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Carry and Capture

Moleskine Notebook

Photo Courtesy of Alexandre Dulaunoy

Carry a notebook always.

I hope that was plain enough. Why you ask? In order to capture your thoughts and memories in a moment. How many times have you been sitting somewhere and an incredibly awesome idea hits you? You promise yourself that you are going to remember it. Two days later you have this nagging feeling like there was something important that you should have remembered and you just can’t figure out what it is.

I have either small blank cards, my pocket notebook, or my phone with me.  Even at night there are a few notebooks and a pen sitting on the table beside me.  There is always something around me that allows me to capture what I am thinking when an idea strikes.  Many of the blogs that I write come from these moments.  I’ll be driving down the road and a title will hit me.  As soon as I stop I hit the record button on my Evernote app and do a voice recording.  It syncs and when I sit down to do my writing I can listen to the recording easily.

If I am writing in my notebook I do a regular checks of it to see what I need to take care of.  I use a hard covered Moleskine pocket notebook.  They are very durable and don’t bend easily.

Regardless of the method you use make sure you have something on you where you can capture your thoughts at the moment.  When inspiration strikes you will be ready.  Maybe it is that million dollar idea or that book you want to write that all comes in that moment when you are not expecting it.  Always expect it.

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Resolve to Quit

New Year New MeIt may seem early to you that I am already talking about resolutions.  However, right now is the time you should be setting your goals for at least the first three months of 2014 and have a pretty good idea of what your major goals are for the year.

That being said I think it is time a lot of people give up a big habit.  It isn’t smoking or dieting.  I believe it is time to give up the resolutions and move on to creating breakthroughs and goals. You have heard but it’s time to really start setting goals and letting the resolutions fall by the wayside.

Studies show that 88% of people drop their resolutions by the end of January.  These big plans we have for ourselves and they only survive for four weeks?  I think there is something going on here.  That something is no real plan or target.

In order to succeed at something you have to have a specific measurable goal to shoot for.  Zig Ziglar said it best when he talked about the best archer in the world can’t hit the target blind folded.  In order to accomplish anything you have to know exactly what you are trying to accomplish.  Once you get this anything is truly possible!

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If you haven’t heard yet you can check out my new program called New Year New Me!  It is to help out with turning your resolutions into goals and doing it with liked minded people through teleseminars, one on one coaching, and group mastermind calls.  For more information you can visit http://www.newyearnew.me

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Are You Getting the Role You Want?

Auditions

Photo Courtesy of wetwebwork.

A few weeks ago I wrote about casting your own life and auditioning people for it.  After I published it I received a message from my magician friend Basil.  He mentioned that we are always trying to be cast ourselves in our dream role and that we never know which small part we are given by someone else might take us to our next level.

I loved his thinking here.  Not only are we auditioning other people they are auditioning us.  We want to play a role in their life because we want them to play one in ours.

Next time you run into a stranger treat them with dignity and respect.  Whether it is a customer in your business or someone you are running into randomly during the day, you never know what that person may hold for you or how much power and help you can give to them.

Several years ago I was selling a camera to a gentleman.  I took time with him and answered his questions.  I made sure he had all the information he needed to make a good decision.  Immediately after finishing the man hands me his business card and tells me if I was ever looking for a job to give him a call.  While I never took him up on that offer what if that card would have opened to doors to one of my dreams?

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Why Do You Go To Work?

Time Card

Photo Courtesy of Marcin Wichary.

There are very few things that you have to do in life. You have to eat, drink, and take care of yourself in order to survive but other than that there really isn’t anything that you have to do.

With that, why do you go to work? Is it because you enjoy it or because you need a pay check? If the answer is because you need a check I think you might need to look a little deeper as to the reason you go.

I am an advocate of doing work that you love. There really needs to be more of a reason to go to work than just to trade your time for money. You should enjoy what you do and find deeper meaning in going to work. If you don’t then it may be time to look for another line of work.

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” Martin Luther King Jr.

You have the choice to go to a job you hate tomorrow or to look for another job. If you do not enjoy your current employment then come up with an exit plan over the next 60 days. Put in applications, make phone calls and once you secure a job doing something you find meaning put in your notice and go do good work that matters to you.

Question: What is something that gives your current job meaning?

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You Need Mystery In Life

Mystery by Candlelight

Mystery by Candlelight by Glen Bledsoe.

Everyone needs some mystery in life.  Human Needs Psychology says that people need both certainty and uncertainty.  You want to know you are going to have a birthday party but you don’t want to know what you are going to get until you open the box.

People get their uncertainty from different places.  A haunted attraction at Halloween is full of them.  I am personally drawn to magic and professional wrestling because there is a mystery on the “inner workings” of these performances.  I love to know just enough to keep it interesting while wondering how that magician knew what card I chose!

Allow some mystery in your life.  Think of some ways that you can provide some mystery for the people in your world.

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Say No?

I Said No

Photo Courtesy of Roland Tanglao.

Is it time to say no?

It has been my experience that most humans are people pleasers.  They want to make everyone, at least in their immediate circle of family and friends, happy.  They do this at the sacrifice of themselves and their own time and at some point they start feeling drained or even resentful if the requests keep pouring in.
Do you think it is time you start telling people in your world ‘no’?
Chris Gillibeau in his book “The Art of Non-Conformity” says to ask “What is the worst thing that will happen if I say no?”  Most of the time the answer is nothing.  If it isn’t a life or death situation then you need to consider whether you want to spend your time doing the request.
This isn’t to say you should be self serving and only thinking of yourself.  There are plenty of times that you want to help others when asked.  But before you do consider all of the factors and whether you truly have the time to give at that moment.  Time is a precious thing so handle with care.
What was a time that you said yes to someone and after the fact realized you should have said no for one reason or another?
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Cast Your Life

Clapper Board and Reel

Image Courtesy of M4D Group

Think about your life as a television show for a moment. Season after season (year after year) you are the director, producer, editor, and caterer. You are the star and you get to control just about every aspect of what goes on. But would you like to know what your most powerful job is? You get to work in casting and decide who gets a spot in your show!

You get to choose the people who play a lead roll and those that are the extras in the background. Each role is your decision. You are the boss when it comes to casting and this task should never be given to anyone else. While characters will be introduced by other people you have full authority whether to give them a spot.

Choose carefully who you add into your life show. Audition those that you are considering for your cast and think about the role they will play carefully. Be gentle with those that you won’t be allowing to return next season and always keep open the possibility of a return spot if circumstances change.

And remember, give an award winning performance that you are proud of!  Your life show is your legacy for other generations!

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Your Great Concern

Abraham Lincoln“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” -Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln wanted to know if you were okay with your failure.  Are you?

I hope you are okay with having failed.  However, being okay with failure and also being just fine staying down are two different things.

Get up.  Dust off.  Correct errors. Start again.

Do these four things often enough and success will come to you.

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The World Is Full of Mondays – Good!

Fall - Natures Renewal

Photo courtesy of Ian Muttoo.

Do you feel like Mondays are a bad day for you?  Do you really dread going to work or starting a new week so much that you dread Monday and celebrate Friday?  If so, it is time to look at Mondays a little different; a day of renewal.

“The world is full of Mondays.”  Charlie Brown

If the world is full of Mondays like Charlie Brown says then it is time to make Monday your day to start off fresh.  Leave the bad things that happened the previous seven days behind and take the good things with you into the next week.  Go do good work and celebrate the greatness you have put into the world.  Start a Monday Morning Routine and think about what you are going to do great that day and kick off your week with a bang.

It doesn’t matter whether your work week starts on a Monday or a Saturday the same thing applies.  Go do good and serve others and Mondays can become like a day off.

What is something you do at the start of your week to get motivated?

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Back For Another Year!

100 Days To Christmas 2013I know it is odd to be talking about Christmas and the holidays in August (or maybe it isn’t if you check your stores). However, the earlier you start and the better you plan the less stressful and budget busting the season can be.

Last year I wrote a review for “100 Days to Christmas 2012” by Jennifer Tankersley which you can find here.  Well, the 2013 edition is being released today which you can find here.

The last couple years I have talked about the importance of setting up the Christmas budget and planning ahead.  This book allows you to do that a little each day from September 16 until December 25.  It takes a lot of the stress and guesswork out of holiday planning and provides you plenty of time to enjoy the season with family without worrying about the odds and ends of what you need to get done

The book is an instant download and along with the book you get 28 interactive lists (3 additional over last year) and 60 days free on ListPlanIt – Jennifer’s main site with all kinds of organizational goodies.

How much do I believe this book can help you?  Well, I am giving it away!  All you need to do is follow the instructions below and you’ll be entered.  You have until Sunday to enter and winners will be contacted by e-mail.

Form removed.  Giveaway has ended.  Congratulations to Michael D. and Emily C. for receiving a free copy of the book!

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Sum of the Parts

Puzzle Pieces

Photo Courtesy of Horia Varlan.

“We are the sum of all people we have ever met; you change the tribe and the tribe changes you.” Dirk Wittenborn, Fierce People

We are all the sum of who we meet, interact with, and let into our lives.

If the two people you hang out with this most are negative and always talking about bad things happening to them guess what your other friends probably hear you talk about the most?

There is also an economic theory that states if you take the five people your are closest to and average their income the result will be close to what you earn.  Not only can those around you influence your state of mind but they may also be influencing your income.

If you want positivity and good things happening around you then you have full control to set yourself up for that.  Stay away from the negative people.  Surround yourself with the cheerleaders who are rooting for you and those that want to see you succeed.

I know this can be hard because the process means you leave people behind or remove them from your life altogether.  But the quicker you realize you can’t change other people but you can change yourself the quicker you can move into the life you want.

If you must leave someone behind you can always help them back into your life when they are ready to make a change.  Think of it like taking a break rather than leaving them out of your life.  Be ready to help those that need your help.

“You are, in fact, a mashup of what you choose to let into your life.  You are the sum of your influences.”  Austin Kleon, Steal Like An Artist

Question:  Are there people in your life that are always negative that you need to take a break from?

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My Dear Watson…

Magnifying Glass and Clouds

Photo Courtesy of Kate Ter Haar

The first step to fixing any problem is to identify exactly what the problem is.  Have you ever had someone ask you to do something and your first response is “I’m busy!” yet they haven’t even told you what it is they were wanting?  It became a problem for you and you don’t even have the full request.

‘Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth.’

Sherlock Holmes

-The Sign of Four

Anytime you feel like something is a problem take a breath before responding.  Figure out exactly what the core issue is.  As above, the core issue is you don’t have any free time.  If take a minute and respond calmly to find out what they want and you decide you need to provide assistance then your problem is not that they asked something of you but you need to find where you can put it in your day.  Now you can work on the problem.

As Sherlock Holmes said, eliminate all other factors to get to your real problem and then you can begin to work on it.  Until then you are playing a game with a perception.  Go search for truth detective.

 

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Serve Them Well

Serve others.  If you have read self development materials for any length of time you have heard this and for good reason – it is the root to many good things in life.

“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar

When you serve other people you are able to release stress and get out of a depressed state.  You can do many things to serve:  be in the military, donate time to a non-profit, or even creating a product that fills a need and makes you rich is still an example of serving others because you have filled a need and brought it to the marketplace.

Recently our car was totaled in an accident when a vehicle hit ours from behind (nobody was seriously injured).  Of course, it is can be a nerve racking experience.  Questions are up in the air and you are lost if you have never been through one before on what to do about getting your vehicle repaired, rental cars, etc.  However, it was made a lot easier thanks to my agent who took the time to explain things to me and the other person’s insurance adjuster who was there to serve us.  They should both feel good about what they do and the help they provide in moments like they deal with.

The more people you serve the better your life and those around you can be.  A service animal serves the need of their owner but the owner, in turn, provides for the needs of the animal.  Along with that service comes a bonding friendship between the two.  This can be achieved with people as well as animals.

Figure out a way to serve many and go do that.  Impact millions and make life better for everyone around.

“Service to many leads to greatness-great respect, great satisfaction.” Jim Rohn

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100 Things

Moe the Sloth

Jennifer feeding Moe the Sloth at Cincinnati Zoo.

In episode four of “This Is Your Life” Michael Hyatt talks about giving out legal pads and having his family right down 100 things they would like to do in their life.  He called it a goal list or dream list (as he says, this was before he knew of the term bucket list – I like dream list better).

I think everyone needs to make one of these and push yourself to 100 as he suggests.  Why?  You will be amazed at the results you can have just by putting pen to paper.  Share them with your family and strive to accomplish everything on it.

One of the big list items for my wife was meeting a sloth.  Thanks to Allison Gibbs and Kate Olukalns at the Cincinnati Zoo she was able to mark this off last month.  We were also able to walk in New York City which was something both of us had wanted to do for some time.

Moe and Kate

Moe with pal Kate Olukalns.

Nothing is to wild and crazy for the list and don’t leave anything off. From eating at a specific restaurant to traveling the world, anything you want to do should be on the list. You never know when you can make it happen or someone makes it happen for you.

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1,972 Debt Free Miles

Debt Free Miles

Magic Kingdom from the bridge.

Some people wonder what the point of becoming debt free is.  They figure they have owed someone money their entire life so why not keep going?  I’ll tell you that one reason that is important to me is travel.

I greatly enjoy going places with my family.  By getting out of debt we have been able to experience so much in the last few years.  In fact, exactly one year ago today we started our 1,972 mile driving journey!

If there are things you want to do but don’t think you have the money for it then there are a couple things you can do to find the money:

*Do a written budget each month.
*Work on getting out of debt.
*Eliminate eating out until you are debt free.
*Visit sites like Money Saving Mom and Save The Coupons for a list of deals for your shopping trips.

All of this comes down to one thing – FOCUS!  Focus your attention on paying for that trip of a lifetime and take steps to make it happen.  Focus on eliminating your debt.  Focus on your written budget so you know where your money is going so you can get out of debt.

Ready to get started?  You can download this free Guide To Budgeting to help you.