Carbohydrates 101

Now that my runs are becoming longer and longer. I started wondering what I needed to do with regards to nutrition. That is where carbohydrates (carbs) started to pop up. Of course, I know what carbs are, but what do they mean when related to going on long runs. In this post, I will explore our carbohydrates stores, what to eat/drink during runs, and what to eat beforehand.

Carbohydrates 101

Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for the body. There are fast and slow types of carbohydrates, depending on the speed which they are absorbed by the body. Some sources of carbs are oats flour, soy, and rice. In Queal about half the energy comes from carbs, both fast and slow.

Fast and Slow

The distinction between fast and slow carbs is something that I only heard of, but never looked into before. Luckily I did already know about the Glycemic Index (GI), this states how fast carbs are processed in the body. Carbohydrates are all chains of simple sugars. Your body breaks these chains down to individual sugars to process them. The more complex these chains, the lower the GI and the ‘better’ the carbs are.

A simple rule of thumb is that when a nutrient is high in fibre and nutrients it’s a slow carb, when processed and low in fibre and nutrients a fast carb. Glucose (sugar) has a GI of 100. Everything that is below 55 is slow, below 69 is medium and above 70 is high. Examples of slow carbs are steel cut oatmeal (in Queal), whole wheat, most fruits, nuts, seeds, beef, chicken, eggs. Examples of fast carbs are white bread, instant oatmeal, pretzels, popcorn, cornflakes and white rice.

Storing Carbs

So what types of carbs do you need as a runner? Both. In the days before your run, you will make sure that your body has enough slow carbs that it can store. And during the last 18 hours before your run, you will stack up on fast carbs that will also release when you need them. During a marathon, it’s also advised to drink/eat only fast carbs, so that they may be released immediately.

In your body, you can store about 400g of glycogen in your muscles and about 100g in your liver. In total, this equals about 2000 kcal in energy. For me, this is about 21km (or halfway there) worth of energy. If you run out of glycogen your body will resort to using fat as an energy source and in only very extreme circumstances protein. The problem with this is that fats are about 15% less effective (more difficult to convert to usable energy) and therefore you will slow down.

With training for a marathon, you want to do two things. The first is to increase your store of glycogen. This can through training. If you are more fit you will be able to store more glycogen. In the days before the race, you should then of course also eat a lot of slow carbs to fill this space. Depleting your body of glycogen (e.g. going into ketosis) about 7-4 days before the race hasn’t shown to be beneficial to your glycogen storage capacity. The second is to become used to running on fat. This means that you can do a slow, but moderately long distance, run on an empty stomach. This way your body is already a bit familiar with running on fat.

During the Run

The big race day is there. You’ve eaten a lot of carbs and now you want to make the most out of the race. But what if you want to extend the carbs some more, could you eat during running? That is what I tested today, and yes it’s very much possible. I ate a bite of a bar at every 5km and although I felt my liver a bit, it was great for my energy levels. Eating during a run has two benefits, one being more energy, the other of replenishing your electrolytes.

Electrolytes? Yes, I also didn’t really know what this meant. It a name for all the minerals in your blood (and other bodily fluids) that carry a charge. You lose electrolytes when you sweat. Common types of electrolytes are sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. The common sports-water drinks contain all the necessary electrolytes and also have some carbs in there. If you drink these you may prevent these things that are related to imbalances in your electrolytes: muscle cramps, stomach cramps, side stitches and fatigue(1).

During the run, you can also eat solid foods and gels. Your body will be able to take in about 100 kcal every 45 minutes, try and eat about this much and nothing more. You can think of cliff bars, energy bars and even things like dates. Another option is gels, they have the perfect amount of carbs per bag (100 kcal) and I will try some in the next week.

The Hierarchy of Engagement

In this article by Greylock Partners (Venture Capital firm) Sarah Tavel explains how engagement is built.

These are the four steps/levels

1. Growing engaged users – completing the core action
2. Retaining the users – product gets better with use, users should lose something when stopped
3. Self-perpetuating – users create virtuous (growth) loops
4. €1B+ company – all 3 above plus some magic

Tavel states that user engagement is the driving force behind a product/company.

And knowing what to do as a company start as art (early stage) and become a science (later stage).

Her model ties in with the Hook model (trigger, action, reward, investment, tri…)

(also mentioned in The Power of Habit)

Step 1

In the beginning (first step) the growth of users isn’t the most important statistic, it’s users completing the core action.

For this to happen, users need 1) motivation, and 2) ability.

At Queal I can ask myself, what is the core action that our users need to do?

• Is this a shake every week? And if yes, how do we measure this precisely? (or do we do this with random samples/emails)

Step 2

Will users stick? This will determine the long-term success.

For investors it’s important to look at the accruing (compounding) benefits as the user engages, and mounting losses if they leave the product (e.g. you can’t see your friends posts on Instagram anymore).

Insight: This is why anonymity apps don’t work, they don’t provide new benefits after you start using the product. You don’t build your identity based on such an app (which I guess is kinda their point too).

• How long do users stay engaged with Queal?

Step 3

The engagement of existing users creates virtuous loops, it makes the product even better. This is what happens if people post things on social platforms. But this doesn’t happen if someone finds his/her true love on Tinder.

• Is there a virtuous loop possible for Queal (as an offline product?)

How do you build engagement? And in what phase are you yourself?

How to Rock a Commencement Speech

Graduating is one of the most important moments of our life. It is the day that we can leave the college or university life behind us. It is the time we can join the workforce, to get to the ‘real’ life. Or as it was in my case, the time to say goodbye to the bachelor years and study one more year in the master programme. During the graduation as BSc in Psychology it was my honour and great pleasure to give a commencement speech. In my speech I spoke about achieving greatness, making the most out of life and reaching your maximal potential. This post will be about the dynamics of preparing, writing and delivering such a speech.

Preparing

To prepare for something of this much importance it is vital to begin a long time in advance. It will take time to study how it is done, but maybe even more time to let the messages sink in. A good preparation starts of quite passive. First it is up to you to sit back and listen to great speakers that have come before you. Presented here is a very short selection of speeches that have given me amazing input into my speech:

• Randy Pausch on You Will Only Regret The Thing You Do Not Do
• David Foster Wallace on The Most Important Realities Are Mostly the Hardest to See
• J.K. Rowling on The Importance of Failure
• Conan O’Brian on How Failure Can Become A Catalist For Profound Reinvention
• Stephen Colbert on Changing Dreams

When you have finished listening to these, and other, speeches you will want to take some time. Let the messages sink in and consider which speeches had the most profound impact on you. Really think about why this or that speech has impacted you personally. It is about giving your own story, about stating your mission, your vision, towards your peers.

Writing

After the preparation comes the writing. I will skip the lessons on writing a speech (see the further reading) and focus on what you should write about. Pick one topic, and only one. Write about the topic that has impacted your life in a truly significant way, that has made you become the person you are today. Some examples would be teamwork, dealing with failure, overcoming obstacles, finding love, or feeling alone. Be personal, give your fellow students a peek into your life, into your reality. You should not only state what you have experienced but also what you felt, what you feel and how you have come to think about it on reflection. Include examples, analogies or metaphors, bring your story to life.

Delivering

With a finished speech it will most probably be one more week until you will have to address your fellow students. Practice, practice, practice. Get to know your speech from back to front, know when to pause, speak up, or slow down. Test your speech with friends and family, ask them for feedback and see what works on your audience. Be open to changes concerning delivery, but never make concessions on your content.

When the big day is there, you are totally prepared. Get to bed early and preferably also rise early. Get in some exercise if you can. Then relax, accept the tension and let it flow away again. When you are strong on both content and delivery there is no way that you can go wrong. Remember that it is your time to shine and inspire your fellow students. Take the stage and own it!

An awesome commencement speech is 50% content and 50% delivery, with the right preparation you can inspire 110%!

References & Further Reading:

I have written my own commencement speech when graduation as BSc in Psychology, read it here (Dutch!)

1. http://www.buzzfeed.com/strayeruniversity/10-graduation-speeches-that-will-inspire-and-move-you

2. http://www.humanity.org/voices/commencements/writing-commencement-speeches

3. http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Speech

4. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffschmitt/2013/07/16/10-keys-to-writing-a-speech/

Sicario

Yesterday I saw Sicario (2015), a movie about an idealistic FBI agent (Emily Blunt – playing Kate Mercer) who joins a task force to battle the drug violence that takes place on the USA-Mexico border. The movie is directed by Denis Villeneuve and it’s one that will leave you thinking for a while. As a first on this blog, I would like to dissect the movie (minor spoilers) and reflect on what real-life implications it has.

The Movie

The first scene of the movie features the FBI team of Mercer raiding a house. The house is owned by a drug dealer who lives in America but is (of course) not directly connected to any of the illegal activity. Some 10 minutes into the movie Mercer is introduced to two ‘DOI consultants’. They plan on taking down the drug dealers by going to Mexico. All that follows can’t be described as legal and that is where the moral questions come to the surface.

Before Mercer was targeting stash houses, getting the money from the traffickers, but it seemed to have no impact. Now they are actually going into Mexico, taking down top guys and causing a stir in the whole drug cartel. Their intentions are good (more on that later), but there are shout-outs where civilians are present, innocent people might also die. And also, think of how you can get good intel on the bad guys, not only from poster boys.

Policing

So, can we play the nice guys or do we (democratic countries) have to get down into the dirt. We have laws, a Geneva convention and many other ways of protecting the rights of (all) people. But what if you can only get the information by mingling with the bad crowd (think Collin Farrell in True Detective season 2). And how much of that is happening in, for instance, The Netherlands?

I do believe that Hollywood movies have made us more receptive to the prototypical ‘hero’ that does everything to save the day (Jack Bauer, 24). And I think that in the real world there is a lot more planning, digging and ‘boring’ desk work involved. But how much do these movies and tv series influence our policy makers? If you have read a lot about torturing you know that we are doing it, it doesn’t work, and we still continue doing it. Are movies like Unthinkable (2010) shaping our beliefs that we have to become the bad guys to do good in the end?

Global Powers

The same goes for global terrorism, is fighting back with more force the way to go? In Homeland (season 4) an extremist man says something like “give me one drone strike [on my people] and I will give you 100 willing suicide bombers”. Recently I was, once again, blown away by a podcast by Dan Carlin (Common Sense, episode 299). In this episode, he argues that we are fighting a war of ideas, not weapons. I already (kinda) knew this, but he words it so wisely, that you start to wonder, aren’t we also fighting the war of ideas at home (e.g. against populistic ideas)?

Sicario is a gripping movie and will really make you think about what we (our police/other forces) are doing and what you think is the right way to go. I don’t have any definitive answers and with my 25 years of age, I think I don’t have had the time to take in the full picture. The only thing to do is keep educating ourselves, learning more about the world and enjoy our comfortable lives we have right here, right now!

ps The world is actually the safest ever, we’re getting there, merry X-mas.

Van idee tot uitvoering

Kroegentochten, wie heeft er niet aan eentje meegedaan. In Amsterdam, Berlijn, Londen en vrijwel alle andere wereldsteden gaan er dagelijks groepen toeristen op ontdekkingstocht in het uitgaansleven van hun bestemming. Het is gezellig, je leert er mensen en de stad kennen, maar kroegentochten waren er nog niet in Rotterdam.

Na de mooiste kroegentochten en gekke avonden in deze steden wou ik het concept ook naar Rotterdam brengen. Na een paar weken plannen begon ik in begin 2013 ‘International Rotterdam Pubcrawl’ – kroegentochten voor internationale studenten en toeristen in Rotterdam. Het idee klinkt heel simpel en na sterke onderhandelingen met kroegen bleek ook de uitvoering goed te doen zijn. Naast mijn studie was ik met de kroegentochten mijn tweede bedrijfje begonnen.

Wat is een goed idee?

Een goed idee is een idee dat een probleem oplost. Niet meer, niet minder. Steve Jobs staat erom bekend oplossingen (producten) te bedenken waarvan mensen niet wisten dat ze het eigenlijk nodig hadden. Een goed idee is volgens mij op te delen in twee categorieën, evolutionair en revolutionair.

Een evolutionair idee is een kleine verbetering op een bestaand product of dienst. Het is de nieuwste versie van Word of een zuinigere auto. Een revolutionair idee is een nieuwe bril om naar een oud probleem te kijken. Het is Apple wanneer er alleen Windows was, of een elektronische auto wanneer alle auto’s op fossiele brandstof rijden.

Normaliter zijn het de ‘grote’ bedrijven die komen met evolutionaire ideeën, het net beetje slimmer, sneller, beter maken van producten of diensten. Het zijn de mensen van buiten de gevestigde orde die komen met de revolutionaire ideeën. Dit komt enerzijds door hun verse blik, anderzijds door het niet kennen van barrières die mensen van binnen een industrie overal zien. No matter welk soort idee, beide soorten kunnen zeer waardevol zijn.

Is het idee wat waard?

Ok, je hebt een goed idee. Je weet misschien zelfs wat voor een soort idee het is. Nu is de grote vraag of jouw idee wat waard is. Er is maar één manier om hier achter te komen. Dat is door het idee uit te testen, het te vertellen aan vrienden en familie en feedback ontvangen.

Nu zei ik vrienden en familie, maar nog beter is om feedback te vragen aan mensen die jouw product of service mogelijk gaan gebruiken. Vraag ze niet direct “zou jij product X kopen?”. Vraag ze tegen welke problemen ze op lopen. Om nog preciezer te zijn, vraag ze waar ze nu tegenaan lopen (en niet in de toekomst).

Als je het heel slim aanpakt krijg je ook het e-mail adres van de mensen aan wie je de eerste feedback hebt gevraagd, want hier komt deel twee. Dat is het valideren (bevestigen) van je idee. Laat ze een prototype zien of laat ze weten wat jouw service is. Als het goed is lost dit hun probleem op, laat ze jou vertellen of dit zo is. Zo ja, dan heb je een goed idee te pakken. Zo nee, dan weet je nu twee dingen, 1) wat je niet moet doen, 2) hoe je het probleem mogelijk wel kan oplossen.

De eerste kroegentochten

Na het idee komt de uitvoering. Iedereen die ik sprak (lees: voornamelijk studenten) vond de kroegentocht een goed idee. Een paar gratis drankjes, een leuke tour met diverse kroegen. Ik was er klaar voor. En voor een deel ook de internationale studenten. Bij de eerste kroegentocht kwamen er 15 mensen opdagen en ik kreeg de eerste bevestiging van mijn idee.

De week erna kwamen er weer mensen, maar die daarna waren er maar twee toeristen die met de kroegentocht mee wilden. Had ik dan geluk gehad in de eerste paar weken en was Rotterdam nog niet klaar voor kroegentochten, of was er iets anders aan de hand. De uitvoering van je idee is de tweede en misschien moeilijkste fase bij het uitwerken van je idee.

De uitvoering

Een briljant idee staat niet automatisch gelijk aan een winnend bedrijf. Nikola Tesla was een briljante uitvinder met revolutionaire uitvindingen. Echter kennen veel mensen niet Tesla, maar wel de minder (technisch) slimme Thomas Edison. Edison kon iets wat Tesla niet kon, een goed idee in een waardevol bedrijf omzetten.

Hoe doe je dat, een goed (en gevalideerd) idee omzetten in een bedrijf? Dat is een combinatie van timing, doorzettingsvermogen en jouw vaardigheden (in die volgorde). Al in de jaren 70 werd er gesproken van een missie naar Mars, maar pas over 20 jaar (op zijn vroegst) zullen er mensen naar de rode planeet gaan. Of jouw idee op het goede moment in de markt komt hangt voor een deel af van timing, en of die goed is kan vaak de beste analist nog niet voor je voorspellen.

Doorzettingsvermogen is naast timing de tweede factor in het uitvoeren van je idee. Na miljoenen te hebben verdiend met PayPal stond Elon Musk enkele jaren later op de rand van faillissement, z’n raketten waren ontploft (Space X) en de elektrische auto’s stonden nog in de fabriek (Tesla). Maar Musk zette door en vanaf de peilloze diepte is hij omhoog geklommen naar CEO van de twee meest ambitieuze bedrijven in ons zonnestelsel.

“When 99% of people doubt your idea, you’re either gravely wrong or about to make history.” – Scott Belsky

Dan deel drie, jouw vaardigheden. Bouw op je eigen krachten en laat de rest over aan andere mensen. Ben je heel goed in plannen, ga dan niet proberen een creatief probleem op te lossen. Neem mensen aan die goed zijn in de vaardigheden die je zoekt, ook al zijn ze minder in andere vaardigheden. Alleen met het juiste, brede, pakket aan vaardigheden kan je jouw idee omzetten in een waardevol bedrijf.

Rotterdam zonder kroegentochten

Sommige weken waren er veel mensen bij de kroegentochten, andere weken vrijwel niemand. Zo ver ik hoorde vond iedereen ze heel leuk, maar helaas konden veel toeristen het niet aan de volgende groep vertellen, ze waren tegen die tijd al weer weg. Ik had een goed idee, maar miste vaardigheden in de uitvoering.

Ik was beland in de fase van het bedrijf waar andere vaardigheden (promotie) nodig waren dan ik zelf had (planning). Ik was nog groen en kende niemand met de benodigde vaardigheden in marketing. Mijn motivatie ging omlaag en door het wegvallen van mijn businesspartner nam mijn doorzettingsvermogen ook een duik.

De kroegentochten waren een goed idee, misschien zelfs een heel goed idee. Zeker nu Rotterdam ‘hip’ is geworden als wereldstad is er zeker een kans voor een kroegentocht. Hoewel na mijn avontuur vroegtijdig is geëindigd is een bekende van mij doorgegaan met het idee. En zo heeft Rotterdam, twee jaar later, alsnog de kroegentocht die het verdient.

Van goed idee naar waardevol bedrijf

Of jouw idee de markt gaat veroveren weet je niet zonder dat je het uittest in de echte wereld. Begin op kleine schaal en bouw op je eigen vaardigheden. Betrek mensen met andere vaardigheden bij je idee en begin zo met het bouwen van je waardevolle bedrijf.

Niet elk idee is goud waard. Je zal altijd tegenslagen tegenkomen (meer over dat in de volgende blog) en niet elk idee is de volgende gloeilamp of elektrische auto. Met geluk, doorzettingsvermogen en jouw vaardigheden ga je er uiteindelijk wel komen, daar vertrouw ik op!

Running a Marathon

The Day Before

Tomorrow is the big day. Together with my brother Tom, I will be running the marathon. We did the half marathon a few weeks ago and everything went quite well. But doing a full marathon, that’s twice that length!

During my training, I’ve only done 30km and I took some breaks when doing that run. I know I should be able to do the length and I didn’t have any real injuries during the training. I should be fine. But will I be great?

My goal is to run the marathon in 3 hours and 45 minutes. This means that I will have to run exactly 11.252km per hour. In reality, the best (proposed) strategy is to run 1) at an even pace, or 2) go a bit faster in the beginning and account for slowing down during the race. If I want to apply this second strategy this would be a good plan:

• First half: 1.51
• Second half: 1.54

Luckily I know that there will be pacers during the race, experienced people who will run the marathon at the best pace. One of those will be running it in 3.45.

What I will also be using is RunKeeper (please don’t fuck up the GPS this time) and the time indications from it. In conjunction with my heart rate monitor (Fitbit), I will get a good bearing if I’m going at my maximum pace or that there is still some more to give.

For food, I will bring along some small snacks. I didn’t have a great experience with them during training (read: upset stomach) so I will use different types of food. One or two gels, and a few bars. And of course, I will be stopping for water at each station. Wow, not stopping of course, running a bit slower and drinking some water.

During the half marathon in The Hague, I ran it in 1.52. That day I was having/recovering from a cold. So let’s see what I still have in me and if I (and Tom) can achieve the time.

The Day After

Yesterday was the marathon. And wow, that was quite something.

In the end, I finished in 4 hours and 20 minutes. It was really challenging to do and at the same time also a lot of fun.

What was most challenging was to keep running after 30km, there I really hit the wall. I also had blisters that were quite something and they are still really hurting.

Here are a few things I’ve noticed from the ‘other’ side:

• I started going slower at 25km
• At 35km I was walking some parts
• For next time, I should really do more long training runs (possibly also slower and longer)
• My resting heart rate is still in the 80’s, I will start doing sports again when it’s around 60 (normal resting heart rate)
• I want to do a marathon again!

http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/marathon-pace-perfect

• how to pace

http://running.competitor.com/2013/08/training/the-art-and-science-of-marathon-pacing_16984

• it’s very difficult to keep a ‘slow’ pace in the first half of the marathon

Wow that was something! Have you run a marathon? And what was your experience? Would you do it again?

Paying for people

Automation is what has fueled our economic growth in the last 100+ years.

There is ever increasing progress on machine learning (or AI) and other scientific advances. So we can expect to have out-automated ourselves right? Human labour is no longer necessary.

For the past few years, I thought so too. Heck, I even love this YouTube video by CGP Grey:

But what if we think about human labour the other way around? That human labour is not expendable, but a mark of luxury.

We pay extra to have artisanal coffee brewed, versus getting a quick dose of caffeine at a nameless shop.
We buy beer that has a personal touch (and with names like ‘Jaapie’, ‘Gozer’, or ‘Bea’ (Kaapse Brouwers)).
And robots haven’t yet invaded the personal care arena.

We pay for people because the inefficiency is actually what we are looking for.

To inefficiency!
Floris

ps Read more here

Optimally uncomfortable

Doing the things that are comfortable is holding you back.

Working within the space you already know is easy, comfortable, secure.
Working outside your comfort zone is challenging, difficult, new.

Working outside your comfort zone is also liberating, exciting, refreshing.
It’s only by going outside your safe zone, you will reach greater heights.

If our comfort zone is the beach, and the ocean is the unknown, try and dip your feet in the water.
Then go into the water to your waist, know that the beach is near.
Take steps forward into the ocean, whilst always knowing the beach is near.

Over time your comfort zone will expand.
You will learn to swim in the ocean.
Maybe one day you will discover a new beach to claim your own!

How can you expand your comfort zone today?

Push your limits.
Floris

Inspiration from here.

Storytelling

In life, we tell ourselves stories all the time. We use stories to understand the world, to identify yourself with brands, and to tell the world your story. You only get one chance to tell a story, that’s why it’s crucial to get it right. Just like for a person, a brand also gets one chance to tell their story. Here is an incomplete guide on how to do that.

A compelling, human-scale story.

The stories that have stood the test of time are stories that all follow a specific pattern. From the Iliad to the Koran, and from Star Wars to The Godfather, all great stories come in three parts.

• First act: The main characters are shown. You become familiar with the protagonist, the world they live in and their relationships. There is a dramatic incident, and when the protagonist deals with it, it leads to an even more dramatic situation.
• Second act: The protagonist tries to resolve the problem and finds himself in even more trouble. He needs to learn a new skill and gain new insights into his being. This in effect changes who he is. This entails the character arch and is usually helped along by a mentor or co-protagonist.
• Third act: The story and its subplots are resolved. The dramatic situation happens and leaves the protagonist with a new sense of who he really is.

This pattern is called the hero’s journey. It’s all around you. We are proud of people who’ve overcome an addiction but don’t applaud our friend who has never lost his job to a bad drinking habit. It’s why people watch soap opera’s or why we love cheering for the underdog in sports events.

Broadcast Your Story to Who Is Listening

Our greatest and latest adventures or our company blogs will not matter unless our stories are being read by someone who is willing to listen. If you have an average product, if your story is just like that of 10.000’s of others, no-one will listen. You get to define your story, make sure your story is one that no-one else is telling.

• Define a small audience of people who are interested
• Maybe they will love your story so much they will tell their friends
• It matters what you say, not who you are
• Write something great, and do it over and over again
• Write WITH and FOR your audience, not AT or TO
• Be specific, define your category, stick to it
• The riskiest thing is to be average

The story you tell your audience is their story. You will not present them with totally new information, you will reflect back on them things they already believe in. When Ben&Jerry joins a protest for human compassion, they are not doing something new, they join the people that are already listening to them.

Another great example is the blog Signal vs Noise. It’s Jason Fried, DHH and employees at Basecamp telling their story. A story about productivity, about working smart. That fits perfectly with the product they are selling, Basecamp, a project management tool that facilitates those goals.

Learn more about broadcasting to a small audience from this great blog by Kevin Kelly.

Tell an Emphatic Story, Again and Again

When you have defined who you are talking with, you need to WOW them with what you have to say. These are the conditions for your message to be great.

• Tell a true story. This doesn’t mean that your story has to be very factual. The opposite is usually true, most commercials use actors. You do have to be consistent and authentic, the core of the story has to be true.
• Talk with ethos and pathos. Not logos. People decide that they like someone after just a sniff. Our purchasing decisions are made as a result of the sum total of our emotional baggage, no facts and figures will beat that.
• Make a promise. Appeal to the emotion of your audience by giving them a promise of fun, safety, hope, or a shortcut. The promise should be something that is worth talking about, something that is remarkable.
• Become a trusted source. Trust is the scarcest resource we have (and definitively online). By consistently delivering on your promise, you will be able to gain the trust of your audience.
• Be subtle. Let people draw their own conclusions. You don’t have to spell everything out for your audience, let them discover things themselves, make them get involved.
• No contradictions. If your brand is fast, have fast delivery. If you’re goofy, add gifs to every blog. Make sure that every aspect of your story is consistent.

Whether you have a blog, an Instagram account or when you interact with your customers. You are always telling a story. You need to tell a true story, one that you believe and that your specific target group (your fans) can identify with. And if you do this consistently, you will become their trusted source.

Telling a Story With Your Website

For an e-commerce company (like Queal), your website is the place to tell your story. No, not only your blog. The whole website is telling your story. Every page of your website has a tone of voice. This must match that of your visitors, or they will misunderstand who you are (or even leave). So, choose a tone of voice that matches your brand, fits the page and exceeds the tone of your successful competitors.

• You have to choose. Don’t appeal to everyone. Only write for your best customers/fans.
• Forget the homepage. Don’t send people to a generic page, make a specific page for each purpose (e.g. product info, specific product benefit, etc).
• Tell a story. Facts matter, but way less than getting people to listen to your story. Focus on getting the story in their heads.
• Stake out a position. At every page, you have to say (without saying it so obviously) “The smart thing is to click here.“
• Create a path. Make something that people can follow. Let every page tell one thing, then let them progress to the next piece of information until they make a buying decision.
• Test and measure. Be open to feedback and see what people are doing on your site. It’s a difficult process, you will be confronted with failing. But at the same time, it’s a lot of fun, you will learn what does work.

Stories With Waves, Get Saves

When releasing your story to your specific audience, with a true story, there is one last key ingredient. That is the theory of waves. You are always telling your story, but you vary the intensity of which you are doing it to showcase growth.

The story you tell should be a story about what your audience wants to hear in combination with what you have to say. Don’t post 10 (irrelevant) things on your Instagram every day, sometimes it’s better to work on something bigger and make your stories build on each other.

• One: You tell a big story, for instance, the launch of a new product
• Two: You follow up with stories from customers who have received your product
• Three: You keep quiet and work on the next release
• Four: You start telling some things about the next release, you start building momentum
• Five: You are as loud as possible, people are expecting the new release (your previous promise) and you are now delivering

This is what Damin Singh has to say: “You are talking to your audience or community on a journey. Imagine going up a mountain. Every corner will be different, some completely and some similar. To get your audience excited build contrast into the narrative, so think of it as a movie. Well, think of a romantic movie. You have an easy beginning, and move into something sad/negative and then the lovers meet. It’s exciting and then they fight and it’s sad and in the end, they get together.

Make your audience part of the conversation and get them excited for the release. And when you do so, you can ask them to help you. Don’t let your audience watch the train, let them jump on it. Because when you work in cycles you won’t overload your audience, and they will see the growth of your company from those distinct events.”

It’s All About Them

More than ever, we express ourselves with what we buy and how we use what we buy. Extensions of our personality, totems of ourselves, reminders of who we are or would like to be. We love ourselves. And great marketeers don’t make stuff, they make meaning.

So, what story do you want people to tell themselves?

—

More story(telling):

Great blog by Florent Geerts on Once Upon a Brand – Be remarkable, provide value at every step, and perception is everything.

http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/downloads/knockknock.pdf

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/04/the-brand-is-a-story-but-its-a-story-about-you-not-about-the-brand.html

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/04/ode_how_to_tell.html

https://www.ph-creative.com/blog/ggb-podcast/seth-godin-talks-emotion-and-storytelling-in-marketing/

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/files/whos_there.pdf

http://www.jcf.org/new/index.php?categoryid=83&p9999_action=details&p9999_wid=692

https://hbr.org/2014/10/why-your-brain-loves-good-storytelling

Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Hitting the Gym

Going to the gym is one of the most popular sports in modern history. It is universal and can be found in any country. It has many varieties, ranging from a home gym to a state of the art wellness centre. If you are reading this post you are most likely interested in going to the gym yourself. But maybe you have found yourself lacking the motivation or drive, information or knowledge about making the most of fitness. This article will inform you of these two themes. After reading you will know how to motivate yourself and know what to do in the gym!

Motivation

People generally think that motivation is the key to hitting the gym regularly. This, however, is a misconception. Motivation is only the start and will never keep you going again and again (and again). Let’s consider motivation as the start of your career in the gym. Your motivation should be intrinsic, meaning that the goal you set should be set by wanting something yourself. An example of intrinsic motivation is the need for losing some weight, gaining some muscle, preventing heart diseases (and other bodily discomforts). All of these goals are legit ways of starting and motivating yourself. Bad examples are those that define the goals based on external motivation; because my boss told me, because everyone is doing it, because Floris told me so.

Now that we know what good and bad examples are we can explore how we can make the good examples even better. A goal should be formulated in a specific way, the SMART way. This mnemonic stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound. A goal related to losing weight could be formulated in the following fashion; I want to lose 4 kilograms in the coming month by exercising in the gym every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for 1,5 hours with my schedule. It is specific by stating precisely what you are going to do. It is measurable in setting the (specific) goal of losing 4 kilograms. It is attainable in the time frame, but also quite challenging (and that is ok). It is relevant because the person who wants to lose weight is able to relate to this goal. And the limit of the month is making it time-bound. Your goal can now be set!

[insert your goal here…]

Habits

Having a goal is, as stated before, the first step. Now it is off to completing of the goal (in this example within a month). When you start working on achieving a goal the motivation of wanting to reach the goal will be enough to keep you going. It will drive you to get up early, hit the gym, feel exhausted, but at the same time feel a sense of accomplishment. But after a week, or two weeks pass you start to lose interest. Going to the gym is fun and all, but it is serious business and you are not seeing the cost-benefit equation being in balance. You feel like giving up. You have forgotten to make going to the gym a habit.

Making something a habit is a trick that is built on cravings (reaching your goal) and uses this in combination with a cue, habit and reward. You start with a cue that starts you thinking about going to the gym, this may be every (second) morning after eating breakfast or whenever you are finished with work. Every time you encounter the cue, go to the gym. This will make going to the gym a habit within two weeks. And now to the fun part, the reward. Make sure that you reward yourself for going to the gym. Every time you finish your session reward yourself with a protein bar, a new episode of Friends, or writing down what new achievements you have accomplished. Before long your brain will start to associate the cue with the reward and you will not despise, but crave going to the gym.

Fitness

Going to the gym of course also has some intrinsic motivators. You will get an endorphin kick from working out, you will be able to do more every next time, better your body, and have more energy. Working out is not only for the ‘muscle’ guys and the following exercise routine is definitively not meant for this group. The exercises below can be done by anyone that is interested in using fitness to reach your goals. They are preferable done once or twice a week (for instance doing One, Two, One in the first week, and Two, One, Two the next week). Always ask the personnel of your local gym for help and more (personal) advice:

Start

• Cardio: 15 minutes of cardio is a great way to get your muscles warmed up. Using the cross-trainer is a great way of doing this without putting too much pressure on your body, and by using the resistance level you can adjust the level to your liking. Other forms of cardio like running and cycling are also perfectly fine.
• Stretching: a few minutes of stretching is recommended at the start of the work-out routine. Muscles are now warm and can use some stretch to prevent injury during the exercise program. Some basis stretches are; calf stretch, quadriceps stretch, toe touches, hip flexor stretch, shoulder stretch, and upper back stretch.

Day One

• Legs: one exercise that is associated with advanced training is the squat. The squat is actually a very basic exercise and is to be recommended for everyone. Please find an instructor to help you the first time, since this involves a free weight (on a bar). And/or watch instructions online. If you are not comfortable with this exercise you can use a machine that lets you push away the weight with your legs for a similar (but inferior) exercise.
• Back: to target your back you can do a variety of exercises. One of the main exercises is the pull-up. In many gyms, you can find machines that assist you with weight when pulling yourself up. Or an alternative is to use a machine in which you pull down a weight (pull-down). The first exercise targets your lats, this next one is for your middle back. To train your middle back you can do seated rows, in this exercise you pull a cable towards your chest whilst seated. Remember to keep your back straight!
• Biceps: free weights are key to building great muscles. For the biceps, you can do either hammer curls or biceps curls (the former giving more attention to the middle of the muscle). Using a barbell (bar) is of course also possible.

Day Two

• Legs: please work out your legs every single time. Your legs are the biggest group of muscles in the body and will give you the most return on effort (in muscle growth and calories burnt). See Day One for the exercises.
• Chest: the chest can be trained by doing the bench press. This barbell exercise is very easy to do but may require a spotter when you use a lot of weight. For people who are uncomfortable with this exercise can use machines, but this will certainly halter your muscle development.
• Triceps: using free weights again is the best way of training your arms. Use a weight and raise it from behind your neck to above your head (tricep overhead extension). Using an EZ-bar (a bar that is curved) can also be used for training both arms at the same time.
• Shoulders: whilst sitting down raise two dumbbells next to your shoulders, now raise them up in the air. This very basic exercise will transform your shoulders and will most probably give you some muscle pain the next day.
• Abs: abs can be best trained on both days, but for convenience are only included on day two. Doing crushes is still the best way of training them and machines are a bad replacement. So sit-ups it is!

End

• Cardio & Stretching: when ending your day at the gym remember to do your stretches once more. And if you have some energy left, do some more cardio!

Strength

If your goal is strength training than this paragraph is very important to you. The basis exercises described above are very accessible to anyone and are a good starting point. But if you want to gain muscles whilst training three times a week, you should follow the 5×5 program. This is an alternation between two days of exercise that both only include three exercises. The first is; squat, bench press, and barbell rows. The second is; squat, overhead press, deadlift. Each of these exercises you start with warming up (empty barbell) and end up doing 5 times 5 for the weight that is appropriate. Using free weights has significant advantages over using machines. Free weights force your body to balance the weight yourself and allow you to do natural movements.

Hitting the gym is a new habit that you can easily learn. It is both fun and rewarding. It is up to you to make going to the gym a new habit and to see yourself progress in reaching your goal. Making a new habit can be a challenge in the first few weeks but will stick with you for the long haul. More energy in your life and success in building the body you want are the results of those few hours in the gym. But never forget to give yourself rewards that are immediately linked to going to the gym. Now get going with your new habit and see you in the gym!

References & Further Reading:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria

2. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ScTvqTbKB7IC&pg=PA234#v=onepage&q&f=false

3. http://topachievement.com/smart.html

4. http://topachievement.com/goalsetting.html

5. http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/07/17/the-golden-rule-of-habit-change/

6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endorphins

7. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stretching/SM00043&slide=11

8. http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/finder/lookup/filter/exercisetype/id/3/exercisetype/stretching

9. http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/

10. http://stronglifts.com/free-stronglifts-5×5-report/