Time and time again I’ve learned this lesson, so I thought I’d share it.

In my 10 years working with my brother Andy, I’ve taken on many many projects myself. Usually I work in solitude, hammering away with extreme vigor in insane spurts of 10, 15 even 20 hour shifts. This goes on for days or weeks and when I’m finished, I believe 100% that I have created the absolute best masterpeice of entrepreneurial magic ever. Ever.

Then I proudly unveil it to Andy, who is very impressed at first. After a few minutes of use it happens. Every time.

“What if here we did this instead?”
“Why doesn’t this have a call to action?”
“This part may be confusing to 1st time users, needs some usability tweaks.”
“Ooooo! I’ve got it, let’s add a do-hickey here to _______.”

• At first I’m offended, insulted. How could he attack my masterpiece?

• Then as I begin to step back, I see SOME merit in his silly ideas.

• Then after a day or so and a little sleep I realize that dammit, he’s right on all accounts.

And so I begin to make the adjustments and I’ll be damned if the masterpiece was slowly becoming a MASTERPIECE.

And once again, I learn the lesson. I rock, ya. Hell, I’m brilliant. But by myself, I sorta suck. I need someone to look at my work from the outside, with fresh eyes and give honest intelligent criticism. I’m lucky that my go-to guy for that job is Andy Swan, who is no internet entrepreneur slouch himself.

Maybe you’re not lucky enough to have team Swan in your corner. But you need to find someone, the best person(s) you can, to critique your work. Don’t pick your mother. Make sure you select someone who can honestly tell you when you suck. Cause I have bad news for you–without outside eyes looking in giving that honest constructive criticism, you do suck. With it, you can dominate.

6 weeks ago I entered a pushup contest with Nick Fenton, Brandon Powers and Liz Horrall. The test was to see who could do the most in a row after 6 weeks. If anyone did 100 they won. Some used the hundred pushups phone app, some just worked out a lot, I used hundredpushups.com.(+bjj)

I’m happy to report that I was able to do the most, but we are extending the contest 6 more weeks to see if someone can reach 100. Here are the results:

Me: 56 (up from 25 at begining for +124%)
Brandon: 42 (up from 30 for +38%)
Nick: 39 (up from 12 for +225%)
Liz: 32 (up from 6 for +433%)

Although I ‘won’, we all did really. Everyone lost 5-10lbs and gained muscle. Nick has had 4 back surgeries and is regaining strength at an incredible rate. Brandon has been working out like a mad man for weeks now and has really cut up, and Liz increased her strength by 5x! Liz can do more now than the boys could 6 weeks ago!

I love contests like these. Liz and I are still in the middle of one that has been going on since October09. Whoever doesn’t work out 5 days per week loses. Pride is a good motivator. I suggest you find a friend or three to start a contest. Most pushups after 6 weeks, fastest mile time, no fried food, 5 days a week workout, must do 8min abs everyday–whatever. Don’t go it alone.

Yesterday I posted a brain teaser on twitter that boggled almost everyone who read it. Cudos to BusTechno1 and stringsn88keys for getting it right. Here is the text of the twitter:

Teaser (3/5 diff) 3 coins in hat: Double sided head, dbl tail & 1 head/tail. Blind draw one, you see head. What’s % that other side is head?

The overwhelming majority of people said the answer was 50%. Obviously this is wrong (wouldn’t be much of a teaser would it!). The right answer is 2/3, because you could be looking at 3 different heads and 2 of them have another head on the opposite side.

And despite my best attempts at explanation on twitter, email and text, many people just could not understand how it wasn’t 50%. After all, you’re either holding the double head coin or the regular one, right?

And yes it is true there are only two coins you could be holding, but that doesn’t mean the odds are equal that you’re holding one versus the other. After all, when you hold a lottery ticket in your hand, it can either be a winner or a loser. Certainly that’s not a 50-50 shot!

I was going to simply post a probability chart, but Andy beat me to that last night. FYI he also refernces a 6sided die, one with all 6s on it and one normal. He does this because in one of my tweets trying to explain it I used this example. Look at that chart, it helps explain the solution.

My math mentor taught me long ago that one great way to find the correct answer in a tough question is to exaggerate it, find the answer then un-exaggerate it back to normal and apply the same principles. So let me do that with this problem, but exaggerate it even further than a 6 sided die:

For the coin problem, nearly everyone could agree that the double tailed coin played no role in the solution. It can be ignored, since we see a head on the mystery coin, we know the double tail coin is still in the hat and not in play. So I will use 2 items for my exaggeration:

Imagine you have two decks of cards. They are shuffled but remain seperate from each other. They are rubberbanded to remain intact. So you have two decks of cards, each rubberbanded so their cards cannot mix. One is a normal 52 card deck. The other is a trick deck with all Ace of Spades. 52 aces of spades. Place them in a hat.

You blindly draw one deck out face down (unable to see any of the cards). You randomly pick one card out of the deck and see that it is the ace of spades. What are the chances that you have the trick deck?

The correct answer is 52/53. Since there are 53 AoS in the hat and 52 of them belong to the trick deck. Its an almost lock that you have the trick deck. IF you can agree on this, then you WILL agree on the coin problem. If you don’t agree, I likely cannot explain it to you. However, you’re welcome anytime for a betting game. We’ll do this deck trick and when we don’t get the A0S we’ll start over. When we do, I’ll give you 2 to 1 odds on $100 that you have the normal deck. We can play all night.

Assuming you agree that the deck is more likely the trick deck, let’s slowly unexaggerate it. Take out one card from each deck (be sure to leave the AoS in the normal deck). Now you have 51 in each. Again, if you pull out a deck blindly and see an AoS, surely you can still agree the odds are heavily in favorite of that deck being the trick deck. (51/52).

The KEY is that when you pull that random card out and it is the AoS your odds change drastically from 50-50 on the trick deck to nearly 99%. After all, if you pulled the 4 of hearts, it would be 0%, right?

• Now take one more out. 50 cards in each deck. You draw the AoS. Odds are 50/51 its trick deck.
• Now take one more out. 49 cards in each deck. You draw the AoS. Odds are 49/50 its trick deck.
• Now take one more out. 48 cards in each deck. You draw the AoS. Odds are 48/49 its trick deck.
• Now take one more out. 47 cards in each deck. You draw the AoS. Odds are 47/48 its trick deck.
• Now take one more out. 46 cards in each deck. You draw the AoS. Odds are 46/47 its trick deck.
• Now take one more out. 45 cards in each deck. You draw the AoS. Odds are 45/46 its trick deck.
• Now take one more out. 44 cards in each deck. You draw the AoS. Odds are 44/45 its trick deck.
• ………
• Now take one more out. 5 cards in each deck. You draw the AoS. Odds are 5/6 its trick deck.
• Now take one more out. 4 cards in each deck. You draw the AoS. Odds are 4/5 its trick deck.
• Now take one more out. 3 cards in each deck. You draw the AoS. Odds are 3/4 its trick deck.
• Now take one more out. 2 cards in each deck. You draw the AoS. Odds are 2/3 its trick deck.

Now that two card deck is no different (odds-wise) than our two coins. There are just 2 coins with 2 sides each, instead of 2 decks with 2 cards each. In one deck, the two cards were different and one was AoS (same in one coin, one was heads, other was tails) and in another deck, the two cards were same and both the AoS (same in the other coin, the double head).

Still not convinced?

Imagine in our deck problem that you glued the two cards together so their backs were touching and you could see both cards when you flipped it over. There’s your two coins.

The fact that the coins are physical objects does not stop them from possessing two sides each. And the solution still is valid, you could be looking at any of three heads, two of which have a head on the other side.

Finally, if somehow you still don’t believe me. I challenge you to this:

Get 3 sheets of paper.

On paper one write “side A: tails” on one side and “side B: tails” on the other.
On paper two write “side C: tails” on one side and “side D: heads” on the other.
On paper three write “side E: heads” on one side and “side F: heads” on the other

Blindly draw one and randomly pick a side to look at. Write down which letter and value you got as well as what value (heads/tails) was on the other side. Do that about 2000 times.

At the end each letter will show up about 1/6 of the time. For this puzzle, throw out all A, B and Cs, since they are tails and the problem said we saw a head.
Of the remaining 1000 or so, you will find that you have about 1/3 Ds, 1/3 Es and 1/3Fs. And you will see that on all Ds the other side is a tail, on all Es and Fs, the other side is a head. ie 1 tail for every 2 heads, or 2/3.

You will discover that it is in fact 2/3. And if you really did that 2000 times you’d have about 667 successes of the 1000 trials that counted (initial head).

I hope you understand it now, and don’t feel bad if it fooled you. This was a very tricky problem. Had I given the trick deck problem instead, you would have seen it was nearly 99%. The coins fool you into thinking its either coin1 or coin2 and both have equal chances. But remember, that new information that one side is a head changes the odds completely.

It is similar to a lottery drawing. Before the numbers are drawn you have a 1 in 200 million chance of winning. After the first number is drawn, if it matches your card, your odds go up dramatically. They must, because if the number didn’t match, they plummit dramatically (to zero).

Hope that helps, and pass it along. Its a fun one that can trick even the best math people.

Today is my least favorite day of the year. Most Americans don’t distinguish it from any other day. They can thank me and other high earners for that blessed ignorance.

1. The top producers pay 35% federal income tax. (source)
2. The top producers pay between 0 and 11% state income tax (source)
3. The top producers pay up to 4% in city taxes (NYC) (source)
4. Top producers pay between 35 – 50% income tax, depending on where they live. (sources above)
5. The median income family pays 4.6% in income tax. (source)
6. 62% of Americans think their tax rate is fair. (source)
7. The top 1% of producers pay 40% of our taxes as a country. (source)
8. The bottom 50% pay less than 3% of our taxes as a country. (source)

Someone please tell me how this is fair. Please tell me why a flat tax isn’t the most fair option.

When you rob Peter to pay Paul (or 10 Pauls), you’re sure to get Paul’s vote. (credit @andyswan)

What you earn is TheIRS’

Atlas will shrug.

Yesterday I was able to speak with an entrepreneurship class at my alma mater Bellarmine University. The class was taught by the same professor I had 7 years ago. I gave a lot of advice but almost forgot to give what I feel is the most important advice a potential entrepreneur needs to know. Luckily I remembered before class was over:

We all have good ideas for products, services or businesses. Ideas are a dime a dozen, as my brother points out.  The difference between someone with an idea and someone becoming successful because of that idea is usually ‘just doing it’. In all the entrepreneurs I know, there is one constant attribute–we all have the ability to do something tomorrow that we have NO idea how to do today.

Think about it–we all currently share the lack of knowledge of how to say, take an idea for a widget, get it created, mass manufactured, and sold. But some people don’t stop with just the idea. They decide ‘I’m going to figure out how to do this’ and they do it.

It is the ability to learn how to do something and the will to execute it that seperates Joe Schmoe with an idea from Joe Millionare with a successful business.

Here are some tips on how to accomplish this:

1. Write down what you want to do
2. Break it down into as many small steps as you can and make a list.
3. Start on the first step. Figure out how to do it by:
   1. Spend an entire day on google trying to figure out how to do it. Odds are the answer is out there.
   2. Ask someone who has done it before. If you don’t know anyone, make a new friend. Find them online on their blog or go to a trade show (Don’t know where the trade shows are for your potential industry? see step 3-1). Generally speaking people will want to help you, and you’ll be building a solid contact for the future.
4. Every day, read #1 before you start your day. Say to yourself, “Today I am going to move closer to this goal.” Then attack the next item on your list.

Use this method in business and in daily life and before too long you’ll be an expert on what you previously had no idea about and you’ll be armed with a powerful mindset where ignorance is no longer a colossal wall, rather merely the first step toward success.

I have never done anything for April Fool’s day and this year I decided I would. It was my first attempt (two actually), and they turned out decent.

On the office:

I spent a few hours after work rigging up a glitter shower above Andy, Seth and Brandon at our mytrade office. I drilled a 1/2 inch hole in the ceiling, put funnels filled with glitter in the ceiling (drop tiled ceiling), stopped up the funnels with a playing card and tied a string to that card. The string fed into another room. When I pulled the string, the card would unstop the funnel and glitter would rain down on the guys. All 3 were set up but unfortunately Andy’s didn’t fire, the funnel had got missaligned. However, Brandon’s and Seth’s did work. The glitter didn’t come out as fast as I’d hoped and they had time to move after the initial hit but that’s the best I could do with a 1/2 inch hole. What’s really funny is that they both noticed the hole but ignored it. haha.

I had Todd film it. He acted as if he was checking out how they have the office laid out for ideas for his office. Lame but it worked. Nick was filming Andy but like I said, his didn’t work

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Side note: I had told my girlfriend that I’d be home by 6 that night, but it took me waaaay longer to set up than I thought. I was busy setting it up when she called a couple times and I had gotten glitter on my face in the process of working on it. So…. I was extra late coming home, I told her I was “working late” and I had glitter on my face. LOL. I know she trusts me but it was pretty funny.

FYI the reason I couldn’t tell her what I was doing is because I didn’t want her to suspect anything. I had plans for her as well:

Ever since I started Jiu Jitsu I’ve been concerned with getting cauliflower ear. It looks terrible and is failry common in wrestling, jiu jitsu and other MMA. You can get it from one very bad injury or many repeated injuries to the ear. So I decided I’d tell her that I had a very bad injury tonight in BJJ class while sparring. My brother helped. He texted her asking why my gym might be calling him, said he missed the call, and asked if I was ok. (he is my emergency contact). I later texted Brittany with a story of how I took a very hard knee to the ear and my ear was extremely damaged. I told her that the owner (an ex-MMA fighter) looked at it and said I’d almost surely have permanent swelling.

Here’s the pic:

After dragging it out a little longer once she got home, I decided to tell her the truth. She wasn’t too happy with me, but eventually came around. I was expecting her to be concerned with dating a deformed troll, but she was actually just concerned for my well-being. That kinda backfired lol.

All in all it was a fun April Fool’s day and I hope to continue next year with something bigger and better. We’ll see!

It is a dark time for freedom lovers. Our government has decided to expand itself and its control on our lives. I have too many thoughts on this subject to pour out in a blog–it would become a novel. Instead, here are the would-be chapters:

•  A partisan power grab against the will of the people, using shady deals and phony executive orders to squeeze by the minimum vote requirement with zero support from the minority party.
• The creation of a massive new entitlement, the burden of which will be shouldered by our children and their families for generations to come.
• The creation of a new “right”–the right to have heathcare. This is the first right that requires the labor or wealth of others. Freedom of speech, religion, press, right to bear arms, right to private property, etc are all self-contained. This ‘right’ is simply the enslavement of the providers of that right.
• Higher taxes in a struggling economy. Does the Democrat party know nothing of basic economics?
• The end of private health care companies. How can it makes sense that pre-existing conditions must be covered? Why would anyone buy insurance until they had a condition? How can an insurance company be expected to profit or survive?
• And thus, the opening of the door to a single payer public option. Once the private insurers can’t survive, we’ll only have the government to turn to. If you think getting your driver’s license renewed is bad, imagine that process unleashed on the medical system. And once the state is responsible for your health, they will be sure to make sure you are healthy–via taxes/outlaws on ‘unhealthy’ behavior. More control.
• And finally, the increasing unsustainability of our national debt. Would you lend someone money if they were 10trillion dollars in debt? Inflation is coming in disastrous proportions. They can only print their way out of this mess.

With a half a year to go before elections, a republican reversal in November is far from assured. We do have some hope, however. With Virginia, Florida and other states gearing up to sue over this violation of the constitution and state’s rights, I am optimistic. And perhaps the republicans can win a majority in November. If so, I hope they add an amendment to repeal the healthcare law to EVERY bill sent to the president’s desk. Make him veto everything. Defense appropriations? Veto. Funding for schools? Veto. Kittens are cute? Veto.

View my answers to others’ questions here:

http://www.formspring.me/landonswan

From Return of the Jedi

The photo doesn’t show it, but I had a sweeeet replica blaster, and she had awesome movie-matching shoes and hair down to mid back. Quite authentic.

compare: Leia, Han

So you want to use networking to your advantage as a means to helping yourself.
The trick to doing so may surprise you:

Help them first, ask for nothing in return.

It’s true! If you want to make solid relationships and build on those relationships, you have to start with the other guy. Listen to him, give him your ideas for his business (for free) and work zero angles for yourself. Be honest and sincere. Help him and I promise he’ll end up helping you 90% of the time.

Stop being so damn selfish. Its not all about you. Its about how you can help others. Help them succeed and they’ll want to help you succeed. Win-win is better than win-lose. Start with making HIM a winner, your win will follow.