Lëkki : back to basics

Some people would agree that todays smartphones are too complicated for some users. Who needs mail, games, MP3 ringtones, social media or a music library on his/her phone anyway? Right, not everyone!

So, a French startup Lëkki offers a range of vintage, revamped mobile phones with a twist. You can opt for a hip mix of green, magenta, yellow and black. They launched with Motorala’s starTAC 130. Remember the 90’s? 🙂

Now, who would buy a revamped retro mobile phone? Apparently there is a market for people who believe they are becoming slaves of technology or those who want to simplify their (mobile) lives!

On top of that Lëkki also incorporates the concept of sustainable development and recycling by prolonging the life expectancy of a mobile phone by repairing all incoming phones and donating to Action Carbone.

Oh, in case you are curious about the functionalities on the starTAC 130 : you can call and send text messages. That’s it! Well, you do get vibration and it weighs less than 100 grams!

Instead of buying the latest in technology (like my iPhone), think about what you can do with the “oldest” one with a revamped look and basic functionalities. Life could be simple (again)!

Time is Limited

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

– Steve Jobs –

Too many people are living someone else’s life. Over and over again I meet people in my coaching practice who are stuck. They are stuck because it became impossible to keep up with the rat-race. Burnout or worse! Most of them come to the conclusion that they are actually fulfilling someone else’s dreams. What happened? They took over dreams and wishes of someone else and made them there own. They thought they needed a bigger car, a nicer house, a boat, etc. Now they need to face the fact that they don’t like their job. They lost their family (or nearly) because they are never there for them. They have a significant amount loaned and probably no idea how to keep paying for them, besides working even more.

Why did this happen? I am surprised at the number of people who have no clue about what they want with their life. They have no clear goals or dreams. So, they copy the ones from others, thinking it will be ok. Only to wake up a number of years later in an unsustainable situation. Is this you?

Time to wake up! So, I invite you think about your life. Are your living the life of your dreams? Are you having fun every day? What needs to be done to achieve that? Right, make up your mind first! Start with a list today. Give your own dreams a chance and write them down. Share them with your family and friends. Share them with your network. You might be surprised who could help you achieve them…

The Big Picture

LinkedIn comes with updates and new functionalities regularly. This time they implemented a new feature I was longing for : a bigger profile picture!

In your profile you could upload an 80 x 80 pixels image. I agree that most people look like they where just arrested or something 🙂 Others seem too far away, so instinctively I always tried to click on the picture, but of course it did not work. Now it does! And you are getting a bigger version of someone’s profile picture. I love it!

So, what are your next steps?

1. If you already have a profile picture (80×80 pixels), then delete it and upload a bigger picture!
2. If you don’t have a profile picture yet, upload a big picture rightaway! No worries about the format (max 4MB)!

1 Month

If you had only 1 month to go, what would you do? If you were diagnosed with a lethal disease, how would you react? What is on your bucket list (wish list of things to do before you “kick the bucket“)? Or don’t you have one yet?

I must say, I already lost a number of friends. Everytime it has made a big impression on me! Although I also admit the effect is only temporarily, I reflect on this topic frequently. I created my proper bucket list. By the way, did you see the movie: the Bucket List with Jack Nicholson & Morgan Freeman? If you would only watch 1 movie for the rest of the year, let it be this one!

Whenever a friend died I tried to contemplate and make something good out of it. Believe me, it is hard to do! But one of the things that emerged everytime is my commitment to ask myself an important question regularly: What would I be doing today if I only had 1 month to live? What if I only had 1 day? Imagine today is the last day of your life? What would you do?

I do not want to sound negative. My goal is to make you think and reflect on your life as well. Too often people die and we are left with a feeling that there was still so much that we needed to say. We postponed it for a later time and now it’s too late! Guilt, remorse and sorrow are emotions that pop up then.

So, let’s get back to what you would do if your last month starts today. What would you do?

Here is my personal Top 10 list, if I had only 30 days to live:

1. Spend 24/7 with Tonia (my wife)
2. Have a big family dinner
3. Throw a party, bbq or dinnerparty with my friends
4. Visit specific places in India, Australia & New Zealand
5. Go on diving trip to the Maledives
6. Sailing cruise around Fiji
7. Meet Robin Sharma again to thank him for his inspiration
8. Skydiving
9. Publish another book (on how to “Create, Connect & Contribute”)
10. Give a speech for an audience of 10,000 people

Let me know what’s on your list, ok? And by the way, you don’t need to wait for your last 30 days to do the things on your bucket list. I know I won’t!

Company Pages

LinkedIn announced the launch of Company Pages to help businesses of all sizes attract new customers using trusted, professional product and service recommendations. According to their press-release, these Company Pages would “Allow Businesses to Leverage Word-of-Mouth to Attract New Customers”.

So, what are they talking about? From now on, you can add your products or services to LinkedIn to attract, showcase and receive recommendation from your clients. Why would you do that? It’s a common fact that we tend to rely on our network before we buy certain products or services. By endorsing certain products your clients can leverage your attraction to new customers. It’s like extra endorsements! If you have people in your network who recommend a certain product that you are thinking about buying it for yourself, chances are that you tend to buy what they bought, because they endorse it.

A simple example : when you ask a friend or a colleague for a great place to have lunch with a client and he gives you a recommendation on a certain restaurant. Guess where you’ll be going for lunch next? Why? If he tells you it is a great place to eat, you believe him. If an advertisement tells you that, it has less impact.

What are the next  steps? If you don’t have a company page yet, create one! It is easy & simple. Then add a number of your products or services. Invite a number of your customers to recommend them if they feel like it. While you start receiving recommendations for your products or services, you can start promoting them and relate to them in your communication. It will also bring more visibility,  increase credibility and as a consequence of your rising “Know, Like & Trust” factor you probably attract more customers through your LinkedIn network. In addition to reviews, you can display videos, product information and targeted ads on your Company Pages.