Overwhelmed

May 27, 2009

As a Creator (Wealth Dynamics) and Lifehacker, I am always looking for shortcuts. Improving things and working on multiple projects at the same time is normal for me!

Today I realized I am overwhelmed again by the amount of “stuff” that’s on my todolist. And you know, the funny part is that most of it, I’ve put it there myself :-)

This quick message is too let you  know that I am playing/working on a lot of things simultaneously. Like what? Ok, I hear you…here are some things that are going on in my world:

  • Tonia is starting her journey to Santiago. Only 2,800 km to walk. Step by step :-)
  • Co-author of the Wealth Garden : texts and audio are finalized. Still need to post-produce the video.
  • Co-author of the Other 97 Percent : first chapter is in draft. From now on every couple of days a chapter needs to be written!
  • Updating this blog : duh! Every couple of days new stuff to share. I am attracting new (and more) visitors every week.
  • Twitter : I reached my goal of getting the first 100 followers without following anyone back! Yay! Ready to take the next step soon!
  • Giving trainings and workshops : at least 2/week. I love it!
  • Creating new training materials : creating new Genius Shortcuts and testdriving them
  • Public Speaking:  having fun in front of an audience. Book me too :-)
  • Tour to Australia and New Zealand: is going great. A lot of preparation! Djee, underestimated the amount of work!
  • Creating promo materials : articles, summaries, flyers, copywriting, etc. A never ending list of things to do here!
  • Sports : playing volleyball, a couple of tournaments coming up at the end of June. Need to be in shape, right?
  • In Shape for September : planning the next steps and yes we are going for the 3rd edition this year!
  • Creating a DVD : postponed. Too much on my plate right now!
  • XL: member of the Transition Team and updating XL World regularly. Also creating little nuggets : video explanation of how to do stuff…
  • Reading books : my goal is to read 1 book/week. So far so good. I love it although it can be time consuming.

These are probably the most important activities so far. Did I forget anything? Probably…let know, so I can pick it up again :-)

I am still having fun more than 85% of the time, but it’s time to re-analyse again what’s on my plate. Yes, time to contemplate again. And to update my actionplan! Even coaches have to do this :-)

So, be back soon for more updates and Genius Shotcuts!

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Severn Suzuki

May 21, 2009

Sometimes people do amazing things to make a point. When I saw Severn Suzuki’s speech, I was blown away by it. A 12 year-old Canadian making a speech at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, also known as the Rio Summit in 1992.

First watch this movieclip and experience how this girl silences the world with her remarkable speech:

Now, think about being a leader and sitting in that conference. How would you feel? Did her message come across? Did she touch your heart? I am sure it did. So, why has so little been done about it afterwards? Why are our leaders still doing so little today? Remember this speech was given back in 1992!

So, what can we do about it? How can we make a difference?

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Posted by bertverdonck

The Other 97 Percent

May 18, 2009

It’s official now! “The Other 97 Percent” is the approved title of my newest book. Together with Mr. Search, aka Nathaniel Stott, I am writing this book about how to search and find stuff on the Internet. As I am talking about this exciting book, more and more people confess that they are only using Google to search for stuff on the Internet.

As soon as I tell them that Google only accounts for about 3% of the Internet, they go in “shock”. I also reassure them that I truly understand. Moreover, most people never got a formal training or education on how to find stuff on the Internet. Nobody ever told them how easy it is to find stuff. Anywhere. And where all the goodies and secrets are kept :-)

We are still creating the sub-title and I’ll be updating you soon…

In the meantime, let us know your first feedback on the title, ok?

The Other 97 Percent

Do you like it? Does it arouse your curiosity? Does it appeal to you? Why?

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Posted by bertverdonck

Entrepreneurs change the world

May 17, 2009

Entrepreneurs change the world. Most of us knew this already.

Here is an inspiring movie about how we, as entrepreneurs, change the world:

If you are still in doubt, know that one person CAN make a difference! Now is a great time to start your own business. In these times of economic turbulence, the biggest inventions are made! It is now that the future is shaped. It is time to seize the opportunity to create the job you always wanted…

Thanks Michelle Clarke, for sharing this video!

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Posted by bertverdonck

Wolfram|Alpha

May 15, 2009

Wolfram|Alpha is a computational knowledge engine. They call it an answer-engine, I call it a “find-engine”. Wolfram|AlphaIt’s an online service that answers factual queries directly by serving the answer from structured data, instead of providing a list of links or documents, like search-engines à la Google. And it is going to be released tonight!

If you want to know why I am already a fan of this find-engine, here is a short demo on what Wolfram|Alpha looks like!

Just to give you a small insight, Wolfram|Alpha runs on different clusters. One of them consists of 3800 CPUs, which is already a fair datacenter by itself, right? Amazing!

Still find it difficult to understand? Here are several examples of what you can do with Wolfram|Alpha:

  • 50 km/u
  • 80,000 €/year
  • What is de GDP of France / Italy
  • internet users in Europe
  • weather Springfield 11/6/89
  • MSFT Apple
  • mortgage 4% 20 years
  • red + yellow

Like I said, almost instantly the results are presented, often with graphics included. What kind of topics does Wolfram|Alpha use to generate his answers? Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Chemistry, Materials, Engineering, Astronomy, Life Sciences, People & History, Culture & Media, etc.

Why am I such a fan? Speed of answering my questions! Also the immediate use of the data, of course immediately exportable to PDF.

I think this is one of the new kind of applications we’ve been waiting for. I am excited to elaborately testdrive this website :-)

What about you? Can you come up with a difficult question for Wolfram|Alpha? I dare you :-)

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Posted by bertverdonck

4-Hour Workweek

May 14, 2009

The 4-Hour WorkweekThe 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris is one of my favourite books! It feels great that Tim has a similar mindset and that he confirms a lot of ideas that I also created, but never executed.  Since I’ve read it in 2007, it has given me a lot of confidence to explore more of these ideas.

For those who haven’t read the book yet, here is a short summary of the book. For those who have read it already, here is that same summary also, because it might be time to reconnect with the 4-Hour Workweek again :-)

If you want to know more about the 4-Hour Workweek, just visit Tim’s Blog or his website or enjoy a Slideshare presentation:

Of course, bying the book is a great start as well or just have it as a reference :-)

Anyway you like it, enjoy the 4-Hour Workweek! It helped me change my life. If it works for me, it works also for you!

For those who have read it, I am curious what your feedback on the 4-Hour Workweek is.

What did you implement yourself? Want to share the results?

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Posted by bertverdonck

Nathaniel Stott

May 11, 2009

Nathaniel Stott is an excellent Internet profiler, professional analist and brilliant SEO expert. In the process of coaching him it became clear that one of his next steps is to become a leading expert. By building his personal brand he will achieve his dreams and create a lasting legacy. I welcome you to the new Nathaniel or Nathaniel Stott 2.0 in geek terms :-) Nathaniel Stott

You already know I am in the process of writing my next book on Searching and Finding stuff on the Internet. Why do I mention this here? Because, I have an important announcement to make! Nathaniel Stott is the co-author of this book. At this point in time we have already agreed on the table of contents. And have a surprise lined up for the forward. Now, it’s time to start writing…Less than 3 months to go and counting :-)

Did I mention that Nathaniel Stott is a British entrepreneur living in Germany with his 3 kids and working in Germany and The Netherlands? This already shows that our book is going to be promoted internationally. As announced, I’ll be touring in New Zealand in September and of course taking our book with me :-)

What else can I tell you? We already came up with nicknames for each other! Yes, Nathaniel Stott will be Mr. Search, because he’s fantastic in helping people with setting up search strategies, getting the text SEO right, design aspects, analytics, etc.

And me? I am Mr Find. Why? I keep finding stuff on the Internet that a lot of people claim is not there or at least they can’t find it, so they ask me. A couple of years ago I even had a service called “Webdigging”, where I was hired to find stuff. Nowadays, I still can’t believe that so few people are finding what they need. As a lifehacker, I developed several mind blowing “find” strategies on how to find stuff easier and faster on the Internet. There is so much more out there than Google :-) Of course, all these strategies will be shared in our book!

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Posted by bertverdonck

Trip to London

May 11, 2009

Monday and tuesday, I’ll be in London again.

What’s on the menu? For starters the EuroStar to London. Then a couple of meetings with friends from Ecademy. Monday evening I’ll participate at the XL UK National Day in the Strand Hotel.

Tuesday, I’ll start with a boardroom meeting and in the afternoon, I meet up with Tracy Stallard. We’ll start a new XL Circle together, called H20.

More updates when I am back!

Enjoy every day,

Bert Verdonck

Create, Connect & Contribute

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Nathan Flutebox Lee

May 8, 2009

Sometimes I receive these great videos! After all it’s Friday, right?

Nathan “Flutebox” Lee is giving a performance at Google in London and hear this genius create unbelievable sounds! Oh, and let’s not forget Beardyman is in this movieclip too!

I know I’ve posted about the VocaPeople and Bauchklang before, but this is something completely different again! Enjoy it like I did :-)

Thanks Sheri for sharing this video!

Have a great weekend,

Bert Verdonck
Lifehacker & Life Coach

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Posted by bertverdonck

Photoshop Shortcuts

May 7, 2009

Since my blog about 101 Photoshop tips in 5 minutes, I am getting frequently asked questions about Photoshop. Remember the cheatsheets are still available!Adobe Photoshop

That’s why I decided to spoil you with extra lifehacks on this subject.

So, here is a FREE Idiot’s Guide To Photoshop (thanks to MakeUseOf.com and Karl L. Gechlik).

Amazing FREE Photoshop Tutorials (thanks to Tutorialized.com)

Advanced Photoshop Tutorials (thanks to PhotoshopSupport.com)

Photoshop Tips & Fixes (by Graphic-Design.com)

25 of the Best FREE Photoshop Plug-ins and Filters Resource Sites (by Speckyboy)

Need Photoshop Visual Shortcuts? Have a look at Instructables for the Photoshop Trics.

If you are like me, you might find it easier watching a tutorial than reading it. Here is a list of 20 Great Photoshop Video Tutorials & Resources! (thanks to Sean P. Aune)

And if you still haven’t found what you are looking for or you need more genius shortcuts, get in touch with me :-)

Have fun, always,

Bert Verdonck
Lifehacker & Life Coach

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