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May 05
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Manifesting, Cause and Effect

By Attitude, Blogpost, Goals

Goal achievement boils down to cause and effect. You do something and you get results.

Sounds simple, right? Unfortunately, this is a misunderstanding of the true nature of cause and effect. Manifesting – or taking your goal from idea to reality, is an art that is made more difficult because of this misunderstanding.

For example, when your goal is to have a cup of coffee, you don’t get up and make the coffee and then drink it. That may seem like obvious cause and effect, but it’s not. Boiling water and pouring it over ground coffee beans is not a cause. Your actions are actually effects of some cause, aren’t they? Let’s dig deeper into the real cause, the reason you got out of your chair and walked into the kitchen…

The real cause of any goal is a decision: “This is what I want.” If you hadn’t made the decision that you wanted to enjoy a hot, delicious cup of coffee, you never would have created the emotional impetus to get out of your comfortable chair and go through the process of making coffee.

So the first element of goals achieving is your decision: THIS IS WHAT I WANT.

Next (here’s where most people trip themselves up): let the emotional impetus (desire, or passion) compel you to take action. DO NOT worry about your goal. Don’t think about whether it’s possible, whether you’re worthy, etc. For example, if you want a cup of coffee and you make the decision that you want coffee. That leads to actions to make it happen… unless you start second-guessing yourself… I don’t know if I’m capable of measuring the right amount of coffee! I don’t know if I’m good enough to enjoy coffee! I don’t think it’s possible for me to make coffee without spilling the grounds all over the floor and then what would people think…

Don’t waste time thinking about whether your goal is possible before you make the decision to go for it. Chances are really, really good you’ll just talk yourself out of it and nothing will ever happen!

Want to accomplish something? SAY YES! You can’t be uncertain or wishy-washy. BE DECISIVE. Make the freakin’ decision, already! Say YES to what you want, with total certainty. Notice how people will literally flock to you to help you, when you project certainty. Think about it – would you help someone who says tentatively, “I’ll give it a go but I’m not sure it will work” or an enthusiastic “I’m creating (something).”

When you decide, when you make that declaration and you start the wheels in motion, miracles start to happen! Yes, miracles and synchronicities – unexpected and amazing ways that people, resources and situations come into your awareness at just the right time, to help you achieve your goal.

All because you made a decision. Cause. And then you took action… effect… and another action… effect… and so on until the final effect, which is your happiness at having achieved what you set out to do.

 

Inspired by Steve Pavlina’s blog: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/

Apr 29
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Are You a Change-o-Phobic?

By Attitude, Blogpost, mindset

 

A change-o-phobic person is terrified of change. Hopefully you’re not one of them – people who stubbornly cling to the “tried and true” old ways of doing things, even when they’re struggling. Their answer is to work harder.

Ugh. No fun! And probably not very productive, either. Just more of the same (Einstein’s definition of insanity).

You may fear change for good reasons: rejection, failure, high cost, etc. But if things are not going as well in your business as you want, you’ll have to embrace change.

Here’s how to make change seem more appealing:

1. What’s your vision? And what’s your plan for making it happen? If you have a goal, and a well-designed plan to get there, you won’t be focused on “change” – you’ll be focused on action! Even if the action steps take you far, far outside your comfort zone, you’ll be so busy doing that you’ll forget all about the fact that you’re changing how you do things.

2. Play the “what if” game but instead of “what if it goes wrong?” reprogram yourself to think in terms of “what if it goes right?” The amount of mental effort is exactly the same, isn’t it? You can worry yourself into paralysis or you can use your imagination to create awesome, exciting scenarios that fire you up about making it happen.

3. Be flexible. Just because you adopt a new way of doing things does not necessarily mean you are stuck with that approach. Be flexible. Be willing to experiment. For example, let’s say you are having trouble with your advertising campaign. If your email blasts are ending up in everybody’s spam folder, how about hiring a cartoonist to do a fun, entertaining sales campaign that you can launch on Facebook? Something that pokes a bit of fun at you, entertains your audience, doesn’t feel like spam and at the same time, raises awareness of your business? And if that approach doesn’t work… how about a YouTube video? Don’t stick to the old ways that everyone says are “THE” ways to market your business.

Change can be hard, but mostly it’s hard only if you decide it will be hard. After all, you are physically and mentally changing every single day. Just because you don’t notice the changes doesn’t mean they aren’t occurring! They are. So learn to see changes in the way you do things in relation to the big picture. How difficult will this particular change seem five years or ten years from now? Will you look back at your terrified self and laugh at how silly you were to be so afraid. I’m willing to bet you will!

Inspired by a blog on http://www.productivity501.com/

Apr 22
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Checkpoints for Motivation and Happiness

By Attitude, Blogpost, Goals

If you’re in a motivational slump, your business can suffer. Repetitive, same-old routines can cause you to lose motivation and cause you to passively sit by waiting for something to happen and improve. You might find yourself looking forward to distractions like weekends and holidays. This is deadly! After all, you were full of passion and hope when you started your business. What happened to that fire? How did it go from a roaring fire to a feeble flicker where you’re just going through the motions?

Even if your situation isn’t quite that drastic, you can benefit from implementing checkpoints, or rewards that keep you motivated when the day-to-day grind is getting you down.

Checkpoints are not milestones. Milestones are measurements of achievement. Checkpoints are just something to look forward to, some satisfying reward, that can keep you going when you’d rather quit.

When you reach a milestone, there is a lot of internal reward that comes from a feeling of satisfaction for a job well done. Checkpoints don’t rely on internal motivation. They are external motivators like tangible items. There’s nothing wrong with a little bribery to get yourself to do something you don’t want to do, or something you find dreadfully boring!

Checkpoints can include:
● an extra day off after a project is completed
● a thank-you event for your staff (it doesn’t have to be huge – a BBQ is a great way to say thanks!)
● a “surprise” performance bonus for you and your staff (of course you know about it, but they don’t and it’s such a pleasure to go above and beyond for them and surprise them with an unexpected gift!)

Spread your checkpoints out so that they are like carrots for you throughout the year. If your business is seasonal and you have a few months of down time where suddenly the tip of your pencil becomes the most fascinating object in the world… make some checkpoints! Give yourself a reward for organising the files; for catching up on paperwork; for updating your staff’s training… whatever needs to be done, do it and then reward yourself with a little extra.

Inspired by a post on http://www.pluginid.com/.

Apr 15
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The Joys of Procrastinating the Right Way

By Blogpost, habits

We’re all told that procrastination is a terrible thing. But done right, it can actually be a great way to move toward your goals and make life fun at the same time – and mastering the “immediate reward vs. long-term benefit” game.

We are all somewhat rebellious when it comes to doing things we don’t want to do. You know – just one more ice cream cone and the diet will start tomorrow… just one more day of surfing the internet and then I’ll start making those calls…

The lure of the shiny, fun, interesting things is strong, even though we’re fully aware that we are self-sabotaging! When the short-term gratification outweighs the long-term gain, we cave in and do the fun thing.

Here’s how to turn that to your advantage:

It’s called structured procrastination.

Let’s say that at the top of your list is the One Thing that you don’t want to do. You look at it, think about it, and immediately feel resistance to doing it. Anything but THAT!

There are two approaches here that will work depending on the day, the mood, the alignment of the stars and your energy.

1. Get the One Thing done. Do it first, get it done and forget it. Okay… you know yourself. You know that this approach may work sometimes, but definitely not all the time. Otherwise you would have already gotten One Thing done.

2. Take on the rest of your list. Many tasks await your attention. These are the ones to turn to when you want to procrastinate – NOT the shiny, fun things! So pick the easiest and most fun, and do it. Wow, that feels satisfying! Want more satisfaction? Yes! Take on another task on the list. Even better… you can plow through the whole list like that, joyfully putting off the One Thing… until the day you are ready (or you’re out of “but I have to do this first” excuses) and you can devote your energy to the One Thing.

The beauty of this approach is that it makes the One Thing less “IMPORTANT” than the other things on your list. It takes away its monumental stature and reduces it to “just another to-do.”

Using this approach, you are tricking yourself into thinking that the One Thing is just another task. It doesn’t matter if you’re mixing long-term and short-term satisfaction. In fact, that’s what makes this so effective! You get both the pleasure of short-term avoidance of the One Thing, and the long-term pleasure of getting it done, matter-of-factly, as if it were no big deal.

 

Inspired by a post on http://99u.com/articles/7286/the-power-of-structured-procrastination.

Apr 08
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Motivational Tips for Slackers

By Blogpost, challenges, habits

Okay, I’m sure you don’t consider yourself a slacker. You work hard and have the best interests of your business in mind. But let’s face it. Sometimes, all the mojo seems to go out the window and you feel disconnected, scattered, unmotivated, frustrated, overwhelmed and tired of the daily grind. And there goes your productivity…

Don’t throw out your to-do list, and don’t stare at it blankly while dreaming of seaside holidays.

A motivational slump can go on for days, sometimes. Not good! Here are a few ways to jump-start your engine again and get you focused and on track.

1. A to-do list can be dauntingly huge. Make a “hit list” instead – a list of the most unpleasant, difficult and intimidating things you have to do. Get them out of the way first thing in the morning. That includes all the stuff you’ve been procrastinating on. Get it out of your hair! Take one one or two of these energy-suckers every day and build some massive satisfaction.

2. Delegate and outsource what you can, so you can focus on the things you love. It’s worth a bit of cash to have other people do the things you’d rather not do. In the long run, you’ll be mentally fresher, more motivated, more focused and more driven if you aren’t saddled with tasks that you are just not suited for!

3. Chunk it. A huge part of creating a masterful plan of action is breaking tasks down into their smallest action components. What can you realistically accomplish on a given task in a day? Break that down into hour-long chunks, and if possible, into even smaller increments of 10-15 minutes. You can make yourself focus and do anything for a very short time!

4. Turn off the alarms. All those beeps, bings and chirps are distracting and oh, so tempting. Set aside a time to answer emails and return calls. Just not while you’re focused.

5. Commit to your goals. If you’re working on a project that is outside of your normal daily routine, make yourself spend 15-30 minutes on that project every day. Yes, at the expense of something else. Everyone has some underused time in their day (TV,commuting, waiting, etc.) that can be put to productive use.

6. Step away from it. But on the flip side, you do need a mental and physical break from your work. Chunking allows you to take multiple mini-breaks throughout the day. Take them!!! Eat a healthy snack; go for a brisk walk; indulge in a little Facebook. Just take yourself away from what you’re focused on. You’ll come back fresh and motivated.

7. Keep your workspace organised and motivating. Have some visual representations of your goals hanging in your workspace. Keep your space clean and tidy. 5 minutes of daily cleanup at the end of the day will give you a chance to reflect on the day’s work, set the stage for the next day’s awesomeness, and remind you of any unfinished business that you’ll need to tend to.

Even when you just don’t feel like doing anything, you can keep going toward your goals with a few short bursts of intense activity. C’mon – you can do anything for 15 minutes, right! Go do it!

Inspired by a post on http://unclutterer.com/

Mar 25
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What’s Next?

By Blogpost, Success


We hear this all the time: TAKE ACTION! Massive action! Just do it! Get up off your bum and get to work!

Great stuff. IF you know what to do…

Your next action needs to be physical and visible.

Physical, as in open your laptop and send some emails. Visible, as in “in your face” staring at you until they’re done (have you ever noticed what an energy drain it is to have unfinished business looming over you?).

A physical and visible list gets down to the nuts and bolts of getting things done. If your list looks like:

1. Get 20 new clients this week
2. Get a loan for the new computer system
3. Write five blogs

You can see that this list is not physical: “what do I do?” (except for #3). It’s not visible: you have no clear direction or actions to take. Sure, getting 20 new clients is awesome but how? Can’t pull them out of thin air… These are not “to do” items at all. How can you “do” something you aren’t even clear on? They are vague and too much is left to chance. Even #3 is a bit vague. When

A better list, a physical and visible list, would read like this:

1. Compose four autoresponder emails highlighting key aspects of my business.
2. Write up a comprehensive business plan and make 5 bank appointments.
3. Write a 1,000 word blog on M,T,W,Th and F. Publish them on the website the following Monday.

Don’t dismiss the “trivial” activities that you might neglect to put on your list. These small actions are the ones that add up, cumulatively rocketing you toward your goals. Even things like maintaining your office’s professional appearance and catching up on filing, are tasks that are physical, visible and ultimately important.

We humans are visual creatures. If you can see it and touch it, it feels real. Make your to-do list real and you’ll be more inclined – and able – to get it all done!

Inspired by Merlin Mann’s post on http://www.43folders.com

Mar 18
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Accelerate Your Long-Term Goals

By Blogpost, inspirations

If you’re going to reach your business goals, you have to be structured and organised. We all know this – that a little planning and sticking to the plan will get you where you want to be.

But… what if you could reach some of your long-term goals faster than you predict? It is possible, if you change how you do certain things.

Here’s how many of us work our goals: inspiration hits, and we work like madmen (or madwomen) until a) we finish the project or b) abandon it because it’s too hard, it has become too boring, or something else captures our attention. This is a recipe for repeated failure! Here’s how to do it right and actually get things done, fast:

1. Use your imagination to work backwards. This helps you visualise what needs to happen. It helps you create a workable, sustainable plan of action, breaking it down from the big goal to intermediate goals, to daily actions.

2. Do a little every day. Let’s say your business would get a huge boost if you wrote a book. Does your timeline say, “complete book by year’s end”? Well, that’s lovely, but are you scheduling time EVERY DAY to write? Don’t wait around for inspiration! Don’t wait around for extra time! Nothing is going to happen unless you make it happen! Inspiration comes easily when you roll up your sleeves and get to work. Extra time magically appears when you work on your goal every single day. And… discipline yourself. Do your most important tasks when you are mentally and physically fresh. You’ll blast through whatever needs doing with enthusiasm and energy. This good feeling will stay with you all day, making it easy to create a habit of daily action (the good feeling, as well as seeing major progress, is your daily reward for making yourself do it!).

3. Make it public. The more people you tell about your goal, the more real it will become in your head. And you never know – you might casually mention your goal to someone and they might have the answer to a question that’s been holding you back!

4. Make it simple. Don’t chase too many rabbits. Narrow your focus to a few key goals.

5. Track it. Keep a daily log (or journal or diary) of what you’ve done that day for each goal. This will help motivate you as well as point out the precise moment (decision) you may have made a mistake.

6. The secret ingredient? Be present. Be here, now. Give everything you do (not just your projects and goals) 100% attention. You’ll get everything done faster and better because of your full concentration.

You can do more than you think you can, if you set your mind to it!

Inspired by a post on http://lifedev.net/

Mar 11
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Success Habits for Time Management and Self Management

By Blogpost, habits

Habits automate your success (or your failure). Here are ten positive and empowering habits that will make it easier to achieve your business and personal goals.

1. Clear your space! Get rid of clutter in your workspace and in your living space. Clutter literally sucks the energy right out of you!

2. Write your goals down where you can see them often. Putting them on paper makes them more real than if you stored them all in your head.

3. Make a plan. You only have a limited amount of time to achieve your business and personal goals so make sure you’re making the most of it. Plans also help you stay motivated and on task.

4. Learn how to prioritize using the four categories below:
– DO NOW: “important and urgent”
– DO SECOND: “important but not urgent”
– DO THIRD: “urgent but not important” (the squeaky wheel may get the grease, but be careful that the squeaky wheel isn’t rolling in the opposite direction of your goals!)
– LEAVE FOR LAST (and who really cares if you get to it… either delegate it or leave it): “unimportant and not urgent”.

5. Make a decision! Of course refer to #2, #3 and #4… and if something is part of your plan, and you don’t know what to do, just do what your gut instincts say could be a good move. You can’t fail if you learn from your mistakes, and some action is better than analysis paralysis!

6. Do not procrastinate. Remember that procrastination is a sign of fear. Face the fear. Action sends fear running for the hills!

7. Work on your self-confidence through action. Even if you “fail” remember that you are being enriched because of the lessons you learned, PLUS… you won’t be so afraid to take chances and possibly fail again. If you did it once, you can do it again.

8. Be disciplined. It can take a long time to achieve anything. It takes for ever if you don’t do anything. Take one step at a time to keep things manageable.

9. Work towards a win-win for everyone. No matter what your goals are, if you can benefit someone else by achieving it, you’ll feel better about yourself, you’ll enlist more people to help you, and you’ll enjoy the process more!

10. Be aware. Inspiration, ideas, opportunities and resources are all around you. Are you seeing them or are you blind to them? Slow down, and consider that everything that “jumps out at you” did so for a reason.

You can add many, many positive habits to this list – and I encourage you to do so! But, it’s a great start and a strong productivity booster if you implement these 10 tips.

Inspired by a post by Ologundudu Abraham on: http://www.goalsontrack.com/blog/

Mar 06
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This Year Does Not Matter

By Attitude, Blogpost

Oh now hold on, I’m not saying that you get to shelve all of your goals this year and kick back and drink beer instead of creating business and personal success!

What I mean is, why wait until the New Year to start on your goals? Have you ever thought about that? Why do people wait until New Year’s Day to start losing weight, or start saving for a downpayment on their dream home?

Waiting until some “magical” time – like January 1, 20whatever – is going to move you toward your goals at precisely 0 miles or kilometers per hour.

Time waits for nobody. Just because the new year has already started, don’t give yourself the “out” of saying, “I just don’t have enough time this year to get this goal accomplished before December 31st.”

That’s a terrible excuse!

Every day you wait, you delay the accomplishment of your dreams. Just start, already!! It doesn’t matter if you have 10 months left in the year or 10 minutes left in the calendar year, because the calendar year has no relevance.

If you want your goal achieved in 365 days, start now! Otherwise, if it’s the end of September and you don’t start ‘til January, you will have to add three months to your date of achievement (from today).

So why not start right now?

The year is just a made up construct of human beings to help us measure time. It has absolutely zilch to do with goals, except that we love things to be tidy and somehow, beginning on January 1 feels right. Well, so does beginning on April 13, May 29 and August 4.

So when you set a goal to achieve something in one year, make it “one year from today” – not December 31. Doing it according to the calendar year just causes unnecessary stress. It puts too much pressure on you to the point you will either freak out and drop the goal altogether, or rush through the necessary tasks and completely miss out on the joy of the process.

Don’t wait for the time to be right. Make today the first day of your “project year” and start working on it. Now. Not next January 1.

 

Inspired by Anilia’s post on http://www.motivatedsista.com/
Photo Credit: Natural Height Growth

Jan 28
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What Doesn’t Stress You Won’t Make You Stronger

By Blogpost, challenges

The strength of the human body is governed by something called the Principle of Progressive Resistance.

That is, the more demand you place on the body (progressively longer and more intense workouts) the more the muscles will respond and strengthen. More demand, more resulting strength. If you want to strengthen your muscles, you must stress them.

Remove the stress (the challenge) and muscles weaken.

The same applies to any area of your life. You need to be challenged, stressed, put to the test, if you’re going to see any improvement.

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Any sort of challenge forces you to adapt, grow, evaluate and learn. It tests your commitment, perseverance, willpower and your character. It’s an in-your-face reminder not to stay comfortably cocooned in your comfort zone.

Nobody’s finest hour ever came when they were comfortable. It came in times of adversity, often very difficult circumstances. You can’t rise to your highest potential without being pushed to your limits. Otherwise, silly little things remain as “limits.” You have to push through them and go a step higher… and another step higher… and so on until you’ve achieved your goal.

Don’t worry if challenges seem overwhelming. Just take them on one step at a time.

Keep going until you’ve reached your goal. Then… set a new goal. A new set of challenges.

Without challenges, your life stagnates. It becomes boring and you WILL suffer from regret of not having tried, or not having gotten up when you’ve been knocked down.

Think back to some challenges you overcame last year and how you benefited from them. Or… if those challenges pushed you backward, isn’t it time to re-evaluate the situation, look at it from a different perspective, and try again using different methods?

Add some spice to your business goals by making them just a little more challenging than you’re comfortable with. That’s the only way you will grow your business beyond the constraints of “what is” right now.

 

Inspired by a post at:

http://www.everythingcounts.com