neilmartin.me
Beats, Business & Life
Proud Dad and family man. A lifelong obsession with music. 3 decades in business and technology. Stuff about this thing called life that I’m still figuring out.
Latest
Fresh off the press
When the Chips Are Down: James Allen on What Hard Times Reveal
James Allen and a mentor’s favourite line on what hard times reveal, and how to choose the person who shows up when the chips are down.
Win It Before You Start: Sun Tzu on Staying Ready
Sun Tzu’s rule for winning before the fight, made practical: work out what your marathon is, stay ready for it, and decide it’s done before you start.
A Better Tomorrow by Wu-Tang Clan: A Record for When You’ve Done the Work
The 2014 Wu-Tang Clan track with Method Man’s line about ambition, the soul record it samples, and why it’s the one to play once the preparation’s done.
Campaign for something
A washing brand told people to wash less and became the most recommended in its category. What constant posting gets wrong.
Track by TrackA soundtrack for Today
A Better Tomorrow by Wu-Tang Clan: A Record for When You’ve Done the Work
The 2014 Wu-Tang Clan track with Method Man’s line about ambition, the soul record it samples, and why it’s the one to play once the preparation’s done.
Previous tracks
Juicy by The Notorious B.I.G.: The Record for Dreaming Big and Starting Small
The Biggie record that starts with a kid reading a magazine, the demo tape and the DJ behind it, and why it’s the one to play when your dream feels a long way off.
The Changingman by Paul Weller: A Record for When Change Is in the Air
The Paul Weller single that went in at number seven in 1995, the ELO riff hiding inside it, and why it’s the record to play loud when the ground feels like it’s shifting.
Time 4 Sumaksion by Redman: The Record to Get You Out of Bed and Into the Gym
The Redman record Mike Tyson walked out to, the Cypress Hill sample behind its chorus, and why it’s the one to put on when you need to get up and get going.
Breathe by Dust and Data: Permission to Slow Down
A track about slowing down, taking a breath and giving yourself some grace, and why the pause is often where the clarity turns up.
Beats
From the Decks
A lifetime of following music down the rabbit hole. The beats, the lyrics, the samples… but more than anything, how it makes you feel.
Sunday Selector
Sunday Selector: Hip House
Rok Da House came out in 1987, the year I started DJing. It was British, made by The Beatmasters with the Cookie Crew on the mic. First time round it barely charted. A year later it was remixed and put out again, and this time it went to number five. It’s often called one of the first hip house records.
If the name’s new to you, hip house is exactly what it sounds like. A house beat with an MC rapping over the top. The kick drum lands on every beat and the tempo sits somewhere around 120 beats a minute.
read more…A Better Tomorrow by Wu-Tang Clan: A Record for When You’ve Done the Work
The 2014 Wu-Tang Clan track with Method Man’s line about ambition, the soul record it samples, and why it’s the one to play once the preparation’s done.
Juicy by The Notorious B.I.G.: The Record for Dreaming Big and Starting Small
The Biggie record that starts with a kid reading a magazine, the demo tape and the DJ behind it, and why it’s the one to play when your dream feels a long way off.
Business
Business In Plain English
Some of it’s about tech. Some of it’s about teams. All of it’s about the conversation that changes everything.
Win It Before You Start: Sun Tzu on Staying Ready
Sun Tzu’s rule for winning before the fight, made practical: work out what your marathon is, stay ready for it, and decide it’s done before you start.
Campaign for something
A washing brand told people to wash less and became the most recommended in its category. What constant posting gets wrong.
Work That Fits You: P. T. Barnum’s First Rule and Three Questions to Test It
Three simple who questions to check whether the work you’re doing fits you, built on P. T. Barnum’s first rule for making money and a client who was scared of their own team.
Life
Everything Else
The stuff off the clock. Good food, fresh threads, and trying to be a bit better than yesterday.
When the Chips Are Down: James Allen on What Hard Times Reveal
James Allen and a mentor’s favourite line on what hard times reveal, and how to choose the person who shows up when the chips are down.
Start Before You Feel Ready: Thoreau and the Race I Entered Before I Could Run a Mile
Why the step comes before the confidence, from Thoreau’s line about advancing towards your dreams and the ten-mile race I signed up for before I could run a mile.
Start Your Day the Night Before: Marcus Aurelius on Meeting the Difficult Ones Ready
How to walk into the awkward conversations ready: what Marcus Aurelius told himself each morning, why I start my day the evening before, and why the difficult thing goes first.
About
Hi, I’m Neil
I got my first turntables in 1987, when I was 12, and I’ve been playing records to people ever since. I’ve been in business for three decades and I wrote a book called Done Beats Perfect. This is where I write it all down.
By day I’m Director of Marketing & Edutainment at ActionCOACH UK.
DJing since 1987Three decades in businessAuthor, Done Beats Perfect
The book
Done Beats Perfect
A short, honest book about putting things off, and how to stop. Paperback, Kindle, or the audiobook read by me.
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