Matthieu Ricard – Happiest man in the world You have been there too, in a similar situation, I am sure. For me, there is this startup I am running called Buffer. And we are having troubles ever so often. Server issues, investors who said no to investing, annoyed users, who want to cancel. What used … Read more
English is not my native language. So every so often, there are words I come across, that really fascinate me. One of those words is “to pounce”. The word alone, when you pronounce it, is extremely powerful. Just try speaking it out loud now: “to pounce”. And what’s even more powerful is the mindset it … Read more
For the past 6 weeks I have tried lots of different things to start learning to code. At first I started with Codeacademy to get a basic understanding of html and css. That’s a great way to start out with I believe. At the same time, if you are trying to create a true habit … Read more
It hit me a few months ago that over the last 10 years or so, I couldn’t remember having cried once. For some reason, and I’m trying to trace back why, I trained myself to not ever cry. I explored whether that was my environment and concluded it wasn’t since I have seen all of my close … Read more
When I was 5 years old, I decided that what I wanted to do with my life is become a pro soccer player. For the next 10 years, until I turned 15, I’d try and do everything to work my way towards that. At age 10 I’d train 5 times a week and use the … Read more
Recently something fascinating happened to me and I want to tell you about it. Forgetting to scale my sleep when working out Gradually, over the last year or so, I started to work out a lot more. I hit the gym roughly 5 times a week. It’s been a great way to strike a balance … Read more
Ever since the Social Network was released, it feels there is a new hype building up around creating your own “thing”. Which will eventually turn into Facebook or something. Hiten Shah, someone I truly respect for his startup achievements brought me onto this and reflected upon it in this week’s newsletter. He brought it to the … Read more
Mark McLeod, Mark Suster and many others often advise that you need someone like that: So when I thought about writing this post, I wanted to be a cool expert too. Going on and telling you about how important it is, that you have someone typing away, day and night. Someone blogging about your product … Read more
There is a question I’ve recently asked myself: When was the last time I’ve actually listened to music? I don’t mean: When was the last time I walked somewhere and I listened to music. Or: When was the last time I was on the train and listened to music. Or: When was the last time I … Read more
Out of all the definitions I’ve read about meditation and its benefits, there is one story from Thich Nhat Hanh that I keep remembering and quoting whenever I’m in discussion with people about the topic. Today three children, two girls and a little boy, came from the village to play with Thanh Thuy (pronounced ‘Tahn … Read more
Every evening, or sometimes during the day, I’m writing to do lists. Or sometimes an Anti-to do list. I love these lists. Seriously, I think it’s a great feeling to tick things off and to feely mightily productive. Yet, sometimes, these lists can build up. It can feel that I have to work through them, … Read more
A great entrepreneur I look up to and friend of mine was recently covered by one of the largest mainstream newspapers in her country. She received a lot of hate and negativity from the audience, something all too common for mainstream news. It triggered me to think more as the conversation led on to talking … Read more
On this day, around 2 years ago, I’m about a few weeks away before I’ve had a brief Skype chat with Joel on a side project he was working on. He’d called it bfffr.com. It was a site that would let you queue up Tweets and release them well spaced out over the day. The … Read more
Over the last two years since I’ve been working on Buffer, there is one particular theme that keeps coming up over and over. It is in fact so consistent both in my own actions and other startups and founders that I work with, that I felt it finally deserved a full post. It is the … Read more
How do you focus on daily positivity and happiness in life? You practice it every day, just like playing the violin or learning to ride a bike. Here are some of the lessons we’ve learnt so far with Buffer and with general activities that helps become a happier self: Would love to get your thoughts … Read more
A few days ago, I was in bed, getting ready to fall asleep. Often when I’m lying in bed, I listen to a talk by Thich Nhat Hanh on SoundCloud. I find his voice and insights very soothing and it helps me calm my thoughts down and go to sleep gently. That night again, I was … Read more
Over the past of my brief startup experience I have worked with 4 different people to get something of the ground. Neither of those collaborations worked out and we eventually parted in very different directions. In my current (actually first real) startup the experience couldn’t be any different. Me and Joel are in such great … Read more
On my way to the airport this week, I’ve had an amazing conversation with Joel. It was about a topic I thought I had nailed for a long time and realized that actually rather the opposite was the case. Joel told me something very inspiring along the lines of that whenever someone mentions the phrase … Read more
How do you start your day and why is it so important to take control of it? In the second episode of startup life, Joel and I are discussing the various benefits of having a clear and set daily routine: It’d be great to get your thoughts on what the first things are you … Read more
I remember a conversation with Joel, when we first heard about a company operating without managers. We were absolutely baffled. There was no way, we thought, that Buffer could ever work in that way. How can any work get done without managers? We concluded that this is one of the things we will just never … Read more