Disqus - Latest Comments for derrickkwa

Re: LL 020: Embracing Imperfection w/ Ashley Beaudin

Derrick Kwa — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 03:21:28 -0000

I love this. =) And it comes at a great time for me, so thanks. Been in a bit of a rut the past couple of weeks, feeling like I'm not good enough or doing well enough. And it's great to have this reminder that imperfection is okay, and that we all go through that.

Re: LL 019: Growth Happens Outside of Your Comfort Zone

Derrick Kwa — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 02:13:04 -0000

Love the mindset shift of thinking "I get to do this" instead of "I have to". And yeah, I'm definitely a huge believer in going outside your comfort zone, and doing the things that scare you. I don't necessarily "following your gut" needs to contradict that though. Perhaps it's more about....training your gut to embrace the scary things, if that makes sense?

Re: [285] Why You Deserve To Love What You Do with Joel Zaslofsky

Derrick Kwa — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 00:25:31 -0000

Love this. =) It's so important to remember that what works for others isn't necessarily what will work for you. You need to figure out what works for you.

Re: There’s always another solution

Derrick Kwa — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 00:02:22 -0000

I love this. =) And it's so true - too often we put ourselves in false dichotomies. One that I've been seeing a lot lately is the decision being "doing what you love" and "doing what you're good at" - instead of realizing that there's often a path to both.

Re: Original Ideas...Or Creative Ideas? Getting Beyond The Stuck.

Derrick Kwa — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 03:13:29 -0000

Love this. I especially love the idea that "What would make their book successful is their own perspective on the topic." It's something I struggled with for years, before finally realizing that you're never really re-creating something that's been done before. You're re-doing it in your voice. With your personality, your stories, your insights. That's what makes it unique and valuable. Lots of musicians succeed by doing covers or re-arrangements. It's their own voice that makes it unique. The same is true in writing and any art form, I believe.

Re: Could You Do A Bit Less And Be More Productive?

Derrick Kwa — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 22:59:05 -0000

I love this. I'm a huge believer in doing less and focusing on the fewer things that are more important and get us more results. Actually wrote a similar article here: http://derrickkwa.com/the-k...

Re: Internet commenters in “not entirely supportive” shocker

Derrick Kwa — Thu, 25 Aug 2016 04:39:34 -0000

I don't know if it's necessarily insecurity. I think it's hard for any person to acknowledge that your own individual way isn't the best way for everyone. We all think we know best. It's important to be able to say "it's not for me, but that's okay", but that's a very difficult skill to learn.

Re: What’s Really Happening When You Get Writer’s Block (and How to Overcome It)

Derrick Kwa — Thu, 25 Aug 2016 03:29:57 -0000

Love this. =) Completely agree that writer's block is an excuse. I think one part of it is that...writing seems so much more formal, when you're putting words on paper, that the fear is even stronger. One of my favourite Seth Godin quotes is that "there's no such thing as talker's block". I've found that sometimes when I'm stuck, it's easier to just talk and ramble - there's less judgement and fear about saying the wrong things than there is about writing the wrong things - and then go back after to look (or listen) through what I said.

Re: LL 016: How to Handle Overwhelm

Derrick Kwa — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 10:42:18 -0000

Loved your #1 tip especially. I'm a huge believer in laser-focusing on the one thing that's right in front of you (even wrote about it here: http://derrickkwa.com/the-k... and you're right - it's a great way to deal with overwhelm. One thing I'd add on to that is to break down your big tasks (the things that are overwhelming you) into small steps and just focus solely on that next small step. A lot of the time, we feel overwhelmed because we look at the big goal and that feels so far away.

Re: How Tiny Goals Changed My Life And Made Me a Real Writer

Derrick Kwa — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 23:23:14 -0000

This is awesome. =) I'm a huge fan of taking small steps towards the things you want. One of my favourite sayings is that "confidence comes through small victories" - and these small goals are a great way of getting those victories.

Re: Are entrepreneurs born or developed?

Derrick Kwa — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 23:16:50 -0000

I love this. It's a great reminder that entrepreneurship isn't for everyone - and that that's okay. =) That's something that's overlooked way too often in today's world.

Re: Conquering your fears

Derrick Kwa — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 08:45:36 -0000

That's awesome. =) For what it's worth, I think you're really inspiring, so thanks for putting yourself out there and creating. Can't wait to see the interview series.

Re: Conquering your fears

Derrick Kwa — Sat, 06 Aug 2016 05:15:02 -0000

Congrats! I love this. =) "Being bold is a choice". If you don't mind sharing, I'd love to know - what made you "finally decide this time" to do it? And what was the first step you took?

Re: Blog Like a Pro: 7-Day Challenge

Derrick Kwa — Mon, 14 Mar 2016 10:19:23 -0000

www.derrickkwa.com I kind of stopped/slowed down the past couple of weeks, so this could be interesting.

Re: The monsters running wild inside of me

Derrick Kwa — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 13:00:56 -0000

Hi Jean Marie. I love this! You're really putting yourself out there and being vulnerable, and its' great. I think it's awesome that you're pushing yourself. The realization that you were hiding, and that you're going to face your fears is a great one to come to. You've got a great action plan for figuring out your new path.

I'd love to hear more about how you're going to face those fears though. Those fears are definitely going to come up again - they do for all of us. What action steps are you going to take in order to develop that skill of overcoming your fears? Recognizing them is a great first step - now let's go further!

Bravo on this post, man. It's probably the best one you've written so far - I love the courage you show in this, and putting yourself out there. Keep going!

Re: It takes 21 days to make or break a habit

Derrick Kwa — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 12:55:45 -0000

I love this post. I think it's great that you've realized that you don't need any other goal. That focus on one goal is really important, and that's awesome. It's also really great that you recognize the need for external support. You talk about not overplanning, and taking action. What do you think is the cause of the overplanning - and how can you take action to keep that in check and take action?

Re: Leaning vs. Leading

Derrick Kwa — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 12:49:23 -0000

Hi Fiel,

Love this. :) It's awesome that you're taking the journey back into a job. That's something that I think not enough people realize - that as important as it is to forge your own path, that doesn't always mean being an entrepreneur or starting your own business. Sometimes working for someone else can be the best path for you, and that's totally fine. You're clear on why you're doing it, and as long as you know that, that's what matters. So congrats on that!

Here's what I'd love to hear more about. You talk about how the skill you need is discipline, to do the work. What do you think holds you back from doing the work? What are the things you tell yourself that hold you back from taking action? What are the fears? And how do you plan on building that skill?

You've got a great direction, and real clarity on where you want to go, and that's great. It's awesome that you're moving forward - but I'd love to hear more about how you'll keep up this momentum after altMBA ends! Would hate to see you fall back into inaction again, you've got way too much to offer =)

Re: Obese to Peace

Derrick Kwa — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 01:13:54 -0000

I love the message. You've done a good job of speaking to a specific worldview. Can you go even deeper and more specific though? What does "a high value on validation by others" mean for a 15 year old girl in high school vs a 40 year old man? There's probably a difference there in terms of what those values and worldview mean to the individual - can we go deeper and speak more specifically to one of those groups?

The other thing I'd encourage you to do is to have a clear call-to-action. If someone sees your ads, for example - what action do you want them to take after?

I love the overall message. Love the hashtag, and the ad designs - there's a solid foundation here, but I think it can be even more powerful if we go even deeper and clearer.

Re: #IAM_CHANGING_MY_WORLD

Derrick Kwa — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 01:09:00 -0000

I love the simplicity of this. You've got a really clear, easy call-to-action to follow, and that's great. I like that you're trying to focus on teenagers - my question is....is there a way we can focus this even more on teenagers? And make this campaign even more specific to them so it speaks to them even more? It's a great campaign, a great idea, really simple, effective. But how can we go even deeper into a teenager's worldview to make this even more powerful?

Re: The Easy Way Out! – 3-Tofu-B

Derrick Kwa — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 01:02:49 -0000

You've done a great job at going specific into who your target audience is, and what they care about. Can you go deeper, though? You have a clear image of this person, and their behaviours - the next step is understanding their emotions. You talk about how they probaby don't have hobbies, and they often aim for quick wins - why do you think that's so? What does a desire for "quick wins" tell you about their worldview? And how can you leverage that to get them to take action?

I think you've got the surface of a good idea here, but I wonder if providing recipes, nutritional health facts, weekly challenges, etc...are those too big a step for someone who's after quick wins? Go deeper into the psychology and emotions behind your audience - is there a way you can resonate with them better?

Re: NOT AN EXCUSE

Derrick Kwa — Sat, 23 Jan 2016 00:23:21 -0000

Definitely agree. As Gary V says in this video: "everybody has time, stop watching fucking lost". https://www.youtube.com/wat...

I think part of the issue, though, is that people think they need large amounts of time to do whatever they want. They think "starting a company needs so much time, I can't do it" - without realizing that there's so much they can do in just 30 mins or an hour a day to get started. I'd think that's where to start - realizing that you don't actually need as much time as you think.

Re: One for One – the fully embraced idea

Derrick Kwa — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 13:23:57 -0000

Hi Emese,
TOMS is a great business to look at - they definitely have a great deeper meaning behind what they do. As Kelli mentioned, I'd love to see you go deeper though. Are TOMS really selling "cover for your feet"? You touch a bit on the customers - how they are aware of global poverty and want to help. I'd love for you to go deeper into that. What are the customers thinking and feeling as they buy? And how does TOMS align (or in what ways do they not align) with those thoughts and feelings?

Re: Virgin America’s In-flight Kludge

Derrick Kwa — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 13:21:04 -0000

Hi Fiel,

You've done a good job of illustrating the core concept of what it's for - that the Red system was about "fun". Kelli raises some great points about the business of VA.

I'd like to throw out another angle to look at this from, though. As the design team, the ones who are creating this. YOUR "customer" is the airline. We know what the "why" was for you (the design team). But I'd love to hear your thoughts on....the decision makers in Virgin. If Virgin Airways is the customer, "buying" this new Red system from your design team - what does VA care about? What's the emotion that provoked VA to want to embark on this project, what were their worldviews? Is there perhaps a misalignment between you guys (the design team / the Red system) and the Airline itself? Maybe that played a part into why it took two years to launch a beta?

Re: At Makers Academy, we have a dream

Derrick Kwa — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 13:15:02 -0000

Hi Jordan,

You've done a great job of telling us the why behind your company. The change you want to create, and what it's truly for. It's not about coding, it's about empowerment, and creation.

I'd love to hear more, as @Muhamed Hadzic mentioned, about your customers. You mention a bit about "finding people who are dissatisfied with their current situation". Go deeper into that. What are they feeling? What emotions are they going through? How do those people see the world? And given those answers, how does what you offer align (or in what areas does it not align) with what your customers are going through?

Re: WORKAHOLISM

Derrick Kwa — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 03:56:49 -0000

Couldn't agree more. It's not about the number of hours you put in - it's what you do with those hours. I actually just wrote a related post on my blog a couple of weeks ago: http://derrickkwa.com/the-t...