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People watching

This week while I sit on the train to work I’ve been watching people. Watching the strangers around me on their devices playing games and watching movies or catch up TV. Hardly anyone just sits there anymore; thinking, reading or resting.

It reminded me of Stephen Coveys important vs urgent matrix, where he encourages the majority of our focus on important activities, not urgent ones.

There’s a definite difference between healthy relaxation and time wasting. I wondered how many of the people playing candy crush clones or catching up on The Voice considered either activity healthy relaxation.

Then I realised I was starting to judge, I felt bad. The Voice might be akin to torture for me, though for many it could actually be healthy relaxation (yep, really). In the end I was reminded of another Stephen Covey memory, a situation where he judged others on a train. Here it is in his own words:

“I remember a mini-paradigm shift I experienced one Sunday morning on a subway in New York. People were sitting quietly – some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene.

Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed.

The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people’s papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing.

It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive as to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all. It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated too. So finally, with what I felt like was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, “Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more?”

The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to think, and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.”

Can you imagine what I felt at that moment? My paradigm shifted. Suddenly I saw things differently, and because I saw differently, I thought differently, I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. I didn’t have to worry about controlling my attitude or my behavior; my heart was filled with the mans pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely. “Your wife just died? Oh I’m so sorry! Can you tell me about it? What can I do to help?” Everything changed in an instant.’

You never really know the reasons strangers do what they do. That driver who cut you up on the road may have been racing to the hospital, that person pushing you to get off the train may not have actually seen you. I’m trying to see the good in everyone more. A persons actions do not necessarily define them. I can safely say I know and like people who watch The Voice, it doesn’t mean they like crap TV, it means they like The Voice (and of course torture..).

I love the important vs urgent matrix. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s worth getting familiar.

Be a light, not a judge. Be a model, not a critic – Stephen Covey

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So you want some cryptocurrency? Here’s how…

I’ll always be grateful I had access to the early internet while it grew to be a critical part of our modern world.  Anyone remember connecting their telephone to the computer to get online?

Now I’m grateful to be part of what will change the world digitally, again. That’s right, Cryptocurrency.

Many of you who know me, know I’m writing this as a millionaire through Bitcoin. The sad news is that I made a comedy of errors and don’t have access to my millions. I say comedy, it took friendship and the ability to laugh and be grateful for what I have before I came to terms with my loss. So, whilst I got in on Bitcoin many years ago, I’m not able to buy that dream home in Costa Rica and share my wealth with those who would benefit most.

This year I jumped back on the bandwagon with those same friends. We’ve learnt a lot and made some errors along the way. This post is a resource for those new to cryptocurrency and those who already have some and might be interested in seeing if there is anything they don’t already know.

What this isn’t is financial advice of any kind, I am not advising anything other than not to spend money on cryptocurrency if you cannot afford to lose it.

What this is, is a series of links to articles and people that know much more than I do. I’m sharing places and people on the internet that are experts in their field and safe to follow (not scammers, there are plenty of crypto scammers out there).

Let’s begin

Instead of jumping into buying right away, you’ll benefit from understanding the basics, it will help you make better decisions resulting in reduced risk of losing money.

As John McAfee (founder of McAfee antivirus) said on Twitter recently “If you are new to Cryptocurrency then absolutely do not invest without first educating yourself. Nothing will lose you money faster than investing in what you do not understand.”

3 things to do before you continue

  1. It’s all about the blockchain – 22 minute video 
  2. Isn’t it about Bitcoin? – 37 minute video 
  3. Listen or read the transcript from a conversation with Tim Ferriss, Naval Ravikant, Nick Szabo – 150 minute podcast ( so you may wish to read instead)

Now you know the basics. But you just want the money! Don’t forget that making money from cryptocurrency is a by product. The goal is for you to adopt new technology that’s changing the world of finance and reducing our reliance on 3rd parties. Try not to focus on the Lamborghini in your future, focus on your financial freedom and your ability to take control of it.

You could mine for bitcoin, though that’s a different story..

Onwards

Choose a wallet for your bitcoin, I’m only describing the purchase of Bitcoin (BTC) as it’s the most commonly asked question from people.

I started with a wallet on my phone. It’s important to not keep cryptocurrency you are holding for growth anywhere other than a wallet. You know you have a wallet if you have a private key, no private key? Then you don’t have a wallet or full control of your currency

Here’s a good explanation of wallets

The below notable wallets are safe and reputable for your phone:

Bread iOS
Mycelium Android 

If you’re spending and holding more than a few hundred $ then a hardware wallet should be your choice. The most reputable and widely used are Trezor and Ledger (I own a Trezor though the Ledger supports more cryptocurrency types than the Trezor at the time of writing).

Now choose how much BTC (Bitcoin) you want to buy for growth (you’re investment), this is commonly known as ‘hodling’ a mistype from a forum years ago.

If you did the research you’ll know that you don’t have to buy whole amounts of cryptocurrency, see here for a basic explanation

If you want to buy alternative cryptocurrency (altcoins such as ETH and LTC etc.), then decide how much of your BTC will go towards that before moving to the next step.

Now you know how much BTC you want to purchase, you can buy some Bitcoin

Most people advise an exchange such as www.coinbase.com or www.GDAX.com, I personally don’t advise them, I’ve nothing against them though they continue to have various issues with scaling and outages.

Your Bitcoin purchase options vary depending on your location, I would consider www.localbitcoins.com, www.gemini.com or www.bitpanda.com (EU only). All 3 are good as you can also use them for cashing back out to fiat ($ or your local currency etc) if you want your money back or profit. You’ll find costs and fees vary between the purchase options. Also, don’t forget it’s important to secure your account, using two factor authentication on all accounts is good (an app like Google Authenticator is most secure)

While you have your ID details to hand (as you won’t be able to sign up to any of the purchase options without them) you’ll want to sign up to www.binance.com if you’re planning to spend any of your BTC on Alt coins and trading.

Now you’re ready! Let’s check…

1. Wallet?
2. Bitcoin purchase account? (Local bitcoins etc.)
3. Cryptocurrency exchange account? (Binance etc.)

You can now buy some Bitcoin, here’s a video from local bitcoins that walks you through it: https://localbitcoins.com/guides/how-to-buy-bitcoins

Now put the Bitcoin you’re hodling into your wallet and any BTC you’re planning on trading onto an exchange such as the binance one. If you’re unsure how to move your bitcoin then this explains the system well.

So that’s it, the basics. Hopefully you’re the proud owner of some bitcoin?

There’s always more…

If you’re interested in a good way to keep track of your purchases, I use https://www.blockfolio.com/, the benefit of this is that you don’t have to keep going into your exchange or wallet to stay up to date.

Owning cryptocurrency is your chance to increase your knowledge and help those around you as it transitions to mainstream adoption, so consider spreading the word and helping others who are interested.

Some fairly critical links to read are below, if you’re serious about having cryptocurrency.

Critical reading for owners of cryptocurrency

Great beginners guide to owning crypto assets: https://medium.com/@linda.xie/beginners-guide-series-on-cryptoassets-d897535d887

Keep your coins safe: https://cryptohustle.com/12-steps-to-keep-your-bitcoins-safe

If you’re not planning on holding until cryptocurrency becomes the currency of choice across the world then have an exit strategy https://moneyweek.com/bitcoin-exit-strategy/

Don’t believe the bad press about damage to the environment: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-12-07/bitcoin-is-greener-than-its-critics-think

If trading, follow Datadash and make informed decisions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCatR7nWbYrkVXdxXb4cGXw

Trading? Learn the basics of candle sticks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rwVV_8uUxc&index=3&list=PLY9Vvl2kECUfDHYdz_F7G3KZd7l8bI8er

Learn how the economic machine works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHe0bXAIuk0&index=1&list=PLY9Vvl2kECUfDHYdz_F7G3KZd7l8bI8er

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5 books that have the ability to change your life

2017 has been quite the year for me. I left a fabulous team in Xbox at Microsoft, I became a father for the second time, I started a new role at Unity where I’m surrounded by smart people looking at solving hard problems, and I re-entered the world of Cryptocurrency after coming to terms with my earlier bitcoin losses.

At the same time I read a lot. 5 books this year changed me forever, I think they have the ability to do the same for anyone else that reads them. Here they are in no particular order:

Tools of Titans – Tim Ferriss: A book I find hard to describe without tears of gratitude forming in the corner of my eyes. The wisdom, methods and inspiration for being more effective across all areas of life is incredible.
This hasn’t only changed my life, I’ve seen people around me who’ve read it change also. Bit by bit Tim Ferriss is helping us change our lives and make the world a better place.

Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health – Jo Robinson: This book is incredible. Jo describes that over the course of four hundred generations, the human race has eliminated nutrients and replaced our once-wild fruits and vegetables with better-tasting, easy-to-harvest varieties, full of starch and sugar, and lacking the vitamins, minerals, and polyphenols of the original wild version.

What I love is not just being educated to think more about this, it also contains how best to spot nutrient rich fruit and veg in the shops while at home how to retain those nutrients.

Principles – Ray Dalio: After watching his excellent TED talk on how to build a company where the best ideas win, I was excited to learn about this book. I pre ordered and when it arrived got stuck in right away. It’s hard not to admire Dalio, he’s not just an investment manager, he’s a deep thinker whose philosophy extends beyond just his own life.

His principles are designed for creating a good life and he has hundreds of them written down for that purpose. What I’ve found useful is his recommendation that people note their own so they can make better choices, I’m doing just that and can’t recommend this book highly enough.

Becoming Wise: An inquiry into the Mystery and Art of living – Krista Tippett: A book I wish I’d had years ago. Reading it gave me a more hopeful vision of humanity along with my own personal growth to match.

Krista focuses on the exhilaration of engagement with life for its own sake, not as a means to an end. After reflecting on this I realised I had greater strength and ability to meet the world where it really is, and help work at making it better.

The Artists way – Julia Cameron: This book takes dedication and I’m not done with it yet. I first got wind of this from Brian Koppelman who recommended it to Tim Ferriss. Like many others I feel the tone and some of the content is not me, yet the idea of a morning brain dump (writing 3 pages each morning, aka morning pages) has stuck with me.

I feel more creative again! For the last decade I’ve been stuck in a low creative mode and it’s not who I am, The artists way has helped me be me again, it can do the same for you.

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The surprising benefits of having a dog in your life

“I think it’s time to have a dog back in our lives” – my wife said…

….That was 18 months ago and a little over 18 months after our much loved Bob the dog (a Tibetan Terrier my wife rescued from the streets of Portugal) had passed away in her arms.

I’ve spent the majority of my life with no pets, though I’ve always loved animals. So by my late 20’s I decided I’d keep chickens (they do make great pets), unfortunately they became impractical as my lifestyle became more travel and working longer hours.

After that, it wasn’t until my 30’s when I realised that responsible and respectful dog owners are some of the most interesting and successful people I’d spent time with. I consistently saw that the majority of responsible dog owners naturally create positive impact in their lives as well as those around them.

Not only that, I discovered there are several key benefits to having a healthy relationship with dogs, ranging from living longer to being a clearer communicator. Here are my top 4:

1. You become a black belt in communication. Susan Garrett is a great person to learn from. I’ve really had to up my game on communication since having a dog, and this has improved my whole life, even though I’m constantly making mistakes, I’m still improving and having a dog has forced me to think about clarity.

2. You become a stronger parent and leader. 4 years before I became a dad, Bob the dog entered my life (he and my wife came as a pair). The culture shock of being a coach, mentor, partner and someone who Bob relied upon for play, walking and feeding was difficult to deal with in the beginning. I was used to being selfish and doing what I wanted on my own terms. By the time I became a dad I was pretty good at balancing the needs of a family member that depended on me as well as not forgetting my own.

3. Families who have dogs have children with stronger immune systems. Babies and toddlers who grow up in a home with a dog are much less likely to get common illnesses and suffer from allergies:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/babies-with-dogs-less-likely-to-develop-colds-ear-infections-as-infants/

4. Dogs build routine into your life, and routine is good for the mind, body and spirit. This results in reduced stress and increased happiness. David Agus tells us in his book “A short guide to a long life” (rule 49) to get a dog. A dog keeps you on a regular schedule, reduces stress and increases exercise outside.

Embracing a dogs companionship and love is a joy. I’m grateful for having a family dog (he’s called Bertie and is just over 1 years old). I’m grateful even though there are times I have to remind myself of that. Bertie ate my sons Lego Batman and Darth Vadar earlier this year (I had to find replacements sharpish!), and the garden plants have suffered somewhat from his puppyhood.

Bertie the dog at age 5 months

All in, I’ve not only become a better person, my kids have a stronger immune system and my wife and I might even live longer!

Go rescue a dog.