Cas Thompson

This is a video that I like to watch when I need a little reminder of why I’m working as hard as I am.   I don’t have any aspirations of becoming a movie star but have applied some of these principles to help me with some of my smaller goals.

It’s a long video but well worth the watch.  My favorite piece is skill verses talent.

PDA link

Post written by Leo Babauta.

One of the best things I did when I decided to simplify my life was to simplify my workday — first at my day job and later, by quitting my day job, in the work I do now as a writer and entrepreneur.

I’ve eliminated most of the routine, boring, administrative tasks with a few simple principles.

These days, I have eliminated the non-essentials, and can focus on what I truly love: creating.

Not everyone can make such drastic steps toward simplicity, but if you have some control over your workday, you can do a few small things that will simplify things greatly.

If you don’t have control, or if you find yourself thinking, “I can’t do these things”, I’d start to ask why not? Is it possible to change things, if not today then over the long term? I found that often I thought something wasn’t possible (working from home, for example), but in the long run they were.

You don’t need to do all of these things — pick just one, and try it. Then try another and see if it works. Experiment to find what works for you.

And enjoy the simple work life.

1. Start early. Going into work early was one of my favorite tricks — it was quiet, before the phones and chatter and meetings started, and I could get a lot of work done in peace. By the time everyone else was getting started, I’d gotten two or three big tasks checked off.


2. Limit your hours. It’s ironic, because so many people work long hours and think they’re getting more done and being more productive. But they’re throwing brute hours at the problem. Instead, cut back on your hours and set a limit — say 6 or 7 hours a day — and get your most essential work done within that limit. If you know you’re only working 6 hours today, you’ll be sure to get the important tasks done first and waste less time. Limits force you to be effective.


3. Make a short list. Make a long list of all the tasks you need to do … then make a short list of 1-3 things you really want to get done. Choose so that, if you got only these tasks done, you’d be proud of what you did today. Start with the most important task, before checking email or reading online.


4. Batch distractions. What are your common distractions? Perhaps things like email, reading blogs, Twitter or another social network? Set a time for these, preferably later in the day: say, from 3-4 p.m. Don’t do the distractions before then. By grouping them all into one time period, you allow yourself to do other work first, but still get in your distraction time. Another approach might be to do them for 10 minutes at the end of each hour — but stick to that 10-minute limit!


5. Write shorter emails. If email takes up a lot of your day, the simple change of limiting yourself to 3-4 sentences per email will make a big difference. First, it’ll drastically shorten the time it takes to write or respond to emails. And second, it’ll shorten responses to your emails, which means you’ll spend less time reading email.


6. Limit meetings. The fewer the better. Some top Google executives just do 5-minute meetings — anyone who attends these meetings had better be prepared, and concise. If you can get out of meetings and just get the notes, or find an alternative way to communicate, it could save you hours per week.


7. Automate. The fewer repetitive and routine tasks you have to do, the more time you’ll free up for creating and important work. So automate wherever possible: have people fill things out electronically, or get info from your website instead of emailing or calling you, or use a service that automatically processes payments or ships your product, and so on.


8. Eliminate paperwork. I used to deal with a lot of paperwork, and even then I knew it was a waste of my time. If businesses and organizations could have paperwork filled out electronically, it would save a lot of paper, copying, filing, and duplicate effort. Whenever possible, eliminate paperwork in favor of digital. This might be more of a long-term move.


9. Clear your desk. This can be done in a few minutes. Clear everything off the top of your desk. Only put back a few essential items. Everything else should be: filed, given to the appropriate person, given a permanent spot in a drawer, or trashed/recycled. Make quick decisions and then get back to work.


10. Get away. If you can get out of your office, you can find a peaceful spot where you can focus on important work. Find a spot where you can work, turn off the Internet and do your work, and then turn the Internet back on so you can email or upload it to the appropriate spot. Working from home is a good option here. The more you can do this (it might be once a week, or an hour a day, or half of every workday), the better.


11. Take breathing breaks. Every 15-20 minutes, get up from your desk, and take a breathing break. It could be simply walking around the office, saying hi to someone, or even better, getting outside to get some fresh air. Walk around, get your blood circulating, perhaps massage your neck and shoulders if you feel tension. Do some pushups if you want to get fitter. When you get back to work, remind yourself what you want to be working on, and clear away all distractions.


12. Practice a focus ritual. Every hour or two, do a refocus ritual. This only takes a minute or two. You might start it by closing down your browser and maybe other open applications, and maybe even take a walk for a couple of minutes to clear your head and get your blood circulating. Then return to your list of Most Important Tasks and figure out what you need to accomplish next. Before you check email again or go back online, work on that important task for as long as you can. Repeat this refocus ritual throughout the day, to bring yourself back. It’s also nice to take some nice deep breaths to focus yourself back on the present. More focus rituals.


13. Schedule big blocks of creative time. Not everyone can do this, but when possible, put a big block of 3-4 hours in your schedule for creating or doing other important work. Make this time inviolate, and don’t allow meetings or other things to be scheduled during this time. Be ruthless about clearing distractions and doing the work you love during these blocks, taking breathing breaks as necessary. Rejoice in your creativity.

If you liked this guide,  please read The Power of Less.

I logged into the web based version of twitter a couple of hours ago and found a new surprise.   One of my status updates had a new tab beside it in addition to the city that I was broadcasting from.

This didn’t bother me.  After all, I’m aware and actually encouraged by Foursquare to “shout” my location for additional points.  If you haven’t heard about foursquare, it’s one of many new geo social networking tools on the tech scene.   Foursquare managed to get me free breakfast so i’ll be sticking with them for a while.

But Foursquare and now Twitter aren’t the only ones making noise.  Facebook announced yesterday that they will soon add location based information to their status updates as well.  With a global rise in GPS equiped smartphone usage as well as the growing need for everyone to socialize via online networks, another boom is on the way.

How can you capitalize?  It’s simple.  If you are a business owner it’s time to make your establishment Geo-Tag ready.  Foursquare already has a system in place for business owners to offer incentives for check ins.  Yowza, a popular iPhone app, is fueled on generating ecoupons for tech savvy shoppers.   The mash up of location based incentives will be huge in the later part of this year.

My predication is that Google will eventually blend Buzz with Google Latitude and mix in their Favorite Places launch in order to compete with start ups such as Foursquare and Yowza.

Another question is, are consumers ready?  Shoppers and mobile phone users are already sharing more information than they even know.  Adding location to the mix opens up more information than ever before.  The benefits are huge.  Imagine walking into a store and being able to experience ads that are based on buying history or preference.  It could make life very simple but at what stage would you consider it an invasion of privacy?

Either way, know that Location will soon be King.  Business owners and consumers ask yourself if you are ready to play.

P.S. you can stalk me using my own Geo-Social page—> currently.at

In the past week, I have had several chats with close friends, family and peers.

As things in life seem to get a little tighter for the folks around me,  it seems as though the main theme has been centered on “not giving up” vs “caving in”.

In the past 12 months the economy has set a few people back. It has been devastating for some and eye opening for others. I am fortunate to have a lot of positive people in my circle from which I have drawn motivation. If you are not as fortunate, please look at this post as my way of paying it forward.

Having to cut back on a lot of things has forced me to put my mind into a place that it hasn’t seen in many years. Although, I am fortunate to still have my health, family and sources of income, business has slowed down in a big way. Engines that once ran on their own have started to come to a stand still.

For most people this would seem like a negative but after a few great conversations, I have started to embrace the place that I’m in. I feel just as excited as the day I started my first entrepreneurial venture.   I feel hungry.  I feel eager to create something new, exciting and helpful.  My mind is more focused than it’s ever been.

The things that gave me my push years ago such as constant reading, networking, trying and failing and active listening have found their way way back into my life.  Being an entrepreneur, hustler, go getter or what ever you want to call it has it’s ups and downs.  Sometimes it’s takes a little rattle to take you out of your comfort zone.

If you are being rattled at home or at work or at school, embrace it.  It’s just a test.   It’s a reminder that we all should be 110% focused on innovation and getting to that next level all of the time.

Whining about the setback or the potential of being setback is just a distraction/excuse for not performing at your true potential.  Yep, me included.

Let’s get back to the grind or let’s start a new one.   Public Service Announcement = over

Photo Source: Erik Johansson

Here are four books that I picked up at Barnes & Noble via my Twitter Stream.  Constant reading is one way to increase your personal and professional development.

Failing Forward – John Maxwell – recommended by @digitalfangirl

Predictably Irrational – Dan Ariely – recommended by @mosaeus

Personal Development For Smart People – Steve Pavlina recommended by @MiguelMayher

A Sense of Urgency – John P Kotter (bonus book)

Thanks again guys

P.S. follow me on twitter as well Cas Thompson

Kanye’s Air Yeezy’s coming soon

So here’s the question…  If you had the musical talent and you were locked in your room for three months, what would you come up with?  Ask Kutiman.

Kutiman is an Israeli producer who took hundreds of Youtube videos, spliced and sampled them together for the ultimate funk, reggae, hiphop, jungle, techno, jazz, pop visual mash-up ever.   Using different instruments and vocals from amatuers across youtube, he has created seven tracks.  You can watch three of them below but please eventually visit the ThruYou site to hear/watch all seven tracks.

And the marketing?  Well, he has no record label…  This is all viral.   The project was initiated by 3 people who emailed a total of 20 people, who then spread it through twitter, myspace and facebook.   Just when technology or music seems like it’s up against the wall, someone does something amazing.

After speaking with a colleague this afternoon, I recommend that she read “Who Moved My Cheese”

It’s a personal favorite of mine and it has been in my arsenal for years.   If you are in the middle of making a hard decision and you are wondering if you might fail, then this is a book that you need to read first.

If you are not the reading type, feel free to listen to the entire book below

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Even though you can listen to it here, please support the author, it’s a book worth owning and reading it a few times a  year will keep you focused.
——> Who Moved My Cheese <——
Do not fear the unknown, embrace it!  Don’t Punk Down!

Since the soft launch of the Tied.In app a few weeks ago, I have received tons of new free material for your blackberry devices

Here are some of my favorites

Slacker Radio – free streaming radio

Mapquest Mobile 4 – Mapquest on the Go

Audible – Audiobook Player (thanks Jim)

Talk Lock – AutoLock Your Blackberry Storm during phone calls

To download these new apps plus any other free apps from the library, just download the tied.in app first and everything else is cake.

Check out Tied.In

If you have any other Free Blackberry Software suggestions, please let me know

Twitter | Facebook

As many of you already know, I am a blackberry fanatic.  In my efforts to spread the gospel I try my best to spread my favorite free blackberry utilities to everyone I know.   I usually did this with a blog post or twitter update or even via pin messages.

In an effort to keep up and keep you updated, I’ve whipped up a simple free blackberry app that will help you get more free blackberry apps.

This tiny app is totally free so pass it along to your blackberry buddies, especially new users who are always asking you for new tools.   If you would like to see a link added, just hit me up in twitter or drop a comment on this post.

To get Tied.In visit http://tied.in

Pay it forward!

In February of 2008, RIM announced that a big update was coming out for its BlackBerry handsets: OS v4.5. You can read all about the new features here and here. It ended up taking about 8 months before the update actually became available, but it’s finally arrived… well, for some BlackBerries, on some wireless carriers. Rather than go nuts trying to figure out if yours is one of them, RIM has a Web site that will easily check your ‘Berry and update it if applicable. Here’s what you do:

1. Hop on a Windows computer running Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher.

2. Plug in your BlackBerry via USB cable.

3. Use Internet Explorer to navigate to http://na.blackberry.com/eng/update/.

4.Click “Check for Updates.”

If you are a procrastinator like me, then you should appreciate knowing these deadlines for Amazon

• Wednesday, Dec. 17: Last day for free Super Saver Shipping (free on orders of $25 and over). Also, this is the last day for gift cards to be sent through the mail, but gift cards sent through e-mail at any time. 


• Thursday, Dec. 18: Last day for standard shipping. 


• Sunday, Dec. 21: Last full day to order and receive two-day shipping. 


• Monday, Dec. 22: Last full day to order and get one-day shipping for $3.99 per item with Amazon Prime, and free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime (roder as late as 3 p.m. PST).


• Tuesday, Dec. 23: One-day shipping for $3.99 per item with Amazon Prime (order as late as 3 p.m. PST).

After a month of serious thinking,  I have decided to retire casthompson.com/blog

Twitter has become an easier tool for me to interact with an audience, network with new associates, vent, share pics-music-ideas and keep up with people that interest me.

Casthompson.com was never intended to make money, and it truthfully hasn’t (directly).   I am currently working on 7 other web projects and mentally, I need to lay my personal journal to rest.  I will not archive it or totally block it out.   I just need the mental freedom of saying that I no longer blog here.  Ahhhh, a weight off of my shoulders.

Coming up with new blog posts can be mentally draining and I truly find more enjoyment running “for income” websites.   In the next fee weeks, I will be moving all of my Affiliate Tips, Big Checks and Free money resources to www.ImWealthy.com.    If I take a vacation, the pics will still be loaded here but other than that, I’m through – It’s been fun.

As of today, Twitter is the only way to see what I’m currently doing…

http://currently.at

The Amazon Associates Team has just added a nifty new feature that should help build links with ease.  It’s called Site Stripe.

It allows you to surf Amazon and build a link to that page on the fly.   It will also give you earning updates througout the course of the day.  It’s certainly an alternative to signing in to the portal and building links that way.

If you’re not using Amazon Associates, you’re missing out on recession proof money.

Last week I had the opportunity of attending my first UFC fight.   I’ve been following UFC for close to a year and I jumped on the tickets as soon as I heard that UFC 88 Breakthrough would be in Atlanta.

For those that don’t know, the UFC is a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) association based out of Vegas and they are regarded as the largest in the world.  

I personally jumped on the bandwagon to fill a void after boxing just started becoming boring to me.   I would highly recommend catching a live fight if you have been following on PPV or SpikeTV.  

That’s me and UFC CEO Dana White above and a few more pics from that night below…

Me and Miguel Torres – current WEC Champion

Chuck Liddell – before getting laid out

Rashad Evans after laying out the Iceman

Certainly a night that I won’t forget!

You’ve heard me brag about Clickbank and you already Know how I feel about Amazon and Ebay.   Imagine if you could build a store instantly using these affiliates as well as YouTube to market your niche across the web!

The program is called StoreStacker and it’s pretty amazing.   I’ve dipped my hands into BANS but StoreStacker brings everything together nicely.   It takes very little programming knowledge to set up and you can be up and running in as little as 15 minutes.

Check out their new site!

StoreStacker Youtube

Five years ago today, I was modding Nextel phones for a living.  Knocking out i95’s in 15 minutes and lining them up with l.e.d.s – until…  I got burnt out!!

Today, I just did my first blackberry mod and I remembered why I decided to get out of the game.  I just don’t have time.   Even though the berry turned out sweet, I can’t see myself turning this into a business model.  Instead, I’ll point you to the video so you can learn how to break the warranty on your device yourself.  Check out Blackberry Housings and get your precision screwdriver set ready.

Click here to see more Nextel throwbacks from five years ago!!

I’ll admit it.  I have a domain fetish.  Sometimes an idea comes to me and well, sometimes it’s not so easy.   If I have a product idea but not a domain to go with it, I turn to BustAName.com.

Bustaname.com is great for brainstorming compound domain names.   They will automatically put words together and tell you what .com, .net and .org sites are available for that word or phrase.

Oh, the best part is that it’s a free service.   It’s seems as though they make their money through hosting recommendations.   Try em’ out here.

Ok guys, this is the last clickbank check that i’ll be posting on my site.  You’re probably getting tired of these web checks anyway.   I opened up some business mail today and just couldn’t resist.

This is my last check not because I’m quitting the business but because Clickbank is now offering direct deposit.

Everyone knows that I have a Big Check fetish but all jokes aside, direct deposit offers a lot more security for anyone who gets checks from their affiliate programs or google adsense in the mail.  Last summer I actually lost one of these checks and I went through hell to get another one cut.

If you haven’t set up clickbank direct deposit, you can set it up here.

One less check to put with my dirty socks

I receive 10 – 15 checks a month and if they were all set up via direct deposit, life would be easier.  To learn how to earn money on your blog using clickbank read my CBPayDay Review

How many checks are you recieving per month?

I was starting to get disturbed by the fact that I couldn’t get notified of @replies to myself unless I had direct message/sms notification on for the person I was following.   People have been replying but sometimes while on the go, I wouldn’t know until I logged back into twhirl or jumped back on to check statuses.

While digging around on twitter I found a tracking command.  Via sms you can track a work on the fly simply by typing track and then the word.   This can be great for following whatever it is you follow in your industry.  If you are a widget maker and you are away from your computer, you can type in track widgets and get notified on the spot or until the next person (even if you are not following them) talks about widgets.

To untrack, just type in – untrack word.

Now on to my original problem.  If you want to get notified of all of your @name replies, just track @yourname and you will know when people are replying to you or at least twittering about you behind your back

If you’re not following me yet, it’s @casthompson