Kareem Mayan's Weblog

"Love doesn’t walk away, people do."

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 03:31:29 -0700

“Love doesn’t walk away, people do.”

- (via lilcaitybeez) (via santinaa) (via oliviasarrazin)

"Letting go is a Catch-22. You don’t want to let go until you have something new to cling to, but you..."

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 03:23:50 -0700

“Letting go is a Catch-22. You don’t want to let go until you have something new to cling to, but you can’t discover the new thing until you let go. In between, you must cross a mystery zone. Eventually you get to the point where you can’t stand the feeling of things not adding up for one more minute. That’s when you take a leap of faith, and the questions start to feel more important than the answers. You’re in a new place. The bad news: There are no maps. The good news? You are the mapmaker.”

- Shoshana Zuboff (via fuckfailgoawesome)

"Don’t let people who you may respect and who you believe know what they’re talking about, don’t let..."

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:43:07 -0700

“Don’t let people who you may respect and who you believe know what they’re talking about, don’t let them tell you it can’t be done, because often they will tell you it can’t be done, and it’s just because they don’t have the courage to try.”

- Pierre Omidyar (via Education Revolution)

All Good Stories Have a Hero.

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:15:26 -0700

All good stories have a hero, and two other key elements:
1. A serious challenge.
2. A hero dealing with the challenge and learning something as a result.

But make sure you put the audience, not you, in the hero’s shoes.
People identify with themselves. They want solutions to their problems. They are interested in making their own lives better.
(source unknown)

Daniela says Susan Boyle’s performance “comes from a...

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:12:00 -0700

Daniela says Susan Boyle’s performance “comes from a deeper place. There was passion driving her singing.” What is it about witnessing genius that makes us appreciate it so? Watching Susan Boyle kill it made me shed a tear, and the crowd and judges were over the moon.

Susan Boyle (via BritainsSoTalented)

"Emotions like anxiety and fear have their roots in uncertainty and rarely in experience. Anyone who..."

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:08:30 -0700

“Emotions like anxiety and fear have their roots in uncertainty and rarely in experience. Anyone who has made a big bet on themselves knows how much energy both states can consume. The solution is to do something about that ignorance. Make yourself familiar with the things, the worst-case scenarios, that you’re afraid of.”

- Stoicism 101: A Practical Guide for Entrepreneurs

"Try for just a single day, a whole day when you refuse to acknowledge fear of failure, fear of..."

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:05:05 -0700

“Try for just a single day, a whole day when you refuse to acknowledge fear of failure, fear of making yourself look like an idiot, fear of losing your lover, fear of anything and of any kind. Fear will creep back, but laugh at it and tell it to take a hike. Go on. I dare you. If you can do it, this will transform your life.”

- Felix Dennis, founder of Maxim

AMAZING stories about Michael Jackson in the studio

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:29:53 -0700

AMAZING stories about Michael Jackson in the studio:

Written by recording engineers who worked with Jackson recording Thriller, HIStory, etc. Shows us MJ’s genius and how hard he worked in pursuit of perfection. There are great stories on every page - check ‘em all out. One of my favorites:

By the way, to elaborate a bit on the Notorious B.I.G. session, it was kinda like this. Michael used to call people to ask them to participate on albums. It was interesting knowing that nearly anyone on the planet would come to the phone if it were Michael calling. Anyway, I heard rumors that B.I.G. was going to come, and I was excited about that! I knew that I would be the one to record that, as I had recorded nearly all of that tune, “This Time Around”. So, Dallas and I were expecting him any minute, and pretty much on time, Notorious strolls in. He was quite an imposing figure when he walked in, as he was quite popular at the time. I had no idea what to expect from him in terms of attitude, but he seemed nice when he walked in. No problem. But almost immediately, he blurted out, “Yo, Dallas, can I meet Mike?” To which, Dallas replied that he thought so. Biggie went on to talk about how much this opportunity meant to him, as Michael was his hero. Anyway, Dallas tells him that we’re going to lay down the rap first, so Biggie heads in the booth, we get some headphone levels and get ready to start recording. So, we hit the big red button (on a Sony 3348 machine), and away we go. During his first take, Dallas and I looked at each other, because it was spot on. wow. I was impressed, and so was Dallas. We listened back, and Dallas was like, “Wow, I think we got it”. As I recall, we took another take for good measure, but I’m fairly certain that we ended up using the first take. So, Notorious comes in, and asks if he can meet Michael now. We sent word to the back room where Michael was working that Biggie was finished and wanted to meet him. Simply for security, Michael’s security would enter and make sure that no one was in the room that shouldn’t be, and once that was confirmed (it was just me, Biggie and Dallas), Michael came in. Biggie nearly broke out in tears…I could tell how much this meant to him. Well, Michael could have this effect on anyone, even the most hardcore rappers! Biggie was tripping up on his words, bowing down and telling Michael how much his music had meant to him in his life. Michael was, as always, very humble and kept smiling while Biggie just went on and on how much he loved Michael. I watched Biggie just become this big butterball of a man, and it was really very sweet to witness. After all, we are all just people. Michael finally asked to hear what we had done, and we popped it up on the big speakers and let her go. Michael LOVED it and was excited to tell Biggie that! “Oh, let’s hear it again”, I recall Michael saying, and we listened again. Michael just loved it…and thanked Biggie for coming all the way from Philadelphia. Biggie asked rather sheepishly whether he could get a photo, and Michael agreed. A shot was taken, we listened again, and Michael thanked Biggie. Michael said goodbye and stepped out, leaving Biggie standing there looking completely stunned. It will always remain a great, great memory.

How much do your meetings cost?

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:45:12 -0700

How much do your meetings cost?: Use this brilliant real-time calculator and be horrified at the results :)

"When I think about every big leap that happened in my career, it was always because of..."

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:50:42 -0700

“When I think about every big leap that happened in my career, it was always because of ‘someone I knew.’ Always friends of friends. People in some position of power who I kept in touch with, did favors for, and got the same in return.”

- Derek Sivers (Derek founded CDBaby)

Agile Opportunism – Entrepreneurial DNA

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:54:05 -0700

Agile Opportunism – Entrepreneurial DNA:

Entrepreneurs instinctually realize that the best advocate for their careers is themselves and that there is no such thing as a linear career path. They recognize they are going to have to follow their own internal compass and embrace the uncertainty as part of the journey. In fact using uncertainty as your path is an advantage entrepreneurs share. Their journey will have them try more disconnected paths than someone on a traditional career track. And one day all the seemingly random data and experience they’ve acquired will end up as an insight in building something greater than the sum of the parts.

"The most excellent jihad is that for conquest of self."

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:53:20 -0700

“The most excellent jihad is that for conquest of self.”

- Bumper sticker my friend bought from Muslim store in Brooklyn

Build an Insanely Great Web Service

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:56:43 -0700

Build an Insanely Great Web Service

"The problem with software development is you always think that next feature will be the secret key..."

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:12:24 -0700

“The problem with software development is you always think that next feature will be the secret key to success. It generally never is…”

- Noah Kagan

He’s 100% correct. In a start-up’s existence they’re lucky if they find one silver bullet in their chamber. At best two. Most get none. Everything else is committing to the long-term goals and marching towards them with everything you have.
(via tedr)

"Every mistake we’ve made as a company has been because we tried to do too much, not because we..."

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:53:59 -0700

“Every mistake we’ve made as a company has been because we tried to do too much, not because we didn’t do enough.”

- Know what you’re measuring

I watch this when there’s something I don’t want to...

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:37:00 -0700

I watch this when there’s something I don’t want to do. Then I go do it.
—-
Warhawk Matt Scott in Nike ‘No Excuses’ Commercial (via jasinskija08)

Thoughts from a 90 year old rabbi on life and death

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:39:16 -0700

Thoughts from a 90 year old rabbi on life and death

How to Get Rich

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 05:24:37 -0700

How to Get Rich: Great notes on life and business from the founder of Maxim.

Gandhi’s Top 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 03:08:18 -0700

Gandhi’s Top 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World: These are really about changing yourself so that you change the world. One of the best blog posts I’ve read in a looong time!

"The quickest way to double your income is to halve your expenses."

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:52:01 -0700

“The quickest way to double your income is to halve your expenses.”

- You have enough