Entrepreneuer – The Samurai Coach

The #1 app for building habit of being effective

I was inspired by Peter Drucker when reading the Effective Executive on an airplane. Being a tech guy, I was inspired to create an app to help myself and others become more effective.

My team was inspired by what it can do for others and released the first version with lightning speed.

Interestingly enough, even testing the app, I built quite a few good habits and had better control over my time. Some of those are built into the app such as: walk 10,000 steps daily, wake up by 6 am, read 30 minutes a day, prioritize my day,….

I know it can do the same for you.

You are invited to check it out at:
https://achieffective.com

And share your feedback. We are already working on the next version to incorporate many feedbacks we received.

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A question worth focusing

In front of me is a master.

I came to see the master in a moment of struggle. In reality, I was at a cross-road. The master can detect my struggles by looking at me in a complete stillness.

The master: “I see that you have been struggling. It seems to me that your attention has been on how you will survive.”

Pausing for a long moment, the master continues: “You will probably survive.”

The master: “and you also focus too much on how to be successful…That’s a wrong question.”

Pausing again for a longer moment, looking at me in complete calmness of a master, he continues: “The question is how to be useful.”

With that, I am enlightened. A great teacher changes my life in a matter of seconds.

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About the author: Hoan Do is a certified leadership coach, a value-oriented investor, and an entrepreneur. Hoan led multiple teams at Symantec Inc. across the globe delivering world-class solutions to protect consumers and businesses. Hoan is an expert in building highly performing teams. He believes that the best leader is the leader that could grow his followers to be leaders. Hoan has trained many leaders via mastermind groups, workshops, and one-on-one coaching.

If you would like to have a conversation, open your email and send me an inquiry at coach@hoanmdo.com

Most impactful books I’ve read in 2018

What is the best book(s) you read in 2018? Which books would you recommend to your friends?

2018 marked the biggest change in my life and hence the books I read reflected the same. I ended the road most travelled and ventured into the road most loved but afraid to travel.

I read countless books on entrepreneurship, startups, leadership, and investment this year. I said “countless” as I don’t remember how many books I read.

Besides the 3 books I read annually; yes they have the staying power; I added another one (which was recommended by the ultimate coach Steve Hardison from a question I posted on facebook): The Way of Mastery.

The following books have made the most impact for an entrepreneur who just started out on the road most loved but afraid to travel:

Competing against giants by Uyen Phuong Tran. I witnessed how she has been living what she wrote in the book. The book is an excellent account of how her family-owned company, Tan Hiep Phat – the leading multi-billion dollar Vietnamese beverage company, competed against powerful multinationals such as Coke and PepsiCo. The author planted the philosophy behind Tan Hiep Phat’s success in every chapter. It reads like a business case study but also a biography of her family with her father as the leading figure. They truly live their credo: Nothing is impossible.
The Billionaire Who Wasn’t: How Chuck Feeney Made and Gave Away a Fortune Without Anyone Knowing by Conor O’Clery. Chuck Feeney is the billionaire founder of Duty Free Shoppers who gave away all his wealth. Feeney lives a frugal lifestyle. He’s loved and admired by his employees. He cares for everyone, especially children. Feeney started Duty Free Shoppers from 0 and made it into the billion dollar company. I didn’t know till reading this book that Feeney has been probably the most generous giver to Vietnam.
The First Billion Is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America’s Energy Future by T.Boone Pickens. Pickens was a very successful oil man. At 68, his company was sold (or he was forced to sell it). He decided to start up again trading futures (oil, natural gas) with 5 employees. He raised money by calling everyone he knew. In the first two years of trading, he lost 90% of the fund. However, he made it back many times over in the next year. Pickens like Warren Buffett and other long-term investors did due diligence before taking a position. He ignored daily fluctuation and held a long-term view. He believed that great profit is in the long-term, not in daily fluctuation.
Am I Being Too Subtle? Straight Talk From a Business Rebel by Sam Zell. Sam is a model of living the credo “nothing is impossible.” He realized problems and found possible solutions.When facing a No, he listened actively and presented different angles. When you are not aware there are any limitations, nothing stops you from trying.“If you are really good at what you do, you have the freedom to be who you are.”“When there’s a scarcity, price is no object.”Take risk, test your limit, and ask “why not?”Formula for success: 1+1 = 3Sam started in real estate in Ann Arbor, a suburban. He found opportunities to buy an entire block by buying all homes and lands. He then either developed student apartment buildings or sold the entire block for more money. He repeated this method: high-growth real estate, small cities… The basis is that in small cities there would be less competition. Later, Sam changed his method: buildings that are available below replacement cost, good quality, and well-located. (replacement cost is the key. It can determine the price of future competition)Then his method became generalized: supply and demand, barriers to entry, and tax considerations.Sam spends most of his day listening to people. He asks questions, probe, and raise possibilities.
The Habit of Labor: Lessons from a Life of Struggle and Success by Stef Wertheimer, the founder of ISCAR. Stef was an immigrant to Israel from Germany. He was kicked out of his high school as he didn’t listen to authority and bureaucracy. Stef joined the army and fixed weapons. Stef was working for the government after his army service till he was 26 years old. He didn’t see himself as someone who could climb the government rank nor do boring stuffs. He left his government job which provided a steady income, high status; and started ISCAR with little capital. He was a lieutenant when he left. It was a tough decision since he got 2 kids and a family to take care of. “Take action when necessary and act in an unconventional way when there is no alternative.” When ISCAR first started, Stef had no capital. He couldn’t get bank loans. He couldn’t borrow money needed to buy materials and machines that he needed.

The takeaways from those reading can be summarized: nothing is impossible; just do it; there are many roads to success; pick one and go all out; people will laugh at you at first; let them laugh and carry on.

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Failure is never possible till you quit

It’s truly that a winner never quits and a quitter never wins. You can’t fail unless you quit.

As I am re-reading Think and Grow Rich, something is jumping out from the pages. I re-read several books annually.

Edwin Barnes was an unknown, poor man with no experience. Yet, he became the business partner of the famous inventor Thomas Edison. Barnes nurtured a thought/wish into a burning desire to become Edison’s business partner. Once the thought became a dominant thought, Barnes cut off everything else and set out a journey to join Edison (it sounded impossible given Barnes’ background). Barnes was so determined that he left himself no other options. It was rather a success or die. Barnes was like a great warrior facing a powerful enemy. The warrior burned off his boat, let go his horse, and left no other way to retreat but to win (Win or Perish).

It’s common that majority of mankind play safe. People stay on the job they hate or work with people they dislike because it’s safe. They maintain unhealthy relationships because it’s safe.

Fortunately, the world still has many people who burn their ships and cut all sources of retreat and leave themselves no other options but to win. More often than not, they did. Just like Edwin Barnes. Stef Wertheimer left a stable job with a good salary and a high status to start his own company with no capital. He built it into a multi-billion dollar business in a country where everyone thought was impossible. He left his job when he had a family with two young kids to take care of. It was that kind of decisions that separated the successful from the crowd who only wish to be successful.

It’s truly that a winner never quits and a quitter never wins. You can’t fail unless you quit.

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Two success habits to get yourself ahead of the crowd

There are good habits and there are also bad habits. And the great news is that we have control over which habit to form.

Habit is a regular practice or tendency, which often is hard to give up. Habit is an automatic reaction to a specific situation. Habit can be addictive such as drugs… (Dictionary)

We have many habits whether we know them or not. Something we do repeatedly long enough will become a habit. Check in your experience for yourself to see the force of habit such as which foot you put your shoe on first, your daily sleep schedule, ….even how you work.

There are good habits and there are also bad habits. And the great news is that we have control over which habit to form (yes, it’s hard and tedious and of course requires discipline to form good ones).

From my own experience as well as deep study of successful billionaires (they are often older than 80 years old and have lived long enough to prove what works and what doesn’t), these two habits will serve us and form a basic for great successes.

The first one is habit of promptness. This includes being on time to an appointment. It is to pay debt when it’s due. It is to meet an obligation or keep a promise of any kind. Essentially, promptness is being a person of integrity, a person of one’s own word. If you are what you say you are, you are much further ahead of the crowd. People can count on you and want to do business with you.

The second one is habit of thrift. Thrift element is often a deciding factor to any business success formula. By being thrifty, one will instantly recognize any opportunity to lower overhead and production cost. This will translate into increasing profit. In addition, a person of thrift will always have a reserve. A reserve will enable one to meet contingencies and carry one through tough times. A reserve will also make it possible for one to expand or make improvements without having to borrow.

Practice those two habits (promptness and thrift) until they become your second nature. They will greatly help you achieve your goals.

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About the author: Hoan Do is a certified leadership coach. Hoan have led multiple teams at Symantec Inc. across the globe delivering world-class solutions to protect consumers and businesses. Hoan is an expert in building highly performing teams. He believes that the best leader is the leader that could grow his followers to be leaders. Hoan has been organizing mastermind groups to share with other leaders about transformational leadership and coaching. He has trained many leaders via mastermind groups, workshops, and one-on-one coaching.

If you would like to have a conversation, open your email and send me an inquiry at coach@hoanmdo.com