Random Chat, Thoughts, Posts, and/or Rants Thread

[Jrjohnny]

You got some tips to stop being late.
Just realized I got in the habit of being late and I hate it.

Be on time.

No but for real. What was the scenario? Were you late for a virtual meeting? Party? Restaurant?

This may apply to all. Just set a timer x amount of minutes before to start going.

If it takes you 20 minutes to drive, Set a timer 30 minutes before the event.

That way you can get in your car, get there a little early and you have a safety net if there’s traffic.

 

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[UK_Mike]

You got some tips to stop being late.
Just realized I got in the habit of being late and I hate it.

I used to work with someone that was always late for meetings, no matter how important the people we were meeting. If it was really important, we'd just tell him the meeting was 15 minutes earlier than it really started. Doesn't really work when you set your own meetings.

In days gone by I could just say "set your watch 10 minutes fast", but phones don't let you do that. So I guess the advice has to be "stop being late. Try harder to be on time."

 

[JAJT]

You got some tips to stop being late.

I'm almost never late to anything, no matter how unimportant it is or how little I want to show up.

The key for me is that I find it unacceptable to my core. I consider it disrespectful to the other party and personally embarrassing to myself. It's one of the very few "sacred" rules I live by that I tolerate very few excuses for. My heart actually beats faster and I get physically agitated and uncomfortable if I'm running behind for any reason - it's that important to me. If I know I have to leave now and I forgot about something I HAD to do before leaving, I am running (not walking) around the house to get it done as quickly as humanly possible. I will skip meals to show up on time.

I don't think showing up on time is a skill you can learn or practice - you either consider it no big deal, or you consider it a very big deal. I know folks who don't give a shit (too many) and while they SAY they want to be on time, when it's time to actually leave they decide to finish up whatever they were doing (laundry, dishes, a video game, whatever) because they don't want to stop mid-task. Then they realize they need to shower first, so they shower so they don't show up dirty. Then they realize they haven't eaten yet so they stop at McDonald's on the way, but they don't want to drive and eat so they eat in and chat leisurely while eating casually. Then they get gas because it's a good price. Etc... When they finally show up they act like none of it was their fault.

I can be on time for a meeting in another country, to the minute. I know folks who live down the street from me who have never once shown up on time.

Now, I have no issues with genuine emergencies and freak occurrences but that's the thing about being someone who tries their best to always be on time - nobody questions you or cares if you're late on a very rare occasion.

 

[Kak]

You got some tips to stop being late.
Just realized I got in the habit of being late and I hate it.

Just stop.

A very successful mentor of mine, who ran a Fortune 500 company, once told me if someone was late to a meeting with him once it was no big deal. Twice, and he was going to find a way to fire them.

Time blindness isn’t real, it’s irresponsibility.

 

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[The-J]

You got some tips to stop being late.
Just realized I got in the habit of being late and I hate it.

I thought you were German?

On a serious note, I stopped being late for stuff when I realized that I could control whether I was late or not by simply accounting for a margin of error. If I leave early and arrive early, no big deal I'll just fiddle with my phone. Works 99% of the time, and in the 1% of the time it doesn't work, they'd understand because it's probably affecting everyone. So if I gotta be at a place at 3 that's an hour drive from my house (calculated by Google and corroborated by experience), I set an alarm on my phone for 1 hour 45 minutes beforehand (shit shower shave), and leave an hour and 15 minutes beforehand. If it's really important, I'll leave 1h 30 minutes earlier because I'd rather be bored waiting than be embarrassed and late.

 

[GPM]

I thought you were German?

On a serious note, I stopped being late for stuff when I realized that I could control whether I was late or not by simply accounting for a margin of error. If I leave early and arrive early, no big deal I'll just fiddle with my phone. Works 99% of the time, and in the 1% of the time it doesn't work, they'd understand because it's probably affecting everyone. So if I gotta be at a place at 3 that's an hour drive from my house (calculated by Google and corroborated by experience), I set an alarm on my phone for 1 hour 45 minutes beforehand (shit shower shave), and leave an hour and 15 minutes beforehand. If it's really important, I'll leave 1h 30 minutes earlier because I'd rather be bored waiting than be embarrassed and late.

How do you get foreign wives to do the same? On many occasion I have just about left a particular female at home and gone with just the kids and I to our event.

 

[Kak]

How do you get foreign wives to do the same? On many occasion I have just about left a particular female at home and gone with just the kids and I to our event.

She’s small. Just pick her up and put her in the car.

 

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[The-J]

How do you get foreign wives to do the same? On many occasion I have just about left a particular female at home and gone with just the kids and I to our event.

Lie and say the event is an hour earlier than it is

 

[Kak]

Lie and say the event is an hour earlier than it is

I loathe dishonesty of all kinds in a personal code kind of way, but yeah, I think I’d lie about this.

 

[The-J]

I loathe dishonesty of all kinds in a personal code kind of way, but yeah, I think I’d lie about this.

It's not dishonesty, it's changing your time zone.

 

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[Two Dog]

Never knew MJ had a YouTube channel until a couple days ago.

https://www.youtube.com/@FastlaneMJ/videos

I like.

 

[BellaPippin]

You got some tips to stop being late.
Just realized I got in the habit of being late and I hate it.

Learn to accurately assess how long it takes you to get somewhere. GPS is good for that if you drive but when I had to commute I already knew how long it was from A to B, accounting for how long I’d have to wait for the train, etc. driving isn’t much different. It usually takes you the same amount of time to do certain things at certain times.

Keep in mind you’re making someone wait anytime you’re late and that’s you wasting someone’s time. It low key says “I didn’t care enough” when you’re consistently late.

Finally from your own advice: how you do anything is how you do everything!

 

[BellaPippin]

I’m on the plane back home and there’s way too much turbulence

 

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[Subsonic]

@Kak @BellaPippin @The-J @JAJT @Jrjohnny @UK_Mike

Thanks for all the great advice. I will change from being the guy who's always 15 minutes late back to the younger subsonic who was always 15 to 20 minutes early.

I really appreciate you taking the time to write out these tips.

 

[Two Dog]

I would love to see someone do a dexa scan just before the fast and one immediately after to see what they really lost in weight.

For myself the dexa scan opened up my eyes to how easy you lose muscle when you are older. I had thought I did good in losing 8 lbs by mountain biking all summer but it turned out to be losing muscle vs fat. We need to be hitting the heavy weights to keep muscle mass.

I'm guessing your age, but am betting "heavy training" will have a very different meaning in 10+ years. My heavy strength training long ago turned into "Rule #1: Don't get injured in the gym doing something dumb because there's a good chance it might never heal." Actually, that's pretty much the only rule. Single, doubles and triples are in the distant past. At least I ended up with only one lifelong chronic injury from years of Crossfit. 56YO for context, BTW. Strength training since age 12 has *easily* been the single most valuable fitness thing in my life.

I watched an entertaining video montage comparing former Mr. Olympias, etc. with recent photos. Pretty much everyone still looked pretty fit - especially compared to today's American - it was just a little shocking how NORMAL they looked compared to everyone else. Although no doubt they could 3x anyone else in the their age group at the gym.

 

[Guest-5ty5s4]

How do you get foreign wives to do the same? On many occasion I have just about left a particular female at home and gone with just the kids and I to our event.

If your SO is consistently making you late, I'm not sure what the answer is to that. Especially if they get angry when you try to speed them up. Might be to tell them it's time to leave earlier than it really is (that was a good one). I'm navigating this now too.....

 

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[RicardoGrande]

How Shannon Built Lume Deodorant Into A 9-Figure Brand In Under 5 Years - Capitalism

Shannon Klingman grew Lume Deodorant into a 9-figure brand in under 5 years and she did it without raising capital, without any prior experience as an entrepreneur, and she did it starting in her late 40s. Which should crush all of your excuses for why you can't do it too! In this interview she...

www.capitalism.com

Listened to this earlier today. Really had some heart to it because she:
- Started at 39
- Juggled a fulltime job as a doctor
- Lost her daughter
- Had to formulate her product in her own kitchen at first, then get it patented
- Missed out on the early amazon and fb ads gravy train
- Didn't know anything of what she was doing when she started, fought on anyway
- Got kicked down at every point be it by banks not offering loans or not getting any VC funding to speak of
- Still made it to 9 figures

In my own life I face a lot of intrusive doubt or potential catastrophizing. "Are my ideas good? Will anyone care? Will this be sustainable in the longterm, will it be profitable?" but this story and some of her tidbits, especially when it comes to not bothering to agonize over "how good it could've been in the past", and that everyone is on a level playing field right now and the people that will make it will manage to find a way really put some wind back in the sails.

 

[The-J]

@Kak @BellaPippin @The-J @JAJT @Jrjohnny @UK_Mike

Thanks for all the great advice. I will change from being the guy who's always 15 minutes late back to the younger subsonic who was always 15 to 20 minutes early.

I really appreciate you taking the time to write out these tips.

Good on you for recognizing a weakness, putting your ego away & asking for help to address it. Being reliable will never fail you in life, and part of being reliable is showing up when you're expected to.

 

[WillHurtDontCare]

How do you get foreign wives to do the same? On many occasion I have just about left a particular female at home and gone with just the kids and I to our event.

Just lie about the event starting earlier than it actually is. Or continue leaving without her until she starts being punctual.

 

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[Lyzmin]

Saw this on my LinkedIn feed today. (I don't have twitter)
Opinions? Anyone who wants to take on the idea? *putting down the idea disclaimer

 

[biophase]

I'm guessing your age, but am betting "heavy training" will have a very different meaning in 10+ years. My heavy strength training long ago turned into "Rule #1: Don't get injured in the gym doing something dumb because there's a good chance it might never heal." Actually, that's pretty much the only rule. Single, doubles and triples are in the distant past. At least I ended up with only one lifelong chronic injury from years of Crossfit. 56YO for context, BTW. Strength training since age 12 has *easily* been the single most valuable fitness thing in my life.

I watched an entertaining video montage comparing former Mr. Olympias, etc. with recent photos. Pretty much everyone still looked pretty fit - especially compared to today's American - it was just a little shocking how NORMAL they looked compared to everyone else. Although no doubt they could 3x anyone else in the their age group at the gym.

I’m 51 now. To me heavy lifting is like benching 135 now. Lol. I can do one set of 8 and be super sore the next day. 135 used to be my warm up set 10 years ago. Now I’m like 95, 115, 135 done. Maybe I’ll push like 3-4 reps of 155 if I feel good.

I’ll let the dexa scans tell me if I’m doing alright or not.

 

[Andy Black]

On LinkedIn just now...

 

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[ZF Lee]

Just stop.

A very successful mentor of mine, who ran a Fortune 500 company, once told me if someone was late to a meeting with him once it was no big deal. Twice, and he was going to find a way to fire them.

Time blindness isn’t real, it’s irresponsibility.

Had to google 'time blindness' for the first time ever once I read your post.

Honestly though, you know we are living in dangerous times when ANY post or article online talking about arriving early, waking up early, eating healthy, doing extra work, etc gets the comments section screaming: 'BU-BU-BU-BU-BUT MAH MENTAL HEALTH. BURNOUT COMING'.

I thought I would be a lot less stressed out when things get done? Or did the universe flip on itself?

 

[MitchC]

@Kak take your blood pressure meds before reading this one

https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/young-woman-brutally-mocked-over-time-blindness-question-during-interview/news-story/96fdf6d727570941be061ed5cb09a4aa?utm_campaign=EditorialSB&utm_source=News.com.au&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_content=SocialBakers

 

[Xeon]

If you've an idea for an organic, natural healthier version of a product, and this product is mostly found in supermarkets/Amazon, but majority are laden with chemicals which can be harmful when used long-term, what would your next step be?

- assume this is not a food product
- assume there's 4 - 8 small-time competitors (small mom-and-pop shop level of size) already on the market for this same product and they're doing well

Which would your immediate next step be?

a) Go to upwork and hire someone in the same industry of the product, for $95 - $190 / hour, to get their views on product development, branding and strategy, because after all, they are experienced and can see things you can't. Perhaps also pay this person to do detailed market research and reports, to gauge the odds of success after launching.

b) Ignore 1), just find a private label / manufacturer who can do this with custom formulation/parts, wing it and leave the rest to God, and hope it'll be a hot sell.


I asked ChatGPT (3.5) about this and it says to go with a).

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's why option (a) is a prudent choice:

1. Expert Insights: Hiring someone experienced in the same industry will provide valuable insights into product development, formulation, and branding. They can offer expertise and identify potential pitfalls that you may not be aware of.
2. Market Research: Conducting detailed market research is crucial to understanding customer needs, preferences, and identifying any gaps in the market. This will help you tailor your product to meet the demands of your target audience effectively.
3. Competitive Analysis: Learning from someone already in the industry can help you assess your small-time competitors and devise strategies to differentiate your organic, healthier version from their chemical-laden products.
4. Risk Mitigation: Investing in market research and getting expert opinions can help gauge the odds of success and minimize risks associated with launching a new product in a competitive market.
5. Custom Formulation: Collaborating with the expert can assist in developing a unique custom formulation that sets your organic product apart from existing offerings.
6. Brand Strategy: Developing a strong brand strategy can be crucial in differentiating your product and gaining traction among health-conscious consumers.

Launching an organic, healthier version of the product in a market dominated by chemical-laden alternatives requires a well-informed approach. Conducting research, seeking expert advice, and understanding the market dynamics will significantly improve your chances of success and set the stage for a well-planned and competitive product launch.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

In the past, I would have just winged it with b) but I'm starting to think a) is actually great.

 

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[MitchC]

If you've an idea for an organic, natural healthier version of a product, and this product is mostly found in supermarkets/Amazon, but majority are laden with chemicals which can be harmful when used long-term, what would your next step be?

- assume this is not a food product
- assume there's 4 - 8 small-time competitors (small mom-and-pop shop level of size) already on the market for this same product and they're doing well

Which would your immediate next step be?

a) Go to upwork and hire someone in the same industry of the product, for $95 - $190 / hour, to get their views on product development, branding and strategy, because after all, they are experienced and can see things you can't. Perhaps also pay this person to do detailed market research and reports, to gauge the odds of success after launching.

b) Ignore 1), just find a private label / manufacturer who can do this with custom formulation/parts, wing it and leave the rest to God, and hope it'll be a hot sell.


I asked ChatGPT (3.5) about this and it says to go with a).

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's why option (a) is a prudent choice:

1. Expert Insights: Hiring someone experienced in the same industry will provide valuable insights into product development, formulation, and branding. They can offer expertise and identify potential pitfalls that you may not be aware of.
2. Market Research: Conducting detailed market research is crucial to understanding customer needs, preferences, and identifying any gaps in the market. This will help you tailor your product to meet the demands of your target audience effectively.
3. Competitive Analysis: Learning from someone already in the industry can help you assess your small-time competitors and devise strategies to differentiate your organic, healthier version from their chemical-laden products.
4. Risk Mitigation: Investing in market research and getting expert opinions can help gauge the odds of success and minimize risks associated with launching a new product in a competitive market.
5. Custom Formulation: Collaborating with the expert can assist in developing a unique custom formulation that sets your organic product apart from existing offerings.
6. Brand Strategy: Developing a strong brand strategy can be crucial in differentiating your product and gaining traction among health-conscious consumers.

Launching an organic, healthier version of the product in a market dominated by chemical-laden alternatives requires a well-informed approach. Conducting research, seeking expert advice, and understanding the market dynamics will significantly improve your chances of success and set the stage for a well-planned and competitive product launch.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

In the past, I would have just winged it with b) but I'm starting to think a) is actually great.

B

Find a way to test the market as cheaply as possible

Wouldn’t waste my money on consulting, the markets proven, you have an insight and now it’s time to find out if it’s correct

It’s all in the execution not the idea anyway

I think the only question I’d worry about is how sophisticated are all the mom and pops? Do you think you have a unique angle or way to beat them? That will be your competition. Wouldn’t worry about the big guys.

 

[Xeon]

B

Find a way to test the market as cheaply as possible

Wouldn’t waste my money on consulting, the markets proven, you have an insight and now it’s time to find out if it’s correct

It’s all in the execution not the idea anyway

I think the only question I’d worry about is how sophisticated are all the mom and pops? Do you think you have a unique angle or way to beat them? That will be your competition. Wouldn’t worry about the big guys.

If my product is more or less the same as those 4 - 8 small-time competitors in terms of the raw materials, should I further find an angle to make myself stand out even more? Bear in mind, these 4 - 8 small guys are themselves already standing out from the big guys in terms of being natural/organic.

 

[Robdavis]

If my product is more or less the same as those 4 - 8 small-time competitors in terms of the raw materials, should I further find an angle to make myself stand out even more? Bear in mind, these 4 - 8 small guys are themselves already standing out from the big guys in terms of being natural/organic.

This is something that I am learning at the moment. If your product is fairly commoditized, then you will have to differentiate yourself with stellar marketing.

I am thinking that if your product isn't a food, then it may be a supplement or a suncream / lotion type product. If it is a supplement, you may be able to differentiate yourself by offering flavours that your competitors don't have, if it is a lotion or something topically applied, then you may be able to differentiate with scents.

Either way, you will need a strong brand to further differentiate yourself in the market, so think about what you brand is about, eg. Why bother with organic in the first place? Health / eco friendly production / animal cruelty free etc etc.???

You might also be able to differentiate yourself with your packaging.

One company that springs to mind that you might be able to borrow some marketing ideas from is Fussy. They were on Dragon's Den (Shark Tank), a couple of years ago and they make super eco-friendly deodorant. I haven't used their products, so I can't comment on that. You could have a look at their website at getfussy.com . They do sell in Singapore but they have higher postage and packing costs, because they ship from the UK.

Eg. They do some products that are vegan, not just organic. So maybe you could have a vegetarian or vegan option to your product.

 

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[MitchC]

If my product is more or less the same as those 4 - 8 small-time competitors in terms of the raw materials, should I further find an angle to make myself stand out even more? Bear in mind, these 4 - 8 small guys are themselves already standing out from the big guys in terms of being natural/organic.

You should read purple cow

You don’t want to be slightly better than these guys, that just isn’t enough

You want to be vastly different enough that you stand out. Rather than being better, be different

Black rifle coffee for example, generic coffee that’s marketed to a specific group in a way that really stands out and gets attention

Other things you can do differently in execution are where you market it. Can you choose a different sales channel? Can you change the offer?

Can you partner with an influencer?

Can you price it’s really high?

Can you hit a particular niche in the market? (probably not the best idea, I wouldn’t want to niche down too much, maybe making a male version of something usually targeting females would be about as niche as I’d want to go market wise depending how big the niche is)

Can you brand it differently? Eg if they are all minimalist, go maximalist

Here is a good Instagram page to learn about this

Oren John , on Instagram: "We’re going to see more and more design and branding that falls into what I like to call “heritage maximalism” #designtrends #graphicdesign #brandingdesign"

4,876 likes, 41 comments - orenmeetsworldMarch 9, 2023 on : "We’re going to see more and more design and branding that falls into what I like to call “heritage maximalism” #designtrends #graph...".

www.instagram.com

You also of course want to tie this in with a desire

Is there a desire for a men’s version, a high priced version, a maximalist banded version?

For example a product I sell in my business is generally promoted in a very features focused way, but I had a feeling most people didn’t actually understand the features or care about them, so I launched a different version, objectively a worse version, but far simpler to use which I think the market actually cared about more than features. A segment of the market at least anyway. Female and older which is a good market to be hitting.

Is apple worse than pc? Who knows, but it’s different. Is one pc laptop better than another? Not sure but I wouldn’t want to be competing hoping my consumer did enough research to find out mine was slightly better, I’d rather just be apple and be different all together.

 

[Jrjohnny]

They were on Dragon's Den (Shark Tank), a couple of years ago and they make super eco-friendly deodorant.

If you don’t already know, dragons den is the Canadian version of shark tank and their scripted.

Fun fact: my cousins friends mom was on dragons den.

Her daughter was there doing the pitch with her and she got kicked off because she wasn’t following what they said.

Her mother didn’t end up getting a shark or dragon what ever you call them. And they didn’t air her daughters scene.