365QOD- Day983

Intellectual Risk

"I am smarter than that."- self encouragement

I believe that our intelligence can grow over time.  If we choose to expose ourselves to continuous learning then our whole life will make us smarter.

As you might have noticed, our world is moving at an incredible pace.  If you are not drowning in email then you have not checked it yet.  There are so many channels on TV that you can easily just keep flipping without stopping to see a while show.  How about the number of new books that are published each day?

The world around us provides us with a ton of new data.  It is so much data that we seldom have time to convert it into information.  But we must.  That data can then become knowledge and over time lead to wisdom.

It all starts with exposing ourselves to new information.  Noticed that I said information and not data.  Information is processed data.  It is one step above.

This is where intellectual risk comes into play.  What if we are not smart enough to absorb the information?  Or even better, not smart enough to find the information we need?

365QOD- Day982

Financial Risk

"Money, I got to have it..."-song lyric

I think of each dollar as 100 soldiers.  Ever one of these soldiers deserves our attention and respect.  Without the attention and respect we are exposing ourselves to greater financial risk.

Most of us will easily earn more than a million dollars in our life.  But most of us will never become millionaires.  Why?  It is our exposure to risk.

I believe that our mindsets are not set up to become millionaires.  We tend to expose ourselves daily to poor financial decisions.  Decisions that just take money out of our pocket.  $5 Latte anyone?

We are letting or soldiers go into fights and get wasted.  Even better, we give then away to others by making questionable purchases that have use in only the short term.  This does not allow us to grow our army. We put ourselves in a position where we are constantly trading our time soldiers, seconds, for money soldiers, pennies. In other words, we work to spend.

Today's question is:
"Are you giving away your soldiers?"

365QOD- Day981

Emotional Risk

"This is going to make me cry"-men's ultimate weakness

Many years ago I sat on a beach and read The Power of Full Engagement.  I doubt that a week has passed since that I have not referenced it in conversations.  The book teaches us about four energies we all share: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

I believe that most of us guys tend to ignore the emotional dimension to our lives.  This choice exposes us to a lot of emotional risk. How?

Suppose your spouse needs one hour per day of your undivided attention.  This might not be a solid hour but split over many smaller chunks of time.  That is what she expects but suppose you only give her 30 minutes for an extended amount of time.  Eventually this creates tension and you will have to spend hours trying to get back on track. These hours are usually spent arguing.

It is the classic pay me now our pay me later.  If you were to average out the time spend connecting with arguing and the approach that uses  daily emotional connection, I bet it will average it to the one hour need.

The difference is in spreading out your emotional risk vs. concentrating it during arguments.  Which one is better?  I believe that setting time aside every day is a better choice.  This way you exercise your emotional muscles ever day and they get stronger.

Today's question is:
"What emotional risk did you expose yourself to today?"

365QOD- Day980

Social Risk

"To be social or not be social, that is the question now."- RT

Remember starting a new job.  You were the new kid on the block.  The one everyone is curious about.

In that one and many other social situations people want to get to know you better.  So how much of you do you reveal?  You want to be social but you also want to be guarded is my advice.  There should be a bit of mystery to you and your life.

I believe that the more people know about us the more social risk we expose ourselves.  With this, I am not saying not to share a portion of your life but sharing everything exposes to many weaknesses.

So what is the right amount?  I believe that 20% of your life is a good guideline.  It is the 80/20 rule.  This leaves a lot of mystery for people to wasn't to find out over time. 

The number will grow over time towards 80 but it should not ever get to100. I believe that this also holds true in relationships as well as marriage.  It keeps the relationship fresh.

Today's question is:
"How much of yourself do yo reveal?"

365QOD- Day979

Risk Profile

"I get a knot in my stomach"-Anonymous

In an article by Jocelyn Glei I learned of five primary types of risks.  I would like to explore these in
next five posts.

First type of risk is physical.  I am sure you have heard the quoted expression.  Physically you feel that what you are about to do will put your body in danger.  You might not get the knot but your hands might get sweaty.  Your ears might get red.  The response is very unique to you as a person.

I mentioned in another post that I do not like to handle snakes.  So I do not.  The risk is a physical
fear.  What if I get bitten?  The reality is that if I handled a snake that the probability of getting bitten is so small.  So my conclusion is to get over this fear next time I am around a snake.  This is my way of using logic to convince myself that the physical risk is not worth fearing.

How about bungee jumping? I also don't care for extreme heights.  So jumping over is a physical risk that the rubber band would break.In reality it is not the fear of heights but fear of jumping into the unknown.

 I better start with the snakes.

Today's question its:
"what do you consider a physical risk?"

365QOD- Day978

Write Badly

"Have the Courage to Write Badly"- title by Herbert Lui

I have to admit that I write badly most of the time.  This should not be a surprise to you.  Since I write with passion I tend to write quickly in order to capture my thoughts and my blogger will substitute words on my cell phone Swype keyboard that I did not intend.

This is an excuse.  When I do take the time to read the posts after creating them i will often find several mistakes easily.  So I can edit my work but due to my rushing I choose not to. At the end of the year I take the time to rewrite the stories before they make it in my boois.  My books are, in my opinion, well written because I have debugged them.

So I find the time to do it properly the second or third time but not the first time.  This is nuts and a waste of time.  So since this is silly I have decided to drop rewriting the story and instead focusing on reading the poorly written pieces out loud before I hit publish.

Today's question us:
"Do you have the courage to write badly?"

365QOD- Day977

Scared of What

"Give no mercy to your FEARS ."- anonymous

Long time ago I read somewhere that we can look at most of our decisions and note why we made them.  How?  Imagine a circle with a line inside it supplying it in half vertically. Write the word faith in the left semicircle.  Inside the right semicircle write the word fear.

Faith is a belief that you can on your own or that you will through some external help from another person or God prevail.  There is no doubt about the end result.  So you move towards it.

The fear side is more complicated.  It is the belief that you can not on your own nor with the help of another person or God prevail.  But more than a belief, you are held into place or pushed back by an invincible force that you will not even try it.  That is the force of fear.

As the quote advises, give no mercy to your fears.  Once they have an inch they will demand a yard.  Push back and say that despite your fear you will push forward.  As Churchill wisely advised, "Never. Never. Never ever give up. Never." Push forward.

Today's question is:
"Is your belief on an issue based on faith or fear?"

365QOD- Day976

Scary

"Despite campaigns aimed at educating both clinicians and patients, studies show that hospital staff comply with hand washing periodicals only 50% of the time"-WSJ article

I was reading a Wall Street Journal article about SwipeSense when this statistic cough my attention. Immediately it make me wonder.

Why would people that know that "since 1880s that hand hygiene decreases the risk for infection and transmission from person to person" not follow the requirement. It is a classical gap between knowing and doing.

SwipeSense is providing sensors and gel dispensers designed to analyze and provide an incentive for the staff to follow the protocol.  But why is the knowledge not enough.

I believe that in this instance doctors feel that they know more than the rest of us and see themselves as above the rest of us. Even thigh their oath emphasizes that they do no harm they are doing harm.  It is their ego that is driving their decision making. 

Today's question is:
"How do you prevent your ego from driving your decisions?"

365QOD- Day975

The Man with Two Watches

"So why do you wear two watches all of the time?"-my question to a friend

Many years ago I worked with a friend of mine whose name is Ivy.  He is a very interesting person with whom I have had many conversations over the years.

The quote above was the start of one such conversation.  I was curious as to why he always wore two watches, one on each hand, at all times.  So I asked the question.

Ivy told me that he has a young wife and that he also has two watches.  Everyday he makes a choice to wear both watches in order for them to be worn.  He said that every night he also makes love with his wife as if it was his last time.

I could not resist asking why?  His answer was that he did not want to die and for some guy to come in and find brand new watches and a wife that had not been loved.  So he lived his every day trying to use to the fullest what made up his world in order for their value to be zero to anyone else.

Today's question is:
"Do you appreciate and use everything in your world?"

365QOD- Day974

Both Sides are Idiots

"I hate both political parties equally."-my words

I am saddened that the two parties are full of politicians that are holding our country hostage.  This is not what our founding fathers intended. Consider a few issues.

The country needs a basic health plan.  I do not think it should take 2000 pages that no one has read to formulate it. There is no western country without basic health care plan.  Why are we different?  Because medical lobbyists write the laws and politicians get paid by them. 

Our medical system is broken.  When someone without insurance goes to an emergency room for basic care then all of our costs go up.  Do young people need the same coverage as elderly or middle age folks? No.  So a plan needs to be formulated for 20-30 year old and older people that is different and cheep.

The other issue is spending.  It is amazing to me that when either party is in power that they do not decide to control spending.  Fir example, the Republicans like their wars and police actions around the world.  We have gone from the most admitted nation to the most hated in the last 30 years. 

The Democrats like their social programs.  This is their way of employing more people that will vote for them next election.  By spending on programs that do not work, they prevent the creation of programs that will work.

Neither party cares about the little working guy.They give lip service.  What they care about it getting reelected.  If they do not follow their own party line they will get kicked out by their own.  They serve the party not us.  Thus is why an Obama white house member said that "they are winning" on this government shutdown.  They care about getting reacted more than fixing the problems.  Sad.

Our forefathers wanted statesmen who would argue the issues and do what is best for the country.  They were intending for people to go to Washington for a few years and dedicate themselves for the best of the country. 

This is not what we got now.  We have a group of people that only care to last long enough to get their pension and lifelong medical.  This is because they see it as a job instead of service to the country.  We deserve better.

Today's question is:
"Would you be willing to vote out every currently elected official?"

365QOD- Day973

Too Many Questions

"Life is to short to be wasted in finding answers.  Enjoy the questions!"-Paulo Coelho

One of these days I am going to take all of the questions from my blog and put them in one document and reread them out loud.  I believe it will be hard to just read them.

By now you should know that I enjoy posing questions to think about.  Rarely do I get upset if the answer does not pop out immediately.  I do not expect it.  If it is a worthwhile question then the answer will also take time to arrive.

So how does one enjoy the question?  I believe that by letting go and not expecting the answer is the way to enjoy the question. I also think that this also places the question in our subconscious.  So your brain is really working on the question when you do not think you are working on it.

Unfortunately we are often to eager to ask or next question that we might not even hear the answer. It is the pause that allows the answer to come up.

Today's question is:
"Can you enjoy the delay to the answer?"

365QOD- Day972

Start or Stop Talking

"When you approach two peorple talking, you will be acknowledged in one of two ways.  If the feet of their torsos stay in place and they twist only their upper torsos in your direction, they don't really want you to join the conversation.  But if their feet move to include you then you know that you are truly invited to participate."-Carol Kinsley Goman

 I saw this line on the Behance web page and immediately recognized the feelings.  There have been times when I felt uncomfortable stepping into a situation between two petiole.  And there have been times when I got smiles and was warmly welcomed.

I believe that the secret is your smile. If you approach the situation with a great attitude then you are most likely will be welcomed.  If internally you are judging yourself not  worthy of being there then your vibe will keep you out.

The author adds that this is also true for when conversations are over.  A coworker who seems to be paying attention with their upper body angled toward you but their legs and feet are towards the door, is signaling that the conversation is over.

So start paying attention to peoples upper and use body positioning as a way of telling how people feel.

Today's question is:
"How do you know that you are welcomed or done with?"

365QOD- Day971

Of Service

"We know we need to listen, but that is not enough.  More impotently we need to execute and give or customers what they have been asking for- and fast"- Alison Johnson Marketing VP at Apple

When I was young I remember my mom telling me that when someone asks me to do something that they mean right now.  According to my mom, doing what they ask you to do tomorrow has less of an impact.

As adults we tend to delay our execution.  Alison reminds us that we need to give the customer what
they want and it must be done quickly.  So if we fail to execute then we definitely fail at fast execution.

I believe that we live in an ADD world.  We are all running around trying to do too much at once.
We do not know how to say no.  This is why we over commit and under perform.  By saying no we could reduce the over comer portion and improve our performance.

We need a pull system instead of a push system.  In this system we pull a job when we are done with one.  Not just simply adding jobs without finishing one.

Today's question is:
"Have you ever used a pull system?"

365QOD- Day970

My Brand

"Your app is your brand now"-Peter Coffee article title

Earlier this year I published an app called Business Academy.  It was my first app and it allowed me to figure out how to go from an idea, through design, to formatting it for publishing, to getting it published.

The title of this story caught my attention.  The app that I designed was not intended to be my brand but a simple experiment.  It does fit the cREATOR with a small c brand that I am trying to build for myself. So maybe the title fits me?

I mentioned in another post that before creating a new product and putting it out I always ask myself if the product fits my brand.  If it does not then I need to consider producing and publishing it under a creative name in order not to dilute my brand.

Today's question is:
"What do you stand for?"

365QOD- Day969

What are you chasing?

"If money is your hope for independence you will never have it.  The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability."-Henry Ford

I am chasing financial freedom.  What this means to me is being able to stop having to go to work everyday and work on my creative projects full time while earning more than I earn now.  According to Mr. Ford, the road has three requirements.

I need to have the knowledge(K)to create the products that the world needs. This knowledge could be how to write, how to edit, how to market, how to sell, etc.

Second requirement is experience(E).  I still do not have marketing experience.  I can produce my products but I have no clute on marketing the products to mass audience. Selling is also a weak spot.  I have improvers my writing and editing.

The third piece is ability(A). Just because I know what to do, experience doing it in the past, I still need ability to do the work at an exceptional level.  Some could be Good given and most needs to be developed.

Today's question is:
"Do you see how KEA plays a role in your independence?"

365QOD- Day968

One Article per Magazine

"Too much data. I am overwhelmed."-my conclusion

This morning I ran an experiment.  I have several magazines as shortcut on my desktop.  I went to each one and selected a single article of interest.  Then I copied the article into a word document.

Selecting a single article from seven magazines added up to twenty pages of content.  Wow!  I did not think it would be that much.  Now the bigger question is, are the articles worth the time needed to read them?

The articles were very specific to me so for me they are.  But it most likely will take an hour to read and process the data into information.  For me these will be sources for blog posts so it is the diet needed to keep the blog going.

I suspect that most people tend to read anywhere from 20 to 100 pages of content from the Web each day.  If the effort is focused then it is of Value. But if the reading is on a starlet breakdown then it is simply wasted time.

Today's question us:
"How much content do you read each day?"

365QOD- Day967

Losing Focus

"I got to focus and study."-my words to myself

I have spent the last month or so studying for a PMP exam.  This is a project management  professional certification.

I am struggling keeping my focus on the end goal.  It has been years since I took a class and had to pass a test.  Years!

I realized a few months ago that I need to increase my formal learning.   Since i made that realization, i have taken two courses: green belt six sigma and a Pmp prep course.

So why am I having a hard tone focusing and studying? There are many things going through my mind that are life and work related.  It is as simple as that.  I need to clear my mind plate before I can focus.  Probably the best way is to sit down with a piece of paper and do a brain dump.  Get it down and then I can move on.

Today's question is:
"How do you know when you are losing your focus?"

365QOD- Day966

Stop Rounding

"use a more precise anchor in negotiating"-negotiating advice

I have a tendency of rounding numbers up.  When approximating I always give myself a little bit of wiggle room.  What can it hurt?

Well consider a scenario in which you are interviewing for a job and everything goes well.  The company offers a round number as your new salary.  You counter with a more precise number that does not include zeros. Immediately you stand out as having done your homework.  The conversation continues.

Consider developing a budget for a large project.  You study your estimates and round up the numbers to give yourself the wiggle room.  When you present your numbers they do not look purchase enough and they are immediately challenged because they look too perfect.

Moral of this post is that we must use a more precise anchor numbers in order to improve or chances of negotiating success.

Today's strategy is:
"Can you stop rounding your estimates?"

365QOD- Day965

The Disconnect

"I know that I should eat healthy and I don't. I know that I should spend time with my kids and I don't.  I know that money, yes, will not make me happy and I am still keep trying to make money.  It is an amazing thing about humans that we have these mistakes that we make all the time and it is not lack of information." Michael Nortonon Harvard professor

I believe that I know a lot on many topics.  Man I can reach into my brain and extract information on what I should be doing.  But as the quote teaches we know what we should do but we still do not. 
The key word is information.  He says that we have a lot of information.  What that means to me its that we had a lot of data we were exposed to and we converted that data into information. So where do we fail?

In previous posts I talked about the idea of going from data to information to knowledge to wisdom.  As we know, just by having information does not guarantee that we will do what we have information on.  We are only half way on our journey towards wisdom.

Notice that the quote also uses the word know repeatedly.  This implies the presence of knowledge.  So that will place us three quarters of the way on our path to wisdom.

The failure then is going from knowing to wisdom.  I believe that knowledge is the how and the wisdom is the why.  If the why we do something is not greater than the how then the gap exists and we are more likely to fail.

Today's question is:
"How do you make your why greater than your how?"

365QOD- Day964

Do Change

"I sincerily believe that behavior change is identity/belief change"- Buster Benson

Recently a young person I know started smoking.  I was so disappointed.  Unfortunately, overseas kids do not get the same anti smoking propaganda. So their chances of starting and staying a smoker are greater.

So why did he choose to start?  Reviewing the situation around him it was a simple case of bad peer pressure.  He kept seeing his friends smoking and eventually he decided to follow.  Amazing enough was that most of these peers are younger by a year.

He now identifies himself as a smoker.  He does not have to say it out loud. Puffing away says it all. His identity had been changed.

So what are his choices?  He can continue and let the monkey get a better grip on him or change his friends.  Which one will he choose?  As the quote advises,  the identity that he best identifies with will control his behavior.

Today's question is:
"Can you reverse an identity change?"

365QOD- Day963

Vacation Goals

"Vacation without a creative goal is a wasted vacation."-according to me

I have spent the last few weeks on vacation.  It was not as good as my vacation last year but it gave me some time to stop and pause.  This is something we have to do in order to appreciate the music notes of our lives.

But going on vacation does not mean just sitting there vegetating.  Ok, I confess that I did veg out a bit. But I was also productive creatively.

Last summer I taught myself how to write an Android app.  Later on in the year I developed an app and made it available for free at the Google Play store.

This years focus was to develop different products.  So mentioned in another recent post
I write 52 small ebooks.  I also read a little about marketing and LinkedIn.  I believe that marketing of self and products the trough LinkedIn will develop into a monster on the order of Amazon.

It was also a time to think about some life goals and strategies. Our lives tend to be too busy to have a lot of free time to think about those. So this time allowed me to sip a bit of coffee and to reflect.

Today's question is:
"Do you set vacation goals?"

365QOD- Day962

Bicycle Boat

"You can't combine those?"-a limiting belief

This morning I happen to be watching Croatian morning show.  They had one segment about a small town on the Adriatic coast and how people there lived. It was a picturesque little town on the coast.

Towards the end of the segment they showed a bicycle enthusiast who has invented a bicycle boat.  The top of the boat was flat and he had mounted a bicycle.  The back wheel was connected through a chain to a set of paddles that propelled the boat.  The front wheel was mounted into a slit and held in place so when he moved his handle bars left or right the boat followed that direction.

I was impressed that this gentlemen had figured out how to take his passion for bicycling and tanned it to boating.  He had combined two uncontainable things. His world crushed the limiting belief that bicycles and boats can not be combined.

Today's question is:
"What two things can't be combined in your world?"

365QOD- Day961

Getting Out of a Funk

"Time spent without purpose is easily forgotten"- Robert Trajkovski

While on vacation the other day I stated moping around. Everything seemed to bother me and I had no peace.  I was on vacation and not feeling great and relaxing. I was in a funky mood.

I quickly realized what was missing.  I needed a creative endeavor to fill my mind.  So I sat down and created 52 small ebooks.  Yes, you read that correct, 52 small ebooks.

In the last two years I have written two books based on my blog posts.  At the end of the year I take the posts, organize them by topic, and heavily edit them into a book.  So this process is one of reorganizing by topic.

My friend Naren, during a walk, suggested that there are many products that can be extracted from my work.  I quickly realized that each topic could be an ebook of its own.  That is what I did.  I took the last two books, combined them, and extracted each topic into a new word file.

The work took me two and a half hours. It was so pleasurable that I immediately felt great.  All I needed was a little creative time to get me out of my funk.

Today's question is:
"How do you get out of a funk?"

365QOD- Day960

Shaping

"One's philosophy is not best described in words;it is best described in the choices one makes.  In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves.  The process never ends until we die.  And, the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility. "-Eleanor Roosevelt

Responsibility is a heavy weird for most of us.  We want to take credit for our successes and want to redirect the focus for our failures.  It is human nature. If we admit that it was us, then maybe we were not good enough? What a mistake!

As Eleanor points out, it is the choices that are our true philosophy.  It is not empty words that we say but do not apply. 

So if we want to shape our lives then we have to recognize the results that we do not desire and make better choices in order to get better results.  This choosing and making better choices is a never ending process.  The process is the basis of my first book, The Result.

It is encouraging to know that we do have control and often several choices we can make at any instant.  Unfortunately, most often we are not aware of the present enough to consciously choose. So the key, in my opinion, is to become more consciously aware at each moment in order to choose the best option that will lead us towards our ultimate self.

Today's question is:
"Do you actively shape your life through your choices?"

365QOD- Day959

How many knives does a chef need?

"Last year I believed that these five exercises are all one needs, but this year I have added three more"-Dragan Stojmanovich

Last year Dragan shared his five exercises with me.  Full of energy he could not sit still without showering them to me.  He told me that those five exercises were all you will ever need to keep in great shape.

This year he told me that he added three more because he was saw them and quickly realized the benefits.  Now his set consists of eight exercises.

This encounter made me think about the minimum set of tools needed to accomplish a job.  Maybe it is five or eight or just one?  And what will make you realize that you need to add a tool?

I believe that we always have to examine what we do and think about how to do it better.  This awareness will lead us to realizng that we are missing a tool. Our if we are not using a tool to getting rid of it.

Today's question is:
" How do know when you have the right amount of tools for the job?"

365QOD- Day958

Sparks

" Expressed in plain English, this means that a single moment of insight is the result of thinking that happens before it--often, the authors state, due to reorganizing or restructuring the elements of a situation or problem. This echoes the favored Fast Company definition of creativity, that it's finding the connections between seemingly unrelated things."- Drake Barr in Fast Company article Creativity is Just Persistence, and Science Can Prove it

According to John Kounios of Drexel University and Mark Beeman of Northwestern University, "although the experience of insight is sudden and can seem disconnected from the immediately preceding thought, these studies show that insight is the culmination of a series of brain states and processes operating at different time scales."

The words series of brain states caught my interest.  This holds true for me.  I usually have to be thinking about something for a while before I get to the aha moment. So in a sense when I am thinking about a topic I am moving from one state to another until I get to the creative state.

Now notice the second portion of the quote, " at different time scales".  In other words, these states can be close or far apart in terms of time.  If we spend more time thinking about something then the states seem close to one another.  So the spark does not seem so big but if the states are somewhat apart then the jump seemed big enough to be defined as an aha moment.

These two pieces together tell us that by being persistent to work on something for a while we will get to the creative state.  The only unknown is time.

Today's question is:
"Do you know how to be persistent to move though different brain states quickly?"

365QOD- Day957

Using email to sell

"Email is not a way to sell electronically; its a way to start and have a conversation."-Gefferey James Inc. magazine story How To Sell via Email

In post Day956 I mentioned a statistic that only 20% of emails are read.  Today I happen to read a story that takes about how ineffectively people use email to sell.  If the response rate is 10% of the 20% then we are talking to only 2% of the target audience.

The quote provides a solution.  It is all about initiating a conversation.  Initiate a conversation and if the other person is interested they will respond.  As an example the author offers this advice for a good conversation starter:
"prospects name , my company  company name, has a track record helping executives reduce overhead costs and increase cash flow.  We recently worked with, a company known to prospect,   and were able to reduce their cost by 20%. 

If this interests you, I can send you a case study or detailed description of what we do for our clients. 

Your contract information"

If the person reads it they should get the feeling as if they are getting something for nothing.

Today's question is:
"How would you start a conversation through email?"

365QOD- Day956

Just Open It

" The cold reality is that not every email you send is opened. The average open rate is around 20 percent across all industries. That percentage doesn't really tell the complete story either. Unless you really dig into your metrics, it's unclear which 20 percent is opening your emails. It's also likely it's not the same 20 percent opening your emails every time." - Entrepreneur magazine story

I believe that most of us between several personal and work email accounts we all receive anywhere from hundred to two hundred emails per day. I believe this statistic is true.

Recently I wrote a post in which I recommended that the subject line should be used more effectively by making it an action subject line.  Instead of saying x tell the reader what you want done with x.

For example, instead of asking for approval and using the subject line funding request for x, use please read and approve funding request for x.  The reader knows what you expect: to read and to approve.  Your chances of the email being read is higher and you getting the approval is higher than 20%.

Today's question is:
"How do you effectively get your emails read?"

365QOD- Day955

A Great Day

"Would you know a great day if you saw one?"- advice given to Jason Womack by his mentor
I recently was reading some stories from different sources when this little gem popped out.  I immediately knew that I had to write a post about it.

When I first started numbering my days I quickly  realized that most days are not memorable.  We have to make strategic choices in order to make them memorable.  If we are not aware enough then the day slips into the past without a trace.

I also realized that for me a day without creativity can never be a great day.  It can be a fulfilling and productive day.  But only days when I produce something creative are great days.

This is why the quote resonated with me.  I have a very tight specific criteria to make a day into a great day. I suspect that most people would not be able to create a great day.  Maybe even a large number would not even recognize one if they saw one.

Today's question is:
"What is your great day criteria?"

365QOD- Day954

Honest

"10. Be Honest And Dependable; Take Responsibly: Otherwise, numbers 1-9 won't matter."-IBD tenth of ten secrets to success

I also believe that without honesty the other nine traits are meaningless.  Interesting thing about honesty is that you can not fake it.

As a leader you can delay giving information to your team but once you lie once, you will never be trusted ever again.  Your team will remember the lie(s) and hesitantly follow you.  This delay is hurtful in making forward progress and it could lead to eventual failure.

One thing I always say that it is easier to remember one truth than the ten lies.  It never stops at one lie.  That first lie had to be covered by another and another until you have to think about what you originally said.  This us such an energy waster.

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

365QOD- Day953

Communicate

"9. Deal And Communicate With People Effectively: No person is an island.  Learn to understand and motivate others."-IBD ninth of ten secrets to success

Communication with others and our self is very important.  What and how we say things to others and ourselves could build us or destroy us.

Long time ago I read a John Maxwell book on 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.  In it he graphically explained the results of being able to move people towards a common goal.  He showed a graph on which he showed a line to the right to indicate a person's effectiveness.  This was a rather one dimensional.  You can work on yourself and the best you could get to is a 10 on a ten scale.  But if you improve your communication then the graph adds a second vertical axis. 

Now suppose that your effectiveness is 7 and your team is a 8.  Your total effectiveness is 56.  By improving your self to an 8 only moves it to 64 but if your team becomes a 10 then you guys become an 80. A drastic improvement fit three whole team.

Today's question is:
" How effective are you at communicating with others and yourself?"

365QOD- Day952

Be Different

"8. Don't Be Afraid To Innovate; Be Different: Following the heard is a sure way to mediocrity."-IBD eighth of ten secrets to success

This is so me.  I have never fit a mold.  I might borrow a term from Naren and call myself a maverick.  I never truly fit the boxes I am put in.

During my working career I have had many titles but I might just call myself a problem solver for my company. Often I look at what is required from me and try to understand what the problem truly is that I am being asked to solve.

I never stop there.  Just because it is someone else's problem it dies not mean that it us cool to me.  So I ask myself, what is it the problem that I could solve that is cool to me and whose subset will provide a solution fit my company.

Believe me when I tell you, solving a cool problem will excite you and move you forward more than just solving others peoples' problems. This innovation can get you promoted faster and result in larger pay raises.

Today's question is:
"What makes you different?"

365QOD- Day951

Focus

"7. Focus Your Time And Money. Don't let other people and things distract you."-IBD seventh of ten secrets to success

I have been blessed with great examples of purple around me who have great focus.  My daughter has what I call scary focus.  My wife had what I call laser focus. 

Scary and laser focus are my ways of explaining how focused they are in not allowing other people and things from distracting them.  They focus to sightly in the goal that you can nit see the glow.  It is just the pin point dot that shows up.

I am more of a broad point.  You can see the direction but the total focus point is not very clear.  As a mater of fact you might have to look on another wall to find it.  I allow disturbances to take me away from my task.  Maybe this a fault that I need to control.  Now that I know it us a desirable trait maybe I should manage it better.

Today's question is:
"Where do you focus your time and money?"

365QOD- Day950

Analyze

"6. Learn To Analyze Details: Get all the facts, all the input.  Learn from your mistakes."-IBD sixth of ten secrets to success

As the old sayings goes,"The devil is in the details."  It is the understanding of details that allows one to be comfortable with making hard decisions.  This only happens with analysis.

When I analyze a problem, I often ask myself if I understand all of the inputs and outputs.  It is easy to
simplify and miss a critical input.  Without that input we might not have a clue as to why a system produces a particular output.

It is kind of like trying to find the cause of why a kid us doing poorly in school by only blaming the kid.  It is a complex system.  We have to look at the school, the habits, the teachers, the parents, the environment, the friends, etc.

The last part of the advice  is to learn from mistakes.  I think I am going to start a notebook called my Favorite Daily Mistake.  I think by ripping it apart it will teach me how not to repeat it and to improve the quality of mistakes I do make.

Today's question is:
"What strategy do you use the analyze the details?"

365QOD- Day949

Persistent

"5. Be Persistent And Work Hard: Success is a marathon, not sprint.  Never give up."-IBD fifth of ten secrets to success

Persistent is one of my twenty six power words.  It is a wonderful word and its power grows exponentially when coupled with hard work.  Why?

First of all, we can persist in the wrong things. So once we are working on a true dreams and goals, we have to expect to put in hard work.  Remember by definition our dreams have to be daring enough that we can fail. This makes them something we will have to work hard to achieve.

As Churchill wisely advised, "Never. Ever. Never ever give up!" To me that is the ultimate persistence. 

Once you make the decision that something is important enough for you to persist, then not to ever give up.
Expect the process to be a marathon.  When I run half marathons, my mindset is different than when I go out for a five kilometer jog.  I have to be willing to persist even when the body might decide to quit.  I only stop if my body hurts nit if it only complains.

Today's question is:
"How do you know you are being persistent enough?"

365QOD- Day948

Learn

"4. Never Stop Learning:  Go back to school or read books.  Get training and acquire skills."-IBD second of ten secrets to success

This bit of advice fits me perfectly at the moment.  A few months ago I concluded that I need to attend some formal training.  I have the ability to self teach myself anything but I realized that I need to put on my white belt on and become the student.

Since I made that decision I have attended a six sigma green belt for two Week.  I also attended  a week long PMP test prep course.  I enjoyed the hell out of them!

It is my belief that we have to constantly review our skill gaps and develop a plan to fill them.  We are lucky now that with the internet learning something new is just a few clicks and videos away.

In my opinion we should have at least one book we are working through every week.  Force yourself to complete it and then spend time thinking about it.  What is still not clear? What could use a but more work with?

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

365QOD- Day947

Action

"3. Take Action: Goals are nothing without action. Don't be afraid to get started now. Just do it."-IBD third of ten secrets to success

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the GOSPAL technique is great for goal achieving.  Notice that the first for letters are all about dreaming, thinking, and planning.  It is the fourth letter that begins the action process to get something done.

As the quote cautions, goals are nothing without action.  It is only mental masturbation.  It makes you feel good but has no useful product.

The quote also encourages us not to be afraid.  Just do it now.  Don't wait ttyl tomorrow to do something towards your goal.  The size of the move does not matter but the direction is viral.

Today's question is:
"What are you just going to do now?"

365QOD- Day946

Decide

"2. Decide Upon Your True Dreams And Goals: Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them."-IBD second of ten secrets to success

Making decisions is a part of life.  We struggle with the small ones and typically postpone the big ones.  But let us think through this quote.

The advice is to decide your true dreams and goals.  Thinking can only be done by you with a lot of time and paper.  Put it down, modify it over time, and change what parts lose importance.

You are allowed to change over time. Don't expect your dreams to stay the same.  It would be silly if only your dreams as a ten year old were your only true dreams and goals. Put write them down, put dates, write in different colors to signify changes or deletions.

After you have thought through then, then lay out plans on how you would achieve them.  I reference you to a series of posts I write on the GOSPAL technique.  It will walk you from the goal, to objectives, through strategies, developing plans, creating daily actions, and capturing learnings. Achieving goals is a unique endeavor that should be time bound and has the possibility of failure.  If there us no potential to fail then the dream is not big enough.

Make sure that whatever you decide are your true dreams pull you towards their accomplishment.  If someone has to make you do a task towards your goal then it is not truly your goal.

Today's question is:
"What are your true dreams and goals?"

365QOD- Day945

Think

"1. How You Think is Everything: Always be positive.  Think success, not failure. Beware of a negative environment"-IBD first of ten secrets to success

Investor's Business Daily is a daily newspaper that I used to subscribe to in the past.  In the next ten posts I will give my opinions and stories on the ten traits that IBD spent years analyzing leaders and successful people in all walks of life to collect. IBD believes that these traits can turn dreams into reality.

Many books on success focus on psychology of thought.  If a person is against themselves then there is no need for negative outside forces to keep the person down.  However, a positive person will always come out better off than someone who thinks that the world conspires against them.

As Henry Ford used to say, "If you think you can, or you think you can't, you are right."  This positive belief that you can is the seed needed to succeed.  It however had to be nurtured.

Nurturing provides the nutrients that accelerates the growth.  If the environment is full of people pulling you down, it will be harder for you to rise above.  In an old psst I told the story if five monkeys.  It is a wise parable that teaches us how powerful environments are in tapping us into believing anything, no matter how wrong it is.

So learn to think for yourself.  Surround yourself with positive purple and environments that nurture and support you in your dreams.

In my opinion, 20% of your time should be spent thinking about what you should be executing in the present and the future.

Today's question is:
"Do you spend 20% of your time thinking quality thoughts?

365QOD- Day944

Back to the Classroom

"The move to the classroom setting has been critical for MOOC(massive online open courses ) for two reasons.  For one thing, there is very little money to be made giving a college education away for free.  By finding ways to generate revenue from universities, companies like Coursera, might be able to supplement the courses they give away for free. Second of all, universities that have implemented the flipped classroom are seeing impressive results"-Inc. magazine story The future of online education is on campus

The internet has completely changed the way we work and learn.  Can you imagine a workday during which you do not use the internet?  I would argue that probably most of internet use is for personal reasons and I'd work gets done then that is a side benefit.

Now education is also changing.  I write about how I thought that in the near future the students would listen to prerecorded lectures from authors/experts and work on quizzes at home.  This would enable homework to be done in the classroom.  In addition,  application of the material can be done with the teacher.

I also previously wrote how I was surprised to learn that enormous number of students that sign up for MOOC drop out.  Even though the courses are free the effort is great. They might be interested in the material but not very committed to finish.

So a blended education of free online content with a mix of flipped content might be the answer.  It looks like universities are willing to play along and pay for expert lectures while providing a setting for learning to take place.

Today's question is:
"Would a flipped classroom model with free online education work for you?"

365QOD- Day943

Go Go Speed Racer...go NeuroRacer

" In a groundbreaking new study at the University of California, San Francisco, scientists found that older adults improved cognitive controls such as multitasking and the ability to sustain attention by playing a specially designed video game — and that the effects can be long lasting.

The study, to be published in the scientific journal Nature on Thursday, is part of a broader effort to understand whether specially designed video games can help treat neurological disorders, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and even depression.

There is growing evidence, researchers say, that videogames could eventually become therapies on par, or used in tandem, with ingestible medications. "- Wall Street Journal

I read this story and immediately smiled.  Something, video games, that had often been thought of as wasteful and harmful to the brain is now beneficial.  If used strategically this could be a game changer.

In the story elderly folks who played the game did better than twenty year olds for six months after the training.  This was after the training stopped. 

So if we could play a game specially designed for us we could attack mental issues.  Imagine a game that could attack attention deficit disorders or Alzheimer.  Or the simple middle age short term memory failure.

The potential is endless.

Today's question is:
"What would a game designed for you help with?"

365QOD- Day942

Start Small
"Self control is not genetic or fixed, but rather a skill one can develop and improve with practice."- Roy Baumeister

Our lives tend to be very chaotic.  Because of this, we require a significant amount of self control to work and thrive in this type of environment.  Instead of worrying about negative distractions we should focus on activities that are our intended goal.

But how do we build our focus?

Baumeister suggests that we start small.  Add a new small habit.  Examples of small tasks are improving your posture, saying yes instead of yeah, our flossing your teeth before going to bed.  These small tasks seem silly but after a while they become ingrained habits that can be done without requiring thoughts. Once this happens then you can start of another challenge.

Today's question is
"How do you build a small unrelated habit?"

365QOD- Day941

I Don't Need It

"The Ph.D. taught me to be a fast learner and to have self discipline.  Northrup Grumman taught me to be a good collaborator and how to settle disputes between competing interests.  The sales job, obviously, helped me develop relationship skills.  It was a process of building an entrepreneur who not only could start a business but could also run a business long term ."- Patrick Mish

I recently read an article in Inc. magazine called Why I wasted a Perfectly Good Doctorate. The quote is from the article and to me it paints a different picture.

Patrick might not be using his degree in an engineering firm but the skills that he learned are transferable to his new business.  It is not uncommon for engineers to never work in engineering but work in other fields.  Why? Because if you can figure out engineering courses you can learn anything else.

The one thing that I believe he did not learn is that life is a learning process.  He learned enough from school to succeed as an engineer.  He also had to learn the skills needed to be a great salesmen.  And lastly learn how to be an entrepreneur.  As Patrick in the end realizes, it was a process of becoming an entrepreneur.

I do not think education is a waste if you learn how to learn.  If you just get good grades but do not learn how to learn then you are just getting a piece a paper.  As Patrick eventually learned, but if you learn how to learn you can figure anything out.

Today's question is:
"Have you learned how to learn?"

365QOD- Day940

Shift Happens...did you catch it?

"Shift happens- profit from it"-sector rotational journal slogan

What a great slogan! We tend to think of change as bad.  If we are a bit more flexible we might even welcome some level of change.

But accepting change is one thing.  Benefiting from the change is a whole different level.  You have to be aware that the shift, the change, is starting to take place. 

Once aware, then plan your strategy. But that is not enough.  Up to this point it is all mental.  You must now execute your plan while looking for opportunities to improve it. No plan is prefect but believe in yourself enough to get the best result possible.

An example of a shift I am watching is the new smartwatch movement.  I believe that many sensors will integrate with it.  I am looking for shifts which I can exploit.

Today's question is:
"Do you profit from shifts?"

365QOD- Day939

Knowledge is NOT Power

"Certainty, knowledge is the lock and the key is the question."- Saf El Sadiq

The expression that knowledge is power is very dangerous. It is not the learning of new that gives us power. The power comes from the application of that knowledge.

Interesting thing about the quote is that in order to get the knowledge we must continue to ask questions.  But an interesting thing happens on the way to the question. We don't ask it.

The sad reality is that when we just start learning we are afraid to ask questions so that we do not look foolish. Not looking foolish is more important to us than gaining the knowledge.

On the other extreme is when we are informed and gained some knowledge and we start to believe that we know it all.  At this point we do not dare ask a question because we do not want to admit that we still got more to learn.

So the sweet spot is between these two stages.  It is the plateau whew we tend to not feel the improvements we are making and feel the need to continue learning.

Today's question is:
"How do you prolong your questioning plateau?"

365QOD- Day938

How does it feel to hold it?

"There is nothing like the feeling of seeing your child for the first time."- my words

I remember the birth of my two children, Stefani and Milan, as if it was yesterday.  Both births were special and both came early in the morning. Then the hard part of parenting begins.

The other day when my third book got published I felt like I had given birth to another child. Now the parenting begins.  If no one knows the book exists then does it truly matter that it was written?

Right after my third book was published I revised my ETF book and got a proof copy to review and correct.  My fourth book arrived yesterday and I could not but glow add a new parent.  But again,  the hard pats of editing, publishing, and nurturing are not done. 

Today's question is:
"Do you nurture your products or just sell them?"

365QOD- Day937

Not my Job

"All kids are born geniuses, none are born financially astute.  It is your job as a parent to teach them."- Ron Wheeler

Most parents if given a choice of having a child that is a genius vs. the child that grows up to be a successfull adult will choose the later.  The skill set is very different and we stay adults for a longer period of time.

Ron's words give one of the dimensions of success as an adult: financially astute.  But the problem is that most people will label themselves financially ignorant.  Ignorant does not mean stupid.  It simply means uneducated in those maters.

So how do you teach them if you are ignorant?  Well the best way is together.  Create a profit and loss statement for your family.  What comes in and what goes out.  Then start talking about saving and lastly investing.  It might actually be fun to learn it together.

Today's question is:
"Do you keep your genius children ignorant about financial maters?"

365QOD- Day936

Just a Fluke

"Coincidence is God's way of staying anonymous"- Emily Bear

When I read this line I laughed.  Immediately I saw the truth hidden inside it.  Just as fast I connected it to another belief.

The wisdom in the words is that the false belief that it is just a fluke is not correct.  It is just simply God using coincidence to drive us towards a desired direction.

The belief that I have is something I read in a book called sacred contacts.  In it the author Laura out the idea that before we are born a choose what we will experience in this life.  God agra to or plan but also asks of us to be in certain places at certain time and to influence certain people.  Outside of those moments we are free to choose the life that we lead.

But maybe it is not that simple?  Maybe a are guided all along by coincidences towards those moments.  Some might say pushed towards them.

Today's question is:
"Did you feel God's anonymity on your back?"

365QOD- Day935

Apple put the cult in culture

"Before I got to IBM I used to think that culture was important but now I see it as the most critical"-Lou Gersner

Consider these two statements and you should quickly realize that they are describing two different types of culture. One is internal and the other is external.

Gersner must have quickly realized that in order to save IBM from destroying itself he needed to change it from the inside.  He could not control what the customer chose to do but he can lead IBM towards a place where the company can thrive.  IBM got out of certain businesses that were not successful and focused on its core. 

Apple is the other extreme.  It built an internal culture on being so hip and cool that the world wanted to join.  They were not building computers for the masses but for the cool creative people.  If you bought a product you entered into that culture and you became a member of the Apple cult.  You drank the cool aid and bought the genius Tshirt.

I believe that Lou only managed to win half the battle.  Yes he managed to resurrect a bleeding giant but did not create the cult following.  To move to that level you need products that are remarkable.  Products worth remarking about.

Today's question is:
"Can you start a cult?"

365QOD- Day934

The Four Parts of Us

"The mind are the horses, the body is the chariot, the ego is the small child inside the chariot,  and the spirit is the charioteer.  Unfortunately most of the time the spirit is asleep and the horses are directing the chariot wherever they want to take it"-Naren Jauhal

The other day I had a conversation with Naren about our beliefs.  We discussed the trinity idea of mind, body, and soul.  But his idea was that there are four was new to me.  Let's talk about it. The visualization is easy to see clearly. 

I can see the little ego misleading the spirit into pursuing a self centered goal.  The kid is all about the need. Me, me and more me.  It takes us away from or mission and drives us towards the selfish pursuit.

The chariot is the body.  If it is strong it will follow whatever direction the spirit, the ego, or the mind sets for it.  It is the follower.  You ask it to run a mile it does.  If you believe it can run ten miles then that is what it gives us. If you believe you can not then it blocks you.

The horses are tied to the body.  If the ego or spirit do not lead it then the mind takes over to lead it where it makes sense to it.  Your body could be in great shape, but if your mind can tell you that there is something wrong with it the body believes it. 

The last part is the spirit.  If it is guiding the body-chariot, ignoring the ego-child, and raining in the mind-horses, it will lead them to the promised land-true destination.

Today's question is:
"Which one of the four leads you most often?"

365QOD- Day933

I will be damned...There is an app for that

"Currently there are over 1 million apps in the Google play store" - a fact as of end of July 2013

Recently I have been studying for PMP certification.  I am learning how much more I need to learn when it comes to the subject of project management.

Studying for the test had been a blend of trying to memorize a ton of information while thinking about how my company applies the knowledge.  Sometimes theory and practice do not even look like they have and similarities.

It is an exiting time for me.  But it has also been very difficult.  I do not memorize too well.  So after reading and reading and cramming I was getting burned out.  I decided to look for an app to help me. I was shocked by how many different apps existed to help me with pmp prep.

It made me wonder why I did not look for one or few before starting this process.  It would have helped me learn faster and made the memorization a game.

Today's question is:
"Do you look for an app first?"

365QOD- Day932

Go to school and then get a job.

Q: What is a life changing realization that you wish you'd had sooner?
"The traditional road to education and success is a trap.  But it is actually a road.  So if you do not take it, you'd better have a damn good alternative routes planned." -unknown

I am way over educated for what I do.  But I am educated and can choose to not use most of my education and still get by just fine.  So I did choose that road.

What about the roads I did not choose?  For me I did not even entertain them.  Mainly because I was told when I was young that I well go to college.  I had no choice or did I come up with alternatives.

I do believe that the price of education is dropping very quickly.  Many graduates are having a hard time finding a job and paying their loans back.  The road to success most traveled has a big pot hole.Watch out!

The reality is that kids need to learn how to learn outside of a traditional program and the world week be theirs.  If they then choose to go to school they will be better prepared.  This was not uncommon in the 50s when many adults who had worked went back to school in the evening.  Many older engineers that I worked with had practical experience before filling out their theoretical knowledge when they went back to school. This is what made those old guys great.

Today's question is:
"Do you always consider alternatives when it comes to life choices or do your go with the obvious choice?"

365QOD- Day931

No Pain...No Lesson

"A lot of epiphanies come at the end of an unpleasant process.  That process is not only necessary to achieve the epiphany, but part of the epiphany itself.  As such, distilling that process down to an axiom isn't as valuable as going through the process itself, however grueling it might be."- unknown

This is the answer to the question, "What is a life changing realization that you wish you'd had sooner?" on the suite Ask Metafilter.  I believe the advice offers a lot of wisdom.
We want the learning process to be easy.  Well, as I have said before,  if it is easy then it is worth
nothing. If I tell you a fact for which I paid dearly it does not mean the same to you.  It can not. 

If you are lucky them you will remember it in the short term add good advice but in the long run you will forget it.  Why?  Because add the quote teaches you did not go through the process where you discovered it. The process is a part of the discovery, the epiphany.  Without the process, your temporary gain us only temporary.

This is kind of sad when you think about it.  It means that others can teach us but we must still go through the process to ingrain the fact.  The best we will be able to do is to speed up our learning but not eliminate it.

Maybe this is why kids repeat the mistakes of their parents even though the parent truss to prevent the pain?

Today's question us:
"Have you had an epiphany without going though the process?"

365QOD- Day930

This for That

"The meeting requests that note jump to the top of my list are the few, very smart entrepreneur who say, 'I'd like to have coffee to bounce an idea off of you and in exchange I'll tell you all about what we learned about cc'."- Steve Blank's advice for those seeking his or other busy folks' time

Often times we want something that somebody has. The most priceless thing we can ask from another is to give us some of their time.  This might even be the reason why we tend to do things when people are taking with us.

Steve offers a suggestion of trading something for that time.  In his suggestion he offers a learning that the person might be interested in. Brilliant!

I think that this would work if the person is interested in the new information.  If you know the person of whom you are asking for time then you should be able to guess what is of interest to them.  Another thing that this strategy accomplishes is to place you on par with the person.  You are equal if you are trading.

Today's question is:
"Do you trade information?"

365QOD- Day929

Stop in the Middle

"When you hit your daily word goal, stop.  Stop even if you're in the middle of a sentence.  Especially if you're in the middle of a sentence.  That way , when you sit down at the keyboard the next day, your five or ten words are already ordained, so that you get a little push before you begin your work...."- Cory Doctorow

I printed out a bunch of articles to read this weekend and this one quite was on top.  I read it and immediately could see a couple examples where this works and does not work for me.  Let me share them with you.

Several years ago I worked in a refinery and had a large L shape desk.  At the beginning of the day I would start working and by the end of the day you could barely see my desk from the papers and prints.  Before I left for the day I used to pick up all of my papers, put them in folders, and get them off my desk.  Next day the cycle stated all over again.  My productivity was very high. 

This is an example where I left nothing undone and it worked for me.  I was very productive.  Interestingly, I never clear my desk any more on my new job.Because I do not, I do believe that I am less productive as a result if this.

The second example I would like to share deals with writing blog posts.  Often times I see something I like and enter the idea in a new post. I might even write a sentence our two.  This serves to get me going when I have time to finish writing the post. This is an example of stopping in the middle.  I just start without spending time planning my actions.

What I see, at least for me, is that the idea of stopping in the middle is good for creative work but not for repetitive tasks.  The clean slate allows me to take a few minutes to come up with the best plan before I execute.  The stop in the middle strategy helps me to continue the plan execution.

Today's question:
"Do you ever use the little push of the stop in the middle strategy.?"

365QOD- Day928

To lose is to gain

"One pound per week"- a rule

For three last few weeks I have been trying to lose some weight. This had been very interesting. Difficult might be a better descriptor.

In order to be honest with myself I stated recording everything I eat in an app called myfitnesspal.  I am almost addicted to it.  I enter everything in it religiously.  Apparently, I am not the only one.

An article in August 12th issue of UsaToday the apps are beginning to be the popular choice for losing weight. This phenomenon is affecting traditional programs such as weight watchers. 
Because of the ease, your friends can join and keep you honest. 

One of my coworkers, Carrie, did and she is giving me hell if I slip up or overestimate an exercise.  Nothing like an honest critic.

I believe that this is just a part of the quantified self movement that tries to capture as much information as possible. In the future this might be a bit more automatic through sensors. In the end this app makes it easier for me to track myself.

Today's question is:
"How do you keep yourself on track?"

365QOD- Day927

I'm Talking Here

"You can not not communicate" -Michael Bernoff persuasion CD

I just started  listening to a CD program whose name escapes me.  The quote is from the author.
It made me stop and think about it. The double negative makes it sound different. But when you re-read it it makes prefect sense.

What we say is the smallest part of communicating. Our body and tonality make up to 93 percent of the message. So as the quote advises you can not not communicate. Even if you say nothing, you are communicating.

If we are wise, we realize this fact and decide to control the message instead of it being misconstrued by our body posture.   I believe we have to adapt a confident posture and voice in order for us to be perceived as better communicators.  Once we can control the body and tonality, we can focus on the last seven percent.  This can be simply done by speaking a little slower.

Today's question is:
"Are you not not communicating with your posture and tonality?"

365QOD- Day926

There is a Reason

"The set up is just add important add the story. "- story telling advice

In post 925 I pasted the story called Lunch with God.  I want to tell you an interesting story.

Three weeks ago I hurt my right knee.  I went out for a short Sunday run and five minutes into the run my right knee just did not feel good.  So I stopped.  I thought it was my mind playing games so I tried again.  No luck.  Therefore I decided to give my knee a break and start using the elliptical machines in my building's fitness center.

For the last three Weeks, my new routine stated with getting up at 430 in the morning and working or on the machine for and hour or so.  Well, needless to say there is no one fighting you for these machines at 430.  So I stated going down each day and playing my music on my phone and reading books.

The other day I had a surprise.  I walked down to the center and there was a young guy about 12 looking at the machines.  He was dressed in shorts, t shirt, and slippers. Did not look like he was in running shape.
He choose the machine next to me.  We stated using the elliptically without saying a word.  He smiled.  I smiled.

A little later I turned my music playlist on. He just smiled. I also smiled. 

For 75 minutes we both used the machines without saying a word.

The whole experience reminded me of the Lunch with God story.  Mother Theresa used to say that she saw Jesus with his numerous disguises in all the faces she tended to during the day.

Who is to say that God just didn't want to work out that morning?

Today's question is:
"Have you ever worked out with God?"

365QOD- Day925

An Amazing Story

"This touched me."- my words

The other day I was going though and cleaning a bunch of old papers. I came across a story called Lunch with God.  It is shown below:

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, just  staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered  her some chips. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.

Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again,  she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a  hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by  the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?" He  replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know  what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, "Mother, what did you do today that made you so  happy?" She replied! "I ate potato chips in the park with God." However, before her son  responded, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime! Embrace all equally!

Today's question is:

"Have you had lunch with God today?"

365QOD- Day924

It Depends

"There are no stupid questions, only stupid people"-Ernest Chan

Many years ago I was assigned to teach a followup class after another professor had crashed and burned.  The students hated him and I think he hated them equally.

So I walk in and the first question was, "do you believe there are stupid questions?"  I paused for a minute and taught about it.  My answer was, "it depends."

I explained to the students that often when learning a new subject we tend to not know enough, and our question might seem stupid to someone who had done it for a while.  But and this is the big but, the person has to be willing to allow the questioner to pass through this period.

Now if the person had been doing it for a while and still ask beginner level questions then maybe Ernest's quote is valid.  But I still give the person the benefit.  It might indicate that they were not trained properly. Or even that they have not taken the time to understand what they learned.

Today's question is:
"Do you always ask brilliant questions?"

365QOD- Day923

Did you get that?

"When a message is sent up from the lowest levels to senior management, the noise level doubles and the meaning of the message is cut in half as it passes through each level in the organization's corporate hierarchy"-Peter Drucker

Communication is difficult.  The message needs to be created in the senders mind, then translated into words that we feel the other person will understand. 

On the receiving end the person takes what they heard, recreates the message, and then translates it into words that they understood.  Lastly,  feedback is send back to the sender of what was understood.

Team communication stays at the same level so hopefully not much gets missed.  But as the quote suggests a lot gets lost as the message moves up to the next level. So my boss only gets half of my message.  My boss' boss gets half of that or one fourth of what I sent.  Quickly the meaning changes and the intent can be used against the originator. 

So what is the answer?  Stop sending information up?  No.  Have the means for the boss and their boss to have access to the same information so that they can review it for themselves.  Of course that takes time but if the decision is critical then the extra effort is worth it.

Today's question is:
"How do you know that your message got through to your leaders?"

365QOD- Day922

Say that again!

"..knowledge.."- Richard Perrin

I sat through an exam peep course this week that Richard instructed.  During the presentation he said something that caught my attention.  It was similar to something I say all of three time.

In the past I write how we are drowning in data.  Sometimes we take that data and convert it into information.  Lastly, rarely do we take that information and reach wisdom.  Pretty cool.

Well Richard said pretty much the same thing but after information inserted knowledge before reaching wisdom.  Immediately my mind started evaluating if this is a needed addition to the model.

So data is raw.  Information is processed data.  For example I get data and when I graph it I notice that the data is linear.  That is information.  Now taking that information I use math to determine a unique equation that fits that data.  The line is of the form y= mx +b where I get unique values for m and x.  Lastly, I get to wisdom by realizing that the two variables that are graphed are success and reading.  Since the line goes up it indicates that the more you read different sources the more successful you are.  So I decide that I should expand my reading selection.

In the end I see why Richard added knowledge as a step on the way to wisdom.

Today's question is:
"Do you see the stepping stones from data to information to knowledge to wisdom for your problem?"

365QOD- Day921

Timeless Advice

"Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own."-Bruce Lee

While flipping through a Men's Health magazine I came across this quote.  Although at first it seems to be specific to fitness, it is very applicable to many areas. Let me tell you a story.

I am currently sitting in a PMP(Project Management Professional) study course.  Its focus is on passing the exam but amazingly my coworkers and I are learning a lot about general project management theory.  So setting the whole is helping us connect it to what we do.

Our internal project management process is but a subset of the whole.  So while in class we have had discussions as to what we believe us useful to us in our improvement efforts. We can clearly see how some of the topics would be useful to add to our flow.

Just as easy it us to see what is useless.  The process is detailed that for the work that we do it is overkill.  We would be wasting time and money implementing all. Therefore we have to be strategic in determining what is useless as much as figuring out what is helpful.

The last part of quote is very insightful.  If says no matter what the system is you can benefit by adding something that is uniquely yours.  A great example of this is cooking a meal.  You have  things you add and things you do not add because they do not improve the meal. But the magic occurs when you add the seasonings.  Everyone flavors it differently and in differing amounts.  That adds the POW!

Today's question is:
"What is useful, useless, and your addition to your process?"

365QOD- Day920

Post it. They will come.

"From blog to a book."- Fast company article title

Sometimes I marvel at what I read.  Often times it justifies something that I thought about few years back.  This title is one example of this.

In February of 2011 I started this blog.  Almost immediately I stared sting the potential that this blog could become a book.  I thought about it and let it leave my mind.

A year later I did exactly that.  The thought became a book.  I recently finished the volume two of my blog books.  Guess what? I am not going to stop.  Next year volume the will come out.  So the title for this post should be from blog to books.

I do not advertise my blog or my books.  People find them organically.  That its by design.  I make very little money of the books and no money from the blog. 

In the last couple of days my third book came out.  It is the 365QOD Volume II.  The cover is shown below.

Today's question is:
"What could you blog about for 920 days?"
 

365QOD- Day919

What are you reading?

"Read irresponsibly?"-  t-shirt slogan

I often ask people around me what they are reading.  Sometimes a flood of book names comes out.  Most often the person says nothing.  Which always makes me wonder, "what is the difference between someone who does not read and someone who can't read?" Nothing.

I am constantly reading at least one book at a time.  My library allows me to borrow five magazine so I borrow five magazines.  My phone has at least one ebook loaded.

The quote above stopped me cold.  How does one read irresponsibly? I believe that I do.  I read from varied sources and that allows me to see ideas percolate from different fields.

Great ideas have application in more than one area.  You just have to look for it.  I believe that we have to have new information coming in from different sources in order to be able to generate great ideas. 
Today's question is:
"Do you read irresponsibly?