Kareem Mayan's Weblog

"Everything I have learned that has been really useful has been by doing things."

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:13:46 +0100

“Everything I have learned that has been really useful has been by doing things.”

- Paul Buchheit at Startup School 09 (via hiten)

"It’s a beautiful pain when all you wish is to make someone happy. It is up to each of us alone to be..."

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:48:22 +0100

“It’s a beautiful pain when all you wish is to make someone happy. It is up to each of us alone to be happy in and of ourselves.”

- @ang [Angela Baxley] (via msg)

"Life is a ticket to the greatest show on earth."

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:46:08 +0200

“Life is a ticket to the greatest show on earth.”

- Martin H. Fischer via

"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain..."

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:11:20 +0200

“A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.”

- Hugh Downs (via julie911) (via quote-book) (via hiten)

"No man is a success in business unless he loves his work."

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:01:52 +0200

“No man is a success in business unless he loves his work.”

- Florence Scovel Shinn (via quote-book) (via hiten)

"How will you know if it’s the right decision if you never do it?"

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:47:16 +0200

“How will you know if it’s the right decision if you never do it?”

- The Hills (via eletheowl) (via hiten)

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing..."

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:30:36 +0200

“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.”

- George Bernard Shaw

"It is better to be hated for what you are than loved for what you are not."

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:24:19 +0200

““It is better to be hated for what you are than loved for what you are not.””

- André Gide (via shinejuly) (via quote-book) (via hiten)

"Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well."

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:02:46 +0200

“Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well.”

- Josh Billings (via kari-shma) (via hiten)

"The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but to reveal to him his..."

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:09:10 +0200

“The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but to reveal to him his own.”

- Benjamin Disraeli (thx, Julie O!)

Do You Deserve To Have a Life Purpose?

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:51:00 +0200

Originally posted Sept 23 to the Find Your Life Purpose newsletter.

—-

I’ve gotten amazing responses from both friends and strangers since finding my life purpose.

But a few have focused on the negatives. I’ve gotten responses like:

“It’s a luxury.”

“You’re indulgent.”

“Who are you to have a ‘life purpose’?! Put your head down and do your job.”

To this, I said: true, BS, and BS (pardon my abbreviated french).

Having a purpose is a luxury? So? Does that mean you shouldn’t go find yours?

You are alive at the best time in the history of the world. Never has there been such world-wide peace and prosperity.

You likely won’t wonder where your next meal will come from. You have a roof over your head. And there are probably a hundred joints to eat good food at nearby, and lots of places to meet new people who won’t hate you or try to kill you based on your religion, skin color, or other factors you can’t control.

In short: you are free. Free to pursue the work you choose.

You were more likely to be born in India or China (35% chance) than in a G8 country (15%). Living in a G8 country provides a much higher standard of living unless you’re one of the lucky few in China or India, never mind other less-industrialized countries. You’ve beaten the odds already.

So why the heck would you waste your lottery ticket doing something you don’t love doing?

Why *wouldn’t* you figure out what you’re here to do? That thing that resonates so deeply that your heart sings when you think about doing it?

Life is too short to squander the amazing opportunity you have to live a meaningful life. You only get one go-‘round, so make it count.

What about those who say you’re indulgent?

The only thing you’re indulging in is to use the beautiful opportunity you’ve got to live up to your full potential.

People who aren’t as lucky as you have gone through hell and back to give themselves (or their children, or even grandchildren) the opportunity that you have. It would be indulgent of you *not* to use this opportunity to live your life with meaning.

And those who ask who you are to have a life purpose?

They’re probably applying their different definition of “meaning” to your life.

Perhaps they grew up with different opportunities at hand, and don’t understand why you don’t want to put your head down and work away like they did.

Or perhaps they did have your opportunities, but squandered them, too scared to follow their true calling.

Whatever it is, brush ‘em off. It may be difficult, but I guarantee you they go to bed worrying about their own problems, not yours.

The next time someone pooh-poohs your search for a life purpose, their words will slide off you like water off a duck’s back.

In short, with the opportunity you’ve been given, who are you NOT to have a life purpose?

—-

Enjoy this? Receive 2-3 monthly emails on Finding Your Life Purpose when you sign up for the Find Your Life Purpose newsletter.

“What you do for a living is not be creative. What you do...

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:03:00 +0200

“What you do for a living is not be creative. What you do is ship.”

Classic Godin. Seth Godin: Quieting the Lizard Brain on Vimeo

"When it comes to relationships, people are always so scared of the what-ifs that they forget what..."

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:47:40 +0200

“When it comes to relationships, people are always so scared of the what-ifs that they forget what is. They spend so much time thinking, “What if I get hurt?”, “What if it doesn’t work out?” that they stop thinking about things that are already real. They forget the feelings they get when the person they love walks into the room and the excitement that rushes through them when the phone rings cause it might be the person they are waiting to hear from. Never let the fear of what-if stop you from letting yourself take a chance on love, because what if this is the person your destined to spend the rest of your life with?”

- Eletheowl

"The further you distance yourself from your expectations, the more exhilarating your life will..."

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:31:10 +0200

“The further you distance yourself from your expectations, the more exhilarating your life will become.”

- DailyOM - Releasing Your Expectations

50 Cent's 10 lessons for success in business - and in life

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:04:00 +0200

50 Cent's 10 lessons for success in business - and in life:

First, I thought “holy shit”, Fiddy’s like Yoda with 9 bullets in him.

Then, I thought “man, this reads like Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power.” Turns out Greene and 50 wrote a book together.

Still good advice, though.

The firmer your grasp on reality, the more power you will have to alter it for your purposes.

Your goal in every manoeuvre in life must be ownership, working the corner for yourself. When it is yours, it is yours to lose - you are more motivated, more creative, more alive. The ultimate power in life is to be completely self-reliant, completely yourself.

Do not let fears make you wait for a better moment or become conservative. If there are circumstances you cannot control, make the best of them. It is the ultimate alchemy to transform all such negatives into advantages and power.

Most people think first of what they want to express or make, then find the audience for their idea. You must work the opposite angle, thinking first of the public.

Your sense of who you are will determine your actions and what you end up getting in life. If you see your reach as limited, that you are mostly helpless in the face of so many difficulties, that it is best to keep your ambitions low, then you will receive the little that you expect. Knowing this dynamic, you must train yourself for the opposite—ask for more, aim high, and believe that you are destined for something great. Your sense of self-worth comes from you alone—never the opinion of others.

People follow those who know where they are going, so cultivate an air of certainty and boldness.

Knowing our days to be numbered, we have a sense of urgency and mission. We can appreciate life all the more for its impermanence. If we can overcome the fear of death, then there is nothing left to fear.

"The greatest fear people have is that of being themselves. They want to be 50 Cent or someone else...."

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:55:03 +0200

“The greatest fear people have is that of being themselves. They want to be 50 Cent or someone else. They do what everyone else does even if it doesn’t fit where and who they are. But you get nowhere that way; your energy is weak and no one pays attention to you. You’re running away from the one thing that you own—what makes you different. I lost that fear. And once I felt the power that I had by showing the world I didn’t care about being like other people, I could never go back.”

- 50 Cent

"To make a conscious decision to be happy, you must divest yourself of preconceived notions of what..."

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:09:39 +0200

“To make a conscious decision to be happy, you must divest yourself of preconceived notions of what is good and what is bad so that you can appreciate the rich insights concealed in each stage of your life’s journey.”

- DailyOM - Perception

"Our individual realities are colored by perception—delight and despair come from within rather than..."

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:09:05 +0200

“Our individual realities are colored by perception—delight and despair come from within rather than without.”

- DailyOM - Perception

"Love for what we do is the basis of all real value creation."

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:11:41 +0200

“Love for what we do is the basis of all real value creation.”

- The Awesomeness Manifesto

"When people go to work, they shouldn’t have to leave their hearts at home."

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:33:12 +0200

“When people go to work, they shouldn’t have to leave their hearts at home.”

- Betty Bender
—-
I’d argue that as a company owner, you’re better off when your employees bring their hearts to work. I’d rather work with passionate and engaged ppl rather than those who check in at 9 and check out at 5.