:focus state - a show about tech and creativity.

This episode I'm at 21 books in 13 days, but work life gets busy. We talk the challenges and what the second half of this challenge looks like. We also talk the platforms I'm reading on, mostly the Kindle app on iPad and talking Mark's new e-ink reader tablet.

The first 25 books being read:

Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People by Vanessa Van Edwards

Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek

How to Be Interesting (in 10 Simple steps) by Jessica Hagy

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely

Smarter Faster Better: The transformative power of real productivity

-- 5

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Amy Wallace and Edwin Catmull

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

"It Always Seems Impossible Until It's Done.": Motivation for Dreamers & Doers by Kathryn Petras and Ross Petras

#AskGaryVee: One Entrepreneur's Take on Leadership, Social Media, and Self-Awareness by Gary Vaynerchuk

Rework by David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried

-- 10

Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Will It Fly?: How to Test Your Next Business Idea So You Don't Waste Your Time and Money by Pat Flynn

The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason

The Irresistible Introvert: Harness the Power of Quiet Charisma in a Loud World by Michaela Chung

Unshakeable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook by Peter Mallouk and Tony Robbins

-- 15

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Nell Scovell and Sheryl Sandberg

how to win friends and influence people in the digital age

13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do

Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours by Robert Pozen

What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles

-- 20

Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy 

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig

Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink

-- 25

Mark is prepping to go fully solar at his house. We talk the rational, how many panels, the costs and challenges in doing so and what the practicality of going mostly solar is for his future.

http://focusstate.com

We deep dive into the books Ryan's read over the first part of his Challenge.

The first five books are:

http://focusstate.com

This is the start of a 30 day challenge that Ryan is attempting: to read 50 self-help and productivity books in 30 days. In this Bonus episode (really the part of the last challenge that ran way long) we discuss why this is important, what Ryan's goal through all of this really is and how :focus state can play an important part during the challenge and after.

Ryan watches Star Trek: TNG (and a new Episode of Discovery) as Mark watches Twin Peaks. Our thoughts on how those shows hold up and what has changed in the last 20 to 30 years.

Twin Peaks Episodes: "Pilot", "Traces to Nowhere", "Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer"

Star Trek Episodes: The Next Generation -- s2e9 "The Measure of a Man", s5e17 "The Outcast", s6e15 "Tapestry", Discovery : s2e2 "New Eden".

What viable alternatives are there to Creative Cloud.

Is the Subscription model something more people will draw away from? Apps like Sketch replaced a lot of Web mocks done on Adobe Illustrator, but not much else has come since.

Our next Challenge is for each of us to visit and watch parts of the other's favorite classic shows, Star Trek TNG and Twin Peaks

“The failing” New York Times

What are these newspapers that end up in my front lawn?

Online newspapers? ($2/week but charge $8?)

What newspapers did we choose?

Where do you find a newspaper?

Have you ever bought one before?

 This episode, our Things I Got Wrong co-host, Stu Hopkins joins us to walk through the entire process of Etherium mining. The ups, downs and struggles of trying to scale a venture like this. The challenges and insights into the business that sprouted during the high times of the crypto bull run and the collapse. 

We discuss what place crypto and the block chain even have in our society beyond a speculative gamble and what it was like to ride the waves of the craziness that came from the crypto scene.

What is Crypto and the blockchain?

Blockchain uses outside currency

Speculations

Mining and power consumption

What is money?

Chase Crypto

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/15/investing/jpmorgan-bitcoin-crypto-jamie-dimon/index.html

https://cointelegraph.com/news/ripple-ceo-brad-garlinghouse-says-jpmorgan-coin-misses-the-point-of-crypto

Ethereum v Bitcoin

Monero?’

Ripple

This episode our co-host on Things I Got Wrong, Rachel Miller, joins to talk Bullet Journaling, how it helps her keep track a busy life and how both Ryan and Mark derive their to-do and task keeping methods. 

Origin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE254U0PNcA

How-to

https://youtu.be/fm15cmYU0IM

Official site

https://bulletjournal.com/

Medium

https://medium.com/@melodywilding/bullet-journaling-for-beginners-and-impatient-unartistic-people-like-me-6efd7ee97f0e

What was the last retail store you went to (not target/Walmart) and why?

Angela Ahrendts leaves apple

https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/5/18212657/apple-retail-chief-angela-ahrendts-leaving-replacement

Sears liquidates?

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-sears-bankruptcy-small-stores-appliances-20190214-story.html

Ron Johnson and JCP 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare/2013/04/09/ron-johnson-ousted-as-jcpenney-ceo

Amazon Go

https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherwalton/2019/02/15/amazon-go-haters-please-stop-burying-your-heads-in-the-sand-like-ostriches/#4d93c03e11fd

Best Buy Earnings

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/28/best-buy-earnings-q2-2018.html

Alexa Shopping / Google Shopping / Instacart

https://qz.com/1322124/amazon-is-capitalizing-on-the-demise-of-toys-r-us/

NYC transforms as businesses can’t survive:

https://medium.com/futures-protocol/new-york-city-transforms-into-a-retail-wasteland-ea05dece2678

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-10/new-york-city-transforms-retail-wastelend

“”“Particularly hard hit are gentrifying areas in Brooklyn and many of Manhattan’s top retail strips in some of the world’s priciest shopping districts, from Broadway in SoHo to Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side. Soaring rents and competition from online shopping have forced out many beloved mom-and-pop shops, which many residents say decimates neighborhoods and threatens New York’s unique character. Then there is the blight that shuttered stores bring, including vagrants, graffiti and trash.””