Celebrate your Efforts and Appreciate How Far You've Come

Throughout the hustle and bustle of your daily life, take time to pause and smile.

The desire to have more in this life... to be bigger, stronger, faster... can be a powerful motivator.  And as we look for the knowledge and experience and sage wisdom to guide us to greatness, we begin to realize that the power to achieve our goals -- to rebuild and create a better future -- not only comes from within, but that it is a worthy and noble pursuit.

 One must always be learning, growing, developing; and there is nothing wrong with wanting to achieve more tomorrow than you have today.

Taking Stock in the Here and Now

Only when you come to terms with the here and now can you can begin to work on your future self.

Dreaming and planning for a better future is an admirable goal, and if you are living a life of personal accountability then you are well on your way to achieving it.

But while focusing on a destination will help you create a path to get there, having an end goal in sight does not matter unless you have a firm understanding of where you currently are.  To get to point B, you need to know where point A is.

Have you taken stock in the here and now of your life?

Keeping the Inner Faith

Whether you find faith in yourself, others or a higher source, stick with it and you'll make it through.

The only thing you can predict about the future with 100% certainty is that time will continue to pass and the world will continue to move forward.  Sure, there are calculated results you can measure and guide your decisions around the most realistic outcomes... but in the end, you'll never really know for sure.

You do what makes the most sense.  You follow a plan that has proven successful in the past.  You do what feels right.

Why?  Because of Inner Faith.

Use a Shot Clock to Improve Decision Making

Set your shot-clock and make a decision before time runs out.

The ability to make smart decisions quickly and eh, decisively, is a valuable skill that can improve all areas of your life.  Not only is decision-making a necessity in this fast-paced world we live in, it can also be empowering and alleviate stress (the stress that comes from delaying a decision!)

So, if the ability to make quick decisions is a skill you need improvement on, there is an easy method you can use to build your decision making power...

Save your Best Work for when Energy Levels are at their Peak

Determine your peak energy level, and then utilize it as much as possible.

What time of the day do you have the most energy?  When you are at your natural peak?  If you don't know, it's time to get in tune with your body cycle and find out.

Each of us have a different rhythm and must be familiar with the cycles that work best for us.

Two Questions: What are You Doing and Why are you Doing it?

The first steps to success begin with knowing what you're doing, and why you're doing it.

If you've every caught yourself wondering where the time went, or why it has taken long to complete a project (assuming, of course, that you've started a project), or why you've been putting off that dream of yours... did you know you can remedy this with a simple solution?

The way to stop losing track of time is to live with conscious awareness of what you are doing at each moment of the day and ensuring that there is a reason for doing it.

Develop the Habit of Commitment by Making More Promises

Embrace commitment and make more promises, and you're on your way to success.

Most people sincerely meet their obligations and fulfill expectations... they're reliable and dedicated and trustworthy.  They get things done and make others happy.  But how many of them are fully committed to those their serving?

Are the tasks they're completing done so with the same focus and energy as they give to promises, or are they going through the motions...

In other words, do the things we do for others carry the weight of a promise?

Be NICE! The Way You Treat Others Really Does Matter

The result of being nice is happiness.

We've all heard the expression that nice guys finish last, but how much truth is there to that cliche?  It really has no place for someone who follows their inner sage and, if we think about it, it's barely relevant for anything more than short-term gains at best.

The golden rule is do unto others as you would have them do to you.  Simple enough, right?  Then why is it not that easy to follow?

An Appreciation for Relaxation

Proper relaxation can help you be more productive and ultimately more successful.

We often think in terms of go, go,go... how much can we accomplish, how much progress can be made, but have you ever stopped to think about the value of having a relaxed mind and body?

No doubt about it, when our mind and our body are relaxed, we are able to concentrate better, be more alert and make better decisions, and maintain the stamina needed to overcome and obstacles in our way.

Multitasking doesn't work. Smart-tasking does.

How to become a super-tasker, a strategic-tasker, a smart-tasker. 

Welcome to the overworked, over stressed, nonstop digital age, where the to-do list is never complete and another distraction is only moments away.

If there was only a way to get everything thing done... to do multiple tasks at the same time...  ahhh, the luring siren song of "multitasking."   Time to find a new strategy.

Keep Your Plans Where You Can See Them

When you see your plan in front of you, you are more likely to follow it.

What's your plan?  You know you have one.  And even if you've never formalized an actual life plan, you've kinda sorta had a rough idea of one.

Remember?  You shared the vision of this plan with Jimmy over drinks last night... you mapped out the details while in the shower this morning... you even saw yourself in action while stuck in traffic on your way to get to your day job...  Yep, you've got the whole plan all scripted out inside your head.

But that's a problem, isn't it...

Put in 2% Daily Effort to get ahead of 98% of the Crowd

Focusing effort on something for just 2% of the day,
28.8 minutes daily, is more than most others will ever do.

If getting ahead is so difficult, how it can it be that small amounts of time could make a big impact?  The secret is to dedicate that few extra minutes each day to a focused task and then stay consistent with it.

Skills can be developed, knowledge can be learned, money can be earned.  But despite man's greatest attempts to turn back the hands of time, we are all left with only 1220 minutes each day to live out our lives.  Time is the one undeniable equalizer among all those who walk this planet.

But despite the lofty dreams of wealth and prosperity, very few will dedicate even just 28.8 minutes a day towards making those dreams a reality.

Water the Flowers, but also Pull the Weeds

Eliminate the barriers holding you back and you'll reach your destination much faster.

It is important to discover your strengths and nurture them, but while doing so you must be careful not to take your eyes off obstacles getting in the way.

These hurdles can hold you back and until you remove them they will continue to distract from your real objective of building upon strengths.

Take a Subtle Break from the Routine

Take a break from the routine.  Subtle differences make all the difference.

Wake up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch tv, go to bed... repeat.

The routine that millions of hard-working adults go through day after day after day.  And it's a habit that can be broken with just a subtle change.

Multiple Streams for EVERYTHING in Your Life

Do you have multiple streams flowing in to all areas of your life?

We have all heard about the need to diversify and not put all our eggs in one basket.

There is very sound philosophy in that advice, for it keeps us from creating a life that is overly dependent on one source.

But to be truly effective, we must apply the notion of multiple streams to all areas of our life.

Live with Innocence and Shameless Curiosity

Those who ask the question are often rewarded with the answer.

Are you curious about the world around you?  Likely you are...  but have grown accustomed to asking questions with great care as not to display any signs of ignorance.

You don't want to ask things of others for fear of being ridiculed for asking such "silly" questions; you are hesitant to reveal your ignorance by requesting explanations in greater detail;  you'd rather just tuck away that curiosity and move on to something else rather than risk embarrassment... *sigh*

Well, get over it.

Reading the Street Signs on the Road of Life

The signs are all around you if take time to look for them.

When traveling down the road of life, you'll find street signs at every corner.  Are you paying attention to them?  These are the subtle clues about what direction to take; the advisories that warn you to what lies ahead; the wisdom posted by others who have already traveled down the path you're headed...

Nothing Gets Done by Clock Watching

Tick tock tick tock.  Worrying about the clock will not help you get things done any faster.

There are many good strategies you can take towards accomplishing your goals.  You could treat each one like a mini project, strategizing how to manage each step; you could use imagery and visualize success, actively creating a picture of your future self; or you could simply rely on a handy to-do list and just tackle tasks as they come.

No matter the choice, you will notice a common theme in all these methods in that they are based upon giving conscious thought to your goals and figuring out the actions needed to achieve them...

When is the Best Time to Get Started?

The conditions will never be absolute perfect, so why delay?  Get started now.

Have you figured out yet when is the best time get started on your new project/assignment/goal, etc?

Anyone looking to achieve the greatest possible outcome from a new venture will often look for a time when the stars align and everything is perfect to launch.  When should we roll out the new product line?...  When will the market recover so we can get the best price?...  When are those stocks going to bottom/peak so we can buy/sell?

Of, if not trying to actually choose a specific time, we may be simply waiting around until we have "enough" of whatever we feel is needed to get started...  "enough" money... "enough" time... "enough" information... "enough" courage... enough whatever.

Well, guess what?  The conditions are never perfect and there is never enough.

Put an End to the Waiting Game

Good or bad, life is happening to you right now.  Get out and make the most of it.

The infamous waiting game.  As much as we all despise it, most of us spend our lives playing it.

We wait for the conditions to be right; 
We wait for something good to happen;
We wait for our life to begin.

Well, it's time to put an end to the waiting game...