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Personal Development

The pursuit of personal growth by expanding knowledge and improving personal skills

The Ten Hour Workday Can Change Your Life

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The ten hour workday. Sounds grueling, doesn’t it? So many people I know are working to shorten their days. The ideal seems to be the four-hour workweek, espoused by the human beta tester, Tim Ferriss. Four hours a week sounds amazing, yet I can tell you this. Tim Ferriss and most entrepreneurs are not sitting on a beach somewhere, drinking a margarita. They are filling their days with useful activity. And that’s where the ten hour workday can really help you get a handle on extraneous time wasters.

ten hour workdayThe Forty Hour Deception

Here is my point. In my forty years of working, I have never worked an eight hour day. Never. Nada.

Not once did I clock out my front door at 9 am and return home at 5 pm. Didn’t happen.

My week was not forty hours, clocking in and out. Nope! Each time it was more like fifty hours.

You see, our modern existence, especially here in California where I live, includes the superhighway of slow.

Things like traffic, crowds and the ever-present line at Starbucks slows us down and adds time to our day.

Yet we usually process our workday as an eight hour day.

We miss the time wasting activities that suck and drain the very life out of us. [Read more…] about The Ten Hour Workday Can Change Your Life

Adding Google Calendar Week Numbers

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Many entrepreneurs and small business people use Google Calendar to track their projects. A quick way to improve your productivity is by adding Google Calendar week numbers. This allows you to track your progress on projects from week to week, instead of by month. Since months often start and end on different days and have a different number of days per month, setting up a calendar by month for longer projects can be messy at best.

Plan Your Year by Week

Planning your projects by week allows you to have a calendar that is accurate and unvarying. For example, if your workweek is five days, Monday through Friday, you can easily calculate how many weeks it will take to complete a 90-day project (90/5 = 18 weeks). Trying to do this by month with variable start and end days can become a nightmare.

An easy technique for yearly planning is to incorporate buffer weeks that may be set aside for vacation or planning. This allows you to have a number of weeks that are easily divisible for planning purposes.

  • Planning your year around a 50-week calendar, allows you to easily plan out five or ten-week goals. (two buffer weeks)
  • Planning Around a 48-week calendar, allows you to have four, twelve week goal periods. (four buffer weeks)
  • Planning around a 48-week calendar allows you to have three, sixteen week goal periods. (four buffer weeks)

You can set up your buffer weeks throughout the year, or just add them at the end. Strategically planning these weeks allows you to take a vacation or have planning sessions at optimum times while working around a set goal period. [Read more…] about Adding Google Calendar Week Numbers

Inspirational Goal Setting Quotes

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I am a great believer in setting goals. The act of writing them down and putting them where I can see them, can make the difference between success and failure. To help me keep goals top of mind, I like to do two things.

1. I like to put my personal goals on small business cards and keep them in my work area where I can see them. These simple cards keep my most important goals front and center. My free Goal Setting Toolkit makes this easy.

goal-setting-toolkit-worksheet

2. I like to print out inspirational goal setting quotes and have them throughout the house where I see them on a daily basis. Quotes about life, quotes that motivate. These profound sayings help me keep going when my motivation lags or fear and laziness creeps in. Quotes about life and quotes that motivate are especially helpful.

Inspirational Goal Setting Quotes

inspirational goal setting quotes

I love this life quote by Og Mandino. I’ve included a few of my other favorite inspirational goal setting quotes below, that you may want to post for yourself.

Goals Quotes

“An average person with average talents and ambition and average education, can outstrip the most brilliant genius in our society, if that person has clear, focused goals.” ~ Mary Kay Ash

“Goals determine what you’re going to be.” ~ Julius Erving

“All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.” ~ Walt Disney

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent.” ~ Calvin Coolidge

“Begin with the end in mind.” ~ Stephen Covey

“Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals, and I’ll give you a stock clerk.” ~ J.C. Penney

“The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.” ~ Denis Waitley

“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” ~ Bill Copeland

“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.” ~ Earl Nightingale

“It doesn’t matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going.” ~ Brian Tracy

“You have to set goals that are almost out of reach. If you set a goal that is attainable without much work or thought, you are stuck with something below your true talent and potential.” ~ Steve Garvey

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who are alive.”
~ Howard Thurman

Life Quotes

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
~ Mark Twain

“By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands — your own.” ~ Mark Victor Hansen

“I’m a big believer in growth. Life is not about achievement, it’s about learning and growth, and developing qualities like compassion, patience, perseverance, love, and joy, and so forth. And so if that is the case, then I think our goals should include something which stretches us.” ~ Jack Canfield

“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.” ~ James Allen

“Act the way you want to be and soon you’ll be the way you act.” ~ Les Brown

“Don’t let the opinions of the average man sway you. Dream, and he thinks you’re crazy. Succeed, and he thinks you’re lucky. Acquire wealth, and he thinks you’re greedy. Pay no attention. He simply doesn’t understand.” ~ Robert G. Allen

“The only difference between a rich person and poor person is how they use their time.” ~ Robert Kiyosaki

“If you are willing to do only what’s easy, life will be hard. But if you are willing to do what’s hard, life will be easy.” ~ T Harv Eker

“You miss a 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” ~ Wayne Gretzky

“Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you.” ~ Jim Rohn

“Don’t waste your time with writing resolutions this New Year. Instead, focus on something else: resolve. While the words are similar, the difference in meaning is significant. A resolution is something you make. Resolve is something you have. In other words, commit. Choose into a process, not a set of audacious goals you’ll never meet.” ~ Jeff Goins

Quotes That Motivate

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” ~ Thomas A. Edison

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” ~ Tony Robbins

“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” ~ Zig Ziglar

“Never retreat. Never explain. Get it done and let them howl.” ~ Benjamin Jowett

“Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.” ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

Question: What inspirational goal setting quotes ring true to you?

SMARTER Goals Can Help You Find Success

Episode 1: Goals Vs. Habits
Episode 2: Fight Training
Episode 3: SMARTER Goals
Episode 4: Testing & Fine Tuning Your Goals

Free Goal Setting Tools

Goal Setting Toolkit
Goal Setting Worksheet

Goal Setting Ebook

Goals for Life: Set SMARTER Goals for Success

Other Goal Setting Quotes

Five Goal Setting Quotes

Personal Success Quotes

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Five Personal Success Quotes and Graphics

Personal Success Quote: LovePersonal Success is Doing What You Love To Do

Personal Success Quote: Next MovePersonal Success Is Having The Confidence To Make The Next Move

Personal Success Quote: ExpressionPersonal Success Is Fully Expressing Yourself

Personal Success Quote: Helping OthersPersonal Success Is Helping Others Get What They Want

Personal Success Quotes: IgnitionPersonal Success Is Setting Fire To Your Ideas

Personal success is truly about being the best person you can be. It means fully expressing yourself and  finding passionate outlets for your talents. It means helping others and changing the world for the better. It means setting fire to your ideas and taking action. Success is often the next move… if you are willing to take it.

Your personal beliefs and expectations about what is possible in life determines everything that happens to you. When you increase your expectations, you change the possibility of success, sometimes instantly. On the other hand, if you believe you can’t do something, you create a mental roadblock to success. A single negative belief can stop you cold.

The good news is, you have complete control over one big thing in life — your attitude! You decide what attitude you will take in any given situation. Either positive or negative, your attitude will have a great impact on the results you get. Simply changing your mental language from I can’t to I can, is a great way to move forward. Attitude starts with your thoughts, and these personal success quotes are a quick way to refocus your thinking in a positive direction. Write them down or print them out. Post them on your wall or arrange them on your desk. Keep them where they are top of mind.

I find when I’m reminded by inspirational quotes, my attitude and my days are better. To take a further step click the link below to get a positive start.

Here are Five Things You Can Do To Get Started

Question: What Is Personal Success To You?

How To Study Effectively

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In the modern classroom, many students ask how to study effectively. They don’t want to waste time with ineffective methods. When you have to learn something new, it’s a great idea to look at the best way to learn the topic rapidly, with good retention. Capture the big picture and then drill your way down to the specifics.

studying

When you know the concept and structure in your area of interest it can help you divide a large area of study into manageable chunks. Let’s take a look at how to study effectively by using some free printable study tools that can make your study time more productive. These in conjunction with some helpful study tips and techniques will help you take better notes, get better grades, and do better on tests.

1. Capture Information

When gathering information, it’s good to capture ideas, keywords and action steps in one area. To do this, I’ve created visual/keyword data acquisition sheets. These allow you to visualize ideas as well as capture keywords, ideas, and action steps. If you are in a lecture, webinar, or other general sessions, start with a general capture sheet like the one below.

Big Picture Worksheet

Idea Capture Tool

This sheet has a large visual area, with some fine cross hairs to visually capture ideas. You can use the whole area, or divide it into smaller chunks. As key ideas are presented, enter text or keywords on the side. There is a check box next to each where you can check off items as they are completed. Possible action steps go at the bottom. There are two different sheets in our free download. One has a blank box at the bottom for action items, the other has a ruled area. Print the one that suits you best.

Idea Capture Worksheet PDF: Free Download

Idea Capture Worksheet W Lines PDF: Free Download

Brainstorm Worksheet

This classic brainstorm wheel works well with a small group or in a meeting session. It’s simple to use. Write down your question/topic in the center circle, set a time period of one minute, and go around the room getting responses from everybody. Write down the responses on the end of the lines. This works well to develop key ideas for the Big Picture Worksheet above.

brainstorming tool

If you have a group, have one person as the moderator and writer so the ideas will flow unrestricted. Set a rule that there are no wrong answers. Sometimes the crazy ideas are what really work. If you are using it alone, set the timer for no more than two minutes and capture everything that comes to mind. There are no wrong answers at this stage.

Mind Mapping Toolkit

2. Cornell Note Taking

For informational meetings or seminars, the Cornell method provides a systematic way to condense and organize notes. The Note Taking Worksheet is divided into two columns: the note-taking column (on the right) is twice the size of the questions/key word column (on the left). There is a space of five to seven lines, at the bottom of the page for your summary.

cornell-notetakingsheet

Notes from a lecture or class are written in the note-taking column consisting of the main ideas of the session. Extensive ideas are paraphrased. Create short sentences; symbols or abbreviations are used as shorthand. For future study, relevant questions or key words are written in the key word column. These notes can be taken from any source of information, such as applicable books, video, lectures, text books, etc.  (These should be recorded as soon as possible so that they will be fresh in the student’s mind) [Read more…] about How To Study Effectively

How to Leave a Legacy That Will Outlive You

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I ran into an interesting quote over the weekend that made me stop and think. I am a goal setting person by nature and I always try to have at least one major impact goal going at all times. It’s what drives me to get out of bed in the morning.

Many of these goals are personal goals.

Over the past few years I’ve had many including…

While these have been good, I’ve always felt like something was missing…

After hearing this quote, I think I know why…

“What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.” ~ Albert Pine

I had to think about this for a minute. and then I ran through my list.

    • Did running a 5k make a lasting impact or will that event die with me?
    • Did finishing a Triathlon make an impact on others or did it just affect me?
    • Did losing 25 pounds add to a lasting legacy?

Hmmm…

I realized that these personal goals had the potential to help others, if I did a few things…

  1. Share with others. Sharing my story may motivate others to do the same. Writing or speaking about an event could help others take the first step.
  2. Train others. Since I’ve had success here, training others to do the same would be very beneficial. Providing a step-by-step guide might be crucial to success.
  3. Mentor others. While sharing and teaching are good, becoming a mentor would allow me to offer ongoing feedback and guidance to help guarantee success.

linked-hands

Using the Share-Train-Mentor philosophy could have lasting effects years after I’m gone. This simple trifecta could be the basis of a writing, speaking, or business opportunity. Looking at this from a legacy viewpoint, makes all the difference.

We’ll explore this more in the coming days. For now, one simple question…

Are you leaving a lasting legacy with your current activities?