Looking back 50 years.

Fifty years ago: It was 1968... 

I was a young lad, only 26, recently left IBM, and starting on my first CEO/founder position. Also, that year I took my first and only bride, on my birthday, so as not to forget the date. I was driving a Jag XK-E roadster, radically customized to tow a racing BMW 700 in which I competed successfully at east coast tracks like Watkins Glen, Lime Rock, Marlboro, Hershey, etc. It was a good year... Just four years prior I had graduated from college at the bottom 10% of my class. Success is the best revenge! 

It was a very good year...

The Jag, the race car, and the bride are all ex now, and yet life is better than ever, and I'm enthusiastically looking forward to joining you, and helping you, create an Epic Year ahead. 

Building Habits

We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence, then, is not an act, but a Habit.

Aristotle

A long lost friend (Gary S.) I haven't seen in many years remarked about a recent photo that I seemed to be rather healthy for being 75 years old, and then he wondered if I have a few "pearls of wisdom" to pass on...

I was going to answer his email directly, but then I thought it was such a great question that I would share it with You, dear reader...

The most important "pearl of wisdom" is to build good habits, by doing the right things every day. After a number of days, a habit is formed, and the longer you do the habit, the stronger it becomes, until you no longer need to think about it. The habit takes over; you are on "auto-pilot". It's not work anymore, it's easy. In fact, it becomes difficult to stop doing the right things.

I've been working on building good habits for several years. It's coming along nicely. I have learned a lot about the process, and have been building a system that helps good habits. For now, I call it EZchecklist™.  

The concept is simple. Make a list (checklist) of the good habits you want to have. And then "Just Do It" as the Nike quote so eloquently states. It's just that simple; but it's not at all easy.

The problem is the "Knowing - Doing Gap". We know the right things to do, but we don't do them, primarily because we are, by default, in the habit of not doing them.

For example: we know, and have heard many times, that it is important to:

• Eat right (avoid sugar, alcohol, drugs; drink water, portion control, etc)
• Exercise (daily light exercise)
• Get enough sleep (consistently early to bed, early to rise)
• Meditate 
• Breathe
• Smile
• Help others, acts of kindness
• and so on...

But in the press of everyday life and business (especially doing a startup), it seems that there is always something more urgent that needs doing, and our health suffers, stress mounts, and in the long run the business suffers because we are out of control in our own lives.

What happens is that we just don't do the right things, or we are not consistent  in doing the right things.

Consistency is the key. That's what builds habits. Exercising once or twice a week does nothing for your health. 

This applies to building Habits: You must start, and you must continue. 

Gary: Thank you for the opportunity to be of service! 

Fear, Worry

If you are worried or afraid of anything, there is something in your mental attitude that needs correction. Worry and fear are negative emotions that serve no useful purpose. Worse, they are not benign influences on your behavior. Both tend to expand if left unchecked until they crowd out positive emotions and beliefs, taking over your mind and filling it with counterproductive emotions that cause you to doubt your ability to succeed at anything you attempt. Unless you control worry and fear, one day you will discover that they control you. While the emotions can’t always be corrected with logic or reason, they are always susceptible to action. Act, and even if your actions aren’t entirely appropriate for the situation, the very act of doing something — anything — constructive will have a positive effect on your mind and attitude.  ------------------------------- This positive message is brought to you by the Napoleon Hill Foundation. We encourage you to forward this to friends and family. They can sign up for this free service at our web site: http://www.naphill.org

Meditation on Meditation - Doing The Most Important Thing

There is a billionaire VC who will invest in startups ONLY if the CEO meditates. The VC went through a period of depression and on his path in finding his way back he found meditation. In this story it mentions that 50% of startup CEOs now engage in some form of meditation/mindfulness.

Personal experience with meditation has been a long time coming. I am a child of the Sixties when it was all Peace and Love and Here/Now. Meditation was being discovered and made popular in this group of hippies who were becoming self-aware. I knew of this, but I was also involved in high-pressure business startups, so it seemed that there was never enough time to for anything so frivolous as meditation. And yet all the time I suspected that it was the right thing to do, an important thing to do. Yet it never got done.

Things have changed...

As of this writing, my iPhone's Calm app has recorded 327 consecutive days of use, indicating that I have turned on the app and experienced 10 minutes of a guided breathing meditation. For me, that is an incredible achievement, because I have been doing something I have always wanted to do, and it has taken me so long to do it. It seems there is always something more important than taking a few minutes to do the Most Important Thing.

Meditation has become a habit now, but the process of becoming a habit involved periods of doing and not-doing. Before this streak of 327 days, the previous long streak was 55 days, and of course I was bummed that I missed a day, and thought of having to go through another 55 days to get past my record. Only partly because I wanted to set a new personal best (the competitive me), and partly because I realized 55 days was not enough to establish the habit strongly enough so that I would not miss.

There are a few apps for getting into meditation including Headspace, Calm, and today a new one by startup guru Kevin Rose he calls Oak. It's unimportant which one you use, or if you use any app at all. What's important is making meditation a consistent habit in the lifestyle you are building for yourself.

On the Unbearable Irony of Meditation Apps

Alan Watts - The Art of Meditation - A How-To guide, Pure Alan Watts 90 minutes audio

Monk Gloats Over Yoga Championship - just for the fun of it, an Onion classic

Free Ferrari Ride for New Startup CEO/founder Clients

Really? A free Ferrari ride! Sure, you work hard, you could use a break from all the stress of building a new company, you believe in setting goals, and getting help from the best people you can find, you deserve it, right?

This is a 2017 Ferrari California T (twin turbo) with 550 hp. and 196 mph top speed, 0-60 in 3.3 sec.
Don't worry, we won't go that fast!

Some conditions apply, of course:
You must be a startup CEO/founder, and a new client of DoubleM Systems.
Limited time offer.
One per new client.
Not transferrable.
No, you can't drive it.

Some other conditions may apply, such as availability, nice weather, not during rush hour traffic, San Diego North County coastal route, no children, pets, food or beverages in the car, etc.

Free Stuff

The App

We built the mobile app ToBeWise™, to be a simple system to succeed in Life and Business.
iOS only available. No signup, no spam, no ads. Just pure yummy Wisdom for Life and Business, non-sectarian, practical, positive, G-rated, and Free, 5-star. What are you waiting for?
Click for more information and download your free app now.

The Poster 

The Ten Commandments for Managing a Young, Growing Business.
Suitable for framing hard copy, signed/dated, presented to clients at first meeting.
Click for online preview.

The Book

Clients are welcomed with a complimentary, signed, copy of my book  "The Spirit of Adventure." 

Click for Amazon listing and reviews.

The System

EZchecklist™ is the "unfair advantage" you will have in Life and Business. EZchecklist is our proprietary methodology for high productivity and doing the most important activities to achieve your Goals. Used by our best clients. 

Contact me for more details.

Services and Fees

Ideal Client profile 

CEOs who lead companies* with sales of $1MM or more**, preferably in tech, and looking to make significant changes for the better, quickly. The CEO is not looking for a "lifestyle coach" but rather solid, actionable, real world business advice. His company is facing real challenges in funding, management, sales, and/or profits.

Services and Fees* 

(updated 10-1-17)

Satisfaction Guarantee: Our goal is your enthusiastic recommendation to your business associates. If you are unhappy, we'll make it right or return your payment.

Initial Meeting. Prospective clients can expect a first meeting of 1-2 hours to be free of charge. After this meeting, the prospective client may be invited to apply for client status. If the application is accepted provisionally,  fees are as follows:

New Clients are accepted as time permits. Each new client receives a thorough Business Opportunity Analysis. This typically requires 5 hours of 1-1 time after client online data entry. It is possible that the Analysis would result in the withdrawal of client status and the fee will be returned. 1,250 USD.

Note that businesses with operations in industries such as porn, religion, government, gambling, and others outside our areas of expertise will not receive invitations to apply for client status.

Retainer for monthly board/advisor meetings. Includes one monthly detailed board meeting, plus additional 1-1 meeting time during the month as needed. A minimum of 5 hours per month. 1,250 USD.

Additional hours can be arranged in prepaid 5 hour blocks. The time can be used in lesser increments as needed. 1,250 USD.

Incidentals. Brief client phone calls, emails, texts, etc. are included in the basic fees without additional charge.

Location options: Physical meetings can be in person at client site (San Diego area only), our office in Del Mar, or online. Travel time is included in the basic fees.

Terms: prepayments are accepted via Venmo, credit card, direct deposit.

Special Services. Preferences for client engagements that include significant additional opportunities  beyond the scope of hourly rates, such as a share of cost savings, sales increases, funds raised, etc.

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* I prefer tech and avoid the following types of businesses: Food, Drugs, porn, gambling, religion, politics, firearms, explosives, war materiel, and illegal or controversial activities (conspiracy theories, etc.).

**Exceptional CEOs may apply for negotiated arrangements and fees.

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My Why:

Why do I do this work?
I've been lucky to have had a good exit 25 years ago.
I'm comfortable and don't need an income from work, so why do I do this?

I work because I love my kids (Kendra and Mike) and I want to be a good example to them, and it keeps me moving and my mind engaged, and I really like helping people, and the people I understand the best are other CEOs... So basically it's a Legacy motivation. Selected CEOs are the lucky recipients of my mission to Pay it Forward.