Jared Dees's Blog: The Latest from Jared Dees, page 34

The Unwavering Confidence of Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs had unwavering confidence.

I finally finished reading/listening to Walter Isaacson’s biography of Jobs. There are so many things I have learned from reading about the life of the Apple founder and CEO.

One thing, though, stands out: his confidence.

Jobs was able to focus on a clear goal with a specific vision for what a product should do and look like. He didn’t doubt himself or the direction they were going. When someone convinced him to change his mind, it would be as though he n...

The more you ask, the more you learn

Keeping up my daily learning log while on vacation was difficult.

During a regular work week, I try new things and learn from experience. I read a lot and listen to interviews. I’m constantly asking how I can get better at my work.

While on vacation, though, I didn’t ask a lot of questions. That is a missed opportunity. Had I approached each new experience with questions in mind, I would have discovered new ideas and made new connections.

Pausing before, during, and after experiences and aski...

The Purpose of a Page or a Post on Your Website

The purpose of a webpage or a blog post is to:

Get someone to click on another page/post on your website. Get someone to sign up for your email list. Get someone to buy your products or books.

The purpose of an email that you send to your email list is to:

Get someone to visit a page/post on your website. Get someone to open the next email you send to your email list. Get someone to buy your product or books.

The purpose of a product you sell is to:

Get someone to visit your website. Get...

The Thing You Are Known For

We walked out of the aquarium yesterday with some hungry kids. There were a few food options around to choose from, but we only had one meaningful anecdote to share about one of the options. Bar Louie is known for their tater tots. I know it doesn’t seem significant. We didn’t even order the loaded tots once we got there, but one of the reasons why we picked that restaurant from among the others is that we knew at least something about the food there.

What is the thing you are known for?

When...

Give Your Characters a Distinct Physical Characteristic

I listened to Andrew Clement’s book Frindle in the car with my kids during vacation. We all enjoyed it very much.

One writing technique that stood out to me the most was the way he described the eyes of the teacher in the story.

Each time he described an important interaction with Mrs. Granger, he mentioned her eyes. Her eyes always said something about what she was thinking even if she said something different. When you think about it, the eyes of a teacher do say a lot. Clements took that p...

The Metrics That Matter

I watched Pat Flynn’s video on his one metric that matters yesterday:

The metric he talks about isn’t what you think. Sure, he tracks traffic, subscribers, and revenue. He is well-known for his monthly income reports.

The metric that matters most to him, however, is the thank you notes that he gets in the mail.

I found this interesting because about eight years ago I wrote a handwritten thank you note to Pat after the launch of my first product. I felt compelled to do it because of how grate...

Working on Vacation

There is so much freedom that comes from working for yourself.

You make your own hours.

You get to choose which projects to work on.

You can work wherever you want.

But on vacation, you aren’t really free to get a full vacation.

You have to make time to work.

You have no choice on completing a few timely projects.

You have to work wherever you can find a spot with reliable internet access.

The post Working on Vacation appeared first on Jared Dees.

Ascetic Motivation

I read in Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs that the legendary founder of Apple believed strongly in the benefits of an ascetic way of life. It was something he picked up on during his studies of Buddhism.

Living simply and denying physical pleasures kept him motivated to work harder. He wasn’t complacent and he knew that the self-denial in one area of life made things all the more enjoyable in other areas of life.

As Lent ends and Easter begins, I can certainly attest to this as can...

Where is the Lamb?

My daughter saw some Easter decorations and asked about the lamb:

“Where is the lamb in the Easter story, dad?”

In the nativity, of course, there are many animals represented at the birth of Christ.

At Jesus’ death and Resurrection, however, Jesus is the lamb. There are no other animals.

It was hard to explain about the Paschal lamb as she quickly moved on to the next thing. It got me thinking, though, of the incredible humility of Christ. He is no longer the king that even animals come to pa...

Sin is . . .

Sin is turning a gift into a possession.

Food

Money

Sex

Time

People

Success

All these things are gifts from God.

They are good.

When we make them possessions rather than gifts, we sin.

When we accept them as gifts from God and treat them as gifts for others, we grow in greater unity with God and our neighbors.

Give thanks for the gifts.

Give ourselves to others.

Many thanks to Msgr. Michael Heinz for a wonderful Good Friday homily and to my daughter who was quiet enough in the back of the chu...