Building something new: TheCrowdfundCoach

This seems as good a way to go about it as any

As you might have picked up from my occasional blog entry, I'm big on downloading my thoughts, voicing my plans, and then slowly edging towards them.

Last year I wanted to see Europe, publish my book, and lose 20 kgs. This year I've set new goals and am progressing towards them at a slow and deliberate pace. In a bid to achieve these goals I've been reading, chatting and researching ways in which I can get there.

A few things I've learned over the past couple of months as I've been in info-gathering-mode:

• There's a lot of information out there
• It's a lot to take in and it is hard to filter out the stuff you don't need
• The fastest way to learn is to do

So I've been doing where I can. I attended the Sydney LeanStartupMachine weekend a few weeks ago on a hunch and a desire to explore an idea I was thrashing out. That weekend I pitched my idea unsuccessfully, worked with a guy that successfully pitched his, and the proceeded to try and execute that idea within the weekend and failed pretty good.

In the end the idea didn't matter, nor did mine, but it was a pretty good taster for what I need to do and continue doing: fail, learn, repeat.

So with that newfound appreciation of failing, I decided to go ahead and build the idea I unsuccessfully pitched at the event: TheCrowdfundCoach.com.

Why?
Last year working on and releasing my memoir was a huge lesson in what you can and can't do in launching an idea. It also had me super-excited about what doors were opened via a platform that excited me like crowdfunding. I wanted to combine the two - by launching another idea and playing in a space that I'm interested in.

What's are you offering?
Currently I'm offering consultancy hours on how to successfully run a crowdfunding campaign.

What's in it for me?
Ever had an idea that required money? I'm helping you get there with what I learned, an appraisal of your idea, and some honest tips on how you can improve that idea.

What's in it for you?
I'm looking to learn as much as I can about what it takes to build something, make it work, and get people to pay for it. In building TheCrowdfundCoach, I expect to learn how to do it, in amongst a lot of failures, mistakes and inefficiencies that can only be picked up by doing it.

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So I "soft-launched" a couple of weeks ago. This was hacking together a site via Weebly, crowdsourcing some basic design of a logo and writing some words. There's a shit-tonne of stuff I have to do to get this going and I have a shit-tonne of ideas about how I can grow my customer-base from a big fat zero.

But we've all got to start somewhere. And the important thing is I'm doing it.

My Top 10 Places to Eat in Sydney (Inner City)

Something occurred to me today.
As big as I am on food, I've never really imparted information that conveys as such on this blog.

I was putting together some recommendations for some colleagues today and thought I should probably chuck this here as well. Most of this list is quite affordable and it works even better when you go as a large group (minus Almond Bar).

Bon appetit!

Enjoying a brekkie bloody mary

Darley Street Bistro

http://www.darleystreetbistro.com/Newtown/index.php/contact

King St, Newtown (near St Peters Station)

Contemporary Australian with a broad range of food to sample within most price ranges. Predominantly pub fare and contemporary Australian, my favourite with the lamb with mash and haloumi. Consistently good, and is so good at what they do that a chain of them has started.

Gumshara

https://plus.google.com/u/0/113820307811253329146/about

Haymarket, in Dixon Court

A little gem nestled within Dixon Court, the service station doesn’t look like much. This is the best ramen noodle you can find in Sydney. They use bone marrow for the broth authentic-Japanese style and you really need to prepare yourself if you’re going to heat the whole soup. My favourite is the pork tonkatsu with a chilli bomb.

One of my Sydney favourites in action

Wagaya

http://www.wagaya.com.au/

Haymarket
Excellent place for group-bookings (book well in advance), if you don’t mind eating a bit later they’ll stick you in a private room without extra charge. This is a touch-screen menu ordering system, and I’m not joking when I say that the food comes instantaneously for most dishes. Not traditional Japanese fare (avoid the pizzas) but for sheer variety alone this is a fantastic place.

Chilli Cha Cha

http://www.chillichacha.com.au/
CBD/Surry Hills

Move on to the next item in the list if you don’t like spicy food. This is authentic Thai (unlike King St, Newtown). Most dishes will obliterate your taste buds if you’re not prepared. If you do like spicy food - this is one of the best in Sydney. I personally really enjoy the larb moo, but it’s hard to order something that’s not great. There is a chilli scale on the menu, which should be adequate for most foodies (they do spicier on request though).

Yok Yor Thai Food Factory

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/70/1605024/restaurant/Sydney/Yok-Yor-Haymarket

CBD/Surry Hills

Authentic Thai fare without the spiciness of the above. Really great variety of food (I like the fermented fish) and is BYO and open late. This is often a place I go to after a night on the drink and encourage you to do the same. Also has Thai banana desserts which you won’t find much elsewhere.

Almond

http://www.almondbar.com.au/

Liverpool St, Darlinghurst

Really enjoyable Middle Eastern fare that’s mid-price range. I like to go as a couple and grab a mixed platter that’s very reasonably priced for what you get. Strong range of options and the tabouleh is very fresh. My favourite tip? Skip dessert and head around the corner for gelato at the heaving Messina Darlinghust.

Holy Basil

http://www.holybasil.com.au/

CBD, inside the Shark Hotel

This is not a restaurant that you’ll find just by stumbling in (the Shark Hotel is a dive). But nestled at the back of this hotel is a restaurant with Laotian cuisine. I’ve never been to Laos, but my friends vouch for it’s authenticity and I find it similar to Thai. You can’t go past the Quail and flattened pork for entrees and every main is a winner. They will ask how spicy you want the dishes (you’ve got to push them for it if you want really spicy) and they are very attentive at refilling your glass of water (you’ll need it for the spicier dishes).

Sea Bay Restaurant

https://plus.google.com/117339001687477954364/about

CBD

Just near the Civic Hotel is a restaurant that’s great for groups and excellent Chinese cuisine. The place is BYO, affordable, and has just enough variety to warrant returning. We regularly order the pancakes, dumplings (pork and pumpkin), and some greens. The pièce de résistance however is the pepper pork. So deliciously evil that you’ll have your crew fighting over the last piece (and ordering another dish).

Encasa

http://www.encasarestaurant.com.au/

CBD

This is probably as close as you’re going to get to affordable tapas in Sydney. Bookings are essential as it’s usually pretty busy. Chorizo is a mandatory order, and I really can’t go past the woodfired blue cheese pizza - so good. Caters for larger groups when warned in advance, staff are pretty friendly, and if you feel like making a night of it I recommend getting the extra special Sangria.

O Bal Tan

http://www.obaltansydney.com.au/php/main.php

CBD
A place that always seems to be busy, yet always finds room for our group without a booking. Three-levels of Korean BBQ goodness. Safest bets are to get one of the combination platters and wash it down with a Hite. As a larger group we like to extend the experience with a beer tower. Great drunken noshing. I love this place after Friday night drinks.

Something's in the Air

I've just got back from a huge week in Las Vegas. Much was learned, much was lost, and I was constantly told not to use the city as a barometer for the rest of the country. Thank goodness - because it was the first time in a long time that I felt overwhelmed in a foreign country.

I still managed to look good., you'll be pleased to know

Prior to departing I read and re-read a blog entry from my friend and mentor, Marie. The entry was called 'For those of you out there and it can be read here. It's a great tale about Marie and how she has succeeded on breaking out of the grind and striking out on her own to do things on her own terms.

I really enjoyed the piece and it set some thoughts in motion regarding my own projects.

With that in mind I did some more reading and came across another piece that I had bookmarked but never got around to absorbing. Chris Guillebeau's A Brief Guide to World Domination - what a piece of work. With the ever-growing proliferation of information available to us, it's even more relevant to us today than it was when it was written.

Chris presides over the notion of non-conformity, and it really resonated with me and my desire to go out and do some epic shit.

A snippet from my expanding list of notes on my 'Virus Project' - a huge idea I want realised one day

The bread-crumb trail continued. I've been reading a lot about notification addiction lately and after being inspired by these two pieces of writing I literally searched for: how to increase your focus. The first result came and I discovered a short article on exactly what I wanted.

The article (and the subsequent book I purchased) are written by Leo Babauta and it was a perfect next-step for me to get a move on. I'm guilty of having too many balls in the air and the book does a great job of stripping down what I need to do in bite-size chunks to increase my efficiency. It's amazing how distracting the Internet, your phone, and others can be.

So I feel like something's in the air.

At the start of the year I listed some things I want to achieve and a quarter in, some are looking easier to achieve than others. Fortunately, I'm beginning to see what tasks I want to prioritise and can morph into something I can be proud of.

In the interim, I'm going to keep focusing, chipping away, and getting in shape.

I've got this.

Gotta keep it going, keep it going full steam

After I moved to Sydney, one of my friends flew up from Melbourne to visit, and we hung out for the weekend in what was a very exciting time of my life.

Commencing a new career, the thrill of relocation, making new friends... it was a great time to be alive, and I told this friend that I didn't really see how things could get better. This friend had a few years on me and asserted that I was wrong. Now that he had hit his 30s, he was loving life even more, and that the year just gone was the most exciting.

Given that being really happy and being told you're in for more isn't really a bad thing to have on the horizon. This friend was absolutely right, and next time we catch up I owe him a drink and some commiseration over his ability to predict the future.

Another milestone came about this weekend, for someone very close to me - my little sister's 21st.

She's an amazing individual, and I really enjoyed seeing her celebrate the milestone with friends and family. I'm still glowing, and as I make my way back to Sydney via plane, I can only look back and smile on what was a magical weekend.

I'm going to remember that weekend for some time.

Looking ahead, there's no reason why the good times can't continue. Next week, I travel to Las Vegas for our company's sales conference. It's going to be my first-time in the US and I'm genuinely curious about a place that I feel like I already know thanks to pop culture. The conference itself is on a mind-boggling scale, and I'm unsure whether an opportunity like this will ever come about again. 

Closer to home, or rather replacing my home, is a new one-bedroom I've moved into in Newtown. Location-wise it's perfect and central to both friends and work. I'm really enjoying having a space I can settle into and while I returned to Australia apprehensive about my move back to the homeland, I can safely say that everything seems to be clicking into place.

At the start of the year, I listed a number of challenges that I wanted to achieve and I'm making progress in a slow and assured way. Of most interest to me at the moment is my acquisition of some new DJ equipment - I'd mentioned I want to learn a new language and in a way this is ticking that box. I've got a brand new, increased appreciation of electronic music in ways I didn't think possible, and this new challenge is really enjoyable. You can listen to my latest mixes here - the blending is horrible, but it is a good indicator for what tunes I've been rocking and appreciating.

This year has seen some great sailing, and I'm very fortunate for all the experiences I'm having. Which reminds me of a line from Beastie Boy's Intergalactic, "keep on rapping coz that's my dream". And it is.

Edit (26/03/2013): thanks anonymous for the correction.

Books I'm reading and why reading is f***ing important

Last time, I wrote about a book that changed my life.

It was like a catalyst for spurring on a lot of action: some behind the scenes, a fragment of it you see on this page, and the rest you'll see in the future.

I've only just started getting back into reading, and to be honest I'm glad I didn't leave it any longer. What I've missed in the last decade is an absolute explosion of interesting books to read both for fun and personal development (the two aren't mutually exclusive).

So I've got my Kindle and have been purchasing books faster than I can read them. Nick Hornby wrote:

“All the books we own, both read and unread, are the fullest expression of self we have at our disposal. ... But with each passing year, and with each whimsical purchase, our libraries become more and more able to articulate who we are, whether we read the books or not.” (source) 

Which is all well and good pre-digital. But I can't share that library with anyone, even if they visit my shit-arsed tiny flat, so I've decided to share what I've read, I'm reading and what I intend to read. And maybe that defines me, like Nick Hornby said.

I've read

I'm Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59

Before I joined my current employer, a colleague at the time suggested reading this book and I never got around to it. After a while of working there, I was keen to know what my colleague meant. So I gave it a read and it was refreshing to hear a different perspective about the company.

The Start-up of You Reid Hoffman, Ben Casnocha

LinkedIn is a company I've admired for the way they've gone about establishing themselves. They've carved out a niche and changed the dynamic with which people can get employed (including me). A senior colleague recommended reading this one and so I did. Co-written by the founder of LinkedIn and his friend, the book gives you a methodical approach to improving the most important startup you're involved in: yourself. I took a lot from this book and can't recommend it enough to people looking to develop both professionally and personally.

The Antidote: Happiness for people who can't stand positive thinking Oliver Burkeman

I wrote about this last time, needless to say it's pretty awesome (considering I dedicated a blog entry to it).

I'm reading

Outthink the Competition: How a New Generation of Strategists Sees Options Others Ignore Kaihan Krippendorff

I had the pleasure of seeing this guy speak. Work had a business function with some spare tickets and I jumped at the chance. Kalhan was a passionate speaker, and I particularly liked his methodical research of best-practice (and failing) businesses. The book is packed with this kind of information and I'm getting a lot out of it, I particularly like the references to the 36 strategies of ancient Chinese warfare.

A Game of Thrones: The Story Continues: The complete 5 books (A Song of Ice and Fire) George R. R. Martin

I guess this counts as five books. I'm currently plowing through Book Two. It was a bit laborious getting through the first one thanks to seeing the first season of the TV show (which is excellent), but now that I'm on to new stuff (I abstained from watching any more until I got through the books) I'm really enjoying it again. This will take me a while.

Made to Stick Chip Heath, Dan Heath

My last business trip to Tokyo was an inspirational, reinvigorating experience. Another senior colleague recommended reading this book and I insta-purchased on his word. It's early days but I'm loving the style and it's full of practical information on conveying ideas.

I intend to read

Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1) Robin Hobb

I grabbed this one after a drunken conversation with an acquaintance who said it's the best fantasy series he's ever read. The dude works at a library so I grabbed it on his word.

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream Harlan Ellison

Many years ago I read a PC Powerplay review of a point-and-click adventure game of the same name. The twist of phrase and story really stuck with me, resulting in an anguished high-school blog entry, and a desire to read the short story one day, I've finally got a copy.

Great Expectations Charles Dickens

A literary classic that comes highly recommended and is free in the Kindle Store. I grabbed it knowing I've always wanted to read it.

The Name Of The Wind: The Kingkiller Chonicle: Book 1 (Kingkiller Chonicles) Patrick Rothfuss

Another fantasy that came highly recommended, but as you can see that doesn't automatically get it read when there's a bulging list.

Cloud Atlas David Mitchell

There's a movie coming soon and the mind-bogglingly ambitious narrative-style sounds like my cup of tea. I just need to make the time.

Life Of Pi Yann Martel

I loved the trailer for this movie, and felt obliged to read it before going to see it.

The Making Habits, Breaking Habits: Why We Do Things, Why We Don't, and How to Make Any Change Stick Jeremy Dean

I read a blog entry on making New Year's Resolutions stick and decided I liked it so much that the book being proffered should be purchased. And that I did.

Me and Her: A Memoir Of Madness Karen Tyrrell

This lady offered some advice on publishing my own book over at the site PlanBig. I purchased her book to show my gratitude!

APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur-How to Publish a Book Guy Kawasaki, Shawn Welch

The author has been a mainstay in my Google+ feed. I really enjoyed his free ebook "What the Plus?" and the content in this one would have come in handy while I was publishing my book. I want to get around to reading this to see where I've missed a trick.

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An ambitious list isn't it? But when I see it I remember Nick Hornby's quote and realise it's not the end-of-the-world if I fail to read them all. But I do want to.

I want to because reading is fucking important. It makes you more articulate, improves your personal development, keeps you sharp, and a myriad of other things (like the ability to use the word myriad).

I'm striving to make myself better and I can't impart this on you enough. A new project is being formulated and these pieces of information make up some lessons that I think are important. Another thing I'd like to show you is a piece of software called Evernote, but that's the title of my next entry: Why you should get Evernote.

A Book That Changed My Life

Otherwise known as: my review of The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking.

I heard about this book from a source that provides the occasional nugget of wisdom, Twitter.

The tweet in its original glory

Maybe I was susceptible at the time (it was November last year) but I clicked the link and it was one of the first (of many) books I purchased on my Kindle. I should also point out that another friend was interested in reading it that I didn't know about at the time, but he has good taste so it's worth mentioning.

So you could argue, that it was the tweet that lead to the book that changed my life.

But hold up, you might have heard me spout this claptrap before. Over a year ago, I referenced a book I read called "It's not how good you are, it's how good you want to be".

I didn't really mention the content of the book other than it was inspiring and admired the serendipity in which I came about to discover it.

Make no mistake.
I was fucking right.

A little over a year of reading that book I got to:

• travel Europe in the best holiday I ever had
• self-publish my own book
• lose 20kgs in six months
• run my first half-marathon

Well another book came along and it was this. 

The book had me laughing, smiling knowingly, and nodding. Applying techniques from schools of thought such as Stoicism, Buddhism, the writing of Eckhart Tolle, and even the Mexican Festival of Death; Oliver Burkeman sows together a compelling argument for making the most of what you have.

The book is wonderfully articulate and is by a better writer than me.
So I'm calling it like I did over a year ago this book was life-changing and for the better.

How come I'm crapping on about books? Because I was told to.

I remember reading article from VICE a while ago, called the guide to Adulthood.

It had this awesome quote:

If you consider yourself a “full-grown adult” and have not read (like, completed, cover to cover) a book of any sort in the past three months, you are probably someone we never want to be friends with. TV and movies are great and all, and it’s good to keep up with carefully curated show selections, but if you look forward to making it home in time to catch The Big Bang Theory or whatever, you’re probably hopeless and should be sure to only befriend similarly boring people so you don’t turd up conversations. Non-fiction, medical journals, fiction, whatever, just read a fucking book already.

Words to live by.

This set a slow motion chain-reaction of events to spew forth:

1. Announce on my OKCupid profile that I was "I want to get a Kindle, but am not sure of how much I would use it."
2. Bought a Kindle
3. Read several books some months later
4. Realised how stupid I've been all these years

I've since read about five books which is more than I did last year, and thus spurs on the title of my next blog entry: Books I'm reading and why it's f***ing important.

Pissing Excellence and Backing Up Again for Next Year

The best way you can get back at your enemies is by pissing excellence.

-me, Being Bi-Bi: a memoir on mental health and sexuality, November 2012

It's one of the last sentences in the book, and it works on so many levels. The best way you can get back at your adversaries is by being better. That might be an opponent, a demon, a troll, and probably a lot of other things as well. I won't dwell on them though, because I'm showering them with excellence.

This year, I wrote a book. I mentioned it when this blog started (in its current incarnation) and I finally got there. I got to deliver a heart-felt speech in front of my nearest and dearest at the launch party, and the feeling of seeing my book in print, and on Amazon are some of the proudest moments I've ever experienced.

Me delivering aforementioned speech (right) and hugging my beautiful sister afterwards (left)

I also set out to lose 20kg. I got there too. I learned a lot about myself along the way, including that there's better metrics for getting healthy, but after failed starts I was finally able to shove it to my detractors.

Sticking it back (forgive the toenails, I get in-growns very easy and prefer my feet to be ugly)

I ran a half-marathon. With a time that speaks for itself. That's sweating excellence.

When I'm partying or otherwise having a really good time, I sometimes take stock of the situation and think to myself - how can I have or do more of this?

This year was phenomenal. But how can I be even better? Okay I'll do more of that.

It's a principle to live by, and reminds me of what a poster on the Inthemix forums once said (paraphrasing):
If you're doing something and it's annoying people, do more of it.

Just replace "annoying" with "pissing excellence".
There you go!

So I've created a list of goals I want next year, and that I'll deliver upon:

• Produce another major piece of creative workI have another idea for a project that I'm going to dedicate a future blog post to, but the current idea is to take on a medium different to a book: YouTube. I want to chart the path to one million cumulative views, and document the progress across digital platforms. One million views in a year. Let's see. 
• Travel to New York
  This city has been itching at me forever, I need to scope it out as a potential place to live, and make my mind up on it. I won't know for sure until I see it.
• Run a marathon
  A colleague told me that there's not such thing as an easy one. I've been loving running and I'm going to take this on.
• Take up meditation
  I really enjoy this concept and after doing an introductory course I want to make this a regular habit.
• Kickbox regularly
  A friend and I agreed to take this up in the New Year, I've done bits and bobs in the past and want to make this a habit.
• Yoga regularly
  I'm fortunate enough to get free yoga at work, I'm going to enjoy this and develop it into a habit too.
• Save $X a month
  I'm shit at saving, it's time to fix that.
• Pay off CC debt
  I'm a grown man now and want this iced too.
• Join a sporting competition
  With my newfound fitness, I'd love to have one last stab at Aussie Rules or to resume tennis. It's a bit hard with my affinity for travel, but committing to, and accomplishing a season's worth of sport while I still can would be fucking unreal.
• Kick arse professionally
  This year I was nominated for the B&T 30 Under 30, it was nice to be recognised, but I want to do something even more kick arse this year. I don't really talk about my day-to-day on here, but I would like to achieve a similar milestone or better in 2013.
• Learn to code, a language, or improve my overall design abilities
  I know this one is vague, but improving my language, whether that be digital, verbal, or creatively is something I would like to do in 2013 and will be pursuing this one aggressively.

Ambitious? I'm actually thinking it's not enough. But we've got to start somewhere, and having this list in front of me will go some way. Is it right to plan this far ahead? Is it natural? Do I know what will change between now and six months from now? Are persistent fear-based questions a weak writing device?

Only time will tell.
I've got this.