Blog
A leader listens to themselves
You cannot find the answers you need in a book. You cannot find the answers you need in this email.
The only place you’ll be able to find them is inside of you. And the way you find those answers are by listening to that voice inside.
It tells you what you like and what you don’t. What feels right and what doesn’t. What inspires you and what doesn’t.
It’s the only place you’ll ever find the answers.
Do you agree? I'd love to hear from you!
With love,
–Calvin
How do you want to feel?
How do you want to feel?
Because that's really the only thing that matters. That's all we ever strive for: To feel a certain way.
Why do you want to be successful?
Why do you want to be in a relationship?
Why do you want to have kids?
Why do you want to be a leader?
Why do you want to look good?
Because of how it makes you feel.
Many people want to be rich so they can feel worthy. Worthy of their parents' love. Or to prove themselves to a parent or teacher or sibling or friend or whateve…
Limits to growth
It seems most people will only grow so much, and then they stop. They reach their level of comfort, and they decide, this is good enough.
I don't understand that mindset. To me, it's always good enough, and never good enough, at the same time.
There's nothing in my life that I feel must change, must be any different. And yet, there's nothing in my life that I'm not excited about improving and learning more about every day.
It's not about getting to any place. It's not even about the outcome –…
THIS is the single most important thing to develop...
Courage.
What is it?
Why do we need it?
A lot of people think courage means you're not afraid.
It doesn't.
Courage is not the absence of fear.
It's the ability to take effective action in spite of fear.
Courageous people are not less afraid. They feel the fear and act anyway.
I talk a lot about fear because it's really the underlying thing that holds us all back from being fully alive, happy, successful, healthy, and wealthy.
Fear is the thing that stands between you and everything you …
You can't afford NOT to invest in yourself!
Back in 2001 when I was working for a software company ArsDigita, my boss hired me a coach. I still remember just how mind-blowingly impactful it was to talk to her. She helped me see many ways that I was deluding myself. It was so powerful I swore that I’d never go without a coach ever again.
And yet, when I moved back to Denmark the next year and started my first “real” business, I looked around to find a coach, but they all seemed too expensive so I ended up doing nothing.
In fact, I forgo…
Gratitude is a choice
If you're not grateful for what you have now, don't expect to be grateful for what you'll have in the future.
Gratitude is a choice.
If you're constantly unhappy with things in your life, don't expect that the unhappiness to change when those things change.
Cuz that ain't how it works.
That part of you that's looking for reasons to be upset, unhappy, complaining, blaming, resisting what is, it's just going to find something else to complain about.
Because that's what it does.
So practice app…
It's simple, really
It really is, isn't it?
Every time you've struggled with a problem, the solution turned out to be simple.
You just had to change your perspective. Change a belief. Change your strategy.
And guess what: The times when the solution wasn't simple, it didn't really stick, did it?
I bet you it didn't.
Truth is, we're complexity making machines, we humans.
Entropy is the natural order of things.
If left to our own devices, we make things more and more complicated.
Until we drown in the mes…
The most powerful force in the universe
The human creative life force is my North Star.
My mission is to unleash the creative human life force as much as I can.
A creative human life force is what makes products and services.
- It creates art.
- It solves problems.
- It invents new technologies.
- It makes food.
- It builds houses.
- It makes babies.
- It makes us feel alive.
Creative human life force is what makes life worth living.
With eight billion people, there's an incredible amount of it available. Possibly the greatest energy…
It's okay to suck at marketing
It's okay to suck at marketing.
How do I know?
Because I suck at marketing.
Here at Simplero, we do pretty much zero of what people would normally call marketing.
No paid ads. No content marketing to note. No organic social. Sure, we have an affiliate program, but no one's been in charge of it for years.
And yet, we've managed to create a $4M/year recurring revenue business.
Not too shabby.
How?
By focusing on a great product and great customer service.
Word of mouth takes care of the r…
Small actions matter way more than you think
It's easy to tell ourselves "arhh, this little thing doesn't matter."
I'll just cut a corner here.
One bite of dessert can't hurt.
One drink.
One commitment I don't hold.
But they do.
For several reasons.
One, because each little action adds up over time.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
How do you lose 100 pounds? One-tenth of a pound at a time.
Two, because they train your mind.
Each time you honor your commitment to yourself, live your values, stick with the plan, on…
