Work Less, Learn More, Earn More

Cover Photo of Author Reading “Good to Great” on a slow boat in Laos

Something I Wish I Could Tell My Younger Self

If there’s one thing I wish I could tell my younger self, it’s this:

Work Less, Learn More, Earn More

When I say learn more, I’m not talking about traditional school education. I went through that, like most people in North America. And I’m not denying its usefulness for general knowledge.

I’m also not talking about university, because I actually dropped out a few years in, mostly for the fact that I wasn’t learning the way I needed to learn.

But what I’m talking about is two things: 1. learning to learn, and 2. learning new skills.

Whenever I talk to people 5–10 years younger than I who’ve learned valuable skills I recently learned, I can’t help but think that I wish someone would have told me to invest in my self-development earlier.

People who have been useful to my self-education for the past year or so are, in the order I’ve been exposed to: Tai Lopez, Nicolas Cole, Zdravko Cvijeticand Michael Simmons.

Since I had dropped out of university about 9 years ago now, I focused on building my own startups, and growing in small startups. I learned so many incredible lessons working in all these high-stress, thriving environments.

But there’s one thing I failed to do: spend some time on my personal development.

Instead of working 12 hours per day every day, I wish I would have spent 2 of those hours on personal development. Learning to learn, storytelling, public speaking, writing, reading, drawing, playing an instrument, learning a new language, etc. Something. Anything.

Having specialized knowledge and working hard is overrated.

Somehow, even though when I was in the position of hiring people, I knew that I was hiring for “personality”, not “talent” or “mad skills”, I never thought to spend time working on mine.

Michael Simmons says that the future belongs to polymaths and I believe him. And you don’t become a polymath if you stop educating yourself after school, or when in the workforce. You become a polymath by continuously learning new skills, working different parts of your brain.

Back in September 2017, I had started to use 1 hour and 30 minutes of my morning time, right after waking up, to learn 3 new skills. 30 minutes for each skill, every morning, for a month. That’s 15 hours each.

Turns out that was probably the single best decision I could have taken for myself and my career.

Imagine.

I’ve learned about 21 new skills since then. I’ve released a book (other coming soon), a video game, an online store, started two businesses and now there’s no stopping me.

“The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.” ― Robert Greene, Mastery

Robert Greene and Michael Simmons are not wrong. At least not in my personal experience.

I certainly am not old now, but I could have “saved” 5–10 years of my life if I had known to work less and learn more. I would have earned more, faster if I had learned more, faster.

So whatever you do, never stop learning, ideally a diverse set of skills. You will be happier, earn more, and more importantly, be a better person, for yourself and your loved ones.

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)

You Will Find BETTER Than Your Greater Purpose From Traveling

Cover Photo: Author taking photos of a rural village during a GAdventure’s Planeterra project in Nepal

Save years of mindless searching for it

It was June 25th 2015. Almost 3 years ago now. It was the day that would change my life forever. I never nervous, but not too much. The biggest emotion I was feeling during that day was excitement.

My flight was at 2pm, flying to Paris for a friend’s wedding. Finally the day had come. My wife and I had been planning that for a while. Unofficially for 3 years by that time.

Our empty apartment before we left for the airport. Don’t I look completely different without the beard?

June 25th was the day we officially left Toronto to travel the world for up to a year, with no real plan to ever come back.

A lot of people asked us what the purpose of our travels was.

Frankly, the thought of “purpose” had not crossed our minds.

We decided to do that simply because we loved traveling, meeting new people, living new experiences, trying new foods, and just generally become more open-minded individuals.

There was no real sense of higher purpose. We were not trying to “find ourselves” or anything.

Over the years, we had traveled about twice a year to new places. It just wasn’t enough for us anymore. We had mapped out the places we wanted to visit on a really cool Pinworld map.

Red pins are places we visited during the trip and earlier ones. Blue pins are places we really wanted to go to, and grey pins are places we wanted to go if we had the time or the budget.

The night of the 25th, I can’t say I didn’t sleep because of over-excitement, because well, I pretty much always fall asleep before the flight takes off… But Audrey probably didn’t sleep. It doesn’t help that we stopped in Reykjavik, Iceland at midnight in June. For those who don’t know, the sun doesn’t really set there at that time of the year.

We arrived in Paris during a massive heat wave taking place all over Western Europe. I’m sure we spent half our daily budget on water bottles during our two weeks in France and Germany!

The only thing we had booked in advance was our flight to Paris and our volunteering experience in Bangalore, India, taking place in October. Between that time, it was up to us, on a daily basis, to decide what to do next. It was a great way of living.

We ended up traveling all across Western Europe, Morocco, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Jordan and the UAE before flying to Bangalore. We hung some of the photos from those moments on the photo I shared above.

Europe flights before reaching Bangalore. Some of these flights are from previous trips, or more recent trips. Also worth noting, we did most of our travels by bus… imagine the map!

We met the most incredible people and did amazing things. As expected.

But the greatest experience we had during this whole trip was when we started our volunteering experience with Reaching Hand in Bangalore.

Me with students from the Skill Development Centre where I was helping out.

Audrey with young students after conducting a focus group session to help set up a menstrual hygiene workshop. Even to this day, it is a big taboo in some parts of India.

Reaching Hand Team with other volunteers

After our great experience working on meaningful projects and having an impact in other parts of the world, that’s when we started thinking about a greater purpose.

The funny thing is, up to that point, I had enjoyed Spain so much that after our travels, I wanted to buy a mini-van and become a tour guide there. What a change coming from a professional software engineer!

It had only been 4 months at that point, and I was thinking to myself: “if my trip would end now, I would be satisfied”. I hadn’t told Audrey at the time.

But we pressed on east. The idea was to do a round-the-world trip, going from west to east, landing back in Toronto after a year. We continued our travels north of India, Nepal, SE Asia, East Asia, USA and finally back to Canada.

The more we continued, the more we realized that traveling long-term is not about the sights you see, but the experiences you live, and who you live them with.

I was starting to be biased and not appreciate the marvels I would see before my eyes as much as I really should have.

That experience we had in Bangalore with Reaching Hand changed our perspective on traveling, and the world really.

As we continued traveling, we stopped paying much attention to sights, but rather finding more meaningful experiences. A few of those below:

First Yoga and Meditation experiences with our Yogi in Rishikesh, India

Bonding with my Sikh friend in Delhi

2-hour long chat with a doctor monk I had randomly met while having coffee in Nepal. Turns out he likes to play video games, soccer/football, and yeah, scroll on Facebook!

Washing, feeding and goofing around with elephants in Thailand. We paid extra to support an NGO that really cares for them.

Family-style dinner at AngkorHUB coworking/coliving space in Siem Reap, Cambodia. One of my favourite coworking spaces in the world. I went there again for a longer term. We volunteered to help Jeff Laflamme, via workaway.info

Sneaking out on the Great Wall of China at night with our local friend. He had contacts. I know this looks photoshopped. It’s not.

I shaved my head for the first time in Bangkok, before going to Shanghai

I made my own ramen in Osaka, Japan, at the ramen noodle museum

Needless to say, we had blast. We volunteered twice more. Once in Siem Reap, and once in Busan, South Korea.

We left Asia from Seoul, going to California to meet some friends and do the best road trip of our lives along the California coast, starting in San Francisco.

My best man Henri, his girlfriend Lyne-Marie, and Audrey

And then we went back to Canada, where we were received with mixed reactions. Most were happy to see us again, but not everyone shared our enthusiasm about the experiences we lived. Some people didn’t even ask a single question, as if nothing ever happened. Some stopped talking to us for a while, and we were even thrown out of a house because of our open-mindedness.

I’m not one to take things personally, but it was hard to have lived this incredible experience, only to realize that a lot of people we cared about didn’t care for it.

When we got back to Toronto in early June, we ended up taking back our jobs. I didn’t mention it before, but they had actually given us a leave of absence, so it was an easy option, and a good way to make back the money we had spent during our travels.

Children of the Bukompe refugee camp/village.

But it didn’t take us long before we needed to do something meaningful again.

Audrey had started volunteering with Sundara and they needed help in Uganda in October 2016. I volunteered to take photos for them.

The 4,000 people of Bukompe had no access to clean water. They were sick from drinking from the only, strongly contaminated, source of water they had. And that source was pretty much completely dried out during summer.

This is water, not chocolate milk… This was the most stagnant water I had ever seen, and was the only source of water for Bukompe. It was a breeding pool for malaria and other diseases.

We managed to help secure funding to build a borehole well with the help of a local NGO, Drink Local Drink Tap. That was extremely satisfying and meaningful for that community in dire need.

Then we went back to Canada. It was only a week-long trip. 

That’s when we truly realized that our travels did exactly the opposite of what people seek: find their true calling.

We were lost. Almost completely.

We had discovered that there are much greater needs abroad, and we couldn’t fill those needs back home.

Back in Spain, I wanted to become a tour guide. Back in India, I wanted to do humanitarian work. Back in Thailand, I missed programming and finished my first game. Back home, I missed doing truly meaningful work.

We sat at our favourite Irish pub back in November 11th 2016, and I said to Audrey, half serious: “Do you want us to just leave again?”. To my surprise, she agreed. We were pumped.

You see, we didn’t find our true calling while traveling. In fact, we probably never will.

The greatest pleasure in life is exactly that, not knowing what’s going to happen.

We learned we had skills way beyond what we knew back home. We adapted to different cultures and became more open-minded. We met incredible people and learned from each one of them. Poor, rich. Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. Men, women. Children, elders. It didn’t matter. We learned from everyone.

And that led to so much confusion. We learned we can do so much more. So many options opened (or was already there but we were blind to them) that choosing what we really wanted to do was extremely difficult.

Audrey applied for Doctors Without Borders two months after and got the job. We were set to be nomads, leaving in June 2017.

Our empty apartment before becoming nomads in June 2017. We actually never furnished the place in the year we were there, with the exception of a mattress and a desk to work from occasionally. I guess somehow we knew it would be temporary.

We took a vacation and traveled in East Europe and Portugal before Audrey left for her first mission in Central African Republic for six months. She completely loved it.

I went to Siem Reap back at AngkorHUB for about two months. It was an incredibly productive time. I was working 70+ hours per week and going out to dinner with friends pretty much every day. I became quite more social during that time.

It is during that time I came up with my 3-new-skills-a-month approach, which completely changed my life.

Then I went to Malaga, Spain for 3 months.

Malagueta beach, 12 minutes walk from The Living Room, the coworking space I was working from. Many of my “great” ideas come from relaxing, meditating and journaling at that beach.

There, I took up the skill of writing, storytelling, public speaking, and more. On January 2nd, I published my first “real” story in Medium.com. On January 5th, The Startup approached me to write for them. On January 23rd, I become a Top Writer in 3 different categories. And then I gave talks on productivity.

Productivity talk at The Living Room. Click here to listen to the audio version of it.

I published my first book a month after. I started Viking Boutique, launched my second game, wrote my second book, and started another company, Bad Parrot in the following 3 months. 

I’m now working on expanding my 3 companies, co-authoring a book with a new friend I met on Medium, releasing a Kickstarter campaign, etc.

What I’m getting at is this:

If it wasn’t for my travels, I would not have known that there was a world of possibilities for me out there. I would have stuck to my 9–5 job, not realizing my full potential.

I was confused coming back. I still am. So is Audrey. So is most people I know who traveled long-term.

I have not found my greater purpose. I probably never will. And I realize now that it’s pointless to even try.

Living new experiences, learning and meeting new people is what it’s all about. Who cares if you have or find an “ultimate destination” or not. As Steve Jobs said:

“The journey is the reward” — Steve Jobs

Cherish that quote.

Looking back, I have no regrets for what I’ve done. I may be confused still — probably even more so — but I’m happier and more “successful” for it.

So travel not for finding your greater purpose, but for living new experiences, learning many things, meeting new people and becoming more open-minded.

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)

The Simple, Yet Most Important Factor To Your Success Or Failure

Cover Photo by @nataliepedigo on Unsplash

For the most part, it’s not by accident that we succeed or fail.

Over the past few years, I’ve had my shares of successes and failures, both in life and in business.

I am one who believes that my success is due to the people helping me, either directly or indirectly, and my failures are my own fault.

Which leads me to one of my favourite quotes by Jim Rohn. A quote I’ve given much thought to, and I can’t agree more with it:

“You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” — Jim Rohn

My success is due to the people I surround myself with. People who help me become a better person, directly or indirectly.

My failures are due to me not surrounding myself with the right people at the right time.

Of course, that’s not the only reason for the outcomes, but it is, from my experience, a very important, if not the most important factor. 

---

A Little Reflection

On Success

Think about a moment in your life that you would qualify as a success.

Who were you spending time with during that time, but most importantly the top 5 you spent the most time with?

For each one of them, think about how they contributed to your success.

Was it their positive energy? Their support? Their direct help? Their advice? Their peer network? Something else?

And now think about another successful chapter of your life and who you were spending the most time with during that time.

Is there anyone that made it to your list twice?

That person is a keeper. If you lost touch with them over the years, why not try to reconnect?

On Failure

Now think about a moment in your life that you would qualify as a failure. Let’s ask ourselves the same first question:

Who were you spending time with during that time, but most importantly the top 5 you spent the most time with?

For each one of them, think about how they contributed to your failure.

Was it their negative energy? Their bad influence? Them taking your time to do counter-productive activities? Their bad advice? Their lack of motivation? Something else?

And now think about another unsuccessful chapter of your life and who you were spending the most time with during that time.

Is there anyone that made it to your list twice?

That person is toxic. If that person is still part of your life. Find ways to spend less time with them. If that person is very toxic, do what you can to cut ties with that person. I know it’s not always easy, but you have to think about your own future sometimes. 

---

Conclusion

It is important — or even crucial — to be aware of who you surround yourself with if you want to lead the life that you have always wanted.

Realize that your success is in large part thanks to people who had a positive impact in your life. Be grateful to them.

Realize that your failure is in large part thanks to people who dragged you down. As much as you can, reduce or cut ties with such people.

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)

I Am Not Who You Think I Am

Cover Photo of Author

To some of you reading this, you might think I’m a writer.

Fair assumption.

I mean, I’ve written 230+ stories on Medium and have released a book. And “big scoop”, I’m releasing more soon. And I have no intention of stopping writing, though the idea crossed my mind quite a few times.

But I’ve got news for you. I am not a writer. Or at least, I don’t identify myself as a writer. Don’t mind my profile heading, it’s just for show.

A lot of the people I have worked with in the past — when I was still employable — would tell you Danny is a software engineer. I think like an engineer. I’m disciplined and organized in my work and my routines.

But the truth is, I’m not even an engineer. I dropped out of university halfway through.

To anyone following my journey since 2018, they might think I’m a right-brained, creative guy. After all, I design video games, I write stories, both fiction and non-fiction, I take semi-professional photos, and I know my way around photoshop.

Yet I’d say they are wrong.

These things make me terribly uncomfortable, but most people could never tell. I constantly doubt myself when it comes to creative work. Ask my wife, I can be annoying as ****.

I’ve probably made over 30 different game prototypes over the years, yet I’ve only ever released two games by myself over 15 years doing them. And both of them in alpha…

And my stories on Medium?

There are times when I think they seriously suck, but somehow I get the courage to still release them. Most of the times I’m right, but there are times when I’m proven wrong and I inspired someone. And then I read them again a few months later and realize that I was just being hard on myself.

Photography is the worst for me. I sell myself short all the time. I have yet to hear someone say my photos suck (and please do tell me if they do), yet after most photoshoots I do, I’m disappointed in myself.

I see all the different areas I could improve, yet can’t seem to fix my mistakes. I compare myself with the top photographers in the world, even if I know they’ve got years of experience ahead of me.

Now then you might be thinking that Danny is a crybaby with no self-esteem.

You’d be damn wrong. Ask my wife again. I certainly don’t lack self-esteem. And I hope not to the point of being obnoxious. I like to think I’m humble. I must be lying to myself…

So who am I?

“Will you just tell me already?” I hear you scream (please don’t, I hate loud noises…)

Drumroll…

Answer: I don’t know more than you do, and I don’t care to know.

It’s that simple.

I don’t believe in personality tests. Kind of.

How many personality tests have you taken, forcefully or not?

At least a few, right?

How were the results of the test?

Now you might not see that coming, given how I said I don’t believe in them, but most of the results were pretty accurate for me.

If I took a test while I was studying software engineering, I fit the profile.

If I took a test while I was in my writing and photography learning phase, I fit the creative profile.

Am I a left-brained logical engineer, or a right-brained creative dude?

Neither and both. I took a few tests yesterday:

Leaning slightly right

That’s why personality tests don’t work. At least for me. And I like to think that I’m nothing special.

Like every other human being, I change. I adapt. Sometimes I’m left-brained, sometimes I’m right-brained.

Zdravko Cvijetic said something along the lines of: “The person you are today doesn’t have to be the person you are tomorrow”.

To that, I say: “Damn right!”.

I started reading Mahatma Ghandi’s autobiography yesterday. The subtitle is: “My experiments with truth”. That’s what he was about: experiments.

“It Is Not the Strongest of the Species that Survives But the Most Adaptable” — Charles Darwin

I like to experiment and adapt to my environment.

That makes me a crude being. I’m FAR from perfect. I try things. I see what sticks, and what doesn’t.

I may not be perfect, but doing so makes me, me.

I am not a writer.

I am not an engineer.

I am not a game designer.

I am not a photographer.

I am a collection of crude experiments. The Danny you know today is not the Danny you’ll know tomorrow.

I guess that’s what I am: an experiment. Looks weird on a resume, so I write all of the above…

And it’s the same with you. You are an experiment. For better or worse.

You’re in a good situation in life? Well, good for you, but remember this:

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing — that’s why we recommend it daily.” — Zig Ziglar

There will come a time when you won’t be. It’s inevitable. I have been there and so have you. And that will bring you to the situation below.

You’re in a bad situation in life? So was I. So am I in some ways.

Well, I’ve got news for you: You can freaking change that. You are adaptable. We are, I think, the most adaptable species. Do us proud, change your bad habits. Pull your life together. I know you can do this.

Remember, the person people know you to be doesn’t have to be the person they will know tomorrow.

So, am I who you thought I was?

Are you who you thought you were?

Is anyone even who you think they are?

For a moment, you will be correct in your assumptions about who someone is. Some people change and adapt faster than others, but everyone changes in some ways.

Do an experiment and reconnect with someone you haven’t seen for a few years.

Notice the differences.

If they can change, so can you.

So who am I?

I’m an experiment. I am who I want to be at a specific moment in time.

I will never be who you think I am.

Thanks for reading! :)

23 Key Principles For Building True Momentum And Becoming Unstoppable

Cover Photo: Me atop a mountain in Mostar, Bosnia, shortly before building True Momentum for the first time

Lessons Learned From Reaching It 3 Times Now

It’s Wednesday morning, 5:45am.

I’m pumped to start working. I did not hit the snooze button, and had no intention to.

For the past few days, I’ve felt it.

I felt something was changing.

Something positive was building up inside my mind.

And then in MR. Molly Maguire’s story from your yesterday, he mentioned me with a quote I said back in January, when I was right in the middle of the biggest momentum I had ever had:

“True Momentum makes you unstoppable”

The reason I hadn’t written much on that topic in the past few months is not because it was an untrue statement, on the contrary, it’s extremely powerful!

But I had lost it and couldn’t get it back. 

Wanna know if you’ve ever felt it — True Momentum?

Have you seen the movie Limitless with Bradley Cooper? To a smaller degree, that’s how True Momentum feels.

But don’t get me wrong, it’s far from being easy to reach it. In Bradley’s case, he “cheated” with NZT. I’m talking about legit stuff here. Building it yourself. Doing everything you can to build it up.

MR. Molly Maguire mentioned he built it, and now he’s got a strong momentum. By chatting with him briefly, I could tell he’s feeling it.

Before we get into the guide on how to build it for yourself, here’s how I would define True Momentum in practical terms: 

True Momentum is when you’re so invested in something that going in the opposite direction has become very difficult. Moving forward happens more easily and at a better pace.

It’s like pushing a boulder down a hill. At first, it goes slowly, but as it goes down the slope, it goes faster and faster, to a point where stopping it becomes much harder. It’s near-unstoppable. 

Now that I’ve got True Momentum for the third time, it made me want to revisit the topic. I want to give you a definitive guide on how to build it yourself.

I wasn’t completely right in my first story on the subject back in January. I couldn’t see at the time. But now that I had lost it badly and regained it, I have a better idea of how it works to get it, and I’ll give you as many hands-on tips I can.

In this story, I’ll put other linked stories in-line, but please read the whole story first, then you can revisit the ones that interest you most. It’s better to keep the flow of reading.

Suggested Stories For After: 

True Momentum Really Makes You Unstoppable

Poco A Poco — How To Build Lasting Momentum 

---

23 Key Principles For Building True Momentum

I’ll start by saying that doing everything on that list is near-impossible. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to building True Momentum, it’s a combination of many of the following things, and what works for one person may not for another.

So here’s how I would plan this if I were you:

1. Read the suggestions below and note those you think you can implement easily, or already have.

2. Try to implement them for 1 month straight.

3. At the end of the month, take note of what worked and what didn’t.

4. Read this guide again, start from 1.

You see? It’s an iterative process, like most things in life. You won’t get it right the first time.

You’ll know it once you’ve reached True Momentum. MR. Molly Maguire did have to ask me if he had reached it. He just knew. It’s a strong feeling, and it feels great. And I want you to feel it too.

The list below is not in any particular order, pick and choose from there.

And take note of the very important thing:

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing — that’s why we recommend it daily.” — Zig Ziglar

You have to keep doing the things on this list to have lasting True Momentum. I lost it twice. I’ll lose it again. It’s inevitable. But I’ll do everything I can to keep it as long as I can! 

1. Keep or Make Good Habits, Drop The Bad Ones

This is the starting point, and most likely the most important one. Habits are strong. We’re creatures of habits. Good or bad. Keep the good ones. Make new, better ones. Drop the negative or ineffective ones.

Suggested Reading

Books:

• The Power of Habits, by Charles Duhigg

• Willpower Doesn’t Work, by Benjamin P. Hardy

• Getting COMFY, by Jordan Gross

Stories:

A Morning Routine Really Does Set You Up For Success — Here’s A 6 Step Process To Create One

Habits Are Indeed Powerful, Don’t Fall Behind On The Good Ones

2. Read Uplifting Content Before Going To Bed

Don’t let yourself go to bed in a bad mood, or by filling your brain with “crap”. I understand that you need to decompress before going to bed. I completely get that.

But what you do before bed affects how you wake up, and the state of mind you’re going to be in for the first part of the day.

My top recommendation here is to read biographies or self-help books. I find them so uplifting. It’s always nice to hear that even the inspiring people in our lives are just as imperfect as we are, sometimes even more so.

Suggested Reading

Books:

• Any biographies. I personally really like Tai Lopez’s book recommendations: https://www.tailopez.com/books.php

• Tribe of Mentors, by Tim Ferriss

• 31 Stories To Motivate and Inspire You To Work Harder And Build Momentum, by Danny Forest

Stories:

In Need Of Motivation? Try These Simple Tried And True Productivity Tips

You Are, Or Will Become What you Read 

3. Listen To Uplifting Music, Podcasts And People

It might seem strange, but my most productive days seem to be when I’m dancing to music on my chair. Great music puts me in flow state. I feel like I can do anything!

In terms of podcasts, nothing gets me more than the Tim Ferriss Show.

For people, I like to listen to people smarter than I around myself. Or TED talks.

Suggested Reading

Stories:

You Are, Or Will Become What You Listen To 

4. Keep Inspiring Quotes Near You

Quotes are insanely powerful. One thing I had realized early on when I started writing was that things people highlighted most in my stories were the quotes I put in them.

And I get it. People far smarter than me have said far smarter things than I have.

Reading at least one good quote a day puts you in the right mood. Keep it on your fridge/desk. Let it be in your face as frequently as possible.

The one I kept the longest the last time I had True Momentum was this one:

“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.” — Markus Aurelius

Suggested Website

https://addicted2success.com/category/quotes/

Suggested Reading

Stories:

41 Short And Powerful Quotes To Make You Feel Unstoppable 

5. Work Out, Even If Just A Little

The best months of my life was when I was doing physical activity. I was feeling great in my body.

I’ve always been a skinny guy, but when I’m working out and seeing even small gains in muscles, I feel incredible.

Whatever your goals are health-wise, be active, measure every little gain, and keep going.

Suggested Reading

Books:

• Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Story, By Arnold Schwarzenegger

Stories:

The Ultimate Daily Excuse-Free 20 Minute Workout Routine

Let’s All Learn This Lesson From Arnold Schwarzenegger 

6. Have Monthly Goals And Track Them

New Year resolutions suck. They’re near-impossible to achieve.

Monthly goals, on the other hand, are excellent. Committing to goals for a month is doable, and leads to building great habits. It’s great to experiment and see what works for you, and what doesn’t.

Suggested Tools

• Zdravko Cvijetic’s Ultimate Productivity Cheatsheet

• My own Ultimate Skill-Boosting Worksheet

Suggested Reading

Stories:

Make Next Month Your Most Productive Month Ever Using This 3 Steps Strategy

What Do You Want To Be Most Proud Of In The Next 3 Months? 

7. Make A Clear Task List

I work on at least 4 projects on a daily basis. A lot of people would say this is insane and counter-productive, and they would be mostly right.

I’ve been disorganized and lost many times. I was using simple To Do lists and had a really hard time tracking my progress on the various projects.

A few weeks ago, I started using TeamWeek and my productivity sky-rocketed!

My task list on TeamWeek

TeamWeek is basically a Gantt chart. The colours are different project. You can see a lot of tasks in there. But you’re missing about half of them…

Suggested Tools

• TeamWeek

• Trello

• Asana

Suggested Reading

Books:

• Getting Things Done, by David Allen

Stories:

Tried and True: 7 tips on staying motivated and productive 

8. Aim Freaking High

Always make your lists bigger than you can chew. We, as humans, like comfort. If we allow ourselves to be comfortable, we end up doing close to nothing.

Make your lists big. But make sure the tasks are small and achievable. I have about 15–20 things to do every day. Most are 10 minute tasks.

If I aim to accomplish 10 tasks. I will. And I will be “satisfied”. Now if I aim to accomplish 20 tasks and complete 15–18 of them, I’ll be pumped. I won’t see time go by and the dopamine rush I’ll get rush for accomplishing so much will strongly contribute to building that True Momentum up.

Suggested Website

www.dannyforest.com

Suggested Reading

Stories:

Embrace The Word “Impossible”

Fuel On Crazy Goals

Can You Handle the Obsession Needed to Reach Your Most Insane Goals? 

9. Prepare Your Next Day The Night Before

What I’m proposing you here is to simply make a list of things you want to accomplish for the next day a few hours before bed, and then review it shortly before “calling it a night”.

Don’t make it too complex. Just a simple list. It shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes. I usually come up with a list of anywhere between 10–20 things to do.

Here’s what happens when you prepare your next day the night before:

While you sleep, your subconscious is “working on” things you “fed it” before going to bed. When you feed it with things you want to accomplish for the next day, it will “prepare” you for them.

Suggested Reading

Stories:

This 5-Minute Habit Will Make You More Productive And Build Your Momentum

10. Write For Yourself

Writing has been a powerful medium for me to express myself. I never knew I had so much to say, let alone inspire people along the way.

I did it for myself, really.

Yet putting all my thoughts in writing has been a phenomenal way to free my mind and think clearly, ultimately leading to some momentum.

Suggested Website

https://findingtom.com/, by Tom Kuegler

Suggested Reading

Stories:

How To Be A Remarkable Writer

Should You Write One Story A Day? Here’s What I Learned From The Last Two Months 

11. Delegate To People You Trust

This is WAY underrated! I thought people who delegated were lazy. I didn’t get the 4-Hour Workweek the first time I read it.

There was a guy I worked with who was so proud of letting others do the work for him. Turns out he was secretly a genius.

There are so many things I was doing that could easily be done by someone either more qualified, or with more time doing simpler things.

Since I hired my assistant in February, I was able to focus on the things I’m good at, and have increased my productivity up to 10x.

Suggested Reading

Books:

• The 4-Hour Workweek, by Tim Ferriss

Stories:

How To Accomplish Your Goals 10x Faster And Better 

12. Have A Semi-Strict Routine

My wife hates my daily schedule/routine. It’s pretty obsessive indeed. But damn it works. The more I stick to it, the more productive I am.

I tweak it every month. Here’s what it looks like for this month:

As you can see, most items in the list are not *that* detailed. I don’t say what I’ll be working on, what my workout is, what I’ll be eating, etc — that changes every day.

Suggested Reading

Stories:

Make Next Month Your Most Productive Month Ever Using This 3 Steps Strategy

13. Don’t Stop When It Hurts

How do you build muscles? You continue when it starts hurting.

And you know what? That’s how you grow in anything in life. No pain no gain.

If you stop when it’s hard, you just wasted valuable energy and will NOT build momentum. Recognize when you’re in a dip, and then get out of it!

Suggested Reading

Books:

The Dip, but Seth Godin

Stories:

When You Think You Are An Impostor, You Are On The Right Track

It’s Your Fault If You “Fail”, And How To Grow From That

14. Surround Yourself With Motivated People

Here’s one of my favourite quote of all times:

“You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” — Jim Rohn

This is so true.

I seek mentors. I seek positive people. I seek people who get stuff done.

I can only work from co-working spaces, mostly because of that. This, along with delegating, are the main cause for intense productivity.

Suggested co-working spaces

The Living Room, by Ben Kolp

AngkorHUB, by Jeff Laflamme, AngkorHUB

ProjectSpaces, by Jeffrey Howard

WeWork, by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey

Suggested Reading

Stories:

You Want To Achieve More? Be In The Right Room

Are You Even Mentor-able?

15. Walk To Work, and Limit Wasted Time

Walking to work is one of the most “meditative” things you can do. Going in, you can prepare for what’s to come. Going out, you can disconnect from work.

When back home, analyze how you spend your time. We all waste time on “useless” things. And I’m not saying to not watch TV or play video games, but realize that there’s a time when you need it, and a time when it’s a waste.

Suggested Reading

Stories:

Want To Be More Productive? Start This Simple Daily Habit

Analyze How You Spend Your Time, And You will Realize There Is Plenty Of Free Time

16. Constantly Learn New Things

That’s probably what I’ve written the most about, and what contributed the most to the changes in my life.

“The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.” ― Robert Greene, Mastery

Everything I’m doing today — my “successes”, my “failures” — it’s all because I had decided I wanted to consciously learn 3 new skills every month back in September 2017.

Suggested Website

www.dannyforest.com

Suggested Reading

Books:

Unlimited Memory, by Grandmaster Kevin Horsley

How We Learn, by Benedict Carey

Stories:

How To Learn 108 New Skills In The Next 3 Years

Learn More Skills, For Your Future’s Sake!

Improve Everything In Your Life by Learning 3 New Skills Every Month

17. Learn To Power Nap

Power napping is a skill, and it’s hard to master. I’ve mastered it over the years, and it’s been a key ingredient to my productivity.

We can’t be alert 100% of the time during the day. When my energy levels are low, I power nap. Once. Twice. Three times a day! Who cares.

15 minutes after power napping, I’m back in peak state and accomplish so much more than if I didn’t nap.

Suggested Reading

Stories:

Quick Tip On How To Stay Awake During The Day When Waking Up Really Early

Pro Tips For Power Napping Like A King

18. Learn To Meditate and Journal

I knew meditation would be hard when I decided to start doing it. But what I didn’t realize was that it’s a skill and it needs practice. I quickly learned that I had the wrong expectations, and that held me back. Meditation is not about “not thinking”, it’s about being aware.

When I started journaling, I had the preconception that it was a dumb idea and that I wouldn’t have anything to say. I could not have been more wrong. On my first journaling session, I wrote for 3 hours without even noticing.

It’s a powerful tool that frees up your mind and aligns your goals together. You become more aware and focused.

Suggested Tools

Headspace

Benjamin P. Hardy’s Journaling Course

Suggested Reading

Books:

Willpower Doesn’t Work, by Benjamin P. Hardy

19. Take A Well-Deserved Vacation

It’s hard to brake when your pedal is all the way back. But you know what, sometimes that’s exactly when you need to brake.

You can’t function at peak state when you’re constantly under pressure.

Dare take vacations, you need them!

Suggested Reading

Stories:

Work Hard, Brake Hard

Resting Really Is A Crucial Part Of Your Success — Embrace It

20. Don’t Be Alone

I’m an introvert. I like solitude. I’m so drained whenever I’m surrounded by people.

But I need to have people around me once in a while, to share my stories, my experiences, my “successes”, my “failures”, etc. Everyone does.

Everyone needs to be uplifted, and you can’t (easily) do it alone.

Suggested Reading

Stories:

We All Need Someone Who Truly Understands Us

How Many Meaningful Relationships Do You Have, And Why Does It Matter?

You Want To Achieve More? Be In The Right Room

21. Meet New People, Attend Events, Do Things Outside Of Work

Meeting new people and doing things outside of work is very important both for your sanity and for making important connections.

I voluntarily go out to seek and talk to people that are now helping with some of my projects. And of course, I help in return!

You gotta have things outside of work. You can’t be all work and no play. Work hard, play hard. Cliché I know, but it’s true.

Suggested Reading

Stories:

It’s All About Who You Meet

You Are, Or Will Become, your Environment

Do Talk To Strangers And Get Inspired By Their Stories

22. Do Good, Be Grateful

I don’t know of anyone who has True Momentum and are not doing good. Doing good is so rewarding and gives you such a high.

And when someone does good to you, be grateful. Gratefulness is almost as powerful as doing good yourself.

Suggested Reading

Stories:

I Helped Someone, And I Liked It

Become Happier By Recognizing And Thanking People Who Inspire You

Be Aware Of All The Greatness Around You

23. Celebrate The Small Wins

If you’re like most of us, you don’t get many big wins in a month. It’s hard to keep our motivation when we don’t win frequently. It’s not by accident that people, including myself, rush to video games — you are constantly being rewarded. That’s also why we’re trying to gamify everything now.

So I say to you, every time a small event happens where it could be considered a “win”, acknowledge it. Take note of it. Have a “success” journal. Here’s an example of things I saved yesterday:

Quote from MR. Molly Maguire

Comments on one my Instagram photos, by Erin Zaikis and Julia Gao Miller

That’s it! These are not big wins, but they totally uplifted me, and is the main reason I’m writing on this topic today!

Suggested Reading

Books:

• Reality Is Broken, by Jane McGonigal

Stories:

Celebrate The Small Wins, Reach For The Big Wins 

---

Conclusion

That is by far the longest, but the most insightful article I have written yet! I certainly don’t expect you that have read all that in one go.

Here’s what I suggest you do:

Bookmark this, and refer to it regularly.

Here’s a quick recap of ideas to build True Momentum (makes for a good list on your fridge!): 

• Keep or Make Good Habits, Drop The Bad Ones

• Reading Uplifting Content Before Going To Bed

• Listen To Uplifting Music, Podcasts And People

• Keep Inspiring Quotes Near You

• Work Out, Even If Just A Little

• Have Monthly Goals And Track Them

• Make A Clear Task List

• Aim Freaking High

• Prepare Your Next Day The Night Before

• Write For Yourself

• Delegate To People You Trust

• Have A Semi-Strict Routine

• Don’t Stop When It Hurts

• Surround Yourself With Motivated People

• Walk To Work, and Limit Wasted Time

• Constantly Learn New Things

• Learn To Power Nap

• Learn To Meditate and Journal

• Take A Well-Deserved Vacation

• Don’t Be Alone

• Meet New People, Attend Events, Do Things Outside Of Work

• Do Good, Be Grateful

• Celebrate The Small Wins 

Be consistent in working towards your goals. Don’t skip. Do. Even when you don’t want to. Every small gain builds your momentum. Momentum makes you unstoppable!

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)

Are You An Entrepreneur Or Not? The Ultimate Self-Assessment Test

Cover Photo by @anniespratt on Unsplash

A Hands-On Approach On How To Validate It Once And For All

Okay, so let’s get the boring part out of the way first. Here’s a definition of an entrepreneur:

“Entrepreneurs, in the purest sense, are those who identify a need — any need — and fill it. It’s a primordial urge, independent of product, service, industry or market.” — Forbes

Out of all the definitions I found, this one is my favourite. I like it because it doesn’t talk about business directly. A lot of entrepreneurs don’t start businesses, but they identify a need and fill it.

Conversely, some people start businesses and are not entrepreneurs. Think about people who start businesses and just care about profit, and not the actual need itself. Is it fair to call them “entrepreneurs”?

Below are a series of questions you should ask yourself to know if you are an entrepreneur or not.

---

The Rules

For each question, simply answer “yes” or “no”.

If you can’t answer a question yourself, ask your partner, your friend, your mom, your dog (though don’t expect anything insightful from them…), etc.

There’s no trick question here. If you answer “yes” to a question, you have a hint of an entrepreneur in you. The more “yes” you give, the more likely that you are an entrepreneur.

If you answer “yes” to all the question, well, you’re a liar. Some are contradictory, yet they are all are traits of an entrepreneur. How many entrepreneurs do you know who both prefer working late, yet wake up super early? That doesn’t add up.

Also note that this is by no means a scientific experiment. I have not done any research on the topic. Rather, these questions come from my own experience as a serial entrepreneur, and by closely following other entrepreneurs.

I numbered the question so they are easier to reference in the comments, as well as a means to provide a point of reference on how far along you are with them. There are 25 questions in total.

Without further ado, it’s time to figure out if you’re an entrepreneur, once and for all!

1. Do you think you are an entrepreneur?

2. Do you like to create things?

3. Do you like helping people solve their problems?

4. Do you like solving your own problems “creatively”?

5. Do you push through even when people tell you your idea is bad?

6. Do you create things from “raw material”? — let’s define “raw material” as something you can readily acquire/purchase.

7. Do you work very late, when everyone else is asleep?

8. Do you wake up very early, when everyone else is asleep?

9. Do you Google yourself out of situations?

10. Do you prefer working for yourself, instead of for other people?

11. Do people doubt you when you talk about your own projects?

12. Do new ideas about ways to improve things keep you up at night?

13. Did you invest in crypto-currency?

14. Did you invest in crypto-currency 5–9 years ago?

15. Are your bank investments somewhat risky?

16. Are you a self-starter? Have you initiated projects yourself?

17. Have you started a business before?

18. Have you started more than one business?

19. Have you rejected an offer to sell a business?

20. Have you organized groups of people working together towards the same goal?

21. Have you taken a loan to execute your own project(s)?

22. Have you ever pitched to an investor?

23. Have you ever raised money?

24. Is working on own your project(s) your idea of fun?

25. Is working on your project(s) sometimes more enticing than hanging out with your friends?

---

Conclusion

Et voilà! It wasn’t too bad, was it? Did you figure it out?

Are you an entrepreneur or not?

The truth is, if you answered “yes” to the first question, you’re probably right, and the rest of the questions just confirmed it for you.

On the flip-side, if you answered “no” to the first question, the rest of the questions may have changed your mind.

There’s no real answer as to the number of “yes” you should have answered to know you’re an entrepreneur.

Just one “yes” is enough to say you’ve got a hint of an entrepreneur in you.

5–10 “yes” is a good indication that you are an entrepreneur, but may not have fully realized it yourself.

Above 10 “yes”, you probably already knew you were an entrepreneur. But it’s nice to validate it, no?

So, to all you entrepreneurs out there, whatever you are working on, I have four words for you:

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)

The Most Simple Trick Ever To Wake Up At Your Desired Time

Cover Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash

And You Can Start Using It Starting Tomorrow Morning! 

How hard is it to wake up in the morning?

Pretty damn hard right?

I used to be able to wake up at 4:30am easily when I had built up a great amount of momentum.

However, for the past two weeks, I wasn’t feeling well and getting back to it was extremely hard.

But I figured out a very simple but powerful trick a few days ago, and I’m gradually getting back to my optimal wake up time for productivity.

Here it is in all its glory:

Write down your wake up time in your calendar!

And that’s it!

The reason this works is because it makes you accountable for waking up at your desired time. You see it in your face every time you open your calendar.

This trick also works for any habits you want to stick to.

It’s simple, you can start doing it tomorrow, and it works!

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)

How To Be A Remarkable Writer

Cover Image: “A gray horse with a white mane next to a black horse and the rest of the herd at the back” by Stephanie Braconnier on Unsplash

You Can’t Be Remarkable By Following The Herd

I’ll start by saying that I’m not a remarkable writer. But please don’t stop reading right there.

I never pretended to be a good writer, let alone a remarkable one. That was made quite clear to me after reading “The Purple Cow”, by Seth Godin.

I thought I had it all figured out by writing one story a day on Medium, at least for 30 days. Actually, I was partly right.

When I started writing one story a day back in January, it was a valid strategy.

But quickly enough, everyone started writing about the benefits of writing once a day, and all of a sudden, it stopped being interesting because everyone was doing it.

It wasn’t remarkable anymore, it was the norm.

The quality of the stories being published was suddenly not as good. It may be one of the reasons for the changes proposed by Ev Williams in The Medium Model.

Writing one story a day is hard. Really hard. When the mass starts doing it, without exceptional talent, we’re stuck with so much clutter to filter through. And I believe that’s what Medium is trying to make easier for us the readers.

And I’m guilty of this myself. I’ve written 230+ posts in less than 4 months. At least half of them are actual stories, and the other ones are replies.

I’m not going to pretend all my stories are great. Some are not even good. Out of all of them, maybe 2–3 could be considered “remarkable”, but that’s pretentious of me to say.

So I’m calling attention to all of us writers on Medium: let’s try to be remarkable once again. Writing one story a day was remarkable once, now it’s time to figure out other ways to be remarkable.

I don’t have all the answers to that, and frankly, even if I did, it probably wouldn’t work for everyone. And that’s a good thing. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be remarkable. It would be the norm. It would be boring. Like writing once a day.

So what I’m saying is to figure it out by yourself or with a small group of people. Dare try a different model. Go out of the norm. Be remarkable.

I’ll share 2 ideas I had. I don’t know if they’re remarkable. I may or may not try them. All I know for sure is that if I keep writing one story a day, I’ll just be another boring writer with nothing remarkable to say.

---

Write One Carefully Thought-Out Story Per Week

With the new focus on quality content on Medium’s part, it only makes sense to put out something very very strong.

One of my favourite writer on Medium is Zdravko Cvijetic. He never wrote one story a day. If you read any of his stories, they’re all insightful. That has worked incredibly well for him. He had the #1 viral story on Medium.

There’s value in everything he writes. It’s not just a re-worded version of what someone else has written. They’re practical stories that really do make you more productive.

What I’m saying is, instead of spending 30–120 minutes per day writing one story and publishing it, spend that same amount of time researching and crafting ONE story over the course of the week.

Pretend you would sell that as part of a chapter in a book. It has to be solid.

---

Write One Story A Day Per Publication

That one is completely against what I mentioned above, but wouldn’t that be remarkable though?

I write for different publications depending on what my message is. If it’s startup-related, I send to The Startup. If it’s more personal or about self-improvement, I send to Thrive Global. If it’s more story-driven, I send to The Ascent.

How remarkable would it be for me to publish different stories in all 3 publications every single day?

Sure, I’d have to have something insightful to say, but if I pull it off, doesn’t the make me stand above the average?

Nicolas Cole claims he writes 10,000 words per day (if I’m not mistaken).It’s a much more incredible amount then any of us do.

Because of that, he’s a remarkable writer.

---

Conclusion

Going forward, I’ll do my best to be a remarkable writer.

If you’ve seen your stats decrease over the past 5 weeks or so, it’s likely because, like me, you stopped being remarkable. When writing once a day was unique, it was remarkable. It’s not anymore.

Each of us has to figure out a way to be remarkable again. It’s not by following what others are doing that we’re going to stand out as writers.

I urge all writers to figure out what makes them remarkable.

Let the ideas above inspire you. Try them, but come up with your own too.

Figure out what works for you. “Fail” a few times. Heck, “fail” for a month trying to figure it out. It is not by following the mass that you’ll be remarkable.

Be remarkable.

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)

Celebrate The Small Wins, Reach For The Big Wins

Cover image by author

Constantly Winning Is The Best Boost You Can Get

I personally fail a lot.

On the flip-side, I also win a lot. Small wins, but wins nonetheless. Small wins, when working towards the same goal, become a “big” win.

Do you ever recognize your small wins?

• If your goal is to lose weight, and you lost 1 kg, do you write it down somewhere?

• If your goal is to stop smoking and you haven’t smoked for 2 days, do you write it down somewhere?

• Do you write on Medium and got published for the first time? Do you write it down somewhere?

See my point?

I realized that ever since I started writing on Medium back in January, I’ve noted pretty much every achievement I could have. And that, folks, boosted my motivation tenfold!

Here are some examples (feel free to skip a few if that’s too long…):

First front page of The Startup

First great comment

Person clapping for both myself and Benjamin P. Hardy, Medium’s top writer

First tweet by The Startup

First full-feature + over 30 fans in less than 2 hours

First top writer email I received from Medium, again, next to Benjamin P. Hardy

Zdravko Cvijetic clapping for all my stories

Awesome comment by MR. Molly Maguire

Awesome comment by That Helpful Dad

When I became top #1 writer in Travel

This comment by Abdullah A. Amien (sorry I couldn’t find your username) made my week.

Anyway, I could go on and on. I have a notebook full of those little achievements.

But you see my point, right?

I don’t say that to brag. I just want to show you the importance of recognizing your little wins. None of the ones I posted above are particularly “epic”.

You can imagine the amount of motivation I got for continuing writing after all those little things!

Now that’s what I’m proposing for you:

Whatever your goals are, “celebrate” all the little wins towards them, and you’ll see that, over time, they add up and dramatically boost your motivation.

The subject for this story actually came up to me yesterday when I made my first sale for VikingBoutique.com. And you can guess, I took a screenshot!

First sale on VikingBoutique.com

That same day, I had two other wins: I got confirmation from a leatherworker artisan that they’re willing to partner up with me for Viking Boutique, and I found a firm willing to help promote the store for free as their firm’s first client.

Guess what I did?

That’s correct, I took note of it!

Viking Boutique Achievements

---

Conclusion

Whatever it is that you do or work towards, you have to realize that your journey to success will come in a series of wins and fails.

Wins, however small, help you keep going through hard times.

When times are tough, you can always refer back to the wins you noted, and remember why you did it in the first place.

I keep writing because I keep receiving comments like the ones above.

I keep improving Viking Boutique because of great comments I get from people when I pitch it to them. Plus, I made a sale!

Why do you keep doing what you do?

Do you ever think about quitting? (Believe it or not, I do. This trick helps me greatly)

So I say to you:

Don’t quit on “failure”. Learn from it. Remember your small wins. Celebrate them. Collect them. Refer to them frequently. Remember your ultimate goal. Small wins lead to big wins.

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :) 

I Helped Someone, And I Liked It

Cover Photo by @evertonvila on Unsplash

How Being Selfish Is Not The Way

I’ve always viewed myself as a selfish person. I do things that benefit me most.

Yet 3 days ago, I realized I helped 5 different people in a single day, without me even thinking about it:

• I helped a friend with his writing;

• I helped the event manager at the co-working space by taking photos;

• I helped my mentee for his interview for the next week;

• I helped my assistant find a little more work;

• I helped a friend find an assistant.

Even though I was really sick (a cold), and had 20 items on my to-do list (classic Danny), I managed to do most of my tasks, and that day felt amazing!

And then I reflected on the last few months, and realized that it was a pattern I had developed without even noticing.

I started being less self-centered and more caring for other people around me.

When I started writing on Medium back in January, my only intention was to become better at writing. It was never to help or inspire people. After the month ended, I was supposed to stop writing and move on to other skills.

But I couldn’t.

I had received so many good comments from people that I just had to keep going. But this time, not for me, but for the people who read what I write and feel a little better after.

---

Being Selfish Will Not Make You Happy

Looking back, the happiest moments of my life was when I had an impact on someone else’s happiness or life.

I realize now that, the little success I get is better shared with people who actually made it happen.

We never get to where we are solely through our own actions but through the actions of people around us who believe in us and help make it happen.

To this day, I don’t think I’ve ever felt better than when I made someone else feel better, or someone else made me feel better.

Think about it for a moment.

• Which moments in your life were you most happy?

• Why were you happy?

• Did you help someone? Did someone help you?

• Can you see that being selfish never brings you true happiness?

I don’t do it for selfish reasons anymore.

I know because I realize I helped someone after I helped them. I don’t think to myself: “Oh I should help this person”. I just do, without thinking about what’s in it for me.

And I certainly don’t do it for that, but your good deeds do get back to you, big time sometimes.

Karma is like a boomerang. Whatever you give out, will come back to you.

Knowing and believing that, would you rather do good for people around, or something bad?

---

Conclusion

That day, I helped someone, 5 people in fact, and it felt amazing. Every incredible day in my life comes from when I helped someone, or someone helped me.

Being selfish is not the way. Being selfish only ends up bringing sadness and loneliness. Realizing your own selfishness is a good step towards becoming a giver.

Helping people is a great feeling. But even though it feels good for you, do it for them. That, my friends, is true help!

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)

Habits Are Indeed Powerful, Don’t Fall Behind On The Good Ones

Cover Photo by @scottwebb on Unsplash

6 Tips For Keeping Your Good Habits

How good are you at keeping to your good habits?

How often do you default on doing it?

Can you easily get back to your good habits?

What do you do to get back to them?

As I’m writing this story, I haven’t been able to wake up at my usual 4:30am for about a week.

I haven’t been able to commit to my daily activities like: writing, journaling, learning towards my 3 new skills, working out, and meditating.

As a result, I’m less motivated and less productive.

I can’t pinpoint exactly which one(s) of the activities above make the most difference, but as a whole, it was a powerful routine that helped me build and maintain momentum. And I’ve lost it.

Here are some tips that worked for me in the past and I’ll try to apply them again, and hopefully, they can help you too to keep your good habits:

---

1. Mark Completion Or Non-Completion Of A Habit In A Calendar, Or In An App

Now I know this sounds childish. All I can think about is the little stickers our parents would put on a calendar when we succeeded at brushing out teeth for example.

That’s universal, right?

But the key here is to also note the things you haven’t been able to accomplish too. And make that calendar visible for other people to see too. You don’t want to show them you didn’t do it. You also don’t want to have this “failure” in your face every day.

---

2. Measure All The Little Things

Not all habits are measurable, but for those that are, measure every little thing and you’ll see progress. And that’s very motivating to keep doing it.

For my 3 new skills, I’m following my Ultimate Skill-Boosting Worksheet to track my progress.

For workouts, I track repetitions and sets, plus weight and muscle size.

---

3. Make Your Habits Public, Or Find An Accountability Partner

That one I’ve been really bad at recently. I’m thinking of potentially making my habits calendar public, or maybe even my skill-tracking worksheet.

If you have a mentor or mentee, share your habits completion with them.

I think I was reading that Zdravko Cvijetic or Benjamin P. Hardy was phoning someone else just to be accountable for doing their habits. I think this is brilliant.

---

4. Perform Your Habits With A Partner

Stepping it up a notch here: perform some or all of your habits with a like-minded person. I wake up too early to do most of my habits with my wife, or anyone else, really, but I know doing it with someone else is powerful, that’s why some people go to the gym together.

You don’t want to let the other person down by not doing it.

And this works for any habit, not just working out.

---

5. Don’t Let Yourself Be Overwhelmed By The Own Goals You Set Yourself

I think that’s the biggest problem for me currently. With the book and vikingboutique.com releases earlier this months, and my game coming up next week, I’m actually quite overwhelmed.

But I’m at fault here. I forced myself to release the book and the store when I was not ready to promote them. And I’m heading the same path with my game, but thankfully I hired a company to handle that for me.

My advice: don’t make yourself too busy that you can’t keep up with your good habits. Good habits are good for a sane mental state and ultimately make you more productive.

---

6. Make Sure You Get Enough Rest

Building on the above point: rest is very important.

I sleep between 6 and 6 1/2 hours per night, but with 2 naps on average per day. This works great for short periods of time, but I try to sleep about 8–9 hours straight at least once a week.

But I needed more this weekend. I sleep 8 hours both days and napped a few times each day. That should give me the boost of energy I’ll need for the week.

---

Conclusion

Falling behind on good habits happens to everyone. And it’s not a great feeling.

That’s why when we realize that it’s happening to us, we need to do something about it, but we don’t always know what.

So I say make your habits “public”, mark your calendar, measure everything, perform them with someone, get enough rest and don’t overwhelm yourself. That should help you stick to your good habits.

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :) 

Screw it, Just Do It

Cover Photo source: http://sports.163.com/photoview/00QR0005/98119.html

An Important Lesson From Richard Branson

Having lived in Canada for most of my life, I haven’t been exposed to the Virgin group, or Richard Branson’s story, much growing up. I knew about Virgin, but that was about it.

I’m currently reading Finding My Virginity, the latest auto-biography from Richard Branson. Now I feel like a complete ignorant fool for not really knowing about him before. That guy has just done EVERYTHING!

His biography is obviously one side of a coin, but his story is one of the most inspiring stories I’ve ever read myself. I never want to finish it, and I’m looking forward to reading his other books.

• Have you read his books?

• What did you think?

• Any particular one of his stories inspire you?

For me, it’s not any particular story that inspires me, it’s his attitude. I’ve rarely seen someone less afraid of failing or living out of his comfort zone all the time. He summed his attitude up in this short sentence:

“Screw it, let’s do it” — Richard Branson

That attitude has led him to start, or help start, over 100 companies. He crossed the Atlantic ocean on a hot hair balloon, made the craziest product announcements the world has ever seen (look it up!), met and befriended Nelson Mandala, Barack Obama and other world leaders, and more.

Another interesting thing I highlighted from the book was: “I do almost everything on emotion”.

Now that interested me a lot because we’re always told to contain our emotions and act rationally. Truth be told, I believe in acting rationally, but where has this led us really?

Rationality oftentimes leads us to inaction.

We analyze something for too long and find a detail we think we can’t overcome, and then voila! we don’t even try. Gone was that good idea we had. We don’t even give it the chance to become a great idea.

I started having this go-getter attitude about 7 months ago when I left Canada to be a nomad. Especially “business”-wise.

---

How I Personally Apply This

Everything, with the exception of my game company, is a manifestation of Screw it, let’s do it.

My writing? I gave close to zero thought about writing before I started. I just wanted to improve it, so I wrote on Medium.

My book? It was an idea I had in the shower, and I put it together, with help, in less than two weeks while working full-time on Soul Reaper and other projects. I did research on how to make this happen after the shower and acted on it right away.

My website? Someone asked me if I had one at the co-working space I was working from. I didn’t. He was right that I needed one though. So I put it together the next day and launched it the day after.

Viking Boutique? I saw a webinar on dropshipping and was intrigued. I put a Shopify store together that same night just to test it out. When I knew how things worked, after one or two more nights of playing around, I decided I would do something serious. That was the first version of Viking Boutique. I put it up in 4 hours.

My photography gigs? I volunteered to take photos for Sundara for a project of theirs in Uganda. I had no clue what I was doing. If you look at my Instagram’s older photos, you’ll see that I was grossly underprepared to take photos of a company’s operations and capturing moments. Now I’ll be taking photos of the opening of a new WeWork location in Bangalore next month.

This story? Just like 95% of the other stories I write, I have no clue what I’m going to write about when I wake up. Heck, I never even know until I start writing. And somehow, according to Medium, I’ve written more than 200 stories (includes replies).

You see my point?

I’ve left quite a few jobs in the past. Almost every time I thought about switching jobs, I did so at most two weeks after having the thought.

I remember some previous colleagues repeatedly mentioning they would quit; a thought that, at the time, had never occurred to me for myself. And he said it for at least a year. When I decided to quit, I quit. I was gone much before him, and I heard he left one or two years after me.

---

Conclusion

Whenever you catch yourself saying: “I will do <x>”, you should stop yourself and think: “why not now?”. Chances are, you’ll have a pitiful excuse (sorry).

If time is your excuse, I’d say that 95% of the time, it’s a case of bad time management. It’s not the point of this story to explain how to manage time, but reflect on that the next time not-having-time is your excuse. Elon Musk and Richard Branson are busier than you, yet they make things happen.

“If you don’t have time for small things, you won’t have time for big things.” — Richard Branson

So I give you this challenge:

Whatever idea you’ve been off-putting for a while, just put it in motion. Just dip your feet and see how it feels. Slowly, little by little, you’ll catch yourself being in the pool and acting on things you thought were impossible for you.

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)

It’s All About Who You Meet

Cover Photo by @heftiba on Unsplash

Plus, 4 Tested Tips On Meeting More Interesting People

• How different would your life be if you met with your idols?

• What if you were to hang out with them frequently?

• What would your life be like if that was the case?

• I’m sure you realize your life would be quite different, right?

Then why is it that we don’t realize that, even just around us, there are already great people that can change our lives for the better. We are too blind, fantasizing about idols that we don’t realize the incredible people around us.

Today I went to a WeWork event where Yohan Sudheer, from Water Walker, was giving his top tips on how to handle social media marketing, a topic I’m very interested about for Soul Reaper and Viking Boutique.

I was fascinated by his tips, and him as a person. When he entered the field, he realized he had to seek expert advice to accelerate his learning. He sought out mentors who showed him the way.

Now I’m benefiting from his learnings, but that’s not all! A few of us stayed after the presentation and discussed our projects, ideas and more. I met incredible people doing incredible things.

I didn’t even have to step out the door from the office!

Here are 4 tested tips on meeting more interesting people:

---

1. Get Off Your Couch And Attend Events

In every major city, there are always events you can go to meet new people. Sometimes it will be a waste of time, but sometimes you’ll hit jackpot and make a strong connection.

If I didn’t go to the WeWork event, I wouldn’t have met Yohan or the other attendees. Now, Yohan invited me to work from his office for a day. Just being around these geniuses at what they do, I will learn so much about social media marketing.

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” — Jim Rohn

---

2. Recognize All The Greatness Around You

Sometimes you don’t realize that someone around you is actually amazing.

How often do you inquire about other people?

I mean, be truly interested in what they have to say. A lot of times you’ll realize people you’ve known for a while are actually quite amazing. But in this day and age, we rarely take time to catch up, for real, with people we know.

Most people will not tell you their stories unless you ask them. Probably surprisingly to you, I’m guilty of not opening up in person. If you don’t ask me what I do, I probably will just ask about you. Dare ask deep questions!

---

3. Don’t Listen To Mom, Talk To Strangers

How often do you engage in a conversation with a random stranger?

Just yesterday, I was at another WeWork, and I saw this Viking-looking Indian guy, I was fascinated by his looks. I mean, especially since I own Viking Boutique. Without really thinking, I arranged to meet him. Turns out he’s in charge of brand and events for WeWork. He is one of the most interesting people I met. And he’s got connections at Comic-Con, which is perfect for Viking Boutique.

If I listened to the advice of not talking to strangers, I would not have met him. And now he could turn out to be one of the most important connections I made it India.

---

4. The World Isn’t So Scary, Go Out And Travel

When I left Toronto to travel the world for a year, I tried to stay with locals as much as possible. I did that by using Couchsurfing and Airbnb mostly.

When the trip was over and my wife and I reflected on our trip, we both agreed that the best thing about our travels was not the sights we saw or the things we did, but the incredible people we met.

And you don’t need to leave for as long as we did. Just make sure that when you travel, make it your missions statement to embrace the culture, meet the people, and be open-minded. You’ll meet the most incredible people and come out happier and more grateful for it.

---

Conclusion

Do you realize now that life is all about the people you meet and how you interact with them?

Do you feel the need to connect, or reconnect with people you know? Hear their stories out?

The people you met yesterday shaped who you are today, the people you meet today will shape who you’ll be tomorrow.

The more events you attend, the more you recognize greatness around you, the more you talk to strangers and the more you travel, the more interesting people you’ll meet.

Making meaningful connections. Building better relationships. Surrounding yourself with the right people. This all starts with doing what is necessary to meet people.

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :) 

Quick Tip On How To Stay Awake During The Day When Waking Up Really Early

Cover Photo by @chrisjoelcampbell on Unsplash

How I wake up at 4:30am and still manage to be productive until 7pm.

I wake up stupid early every morning to execute my morning routine.

Now, I realize that waking up super early like I do is not for everyone, and I’m not going to convince you that you need to wake up early to be successful.

If anything, I’d say wake-up time is hardly a criteria for “success”. Finding/having moments of uninterrupted focus, whether it be in the morning, the afternoon, the evening, or at night, is what matters most.

In this story, I’m going to focus on early morning, because 1) that’s the one that works best for me, and 2) it’s probably the most common, with night as a close second.

---

That’s One Heck Of A Morning Schedule You Got Danny!

I’ve heard that a many times. Or a variant of that at least. I’m never surprised to hear that though. Here’s my morning schedule for this month:

Notice how many things are getting done before I even start work?

Here’s another variant I use when I don’t need to commute to work:

That’s pretty intense, right?

---

How Do You Maintain High Energy Levels Throughout The Day?

Notice the “relax” part of both variants? Well, that’s how.

I used to put “nap” or “power nap”, but I found that sometimes it’s not always what I need, though it’s the most frequent.

So yeah, I take a nap in the morning. Sometimes even before starting work.

• How many people do you know who does that?

• That sounds a little crazy, no?

Well, looking back at some of the most productive months of my life, and especially when working out early, it was always when I took a nap before, or shortly after, my core work that I was able to enter flow state more easily. Maybe not right after the nap, but 15–20 minutes later for sure.

---

Conclusion

So that’s my quick tip for you:

Take a power nap or relax before starting your hardest work and you’ll be at peak state for the whole morning.

I’ve seen astounding results doing that. And once you master power napping (it’s a skill), use it to your advantage, not just in the morning, but anytime you need a regain of energy. I personally nap a second time in the afternoon.

So there you have it. If waking up early is something you want to do, but are having a hard time waking up because you’re afraid of not having enough energy during the day, just try this tip out. Remember when your alarm goes off that it’s not the only time you’ll sleep during the day.

This takes getting used to, but once you master it, you’ll be productive all day!

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :) 

Learn More Skills, For Your Future’s Sake!

Cover Photo by Porapak Apichodilok on Pexels

“The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.” ― Robert Greene, Mastery

I personally love that quote! Truly understanding it was the first step in my journey to improve my future.

And I KNOW you can do the same!

Not that my future was necessarily bad, but I knew there had to be more to life than waking up at 8am, doing a 9–5 job, going back home, cooking, eating, playing video games, and sleeping.

Rinse and repeat.

Do you feel that way too?

Isn’t it missing some kind of “higher” purpose?

What does me doing this job bring to the world?

I don’t want to just “be” on earth. I want to “do” on earth. Or I guess maybe Mars too in the near future!

It’s not that my “9–5” job sucked. It was great actually. I was learning constantly and working with a deeply skilled bunch. I like to think that my performance was great and I was doing a good job, but there was something missing deep inside, but I didn’t know what it was.

---

When Things Started To Change

When I left Toronto to become a nomad 9 months ago, I had started focusing my full attention on my startup. It was great. I was accomplishing so much.

Yet there was still something missing: I was not learning much at all.

“Live life as if this will be your last day; Learn as if you will live forever.” — Mahatma Gandhi

Learn, learn, LEARN.

There’s no limit to what you can learn. I didn’t know that to be true until I started researching how to quickly learn new skills.

The only true way that I found to learn faster in my 5 months learning 3 new skills a month is by learning more diverse skills.

The more you learn, the more you learn.

Your brain remembers patterns and stores them in your memory. The more patterns you’ve “stored”, the faster it becomes to make new connections and quickly assimilate new patterns.

Now, I’m not brain expert, but that seems to align with the more scientific things I’ve been reading on the subject for the past year or so.

Isn’t this great news though?

To learn faster, you just gotta learn more!

Learning is a very enjoyable and painful process all at the same time. Your experiments will fail constantly. And it’s when you don’t give up on them that your learning improves. But once you’ve acquired the knowledge, there’s no limit to what you can do with it. Especially if you take into account the quote from above: “learn more skills and combine them in creative ways”.

---

The Future And Success

By most modern standards, I’m probably quite less successful than I was a year ago:

• I don’t have a place to call home;

• I don’t have a salary;

• None of my startups have really taken off yet.

Yet somehow I feel more successful than I’ve ever been. You know why? Because I’m freaking happy, and I’m doing more impactful things!

And I’m freaking skilled.

I’m doing so many things I never knew I could. If I never tried, I would still be coding my life away, not knowing that I actually have other things I’m capable of doing.

That’s why I reject the idea of focusing on one thing only. Because, seriously, who really knows what their the best at until they even try other things. Many things. A buttload of things! Seriously!

I didn’t know I could draw until I tried back in October of last year. I didn’t know I could figure out how retailing works until November of last year. I didn’t know I could write until I tried back in January.

---

A Recent Manifestation Of Skill Combination

The Mead Hall

Now, I don’t want you to think that the whole point of this story is to advertise my latest business, but I just think it’s a great example of a way to combine skills in a creative way.

I opened up the Viking Boutique yesterday after some time thinking about the concept. To be honest, I actually hadn’t figured it out until yesterday.

On the surface, it may look like a regular store (I hope not), but it really isn’t.

I’ve combined my writing skills, my commerce skills and my drawing skills all together to make it happen.

The Viking Boutique is the story of Harald Goldskin, a Viking from the 8th century. Everything he sells has a story behind it. I wrote the stories. I drew the images. And every week, he sells new wares that he found during a recent raid. Every raid has a story. The Mead Hall is where the stories are told. It’s the store’s blog. It’s not all about selling cheap sh*t from China.

---

The Evolution Of Learning So Many Skills

If you had told me 9 months ago that I would:

• be selling Viking stuff online;

• have released a book, with a second one coming;

• be mentoring an ambitious engineer from India;

• have gained 8kg of muscle mass;

• have received a grant to finish my game;

• have modest success blogging;

• have started a Text-to-Speech business with a new friend from Spain;

I would have told you that you were crazy.

Yet I strongly believe that this all started with making the conscious decision of planning and working hard on learning 3 new skills a month.

Once you’re committed to your self-improvement and you’ve found a framework that works, there’s no stopping you!

---

Conclusion

“Who you are today is not who you have to be tomorrow.” — Zdravko Cvijetic

Remember that!

A surefire way to make that happen is to commit to constantly and consistently learn new skills.

You will change in ways you never expected. You will do and achieve so much more than you ever thought you could. You will accomplish your goals. You’ll do things that are impactful, for you, your surroundings, and beyond.

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :) 

The (Not So) Secret To Getting Things You Want From Others

Cover Photo by @scoutthecity on Unsplash

We live in a world where we depend on others to get what we want out of life. Not everyone has the same thing to offer and collaboration is key to achieving more.

But getting someone to commit to saying “yes” to you is not always an easy endeavour.

• How many times have you been rejected?

• How many times have you feared getting rejected?

• When has your fear of the dreadful “no” word prevented you from even trying in the first place?

At least a few times right?

We get a “no” more frequently than we get a “yes”. After a point, it’s hard to handle another “no”.

So here’s my “secret” to you:

Never stop asking.

I’ve been surprised how many times I asked for things and actually received a “yes”, against all odds.

I’ve received competitive grants, made partners and incredible collaborators in my businesses, and established important business relations.

Just yesterday, I got two important “yes” for Viking Boutique: a blacksmith, and leather workers. Having unique items in the store will be a key differentiator. I almost didn’t ask for fear of rejection. I’m glad I didn’t!

---

Learn From Rejection

Getting a “yes” is a combination of hard work, perseverance, awareness, circumstance, and luck. Probably a whole bunch of other things too.

The worst thing you can do when getting a “no” is to assume it’s their fault. There are hundreds of variables at any point in time.

Try to figure the variables out.

• Was it just bad timing?

• Was it how you presented yourself?

• How was your language? Your body language?

• Were they giving signs it wouldn’t work, but you weren’t aware enough?

• Did you have the right contact?

It could just be bad luck, but I’d leave that excuse as a last resort.

Never blindly ask the same person/business multiple times without at least trying to understand why you got rejected in the first place. Learn from your rejections.

---

Conclusion

Don’t let your fear of rejection prevent you from asking. Do your best and dare ask for what you need.

Learn from your rejections. With practice, you’ll see that your “yes” streak will start to increase.

You can do this!

This 5-Minute Habit Will Make You More Productive And Build Your Momentum

Cover Photo by @anete_lusina on Unsplash

What do you do one or two hours before you go to bed?

What is your evening routine?

Do you have one?

I’m not here to tell you what you should and should not be doing during that time, as I’ve still got much to learn when it comes to evening routines.

But!

There’s one thing I learned about 6 months ago that has contributed a fair amount toward increasing my productivity.

And you can start doing it too, tonight!

---

Prepare Your Next Day The Night Before

Do you struggle waking up in the morning?

There are so many articles and books telling you that waking up early is a key to success, but damn it’s hard, isn’t it?

What I’m proposing you here is to simply make a list of things you want to accomplish for the next day a few hours before bed, and then review it shortly before “calling it a night”.

Don’t make it too complex. Just a simple list. It shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes. I usually come up with a list of anywhere between 10–20 things to do.

Here’s what happens when you prepare your next day the night before:

While you sleep, your subconscious is “working on” things you “fed it” before going to bed. When you feed it with things you want to accomplish for the next day, it will “prepare” you for them.

When your alarm goes off, you wake up with a sense of purpose. You know WHAT you have to do, and potentially HOW to do it as well.

And that is powerful!

---

Conclusion

I personally found that by reviewing the things I want to accomplish for the next day the night before, I very rarely procrastinate or hit the snooze button.

I wake up, jump out of bed, and start going! No matter the time I wake up.

Your brain is a powerful thing. Make it work for you. Feed it the right things shortly before going to bed. Make one of those things reviewing what you want to accomplish for the next day.

A few days after starting this habit, you’ll see your productivity increase.

Do that every day and you’ll build lasting momentum!

You can do this!

Thanks for reading! :)

I Love You India.

Cover Image: Photo for Sundara from the Z.P. Urdu school near Palghar

(But please tone down the spice level on my food ;P)

On my 6th year anniversary with my wife, I flew from Toronto to Mumbai. A mere 14-hour flight… We left at 9:10pm and landed at 9:10pm. Let me tell you, that messes a brain real good!

Definitely not our most romantic one.

We did a similar thing 2 years ago when we took a 13-hour overnight train from Xian to Ba Da Ling, close to Beijing. We were cramped in a tiny section with 4 other people sitting on a flat hard bench.

So hey, compared to that one, it’s this one wasn’t that bad!

Our Airbnb host was nice enough to let us check in late in our Andheri West apartment. We had a nice chat with her and went to bed.

We were thinking of taking it slow for a few days, but Audrey ended doing a business meeting and I ran around doing some SIM card and food shopping.

Classic Danny and Audrey.

---

In Search Of A Co-Working Space

When we were done with our mini-vacation, I contacted WeWork Marol for a place to work. That place looks great! Unfortunately, they were full, and they had just opened 3 months ago. I inquired about the one in Koramangala in Bangalore, because I would be staying there. Full again. And same thing, it had been opened only 3 months ago.

Obviously, I was quite disappointed since I really needed a place to work from and WeWork seemed great.

But that made me realize one thing:

The Startup scene in India, and especially in Bangalore, is incredible!

I did a quick Google Maps search after hearing the Koramangala was full, because we had booked our lodging for the month there and wanted to walk to work.

Turns out there were about 20 co-working spaces there!

We didn’t settle on one until we arrived in Bangalore later.

We currently work from WeWork EGL. It’s awesome. The people working there, and from there, are great. They make my stay there very enjoyable.

I love you India.

---

Nice Landscapes And Smiles

5 days after we landed in Mumbai, we went to a very small village north of Mumbai called Ashte. It’s a quiet village with really nice landscapes. It’s where I got started with my photography assignment for Sundara.

It took me at least two days to get back to it. I was quite rusty.

But this all changed 3 days after when I went to shoot at the Z.P. Urdu school near Palghar.

The kids were the most amazing in the world. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many beautiful smiles all at once.

They were genuinely happy. I don’t see that back at home. Kids in Canada are too concerned with getting toys. More toys. Always more toys. These kids played with each other and didn’t anything to have fun, smile and laugh.

It was the most fun I’ve had during a photo shoot.

I love you India.

Smily kids of the Z.P. Urdu school. Photo taken for Sundara.

---

Brew Pubs

When we landed and arrived at our apartment in Bangalore, the first thing we did was look for a pub. We had heard Koramangala had a few.

We stumbled upon Brooks and Bonds, which had just opened recently.

It was nice!!

It had a really amazing 2-floor rooftop patio, and great pub food and beer.

The temperature in Bangalore is so nice. That pub night was one of the nicest we had in a while. That was a proper Danny-and-Audrey-style anniversary dinner!

Oh, and that was at least 3 times cheaper than Canada. So yea to that!

Yesterday we went to a place called Prost and had a delicious Red Ale and Steak. For $10 CAD. Beef is rare in India, so that was a real treat at a bargain!

I love you India.

---

There’s An App For That

India took Apple’s iPhone’s slogan very seriously. Especially in Bangalore. There’s an app for everything!

I haven’t cooked anything since I’m here. I’ve used Order by Zomato quite extensively, but there’s a bunch of other local apps. I have a list of 5 at least. It’s cheap, it’s good, it’s fast(ish), and there’s a lot of variety!

The PayTM app is accepted everywhere. Almost no one pays with cash. You scan the QR code and your payment is done. Simple and quick!

Ola and Uber greatly simplify transportation. I get picked up from my apartment and get dropped near my office for anywhere between $0.50 to $0.80. The return is more tricky because of traffic (which is quite insane…), but an Uber Pool costs me $0.80, door to door. Sometimes it takes 30 minutes.

Dunzo.in is something I really want to use. You have things you’d like to get done by someone else? Just pay them to do it for you for insanely cheap. It works for repairs, shipping, buying, home services, etc.

India, your use of technology is probably the best I’ve seen in the world. Your innovations never cease to amaze me.

I love you India.

---

Staying Long Term

Initially, I was thinking of staying about 3 months in India. I strongly considering changing my mind and staying longer.

I initially wanted to go to New York City after. I wanted a vibrant, hectic city where everything is fast-paced and everyone works hard.

And that’s what I found here in Bangalore.

Excellent startup vibe, great food, great prices, nice people, nice co-working spaces, perfect use of technology and innovation.

India, especially Bangalore, you’ve won my heart and beat NYC as the place I want to stay most currently.

So India, I love you!

Thanks for reading! :)