365QOD- Day1271

Oversharer- The Blunderer

"Definition: The Blunderer- Misses social clues that conversation isn't welcome."- WSJ Office Oversharers: Don’t tell Us about last Night June 25, 2014 article by Sue Shellenbarger

One of the blog topics is teamwork.  When I saw this article I immediately saw how the types could be detrimental to teamwork.  So the next several posts will delve into each type. 

The first type is the Blunderer.

"Definition: the blunderer misses social clues that a conversation is not welcome."

So what are some examples?

Imagine someone walking into your office and going through extreme amount of detail about what they did this weekend.  Maybe their weekend consisted of situations which you view morally different than the blunderer?  So what do you do?  You squirm in your seat and just take it?  No!  If you do get up and leave, then guess what you will hear next Monday- the same type of story. 

The easiest way to stop a Blunderer is to say that you do not wish to hear about situations such as those being brought up.  If this does not work, then stand up and start walking towards your door. 

In another situation, the Blunderer barges into a conversation. They immediately jump in as if the conversation was waiting for them to show up and take over.  The best way to remove the Blunderer is to start walking away as a group. 

Today's question is:

"How do you let a Blunderer know that they are not invited?"

365QOD- Day1270

Worrying About Your Problems

“Worry will never solve tomorrow’s problems tomorrow BUT it will sap your energy today”- James Altucher

I heard this quote while listening to James' podcast.  It immediately made me realize the foolishness of worrying.  So why do we worry?

The bigger question is not why but how we stop worrying.  As the quote advises, we sap our energy today by worrying.  This lack of energy does not help us solve the problem and it places us in a bad state of mind.

In my opinion, the only way to solve any problem is to take a small baby step towards the solution.  What do I mean by a baby step?  Baby step is the smallest step that you know with certainty that is the right step to do.  Then follow it with a pause, re-evaluate, and take another small baby step.  Continue the process until you figure out the solution.

Today's question is:

"How do you remind yourself to stay focused on the baby step solution to your problem instead of worrying?

365QOD- Day1269

Worrying About Your Problems

“Worry will never solve tomorrow’s problems tomorrow BUT it will sap your energy today”- James Altucher

I heard this quote while listening to James' podcast.  It immediately made me realize the foolishness of worrying.  So why do we worry?

The bigger question is not why but how we stop worrying.  As the quote advises, we sap our energy today by worrying.  This lack of energy does not help us solve the problem and it places us in a bad state of mind.

In my opinion, the only way to solve any problem is to take a small baby step towards the solution.  What do I mean by a baby step?  Baby step is the smallest step that you know with certainty that is the right step to do.  Then follow it with a pause, re-evaluate, and take another small baby step.  Continue the process until you figure out the solution.

Today's question is:

"How do you remind yourself to stay focused on the baby step solution to your problem instead of worrying?

365QOD- Day1268

Prisoner of Your Own Choices

"The price of security is insecurity."- Dan Harris’s father’s advice

I am amazed at how many unhappy people are unhappy.  The best way to observe this is to watch people on Monday mornings.  Most people look beaten before the week has even started and it only drags from that point till Friday.

The funny part of this is that where we work is a choice.  We are either chosen by our employer to join that team AND we agree to that choice.  So when things turn bad and you are miserable you always feel that you can not go anywhere else because you were "chosen".  Until one day when the company "chooses" to       un-choose you.   Or you chose to go somewhere else.

I am a firm believer in the third chose- work on your dreams while working for someone else OR simply work for yourself.  Find what you are passionate about and work on it after work.  Work on that invention until you can put it out on the market.  Write that book until you publish it. 

The third choice is to "Choose Yourself" as James Altucher calls it.  Choose to work on yourself, your projects , your ideas, your X, etc.

Today's question is:

"Do you  chose to work on your X, instead of waiting to be chosen by others?"

365QOD- Day1267

Daily Death

“We need to practice death daily”- Socrates

In Day253, I wrote about the idea of  Ichi-nichi issho.

"Ichi-nichi issho:  'Each day is a lifetime.'  We arise in the morning newly born.  As we pass through the day, we age and gain experience.  When we tire at day's end, we 'die' and take our rest.  That one arc serves as a miniature of our entire life.  What we do during a single day- and how we do it- becomes the foundation of our whole lifetime.  For what is life but the sum of our days?..."

Notice that Socrates' advice is additive to the Ichi-nichi issho concept.  The Ichi-nichi issho concept teaches us that we must see our day as a smaller version of our whole life.  

It mimics the journey that we undertake except it is in one day.  What and how we do that one day becomes the foundation for the life quality that we live.

Socrates’ advice is that we need to practice dying daily.  We have to look at the end of the day not as simply a miniature version of our life but as the end of our life.  When our head hits the pillow, we need to be ready to never again wake up from our sleep. 

The big question is, “What would you want to squeeze in before that last moment?”  Who would you want to reach out and thank and say good bye? Who touched your heart today?

It makes you wonder what difference it would make if you lived life as Socrates suggests.  Would we be gentler?  Would we leave things undone?  Would we leave things unsaid?  These are things that we currently do every day and would have to drastically change because we would not be guaranteed a tomorrow.

Today’s question is:

“Do you practice daily death?”

365QOD- Day1266

Opportunities and Icebergs 

“Leadership is about two things.  One is seeing the icebergs before they hit the Titanic.  Another one is seeing the opportunities.”  Arrianna Huffington on James Altucher show

I tend to believe that managers often come in only one flavor: the iceberg detectors.  A good manager is great in predicting how current system can derail and fail.  They want the train on the track at all time.

Unfortunately a good manager does not see the other side of the coin.

The other side is the opportunity side.  The opportunity to drive the system to a place it has never been to.  To boldly explore opportunities that could make the existing system not relevant or even better  make the system fail.  Unfortunately, most leaders tend to be great at the opportunity and very poor on seeing the icebergs.

This is why many startups eventually transition from founders to managers.  The founder is a leader that sees the opportunities but lack the ability to predictably manage the system.  So ‘adult supervision’  needs  to be brought in to manage the system and allow the founder he space to look for new 

opportunities.

If you train yourself to be able to do both icebergs and opportunities then you are worth gold.  You can not only create a system but can manage it over time and even drive it to new opportunities.  You are a true leader. 

Today’s question is:

“Are you able to see both icebergs and opportunities?”

365QOD- Day1265

Clean Desk is a Sign of?

“If you do not know what to do with many of the papers piled on your desk, stick a dozen colleagues’ initials on them and pass them along.  When in doubt, route.” Malcolm Forbes 

Whitmore’s fifteenth entrepreneurship observation is: Clear Your Desk.

This quote cracked me up.  But it does offer some serious wisdom.  What should a desk look like? Albert Einstein had a very messy desk.  I am sure there a numerous famous examples who kept very neat desks.

So what does a desk full of paper signify?

A pile of papers signals inactivity or too much activity.  With either conclusion, when someone walks in your office and they see a pile they immediately know that you are not organized.  You might think that you know where everything is but you are fooling yourself.

I find that when my desk is clean and I come in the morning my mood is one of ready to go.  If I see a pile I feel like I am already behind in my work.  At different times I vacillate between both extremes. But I can tell you that for me a clean desk is the preferred option that makes me more productive. 

Today’s question is:

“How clean is your desk?”

365QOD- Day1264

Zen Lunch

“Eat breakfast like a kind, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper”- Eating advice often given to manage amounts 

Whitmore’s fourteenth entrepreneurship observation is: Take a Lunch Break.

Most busy people wait too long before taking a lunch break.  If they do take lunch, most often lunch is a way of meeting with someone or a group.  It is in a sense a continuation of work except now food gets shoved in the mouth.

Taking a lunch break means actually taking a break during lunch.  It means to completely disconnect from work and responsibilities.  Another reason for lunch is to actually taste the food.  This might seem like the obvious reason but it is often the least understood.

By pausing and actually chewing the food we allow our system to slow down and process the food differently.  By talking while eating we tend to engulf a lot of air with the food.  It is my believe, not based on any research, that this is often the reason why we get hiccups.   

I at times will put my fork or spoon down after each byte.  This forces me to slow down.  And by putting the fork or spoon down I allow myself time to chew the food.

My biggest issue that I have with lunch is reading.  I am very guilty of trying to catch up on my reading materials during lunch.  This is bad since I forget to put the fork or spoon down and do not taste the food.  So my solution is to get up and go sit somewhere where there is no computer or papers in front of me.

Today’s question is:

“How do you focus on your food instead of other things during lunch?”

365QOD- Day1263

Breathing Patterns

“What is the optimal sequence of breathe, hold, release, hold?”- Often asked question

Whitmore’s thirteenth entrepreneurship observation is: Breathe Deeply.

In a recent post, Day 1220, I talked about what I believe is the ‘optimal’ amount for the breathing sequence.  The sequence I proposed was 15-15-15-15. But that is my belief!

I believe that it is a great starting point.  If you test it and you feel out of breath then reduce the times.  Test it at 10-10-10-10 and compare.  Maybe even try 5-5-5-5?  So once you have come to sequence that makes you feel relaxed then tweak it slightly by adjusting each number independently.  

I believe that like the reminder to stand up every hour for ten minutes, this is another area we need to set our smart phones to remind us to do.  It could be as short as 5 minutes or as long as 20 minutes.  Start with 5 and see how it feels. Maybe just try to get 10 deep breaths.  You will feel better and most likely will be more productive.

Today’s question is:

“What reminders do you use to practice breathing?”

365QOD- Day1262

Standing for Health

“Sitting down all day is killing you slowly.”- My conclusion

Whitmore’s twelfth entrepreneurship observation is: Stand Up and Move Around.

I believe that one day office chairs will come with a warning, ”Sitting most of the day has been shown to lead to disability, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and obesity.”  Wow!

I do not think that we would be able to sue because our work requires us to sit and work but there is overwhelming evidence that sitting all day does cause damage to us over time.  It is a “slow” killer.  

But most of us can not change the nature of our jobs.  We can however invest in our health.  One of my former colleagues went out and bought a device that sits on his desk.  The desk top is made by Versadesk and it fits two monitors and a keyboard.  He is able to stand at his desk and work for a few hours before he needs to sit down.  When I last spoke with him he was very happy with it and would recommend it.

My point is that by buying a $300 dollar adder he completely changed his sitting into standing desk.  He is now in control of how much he is standing.  He probably improved the quality of his health and length of life for a small investment.

Another way to do this is to set a timer that goes off every hour and reminds you to stand up and go for a walk for ten minutes.  This might improve your work relationships by getting to engage with your co-workers.

Today’s question is:

“What reminders do you use to stand up and walk around?”

365QOD- Day1261

Truly Saying THANKS

“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions.  The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” Zig Ziglar

Whitmore’s eleventh entrepreneurship  observation is: Show Gratitude.

The ending to most of my notes is THANKS followed by name.  Why?  I use it as a reminder that I should be thankful for this person and this opportunity.

I believe that most often we tend to ignore and at times not appreciate the things that others do for us.  It is interesting that often initially in a relationship we do not forget this.  But over time we let our guard down and say it less often.

Relationships are difficult to start, maintain, and nurture.  So why after taking the effort to start the relationship do we need to stop the momentum?  It could be that our lives are too busy or we are just focused on the next thing.

The pause to stop and truly say THANKS is worth gold.  If not used the relationship will tarnish and the link will eventually be non-existent.

Today’s question is:

“How do you force yourself to truly say THANKS?

365QOD- Day1260

Quieting the Noise Maker Inside

“But…”- and interruption starter

Whitmore’s tenth observation is: Listen.

The other day I went to dinner with a friend. Usually my friend is the center of attention.  He loves to engage, talk and comment.   This time he sat quietly and listened.

This was so different for him that I just could not stop thinking about it.  In my eyes he was way more effective that he listened actively.  Yes he did chime in a couple of time BUT that was over a two hour dinner with two other people. 

I believe the true benefit of being quiet is that you get to understand what the other person is saying and hopefully “full understand” their needs.  It seems to me that interruption is another way of showing how smart we are.  But as this example showed me, by being quiet and asking better questions we are more likely to be seen as “intelligent”.

Interrupting is easy.  Hell we do not even have to let the other person finish their thoughts before we impose our thoughts on them.  By giving them space to speak we set us up to better understand them and minimize the need to clarify later.

Today’s question is:

“How do you force yourself to listen until you fully understand?

365QOD- Day1259

Can You Please Do This For Me?

“You can delegate authority, but you cannot delegate responsibility.”- Bryon Dorgan

Whitmore’s ninth observation is: Delegate.

The other day I spend some time looking through fiverr.com.  It blew me away.  The services people were willing to provide for $5 was incredible.  Immediately I thought to myself that I need to start using the services of others more.

I can create many products but I am no different than others.  My life is 247365.  In it I get 168 hours per week.  40 hours are spent working. Driving 8 hours per week. 72 are spent sleeping.  Running uses 2 hours. Walking consumes about 10 hours per week. I would estimate another 7 are spent eating.  Reading probably another 5 hours.  So my total is 144.  What is left is 24 hours that I cannot account for easily. 

So what if I used those hours to formulate my projects in a format that I can delegate to others to complete for me? 

I believe that I would get at least a four fold return.  In other words, what would take me four hours to do I believe some of these specialists could get it done in one hour.  That would give me four time 24 hours or 96 hours of productivity.  Impressive!

I believe the key is to make the work in small enough chunks that they can be easily be done by someone else without much direction.  Give them the authority to complete the work to their best ability.  But as the quote teaches, I still retain the responsibility for the quality of the work.  Cool!

Today’s question is:

“How do you break up work so that pieces can be delegated to others to accomplish?”

365QOD- Day1258

Value of Your Time

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying "no" to 1,000 things.”- Steve Jobs

Jacqueline Whitmore’s eight observation is: Value Your Time.

For this observation I want to take on a different path.  I want to focus on saying no to oneself. 

I used to struggle with taking on too many projects.  At times it seemed as if I just did not know how to say no.  Over time I realized that too many projects lingered on and something needed to change.

I now work on focusing on one project at a time.  If I get a new idea I take the time to scribble it down in my moleskin notebook.  I force myself to stop there.  I do not touch it until its; priority rises to the most important project on my list.  Yes I do lose momentum but I sacrifice momentum for executing.

Today’s question is:

“How do you say no to yourself?”

365QOD- Day1257

Absolutely NO!

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying "no" to 1,000 things.”- Steve Jobs

Jacqueline Whitmore’s seventh observation is: Say No.

For this observation I want to take on a different path.  I want to focus on saying no to oneself. 

I used to struggle with taking on too many projects.  At times it seemed as if I just did not know how to say no.  Over time I realized that too many projects lingered on and something needed to change.

I now work on focusing on one project at a time.  If I get a new idea I take the time to scribble it down in my moleskin notebook.  I force myself to stop there.  I do not touch it until its; priority rises to the most important project on my list.  Yes I do lose momentum but I sacrifice momentum for executing.

Today’s question is:

“How do you say no to yourself?”

365QOD- Day1256

Visualizing Success

“The journey from A to Z is best planned in the direction Z to A.”- my observation

Jacqueline Whitmore’s sixth observation is: Visualize.

It is my belief that being able to see the end goal is critical.  Seeing yourself running that race at a certain rate is a must.  You need to be able to see the end goal with your eyes open as well as when they are closed(dream state).

Human beings are mostly visual and being able to see the end is very important.  If the mind can visualize it then the brain can process what needs to be done in order to get to that end state.  This is where the reverse engineering the steps that will have to be accomplished in the forward direction by going backwards step by step.

After you have visualize the steps, you need to speak the steps aloud so that you can hear yourself understanding and knowing what is next in the sequence.  This will forge a connection between the visual and auditory portions in the brain.

Today’s question is:

“How do you visualize from Z to A?”

365QOD- Day1255

Multitasking is a Myth

“Can you walk and chew gum?”- a smart-alecky question

Jacqueline Whitmore’s fifth observation is: Single Task.

It is my belief that multitasking is a myth.  The human brain is designed to switch between tasks instead of parallel task completion. 

What this means is that we can not do multiple things effectively and must tackle one task at a time.  There is no such thing as multi-anything.  Yes, you can walk and chew gum.  Those two tasks are simple enough.  But when trying to do two difficult things like driving and texting you veer off the road.

What ends up happening when we do attempt to do multiple things is that the brain has to expand energy to remember where we were as it switches between tasks.  But what occurs is a delay.  The brain has to store the information first- this is a delay.  Then it has to start the new tast by retrieving where we were before- this is delay.  So we introduce delay just to get back to where we were.

A better approach is to force ourselves to focus on doing the one thing in front of us until we are done and then move on to the next task.  In the long run this strategy will improve our effectiveness and rate of completion.

Today’s question is:

“How do you force yourself to single task?”

365QOD- Day1254

Hitting a Purposeful Target

“Fire, Ready Aim.”- a different thought process

Jacqueline Whitmore’s fourth observation is: Remember Your Purpose.

Our life long purpose is very difficult to find.  Daily purpose is much easier.  Often time our daily purpose is reflected in the tasks we accomplish.  Unfortunately, as the quote notes, we tend to fire first and plan later more than the ready, aim, fire we should be following.

I am not saying that ready, fire, aim is bad.  It eliminates paralyses by focusing on the action that needs to be done and not getting stuck in the “thinking” process.  Sometimes this is just what the doctor ordered to get us out of rut and force us to move towards a target.  It requires us to trust ourselves that we can figure it out as we move towards the target.

But we should daily check to see how many of our accomplished tasks align with that life purpose.  This is critical to review and make sure that in the end we will arrive at or close to our target goal.

Today’s question is:

“How do you keep your life and daily purpose aligned?

365QOD- Day1253

Email… Ding Ding Ding

“Ohhh email goodies.”- typical thought process

Jacqueline Whitmore’s third observation is: Don’t Check Your Email Right Away.

The worst thing you can do first thing in the morning is to do the least productive thing.  For most people reading email is the least productive thing.  It is somewhat of a Pavlovian response that we have trained ourselves to do.  Maybe we need to un-train ourselves?

The way I handle this dilemma is to force myself not to be in the office first thing in the morning.  I will come to the office and immediately leave to talk with different people I need to follow up on items.  This communication often takes about one hour.  During these conversations I learn what is important to others and add things to my to-do list.

By forcing myself to do something more productive, I eliminate the temptation to immediately jump into the email reading session.  Delay it allows me to prioritize better because the demands made in the emails can be ranked alongside the ones personally made to me.  In the end there are only so many minutes in a day that we have to spend towards work tasks.

Today’s question is:

“How do you tackle the email beast?

365QOD- Day1252

Evening Strategy

“Plan your day, live your plan”- old sage advice

Jacqueline Whitmore’s second observation is: Plan Your Day.

I am a firm believer in spending your day before it starts.  And when I do not spend the day before it’s start, I feel that the day usually turns out wasted. 

So, what does this mean?

On Sunday afternoons I like to sit down for a half hour and plan the whole week.  During this session I consider what is important to me: personal, family, work, etc.  For each area I like to consider at least three actionable things I can accomplish next week.  This is a high level planning session BUT it misses the daily connection.

At night before going to sleep I spend about 5 minutes reviewing what happened during the day and moving tasks around during the week.  I identify and note in my moleskin book the most urgent (1), three important tasks (3), and five (5) need to do tasks for the next day.  This is my 1-3-5 list.

Today’s question is:

“Do you spend your days before starting them?”

365QOD- Day1251

Start of Your Day

“Breakfast- the breaking of the fast induced by sleeping”- my definition

I recently read an article called 15 Things Successful Entrepreneurs do Every Day by Jacqueline Whitmore.  Her first observation is:

“1. Eat breakfast. To work at your peak performance, your body needs fuel. Rather than just grab a cup of coffee on your way to the office, take a few minutes to eat a meal or drink a protein smoothie — even if it’s on the go.

I believe that most of us start our day in a hurry.  We are rushing to get to work.  Rushing to eat our food while sitting at our desk.  So it is no surprise that successful entrepreneurs would do the opposite of most people.

So what is a healthy breakfast?  For many years I used to make oatmeal with dry fruits and milk.  I love it.  Other days it is a simple bowl of mueslix type of cereal with milk.  Other days it is mueslix type of cereal with a cup of coffee.  After a run, my breakfast consists of two eggs with vegetables and toast.  Variety is the key to not getting bored with it.

Remember that whatever you eat it most likely will be 4-5 hours before you eat another full meal.  Four hours is actually two 120 min cycles at which the human body craves nourishment.  So overriding through two of them causes your body to believe that you will not feed it.  This rolls into overeating because you do not know when the next meal will be.  Often the dinner meal is another 2-3 cycles later.  And this leads with overeating.

The best thing we can do is eat a healthy breakfast and follow it with a healthy snack about 120 minutes later.  That way at lunch we will be less likely to overeat.  The same idea holds for afternoon. 

Today’s question is:

“Do you start your day with a healthy breakfast of champions?”

365QOD- Day1250

What is Your Current Financial State?

"The average amount in a checking account is $3100.  For retirement accounts, it depends on your age.  It is $12000 for people 25-32; it's $61000 if you're 33-44"- Source unknown

A while back I wrote a post that talked about how most people do not have more than 2000 in their accounts.  If their car blew a transmission, they would be hard pressed to come up with the money to repair it without having to borrow it.  What was also surprising about that post was that 25% of people that made 75k-100k had to borrow the money also.

This quote which I read today proves that point.  What is $3100?  Not enough to handle most small emergencies.  Definitively not enough to handle a mid size emergency- 5-20k.

I think that most people realize that point but do not have a plan on how to get to a position where they have a large enough emergency fund that could handle a job loss for one year and all of the bills associated with trying to continue life as it was before the job loss.  This blows my mind.  No plan means an expectation that someone else will save them from life little bumps.

The picture does not look much better when it comes to retirement money.  If you go with the max amount of 61k and you consider your monthly spending amount, how many months could you last?   If average income is about 44k and nothing is saved implies that a monthly spent is $44k/12~$3700 per month.  In other words 61k/3700=16.5 months.  You would be able to live 16.5 months without touching social security assuming you do not have an early withdrawal penalty.

Painful state of affairs!


Today's question is:
"What does it take for you to build up your emergency fund to be able to cover 6-12 months of expenses?"

365QOD- Day1249

Quick Gains

"What if you have 60 days to make $100,000 starting from zero, what would you do?"- a Chris Johnston call in question to Tim Ferriss

This morning I was listening to a School of Greatness podcast in which Tim was asked this question.  His answer was that there are many elegant solutions but no silver bullet.  They are unique to the individual.  It was a no answer.

So what is a better answer?

Almost every self-help book I have read talks about finding your passion.  Unfortunately, most people do not do any self-examination to determine their strength and their passions.  I am on the other extreme of the scale.  I have many things I am passionate about that I have to force myself to only focus on one thing at a time.  That however does not answer the get rich quick question.

The best book for this question is by Loral Langemeier's The Millionaire Maker.  It is a pretty straight forward book that shows several families and uses what they are currently doing to turn it into bringing additional income.  To me that makes sense.  Start with something you are currently doing, recognize what it could be, and build from it.

No, my answer is not a get rich quick scheme but in the end it might be the only way to build a sustainable business that brings in great income.

Today's question is:
"What would you do to make $100k in 60 days?"

365QOD- Day1248

Memory Gaps

"Man I just can not remember being there!"- my words

Recently my son sent me a picture from many years ago.  In the picture I am sitting on a sofa and he is in my lap.  Immediately I fell in love with the picture.

However, the picture became a giant puzzle for me.  There were several elements in the picture that just did not make sense.  His age at the time of the picture.  Another one was the location of the picture.  My dress was out of place also.  Many, many more odd things about the picture.  If I did not know better I would have bet that he used Photoshop to play a joke on me.

Unfortunately, the reality is that I have a memory gap.  I usually have a great memory when shown photographs as to when and what was going on around the time frame when a picture was taken.  Most often our minds abhor gaps in memory and they will fill them in automatically.  But this time it is not happening.  I just can not recall the time the picture it was taken and by whom.

This realization has made me confront the reality that my memory is just starting to fade away.  The only was to remember things is to make the experience memorable and very vivid.  Even then we could forget it over time.

Today's question is:
"Have you ever experienced a memory gap?"

365QOD- Day1247

Not Sleeping In

"Things that are easy to do are also easy not to do"- Jim Rohn

Last night I decided that I wanted to run Monday morning at 5.  Since it has been getting pretty hot very early I thought that 5 a.m. I might get some relief from the heat.  So I set my alarm clock.  Put on my running shorts on.  Put my running shoes, with socks and sweat bandanna in the bathroom.

My alarm went off at 5.  I slid out of the bed and went to the bathroom.  Quickly I got ready and left for my run.

Yes it was miserable.  Yes it was hot!  But I had a smile on my face.  Just making myself to get out of bed was an accomplishment.  The time I ran did not matter so much.  As a matter of fact I ran 3 minutes slower than expected BUT that did not bother me.

To me just getting out of bed and going for a run was a great way to start the day.  I normally do it every Friday and Sunday morning.  This week I will get it done three times.

As the quote stresses, it would have been easy for me to shut the alarm off and continue sleeping.  The bed was pulling me back BUT I resisted its magnetic pull.  Instead I stuck with the choice I had made before I went to sleep.

Today's question is:
"How do you make yourself stick to your own choices?"

365QOD- Day1246

Getting Things Done

"You put your mind to it, let your heart believe it and your body do it"- Steven France amputee competitor on American Ninja Show

Mr. France is a second degree black belt who lost his foot in an industrial accident.  His foot has been replaced with a prosthetic.  He does not see it as a limitation and feels that he almost everything he could do before loosing his foot.

Before attempting the course he said this line.  Immediately I heard the wisdom.  The idea get born in the mind.  But that is not enough.

You must connect the desire to the heart.  The heart must get pulled forward.  It has to believe that the idea is a doable challenge.  But that also is not enough.

You lastly must have enough control of your body to get it to actually do what the idea need to be completed.  Without the work, the idea will fail to come to fruition.

Today's question is:
"How do you go from an idea to execution?"

365QOD- Day1245

Present Focus

"Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” - Alexander Graham Bell

In the past I have written about research that shows the effects of interruption on productivity.  A well known study found that we get interrupted every 11 minutes and it takes us 23 minutes to get back to where we were.

One thing that is missing from this study is the duration of the interruption.  If the duration is only 30 seconds, I am sure we would get back to where we were quicker than if the interruption was 30 minutes.  It makes common sense.

Bell's advice is very valid in today;s world.  Concentrate on teh work and your efforts will burn a hole.  By allowing interruptions to get in your way, your light gets diffused.  You must keep your focus and minimize the interruptions.

Today's question is:
"How do you prevent your light from being diffused?"

365QOD- Day1244

Upward and Downward Spirals

“People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can easily become a self fulfilling prophecy.”  Tony Robbins

I love watching basketball games.  It seems at times that a player gets on roll and every time they touch the ball they score.  Everything seems to go in.  Even the worst off-balance shot goes in.

Then there are nights when the player can go 0 for 10.  It makes no difference whether the player is right under the basket they can not score even if their life depended on it.  The ball will just not go in.

As the example shows, it is easy to get on an upward spiral as it is on the downward one.  So success is to minimize the downward spiral.  The key is to recognize you are on one and to say to yourself that nothing last forever and that you just need to keep doing what you have been doing consistently.  Your luck will change and eventually you will start the upward spiral.

Unfortunately, as you can see it in most athletes, most players dwell on the failure so much that they just become the self fulfilling prophecy.  You change the prophecy by believing that soon the upward spiral will start and controlling the next shot.

Today's question is:
"Do you recognize when you are on a downward spiral?"

365QOD- Day1243

Mini-Company

“What you did was become a mini-LinkedIn.”- an observation by James Altucher to Lewis Howes

During a podcast called The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes, author James Altucher asked Lewis how he made his money.  Lewis told a story about being hurt playing football, laying on his sisters’ couch and needing to make money.  He worked for a friend who was inventor.

After six months he still needed money. What he did next was to create get together functions for LinkedIn people to get to know their connection in person in a particular town.

That is when James made the quoted observation.  He said that LinkedIn was a few billion dollar company and by being a mini version of it he made a slice of that pie.  James also said that his goal was to become a mini-Google.

Immediately light bulbs went off for me.  Can this idea be replicated?  What is a company that I admire for which I can create a mini version of it?  It is very individual as to who you would target.

Lets play through an example.  Suppose you admire Facebook.  What Facebook does really well is to allow people to keep tabs on their friends and family on-line.  Using Lewis' idea you could create a mini-Facebook by creating meetups in a city for all of your friends.  You could be  party planner for a group of someone's friends and family.

Today's question is:
"What company could you create a mini-company for yourself?"

365QOD- Day1242

Grit vs. Persistence

"Grit in psychology is a positive, non-cognitive trait based on an individual’s passion for a particular long-term goal or endstate coupled with a powerful motivation to achieve their respective objective. This perseverance of effort promotes the overcoming of obstacles or challenges that lie within a gritty individual’s path to accomplishment and serves as a driving force in achievement realization."- Wikipedia

The other day while running this idea came to me.  What is the difference?  So I looked up the difference in Wikipedia.  No help.

Then it hit me.  

Imagine a piece of wood that has been cut to closely resemble a horse.  Persistence is like a piece of cloth.  You can use the cloth to rub the wood and the more you rub the shinier the wood will become.  

Now imagine that same piece of wood.  Grit is like a sandpaper.  You can use the sandpaper to shape the wood.  Even though at times it might take a while the sandpaper, depending on the grittiness, it will take layers of undesirable wood and the wood will assume the shape that you need it to become.

The combination is more powerful than either just grit or persistence.  The wood needs to be cut into a shape.  This is the beginning of the process.  Next it needs to be shaped by taking pieces away by using the grit of the sandpaper until we have reached the final shape.  Lastly, by rubbing it with a fine cloth all of the shaving left behind will be taken away and the horse will be polished into a marvelous looking horse.  

Today's question is:
"What is persistence and what is grit to you?"

365QOD- Day1241

It Is NOT About the Money

 “I just want to be comfortable.  I do  not need to be rich.”- a common belief

According to James Altucher:

Lesson#11 It’s never about the money

I have a bad habit.  Sometimes when I am listening to people I tend to substitute the opposite words  than the ones the person is speaking.

For example, suppose someone says, “I never lie.”  I immediately substitute the words that the person often lies. I am a hard worker becomes I am lazy.  And so on. I am looking to see which one “fits”  better.

The quote above becomes, “I do not just want to be comfortable.  I want to be rich.”  Now that  sounds more like what most people are thinking.  So why do we say the opposite.

I believe that having lots of money, being rich, is something that most of us aspire to.  We don’t just  want the security we want the financial freedom to live not just to work in order to live.  But first we  just need to be honest with ourselves.

Today’s question is:

“If it is not money, then what is it for you?”