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November 30, 2018

Start With Why

Start With Why (TBD) Simon Sinek

“There are two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it.” – Simon Sinek

Simon Sinek gained his fame with his three questions: why, how, what? Here is his very elegant framework

Inside-Out

We should start with ‘why’ and work outwards from there. Simon Sinek dubs this the remarkable way of thinking about your company/message. This is in direct opposition to how most companies are used to define themselves, working outside-in (the conventional approach). He builds on the divide between brain structures, speaking to the limbic (primitive – why, how) part of the brain that controls decision making and emotion, instead of the neocortex (human) part that controls rational thought.

Why

Very few organizations know ‘why’ they do what they do. ‘Why’ is not about making money or increasing share prices – that is a result. It is about the purpose, cause or belief. It is the very reason an organization exists.

How

Some organizations know ‘how’ they do it. These are the things that make them special or set them apart from the competition.

What

Every organization knows ‘what’ they do. These are the products they sell or the services they provide.

Examples

Simon Sinek uses Apple as an example in his famous TED Talk – why: we believe in challenging the status quo and doing things differently – how: our products are beautifully designed and easy to use – what: a product called the iphone/ipad/iwatch/etc.
Here is Google – why: to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful – how: thanks to our ability in creating algorithms – what: that help us offering you several search resources in every possible device
De Kleine Consultant – why: to bring advice where it normally does not reach and train students – how: by offering a development platform for outstanding students – what: non-profit consultancy projects under the guidance of a multinational strategy consultancy

When to Use

The Why-How-What framework (also called the Golden Circle) can be used for defining the reason your company exists. It can be used to increase both rigidity (in your vision/core competences – the why and how) and flexibility (in your final products – the what).

November 30, 2018

A More Beautiful Question

“Always the beautiful answer. Who asks a more beautiful question.” – E.E. Cummmings

Lessons learnt: Questions are as important as answers (or possibly even more important). Ask why, what if, and how. What if questions could lead to better actions?

Why Question in the First Place?

Time is a most precious finite resource. Most people (in business) are always busy. Business leaders are always anxious to act and do. But they forget to question just if what they are doing is the right thing. In A More Beautiful Question, Warren Berger argues that we should take more time to think and ask questions.

Berger argues for a very specific type of questions to ask: Questions that are ambitious yet actionable and that can change the way we perceive or think about something. These questions should be hard (and interesting) to answer, but easy enough that you can still answer them. In short, you should start asking beautiful questions.

With beautiful questions, you can achieve many great things. In scientific discovery, it’s questions that lead to discoveries. Questions can tackle your assumptions and prejudices. And questions can help you better invest your time in useful activities.

The Power of Questions

One meta-quality of questions is that they allow you to think about what you don’t know. This is how innovation is driven, asking small incremental questions that lead to ever newer prototypes. Berger condenses the link between questions and actions as follows: Q (question) + A (action) = I (innovation). In observing these innovators he noticed three types of questions: why, what if, how. More on this later. First, why aren’t we asking more questions?

In an amazing TED Talk by Ken Robinson (watched 31 million times), he speaks about how schools kill creativity. Schools rate kids on set criteria (sometimes measuring a fish on its ability to climb a tree) and frankly prepare them for a world that is long gone. When kids go to school the number of questions they ask drops radically. Kids are taught to memorize lists, not think critically.

Berger agrees and states that what schools are for is to prepare students to be productive citizens in the twenty-first century. “This requires self-learners, who are creative and resourceful, who can adjust and adapt to constant change.” Luckily some schools do adhere to the questions etiquette and from Montessori schools, the likes of Larry Page (Google) and Marissa Mayer (Yahoo!) have risen to greatness. Therefore we should increase the number of questions we ask and at the same time learn to ask the right kinds of questions.

Beautiful questions can be divided into three parts: why, what if, how.

Why: stepping back, stop doing and stop knowing*
What if: you don’t do that, combine A and X
How: will it work, just do it

From question to execution these three types of questions can help you better execute your plans, focus your actions and improve your results. Now let’s look at how you can use beautiful questions in business and life.

Questioning in Business

The legendary business guru Peter Drucker understood that his job wasn’t to serve up an answer. He argued that he had to “be ignorant and ask a few questions“. Questioning in business works best to see things from a different angle, challenge your own assumptions, and reframe old problems. Here are three examples of businesses that use beautiful questions:

Google: every Friday all employees (from each level) can ask questions to Larry Page and Sergey Brin. In a Reddit-like style of up- and downvoting the most interesting questions get an immediate answer.
3M: all employees can take 10% of their working time to answer questions they would like to explore.
Panera Bread: what does the world need most … that we are uniquely able to provide? (transforming a company into a cause)

Questioning for Life

“What is your sentence?” This is what Congresswoman Clare Booth asked John F. Kennedy at the beginning of his career. She believed that great people should be summarized (and remembered by) something that fits onto one sentence. One example would be “He raised four kids who became happy, healthy adults”. What would your sentence be?

Another way of putting the question is: Why are you climbing the mountain? What is it you are fighting for? What if you just gave it a shot? What if you couldn’t fail? How would you end up? How would you feel?

I can’t answer the questions for you. But I can ask you to use the power of inquiry to examine your life, to question your motivation, and to use questions for the greater good.

“The wise man doesn’t give the right answer, he poses the right questions.” – Claude Levi-Strauss

The Question: Is it worth the read? (yes)

After our first few years in this world, we stop questioning. We ‘go with the flow’ and become boring grey sheep. Sometimes it only takes a question to become the shepherd. In A More Beautiful Question, you will be prompted to start asking questions.

* Asking why can be done with the five whys methodology. This simple technique forces you to find the deeper reasons for your (or other peoples) actions and convictions. This can uncover hidden motivations and result in better solutions to your problems.

November 30, 2018

A Random Walk Down Wall Street

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin

Lessons learnt: Invest in passive index funds for a very long time with money you won’t need until retirement!

Stocks go up and stocks go down – that’s about it for my knowledge on stock markets. In A Random Walk Down Wall Street Burton G. Malkiel argues that I’m not too different from almost all financial ‘advisers’. After reading the book your knowledge has however gained two very important pieces of information:

Stocks tend to go up in the long run (by as much as 8%)
You (nor your fancy broker) can predict stocks in the short (to medium) term

In 400+ pages Malkiel will take you on a journey through topics like stocks and their value, how the pros invest, and how you should invest. In the end, you will be able to separate the wheat from the chaff and start making your next investment decisions.

Random Walk

“A random walk is one in which future steps or directions cannot be predicted on the basis of past history”. Malkiel argues that the past performance of a stock is no guarantee for future performance. He argues that a monkey throwing darts will do as well on the stock market as your next best financial ‘expert’. And he has historical data backing him up.

Throughout the 400+ pages you will be introduced to a myriad of examples, let’s discuss only one here. Let’s say that you have the opportunity to choose between investing in Apple or Microsoft. The first has grown (or stagnated) steadily for many years. The second has grown much in the last decade. Which one would you choose?

Many people would – I think – choose Apple. It’s cool, hip and trending. It has outperformed Microsoft and many other competitors. And it’s stock has been on the rise for a long time. So what could go wrong? That is exactly the same thing as people thought about internet companies at the beginning of the 2000’s – right before the dot-com crisis.

And I’m not saying Apple is a bad company. I’m saying that you don’t know if there is another Tech bubble forming, or that there won’t be any strikes at the manufacturing plants of Apple. I’m saying that the past performance of Apple (or other companies) is no guarantee for future performance. And to the question which one of the two I would buy, probably both – in an index fund.

Rationality

Malkiel argues that stock markets are rational and that’s where I disagree with him. In one of the first chapters, he writes about tulip crazes in early 1600’s – prices that didn’t correspond with reality. Later on, he describes the housing bubble, dot-com crisis, etc, etc. So how can he defend the Efficient-Market Hypothesis?

He does so by changing the argument on which a price of a stock should be based. He states that it’s about how much people are willing to pay, not X times earnings. He argues that markets will always correct themselves and that pricing is only of for a short time.

I wish to disagree (psychology graduate speaking here) and argue that psychology has much more to do with it than Malkiel lets shine through. Yes, he devotes one chapter to behavioural economics and recognizes that people are not rational. But he forgets that effects like sunk-costs influence not only the stocks people hold onto, they also affect everything from building projects to marriage duration. I would even argue that our irrationality influences how we code the computers that we let do our bidding – so I can’t understand how Malkiel argues that the markets are rational.

“How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts? I rest my case.” – Robert G. Allen

Investment Advice

What I do believe and appreciate is his investment advice. Although Malkiel believes in rational markets he also fully understands that predicting the future of stocks is like rolling a dice. You can’t predict which number you are going to roll, but you do know that on average you will throw 3,5 (or 7 with two dice). And so it is with stock markets, you don’t know the short term but you do know that it will go up in the long term.

Therefore you should invest with longevity in mind. Invest only money that you don’t need to access for a very long time. Let the magic of compounding interests work for you and see how twenty years of 8% interest leads to a 366% increase in your money (and not 8*20=160%).

Investing should also be passive (again – you can’t predict short-term effects for individual stocks) and in an index fund. For the long term, you won’t be able to predict if Apple and Microsoft will still be around, but you can (more safely) assume that the stock market will have grown.

To sum up, all the advice and fine details of A Random Walk Down Wall Street wouldn’t do the book justice. As a starting investor, the book has helped me a great deal to better understand the ins and outs of stocks. The practical advice is very actionable (but uses American examples) and will definitively also help you further!

November 30, 2018

What Color is Your Parachute

“It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” – Franklin Roosevelt

Lessons learnt: Searching for a job has changed dramatically over the last decades. The core to a successful approach has not – first map yourself, and then look a job that best fits you. The technique is more demanding of you (it takes time and effort) but will pay off handsomely by providing you with a ‘fit’ with your employer, knowledge of your values, skills, interests (and more) and possibly a job that was created especially for you.

Many people are looking for jobs – recent graduates, career changers, people in their 50’s, and the list goes on. Some people hop right over to Monsterboard or LinkedIn – they are successful sometimes. Other people join groups and follow an intensive course in which they learn about writing your resume and look for jobs from 9 to 5 – they are successful a bit more often. And other people introspect before looking at the job market, they look at the qualities they have, the work they would like to do, the people to do it with, and only then start looking for the perfect job – they are successful the most often. This is what What Color is Your Parachute? (Parachute) by Richard Bolles is all about.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” – Reinhold Niebuhr

The introduction of Parachute is used to shed light on the current job hunting environment. Bolles gives insight into how employers are hiring (they want a familiar face) and how many jobs are actually out there (seven million this month in the US alone). Tips are provided on two topics of interest to everyone; 1) interviewing for a job, and 2) salary negotiation. After that, he introduces the concept of the creative job-hunt. Crucial here are three questions:

What are your skills that you most love to use?
Where would you most love to use these skills?
How do you go about finding such places?

The first two are answered by filling in your own ‘Flower Diagram’. This tackles seven different aspects of you – all of them definable with the exercises provided in the book. The ‘petals’ are concerned with the following areas:

My favourite knowledges or fields of interest
My preferred kinds of people to work with
What I can do and love to do – my favourite transferable skills
My favourite working conditions
My preferred salary and level of responsibility
My preferred place(s) to live
My goal, purpose, or mission in life

Some of these things you may know by heart and have a clear vision about. Others you might want to research and ask friends about. Altogether it will take you no less than 20 hours to read the book and complete the exercises. This maybe sounds like a long time, but if you put it in the perspective of working weeks, it is barely half a week of work (and that to find your dream job).

In the final chapters, Bolles explains how you should go and make a list, ask friends about jobs that might suit your skills/interests/working conditions/etc. and start doing informational interviews. This means you have to find people that work there and figure out if you would want to work there (not if they would like you). After that, you can start filtering your list and apply for your dream job.

For 40 years Parachute has been edited to stay up-to-date. It has not lost its touch and Bolles has a very pleasant way of writing. Although many things have changed over the years, the basic principles still hold strong.

November 28, 2018

Public Commitment 2015 – Q4 Recap

Welcome back to an overview of my goals. Today I will look back to the last 3 months of 2015. Tomorrow I will present my goals for 2016. And the day after that you can find my goals for the first 3 months of 2016.

In the last quarter of 2015 I made the goals listed below. They also represent a revised vision of my 2015 goals. It’s been a fun three months and I have learned many new things. It also has been an interesting time and I’ve (once again) learned that communication is the most important aspect of work (or actually everything). So here is to communicating my goals.

Career	2	Queal is worth €1 million Goal-setting is in Beta and we have a plan-of-attack I have launched 3 side projects I spend 80% of my time on important & non-urgent tasks
Personal Development	1	I learn for 2 hours per day I spread my knowledge for 1 hour per day I have 2 senior mentors and 2 peer coaches I have improved my speaking skills I know the basics of tango dancing I play the saxophone better than ever before I can play basic songs on the piano
Finances	4	I have an investment plan I have the perfect company/tax structure I spend <1000 per month
Health	3	I have a basic understanding of human longevity and what it implies for me I have visible abs I have participated in two obstacle runs I am in the 1000 pound club
Relationships	6	I meet with friends at least 2 times a week
Spiritual	5	I have discovered which Global Goal fits the best with me I have learned more about Stoicism/philosophy of life I donate 10% of my income I run a fundraiser in December I meditate 3x30min per week

Goals Q4 2015 Recap

Career

+ Queal is worth €1 million

The most important aspect of being an entrepreneur is being able to choose what to work on. I’m (totally) free to spend my time according to what I want to spend it on. Of course, this statement can be nuanced, but this is actually the reason I’m an entrepreneur. That being said, I wanted to have a goal that was more easily measurable (more SMART). I can be glad to say that Queal is worth more than €1 million. How much more depends on how you (e)valuate companies, but it’s safe to say that there is a margin. If you want to calculate the value of your own company, please consult Equidam.

(short note: does this mean I’m a (half)millionaire? Nope. This means that in a perfect market, with the predictions we have about revenue, with a willing buyer, someone might be willing to pay the valuated amount. Onno and I plan to keep managing Queal ourselves and, therefore, this valuation can be seen as ‘virtual’ money)

+/- Goal-setting is in Beta and we have a plan-of-attack

Over the last few months, I’ve been working behind the scenes with Julian and Gabriël on something really amazing. It has to do with goal-setting but is actually much more than that. From this month, we will start to launch the business and expect some great things, especially if you are already working at a (big) company. This doesn’t mean I will stop working on Aldrin.io, I have some ideas to make the website more valuable (more help with making and executing of goals) and those will be on the website in Q1 of 2016.

– I have launched 3 side projects

The side-projects goal was not the best one to have. It distracted from my main career goal (valuation of Queal) and divided my attention without having a real focus. Under the guidance of a coach Onno and I learned more about focus. At the same time, I’m a person who likes to do multiple things. For myself, this means that I want to keep doing multiple projects, but more structured and with an overarching goal (improve lives).

+/- I spend 80% of my time on important & non-urgent tasks

The biggest leap I’ve made for this goal is by installing BatchedInbox for Gmail. This plugin only lets email through at 12 PM and 5 PM, and yes those are the only moments I will be looking at my email. This prevents me (and my monkey brain) from looking at emails in the morning.

Personal Development

+ I learn for 2 hours per day

I can say that I’ve been learning for at least 2 hours per day. On average I read 30 minutes in the morning, listen to 1 hour of podcasts and take at least 30 minutes to learn new things on the job. Does this mean I already have a perfect system to store this knowledge? No, it doesn’t. And that is something I will continue to work on (on this website).

+/- I spread my knowledge for 1 hour per day

This goal links back to the last goal. I want to keep on blogging about the things I learn. I have also helped 2 of my friends with the first steps towards their own businesses and I really loved doing that too. I haven’t blogged as much as I wanted, but keep expecting the blogs to be coming in the coming year.

+/- I have 2 senior mentors and 2 peer coaches

At Queal, we have had 3 senior mentors (via BrownCow). We will continue the coaching with one of them next year. I haven’t made any peer coaching commitments yet, but I want to (read: will) make them with friends for the coming year.

+/- I have improved my speaking skills

On two occasions I gave a training. The first was during the Venture Cafe (everyone welcome, each Thursday in the Groothandelsgebouw). The second was for InTheMaking. I really loved giving workshops and I will continue doing these kinds of engagements. What I want to continue to improve on is storytelling. I think I have a good understanding of a variety of topics, but that only through storytelling you can really get others to experience (and understand) it with you.

– I know the basics of salsa dancing

I planned on keeping dancing, but to be honest, I didn’t like doing it alone. So I’m dropping this one for now and I’m glad that I know the basics.

– I play the saxophone better than ever before

I’ve practised once every two weeks. This wasn’t enough to learn to play better than I did back in the days. The main reason for not playing enough is that I scheduled it on Fridays, the day that you also want to finish a whole lot of other stuff. I do really love playing the saxophone and in my planning for the coming year, I will make sure to find a moment each week to play.

– I can play basic songs on the piano

When I didn’t make enough time to play the saxophone, I prioritized it above playing the piano. Since I might be moving soon I think I will stick to the saxophone (focus) and maybe learn to play the piano some other day.

Finances

+ I have an investment plan

I know where (and when) I want to invest my money. With the current plan, I will save enough per month to provide for a royal retirement. Next to the automated (I guess this is the most important aspect of it, that you don’t have to think about saving) deposits I don’t know exactly where I will invest any extra money, but for now, I will stick to Index Funds.

+ I have the perfect company/tax structure

Over the last few months, we’ve spent some money on getting everything fixed for Queal and our other projects. Everything is in perfect order now and I’m happy that even the bank has a feature to see multiple bank accounts at one time.

+/- I spend <1000 per month

To be honest, I haven’t been tracking my spending as closely as before. I do know that I haven’t spent any strange amounts of money in one area or the other. I did enjoy a very fun weekend in Dublin with my fellow board members. Aside from that, I think I’ve had no ‘big’ expenses.

Health

+/- I have a basic understanding of human longevity and what it implies for me

Reading about AI, quantum computing, radical life extension and other ‘singularity’ related topics can leave your mind ‘blown’. I really like how many fields are converging and that even psychology makes an appearance every once in a while. From what I know now, I believe that we (relatively rich people in the Western world) can live (a healthy life) for far beyond 100 years. Technology is improving exponentially and we will be able to take advantage of that in the coming decades. Before I go on too much, please stay tuned for more blog posts about longevity.

– I have visible abs

I’m really close to hitting my physical targets, but sometimes life gets in the way. I need to lose about 4kg more to get to the percentages I want. With a marathon (Rotterdam) and 42km obstacle run in sight, I think I have the proper motivation to reach my goals. I’m not there yet, and I might blame my knees a little bit, but at the same time, I’m really happy with how I look, my endurance and power.

+ I have participated in two obstacle runs

Next, to the two viking runs (13km and 19km) I participated in the harbour run (11km) and also did the first (normal) run in a long while, the bruggenloop (15km). And yes I really enjoyed each one of them.

– I am in the 1000 pound club

No, this goal isn’t about becoming really fat. This goal is about being able to do a lot of weight on the big exercises. With my knee in mind, I haven’t worked towards these goals and I will only be actively pursuing this again after the marathon.

Relationships

+ I meet with friends at least 2 times a week

It’s still difficult to put a specific goal for relationships, at the same time it may just be so because I take this category for granted (which then, of course, is a good thing).

Spiritual

+ I have discovered which Global Goal fits the best with me

In line with where I donate (Against Malaria Foundation, AMF), I most strongly identify with the third Global Goal: Good Health. One of the sub-goals is making malaria a negligible disease by 2030, how great would that be!

+ I have learned more about Stoicism/philosophy of life

I continue to read the classics and get a more complete philosophy of life. I also really like talking about these ideas with some friends and learning about philosophy has really made my life more interesting. Highly recommended!

+ I donate 10% of my income

If you consider donating too, please visit GiveWell to see where to donate.

– I run a fundraiser in December

I’m sad to say I didn’t do a fundraiser.

+ I meditate 3x30min per week

With the help of HeadSpace, I’ve managed to meditate for almost every day in the past month. I really like the guidance it provides and I will continue to use it daily.

Ok, that’s it for 2015, let’s get this 2016 party started.

November 28, 2018

Public Commitment 2015 – Q4

In the coming three months I will focus my attention on the goals listed below. These are slightly different from the yearly goals I made 9 months ago. What differs most is the change is categories. Since the last update, the ‘fun’ category has been replaced by ‘spiritual’. Of course, I will also have fun, I hope a lot, but that is less easy to define in a goal-oriented way.

As always I can use your help:

Do you know of a programme for (public) speaking (preferably in English) that you want to share, or do you want to teach me specific skills?
Have you done some (informal) investing yourself and would like to share the lessons with me?
Are you a friend of mine and have nothing to do for lunch or dinner?

Call me.

Career	2	Queal is worth €1 million Goal-setting is in Beta and we have a plan-of-attack I have launched 3 side projects I spend 80% of my time on important & non-urgent tasks
Personal Development	1	I learn for 2 hours per day I spread my knowledge for 1 hour per day I have 2 senior mentors and 2 peer coaches I have improved my speaking skills I know the basics of tango dancing I play the saxophone better than ever before I can play basic songs on the piano
Finances	4	I have an investment plan I have the perfect company/tax structure I spend <1000 per month
Health	3	I have a basic understanding of human longevity and what it implies for me I have visible abs I have participated in two obstacle runs I am in the 1000 pound club
Relationships	6	I meet with friends at least 2 times a week
Spiritual	5	I have discovered which Global Goal fits the best with me I have learned more about Stoicism/philosophy of life I donate 10% of my income I run a fundraiser in December I meditate 3x30min per week

November 28, 2018

Public Commitment 2015 – Q3 Recap

Technically this is only the second update, in the summer I wasn’t blogging that much, so let me start with an overview of the goals I had the last 3 months:

Career	1	I have transferred my blog into a braindump + review site I have written 1 guide + goal-poster website (launched) on goal-setting I have grown Queal 20% per month
Fun	6	I have discovered a new country I visit a museum 2+ times a month
Personal Development	2	I study leadership and related topics 9 hours per week I have read and reviewed 12+ books I have completed 2 online courses I have a solid plan including A/B tests of time-management, energy levels, and activity management
Health	3	I have participated in 1 obstacle run I have visible abs (<12% BF) I have kept my strength levels
Relationships	4	I have got to know Kris even better
Finance	5	I have written a mini-guide (possibly website) on investing for young professionals I invest 20%+ of my income I spend <1000 on expenses I donate 10% of my income

Overall the last few months have been good to me. I’ve had a wonderful trip to Costa Rica. We moved offices and the view and atmosphere here are very positive. My knee is finally getting a bit better. And I feel that I am both learning and contributing to the world. Here is a full recap of all the goals:

Goals Q3 2015 Recap

Career – I have transferred my blog into a braindump + review site – I have written 1 guide + goal-poster website (launched) on goal-setting – I have grown Queal 20% per month

It took a while to figure out what I wanted to do with my blog. First I thought about dividing it into the topics I found interesting and making separate blogs out of them. But in the end, I decided that focussing on this one blog is the best thing to do. For the last few weeks, I have been blogging once a day. I will keep this up for a few more weeks (for a total of 30-40 days) so that the habit of blogging is engrained in my system. I’ve also chosen to make the reviews of books shorter and to focus on what I learned from it, instead of giving the less personal/more boring overviews of the books.

It’s not officially launched, but please take a look at www.aldrin.io. Together with Onno and Julian, I’m working on making the website your go-to place if you want to work on your goals and start being committed to them. Our final deadline if during the next In The Making event (21 November in Arnhem). Before that date, I will probably have informed you about us going live already! Stay tuned.

Queal has been growing steadily in the last few months. It hasn’t been exactly 20% but we’ve come pretty close. Behind the scenes, we’ve worked on making everything streamlined and we now have everything set. The coming months will also focus on the expansion of our sales so expect a similar goal for Q4.

Fun – I have discovered a new country – I visit a museum 2+ times a month

Two countries to be precise – Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The trip with jaarclub Steen was amazing, I loved every day of it.

In my free time, I’ve been to a few museums this summer. If I also count the museum in Nicaragua I exactly hit the target. Earlier I spoke about the Keith Haring exposition, I still highly recommend it.

Personal Development – I study leadership and related topics 9 hours per week – I have read and reviewed 12+ books – I have completed 2 online courses – I have a solid plan including A/B tests of time-management, energy levels, and activity management

In retrospect, I think the first two goals of personal development could have been combined. On average I listen to books/podcasts for more than 2 hours a day (at 1.6 or 2x speed). I also read quite some articles and take 30 minutes most mornings to read. If everything is related to leadership, I guess not. What I mean to say is that I’m learning a lot in diverse fields, not only leadership. So I would say yes to learning, but maybe that not everything is related to leadership.

In the past months, I’ve read about 20 books. The one I liked best was Start With Why by Simon Sinek, it explores the topic of ‘your life purpose’, something I will be learning more about in Q4.

I’m sorry to have to say that I’ve not completed any online courses. I started one but didn’t make the time to commit to it. What I could have done better is allocate a specific time slot to it and work on the course material at that time. At Queal, we might introduce a specific time to do just that. What I did do was watch the videos from Crash Course, I now know a lot more about Astronomy and Economics.

Health – I have participated in 1 obstacle run – I have visible abs (<12% BF) – I have kept my strength levels

The obstacle run is this Sunday, wish me luck! And in about 3 weeks I will do one that is 19km long so that knee of mine better behave.

At the beginning of September, I lost about 3kg in no time. After that, I hit a plateau. The main problem is that other habits (i.e. drinking with friends) that are fun interfere with this goal. For the next three months, I will first think about how I can best combine these types of goals.

In relation to strength, I think not much has changed. My legs (of course) are a lot weaker, so when my knee if fully restored I have quite the workload in front of me.

Relationships – I have got to know Kris even better

Kris and I had a great time together. She’s a great person and I enjoyed every moment with her. But we’re not together any more. And as much as I like to share with you on this blog, if you want to know more you have to ask me in person.

Finance – I have written a mini-guide (possibly website) on investing for young professionals – I invest 20%+ of my income – I spend <1000 on expenses – I donate 10% of my income

Why are finances so boring? It’s something every one of us has to live with, learn to manage and can help us greatly. I haven’t found the right motivation to write about investing for young professionals. What I will do is write more about it on the blog here and use that as a basis to figure out what I really want to do with it. I still think a lot of my peers (and I) don’t know exactly what to do with our new-found wealth, so more information is always welcome.

Investing is going well. I automatically set aside some money and everything goes into a basket of global stocks. I can write about this process in the next month.

With regards to spending, I think I’m spending a bit more than the 1000 euro per month. I’ve bought some new clothes, went out to eat sometimes. At the same time, I eat Queal a lot, buy things when they are discounted and try and limit spending whenever not necessary. The next two months will probably see me spending less, December will be a bit more expensive.

And yes I’ve made some more donations to the Against Malaria Foundation. Read more about effective altruism on GiveWell.org .

Final Notes

I recently heard a podcast in which someone speaks about ‘systems vs goals’. With this ,he means that he prefers to make a system in which he will learn, no matter the final outcome (goal). I like the approach, at the same time I think that is also what I’m kinda doing with my goals. They are dots on the horizon and sometimes I end up somewhere else, but they do challenge me to go towards that direction in the first place. Also more about this in a future blog.

Stay tuned for my new goals in tomorrows post!

November 28, 2018

Public Commitment 2015 – Update 1

Dear friends, family, and interested readers,

Welcome to the first update of 2015. I will write a short recap on each of the 90-day goals, and will commit myself to another set of 90-day goals!

Once again there is a section of call to action‘s for anyone who would like to help me out.

January 2015 – March 2015 Recap

[icon type=”check”] Complete [icon type=”minus”] Half [icon type=”times”] Failed

[icon type=”minus”] I have published a goal-setting guide

Instead of a guide on how to set goals I’ve built a website that makes it easy for anyone to make their own goals. With a simple form, you can enter your goals, we will print it and you will receive it at home in a few days.

WEBSITE COMING TOMORROW (3rd of April 2015)

In the next three months, I will be working on improving the site and also adding a more in-depth guide on goal-setting!

[icon type=”times”] I have gained 100 subscribers to my blog

To be honest I have only been posting my updates of book reviews here and have barely been making (very) long posts. Other obligations have kept me busy and my Fridays haven’t been about blogging as much as I wanted. See below for my new goal related to my blog.

[icon type=”check”] I have started a webshop leadership group

With a few other owners of webshops, Onno (good friend and co-founder of Queal) and I get together once a month and discuss things related to all aspects of owning a webshop & company. The first few sessions have been very inspiring.

[icon type=”check”] I have 1 senior mentor

A few weeks ago I had the first meeting with a friend of my parents and after the inspiring talk, I’ve asked him to be my mentor. Our conversation gave me lots to think about, here is the main one: If you are an advisor (something I aspire) you don’t have to make decisions. This, on the one hand, means less stress, but also means less responsibility and influence.

[icon type=”minus”] I have learned how to do marketing for Queal

Queal has been growing quite rapidly since the inception. We are now a team of 6 and I believe that the growth will also continue in the coming three months. For this, I would like to focus more on marketing and less on operations. I’m giving myself a ‘meh’ because I believe that I don’t have enough knowledge yet and would like to learn more in the coming three months (related book reviews are on their way).

[icon type=”minus”] I have a shareable investment plan

Investing is tougher than I thought. A lot of the good information is for the American market and I still haven’t figured out how to do the best passive investment here in The Netherlands. I will get back in three months (maybe even with another website).

[icon type=”check”] I have read/listened 10+ books

Yes, yes, yes. From A Random Walk Down Wall Street to A More Beautiful Question, I’ve kept myself quite committed to reading every morning. Audiobooks on the bike are also still a great way of reading/listening to the more ‘light’ books (e.g. Moby Dick).

If you are struggling to read more I would recommend that you start with 15 minutes each morning, and to get some audiobooks for during your commute.

[icon type=”minus”] I study/learn every Friday

It may sound weird but this might have been my most ambitious goal. Not going back to work, having enough energy, not using the free time to watch some series has been a real challenge. I love the concept of taking time for myself and improving my skills. But even for me – the committed planner – this has been difficult. So I admit that I have failed a few of the past weeks, and I will commit to this goal with twice the resolution for the coming three months.

[icon type=”check”] I spend 2+ days a week with Kris

From Paris to Bergschenhoek, were having fun. No need to say anything more here.

[icon type=”check”] I am playing the saxophone weekly

After 6,5 years of not playing, I’ve started playing again. To be honest I am surprised by how easy it is to play again. Of course, it’s still difficult to learn new songs, but reading the notes and playing with passion is kinda like riding a bike.

[icon type=”times”] I have adopted a time-management principle that is in line with goal(setting)

In the last few weeks, I’ve been running a bit low on energy and time. It’s not that I get a million things done also. So here I’ve put an X to remind myself that I need to be better at managing my time. This means sticking to weekly goal setting on Sunday, making a daily schedule and figuring out when I’m most productive/effective. For the next three months, I think it’s wise to include energy levels too.

[icon type=”minus”] I have participated in 1 run

Two runs are coming up soon (10k during Rotterdam Marathon & 14k on Scheveningen Beach). My knee is hurting a bit so that isn’t great, but I’m just going to go easy a bit and continue building stamina.

Mini update: Yesterday I hurt my right knee, don’t know if I will be able to participate in the runs… 🙁

[icon type=”times”] I have visible abs

Sorry guys and gals, although I’ve lost about 5kg I don’t have the six-pack you’ve been waiting for. (rationalization) I also think it wouldn’t really suit me with having a lot of muscle behind the nice layer of fat I have now. So for the next three months, there is weight training on the menu and with a slight focus on not gaining any fat.

[icon type=”check”] I have started a monthly philosophy dinner-club

It took a short while but the philosophy dinner-club had their first meeting. And it was great; lively discussion and it actually made me change my mind on the subject at hand. From now on the meetings will be monthly (with maybe an exception in the summer) and there are some amazing people participating!

[icon type=”check”] I have found where I want to donate 10% of my income

On GiveWell.org you can compare charities based on their impact. Because the first (most effective) charity is the only one who is registered as ANBI in The Netherlands I’ve chosen to give everything to them (Against Malaria Foundation). I do believe that only giving is somewhat passive so I will be thinking of other things to do that help impact the world in a positive way.

		1 year
Career	1	I turn a (indirect) profit from my blogs I have written 3 guides on leadership / goal-setting / motivation I’m a member of 2 leadership groups I have 2 senior mentors I’ve build Queal to be worth 1 million euro’s
Financial	3	I have educated myself on investing I invest 20%+ of my income I spend <1000 on expenses
Education	2	I study leadership and related topics 9 hours per week I have read 40+ books I have completed 3 online courses
Family	4	I have found a life-partner
Artistic	9	I have again learned to play the saxophone I have learned ballroom dancing
Attitude	7	I have learned about time-management, energy levels, and activity management
Physical	5	I have participated in 3 obstacle runs I have visible abs (<15% BF) I am in the 1000 pound club
Pleasure	6	I run a monthly philosophy dinner-club I have discovered a new country
Public Service	8	I have donated 10% of my income I run a fundraiser in December I have an overview of school leadership challenges

		90 day action plan
Career	1	I have writen 4 long form (3000+ words) posts I have build 15goals.com to include a goal-setting guide I have another senior mentor I have kept Queal growing 20% month-on-month
Financial	2	I have a shareable investment plan (possibly website)
Education	3	“I have read/listened to 10+ books I have completed 1 Coursera I only do long-term things on Fridays
Family	4	Kris and I have started ballroom dancing
Artistic	9	I am playing the saxophone weekly
Attitude	6	I know my energy levels + related time-management
Physical	5	I have done 2 runs I focus on building strength
Pleasure	8	I have dinner with at least 1 friend per week
Public Service	7	I donate 10% of my income

If you liked this update and you would like to do some more, here are 3 ways you can help!

1. If you like this post (or my book reviews or other articles) – please subscribe (see the ‘pop-up’ when you scroll down)

2. Do you know someone who would like to mentor me? (topics: leadership, entrepreneurship, productivity) – send me a message

3. Do you like talking about philosophy (e.g. should we tell the truth?) – send me a message for an invite

Of course, if you wish to help me in any other way, please do feel to contact me via email , facebook or LinkedIn!

This has been the first update of my 2015 goals, a good start, I’m ready for more!

“Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.” – Albert Einsteind

November 28, 2018

Public Commitment 2014 – Update 4

Jump to Dutch

Dear friends, family, and interested readers,

The Christmas decorations are coming down, the ‘oliebollen’ are already warm and everyone is getting ready for 2015. Before we dive into the next year let us reflect on what has happened in 2014. Have you achieved all your goals, which accomplishments are you proud of, and what have you learned from? Take today to look back on last year, take tomorrow to start the next year!

At the beginning of 2014, I first made public my goals for the year. In that post, I indicated I would review them multiple times. After the first review, second review and third review, here is the fourth and final review & update.

Daily

1a. I will always do something meaningful, even if this means doing nothing. At all times I am busy creating new things or gaining new experiences.

Doing something meaningful sounds easier than it is. Sometimes you just want to sit back and binge-watch House of Cards or something else on Netflix. The past 3 months I have had the luck to be busy with finishing my thesis, building Queal (my company) and moving house. This goal might have been too abstract, but at the same time is a good reminder to not do ‘useless’ things. I believe that I have achieved this goal!

2. I will execute all my habits. I eat home-made 6-7 days per week, I work out 6 days a week, I blog twice per week, I read and do my exercises each morning.

I would give this a 90% completed. Eating healthy has been achieved (also thanks to Queal for making it easy to eat balanced during the day). Working out has been great (and of course not always 6 times a week, but you would be surprised how many times I exercised). Blogging twice a week has seen its ups and downs (with a low for the last 1,5 months). Doing my exercises is routine and reading (or listening to an audiobook) is no more effort than getting up early.

3. I will take moments to reflect. I will contemplate on my life, goals and experiences.

What are we here for, what is the purpose of life, how can I contribute the most? These are all questions you should be asking yourself when you are 50-60 years old, but I guess I am already asking them. Reflecting on my weekly goals, discussing it occasionally with friends and writing them down here helps me answer the ‘big’ questions of life in small increments. For anyone who wants to start thinking about what you can do, where you are in the universe and how ‘small’ we humans actually are, please watch Cosmos (with Neil deGrasse Tyson).

Moments

4. I will find/create my perfect job. From October 2014 onwards I will work full-time on a job that fits my skills, knowledge and abilities whilst also giving me ample opportunity to learn and challenge myself.

After the starting-up phase of Queal, I am now fully committed to making the company a success. For this, I will dedicate the next year to building the company to new heights. This means that actually during the writing of my thesis I was already finding/creating my perfect job. And yes, I still want to do something in training/development in the corporate world, therefore I will be taking Fridays off to blog/read/learn and visit other people in this field.

(ps being an entrepreneur is great, please try it out and feel free to ask me for advice)

5. I will explore a new country.

Yes, in the last month of the year I have completed this goal. Together with Onno, I have been to Tunisia (country of the year according to the Economist). We took some time off work to relax, see the country and continue with renewed energy.

6. I will host an epic graduation day + party. After my graduation in September 2014 (implicit goal) I will host an event for everyone involved in my student career, from associate professors, fellow students, to family and friends from past days.

Party will be on the 9th of January. If you are reading this you are most probably already invited. If you do not have an invitation, please send me a message for the details!

Reach

7. I will blog 100+ times & reach 10.000 with blogging. Each week I will produce 2+ articles, and I will create one long and in-depth paper per month that will take at least 2 hours to write. On a new website, I will write about leadership, psychology and related topics in collaboration with others with a global mindset and exposure.

If I have counted it correctly I have written 84 blogs over the last year. This is not the 100 I intended on writing, at the same time it is still an impressive number. With blogging, I have not been able to reach a large audience, and next year I will try again to be noticed. The new website is almost ready and on social media, I will announce the start (beginning January). Tips and tricks are always welcome.

8. I will reach and maintain 15% body fat, 10km in 45 minutes, 300 kg on the big three. In January I will lower my body fat percentage to 15%, I will steadily increase my speed to 10km in 45 minutes and I will push myself to reach a 300 kg total on squat, bench press and deadlift by the middle of the year.

350kg is the number that I ended up with after a very successful gym session. With 90kg Bench Press, 110kg Squat and 150kg Deadlift I am very pleased with my fitness goals. My knees are not hurting, running is still going good (best time of the year was 48min for 10km) and I am happy with my body. For an upcoming obstacle run (14km on sand) I will be losing some weight the next month, but after that, I am aiming to reach 450kg on the exercises, wish me luck!

9. I will learn a new sport.

Last time I counted obstacle runs + chess together as one, so lets stick with that (next year I will learn ballroom dancing, mind your toes).

10. I will read/listen 26 books. 10a. I will read all the books I have bought.

Check. I have read or listened to about 50 books (though not all that I had bought in the last months). Some still need their review to be uploaded, I will take care of that in the coming months.

11. I will learn a new field of study. I will learn to code/program. I will improve my HR knowledge.

Reflecting on this goal I can state that I have not focussed enough on one topic. I guess that is because I have not found a passion programming nor directly in HR. With the new blog next year (/tomorrow) I will be more focussed.

12a. I will constantly update my habits. I will try different configurations of exercise/food/sleep/work/etc. each and every week.

Please everyone try new habits, stick with them for 30 days and you will be amazed at the things you can achieve. I have not experienced (chronic) back pain in the last 1,5 years and have read more last year than maybe all the previous years. On my new blog, I will definitely speak about habits.

2014 has been great. It has been my last year as a student and from now on I will be an entrepreneur. My goals for the next year will be online in a few days. Where life will take me, I do not know. If life is great, no matter where it takes me, I do know. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt.

Floris

Doelen 2014

Beste vrienden, familie en geïnteresseerd lezers,

De kerstversieringen worden van de boom gehaald, de oliebollen zijn al warm en iedereen maakt zich klaar voor 2015. Voor we in het volgende jaar duiken, hierbij een reflectie op wat er in 2014 is gebeurd. Heb jij al je doelen gehaald, welke prestaties ben jij trots op, en wat heb je geleerd? Neem vandaag om terug te kijken op afgelopen jaar, neem morgen om het nieuwe jaar te starten!

In het begin van 2014 heb ik mijn doelen voor het jaar bekend gemaakt. In dat bericht gaf ik aan dat ik ze meerdere keren zou evalueren. Na de eerste review, tweede review en derde review is hier de vierde en laatste evaluatie en update.

Dagelijks

1a. Ik doe altijd iets betekenisvol, ook al betekent dit niks doen. Ten alle tijden ben ik bezig met het creëren van nieuwe dingen of opdoen van ervaringen.

Iets betekenisvol doen klinkt makkelijker dan het is. Soms wil je gewoon op de bank liggen en een paar uur House of Cards of iets anders op Netflix kijken. De afgelopen drie maanden heb ik het geluk gehad om druk bezig te zijn geweest met het afmaken van mijn scriptie, het bouwen van Queal (mijn bedrijf) en verhuizen. Dit doel is misschien ietswat abstract, maar tegelijkertijd een goede reminder om geen ‘nutteloze’ dingen doen. Ik geloof dat ik dit doel heb behaald.

2. Ik voer mijn gewoonten uit. Ik eet 6-7 dagen per week home-made, ik sport 6 dagen per week, ik blog 2+ keer per week, ik lees en doe elke ochtend mijn oefeningen.

Ik geef mezelf een 90% compleet score. Gezond eten is gelukt (mede dankzij door Queal voor gebalanceerde maaltijden overdag). Sporten gaat heel goed (natuurlijk niet altijd 6 keer per week, maar vrijwel altijd meer dan 4x). Bloggen twee keer per week heeft z’n ups en downs gehad (vooral de afgelopen 1,5 maand). De oefeningen in de ochtend zijn routine en lezen (of een audioboek) is zo gemakkelijk als vroeg opstaan.

3. Ik neem momenten om te reflecteren. Ik denk na over mijn leven, doelen en ervaringen.

Waarom zijn we op de aarde, wat is het doel van het leven, hoe kan ik het meeste bijdragen? Dit zijn vragen die de meeste mensen op 50-60 jarige leeftijd stellen, maar ik stel ze nu al. Door het reflecteren op mijn wekelijkse doelen, het af en toe te bespreken met vrienden en hier te bloggen probeer ik de ‘grote’ vragen in kleine stukjes op te lossen. Voor iedereen die interesse hierin heeft adviseer ik de serie Cosmos (met Niel deGrasse Tyson), tijd om te zien hoe ‘klein’ wij mensen eigenlijk zijn.

Momenten

4. Ik vind/maak mijn perfecte baan. Vanaf oktober 2014 ga ik fulltime bezig zijn met werken in de baan die past bij mijn vaardigheden en tegelijkertijd genoeg uitdaging biedt.

Na de start-up fase van Queal ga ik er nu mijn volle gewicht achter gooien om van het bedrijf een succes te maken. Om dit te bereiken ga ik komend jaar toewijden aan het verbeteren van Queal. Dit betekent dat ik tijdens het afstuderen al bezig was met het vinden/maken van mijn perfecte bijna. En ja, ik wil nog steeds iets gaan doen in training/ontwikkeling in het bedrijfsleven, daarom zal ik de vrijdagen vrij nemen om te bloggen/lezen/leren en ander mensen in dit veld te bezoeken.

5. Ik ontdek een nieuw land.

Yes, in de laatste maand van het jaar heb ik dit doel bereikt. Samen met Onno ben ik naar Tunesië (land van het jaar, aldus The Economist) geweest. We hebben een week vrij genomen om te relaxen, het land te zien en met hernieuwde kracht door te werken.

6. Ik geef een episch afstuderen dag + feest. Na mijn afstuderen in september 2014 (impliciet doel) geef ik een feest voor iedereen die betrokken was in mijn studentencarrière, van hoogleraren, medestudenten, tot familie en vrienden van vroeger.

Feest is op de 9de van januari. Als je dit leest dan ben je meest waarschijnlijk al uitgenodigd. Zo niet?, stuur me dan even een berichtje voor de locatie.

Uitdaging

7. Ik blog 100x & bereik 10.000 mensen met bloggen. Elke week produceer ik 2+ artikelen, en maak ik één lang en verdiepende paper per maand die minstens 2 uur kost om te schrijven. Op een nieuwe website zal ik schrijven over leiderschap, psychologie en relevante topics in samenwerking met anderen in een globale mindset en bereik.

Als ik het goed heb geteld heb ik 84 blogs gemaakt het afgelopen jaar. Dit is niet de 100 waar ik voor ging, maar nog steeds een indrukwekkend nummer. Met bloggen heb ik nog niet een breder publiek bereikt, komend jaar ga ik dit weer opnieuw proberen. De nieuwe website is klaar en op social media zal ik de start aankondigen (begin januari). Tips en tricks zijn altijd welkom.

8. Ik haal en blijf op 15% lichaamsvet, 10km in 45 min, 300kg big three. In januari verlaag ik mijn percentage tot 15%, ik loop gestaag sneller tot ik 10km in 45 minuten kan lopen en push mezelf verder om voor het midden van het jaar de 300kg op squat, benchpress en deadlift te halen.

350kg is het nummer waar ik mee ben geëindigd na een zeer succesvolle ochtend in de fitness. Met 90kg bankdrukken, 110kg squat en 150kg deadlift ben ik zeer blij met mijn fitness doelen. Mijn knieën doen het goed, rennen gaat lekker (beste tijd was 48min voor 10km) en ik ben blij met mijn lichaam. Voor een obstaclerun in april (14km op zand) zal ik komende maand wat gaan afvallen, maar daarna ga ik voor de 450kg op de grote oefeningen, wish me luck!

9. Ik leer een nieuwe sport.

Laatste keer telde ik obstacle runs en schaak samen als een dus laten we het daarbij houden (volgend jaar leer ik stijldansen, mind your toes).

10. Ik lees/luister 26 boeken. 10a. Ik lees alle boeken die ik heb gekocht.

Check. I heb meer dan 50 boeken gelezen of geluisterd (helaas niet alle die ik nog had gekocht). Sommige krijgen nog een review, daar ga ik in de komende maanden voor zorgen.

11. Ik leer een nieuw vakgebied. Ik leer coderen/programmeren. Ik verbeter mijn HR kennis.

Wanneer ik op dit doel terugkijk kan ik zeggen dat ik niet genoeg focus op een onderwerp heb gehad. Dit komt mogelijk doordat ik niet werd gegrepen door programmeren of de passie niet vond in HR. Met een nieuwe blog volgend jaar (/morgen) zal ik meer gefocussed zijn.

12a. Ik update constant mijn gewoonten. Ik probeer verschillende configuraties van oefeningen/eten/slaap/werk/etc. elke week.

Probeer alsjeblieft nieuwe gewoonten, doe ze voor 30 dagen en sta verstelt van de grootse dingen die je kan bereiken. Ik heb geen (chronische) rugpijn meer gehad in de afgelopen 1,5 jaar en heb meer gelezen in het laatste jaar dan in de jaren ervoor. Op mijn nieuwe blog zal ik zeker spreken over gewoonten.

2014 was geweldig. Het was mijn laatste jaar als student en vanaf nu ben ik ondernemer. Mijn doelen voor komend jaar staan over een paar dagen online. Waar het leven mij zal brengen weet ik niet. Of het leven geweldig is, waar het mij ook heen brengt, dat weet ik zeker. “De toekomst behoort aan hen die in de schoonheid van hun dromen geloven”. Elenor Roosevelt.

Floris

November 28, 2018

Public Commitment 2014 – Update 3

Jump to Dutch

Dear friends, family, and interested readers,

At the beginning of 2014, I first made public my goals for the year. In that post, I indicated I would review them multiple times. After the first review and second review here is the third review & update.

Daily

1a. I will always do something meaningful, even if this means doing nothing. At all times I am busy creating new things or gaining new experiences.

Doing nothing is not my strong suit, but lately, I have been better at managing my energy levels. Most of my waking moments are spent doing new things, and starting a new company is part of that. Keeping my priorities straight is sometimes more difficult, but for the most part, I think everything is going excellent for this goal.

2. I will execute all my habits. I eat home-made 6-7 days per week, I work out 6 days a week, I blog twice per week, I read and do my exercises each morning.

Check. I almost never eat pizza or other unhealthy things and with Queal (powdered food) it is easy to eat healthy during the day. Reading in the morning is sometimes difficult, but for the most part, this is going great. The exercises are a routine, so no worries about that either. I guess the power of habit is true.

3. I will take moments to reflect. I will contemplate on my life, goals and experiences.

As always this goal is going strong. It is something I do need to sit down for, but also something that I feel great about when doing it. With some friends, I am developing a framework for goals that is slightly different from this one. When I will update and evaluate my goals at the end of the year, I will post the new framework (free to copy and share of course).

Moments

Starting a new company, of course, is fun, so that is what I have been doing from August onward. It is not my perfect job yet. I really want to work in the development of people, and when I graduate I will start focusing my attention on that aspect more. If it will be a ‘traditional’ job, probably not, but I will make it work!

5. I will explore a new country.

Not happened yet. Maybe I will visit a friend in Finland (from my board year), but we have not booked yet. Fingers crossed for completion of this goal!

Change the date and this goal will still stand. Please see the last update in a few months!

Reach

Blogging is also going its course. There is one small problem, and that is that Pulse (from LinkedIn) stopped the emails, so I will get back to that when I get that going again (for the News in Leadership posts). In the queue are still more than 8 reviews and frameworks, so I have my work cut out for me.

Yesterday I met a friend in the supermarket and decided to do a run today. With 49 minutes for 10km it was a good run (especially so unprepared). In a week I will do an obstacle run in the harbour of Rotterdam. After that, I will focus more on fitness than running. I have not tested my strength on the 3 big exercises, but I am confident I will achieve that goal too.

9. I will learn a new sport.

Chess is still the sport of choice now. For the physical part boot camp and obstacle runs are the combination of running and fitness, so maybe I could count both as half and thereby complete that goal?

10. I will read/listen 26 books.

Check. This goal is fulfilled. My new goal is to read all the books I have bought before the end of the year. This is about 10 books, and this does not include audiobooks.

10a. I will read all the books I have bought.

11. I will learn a new field of study. I will learn to code/program. I will improve my HR knowledge.

Since the last update, not much has happened here. Coding is at a basic level and that is fine by me. Continuous learning about different subjects (e.g. chess, webshops, goal-setting, psychology) is always interesting and I will continue doing that for the remainder of the year.

12a. I will constantly update my habits. I will try different configurations of exercise/food/sleep/work/etc. each and every week.

Since last time I have been consolidating my habits of waking up early. This is going quite well and when I finish my thesis I will probably get some new habits going. These also depend on the framework I will adopt for making new goals.

That is it for the third review of my goals of 2014. It has been three good months and I have been keeping myself busy. Self-confidence is an important aspect of goal-setting and getting-things-done. I believe that goal-setting can help you build self-confidence and make you excel at things you never knew where possible. Here is a quote to end this third update: “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt.

Floris

Doelen 2014

Beste vrienden, familie en geïnteresseerd lezers,

In het begin van 2014 heb ik mijn doelen voor het jaar bekend gemaakt. In dat bericht gaf ik aan dat ik ze meerdere keren zou evaluaren. Na de eerste review en tweede review is hier de derde evaluatie en update.

Dagelijks

1a. I doe altijd iets betekenisvol, ook al betekent dit niks doen. Ten alle tijden ben ik bezig met het creëren van nieuwe dingen of opdoen van ervaringen.

Niets doen is niet mijn sterkste kwaliteit, maar recentelijk ben ik beter geworden in het managen van mijn energie niveau. De meeste tijd ben ik bezig met het doen van nieuwe dingen, en het starten van een nieuw bedrijfje hoort daar natuurlijk ook bij. Mijn prioriteiten goed ordenen is soms wel iets lastiger, de meeste tijd lukt dit gelukkig wel.

2. Ik voer mijn gewoonten uit. Ik eet 6-7 dagen per week home-made, ik sport 6 dagen per week, ik blog 2+ keer per week, ik lees en doe elke ochtend mijn oefeningen.

Check. It eet bijna nooit pizza of andere ongezonde dingen en met Queal (powdered foods) is het makkelijk om gezond te eten tijdens de dag. Lezen in de ochtend is soms iets lastiger, maar voor het overgrote gedeelte van de tijd gaat dit ook goed. De oefeningen zijn routine, dus hier ook geen zorgen. De power of habit is blijkbaar waar.

3. Ik neem momenten om te reflecteren. Ik denk na over mijn leven, doelen en ervaringen.

Zoals altijd gaat dit doel goed. Het is wel iets waar ik voor moet gaan zitten, maar wanneer ik dit doe voel ik meteen dat ik met iets goeds bezig ben. Met een paar vrienden ben ik bezig met het maken van een framework voor doelen dat net iets anders is dan deze. Wanneer ik mijn doelen op het einde van het jaar update en evalueer zal ik dit nieuwe framework erbij voegen (gratis om te kopiëren en verspreiden natuurlijk).

Momenten

4. Ik vind/maak mijn perfecte baan. Vanaf oktober 2014 ga ik fulltime bezig zijn met werken in de baan die past bij mijn vaardigheden en tegelijkertijd genoeg uitdaging biedt.

Het starten van een nieuw bedrijf is leuk, dus dat ben ik vanaf augustus aan het doen. Het is echter nog niet de perfecte baan. I wil graag in de ontwikkeling van mensen werken en wanneer ik afstudeer zal ik mijn aandacht hierop focussen. Of het een ‘traditionele’ baan wordt, waarschijnlijk niet, moet ik nog zien, maar ik ga er wat moois van maken!

5. Ik ontdek een nieuw land.

Nog niet gebeurd. Misschien ga ik een vriend opzoeken in Finland (van mijn bestuursjaar), maar we hebben nog niet geboekt. Fingers crossed of ik dit doel ga halen.

Verander de datum en dit doel blijft staan. Zie de update aan het einde van het jaar!

Uitdaging

Bloggen gaat zijn gangetje. Er is een klein probleem, Pulse (van LinkedIn) verstuurt geen mails meer, dus daar ga ik verder mee wanneer ik het heb opgelost (voor de News in Leadership posts). In de wachtrij staan nog meer dan 8 reviews en frameworks, dus ik heb nog wel wat werk liggen.

Gisteren kwam ik een vriend tegen in de AH en besloot ik om vandaag aan een hardloopwedstrijd mee te doen. In 49 minuten heb ik 10km gelopen en was het een goede loop (vooral gezien de minimale voorbereiding). Over een week zal ik een obstaclerun doen in de haven van Rotterdam. Daarna zal ik meer focussen op fitness dan hardlopen. Kracht heb ik nog niet getest, maar ik ben vol vertrouwen dat ik die doelen ook ga halen.

9. Ik leer een nieuwe sport.

Schaak is nog steeds de sport voor nu. Qua fysiek ben ik bezig met bootcamp en de obstacle run, een combinatie van rennen en fitness. Dus misschien kan ik beide combineren als half goed en zo het doel halen?

10. Ik lees/luister 26 boeken.

Check. Dit doel is al gehaald. Mijn nieuwe doel is om alle boeken die ik heb gekocht uit te lezen voor het einde van het jaar. Dit zijn ongeveer 10 boeken, en dat is nog zonder audioboeken.

10a. Ik lees alle boeken die ik heb gekocht.

11. Ik leer een nieuw vakgebied. Ik leer coderen/programmeren. Ik verbeter mijn HR kennis.

Sinds de laatste update is hier niet zo veel gebeurd. Coderen is op een basisniveau en dat is prima. Verder leer ik constant verder over verschillende onderwerpen (bijv. schaken, webshops, doelen stellen, psychologie) en hier ga ik zeker mee door.

12a. Ik update constant mijn gewoonten. Ik probeer verschillende configuraties van oefeningen/eten/slaap/werk/etc. elke week.

Sinds de laatste keer is het doel van vroeg opstaan een routine geworden. Dit doel gaat goed en wanneer ik klaar ben met mijn thesis ga ik verder met het maken van nieuwe habits. Deze hangen ook af van het doelen framework waar de nieuwe doelen in komen te staan.

Dat is het voor de derde review van mijn doelen voor 2014. Het zijn drie goede maanden geweest en ik heb mezelf goed bezig gehouden. Zelfvertrouwen is een belangrijk onderdeel bij doelen stellen en getting-things-done. I geloof dat doelen stellen je kan helpen met zelfvertrouwen opbouwen en excelleren in dingen waarvan je niet wist dat het mogelijk was. Hier is een citaat om de derde update mee af te sluiten: “Geloof dat je het kunt en je bent al halverwege.” – Theodore Roosevelt.

Floris