365QOD- Day1406

Ambiguity and Comfort

"Comfort with ambiguity is among the most sought after quality in job candidates"- Yahoo story

I love ambiguity.   I do not expect things to be clearly laid out to proceed. The messier the better.

Why?

When there is a lack of clarity there exist a lot of room of interpretation and creativity.  Because of the ambiguity I can create something better quickly and easily. quickly

For most people this causes stress.   They want the cookbook.  I just want the ingredients and freedom.

Interesting that most companies are recognizing the need for puerile like myself that fell very comfortable with that ambiguity.  They must be undergoing a lot of change.

Today's question is:

"How comfortable are you with ambiguity ?"

365QOD- Day1405

Slogans

"Imagine invest improve" kidinc.org t-shirt slogan

The other day I was in a grocery store when a lady wearing a t-shirt walked towards me.   I love reading t-shirt slogans so I could not resist.   Immediately it captured me enough to look at the back to see the organization's name.

I love this slogan.   In the little words it teaches a great business lesson.   Notice that the process starts off internal.  You must imagine a better way.

But that is not enough and you must invest next.  This could be your time,  your money,  your sweat. 

Lastly,  you must observe the result and your customer in order to be able to improve it.   This could be a small change or lathe step change.   But you must improve because your competitors are improving their offering.

Today's questing is:

"What slogan had taught you a lesson?"

365QOD- Day1404

Becoming More Valuable

"It is not what I am but what I can become that makes me valuable."- my thoughts

I believe that most people go to work and try to do a great job for their employers.   However this quote gives us a slightly different perspective.

It urges us not to only work hard but to become more valuable.  How?

I believe that the best way to become more valuable is yup full your company's gaps.  If you see that none is in charge of quality then offer top learn and improve the product quality.

If there is a gap in management offer to step in and fill the role until a new replacement cam be found.   Managing people might not be your first choice but it might be your employers urgent need.

Bottom line is to look for gaps and full them.   This will make you streams out add a problem solver.

Today's question is:

"Do you offer to fill gaps?"

365QOD- Day1403

Highs and Lows

"God is greater than the highs and lows."- great wisdom

Don't take things personally. It is not about you.  Of course as human beings we tend to do the opposite.

We tend to believe that our lows last too long and are a lot lower.   On the other hand our highs are to quick and not high enough.

I believe that the moment we learn to enjoy both we become released from this cycle. It no longer becomes about us but the experience. I am not saying that it is easy but I believe it is worthwhile to pursue.  It brings freedom.

Today's question is:

"Do you savor the highs and lows?"

365QOD- Day1402

Deliberate practice approach

"What should I give up this year"- my question to myself

Two years ago I started giving things up.   Every year I give up foods that control me.   Two years ago I have up sugar.  I now do not miss adding sugar at all.

This year I have up chocolate.  It was hard and I expect that my daily cravings are not going to return. Just like sugar I will be able to control my desire for sugar and chocolates instead of them controlling me.

That is self a victory of the self in my eyes.

The other day a person suggested that I give up dairy for a year.  I immediately noted it and have not been able to get it out of my mind. I believe that it will be even harder that the other two challenges.

So for 2015 I will not drink milk, eat ice cream, eat cheese, drink yogurt, or drink kefir. I am giving up five things instead of one.

I expect that this will test me unlike the other two.   The other two were tough but these five will really push my eating habits.  I suspect that in the end I will prevail.  I also expect that these will have minimal effect on my health.

Today's question is:

"What food controls you?"

365QOD- Day1401

Ignoring All the Rules

"Shock the system and ignore all the rules"- A rebel call to action

This is hard to do. To shock the system you have to be willing to do something that you would never normally do.  You not only have to get out of the box but to completely destroy the box in order to not be able to get back into it.

We think that by living on the edge of our life box that this is all there is to do and achieve.   That is naive.  It is only true if we accept it to be true.

To truly change anything you have to sometimes believe the opposite to be true.  Again this is very hard to do because human beings like being in an equilibrium state. We might slightly nudge ourselves but we won't shove ourselves out until we have to. Often this is some to us instead of us doing it to ourselves.

Today's question is:

"Are you willing to ignore all of the rules?"

365QOD- Day1400

Fuzzy Random Inputs

"Fuzzing applying random inputs and looking for some unexpected outcomes"- Unknown

We tend to follow known rules often in our lives.   Once we figure out that given input A well result in output B, we can predict the output

  It becomes predictable and we move on learning another rule.

But there is a difference between predictable and optimal. In order to get to optimal level we must introduce a random fuzzy input A*.  Then we look for some unexpected result.   It could be B* or even Z*.  This randomness will nudge you towards that optimal that you will never get to by using predictable inputs.

A great example of this idea is when software is tested by people who would not normally use it.  They could introduce inputs that the normal user might not because they know better.   This is important to find bugs that traditional testers would not catch.

Today's question is:

"Do you test your ideas with fuzzy random?"

365QOD- Day1399

Bad Data

"What happens when we get flooded with false alarms and bad data?

We ignore all data."- Unknown

We are all drowning in data.  I do not  believe the quality of most data I consume. I have seen through the ignorance of those that report it.

But the quote provides an interesting twist on the bad data idea. The quote teaches us that it is ignored. You don't believe it?it

For a moment ask yourself when was the last time you ran towards a car whose alarm wad going off? Never.  Why? Because you know that most often cat alarms are false and it would be a waste of your time to bother.

Do you know that thieves also know this?   So if they want to to steal a cat they are Beyer off in seeing of a bunch of alarms at once.   Most of us would dance this to be a false alarm and not even bother while they steal what they want.

The lesson is that we still have to pay attention to false data otherwise  we could be ripped off.   But just because we pay attention to it does not mean that we accept it and act on it.

Today's question is:

"Do you ignore false alarms?"

365QOD- Day1398

Differentiating signal

"Some examples of differentiating signals are Simon Cowell and car alarms"- my words

One of the things that we do poorly add parents is praise our kids too much. Even when what they do is average we praise them add having done a super job.   This leads to a false sense of accomplishment.

When we grow up and get a job that level of false praise does not exist.   Often times company yearly review are designed to be negative.   The company feels that they hired ten Einstein and that one of them is a dud.

So what is the solution?

When Simon Cowell was on American Idol he offered a brutal review of the talent performance.  He had no fear of letting someone know that they ducked or that they need to improve. His advice was not only valuable to the contestant but to the audience as well.   By being a Differentiating signal he allowed us the audience to truly evaluate the talent.

I believe that we need to enviable or kids to improve but if they do not truly have a talent to be honest and let them know that they should try something else.

Similarly,  we have to risk being perceived as being difficult by providing that differentiating signal to our team.  This would allow the company to make better decisions.  Be careful! It could lead to your demise of used too often.

Today's question is:

"Can you be a differentiating signal ?"

365QOD- Day1397

Living Forever

"We all die. The goal is not to live forever.  The goal is to make something that will."-Unknown

I started writing this blog almost four years ago with the quote, "The key to immortality is to live a life worth remembering." It is still my guiding light.

Once in a while I sit and ask myself whether I am moving towards that light.  Sadly often times I realize that the light is behind me. As

As the quote advises it is not the longevity of the person that is important.  In the end the person turns to dust and returns to the earth.  

The work and deeds that the person achieves last forever.   A piece of you survives.  The more meaningful the work the longer it will survive.

Today's question is:

"Are you moving towards your light?"

365QOD- Day1396

Four Elements of Leadership- Openness

"Every advance in civilization has been denounced as unnatural while it was recent."- Bertrand Russell

 

The areas of congruence and acceptance are improved by openness.   As I have already mentioned you have to be open to your team's ideas in order for them to offer them.  They have to feel that they can trust you and that you will be willing to accept them if they are valuable.

But openness does not always mean acceptance of a truly naff idea.   If you can build on it then maybe it is worthwhile.   But sometimes saying that an idea is not the best choice and providing logic as to why can be seen as being open.   But it can not be your normal mode of operation.  Being a killer of ideas is ok once in a while but when done too often it can lead to the team not offering them in the future.

Add you can see these for areas of teluability, congruence, acceptance,  and openness  go together to improve your leadership potential.   You have to ask yourself each day whether you nudged the ball forward with your team in each of these areas.   forward The gain in each one could be small but your overall leadership could be undergoing a step change in improvement.

Today's question is:

"How open are you to your team's ideas?"

365QOD- Day1395

Four Elements of Leadership- Acceptance

"The first step toward change is awareness.  The second step is acceptance"- Nathaniel Braden

 

As the leader your reliability and congruence are just a start to building yourself as a leader. You must also develop acceptance.

As I mentioned in congruence you have to be open to your team selling you on their ideas.   If you feel that your ideas are the only ones that count than the team will shut down and no offer any new ideas to you.

Sometimes accepting an inferior team idea might seem like a loss to you add the leader but it could be used as a teachable moment for both you and the team.   Acceptance of their idea and then guiding the team to improve the idea is priceless.   But you have to have the patience to pull it off.

Acceptance of the ideas of others as superior to yours is difficult.   It takes effort to not win the battle in order to win the war.

Today's question is:

"How do you improve your acceptance?"

 

365QOD- Day1394

Four Elements of Leadership- Congruence

"A certain harmony should be kept between actions and ideas if we want to fully develop the effects they can produce"- Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Recently I had a boss with whom I was not congruent.   He was incompetent and full of himself.   So we lacked congruence.

As a must build congruence.  Your followers do not have to agree with every decision you make but they have to be a part of the process.   As the leader you can not operate in a vacuum and expect people to follow you.   to

Congruence is built by getting buy in from the team that your ideas are the best.   In that same light you have to be willing to let the team improve upon your ideas.   You have to realize that the team might have a lot better ideas than you.   You might know what the corporate vision is and have to find a path that fits both the vision and the needs of the team.

That is how you build congruence. Not by being a bull in a China shop.   But by being willing to sell your ideas and being open to being sold to by your team.

Today's question is:

"How congruent are you with your team ?"

365QOD- Day1393

Four Elements of Leadership- Reliability

Trust in leadership can be distilled down to four basic elements.

"Trust in others (and their trust in us) depends on four elements: reliability, congruence, acceptance, and openness."-Joanna Barsh and Johanne Lavoie in their book Centered Leadership: Leading with Purpose, Clarity, and Impact

In order for a leader to be trusted,  a leader had to be reliable.   It is one of the four basic elements.

So what do we mean by being reliable?   Being a reliable a leader can be thought of as someone who has your back. Not once but all the time.

As a follower you must get the sense that the leader will come in and clean up any problems with external people and issues that are beyond your level. A leader must be present and aware of the issues that a team has in order to be able to help.

The messages that a leader gives to his team can not change 180 degrees and expect not to lose the belief the team will have in you as being reliable. Consistency in how you nurture the team and protect them leads to you as the leader being perceived as reliable.

Today's question is:

"How reliable are you to your team?"

365QOD- Day1392

Small Decisions with Long Tail

"Small Decisions with Long Tail"- title of an article by Thomas Goetz

I love this title.  It made me think back to the Long Tail book by Chris Anderson.  It it he makes a point that in the future we will make money on selling that one off item.  
 So how do I transition to the title?  It made me realize that even small decisions have a lingering effect on our lives.  But even more importantly, these small changes could lead us to a completely different place in our life.  

I am sure that drug addicts start with  a small decision to try a drug.  That small decision leads to many small bad decisions.  

But just like we can make bad decisions we can chose good small decisions.  This will lead to a much better result.

Today's question is:
"How do you make great small decisions?"
 

365QOD- Day1391

Grateful

"I am grateful for my life."- my words

I have to be honest and say that I love most portions of my life.  I have many gaps in my life that I do not love.  This is where many of my stresses come in to play.

Mostly, I am grateful for the people in my life.  Some provide the easy with which I move through life.  Others provide the abrasiveness that I need for growth/  Both help me.

So today I pause to recognize that I am where I deserve to be and can change it at any time into what I want it to become.

Today's question is:
"What are you thankful for?"

365QOD- Day1390

Pivoting to a New Idea

"Do something until you are successful for 10 years, then extract a sub-component of your success"- paraphrase of  Langdon St. Ives words on Eventual Millionaire

I listened to this podcast as I ran the other day.  The words immediately made me think about how we had become a culture that wants overnight success.  Who wants to wait 10 years to buid a boring business?

Well, the reality is that most businesses if they survive the initial startup phase become routine and thrive by executing consistently.  There is no sexiness but just brute management.

The lesson that the presenter offered was how he developed a system for his company that he could have bought.  But he believed that this was something that he needed and teh licensing fees would be more over time than developing it in-house.  So they did.

After 10 years of running his business he decided to spin off the system as a seperate business.  Notice that he did not rush it and try to be in two different business.  He developed the software and over time improved it to the point that now it can become a new "sexy" business.

Today's question is:
"Could you wait ten years before extracting a sub-business?"

365QOD- Day1389

Compliance

"We are a nation of compliers"- my words

As an educator of 18+ years I believe that we rarely test the level of learning that a student reaches.  We test for compliance.  A student is suppose to "memorize" the material and the correct sequence of steps needed to get the desired result. 

A true test is to be given some information and then you are to use it to produce a new outcome that is original.  You are not solving someone else's problem but solving your own problem.  

There is a revolution that is taking place around us.  It is a 3D makers revolution.  People are going to be able to construct new "things' as they think of them.  There will be less of a need to "memorize and regurgitate"  Either you can produce or you will not be successful.

Today's question is:
"Are you a producer?"

365QOD- Day1388

Asynchronous Dialogs

"Kids speak in packets of asynchronous dialogs"- Nick Webb on Eventual millionaire

I remember being in Paris December of 1999.  My girlfriend at that time lived there and communicated to her friends through texting mostly.  I thought that texting was silly and it would never catch up in the US.  I figured it was easier to call and briefly speak than to send messages back and forth.

15 years later I realize that I was wrong and now it seems that we have become a nation of texters.  Texting is more dominant than speaking to others.  I believe this even though I have never seen the data.

The reasons why this type of information exchange is dominant is that people can answer it immediately or when it is convenient for them.  It takes time and adjusts it to suit you instead of the caller.

This change creates opportunities.  What type of app could take advantage of this asynchronous communication?  I do not know but I will be thinking about it.

Today's question is:
"Do you prefer to text most people or do you just call?"

365QOD- Day1387

A Catch

"And for the price of only $1997, you get this package that is worth $$$$$"- a catch

In the last few months I have spent many hours listening to webinars.  I would like to evolve into doing presentations using webinars.  So in order to learn the mechanics of how to develop a webinar and properly execute it I have been studying numerous successful webinar presenters.

One thing that I have noticed is that all of them offer a small bit of education followed by a sales pitch.  It feels like the presenter stops teaching and moves into a sales pitch.  The transition is often abrupt and you see the catch.

I understand that the presenters are interested in making money.  Their time and effort have gone into producing a product that satisfy a need.  BUT their sales pitch often seems desperate and pressured.  That is what I believe requires a lot of work in order to continue educating while selling.

Today's question is:
"When you stop teaching and start selling your idea?

365QOD- Day1386

Types of Actions

"It is all about action."- Anonymous

I believe that actions come in two flavors: Active and Passive.  Let us define each type.

Passive actions are the ones that make you feel good.  Reading a new book is a passive action.  You are learning something good and maybe even changing you way of thinking.  So in a sense passive actions are no different than thinking.  It makes you feel good to be doing it.

Active actions produce a fruit.  That is the bid difference.  You can not produce a fruit by passive actions.  Actions must be taken in order for something to be produced.  

So we should only take active actions?  Not quite!  I believe that we should spend 20% of our time in passive actions where we learn new ideas, skills, techniques, etc.  But once that phase is done you must leap forward and execute the actions in order to move you forward.

80% passive followed by 20% active would not work as well.  It might not be enough fruit that is produced and you might give up on the execution.

Today's question is:
"Do you use a 80/20 passive active mix?"

365QOD- Day1385

Communities

"Information can be downloaded and illegally shared.  Communities are the next wave.  Relationships can not be replicated, downloaded, copied, and have a real value"- Steve Fox on Eventual Millionaire

This statement was an eye opener.  Lately I have been working on creating information products.  So this statement made me stop in my tracks and rethink my strategy.

I believe that Steve is trying to teach us that we need to build a community first.  By giving away free products and growing your group then one can create a trust relationship.  This relationship can over time become a bridge to selling your products to the world and group.

The community does not eliminate people downloading, copying, and redistributing your products without paying BUT it gives you a fan base of support.

Today's question is:
"Do you have a community?"

365QOD- Day1384

Apportunity

"Definition: an app opportunity"- source unknown

I recently heard this word used.  Catchy?  I think it is catchy.

I believe that right now we live in a world that is ripe for executing an idea quickly.   If the idea can be envisioned and created in software then an app can be designed.

What app are missing that I would create?  I believe that we are overwhelmed with data and an app that helps people manage all data inputs into their life better would be wonderful.

Today's question is:
"What type of an app would you create an opportunity to help many people?"

365QOD- Day1383

Creating a Time Budget

"Time is more important than money"- my belief

I really believe that time is more valuable than money.  I can convert time into money by working.  Similarly I can never convert money into time by hiring someone else to do something that I need to do instead of me.

But, to me, a loss of money can be replaced by working harder and smarter.  The same analogy does not work for time.  No matter what i do I can not get time back.

With this in mind, I do believe that when we work on an idea we need to create a time budget.  If you have 2 hours per week then in a year(assuming two weeks off) you have 100 hours.  Ten hours a week translate into 500 hours in a year.    And 20 hours per week translates into 1000 hours per year.

The math is simple but there is a big difference to committing to a 1000 hour project vs. a 100 hour project.  The 1000 hour time budget would give you adequate time to "put a dent in the universe" and your idea.

Today's question is:
"Do you create time budgets?

365QOD- Day1382

Wild Expectations

"You will not live a life beyond your wild expectations until you have some wild expectations"- wisdom

Most of us play it safe in life.  If you play it safe then it is unlikely that you will live a life beyond your safe expectations.

What I find interesting is that the quote advises that we should have wild expectations in order to move beyond the plateau that we often find ourselves on.  If we dream of reaching another level then we can push ourselves to that level.  Without that pull towards that level we will stay content and stay there.

You can not stay "reasonable" in order to have wild expectations.  They have to pull you as if they are a magnetic force.   Break the box and think of a new BIG box with a red ribbon on top.  Dream wildly!

Today's question is:
"Do you have wild expectations?"

365QOD- Day1381

Crickets and Maggots

"The food source of the future will be very different than today."- my conclusion

Recently I have read and seen some interesting stories.  In one of the stories the farmer farms maggots and then they are used to create animal feed.  Many companies are watching this start up because it is believed that in the future we will have food shortages due to the ever increasing number of people on the planet. 

So maggots for animal feed.

The second story I watched was another company that grows crickets and then uses them to create a flour.  This slightly earthy tasting flour can then be used instead of regular flour.  This is not uncommon in many cultures that insects are a part of the diet.  

So crickets for people.

Today's question is:
"If you were not told that there is cricket flour in your cookies would you eat them?"

365QOD- Day1380

Purchase vs. Subscription Based Revenue Model

"A $12 fitness band? Yep and it looks good"- USA Today October 28, 2014 story

I am in the market for a fitness band so this story caught my eye.  Most fitness bands are $100+ and  this story talked about how Pivotal Living is taking the subscription model to this new problem.

I believe in the near future we will be self-monitoring more and more.  Daily will be given a review of the sensors that will be embedded in our clothes, part of our watch, shoes, etc.  We will be drowning in our data.

So this story is telling me that there is someone out there that is realizing this and approaching the problem as a $1 per month subscription model instead of the purchase the device model.  Kind of like my phone post yesterday, Day1379.

By the way I am looking forward to the release of fitbit.com Surge tracking device.  I believe that it will be what most of us will use.  

Today's question is:
"What else in the future will adopt this subscription model?"

365QOD- Day1378

Purchase vs. Buy

"You need to pay $34 dollars per month for next two years."- the words of a salesman

I recently had to upgrade my phone.  My Note 1 finally stopped working properly and I had to replace it.  The phone purchase this time around was very different than three years ago.

It seems that the phone companies are very content to let you purchase the phone instead of a monthly charge.  So for example, instead of paying 299 plus a monthly uptick of 25 dollars for 24 months I could keep my current plan and simply pay $34 per month for 24 months.  So the two year contract price was 299+24*25= 899. The purchase price is 34*24= 816.

I am very skeptical of cell phone companies.  So why would a company allow me to not have a contract and pay less? Competition from other carriers?  It has to be.  I still think the 800+ dollar price is way too high BUT that is reality. 

Today's question is:
"Would you get in a contract of you do not need to?"

365QOD- Day1377

Learning to Code in Prison

"Can you teach a locked up dog a new trick?"- my question

The other day I read a story about a new program in California to teach San Quintin prisoners how to code.  The idea is that when they do get out they will have a skill that would be valuable in the Silicon valley.

I hope that the program is successful.  It made me think about a couple of ideas.

The prisoners are locked up and then go to class.  Most of them do not have a job or outside interferences that would get in the way of them learning the material.  It is strictly their desire to learn and their natural abilities to learn.  The experiment completely eliminates lack of time as a variable to learning.

This brings me to the point of this post.  If time was removed from your concerns what would you be able to learn if you could focus?  Your answer is probably anything.  But why do we not block out time for that learning to take place?  You don't have time!  Is anyone asking for your attention at 4 a.m. or 11 p.m?

Today's question is:
"What would you learn if lack of time was not an issue for you?"

365QOD- Day1376

Your Attitude vs. Your Team's Attitude

"Attitude is everything."- a stone on my desk many years ago

You as the leader will either have a positive or negative attitude.  Your team will sense this and adopt it.

Your team will also have an attitude and it can be positive or negative.  The team attitude will be equal to yours OR the most negative member of the team.

This is where the title comes into play.   Your attitude must be greater than your team's.  It has to be in order for the team to be effective.  If you as the leader is negative then the whole team will be dragged down and the results will suffer.

You might not be the CEO but to your team you are the face of the organization.  If there is an image then you are the image of the company.  You might not agree with that statement but your team perceives you as the company representative. 

Today's question is:
"Is your attitude greater than your team's?"

365QOD- Day1375

Habits and Goals

"GOSPAL"- name of a goal achieving technique

Many posts ago I wrote about the GOSPAL technique.  It involves:
G- Goal
O- Objectives
S- Strategies
P- Planning
A- Actions
L- Learning

It seems complete.  But the other day I listened to an author discuss how he feels that habits play a direct role in achieving goals. DING..DING..DING bells went off in my head.

I immediately knew that I need to add an H for Habits to the equation.  But where should it go?
GHOSPAL vs. GOHSPAL vs. GOSHPAL vs. GOSPHAL vs. GOSPAHL or GOSPALH

Will the habits necessary to achieve a goal be clear after you have identified the goal?  How about after you have identified the major objectives you have to hit along the way?  What about after strategy?  Or even after you have planned the optimal path?

After some time thinking about it I concluded that it has to be either after Strategy: GOSHPAL.  Once you have identified the Goal and the Objectives and determined a few alternative Strategies that can be used to accomplish the objectives it should be clear to you if you need to develop any new habits in order to achieve the goal.  These could be small habits that you are missing that without can not guarantee success.

Today's question is:
"How do you determine which habits you need to develop?"

365QOD- Day1374

Mass Market Passion

"Don't do what you are passionate about, do what the massive market loves and then you will get to do what you love"- Unknown

I have written about passion before.  As a matter of fact one of the labels that I have used in my posts is passion.  This quote puts a heck of a spin on the idea.

Should we "sell out" and do what the market wants instead of what we want?  Well, I am torn about the idea BUT after some thought I concluded that the originator is correct. 

If you produce what you are passionate about and no one buys it then you are getting  result that is telling you to do something else.  Yes you can tweak it to get a better result but maybe you never get to the level you wish to get to no matter how much tweaking you attempt.

The quote says start with what the market needs, satisfy it, and then when you have fulled your pockets go after your passion.  This way you will  have the resources to pursue it without money being an issue.  In a sense this strategy takes money off the table by trading time for it.  Wait! that sounds like a job.  LOL

Today's question is:
"Would you be willing to satisfy the market before yourself?"

365QOD- Day1373

Getting Results

"The Result"- title of my first book

In last three posts I explored some equations of success and productivity.  I was even able to derive a new form of the success equation that merges the two concepts.  In the end the equation was an explanation of the rate of success.

Today I want to clarify a connection.  It would seem that the skills and action are separate.  They are and they are not.  I have often found that the two help each other. 

I defined skills as the science behind an area of knowledge and Action as the external application of these skills.  That is very black and white. The reality is rather gray.

What I have learned in my life is that
Massive Action leads to massive improvement in  Skills
Massive Action => Greater Skill

And once the action and skills are both improving together then we get a result.  As we take more actions and pick up more skills we get better results. Ultimately there is no difference between what we define as result and what we define as success.

In terms of an equation:
More Action => Greater Skill Improvement => Improving Results==> Ultimate Success

Today's question is:
"Do you take Massive Actions?"

365QOD- Day1372

Productivity and Success

"Can these be combined?"- My question 


In the last two posts I wrote about Success and Productivity.  I summarized these two with these two equations.
Success= Skill*Action
Productivity= Wisdom * Action

Immediately one should note that Action is common to both.  It is obvious that without Action one can not be productive or successful.  So what happens if we solve the second equation for Action:
Action= Productivity/ Wisdom

and plug that result into the first equation to obtain a new relationship:
Success= Skill * Productivity / Wisdom

Interesting!

What does this equation teach us?  To increase our chances of success one needs to obtain greater Skills and then to be Productive applying them.  As the first two equations taught us their effect is greater the greater they are together.  

So what effect does wisdom have being on the bottom?  It would imply that the smaller the wisdom the greater the success and the greater the wisdom the smaller the success.  This threw me for a loop.  How can that be?  Well I started thinking about the effect of wisdom on initial success and ultimate success.  

Initially wisdom is in short supply so any success seems great.  This often occurs when one is learning a new skill and trying to apply it.  The results are better than expected.

But as one obtains success wisdom also increases.  Then the formula suggests that success is small.  Which makes sense that the success as we get more successful occurs in smaller doses.  

All this makes me rethink that the final formula is in terms of rate of success:
Rate of Success= Skill*Productivity/ Wisdom

Today's question is:
"What is your rate of success?

365QOD- Day1371

Productivity Is a Function Of?

"Productivity= Wisdom * Action"- Unknown

The other day while running I was listening to an eventual Millionaire program and one of the interviewers this sentence.  I immediately fell in love with it and knew a post had to be written.  So let us break it down.

Productivity is a function of Wisdom and Action.  That makes sense. 

The first part of the formula is Wisdom.  Initially I stopped and thought about that.  It is not something that you just put first as something that should lead to productivity.  

But then I had to think of my own definition of what is wisdom.  As I have written before I define the attainment of wisdom to be the highest level.  First level is data that we collect.  Once the data is processed it becomes information (level 2).  And then once we understand the information we get to the knowledge level (level 3).  Wisdom (level 4) then becomes the ultimate level at which we can apply the knowledge.


But as the equation tells us Wisdom need to be complimented with Action.  Like Skills about which I wrote yesterday wisdom is an internal understanding of the science of the area you are trying to be successful in.  But without Action you will not see results. 

So the combination of Wisdom and Action is where the magic occurs.  If you can raise your level to at least a 8 or a 9 in each of them you will not only be very wise BUT you will be applying that wisdom at a high level.  The ultimate result has to be success.

Today's question is:
"What are your Wisdom and Action levels in your area you want to be successful in?"

365QOD- Day1370

Success Is a Function Of?

"Sucess= Skill * Action"- Matt Morris

The other day I was listening to a program that Matt Morris has and he used this sentence.  I immediately fell in love with it and knew a post had to be written.  So let us break it down.

Success is a function of skill and action.  That makes sense. 

The first part of the formula is Skill.  Once you have identified the area in which you want success then you have to be honest with yourself to pick up the skills needed tor success.  How do you go about identifying the skills you will need?  Well, you can always poll experts around you for the quickest result.  But once you have identified the skills it is up to you to get them ASAP.

But as the equation tells us Skills need to be complimented with Action.  Skills are internal understanding of the science of the area you are trying to be successful in.  But without Action you will not see results.  I am an expert in many subject areas that I do not apply.  I know a lot about them but I do not apply them in my life.  

So the combination of Skills and Action is where the magic occurs.  If you can raise your level to at least a 8 or a 9 in each of them you will not only be very skilled BUT you will be applying that knowledge at a high level.  The ultimate result has to be success.

Today's question is:
"What are your Skill and Action levels in your area you want to be successful in?"

365QOD- Day1369

Extra $1000 in Residual Income Per Month

"I need to be a millionaire to retire."- a common belief

Suppose you had a million dollars.  You would want that to last forever.  That way when you die the money could be passed on to your kids.  

But unfortunately most Americans will not get to enjoy that state.  So can we come at the problem from an opposite angle?

Suppose we did have a million dollars.  Most advisers would recommend that you do not take more than 4-5% out per year.  So let us use 4.8%. In other words, 1000000*0.048= 48000. You will get 48k per year for your ability to save a million. 

48000 is 4000 dollars per month or lets keep it simple at 1000 per week(I know that there are 52 weeks in a year but suppose you do not work 4 weeks per year)  So if we could figure out how to get 1000 per week of residual income to come in then we could retire as if we had 1 million in the bank.

Now we are getting somewhere.  How do we get to earn 1000 per week in residual income?  Well, you have to look at your strengths, passions, motivations, and products that you can offer.  Notice I did not say services because we are not looking for a part time job.

Unfortunately the answer is unique to you and only you.  You only know the talents that you have and could use to derive the products.  The best resource on this topic is the book Millionaire Maker by Loral Lingermeier.  

Today's question is:
"How can you generate 1000 per week in residual income?"