Act On It

Yesterday I was discussing with one of the backers of CPU Wars, about the creation of the project and its success. What made this idea real and successful? Acting on it. 

A lot of other people might have had the same or similar idea, but never acted on it. When you are faced with a new idea, with the unknown you have two options:

1. Start working on it
2. Do nothing and then complain about the great idea that you once had and never did anything about

For me, it has always been the first. This way, if I fail at least I can say that I gave it a try. Of course this is just the beginning, but what sets apart wantrepreneurs from entrepreneurs is not generating or finding ideas. It's acting on them.

We all have a lot of ideas, so when you find that certain one, the one that makes you feel all tingly when you think about it, act on it. Stop procrastinating and thinking about all the worst scenarios. Dedicate some of your free time and start working, at least you'll get the experience.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Reaching Out

I always want to create the best and most helpful content for you, so I've decided to reach out and ask for your help and suggestions.

I will be starting a complete guide to branding and I want to know what you want me to cover. It will be our way of helping everyone and really showing what branding can do for you. We will start from the fundamentals of branding and move on to how you can work on creating a stronger and memorabe brand.

If you have any ideas, suggestions or comments, then send me a line to harry [at] minimoko [dot] com.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Ideas Suck

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

The Future is Curated

We are all suffering from information overload. We have news, blog, twitter, facebook, google+ feeds and all other sort of information coming our way constantly.

For those of us that grew up at a time when receiving an e-mail was critical, letting go is not that easy. We feel that we need to consume all this information, since it's coming our way. This is why content curation is so important.

A lot of effort has been made to create services that curate and organise content for us, but there is a long way to go. Most solutions I've seen, ignore one important factor, the person.

The individual is the key for this service, and we need a solution that tailors content and information to our specific needs. Imagine how cool it would be if you woke up every morning and found the top 30 important articles waiting for you, along with the most important updates from your social networks. The future needs to be curated, what will you do about it?

Posted by Helen Amygdalaki // Lelou 

Best of #InspirationMondays: Just a Notepad

That's all you need to start working on your great project or idea.

Even if it's the most technologically advanced idea, all you need at the start is a notepad. It's also a great way to get inspired to work. Just sit with an empty notepad and a pen in your hand and start writing, drawing, sketching or whatever else comes to mind.

It's a great chance to let your creativity flow and think outside of the box. While doing this, remember to move away from distractions like an open computer, smartphone, tablet or anything else that will blink or buzz and demand your attention.

It's your time in front of the notepad. Enjoy it and create something that you and people will love.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Cross-Pollinate

We all love our comfort zones. We love working with the same group of people and with our team. The problem with that is that we don't let anyone from the outside of our team influence our work.

In order to innovate and come up with great ideas you need cross-pollination. You need to invite people that you don't usually work with to join your team and brainstorm, come up with ideas and prototype. The more diverse the group is the better the results.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't have a dedicated group, this really helps with your creativity. Be however receptive to new ideas from the outside and work with people from different backgrounds to get inspired. They can be colleagues from different departments, partners, clients, users, customers, students or any other group you have access to.

Once you have come up with great ideas and ways of doing things you can work with your team to prototype and implement them.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Do the Work - Encore

Last Monday I wrote a post called "Do the Work", interestingly that week the latest book from Steven Pressfield was published through the Domino Project with this exact title.

Steven Pressfield's book is an inspiration and a guide for anyone starting a project, a new venture or anything new. What's more you can get the Kindle edition for free on Amazon and read it on your PC, Mac, iPad, Kindle or iPhone! 

It's a short book, more like a manifesto and it's definitely worth reading from cover to cover. Enjoy it!

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Do the Work

I wish there was a magic pill, potion, tip, exercise that I could give you and would help you be inspired. Unfortunately, there isn't. If you want to do something and be inspired, you need to actually do the work.

If you want great inspiration for a book, you need to start writing. If you want to be an inspirational leader, you need to have people to lead, and it goes on and on. The tips that I post every week help, but for them to work you need to have been doing the work. It's only when your mind has been filled with ideas, problems and options that the tips will actually work.

In order to reach writer's block and need to take a walk to clear your head, you need to start writing. You need to practice everyday (ideally) or at least some times a week. The same is true for design, management, marketing, blogging, you name it.

I personally had been procrastinating starting this blog for more than six months. I had all the usual excuses, not enough ideas, not a lot of inspiration every day, didn't have someone to edit my posts, not enough time etc… And then one day it happened, I took the plunge and started writing. What I find now is that the more I write, the more inspiration I have for another post. I can sit down and plan an entire month in less that half an hour.

If you want to be inspired and inspire people around you then start doing the work. Start every day with that thought and with doing the work that you love. You might have problems at first and be lost, but sooner or later ideas will start to appear and with enough practice you will be able to produce amazing stuff. No more excuses, do the work.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

A Walk in the Park

When you are stuck at something, it's probably time to take some time off. Even if there is an imminent deadline and you HAVE TO keep on working, it will probably be counter-productive.

What I've found to work best is taking a walk in a park. If you live in the UK, then there's probably a park in walking distance from where you work or live. When you are stuck and can't get the juices flowing, hit pause and go for a walk. If you have a dog take him with you.

Like I described last week, when at the park be mindful. Don't keep thinking about what's waiting back at home or at work. Enjoy the fresh air, the scenery, the birds and the trees. Take it all in and let go of what's troubling you. After about 15-20 minutes that your head will have cleared, head back.

Once you are back, prepare a fresh drink (I always go for coffee) and dive right into work. Most probably you will find that you will have a fresh perspective and new ideas to bring in.

To add a bonus to the above, if you are working on a team project and you are all stuck, try getting the team out of the office and to the park. Spend 20-30 minutes playing a game or sitting and talking about irrelevant stuff. It will boost energy and get you ready for the stuff waiting to be tackled. 

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Do Mindful Work

Here is a tip I learnt through my Zen practice that has helped me a lot when trying to come up with ideas and/or solutions to various problems.

If you are stuck on something and can't come up with a solution or idea, stop and do some mindful work. By work, I mean doing any task that doesn't require "thinking" and problem solving, it can range from washing dishes to taking a shower or doing some other manual task. Being mindful means that while you are doing this task you need to focus on the task. I know it's hard, it took me time to get there and I still find myself getting out of line. While doing the task just focus on the task at hand (describing to yourself what you are doing really helps) and let your subconscious do the work.

After you have finished you will feel refreshed and some ideas/solutions will probably come up that you couldn't think of before.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis