Category: Blog

On giving gifts

• be passionate about gifting, the gift should be the great in the act, but can be modest in its form
• don’t gift if you don’t want to
• gift randomly, not only when people do expect it
• when gifting randomly do your best, surprise the other part, make them smile.
• the gift is not a door to future rewards, it’s ok if a gift never comes back for you
• No expectation: don’t expect a gift to be used, likeable, whatever. You are giving a gift, not an assignment.
• hug, but only when it doesn’t feel too awkward

On accepting gifts

• accept the gift you’re given, unless they require some kind of commitment right away, in that case take your time.
• be grateful for the gift you’ve been given, honestly, openly, passionately.
• it’s ok if you don’t like it, be honest without being an asshole, there’s a lot of difference between “this is shit” and “I don’t know if I’ll get to use it”, which might be just the reality
• even if you don’t like it, give it a shot, it might take you outside of your comfort zone and let you discover new ways.
• once an unexpected gift is given to you, set a reminder to give back so you won’t forget.
• hug, when possible (not the gift, the person!)

When you look at a leaf through the rays of the sun you can see all the veins running inside the leaf.

It is beautiful, but this beauty has no price.

You don’t pay for it. The only thing that’s required for you is to respect it.

This got me thinking, that it is worth creating something free only for the world and not for ourselves.

It is worth because that’s what nature does every single day, and the results are pretty good.

You get this all the time:
At work someone writes you an email with a question that’s not your field of competence.

Well, you might know that Pete is the person who’s gonna help him, or you might know that’s better to ask John, but either way you decide to just say
“Sorry, I’m not the one doing this, send an email to the -insert generic email- group”.

That’s none of your business afterall, why would you even care?

Another example

This morning at the hotel a man had a credit card that wasn’t accepted, the man behind the desk was clearly annoyed, but the man was so sincere and honest it was difficult to misunderstand his intentions.

He was also from outside this country.

In the end the man behind the desk harshly replied to the customer and the customer went in search of an ATM.
Afterall it was not the employee’s business to help people have a working credit card, right?

But we have also been on the other side of the fence, didn’t we?
We were the ones with a broken card, or in search of the right person to write to, because, you know… we have work to be done like everyone else.

This kind of ping pong just renders all of this worst.
Everyone (myself first) should note this, and think about it next time a person comes asking for help.

It is our business to make this world better.
It is our business to help the other people.

We can ignore this, but you’ll know what price you have paid only few years from now.
The price is your character, the price is your surroundings, the price is the way people will think of you and will help you again when you need it, the price is the world you’ll left to your children.

In fact, the price is the world itself.

I was coming back to the hotel today from work.

The road to the hotel here in Milan is a long street with 2 lines of trees in the center and many high building on the sides.
I was walking and I started watching the surroundings.

I remember a girl using a small wood stick to make noise while the mother covers her eyes with fatigue.
I remember a well dressed man walking in front of me, a small woman closing the car with something undefinable in her hand.

Then while I entered the hotel the two mens were talking about working, one tired and the other energetic.

All of this, in a small walk.

How many times have we ignored the world surrounding us?
Any time we time travel with our mind into the past or the future we lose the present.
It’s a common thing many people know already, but how many times do we actually make it right?

Trying it even once might change your day.

To create a good product you need to try.

First, try the product.
There’s no way you can build a good product without trying it first.
Be the user, use it, solve it your own problems until you are fully satisfied with the solution.
Keep it real, be honest with yourself.

Secondly, try harder, fail without fear.
You must test, you must try, you must sell without malice.
Be the owner you want to meet when you enter the shop, smiley, lovely, open to questions and critiques.

Then you must learn how to scale.