Posts by Nick Papple
How to Make Better Decisions Starting Today
“Being able to make decisions when you know you have imperfect data is so critical. I was always taught that: A good decision now is better than a perfect decision in two days,” says James Waters, former Deputy of Scheduling at the White House. The decision to forgo perfection for action is one example of a…
Read MoreDo You DRIVE with the Radio On or Off?
I have a friend who sometimes likes to drive with the radio off. Before we get to why that’s not weird, I want to tell you a quick story about the time I called NYT and WSJ bestselling author Daniel Pink a “pencil pusher” — and Mr. Pink not only saw my comment but replied. First off, I’m…
Read MoreThe Millennial Advantage
In business, there’s something called the Millennial Advantage. I don’t know if anyone has coined “Millennial Advantage” yet — but consider it coined now. What you need to know about the Millennial Advantage is that it’s not limited to millennials — anyone can possess it. In fact, a lot of professionals catch the Millennial-Advantage bug late…
Read MoreThe Art of Office Politics: Two Lessons from Mad Men
Picture this. You’re the manager at company XYZ Co. when one of your employees starts causing trouble. This employee has made it clear that he’s gunning for your job and he doesn’t care how he gets there. You have no problem with a little healthy competition, in fact, you like to see this kind of…
Read MoreStop Telling Yourself This Lie About Change
Happy 4th of July SFD readers! I’ll keep today’s essay brief because I know you have more important things to do today. Steve Pavlina, the author of the book Personal Development for Smart People, published a must-read article yesterday called Habits and Practices in Your 20s. The takeaway for me after reading the article was that we can’t rely on…
Read MoreThe Truth About Passive Income for Young People
If you’re young and ambitious but don’t have a lot of money yet, this is the kind of career advice you need to hear. Sol Orwell the founder of Examine.com, just finished hosting an AMA on Reddit. If you missed it, I’ll save you some time and share my two highlights from Sol’s AMA. Highlight #1 BlueLife76…
Read More‘How Do I Increase Productivity?’
What if I told you that to increase productivity in your life, all you have to do is read just one article. That would be pretty great, huh? Too bad that’s not the case. Not even close. However, there’s something oddly powerful about thinking of productivity this way. We all want the quick fix. The one…
Read MoreThe Best Sales Pitch (2 Simple Steps)
We’ve all been told that when we’re presenting we should Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS). But how many of you follow this — or better yet — know how to follow this principle? I read a story recently about the “Best Seed Pitch Ever” on Fred Wilson’s blog. Wilson is the co-founder of Union Square Ventures, a New York City-based…
Read MoreHow to Profit from Your Bad Ideas
I learned this when I was working in Hollywood… Whenever I hear someone say this, my ears perk up. I don’t know what it is about Hollywood that I find so fascinating, but there seems to be a lot of interesting wisdom being passed down from people in the biz. For example, I heard that…
Read MoreSink or Swim — Don’t Tread Water
Why are twenty-somethings obsessed with side hustles? That’s the question Catherine Baab-Muguira asked in this Quartz article everyone’s talking about. Catherine’s answer is spot on — she says: The side hustle offers something worth much more than money: A hedge against feeling stuck and dull and cheated by life. This psychological benefit is the real reason for the Millennial…
Read MoreHow to Get the Biggest ROI at Live Events
I recently talked to a friend of mine about a seminar he attended for work. The seminar was for an event he probably never would have gone to or paid money to attend on his own simply because the event was outside his field of study. He told me he was underwhelmed by it. I…
Read MoreOpen Letter to ‘The Brutal Truth’ Guy
I hate open letters so this is not going to be one. This is actually a note to myself that I think some of you will benefit from reading. A lot of bloggers and online influencers think they’re doing their audience a favor by telling them “the brutal truth.” They’ll say things like, “Nobody else…
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