Just Another Day…

Author: Thomas Tomchak

  • One-On-One With Andrew

    On Friday I decided to take Andrew with me to run some errands and to get a haircut with me. The haircut didn’t work out so much (he started throwing a fit) but the rest of the day was great.

    We walked around downtown for a bit, sat outside and had a snack together, went to home depot and Starbucks. You could tell he liked the special attention he was receiving.

    When you have twins, right from the get-go your time is split between two children. It’s not like when they come one at a time and at least for a period they receive all of your attention. It’s such a gift even for us as parents when we get these opportunities to not have our attention split 2-3 ways.

    Moving forward we are trying to schedule more one-on-one time with each child so that they don’t feel like they have to compete for our time, and we can get to know them even better. For example, Brenda has been taking Max to the health club to go swimming a few days a week just so they can have time together, and it has clearly benefited Max.

    I’m looking forward to Sydney being a little bit older so that we can work her into that mix as well.


  • New Book: Delivering Happiness

    The visionary CEO of Zappos explains how an emphasis on corporate culture can lead to unprecedented success.

    Pay new employees $2000 to quit. Make customer service the entire company, not just a department. Focus on company culture as the #1 priority. Apply research from the science of happiness to running a business. Help employees grow both personally and professionally. Seek to change the world. Oh, and make money too.

    Sound crazy? It’s all standard operating procedure at Zappos.com, the online retailer that’s doing over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales every year.

    In 1999, Tony Hsieh (pronounced Shay) sold LinkExchange, the company he co-founded, to Microsoft for $265 million. He then joined Zappos as an adviser and investor, and eventually became CEO.

    In 2009, Zappos was listed as one of Fortune magazine’s top 25 companies to work for, and was acquired by Amazon later that year in a deal valued at over $1.2 billion on the day of closing.

    In his first book, Tony shares the different business lessons he learned in life, from a lemonade stand and pizza business through LinkExchange, Zappos, and more. Ultimately, he shows how using happiness as a framework can produce profits, passion, and purpose both in business and in life.

    Buy it on Amazon.com


  • New Book: REWORK

    From the founders of the trailblazing software company 37signals, here is a different kind of business book one that explores a new reality. Today, anyone can be in business. Tools that used to be out of reach are now easily accessible. Technology that cost thousands is now just a few bucks or even free. Stuff that was impossible just a few years ago is now simple.That means anyone can start a business. And you can do it without working miserable 80-hour weeks or depleting your life savings. You can start it on the side while your day job provides all the cash flow you need. Forget about business plans, meetings, office space – you don’t need them.

    With its straightforward language and easy-is-better approach, Rework is the perfect playbook for anyone who’s ever dreamed of doing it on their own. Hardcore entrepreneurs, small-business owners, people stuck in day jobs who want to get out, and artists who don’t want to starve anymore will all find valuable inspiration and guidance in these pages. It’s time to rework work.

    ©2010 Jason Fried


  • Done At Last!

    To say a weight is lifted off my shoulder having finally finished this would be an understatement. It took around 15 hours over 3 weeks (whenever I could get out there even for just an hour). Thank you Brenda for letting me finish it yesterday while you battled the twins alone!


  • Sydney 9 Month Checkup

    It’s going to be a year before we know it!