3 little words for 2014

In 2013 I lost 17 kilos, regained focus at work — and found balance in my personal life. Right now, I’m a better version of myself. That’s an amazing feeling. Much thanks to three little words — and a whole lot of focus, determination and hard work.

Last year I decided I was done with New Year’s resolutions. I never kept them anyway. I decided to set a direction instead of setting goals. I carefully picked three words I would focus on — and use them as guidance to everything I did and wanted to do.

My three words for 2013 was: no, “quality time” and health.

I needed to say no more often, I got swamped by projects and responsibilities. Making me unable to deliver a hundred percent on the things I spent my time on. I needed to spend more quality time with my girlfriend, family and close friends. And I really needed to pay more attention to my health. What I eat, and how I treated my body.

It’s been a really good year for me, and I feel that I accomplished a lot with my three little words as guidance. I’m healthier then ever, I freed up more time by saying no more often and by that got to share a lot of precious experiences with my loved ones. I‘ve grown. And for that, I am proud.

Now, as 2014 is closing in. It’s time to reflect on this year, and decide what the next will bring. What direction should I steer myself into next year? What words will I choose as guidance?

My words for 2013 are going to stay with me, as they now are a natural part of my everyday living. But I’ve also picked three new little words (with so much meaning and anticipation behind them) for 2014.

They are.

Mindfulness
I want to be even better to live in the moment. I want to stop multitasking. I want to be calmer, in the zone. I want to meditate, unclutter and simplify. I want to be more mindful of myself, everything, and everyone, around me.

Write
I love to write, and I want to grow into a better writer. I want to finish my second book by the end of the summer. And I want to write at least 20 minutes every day. Both about my professional, and personal, life’s experiences and thoughts. I believe the more I write, the better writer I become.

Travel
It’s by traveling you grow. It’s when you get into weird situations you did not expect, meet strangers, visit places you’d never been — that’s when you learn the most. I want to travel more, in and outside Norway. Not just cities, but it’s time to explore the outdoors more then I have. I want to sleep outside, walk in the mountains and experience nature. I want to unplug from technology on my travels — and just soak it all in. As much as I want to be a writer, I want to be a traveler.

So that’s my words. Just three little ones. But they mean a lot to me. The symbolize so much more. 2014 is going to be one hell of a year.

Just me writing about this makes me really psyched to get the new year started. I’m going to grow, fail, get up, learn, evolve and grow some more. All while having fun, staying humble and being hungry along the way.

Goodbye 2013, hello 2014. I’m ready.

If you feel psyched too, please join my mailing list to get updates from me.

The difference between Samsung and Apple

Ever since I saw Steve Jobs introduced Mac OSX in 2001 I’ve been a huge fan. Not just of Apple’s products – but the way they communicate. Their ads, their product launches and how the handle (or don’t handle) press. Samsung on the other hand, have had a great growth in marketshare and revenue the last couple of years – but they still struggle in terms of communication.

This is the ad Samsung made for the holidays.

And this is the ad Apple made.

See the difference? I don’t know about you – but Apple made me feel something, and Samsung’s ad is just awkward.

Never underestimate your customers and your audience.

30 råd for 30 år

Helt siden jeg var liten har jeg følt meg voksen. Når jeg var ti synes jeg det var urettferdig at alle femten åringene kunne være lenger opp enn meg. Jeg var jo nesten like stor som dem, og jeg visste ihvertfall like mye som dem. Samme i tyveårene. Folk som var tredve og førti – jeg var minst like moden, vis og erfaren som dem.

Nå er jeg her igjen da. I morgen fyller jeg tredve år, og jeg føler meg voksen. Like voksen som når jeg fyllte ti og tyve.

Jeg er heldig. Jeg føler, akkurat nå her jeg sitter i stuen min, at jeg er den beste versjonen av meg selv. Jeg har funnet en balanse som passer meg. Jeg har en herlig sønn som jeg elsker å tilbringe tid sammen med, jeg har en fantastisk kjæreste som jeg elsker å dele livet mitt med, og jeg har min nærmeste familie som alltid støtter meg. Jeg har gode mennsker i den nære sirkelen min som jeg er så heldig at jeg kan kalle venner. Jeg har en god helse, og jobber med noe jeg elsker.

1. Jeg føler jeg har opplevd mye i løpet av mitt unge liv (jeg er ung fortsatt right?). Jeg innser også at jeg ikke lenger kan kalle meg ung, så tenkte jeg for meg selv. Hvorfor ikke dele 30 råd jeg skulle ønske jeg hadde fått som den unge meg?
2. Sett av mer tid til dine nærmeste. Familie, kjæreste og venner – det er disse øyeblikkene sammen med dem som virkelig betyr noe.
3. Lær deg å lage mat.
4. Les flere bøker. Ikke bare fagbøker, men alle slags type bøker. Ikke bare skum igjennom bøkene, men virkelig les dem. Sug til deg språk, historier og hva de ønsker å formidle.
5. Bruk den nydelige naturen rundt deg.
6. Drikk mer vann. Begynn dagen med å drikke et stort glass vann, og fokuser på å drikk mye vann gjennom hele dagen.
7. Prøv mer mat. Fisk kan faktisk smake godt tilbredt på riktig måte.
8. Aldri vær redd for å si din mening.
9. Gå mer. Gå når du har muligheten i stedet for kollektivt eller taxier.
10. Aldri slutt å hjelpe mennesker du ser trenger hjelp, selvom du ikke kjenner dem.
11. Lær deg flere språk.
12. Ta bedre vare på kroppen din.
13. Ikke kjøp så mange ting. Men finn noen få ting som virkelig har en nytte og en verdi for deg.
14. Skriv mer.
15. Alltid lytt til magefølelsen din. Den er det viktigste du har.
16. Reis mer rundt i Norge.
17. Spis flere sunne enn usunne måltider.
18. Si nei oftere.
19. Løp deg lange turer ut i naturen.
20. Ikke bruk penger du ikke har.
21. Snakk med mennesker du ikke kjenner.
22. Ikke la teknologien være en for sentral del av hverdagen din. Tør å koble ut, trekke deg tilbake.
23. Bruk mer tid alene. Lær å elske ditt eget selskap.
24. Din favoritt rødvin er Clos de l’Oratoire des Papes 2011.
25. Aldri vær redd for å feile.
26. Tro på deg selv. Alltid.
27. Det er bra å gjøre ting som er utenfor din komfortsone. Da vokser du.
28. Forvent mindre. Da blir du alltid positivt overrasket.
29. Alltid ta deg tid til å stoppe opp. Lukke øynene, og nyte øyeblikket. Ta deg tid til å virkelig være tilstede i hverdagen.
30. Alltid fortell de rundt deg hvor mye de betyr for deg.

Content Marketing, the next big hype?

What the Michelin brothers did 113 years ago has finally reached the shores of Norway.

For the last couple of years the Norwegian marketing industry has been flooded with self proclaimed social media experts, social media conferences and agencies claiming to know everything about anything in the social media bubble.

As the years has flown by, the market has thankfully matured. Most brands has gone from chasing likes to actually managing and nurturing their social audience. Most social media pirates.. eh.. experts start to be exposed and the water gets calmer — a new storm stirs up.

The wave is called content marketing, and judging by the discussions in the Norwegian market the last months — it’s a big one.

The funny thing is this: Content marketing is nothing new at all. It’s been around for hundreds of years. 100 years ago, the Michelin brothers made the Michelin guide to inspire people to drive more (to wear down their tires faster), 50 years ago Guinness made the Guinness book of records to give people more to talk about in bars (while drinking Guinness of course). The list goes on and on and on.

The only positive thing about this new wave is that it focuses on the most important thing in marketing: Good content, great stories.

But do we really need a new hype right now? Do we need new fancy titles, specialized agencies and big conferences? Can’t we just focus on the one thing we always should — helping our customers communicate better and make more money? Let’s help them build communites, create stories with their audience and add value to their lives.

Sometimes that’s done on a screen, sometimes it’s a poster on the tube and sometimes it’s a piece in the newspaper.

What connects them all is great content. Which has been the case for hundreds of years.

Bring you surfboards everybody. The wave is coming.

In Oslo thursday? RSVP to our event to and join the discussion.

En måned uten å kjøpe nye ting

Wow, tiden går fort. Vi er allerede inne i 4 mnd av mitt ett år uten prosjekt. Denne måneden skulle jeg klare meg uten å kjøpe noen nye ting – bortsett fra mat selvfølgelig.

Disse 30 dagene har gått fort, og jeg har blitt satt på mange prøvelser. Jeg har reist til London, Paris og hatt behov for både treningstøy og annet. Jeg har flere ganger nesten gått på en smell, men med god hjelp fra min kjære – har jeg klart å holde meg.

Hva har jeg lært?

• Man kan faktisk gå en hel måned uten å kjøpe noe som helst
• Det er deilig å ikke ha alternativet
• Man slipper ikke å gå på shopping med dama, hun drar deg med i butikker i Paris «okke som».
• Jeg har blitt mer bevisst på hva jeg ønsker å kjøpe, og hvorfor jeg har lyst på det.

I hele desember skal jeg leve uten smarttelefon. Jeg skal kun bruke min Nokia steinalder dumtelefon. Dette gjør jeg for å få ro i julestrien, jobbe fokusert når jeg er på jobb og koble ut når jeg ikke er på jobb.

Jeg kommer som vanlig til å poste fortløpende i denne Facebook gruppen for dere som liker å følge med.

What reading taught me about living

The last few months I’ve been reading more than I have been writing. Which has never happened to me before. When I write reading, I don’t mean skimming through words online — I mean reading. Focused, consentrated and really taking in every word. That kind of reading.

When was the last time you really focused on just one thing?

Reading in this way has also made me a better writer. I’ve realized that the fewer words I use to make the readers understand the purpose of what I am writing, the more powerful. I choose my words more carefully, and really take in every little word before spelling it out letter by letter on my laptop.

By just focusing on the this one thing I’m doing — I get more out of it.

That goes just as much for reading as it goes for life. I think we all should read more — and live, more.