Anchoring a Decision : 9 Environments

by Steve Wolf | Mar 8, 2017 | Business

Anchoring a Decision and The 9 Environments

Every aspect of us is affected by our environments and our environments reflect every aspect of us. Each of the 9 Environments of You are connected…they touch each other and are woven together.

Skylab CEO, Dean Grey knows all about anchoring a decision. from his humble upbringing living off the grid on a boat in the Florida Keys to traveling around the world tasked with teaching and mentoring tens of thousands of people; Dean deeply understands how to make that monumental change.

It wasn’t long ago when the idea of the Skylab Apps platform would was simply a figment of Dean’s Imagination. He had a big dream, and grand vision, but so do thousands of people every day. The difference is that when Dean made the decision to step in to a new role and start Skylab Apps he dropped the anchor, put his head down and got to work. a couple years later, the vision has become a reality. Ultimately, it was a culmination of Deans 9 environments that led him and Skylab to success.

“Individuals learn better when they are learning in engaging social environments.”

Dean Grey

Understanding the 9 Environments and how they work in your daily life will give you a clear understanding of how each elements plays and incredibly important role in your life short and long term.

The Physical Environment: Skylab HQ

The physical environment includes the very tangible aspects of our lives…our home, office, car, furnishings, artwork, toys, boats, and accessories. The physical environment provides visual clues to what is going on in our lives. Clutter, noise, broken equipment can be visual clues to looking deeper to discover our thoughts, energy and behaviors.

The Skylab Apps corporate office is a collaborative and creative working loft. Everything from the music, office space and food is hand selected to make sure you have to best experience to help you thrive in the work place. We have a gym onsite so you can take care of your body and give your mind a mental break.

The Spiritual Environment

The spiritual environment includes our connections to a higher power, to God or Spirit, the invisible connection we feel to others and the universe. It includes methods of connecting to spiritual aspects of life such as meditation, prayer, and places of worship. We wanted to make sure that our workplace was situated in a beautiful place. Lucky for us, we are right next to the ocean with lots of quiet places where you can go and get spiritual.

The Memetic Environment

The memetic environment includes ideas, values, thoughts, beliefs, paradigms, styles and habits that are passed down from generation to generation. The memetic environment also includes information and knowledge (books, websites, magazines, television, and radio)

The Body Environment

The body environment includes the body, hair, skin, nails, health and energy. This environment touches the network environment, as it includes physicians, skin care consultants, massage therapists, hair dressers, physical therapists, dietitians, personal trainers and other professionals who support your physical body and well being.

We understand that it you want top performance out of your body, then you have to treat your body well!

The Self Environment

The self environment includes our strengths, talents, personalities, feelings, emotions, values, passions and skills. The self environment includes the intangible aspects of our beings.

The Nature Environment

The nature environment includes nature, parks, bodies of water, the seasons of the year, pets, plants, the seasons of life, and the outdoors. As humans, we are a part of nature, so access to this environment is crucial for our survival and ultimate well-being. A great place about where we work is that its open, inviting and blended well with the elements

The Relationship Environment

The relationship environment includes those people in our lives who are closest to us and with whom we have an intimate connection. This includes family, close friends, close colleagues, co-workers, mentors and neighbors who are in our lives on a daily basis. It has been said that a team that plays well together works well together. Our professional life is personal, so we make sure to take time to develop relationships with our co-workers and clients in and out side of the office.

The Network Environment

The network environment is an extension of the relationship environment. It includes people with whom you are on a first name basis, yet you may not have a deep and intimate connection. The network environment includes business associates, community organizations, support groups you belong to. The goal of the network environment is usually to provide an exchange of information and to build bridges to people who can support you in enhancing both your business and personal life.

The Financial Environment

The financial environment includes bills, credit cards, money, investments, insurance, stocks and bonds and the people who support your financial well-being (accountants, financial planners, stock brokers). This environment also includes any tools or support services you use to achieve your financial goals files, computer programs, budgets, banks. When exploring the financial environment, it is also important to look closely at the relationship a person has with money and their beliefs around money and prosperity/abundance.

“It is important to take stock of these environmental factors and make sure that they come together to work for our benefit and maximize our productivity towards our individual goals.”

Dean Grey

All of the work being done at Skylab Apps is with the environments in mind. When a client is met, they go through a process called ADG, which stands for Appify, Gamify and Design. Skylab doesn’t just build mobile apps, they create worlds for their clients! Each one of these worlds combines the essence of the clients culture and ultimately the 9 elements can be seen through out the flawless design of the native mobile platform.

The Trilogy Game, Makes creating healthy habits fun, and encourages users to create healthy environments. The concept was created by Greg Rex, a certified Health coach, speaker, author and entrepreneur. His website: http://www.tsfl.com

Users join a community of like-minded people all on a journey to create Optimal Health and Well Being. The Trilogy represents the 3 key areas of optimal health; healthy body, healthy mind and healthy finances. This app along with the support of a certified health coach can help you integrate simple daily actions that can turn into lifelong habits of health. There are 3 levels of the Trilogy Game you can participate : as a fan, as a player or as a coach.

For more information about Skylab Apps, or to see how appify your world, please get in touch with us at Skylabapps.com

The Future of Social Media is exclusivity

by Steve Wolf | Feb 23, 2017 | Business

Introducing Skylab Apps, the “white label social media platform

In early 2004 Facebook was formed and the social media was becoming a household name. There were many naysayers who were convinced that Facebook didn’t stand a chance against the Social Media giant.

In 5 short years Facebook took over the social media space and became a household name. Well it’s been 14 years, a bunch of mergers and buyouts later with multiple victories against the many who have tried to take on the social media juggernaut to no avail.

So who or what is going to infiltrate and disrupt the social media space and gain some market share?

Introducing the “white label social media platform.”

I know what you’re thinking, “why would I go to another platform besides Facebook or Twitter?”

Well it’s simple; if the people, companies and or brands that you religiously loved and followed offered a dedicated community to you that offered special and exclusive content, education, events and maybe even a direct line of communication to them would you be interested in their app?

Of course, who wouldn’t?

Exclusivity is is what Social Media is lacking these days but in order to exist this day in age you need to be online and represented on trending social media platforms to appear relevant and hip, especially if you are a business or a brand. What if you could use existing social media to push your clients, customers, followers or fans to your own private social media community? What if, you could create and control 100% of the way you engage with your community without all of the silly rules put in place by the existing companies to make sure you are not cutting into their advertising revenue at the expense of you and your users experience.

Well, now you can, introducing Skylab Apps white label social media platform.

CEO Dean Grey started Skylab Apps with a vision deeply integrated mobile platform based community that was simple for users to navigate, communicate and take actions.

The Skylab Apps platform has all of the great features you would find on social media like Chat, recognition walls and different ways to communicate, but Skylab Apps has taken those concepts and innovated on them deeply transforming how companies and brands will use social media technology. Below is a comparison chart created by Skylab Apps. In it you can begin to see how in depth the Skylab App Platform goes.

Mike Pine, the GM of Integrated Partnerships for FanDuel said it best:

“Skylab Apps Gamification allows major brands to laser target consumers, eliminate marketing clutter while building new incremental revenue streams. Most all of consumers feel they are unlocking rewards vs being advertised to.”

– Mike Pine

Just to give you an idea of what some of these features look like, here is a quick list to some longer posts about some of the incredible Skylab Apps features.

and many many more.

Since Skylab Apps inception in 2015, they have been taking the mobile app space by storm quietly and effectively. Some of their clients include Amway, Allysian Sciences (Apolo Ohno) and Good Lovin Food the original creators of Bitchin Sauce. There list of clients is growing too! About 16 enterprise clients in 2016 alone.

Along with their stealth approach to market Skylab apps assembled an ambassador and advisory board of rockstars. Here is the shortlist:

Mike Pine, FanDuel’s GM of Integrated Partnerships (Mentioned). Dan Adler, the previous Vice President of Talent and Business Development for Walt Disney. Bill Harris,The Founder and CEO of Centerpointe Research Institute. David Vanderveen, CEO and creator of XS Energy drink, 5-Time world dance champion Jeremy Wong and 8X Olympic Gold Medalist Apolo Ohno just to name a few.

If you are interested in finding out more about what Skylab Apps can do for you, or your company, please visit us at Skylabapps.com and schedule a demo today!

Culture : Life’s 6 Rules

by Steve Wolf | Feb 23, 2017 | Business

Life’s 6 Rules

The ‘governator‘ discusses with graduates his ‘golden rules’ to leading a successful life and career. These rules can be applied to anything in life and show the drive behind a man who has accomplished each and every task he set out to achieve when he burst onto the bodybuilding scene over 40 years ago.

Apply Arnold’s golden six rules to a successful life to whatever you plan on doing today, we guarantee it’ll help you make the most of your current situation.

“Remember these 6 rules. Trust yourself, break some rules, don’t be afraid to fail, ignore the naysayers, work like hell, and give something back.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold’s 6 Rules to Success:

1. Trust yourself

Many young people are getting so much advice from their parents and from their teachers and from everyone. But what is most important is that you have to dig deep down, dig deep down and ask yourselves, who do you want to be? Not what, but who. Figure out for yourselves what makes you happy, no matter how crazy it may sound to other people.

2. Break the Rules

Break the rules, not the law, but break the rules. It is impossible to be a maverick or a true original if you’re too well behaved and don’t want to break the rules. You have to think outside the box. That’s what I believe. After all, what is the point of being on this earth if all you want to do is be liked by everyone and avoid trouble?

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Fail

Anything I’ve ever attempted, I was always willing to fail. So you can’t always win, but don’t afraid of making decisions. You can’t be paralyzed by fear of failure or you will never push yourself. You keep pushing because you believe in yourself and in your vision and you know that it is the right thing to do, and success will come. So don’t be afraid to fail.

4. Don’t Listen to the Naysayers

How many times have you heard that you can’t do this and you can’t do that and it’s never been done before? I love it when someone says that no one has ever done this before, because then when I do it that means that I’m the first one that has done it. So pay no attention to the people that say it can’t be done. I never listen to, “You can’t.” (Applause) I always listen to myself and say, “Yes, you can.”

“Being able to let go of outdated ways of thinking and moving on when you have nothing else to learn”.

Dean Grey, Entrepreneur, CEO & Founder of Skylab.

5. Work Your Butt Off

You never want to fail because you didn’t work hard enough. Mohammed Ali, one of my great heroes, had a great line in the ’70s when he was asked, “How many sit-ups do you do?” He said, “I don’t count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. When I feel pain, that’s when I start counting, because that’s when it really counts.” That’s what makes you a champion. No pain, no gain.

But when you’re out there partying, horsing around, someone out there at the same time is working hard. Someone is getting smarter and someone is winning. Just remember that. Now, if you want to coast through life, don’t pay attention to any of those rules. But if you want to win, there is absolutely no way around hard, hard work. Just remember, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.

6. Give Back

Whatever path that you take in your lives, you must always find time to give something back, something back to your community, give something back to your state or to your country.

Here at Skylab Apps, we agree with these rules. In fact, these are rules that any start-up should follow! Ambassadors of Skylab Apps like Dave Vanderveen and Jeremy Wong all share the same sentiment. Even the Skylab Apps CEO and Founder Dean Grey would agree wholeheartedly.

If you are interested in the ways we have applied this advice in to our own business. Check out the Skylab Apps blog here for some inspiration!

The Entrepreneurial Spirit: Starting a Business

by Steve Wolf | Feb 16, 2017 | Business

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

Starting a business is exciting, and scary. Let’s explore how to tap in to your Entrepreneurial spirit!

I’ve started more businesses than I’d care to admit. In my experience, it’s a bit like driving through a heavy fog where you are only able to see a few feet in front of the windshield — you don’t know what’s up ahead until it’s upon you. However, the longer you are an entrepreneur, the better you can navigate through that fog.

As I’ve been driving through the fog for over a decade now, I thought I would take today’s post and boil down 15 of the biggest lessons I’ve learned over the past decade of building and growing businesses. Consider these tips “stuff I wish I had known when I was young and stupid.” This is what has allowed me to develop my Entrepreneurial spirit Let’s get to them.

1. Don’t listen to statistics. People love to throw around the statistic that 95 percent of business fail. Don’t listen to that — it’s an excuse to make you feel comfortable about giving up. If that number is even correct, it’s because most people don’t commit, they don’t follow through to the end or they are stupid in how they manage their money.

2. Do something you like. Don’t start something you won’t want to do in five years. Because if you are successful, you’ll still be doing this in five years.

3. You are not going to know everything.In fact, you probably won’t know anything when you first start. Start anyway. When I first got into real-estate investing, I had no idea how to buy a property, rent a house, or evict a tenant. I figured it all out “on the job.” You will too.

4. Finish what you start. Nearly every entrepreneur I know suffers from the same curse: we like to start things more than we like to finish them. In other words, if you are a good entrepreneur, you’ll have a lot of great ideas. Most of them would probably work out well and make you a lot of money. However, that doesn’t mean you should pursue them. Pick one and go with it until it dies or it makes you rich enough to buy a private island.

5. Never partner with someone because it’s convenient, think like an entrepreneur. Partner with someone because it makes you stronger. The wrong partner will drive you crazy, make you hate your work and end up causing more problems than they solve.

6. You are going to suck at managing people.It’s OK, we all do at first. However, this is one task you must get better about. Hire an assistant right now, even if it’s only a virtual one for $3 an hour. It will give you some great training on managing, with little downside.

7. Social media probably isn’t that important. We just pretend it is so we can look at cat pictures on Facebook. I’d recommend installing a Facebook newsfeed blocker.

8. Stop designing business cards, logos, business plans and stationery. They don’t matter right now. Go build your business and stop doing busy work that makes you feel like you are accomplishing something.

9. There is a fine line between dedicated and obsessed. Screw the line. Trample right over it. You need to cross that line continually, so never let anyone tell you that you are too obsessed with your idea. I’m completely and overwhelmingly obsessed with real-estate investing — and it’s OK. This is one of the best ways to know that you have developed that Entrepreneurial spirit! What are you obsessed with?

10. Don’t quit your job too soon. Yes, you’ll have more time to build your business, but let’s be honest: there are 168 hours in a week, only 40 are consumed by your job and another 50 by sleep. You have plenty of time if you would just hustle and turn off Netflix. But don’t be afraid to quit your job if you can afford it.

11. Focus on your higher paying tasks. Divide up your tasks and determine what your “$10 per hour” tasks are and what your “$1,000 per hour” tasks are. Focus on doing more “$1,000 per hour” tasks and fewer “$10 per hour” ones. For more on this, read Want to Make $1,000 or More Per Hour? And yes, you do a lot of $1,000 an hour tasks, even if you don’t realize it. Just do more of them.

12. Your spouse and kids matters more than your business. Never forget that.

13. Read — a lot. If you don’t have time, listen to audiobooks. And not just business books. Read motivational books, self-help books, success books, fiction books, biographies — whatever. This was one of the best ways to develop my Entrepreneurial spirit

14. Get up earlier. Yes, you can, and you should. I don’t care if you are not a morning person. That’s an excuse lazy people use. For more advice on this, read The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. It’s life changing.

15. Don’t worry about raising money. Focus on building a business so incredible people throw money at you.

Like driving down a lonely highway on a dark, foggy night, entrepreneurship can be a little scary. But hopefully at least one of the above tips will help you navigate through the fog a little easier with more confidence. If you are just getting started with your business, just remember this: keep driving through the fog. Your future self will thank you.

Do you have any additional tips you’d like to add? Or something you’d like to expand upon? Leave your comments below and let’s continue the conversation. I would love to hear your story on developing your Entrepreneurial spirit.

Skylab apps CEO & Founder, Dean Grey, has excelled at identifying business opportunities and staying focused on the positive aspects of these opportunities. Realizing how networking is your greatest strength, Grey decided to take this idea and apply it to one of today’s most commonly-used technologies: mobile applications.

Finally, if you think this post could help one of your family members or friends, share it on your favorite social-media channel. You never know whose life you might change.

The author Steve Wolf is a serial entrepreneur and currently the Director of Sales and Marketing at Skylab Apps. Along with the CEO of Skylab Apps Dean Grey Contributed to the article. If you are interested in finding out more about what Skylab Apps is all about and the entrepreneurs that make up this company, please check us out at www.Skylabapps.com

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Anchoring a Decision : 9 Environments

Anchoring a Decision and The 9 Environments

Every aspect of us is affected by our environments and our environments reflect every aspect of us. Each of the 9 Environments of You are connected…they touch each other and are woven together.

“Individuals learn better when they are learning in engaging social environments.”