We previously gave you a tour of our new home and now it’s time to give you a sneak peek inside AWxInc HQ! Our studio/office is where Ashley has fittings for all of her clients, where we run our business, and create all of our videos for you!
Welcome to our Studio and Office, enjoy the tour!
Head to squarespace.com/awxinc to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Thanks to our friends at Squarespace for sponsoring this video!
Just like a ton of you out there, we love a great podcast. Whether we’re in the car, cleaning the house, or just taking some time to ourselves, they’re a great way to learn, be entertained, and get motivated. Recently a viewer asked us what some of our favorite podcasts were so we thought we’d share some of our go-tos, for entertainment, business, and more.
In this episode of 2 Minute Tuesday we’re running down a list of our favorite podcasts and why we love them so much!
Dorian loves a mix of history, business, current events, and entertainment in his podcast diet. Here are some of his favorites.
A hilarious and insightful interview pod hosted by Conan O’Brien and featuring great guests like Dana Carvey, Bill Hader, Jimmy Kimmel, and more.
Part of The Ringer’s awesome podcast network, The Rewatchables recaps classic action, comedy, and thriller movies in a really funny way. if you’ve ever found yourself on the couch on Saturday or Sunday afternoon watching movies like Step Brothers, Bloodsport, Top Gun, and really wanted to discuss how perfect these movies are, this is the pod for you.
A great deep dive into notable historical and current events but with a unique perspective, this educational and entertaining show is hosted by Malcolm Gladwell, the brilliant mind behind such classic books as “The Tipping Point“, “Blink” and “Outliers“.
Dorian loves the mix of important news stories and outstanding news stories from The New York Times editorial team.
Dorian has mentioned his love for history, and in particular, presidential history and this killer series has seasons on The Watergate scandal and the Clinton/Lewinsky affair. We’re definitely excited about Season 3, which will cover the murders of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G.
Another current events podcast, this time from The Economist, it offers excellent business coverage as well.
Another podcast for you history nerds out there, this one focuses on some of the most important and, well, revolutionary revolutions in history.
Dorian’s love of Seinfeld is deep and strong, so obviously he’s going to be into this hilarious podcast.
An offshoot of the awesome animated series (definitely not for kids), this serialized podcast is super entertaining and a must for all comic book fans.
Ashley loves true crime, technology, and some interesting non-fiction in her podcast menu. Here are her go-to’s.
Not so much a technology podcast, rather, it’s more about human stories with bits of tech, social media, and communication within it. We also love the great rapport between the two hosts.
Ashley is a huge true crime fan, so this one is right in our wheelhouse. Sure, it’s probably obvious that this one is about crime and criminals, but the stories are crazy and out-of-the-ordinary in a really entertaining way. Guaranteed to blow your mind!
A podcast with Casey Neistat and his wife, Candice, this podcast is pretty raw, unfiltered and a really interesting look into their relationship (and all relationships, really).
Whether you’re a student or making your way in the professional world, never underestimate the power of a great read or two. Whether it’s about organization hacks and work habits or motivation and goal setting, we always encourage you to keep up with some solid reading.
We’re both big believers in the improvements that great books can make in your life so we thought we’d share some of our favorite, life-changing reads with our picks for 7 books that could change your life!
Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie-Mellon University who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006. He died in 2008 but before he died he gave an incredibly moving lecture called “Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”. “The Last Lecture” is an addendum to the commencement speech he gave after he learned that he was dying, and it’s the perfect ready for those feeling overwhelmed by it all. It’s an especially great must-read for any students who want to take some time to pull back and think about the big picture in life.
We’ve raved about this one before, this NY Times bestseller and one of Dorian’s favorite organizational books, we’re both now converts of this goal setting and organizational process. No matter if you’re working in a business job or in school, the tools and tips in this book are incredibly useful for maximizing your time, organizational habits, and overall work/school performance.
A super quick, impactful read, this philosophy book is sort of like a very practical operating system for living your life. Written by an ancient philosopher, it just goes to show how universal good advice and practical wisdom can be. Just make sure you get the translation by Stephen Mitchell linked above, it’s universally regarded as the best one among many, many options.
Another one of our favorites that we have talked about before, this book is all about thinking about smart work versus hard work. This book is packed with solid tips and an excellent framework for creating success in work, school, and life in general.
An absolutely classic work of fiction, Catch-22 focuses on the absurdity of war, but just like in war, college life is absolutely absurd if you step back and look at it. It was recently made into a tv series as well.
We all know how good habits and positively affect our lives, both with school and work and this excellent book is a great deep dive that not only explains how habits are formed but also how to kick bad ones and hang on to the good. Essential reading if you’re embarking on a new school year or a new job.
Al all-time classic, this book about personal and professional relationships is just as relevant today as it was when it was first published way back in 1936 (seriously!).
Thinking, Fast and Slow
An international bestseller, this book by a renowned psychologist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, is a fascinating dive into our minds and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. An essential for someone who’s working on developing better habits and efficiencies, both in school or work decision making.
Do You Do It, Or Does It Do You?
An incredibly insightful lecture by Alan Watts, this piece is a must-listen.
Wisdom of Insecurity
The perfect antidote for those struggling with anxiety, stress, and an uncertain future.
Rework
A great look at what it really takes to grow a business on your own as an entrepreneur from the founders of Basecamp.
Sherlock Holmes Collection
The classic detective series isn’t just entertaining, it can teach out a lot about how critical thinking, reasoning, and introspection can play a part in day-to-day life.
7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Another absolute classic-for-a-reason, 7 Habits is one of the best and most successful business and self-help books because of it’s no-nonsense approach to building great habits.
In this week’s 2 Minute Tuesday, we’re changing it up a bit and covering a question for Dorian! As a successful entrepreneur himself, Dorian has a lot of experience in the business world and starting and building companies. So, in this episode, he’s going to answer a question about some of his favorite business and entrepreneurship tips and what it takes to build and sell a successful company.
Don’t forget to check out his business book recommendations below!
A classic book by Tim Ferriss, this book is packed with solid tips and an excellent framework for creating successful businesses in the modern entrepreneurship world. Check it out here: The 4-Hour Workweek
Part being humble and part being resourceful, your ignorance and inexperience can actually be an incredible tool when starting or growing a business. People will often offer help, insight, or advice if you approach your interactions and, more importantly, mistakes, the right way. If you approach business in a cocky or overly-confident way it can often work against you and you’ll miss out on valuable growth and insight.
One of the mantras Dorian loves in the 4-Hour Workweek revolves around constant testing and experimentation. You always want to use feedback, data, and trial and error to constantly evaluate where you’re at. You can’t be afraid to try new things, adjust, and re-evaluate both success and failure (more on that in a second).
Part of the trying and testing is failing. It’s a huge part of not just starting businesses and being an entrepreneur but also success in general. You can’t be afraid to fail, start over, or abandon things that aren’t working. It’s called “trial and error” for a reason, and often times your failures and what you learn from failures are the most important part of future success. From Elon Musk to Jeff Bezos, no successful entrepreneur or business owner has ever gotten anywhere without failure, so embrace it, get better, and move on.
As you get into starting a new business or work on a new idea you never want to bet your current financial future too heavily. So, it’s important to consider the risk and mitigate potential loss at the beginning with thoughtful planning. Look at approaching your life and business with low overhead and you’ll have more flexibility and less overall risk as you develop your business or company
Fine, we’ll admit it, apps rule our lives and we often get asked what our go-to’s are for fun, business, organization, and entertainment. So, on this week’s 2 Minute Tuesday, we’re answering that very question.
Here are each of our 5 favorite apps for iPhone and Android!
Welcome to our newest series, The Check In! We wanted to try something new for our viewers and readers so in this series we’re checking in with each other on a few personal things, talking about some stuff we’re excited about right now, and giving you guys a few updates on what’s going on in our lives (like Dorian’s weight loss).
We hope you enjoy this new series, let us know what you think and if you have any questions or topics you want to see us discuss!
Chain Necklaces – Ashley loves a little bit of silver or gold peeking out as a nice bit of bling. Look for what’s known as a club chain in a small size like 2 or 3 millimeters.
Braided Belts – A cool twist on belts and they just add something special to your outfit. Look for them in leather or cotton and you can wear them in a variety of basic colors like brown, tan, black, navy, or gray.
Belt Picks:
Dorian is loving the documentary Apollo 11, a fascinating take on the space mission.
The Passage of Power by Rober Caro is a 4 volume history series about one of our country’s most interesting Presidents and his rise to power.
Frank Miller’s Batman is a hugely influential series of editions featuring one of DC’s most legendary characters.
We get asked a ton of questions about how to match clothing and what colors to wear, and more specifically, how to match with one’s hair and eye color. So, in this week’s 2 Minute Tuesday, we’re giving you the real truth about how men should match clothing to hair and eye color, and the answer might surprise you.
Don’t forget, if you’ve got questions for us, make sure to drop them in the comments section of the video, we’d love to hear from you and we’ll try to answer them in a future episode!
To sum it up, the answer is, no you don’t need to worry about matching your clothing to your hair and eye color.
This is a common case of overthinking things a bit too much. In the past, we’ve given you a few tips on how your skin color should relate to specific wardrobe color choices, but after that, you really don’t need to worry about it. Honestly, we believe this is just a falsehood that’s out there, whether it’s coming from other content creators or sites, who knows, but it’s taking it too far. Obviously thinking about how you’re dressing and putting colors together is really important. But, there’s a line between worrying about doing things the right way and wasting time focusing on things that don’t really matter. So, give yourself a break, focus on building the right essential wardrobe, and don’t overthink matching your clothes too much!
As you know by now, outside of being my husband, Dorian is my business partner, and now a fixture on our site and channel. We get a lot of questions about Dorian’s involvement in all of our content, so, while we swear he’s not “taking over the channel”, in this episode of 2 Minute Tuesday, we wanted to answer this question and give you some more insight!
Dorian’s a fixture in our business life and helps with a lot of aspects, so it seemed natural to include him as our business grew and evolved. Obviously we’re partners in life, so having him around is all the more wonderful as we get busier and busier in our professional lives.
Because we collaborate so often and have been working together for awhile, Dorian has a ton of knowledge and smart opinions on all things style and accessories that I really value. He also is very passionate and knowledgeable about all things EDC, tech, and lifestyle, so we thought it would be a shame not to share with our readers and viewers of all the insight he brings to the table. Plus, as a regular guy just like you, he brings thoughtful opinions to the table, even when he disagrees, and we feel it’s important to bring this point of view to you as well.
It’s more of a technical production thing, but having him participate and assist in the filming of videos really is a huge help and time saver. With our wallet update video, for example, having him involved made the process much more efficient and productive.