Karina Quiñonez

Año nuevo, vida nueva!… (new year, new life). That is an expression in my country. Very popular every January.

Resolutions? Goals? Desires? … For me, one of them is to share EVEN MORE via this blog.That’s why I’ve invited a special guest to share his life changing experiences in 2015.

He is my best friend (and my husband 🙂 )

Walter is an Entrepreneur that started his journey in 2012. Since then, his professional project became one of our family projects.

As couple, we share our experiences @work as an in-house therapy, but since January 2015 we turned into partners and classmates of life.

The benefits as individuals and as a family are so valuable that we have to SHARE them with you.

Ok, without further introduction, here is Walter:

Your “Fantastic Four” in 2016

By Walter Van Noten

A chain of events may make 2016 the best year ever for your wellbeing and personal development. It is perfectly plausible because it is exactly what happened to me last year.

It all started with a friend who invited me to accompany him to the Business Bootcamp of Open Circles Academy in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

This event automatically led me to find four fantastic teachers in the course of 2015. I will introduce you to them. They were my Fantastic Four last year and they can be yours in 2016.

They are ordered by date of discovery

Nisandeh Neta

Nisandeh Neta owns Open Circles Academy. I was sceptic and suspicious when I attended their Business Bootcamp in January 2015, but I was soon reassured by the fact that Nisandeh is the type that encourages people to read books and to contribute to a better world. I’ve been an enthusiastic costumer of OCA ever since.

Nisandeh and his partner Vered are two great teachers for the price of one. Both of them teach extremely well from stage about business, marketing, personal finance, personal development, contribution, authenticity and much more.

It is Nisandeh’s specialty to kick your butt. He may very well be the most energizing teacher you will find in 2016.

For an introduction to Open Circles Academy, read their blog and inscribe to their mailing list or free seminars. Don’t worry: they tell their students not to spam people.

I highly recommend that you invest 2 days and 47€(!) to go to the Business Bootcamp. For me, that was a life changing experience. It is so good that I have the intention to go back at least once a year.

Two favourite blogs:

https://www.opencircles.com/blog/your-complete-guide-to-losing-opportunity/

https://www.opencircles.com/blog/how-to-get-clients-when-nobody-buys/

Tim Ferriss

Nisandeh’s teachings led me to have the mind blowing experience of reading “The Four Hour Work Week” in a hammock in San Salvador last summer.

Don’t be misguided by the youthful appearance of author Tim Ferriss. Some say he is “a machine”, others call him “The Superman of Silicon Valley”. All I know is that his books, which all rank among the most highly rated on Amazon, are the most inspiring things I’ve read in 2015.

He teaches about productivity, time management, business, health, diet, fitness, learning, cooking(!) and much more. His writings excel in clarity and it is his specialty to make something very difficult look easy, actionable and fun.

Tim Ferriss is a very exciting teacher!

The easiest introduction to his work is probably his blog, often mentioned as one of the best in the world. I recommend downloading his podcasts for great use of time in traffic.

The blog could very well be the greatest resource on personal development on the planet. It must be the greatest gateway to other great teachers. It certainly is entirely FREE.

Two favourite podcasts

With Ramit Sethi: http://fourhourworkweek.com/2014/10/09/ramit-sethi-on-persuasion-and-turning-a-blog-into-a-multi-million-dollar-business/

With Derek Sivers: http://fourhourworkweek.com/2015/12/14/derek-sivers-on-developing-confidence-finding-happiness-and-saying-no-to-millions/

Ramit Sethi

Initially I was put off by the scammy sounding title of his book: “I will teach you to be rich”. That changed profoundly when I read it. Ever since, I’ve been an enthusiastic consumer of the free and paid content on his website with the same name.

Ramit Sethi must be the greatest copywriter that has ever lived because, after you inscribe to his mailing lists, he sends you very long emails that you actually want to read.

Ramit, the coolest and funniest teacher you may find in 2016, wants to be your “surrogate Asian father”.

He teaches about business, personal finance, marketing, copy writing, personal development, productivity and much more.

The best introduction to Ramit Sethi may be his interview on Tim’s podcast. Or simply read his blog and inscribe to one of his mailing lists.

Two favourite blogs:

http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/stop-wasting-time-on-minor-life-decisions/

http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/email-etiquette-how-to-get-responses-to-your-important-emails/

Derek Sivers

Karina had bought Derek Sivers’ book “Anything you want”. I was mesmerized after reading just the first few pages.

Tim Ferriss understandably calls him “one of my favourite humans” and dedicated 2 podcasts to him. Both of them are remarkable. Both of them are my favourites. I want to listen to them over and over again.

The teachings of Derek Sivers go far beyond business. He encourages you to find out what you really want, to better understand “success” and to be free. He is a great philosopher. He may be the wisest teacher you will find this year.

Derek Sivers distils his wisdom into directives. For an amazing sample, listen to his definition of success and his “habits and skills for the most successful life” on his second podcast with Tim Ferriss, around minute 28.

At this writing, it is my greatest delight is to read Derek’s notes for an easy introduction to the many great books he’s read.

Watch this video for an introduction to his work. Notice how he is a model for authenticity and for leaving your ego @home.

Two favourite blogs:

https://sivers.org/below-average

https://sivers.org/multiply

Any one of the Fantastic Four will tell you that you should only be in business to help others and he will teach you how to do it.

I wish I had known them already a few years ago, when I was still fantasizing about making the jump and becoming self-employed. You now have a head start.

I’v recently learned that you should read TO DO…

Anything You Want from Derek Sivers is a must-read for anyone who wants to be happy by making his customers happy.

As Tim Ferriss says: “a fun ride you’ll return to again and again”. I already did, more than once.

Do you want to try? Well, we have a GIFT for the first 10 people that answer the following question in the textbox below:

What do you want to be your biggest accomplishment in 2016?

We will send the book GRATIS to your Kindle. To answer the question, please use the same email that you use for your kindle account.

PS: Do you know someone that can benefit of the information above?… share it! Via the buttons below.

Let’s make this year the best for everybody!

Hasta la próxima,

Walter & Kaqui…