Play With The Big Boys & Girls.

We've got a big snowstorm here in Oxford, Connecticut. Thankfully, I work from my home office on Fridays — so I really don't have to go anywhere — I just meander down to my first-floor home office and talk to my clients. We only get better when we play tennis with better tennis players. One way is to immerse ourselves into their lives, their learnings, and their tricks of the trade.

I thought I would do a "Rich's Favorite Things Early 2017" post and let you know what resources I use to stay at the top of my game. So here goes . . .

Podcasts:

How I Built This - I religiously listen to ever episode. It's about innovators, entrepreneurs, and idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built. Each episode is a narrative journey marked by triumphs, failures, serendipity and insight — told by the founders of some of the world's best known companies and brands. (from NPR)

The Tim Ferriss Show - I've listened to this since his first broadcast. Tim Ferriss deconstructs world-class performers from eclectic areas (investing, chess, pro sports, etc.), digging deep to find the tools, tactics, and tricks that listeners can use.

Smart Passive Income Online Business and Blogging - Pat Flynn reveals all of his online business and blogging strategies, income sources and killer marketing tips and tricks so you can be ahead of the curve with your online business or blog. Discover how you can create multiple passive income streams that work for you so that you can have the time and freedom to do what you love, whether it's traveling the world, or just living comfortably at home.

Books:

The One Thing - You'll learn to cut through the clutter, achieve better results in less time, build momentum toward your goal,  dial down the stress, overcome that overwhelmed feeling, revive your energy, stay on track, and master what matters to you. The ONE Thing delivers extraordinary results in every area of your life--work, personal, family, and spiritual.

The Pumpkin Plan - Each year Americans start one million new businesses, nearly 80 percent of which fail within the first five years. Under such pressure to stay alive—let alone grow—it’s easy for entrepreneurs to get caught up in a never-ending cycle of “sell it—do it, sell it—do it” that leaves them exhausted, frustrated, and unable to get ahead no matter how hard they try.  The Pumpkin Plan guides you through unconven­tional strategies to help you build a truly profitable blue-ribbon company that is the best in its field.

P.S. If you want to play with the big boys and girls,  Let’s talk. I’ve worked with people from all over the world who wanted to play a bigger game and I got them to Wimbledon — call me to schedule a complimentary session.

Every Weekend Is A 3-Day Weekend!

One of my favorite authors is Tim Ferriss, who wrote "The Four Hour Workweek", "The Four Hour Body", and "The Four Hour Chef". As I was speaking to one of my clients the other day, we started to discuss how much time is wasted on the job with superfluous meetings, emails, and antiquated projects. I then said, "Wouldn't it be great to cut down on all the days we work and squeeze 5 days into 4?" Could we work faster, more efficiently and effectively? Do we really need to move the 8 hours from a Friday and distribute 2 hours to Monday-Thursday? What would happen if we said we'd get the same job done in 32 instead of 40 hours?

I know — your reflexive/debate mind is clicking in: "Not everyone can do this. There are some workers who are paid hourly and many businesses who need to be open 5, 6, and 7 days a week." I agree, but stick with me for a moment.

Let's amend the hourly discussion and still maintain a 40 hour workweek, but you might work 10 hours a day? With those businesses who need to remain open, they can schedule their associates to spread out over the "3 day weekend". Instead of 9-5, we would work 8-6 (or 7-5, or like me 6-4) - ensuring 10 hours every day.

Families can spend more time together, workers are more productive while they're on the job, less impact to commuting congestion, and everyone will enjoy 72 hours of vacation each week. I know it would make even the worst job more bearable.

Schools might still be on a 5 day schedule, but parents might be integrated in their kids learning and help out at school. Maybe that 'free' day is a volunteer day to help out the less fortunate, clean up a park, or assist a senior with their shopping.

I still think we can do the 32 hour week — rarely do people work 8 hours a day full out, using every fiber of their time.

What would the world be like if we took one day a week and spent it helping one another?

I would LOVE your feedback. Tell me how you feel — and how you would do it!

My Favorite Podcasts — John Lee Dumas.

Here's a little coaching secret: Some of my best ideas and strategies come from my clients. Let me introduce you to John Lee Dumas, host of Entrepreneur On Fire. Awarded Best Of iTunes in 2013 because of his dedication to serve his listeners and share incredible insights to help guide us on our Entrepreneurial journey. Failure is part of every journey, and on EntrepreneurOnFire, the first story John shares is his guest’s biggest failure and their lessons learned.

The second story he dives into is his guest’s AH-HA moment and the steps they took to turn that moment into success. The grand finale is The Lightning Round, where John asks six rapid-fire questions to extract nuggets of wisdom for his listeners.

All in all, EOF is about inspiring YOU to take YOUR entrepreneurial leap. John knows that by learning from the failures, the AH-HA moments, and the successes of others, you can begin to craft your dream and take inspired ACTION!

Entrepreneur On Fire has featured incredible Entrepreneurs such as Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk, Barbara Corcoran, Tim Ferriss, Brian Tracy, and over 900 others. Are you prepared to IGNITE?

HERE IT IS.

Sit back, load them on your phone, put your headphones on, and enjoy. Each one has changed my life and thinking.

P.S. Thank you Jacqueline! 

My Favorite Podcasts — Tim Ferriss.

If you know me, I am an avid podcast listener. At any one time, I have between 15-20 podcasts on my iPhone and I listen to them in the car when I commute to my office on the water. I've been a fan of Tim Ferriss ever since he published his first book "The Four Hour Workweek". Unfortunately, many people, to this day, still chide him for his egregious title - "No one can fit 40 hours of work into four hours!".

They're missing the point. Tim sets the stage not to curtail your workweek into four hours, but to constantly look at all the things you do and use tools, techniques, tips, gear, and habits to streamline your behavior.

His new podcast (he just started over a year ago) is PHENOMENAL. Well thought out, interesting, insightful and most of all, Tim procures the BEST people to interview.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Matt Mullenweg (he started Wordpress) has been named one of PC World’s Top 50 People on the Web, Inc.com’s 30 under 30, and Business Week’s 25 Most Influential People on the Web.
• Arnold Schwarzenegger… at his kitchen table. Tim and Arnold cover how he started, how he excels and what he does to this day to stay at the top of his game.
• Marc Goodman has been a Resident Futurist for the FBI and a senior adviser to Interpol. In this episode, Tim and Marc go deep into the digital underground to expose the alarming ways criminals, corporations, and even countries are using emerging technologies against you…and some simple steps you can take to decrease your vulnerability.
• Ryan Holiday, author of The Obstacle Is The Way, started as a Director of Marketing at American Apparel at age 21 (!). He gets more heat, makes more high-stakes decisions, and take more risks in a given week than most people experience in any given quarter. He also happens to be a die-hard Stoic and incredible at putting the principles into practice.

Sit back, load them on your iPhone, put your headphones on, and enjoy. Each one has changed my life and thinking.