Here are two things that helped me get motivated this week…  A double infinity pool and a new bio deisal ferrari f430.

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So just to expand on the NYC trip.  We ate at Peter Lugers Steakhouse on recommendation.  I had read some reviews and they all said it was overrated and the servers were rude.  So that is what I had in mind going in.  We made reservations a month before we headed out.  We had gotten some drinks before heading over and watched the game.  We get there and “check in.”  I had also read online that you would have to wait before getting seated.  So we waited 5 minutes and got some drinks.  We only got half way through the first round before gettting seated.  The ambiance of the restuarant is great.  It is a place that I felt I needed dress up to go to, but it really is not.  I should have gone in jeans (but my luggage was lost on the way up). 

The place is set up as it might have been “back in the day.”  It was like many other silo type steak houses down here in NC.  The restaurant would not work if it were updated.  I did find the seating a bit tight.  I am decent size, but this was tight for everyone. 

We had no idea what to order and just went with the suggestions of the waiter.  We had two caesar salads and tomatoes and onions as premeal foods.  We got steak for 2 and steak for 3 as the main course.  We had orders of spinach and hash browns as well.  The steak came out medium rare.  The food was amazing. 

Most people bitch about having a sauce for your steak.  They say the steak is good enough and you are ruining it.  Not here, they provide a special sauce that for a novice was like ketchup and cocktail sauce mix.  And to be honest the steak did not need any help.  I also grabbed two rum and cokes and a gin and tonic.  I was tempted by desert, but added another mix drink to the experience as I was full. 

The wait staff was not overly friendly but I do not need someone to stroke my ego all night to have a good meal.  I can see where some people were trying to impress chicks there and did not get help.  We dropped well over a hundred a person.  Overall it was good, I will probably visit again. 

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You can invest your money and time into projects or you can borrow 110% on projects and take your cut off the get.  When I was growing up there was a unique train of thought around work.  Busting your ass was the only way to make money.  If there was an easy way, everyone would be doing it.  I thought people put their heart and sole into projects.  Sweat equity was the only way to invest.  Basically you do what you can to get things done and they are 100% your projects.  You may get a loan but you put everything you can into the project. 

So I thought that I would try and get a decent paying job and make smart investments with my money.  I had seen where people were doing construction and putting the profits from their work into new construction projects.  I thought if I could make enough at my regular job to put into construction projects that the profit from construction could be all mine. 

I recently worked with a few people whom to me had a new school train of thought.  They would borrow more money than what was needed for the project and take some cream out of the project initially.  I had never thought like this and it has been on my mind for a while.  Your risk comes in not paying your loan back as opposed to losing all of “your” money.  There seems to be a different train of thought from these types of investors as well.  They do not seem to be in touch with what is really happening with the project.  They do not seem to care about the money as much. 

It reminds me of the kid who works all summer to buy his first ride vs. the kid who is given his first ride.  I am calling this old school vs new school, as that is what it is to me.  I am not sure which method to like.  If you have the opportunity to get the loans and make the money up front do you do it?  Or do you lose something from not putting your own money into the project? 

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I was able to get some one-on-one time with the Microsoft Surface while in New York.  It was very impressive.  The sample applications seem well written.  The possibilities also seem endless.  The demo of the device was the same you get on youtube.  You get basic information about what the table does.  The questions I walked away with revolved around the development studio and api for the device.  How much did I control and how quickly could I develop the device.  I did not really get a feel for that.  I also thought there was room for improvement on the sensitivity of the area of the touch. 

The touch area appeared to not have any detail on the impression that it recieves from the touch.  When using a paint brush with 100 bristles you see a big blob that encompasses an area close to what the brush looks like.  It would be nice to see the strokes of a brush in more detail.  I am not sure if software can tighten up on that.  I am also not sure if it was pressure sensitive.  On the other hand one of the great features and differences in the ipod products is that it allows more than 52 touches at a time. 

This is a parody video for the mac lovers.  There are plenty of other videos with the surface demos.

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I really had a great trip to New York.  I stayed a block away from Times Square.  I was able to learn a bit and network some more.  New York was very motivational.  There is hustle and bustle going on everywhere you turn.  Mad loot changes hands every single day.  You have people from all walks of life and it seems a little bit of everything the world has to offer right there.  Seeing people all over the place grinding was very motivating.  I am not sure how I would fare in New York, but it seems there are opportunities everywhere.  There is wealth everywhere as well.  And not just inherited wealth but new money as well.  It is a good place to go to get a bit of motivation.

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Quick trip.  Will update this tonight or tomorrow but New York…  I came up in comfortable clothing, with the plan to change for all of my meetings once I got settled.  Lost luggage.  I was able to grab a steak though at Peter Luger’s Steakhouse.  I was able to hit up 5 bars, watch some football, visit time square, etc…  Anyhow,

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I am a bit busy so I will just write about what is going on and plan some decent posts for next week.  I am going to look at some land today that I am thinking about investing in.  I want to invest in it, but it is a bit more than I can comfortable afford.  It is 28 acres north of Raleigh.  If you are interested in the listing let me know and I can forward you the details.  I can post the details next week, but if I don’t move on it, there is no reason to really talk about it here.

I am going to New York on business Sunday evening and coming back Monday evening.  Not much “fun” time.  I will be eating at a nice steak house and doing all of the socializing I can on Sunday.  Then I have to get back on Monday after a day of shaking hands and how are yous guys.  Not the best timing with all I have going on, so I will be busting my ass today and tomorrow prepping for the trip. 

I am excited to have time on the plane to read a bit more.  I always use trips as an excuse to read.  It used to be that there was nothing else that I could possible do during trips (well sudoku has also killed time recently).  Now with laptops, wifi, cellulars, etc… everyone wants you to be available.  It was not 5 years ago that this technology was not as popular, wifi definitely was not in airports. 

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We all need and want things in life.  Generally speaking to get the things we want we have to deal with others.  Knowing how to work with those people is important in getting what you want.  Most people are motivated by money.  Not all people are motivated by money though.  Even those with lots of money may have greater motivations behind there wealth. 

I have come across a variety of people.  From what I have seen there are three things that generally motivate peoples actions and money movement.  Money, charity/helping others, and challenges move people.  I generally cater to peoples greed for money.  Though the more I am moving around in various circles I am finding out that catering my business talks to charity provokes action.  In the same light challenging people also motivates them to spend money. 

Bill Gates for example is a very wealthy individual.  He is probably not interested personally, in helping you make money.  Even though you might not entice his type with money, you might be able to appeal to his charity side.  Certain people generally care for others and live to improve the lives of others.  Enticing them with money is not the way to motivate them. 

Richard Branson is also a very wealthy business man.  If I were to try and get him to do business with me, I would not try to motivate him with money.  I would rather try and present him with a challenge.  He is the type of person that likes to prove people wrong.  He seems to come out on top most of the time and goes against the grain.  “I don’t think you still have it” or “I don’t think you can be successful in this industry” or “I don’t think anyone could…”  These are the methods I would use with the Richard Branson type.  Telling his type that he/she will make $10,000 dollars with you probably will not catch his attention. 

Personally I have seen that putting money into someones charity gets more attention than giving them a Rolex or money.  I am also dealing with people that have much more money than myself.  A few thousand dollars is a waste of time to them, but a challenge gets them moving.  While money will motivate most people, there are some times where there are different ways you need to motivate people.  Create your strategy based on how people will be motivated, not on how you are motivated. 

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I have been in a few meetings this week where people have been turning down Millions of dollars of work.  These are corporate meetings where the client has desires that can not be met by the other party.  I really do not like seeing this happen.  I understand it though.  These companies have reached capacity and can not grow at the rate needed to sustain quality in their product. 

Companies like IBM or Microsoft probably have the available resources to take on nearly any project at any time.  Small companies and mid-size companies will have to turn down opportunities, even when they would gross millions of dollars.  You do not want to lose a client because you can not meet demand and you also do not want to lose a client because your quality of work will suffer. 

The saying goes that it is better to have more work than too little work.  I tend to agree with this (as long as you are getting paid accordingly).  Workload and growth is something that all companies should have in their strategy.  You should know when to say yes and when to say no as well.  You should be prepared to say both gracefully.  Hopefully we all have too much work, but not so much that we turn customers away. 

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I think understanding time is key in strategy.  Over the past few weeks I have heard two things “New Year” and “Fin del Año.”  These two phrases are inherently different.  Certain cultures concentrate on culture and history.  Things are done as they were always done.  Traditions guide decisions.  Other cultures look towards the future.  Forward movement is what guides decisions.  Most Americans are view time in the future view.  We look towards to what is going to happen. 

So…  What does this have to do with you?  Your money and business will encounter two types of views in various people and businesses.  Some people make decisions based on tradition and others base decisions based on what they want the future to look like.  In creating strategy with people and businesses look at how they have made previous decisions.  Let your strategy with them be something that they will agree with.

 If your job is to create a new logo for Harley Davidson, where do you start?  You start with the old logo and modify it.  You know that their brand and tradition is their life blood.  You do not create a next generation bike, you evolve your current bike into a V-Rod, then something more.  Change is slow and what works for Harley Davidson.

If you work for Motorola or Apple you want to flip the game upside down with every new product.  You want to break previous ways of thinking and creating products.  You want to have the next-gen product and be on the leading edge everyday.  You do not want to walk into a meeting and present the same idea that is already on the shelf.  “Vintage” is not a buzz word at Motorola.  “Legacy” products are not gaining market share. 

 Not only do certain companies view time in specific ways, certain industries do as well.  How much do you really think Exxon wants to find an alternative fuel?  Do you think cell phones will look different in 5 years and do things other than make calls?  I am not saying do not try to revolutionize something, what I am saying is that if you pick your battles wisely, plan strategically and align yourself with the right people your goals might be realized. 

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