Listen up gangsters. Here's the deal. Your boy D-Dizzle-Dippity-Doo-Da-Durkin has got a little secret that he's about to share. So listen up.
I'm not gonna lie. I'm not a big headphones guy. I like to allow my big ears to roam the office in search of all sorts of noises and voices and thangs. HOWEVER, I believe this is important for you to know. I have tried on over ten different types of headphones in my office of my fellow employees. I've conducted my research. And here comes the BEST pair of headphones (Value / Price ratio) you're about to experience for musical headphones on this side of the Mississippi. These puppies have ridiculously unbelievable sound quality, and if these headphones were a stock, I would say this stock is cheap and I would buy shit-tons of it.
Here they are: SONY's MDR-7506 Headphones on Amazon.com. $103.95. Order these pups with Amazon Prime, and we're talkin' no shipping charges. Flat fee. Boom. That's beauty right to your dome piece right there.
Why on earth would you spend $179.99 for Beats by Dre or $134.95 for Bose AE2 Audio Headphones when you can save $50+ on unbelievable headphones? You're an entrepreneur. Save your monies. Get headphones with unbelievable sound quality at an unbelievable price. You'll have more money to spend on usability studies because of the savings. Your team will thank you for keeping your gangster rap and 80's throw-backs to yourself. And you'll look fly as a...
Your online identity is important as hell. Can I get a helllll ya! Oh hellllll ya!
Here's a quick post, but an important one in my eyes. One of my fellow co-owners at CampusLIVE, Jay Acunzo, wrote a great blog post teaching people all of the ways to claim your Google+ vanity URL. I suggest you read it to get the full scoop.
For a short cut as to how to quickly claim your Google+ vanity URL today, go to http://gplus.to/, copy your Google+ profile numbers, select a name, and BAM! Done!
So. You're introduced to someone via email and you've never met the man/woman before. You have respect for the person who introduced you, but you're a bit nervous. You've never met this homey before and you don't know what the HECK you're going to talk about. The day for the meeting approaches. You head out of your office / dorm / house and hop on the T / hop in your car / hop on your razor and speed your ass to the meeting. You're on time. Nice. You're looking gooooood. Perfect. Now, it's time to talk. What do you say?!?!
I've seen the look of stress on many kids faces when they think about the idea of meeting a new person for the first time, especially if that person is significantly older than them. Young people often feel like they have nothing that they could possibly talk about that would be of interest to the other older, "more experienced" person.
Well, here's a little trick.
Instead of focusing on YOU talking, guide the conversation to have THEM do 80+% of the talking.
I like introducing people together who I know will benefit from meeting one another. And often times the biggest benefit is the LEARNING that happens as a result of the conversation.
Doesn't it make sense that if your goal is to LEARN as much as humanly possible, that you LISTEN as much as humanly possible? Well! If that's the case, then doesn't it make much more sense to ask the other person a lot of questions that you believe will allow you to learn as much as possible? Well. I surely think so!
I think one of the most interesting frame of minds that I keep my mind in when meeting people is to think about how the person I am speaking to got to where he/she is today. Where did they grow up? What are their career goals? Where are they at now in their career? What do they love about their current job? What do they think sucks really hardcore? Are they married? Kids? Do they hate kids, but love dogs? Do they hate dogs because their building doesn't allow them, or because they genuinely hate dogs? What type of building do they live in? What part of the city do they live in? Why did they move there? Is there a secret in their commute at the Porter T-stop that you don't know about? That the commuter rail leaves from there and goes directly to North Station? That the commute is 30 minutes shorter if you use this commuter rail than the red line at 8:30 AM? Are there any other secrets in Boston you don't know about? Do they like Boston? What do they like to do in Boston? Why? Why the hell don't they live in the mountains in Vermont? Do they hike? Because you like to hike. What are the three best books they recommend you read? Why? Who the hell are those authors? Are they good stories, or are they instrumental in defining themselves? Are they MUST-reads or are they good-to-read-but-if-you-don't-no-biggie? What else do they think are no biggies? What do they think are VITAL? Make a list of those vital things.
Look at a meeting with a new person as an opportunity to LEARN, LEARN, LEARN and LEARN some more. Conversations should not be forced. So don't force them. Start at the beginning of a person's life and let that guide the rest of the conversation.
My name is Ryan Durkin. I write so that I will never forget where I came from and what I stand for. I hope that this will motivate young people to realize their potential and become more productive than they ever imagined. That would make me truly happy.
My name is Ryan Durkin. I write so that I will never forget where I came from and what I stand for. I hope that this will motivate young people to realize their potential and become more productive than they ever imagined. That would make me truly happy.
