365QOD-Day511

 “There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one's self.”
One of my recent observation about myself is to question whether I am being authentic.  To me authentic means that what I am thinking and acting that truly aligns to the way I want to be. 

It has to feel true.  It has to be me.  In order to get to this level I have to spend time to understand myself.. the true me self. Not the version that others have of me BUT me for me.   AS Ben would put it Know Yourself.

I might not like everything about myself.  I have to temporarily understand and accept those things.  But over time I can change it into what I wantto be the true authentic me.

Today's question is:
"How true are you to yourself?"

365QOD-Day510

“Diligence is the mother of good luck.”-Ben
Long time ago I read a boook called Lucky or Smart.  It was a wonderful little book that told about an entrepreneur who created and sold a few companies.  His answer to the question, "Are you lucky or smart?"  is "I was smart enought to know when I was getting lucky."

I would add that work must precede the two pieces... work hard and be smart to recognize when the stars have aligned in your favor.  Ben's admonition is Keep Going.  I agree that forward motion is needed in order to get to the second and third stage.  Without the forward progress the second two stages are meaningless and non-existant.

Today's question is
"How do you keep yourself going?"

365QOD-Day509

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.” - Ben
As I mentioned the other day in a post I am going to learn how to create apps.  In my current job the need for me developing the ability to write an app is ZERO.  So why do it?

Ben's next urges us to Continue to Grow.  By learning I am stretching and growing.  It would be so easy to just rest and veg out in front of the TV.  As you know I have been watching too much TV as of the last few months since I purchased a TV.  But it has generated some posts so the bad was converted into good by examining it a bit closer.

When  a little kid is asked how old they are they often answer, "I am 'some number' and half."  Why the half?    They are looking towards the future and realize that they are growing.

Just remember that while growing be kind to your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors.  They might not be growing as much or as fast.

Today's question is:
"Are you growing or dying?"

365QOD-Day508

“To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.”
In our current reality opportunities are everywhere. We tend to be paralyzed by the amount of things we can do and accomplish. 

The other extreme is to jump at everything.  Ben's admoniotion is to Act Quickly on Opportunities.  You might make some bad choices BUT I believe in the end you will regret those a lot less than the no action choice.

Allow yourself the freedom to act.  The freedom to ask what if....  Don't just conclude that it will not work.  Allow yourself the feedom to dream BIG!

Today's question is:
"Are you paralyzed or are you acting quickly?"

365QOD-Day507

“Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.” - Ben Franklin

Ben's next urges us to Give Yourself Permission to Make Mistakes.

In an earlier post I refered to the idea of of failing twice as fast in order to get to success twice as fast.  This might seem counterintuitive.  Whe fail more?

You can not get to greatness if you are not willing to get out of your comfort zone.  I am about to learn how to develop apps.  I printed out a bunch of papers of how to develop android apps before I left for Europe.  My plan is to study these and write my own study course. 

Do I expect to fail?  Of course!  Do I plan to struggle?  YES!  But I am giving myself a permission to make mistakes with teh idea I will better understand how to develop an app.  If I ever chose to develop one I will know how.  If chose to sell one.. I will know how.

It would be so easy to just do what I am comfortable ... programming in C++.  But the world has changed and I figure I need to join it.  Maybe my next ebook will be on how to develop simple apps.  Who knows?  I better stop writing and get back to failing....

Today's question is:
"What are you doing today at which you might fail?"

365QOD-Day506

“Never confuse motion with action.”- Ben Franklin

Next action idea from Ben is to Avoid Busywork.  I tend to believe that most of our work these days falls into this category.  We seem to do and do and do BUT never feel like the work is meaningful. 

Work without meaning is just busy work.  Don't get me wrong, unless you have a large staff then it must be done.  BUT we have to limit it.

What is the right level?  Again, I fall back to the 80/20 rule.  If it gets to be above 80% of our time then we must re-evaluate what we are doing.  Since it is busy work it can wait till tomorrow.  So just stop...and continue with the busy work the next day.  The 20% that contribute to the 80% of the meaningful work must be placed within our day if the day will have meaning and improve our lives.

Today's question is:
"If your current task meaningful or busy work?"

365QOD-Day505

“All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.”- Ben Franklin


Ben is correct.  Often times we spend our time thinking about what we will be doing.  But again thinking is not doing.  Unfortunately, many find themselves in the position of master thinkers and not doers.  


Why?  Well it is easy.  It makes you feel like you are doing something.  But we have to remind ourselves that  we do not get paid for thinking.  The real world rewards action.


So get moving.  Do something after you are done thinking.  


Today's question is:
"What does it take to make you move?"

365QOD-Day504

 “When you're finished changing, you're finished.”- Ben Franklin

One of the things that drives my wife mad most is my ability to change my mind.  I believe that most people do not like change.  I attempt to accept it and to thrive in it. 

Change is inevitable.  Fighting against it is futile.  So why waste energy trying to go back to what will never exist ever again.  It is done.  The reality is that there is a new reality for a while.

Belive in yourself enough that you will be able to respond to setbacks and the need to change in order to reach the goal line.  Change is a new "result".  Stop looking at it as positive or negative.  It is what it is.

Today's question is:
"Do you view change as negative or positive?"

365QOD-Day503

 “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” - Ben

We often expect to perform when we are called upon.  The basketball player wants to simply play the game instead of spending hours to practice.

The weekend runner wants to run the short race witrhout preparing for it.  In their mind they have run longer distance and a shorter one should be easy.

Ben;s third action advice is to Be Prepared.

This requires work in order to get the body and mind in shape to succeed.

Today's question is:
"Are you prepared to succeed?"

365QOD-Day502

"“Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.” - Ben Franklin


Ben's second call to action is:            Don’t Procrastinate

The statement that makes me cringe is, "I'll get to that."  Most often we have no intention of doing what we are being asked to do OR delaying it until we absolutely have to do what is required.

I guess it is human  nature that we would take current pleasure, not doing it, instead of future reward which might not happen.  However, the costs are often enormous.

We are building a brand.  If our brand is that of a procrastinator then we will not benefit in the future from it. 

So why do we procrastinate?  In my mind the simple equation below says it all.
Probability to procrastrinate increases when the WHY< HOW

The sad part is that we often do not want to get to it right now because we don't have the time but in the future we will find all kinds of time when we end up doing and re-doing it because we were rushing.

Today's question is:
"When will you get to it?"

365QOD-Day501

“Well done is better than well said.” - Benjamin Franklin

I recently read the article
14 Lessons From Benjamin Franklin About Getting What You Want In Life

from the website
http://www.dumblittleman.com/

I want to take each of the 14 points apart over the next couple of weeks.  In my opinion Ben is worth having his own label.   There is so much to be learned from studying his life.

From the article, the first of the 14 action-inducing lessons from him:  Less Talk, More Action

"Talk is cheap. Talking about a project won't get it completed. We all know people who constantly talk about the things they are going to do but rarely ever take that first step. Eventually people begin to question their credibility. Taking action and seeing the task through to completion is the only way to get the job done."

As I have mentioned before, I believe the 80/20 rule.  It comes up all of the time.  As a Project Manager, I believe that it is relevant in this case.  20% of your time should be spent communicating what you need to do and what is the status of your project.  You have to communicate but it can not be all about what you will do.  It must be preceeded and followed by action:
Communicate what you will do
Act
Act
Act
Act
Act
Act
Act
Act
Communicate what you did

Talk does not nudge the ball forward.  The only thing that nudges it forward is action. 

Today's question is:
"Do you want to talk about it or just do it?"

365QOD-Day500

"THANKS for your support" - RT

I keep writing.  I keep creating.  Hopefully I am getting to be a better writer and a higher level thinker.   

Recently I actually started to listen to the CDs that come with my Success magazines.  The magazine costs a little over 30 dollars per year for a monthly magazine.  The quality of the magazine is excellent. 

BUT the CD makes the price of the magazine irrelevant.  By itself the CD is worth the price of the magazine.  It I spend the month listening and re-listening to the CD while driving I would get so much more information than what I paid for.  If I pick up just one new idea that I implement, the cost is minimal.

The CD makes the package extra-ordinary. 

Today's question is:
"What makes you extra-ordinary?"

365QOD-Day499

"You become what you focus on" - Anonymous

I believe this to be true.  If you believe that you will succeed you will most likely succeed.  If you focus on why you will fail, you will most likely fail. 

I am a firm believer that it is not how you start BUT how you finish that is most important.  It does not matter if you are placed in situations where the opportunity can be found, if you never fully take advantage of it.

Most people are great starters.  I am one.  BUT most people are terrible finishers.  I am working on being a a better finisher. 

This blog is one of the tools I am using to become a better finisher.  It was tough to write a daily post for 365 days.  It would have been easy to stop writing after the 365th day and to say been there done that now it is over.  To continue writing it when I no longer have to is helping me develop a finisher attitude.

Currently I am editing my second book that is based on this blog.  The easy thing would have been to just dump all of the posts into a document and push it out to kindle.  I did not do so.  I felt that I owed my readers a great product.  I felt that to take the time to finish it properly would teach me to be a better finisher.

Today's question is:
"Are you a starter or a finisher?" 

365QOD-Day498

"Look Dad I did not fall"- Darren Hardy

I have been listening to a CD from Success magazine.  In it Darren tells a story about growing up with a father who was a coach. 

When Darren said this to his Dad, his father responded with "then you did not try hard enough?" Wow!

Most parents are supportive.  I remember running next to my kids, with my hand under their arm, for a mile or so until they could ride without falling.  Why?  Because I did not want them to fall like I did when riding for a first time. Man my arm, head, and leg were all scrapped up. 

So why did his dad take this approach?  I do not know but I believe there is wisdom in those words.  My thinking is that he wanted his son to stretch and not get too comfortable by not failing.  Maybe it is worse to fail at something tough than to succeed in something easy. 

Today's question is:
"Would you rather fail at something tough than to succeed in something easy?"

365QOD-Day497

"Quit Your Job and Get Big Raises" a book by Gordon Miller

My latest guilty pleasure is reading ebooks on my Galaxy Note phone.  With the rubber jacket on it the device is perfect for holding and reading.  I just love it.

The title of the book caught my eye and I read the book.  While reading it I kept thinking how loyalty has changed.  I wondered if companies or individuals have loyalty towards one another.

My conclusion is that they should not.  What!   It should be no surprise that loyalty has given way to skill building in the last decade.  The current recession has slowed the job changing but as soon as it recovers the flood will begin.

To me it boils down to expecting from others what you do not give.  A small company begins with trust and loyalty but as it grows the distance between the top and bottom grows and pretty soon can not be bridged. 

I do believe that cultures can be changed and if a company starts to act positively it will be rewarded with trust and loyalty.  Until then people are going to pick up new skills and sell them elsewhere.  This is a vicious cycle.

Today's question is:
"Do you feel loyal to your company or are you building your skill set?"

365QOD-Day496

"..that is different" - my reaction

For years I have designed logos.  I have several that I claim for myself. 

Over the years I have even thought about getting a line of good quality polo shirts that I would wear with my logo.  At one time I even wanted caps with it.

The other day I was watching something on TV and I noticed a guy with a logo on his hat.  What made it interesting is that the logo was not centered.  It was placed to the right of center.  If caught my eye and it stood out as being different. 

I immediately thought about the brand and how it made it noticeable.  It was off-beat.  It stood out.

Today's question is:
"What do you do that is off-beat that makes you stand out?"

365QOD-Day495

"The girl with a dragon tattoo"- tittle of a book

If one sits on the beach or by the pool for a while it is hard to not notice that almost all of the women and your girls sometimes have a tattoo.  Sometimes majority of their bodies is covered in ink.  Amazing!

IMHO, I always thought that on some women that a single tattoo looked fine but never cared for the tramp stamps. So why am I writing this post? 

I believe that uniqueness is important.  If everyone has them then one is no longer unique.  You are no longer you but are mimicking someone else.  I believe that we all fall to cultural pulls.  In and outside of companies there are norms which we adapt to in order to get along and fit in. 

BUT we should always understand what makes us unique.  What is truly you and what part is just the you that fits in.

Today's question is:
"What is unique about you?"

365QOD-Day494

"I got to blog about that" - a line from a McD commercial

There is a new commercial where two ladies, one young and white and another black and older, sitting next to each other at McDonald's.  The older lady asks what is that that you are eating.  The younger one says oatmeal with walnuts, blueberries, etc. 

The older lady says that in her days oatmeal was just oak and meal. Not this fancy stuff.
She then says that she has to blog about this.  A second later the young woman notices that the blog post goes viral. 

I love that commercial. 

To me the commercial brings up an important issue. What is worth talking about?  Or even better, what is worth writing a post?  I write on a lot of topics but it all boils down to my simple rule for me that is the QOD. 

Today's question is:
"Could you tell this as a story to someone, get them to learn something, pause to think about it, and inspire them to do something?"

365QOD-Day493

"A magazine and a CD...brilliant" - my thought

I love Success magazine.  My scurrent ubscription expired and I need to renew. 

Why do I love it?  Because the magazine focuses on improving oneself and provides a CD with interview or segments from different author's work. 

Every month you get a magazine and a CD.  You can pop the CD in the car and listen to it a bunch of times.  Listen to it to the point that the information sticks and makes a difference.

The CD by itself is worth more than the magazine.

Today's question is:
"What could you add to your product that would make you more desirable?"

365QOD-Day492

"Look day I did not fail"- Darren Hardy's words to his father

Imagine the pride on a child's face when the child can say those words to a parent.  You would think that pride would fill the parent's heart.  In Darren's world this did not happen.

His father told him that if he did not fail at least one time that day that he must not be stretching and trying hard enough.

Ouch.  It might sound painful but his father was correct.  If have reached a level at which you do not fail then you are not longer needing to try harder to get great results.  You must work hard to reach a higher level.

Today's question is:
"Did you fail while stretching today?" 

365QOD-Day491

"MVP" - most valuable priority

Not quite what you thought?  Why is that we can spot a player during the game that is the most valuable player but yet we constantly work on oririoties that are not our most valueable priority?

Start your day off slowly and ask yourself, "what are my top three MVPs?"  Then spend most of your day working towards accomplishing these.  If something else takes first place then do not frown and it will come in when it is ready.

Today's question is:
"What are your top three MVPs?"

365QOD-Day490

"If a butterfly flaps its wings, a tsunami occurs across the world" - common belief known as the butterfly effect

I think this is an example of a ridiculous belief.  How can it be?  Just think about the number of tsunamis there would exist in the world and the number of butterflies in the world.  We should be seeing a constant tsunami.

Since there are not that many tsunamis it must conclude that a single butterfly can not cause the effect. 
BUT it still remains a common belief.  So was that the Earth is flat.

Today's question is:
"How do you conclude when a common belief if completely false?"

365QOD-Day489

"The dog got me out of bed this morning" - misunderstanding

The last and most important characteristic that people over 100 years of age is the ability to deal with death.   This was the main reason why I started telling that stranger the story

In the story they showed a lady who was over 100 and the day before the interview her 70 something daughter passed away.  When the interviewer asked the lady if she wanted to cancel the interview she said,
"Absolutely not!"

The interviewer was surprised and asked her how she can continue with the interview when she has suffered such a drastic loss.

She looked at them and said the following:
"Seventy some years ago God gave me a gift.  Yesterday God decided to take that gift back.  Who am I to challenge that?"

I was blown away by that statement.  If you think about it we can not control when people(spirits as I like to think of people) come into our lives and when they leave. We can only control our connection to them.

If you are to live to 100 years of age you will most likely deal with the death of spouse or two. Most if not all of your children, and possibly most if not all of your grandchildren's deaths.  If you can not put the deaths in their proper place, like the lady did, you will not live to 100.

When I told this story to my grandmother she agreed with all four points.  I  specifically emphasized that throughout she had not tasted death.  Her parents died before she knew them.  Her twin sister died at 12 and her brother died when she was 86.  Her husband died around 96.  All of her kids lived, all of 13 grandkids lived, all of her 14 grandkids(at that time) lived.

Today's question is:
"How do you react when God takes his gifts back?"

365QOD-Day488

"OK so I can pig our and stop exercising?" - a smart alec

The third characteristic of people who live over 100 years old is they have a reason to get up in the morning.  A reason bigger than them.  A reason bigger than a job.

In the story they showed a person who loved going to church.  He was a deacon in the church and he went to his church every morning before he went to work.  It was something that pulled him to go there every day.  There was never a decision made in the church without his input.

Call it a life mission.  Call it a quest.  It is something that gives you the extra push to keep moving towards it.

Today's question is:
"Did you have anything this morning that was pulling you out of bed?"

365QOD-Day487

"Now that you got off your diet..."- LOL

The second characteristic of people who live over 100  is that they do not follow a particular exercise program.  BUT they tend to be very active.

In the story they showed a lady who was 105 and sold tickets in a movie theater.  The theater closed and she went across the street and got a job in a museum as a tour guide.  She was older than the museum. 

My grandmother who lived to be 100 constantly walked around the compound we lived in.  She walked from home to home almost in a circle all day long.

She never let the phone ring more than three times before she answered even when she was in the next room.

Since the story, people have started to exercise more.  I even read a story about a 100 year old who ran a marathon.  Impressive!

Today's question is:
"Do you have an active life?"

365QOD-Day486

"I see the fingerprints of God all over this" - my thought

Sunday morning I decided to run 10 miles.  My normal path takes me through the downtown area of Galveston and back.  It was a very hot day in Texas but since I was running between 6:30 and 8:30 it was somewhat manageable.

Almost exactly halfway I came up to a man sitting on a bench.  It looked like he has just gotten off one of the cruise ships that docks a block away.  Next to him was a small bag.

As I approached him I said good morning and he asked me if he can ask me a question.  This started a conversation that lasted about 10 minutes. 

He recently lost his wife and decided to just get out of Florida.  By the looks of him he seemed depressed over loosing his wife.  I offered him the story I will tell over the next four posts.   It is a story about living to be 100 years old.

Twenty years I watched the show 20/20 on ABC and the story I saw was about research on what characteristics people hat lived over 100 shared. 

The first characteristic of people who live over 100  is that they do not follow a particular diet.  They tend to not overeat but they eat whatever they want. 

The research since then has shown four communities around the world where people tend to live longer.  One if in Japan, another one in Sardinia Italy, Chile, and California (Seventh Day community).  Their diets are very different but one thing that they have in common that families tend to eat meals together.

Today's question is:
"Do you follow a particular diet?"

365QOD-Day485

"That is creating" - my response

I watched a story on NBC evening news last night about Sam Klein.  He is a 11 year old CEO.  Started a company when he was 6.

Most kids that age start a lemonade stand.  What a bad idea.  The costs and time exceed the profits.

Sam started a business where he collects old cartridges from business and trash and re-cycles them.  How much does he make?  In the segment he showed a UPS box and said 100-200 dollars.

That is a lot of lemonade!  This is a kid that is thinking outside that box that other kids put themselves in.  Good for him.  He created a job for himself that he can do even when he is in college.

Today's question is:
'How can you make additional money?" 

365QOD-Day484

"..creare globally recognized tests that define mastery, which ignores whether the student has come upon that knowledge at Oxford or by sitting in his basement watching videos"- Salman Kan

The world is changing.  Ability to access data is so great.  If a person makes it a goal to learn a subject and can pass a test at a reasonable level then they have mastered the material.

All a particular school provides to a person is credibility.  They grant a diploma that states taht the person attended courses and passed exams required to reach a certain level of learning.

The biggest hurdle to doing the above is that schools  provide a system that is recognized.  Employees look to that system as an input.  If the employers are willing to accept the results from a recognized tests, then the world opens up and anyone from anywhere can reach for any job.

In my opinion this could be a very interesting business opportunity.

Today's question is:
"Would you hire a person who self- taught themselves for a job?"

365QOD-Day483

"Khan Academy..A place where teachers make what an engineer would make, where the ideas we have can be on display"- Salman Khan

This pisses me off.  It is income envy.  If someone wants to study to get an education degree, God bless them.  But for them to bitch and moan that they do not get paid enough is wrong.

Judging by the folks who went into education, it was not the best of the best.  As a matter of fact some of the biggest party animals in school were education majors. 

I am yet to meet a person who graduated with an education degree that would have been successful as an engineer.  The skill set is just not there.  Most education majors are general and could not teach an advanced math course if their life depended on it.  Put a Calculus book in front of one and see the smoke coming out of their ears.

The line often given is that they teach the future generation and that is important.  The market, even though people do not want to believe it, is not cruel.  It evaluates your contribution and it sets a price for the business to make a profit off of your activities.  If it looses money then it eventually goes out of business and someone figures out how to do it better and more economically.

Everyone has a purpose and a place.  You can not elevate yourself by putting someone else down.  You can not raise yourself by simply wanting it.  It must be followed by meaningful work.

I bet most engineers would take the pay cut to reduce their level of stress or hours they work.

Today's question is:
"How would you like a two month vacation?"

365QOD-Day482

"How?" - my reaction

While reading a story on home prices I noticed an interesting twist.  The title of the USA Today story was "Home prices gain in most major cities".

In it there was a table of the top 20 cities and percentage change vs. a year ago.  Some cities had positive rates and some were negative.  The bottom of the table was a 20 city composite -2.6%.

When I read this I wondered if the author of the piece has any idea what they are stating in the title.  How could you title a story that there is a gain when the composite is a loss.

I know that as people we often have reactions to new people.  Using our insights we sometimes miss label people as being one way and over time we might correct ourselves.  Recently I worked with a gentlemen who rubbed me the wrong way the first time we met. Man was I wrong.  He was just being sarcastic but I took him as being serious.  I now enjoy his sense of humor and the quality of his work.  I was wrong.

Today's question is:
"Have you completely labeled something as being one thing when it is completely another?