mink

Recently finished Peter Thiel's Zero to One . Found it very useful for examples of massive US-centric growth companies, but not very useful for business growth in Africa.  However, it did highlight for me the problem I've been facing with Lateral Labs - there is a really difficult area in between Day 1 of a Sole Proprietorship and Day X of a Limited Company with investors. That is, growing a company to a level where it can consistently sustain itself (people and everything else) as well as turn a profit.  Not all Sole Proprietorships make money, but even fewer make enough money to stop relying on the founder.

Not too long ago, I argued for Distraction . But I am now reading about about Focus. I made the mistake before of seeing all types of work as one. There are however many types of work: There is at least Knowledge work, Creative work and Implementation work. Focus applies differently depending on the type of work. I think Focus for Creative work is essential. 

 A friend posted a question on LinkedIn: "What matters more, motivation or discipline?" For her, low motivation meant lack of discipline. So she was wondering which one influences the other? Let's try to understand the semantics first. The verb for discipline is "to discipline" and means to bring in line with a set of rules, to straighten out, to make consistent, usually referred to behaviour. The verb for motivation is "to motivate" and means to inspire, to push, to make excited, usually referred to doing things. I don't think these verbs are mutually exclusive. You need motivation to stay disciplined. and you need discipline to stay motivated. If discipline is your tea, motivation is your sugar. If discipline is your mayai, motivation is your chips. If discipline is the money, motivation is your life.