Danny Kessler Blog

Angels with Attitude: The Socially Intelligent Woman's Guide to Personal Safety

2011-04-30T02:43:00.001-07:00

My book is finally for sale on Amazon.com. You can buy a copy for $6.99 Please purchase a copy.

Here is the link;

http://www.amazon.com/Angels-Attitude-Socially-Intelligent-ebook/dp/B004XTS2T0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=A2UOTGG055ANF7&s=digital-text&qid=1303737846&sr=1-1

Here is the description from Amazon.com website.

Angels with Attitude: The Socially Intelligent Woman’s Guide to Personal Safety brings the training that self defense expert Danny Kessler teaches his students in workshops around the world to YOU. The book addresses self defense, awareness, body language, intuition, reading people and boundary setting and discusses how these techniques can be employed to maximize personal safety. Women have better intuition and communication skills than men; this book will teach you how to turn these natural talents into practical and empowering strategies for your safety and the safety of the people that you love. In this book you will learn:

How to trust your powerful female intuition.

How to read and analyze people on sight.

How to detect danger before anything happens.

How to use your body language to set visual boundaries with people you would rather not talk to.

Powerful verbal self defense that makes men freeze in their tracks.

What do you do if your ex starts behaving like a stalker.

How to set boundaries with male friends and coworkers.

To determine what self defense devices and martial arts classes are for you.

How to fight when your life is in danger.

Thank you for your support!

"Stungun" Kim Visits the Orphanage

2010-11-17T14:00:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to go to an orphanage in Ulsan Korea with Dong Hyung "Stungun" Kim. These teenage boys had the opportunity to meet this rising Korean superstar. He signed an autographs for the kids and and played an intense pickup game of soccer.

As he was walking up to the soccer field, the kids started running towards him, screaming his name. I thought to myself, this is a moment that these kids will remember for the rest of their lives. You can see the delight and awe on there faces.

Thank's to Dan Gauthier of T-HOPE for helping to organize the event.

For more pictures of the event, please visit my friend Mindy Sisco's photoblog

A Failure to Communicate

2010-11-17T13:54:00.000-08:00

(This is an article I wrote for Busan Haps Magazine about business communication and culture in South Korea.)

A Failure to Communicate

As an expat living in Korea, I can safely say that we all have similar problems that we run into with work, with the Korean government or with certain Korean people we deal with on a regular basis. Most of these problems stem from communication issues. In this article, I will explain my version of why things the way they are. I would also love to get your feedback, more specifically, your explanations on why things the way they are here in Korea.

Malcolm Gladwell in his most recent bestselling book,Outliers, writes about how in the late 80s, Korean airlines had one of the highest crash ratings. After many crashes, Boeing did a study on this Korean Airlines problem and found that the problem was a communication issue. In summary, the problem was with the pilot, co-pilot and flight engineer, and their inability to communicate in the sky. The co-pilot would try to tell the pilot there was a problem, but he could not speak to him in a direct and blunt manner, so the pilot did not understand the incoming danger and the plane crashed. Variations of this pattern happened many times. Finally, Boeing had all the pilots fired, required new pilots to learn English and communicate in English-only when in the sky.

The Korean language has six different levels of conversational addresses, depending on the relationship between the people communicating. If someone is in a powerful position, the subservient person must communicate with that person in an indirect way. In Korean culture, all social behavior and actions are conducted in the order of seniority or ranking. As the saying goes, there is order even to drinking cold water (chanmul to wi alay ka issta.)

This is a culture where enormous attention is paid to the relative standing of any two people in conversation. So much focus is on this formality and indirect subtle communication, it is my belief that it does not allow for certain types of cognition, the free flowing of ideas and creative problem solving.

In western communication, we have a transmitter-orientation style of speaking. It is considered the responsibility of the speaker to communicate ideas clearly and unambiguously. The speaker often does this by repeating him or herself, or changing his or her words or examples until he receives feedback from the listener that he or she is understood.

For example in western-style communication, after showing up to work late last week, a western boss might say, “You know you were late last week on Tuesday. That is against school policy. If you are late two more times, then you will be fired. Are we clear? Do you understand ?"

Korea, like many Asian countries, has a receiver-oriented communication style. It is up to the listener to make sense of what is being said. This high-power distance communication works only when the listener is capable of paying close attention, and it works only if the two parties in a conversation have the luxury of time, in order to unwind each other's meanings.

An example of this eastern style of communication is (following in the same context, where you were late for work last week) Your boss says to you very casually, “When John was late last week, the principal was not happy. “ He says this with the same assumption that you will understand what he says and change your behavior or you will be fired.

One would have to interpret this sentence and its various meanings and appropriately guess the correct meaning. Then this person would have to indirectly check with the boss if what he/she guessed is the correct meaning. This takes a lot of time to decode correctly, and while energy is focused on semantics, energy is not focused on creative problem solving and moving onto the next problem.

This style of communication is often a hindrance when doing business where clear, concise communication is necessary to operate and compete on the global marketplace. This is the reason why westerners are often hired to run, manage and operate Korean multinational companies. Westerners do not have issues about being direct to superiors and over-communicating until a mutual understanding is reached.

Honest feedback from the people they work with serves as a competitive advantage in the business world. In Korea, this honest feedback is lost in the noise of polite formality and indirect communication. With many thousands of westerners in Korea teaching English, working for Korean multinational companies and insinuating ourselves into Korean culture, will hundreds of years of cultural legacy change Korea?

Kim "Stun-Gun" Dong Hyung speaks about the future of Mixed Martial Arts in Korea

2010-09-05T17:23:00.002-07:00

Interview with Kim "Stun Gun " Dong Hyung

Kim ‘Stun Gun’ Dong Hyung of South Korea recently won a fight against Amir Sadollah at UFC 114 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. I had the opportunity to sit down with the only Asian welterweight in the UFC to discuss his latest victory and the state of Mixed Martial Arts in Korea today.

He told me that going into the fight he knew Amir’s style from their time training together last year. Prior to the fight, he had arrived in Las Vegas with his coach Sung Hoon Yang and training partner Myung Ho Bae training for about a month in some of the top gyms in Las Vegas including Xtreme Couture, Wanderlae Silvas Fight Team, Warrior Training Center, Team Fasi, and Tapout Gym. Despite only competing in the UFC on a few previous occasions, he was immediately recognized by the fighters in the Vegas area all of whom remembered him from his battle the year before with Karo Parisyan at UFC 94.

Following a phenomenal performance against Sadollah, his perfectly executed GSP like timed takedowns earning him a decisive victory by unanimous decision, the stun gun returned to his native Korea appearing on ‘Celebrity Athlete Challenge’ among other popular talk shows whose main target audiences are the younger generation. Of late his face is increasingly recognizable as he walks around his home city of Busan. “Nowadays, even non-fighters are starting to know me.”, he said with no small degree of affection in his voice.

After winning $65,000 fighting in America, which is a lot of money in Korea, he bought himself a house. “After I win my next UFC fight I’m going to buy a Porsche” he remarked confidently. Assumptions of the cocky stereotype of a flashy, thoughtless fighter laid aside Kim emphasized that he wants to show his success because he sees himself as a role model for future fighters coming out of Korea who dream of competing in the UFC.

In regard to the state of MMA in Korea he told me that “When I first came to the UFC people thought Koreans were weak, but I proved them wrong. Korea is slowly rising in the MMA world.” There are five other Korean nationals he believes are good enough to fight in the UFC and he wants to raise awareness of them in America. He says the younger generation thinks highly of him and of MMA; “Once they know the sport, they love it. Lately in Korea, the sport has grown exponentially.”

He relayed his feelings to me that Korea didn’t much care about figure skating before Kim Yu Nah exploded onto the scene. “Now they are all big fans since she won an Olympic gold medal”. He predicts a similar trend in viewership in Korea within the Mixed Martial Arts since he has been stacking up victories in the most established and well known MMA tournament on the planet, the UFC.

Talking about the popular UFC related television series ‘The Ultimate fighter’ Kim said he would love to see Ultimate Fighter Asia; Korea versus Japan with the winner having the opportunity to fight in the UFC. He thinks this would be a great way for the sport to grow in the relatively untapped Asian market.

With more fights two more fights remaining on his contract with the UFC we spoke at length about his hopes for the future. ‘I believe at this point I have made my bones with the UFC so I’d love the opportunity to fight a top 10 guy’ he told me, a fire suddenly alighting behind his otherwise striking, yet calmly composed face. ‘Of course most of all I’d like to fight GSP’ he continued, the excitement in his voice at the prospect not lost in translation, but realistically he sees himself being paired up against Carlos Condit for his next fight.

In a country where they still consider sports a ‘stupid person’s job’, Korea’s Kim Dong Hyung continues to pioneer the path for future young hopefuls in the sport and is helping to influence change in a conservative culture and contribute to expanding interest in the Mixed Martial Arts.

K-1 in Seoul Through American Eyes 2009

2010-09-05T17:01:00.000-07:00

This is an article Vince Nance and I wrote in 2009 after attending K-1 event in Seoul

K-1 in Seoul Through American Eyes

Danny Kessler and Vincent Nance

I recently attended the K1 Grand Prix event held at the world famous Olympic

Park facility in downtown Seoul, South Korea. Kicking off at 3:00 on a Saturday

afternoon, it was 6 hours of pure gladiatorial entertainment. The event opened

with 2 fights followed by 2 "special" fights and then kept the action going with

a stacked card of 9 MMA fights. Throughout the evening, spectators saw 13

world class bouts for a price that ranged from $28(nosebleed) to $950(VIP)

*currency conversion rate from Won to USD. For the very sober price of 55,000

- 99,000 Won (roughly $42 - $85 USD) there were respectable mid-range seats

available. No one can argue that the entertainment value was stellar, and the

price left fans guilt free to visit an array of concession stands for traditional

Korean food as well as a GS mart (one of Korea's largest convenience store

chains) where fans crowded in to help turn a heavy profit on beer, soft drinks,

and chips alone. Despite having a monopoly on the ability to sell beverages at

the event, beers were priced around 2$, and were extremely popular in a country

where TaeKwonDo is their national sport and intoxication is a national pastime.

By the end of the evening fight fans were red faced and grinning as they made

their ways to the exits with their arms around each other, still shouting about the

experience with voices hoarse from a night of incessant screaming.

Between fights, I spent some time evaluating my surroundings and was surprised

to find about 20% of the seats empty. As a non-resident in Korea on a work

visa, I immediately thought of the battle I had fight in order to purchase tickets

in advance, and began wondering how many foreigners who would otherwise

have attended the event might have had similar experiences and made other

plans for their weekends. Korea only allowed tickets to be advance purchased

by its citizens, thereby literally barring hundreds of thousands of foreigners from

utilizing the preferred method of obtaining tickets to the K-1 Event in their jewel

city. There are currently over 1.1 million expatriates living in Korea, comprised

mostly of American military personnel, English teachers, University professors,

and laborers throughout the country who reside here both on work visas and as

visitors. One can certainly speculate that hundreds of thousands of potential

attendees could have more than filled in any gaps in seating had they had the

ability to do so.

Because of its homogeneous ethnic and cultural climate, Korea tends to

be racially exclusive without doing any extra work. Putting aside the fact

that "outsiders" are largely considered to be second class citizens, K-1 can't be

fond of having to see empty seats in the arena because of a country's racially

biased closed mindedness. In order to buy tickets online (rather than attempting

to pay cash at the front door and hoping the event wasn't sold out) I actually

had to have a Korean friend act as a surrogate to buy my tickets, as "foreigners"

literally had NO way to make such a purchase. Additionally, my Korean

accomplice - in what felt a lot like a crime - actually had to physically give me his

license to take to Seoul in order for me to be allowed to pickup my tickets. It can

safely be assumed that any non-Korean citizens on the fence about attending this

event landed squarely on the side of "not wanting to jump through 10 flaming

hoops of identity theft".

Leaving money on the table:

I am not certain about the rules governing the way that Olympic Park Stadium

was setup, but I saw no tables/booths for martial arts gyms in Korea cross

promoting their gyms. This is, of course in stark contrast to MMA in the U.S.,

where it's standard procedure to have a multitude of booths promoting MMA

gyms, MMA magazines, MMA websites, and merchandising their brands for a

share of the profits... In Korea none of this was present. I wonder if it was

impossible for Korean businesses to get permission to advertise at this venue,

or if there is a cultural taboo against mixing martial arts and sales, but there

were many fans in attendance that would surely have been receptive to this and

whatever the case, revenue was certainly lost for these organizations. In fact,

throughout the entire event no K-1 merchandise was for sale, which shocked me.

I was actively trying to buy K-1 tee-shirts or any of their other apparel such as

gloves, wraps, bags, or gifts as souvenirs to take home for my family. I am sure

many fans would have loved to have purchased K1 branded apparel but there

were no such items for sale within the venue itself. It was only after the event

was over, when fans were practically stampeding out of the stadium to beat the

crowd, that there were K1 T-shirts available for purchase. For fans who weren't

too rushed, distracted, drunk, excited, or exhausted, these shirts cost a mere

10,000 won (around $8.50 USD), and I happily purchased 3 of them.

I definitely give the event coordinators high marks on the production quality

of the show. The overall organization, camera work, special effects, lighting,

acoustics, fighter match ups, and seamless transitions were all world class. The

consistent energy in the crowd was evidence of a team of coordinators who

clearly knew how to build and execute a venue that is worth the experience in

every way. However, despite the quality of the experience for attendees, I've

come to the conclusion that K1 is leaving money on the table. ALOT of money.

Not only could they have been raking in cash from their most devoted fanbase

in the form of merchandise, they would easily have seen a 20% boost in ticket,

concession, and merchandise sales by providing non-Korean citizens with a

reasonable way to guarantee entry through the advance purchase of tickets.

Korea may have successfully held a K-1 event, but they also succeeded in

demonstrating room for improvement.

Billy Blanks

2008-12-12T00:13:00.000-08:00

Billy Blanks is an American fitness guru, martial artist, actor, and the inventor of the Tae Bo exercise program. This is a picture of him and I at the Dyslexic Dreams Foundation annual GALA . This GALA held in Washington DC helped raise money for The Friendship School.

It was an honor to hang out with Billy Blanks. We had some great conversations about the growing sport of Mixed Martial Arts.

Wall Street Journal Story on Angels with Attitude

2008-10-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

Grappling World Team Trials Preview

2008-09-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

September 13th and 14th I am competing in Sacramento in the World Team Trials. If I win I get to represent the United States in Switzerland in December and fight in the World Championships.

Here is a link to the article and a picture below of where I was mentioned.

Currently I am ranked 7th in the United States in my weight class of 136.5 pounds.

Here is a link to that article

Henry Cejudo

2008-08-28T00:33:00.000-07:00

Henry Cejudo is the youngest US wrestling Gold Medalist ever. My good friends Tracy Greiff is Henry's Coach and sponsor. Tonight they were on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. ( 32 Minutes into the broadcast )

It is am amazing story!

When Tracy met Henry in 7th grade he told him at that young age that he would one day win a Gold Medal.

Tracy told me that Henry was so poor that in high school Henry had to share a pair of wrestling shoes with his brother.

Tracy told me of how he psychologically trained Henry that I won't reveal in this blog but it is absolutely fascinating what he did with him. Tracy is an amazing mental skills coach. He works with a lot of other top athletes and it is an honor to learn and work with Tracy.

I want to congratulate Henry for this legacy that he just created and for Tracy for coaching and guiding Henry through wrestling career to this ultimate victory.

Below are pictures and a video of Henry Cejudo.

A Tribute to my Father

2008-08-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

My father died six years ago from Pancreatic Cancer and Liver Cancer around this time of the year. I have a lot of unresolved issues regarding his death that I hope to one day solve. Although over the last few years, these issues have become more complicated. I wish I could have one last conversation with him to clear things up, once and for all.

I listen to this song from Assemblage 23 when I am feeling down because it relates exactly to how I feel about his death, at this point in my life.

Disapoint

"

Just one more time
For the sake of sanity
Tell me why
Explain the gravity
That drove you to this
That brought you to this place
That pushed you down
Into the soil's embrace

Give me the chance
I was denied
To sit and talk with you
For one last time

CHORUS
Did I disappoint you?
Did I let you down?
Did I stand on the shore
And watch you as you drowned?
Can you forgive me?
I never knew
The pain you carried
Deep inside of you.

I can't forget
Having to see
The words that knocked the wind
Right out of me
It's not enough
I've come undone
Trying to find sense
Where there is none

Just give me peace
You owe me that
To help ward off the fears
I must combat

(CH)

And so I ask
For one more chance
To understand
This senseless circumstance
Help me to see
This through your eyes
The reasons I've been trying
To surmise

Though you are gone
I am still your son
And while your pain is over
Mine has just begun

"

Rest In Peace.

I love you dad.

Letter from my interns

2008-08-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

Cordero and Shawn did some great work for me! This is a letter they wrote me a few weeks ago thanking me about my internship opportunity. Thanks guys!!!

The Internship Experience

2008-08-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

The Angels with Attitude internship program has been a success so far. The pictures below are of Samantha, Seema and Angela all getting a chance to be on The Today Show.

As an entrepreneur, I hit a lot of walls, fail over and over again, and these girls, as my interns, get to learn from my mistakes. They get to input there creative insights and impliment many ideas and strategies that, we create as a team.

I remember some of the internships I had when I was in college and I wish I had an experience like this.

Samantha wants to be an entrepreneur like me. Seema is a marketing major still undecided on a career path and this internship, I think, is helping her understand what she truly wants to do with her life. Angela was one of my first students when she was a freshman. Her class did a marketing project for my company and they did a great job! They all continue to give me excellent feedback that continues to improve my business every day.

I want to take the time right now to thank them for all there help and I am excited that school is starting up again and I am really looking forward to once again working with them!

Thanks girls!!! Thanks for all the hard work. : )

shang chang ru zhan chang

2008-08-19T23:27:00.000-07:00

shang chang ru zhan chang The marketplace is the battlefield.

Subtle Changes

2008-08-15T20:56:00.000-07:00

This is a poem from the book Out of Darkness Into the Light, A book of Life by one of my favorite mentors, Ron Hatton.

SUBTLE CHANGES

The stranger walking by you,
as you hurry on your way.

Could be anybody.
having any kind of day.

And when your eyes should hap to meet.
what message do you send?

Is it one of kindness?
One of light within?

Will you dare to let them know
how much you cherish life?

For just one flash of your brilliance
could drive away their strife.

The light within you flickers,
when guarded like your gold.

When shared, it grows in brightness
and brightens all the souls.

Who share your wealth

Live in health,
and shine your light divine

All ways.

Serendipity Mindset

2008-08-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while and I was inspired to do so after I hung out with Amy Rollo who I met randomly. Amy has an amazing eye for photography and design!

I walk around this world and everywhere I talk to people and start conversations and exchange stories. Sometimes I am telling the story, other times I am listening, being curious.

I often exchange business cards and connect with strangers and I sometimes stay in touch.

I believe that this mindset has greatly increased the quality of my life.

Right before my friend Jill left for Israel, she was whining to me about how she has to fly on an airplane for 16 hours and how it is going to be such a long flight, and what if she sits next to someone she doesn't like.

I said to her, why don't you have a serendipity mindset. Think of it like this. You just so happen to be on the same exact flight as 300 other people, all going to a very special place. Maybe you and the people you sit next to are there for a reason and your role is to find out the connection between you and the people you are experiencing that very moment with.

When we take on this mindset, it adds so much value to our lives. As we connect and get to know the people we meet, we discover the deeper connections we have. As we learn to color our lives and connect the dots and have random conversations we find luck and friendships and sometimes we find love.

Hawaii World Team Trials Qualifyer Winner

2008-08-15T00:05:00.001-07:00

The Power of Dyslexia Video

2008-04-10T23:17:00.001-07:00

Guest of John Adam Show

2008-02-24T19:22:00.000-08:00

The topic of the show was "Fail 'Til You Get it Right." You can listen to me at about 45 minutes into the first hour. Click this link below.

http://www.thejohnadamshow.com/podcast/080224.html

mentioned in businessweek!!!

2008-02-21T08:21:00.001-08:00

Operation Cockroach

2008-01-14T12:15:00.000-08:00

This is so cute!!! I had to blog about it.

This is part of an e-mail my sister sent me from Australia where she is studying abroad.

"

Ok so let me start by saying I've been meaning to write to all of you for a while and catch you up on life. Things have been so busy here and I haven't had time to just sit, relax and reflect.. until now. It's currently 1:40am here on Tuesday morning, and you're probably wondering why I am still awake. Well, I was sleeping when my friend came into my room, woke me up to tell me that I a cockroach just ran across my floor and is currently chilling in my silver heals. Yes, one of those disgusting bugs that you have heard about since you were little but never really ever saw one. So I got myself up thinking... well I've been to camp since I was eight, I'm sure I can get rid of the little booger. I went over to my shoe... tried to go pick it up and the little fucker jump so I threw my shoe down. These are the times when I wish I can just go in the next room and get one of the bros to handle this shit. A few days earlier I saw some sort of insect spray in the cabinet that was probably left from the semester before. They also warned us at our first meeting that we may come across these bugs but I didn't actually believe it was going to happen. So anyway, back to operation cockroach. I grabbed the insect spray and sprayed my shoe. BAD IDEA! The little shit started crawling out of the shoe so fast, and disappeared more deeply into my closet. So I thought, maybe if I close my closet he can't get out. But once again, wrong! The stupid bug crawled out from the closet under my bed!!! I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Luckily the cockroach came out and was crawling up my walls. I grabbed a flip flop, smashed the little shit, killed him, picked him up using a plastic bag and flushed him down the toilet to make sure he never comes back. Operation cockroach complete. =-)

This is a picture with me and my sister Julie.

Art as Entrepreneurship

2007-12-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

Featured on NBC Nightly News and The Today's Show

2007-12-09T00:50:00.000-08:00

It has been a crazy week!

Featured in the International Herold Tribune

2007-12-07T22:18:00.001-08:00

Here is a link to the article

Study Shows Stronger Links Between Entrepreneurship and Dyslexia

Inside Edition - Taser Part

2007-12-07T22:14:00.001-08:00

Featured in the Wall Street Journal - Independent Street

2007-12-07T22:01:00.000-08:00

Lucky to be with this amazing team!

2007-11-07T00:28:00.000-08:00

Thick Face Black Heart

2007-10-31T01:10:00.000-07:00

(Thick Face Black Heart page 135)

"
He failed in business at the age of 21. He was defeated in the legislative race when he was 22, he failed again in business at 24. He was devastated by the death of a sweetheart at 26 and subsequently had a nervous breakdown when he was 27. At 34 he lost a congressional race and lost again two years later. He lost the senate race at age 45. After another two years, he failed in his effort to be vice president. He then went to lose another senate race at the age of 49. Finally at the age of 52, he became the 16th US president of the United States. The man was Abraham Lincoln.
"

My coach tells me Lincoln was a champion boxer and wrestler.

Taser Party with CBS News and me

2007-10-24T00:49:00.000-07:00

World Champion

2007-10-05T02:41:00.000-07:00

Today I got to workout with 1982 Greco Wrestling World Champion Roman Wroclawski. In addition to being a World Champion, he was the coach of the 2001 Olympic Greco Wresting Gold Medalist Rulon Gardner. It is neat to work with some of the best coaches and competitors in the world.

This is a picture of Roman Wroclawski shaking hands with the Pope after winning the World Championships

Sense of Urgency

2007-10-02T23:58:00.000-07:00

Olympic Athletes use sense of urgency as a technique. They train on a regular basis to "call up" this adrenaline from within at will.

I find myself coming up with the best solutions, the most effective action plans and the slickest ideas when I am forced to do so. When I am hungry and broke and beaten down, I find a way to step up my game.

What would happen if I trained my business mind to practice sense of urgency. What if I randomly decided to pretend I am in a bad situation so that I perform at a higher level.

If I told myself if I don't close this deal today, I will have to sleep in my car and life on protein shakes for the next two week. This will "call up" my sense of urgency and I will find a way to close the deal and make it happen.

This will be an interesting experiment.

Excuse Making

2007-09-24T00:10:00.001-07:00

When I get sick I act as if I am not sick.

I go the gym and attempt to workout as I planned to do. I make my business calls and meet who I have to meet that day as if it was any other day.

I don't even tell people I am sick.

The reason for this strict discipline that I follow religiously is this.

The goals I usually like to set are are about strictly showing up. If I say I am going to go to the gym 3x a week, I will go to the gym 3x a week, no matter what. If I say I am going to do 2 hours of cold calls, I am going to do 2 hours of cold calls, no matter what.

I do not leave room for any sort of excuse making.

If I allowed myself to skip a day and not go to the gym because I have the sniffles, the next time I am feeling a little under the weather, I am more likely to stretch my excuse another day and tell myself (in a wimpy voice) I need another days rest.

I believe that, excuse making is an epidemic in America. It deters people from following proven formulas for success.

Sickness hasn't kept me down in over 7 years. Some people would say it is because I have a strong immune system but I think it is because I consciously have become immune to excuse making.

"Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
Mahatma Ghandi

Entrepreneurship Marketing

2007-09-20T00:36:00.002-07:00

Today I spontaneously decided to attend a class called Entrepreneurship Marketing. My original idea was to sneak in and audit the class for the day. I arrived early and noticed the class was too small to do that so instead I changed plans.

As the teacher walked in, I said to the teacher, "I am obviously not in this class, but I am affiliated with ASU and I would love for your class to to check out my marketing and rip me apart."

The teacher looked at me and smiled and said,

"you wanna do it right now!"

and I said,

"lets do it"

I looked at the class and said,

"I want you guys to be completely honest with me. I want to hear all kinds of feedback, what you like, what you hate. I want you to rip me apart."

Boy did the class ripped me a new asshole!

Many entrepreneurs are afraid to really find out the truth about there products or services. I rather find out now if my "shit stinks" before spending thousands of dollars and firing blind.

Quoted in CNN Money Today!

2007-08-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fsb/0708/gallery.bestcolleges_elearning.fsb/2.html

Tom Peters Talks about Creativity and Education

2007-08-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

When the student is ready the master appears

2007-08-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

I see this all the time.

People whining about how they can't do this and can't do that. Then you tell them a solution that works! You tell them exactly what to do, and exactly how to do it.

But they don't want to listen. They just want to be heard.

I hear you. I have listened. I know what your problem is. I have been there! I have failed over and over again and I have a solution, a shortcut for you. So now you no longer have to whine anymore and you don't have to fail anymore.

Just pay attention to me and listen and if you just listen for a few minutes and then take action, your problem is solved!

But that won't happen. You don't want to listen. You don't want a solution. You cant wait for your turn to talk again so you can whine and feel better about yourself and verbalize your excuse for failing.

And so I bite my tong and do not bother to attempt to break this vicious cycle.

I see this more and more every day.

When the student is ready, the master appears.

Think about that in all aspects of your life. The answers are everywhere. SHUT UP and open your ears! People have the solutions to your problems. Stop whining and complaining. Instead, take on a beginners mindset and the masters will start to appear everywhere you look.

Neat Interview with Paul Orfalea

2007-07-02T22:03:00.000-07:00

Great Video from Ted.com

2007-06-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

This is one of the best videos I have seen on education, creativity and our future. Sir Ken Robinson from Ted.com

These are some of my favorite quotes from him.

"Creativity is as important as literacy. "

"We are educating people out of there creative capacity."

"If your not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original."

"Kids are frightened to be wrong. In our national education system, mistakes are the worst thing you can make. "

cool quote on creativity

2007-06-29T14:01:00.001-07:00

"Creativity: A type of learning process where the teacher and the pupil are located in the same indivudal" Arthur Koestler

What is normal?

2007-06-27T21:07:00.000-07:00

I just saw Jonathan Mooney speak about his new book The Short Bus, A Journey Beyond Normal.

One of the things he talks about in his book is the concept of Normalcy. He says, and I paraphrase,

"Normal is just a social construct. The word normalcy did not enter the English language until 1860. Before then we only had the concept called the ideal, which no one could ever hope to obtain. In the United States, normal arose within a cultural context as the nation sought to control a growing urban population and Americanize immigrants from around the world. Normalcy is an idea that arises from statistics. The normal, norm, or normalcy do not exist in the real world of people, despite the fact that we are told that we can modify our behavior and train our bodies and minds to reach it.

I think it is important for the entrepreneur and for anyone else looking to think and act outside the box, to realize that normal is a social construct and the concept of normaly strangels creativity.

How many millions of "normal people" every day, think creative thoughts and then stop themselves from verbalizing them because they think other people will think they are "crazy, weird, strange" for saying that.

While you may be labelled crazy, weird and strange. WHO CARES! You are who you are and you think what you think. Do not allow social constructs to hinder your intuition and creativity.

Have the guts to let it out, say what you think and take action.

Market Research

2007-06-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

The other day I had a conversation with one of my advisors and we thought of a great way to market Angels with Attitude to the corporate world. So I went for a test drive.

My idea of market research is conversations. I like to meet people and see what they have to say and think about my idea. To me this is the best way to bridge the gap between my vision and the reality of the market. It is also a great way to reshape and expand on my existing concept.

So today I spent the day at Bryant Park in New York City having conversations with people, mostly women, about my idea. I spoke to women in there 20's to women in there 40's who all work in the Corporate world. Some loved my idea, some thought it wasn't for them.

It was an interesting experience and I will have to do it again soon. One lady said, "you have a lot of guts to walk up to people you don't know and get them talking." To me, doing that is simly necessary business for my vision to become a reality.

Invariant representations

2007-06-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

Steve Pavlina calls it Invariant representations

I call it being an experience junkie.

This is why I love to travel as much as I do. This is why I start conversations with random people, all the time. This is why I have a very diverse group of friends.

Steve explains it a lot better then me!

"

How to become smarter

Invariant representations are the building blocks of human intelligence.

Given the critical role of invariant representations, one route to greater intelligence is to increase your exposure to new experiences. The more unique experiences you take in through your senses, the more invariant representations your mind will create and store. This will provide you with a larger set of problem solving tools and a greater ability to adapt to new circumstances. You’ll begin to solve problems with ease that others find daunting.

Greater input variety not only allows you to learn more invariant representations — it will also hone your existing representations. Experience creates expertise.

Consider Leonardo da Vinci, considered a genius by any reasonable standard. He achieved competence in a diverse set of fields, including art, music, science, anatomy, engineering, architecture, and more. While many would say such diverse interests were a symptom of his intelligence, I think it’s more likely they were a key contributing factor. By exposing himself to such a rich variety of input, Leonardo’s mind would have created far more invariant representations than most people. Additionally, his mind would have been able to form many more links between these representations. This would have vastly amplified his problem-solving abilities. Invariant representations learned from the study of one field often have creative applications in other fields.

Exposing yourself to the same types of input over and over again won’t increase your intelligence much at all. You’ll merely satisfy your mind’s expectations instead of pushing it to form new patterns from new input. Routine is the enemy of intelligence. If you want to grow smarter, you must keep stirring things up. Push yourself to do that which you fear. Keep exposing yourself to new experiences, ideas, and input, and you will become smarter. Your intelligence is not fixed unless your lifestyle is fixed. "

Friday Afternoon

2007-06-16T21:07:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful Friday afternoon in my otherwise gloomy summer of 2002. My father was dying of cancer. I was working at my internship when my father called and asked if I wanted to come with him on a sales call.

In a heartbeat, I stopped what I was doing and picked him up. We drove to the subway station and took the train into New York City.

This was the only time I ever went on a sales call with my father. He never really discussed business; he liked to separate business and family. I think he wanted me to go with him that day because this was a chance for him to transfer some experience to me and spend time with his firstborn.

As we walked through the city, he told me some of the wisdom that he had learned in business over the years. He liked doing sales calls on Friday because many executives are hard to reach during the beginning of the week. He said Friday is a great day to meet decision makers and make things happen.

I remember distinctly one of the sales calls that we went on. My father met with a very attractive woman, who immediately noticed that he was sick. It was obvious at the time – his face was skinny and pale. She seemed very aware and empathetic of his situation. She made us both feel comfortable, and it was obvious that she had a lot more emotional intelligence than many of the other people we met that afternoon.
After my father’s meetings, we went to a restaurant, and he asked me what I thought about the experience. One of the things I remember telling him was that I noticed a trend in the business world that women were starting to gain a lot of power. I told him that I see a future with women making a lot more money and having a lot more authority, because the skills of the future require many skills that women are naturally good at, like communications and social intelligence. I told him that whatever business I start is going to be related to women in some way.

He nodded.

My father always let me ramble on and let my thoughts go off in tangents and come together. He never told me whether or not he agreed with me; he just listened. He never said, “Danny, that is a great idea” or “Danny, that is the dumbest thing I heard.” I would have loved it if he shaped my thoughts with his own dialog … though, maybe he did by letting me think and speak freely.

After I told him my thoughts that day, I figured he thought I was crazy, out of my mind and that I didn't know what I was talking about. I always wonder now, if he was still alive, would he have believed in me when I started my first business? Not many people did.

So now he is in heaven, watching over me, and most likely surprised at what I have done in the last two years: starting my first business, Angels with Attitude, and doing exactly what I told him I would. Then again, maybe he’s just nodding.

eBay Live

2007-06-16T20:37:00.001-07:00

I spent the last few days helping my buddy Corey Kossack sell his Profit Builder Software. at eBay live. It was a very intense and interesting experience. Sales is hard work and spoke with people non stop over the last 3 days. I met people from all over the world and learned all about eBay. I feel like an eBay expert!

The trend that I found my typical at eBay is that people find a niche product to sell and make a lot of money selling that product at high mark up. Soon after, other people find out about that $$$niche and enter the market. As new people saturate the market with the same product, there is less and less money to be made in that category.

The challenge is to find a category that is hard for other people to enter or to manage low margins products very carefully.

While most eBay users sold electronics, DVD's and clothing. I met a lady who sells condoms on eBay. I met man who sell military hellicopter parts. I met couple from Texas who has an unlimited supply of autoparts to sell.

eBay gives business an even playing field and people with physical disabilities can make a lot of money. I met a lady in a wheelchair and she had an interesting story. She told me she struggled for years making money and then eBay came along. eBay gave her the chance to make a living for her and her family. Without eBay she wouldn't have an opporunity to have her own business because of her physical disability.

Dana White is cocky and I love it

2007-06-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

In an interview with NBC Sports, Dana White was asked about Coke as a major sponsor for the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)

He said "I don’t fucking need Coke to keep doing what we’re doing, man. Believe me, the big time sponsors if they come on, of course that’d be fantastic. I don’t need ‘em. 18-to-34 year old males, they’re here hanging out with me. If Coke wants them, Coke needs to come to us."

Dana White and Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta purchased the UFC for only 2 million dollars in January 2001. Now the UFC is destroying the sport of Boxing, doing over 15 million in revenue each Pay-Per-View event. They do a Pay-Per-View event each month. The UFC owns the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.

We are told to be modest and humble, but at certain times I think being cocky is a must. Especially if you have done what Dana White has done with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

My favorite twins

2007-06-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my brother and sister and me out for my birthday party.

Turned 26 Today

2007-06-03T15:23:00.001-07:00

Today in the gym I did 100 pullups in 3 sets. I did one set of pullups for 34 reps and then 2 sets of pullups for 33 reps. Not bad for an old man!

Think Different

2007-06-01T23:48:00.001-07:00

Martial Arts Therapy

2007-06-01T14:24:00.001-07:00

I went through some rough times at the young age of 22. I lost my father to cancer, I lost one of my best friends in a car accident and then my grandmother. This happened all within the same time period.

I took the semester off after my father passed away to be home with my family.

When I returned to college, it was a tough time for me. My life was different forever. I started partying a lot. I would get drunk all the time and it would take the edge off the very stressful uncertain time in my life. I knew drinking as much as I was drinking was bad and I needed a healthier way to take the edge off.

It was at this point that I began training, very seriously, in Mixed Martial Arts. I had been involved in combatives for many years but it was this point in time I stepped up my training to the next level.

After I would workout hard, I felt great. It was natural therapy for me. It gave me something to focus on that allowed me to completely forget the trauma I was experiencing, at that moment.

When I am in the gym dodging kicks and punches and chokes and leg locks, I am completely in the moment. Nothing else matters at that moment because completely focused on the now. There is no feeling like it!

Martial Arts is an addition of mine. A lifelong addiction. A place that I go when I am, in need, to get rid of negative energy. A place that I go when I desire to feel great. A place I go when the world is uncertain.

Martial Arts is a place that I go to build the temple called my body.

Road Trip

2007-05-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

I just drove from Phoenix to New York! I went with my friend Larry. It was a very random couple of days. We ended up staying in places we didn't expect to stay. We met some very strange people along the way.

At this point in my life I have been to 43 of the 50 states.

It is fascinating how unique people are from different parts of the United States.

For me a road trip is therapeutic. It is a time to reflect upon my life, what I have done so far and what I wish to do.

It is also a time to escape my daily grind and cross pollinate myself in this great land and travel from sea to shining sea.

Water

2007-05-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

"Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless--like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash! Be water my friend."

Bruce Lee

Mother's Day

2007-05-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

Like my father did she listens to me and lets me talk about what is going on in my life. She was there for me when I needed a motherly figure, when I needed a warm cooked meal after a long hard days work.

When I live at her home during the summer, she fattens me up. She orders me the most delicious food because she knows that during difficult times starting my business. I went through weeks of being malnourished, living on popcorn and protein shakes.

She convinced me to graduate when I was about to give up at school. She said

" Danny, I know that you have been through a lot, more then most people your age and you have come so far, just finish your degree."

From the beginning, I always loved going over to my Aunt’s. My grandmother would cook me the most amazing plates of food, and no matter how much I ate, she convinced me to eat more. My aunt and Leslie were always so happy to see me.

I even remember going over there when my Grandfather was alive. I would sit in his lap and I would take a pencil and paper and draw pictures of my ideas and tell him all about it. At the time I was drawing Star Wars spaceships with cool weapons designs. He would ask me questions about my ideas and make me expand on them. I wonder how that affected my thinking patterns today.

My Aunt is a special person to me. I don’t know what I would have done without her and for that, I want to thank her and wish her a Happy Mother's Day

5th grade

2007-05-12T01:11:00.000-07:00

“The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.”

Friedrich Nietzsche

I suppose I wasn't paying attention to any instructions back in those days. I was a quiet dreamer. The visuals were too powerful and so anytime I was told to do something or had to read something, step by step, I would screw it up. The theatre in my mind was a lot more entertaining then the teachers.

For my 5th grade yearbook picture, under it, we had to write what we wanted to be when we grew up. I wrote "A big business man"

I remember when they took our class to the library weekly, and we had to find books to read. I always remember during that time, I found all the martial arts books and I would look at the pictures of the cool punches and kicks and throws and imagine doing them.

Never give up on your dreams and don't be afraid to think different then everybody else.

My First Big Deal

2007-05-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

I remember it distinctly. It was a little over 2 years ago. Nothing was working, I was trying every which way to promote my first company Angels with Attitude

My sister Julie thought of the idea to call Summer Camps to see if they were interested in hiring me. So I printed out a list of summer camps and started dialing away. I made about 50 calls that morning. Nobody was giving me the time of day, I didn't really know exactly what I was selling back in those days but I was hungry. ( literally )

Then I dialed Timber Lake Camp and Janie picked up the phone. She asked me questions about myself and what the girls would be learning and I answered enthusiastically and then she said, send me a contract. I said okay and hung up.

I didn't even know what to send her or what a contract is supposed to say but I made my first deal! I remember this converation and what I felt like after, so vividly. I always will.

So today I sent Janie Schwartz at Timber Lake Camp a surprise gift, thanking her for having the intuition to hire me, when she did.

Great Balls of Fire

2007-05-06T16:19:00.000-07:00

A stupid person with a pair of balls ( metaphorically speaking ) is better off in business then a smart person afraid to act.

I can say this from my experience at Arizona State University. I currently share office space with a bunch of entrepreneur teams at the Edson center at Arizona State University

Click on this link above and read about the teams and compare the progress of each team to mine, to understand my post in detail.

I am the only venture that is profitable and one of the few ventures that is making money.

Why is this? I am "stupider" then many of these kids and they have IQ's twice the size of mine. I am serious, one kid in our office won a major academic award and was featured in USA Today.

The reason why, I believe that I am successful and they are not, is what I call, the BALLS factor.

I have no hesitation and I will call anyone and ask them for business. Most of these wimps don't have the balls to do this. They are afraid to talk to someone they don't know. Therefore they can't find people to sell to or invest in there products and services. ( with a few exceptions )

I feel as though some of these kids could have the cure for cancer and they couldn't pick up the phone and save the sick and dying.

In my opinion, Arizona State University needs to recruit movers and shakers in the Edson Entrepreneurship program, not a bunch of intellectual wimps that are more concerned with proving a theory. They need people in Edson office with BALLS ( metaphorically speaking ) that are interested in actually making money.

It's not the critic who counts

2007-04-29T22:52:00.000-07:00

I love this quote.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." FDR

I don't watch sports, I compete in sports. Don't ask me who won the World Series last year because I don't care. We have so many FANS in this country because most people rather watch from the sidelines then step into the arena.

I have more respect for a guy who tried out for the Yankees and didn't make the team then then a dorky Yankee FAN wearing a Derek Jeter jersey.