I achieve because I set goals. Prior to writing this post I was reading up on setting goals and I came across this really cool acronym; S.M.A.R.T, it stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-targeted. Setting goals is something I strongly believe in and place emphasis on. I’m really good at setting goals for myself in business, but it never crossed my mind that I could use the same principles I use in business and apply it to my personal life…until recently. Obvious yes, but oblivious to me. Call it my “aha moment”.

I have been training for Sigma Corporate run, but it has been extremely difficult for me to get myself into the habit of getting up and running each morning. I knew what the ultimate goal is. The ultimate goal is being fit enough to complete the 5k race, but that was a huge goal with no milestones on the way there, I wasn’t motivated and the task seemed insurmountable. It’s easy to say you want to be rich, do a 5K race, do well in school etc, but if you don’t set specific goals it’s going to be extremely hard for you to accomplish anything.

For my 5K race:

specific: I know I wanted to run non-stop from point A to point B. I wasn’t concerned about my speed ( that’s another goal), but getting from point a to b was the first specific goal. Achieve one, move on to the other. Simple.

measurable: Via the nike+ running app

achievable: Broken down into small specific chunks. Be realistic.Not setting myself  up for disappointment.

time-targeted: The race is on February 17, 2013.  I have 15 days to prepare and I know what I want to accomplish and by when which will prepare me for the big day.

These are principles that you can apply to anything. Work, relationships, exercising etc.

Setting goals is giving yourself direction.

Entrepreneurship is hard, no, real entrepreneurship is hard, I say real because many young people call themselves entrepreneurs, but they really don’t know the half of it.

For the last year and a half I’ve been working on launching my company, EduFocal Limited. That dream became a reality on March 15th, 2012 when we finally launched at the Jamaica Pegasus. I’ve smiled, I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, but most importantly I’ve learned life lessons.

I’ll be doing some guest posts regularly at virgin.com. I write about life and my experiences as a young entrepreneur. This is my first post there. Feedback is great, let me know if you liked it or it sucked.

With the massive popularity of the Apple iPad more and more people are using them for
entertainment at their fingertips. All you need is a WiFi connection and you’re on line
surfing the web for your favorite past times. Online gaming is huge on the personal computer
and now it’s even easier to go to your favorite game sites including online roulette and online poker games, using your iPad.

When you visit a there are a wealth of games to choose from. Some favorites include texas hold em poker, slot
machines, horse racing and blackjack. Best of all, if you are new to iPad gaming, the rules are
available and easy to understand.

You can play for real money at a casino online on the iPad. Simply find your WiFi
connection, choose your favorite games, and add credits and play! You can try the games with
demonstration credits before you wager your own money so you can experience the games
with no initial detriment to your wallet. The option of playing for fun or for money, opens the
gaming to a wider range of people.

Online gaming has truly found its niche with the iPad do to its portability, powerful graphics
and accessibility. The clear casino sounds along with the sharp images make the experience
that much more enjoyable. If you need a little escape from your day just spin the roulette
wheel a few times or play a few hands of blackjack.

Whether you’ve been to Las Vegas, a local casino or played online casino games on a
personal computer, the gaming experience on the iPad can be just as exciting. Wherever you
are or whatever your doing there’s always a minute or two for a quick game. Just download
the applications from iTunes and you’ll be on your way to loads of fun. Good luck and happy
gaming!

Far too often I hear people complain about losing their mobile phone contacts. Gone are the days of copying numbers to your sim card or re-adding them one by one when your changing phones.

Google Sync

I’ve been using Google Sync for about 2 years and it’s definitely a life saver. It’s useful, easy to setup and it’s supported on a ton of devices ( Blackberry, iPhone, Android etc). Not only is it good for backing up your contacts and keeping them in sync across devices, it’s also good for calendar synchronization. Google Sync provides over-the-air synchronization so you never have to plug anything into your computer.

Practicality

I use two mobile phones; (Oh, How I hate walking around with two devices) an iPhone and a Blackberry. Both have different address books. Depending on who I’m calling I prefer to use one over the other. It’s never an issue trying to remember which one of the phones I added the person on because both my address books are in Sync. So let’s say I added John Doe to my iPhone as a contact, within minutes the the contact would automatically be pushed to my blackberry. If John told me that there’s two e’s in his last name I can easily modify from either phone and it would be pushed to the other.

Check out this video for an explanation of Google Sync:

You can find the instructions for setting up Google Sync here. Try it out. It’s one of those apps that you’ll setup and not worry about after you do. If you’re having issues setting up drop me comment and I’ll be happy to help you out.

In 2010 i started to take my blog and writing more seriously. A lot happened, alas my memory sucks so i won’t try and remember the finer details. World Cup was in 2010 right? or was it 2009? Anyway, i guess i’ll add that to my 2011 resolution. Document, everything. Evernote i’m looking in your direction.

In order of highest traffic to least:

#1 Digicel and its indifference to Customers:

Digicel; that cool Irish telecommunications operator that rescued Jamaicans from the clutches of the Monopoly at the time Cable and Wireless Jamaica, circa 2001 ( Now LIME Jamaica) , has apparently grown tremendously over a short period of time and is supposedly too big to value one disgruntled customer (disgruntled, for good reason).

#2 Online resources to keep abreast of situation in Jamaica ( Dudus):

At no point in time has Jamaica been able to utilize Social Media as it is now. People are exchanging information via Twitter, Facebook and other social utilities to quickly and effectively disseminate information to each other where conventional media has clearly fallen short.

#3 Digicel Jamaica, Doing with the Internet what they did with Mobile

The only reason this post has this title is because i had it in my drafts and i couldn’t be bothered to change it. Let’s say if i didn’t start writing this post already while fully knowing about the hell I’d have to go through this morning; the title may have been “Digicel’s Failed 4G Launch”, but anyway; i digress.

#4 The 10 Day Challenge.

On March 3,2010 @ 7:21 PM I disabled both my Facebook and twitter account. Why? no other reason but to challenge myself. Challenge myself by taking away things that provide solace for me.

#5 Jamaica’s first “Bloggers Meetup” by the Jamaica Tourist Board, Day 1

Over 20+ bloggers/writers from the United States converged on Jamaican soil yesterday afternoon to “Experience Jamaica” for the next 5 days; a first for the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB). To make this experience even more memorable a team of Jamaican bloggers were invited by the JTB to compliment the assembly of bloggers/writers to ensure the Jamaican experience was as authentic as possible.

#6 So, you want to be an Entrepreneur? Or Maybe Not

We’re in a time (In Jamaica and around the world) where economies are begging for entrepreneurs, risk-takers or “Linch-Pins” as the great Seth Godin calls them, just turn on your TV, it’s the new buzz word, entrepreneur, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship.

#7 Blackberry Go Bye-Bye

Now, i have my reservations about the Bible, but that one verse was pretty potent. My Blackberry was my right hand and it was causing me great pain ( Way to take the Lord’s word literally eh?) . Crappy battery life, non functional keys, and a plethora of other issues. Now, I can’t recall it leaving my hand and making contact with the wall, but it happened and it happened fast, Jesus guided my hand maybe?

#8 I’m an analytics monkey, get Clicky!

I’m not writing this post because Clicky Web Analytics is providing monetary incentive–because to be honest it’s really not much. I’m writing this because i actually love them.

#9 Common Sense Foursquare Tips

And all the other Location based apps…I apologize for the title in advance, because if it was common sense i really wouldn’t need to be writing this post now would i? Many Jamaicans seem to be catching on to foursquare, but many do not realize how unsafe it can be. Here’s a few tips that I’m sure will be beneficial to and your friends:

#10 JTB Bloggers Meetup Post Roundup

It has been approximately 2 weeks since the Bloggers Meetup in Montego Bay and the euphoria from being on the trip has just about died. Though many (hint: Stunner) found it hard to “integrate” themselves back into so-called real life, it was inevitable ; now it’s no longer euphoria, but instead, nostalgia; nostalgic about experiencing such an amazing meet up and becoming acquainted with so many cool people.

If it’s the latter, it might not be your fault. Here’s why:

We’re in a time (In Jamaica and around the world) where economies are begging for entrepreneurs, risk-takers or “Linch-Pins” as the great Seth Godin calls them, just turn on your TV, it’s the new buzz word, entrepreneur, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship.

But, here’s the problem. You can’t ask for these type of people when the school system does not facilitate them. You’re asking me to be one thing, but training me to be another? Hmm, sort of contradictory right? We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. (Albert Einstein).

In his book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? Seth Godin explains it best:

Studies show us that things learned in frightening circumstances are sticky. We remember what we learn on the battlefield, or when we burn a finger on a hot tea kettle. We remember what we learn in situations where successful action avoids a threat.
Schools have figured this out. They need shortcuts in order to successfully process millions of students a year, and they’ve discovered that fear is a great shortcut on the way to teaching compliance. Classrooms become fear-based, test-based battlefields, when they could so easily be organized to encourage the heretical thought we so badly need.
So, is it any surprise that people have learned to fit in, do the standardized test, keep heads down, obey instructions? Decades of school have drilled that into us–fear, fear, and more fear. Fear of getting a D-minus. Fear of not getting a job right out of school. Fear of not fitting in.

Another bit that I liked from his book:

Answering questions like “When was the War of 1812?” is a useless skill in an always-on Wikipedia world. It’s far more useful to be able to answer the kind of question for which using Google won’t help. Questions like, “What should I do next?

The ones among us who become the free thinkers and leaders are not the ones who subscribe to the status quo  that schools try so hard to make everyone subscribe to, the ones among us who do well are the ones who go against the grain. Academic wise I’ve always been average in school, and it’s not because i wasn’t smart enough to do the work, it’s because i was never interested in what they were teaching. Of course, at that time i couldn’t figure out why i couldn’t pay attention to the chalk board for more than 10 minutes; the teachers claimed i had a short attention-span, but now that I’m old enough to know better, so i disagree.

My passion was and has always been entrepreneurship–even before I knew what the word meant, I like to lead, I like to create opportunity and I’ve always been a thinker.  In 2005, i created Advance-Gamers.com ( i was 15): I was brokering business deals, I was recruiting staff members, I was maintaining a community of over 100+ people, i was networking with the PR in  big gaming companies like ( Activision, EA Games etc), I was receiving games to review from said companies and smaller ones and i was making money, alas not enough to feed my passion at the time–gaming (haha).  All that at 15+. “AG” as it was called by many went on to become arguably the largest gaming website in the Caribbean at the time with close to 50,000 hits daily (see Gleaner article here), but eventually I had to shut the website down because it demanded a lot of my time which consequently caused me to fall behind in you guessed it…school. Maybe that would have turned out differently if I was actually being encouraged. But, I guess we’ll never know.

Prior to my gaming website, I owned other websites ( younger than  age 15). I had competition, we competed and it felt good, I felt good. Eventually one of my competitors approached me with the idea of partnership, i accepted the offer and up to this very day we’re still business partners. I failed ( and continue to fail) as much as I’ve won, but it has never felt that way, because I love what I do, that’s my passion, finding the area of a rectangle isn’t. I agree with Seth when he said the contributions of school are often superfluous.

Years later, at 20. I’ve incorporated a company that millions have been invested in. And I’m confident in my ability, knowledge and experience that I’ve gotten over the years that I will make it a successful one(and with the help of others). And yes, my competitor turned partner that i met online years ago, is apart of it too… » Continue Reading »