Do you eat your vitamins on a daily basis?
Or do you skip out every few days because you forget?

Not gonna lie, I’m the latter.  And you probably are too.  You see… I realized that vitamins are what separate the successful people from the mediocre-ly successful ones.  Michael Jordan probably practiced on time every single morning 99.9% of the time, Jamie Foxx practices the entire movie script before the first rehearsal – so much that he even remembers the lines of his co-actors, etc. etc.

It’s the super small (deceivingly small) things like remembering to eat your vitamins every single day that shape you into a consistent, reliable, and consequently successful person versus a person that just eats them when they remember.

Do you want to be mediocre?  Or do you want to win?

Eat your vitamins for the win.  I’m starting today. How about you?

Image courtesy of ABC News

Do you ever feel like Bill Murray in ‘Lost in Translation’?  i.e. in the wrong place

List 1:

• Coffee cream in beer
• Fur coat in the desert
• Forks and knives in the closet
• Folk music in a night club
• Girls in a gay bar

List 2:

• Animals in the zoo
• Alcohol at Woodstock
• Toothpaste in the bathroom
• Christmas in New York
• Jazz music in Starbucks

Look carefully through the items in list 1.

Now look through those in list 2.

Can you see the differences between the two lists?  It’s all about context.

Yes, context.

List 1 is full of items in the wrong context.  And list 2 is items in the right context, stuff that we are used to and comfortable with.

I realized recently that no matter how awesome or talented or amazing you are, if you’re not in the right context or place, it really amounts to …nothing.  If you’re crazy about web startups, you should be in Silicon Valley.  If you want to be a musician, L.A. or New York… and so on and so forth.

Without the right context, you could be wasting your time.

Shouldn’t Mr. Storm Trooper be at war in space?  WRONG context.
FAIL.

Enough said.  RIGHT CONTEXT.
SUCCEED.

Are YOU in the right place?

Storm Trooper image courtesy of halfagiraffe.tv

A while ago, I wrote a post about how life is basically a game of blackjack.

Here’s another bizarre analogy:

Being an entrepreneur is basically about throwing a bunch of seeds out there in soil and seeing which seed grows and becomes a gigantic and beautiful tree.

Basically:

• Soil = The venture / opportunity
• Seeds = Your time, efforts, and money
• Tree = …money

In the ideal combination of the right seed planted in the right soil, your tree (i.e. your mental and financial well-being) will become super large and beautiful.

As you analyze your tree, there are two basic variables to consider:

1. Your Happiness
2. Profitability

Given these parameters, there’s basically only three possible situations:

A. Large and Beautiful Tree = You are happy and the venture is profitable

B. Large and Ugly Tree = You are unhappy but the venture is profitable

C. No (or Very Small) Tree = Depending on the amount of time passed, You are either:

1. Just starting, or

2. If it’s been a while, you are unhappy AND the venture is unprofitable

Actually this concept pretty much applies to life, business, and relationships.  For example, in a relationship, the tree represents the state of your relationship and you and your companion are the seed and soil.

Spending some time first to really gauge out the right seed and right type of soil is much more efficient than just throwing a bunch of seeds all over the place a.k.a. pick the right opportunity and cultivate a focused effort rather than spreading yourself too thin.

I think this is a good visual way to gauge the status of things in your life.  So…

Is Your Tree Large and Beautiful?

For the last two or so years, I have been signed to various entertainment agencies here in Asia.  It’s been a very interesting ride and I have learned many things along the way.  I have released an official Mandopop album (now available on iTunes), appeared in a handful of television shows, and done many radio interviews.  Unfortunately, the way it works here in Taiwan is that your agency basically owns you and you wait for them to supply gigs for you.  As you can imagine, it can sometimes be a long waiting period.

After all these experiences, one of the most important lessons I learned is that 1. I need to know what I truly want, and 2. I need to take the driver’s seat and take control of my career. This revelation comes after finally understanding more about myself.  I have realized that the only person that can most accurately execute my artistic vision is myself.  I believe that all the most successful and visionary artists have a good sense and control of their career and artistic direction, case in point: Ryan Leslie.

I have recently moved on from my most recent entertainment agency contract and for the first time in two years, I am starting fresh on my own two feet.  The sky’s the limit!  More to come on my latest project!

Let’s all learn more about ourselves and what we seek to achieve in our lives.  It’s good for the soul!

I have a problem.

Yes I will admit it.  Perhaps you share the same problem…

What is my problem?

Committing to the end.

Now I am referring specifically to ambitions and ventures in life.  In the past few years, I have created or delved in several projects, including the following:

• Talkmatic.com – I started a podcast website with episodes featuring the likes of Robert Scoble, John Chow, and Meebo co-founder Seth Sternberg.
• Styic Entertainment – A company I co-founded and built up here in Taipei, Taiwan.
• My own music album – I released an album in Asia a few years back, now on iTunes.
• LawYours – I created an event in Palo Alto that brought together web startups and law firms including Heller Ehrman and Gunderson Dettmer.
• Geekwhat.com – I built this website from the ground up, attracted a worldwide audience, and monetized the blog.
• and more…

The point of this article is not to flaunt my achievements, but in fact to point out my weakness i.e. commitment.  Although I achieved the above milestones, I believe that if I had continued to commit my passion and skills toward any of these projects consistently and with perseverance, I would have built something even greater and more successful. But I did not.  Many people have great ideas, but don’t execute on them.  I have some decent ideas and make it to the step of executing, but unfortunately I don’t persist as far down the line as I should.

So my vow is to fight it out.  To stop giving things up halfway through.  To take a passion project to the end. I think it is a blessing to truly know what you want and have access to the tools to make it happen.  I need to be more aware of this blessing and really milk it for all its worth.

I will succeed and achieve my passion project.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”
- Thomas Edison

One of my favorite quotes.

Earlier tonight, I was looking through some old files on my hard drive. Listening to some music that I wrote a long time ago and watching some videos of early dance performances. I’m not gonna lie. When I watch those dance moves, I can’t help but cringe (not to mention goosebumps). Or listening to earlier tunes when I was screwing around and didn’t really know how to write a decent song. Perhaps you’ve had a similar feeling looking through old photos of yourself… During those moments of reminiscence, it’s actually a pretty nasty feeling and your only impulse is to press ’stop’ or close the file altogether. You think to yourself… ‘WTF was I thinking???’

But before I closed the file and shoot myself, I realized something…

I gave it a shot. I went for it. Sure, it may have been sub-par, but I did it. Yea! That’s more than most people can say really. It’s true, if I had never written those tunes or performed in those videos, then basically I have nothing to ever regret and life is good. Stable life, no crappy history. But that’s pretty boring. I feel. As long as I tried my very best in my previous works, no regrets and no hard feelings when reminiscing or hearing negative feedback from others. In fact, the very fact that viewing previous works gives me a cringe effect is proof that I’ve improved. If I didn’t improve, those works would seem awesome to me right now. Ya dig?

I’m still on my life’s journey of finding 10,000 ways that don’t work. If I have a question and it sounds stupid or the answer is obvious, I’m still gonna ask it. Eventually, things will fall into place and success will be achieved.

For your enjoyment, here are some photos from my journey thus far of finding 10,000 ways that work AND don’t work – I hope you get a good laugh from these:

When I watch TV shows or films, I sometimes try to imagine myself in the roles of interesting characters. Ari Gold’s role in ‘Entourage’ is a great example.

I’m a big fan of the HBO series ‘Entourage’, I’ve watched pretty much every episode (and some more than a few times). If you’ve ever seen the show, you’d probably agree with me that Jeremy Piven’s character, Ari Gold, steals the show. His character is incredibly believable and totally entertaining.

In the TV show, Ari Gold represents Vinnie Chase, a famous and aspiring actor in Hollywood. Ari is one of the most powerful agents in Hollywood and this is totally evident in his high-energy dialect and actions. I think there is so much to learn from the way Ari Gold presents himself and the way he pursues (and achieves) success.

1. High energy level 24-7. Ari Gold is alive and thriving at all times. If he’s not thinking, then he’s executing. Period. His energy is totally infectious, it carries over to those around him and even the audience members haha.
2. Staying fit and healthy. There are many scenes in the show where he is doing push-ups or other exercises during phone calls or at home. The guy dines well too. I think his strong health also attributes to his high energy level at all times. Also infectious.
3. Clever strategies to escape or solve problems. Ari always figures out a solution to any problem, whether it be a tricky and unethical scheme or dodging the problem altogether. The interesting part is that despite his deceitful tactics and offensive dialect, you know that he is a good person deep down inside. Life is all about solving problems.
4. Charismatic, people simply listen to and obey him. The way he talks, walks, dresses, jokes, etc. It’s all very damn charismatic and amicable. It’s hard not to like the guy. Being charismatic and likable goes hand-in-hand with people choosing to respect and listen to you.
5. Filtering out the bullsh*t. Whether it be unqualified business partners or idiotic interns, Ari Gold won’t have it. And he makes it blatantly clear. He only works and associates himself with those that reach his standards. The extremity of his bullsh*t filter results in a lot of people thinking of him as an asshole. But even those people respect the guy.
6. How to be as credible an actor as Jeremy Piven. Self-explanatory. Apart from Robert Downey, Jr., I think Jeremy Piven is one of the best usually-non-lead-role actors in Hollywood. He’s like a Scottie Pippen (if you follow basketball). Socttie Pippen was Michael Jordan’s right-hand man in their most successful years on the Chicago Bulls. Even though the spotlight was on Michael Jordan, Pippen always did an amazing job as a supporting role in so many ways.

I’m actively applying some of these points to my lifestyle and character as Tony Chung. I think we should all choose a few fictional characters that we love in TV shows or films, and try to apply those traits to our own character. It will make us stronger and more successful…

I.E. ASS + U + ME = ASSUME

Assuming things is not good. Vocalizing the things you assume is even worse. I think it demonstrates a lack of maturity and also disrespect towards the victim. Unfortunately, I think that it is simply human instinct to assume things. And half the time, the things we assume turn out to be wrong. When a false assumption is made and vocalized, it creates distrust and disrespect for that person.

Sounds like a very serious blog post eh? Just trying to make a well-known point that is easily forgotten

Bottom-line: Don’t be an ass ….umer.