Jarkko Laine » People

Glen Allsopp Plugs Into his Identity

Jarkko — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:52:50 +0000

Just a bit over a year ago, Glen Allsopp was an 18-year old guy from England, working in a job he hated, doing college courses that bored him to death, and running his own business part-time. In my books, that’s already quite an achievement for someone that young.

But it wasn’t enough for Glen, who wanted to plug into his real identity and live his life to the max. So, he took a job in South Africa, left his old life behind and moved to a whole new country far away from everything he knew.

If you checked out any of the links to Glen’s blog I posted last week, by now all of this is old news to you. You know who Glen is, and want to hear him speak, don’t you?

That’s why I think this is enough background.

Let’s get started with the interview questions.

Your blog is about plugging in to your identity and being the real you. But who is the real Glen? (A drawing to represent your mind would also be nice)

I’m someone who’s just realised they are not the box they thought they were trapped in. Despite doing crazy things like moving to South Africa on my own at 18, my life had been lived relatively shy and script-like.

As soon as I started to realise this, I’ve completely turned my life around. I’m starting to become a very confident person, someone who goes for what they want and I’m really enjoying life. I see it as my mission to help others do the same.

To describe myself in 5 words:

Authentic
Passionate
Non-judging
Creative
Challenging

A drawing that represents my mind:

The pink is my brain / mind, the light-bulb is my core creativity and centeredness. The green-lines are my distracting thoughts and beliefs that sometimes consume me and the majority of the planet.

This blog is about being insanely interested in everything. Often it’s not that easy to let go of all the prejudices related to the right way to lead your life and really make the most out of your unique personality. How can someone like this plug into her identity and make the most out of it?

Being insanely interested in everything must be great; I guess it keeps life interesting. I assume the prejudices you are talking about are that people think you are a little insane and should stick to one core focus.

Stick to what is true to you, because deep down you know what is right.

If being interested in everything is enjoyable and makes you happy, why change for anyone? Accept the prejudices / judgments and thrive off them. Be proud that you aren’t following the social norms and you are leading your own life.

What makes this September insanely interesting for you?

September has been very interesting for me; I’ve been offered a few great jobs in New York which I’ve turned down for personal reasons. The main thing for me this month is focusing on productivity, my workload has increased the last few months and using tools like ToDoist have really helped me keep on top of my tasks. That and the great ‘what are you doing this week’ discussions over at My Tropical Escape.

Every month is interesting because every month is different. I’ve also been planning the adventures for when my family come to visit me in Cape Town, it’s been over a year since I seen them.

What do you suggest others to do to make their September more interesting?

Do something different, give something a try, and even just set yourselves a challenge. Try a month where you try to cut costs and see how little you can spend whilst surviving. Or, look at areas of your life you would like to improve and spend a month working on them, such as going for interviews or asking for a pay rise if you want to improve your career.

I would actually recommend people try blogging if they’ve never tried it before; it can be almost meditative and could possibly become a new passion for many readers.

What is the most interesting/scary thing you have done so far in your life? How did you make yourself do it?

By far it was quitting my job in England, quitting college where I only had 1 year left (of 3) and leaving all my friends and family behind to go to Cape Town on my own (at 18). I did it by looking at my life situation, seeing if I was happy or if I wanted to make a change.

It might sound like risky business, but if the job you are doing isn’t for you and you don’t plan on extending education in the courses you are taking, why bother? That was my mentality anyway. Thanks to the support of my parents I realised it was possible and ended up in South Africa a few weeks after being offered a job.

Let’s play a word associations game: I give you five concepts, and you respond with the first idea that comes to mind.

Pizza: chicken, sweet corn, food fights, messy furniture
Pencil sharpener: scratchy, metal, small, sharp, shiny, cheap, annoying
South Africa: violence, beaches, women, sun, adventure, challenge, experience
Water: cold, windy, splashing, birds, clean, refreshing
Plug: PluginID ;), energy, voltage, electricity, implementation, doing

Thanks, Glen, this was fun!

Now, make sure to check out Glen’s blog if you haven’t yet. And even if you have, there is something big you just might have missed: an always up-to-date Personal Development Blog ranking list (too bad we’re not listed ;) Insanely Interested ranks 47th).

Training for a Bigger Cause

Jarkko — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:10:22 +0000

What do you do if you are a fanatic blogger and athlete who wants to use those talents to leave the world a bit better than it was when you got it?

When faced with the question, Mark Hayward decided to go ahead and start a non-profit project to combines these interests: “Getting fit + social media + blogging = social good.”

Together with bloggers Leo Babauta and Dan Clements and with help from a bunch of other compassionate people, Mark launched his new project, Train for Humanity, on September 9th.

This must be an insanely interesting time for Mark, so let’s hear what he can tell us about it.

How did you come up with the idea for Train for Humanity?

The inspiration to try and do something to assist with humanitarian crises came many years ago while I was a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Papua New Guinea. However, the idea to create Train for Humanity, which combines getting fit (training for endurance events), the internet (blogging & social media) to raise awareness and funds for people who are suffering, came to me a couple of years ago while I was out for a run after having watched a CNN story on Darfur.

How did you know this was an idea you wanted to implement?

I have known for a long time that I would implement, or undertake some type of humanitarian initiative…it was the WHAT that I didn’t know.

When thinking about new ventures I try very hard not to jump into projects too lightly or on a whim. Back around March of this year I started a self-imposed challenge to try and make money online. Really, I wanted to try and stimulate some ideas for generating passive income online.

After a couple of posts on the topic of ‘making money online’ I realized I just wasn’t into it.

All along I have had this idea to create a humanitarian project, so why not focus my energy on that and try to do some real good in the world.

How did you collect your team, and what was challenging about it?

Collecting the team of Train for Humanity collaborators was the easy part.

In fact, I found that people wanted to help. Leo Babauta, of Zen Habits, was the first person I contacted to see if he was interested in participating. About a year ago I did a guest post for Leo titled, ‘Removing Negative Thought: Tips To Overcome and Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone’ and that article was the first time I came out in public with the Train for Humanity idea and concept. So it was natural that I would ask Leo.

The next team member that I contacted was Dan Clements, author of Escape-101. I have known Dan via the internet and blogging for quite a while now and since he is a runner and has traveled quite a bit to various countries, I was really pleased that he too agreed to participate.

Once the blogger/athletes (Leo, Dan, and I) were in place it was then time for logo creation, legal input, and a website. And we wound up hooking up with Sean Hodge, Andrew Flusche, and Joshua Clanton.

Why did you pick Darfur, or genocide and civil war victims in general as the target for your project?

I can remember back to the Rwanda genocide and thinking that I did nothing to help or to try and change the situation. Also, every once and a while I would wonder, “What has happened to all of those children whose parents were killed in Rwanda?”

Darfur is the first genocide of the 21^st century. Over 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million have been displaced. I might not be able to do much, but I am certainly going to try and do something.

The internet, blogging, and social media puts all of us with access on a level playing field now….you don’t have to be associated with a huge humanitarian organization. If an issue is bothering you (human rights, Darfur, animal cruelty, etc), there are so many tools available for free and when combined with a little creativity and persistence anyone, I believe, can make a difference.

How did you manage to stay focused and get the project launched?

I continued to read and get educated about Darfur, Rwanda, and to some extent the Holocaust. Two books about Darfur that I would recommend are:

Also, after I had asked the other collaborators to assist and participate, and notified Darfur Peace & Development Organization that we would be raising funds for them during the pilot phase, there really was no turning back.

Were there any surprises in the world of non-profit organizations and in launching one?

The biggest surprise came when it was time to open a bank account.

I never thought it would be so challenging. But, because I live on Culebra, a small island in the Caribbean, it was near impossible to open an online account. With e*trade financial I actually went through FOUR layers of customer service frustration over the course of three months and I finally just told them to send back all of my paperwork.

In the end, Andrew was able to get the account open.

Train for Humanity is about social media as well as training: how are you planning to use social media in the project?

Because we want to be able to provide Darfur Peace & Development with all of the funds we raise, at present we are operating on $0.00 budget. The natural fit for us to get our message out initially, and to continue to do so, was to focus on social media. On the day of the launch we started sending out Twitter messages at 7:00am.

Our goals is to be active participants in Twitter, Plurk, triiibes, and StumbleUpon. We are also in the process of setting up a Facebook page and hope to integrate more of a FLICKR and YouTube presence in the near future.

How has the Internet reacted to your launch so far? Has it matched your expectations?

The people on the internet have been very kind in helping us to get the message out and sponsoring the athletes. Leo, of course, has a huge following but the nice thing has been that it’s not just Leo’s audience…bloggers and social media users have been coming from all different places.

I didn’t really have any expectations…we have goals that we would like to accomplish, but the Train for Humanity pilot project runs until December 15^th.

We have had fewer page views than I expect after the launch but we lost a bit of momentum because my internet connection recently went down for three days…not the best online promotional strategy. :)

THANK YOU for this opportunity to dicuss Train for Humanity, Jarkko! Our message is quite simple: getting fit + social media + blogging = social good.

The program director at Darfur Peace & Development just emailed me a horrific story about how the first school that they helped to build was recently bombed and six schoolchildren were killed. Stories like the school bombing are what we are training for and why we are doing this.

Now, follow this link to sponsor Mark. Or if you like, feel free to give your donation to Leo or Dan – or why not donate something to each of them? Every penny goes to help improve the situation in Darfur.

If you can’t afford a donation, you can also help out by telling your friends about Train for Humanity, either online using your social network, or through face to face communication. t

22 Things Plurk Has Taught Me About Friendship

Jarkko — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:56:48 +0000

I have a new addiction. It’s called Plurk, and I think you should try it out too. All the cool kids are doing it, so I’m sure you don’t want to miss on all the fun. But these short two weeks or so on Plurk have already taught me something important about friendship.

I’m far from perfect in maintaining relationships, quite the contrary, and I know that Plurk doesn’t model real friendship one-to-one, but these lessons make so much sense that I wanted to share them with you and have a discussion about all the different forms of friendship.

So, friends, let me know what you think!

Here’s the list. If you want to see how good or bad I am at implementing it, be my Plurk friend, and let’s try some friendship in practice.

Say yes when someone wants to be your friend. It makes life more interesting as you get to know more people. Don’t worry too much about whether you have similar interests or not – if you don’t you’ll just stop talking, and that’s it. Or in an even better case you can learn from each other and gain all new interests.
A short note is better than a deeper one that never got sent. Spend the time you have and don’t worry if you can’t be available all the time. Remember that it’s better to send a quick note than no note at all (Sorry, James, I have fallen into this trap when trying to send you a well thought out e-mail rather than just saying hi!)
The friends of your friend are great people too. Say hi to them, and you will have some new friends. You will also learn to know your friend better.
People are nice to you when you are nice to them. No bullies needed. Or spammers. Just real people.
Everyone loves a kind word every now and then. It doesn’t cost anything, but makes both you and your friend feel great. So, why save the positive for later?
It’s the small things that matter. When you know that your friend goes out for a walk with his wife every night, your relationship already gets much closer than when you only reading his blog posts.
Spend time with your friends so that you don’t fall behind. There is so much happening to your friends all the time that it’s a good idea to keep in touch. This is where I’m at my lousiest, but maybe with the help of Plurk, I’m learning my lesson.
Don’t try too hard. Just be yourself. Anything else will make your life much harder, and leave your friends unaware of the real you. Be who you are, and if they still want to be your friends, lucky you!
Say good morning. It’s the small things that matter. You don’t always have to come up with interesting discussions – people love to talk about the small things, such as what you are having for breakfast or what you are expecting from your day.
Introduce yourself. Say hi to a stranger. Quite likely you’ll get a hi back. This is much easier online than in real life, but a good idea in both.
Ask the question that is on your mind. People might ignore it – but even then, they won’t ignore you. Your next question might get the discussion going.
Listen more. If your plurk / response ratio is higher than one, you’re doing something wrong. When you listen to your friends and talk about the things they want to talk about, you will not only get to learn them better, but they will also be more interested in talking about the things on your mind.
You can help your friends make more friends. And that will make you all the more popular in their eyes. After all, people love the guy who is willing to help them out.
Hanging out with people is fun. It takes time, it’s risky, it’s sometimes hard. But the reward you get from knowing that you are not alone in this world is well worth it.

I also asked my Plurk friends for some more ideas, and here’s what they answered:

kevyn says “too much crap and people will not befriend you”
Lulz thinks “plurk is more like chatting in a pub as it is friendship.friendship may be build,but plurk is too restricted to do it alone.
AdamDesAutels says “I have found it to be very beneficial. I have met a lot of great people, which has resulted in phone calls, emails, and actual meet ups.”
finucane says that there are a whole lot of interesting people out there to meet.
54degrees agrees with Lulz. These are all pub-friendships here which end after you leave the building but can work out as a real friendship.
Lulz nods, as Adam says: Plurk may result in other communication,that probably will extend the relationship
Lore uses plurk to continue friendships, she made in other places and to meet some new people who might become friends.
Dren says “true rl friends will follow you even in Plurkoland! That being said, it makes me reconsider some old friendships ;)”

Now, I’m off to send some love to all my friends. The ones from Plurk, the ones from blogging, and the ones I know from the offline world! I suggest you do the same!

Insanely Interested Links: Where To Find Me Online

Insanely Interested Links: Where To Find Me Online

Jarkko — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 07:59:59 +0000

The image in this post would really belong to my next post, but I thought that I’d share it with you now to give you a sneak preview of what’s coming up. So, early next week we’ll be talking about green lights.

But before that I want to post a collection of insanely interesting links: some new and exciting stuff I have been working on lately, and a few great posts from the blogosphere.

The Internet is such a big place.

And I have lost pieces of me scattered all over it.

In some places, like this blog, you’ll find bigger parts of my online body. And at some other locations some tinier bits of me.

The Internet is a big place, so I thought I’d give you some coordinates for finding more of me than just this blog. Come and say hi!

Hear me think

JarkkoLaine.com: My main blog talks about being insanely interested in everything: curiosity, the entrepreneurial mindset, business, learning, maintaining your big picture, and reaching towards your dreams. You are reading that blog right now – which is already a sign of my dreams coming true!
Learning Judo (Maximum efficiency, minimum effort): The companion tumblelog for this blog. Actually, I started the tumblelog before this blog, so if you are interested in reading some of my oldest writings, scroll all the way to the beginning of the blog.
Retrocod:r: The latest addition to my blog empire is kind of a tumblelog running on WordPress – with some more original content than a traditional tumblelog. This blog tries to bring the fun back to programming by looking back at the times when we were all kids on a field trip to understanding how to command a computer.
SproutWire: SproutWire is not really a blog, but a place for finding interesting links about small business and entrepreneurship. It’s a project from Shane and Peter, and I am just one of the proud contributors.

Talk to me

What’s great about the Internet is that it’s not a one way medium. When you read a blog post that makes you think – either agreeing or disagreeing – you can talk back to the writer. You can tell what sites you like using StumbleUpon or Digg. You can send e-mail.

And then there is the whole new world of social media where people can share thoughts in a still much more interactive way making new friends and keeping in touch with old ones. If you haven’t tried these sites yet, give them a shot:

Plurk: Plurk is the new kid on the blog. With only thousands of users it’s still slick (and hopefully remains that way in the coming months and years as well). The communication at Plurk is lively and the UI is really nice, so it has quickly become my favorite stop on the web. Check it out and leave a note, if you dare. It’s addicting, you know!
Twitter: I signed up to Twitter already a long time ago, but never really got started with it. But when I got excited about Plurk, Twitter followed. So, if you are a Twitter user rather than a Plurker, you can follow me on Twitter too!

That’s it pretty much – for now. (Oh well, I could just as well mention Flickr and StumbleUpon too)

What about you, where are you surfing? Share your links in the comments so we can follow each other!

Insanely interesting links

And now, before we go and enjoy the weekend away from the computers, here are some of the most interesting links from the past few weeks:

It Doesn’t Have to Be All or Nothing With a Startup: David from 37signals writes about starting your business and how you can do it will even a small time investment.
Why the Law of Attraction is Wrong – But Why It Still Works: Leo Babauta writes his thoughts about the now famous law of attraction, and I couldn’t agree more.
Happiness and the End of the Working Week: I actually linked to this post already this week, but it’s such a great take on the popular problem of not being happy at work that I think it’s worth sharing again.
27 Reasons People Aren’t Listening to You: There is one thing that is quite special about Scott Ginsberg: he never writes bad posts (although he writes a lot of them). This one is no exception.
A Rookie Entrepreneur Looks Back at Lessons Learned During Year One: Mark Hayward shares the lessons learned during his first year of running a business at the Caribbean. Inspiring stuff!
DIY Internet Marketing – let’s play like adult! Internet marketing is a hot topic for me, as you have seen from my Make Money Online Challenge posts. Terence Chang has some good advice.

As always, feel free to share your top links in the comments. If, because of the links, the comment gets eaten by my spam filter and doesn’t show up, just send me a quick e-mail and I’ll make your comment show up!

Photo by grendelkhan

Escape!

Jarkko — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:00:04 +0000

Warning: Reading this post can make you pay $9.99 for a book.

Reading this book can make you do dramatic changes in your life and turn you into an escape artist.

Proceed reading at your own risk.

Did that sound interesting enough?

You might already have noticed a small banner at the top of my blog main page and at the end of my RSS feed advertising a book called Escape 101. It’s a really good book that deserves more attention than just a small banner so I decided to spend this one post to tell you more about it.

Have you ever considered taking a long break?

I don’t mean a summer vacation.

Sure, four weeks feels long when all you’re used to is a two-day long breaks once every week. But now we’re talking about something bigger: three months, six months, or even a year away from your everyday surroundings.

According to Dan Clements and Tara Gignac, the authors of Escape 101, more than half the employees of small and mid-size companies say they long for a sabbatical. So I’m not far off if I guess the thought has crossed your mind at least once during your career. But still, only a few really take action and make their dream come true.

Making big things happen isn’t easy.

Since finishing the four-hour workweek, I have been playing with the following question: What would happen if everyone would go on to pursue the lifestyle presented in the book?

The thought kept bothering me for a while, until I started reading Escape 101 and realized that there is no way everyone would do what these books recommend. And yet, it’s not because the actual doing would be difficult. Clements will tell you that technically it really is quite easy and doesn’t require a lot of education or a lot of money.

The roadblock is inside our heads.

It’s those little voices we have learned to listen to that say things like:

What would others think of me?

Normal people wouldn’t do this!

What if I fail and lose everything I’ve worked so hard to reach?

I have to work hard and earn more money – then I can do whatever I want.

I’ll do it when I retire. It’s just 30 years, right?

You get the picture. And I’m sure that just like me, you can come up with a list of excuses far longer than it makes sense to reprint in a blog post.

It could be something we learn through our education. Or maybe it’s just natural for us to be scared of everything new and different.

That really doesn’t matter. What matters is what you do about your fears.

It’s more than just sabbaticals

Escape 101 is a book about overcoming those mental roadblocks and actually making the dream come true.

It takes a practical step by step approach to all things standing between you and your escape plan: money, time, your job, your business, your kids, and shows that none of them really are the show stoppers we make them sound like. Then it goes to share ideas on how to get the most out of your time away, and even on how to get back home once the sabbatical is over.

Reading the book got my mind flying and I was able to easily see myself spending a year looking at the world with my wife and kids a few years from now: a few months is a small village somewhere on the Japanese coast, some time seeing the world down under, and finally going to the United States to meet all the great people from the blogosphere.

But right now, that’s not one of the things on my priority list. I have other dreams to pursue first.

Taking this into account, the most surprising thing to me was that the book not only inspired me to think about the possibility of taking a sabbatical but also gave me ideas that I can use in pursuing my current dreams. Ideas on building my business, ideas on using money wisely, but most importantly ideas on looking at impossible plans and not seeing them as impossible at all!

Get the book and see for yourself

Escape 101 is available as an e-book for just $9.99, a price well worth paying if you’re considering a long escape from your current work, or if like me, you are working on making some other impossible sounding dreams come true.

If you want to spend a bit more and buy a book that you can touch and feel in your hands, you can also get the book from Amazon for $13.57 plus shipping and handling.

Check out the book yourself and see what happens!

This marketing message is part of my participation in Mark Hayward’s Make Money Online Challenge. But rest assured: although this post is full of affiliate links, it follows my strict, non-compromising ad policy: I will never recommend you something I don’t believe in personally. No ad on the blog will ever promote products I wouldn’t buy myself.

Be A Hero Dad and Have More Fun With Your Kids

Jarkko — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 07:00:55 +0000

Being a great dad is something that every father out there is (or should be) striving for. But what exactly is a great dad?

Steve Caplin and Simon Rose think they have it figured out: a dad should be a hero that provides the fun and the spice that makes life entertaining and enjoyable.

Steve and Simon are authors of popular dad books, Dad Stuff and More Dad Stuff. Combined, they have collected more than fifteen years worth of experience in being a dad, so you can imagine how excited I was when I got Steve to answer my questions and share some tips on fatherhood.

Check out what Steve had to say, and then share your own thoughts in the comments!

You and Simon are the dads who wrote a book about being a here to your kids. What makes a hero dad?

A hero dad is one who’s never stuck for an answer to a question – or if he is, he’ll go and look it up on Wikipedia and then find a way of making it palatable for young minds. A hero dad will always be able to come up with a game or activity, whether it’s in a car, train of plane, in a restaurant, or just around the table at home.

Why do you think it’s important for kids to see their dads as their heroes?

Kids depend on their mothers for the essential, day to day stuff: having clothes that fit and aren’t filthy, having meals on the table, patching up their wounds. But they look to their dads for the fun stuff, for the added excitement, for the spice that makes life entertaining and enjoyable.

What made you write a book on this topic?

That, really, was our motivation: how to have fun even though you’re looking after your children.

We’re both dads who work at home, and who have to look after our children during school vacations. It was during one of these that we got chatting, talking about what we could do to keep our kids amused and entertained – and between us, found we had a good store of games and pastimes. When we tried to look for more inspiration, we found there were no books on the subject. Sure, there were dull, worthy parenting books, but none that emphasized the fun part of being a dad.

That, really, was our motivation: how to have fun even though you’re looking after your children.

It was great to notice that your books build an image that great dads are in fact insanely interested in everything. Do you agree? What about dads who are really specialized in some set of skills?

Specialist dads do, of course, have one particular line of interest for their children. But they do need to make sure they don’t push this interest too far; we’ve known several musicians whose kids have been put off by their dads’ insistence that they learn an instrument, for example.

Even if you’re the best magician in your city, you can expect your kids to groan every time you bring out a new trick. It’s just the way kids are: what they grow up with is mundane and uninteresting. Don’t force your specialism on them!

But when their friends come around, let your kids bask in your reflected glory as they’re the ones who will be impressed the most.

What are you most interested in?

We’re both into music, of course. Simon’s a serious film buff, and Steve’s really into making stuff. But we’re both into games and puzzles, and this is what kids like the most.

How about your kids?

Kids are too easily sidetracked by video games, FaceBook and TV. But all our kids enjoy music, and – fortunately – they all get a kick out of trying all the games, puzzles and activities we dream up or come across for our books. Just as well – we couldn’t write the books without them!

Are there any special favorite tricks in your books that you kids just can’t get enough of?

They love magic and rubber band games, as these can be done anywhere. Some of the car games are long-standing hits, too. And, of course, big-finish games like standing on balloons and the Great Egg Trick always go down well.

Can you really stand on balloons without bursting them? Did you try all the tricks presented in your books?

Yes, we can do it – try it for yourself!

And yes, of course, we did try every single one of the tricks in the books. For each trick that appears here there are half a dozen that we rejected as being too boring, too unworkable or just too difficult.

Are all kids curious? Do you think your tips work on every child out there?

All kids are curious, for certain. They have to be: that’s how they find out how the world works, and how to adapt to it.

The trick is extending that natural curiosity into areas they wouldn’t have considered examining, such as mathematics, language and science. It’s all a question of making the subject entertaining.

And a question I’ve been thinking a lot lately: how can I raise my son so that I can keep his curiosity alive throughout the years?

The method we’ve found the best is not to give him an immediate answer to his questions, but to encourage him to work the answer out for himself through hints and suggestions.

There are two reasons for this: first, it will build his self esteem, and make him realize that he has the potential to work out problems. Second, he’s far more likely to remember the answer if he’s had to work at it; a one-word answer can be forgotten just as quickly as it’s learnt.

Are there any other super-important tips for beginner dads like myself?

The main one, really, is to lighten up. Dads – ourselves included – can all too easily get strung up about minor issues, and upset and irritated by things that really shouldn’t bother us so much. Try to take the time to step back from each problem and, if you can, look at it from the kid’s point of view.

This sounds much easier than it is, but if you can manage it you’ll have fewer arguments and more fun.

What do children teach you about being a dad

Your kids turn you into your parents.

The first time you find yourself wiping away an ice cream smear with a kleenex, or reminding them to put a coat on when they go out, or telling them not to fiddle with their knife and fork, you’ll blanch with horror: this is exactly what your parents used to do to you! And, initially, it’s horrifying. But it does help us to re-evaluate our own parents; we’re the reason they became what they were.

Is there something more you would like to say to all the dads reading this post?

Have fun with your kids!

Every time you take them to the park, or on a car journey, or out shopping, don’t look on them as an encumbrance and count the minutes till it’s over. Find puzzles on the street for them to solve, so you keep up a dialog with them and help them to learn about the world around them.

Why does that building have a drainpipe running down the wall?

What do you think might be carried in that truck?

Why is that man carrying an empty box?

Do you think that tree is taller than our house, and how could we measure it?

How many lemons do you think there are in that crate?

There are always games to be played, puzzles to be solved, and conversations to be had. Use your ingenuity, encourage your kids to ask and answer questions, and remember: as a dad, you’re always on duty.

Now, your turn: What do you think makes a great dad? And to all the moms out there, how does this idea of dadhood sound to you? Let’s talk!

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No More Secrets

Jarkko — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:08:01 +0000

There is something in the human mind that find flaws, quirks, and small insanities interesting. When we see that other people have rough edges as well, we feel better about ourselves. After all, even the poster boys only become interesting when their secrets are revealed on the pages of the tabloid magazines.

Yesterday Shane from Shane and Peter shared his seven secret quirks. And as if that wasn’t enough, he then went on and challenged a bunch of other people to follow the example. Including me.

From this group, Susan (who does 18 loads of laundry but never puts any of it away) and James (who wants to mount a machine gun to his car) have already posted their responses, so now it’s about time I step to the challenge and start bringing my secrets to light.

I can’t stop asking the why questions: Just two nights ago a thought hit me (I don’t know where it came from, and now I can’t stop thinking about it): Is there a correlation between left-handedness and the fact that some languages such as Arabic and Hebrew are written from right to left? Could it be that the first people writing in those languages were mostly left-handed? I haven’t yet found a good answer, so if you know something on this topic, I’d love to hear more.
I can’t read quietly: To me reading a good book is an adventure full of enlightenments and a-ha moments. And whenever I learn a new idea, read a well-written passage or anything even remotely interesting, I get the urge to share it with someone. I just can’t stay quiet. My wife and I joke about this: She tells me to only share the best parts, and I say that that’s exactly what I’m doing… It just happens that I find a new best part on every page.
I love brands: Not so long ago we bought a high-chair to Oiva. After narrowing down the options we had come to two possible choices: a well-known brand – Tripp Trapp from Stokke – and a cheaper copy of it. While Mari was considering the wise things such as safety, all I could think of was that this guy from Stokke had the original idea and now these cheap copycats were trying to make money with it! We picked the Tripp Trapp. After all, it comes with a seven year guarantee.
I have a favorite psychological disorder: One of the best things in having a wife who studies psychology is that you get to learn interesting bits of information about the human mind. That’s exactly how I found out about the split brain condition.
I can’t keep secrets: When I buy a gift to Mari, I usually end up telling it to her before I get to give the gift. My facial expressions give me away even before she starts asking questions. And even in general, I’m not a big fan of secrecy: I don’t try to hide any part of who I am online, I trust people and I can’t understand why someone would choose to blog without sharing his name.
I hum when I think: I’m not sure if I do this at work (I hope not), but at home when I’m with the people I love doing things I enjoy, it happens a lot.
I have found the perfect ring tone: It’s a rather annoying self-made remix from the Hair Brush Song from VeggieTales that goes “Why do you need a hair brush, you don’t have any hair? No hair for my hair brush. No hair for my hair brush…” And the best part about it? Everyone else hates it, which means that every time my phone rings, it starts some discussion.

That’s it, seven secrets less!

And now it’s your turn: The rule of the game is that I now get to tag a bunch of bloggers and make them reveal their secrets. And even if I don’t tag you, feel free to share your weirdness in the comments!

Here are the lucky ones:

Deron from Random Jabber
Adnan from Blogtrepreneur
William from One Job Two Salaries
Kim and Jason from Escape Adulthood
Mark from My Tropical Escape

…and as a bonus: I think aloud, I can fall asleep in the middle of a sentence, and I have no special thing for any number.

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Let’s Have an Insanely Interesting Christmas!

Jarkko — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 07:00:37 +0000

I love Christmas!

Oh, it’s today, in case you have forgotten. Or tomorrow, depending on which day you celebrate Christmas on. There are people from more than 25 countries reading this blog, so I’m sure your Christmas traditions differ from mine. And I find that insanely interesting.

Today I want to have a conversation with you.

Because of the blog medium I’ll have to go first and share my own thoughts, but when I’m done, I really want to hear from you and get to know how you celebrate Christmas in your country and in your family. The comments are open, so let’s make this Christmas insanely interesting and learn about different culteres while having fun and meeting new friends!

25 things you didn’t know about Christmas in a Finnish family

The most important dish at the Christmas dinner is ham.
Casseroles are also part of the tradition: carrote, potato, rutabaga, and macaroni.
Chistmas eve celebrations start with a sauna in the morning.
After that it’s time to decorate the Christmas tree.
Around noon we have some rice porridge.
The Christmas dinner takes place around 5 or 6 PM.
Chocolate!
Santa Clause comes in the evening. When we were kids we usually went to church before this so we got our presents around midnight or a bit after. Nowadays we have become more impatient…
Usually we don’t see Santa – he just drops the presents under the Christmas tree while we are out on a walk or doing something else. Do you find that suspicious?
Before opening the presents we sing Christmas carols.
On Christmas eve kids don’t have to go to sleep.
Gingerbread cookies!
This is Oiva’s first Christmas (take a look at the picture in this post to see how excited he is).
More chocolate! Christmas really is mostly about eating chocolate, cookies, ham, casseroles, salmon and all the great Christmas dishes.
On the 25th it’s a tradition to go to church early in the morning. If you can get up after staying awake for so long on the eve.
And we still keep eating the Christmas dishes.
And still on the 26th.
Sometimes still on the 27th.
The official days off for Christmas are the 24th, 25th and 26th of December. This year I’m spending some of my winter holidays and staying away from work until next year (January 2nd, 2008)
Santa Clause lives in Finland at Korvatunturi.
There is no snow this Christmas. This doesn’t happen often.
Christmas is the biggest celebration of the year in Finland.
It’s probably related to the fact that Christmas takes place during the darkest time of the year. In northern Finland, at this time, the sun doesn’t raise at all (and it’s quite dark even here in the southern parts of the country) so the candles and other warm lights that go together with Christmas make it a bit easier to survive the dark winter days.
There are no polar bears in Finland.
Chocolate!

Now, it’s your turn! Do you celebrate Christmas? And if you do, how?

Merry Christmas!

Boxers or Briefs? Shane and Peter Interview Their Readers

Jarkko — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 23:36:01 +0000

A few days ago I was chatting with Shane from Shane and Peter and he sent me a question saying he’s very proud of it. He told me that the question was one from a set of interview questions he was planning to send out to some interesting entrepreneurs out there.

We talked a bit more about the questions and how it could be a good idea to also ask the questions from the blog visitors. And then after a while, out of the blue, he says: “You inspired my next post. Should be up in a few minutes.”

And there they were, Shane’s interview questions.

I figured that I have no choice but to do my best to answer them. So here it goes. (By the way, can you guess which question was the one Shane said he was proud of?)

What’s your personal mission statement?

Turn being insanely interested in everything into a blessing rather than a curse. And do business in a way that is good for my family, my friends, and the whole environment around me.

What’s the biggest mess you’ve dealt with this year?

I can’t think of any single mess, but my biggest headache is definitely how to make most of my time so that I can get my business to fly while spending time with my family and working full time in a regular job.

What current entrepreneurial efforts consume your time?

Officially, I started my company about a year ago, but in reality I’m still in a rather early stage of getting it kickstarted. So, I’m currently working on three fronts:

I do blogging to make a name for myself and create a brand for what I stand for.
I’m doing some rather small-scale contract work to get some money from my business.
And finally, and most importantly, I’m working on ways to make my business into a real business rather than just a hobby that I call a business. I’ll write more about these actions some time early next year when my first product comes out.

Why do you do what you do? What inspires you? When do you get most excited?

I’m interested in too many things to be completely happy in a normal job. I’m not unhappy doing what I do now, but I just feel like I’m missing on a big part of the action. I want to be able to follow my dreams and see if my ideas will fly or fall.

That’s one part of the motivation.

The other, equally important part, is that I believe people should work from their homes (At least I should) so that they can be close to their kids. I’m a bit of an idealist, so I think there is no need for an office. Most companies however don’t think so, so I want to be out there as one of the people leading the way.

Boxers or Briefs? or as Naomi says, Bikini or Thong, duh?!?

Boxer briefs. Black.

What do you do when you’re not [designing | programming | managing | writing | toiling for the wo/man]?

Try to make Oiva laugh. Decorate my home. Read. Watch Japanese TV series (with English subtitles). Think of new ideas.

What one thing made the biggest difference when getting started?

I’m still getting started, but there are many things supporting me:

My wife is my best critique. She tells me when my ideas make sense and when they don’t.
My son gives me the reason to carry on.
My brother shows me the example that it can be done.
The blogging community gives me the fuel to aim higher.

What’s your exit strategy?

Jonathan Fields had a good answer to this question: Death.

Seriously, I haven’t thought of my exit strategy that much. The way I’m planning my business to be in the long run is such that I can keep doing it even after I retire, exploring all the different things that interest me. And then, maybe I’ll pass it over to Oiva…

Have to think more about this one, still.

What is the last thing that made you belly laugh?

Oiva.

Have you ever been in business before?

Depends on what you call a business. As a kid I sold my own magazine to friends and relatives and earned money to buy some candy.

And if you ask my wife, I’m still not in business. ;)

At what point do you consider yourself successful?

I’m successful when I’m progressing towards my goals. When I stop moving, success starts fading. I also try to realize that on some level I’m already successful: I have a wonderful family, a nice home and inspiring projects to work on.

And my blog has more than 200 subscribers. It’s not that much, but it’s already a small success.

What was your first experience with a computer?

I think it was my 10th birthday when I got an Atari 800 as a birthday present from my uncle. There was some hassle with it, and pretty soon we switched to Commodore 64. The greatest computer ever.

Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates in a jello wrestling match, where’s your money?

What money?

Where do you do your best thinking?

My best thinking happens when I’m alone. Either early in the morning or late in the evening (like right now). One of my favorite places is my Sauna. I’m usually the last one in our household to stay in the Sauna so I just relax and let my mind wander.

Usually when I’m ready to leave to Sauna and call my mind back home, I see that it was wandering around new ideas on how to make my business better and actually make some money out of it.

What does your average daily work / life balance look like? How much time do you work, play and sleep?

I’m a huge fan of balancing the work so that there is a lot of room for my family. My son is just six months old so I spend a lot of time taking care of him. But I also work full time in a regular job, so my business is something I do in my spare time.

Currently my way of balancing the work and life is that I sleep less than the rest of my family. It’s not a lasting solution, so I’m working on ways of making my business less time consuming. But for now, this is the only way I can have time for all the things I want to do in life.

If I could introduce you to anyone, who would it be?

Currently I’m most interested in talking with people who have managed to turn their insane curiosity towards everything into a profitable career:

Serial entrepreneurs.

People doing multiple jobs, but still having time for a good life.

Freelancers working on many kinds of different projects.

Leonardo Da Vinci.

…In fact, through this interview project, you just introduced me to one person who seems to fit the description: Jonathan Fields, the “shotgun entrepreneur”.

What stops you from giving up when you are frustrated?

My goal of working at home and having a great work / life balance. I like to think that my business is my key to freedom. Freedom to stay at home when my kid needs me more than my work. And also freedom to express my insane interest in all the different things out there. Not just doing what my job description says but being my own job description.

If Chuck Norris and Steven Hawking had a baby (hey it’s my damn interview), would you vote for her for president?

I can’t vote for her, I’m in Finland. So sorry, my preference will remain a mystery.

Seven Signs That You Might Be Insanely Interested in Everything

Jarkko — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 21:09:22 +0000

What if I told you that I want to be a scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician, poet and a writer?

If that scares you, you belong to the vast majority of people who believe the modern day mantra of specialization and say that a Jack of all trades is master of none.

But if it gets you excited, then you are like me.

Maybe you too find it hard to specialize in just one thing and want to be both sculptor and poet – not just sculptor or poet.

And there is nothing wrong with that.

The list I started this post with was the resume of one of the greatest minds in history, Leonardo Da Vinci. And here’s another one:

Ibn al-Haytham (965–1039) was an Iraqi Arab anatomist, physician, psychologist, astronomer, engineer, mathematician, ophthalmologist, philosopher, physicist, scientist, and Ash’ari theologian.

I have no idea what an ophthalmologist does, but I have huge respect for this guy, just like anyone who doesn’t suppress his curiosity but goes all the way exploring all the different things he finds interesting.

Wikipedia lists dozens of recognized polymaths, so if you want to know more about people like Da Vinci and al-Haytham, I suggest you grab a cup of coffee and start digging. But don’t forget to come back to this post when you are done with Wikipedia.

A blessing or a curse?

During the coming weeks, months, and who knows, maybe even years, I’ll write more posts on how we can be true to our insanely interested natures and be polymaths or Jacks of all trades in the modern world. But today, I’m sure you’re itching to know whether I will diagnose you as insanely interested in everything or not.

Once you have read this post, let me know if you agree with your diagnosis, and whether you think being interested in many things is a blessing or a curse.

Then, if you want to know more about the topic, subscribe to my RSS feed – there’s more stuff coming up (and you don’t want to miss any of it).

Let’s start digging your mind

You’ll be the shrink, so be honest. Think about each of the following clues and create a diagnoses for yourself: Are you more of an expert type or a generalist type? Forget all about other people’s expectations and just concentrate in your own thoughts and feelings.

You might be insanely interested in everything if…

You admire everyone who is following her dream: I just found out that my friend Kaisa has a blog about her business of making new clothes from recycled materials (in Finnish). I don’t think anyone would call me a fashion expert, but I still found her work fascinating and subscribed to her RSS feed.
You find every new job opening exciting: Just about a week ago I was counting all the job descriptions I have had during my three and a half years at my current company and realized that my job has changed more often than once per year. Not to mention the three or four internal job openings that I considered applying for but didn’t.
This kind of “job hopping” is probably one of the clearest signs that show that you are insanely interested in everything.
You always have a new project going on: For as long as I can remember, I have always been doing something. As a kid, I loved to write my own music, but I also enjoyed writing scripts for movies and directing them. And that’s not all: I was the editor of my own magazine. My brothers and I did an animated movie. I loved programming on my Commodore 64. When I grew older, I started building web sites and web based projects. Then game programming. And finally blogging.
It’s just a part of who I am. I need to try out new ideas as they pop into my mind.
You keep wondering if some other career choice would have been better for you after all: I work as a programmer, but I also enjoy writing, so every now and then I spend time thinking if I should switch to writing and leave software alone for good. Some days I’m thinking that maybe I should apply to a school to become an architect. But then I have a day that reminds me of how much I love programming too.
I enjoy so many things that it’s hard to just pick one and stick to it.
You can spend hours surfing at Wikipedia: Or if you are more of a fan of analog data, you spend time at your local library reading magazines such as Scientific American, Time, National Geographic, or Wired, looking for inspiration and new information to fill your curiosity. You are hungry for all kinds of information.
And here’s a quick test: If you clicked on some or all of the Wikipedia links at the beginning of this post, you probably just passed the test: you are insanely interested in everything.
You see being laid off as an opportunity rather than a disaster: I don’t exactly want to be laid off, but some days ago I realized something. Mari was telling that someone she knows is forced to find a new career path because of allergic reactions to the chemicals she needs to use in her job as a hair dresser. It was supposed to be a sad story, but I was just thinking of all the different alternative career paths that this person could now explore.
In order to be polite, I need to fight myself and remember that not everyone sees these situations the same way I do.
You find it difficult to maintain a focus in blogging: For a long time I wanted to start blogging, but didn’t, because I didn’t know what to write about. I had too many options. And when I finally started this blog, I decided that I would write about software engineering.
It’s now been months since my last software engineering post, but I’m happy, because I think I have at last found my focus: this is a blog about how you can make being insanely interested in everything a blessing rather than a curse.

How did you score?

I’d love to hear your experiences and how you realized that you are interested in more than just a few things. What would be especially interesting to hear would be whether you feel being a polymath is a burden or a blessing.

Let’s talk!