Life Beyond Code
Personal and professional development for technology professionals.
-
Small things are important..
Last week when I was at CostCo, I saw that busy peeling off the pricing label on a book. As I was browsing, I saw that he successfully peeled off the pricing tag on the book he was holding and then immediately stuck the pricing tag back on the book. No, he was not doing anything funny. If you see th …
-
NaNoWriMo – Making a Dream Come True
This is story about a story that was made possible by NaNoWriMo. This is a THANK YOU post for NaNoWriMo and the wonderful people behind it. First, some background. For those of you who have followed me for a long time, you know that I started my writing journey when my first book (a murder mystery) …
-
Wherever you are, you can make a difference
Take a look at this cool video of a flight attendant on Southwest Airlines. Now, its hard to beat that for sure. Have a great day! ---Related Articles at Life Beyond Code:Ways to distinguish yourself #118 Make a difference, however small it isDifference between ordinary and extraordinaryDifference …
-
Thoughtfulness 101 – Robert Scoble
I have written about thoughtfulness on this blog (1, 2, 3, 4) before. You dont have to do groundbreaking things to be thoughtful it can be little things but with a lot of care. Let me illustrate this with a simple example I heard from Robert Scoble (@scobleizer) on Twitter that Loic LeMeur (CEO of …
-
Ways to Distinguish Yourself #206 – Thank Powerfully!
Note: Thanksgiving is coming soon but I wanted to share this way before that date. You will see why as you read the post. Everyone knows that an attitude of gratitude is important to grow. In fact, you might remember your parents telling you to be thankful to people that help you. Yes, I subscribe t …
-
Ways to Distinguish Yourself #205 – Dis-Engage When Your Work is Valued Less
Photo Courtesy: psyberartist on Flickr Marketplace is right most of the time. It will set the price for what you bring to the table based on the supply and demand equations that exist (all the time) Smart people sometimes hit a roadblock when they dont get what they truly deserve. What they dont re …
-
Event: Thought Leadership 2.0
If you are in the bay area on November 18, I would love to see you at this event where I will be speaking about how to build thought leadership without breaking your back. A quick summary Thought Leadership 2.0 Building thought leadership without breaking your back Everyone knows the benefit of be …
-
Apples and Oranges: The pitch for pre-paid gas option
Yesterday I was at the Hertz counter in Los Angeles and there were about half a dozen people in front of me in the line. I was surprised (actually shocked) to see four of the six people in front of me choose the pre-paid gas option. For those of you who dont know what is pre-paid gas option, you pay …
-
Mini Saga #41 – Loan
Photo Courtesy: Melissa Maples on Flickr Sometimes we take things literally. Enjoy the story: Loan Rick stopped someone in the lobby and said I am from the office next door. Can you please lend me $1000? The person flatly refused stating that he doesnt know Rick well. With a confused look, Rick sa …
-
Recharging while sweating…
Some background first The day before I went for a long hike (long is relative BTW) I told my friend Arun that I was planning to go on a hike the next day. Arun asked me So where are you going? And I proudly mentioned that it was Rancho San Antonio, he just laughed and said It is not a hike, its a …
-
Mini Saga #40 – Dream
Photo Courtesy: Bobasonic on Flickr Sometimes dreams can be unbelievable Enjoy the story: Dream Rick handed the keys to his Ferrari to the Valet guy and the phone rang. Actually it was the phone in his office. It was all a dream! Rick smiled and got up and walked towards his Mercedes. Just then, …
-
Lessons from creating a social media powered eBook
A social media powered eBook project is simply a collaborative effort conceived and completed with the power of social media. The project is dynamic, participatory and even democratic in nature and takes on its own life as it evolves from an idea to a final product. ”Defiant: Practical Tips for thri …
-
Mini Saga #39 – Decision
Photo Courtesy: Shenghung Lin on Flickr Making good decisions is very important. But its also important to know how long you will take to make those right decisions. Enjoy the story: Decision Lukes journey came to a screeching halt at a crossroad. Luke wanted to make the right choice. Both the road …
-
Mini Saga #38 – Surprise
Photo Courtesy: Dharma Communications on Flickr Sometimes when you plan a surprise, you have to be ready for than what you planned for Enjoy the story: Surprise Jack spent a fortune for that diamond necklace. Fifteen years of being married to Becky, he had never once remembered her birthday. Today, …
-
Lack of dedication OR Walking the extra mile – The Power of Questions
Photo Courtesy: Jeff Bauche on Flickr First, let me tell a story that I head from Osho and then make a few comments. So, here goes the story: This is a Sufi story. There were two disciples learning from a master. They were also close friends. Everyday they would meditate for hours inside and then go …
-
Mini Saga #37 – Insanity
Photo Courtesy: KTommy at Flickr Insanity manifests in a million ways Enjoy the story: Insanity There was no letter that day. Joe felt all-alone. For the last six months, Joe had received a letter everyday. Today, there was no letter. Joe felt miserable throughout the day. Just before dinner, the m …
-
Events I am participating this week
Here are three events where I am participating this week. Two are live events and one is an online event. Look forward to connecting with those of you who are planning to attend at these events. 1. Speaking on How to Write Books on Twitter at Cool Twitter Conferences (Sep 24, 2009) You can read more …
-
reCaptcha Acquisition – Leverage Squared!
I was delighted to hear about Googles acquisition of the innovative startup reCaptcha. I wrote about the business model of reCaptcha in a previous blog post in August 2008. Here is the link. Please read the previous blog post to get the background story: Aug 16, 2008 Doing Good Via Spam Protection …
-
Mini Saga #36 – Suicide
Photo Courtesy: Impala74 on Flickr When you are in the middle of a mess, its easy to miss a LOT of important things. Enjoy the story: Suicide Mired in debt and fired recently, Tony decided to end his life. His suicide note was simply a list thanks and blessings. The note ran six pages long. That ni …
-
Ways to Distinguish Yourself #204 – Add Wings to Your Ideas
Everyone has ideas and a small percentage of them will execute on their ideas too. However, not all ideas fly. No, I am not talking about world-changing or radical ideas. I am thinking about everyday ideas that get stifled and buried. You want them to fly but they dont take off. What could be the pr …
Life Beyond Code
