New Year

16 September was the start of my personal new year. A chance to reflect on the one that had just finished, and of course a chance to decide just what I want my next 12 months to look like.

I don't use January 1st to set my personal new year's revolutions, but the day of my birth - it makes it far more personal that way. It is of course also VERY close to the last 100 days of the calendar year so I can combine the 2 successfully and really step up my game. As you know I am constantly looking for ways I can do just that, and now my health is back on track after a recent bout of flu, my training regime is about to become insane.

But - the first things I decided to put into place was how I was going to spend the first 2 hours of each working day. I am definitely a morning person and get more done if I have 1 other simple thing in place and I've worked out the WHAT I need to focus on when I get to my desk - the night before.

Sounds simple doesn't it. But not when you work with a gaggle of other people all vying for each other's attention. So what to do?

Simple, I am not going to open the Internet, social media aggregators or Internet e-mail until such time as I have dealt with at least the first 3 things off my must do lists.

So far, so fantastic it makes me wonder why I didn't put that one into place ages ago.

Try it, it might work well for you.

1) Write your must do tomorrow list (I tend to use e-mail and send myself a message) as I am finishing my work day, so I can switch off from my working day and focus on others things such as personal training, spending time talking to the kids, dinners and of course speaking to you, before I start getting ready for tomorrow. Then:

2) When you get to work, open up your list and begin. It's amazing just what you can achieve when everyone else is faffing around talking about nothing in particular while checking the daily deals websites and social media sites.

Let me know your thoughts...

How can I be better than I was yesterday

If you made a 1% improvement across your life today and for the next 93 days, by the end of the year you will be 94% better off than you were today. Or if you apply that same principle to an entire year, you will be 365% better by the end of a year.

While long term goals are important to have, NOW is all the time we have. Now, this minute - that's it.

The question is, what are you doing with your NOW?

Few of us can honestly say we give anywhere near 100% all of the time. In fact it is probably impossible to give 100% to everything all of the time. That being said, few of us work anywhere near our own personal capacity. Fewer still are willing to push the boundaries so far they can't remember what their comfort zone actually feels like.

All I ask, is that you do better today than you did yesterday,
Eat one more healthier meal than unhealthy,
Swap the fries for salad,
Take out 1 teaspoon of sugar or remove 1 sweetener from your daily intake,
Do an extra rep on your exercises at the gym,
Put an extra weight on the plate,
Run for a minute longer,
smoke 1 less cigarette,
eat 1 more piece of fruit,
Write for an extra 5 minutes per day,
Study for an extra 5 minutes before you take break,
Make one more phone call,
Write one more letter,
Watch 1 less TV show each week.

Day after day, you make a conscious decision to improve each area of your life, and slowly, as if brick by brick you replace the old you and way of living and doing things, with the person you were destined to become.

Try

"If at first you don't succeed ... why do you keep on repeating the same mistakes?"

I am a big believer in trying and re-trying something, but only if I know that what I am doing is wrong, and I am trying to work out just exactly WHAT I did wrong.
It's like hitting the tennis ball over the net ... no, that stroke didn't work, ok I need more power, less top spin, more ... you get the point ...

But what if the person is just hitting the ball and doesn't change his / her stroke - what is the point in that? To be honest most people DO live their lives like that. They do the same things in the same way. They eat the same foods, on the same day each week. They wear the same clothes, they associate with the same kinds of people, and go to the same kinds of places - and these people are the ones who sigh and wish something, somehow would change ...
SORRY it doesn't work like that - no honestly it doesn't.

There are few people in this world who make it the first time they try, but at least they did - and they didn't stop trying:
* The BIG names in fiction today, had written for years, submitting manuscripts, refining their technique - before they hit the big time. Just because we hadn't heard of their work before, doesn't mean they hadn't toiled for years to get to the big time. The truth is - they had.
* A company doesn't build a website and the day after the launch receive a gazillion hits and every other one is a conversion and a million dollar order. No, really it just doesn't happen.
* You can't expect to go for the first job you apply for straight out of school and get the CEO's position.

It takes time, patience and a good deal of temerity.
Does that mean you should give up BEFORE you start?
Of course not! One of the key's to achieving anything is "to start" - then
Refine, if needs be
Try again
Refine
Try again
Take a deep breath - refine - what worked, what didn't work?
Go again ...
Little by little, we move forwards. Occasionally if we are "lucky" - things seemingly fall into place and we go again.
Do not be afraid of making mistakes - the big names have, so why should we think we are going to succeed the very first time?
Deep breath - because it is time to go again

Just do it

There is a lot to be said for just doing it ...
People often ask how they can find the motivation to start, they usually don't like my answer - because the answer is - just start.

Consider this
You can't start a fire without fire
You need a spark of some kind to get the fire going
If you are not motivated to exercise, the best thing you can do is to put your track gear on and get moving. A few minutes into your exercise session, you usually forget that you didn't want to start, so you keep going. Yes, endorphins do play a big part in your reward system for moving, but so does knowing that you overcame your procrastination problem and did it anyway.

*pats self on back*

And it is the same with everything I have come across.
When I don't want to write, the best thing I can do for myself and my clients is to write. Five minutes I tell myself. I can do anything for 5 minutes.
If on the rare occasion  I can't go beyond the 5 minutes because the creative streak hasn't kicked in, then I WILL do something else - but that is rarely the case.
So if you are struggling to start anything today - give yourself just 5 minutes to do something towards achieving that particular issue, and you may be pleasantly surprised at what comes out of it.
Remember, to start a fire, you need to find the spark that will light it ... And you find it by starting

Dream on...

"All the things we achieve are things we have first of all imagined"
 David Malouf

You cannot create that which you cannot see
You cannot create that which you believe cannot be created
You cannot change your life until you change your beliefs
And
You begin to believe in the beauty of your dreams and your infinite right to create the life you need to create.

Dreams are important, in fact they are essential to life.

Everything you see around you was first just an idea in the mind of someone who wondered, what would happen if ...

But that is usually where it stops. Our subconscious kicks in, assuming our well meaning family and friends haven't already chucked a massive bucket of cold water on our ideas...

We are told to stop dreaming, get a proper job. We are asked - what are you doing that for? We are questioned, we are ridiculed, and when we give up we are told, "see I told you so"

So what can we do?

Well, I have gone through my life alternating between telling people what I am going to do, and being told I am too old, the wrong sex, that my idea is stupid - and going it alone. So now, I usually take the first couple of steps and when it is obvious it is working, then I may say something.

But imagine just for a moment, if you had the support of your family, friends and your local bank manager ... what kind of difference would that make to you? Would you be more or less likely to go for your dreams and goals?

So -

What would happen if -

What you dreamed about, you could bring about?

Would you be excited at the prospect of your future life? Or do you need to add a few more colours to the palette that is your life at the moment?

Let your mind wander, never be afraid to dream big things. But after you have added the details to your "dream" it is vital that you do something, anything that will start moving you towards bringing that dream into your life.

You say "I want a new car"

Ok - what sort, what style, what engine size, what colour, where will you go for a test drive, how much will it cost, do you need to talk finance to someone, do you need to get another job, do you need to get your licence, do you need to ... WHAT do you need to do to reach that goal of owning that car?

And it is the same with anything - a new job, a new house, a new company, running a marathon, studying for a degree, a new widget ... it's your dream, you tell me.

Never stop dreaming ...

With many dreams and goals in mind, how about you?

There's always a first time

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
- Albert Einstein

We can all be forgiven for doing the same things over and over again, that's what gets us through most of our days. We drive the same way to work, we do the same things every day at work, we eat the same foods, watch the same kind of television programs, read the same kinds of books, fall into bed and repeat ad naseum.

Occasionally of course we decide that TODAY we are going to do something different. TODAY is the day we are going to:
    Lose weight
    Stop smoking
    Build our website
    Ask that cute girl out on a date
    Write the first pages of the novel we've always wanted to write

And then just for today, we do just that. But then the following day rolls around and all of a sudden, life - that normality thing kicks back in again, and projects are shelved. OK, sometimes it takes more than a single day, but it's quite fast how quickly we run back to our zones of comfort.
And you thought you were alone?! Nope, not by a long shot.

One thing I have learned is that you cannot get rid of a bad habit. What you have to do is overlay something new over the top and repeat... just for today. Over time, the new practice becomes the habit and ... Just for today I am going to ...
    Go for a walk at lunch time
    Not have a cigarette during my breaks
    Smile more
    Do all my homework
    Go to the gym
    Eat more fruit and veg

That's all well and good, and believe me, it does work. But there is a faster way, and that is doing something completely different, something you have been putting off until ... well today is that day.
Today I am going to choose something different -  Today I am going to:

    Pluck up courage and book those dance lessons
    Pick up the phone and give the girl a call
    Go and see a movie on my own
    Try a different restaurant
    Ask for help
   
When was the last time you did something for the first time? How did that make you feel?
I would recommend spending some time over the next couple of days and work through your habitual behaviours. What are you happy to keep? What are you hoping to change? What can you overlay?
Then choose a simple, single thing that you have always wanted to do, and simply pick a time, and enjoy. Don't feel guilty, just do it - as the saying goes. As you challenge your routines, you will open yourself to a myriad of experiences and I would suggest you make that a regular habit to get into.

3 Ways to look at life

There are 3 ways of looking at life:  
   * To the past
   * In the now
   * To the future


Past
------
If you constantly look at life over your shoulder, are you ever going to move forwards?
Yes it is important to reflect - what worked, what didn't work, how it was then as opposed to now. But if you don't learn the lessons and move on, you will be forever repeating the same behaviours. Remember the movie Groundhog Day - if you find yourself thinking - gosh I remember doing this before, you need to stop right now and work out WHY you are repeating the behaviours. If you keep journals these are a great way of finding out very quickly if this is happening to you.
    * What behaviours are you willing to keep?
    * What should you be removing from your life?
    * How can you move forwards towards the future you say you want?


Present
---------
There is much to be said for living life in the NOW. However, if you have no idea of where you want to end up, then your daily activities can be merely responsive rather than active. If you have no idea what you want out of life, I think you may feel terribly frustrated. I know I did. "What did I achieve today?" and in the words of the song "ABSOLUTELY NOTHING" it is not a good place to be, believe me.


Future
--------
There are 2 parts to living your life in the future:

1) If you are waiting for the perfect time to start something - then you will never start. There is no such thing as a perfect time, the kids will always need you, there will always be food to tempt you off your diet. You can't wait for the perfect job so you can begin to live your life, save for your home / holiday yada yada yada. In reality you are treading water, waiting it seems for someone to give you either a push or permission to start ... you don't need either. However,

2) If you can combine your present activities with what you want your future to look like, then you are living (IMO) the perfect life.


How are you living your life?

Friday Nights

How do you spend your Friday nights?
Come to think of it, how do you spend most nights of the week?
Before you say "come on, give me a break, it's been a long week - I need a break"
I will simply say this: how you spend your evenings is how your life will be defined.
Do you spend most nights sitting down watching the TV because you need a "break"? Or down the pub because ... insert random comment ...
Or do you spend time working on spending quality time with your family or working on your better future?
I love working out on a Friday night. It gives me an energy boost at the end of my long week. Not that I get to do that very often at the moment because I seem to be spending most of my "free" time giving driving lessons to my kids (read students or neighbour's kids). Tonight was raining and ink black with numerous "idiots" playing dodgems as they raced home because their cars were going to disintegrate in the rain or something, so it was excellent practice. And because both my learner drivers were home on a Friday night we connected over dinner half way round.
We're home, safe, sound, showered and ready to do some work. Well I am, the kids are in their rooms, stuffed to the gills watching TV :-D they don't miss their parents.

As Steve Jobs said (and I paraphrase) "if you treat each day as if it were the last day of your life, would you be happy doing what you are doing right now?"

Why give up?

At his famous Stanford graduation talk Steve Jobs said, "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool that I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.  Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.  Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."
Are you following yours, or are you still following someone else's plans for your life?
Given the subject line of today's message from Winston Churchill, I will ask you whether or not you are willing to get to the end of your life without fulfilling your greatest dreams and goals?
I hope you said "NO" to the latter question.
Let's face it, it doesn't matter if your greatest dreams and goals takes you  5 weeks, 5 months, 5 years or 5 decades to reach. It's really what you are doing every day that will determine your success or not. So what did you today to ensure you moved just 1 step closer to that point?
Case in point, I read an article today that proves just what you can do if you want something badly enough, and you are willing to do the work, day after agonizing day. Would you spend 16 days completing the London Marathon at just 3 and bit kilometers per day? Or would you decide it was all too hard and not worth the time and effort? What would you do if you hadn't been able to walk at all for 5 years after an accident, and the chance of walking was slim to nil. Well that was the goal of a paralyzed woman who with the aid of a bionic suit (think RoboCop) finished the course - walking with the suit and 2 canes, despite being completely paralyzed from the chest down. You can read more at http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8464396/uk-woman-completes-marathon-in-bionic-suit
"Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."
Lao TzuAt his famous Stanford graduation talk Steve Jobs said, "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool that I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.  Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.  Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."
Are you following yours, or are you still following someone else's plans for your life?
Given the subject line of today's message from Winston Churchill, I will ask you whether or not you are willing to get to the end of your life without fulfilling your greatest dreams and goals?
I hope you said "NO" to the latter question.
Let's face it, it doesn't matter if your greatest dreams and goals takes you  5 weeks, 5 months, 5 years or 5 decades to reach. It's really what you are doing every day that will determine your success or not. So what did you today to ensure you moved just 1 step closer to that point?
Case in point, I read an article today that proves just what you can do if you want something badly enough, and you are willing to do the work, day after agonizing day. Would you spend 16 days completing the London Marathon at just 3 and bit kilometers per day? Or would you decide it was all too hard and not worth the time and effort? What would you do if you hadn't been able to walk at all for 5 years after an accident, and the chance of walking was slim to nil. Well that was the goal of a paralyzed woman who with the aid of a bionic suit (think RoboCop) finished the course - walking with the suit and 2 canes, despite being completely paralyzed from the chest down.

"Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."
Lao Tzu

Good night - Sleep tight !

Did you know that Warren Buffet uses the philosophy of going to bed smarter than he was when he woke up that same morning.
I've attempted to do that since I learned to read, though I didn't realise that was what I was doing until I read an article on Warren and his business partner - another octogenarian by the name of Charlie.
I know I promised you 100 things that I had read and hoped would inspire you in the last 100 day challenge. Truth is I managed about 40 decent items in that time frame (given I was away for nearly 3 weeks) - and I still need to finish posting the items to the list. But the point I am trying to make here, I read masses of stuff every single day, and if I can pick out a sentence (quote) or an idea that I hadn't thought of before reading the item, I consider the reading to have been worthwhile.
I also use training programs and courses in the same way. Of course I would like to get more than a single idea or ah-ha moment you understand, but it depends on the course / book and my prior knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. As it would be for you of course.
So a couple of challenges for you:
* I would like to challenge you to go to bed smarter every day than when you woke up that morning.
* Keep a journal of your good ideas. If you are in the habit of writing down "your day" and you may be wondering why your days aren't getting any better. Consider this an alternative way of looking at your life. What lessons did you learn? What can you share with your world, your family, your work colleagues - as a result of your reading / attending a course?
* Take action on the idea as soon as you possibly can. If you listen to audio books in your car, or when you are out running - it can be very hard to take action on an idea at that precise moment in time - but you can as soon as you get home / back to the office.
* Take a walk every day - I like to walk during lunch breaks - that allows my mind to sift through the information I have and it allows me to do what I call the "mental filing." Walking also gives me the space I need to get my break through ideas - most of which I share with you. So - walk - every day and see how many more great ideas you can come up with to move your business forward.

Power of Now

Things said, things not said
Things done or not completed
Exams, tests, assignments to complete, parties to go to - study or not? Party or not?
Will there be enough money?
What will happen if the bus is late?
What will happen if ...
Worry, fear, sleepless nights, comfort eating, have a drink to calm the nerves after a "bad" day, go to bed, toss and turn, look dreadful the next day, nothing fits, back to black - low self esteem, barbed comments ...
Truth is, most of us worry over things that may never happen.
It is also the truth that most of us are far stronger than we ever give ourselves credit for, because when the proverbial hits the fan - guess what, not only do we cope, but we find strength we didn't know we possessed - until we had no other choice.
Why?
Well some of it could be put down to our environment, our upbringing, our relationships with family members, co-workers and "bad" neighbours. But a lot of it is because we are afraid.
What are you afraid of? We are not talking about phobias but:
    People who are Afraid of Failure - rarely start anything,
    People who are Afraid of Success - worry about how they will sustain it,
    People who are Afraid of Change - you like your comfort zone - sort of,
    People who are Afraid of Truly Living - are usually afraid of all of the above.
Does this sound like you? I know it sounds like me, because I lived it - day in, day out. And where did it get me?
I became an overweight, worried insomniac.
So how can you stop this fear?
I feel that because it is a learned behaviour, we can unlearn it and move through fear into our personal strength and power. Think of the baby learning to walk, climb stairs, empty cupboards, stick sandwiches in the DVD player - they don't care what the outcome will be - they're too busy getting on with their lives.  They don't care how many times they fail, they will master the art of - what is that standing on 2 feet thing called again - oh yes, walking, after all what use is that padded thing following me around all day if it's not to land on and cushion my butt.
But like all patterns of behaviour it may take a little it of time. So what happens if you need to stop worrying NOW?
2 things to try.
Be in the NOW - don't worry about tomorrow, you can't do anything about tomorrow, except prepare as best you can. That means forgoing the party for the extra bit of studying and the hope of a decent nights sleep. Accept that what happens tomorrow you will handle it, well or not - but you will handle it, because you have to.
Step into someone else's shoes. Think of a childhood super hero, how would they handle your problem? How would your coaches, mentors, trainers, parents - handle it? How can you incorporate the way they would do something to your situation? Step into their power and move through fear into action.
And as you handle each situation, your self esteem grows. If you can handle THAT what else can you handle?
Step into your own power and you can eliminate your fear of not being able to cope.

Can you remember what you have achieved?

As a kid I used to keep a diary, I used to write things in it like

"Great day today" or "One of the best days of my life"

And I have no idea why or what I did on those particular days that would tell me, (now years later) what it was that made those days so special. Rather than being a special memory of my childhood, all they were, were a series of bound and dated books with random and meaningless statements in them.

I threw them away.

My diaries and journals of recent times tell me EXACTLY what happened, when and on what day the "special" event occurred. It takes me a few minutes at the end of each day to write down the significant events and is a good way of getting rid of things from my mind that may have (in the past) kept me awake trying to work out just what I needed to do next/ forget about completely.

Once a week I go back and read each daily entry and make a note of anything profound or special, and notes to take forward into the following week. Then I list any significant achievements. Every month I look at the weeklylist. And once a year I do a round up of the entire year.

Why would I bother? Why should you bother?

Well a statement I read on facebook last week went something along thelines of

"I don't feel like I have achieved anything of significance this year"

And then I stopped and began to re-read what I HAD achieved.

One of the problems I have to say for me is this year has been one of fitsand starts. My engine has not been running as smoothly as I would normally like - hence my feeling of not having done enough. But my diaries and daybooks help me put things into perspective. I have for instance achieved around a dozen items off my bucket list this year :-) My diaries and journals- remind me.

Are you documenting your own particular journey through the highways and low ways of life's travels?
Are you making a note of what is working, what is not working and how perhaps you can make the next phase of your journey smoother?
Do you carry a notebook for those "brilliant" ideas,must do stuff and - oh boy I had not forget about ...
How often do you review it?

If you don't have a note book already - please buy one... I use a combination of a small bound one that I carry in my handbag (purse).

AND

I use it.

Would you?

Driving thoughts

I drive a lot of miles each day. Consequently I get to see a lot of "interesting" driving.

Take today for instance. 3 lanes of solid traffic, all moving above the speed limit (happens only in India). One gentleman screams up behind me and begins to inch closer and closer to my car bumper - I don't know about you, but I hate people who think that if they bully and harass you long enough you'll get out of the way. I normally slow down for people like this, I don't care if they are late for dinner - you don't ride my bumper and hope that I will give in gracefully. Thankfully the 2 cars either side of me didn't let the idiot through either.

Unfortunately we couldn't play that game for long because he weaved through us at the next set of traffic lights, and promptly played dodgems through the traffic - and then I caught up with him.

He was driving a company vehicle, emblazoned with the corporate logo, signage and telephone number on the back. So, making sure my car was in neutral, handbrake on I got out my notebook and pen and wrote down his number plate and I will be speaking with the company tomorrow.

What (and I don't know which adjective to use here) amused / amazed / horrified me - a little while later I caught up with the same idiot who had decided to slow down and was doing 20 kilometres below the speed limit - because between his hands on the top of the steering wheel was a BOOK. He was reading and driving at the same time. I just wish I could have taken a picture, because you just had to see it to believe it. It was probably an appointments book, which makes it even worse. What company insists their employees have to cram so many appointments into a single day, they are not given enough time between appointments to make the drive in a safe manner?

For the owners of the organisations who read this - a word of advice for your next team meeting - your business is on show all the time if you have corporate vehicles emblazoned with your name on it. Similarly everytime someone wears a "uniform" and has the name of the company/ store stuck across their body somewhere.

My question to you as you go about your day is this

Are the people who work for you / you work with walking the walk - or should they be walking the plank?

Apologies for the vent-out!

The Caucus Race

'What is a Caucus-race?'...

Have you ever felt your life was like the caucus race? Not knowing what you've done, how far you've gone or indeed how far left there is to go.

While the challenge does help, it helps even more if you know what you want and what you are going to do every day to reach it...

So a couple of easy questions to begin with:

1. how many hours are there in a day? and
2. how many half hours are there?

Out of those 24 hours or 48 half hours per day do you spend working onyour challenges?

Ok, you say you need more time, well lets do some simple arithmetic

From the 24 hours

- take away the time you sleep
- travelling time to and from work
- the time at work - when you are working
- the time you waste while at work (be honest)
- how much time you take for breaks including lunch
- what time you spend at home - break it down, what time do you spend fetching takeout, cooking dinner, eating it, doing the dishes and chores, supervising homework or doing your own
- how much time do you spend watching tv or playing games, time on facebookor twitter (that isn't business related)?
- how much time do you spend reading and responding to emails

now - how much time do you spend on your challenges?

If you are completely honest, there will be blocks of time when you could be more productive. The time when you get to work for instance, while the computer is warming up and you are wafting for the kettle to boil or the caffeine to kick in. Then there is the mid morning slump, the time you wander down the corridor to find someone to have a natter to; Lunch time - do you really need to spend all that time eating and socialsing? Mid afternoon - that time you crave something sweet to get you through the rest of the afternoon.

We can of course add in all the time you spend in front of the computer and / or tv

And the commute to and from work.

If you look at this way, it doesn't take much to dramatically increase your productivity levels. All you have to be is more aware of the time you spend and decide if that IS the way you want to spend that time.

For example:
Listen to something productive in the car rather than drive time radio,save yourself the pain of all the inane blather and learn something new,or listen to the audio books and programs you have purchased over the years and never got around to it. Then there is the time you spend on the train or the bus to work. Walk during half your lunch break or do daily workout while walking through the workplace and engage with colleagues at the same time.

For today though all I would ask is that you balance your "normal" day to day stuff. Be honest about where you are spending your time and work out ways you can incorporate more time for those challenges you havelaid down for yourselves.

You won't always get it right, sometimes it may seem like it's 2 steps forward and 1 step back... but as long as the general momentum is forward you will do better than 90% of the rest of the population.

So go ahead... let me know if it worked for you!!