Success Manifesto

When I was in high school, the cool thing was to get good grades without trying – or at least without seeming like you tried. This came with many benefits. For example, if you did average, or even poorly on a test, you could always fall back on the excuse that you hadn’t studied. For some reason, in our high school minds, to fail because you had not tried was more respectful than trying and failing. A lack of effort still left for the possibility of latent greatness. But trying and failing, well that just proved you weren’t as competent as the others, even if they had never succeeded themselves.

I identified this limiting belief in college, and made many positive changes in my life as a result. Still, every once in awhile, I notice it coming to surface. I’m aware, for example, that by working on my business full time, I am putting in my full efforts. Thus the danger arises that if the business fails, I cant blame lack of time or a distracted mind. I cant say that if given the chance, I would be a great entrepreneur. The business either will be successful, or it will not. And the fascinating thing is, I’m genuinely more interested to just live it the process of trying than to worry about what the outcome will be.

Posted by Sheena Lindahl at 12:40 PM | Permalink

By now you have probably noticed that I don’t blog much. I certainly don’t post as much as Michael. Why is this?

I’ve asked myself the question a lot. Here are some of my rational observations:

I have tons of ideas of what to blog about, but…

I constantly notice growth in myself, but I
also often observe that I am learning the same lessons over and over again.
Then I wonder whether I am learning anything at all. There is that saying that
�one should never make the same mistake twice�, but I guess I am just not
quick enough to achieve it! Specifically, what I am currently relearning is
the importance of keeping perspective in life. It is so easy to get caught up
in the day to day issues that come up and forget how insignificant they are in
the larger picture. As a way of helping myself remember how to do this and to
continue to practice it (as well as a way to keep my blogging more
consistent), I am going to journal about the various ideas I have on the
subject. So, today�s personal lesson is to keep perspective by thinking about
the enormity of the universe and the extent of the unknown. It�s hard to get
angry about your car window being smashed by vandals (which happened to me
this weekend when I visited NH) or to be overwhelmed by work when you think
about big philosophical questions like where life comes from or whether matter
even exists.

Posted by Sheena at 01:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I constantly notice growth in myself, but I
also often observe that I am learning the same lessons over and over again.
Then I wonder whether I am learning anything at all. There is that saying that
�one should never make the same mistake twice�, but I guess I am just not
quick enough to achieve it! Specifically, what I am currently relearning is
the importance of keeping perspective in life. It is so easy to get caught up
in the day to day issues that come up and forget how insignificant they are in
the larger picture. As a way of helping myself remember how to do this and to
continue to practice it (as well as a way to keep my blogging more
consistent), I am going to journal about the various ideas I have on the
subject. So, today�s personal lesson is to keep perspective by thinking about
the enormity of the universe and the extent of the unknown. It�s hard to get
angry about your car window being smashed by vandals (which happened to me
this weekend when I visited NH) or to be overwhelmed by work when you think
about big philosophical questions like where life comes from or whether matter
even exists.

Posted by Sheena Lindahl at 01:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Where can you find
what your unconscience really thinks about Britney Spears vs. 50 Cent, Kerry vs.
Bush, and idealism vs. realism? Try being part of Harvard's href="http://implicit.harvard.edu/">study on automatic preferences! I was
referred to the link through a book I am reading, Blink: The Power of
Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell (author of The Tipping
Point). He writes about how our gut feelings are often right and are based
off of our super-fast unconscious mind processes. The Harvard Study similarly is
seeking to get beyond your conscious thoughts to what you unconsciously think
about hundreds of topics. If you take a few tests I am willing to bet that you
will be surprised by the results. And my results? So far I have:

• Strong Preference to Brittney Spears in relation to 50 Cent (not too
  surprised)
  
• No preference to George Bush relative to John Kerry (shocked)
  
• Moderate preference to idealism relative to realism (somewhat surprised)
  

Posted by Sheena at 11:30 PM | Permalink

Where can you find
what your unconscience really thinks about Britney Spears vs. 50 Cent, Kerry vs.
Bush, and idealism vs. realism? Try being part of Harvard's href="http://implicit.harvard.edu/">study on automatic preferences! I was
referred to the link through a book I am reading, Blink: The Power of
Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell (author of The Tipping
Point). He writes about how our gut feelings are often right and are based
off of our super-fast unconscious mind processes. The Harvard Study similarly is
seeking to get beyond your conscious thoughts to what you unconsciously think
about hundreds of topics. If you take a few tests I am willing to bet that you
will be surprised by the results. And my results? So far I have:

• Strong Preference to Brittney Spears in relation to 50 Cent (not too
  surprised)
  
• No preference to George Bush relative to John Kerry (shocked)
  
• Moderate preference to idealism relative to realism (somewhat surprised)
  

Posted by Sheena Lindahl at 11:30 PM | Permalink

Simply the fact that I am sitting here typing
while overlooking an astonishing view of the Manhattan Bridge, Queens, and the
East River would have been more than I could have dreamed of as a senior in high
school, fascinated with New York City. Exploring the city's streets was enough
to elate me when I first moved here, and experiences such I have now would have
been beyond imagination - meeting world experts on a daily basis, having
well-known and well connected freinds and mentors, visiting the city's top
restaurants and lounges, and working out of offices on Wall St. and in the
Chrysler Building. I never expected that I would last a year in the city when I
first arrived, so I certainly didn't expect that I would be living in a
beautiful spacious apartment in Brooklyn that had everything I could possibly
need. And most of all, I had basically given up hope that I would ever meet a
'soul mate', and not three days into my city experience, I had met a man who
surpassed even my picky ideals. And as if that weren't enough, he has continued
to surpass those continually rising ideals each of the four and a half years I
have been lucky enough to be with him. What am I doing right? Life doesn't seem
to get much better than this. Except that it really has almost always been this
good. Whenever I have needed it, prayers have been answered with little to no
asking. I am constantly pushing my boundaries and finding new excitements. I
want to travel the world, but yet there is so much adventure to be had closer
than 'my own backyard'. Stress and anxiety come from having too many
opportunities, not too few. What am I doing right?

Posted by Sheena at 08:04 PM | Permalink

Simply the fact that I am sitting here typing
while overlooking an astonishing view of the Manhattan Bridge, Queens, and the
East River would have been more than I could have dreamed of as a senior in high
school, fascinated with New York City. Exploring the city's streets was enough
to elate me when I first moved here, and experiences such I have now would have
been beyond imagination - meeting world experts on a daily basis, having
well-known and well connected freinds and mentors, visiting the city's top
restaurants and lounges, and working out of offices on Wall St. and in the
Chrysler Building. I never expected that I would last a year in the city when I
first arrived, so I certainly didn't expect that I would be living in a
beautiful spacious apartment in Brooklyn that had everything I could possibly
need. And most of all, I had basically given up hope that I would ever meet a
'soul mate', and not three days into my city experience, I had met a man who
surpassed even my picky ideals. And as if that weren't enough, he has continued
to surpass those continually rising ideals each of the four and a half years I
have been lucky enough to be with him. What am I doing right? Life doesn't seem
to get much better than this. Except that it really has almost always been this
good. Whenever I have needed it, prayers have been answered with little to no
asking. I am constantly pushing my boundaries and finding new excitements. I
want to travel the world, but yet there is so much adventure to be had closer
than 'my own backyard'. Stress and anxiety come from having too many
opportunities, not too few. What am I doing right?

Posted by Sheena Lindahl at 08:04 PM | Permalink

Sheena and I are speaking next week at the Young Entrepreneurs Summit '04 near Washington, DC. Registration is free and there are some great speakers. If you're in the area, stop by.

Posted by Michael Simmons at 11:24 PM | Permalink

For example, today I spoke at the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship conference. People treated me nicely beforehand, but once I got up and spoke, people treated me much better and much more seriously. Teachers and administrators asked a lot more about the book/workbook and talked about including it in their curriculum. I was still the same person, but people's perception of me changed. This is exactly what happened with The Student Success Manifesto ebook when it was originally published. People thought it was interesting that I had written an ebook, but when people saw a professionally produced physical copy, we had 1,200 sales in two months.

I also think clothing is critically important. It really is true that dressing for success brings success. At the same time, I've seen people in business who are very successful dress down. By doing this, it seems like they're implying, "I'm so successful I don't need to dress up" or "I'm successful, but I'm still down-to-Earth." So, dressing down and carrying ones self in the right way might actually make people think you're more successful. I've seen this done well by some people, but it's generally hard to pull off. One person who comes to mind is John Sexton, the president of NYU. Most of the times I've seen him he's wearing hiking books, corduroy pants, a sweatshirt from his former high school, and a Yankees baseball cap. I don't think he dresses like this by mistake.

Unfortunately, people start off in different places economically, physically, and culturally. Some people have an accent that makes them sound less successful. Some people are born more attractive. Yes, it sucks, but I think people need to work with what they have. One's greatest differences or unique aspects can actually be turned into strengths. By doing this successfully, one actually changes the system for others. Rather than complaining about how things are unfair, one could change oneself to produce the results they want. At the time, it is important to do this without basing one's self-image or happiness on what other people think (I know, easier said than done) or the success might actually be counter-productive.

In the end, for the better or worse, people do seem to judge a book by its cover, whether it be a product or a person. Sure, some people are really good at seeing through the exterior to one's potential, but most people aren't or don't have enough time. The wait until someone "discovers" you might be a never-ending one.

Think about yourself as a product or as a brand and ask yourself the follow questions:

1. When people think about you, what do you want them to think?
   
2. How can you create your brand in a way that people will want to tell others about you?
   
3. How do you want to position your brand compared to other people?
   
4. How will you change what you dress? How you act? How you talk?
   
5. Who is your target market and how can you expose them to your brand? events? speaking? strategic volunteering?

Posted by Michael Simmons at 04:45 PM | Permalink

1. Decide what you want to accomplish.What's important to you? What are you passionate about pursuing? What benefits do you expect the accomplishments to bring?
2. Learn the best way to get there.
   • Learn from the past experiments (experiences) of yourself/others if the results are still valid, and/or
   • Methodically and rigorously choose and perform your own new experiments
3. Attract resources (money, people, etc.) through mutually-beneficial exchanges.
4. Build a measurement system that tells you the effectiveness of your actions.
5. Apply the resources in the way you planned (perhaps modified because of limited resources).
6. Observe feedback from measurement system.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 with lessons learned.

Posted by Michael Simmons at 07:33 PM | Permalink

In the past, many people have asked me what the most influential self-help books in my life have been. After much delay, I just made a list on Amazon.com. These books were particularly powerful because I had not been exposed to their ideas before and because I was ready to hear and incorporate those ideas into my life. Even if you think you already understand what these books have to say, these authors have written so cogently about important ideas that you will gain a deeper understanding of their importance and be able to use them more effectively in your life.

If you enjoy the list, it would be very much appreciated if you could give it a good rating.

Posted by Michael Simmons at 08:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

Today I went to an panel on blogging, politics, and personal voice. The panel was moderated by Jeff Jarvis and consisted of:

1. John Aravosis - Writer and political consultant specializing in using the Internet for political advocacy
   
2. Cam Barret - Created the Clark Community Network
   
3. Jen Chung - Edits the Gothamist
   
4. Jay Rosen - Chair of the Journalism Department at NYU
   
5. Douglas Rushkoff - I follow his blog and just read his book, Nothing Sacred: The Truth about Judaism, which I highly recommend. It will make you look at religion in a new way.
   
6. Julian Sanchez - Assistant editor of Reason magazine

It seems that search engines are catching on to this idea as both Google and Yahoo are beta-testing local search services. I guess these moves are not surprising when about 25% of online buyers look for local merchants (Bizrate and The Kelsey Group).

Ironically, it seems that the Internet, which is a global medium, may also have a huge impact on how communities function locally by connecting people that are geographically close to each other in new and meaningful ways. Due to lack of expertise, I will not try expound on what I think this means. However, the consequences for politics, volunteerism, personal happiness, and commerce seem like they could be large, very large.

Posted by Michael Simmons at 10:57 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (1)

A few nights ago, I couldn't fall asleep. Normally, I would wake up Sheena and try to make her talk, often unsuccessfully and often against her will. However, a few nights ago, I decided to try and clear my mind instead as part of my continuing quest to follow the "Golden Rule" (to do unto others as you would want done to yourself). Interestingly, all I could think about was getting a piece of bread and spreading butter on it. After 5-10 minutes of deliberation, I started to get up, when to my surprise, Sheena said in an annoyed voice, "Don't let the butter melt!"

You can imagine my shock, considering the facts that:

1. She was asleep. This was confirmed after prodding her side and saying her name in an increasingly louder voice (sometimes the "Golden Rule" must be broken).
   
2. I hadn't mentioned my bread & butter thoughts out loud.

Posted by Michael Simmons at 07:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

In January, I made a post about questions I had on the scientific method and its relation to religion. Now, eight months later, I'm doing an independent study with the president of NYU related to the subject and have begun to dive into the subject more thoroughly. The two books that I would most recommend to others are:

Religion and Science by Bertrand Russell
First published in 1935, this book talks about where science and religion have come into conflict over the past few hundred years. More specifically, he goes into detail on the following conflicts:

• Sun vs. Earth (as the center of the solar system)
  
• Evolution vs. Creationism
  
• Demonology vs. Medicine
  
• Soul vs. Body
  
• Determinism vs. Free Will
  
• Mysticism (experiencing truth) vs. Scientific Method (proving truth by replicable experiments)
  
• Cosmic Purpose
  
• Limits of Science (how ethics/values can never proven by science)

Major Take Aways from the Books

1. The Old Power of Religion. I've gained a more thorough understanding of how dominant religion was in people's lives. For example, Aristotle believed that the speed of which objects fall is proportional to its weight. In other words, he believed that a ten pound object dropped at the same moment from the same height as an one pound object would reach the ground ten times more quickly. Surprisingly, this easy-to-test idea wasn't even tested until 2,000 years later when Galileo tested it by dropping objects from the Leaning Tower of Pisa and observing the results.

   Over time, the power of religion is also demonstrated by the fact that millions of innocent victims have painfully died as a result people using the Bible as a guide to conduct. In fact, Russell says that, "It is estimated that in Germany alone, between 1450 and 1550, a hundred thousand witches were put to death, mostly by burning. (95)". Interestingly, the most common accusation against witches, at the time, was that they caused bad weather (i.e., tempests, hail-storms, thunder, and lightning). After accusations, women (who obviously pleaded that they were innocent) were brutally tortured until they admitted that they were witches. According to Russell, the last burning of a witch occurred as recently as 1722 or 1730. Wow!

2. Religion will Always Exist. While the trend for the past few hundred years has been for science to take over parts of religion, it seems that religion will always exist where science has not proven itself yet or where science can't make conclusions (i.e., values, ethics, questions that ask why, etc.).

3. Religion Isn't Innately Bad. I've come to the conclusion that religion isn't innately bad or useless (which is what I've thought for a large part of my life). In fact, I think it can be very useful and practical for people. I'm exploring this ideamore, but when religious diversity is accepted and used synergistically and when religious creeds and ethics evolve with culture and science, I think they can be powerful.

4. Like Democracy, Science isn't Perfect, but is the Best that We Have. It is hard to argue with many of Sagan's points. Some that I thought were interesting are:
   • In Western Europe in Medieval Times, the human life expectancy was about 20 to 30 years. Today it is approaching 80 in the United States.
     
   • "Advances in medicine and agriculture have saved vastly more lives than have been lost in all the wars in history. (11)"
     
   • Communication, transportation, entertainment, and other technologies, which have drastically changed the way we live our lives.
     
   • If prayer is so powerful than why didn't kings and queens live longer when all of its citizens were constantly praying for his/her health and praying, "God save the Queen".

Posted by Michael Simmons at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (14)

It's amazing! Here I am, 22-years-old, writing a blog entry to many people, most of whom I've met in the past few years. I'm writing this entry at 2am from the world's biggest city in the world's smallest apartment. I live in Spanish Harlem with my girl friend whose my business partner on a socially-active, for-profit company. I'm graduating the Stern School of Business at NYU in a few months and embarking on what seems will be an entrepreneurial career. Who would've thought?

1. Not the 12-year-old basketball player expecting to go to the pros, practicing fade away, game-winning Michael Jordan jump shots until dark.
   
2. Not the grade school student dreaming about Harvard, wanting to make his mom happy.
   
3. Not the lonely middle school student who thought that once he found the person of his dreams, he wouldn't have to work at the relationship and he'd live happily ever after.

Life is nothing but seeds and sun. We plant our life with the seeds of values and visions, beliefs and goals. Sure, we can control what types of soil we plant the seeds in, but can we control the sun? Can we control the clouds, the weather, or the weeds? We live in a dynamic world where we collectively cede control to a large, interdependent system bigger and more powerful than us all. How? Simply by living life and planting our seeds, whatever type they might be, from moment to moment and day to day.

There is a saying that if a butterfly flaps its wings in one part of the world, it may result in a tornado in another part. I can only hope that values create value. I can only hope and believe that by being the change I want to see in every moment, that the sun will shine a little bit brighter for everybody.

Posted by Michael Simmons at 02:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yesterday, I wrote an acquaintance to tell him more about myself and my life so we could get to know each other better. After all, there is always more than meets the bio (ed note: play of words on 'more than meets the eyes'). Here is my view on an unfinished journey:

1. My dad is black; from Trenton, New Jersey; and grew up pretty poor. I was eight years old when he passed away. When my mom was eighteen, she and her family were kicked out of Poland for being Jewish. Their passport was taken away and they could only take very few belongings. As a teenager, her and her brother came to America by themselves.
   
2. My mom and dad met at Mercer Country Community College. They divorced when I was four.
   
3. Growing up I always felt different because I was an agglomeration of different classes, ethnicities, and races. I grew up in a small, suburban, middle-class town fifteen minutes from Princeton University. At the same time, both of my parents worked very hard for what they got. Consequently, they instilled in me a very strong work ethic and a belief in myself that I could accomplish anything I wanted to.
   
4. I grew up playing a ton of sports and was generally one of the best at each one I played. At the end of grade school, I decided to focus on tennis and played tournaments for the next six years and eventually played on the NYU tennis team where I was the MVP my freshman year. In eighth grade, I had a growth spurt of seven inches in six months. This gave me very weak knees and led to injuries that still plague me and limit my potential.
   
5. Academically, I did well. In grade school, I was always on the border line between "gifted and talented" classes and "average" classes. My mom, against my desire at the time, pushed for me to be moved up. I guess they realized it wasn't worth arguing with her and let me join the "gifted and talented" group. As such, I often felt like I was the least intelligent of my peers. To preserve my ego, I decided that I had to compete in other ways beyond academic intelligence. That's one of the reasons I think why I was open to starting a business.
   
6. Socially, I was rather quiet and nervous, perhaps because I was an only child. My small group of friends was in between a lot of groups in the social hierarchy so we were able to hang out with any other group by and large. In ninth grade, I decided that I wanted to be popular. So I started trying to be funny and developed a reputation for being a goof ball. In the end, it worked fairly well, but not as well as I would have hoped at the time. I started to let the popularity hunt go when my business partner and I would transition from having a meeting with a client for thousands of dollars and then going to Gym class. We realized that there was a lot more to life. Similarly, I keep perspective on the 'rat race' culture of selling out ones values for what's perceived by others as success.
   
7. My friend and I started our web development company when I was sixteen years old. We didn't know much of anything, but fortunately for us this ignorance gave us the balls to do what we did. We grew by partnering with a web development company that outsourced to us at $25/hr. This gave us the opportunity to build our client list and our skills. Our next growth spurt came when we went out on our own and outsourced our projects to India. At one point we were charging $75-$100/hour and outsourcing for $25/hour and sending a lot of projects through the pipe line. Alas, we made many mistakes and also realized that the market doesn't always throw clients at our feet that are willing to pay a lot of money. When the bubble burst, my partner and I were at college and we decided to stop doing the business. It was good while it lasted.
   
8. Running the business was difficult because of skepticism from my mom. She wanted me to succeed, but on her terms, which meant getting good grades at good schools and moving into a safe job as a computer programmer. She saw my interest in entrepreneurship as a direct threat to her dream for me. As such, she'd often ignore, discourage, or make fun of me when I talked about doing business. After crying a few times, I decided to simply not talk about it. However, things have changed a lot now and she has been there for me during times when I really needed it.
   
9. I didn't have any girl friends in high school. But, I met my current one my third day at NYU. We've lived together for about three years now and it has been an absolutely incredible relationship, no without its ups and downs though. We are partners on the business and our skills really complement each other. We still haven't gotten sick of seeing each other many hours every day. Miraculously, we still find interesting things to talk about.
   
10. At NYU, I've gotten very involved in youth entrepreneurship organizations, particularly the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. I am an alumni, on the NY Metro advisory board, volunteer, and work for/shadow the president once a week.
    
11. While at NYU, I've spent quite a bit of time attending self-development/spirituality/creativity seminars and conferences. I also journal quite a bit. Keeping everything in perspective is extremely important to me.
    
12. I've also spent a lot of time networking. When I got to New York City, I didn't know anybody. Now, I have over 700 contacts in my personal database.
    
13. I didn't really enjoy NYU when I first came here. In retrospect, I think this was due to a combination of large required classes with hundreds of other students who didn't want to be there. It also was due to picking classes very poorly, having a lot of difficulty sitting in one place for an extended amount of time, and not giving school the chance I could've in terms of time. During my sophomore year I took a semester off to get away and to soul search. The experience really helped me grow and when I came back to NYU, I made the most of it! Overall, I've really enjoyed my NYU experience and am extremely happy that I chose it over the other schools I got into, including higher ranked ones. I would even call it a dream school. For me, it was definitely true that you don't really learn how to maximize school until its too late and you graduate. I may go back to school for a Phd some day.
    
14. I could talk about Extreme Entrepreneurship and The Student Success Manifesto, which have been a big part of my life the last two years, but you'll just have to read this blog to find out more.
    
15. My vision is to make a large, lasting, positive difference in the world by being the change I want to see in every moment.

Posted by Michael Simmons at 01:28 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (22)

Thinking about making the move
to live with a significant other? After living with Michael for over three
years, here is the advice I gave to a friend: Firstly, living together and
dating are very different. My guess would be that living together is much more
like being married than it is like dating, although of course I've never been
married. There seem to be various stages to any relationship, and I think by
moving in together, a new stage arises. The infatuation you get in the beginning
of a relationship gives way to a more casual love. In a way, you start to think
of each other like family and take each other for granted. A lot of the
'glamour' of the relationship goes away. It's great because you are so
comfortable around each other, but at the same time you sometimes forget how
lucky you are, and have to keep reminding yourself. I've heard that successful
marriages are less likely to come about after "cohabitations". I don�t know much
about how these statistics were derived, but you have to think about the
context. A couple living together has only very recently become acceptable, just
as divorce has. Relationships are not what they used to be - for better and for
worse. I think that one thing that our generation has been entirely mislead on
is the belief that we have one soulmate and that once we find our "prince" we
will live "happily ever after". Relationships are hard work, and we have never
been taught how to push through the tough times which are inevitable. I would
argue that the most difficult times for Michael and I have brought us the most
growth - both individually and in our relationship. But many people take these
difficult times as signs that they "were not meant for each other" after all.
The other thing I should point out about living together is that the longer you
do it, the more difficult it is to break up. Michael and I have considered
breaking up before (though we're both glad we didn�t now), and when that was
going on, we realized how difficult it would actually be to move apart. Our
belongings had virtually merged, and we had become very interdependent. But it
wasn't just our belongings. We had been giving to each other unconditionally,
the way you would give to a family member who you expected to always be your
family member. But at the same time, when you're living together, marriage
becomes very easy to put off, even if you plan on it eventually. (This is where
I see our relationship right now.) It doesn�t seem like much would change, and
so there doesn�t seem to be much of a point in it. Where is the benefit? Perhaps
this accounts some for the increasing delay in the age of marriages in our
generation. I hope these points do not sound too negative, because to be
completely honest with you, I think it was an excellent choice for us to live
together and I wouldn�t have it any other way. It will bring out the best in
your relationship and the worst - and the best in each other and the worst. It
is a beautiful catalyst for growth. However, living together is certainly not
dating. I think for it to be successful, each individual has to approach living
together with a commitment to the relationship's success, a willingness to
change and compromise, and a determination to use the challenges as a means to
grow personally. Above all, I think the best advice I can give is the advice
that my mother gave me when I told her that Michael and I were thinking about it
- you have to follow your heart, and you will know if it is right for you.

Posted by Sheena Lindahl at 02:26 AM | Permalink

Thinking about making the move
to live with a significant other? After living with Michael for over three
years, here is the advice I gave to a friend: Firstly, living together and
dating are very different. My guess would be that living together is much more
like being married than it is like dating, although of course I've never been
married. There seem to be various stages to any relationship, and I think by
moving in together, a new stage arises. The infatuation you get in the beginning
of a relationship gives way to a more casual love. In a way, you start to think
of each other like family and take each other for granted. A lot of the
'glamour' of the relationship goes away. It's great because you are so
comfortable around each other, but at the same time you sometimes forget how
lucky you are, and have to keep reminding yourself. I've heard that successful
marriages are less likely to come about after "cohabitations". I don�t know much
about how these statistics were derived, but you have to think about the
context. A couple living together has only very recently become acceptable, just
as divorce has. Relationships are not what they used to be - for better and for
worse. I think that one thing that our generation has been entirely mislead on
is the belief that we have one soulmate and that once we find our "prince" we
will live "happily ever after". Relationships are hard work, and we have never
been taught how to push through the tough times which are inevitable. I would
argue that the most difficult times for Michael and I have brought us the most
growth - both individually and in our relationship. But many people take these
difficult times as signs that they "were not meant for each other" after all.
The other thing I should point out about living together is that the longer you
do it, the more difficult it is to break up. Michael and I have considered
breaking up before (though we're both glad we didn�t now), and when that was
going on, we realized how difficult it would actually be to move apart. Our
belongings had virtually merged, and we had become very interdependent. But it
wasn't just our belongings. We had been giving to each other unconditionally,
the way you would give to a family member who you expected to always be your
family member. But at the same time, when you're living together, marriage
becomes very easy to put off, even if you plan on it eventually. (This is where
I see our relationship right now.) It doesn�t seem like much would change, and
so there doesn�t seem to be much of a point in it. Where is the benefit? Perhaps
this accounts some for the increasing delay in the age of marriages in our
generation. I hope these points do not sound too negative, because to be
completely honest with you, I think it was an excellent choice for us to live
together and I wouldn�t have it any other way. It will bring out the best in
your relationship and the worst - and the best in each other and the worst. It
is a beautiful catalyst for growth. However, living together is certainly not
dating. I think for it to be successful, each individual has to approach living
together with a commitment to the relationship's success, a willingness to
change and compromise, and a determination to use the challenges as a means to
grow personally. Above all, I think the best advice I can give is the advice
that my mother gave me when I told her that Michael and I were thinking about it
- you have to follow your heart, and you will know if it is right for you.

Posted by Sheena Lindahl at 02:26 AM | Permalink

Right now, I'm in one of those crazy work modes where I'm just inspired. Last night, I worked until 6:00am, woke up four hours later, and here I am now - eyes wide open, heart pounding. Either everything is coming together or I'm just really happy with the way things are or both. In various news:

1. Last week we met with the managing director of the venture capital firm that Sheena works for. He gave some really great advice about how we could incorporate technology into our publishing model. The meeting concluded with him asking if we could do it again in a month.
   
2. Two weeks ago we met with a Brown University professor who was a successful entrepreneur in a former life. Also, he teaches a course that helps students create a framework for their lives through the lens of entrpereneuershp. It was really great to see that a course like this exists! Right now, we're communicating via email about potential ways we could collaborate.
   
3. Sheena and I are doing an independent study with John Sexton, the president of NYU, which started last week. It promises to be extremely exciting and will be on the topic of community development.
   
4. I'm doing an global entrepreneurship independent study with Professor Wiesen, who is a Stern Professor and as well a cofounder of Tofutti and the Financial News Network (sold to CNBC).
   
5. I'm back into playing tennis. I'm playing about once a week and hoping to move that up to three or four times.
   
6. Besides that I've just been enjoying another summer in the city.

Posted by Michael Simmons at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (11)

Article Summary
Logic suggests that having options allows people to select precisely what makes them happiest. But, as studies show, abundant choice often makes for misery.

Link to Scientific American Article

Posted by Michael Simmons at 09:35 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (32)

A few years ago, a friend of mine mentioned that many famous artists eventually go crazy. For some reason, this was just one of those things that stuck in my mind. Well, over the past few months, I've been developing a theory on why this might happen...

One of my most distinctive attributes is that I often enter into states of flow and creativity where I lose sight of everything else. Food, significant others, school, etc. all become meaningless no matter how much I might normally love them. In those hours of flow, in addition to working for many hours straight on pure inspiration, I come up with many creative ideas (at least they seem that way until I wake up the next day). In fact, I'm so impressed with my ideas that I might start dancing around our apartment or fall to my knees in euphoria. In the past, I've taken pride in this, considering it one of my strengths.

However, recently I've been noticing that it does come with its disadvantages if not managed properly. Below are those disadvantages coupled with possible solutions:

1. Execution. Something that the entrepreneurially minded aren't lacking is ideas. What are lacking are resources to execute those ideas. Constantly becoming infatuated with the next 'million dollar' idea does not lead to real results.
   Realization: Ideas don't have value in and of themselves. They are seeds that require resources to grow. A general rule of thumb is that whatever amount resources you think a project requires, multiply by two.
   
2. Focus. Sitting in one place is extremely difficult for me, especially during classes. If the class is too boring, than my mind starts to come up with new ideas. If the class is too exciting, then my mind also starts going off the wall with new ideas. My heart rate speeds up, I bite my nails until their bloody (one of those childhood habits that didn't go away), and I intermittently write in my notebook and make eye contact with my professor when in reality I'm just brainstorming about business. Also, on a smaller level, I have difficulty listening to people for the same reasons as above.
   Realization: Fixation leads to separation from your environment and lack of open-mindedness.
   
3. Perspective Lastly, these flow periods often get more and more hectic. Instead of the problems being exciting, they become larger and more important than they actually are. With so many possibilities, I begin to feel behind because I don't have the time or resources to implement them.
   Realization: Ideas can create a false reality, no matter how much you think your ideas are the truth. I love flying on stormy days because I learn the power of perspective. I'm always surprised and awed to see that the sun is always brilliantly shining when the plane gets high enough.

Posted by Michael Simmons at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (33)

For the next few months, I plan to focus my time on the following:

1. School
   
2. Meditation (1.5 hours/day)
   
3. Extreme Entrepreneurship
   • Building advisory board
     
   • Raising funds
     
   • Helping to launch workbook
     
   • Writing the second edition of the book
     
   • Further building systems (web site, etc.)
     
   • Looking for distributor
   
   
4. Writing Fiction Book with Best-Seller and Movie Potential (50 pages in so far)

Posted by Michael Simmons at 12:54 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (9)

I started blogging in late June of 2003 and updated it fairly continuously until January of 2004, making over 200 total posts in all. Some of my general musings on it are:

1. Word-of-Mouth: In the back of my mind, I pictured the blog quickly growing via word-of-mouth and having lots of regular readers. While it did garner regular readers, the number was fairly low. This probably has to do a lot with my writing style, how long I've been writing, the interestingess of what I write about, and so on.
   
2. Managing the Network: Overall, I thought the tool was very effective in keeping in touch with people of varying relations to me. With a growing network of contacts, I'm quickly realizing that actually effectively managing my network is going to be a larger obstacle than growing it.
   
3. Accelerating the Network: I thought the blog was a very powerful tool to accelerate initial growth of contacts. For example, let's say I just met somebody at an event. By reading my blog, they can rapidly learn more not only about certain things I've done, but who I am and how I think.
   
4. Inspirational/Useful: I did get comments from regular readers of the blog that they found it inspirational read.
   
5. TIME!: In the end, the largest challenge to blogging was the time spent creating a quality entry, which is about 1.5 hours for me.

   In the end, did the benefits outweight the costs? In other words, was it worth it? To that question, I must give the answer that nobody likes to hear, which is 'maybe'. I think I learned a fair amount, which I can apply to making a blog that is better moving forward. Here are the preliminary changes, I plan to make:

   1. Make less frequent, but higher quality posts.
      
   2. Measure what works and what doesn't.
      
   3. Integrate Sheena and I's blog more. If you haven't noticed, we are dual-blogging now.
      
   4. Generate word-of-mouth. I plan to spend more time thinking about what I'm going to write about and making the writing more interesting.
      
   5. Leverage Notifications. Movable Type has a feature where whenever new blog entries are made, you can notify people of the entry and send them an excerpt. I would like to advertise this feature to people when they sign up for the quarterlyEE Newsletter so that Extreme Entrepreneurship is on their mind more often.

Posted by Michael Simmons at 12:28 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (12)

It has been nearly four months since my last full length post. Let me first start off by saying that while a lot has not changed in my life, a lot has changed in my thinking. Let me start off with the life updates though:

Life Updates:

1. I've chosen to graduate NYU in August. I'm taking 13.5 credits over the summer, which includes the following classes: managerial accounting, global history, consumer behavior, and two independent studies.
   
2. Upon graduation, Sheena and I have chosen to raise funds and focus on the publishing company full-time.
   
3. Sheena and I have moved from Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn, NYC to Washington Heights in Manhattan, NYC on April 1st after a 24-hr moving marathon (no exaggeration). The area is completely different than any I've ever been in before. Rather than go into details, I will just say that it is very much like living in a different country. The first language is Spanish, not English.
   
4. I spoke to the freshman class at the Stern Business School at NYU. It was the largest audience I've ever spoken to and I thought it went very well.
   
5. My dog, Ginger, died.
   
6. For spring break, I went to a 10-day meditation retreat in Illinois. It was absolutely one of the best experiences I've ever gone through! More that later.

Posted by Michael Simmons at 12:03 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (21)

Today, my dog, Ginger, died. Or rather she fell asleep in my mother and I's arms and will never wake. And now she lives on in memories that I know will never be repeated.

About three months ago, Ginger was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. She was given one year, may be two live. However, her condition rapidly declined. I had come home many times over the past few months thinking that each time would be the last time I'd see her. So when my mom emailed me this morning and said, "I'll have to put Ginger to sleep tonight," I thought I was ready. Now, I know you can never truly be ready for something like that.

My last memory of Ginger is my mom and I holding her at the vet along with two attendants. She stared at me unaware of her imminent fate. I stared deeply and affectionately into her round, brown eyes, until at last, her eyes glossed over with death and mine with tears.

Posted by Michael Simmons at 11:47 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (40)

What causes us to connect with, to
love, other human being? What is it that attracts us to one person but not
another? It certainly is nothing logical, although we try to rationalize it in
our heads. �I like him because he makes me laugh; I like her because she�s so
much like me; We�re best friends because we�ve known each other for so long.�
But then what happens when the person you feel this �connection� with is someone
who, for all logical, reasons is someone you shouldn�t like? Or vice-versa. I
have had experiences where I have met extremely interesting people who are
interested in many of the same things that I am, but as much as I wanted to, I
could not build that feeling of connection. It wasn�t that I didn�t like them.
There was just no �chemistry�. And I have met people that, even in a very short
period of time, I have developed a very deep connection with. I would really
love to know what creates and sustains these bonds. Are we attracted to
particular people for a reason? I read somewhere a theory that while we
communicate on a worldly level, unbeknownst to our egos our souls are at the
same time communicating, and this determines our level of attraction. I suppose
this is possible. And then, to take this question one step further, once we are
attracted to another person, what determines whether this will be a romantic or
more friendly attraction?

Posted by Sheena Lindahl at 10:01 PM | Permalink

What causes us to connect with, to
love, other human being? What is it that attracts us to one person but not
another? It certainly is nothing logical, although we try to rationalize it in
our heads. �I like him because he makes me laugh; I like her because she�s so
much like me; We�re best friends because we�ve known each other for so long.�
But then what happens when the person you feel this �connection� with is someone
who, for all logical, reasons is someone you shouldn�t like? Or vice-versa. I
have had experiences where I have met extremely interesting people who are
interested in many of the same things that I am, but as much as I wanted to, I
could not build that feeling of connection. It wasn�t that I didn�t like them.
There was just no �chemistry�. And I have met people that, even in a very short
period of time, I have developed a very deep connection with. I would really
love to know what creates and sustains these bonds. Are we attracted to
particular people for a reason? I read somewhere a theory that while we
communicate on a worldly level, unbeknownst to our egos our souls are at the
same time communicating, and this determines our level of attraction. I suppose
this is possible. And then, to take this question one step further, once we are
attracted to another person, what determines whether this will be a romantic or
more friendly attraction?

Posted by Sheena Lindahl at 10:01 PM | Permalink

I just finished The Goal, which I read for my Operations Management class. Even though it isn't due until late February, I haven't been able to put it down the past few days.

It is actually a fictional account of a plant manager's saga to turn around a plant and, for that matter, his marriage. As I read the book, I learned about an important operation management concept that revolutionized manufacturing called "The Theory of Constraints". Also, I saw a lot of relevance of how the concept could be applied to my own life right away.

I found the fiction format appealing because:

1. It's more interesting.
   
2. It puts the theory into a real-world context, which makes it easier to understand.

Posted by Michael Simmons at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (18)

I�m currently
reading Hillary Clinton�s autobiography, href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-
/0743222245/qid=1075087680//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-8359135-
6942240?v=glance&s=books&n=507846">Living
History, and I must say she is an extremely fascinating and inspiring
woman. While I am only on page 164 out of 534, I have already taken from her two
lessons that I hope to always apply to my life:

1. Hilary faced many critical attacks on her role as a woman, as a mother,
   and as a political figure, especially during the campaign for her husband�s
   presidency. In her autobiography, she writes that the mantra she adopted to
   deal with criticism was: �Take criticism seriously, but not
   personally.� In the past, I have often felt conflicted in terms of
   criticism � without question, I want people�s honest feedback. But then when
   it is negative, it is sometimes difficult for me not to feel bad, even when I
   know I shouldn�t. I think that by seeking to grow rather than to safeguard the
   ego, criticism can be seen as a blessing and not something that is painful and
   to be avoided.
   
2. While adjusting to her new role as First Lady, Hillary found that people
   wanted to fit her into a certain box � traditional or feminist. She was, like
   many women, trapped by gender stereotypes that didn�t reflect the true
   complexity of her life. She found that it was very difficult to satisfy people
   with her many different, and sometimes paradoxical, roles. How could she prove
   to people that she could be both a hardworking professional woman and a
   conscientious and caring hostess? I greatly admire her persistence in being
   herself, even when that self was not accepted by others. I think that most
   people agree that they should be themselves, but the part that is difficult is
   truly understanding and accepting that self. We often place ourselves, like we
   place others, into these stereotypical roles and �boxes�, rather than
   embracing all of the complexity that we bring into the world. It is so
   powerful to seek to understand rather than work to eliminate the seemingly
   contradictory and paradoxical elements of ourselves. It is these aspects that
   truly make us who we are.

Posted by Sheena Lindahl at 10:34 PM | Permalink

I�m currently
reading Hillary Clinton�s autobiography, href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-
/0743222245/qid=1075087680//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-8359135-
6942240?v=glance&s=books&n=507846">Living
History, and I must say she is an extremely fascinating and inspiring
woman. While I am only on page 164 out of 534, I have already taken from her two
lessons that I hope to always apply to my life:

1. Hilary faced many critical attacks on her role as a woman, as a mother,
   and as a political figure, especially during the campaign for her husband�s
   presidency. In her autobiography, she writes that the mantra she adopted to
   deal with criticism was: �Take criticism seriously, but not
   personally.� In the past, I have often felt conflicted in terms of
   criticism � without question, I want people�s honest feedback. But then when
   it is negative, it is sometimes difficult for me not to feel bad, even when I
   know I shouldn�t. I think that by seeking to grow rather than to safeguard the
   ego, criticism can be seen as a blessing and not something that is painful and
   to be avoided.
   
2. While adjusting to her new role as First Lady, Hillary found that people
   wanted to fit her into a certain box � traditional or feminist. She was, like
   many women, trapped by gender stereotypes that didn�t reflect the true
   complexity of her life. She found that it was very difficult to satisfy people
   with her many different, and sometimes paradoxical, roles. How could she prove
   to people that she could be both a hardworking professional woman and a
   conscientious and caring hostess? I greatly admire her persistence in being
   herself, even when that self was not accepted by others. I think that most
   people agree that they should be themselves, but the part that is difficult is
   truly understanding and accepting that self. We often place ourselves, like we
   place others, into these stereotypical roles and �boxes�, rather than
   embracing all of the complexity that we bring into the world. It is so
   powerful to seek to understand rather than work to eliminate the seemingly
   contradictory and paradoxical elements of ourselves. It is these aspects that
   truly make us who we are.

Posted by Sheena Lindahl at 10:34 PM | Permalink

After a five year hiatus from creative writing, I'm back having just completed the rough draft of my second paper for Baseball as a Road to God. (Yes, I eventually got in after being waitlisted.) This is my first piece of fiction since my 11^th grade creative writing class where I pulled an all-nighter at a friend's house to write a story of a student's travels in time. Let's just say that I'm happy I lost that one in the computer crash of '01.

It's amazing that after only one class, I've already read three books and written two papers, but the good news is that I've tentatively gotten permission for each of my papers to be a chapter of a story. This means that by the end of the class I will have at least 60 pages done and might be on the road to my first fiction book. It's funny how intentions become realized.

On a side note, our first class was great. President Sexton basically told stories for two hours as twenty-one of us (fourteen students and seven teaching assistants) smiled, laughed, enjoyed the show, and learned a lot too.

Posted by Michael Simmons at 09:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sometimes it takes a great deal of practice to learn something new, and
sometimes I get it right away or after just
a little practice. But when I do learn, it is because something in my head
clicks and all of a sudden whatever I was trying to learn comes very easily. I
just understand it, and I don�t know where that understanding comes from. I can
think of many times I�ve had this �clicking� feeling: playing the trombone,
driving, learning to type, running�the list goes on. But what makes that click
happen? If only I could figure that out, I could learn new things a lot faster!

Posted by Sheena Lindahl at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Sometimes it takes a great deal of practice to learn something new, and
sometimes I get it right away or after just
a little practice. But when I do learn, it is because something in my head
clicks and all of a sudden whatever I was trying to learn comes very easily. I
just understand it, and I don�t know where that understanding comes from. I can
think of many times I�ve had this �clicking� feeling: playing the trombone,
driving, learning to type, running�the list goes on. But what makes that click
happen? If only I could figure that out, I could learn new things a lot faster!

Posted by Sheena Lindahl at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Ever since I was young, I�ve been obsessed
with the �natural�. I didn�t wear make-up until late into high school because I
wanted to exude my �natural beauty�. When, as a high school freshman, I died my
hair red with Koolade, this only furthered my belief that to