FOBlog

My 2008 goals

As per yesterday’s post, I promised to post my goals for 2008. I have decided on 4 major goals, for too many goals will only bog you down.

 

My four goals are as follows:

1. Develop a Christian clothing line for Incarnate Clothing
2. write at least 23 posts per month
3. Get  A’s and B’s on all my upper division classes (9/10 classes for the entire year)
4. Get under 210 pounds

 I’m not going to lie. These goals are daunting. However, I believe that I can do it. What I’m going to do now is break these giant goals into smaller sub-goals. Sub-goals will make it easier for you to aim and achieve it. Remember; slow and steady wins the race.

 

Goal 1: Developing Christian clothing line for Incarnate
I’m going to break this into a timed mainframe. Twelve months in a year, I have decided on a quarter for each sub goals. Some of the steps may go quicker than I thought and some will even go longer.

· 1^st quarter: Developing the line. I just contacted all my designers and told them that we are gearing up for our clothing line. So we are going to meet soon and we will talk about the number of designs and different marketing plan

· 2^nd quarter: Designing the line. I will give the designers some time to come up with as many high-quality designs as possible, and we will take this quarter in deciding which designs we will use and actually put into printing.

· 3^rd quarter: Producing the line. I will take this quarter to produce and print the designs that we have chosen. I may decide on outsourcing some.

· 4^th quarter: Sales. Put our marketing plan that we have concocted back in quarter one into action

 

Goal 2: Write at least 23 posts per month
Right now, FOBlog averaged a minuscule 33 page views a day. Some days are way higher, and some days are lower. So writing regularly is a part of a bigger plan to increase my traffic flow to this blog. I chose 23 posts because: normally I won’t have time to write on Sundays. That’s 30- 4 = 26. Also I’m going to be interning, working on my business, going to school, and a coaching job to go to, so I will give myself a little leeway of 3 “excused absence” post.

 

Goal 3:A’s and B’s on all my upper division classes
The biggest problem that I have always had in achieving my “good grades” goal is procrastination. I came to the conclusion that I need to eliminate procrastination (duh!). I will set aside at least 2 hours a day, just to go over my school work. Therefore eliminating unnecessary cramp periods before every deadlines. Plus, posting this as my goal in this blog for many people to read will give me a positive pressure to actually keep it going.

 

Goal 4:  Get under 210 pounds
Right now I weigh at 235 pounds (I’m 6’1). I need to lose 25 pounds. The problem for me is not losing the weight. It is keeping it there. I’m pretty good about my exercise habit. It is my eating habit that needs more work. So I will lose 25 pounds by paying more attention to my eating habits.

 

So there you have it folks! Ed’s 2008 goals. Feel free to check up on me whenever you want! Keep me going!!!

 

-Ed

 

Generation Y - Exposed

To better understand ourselves, we need to understand our community, our generation. Different generations has come and gone, each of them did their part in the world. The baby boomers and Generation X each are doing their's. Pretty soon our generation will need to do ours'.

Of course when I'm speaking of "our generation" I meant "generation Y." The term "generation Y" first appeared in the august of 1993 in an editorial. The term was coined "y" as a successor to generation "x." Guess what's the next generation after Y is called? Generation Z... whoever is coming up with these names are getting lazy and lazier. :)

What years are included in this "Generation Y?"

Demographers Howe and Strauss suggested anyone that are born between the year 1985 to 1995. However A generation's demographic can not just be measured by years or dates. Pop culture and many other factors have to be taken into account. Some demographers even suggested anyone that are born after 1976. I personally think that's way too far back. 1976, in my opinion is  "Generation X's" time.

Who are these Generation Y-ers?

Generation Y kids grew up in the boom of the digital age. In fact they are also known as the "digital age kids." The kids that grew up during the digital age tends to be more technologically savvy. They prefer to type than to write. They grew up chatting online through AIM, MSN, and many other instant messengers. Most  had cell phones in their teen years ( even younger now). Basically generation Y-ers grew up with technology at their beck and call.

Generation Y and the workplace

Couple months ago, I was talking to one of my economic professor, who also does consultation for many big companies and we went into a rather lively discussion regarding generation Y. She told me that in her recent board meeting, they discusses ways to attract generation Y-ers to their company. Generation Y-ers are so different from the other generations that many companies are finding themselves to be revamping their company structure just to be able to secure their future that lies in the hand of the gen Y-ers. Here are some of the statistics that she showed me:

• 40 percent say Gen Y workers expect to have access to state-of-the-art technology
• 60 percent say Gen Y workers expect to be promoted within a year
• 75 percent of employers say Gen Y workers expect to be paid more
• 53 percent say Gen Y workers expect to have more vacation or personal time
• 63 percent say Gen Y workers expect to have flexible work schedules
• 67 percent say Gen Y workers prefer to work in a group rather on their own

Generation Y and their lifestyle

Here are some of the statistics that on wikipedia that I find to be amusing yet so true.

• Drug use and underage drinking are at a high - 77% have drank underage
• The use of marijuana is also quite high
• Members of this generation are facing higher costs for higher education than previous generations.
• Gen Y represents 70 million consumers in the United States
• This one is my favorite: Business owners in Australia feel that members of Generation Y were found to be "demanding, impatient and bad at communicating," according to a 2007 survey. The    survey found that almost 70% of those surveyed found their Generation Y workers to be dissatisfying, with poor spelling and grammar and no understanding of appropriate corporate behaviors. However, the survey also showed most employers praised the energy and charisma of their Generation Y workers.
• 97% owns a computer
• 94% owns a cell phone
• 76% Use instant messaging
• 15% of IM users stay logged on 24 hours 7 days a week
• 75% of college students have facebook account
• 60% owns a portable music/video device

Generation Y top 10 web sites

So that's that!! Have a good new year everyone!! May the new year being you success and happiness!

with love..always,
Ed

Creative Thinking Exercise I

Just like our muscles, our minds need exercise. You know the saying "if you don't use 'em, you'll lose 'em"? Well it doesn't go to that extent where you can lose your mind from not using it, but your mind won't be as "fit" as if you exercise it.

One of the exercises that I do, I took from Robert Kiyosaki. He is the author of the Rich Dad Poor Dad series. In his book, he tells the story of how his "rich dad," would make him and his friend Mike do creative thinking exercises by coming up with business ideas. No matter how crazy it is.

So once a day, I would make up a crazy invention/business idea and I would write it down. Some days, I would go back into an idea and maybe add a little more.Some days, I just make up an entirely new idea.

The whole point of the exercise is to train your minds to think outside of the box. To think of things that are out of the ordinary. After all, all great ideas were first perceived as ridiculous ideas.

I found a blog, where the author solely focuses on generating "crazy" ideas. I suggest for everyone to come by visit this site Free Idea Bank. It is informational and yet very entertaining.

There's a lot zany/crazy ideas in that blog and its free for the taking if you want to turn it into a real business venture.

What are some your "crazy" ideas?

- Ed

"If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas."
                                                                                        - George Bernard Shaw

Pareto Principle and Life

Who ever heard of a man named Pareto before? Well if you haven't, I'll tell you.

Pareto was an Italian sociologist, philosopher, and an economist. Pareto was born in Paris, and then later move to Italy at the age of 10. Anyway, one of his famous work was an economic distribution of income. You probably have heard it before, It's called the Pareto Principle. The more common name for this is the "80-20" rule.

The rule states that 80% of the world income is generated by 20% of the world population. Hence the 80-20.But after reading Tim Ferris's book entitled "The 4 hour work week." (makes a great xmas gift!)    I figured out that I can apply the 80-20 rule to life too. Here are few general examples from my own life:

• 80% of my blog comments comes from 20% of my post.
• In business: 80% of my revenue comes from 20% of my clients.
• 80% of my "hang-out time" is spent with 20% of my friends.
• 80% of my energy is spent doing 20% of activities. 

Now just like business, it is very important to optimize that 80-20 rule. The key is you have to figure out what gives the best outcome. Just remember 80% of outputs comes from 20% inputs.

I was doing some research on this, and I came upon Entrepreneur's Journey. The Author, Yaro Starak did a damn fine job in explaining 80-20 in detail and what you can do to optimize it. If you haven't read it, then I suggest, you move your mouse couple of inches and click on it.

Have a good rest of the day everyone!
-Ed

"I think of myself as an intelligent, sensitive human being with the soul of a clown which always forces me to blow it at the most important moments."
                                                                                                                    - Jim Morrison

Extra money? YES SIR!

Winter  break is nearing and for many of us, its already here. What are some your plans for winter break? How about starting a side business? Nothing big, just something small and enough to generate a little pocket change. Here are a few "mini" business ideas:

1. eBay
Face it, eBay is pretty cool. Many of us have probably bought stuff from eBay before. Well, you can try sellling stuff that you don't need on eBay. Look around your room, there's got to be some useless junks. If not, look underneath your bed. If that doesn't work, visit a garage sale, and buy some old books for a dime/ quarter each. Many of the books that they have at garage sales are usually worth more. If you can find books that's in series, they'll worth more if you sell them in packages. Children books are also a good buy, especially the older editions.

2. Car Wash
Yea I know, it's cold outside. THAT'S why you should do car washes. It's winter, no one is going to want to go outside to wash their car. You can. Round up a couple of friends and visit your neighbors. Ask your parents, ask your friends, ask your uncle, ask your-- heck ask me! I need my car washed, BAD.

3. Tutoring
This one is pretty simple, use your expertise in the subject that you master and tutor someone else. College students, tutor high school students or fellow college students. High school students, tutor middle school students or a fellow student. You get the idea. Make flyers, not a lot. Maybe 5-7 pages; put your name, phone numbers, e-mail, and area of expertise. Then ask few teachers if he/she can post the a flyer in her classroom and maybe make an announcement to the class. You can also e-mail me, or give me a call and I'll try to set you up with a tutor or a tutee. When it comes down to it word-of-mouth advertising is the best.

4.Babysitting/Petsitting
Good old babysitting. There's not much to say about it. The concept of gaining clients is the same as tutoring. Make flyers (you know what to write), but instead of asking the teachers, you can ask parents that you've known or at least familiar with you. It is common sense; they need to trust you to be able to trust their children to you.

5. Editor
Winter break assignment anyone? Use your editing skills to, well... edit papers. When I write a paper, I can not edit it by myself. I can't spot my own mistakes. I need a fresh eyes, to look at it and give me feed back. Chances are, I'm not the only one. Heck in fact, I need an editor for this blog, If anyone thinks they qualify, please contact me!

Those are just some ideas that came from the top of my head.  There are a lot more  business ideas out there. Keep your eyes peeled for ideas, because they come from anywhere; your experience as a consumer, your work experience, life experience. Be creative!

If you need more information about getting started or advise on what to do, contact me. I'll be glad to help.

"The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas."
-Linus Pauling



Good luck everyone~
Ed