Progress Archives - Page 35 of 46

Change It Today

Posted on February 3, 2021

There is something that you have been putting off. You know you want the outcome but something holds you back. Change it today.

Get your own attention and focus on the matter. Break it down into tiny steps. You do not need to live like this anymore. There is an alternative. So find that other path, get better people around you and thrive.

It could be that the hardest part of changing something is the people you can’t bring with you. You would like them to come with you. However they do not see your future in their future. And that is fine. But do not let it slow you down or stop you.

You must barrel along as if your destiny depended on it. Is the path you are heading along really leading you to the place you want to end up? What will your life look like in 20 years if you do not switch tracks? Is it really the life you want? Because you can change the track you are on.

You can make a hard turn or you can adjust slowly. Both can work. But you need to be sufficiently comfortable with the initial discomfort. Then it will continue to be uncomfortable until your mind can adjust and feel fine with it.

Make the decision you need to make right now.

Change it today.

Action Progress Reframe your thoughts Time

Give That Extra Push

Posted on January 31, 2021

You’re exhausted. It is the end of the day. Your bed is calling out to you. You want nothing more than to collapse. Give that extra push at this point. Take 10 more minutes to get one more thing done.

Push through and get that tough task started so tomorrow morning it is already underway. Or write out the goals, key elements and times for tomorrow. Alternatively you could get that one extra, easy item off your to do list. It shows up everyday and you never really notice it or find the time to do it. Tonight is that time.

Do this extra 10 minutes of effort five nights a week for one year. That will get roughly 250 items off your list. Or it will help streamline your life.

You will also feel much better for having got it off your list. It will lighten your mental load. As you get 4 or 5 done next week, you will feel like you’re making progress. The pride in doing that little extra will shine through. You will stand a little taller as you build goodwill with yourself.

This tactic will also help you push through further in other areas of your life. Your resilience will grow. Your determination will strengthen.

Give that extra push. It will be worth it.

Action Progress Think About It Time

Be Obsessive

Posted on January 29, 2021

This is a great way to approach things in life. Why do anything half-hearted? If you are going to undertake anything, be obsessive.

It has been awhile since the last time I heard this phrase. However, I heard it the other day when I was on the new Clubhouse App. Mr Beast, the young YouTube sensation with over 50 million subscribers was using it to note how to gain success. He told the person in question to be obsessive. It is a philosophy that he uses too.

Essentially, he gets up and spends every waking hour being focused on improving his craft and planning or creating content. Then he goes to bed. That seems fairly obsessive to me.

It makes me think about the book, The Zulu Principle. The premise of the book is that you can learn anything and become a world class expert in anything pretty quickly. If you focus on one topic and read three books on it, you’ll be well ahead of 96% of people on that topic. Then if you network around people who are experts in that field, you will rapidly absorb their additional knowledge.

So in a few months, you really could be world class in just about anything.

And I get it. I don’t want my brain surgeon to have just read a few books and gone to a few Medical wine and cheeses.

But for most things, just be obsessive.

Financial Gratitude Progress Think About It Time

How Do You Give Back?

Posted on January 26, 2021

Do you do something for charity, your community, people coming up behind you? It’s good to reflect on this. How do you give back?

I am trying to add more of this into my days. I do it sporadically and I would like to do it in a more structured way. It starts with giving my time to people who are building their careers or businesses. Then, Money for charitable causes and effort for good causes.

Getting clear on how to apportion time and money, and setting those aside for good causes, is a useful exercise. It makes you stop and think about what you do now, what might be good and even how it makes you feel. Should you set aside more time and money? To whom and how should that be done?

Some people are very good with structuring their thoughts around this. I’ve known people to set aside x amount of money and y amount of time. Then they gift that away through the year. Other people simply donate a lump sum and that’s that. All requests after that are denied.

Some people will give money freely but not their time. While others do the opposite. There are those that give 1% of their income while others give away most or all of it, like the incredible Chuck Feeney.

How do you give back?

Action Observe Progress Reframe your thoughts Time

Looking Back

Posted on January 23, 2021

Did you spend your day well? What about your week? How well did you spend your time in 2020? Or 2019 for that matter? Looking back is a useful exercise, especially if you do it well before the final curtain.

There are days that seem to slip through my fingers. Like yesterday. I had planned out the whole day before going to bed the night before. From my alarm ringing in the morning, until my head hit the pillow in the evening, I was scheduled.

But some random events threw me off course in the morning. Then the afternoon was all playing catch up. But then a couple of other unexpected situations arose. Some of these I could have averted with slightly better communication and time management. However, the others were just a little dose of, “That’s life”.

I really only got back on track at 7pm. Yet, I had missed so much in the day. Even with decent planning, you can be blown off course occasionally. But try to resist. Set your environment up in a better way. Then you can stick to the plan and make great progress.

This is a good analogy for life. You don’t want to get to the end of a time period and wish you had been more efficient with your time and more focused with your intent.

Looking back helps us look forward.

Health & Fitness Progress Reframe your thoughts

The Minister Of Fun

Posted on January 21, 2021

We should have more fun. You might be having enough fun with whatever you are doing. But more could be good. The Minister of Fun was a position my friend created and held at University to ensure students had a great experience.

Perhaps countries should have a cabinet role with this title. We hear all about this happiness index and how much wealth one needs to improve their happiness. We also know that some people are struggling a little more now due to events of the past year (i.e. covid).

So if we are going to take our mental health more seriously, perhaps we need someone focused on good times. Obviously there would be some funding for fun activities. And we would need to ensure the activities were environmentally friendly.

Just in writing this, I feel that we could be on to something. Imagine what progress that would indicate. The potential for that government portfolio is enormous. People love fun so it is a definite vote getter.

Perhaps we need to get this note under the nose of our leaders and ask that something be done immediately. It wouldn’t matter what the story involved, if the journalist had to quote The Minister of Fun, we would all be in a great mood.

Action Gratitude Progress

Talkin’ About A Resolution

Posted on January 20, 2021

We are three weeks into the new year. How are things going? How are you feeling about nearing the end of the first month? I’m talkin’ about a resolution.

Several weeks ago, billions of people made commitments to themselves about what they would do better this year. You were one of those people.

Were you serious about it? Or was it simply wishful thinking? A serious goal requires a serious plan. Something written out with a strategy and a plan to execute.

If you didn’t have it on 1 January, you can create it now. Write out what you will do this year. Then write out what components of those goals will be done in each month. By writing out each month and the milestones you will reach, you are preparing your mind to achieve the goals.

Get this information in your planner. You will do amazing things with some planning. It will make the work easier and increase the probability of success. Each milestone is critical along your road to success. You need to be a little obsessive, not laissez-faire.

You will need some emotion, passion and energy. Get sparked and drive hard toward your goal. Achieve something in January.

I’m talkin’ about a resolution.

Health & Fitness Observe Progress Reframe your thoughts

Getting Stuck

Posted on January 16, 2021

Sometimes I can’t think of anything to write. Other times, I write 15 topics down in two minutes. I prefer the flow rather than getting stuck.

Flow is great. It feels energetic and exciting. So many possibilities and so much promise. Having your mind go blank or trying to force a topic is a lot less fun. It just feels wrong, uncomfortable and even frustrating. When that happens, I do a few different things to shake it up.

One easy tip is to simply move. Get up and walk into another room. I will wave my arms around, run on the spot or do some press ups. This gets the blood flowing and may spark some inspiration. Secondly, I will flip through a magazine or favourite book. If this doesn’t do it, I may also head to Instagram or YouTube and see what headlines are showing up there. Looking through different media often sparks some ideas.

If I am still getting challenged and nothing is coming through I do some other task for a set period. It may be something to do in the house or some admin, but usually away from screens. Sometimes you just need a break from working completely.

Getting stuck is temporary. And you can influence the outcome.

Action Gratitude Observe Progress Reframe your thoughts

Lift People Up

Posted on January 15, 2021

It is so easy to be dismissive of people with a different viewpoint or life circumstance. Initial reactions can be harsh. But lift people up and you can help to make the world a better place

If you are a level 10 person in your field, you may find it frustrating that a level 2 person is giving inferior advice. This could be especially true if they were giving the advice to a level 1 person. We might even think there is an injustice that the level 1 person is getting inferior information.

However, from the level 1 person’s perspective, they may be delighted that they are getting any useful information at all. It may not be precise, perfect, expert level information, but at least it will help move them forward. As they get wiser, they will be able to seek out level 5, 7 and eventually level 10 advice.

Level 10 people might be frustrated with this natural evolution. Though, they could help the level 2 person improve their offer. Presumably all level 10 people were once level 2 people. So there should be some natural empathy there.

The world is imperfect. We can rail at its imperfections, or we can work together and bring others to the top of the mountain. The more we reach back and help those still coming up, the better society will be as a whole.

Lift people up.

Action Financial Observe Progress Time Uncategorized

Clubhouse Changes Things

Posted on January 14, 2021

Are you looking for the next big thing? You need to checkout this new app. It has the potential to really shake things up. Clubhouse changes things.

It is a fascinating platform. For those that don’t know, imagine a virtual radio talk show format. Anyone can create a room and speak on their favourite subject. Then, anyone can enter that room and either listen to the host or speak with them. Meanwhile more people enter the room and listen. Some may also join in the chat, or leave to go to another room they just heard was starting.

So, like talk radio or a conference, someone is the host. On this platform, they are called moderators. You can have one or many. And when people join the room, you can tap their photo and read their bio. This way you know more about the person who is there, whether they speak or not. Then you can follow them if they are in a space you are interested in.

It is a fascinating mix of speed dating, conferences, talk radio and social media connections. It looks like it has the opportunity to change everything. If you have something to say, that others are interested in listening too, you can gather a large audience and build your brand. It totally levels the playing field for everybody everywhere.

There is no investment in technical kit like a podcast or YouTube. You can have exposure to 100’s or 1,000’s of people in just a couple of hours. What is exciting, is it is with voice only. No distracting text messaging or over-sensory video. Just listen and speak. It may be much more effective as a communication tool.

Clubhouse changes things.