If you feel you are wildly successful, then you probably don't need to read this. However, if you are only moderately successful, you probably spend a lot of time wondering what the people who are wildly successful are doing differently than you. There is one huge difference between successful and unsuccessful people. That difference is their ability to finish. Yes, luck, connections, family, training and a number of other factors influence success, but none of those things really matter if you can't finish. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPTfO8U3kCs Things of Value Success is a matter of producing things of value. That doesn't mean everything you create and finish will be a … [Read more...] about Why You Aren’t Successful
Archives for April 2010
Happiness Project Video
We reviewed the Happiness Project a month or so ago. Gretchen just wrapped up a television advertising campaign. You can watch the ad on YouTube. If you are interested in television advertising, be sure to read how she used Google to get her ad on national television. … [Read more...] about Happiness Project Video
Technology Worth Noticing
Here is a short collection of different pieces of technology I've dealt with lately that might be worth looking into if you ever have a need for the particular problems each one solves. Ubuntu Lucid Lynx Ubuntu's newest version of Linux is a nice step forward. Ubuntu is an operating system. You can install it in place of Microsoft Windows or OS X. After playing with it a few hours, I've been impressed with the new look and feel. It includes a number of free applications as part of the default installation very much on par with (if not better than) what you'd expect to get with a commercial operating system. For general computing where a good deal of your work is done on the Internet, … [Read more...] about Technology Worth Noticing
How to keep from Wasting Time on the Web
I saw this quote on a mailing list: For personal reasons, I do not browse the web from my computer. (I also have not net connection much of the time.) To look at page I send mail to a demon which runs wget and mails the page back to me. It is very efficient use of my time, but it is slow in real time. -- Richard Stallman Basically, if he wants a page, he sends an email to a special address asking for it and the page is emailed back to him. That is definitely one way to keep from wasting time on the internet. A lot of times the internet doesn't help productivity because it wastes just as much time as it saves. Here are some tips for keeping focused. Block Ads - Ads are there to … [Read more...] about How to keep from Wasting Time on the Web
Prepare for Next Year’s Taxes
With tax season behind us, it is worth taking a few minutes to prepare for next year. As the deficit rises, it seems pretty difficult to imagine that our taxes won't be going up in one form or another. A little preparation can help make sure that you pay no more than your fair share. Tax folder Start a folder today for 2010 tax papers. Even if you don't put anything in it, having it ready helps make sure that you don't accidentally misplace something when it does come in. Many people spend more time looking for tax papers than they do actually preparing their taxes. This folder is also a great place to keep anything that will help you with your taxes. If you read about a tax credit … [Read more...] about Prepare for Next Year’s Taxes
Can Exercise Make You Fat?
Sounds like a stupid question doesn't it? We all know the answer. Exercising in and of itself will not make you fat. However, the side effects of exercising can encourage behavior that will make you gain weight. Unless you understand how you mentally react to exercising, it is easy to get in a situation where your rituals around exercise can make you put on the pounds instead of shedding them. Self-control Most people tend to treat self-control as a finite commodity. In other words, if they exercise self-control in one area, they will lessen the self-control they apply in another area. Some of this is a mentality of trying to reward yourself for good behavior. So if you exercise for … [Read more...] about Can Exercise Make You Fat?
Diversified Income
Nearly everyone knows that, when it comes to investing, you shouldn't put all of your eggs into one basket. Investing in many different types of investments helps lower the risk that a downturn in a particular area will wipe you out, financially. (See the story about a man who only invested in street cars.) Most people don't take what is common knowledge about investing and apply it to other areas. In particular, they don't apply it to their income. When you are in a position where all of your income is determined by a single employer, you are just like the guy who had all of his money in street cars. Many dual-income families have some level of diversification by having two adults … [Read more...] about Diversified Income
Reading More
Most people agree that reading is very beneficial and lament the fact that they don't have time to read more. Here are five simple tips to help you fit more reading into your busy schedule. Keep a book with you. Keeping a book with you gives you a productive way to fill in those little 10- to 20-minute pockets of time where you are waiting on someone or something. Not every book is good to read in short bursts, so choose something that works well with the time spans to which you plan to commit. Stop reading something if you don't like it. Just because you started a book doesn't mean you have to finish it--no matter how many awards it has won. I started reading The Sound and the Fury … [Read more...] about Reading More
Stop Squandering Time At Home
Most of us put a good deal of time into running our households. There are always floors to vacuum, bathrooms to clean, and garbage to take out. Other than hiring a maid, there is no way to do away with all these activities. However, a little planning ahead can drastically reduce how much time you spend on some of these activities. This is a list of simple time- and work-saving ideas for your home. Minimize soap scum It seems that soap gets everything clean except shower walls. In your bathroom, soap becomes the dirt you are trying to remove. However, some soaps stick more than others. I recently tried an experiment with different types of soap and noticed a very big difference in the … [Read more...] about Stop Squandering Time At Home
Money Thoughts
Here is a short collection of money tips and thoughts as we reach the April 15th tax deadline. Homebuyers credit The home buyers credit expires after April 30. First time home buyers can get a $8,000 refundable credit and there is a $6,500 credit available for current home owners to buy a different home. April 30th is the deadline to sign a binding contract, but you have until June 30th to completely close the deal. Claiming the home buyers credit will force you to file on paper and your return will be subject to much closer inspection. The IRS plans to audit some 200,000 returns of people who took the home buyers credit so be sure to do your best to provide all the necessary … [Read more...] about Money Thoughts
Power of Physical Mail
In a world where many of us send off over 100 emails each day, it is easy to overlook the power of a physical letter delivered by the mail man. With so much information coming by email, sending a physical letter can help make your message special and more memorable. Here are some thoughts for making the most of sending physical letters. Real stamps Don't go to all the trouble of making something personal and special and then ruin it with an ugly postage meter. Use real stamps. In many cases, you can match the purpose of your letter to a specific stamp design. Forever stamps will let you mail a First Class letter, even if the cost of sending letters goes up in the future. You buy … [Read more...] about Power of Physical Mail
17 Things you Should Stop Doing
This is a list of 17 things you shouldn't be doing any more because they waste time. Old habits die hard and it can be difficult to shift yourself from an old familiar way of doing something to a new, better way. Take a look at the list and see if there is anything you can change to help make you more productive. If you have any suggestions please add them in the comments. Manually Depositing a Paycheck -- That is what direct deposit is for. If you spend 15 minutes every two weeks dealing with depositing your paycheck that is 65 hours over the next 10 years. Put this time to better use. Writing Checks for Bills -- That is what the bill pay service from your bank is for. … [Read more...] about 17 Things you Should Stop Doing
A Talk With The FBI
I recently had a chance to talk with an FBI agent who works with computer evidence. Here are some of the things I took away from the conversation. A lot of his job is fairly easy because most criminals have no idea how a computer works. I asked if he ran into any type of encryption very often and he said it was very rare. There was only one case where someone was using encryption and he said it was completely luck that they were able to catch him because he hadn't chosen a very good password. Now I'm not telling you this so you can go out and start a life of crime. But the things that make Mr. FBI Agent's life easier also make the life of identity thieves a lot easier. So what do … [Read more...] about A Talk With The FBI
Email newsletter problem
It looks like our last email newsletter went out without showing the excerpt for each post and instead only showed an internal ad for our ambient sounds. This ad should have only been shown when viewing the full feed. This wasn't intentional and I apologize for the mess up. I'm working with Aweber to get this fixed. … [Read more...] about Email newsletter problem
Harvard Online Master’s Degree
There are few things that will give you a better boost in lifetime productivity than a good solid education--you are essentially upgrading your mind to understand, comprehend and process more. Modern technology is making education surprisingly easy to obtain and inexpensive. Years ago, you'd get a bachelor's degree, go work for a big company and eventually retire with a gold watch. That model doesn't really work anymore. If you want to maximize your potential, you need continual education. This can be be formal and informal, but in this article we are going to look at my experience getting a formal education that leads to a degree while working full time. In particular, we are going to … [Read more...] about Harvard Online Master’s Degree
Messy Desks
One of the greatest hindrances to productivity isn't particularly technical or complex in nature. It isn't something that's usually difficult to solve, but it takes time and effort. Messy desks are responsible for some of the most frustrating (and sometimes, humorous) incidents throughout a workday. That contract you can't find? The glasses that always seem to walk away? Clutter on a desk tends to conceal things when you most need them. However, there is a humorous side to this issue. Here are some funny stories a few people agreed to share with us. My ex-husband and I both officed out of the house. As a former marine officer, he always kept his desktop completely clear of papers. My … [Read more...] about Messy Desks
Home Office – Effective Design
I work from my home office. My commute is a 30-second walk down the hall, down the stairs and into the portion of our house dedicated to my business. As we've moved around, I've built 7 or 8 different home offices. My home offices have ranged from a small corner in a bedroom in downtown Durango, Mexico where the chair would collapse several times each day and we had to be wary of scorpions, to my current, spacious 1000 sq foot office with its own bathroom, fireplace and outside entrance. I've found a lot of things that work well and a lot of things that didn't work out so well. In this post, we are going to discuss some of the issues and planning that should go into setting up an effective … [Read more...] about Home Office – Effective Design
Your Intelligence – Reading, Writing & Arithmetic
We looked previously at some ways to appear smarter and look more intelligent. In this post I want to talk about ways to actually become smarter. A portion of your intelligence appears to be fixed. Research seems to indicate that there is little you can do to drastically increase your IQ. However, IQ is only one component of functional intelligence. Your knowledge, experience and training have a very profound effect on your ability to solve real-world problems. So even if you can't directly increase your IQ, you can increase your ability and speed to solve problems, which functionally accomplishes nearly the same thing. We are going to look at three areas as the foundation for … [Read more...] about Your Intelligence – Reading, Writing & Arithmetic
9 Tips for Effective Online Meetings
Recently we wrote a popular article on how to have effective meetings. Some people pointed out that online meetings require a special set of skills, and it can be difficult to follow the same advice that we gave for in-person meetings. With so many people working from home, it seemed like a good idea to address these types of meetings. Since I primarily work from home, a good percentage of my meetings are done using video conferencing and screen sharing. After doing this for several years, here are some of the top tips I'd offer for people who are starting to do online meetings. 1. Stay focused It is easy to get distracted or try to multi-task when you are in an online meeting. Don't … [Read more...] about 9 Tips for Effective Online Meetings
5 Tips To Become More Valuable At Work
Not all workers are equal. If your company gets ready to do round of layoffs, you want to be in the group of people who are seen as vital and valuable. In this article, we are going to look at a few ways to increase the value you bring to your job in ways that are likely to get noticed. 1. Show up 5 minutes early If your boss shows up at 9 am like clockwork, then getting to work at 8:59, yourself, is a very worthwhile 1-minute investment. Even if you have to arrive 5 minutes early, it is well worth it to be there before your boss if at all possible. Think about it this way: If your boss has to cut one employee and all other factors are equal, do you think he will cut the person who he … [Read more...] about 5 Tips To Become More Valuable At Work