Attitude Adjustment, Generating Wealth
- Home
- Tag: change your mindset
Performance & Productivity, Personal Development
5 Ways To Stop Being Absolutely Broke
I'd love to say all of these are my ideas, but they are not. They are the result of someone asking the question "Has anyone ever been able to go from absolutely broke to making a comfortable living". It was asked on Reddit and I've read every single answer to find the best ones.
I was living in my car ...
I was living in my car when someone broke my window and took all my clothes. I'm making a little over $100k now, but this is 15 years later. I had no credit, but somehow was approved at Target for a $200 store credit card. I used that to buy shoes/clothes and went on to job interviews. I landed a job working at a 24-hour call center overnight for some insurance company. I put allot of overtime and started with the basics. (I never paid the store credit card, but I did go to a junk yard to get a new car window.) I started a bank account for direct deposit on my pay, used my first $250 for an apartment. (Shitty studio, with no bedroom.) I had no furniture except for what other tenants thru away. I started one class of community college a semester, added more as I could afford to pay them in cash. I took 4 years to finish an associate degree with a focus of study in business. I landed a better job, continued to a 4-year degree ... and just kept bettering my skills and resume. (Government Grants, not loans.).
I own my own home, have a fully paid car, and live a comfortable life now. I was lucky enough to not ever need a hospital. Luck and planning ... don't live a wistful life, use every little thing you have to its fullest. (I still eat ramen every now and then.)Don't live a wistful life, use every little thing you have to its fullest.
Dead broke at 21 ...
Dead broke at 21, lowest credit score possible, no car because repossessed, no license because suspended for nonpayment of speeding tickets. Homeless, sneaking into girlfriend’s house to sleep.
Spent my days at the library when my gf worked, reading about great people, changing your life, etc. Used their computers and internet to send or print free resumes. Got into the only, yet likely best occupation that will take a person like that and offer real opportunity for a hard worker, commissioned sales.
Sucked for weeks, awkward, stuttering, not knowing the product well. To be completely honest I cried the first two days I came home, for the first time since I was a child. Just felt hopeless and a huge failure, but I resisted the urge to no show and went to work the following day and the day after.
Each week I got better, started making sales, within 6 months I was pulling in $2000+ weekly commissions.
I just outworked everyone else, I came in early 6am to make calls overseas, stayed late to make calls on the west coast, answered emails at home.
I left within the first year to start my own company, I had learned exactly what the company was doing and realized I could offer the same services. It wasn't easy, but it's 15 years later and I employ 17 people, I earn all different amounts as the owner but never under $600,000 and on good years quite a bit more.
I was a fuck up my whole life OP, took an extra year to get out of high school, no college, destroyed any credit line given to me, quit jobs for no reason, or just not show up because I was tired.
You can wake up a year from now in a completely different life. You might have to jump around to a few opportunities, but keep your expenses dirt cheap, game plan, exploit any advantage to save money safely as in don't live in a crack den, but a trailer is fine.
You sound like you have good self-control, which is more than I had, and it took me many years to get my impulses under control.You can wake up a year from now in a completely different life
I was hopeless and desperate ...
I sold everything I owned, left the state where I used to live with $600 to my name (about to be evicted, and $30000 in debt), in a 12 year old car with expired plates, a wonky transmission, and a bad u-joint, drove halfway across the country to move in with my brother and his wife and their kids, with no prospects and no idea what I was going to do. I was hopeless and desperate, a complete failure at 40 years old. I looked for work for a few months as I taught myself to code, and finally got a contract job for six months, which was extended, and finally after 18 months was offered a full-time job. I moved into an apartment.
It's seven years later, my debts are paid, I'm at a different (better) job, making $90k a year, and my gf and I are buying a house. I had no hope and no prospects seven years ago. It slowly got better by taking a chance, working hard, and having good people around me that I could rely on. Don't give up.It slowly got better by taking a chance, working hard, and having good people around me that I could rely on.
It's a lot of work and not hanging out with friends ...
Started learning programming on YouTube at 18 while working retail and totally broke, $40k programming job at 19, $50k at 20, $90k at 21, $110k at 23, $120k at 25. Own a house and all that jazz. Programming is one of the few things I see a lot of nerds getting 6 figure salaries without a degree. Echoing what everyone else has said, it's a lot of work and not hanging out with friends, but worth it. I'm definitely happy with my current lifestyle, keep your head up.Programming is one of the few things where I see a lot of nerds getting 6 figures without a degree
Got kicked out, dropped out of school ...
Yep. 2 years ago, I was a broke college student living with family. Got kicked out, dropped out of school, and started jockeying for more hours at my almost-minimum wage job. Today, I make about 50k, and I still work for the same employer. I'm not a rags-to-riches story like others in this thread, but I just bought my first house, I'm financially secure, and I live pretty comfortably. Granted, I'm a single guy with no kids, but I'm sure you could live comfortably on that kind of money too.
Here's what I did:
I bettered myself. On my own time, and sometimes with my own money, I got certified as a wine sommelier, a forklift operator, and got my CPR/AED/First Aid certifications. When promotion time came around, I wrote an eloquent letter of interest highlighting not only my unique skill set, but also my initiative in acquiring said skills without being prompted to do so. Don't think that going back to school is the only way to educate yourself. Find something that provides incontrovertible proof that you're going to work your ass off to keep getting better at what you do if they pick you for that promotion.
I took an interest in general leadership. I had no formal management experience, but when a management position opened up, I highlighted my experience with student government in college and being an NCO of Marines.
I worked on my credit. Gained 80 points in 2 years, paid off some collections, kept my nose clean. You need to take care of that shit with your mom. She screwed you by kicking you out and endangered her grandchild's future ... so if I were you, I'd start prioritizing your kid over your mom. When your credit is dogshit, the first step to improving it is having some awkward conversations with your creditors. That's part of being a man, I'm afraid.
I kept living like a broke college student even after getting pay raises. I highly recommend subscribing to /r/frugal and /r/MealPrepSunday for some inspiration on how to live simply and economically.
Also … buy a slow cooker. It will pay for itself many, many times over even within the first year you have it.
I kept applying for jobs I didn't think I could get. They kept giving them to me anyway. I worked hard on my letter, I prepped for the interview ... and sometimes, other people didn't bother applying and I didn't have much competition. You don't have to be the perfect applicant; you just have to be the best one who bothered to put themselves out there.Don't think that going back to school is the only way to educate yourself. Find something that provides incontrovertible proof that you're going to work your ass off to keep getting better at what you do.
If you want to read every response you can find the entire thread at:
Performance & Productivity, Personal Development
Thirteen Jacked Up Things That Are Pissing Away Your Life
This morning I was thinking about my constant effort to improve my productivity and energy management. The world is fighting against people that want to be productive, smart, efficient and ambitious. You have to always be on your toes and proactively plan your life so life doesn't take control of you. This post (like so many others) was written partially as a reminder to myself about the bad habits of the past that have killed my goals in life. I hope it opens your eyes and helps guide you towards the light of happiness.
TV is putting stupid things into your head.
Two of the worst types of content that are available on TV are the news and reality shows. Both are entertainment masked as reality. We often forget that, so we start using the content generated by those two categories as reality. TV news allows anybody that is entertaining to get on the air and say whatever they want and have it been presented as facts. And being wrong about your local and world events is worse than being ignorant. If you are ignorant you can say "I don't know". If you are wrong, you'll spread the wrong information to several more people before a mistake is discovered. Reality TV shows makes stupid people famous. And then they make our kids want to be like these stupid people.
Solution for both …
Ingest less random TV. Plan your shows. And know what you are watching. Seek out quality and educational shows. Just because something on news station does not mean it is news. It is often more entertainment than news.
Facebook is putting stupid things into your head.
Combine the ability for anybody to put up a website that can say anything (i.e. Fake news sites) and the awesome feature for information to spread like wildfire (social media), and you have the perfect storm to spread FUD (Fear, uncertainty and doubt). I've noticed a disturbing trend from my friends on social media. They are sharing information that they received via social media from websites that look like news. I am not referring to great sites like "The Onion" which is the king of all websites and does not pretend to be real. I am referring to the countless other sites which present a non-stop stream of conspiracy theories. It seems that we would rather believe something that sounds outrageous and far-fetched than the truth. I believe these sites are hurting our ability to stay objectively informed about topics that matter. Solution: Before you share news that sounds outrageous, please start performing due diligence and ensure that the story has some basis in fact. If not, please don't share it.
You are comparing your life to mine, to your neighbors, and the to the multi-millionaire whose book you read.
It is important to remember that all of us are on separate journeys. You wake up in the morning with a completely different set of goals and values than I wake up with. You don't know my dark struggles and I don't know yours. So, when you have an amazing amount of success, I should not be judging my life against yours. You likely worked hard and deserve every bit of it. Rather than being jealous I need to focus on my hustle, so I get closer to my goals and dream. I've written about this before in "Vanity and Jealousy are not part of the Success Equation".
You are eating crap pretending it is food.
Just like the television is putting crap into your head, we are putting crap into our mouths. Start being more aware of what you are eating and what it contains. Example: You've heard that chicken is good for you, but this is highly dependent on the way it is prepared. You've been hearing it since you were a kid and I'll emphasize it again here: It is hard to go wrong eating too many fruits and vegetables. I've spent a lot of time in elementary schools and the kids there are getting crap fed to them also. What goes into our mouths directly affects our moods and our energy levels. You should not let anything questionable past your teeth.
If you want to get a good idea of how the food you are eating is affecting your body, start using the MyFitnessPal website and mobile app. I've started using this recently to track my food intake and it has given me some great insight about the number of and types of calories that I am ingesting.
You refuse to exercise.
Thanks to technology we have a world filled with more information workers than ever before in history. Entire corporations are filled with people that are glued to a computer screen 12 hours a day. The lack of movement is killing our short-term and long-term health. If you don't want to be hobbling around just waiting to die when you are 50, then make regular exercise a part of your weekly routine. Don't over complicate it. Most of the basic exercise that we have learned since we were kids will work. But anything counts. If you do nothing right now, then get up and go walk 1/2 mile away from your house and 1/2 mile back.
If you are working in a building that allows breaks, go outside and walk around the building a couple of times. Please take your physical health seriously. It is not something that you can get to "someday".
You are spending time judging other people's bedrooms.
Stop being so concerned with what other people are doing behind closed doors. What I do with whom and when does not affect your life. You have a good time in your bedroom, and I'll have a good time in mine.
You love playing politics.
I am sure that politics used to be a noble profession. But it has lost its value. Most of the time if I am a Democrat and you are a Republican, you instantly must hate me. You instantly assume everything about me because you've been told on TV or on the internet what a horrible person I am because of my party. Politicians also spend a lot of time fighting to be "in control". Let's start working more as individuals with a common goal to better our country and our community. No two people in the same party believe the same way about everything. We really should be allowed to register as Independent without being penalized. We are independent people with independent thoughts on the topics that affect us. Stop fighting just to fight.
You are all talk and zero action.
This is the entire reason I started StopDoingNothing so I won't go into this one too deeply. Every blog post on the site deals with this topic. Remember that a poorly executed plan that has started is better than the perfect plan on paper waiting to start.
Even Elvis knew this
You spend too much time on Buzzfeed and related sites.
This is somewhat related to the post above about wasting time on the internet. Pay close attention to where you spend your time online. All websites are doing their best to keep you on their site for as long as possible. The longer you stay on a website the more of a chance you will buy something. So please think twice before clicking over to the next article you see about "20 Things That 80s Kids Will Totally Get" or before taking that next quiz to see what kind of dog that you would be. That article will likely contribute nothing to your education or goals, but it will eat into the time you spend working on your aspirations.
You believe that the weekend was created for you to do nothing.
Most of us have grown up in a "Monday to Friday 40-hour work week" kind of world. We've been conditioned to believe that Saturday and Sunday are days that we should relax so we can be ready to repeat the pattern of insanity on Monday morning. A better way of looking at your week is that you have 168 hours to accomplish whatever your soul desires. If you have to be strapped to a desk during the week while you work on your dream, then take advantage of weekends to get ahead. Start waking up early on the weekend. Treat them like any other productive day. People that are successful don't care about when something gets done. They treat everything as urgent and take advantage of all available time to make their dreams happen.
Start hustling more on the weekends.
You talk bad about other people.
Spend less time complaining about other people and more time looking in the mirror. Nobody is perfect. We don't have the right to judge our neighbors just because we sin differently than they do. If all of us focused on improving our own lives more we would not have time for caring what our friends are doing, how they are doing it or who they are doing it with.
You don't read enough.
See my note above about watching TV. You rarely gain a lot of knowledge from the TV because it is primarily designed to sell advertising. However, books allow you to focus on a single topic uninterrupted. When you are learning from a book it is not going to pause for a 30 second commercial. There is not going to be a book that pops up over the book telling you about the next book that is coming up. All the smart people that I know are always reading. Go find your closest library and start spending more time there looking for the books that have knowledge you wish to acquire.
You are not in the moments of your life.
We are addicted to our technology, and it is killing our face-to-face relationships. When you pick up a phone while you are sitting face-to-face with somebody, you are saying that what is on that screen is more important than the person in front of you. There are no emergencies in our phone. Unless you get a call from a relative or your kid's school about something, every email, phone call and text can wait until the meeting is over. Before we had phones in our pocket, we would get calls on our home phones. If we weren't there, the person on the other end would leave a message or call back later. That is how you should treat your cell phone. Take advantage of your voicemail and let most call go there. Cell phone calls and text kill productivity. And doubly so if you are having a meeting with someone. Start being 100% in the moment that you are in and put your technology aside.
Share this list with your friends on social media and challenge them to fight this list.
~ Patrick
(@patrickallmond on Twitter)
Performance & Productivity, Personal Development
Are Your Friends Holding You Back From Amazing Success?
Attitude Adjustment
How To Balance Long-Term With Urgent – One Task At A Time
Quick, do this exercise.
Think of all the short-term tasks you completed yesterday, like replying to emails, fixing glitches on your web site, answering the phone, updating Facebook status, making lists, and waiting for people to confirm their appointments. All valuable. None pay the bills.
In the course of a day most people spend most minutes putting out fires, tinkering with details, making lists and procrastinating. It’s called the Parkinson Principle - work expands to fill the time allotted.
What about long-term projects. How much time do you invest every day moving those projects ahead?
- I’m thinking projects like:
- Designing your next product launch
- Getting help to build an advertising campaign
- Writing that book you’ve been talking about since 2001
- Outsourcing your social media (that’s eating up a hour a day)
- Using customer feedback to update your product
- Getting your accounting up-to-date
Those projects move the needle forward. The trick is to employ a system where long-term goals drive your actions, not hoping you'll find more time (mysteriously) later.
Here are three died-in-the-wool systems that will help you balance long-term objectives with urgent tasks. I have taught these systems to thousands of people and they are always the most popular parts of my time management seminars.
1. Work from a Flight Plan:
Once a week you need to create a Flight Plan - a short list of essential objectives to complete by next Friday. This is not another “To-Do” list full of miscellaneous tasks and “leftovers” from last week -- instead it’s mission-critical work that moves your long-term projects forward and gets you closer to your goals.
Start with “Boulders” (the big goals for the year): what “Chunks” of Boulders can you complete this week? It might be setting up a meeting, research, or outsourcing - the trick is to have something every week that keeps your Boulders rolling forward.
Next, add in one-off, time-sensitive tasks. Be as specific as possible - “Post job in upwork.com for graphic design” is better than “Get help with graphic design”.
Once you have your Flight Plan, keep it visible and drive all your actions toward completing it before the weekend.
2. Remove Distractions:
A distraction could be that sticky note that’s been on your desk for two months, or a full Inbox screaming “look at me!” Minor in the moment, distractions have a way of gnawing away at your focus and making it difficult to complete. Boundaries (creating time slots when you are strategically unavailable) and Blocking (creating appointments with yourself) are two systems to start with. Here are some other fast solutions:
Take 10 minutes and purge your desk of anything not immediately needed (yes, that includes that stack of business cards from the last conference you attended).
Unsubscribe from email lists that you no longer want. Yes, this will take time (you can outsource this) but think of the distractions that will disappear every day.
Get all your lists in one place -- this includes calendars. If you aren’t using that cool app on your phone every day, it’s likely not needed. Delete it.
Create a list for the month and a “someday” list in Evernote. These are un-prioritized holding zones. Do not look at these except once a week when you update your Flight Plan.
3. Practice Triage:
In an emergency, paramedics practice triage. They often can’t attend to everything and everyone immediately, so they make hard decisions about what can wait. You need to do the same.
Jumping from one task to another, without completing what you started is a recipe for anxiety and failure. I am often surprised how much more effective I can be working from a cafe with no Internet connection, as opposed to my office where I am fully connected.
When a distraction comes up (“I’ll just take a minute and check out their web site”), resist. If this does not contribute to your Flight Plan it can wait. Tough love in the moment will pay big love dividends long-term.
Bio:
Hugh Culver co-created the world’s most expensive tours (to the South Pole), started five companies, and teaches experts the business of speaking. Read his blog on the business of speaking.
Performance & Productivity, Personal Development
How To Get Unstuck And Started (Even If You Love To Procrastinate)
We’ve all been there. You have. I have. Stuck.
Maybe you need to get your sales up or write a book. Maybe you need to deal with a staffing issue (or you need staff). Whatever the reason…being stuck sucks.
The good news is there are hacks that’ll get you unstuck, moving and productive again.
Before we get to that …
Advice is like water. Everyone needs it, but we don’t give it much credit for making life happen. Ask a person in the middle of a desert if water is “helpful” and you’ll get a different story. Why?
When you recognize the “cost” of being stuck the solution is much, much more valuable. So, before we dive into solutions I know work, think for a minute about the alternative. What is the real cost of being stuck?
If you don’t pick up the phone and call the client back. If you don’t create a deadline and start working on that book. If you don’t create those emails and ask people for the sale.
Procrastination has a cost.
Feel it? Good. Now, let’s move to getting you unstuck.
Ten ways to get unstuck, moving, and productive again.
1. Get real.
Think how many decisions you’ve to make in your life. In a year’s time this will seen minor, so why not just do it?
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Churchill
2. Take a break.
When you focus your attention on a task completely unrelated, your mind can return to the original task refreshed and with a new perspective.
"Never taking a break from thought work actually reduces your ability to be creative" - Kimberly Elsbach, UC-Davis
3. Get physical.
Stand, stretch, go for a run, walk your dog -- physical movement increases the flow in your circulatory system, releases feel-good neurotransmitters (like Dopamine, and Serotonin) and puts you in a positive mood.
“Exercise is like fertilizer for the brain … it’s so good it’s like Miracle Gro.” - Dr. John Ratey, Harvard.
4. Stop doing list.
What is filling your time AND holding you back? Make a list (Jim Collins calls it your ‘Stop Doing list’) -- one of the fastest ways to get started is to stop doing those low-value tasks that are chewing up your time.
“The "stop doing" list became an enduring cornerstone of my annual New Year resolutions.” - Jim Collins, author From Good to Great
5. Change your environment.
Clear the desk clutter, work from a local cafe, use paper instead of computer -- sometimes, a change is as good as a start.
"As a species, humans have evolved to respond to novelty, once we've become accustomed to something, we may grow immune to its effects. - Hugh Thompson, Ph.D
6. Be kind to yourself.
It’s easy to blame yourself -- don’t. You’ve been here before; you are capable and you will succeed. Have faith you will get through this period, just like every other time.
“Practicing self-compassion provides us with the kind voice and warm embrace we need in difficult times so we courageously do the right thing.” – Forbes
7. Let go of the past.
It’s hard to get started when your attention is on what didn’t work in the past. Take a deep breath, let it go and focus on what you want to create in the today, for the future.
“Once we start a task, it is rarely as bad as we think.” - Tim Pychyl, Ph.D
8. Get advice.
Usually we can’t see the forest for the trees when we’re too close to the problem. Ask a good friend, hire a coach - even ask on-line. And then listen.
“When you ask for advice, people do not think less of you; they think you are smarter.” - Maurice Schweitzer, PhD of the Wharton School
9. Create a deadline.
A little tension (like a deadline) can move mountains and end procrastination. Give yourself a Decision Deadline (for the full project or a practical solution) and stick to it.
“Deadlines allow us to clarify our thoughts and create an action plan.” - Dan Ariely, Ph.D
10. Create tiny wins.
Frustrated about sales? Call one prospect. Want to lose weight? Start walking 20 minutes a day. Need to apologize? Write a card. Any forward motion is a tiny win in the right direction.
“When you feel good about what you did, your brain will change. It will want to do the behavior again in the future. That leads to making the habit stronger.” - B.J. Fogg, Ph.D
Ten ways to get moving. All work. Only one question ... what are you doing here (get started).
Bio:
Hugh Culver co-created the world’s most expensive tours (to the South Pole), started five companies, and teaches experts the business of speaking.
Read his blog on the business of speaking.
Performance & Productivity, Personal Development
Four Ways To Break Through the Wall
Let’s be honest, at some point we all hit a wall. A Plateau. A Bad Day. Writer’s Block. Whatever you might call the moment when things stop working. It is a natural part of reaching for a goal. It’s just a part of life. How you handle that moment is crucial though. If handled wrong the wall becomes too big to overcome, and we become frustrated, irritable, and maybe worst of all, we give up. If we handle the moment well, the wall becomes a hurdle. It doesn’t mean it doesn’t take work or time to overcome, but we soon find ourselves back on track to achieving our goals. Here are a few ways to handle those moments when we hit a wall in our life.
Take a Break.
We work hard. Life can get busy. Sometimes we hit the wall when we are tired, and that makes the wall bigger than it actually is. It is OK to take a break. Walk away from the wall for a while. Part of this is being aware of your situation and self. To be honest enough to take a real break. I know this is difficult for us when we are striving to achieve a goal. But when you feel rested, you might discover that the wall was not that big in the first place.
Ask for Help.
This option is also hard to do sometimes. Our pride gets in the way, but consider that great athletes have coaches, great writers have editors, and simply, CEOs have friends. We are people, not machines. Getting someone else’s perspective on a situation is a valuable asset in overcoming a “wall” moment. When working on a goal, our focus can actually blind us from seeing new opportunities or hurdles that trip us up. Life is a team sport; you don’t have to do it alone.
Try a New Approach.
One way around a wall is a new approach. Asking for help can lead us to consider new approaches. But we can figure it out sometimes when we hit a wall, and we hit a wall, and we hit it again. If we keep doing the same thing and keep hitting a wall, it is time to change. As a coach and teacher, I am always evaluating the outcome of a lesson or practice plan. Track is the best example here. As a track coach I paid attention to my runners’ times for their events. If they didn’t improve their time after a few weeks, I knew I had to change their training. The same holds true in our pursuit of a goal. Hitting a wall, especially a couple of times, is a sign to try a new approach.
Learn.
The last approach may be the most important, learn. When we move into a new area of life or step closer to a goal, we are entering new territory. And we might not have the knowledge or skills for this step forward. My first novel has been out for six months. Sales started out well, in fact, I sold a couple of hundred copies. But now sales are almost to a stop. I have hit a wall. This wall is because of my lack of knowledge about promoting a book. It will take some time, but I am learning about different ways to self-promote and hiring an agency to promote a book. This wall was created because I had not gained the knowledge needed to promote a book well. Hitting a wall is a part of striving for a goal. It is part of life. Using one of these strategies should help you get through the moment and back on track.
Bio:
Jamey Boelhower is a husband and a father of six. He is currently an Instructional Coach and an adjunct professor for Central Community College, Nebraska.
You can read his regular blog “It Is All Connected” by clicking here.
And you can follow him on twitter at @jdog90.
Business Mastery, Performance & Productivity, Personal Development
Video: You Are Where You Are Because Of Your Rituals
If you want to model successful people, the first thing you should be looking at are their rituals. Look at every detail including such minor things as:
- What do they do every morning when their feet hit the ground?
- How often do they read?
- How often do they check email?
- How much time do they spend exercising?
- How much time do they spend marketing their business?
- Who do they socialize with during their downtime?
Take 15 minutes and watch the video on this page. It will change your life if you let it.
The amazing part about massive success to me is that people are trying to hard when it is one of the easiest things that is attainable.
Watch people that have succeeded before you and copy them.
Performance & Productivity, Personal Development
The Average Saturday vs. The Kickass Saturday
Welcome to Saturday morning.
It is time to wake up and be average. Because that that is what most people will do. They'll relish the fact that they can sleep in because their POS job makes them get up at the same time every week. They get up, turn on the TV, make coffee, and land on the couch. They'll do everything they can do to avoid any working or learning. And around noon they'll start hooking up with their friends to see where they are going to get drunk tonight.
This can be you. Or you can opt for the kickass Saturday.
You can get up and be a high achiever. You can wake up earlier than you do the rest of the week because this ENTIRE day is yours to create. You can drink 32oz of water right away and stay standing up because doing both will wake you faster than the strongest cup of coffee out there. You can look around your house and start arranging things in ways that facilitate success. You can spend time learning something new online that will help you start that hobby or business that you wanted. You can go down to the local gym, get a tour, join, and put GYM VISIT on your scheduled at a 3 day/week appointment that you will not miss. You can go through your cupboards and throw out all of the crap that is unhealthy. You can start getting rid of a ton of stuff around the house you don't use and take it to Goodwill so somebody else can benefit. And you can call a friend or two that has kickass life you want to have and take them to dinner and pick their brain.
You can make this day kickass or you can be average.
You'll never get the chance back. You can try to do it next Saturday but odds are if you blow it off now you'll blow it off then too.
Don't waste it.
Attitude Adjustment
10 Happy Things To Think About When You Open Your Eyes
The first one to five minutes after you wake up and open your eyes can frame your entire day. There are two thoughts that you have for every action. The first one is the decision whether or not to do a 'thing' that you know we have to get done. But the second often overlooked thought process is your attitude about the 'the thing' that must get done.
The attitude about getting something done can make the task miserable or joyful.
But to control that you must always be working on the conscious attitudes about what you are getting ready to do. The most important time that you need control your attitudes (or "meta thoughts") are when you open your eyes in the morning. Here are some suggested thoughts for when you open your eyes each day.
"Holy cow. I'm alive for another day."
"There is a roof over my head. I am very grateful for that."
"Somebody else in the world loves me enough to want to share my bed with me. Oh cool. Look at that. She/He is right there. "
"I need to get this body hydrated and moving. If I don't take care of it, it will fall apart on me. A well-maintained pain-free body will allow me to accomplish my dreams and goals faster."
"Am I up early? Time to get a jump on the competition. Those suckers are still in bed. (Unless they are reading the same blog post I read on StopDoingNothing.com about morning thoughts)"
"I am thankful that I have a smart kid who is not in jail or addicted to any substance."
"How can I use my time today to improve the life of the other people in this house?"
"How can I best use my time today to improve the life of another person outside of this house?"
"Who can I learn from today who knows more than me and can boost my intelligence?"
"Do not get involved in petty arguments on or offline. They zap energy, make me defensive, are rarely productive, and they take time away from living my dreams."
I'd love to hear what you think about when you wake up.
Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Performance & Productivity, Personal Development
Video: The Importance Of Imperfect Daily Action
This is this the phrase that I have on my cell phone home page: Imperfect Daily Action.
In reminds that small forwards steps are the best way forwards towards any achievement. It also helps me accept my imperfection and not get so down on myself for minor setbacks. Watch the video and let me know what you think.
Leadership Lessons
Do You Want To Make A Difference In The World?
A lot of people want to make a difference in the world. But I can tell you from personal experience that the best you can do is to try and make a difference in a single life. Find someone who desperately needs something you have: Street smarts, intelligence, business wisdom, a shoulder to cry on, etc. Give THAT to a single person and you will make a world of difference to them. Don't try to change the world. Make life better for a single person at a time. Your ripple will make the world better in ways you'll never fully be able to realize.
Page 1 of 8