcement.

The more we think about, talk about and write about something happening, we improve the probability of that thing happening.

We influence one another. All these principles are not just related to ourselves but also to our team mates.

Talk about your good shots. Will improve probability of good shots in future.

Write down goals.  Won’t guarantee outcome, but helps build self image needed to attain the goal.

Be careful not to complain! This is negative reinforcement.

Do not reinforce a bad shot by getting angry.

Don’t reinforce a bad day at the office by complaining to your spouse.

Instead, remember something that you did well during the day and focus on that instead.

Fill your thoughts only with the best performances.  This is like my journaling – “What went well and why”.  Focus on positive to reinforce those outcomes, build self-image.

“Positive Prediction” – Reinforcement in advance. Compliment given in advance of future action.

Praise – Reinforcement after the fact.  Praise good performances and the good performances will repeat.  If praising others becomes your habit, you will soon be surrounded by competent people who love to work with you.

Example:  Author called up teacher and asked for meeting. Teacher thought there was problem (that is why parents usually call).  Instead praised teacher with how good they were.  Then teacher performs better.

GOAL SETTING

Most goal setting systems are flawed, because focus on outcome.  The focus is often on score or winning competition.  Should set goals on the process of getting a score that can win the competition.  When you focus on improving performance you are dealing with something in your control.  Outcome is not in your control.

E.g. you can control how many days per week you train. Can control the competitions you enter. Can choose how you train.

ONLY SET GOALS ON THINGS THAT YOU CAN CONTROL!  Keep your focus on YOU not on your competitors.

Pitfalls.  People equate worth as a person on whether they reach goal or not.

Step 1. Determine a goal worth trading your life for.

Step 2. Decide when you want it.

Putting a time limit help formulate plan to achieve goals.

Step 3.  List the pay value. WHY do you want the goal?

Step 4.  Evaluate obstacles in your way. What habits and attitudes do you need to change in order to achieve your goals?

Step 5.  What is the plan to get your goal?

Prepare a written plan to overcome each obstacle.

Step 6. Evaluate Plan.

Step 7.  Schedule Plan.

Step 8. Start now.

Step 9. Prior to reaching goal, always set a new one to take its place.

The day he received Olympic medal was amazing but also traumatic. What do I do now? What meaning do I have in life?

Write goals in first person, present tense. “I am the 1984 olympic gold medalist in ladies match pistol” WRITE IT OUT IN YOUR JOURNAL EVERY NIGHT.  Helps build needed self-image.

REHEARSAL

Principle of Mental Management #8 – The self-image cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is vividly imagined.

Rehearsal relates to seeing and feeling desired results in the mind.

There is no one perfect way to do it. It is individual. For some blurry, for some vivid.  Can do it in seconds or minutes.  No one right way.  But doing mental rehearsal can improve performance.  Can rehearse performance beyond what can currently achieve.

“In the 1976 olympics I was very calm, because I had rehearsed over and over every possible that could happen in the match and how I would respond. I was confident that I had planned for every possible contingency, which reduced my stress and allowed me to perform well”

Using rehearsal to improve attitude.

#1 – Define situations in which your attitude needs to be maximized

#2 – Decide what attitudes you need in these situations

#3 – Rehearse that you are in these situations and feeling the way you desire to feel.

Using “rehearsal” and not visualization as terminology. It is about how you FEEL also, not just visual. You should FEEL it.  What does it feel like to move properly?

Phases of performance

1 – Anticipation

2 – Action

3 – Reinforcement: This phase is often overlooked.  Too many athletes reinforce bad performances by thinking and talking about them.

Great players are not created – they create themselves.

Passion for the process. Willing to train 10 hours a day, enjoy it. Passion for training.

Training guidelines

#1 – Catch yourself doing something right.

If you study failure, you become an expert on how to fail.

Business: Perhaps retrospectives should focus on what went WELL.

If poor performance, rather than “Why do I always do that?!”; better:

“What do I need to do to make that shot good?”

And if a good shot “That’s a good shot! What did I do right?”

#2 – Train 4 or 5 days a week.

This is optimal to move up the mastery curve.

#3 – Wherever you are, be all there.

Be 100% present and focused, leave your day to day issues behind.

#4 – Rehearse match day within the training session

#5 – When you are playing well, play a lot.

Don’t stop! If you’re having a good day, keep going. Helps reinforce good experience and makes it more likely to occur in future.

If you are having a bad training day, stop training. Do not practice losing.

#6 – We raise ourselves to the standard we are around.

Train with people who are better than you.  Veteran players are often helpful to the young ones coming into the sport.

This can be akin to going to a high level mastermind in the business world.

Self-image can benefit from seeing technique of better players.

#7 – Plan your year.

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

Must keep a PERFORMANCE JOURNAL. (Same advice as is given to entrepreneurs!)

You cannot manage what you don’t measure.

Write down what you wish to have happen. Will help change self image.

DON’T write out things that you don’t want to happen.

In performance journal NO reference to bad shots or performance.

For BJJ training I should keep a performance journal.

General. Date and Event (i.e. Training / Competition), Hours. What did you learn? What did you accomplish? How did you spend your time in training? Results / Score?

Solution Analysis.  Write solutions to challenges discovered during training day. If can’t find a solution, write “I’m looking for a solution to…”

Success Analysis.  Write down everything you did well during the training day. Forces you to be positive about your performance.

Goal Statement. E.g. “I often shoot above 390/400”; “I am on the US Olympics team”

DIRECTIVE AFFIRMATION

Paragraph written in first person.  Paragraph that describes goal, pay value (the “why”), plan and habits and attitudes that affect goal.

Helps self image to change.

e.g. “21/11/2017.  I am the best free-throw shooter on my team.  I start each game and I enjoy the chance to help my team win by making free-throws.  I always run a mental program before each shot and reinforce each successful basket by saying “That’s like me!”.  Then I focus on the next shot or play. Also I record my performance analysis and read and visualize my Directive Affirmation daily. I am the best free-throw shooter on my team.”

Place this in at least 5 prominent places where you will see this throughout day. Each time you come across the Directive Affirmation, read and VISUALIZE it.

Run it for 21 days, then remove and rest for 9 days.

The either modify it, replace it or repeat it.

Very important to set the correct goal.

Bad goal: lost 10 pounds (this can cause yo yo, because once lost it, can regain).

Better goal: weight 160 lbs and maintain it.

E.g. Smoking

Bad goal: stop smoking (can stop and then re-start).

Better goal:  to be a non-smoker.

Do not wait until you feel totally prepared for competing.  Perfection is the purest form of procrastination.

Praise in public, correct in private.   Public praise raises self image. Praise twice as much as you correct.  By praising you are building.

Mistakes

Focus should be on learning from failure, not thinking about it.

Action Items

I can apply the lessons from this book to directly to my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training (or any other skill acquisition) and also in general to my own self improvement in business and other spheres of my life.

BJJ

  • Aim to go in a competition for the learning experience.
  • Train 4 days per week.
  • Keep a Performance Journal
    • Record each training: 1) what went well 2) what did I learn 3) what challenges do i need solutions for? 4) state my goals as far as BJJ is concerned.

Self Improvement

  • Use much more praise – build up team mates.  2x praise vs correction.  Praise in public, correct only in private.
  • In business retrospectives – try using focus just on what went well?
  • “Train with people who are better than you” – join high level mastermind.
  • In journal write down my goals every day for business, social, relationships and any other critical areas of my life.
  • Determine a key focus in my life.   Use mental rehearsal. Devote regular time per day (5 minutes) for this.
  • Write down this key focus (directive affirmation) and put in prominent areas around work / home.  Read and visualize multiple times per day.

Masterminds Groups for Entrepreneurs

From listening to loads of podcasts with super successful people, there are probably 3 things that they have in common:

The meditate.

They keep a journal.

They participate in a mastermind group.

I’ve been involved myself in some “mastermind groups”, but I find that mostly the ones that I’ve been involved with have not been effective.

In one skype group that I joined we had a couple of calls and then it faded out.  We would consult each other on skype from time to time, but then later that faded out to.

Another mastermind I joined was a pre-existing one, but I found the group very big, seemingly secretive / not willing to share and that it lacked focus.  Also I think the goals and stages that we were at were very disparate.

Probably the most successful “mastermind” that I’ve been a part of is with just one other friend who I met through a conference.  We’ve been totally open with each other and are vested in each others success and that conversation is one that I cherish and is mutually beneficial.

I think though there is probably more room for me to benefit from a mastermind group.

Benefits of mastermind groups

The benefits of masterminds are potentially many.

Probably top of the list is friendship.  Entrepreneurship can be a lonely path and it is great to share the journey with a close group of friends.

Also another key aspect is sharing of knowledge and different perspectives.  Sometimes we become trapped in our own cognitive biases and it takes someone from outside to help guide us to a different view point and discover things we weren’t previously aware of.

It also is great for accountability and motivation.

Lets create the ideal mastermind group

So here are my thoughts for the ideal mastermind group for myself…

Frequency

One week is way too frequent and intensive. Two months is far too infrequent.

For my personally I think the sweet spot would be either once per month or one per fortnight.

This wouldn’t be too onerous a commitment and would allow time in between to see progress.

Number of Attendees

From my negative experience being in a massive group, I think it is better to have a small and intimate group, which still benefits from a wide variety of perspective.

I would say that the ideal number of attendees of my mastermind group would be between 3 to 5 people (at a stretch).

Level of Members

The level of members should be judged by income, just because that is an easy marker of business success.

I would want to be in a group with people at least at my level or more successful.

Characteristics of Members

I would say that the most critical characteristic would be openness and a willingness to help others.  This is a super important mindset.  We should all be in the group to benefit ourselves, but even more so to help others.

In my case I think it would be better that most of the attendees be in the same type of business (apps / games) because the advice would be much more targeted and relevant, although it could be very interesting to have someone involved from a different industry to bring in a different perspective.

The participants would also need to be super ambitious.  We should all be there to see how we can 10x to 100x our existing businesses.

Paid or not?

Thats a dilemma.  I think having members pay to join the mastermind can be good, because it significantly increases the skin in the game and will help ensure attendance and dedication to the group.

But, I think that main point is that the group has to be dedicated.  If that can be achieved without payment, that can be totally fine.

Having a paid mastermind could potentially be part of a coaching type offering on a blog.

How to run the sessions

The sessions should have structured agendas so that they are most effective.

Chris Ducker recommends that mastermind attendees go through the following key points:

  • One thing that is currently working really well in their business activities.
  • One thing they needed help on, were struggling with, or wanted to brainstorm on.
  • One resource, such as a blog, podcast, service, product that they believed others in the group would appreciate knowing about.

An alternative way to run the sessions, advocated by Pat Flynn:

  • Beginning: Each person, one-by-one, talks briefly about their goals from the previous meeting.
  • Middle: A predetermined person in the “hot seat” shares, in detail, any number of issues, complications, questions and concerns about his or her own situation. The rest of the members then respond and contribute to the discussion by offering suggestions or comments based on their expert knowledge and/or experience.
  • End: Each person, one-by-one, talks briefly about the goals that they want to accomplish by the next meeting. Also, the next “hot seat” person is determined so he or she can be ready with questions for the group.

I think that it can be potentially good to alternate the agenda and add in different exercises.

For example, a lean coffee type method can be used for determining the agenda on the fly, or a members could take turns presenting about areas that they are strong in.

Keeping in touch

In addition to the meetings, it would be good to have a way to communicate between meetings, ask questions and help out.

Some groups I’m in have used skype – but I find this very distracting. Also in my mastermind group there should be a “no spam” policy, keeping conversation only on topic and not bombarding the group with inane messages.

I find that Facebook groups can be quite good for this, so that is definitely a good option.

How to find people to join the mastermind

Building up an audience, whether through a blog, podcast or other means, is a great way to connect with like-minded people (in fact, that’s one of my main reasons for trying out blogging).

Going to conferences and business events and their parties can also be a great way to find people who are on the same path and see who you connect with.

Also by joining online groups such as Facebook groups or forums you can also get to know people and see whether there can be a good fit.

Whatever the case, I think before someone joins my mastermind, I would want to get to know them, to have had several one-on-one conversations and see that I connect to them.  That is really important for me.

High Level Paid Business Masterminds

I’ve tried to collate here a list of several high-level business masterminds. These can by very pricey (25k per year is pretty standard) but they can expose you to a whole group of high achievers who you might not get to meet otherwise.

James Schramko’s Silver Circle

James Schramko’s high end offering is the “Silver Circle”.  The cost is about $1,200 per month I think and involves weekly group calls.  Like most of these types of masterminds it also includes access to a live event held in Sydney around March, “SuperFastBusiness Live“. BTW – don’t quote me on specifics, these details may be a bit off.

Joe Polish’s Genius Network

Joe Polish is a master marketer and runs a high end mastermind (one of those 25K per year ones…).

I particularly like this sentence that probably sums it up:

Have you advanced beyond your network and circle of friends?

You’re already successful, but are you always the smartest person in nearly every room you walk into.

If so, it’s time for you to join other like-minded experts.

John Carlton’s Platinum Mastermind Group

John Carlton is a household name amongst copywriters.

According to his sales page, the group meets 4 times per year and the cost is a measly 15K for the year.

Ryan Deiss’s War Room Mastermind

Ryan Deiss also runs a 25K mastermind and like most of these types of groups they meet 4 times per year with each meet up going for 2 days.

He also offers 5 “emergency” 30 minute calls with the big honchos who run the mastermind (Ryan Deiss, Frank Kern, Perry Belcher or Roland Frasier).

There are also a host of other benefits from joining, including access to all of Digital Marketers products and access to their live events for no extra cost.

There are up to 100 “companies” present in the meet ups, but they split up into smaller discussion groups.

At least from the sales page, this seems like the most organized and structured of these high level mastermind groups.

How much do you need to be making to be eligible?  On the FAQ it states: As a general rule, your company must at least be run-rating $1,000,000 in revenues to be eligible for membership.

Dan Sullivan’s Workshops

Dan Sullivan is one of the biggest names in copywriting and online marketing.

The 10x Program costs $25K Canadian and is aimed at entrepreneurs who have a minimum net personal income of US/CA$500K in the last tax year.  There is one meeting each quarter (one day only).

Other notable events

There are some other events and masterminds worth mentioning.

Two are invite-only – Yanik Silver’s Maverick1000 and the Summit Series. The Summit Series especially is one I would be very interested to attend. These events involve a combination of travelling around somewhere interesting in the world and rubbing shoulders with incredibly interesting and successful people from different walks in life.

Ryan Daniel Moran from FreedomFastLane runs a mastermind which I believe is relatively new – no pricing advertised on the sales page.

There is one event that I was just recently at which Carter Thomas from BlueCloudSolutions ran for the first time and I can say was ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL!  If you are an app entrepreneur (or even not just apps – we had people from other fields there), Carter’s BlueCloud Hawaii event is one that I can personally vouch for as being a great way to meet amazing entrepreneurs.

Do you know of other high level mastermind groups that I’ve left off this list?

Please add it in the comments below or share your experiences!