What if instead of waiting for life to provide the challenge, you decide to create the challenges you know will help you grow on your own. Anybody can usually complete a 7-day challenge without too much pain or inconvenience. That's what I'm proposing in this post. Create a list of 7-day challenges that will make you stretch yourself as a person.

Here are some examples for personal challenges:

1.  Stop eating desert.
2.  Eat an apple a day.
3.  Walk for 30-minutes.
4.  Read for 30-minutes.
5.  Spend 30-minutes cleaning that room you've been putting off forever.
6.  Turn off the lights and use kerosene lanterns for an hour. Save the planet a little and have a better appreciation for the electricity we all take for advantage.
7.  Watch 1-hour less of TV. This gives you more time with your family or a good book.
8.  Put in another hour towards your dream job.
9.  Find other means to get to work besides your car. Pretend your car no longer works. How would you get to work then? This fosters creativity and gratefulness for the car you do have.
10.  Wear the same outfit to work all week long. This sounds crazy, but make sure your clean your clothes everyday of course. Why the same outfit? Crazy you think? Not really. I've never done this personally, but I'd assume people would start to treat you differently after about three days. And why's this important? Because getting a different reaction out of people puts you in a situation you wouldn't normally be in, and this is what broadens your horizons and growth.

"Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory."

General George S. Patton

When you start looking as small goals as personal challenges you may find them easier to finish. They also tend to turn into something you do longer than just the 7-days. Walking would be one example. I set the goal for walking everyday for a month a while back and now I love walking.

If 7-days is too long then just start with 3-days. As long as you start you win. As long as you're constantly making effort in a forward direction you'll always be improving, no matter what you're doing.

]]> http://betterbytheday.com/7-day-challenge-for-personal-growth/feed/ 0 http://betterbytheday.com/7-day-challenge-for-personal-growth/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/betterbytheday/JQUN/~3/Vfvw0wSi3F4/ http://betterbytheday.com/keep-whats-true-leave-the-rest/#comments Mon, 06 Sep 2010 04:22:34 +0000 Victor Boba http://betterbytheday.com/?p=112 Copy and Paste. A common term used in the corporate world where computers are used. You highlight the text you want to copy and then paste it into another application. Copy and Paste copies information from one place to another.

We do the same thing with wisdom. When you read a blog post, a book, or maybe hear some information on the television, don't you copy what rings true to you and paste it into the wisdom bucket you keep in your mind? I know I do.

More times than not though, we don't apply a copy & paste method when taking in information. When you copy & paste do you copy the entire source document or just parts of it? Then why do we fall into the trap of trying to take in all the information that comes our way instead of just what we need?

Lots of times we only want to read books that are in line with what we believe. We do the same with what we watch on TV and with the people we decide to spend our time with. We want to be around information that we know does not conflict with our current way of thinking and believing. But isn't that limiting what we have the ability to learn?

What if instead, we decide to read a book that's not necessarily in line with our belief system? What if we spent some time with someone that doesn't believe as we believe or do what we do? Would we really come away from these situations just as ignorant as when we came into them? Or would we choose to copy and paste the bits of information that rang true with us? I believe the later would be what happens.

I believe we should expose ourselves to as much wisdom and creativity as we can and then decide what we want to copy and paste and what we want to delete or throw away from the exchange.

Take the information you've assimilated and decide what rings true for you. You'll know it when it crosses your path. Sometimes stepping out of your comfort-zone to learn something about someone or something makes you grow as a person.

We get caught up in the trap as human beings that when we read a book we must take it all in as gospel or fact. What's fact or belief to one person is not always fact and belief to another. That shouldn't keep you from at least trying to enjoy a book you wouldn't otherwise read, or communicating with a person you wouldn't otherwise communicate with. Get out of that comfort-zone. Do what you wouldn't normally do. You might be surprised at what you find.

Steps to help you find what rings true in your daily life:

1. When presented with an uncomfortable situation involving people (as long as it's not obviously dangerous) remove your feelings from the situation and just go with the flow.

2. The next time you see a book in the bookstore that catches your eye but isn't in your normal section of perusing, pick it up and read a few chapters. Maybe even get a coffee at the store cafe and read a chapter. It's free and doesn't cost a thing unless you buy the book. Coffee is extra.

3. Before you zone-out a coworker when he's explaining his weekend's activities to you and you'd rather gouge your eyes out before continuing this conversation, try asking him questions about it. Pretend you're interested in the topic and see what you can learn from it. Fake it till you make it comes to mind. Fake an interest in his conversation. The book "How to Win Friends and Influence people" comes to mind here.

4. Watch a TV channel you've never seen before. CSPAN, Current, Oprah, the list goes on and on. You may find that the information and content can have something to speak to you. If your family balks at Oprah then just tell them it's an assignment for work or school and the pain will be over soon.

Life's not meant to be an all-or-nothing game. Take what you want from it and leave the rest.

I hope this helps you see things a little differently as you live your day-to-day life.

When you're strapped for money where do you shop for food? You shop at the cheaper grocery stores such as Food Lion, Kroger, Wal-Mart. You shop at locations where your dollar brings the most amount of food for the least amount of money. Does it matter that the food is laden with fat and carbs? Probably not.

And in comparison, where do the financially stable shop? They shop at the high-end grocery stores. They do this because they want the best food for the price. They're not going for volume but substance. They purchase what healthy, not just what fills your gut. They put items in their cart that will give them sustained energy such as whole grains, nuts, and low-fat everything.

What comes to mind is the timeless adage (I paraphrase here):

"You become that which  you are around all the time"

So it's pretty simple. If you want to become like the wealthy and physically fit people of this world, then shop where they shop. Make your personal health enough of a priority that you spend your excess money on good and healthy food instead of going out to the movies or that 6-pack of beer and a half gallon of ice cream.

To be a success in your life you need to become that which you admire. Do you think Donald Trump shops at Wal-Mart? Of course not. He has his personal chef do the shopping, but you get the point.

Start thinking like a winner. Start shopping and eating like a winner. We could probably all lose a little weight, myself included.

We need to rise above our mediocre thinking and think better of ourselves. Start thinking about what goes into your body and take care of it because it's the only one you'll get this time around. Rise above just putting food in your mouth to make you happy for a small amount of time. Put your energy and thoughts towards rising above whatever obstacle you have in your life that's bringing you pain.

If  you can't shop where the wealthy do, you can at least visit there and just walk the aisles. I know that may sound silly, but just do it anyway. You can start with one item a week that you purchase from the high-end grocery stores. The object isn't to buy expensive food. It's to rise above little thinking and think better of yourself. It's to take hold of who you are and what you can truly become. If you start thinking better of  yourself, maybe you'll start performing better at work and expecting more of yourself. With a better self-image you can accomplish more and work towards a life where you have balance and freedom.

I know this post is way out there, but it's something I felt to write about. I'm still new in this blogosphere so give me a few more posts to really nail it down.

Task accomplishment for me personally has gone through many stages. As my responsibility increased with age and position I started to move away from using my memory to contain all my tasks and goals and used a small notebook.

Then I realized I needed to have a calendar and contact information and addresses. So the organizer became larger such as those offered by Franklin Covey.

I even tried organizing my tasks using small 3x5 cards and a portfolio as was popular by some products sold in what was Success magazine. I'm not even sure if they have that magazine anymore.

And now we have the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). I had the Axium that had the Palm OS. This only lasted about 3 months as it wasn't very handy having to pull out a stylus, boot up the PDA and then slowly have it recognize your handwriting for each task you added to your list.

Then came Windows Mobile. This was only marginally better than the Axium PDA. Took longer to boot up but had better task management.

So many ways to track my tasks and goals. They all more or less accomplished the same thing. They compiled what I wanted to do in a simple format. Years ago, before I even started thinking of organizers and project management and life goals, I would sit and make lists. My wife would laugh at me and all my lists.

• To Do lists.
• Things to do before I die lists.
• If I had all the money in the World lists.
• Lists of what to get accomplished in the next week, month, year.

Now comes the iPhone. Everything you need in the palm of your hand. Phone. Organizer. Task Manager. Internet. Surely I would be able to find the ultimate application from the App Store by which to finally end my search for the ultimate task-management and goal-accomplishment system.

• Toodledo An easy to use, online to-do list. Get organized, stay motivated, and be more productive.
• ListMonger ListMonger is an easy-to-use yet powerful list-making app for iPhone and iPod touch. Casual users will find it easy to grok, yet ListMonger offers a robust feature set to meet the needs of demanding list-aholics (you know who you are).
• Evernote (more of info capture than tasks) Use Evernote to save your ideas, things you see, and things you like. Then find them all on any computer or device you use. For free.
• Reqall Use your voice, email, instant messaging, or text messaging. No other memory tool makes it as easy to capture, retrieve, and share ideas and things you need to do—anywhere, anytime.

Using the iPhone for tracking my tasks and goals is about as good as it gets. The only downside is you have to turn it on in order to see your current tasks. Yes it's but a few button clicks away, but still it's a process that's not immediate. Yes I like immediate, right now, in your face results.

All roads lead to paper! The old-school, tried and true method that works the best to me is simply paper.

• Moleskine journals. All different sizes and colors.
• Post-It notes.
• 3 x 5 cards.
• Writing pads.

I've come back around to where I started. Making lists. They are the simplest and readily available. All you need is a flat piece of paper and a writing instrument. I find the smallest of the Moleskin books to be the most accomadating. It's called the Cahier Pocket Moleskine. You can keep it with you in your pocket and takes next to nothing to pull it out and capture your ideas or see what your current tasks and goals are.

I also use the ever so easy Post-It note. The advantage of this you can stick it on your Moleskine where you'll see the tasks and goals even better than in the pocket organizer. I also have notepads and Post-It notes within arms-reach while at my desk. I don't want an idea or task to not get captured only because I do not have a place to put it.

Bottom line, just use something to track your tasks or goals.

]]> http://betterbytheday.com/whatever-works-just-use-something/feed/ 0 http://betterbytheday.com/whatever-works-just-use-something/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/betterbytheday/JQUN/~3/vohPBbA_RnQ/ http://betterbytheday.com/dont-force-your-goals/#comments Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:34:07 +0000 Victor http://betterbytheday.com/?p=56 We've all been there. You want something in your life so badly you can't stand it.  You can't wait for it. You want it NOW!!!

So what do you do to get it NOW? You make decisions, that more times than not are wrong. Why? Because you have a false belief that it will move you closer to your goals. Let me save you lots of heartache and time. Here's how you know when the decisions you make towards your goals are on track and will bring fruit:

When it happens without warning or surprise. That's when you know you're on the right path.

Have you ever tried to force something to happen that you believed to be in your best interest? Have you made any of the following happen by forced measure:

• Made a purchase you don't really have the funds for?
• Made a comment to someone that you couldn't support or backup?
• Made a career decision that just felt forced but you did it anyway?

I can tell you from personal experience that I can check off every item above on my list of dumb things I've done in my pursuit of my intended path. This only ended in complete disaster on every count. I ended up in more debt than every before. I had to make concessions at my workplace for bad decisions. The list goes on and on.

The one thing I can tell you is that when events happen in your life without any effort is when you just know that you're on the right path.

• An unexpected layoff ends in a perfect job opportunity.
• Saving money on expenditures and only purchasing what naturally comes your way or is an obvious necessity provides financial stability.
• Asking your employer for a modified work schedule provides a less stressful day and better family life.

When life's events that you've wanted so badly come to  you effortlessly and without surprise is when they seem to be most certainly for your best good. Recently in my life I found myself experiencing something that I've wanted for months. When it happened there was no ticker-tape parade or gala event. It just happened. Something that I've wanted so badly for so long just happened. This of course has not happened for everything I have a longing for in my life. In looking back over my life I can see a pattern that the events that happen without incident are what should happen as if on some predetermined path of their own. I can also look back and know that when I tried to force my goals before they were ready is when I was actually moving backwards instead of forward.

I'm a firm believer in that what we think on and believe with all our hearts will one day come to pass. This has been written in both religious and self-help books over and over again. The Bible, Think and Grow Rich, As a Man Thinketh, the list goes on and on. What we think about can also have the effect on us in that it makes us make brash or quick decisions that we believe are taking us to our intended goal, but in fact are leading us farther and farther away.

Some tips on keeping your goals in focus and moving forward and to keep yourself from making bad decisions:

• Only spend money on what you absolutely need and only when you need it. Spending money to buy the cart before you even have the horses only leads to frustration and maybe even your kids pulling you around in the cart while you're waiting on the horses to arrive.
• Don't make snap decisions. Any decision that is of a large-scale can most times wait a few days. Don't make a decision that you will regret and only have to undo. Take time to think about the pros and cons. Gather with other smart individuals that are knowledgeable in the area of what you're seeking advice on.
• Look for hidden opportunities. There are usually opportunities in every situation for advancement towards your life's goals. A lot of the best opportunities come in the way of a job layoff or unexpected illness in the family. Hard times tend to bring out the character and strength of a person quicker than comfort and money.

This is my first post on self-development so bare with me while I improve on my writing skills and content. I hope this brings a little hope and knowledge to all those that need it.

Victor

I'm not a professional blogger by trade. I'm a software developer. I write software for a living, but my passion is in helping people and in a constant pursuit of improving my own abilities and helping those around me do the same. I completely believe with all my heart and soul that a person can with proper training and hard work become whatever they so desire. We may not all be capable of becoming the next Michael Jordon or Bill Gates, but we can come close. Why do I believe or trust in this? Because I was once a person with only the education of a high school drop out. I took a GED in my 12th grade of high school. Spent 16 years in the Marine Corps, and then taught myself how to become a software developer.

I hope to use this blog as a means of expressing what I believe to be truths in human excellence. I believe we can all be great. So to that end I will set a goal of writing at least two blog posts a week on this blog, maybe more.

I hope you like what I have to say, or even if you don't, let me know.

Believe in yourself.

Victor Boba

When I first started programming, I remember asking my big sister who programmed in Clipper at the time, "Will I ever know it all, does the learning ever stop?". To which she laughed for quite some time. I didn't understand at the time how funny and rediculous that question was.

Programming Languages I learned in succession:

Enough with the history lesson. Why did I outline the languages and dates? To provide evidence that there is not a gap any larger than 2 years between a new version being introduced. This means constant learning. Just when you think you have a version and language perfected, you get thrown into the fire with a new release. It never ends. And I like it that way.

If you like to be constantly challenged, then you're in the right career. If you're not capable of teaching yourself a new idea or concept, then maybe you should try another career path.

OK, so how exactly do you stay up to date with the current version of whatever language is your fancy?

Pretty much common sense really.

Can you read?

Then you can become whatever you want. I chose the path of becomming a software developer, or programmer as some call it. There are so many resources out there to learn to program that it’s almost too easy. I started learning to program from a book called Learn Visual Basic in 14-Days.

 I broke the spine on this book within the first 4 months. Duct tape was my friend, as it kept this book together. Most books are based on “Learn XYZ in 14 Days” and are an excellent place to start. Any visit to www.Amazon.com will get you want you need, or better yet just visit your local Barnes & Noble and browse the Computer/Programming section.

I’ll tell you a secret that most software programmers don’t want you to know. We really don’t read an entire book from cover to cover. When you see someone in the book store with one of those massive computer books and you’re thinking “Wow, that person’s really smart to be reading such a big book”, he’s really not that smart. Persistent maybe, but not necessarily smart. Most software programmers only buy books for maybe a chapter’s worth of information, the rest is throw-away.

So if you think you need to read an entire book of 800 pages just to start learning to program software, think again. Starting out to learn how to program just takes determination and persistence. If you like sitting at your computer, if you like the prospect of making on average over $40 hr, then go find a book. It’s really very simple. You just buy any book that starts with “Learn ??? in 14 Days” and you’ll be on your way.

Another secret of software developing. We rarely, if ever, know how to do everything that the client or customer wants us to do. More than not, we’re scouring the web, especially Google, on how to do a specific function in our programming language of choice (mine happens to be Microsoft’s C#). Typically, if we can’t find it in a book on our desk, it’s not in our brain, then it’s off to Google we go.

Some of the most popular and best paying programming languages to learn are:

1. PHP
2. C#
3. AJAX
4. JavaScript
5. Perl
6. C
7. Ruby and Ruby on Rails
8. Java
9. Python
10. VB.Net (Visual Basic .Net)

You can see the above list better defined from: http://tinyurl.com/5r6obl

So what are you waiting for? You can do it.

best wishes,

Victor Boba

Implementing CI as a business process in your product development, is quickly becoming the industry standard as another method to ensure quality work.

The reason CI brings value to your software development process is because it’s always checking the existing code-base to ensure it’s compiling.  It’s like having another developer on your team that their only purpose is to sit and look for changes in y our SCCS and run a solution rebuild and look for errors. In addition to looking for compile errors it can also run unit tests, installation scripts, code coverage, FxCop coding standards checks, the list goes on and on.

To add CI to your software project, all you need is a dedicated build server or workstation (the faster and more powerful the machine the better), CI software such as CruiseControl .Net by ThoughtWorks, and CC Tray also by ThoughWorks.

CruiseControl.Net will check for any changes to your source control and kickoff a build of the solution. While this build is running, the CCTray application (which is an application that runs in your System Tray) will visually notify you of its status. If the build fails you’ll be immediately notified of the failure by a System Tray popup as well as a log you can view that outlines who checked in the files and what the build errors were.

Steps to add Continuous Integration into your development process:

1. Install CruiseControl.Net onto a dedicated PC that’s not actively being used by a developer.
2. Setup CruiseControl.Net to integrate with the Source Code Control System of your choice.
3. Install CC Tray on each developers computer, pointing it to the build server (machine you just installed CruiseControl.Net onto).
4. That’s it, you’re done. Ready to start building quality software.

I’ll write more in a later post on the finer details of Continuous Integration and some gotchas to look out for.

One of the times she said that statement to me, it got me thinking. 

• What if we could live to be 102?
• How would we live our lives?
• How would we treat those around us?
• How would we view the world knowing we’d be here for a long time?

So that prompted me to start making a list I hope to make into a book someday.

1. I would not take what people say so seriously. If I disagree with them they will most likely change their views or I will change mine within the coming years.
2. I would dream less about what I’m not doing and enjoy more of what I am.
3. I would skip the drive-thru more often and enjoy the company of strangers inside the fast-food restaraunt.
4. I would enjoy exercise daily as an activity for enjoyment and not just for weight loss.
5. I would write my life as it unfolds in a daily journal for all to read.
6. I would be more tolerent of the decisions my parents make when raising me.
7. I would attend my childrens school functions more than my work duties. The job will always be there, the school functions will not.
8. I would complete a puzzle a day to keep my mind sharp and alert.
9. I would give money to the homeless when given the opportunity.
10. I would take care of what I own.
11. I would buy a new wardrobe every 10 years.
12. I would live on 90% of my income and save the rest.
13. I would master at least one fine art.
14. I would use all the technical equiment as long as I could before rushing out to purchase the latest and greatest.
15. I would volunteer more so I can make a difference.
16. I would show compassion to those who don’t understand me.
17. I would meet and introduce myself to strangers more often.
18. I would clean up after myself no matter where I am.

 I truly believe that age — if you’re healthy — age is just a number.

      HUGH HEFNER

If I knew I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.

      MICKEY MANTLE

As we grow older, we must discipline ourselves to continue expanding, broadening, learning, keeping out minds active and open.

      CLINT EASTWOOD