Think crypto is confusing?

You're right.

Let's make it easier.

Here's Crypto Terminology 101: 🧵

Altcoin:

Any coin that's not #Bitcoin

Ether (#ETH) is the second most popular coin overall and the most well-known Altcoin.

Ether is the native cryptocurrency on the Ethereum blockchain.

There are thousands of other altcoins, but for now, this is the one to know.

Bitcoin: (#BTC)

The first decentralized digital currency.

Launched in 2009 by an unknown person or organization known only as "Satoshi Nakamoto."

It is the most famous, and most valuable cryptocurrency.

Blockchain:

The core tech behind Bitcoin and most other cryptocurrencies.

An open, distributed, general ledger where transactions are organized into blocks which are then connected using cryptography.

Coin:

A store of digital value that lives on a blockchain.

Some blockchains, such as Bitcoin, use the same name for both the network and the coin.

Stable coins are another type of cryptocurrency which are backed by fiat currency (e.g the US dollar) or commodities such as Gold.

Things don't get easier.

We get better.

THREAD: 10 principles to narrow your focus, conquer your fear, and overcome life's obstacles.

1/ Narrow your focus

Time is finite.

It is both our most valuable resource & the one we are most likely to waste.

Ask yourself:

Of the things I say are important to me, which am I willing to take immediate action toward?

Focus on these. Start today.

2/ Fear (Part 1)

A few years ago, after trying to convince the owner for months, I was given the opportunity to run a business.

One day she walked in and said:

"OK, you told me you could do it, it's yours. You start tomorrow."

I was scared to death.

I wanted out.

👇🏻

3/ Fear (Part 2)

I had exactly what I asked for, but fear was taking over.

What if I fail? People will laugh.

What if I succeed? Can I continue to meet these new expectations?

2 years later, we were the most profitable we'd ever been.

Don't let fear be a limiting force.

4/ No straight lines

Don't expect your journey to be linear.

We all map out in our minds the ideal path from where we are to where we want to be.

The secret lies in being able to roll with the punches.

Those who do great things adapt, overcome, and color outside the lines.

25 years ago my father made me a deal...

I only had to do one thing.

I failed.

THREAD: A story about a father, a son, and life meeting you halfway.

It was the summer of 1996, I had just turned 15 & like any 15-year-old boy, I only had one thing on my mind.

OK, maybe two.

Other than girls, the main thing I wanted, all I could talk about, was a car.

Or in my case a truck.

The deal was simple.

Over the next year, I'd be given chores to complete around our home.

With an agreed-upon hourly rate, I was free to work as much, or as little, as I choose.

At the end of the year, whatever I earned, my father would match.

Up to $2500.

Best case scenario?

I earn $2,500, my dad matches $2,500.

I've got $5K to spend!

Look out world, I'm gonna be rich!

There was only one catch, I had to do the work.

Not only did I have to do the work, I had to ask what work needed to be done.

I came out of the gate fast.

Asking my father for anything and everything I could do to earn a buck, and he obliged.

Each time I asked, he had a new project ready and waiting.

The opportunity was there, and I was seizing it!

20 of the smartest things that have ever been said: 🧵

"Holding onto your anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”

–Buddha

“We are what we repeatedly do, Excellence is therefore not an act but a habit."

–Aristotle

"Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end.

It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's a day you've had everything to do and you've done it."

–Margaret Thatcher

“There are only two great tragedies in life: one is not getting what you want and the other is getting it.”

–Oscar Wilde

Don't lose today planning for tomorrow.

Don't join the pack –– Lead it.

10 Stoic principles that will immediately change your life: 🧵

On Wealth:

We all want more.

More things, more money, more prestige...

Whatever 'it' is, we never seem to have enough.

But what if we measured wealth differently?

Not by what we don't have, but by what we don't need?

True wealth is found in wanting less, not having more.

On Truth:

Too often we become set in our ways.

We believe our opinion is right, and are unwilling to consider alternate perspectives.

Have an open mind.

Be willing to change.

He who thinks he knows everything knows nothing.

On Control:

Some things we can change, some we cannot.

The secret to happiness lies in the ability to differentiate between the two.

Ask yourself:

Do I have the power to change this?

If so, get to it.

If not, move on.

On Looking Back:

Quit living in the past.

I've been guilty of this, as I'm sure you have as well.

Stop worrying about what could have been or what you should have done.

Start new. Start fresh. Start today.

What's done is done, but the future has yet to be written.

What do the world's greatest leaders know about the power of persuasion that you don't?

THREAD: How you can unlock the ability to change anyone's mind.

Let's get smarter... 👇🏻

1/ As far back as the mid 300's BC, humans were fascinated by the power of persuasion.

In light of this, Aristotle developed what is known as the "Rhetorical Triangle."

A framework for persuading any audience using 3 simple appeals:

•Ethos
•Pathos
•Logos

Let's dig in...

2/ Ethos (Ethics / Character)

The first of the 3 appeals, Ethos speaks to the perceived character of the speaker.

In order to persuade anyone to do anything, they must first believe you are a credible and trustworthy source.

How do you accomplish this?

3/ Establishing Ethos: (1)

•Language: Choose verbiage that is fitting to the subject matter and audience you are trying to persuade.

•Pedigree: Do you have specific credentials or education relating to the topic being covered? If so, make it known.

👇🏻

4/ Establishing Ethos: (2)

•Rapport: Your audience must feel as though you are "in sync."

You understand and can relate to their feelings or ideas.

TL;DR

•Choose the right language
•Communicate pedigree
•Build Rapport

Trust becomes a byproduct.

Let's see an example 👇🏻

There are currently over 1.86 Billion websites.

Few provide any real value.

Here are 7 that do: 🧵

1/ Attend the Ivy League:

Always thought it would be cool to go to an Ivy League school?

Here's your chance.

Free lecture notes, exams, and videos from

2/ Millions of books: Available for free.

Booklists seem to be all the rage recently on Twitter.

(I'm guilty of posting a couple myself)

Instead of a list, here's a link to a library full of them.

The goal:
"A web page for every book ever

3/ Talks from a wide-ranging group of thinkers & doers.

If you enjoy TED, you should check out 99U "The Talks."

Past speakers include executives and creators from the New York Times, Netflix, Google, &

4/ I love documentaries.

As you know, many can be found on the major streaming services.

What you may not know? There are literally thousands of others available for free.

Here's a good place to

Gmail has 1.8 billion users.

But most of them don't know how to use it effectively.

Here are 8 ways to double your Gmail productivity today: 📩

1/ Mute Conversations:

We've all been there.

Copied on an email chain with several other people, on a topic that's somewhere south of relevant to you.

No worries. Just mute the conversation.

•Select the message
•Click the 3 dot icon above
•Select "mute"

2/ Look like you're working (when you're not)

Gmail offers scheduling... Who knew?

No need to be physically sitting at your desk, or hammering out emails on your phone after hours.

•Compose your message
•Click the dropdown next to "send"
•Click "schedule send"

3/ Send pre-set replies:

Tired of typing the same responses time and time again?

Never fear, canned responses are here!

•Head to settings > all-settings
•Locate "templates"
•Click "enable"

Templates can be inserted through the "more options" menu in the compose toolbar.

4/ Remove those annoying tabs:

Maybe it's just me, but I hate the "social & promotions" tabs that come with the standard Gmail setup.

Let's trash them, & get all your mail in one place.

•Head to settings > all-settings
•Inbox > categories
•Choose which to show as tabs

15 of the smartest things ever said: 🧵

“We are what we repeatedly do, Excellence is therefore not an act but a habit." –Aristotle

"Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end.

It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's a day you've had everything to do and you've done it."

–Margaret Thatcher

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power."

–Abraham Lincoln

"It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows."
–Epictetus

10 must-have Excel skills everyone should know: 📊

Sparklines:

One of my personal favorites.

Sparklines allow you to insert miniature graphs inside an individual cell to easily visualize data.

•Select range
•Insert ⇢ Sparkline
• Choose type

People Graph:

I'm a big fan of visual representations of data.

Using 'People Graph' is an easy way to liven up your spreadsheet, especially when tracking metrics related to, well, humans.

Create an infographic to visualize social media engagement, app users, customers, & more.

Tables:

If you're not using tables in Excel, you should be.

• Clean formatting
• Auto-expand as new data is added
• Total row quick and easy data summaries
• Formulas carry through entire columns
• Create dynamic charts that update automatically & much more.

Here's how:

Slicer:

Now that you're using tables, let's insert one of my favorite filtering tools.

The Slicer

•Click anywhere inside a table
•Go to table ⇢ insert slicer
•Select the fields you want

A dialog box will appear.

Click any slicer button & data is filtered accordingly.

It's time to run your inbox––instead of it running you.

12 powerful Gmail tips every user should know: 📬

Undo Send:

Don't tell me you haven't done it.

You clicked "reply all" on a message including your boss when you meant to only reply to your friend.

Save yourself!

With Undo Send, Gmail allows you to recall a message sent in error for up to 30 seconds after you click send.

Tie emails to Tasks:

Look, we're all busy.

When your inbox is filling up faster than you can handle, it's easy to forget to reply, miss an assignment, or just plain feel overwhelmed.

Connecting emails to tasks can help.

Get reminders, add details, subtasks, and more.

Schedule Send:

With schedule send, you can draft an email at a time that works for you.

Then schedule it to be sent at a time that fits your employees' and customers' day.

In the world of remote work, this is critical.

It's a win-win.

Work on your time, send on theirs.

Confidential Mode:

Sometimes you send an email you'd prefer not live on forever.

Better yet, you'd like it if the recipient wasn't able to save, copy, or forward to someone else.

With confidential mode, you can do just that.

Set expiration dates, require passcodes, & more.

I built a monthly budget & expense tracker in Google Sheets this week.

Here's a breakdown of how it works and a free template you can use: 📊

First things first:

There are about 1,000,000 different ways you can budget your money.

But if you're looking for a financial advisor, that ain't me.

I'm just sharing a simple template that anyone can use to get started.

(Link at the end)

Wanna know how it works?

Read on:👇🏻

Step 1: Setup

We'll start by creating our framework.

Put simply:

• What do we want to track?
• How often?

I prefer to track finances on a monthly basis.

Begin by renaming one tab (or worksheet) within your doc & creating another.

Tab 1 - "YTD Dashboard"
Tab 2 - "January"

Step 2: What to track?

For the sake of time & simplicity, I've gone ahead & populated January with a few sample ideas:

• High-level categories: Income, Savings, & Expenses.

• Subitems below each:

Income → Salary
Housing → Lawn Care
Utilities → Electric

And so on...

Step 3: Basic Formatting

I like things to be formatted in a similar manner across sheets.

A few quick rules of thumb I've used here:

• Headings: Merge + Center, ⬆ Font, Bold
• Sheet Gridlines: Turned off
• Subitems: Heavy borders
• Totals: ⬆ Font, Bold

For example:

3 Excel Tips you can master in 3 minutes each: 📊

AGGREGATE:

This function returns the result of an aggregate calculation like Average, Count, Sum, Max, or Min.

What makes it special?

Aggregate performs these functions while allowing you to ignore errors, hidden rows, blanks, and more.

Here's how:

Defined Cell Names:

Formulas in Excel are extremely useful.

That said, they can also be quite confusing.

By defining cell names, you can make them much more user-friendly and easier to read.

Instead of seeing = 'A3-B3'
You'll now see = 'Revenue-Cost'

Check it out:

Consolidate:

Take data from multiple tabs.

Consolidate into one.

Sum, average, count, it's your choice.

By creating links to the source data, your consolidation tab will update automatically.

The best part? No formulas required.

Last:

If you really want to get better at Excel, you can't afford to miss this.

I'll keep it simple:

✅ Most jobs require basic Excel skills.
✅ More skills = More money 💰

Signups Open Now!

This thread will make you better at Outlook: 📬

Color code your emails:

I like to keep things organized.

I'm forgetful & I get A LOT of emails.

The easiest way I've found to ensure things don't get lost is utilizing conditional formatting.

• View -> View Settings
• Conditional Formatting
• Select type
• Name the rule

Never miss a game:

Did you know you can add custom event calendars directly in Outlook?

Never miss your favorite TV show or the next big game.

• Just head to "Add Calendar"
• Select "Sports" or "TV"
• Choose the event you'd like to add.

Send delay:

Sometimes you need to write a message now but wait to deliver it until later.

Just use "Delayed Delivery."

Here's how:

• Write your email
• Select Options -> Delay Delivery
• Choose the "Do not deliver before" time

Email your calendar:

Avoid the back and forth hassle of scheduling meetings.

Simply email your calendar so people know when you're available (and when you're not.)

You can also drag items from the received calendar to your own.

Like this:

Everyone wants to tell you what to do.

Not me.

I'm going to tell you what NOT to do.

10 career mistakes I've made––so you don't have to:

Quit focusing solely on compensation.

Money and benefits are nice, but they're not everything.

Environment, advancement opportunities, and overall quality of life are far more important in the long run.

Instead of asking "how much can I make," ask "how much can I grow."

Don't get too comfortable.

You've been at your job for years.

You can do it with your eyes closed and both hands tied behind your back.

That doesn't mean you should.

Don't let 5-10 years slip away due to complacency.

Take control, challenge yourself, level up.

Don't be afraid to fail.

I'll take an employee who is willing to try over one who is not, every single time.

Good managers expect some level of failure within each project, in fact, they plan for it.

Put yourself out there, take a chance, it's the only way you'll advance.

Quit trying to do it alone.

People want to help.

Toiling endlessly on a project when you're unsure what to do next only makes you look inefficient.

Asking for help doesn't mean you're incapable, it means you're invested and shows you care.

10 can't miss Excel skills every single user should know: 📊

Custom Lists:

Stop wasting time entering the same customer names, product types, and generally repetitive data.

Creating custom lists is easy.

• Excel
• Preferences
• Custom Lists
• Create and click "Add"

Type the first item, then drag, and the rest of your list appears!

Data Types:

Data Types is a relatively new feature that was added to Excel in 2020.

It allows you to enter text, select data type, then extracts information based on the criteria you select.

Here's a pretty cool example using states where we can pull population data instantly:

SORTBY:

I'm a fan of organized data.

What I'm not a fan of?

Manually updating my sort every time something changes or new information is added.

Here's an easy fix.

With the SORTBY function, we can create a table that dynamically adjusts along with our data in real-time.

Unique:

Back in the day, Pivot Tables were my go-to for identifying unique items within large data sets.

Not anymore.

Now I use the "Unique" function in MS365 to easily identify and separate repeated items.

So simple.

Don't blink or you'll miss it:

10 powerful Excel features every user should know: 📊

Flash Fill:

Let's say you've got all the data you need––it just isn't in the right place.

"Flash Fill" is your friend.

Quickly extract pieces of text from one cell and move them to another OR combine text from multiple cells into a single place.

Camera Snapshot

Here's a little-known trick to move data between workbooks.

First, add "camera" to your quick access toolbar.

•Select your data ⇢ click 📷
•Paste to new workbook

The cool part: When you update the main workbook, the data in the picture updates as well! 🤯

Analyze Data:

I was never very good at Pivot tables, graphs, & analyzing data on my own.

Lucky for me (and you) Excel will do the heavy lifting for us.

•Select the range of data
•"Home" ⇢ "Analyze Data"

Charts, tables, & analysis––premade.

Click "insert" & you're done!

X-Lookup

If you're an old-school Excel user, there's no doubt you're familiar with V-Lookup.

X is the new & improved version, here's why:

•Lookup array does NOT have to be only on the left-hand side.
•Allows you to return multiple values at the same time.

Here's how: 👇🏻