Is effort a myth?

This is an excerpt from Seth Godin's Blog... You may click on the title of this post to read the entire article.

With that forewarning, here's a bootstrapper's/marketer's/entrepreneur's/fast-rising executive's effort diet. Go through the list and decide whether or not it's worth it. Or make up your own diet. Effort is a choice, at least make it on purpose:

1. Delete 120 minutes a day of 'spare time' from your life. This can include TV, reading the newspaper, commuting, wasting time in social networks and meetings. Up to you.

2. Spend the 120 minutes doing this instead:

• Exercise for thirty minutes.
• Read relevant non-fiction (trade magazines, journals, business books, blogs, etc.)
• Send three thank you notes.
• Learn new digital techniques (spreadsheet macros, Firefox shortcuts, productivity tools, graphic design, html coding)
• Volunteer.
• Blog for five minutes about something you learned.
• Give a speech once a month about something you don't currently know a lot about.

3. Spend at least one weekend day doing absolutely nothing but being with people you love.

4. Only spend money, for one year, on things you absolutely need to get by. Save the rest, relentlessly.

If you somehow pulled this off, then six months from now, you would be the fittest, best rested, most intelligent, best funded and motivated person in your office or your field. You would know how to do things other people don't, you'd have a wider network and you'd be more focused.

I just finished Seth's Book The Dip. It is short and a must read...Do you know when to quit. (You buy it on Amazon for less then $10.)

The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit It's a mind grenade, a little bit of insight that will help you see what's causing your organization (or you) to get stuck.

Baby Boomers vs Millennial Generation

Owning a tech company, I am continually challenged by the mindset of the "millennial generation" towards work. That time off and time with friends is more important than working.

I read this article about what is going to transpire as the millennials enter the work force...

"When baby boomers and employees in their 20s and early 30s work side by side, the generation gap can look more like a canyon. In today’s corporations, generational differences jump out at managers:

One generation of employees exhibits maturity and steadfast loyalty, while workers of a younger generation who show brilliance and application have an exit strategy ready if boredom or dissatisfaction sets in.

Population booms and generational differences in mind-set combine to create adverse conditions that will gradually worsen, creating a perfect storm that can spell disaster for employers. Consider …

• 50 percent of the American workforce will retire within seven years.
• The largest number of college graduates will enter the workforce in 2009.
• Many managers lack the skills needed to motivate and retain talented younger employees.
• Unable to attract young people, some industries run the risk of being unequipped to compete in the future."

Read More at Managing Generation Y...