To summarize, Ted grew up in Brooklyn the son of immigrant parents. Through hard work and fortunate timing he was very successful at a young age. But he wasn’t happy. A near death experience opened his eyes to his second chance at life and he decided to dedicate himself to being happy.

Ted’s theory is to not confuse being successful with being happy. He was successful, but not happy. Ted theorizes that successful people are not happy because they are successful, they are successful because they are happy.

Ted is an interesting guy. He’s done a lot! His insights into his time as Chairman at AOL gave me new found respect for that company. His story shows that hard work does pay off, but that there’s more to life than just achieving financial and professional goals.

After his near death experience, Ted creates a “list”. 101 and things he wanted to do before he dies. He admits many items did not generate happiness (own a Ferrari), but that he created the list at 28 and he’s been faithful on following through. The fact that he did follow through on his list when given an opportunity to achieve one of his goals fortuitously protected a large portion of his wealth during the dot com bust.

The book is broken in two parts. The first part is mostly autobiographical. An interesting read. The second half the author breaks down the six things he believes creates happiness.

This was a good and quick read. I recommend it!

We’ve run across a problem we can’t fix and it revolves around the way Google handles their products. Google is successful because so much of what they do is automated. For the most part this works great as Google excels at knowing what people need and fulfilling that need in a convenient and usable online format.

The problem is that even with Google’s technical capabilities some issues still require commonsense and a human touch. In our case several clients wrote glowing reviews of Network Velocity on Google Maps. That’s great and we really appreciate it, except the clients wrote the reviews under one of our competitors names. As a result this competitor is receiving the notoriety and benefit of our client’s goodwill.

When we approached Google to fix the issue we were told that the data (the reviews) belonged to the users. This meant Google could not alter the reviews according to their stated policy that users own their data.

We understand the policy. However, in our case it doesn’t make sense. The reviews mention our company explicitly by name but are credited to a competitor! Google holds fast in their refusal to correct the bad data.

We’re disappointed. Google is a great company but they must resist the temptation to be a faceless automaton. Use some commonsense!

Google experienced a backlash of a similar nature with the release of their Nexus One phone. Google completely skipped the fact that users may have issues and need to speak with a human being to find a resolution, initially offering only email support. Google lost the human touch and the result was a Public Relations disaster.

Google needs to stay human. Even though Google is great, no technology can replace humans.

Don’t believe me? Google it, or better yet, ask a human being and let me know what results you get.

In a previous blog post we summed up multitasking as:

Multitasking is the ability to shift between tasks very quickly. Also known as timeslicing, these transitions happen so quickly it appears like multitasking. However, each time you switch between tasks you must back up just a bit and review where you left off to make sure you don’t miss any critical information, essentially doing the same work over and over. The constant starting and stopping of tasks leads to “mental friction” and increased stress.

Focus on one task until it is complete. You’ll be transformed to a  focused, productive and less stressed person!

It’s worth reposting. Will Smith has a great attitude on life.

My experience with AskSunday was not good. Here’s a breakdown.

Inputting Service Requests. To start a new request you can send an email, login via the AskSunday website or call. Since I am a heavy Internet user this sounded great. Unfortunately this was anything but great. Email notifications that my request was received were delayed. If I’m offloading a task from my todo list to AskSunday I want confirmation that they received that request immediately. The web interface was very slow. PAINFULLY slow. That is unacceptable. The design and user interface are circa 1999. The only positive is that at least they weren’t requesting you to fax in requests. OK, maybe there were no positives. Grade: F

Request #1: Resolving a billing dispute with TiVO. I requested that AskSunday resolve a billing dispute. I received no response other than the automated email that my request was received. That was 10 days ago. Grade: F

Request #2: Cancel a recurring subscription that was no longer needed. I requested AskSunday to contact a vendor and cancel my recurring subscription to their service. Again, 10 days later I have zero updates other than the fact my request was received. Grade: F

Request #3: Cancel appointment. Due to a hectic schedule I needed to cancel an appointment to see my physician. This task was completed, but I didn’t receive confirmation for 24 hours. Grade: C

Request #4: Book a hotel room. I requested that AskSunday book a hotel room and obtain a special group rate I was offered. 24 hours later I was informed the rate was no longer available and therefore AskSunday did not book a room. This would be OK if I received the information within a few hours but receiving it 24 hours later could have caused problems. Grade: D

The free trial. To sign up for the free trial you have to provide a credit card. Although AskSunday completely ignored two of my requests for 10 days they still charged my credit card when the free trial ran out. So, I’ve submitted one final request to have those charges reversed and my service canceled. Grade: F

I had high hopes for my virtual assistant. Unfortunately, 10 days later I feel like Donald Trump on The Apprentice because all I have to say is “You’re FIRED!”.

Not shown but still on the list is: Reality Marketing Revolution.

To this list I would also add Free: The Future of a Radical Price and The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired Magazine.

Links to the books in the picture above:

Meditation in a New York Minute: Super Calm for the Super Busy
Nurturing Customer Relationships
The 4-Hour Workweek
The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies
Pricing with Confidence
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
Hidden Champions of the Twenty-First Century: The Success Strategies of Unknown World Market Leaders
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t

From section170.org:

When your business buys certain pieces of equipment, it typically gets to write them off a little at a time through depreciation. In other words, if your company spends $50,000 on a vehicle, it gets to write off (say) $10,000 a year for five years (these numbers are only meant to give you an example.)

Now, while it’s true that this is better than no write off at all, most business owners would really prefer to write off the entire equipment purchase price for the year they buy it.

Section 179 of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment purchased or financed during the tax year. That means that if you buy (or lease) a piece of qualifying equipment, you can deduct the FULL PURCHASE PRICE from your gross income. It’s an incentive created by the US Government to encourage businesses to buy equipment and invest in themselves.  

So what qualifies? Here is a list from the same website:

Material goods that generally qualify for the Section 179 Deduction
Please keep in mind that to qualify for the Section 179 Deduction, the below equipment must be purchased and put into use between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009.
Equipment (machines, etc) purchased for business use
Tangible personal property used in business
Business Vehicles with a gross vehicle weight in excess of 6,000 lbs (Section 179 vehicle deductions)
Computers
Computer Software (off the shelf)
Office Furniture
Office Equipment
Property attached to your building that is not a structural component of the building (i.e.: a printing press, large manufacturing tools and equipment)
Partial Business Use (equipment that is purchased for business use and personal use – generally, your deduction will be based on the percentage of time you use the equipment for business purposes.)

The example on the Section 179 website shows a savings of $119k on a $400k purchase! Please check with your accountant and make the best decision for your business. Here’s to a great 2010!