Enneagram of Life

50 Lessons I wish I had learned earlier | Family on Bikes

2011-12-08T16:45:00.000-06:00

50 Lessons I wish I had learned earlier | Family on Bikes

2011-08-27T20:23:00.000-05:00

10 Instant Emotional Fitness Tools

2011-08-25T20:25:00.000-05:00

10 Instant Emotional Fitness Tools

By Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D.
Created Nov 26 2010 - 11:45am
When things get out of control and you momentarily lose your emotional balance, there are any number of little things you can do to regain it. Here are ten tools to help get you started.

1. Wash your hands and face and brush your teeth. It cools and cleans the parts of your body that you use most frequently, which is relaxing, and gives you that "fresh start" feeling.

2. Put on clean socks and some shoes that you haven't worn in a few days. Shoes take a day or two to release any moisture they have absorbed, and this is a very easy way to put a little pep back into your step.

3. Give yourself a good shave (face or legs). This is another instant refresher. Especially if you have sensitive skin or the weather is dry. Plus, when we know we are looking our best, we naturally feel better.

4. Look at any trophy, diploma, or certificate of achievement that you have earned. And if it isn't framed and on the wall, frame it now. These are reminders of your accomplishments, and taking in your success is important to maintaining your self-esteem.

5. Remember your last (or greatest) success and think about it for sixty seconds. Taking in your success as often as possible will help you reach another and another. Quite simply, it reminds you that if you've done it before, you can do it again.

6. Know you are the person your loved ones think you are. And yes, that goes for your dog too. Knowing that you are unconditionally loved can't help but make you feel good about yourself. It's so easy to beat yourself up, I recommend pulling yourself up instead.

7. Wash your car, inside and out. Hey, when our wheels are shiny, we feel better. If you don't think this applies to you, just remember how you felt the last time you got a ride in someone's very funky car. Race you to the car wash.

8. Organize your closet and get rid of anything that no longer fits. Old clothes may come back into style, but you really don't want them on hangers for the next twenty years. Throwing out the old makes room for the new. For some, the feeling they get from putting on a new "power suit" fills them with pride.

9. Cook a lovely meal. Even if you are by yourself, preparing a tasty dinner, setting the table, and treating yourself to a wonderful culinary experience will lift your spirits. Sharing it with someone you love and/or respect will make it even more nurturing.

10. Look around you, remember that you started with nothing, and know that everything you see, you created. We can all lose our feelings of self-worth, especially when something goes wrong in our world. The truth is that if you have done it before, you can do it again-no matter what.

None of these tasks has to be uncomfortable or take you much time. Finding ways to give yourself a little boost when you're not feeling like you're at the top of your game is a trick that truly happy people use on a regular basis.

2011-08-24T20:15:00.001-05:00

Make the richness even richer

2011-08-24T20:03:00.000-05:00

Make the richness even richer

Look around you right now, and celebrate the existence and experience of all you see. In every corner of every situation is much for which to be thankful.

The unique and priceless miracle that is your life gains more value and substance with every moment. Now is your opportunity to live that value in new and creative ways.

In each challenge is the power to make a meaningful difference. With every interaction comes the chance to affirm life’s goodness in your own special way.

Feel the love that lives within you. It is yours to live and to give, no matter what.

Look around you, and let everything you see remind you of how truly fortunate you are. Feel the real power you have to make meaningful and loving use of that good fortune.

You are here right now to do great and wonderful things. With a thankful heart, make the richness even richer by your joyous living of it.

— Ralph Marston

Read more: http://greatday.com/motivate/#ixzz1VzxFpDth

Dominic Forth

2011-08-24T13:51:00.000-05:00

Dominic Forth

Staying Focused on Tasks That Matter

2009-12-15T21:13:00.004-06:00

I am constantly getting sidetracked and distracted throughout the day and focusing on the tasks that matter, most importantly, those that pay is a key focus area of improvement for me in 2010

This post by Ali addresses the issue and offers some great advice! Make sure you check out her blog after you've read her article!

Jason R. Ayers asked in a comment:

With no sales, a business is just a bunch of untested ideas. So, my biggest challenge is making sure I spend 80% of my time focused on selling my products and services. It’s awfully easy to get sidetracked into operations, technical issues, paperwork, and other non-essential issues.

My questions is this: What are your best strategies to insure you spend the majority of your time selling your products or services so you can maintain adequate cash flow in your business?

I’m going to tackle this with a focus on small business, since that’s what Jason is asking about – but much of what I say will apply to any area where you need to keep your focus on the aspects of a project which really matter.

Strategy #1: Figure Out Your Major Tasks

This is an obvious point, but it’s one that I know I sometimes manage to miss out myself. Before you do much else, you need to be clear about what your major tasks involve. These tend to be the things that are absolutely fundamental to your business existing – the ones which take it from being “a bunch of untested ideas” to a business.
Here’s a couple of examples from my own life:

Business: The majority of my income comes from freelance writing for a handful of different blogs. I write anything from one post a month to two per week for each blog, and I get paid per post. Focusing on my major business tasks means that I tend to do all these blog posts on Mondays and Tuesdays (playing catch-up later in the week where necessary).

Non-business: I’ve been working on a novel for the past year, and I’ve finished the first draft (150,000 words) and am about 55,000 words into the second draft. To get the first draft done, I had to focus on the really major task of a novel – the actual writing! – rather than spending hours researching little details, or reading similar books, or chatting to writer friends.

What are your major tasks, in your business or on a particular project? What absolutely needs to be done in order for that business or project to exist?

Strategy #2: Use Your Best Times for Your Big Work

Use the times of day when you’re at your most creative and engaged to work on your major tasks. Again, this is an obvious point – but an easy one to overlook, especially in the day-to-day minutae of running a business.

For me, that means (wherever possible) doing the bulk of my writing in the mornings, and leaving administrative work like emails, and marketing work, until the afternoons.

I suspect you already have a good gut feeling for when you’re at your best (and worst) in terms of productivity and ability to concentrate on something sustained. Whether you do or not, give Charlie Gilkey’s Productivity Heatmap a try – I found it a great way to get an overall feel for my peaks of energy during the day. (It’s also an excuse to play with crayons…)

Strategy #3: Develop a Routine

The word “routine” can be rather off-putting if you’re a creative, impulsive, follow-the-muse type … and many freelancers find that no two days or weeks look alike:

Sometimes you work late into the night, or sometimes you take mornings off and then make it up by working Saturday afternoon. This does afford a lot of flexibility, but sometimes it’s good to know that you’ve put in a solid day’s work and you can enjoy your evenings and weekends like the rest of the working world.

(Cyan and Collis Ta’eed, How to be a Rockstar Freelancer – reviewed here, p52)

Having a routine doesn’t mean that you should start planning out your life like a school timetable (though that works for Glen); rather, I’m suggesting that you pattern your week so that you’ve got clear and sacrosanct blocks of time for your major tasks.

That might be as simple as spending Monday mornings on product creation, Tuesday afternoons on marketing, and the whole of Thursday on client work.

On a day-to-day level, a routine that allows you space to step back and see what you’re doing (rather than rushing from moment to moment) can really help. I like to take five minutes, first thing, to look at my plans and commitments for the day. Lunch-time is often a good chance to figure out what went right during the morning – and what’s a priority for the afternoon.

Strategy #4: Use the One-Two-Three Method of Prioritising

When I start losing focus, or when I’m staring at my task list trying to figure out where to begin, I shove an asterisk against the most important thing (not necessarily the most urgent), two asterisks against the next, and three against the third. Here’s part of my task list from Monday:

Part of Monday's task list

(I wanted to give a real life example, so excuse the messiness!) If it helps you to what’s going on, I cross out tasks when they’re complete. I wrote two posts for Diet Blog, and had a lot of other paid work – and some household, admin and volunteering tasks – on Monday. To make sure I could focus without feeling overwhelmed, I took ten seconds to mentally and physically prioritise the rest of my paid work.

I find that thinking three tasks ahead is comfortable; going up to four or five makes me feel overwhelmed again.

Strategy #5: Avoid Distractions and Interruptions

This is yet another obvious one, but it’s one that I find myself struggling with most weeks! When you’ve blocked out time to get the major tasks done, you need to actually do those tasks. Phone calls, checking Twitter, answering emails, and tidying the kitchen aren’t going to get you any closer to completion.

You know what distractions you give in to – especially the ones which tempt you when you’re working on something that requires a lot of energy. You also know what interruptions tend to crop up. Don’t be afraid to tell colleagues, family members or housemates that you’re busy.

There’s another, slightly less obvious point here: an unattractive working environment is a distraction in itself. (For a tongue-in-cheek look at this, try my Dumb Little Man post on 10 Ways to Create a Work Environment That Drags You Down…)

Strategy #6: Create a System for Routine Tasks

In any business – and probably in any big non-business endeavour – there are going to be a lot of little tasks that you do on a regular basis. The effort of simply remembering all of these can drain your time and energy. Taking five minutes to schedule them into your calendar, diary or planner means they’re off your mind and into your workflow.

Mark Forster’s Get Everything Done and Still Have Time to Play has some very useful thoughts about systems in the chapter “Structuring Your Work”:

Do you wonder why your correspondence always ends up in a pile of unactioned papers? It is because you do not have a system for dealing with it. Do you wonder why you cannot keep up with your e-mail? It is because you don’t have a system for dealing with it. Do you wonder why you are always having to waste time popping out to the shops to buy something you have run out of? It’s because … well, you’ve got the picture by now!

(Mark Forster, Get Everything Done and Still Have Time to Play – Amazon.com / Amazon.co.uk, p13)

Beyond that, many tasks can be partially automated. That might mean using template emails for contacting clients, rather than typing out information each time. It could mean having a particular time slot in the day – perhaps when your creative energy is low – to check various stats.

Don’t make things harder on yourself than they need to be. Get all your emails coming into one place (I used to have four separate accounts – now they all direct into my Gmail inbox, and I can send and receive from each different address there). If you manually visit a bunch of blogs trying to keep up with them all, then start using RSS. If you have routine formatting tasks – like getting your Word document or blog post to look right – then see if there’s a more efficient way. Nine times out of ten, there is.

If you’re struggling to find a quick, workable system to catch up with a backlog and stay on top of your email, I strongly recommend getting your hands on Charlie Gilkey’s Email Triage – reviewed here.

Strategy #7: Separate Work Tasks and Home Tasks

I’m far from perfect at this one, so I hesitated to include it – but I will as an encouragement to myself. ;-) And if you have any particular advice or tips on this, please do leave them in the comments…

If you run a small business – or if you’re still in the fledgling stages of starting one – then there’s a good chance you’re working from home. This has many advantages: I love being able to take a shower in the middle of the day, for instance, or pick up groceries when the shops are quiet. However, it’s also incredibly easy to end up spending time cleaning, tidying, washing up, shopping online and so on… and this doesn’t make for a productive work day.

I’m not sure I’ve found any perfect solutions yet! One solution is to grab your laptop and head to a coffee shop (I use my university library) – then you can’t go and put a load of laundry on when you’re struggling to keep up the motivation to work. You could also try working set hours, or working for time blocks (such as 9am – 11am).

If you’re a small biz type yourself, how would you answer Jason’s question at the start of this post? What strategies do you use to keep on top of the work that actually brings in the money? And if you’ve got a solution to working from home without letting a dozen household tasks creep in, let me know…!

Big Thanks to Ali for such great advice!!

A fantastic way to live

2009-12-07T09:52:00.001-06:00

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 42 lessons life taught me.
It is the most-requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

6. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

7. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

8. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

9. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

10. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

12. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

13. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

14. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

15. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

16. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

17. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

18. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer...

19. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie... Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

20. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

21. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

22. The most important sex organ is the brain.

23. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

24. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

25. Always choose life.

26. Forgive everyone everything.

27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

28. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

30. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

31. Believe in miracles.

32. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

33. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

34. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

35. Your children get only one childhood.

36. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

37. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

38. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

39. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

40. The best is yet to come.

41. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

42. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

The Charlie Schulz Philosophy

2009-11-23T09:18:00.001-06:00

> The Charlie Schulz Philosophy
> (This is marvelous!! Scroll thru slowly and read carefully to receive
> and enjoy full effect)
> The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the
> 'Peanuts' comic strip.
> You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just read straight
> through and you'll get the point.
> 1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
> 2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
> 3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
> 4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
> 5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and
> actress.
> 6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
> How did you do?
> The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.
> These are no second-rate achievers.
> They are the best in their fields.
> But the applause dies.
> Awards tarnish.
> Achievements are forgotten.
> Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
> Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:
> 1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
> 2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
> 3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
> 4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and
> special!!
> 5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
> Easier?
> The Lesson:
> The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the
> most credentials, the most money, or the most awards.
> They simply are the ones who care the most!
>

Concentrate on this Sentence

2009-11-03T08:09:00.000-06:00

'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence... 'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'

There comes a point in your life when you realize:

Who matters,
Who never did,
Who won't anymore...
And who always will.
So, don't worry about people from your past,
there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.
Give these flowers to everyone you don't want to lose in 2009
including me, if that's what is in your heart.
Try to collect 5 ; it's not easy!

The Five People You Meet In Heaven

2009-10-19T17:40:00.001-05:00

I've just finished Mitch Albom's book, 'The five people you meet in heaven.' It's only a short story, but comforting nonetheless.

The following text struck a chord with me:

"You died. You were forty-seven. You were the best person any of us knew, and you died and you lost everything. And I lost everything. I lost the only woman I ever loved."

She took his hands. "No, you didn't. I was right here. And you loved me anyway.

"Lost love is still love, Eddie. It takes a different form, that's all. You can't see their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it.

"Life has to end," she said. "Love doesn't."

While the book is talking about the love bonded in marriage, I feel this is also true for the love in a family, which is the the reason why I wanted to share it with you.

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...

2009-10-19T08:09:00.001-05:00

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee... You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her t o the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.'

'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean , mother?'

Her mother explained that! each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff ? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The b ean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy..

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

The Top 10 Personal Development Blogs You Wish You Knew About Earlier

2009-07-25T11:59:00.000-05:00

by JosephYi of Viralogy:

When people think of what the top personal development blogs are they commonly think of blogs such as the Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss or Zen Habits. While these are great blogs that offer some top notch content, their are plenty of other great personal development blogs that not everyone has heard of. We realized this and decided to put together a list of the Top 10 Personal Development Blogs You Wish You Knew About Earlier. While some people may recognize some of the blogs on our list, for those of you who still haven’t discovered them we hope you enjoy them!

http://viralogy.com/blog/rankings/the-top-10-personal-development-blogs-you-wish-you-knew-about-earlier/

How to Become an Ad Expert in 10 Steps

2009-07-24T12:57:00.001-05:00

In his early career Jo Owen was responsible for Daz. He put the blue speckle in Daz, and he writes, his career has been downhill ever since. Here he writes, how to become an Ad Expert in 10 steps.

"From this flimsy start, I am often able to fool people into thinking that I know something about advertising. So here is how you can be an advertising expert.

First, know the purpose of advertising. Advertising agencies think that the purpose of advertising is:

* To make lots of money
* Have an excuse for long liquid lunches and even longer arguments
* Win creative awards at industry bashes in exotic locations.

Surprisingly, the purpose of advertising is to sell stuff, in my case Daz. Winning awards is irrelevant. It does not matter if people like the advertising: no one likes Daz advertising, but they remember it and they buy it. So the ultimate tests of any advertising are:

* Do people remember it?
* Do they buy the product?

To figure out if advertising is likely to work, before spending a few million airing it, there are ten tests you can apply. Apply this to any advertising you see: you will find many campaigns are expensive failures, others work even if you do not like them.

1. Does it meet the brief we agreed? Daz washes whiter — OK?
2. Is it differentiated versus nearest alternatives? Ariel for stains, Dreft for woollens: you get the idea.
3. Does it give a compelling reason why I should buy? If you do not want white clothes to look grey, buy Daz
4. Is it relevant to the people we are targeting? For people with white clothes, yes.
5. Is it credible? Daz has the “Blue whitener” to keep white clothes white. Give a reason why your product works.
6. Is the brand clear? Forget celebrities and clever artistry: stick the brand up front so people remember Daz, not the artistry or celebrity.
7. Does it project the character of the brand? Daz cheap and cheery, versus high tech Ariel, etc.
8. Is it simple and memorable? One brand, one message: Daz washes whiter.
9. Is it consistent with other material? Easy to use on TV, radio, posters, magazines.
10. Is it sustainable economically, and creatively over time? Daz advertising has not changed in fifty years, because it works."

The 50 Most Inspiring Travel Quotes Of All Time

2009-07-21T12:55:00.002-05:00

Memorable travel quotes are like messages found on the beach; beautiful, timeless, and read at just the right moment.

My favourites:

26. “Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by.” - Robert Frost

19. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

25. “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

From the editor’s introduction - Tim Patterson: I’m typing on the deck of a hostel in a little Uruguayan surf town called Punta del Diablo.

Travelers are chatting around me; the usual conversation about where they came from and where they’re going next. Down on the beach, surfers are catching the last waves of the day and men driving horse-drawn carts haul firewood into town.

In many ways this is an idyllic scene, but to be honest, for a while today I was feeling a bit tired and jaded about travel. When you’re on the road too long the spark of newness fades, and travel can feel like a long, pointless slog, a detour from loved ones and from life.

Then I started reading the quotes you’ll find below. Some made me laugh. Some made me wince.

But all of them rang true, and reminded me of why I travel: to learn and grow, to challenge myself, stretch my limits and foster an appreciation of both the world at large and the chair waiting in front of the woodstove back home.

I hope you’ll find similar inspiration in these quotes. Without further ado…

The quotes are here

Twitter and e-mail aren't making us stupider, but they are making us more distracted...

2009-07-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

A new book explains why learning to focus is the key to living better.

As Laura Miller writes, "Here's a fail-safe topic when making conversation with everyone from cab drivers to grad students to cousins in the construction trade: Mention the fact that you're finding it harder and harder to concentrate lately."
She continues to write that the complaint appears to be universal, yet everyone blames it on some personal factor: having a baby, starting a new job, turning 50, having to use a Blackberry for work, getting on Facebook, and so on.

This fascinating book delves deeper into the understanding that as long as we remain only dimly aware of the dueling attention systems within us, the reactive will continue to win out over the reflective...

Read more here

Happy 30th Birthday John

2009-07-18T21:04:00.000-05:00

My brother John is 30 today!!!

Happy Birthday John.

Free Ebook: So… You’ve Decided to Get in Shape (Again)

2009-07-17T08:58:00.000-05:00

Imagine a FREE fitness ebook that takes 20 – 30 minutes to read, and addresses the REAL getting-in-shape issues. It was written for those who are genuinely ready to change, their attitude, their lifestyle and their reality – forever.

In this FREE ebook Craig discusses:

The First Bit – The Head Stuff
The Second Bit – The Exercise Stuff
The Third Bit – The Food Stuff
Craig’s book contains powerful common sense suggestions based on his twenty five years of helping people create positive physical change.

To get your FREE copy of “So… You’ve Decided to Get in Shape (Again)” simply input your email address here and click on ‘Get It’. If you already receive Craig’s email updates and are unable to re-input your email address, contact john at john@craigharper.com.au and he’ll email you out your FREE eBook.

The Top 50 Productivity Blogs Of The Year

2009-07-16T13:56:00.000-05:00

Productivity for an entrepreneur is as important as musicality for a dancer. Anyone can setup a small business or step onto a dance floor, but it's important to get the most out of every action or it's wasted energy.

The problem is that many entrepreneurs lose motivation and focus because they lack the formal infrastructure of working for someone else. You see, it takes a disciplined personality to set accountable actions in order to become a successful small business owner. However, the good news is that being productive isn't a born trait, but an acquired one.

With the help of EvanCarmichael's "The Top 50 Productivity Blogs Of The Year", you too can shorten your journey and reach your goals sooner. The illustrations for the top 3 category leaders are provided by Happy Worker, a creative agency that makes custom action figures and custom toys. You can also view last year's list.

http://www.evancarmichael.com/Tools/Top-50-Productivity-Blogs-2009.htm

If you want to live the life you want, make a blueprint...

2009-07-15T21:27:00.002-05:00

Hot Topic CEO Betsy McLaughlin still consults the life plan she made as a college freshman.

She says have a plan and stick to it. Be prepared to make sacrifices.

McLaughlin drew up five headings--Career, Salary, Assets, Health and Personal/Social--and set goals for herself at different ages. By 20, she wanted to own a car free and clear. By 25, she wanted to own a home. At 28, she wanted to put 5% of her income in a 401(k.) At 40, she wanted a new hobby.

She accomplished all of them because she learned how to compromise.

More here

I personally believe in living and savouring every moment.

Why sacrifice the espresso latte today and save the pennies for a dream retirement, when you can have the latte now and have the dream retirement.

What's to say we can't use McLaughlin's approach and live the life we want today??

The sports teams in a league of their own

2009-07-15T20:41:00.002-05:00

As spending on footballers soars, Stefan Szymanski asks if we could learn a lesson from the US.

He writes in today's Daily Telegraph, "Many fans are in denial, but the reality of professional sport is that money buys success: spend enough and the balance will tip in your favour. Of course, there are no guarantees, but year after year the teams that spend the most on player salaries tend to end up at the top of the league and those that spend the least end up at the bottom. This is not only true for football. The New York Yankees have won baseball's World Series 26 times (the nearest rival has won it only 10 times) and no one doubts that the financial muscle of the Big Apple lies behind this feat.

But there is a limit to the ambition of the Yankees; as an American economist observed 45 years ago, their prayer must be "Oh Lord, make us good, but not that good". Without credible opposition, who wants to watch the Yankees? At times, the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australian cricket team must have pondered the same question. Unless your rivals have a reasonable chance of success you risk becoming a freak show followed only by a few diehards.

When Formula One became the Michael Schumacher Show, audience figures declined (except, of course, in Germany). Men's tennis is enjoying a revival not because of Andy Murray but because at last there are credible rivals to Roger Federer (something Pete Sampras lacked). Tiger Woods still draws the crowds to golf, but even if "freak" is not the right word, the exceptional gulf between him and almost anyone who has ever played the game puts his dominance into a special category.

A successful competition must imbue the teams with an unquenchable desire to win while denying them the means to kill off the opposition permanently. Real Madrid's president, Florentino Perez, is so concerned about the unequal contest in La Liga that he is calling for an enhanced, European super league to feed him more worthy opponents. This might work, since there are big enough teams in England, Italy and Germany to give them a game, but what if Real tried to buy its way to the top of a super league?

American leagues have faced up to this problem and introduced measures to stop teams remaining dominants. American football's NFL, the world's most lucrative sports league, boasts that "on any given Sunday, any team in this league can beat any other team". It aims to achieve this by a combination of limiting squad sizes, sharing gate and TV revenues and imposing salary caps. Most famously, it has a draft system that gives the bottom team the right to choose the best new player entering the league in the next season – an incentive to lose rather than to win. But here's the rub: the NFL is a business, a socialist business run by billionaire capitalists who make a fortune since their restraints also hold down salaries. What's more, they don't allow any competition to play at their level: there is no promotion and relegation. They call this "leaguethink". Every team owner is devoted to upholding the interests of the NFL first, their franchise second.

Ironically, it is European football that is the torch bearer of rampant capitalistic individualism, while America espouses sporting socialism. But that is because the Americans are not playing for fun, they are playing for money, and they know the rules of that game better than anyone else."

An interesting analogy, but what perhaps is most interesting are the reader comments here

Roadblocks to Success

2009-07-14T10:28:00.000-05:00

Here are some career mind-barriers found especially among new entrants to the workforce, from News From Kaplan, a fact sheet published by Simon & Schuster.

• Waiting to be discovered. Instead of making contacts, such people think they will be magically rewarded with fame and riches.
• Impostor belief. Some people feel they're not really qualified to do the kind of work their employers want them to do. They're afraid of being exposed as incompetent.
• I shouldn't get paid for what I do--It's easy for me. This belief usually crops up among people who are talented and love their work.
• Fear of failure. New workforce entrants often fear they won't be hired or will end up penniless.
• Fear of success. Some people are afraid of doing well because they can't imagine being recognized as experts in their fields. They may even think that fame and fortune will hurt them in some way. They may think that family and friends will like them better if they stay "small."

The 12 Qualities of True Business Professionals

2009-07-13T10:27:00.000-05:00

Adapted with permission. Author: Leanne Hoagland-Smith, Advanced Systems

Professionalism is a word embraced by many, but honesty demonstrated by far fewer individuals. Its Latin origins come from the word profess which means, "to avow before." So the question is: who are these individuals that believe themselves to be true professionals avowing before? The answer may be found within the word professional.
1. P = Positively proactive. Professionals demonstrate behaviors that are positive, proactive instead of negative, and reactive.

2. R = Respect. Through this ethic and value of respect, professionals are known and trusted within and without their respective organizations.

3. O = Opportunities to help others. Those who avow before understand they have a responsibility to help others whether it is to grow self-leadership skills or provide some expert advice.

4. F = Follow-up. No one likes to wait for un-returned phone calls or emails. Professionals make it a habit to follow-up on everything and accept responsibility when they fail to engage in that behavior.

5. E = Empathy. Professionals know how to be empathetic. This characteristic is a one of the signs of high emotional intelligence and a predictor for leadership success.

6. S = Self-confident. When individuals are self confident, they do not have to put others down at their own expense. These individuals have a high sense of balanced self-esteem and role awareness.

7. S = Sustainable. Professionals are truly sustainable in that they can continue forward when times become difficult. Their ethics and beliefs keep them focused.

8. I = Integrity. Integrity is putting your values into action; doing the right thing when no one else is looking without personal gain or benefit; and accepting a potential personal cost.

9. O = Optimize all interactions. This is critical because professionals do not negate the value of people. They look to see how one interaction can benefit someone else even before himself or herself.

10. N = Nimble. Being flexible and open to change allows these individuals to be quick on their feet and nimble to the opportunities that they encounter on a daily basis.

11. A = Awareness. A high level of awareness of themselves, the marketplace, the community and even the world helps these individuals continually stay on top of things.

12. L = Leadership. Last, but not least, professionals demonstrate exceptional leadership skills and even more importantly self-leadership skill. For if you cannot lead yourself, you cannot lead others.

© Copyright 2009 (ASTD

I loved this….hopefully you will too! Takes about 3 min to read.

2009-07-07T07:58:00.000-05:00

Every great salesperson was once a beginner.

“That’s easy for you to say! You’re already a great salesman and a successful author and speaker,” someone yelled from the audience as I was answering a question about how to brand yourself and position yourself to create the law of attraction.

Now the audience was waiting for my answer. It wasn’t a time for humor. Every person was looking for the bridge between where I am and where they are. And not just an answer – a path to get there.

I began by telling them of a book I had just purchased called, Every Great Chess Player Was Once A Beginner. The title rocked my entire thought process. Although it was obvious that everyone starts someplace, it’s hard to imagine A-Rod playing little league, or Bret Favre playing Pop Warner football. Hard to imagine Bill Gates in his dorm room cooking mac and cheese on a hotplate as he struggles with his 128k computer to create the future of software. But they all did.

Then I gave them a glimpse of my beginning and my renaissance.

REALITY: No, it’s not easy for me to say anything, or do anything. Yes, I’m somewhat successful now, BUT I didn’t start with nine best-selling books. I started by writing one 750-word column. Actually I started studying sales in 1972. And made sales for 35 years. I had no idea I would write. I just loved sales and wanted to be the best salesman in the world. When the opportunity to write about sales appeared, I jumped on it. Now I write about my personal experiences, observations, and thoughts.

When I moved to Charlotte in 1988 I was starting over. Beginning again. I knew no one, and had limited capital (definition: broke). I joined the Charlotte Chamber. I subscribed to the local business journal. I networked my butt off. And I tried to get business for others. I connected and made connections. I became known as a person of value. I took a leadership position at the Chamber.

Here are the insights that drove me:
As a beginner you have to trust your instincts, and you have to “BE.”
• Be willing to risk.
• Be a constant student.
• Be a consistent performer, even in a losing cause.
• Be a value provider.
• Be friendly and likeable.
• Be passionate about your product or service.
• Be willing to dedicate the time it takes to become great.

And you must BELIEVE you can do it. Your mental strength is more important than your skill and your product knowledge. Mental strength stems from your attitude, your enthusiasm, and your willingness to work hard. It’s a struggle, what’s your point? Struggle is part of greatness. So is hard work. TV is not.

GREAT NEWS: Your earnings in sales and business are only limited by your ability to convince others to buy.
REALITY: You have to read, study, and practice.
EXAMPLE OF PRACTICE: Cold calls are a lousy place to make a sale, but they’re a great place to learn how to sell.
REALITY: Rejection is part of the game – all sports have winners and losers. If you can win 30% of the time, you’ll win awards, make president’s club, and earn a fortune – that means you’ll get rejected seven out of ten times. Get used to it and get over it.

Think of it this way: Every “no” gets you closer to a “yes.” There, that feels better now, doesn’t it?

Where do you “begin” becoming great?
What is your beginning?
Maybe you have already begun.

There are guidelines to consider:
The first is dedication. To yourself, to your excellence, and to your desire to become the best at whatever you do.
Become a product of the product.
Live your outcome and results.
Study the history of your product.
Visit customers often. Work at their place of business for a day, for free.

Yes it’s nice to have natural ability -- to be gregarious, humorous, honest, hard working, reliable, and trustworthy, and to have the knack for picking up concepts quickly.
Yes it’s nice to have a past history of success.
Yes it’s nice to have a great reputation.
Yes it’s nice to have a great home environment.
Yes it’s great to have supportive people in your life.
And yes it’s nice to have a solid financial foundation.
But these situations and characteristics are not “musts” for greatness.

If you’re trying to grab the brass ring, it comes from within. Energy, desire, dedication, and passion are integral to making the grade, or should I say the GREAT.

In just 20 years I have become an overnight success.
I wish the same for you.

The human face of the death penalty

2009-07-02T07:53:00.003-05:00

In a series of alarmingly frank portraits and accompanying audio interviews, British portraitist Claire Phillips reveals the painful and inflexible sharp end of the U.S. penal system, littered by broken souls who have all known extreme violence.

Tattooed inmates make up only a few of the portraits on show, which also includes those on the sidelines: senators, campaigners, jurors. The recorded interviews often reveal much more than the artworks themselves. Marietta Jaeger-Lane, for example, whose face is both kindly and steely at the same time, stares out from a calming grey ground. Only her voice tells us that her daughter, Susie, was snatched and killed a week later. Later still she became an anti-death row campaigner; once Susie's killer was captured and killed.

Don Cabana stares broodingly from a blood red canvas, an unsympathetic looking warder who has presided over two executions. Only in the audio do we find that he is horrified when an inmate refuses to absolve him; only in the audio does he tell the story of a chemist driven mad by the responsibility of mixing gas for the chamber.

By the end these disarming portraits and utterly contradictory audio together tell of America's complicated relationship with the death sentence and the mixed up, polar lives of those who inhabit the spooky corridors of death row: killers, relatives, lawyers, warders, all.

The Human Face of the Death Penalty is at the.gallery@oxo , Oxo Tower, London, from July 1 to July 5. Video is here.