Work Lean

Everyone under 25 needs to read this story.

By Brad Beckstrom

Theodore R. Johnson worked for UPS and never made more than $14,000 a year. After a 28 year career with the company, he retired in 1952 with $700,000 in company stock. He remained retired for 39 years, while amassing a fortune of $70 million.

Johnson died at the age of 91 leaving much of his fortune to an education fund he established with his wife, for disadvantaged students attending small colleges.

70 Million! How did he do it?

Many people today retire, worrying about if they’ll run out of money in their later years. How was Johnson able to retire and grow his $700K into a $70 million fortune that will benefit many into the foreseeable future?

He used some of the same tools we have available today. [Read more…] about Everyone under 25 needs to read this story.

Free e-books, Charging Stations, and Hot Coffee.

04/15 by The Frug Leave a Comment

Saving our public libraries.

By Brad Beckstrom

We used to have a Borders bookstore down the street. We also had a couple of independent bookshops with a smaller more curated selection of books.

Both are gone.

It seems like a brick-and-mortar battle in which the big guys and the little guys both lost. I used to go to bookstores all the time. I like to have a destination when I go on a bike ride, maybe get a cup of coffee and thumb through some new releases or the crazy selection of 1000s of magazines they had. It wasn’t frugal either. I could walk into a Borders and spend 60 bucks on books and magazines, sometimes work-related, sometimes something I had no intention of purchasing when I walked into the store.

Then along came Kindle, iPad, audiobooks, feed readers, ebooks, and podcasts. One click ordering from Apple and Amazon. Strong competition from every direction. It’s so easy. You hear about a great book, open up the Kindle app on your iPad and download a free sample. If you like it, it’s yours with one click, usually for less than 10 bucks, sometimes for $1.99, sometimes free. The books even sync across devices. I read a lot more now, fewer magazines, more great writing.

The problem with doing all of your reading on a digital device.

First, we were spending more on books than we ever had, thanks to Amazon’s recommendation algorithms and one click ordering. [Read more…] about Free e-books, Charging Stations, and Hot Coffee.

The 3 Act Day – Why you should structure your day like a screenplay.

01/15 by The Frug Leave a Comment

By Brad Beckstrom

What if every day were scripted like a great film?

the godfather act 1 — Marlon Brando, The Godfather Act I

Whether you like it or not, they often are. Here’s a super abbreviated version of the classic three act structure in screenwriting.

Act I The Setup: Establish the main characters, their relationships, the world they live in, and what the story is all about? Later in this act there is a “call to adventure” or “catalyst” that sets the plot in motion.

Act II Confrontation: Also referred to as “rising action,” this typically depicts the main characters attempt to resolve the problem initiated by the first turning point, only to find him or herself in ever more challenging situations.

Act III Resolution: Features the resolution of the story and its subplots. The climax is the scene or sequence in which the main tensions of the story are brought to their most intense point and the dramatic question answered, leaving the protagonist and other characters with a new sense of who they really are.

The Hero’s Journey

What if every day could follow the structure of the hero’s journey with a call to adventure, rising action and intense point where dramatic questions are answered and we have a sense of who we really are? That’s a hell of a lot more interesting than a to do list or a calendar.

Act I is the early part of the day, the setup. If you’re in a foul mood, skipping the important stuff or feel like a rudderless ship, this day may end up not being a very good movie.

Act II is the main part of the day. For our purposes here, let’s call this “rising action.” You can call it the workday, whatever you want. The main character – “you” – is attempting to resolve ever more challenging situations and sometimes, small or large confrontations.

Act III Finally, there is resolution, wrapping up our efforts for the day and hopefully bringing the day to a successful close. Our hero, again “you,” finishes out the day and rides off into the sunset.

Here’s how to script your day like a blockbuster.

Mix it up. Jumpstart your mind and body by mixing up daily routines and exploring randomness.

09/14 by The Frug Leave a Comment

Have you ever heard the story about brushing your teeth with your other (non-dominant) hand to stimulate the creative side of your brain? Well, I can tell you that this works. I came up with this idea about (mixing it up) while actually (mixing it up) and brushing my teeth with my right hand.

Actually, I do this all the time because if you brush your teeth with the same hand every time you can miss some spots. You’ll find that your non-dominant hand will brush in different areas and patterns so you’re not only stimulating your brain, you’re also benefiting your teeth and gums.

Okay, I’m done talking about teeth and gums so you can keep reading. [Read more…] about Mix it up. Jumpstart your mind and body by mixing up daily routines and exploring randomness.

Rituals, Habits, and Routines. How history’s greatest thinkers created brilliant work.

08/14 by The Frug Leave a Comment

I just finished reading Daily Rituals: How Artists Work. The book goes deep on the daily habits of artists and geniuses as diverse as Pablo Picasso, Georgia O’Keeffe, John Coltrane, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Mark Twain, and about 150 others.

Rituals, habits and routines. We all have them. What’s fascinating in this book is how you start to draw parallels between these geniuses and how their routines led to great bodies of work. Many of them worked alone, had limited resources, overcame huge obstacles and did not find success until later in life.

Sticking to their daily rituals helped keep them on track through difficult times. And when I mention difficult times, I’m including famines, world wars, disease, depressions, political repression, and social injustice. A little different than some of the inconveniences we have today.

Habits

I like the word habits because it is something you instinctively do. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of bad habits out there but if we look at the big picture, hopefully we’re pushing some of these bad habits out of the way by stacking up the good ones.

Stacking Habits

You can stack up your habits the same way you make time for what’s important in your life. I heard a great analogy the other day about oxygen masks. The reason the airline attendant asks you to put yours on first is so that you can help those around you, because if you’re not breathing you’re not much help to anyone.

So when I’m looking at stacking habits, I think the best way for me to help in my family and others is to make health, sleep and exercise the core part of my daily routine. It almost sounds easy, but we know it is not. All kinds of crap gets in the way. Sometimes we even feel selfish taking time to exercise or sleep.

After years of trying to establish some good habits and get rid of some bad ones, here’s what I found that has worked. [Read more…] about Rituals, Habits, and Routines. How history’s greatest thinkers created brilliant work.

Playing The Long Game.

07/14 by The Frug Leave a Comment

Why showing up and steadily moving forward is a solid approach to lasting achievements.

Yesterday, I was listening to a well-known venture capitalist talk about startups. The discussion revolved around how apps either gained traction or they didn’t. The startup was a hit or it would fail, no gray area. Without significant traction (millions of users, monetization), they would pull out their money move on, no hard feelings.

Sadly, this is how a lot of businesses work today. People expect instant success and are quickly discouraged if they don’t achieve it. I wonder how Leonardo da Vinci would’ve operated in this environment?

Da Vinci didn’t get his first big break until he was 46. That’s more like 75 in today’s years. But what we know now is that he left behind a tremendous body of work in the years leading up to that big break.

Turns out he had a lot of ideas and unfinished projects like helicopters and power tools hundreds of years ahead of their time. It didn’t matter that these things weren’t instantly successful. Leonardo da Vinci was playing the Long Game. [Read more…] about Playing The Long Game.