Leadership guru John Maxwell writes (in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership) that momentum is the leader’s best friend. That’s not just a law of leadership – it’s a law of life!

Life is good when you’re on a roll, and it is therefore very much in your interest to get on a roll and to keep rolling. Today I’ll share a baker’s dozen great strategies for building and maintaining your momentum at work and in the rest of your life.

Strategy #1 – Have a Big Why…
Gary Williams, founder of Keller Williams Realty and author of a number of excellent books on growing a business, says that to be successful in the real estate world you can’t be in it just for the money – you have to have what he calls a “Big Why” that gets you out of bed every morning with a passion for that day’s work. This is another law that applies to every dimension of life. The first step to moving that stone in the photo above is having an absolutely compelling reason for wanting to move it in the first place.

Strategy #2 – Make your commitment public…
At a growing number of organizations across the country, small groups meet for one minute each morning to recite together that day’s promise from The Self-Empowerment Pledge. Making a public statement of intent and commitment helps propel them back to work with a renewed sense of Responsibility, Accountability, Determination, or whatever that day’s promise happens to be.

The principle of public commitment catalyzes people in support groups, health clubs, and voluntary causes – and it can help you achieve a higher degree of motivation to move toward the achievement of your own goals.

Strategy #3 – Use double bookkeeping on your to-do list…
I hope you start each day with a review of your to-do list (TDL). I frankly don’t know how anyone can productively get through a day without a to-do list, but suggest that you go one step farther and make two lists. The first is the one you already have – that mélange of urgent priorities, dreaded duties, and good intentions that constitute the typical TDL.

The second is restricted to your Big Ticket Items (BTI) – things like starting your own business, building a house, writing the book that’s been burrowing into your soul, spending the winter in Fiji. Then every morning, look at your routine TDL.

If you are like me and almost everyone else, not one item that gets crossed off of the TDL has anything to do with completing your application to the Harvard School of Anthropology (or whatever your BTI happens to be). This awareness will help you focus your time, money, and energy on more of those things that Covey famously calls Quadrant II – important but not urgent.

Strategy #4 – Break down BTIs to be TDL friendly…
By definition, a BTI is bigger than bite-sized. Rome wasn’t built in a day and you won’t write the Great American Novel over the weekend. Mapping out specific actions required to achieve a BTI allows you to plug them into your daily TDL in a planned and logical sequence. Do that long enough and the dream house of today becomes the family home of tomorrow.

Strategy #5 – Be a 20-Mile-Marcher…
In Jim Collins’ new book Great by Choice (with Morten Hansen), the authors say that one of the key definers of companies that prosper through the most challenging of times is that they set aggressively doable goals and commit to hitting those goals, day in and day out, no excuses allowed.

They call this the 20-Mile-March commitment because it was by such a strategy that Amundsen reached the South Pole and returned to tell about it while his rival Scott, who trended toward 40 miles on easy days and never got out of the tent on hard days, never left the Antarctic alive.

In a world where almost everything is beyond your control, Collins says, having that tangible goal of 20 miles per day helps keep you and the team pressing ahead through the fog (or snow).

Strategy #6 – Do important things twice…
Doing something in your head first makes it easier to do with your body, a principle that is used by every successful athlete. They know that running the track, or playing the game, in their minds makes it certain that they will run faster and play harder when the real competition begins.

You can do the same thing – visualize yourself racing through the grocery store at double-time, shaving off 30 minutes to do things that contribute to your BTIs – an extra hour or two a week for reading, exercising, working on a business plan.

Strategy #7 – Do trivial things last – if at all…
I have a sign in my office that reads “The One Big YES Requires Lots of Little NO’s. If you want to write the Great American Novel, you don’t have 3-4 hours a night to have the boob tube transform your beautiful mind into butterscotch pudding.

Strategy #8 – Change gears frequently…
Winston Churchill, who knew a thing or two about being productive, said that a change is better than a rest. The minute you find yourself getting bogged down, get up and start moving. It will reinvigorate your energy and your drive.

Strategy #9 – Practice the 4-Get It Formula…
Whenever you have a chore to do – say going for groceries – practice the 4-Get It Formula: Get in, Get it done, Get out, Get on with life.

Strategy #10 – Have mixed motives…
Someone once asked Chuck Colson (founder of Prison Ministries Fellowship) what motivated him. He replied that while his mission work was certainly a motivator, he’d be lying if he didn’t also say that he was motivated by other things, like book royalty checks and public recognition.

Having mixed motives like that, he said, assured that if one wasn’t working another would kick in (for example, on a day when you’re sick of seeing people but the rent is past due – money will motivate where recognition won’t).

Strategy #11 – Practice Neuro-Attitudinal Positivity…
I am a big believer in this one. When you run into the proverbial brick wall and your mind seems to have completely shut down, take some time to exercise Neuro-Attitudinal-Positivity, which in the field is known by its acronym NAP.

Some of history’s most successful people were committed NAPpers, including Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, and Albert Einstein. Churchill said of his daily NAP: “Nature has not intended mankind to work from eight in the morning until midnight without that refreshment of blessed oblivion which, even if it only lasts twenty minutes, is sufficient to renew all the vital forces.”

Waking refreshed from a nap gives you renewed stamina to attack the brick wall, fire-breathing dragon, or other barriers that stand between you and the completion of your work.

Strategy #12 – Choose your battles…
It is a fundamental maxim of military strategy that the commander should at all costs avoid fighting simultaneously on multiple fronts. Doing so spelled the end for Napoleon and for Hitler, while the Europe First policy of the Allies was decisive in winning WWII.

Our battles today are more often emotional and psychological. Every time you catch yourself complaining and whining, you are – perhaps unwittingly – starting a mental battle that you don’t need to fight. Toxic Emotional Negativity (TEN) is like psychological quicksand – it bogs you down. Read the article below for more ideas on how to keep a positive mental attitude in challenging times.
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Joe Tye is America’s Values Coach. He is also the author of several books and audio programs on personal, career, and business success, and a popular motivational speaker. Visit www.JoeTye.com

Motivation Articles, Essays, Tips and Advice

Variety is the spice of life. But if you – like me – view the world as an exciting buffet of opportunities to learn, try and create new things, you know that variety can be dangerous.

The problem is that it’s easy to get distracted from the goals and commitments you’ve already made. Rather than seeing things through to completion, you abandon the goals and projects you’ve already started to chase after whatever new thing has just caught your eye.

I call this “shiny object” syndrome, and it has derailed the success of many people who could be very successful – if they only could maintain their focus long enough to complete a goal.

If you frequently abandon commitments in favor of new interests and projects, here are five techniques I’ve found helpful in evaluating new opportunities.

* Postpone Your Decision. It’s easy to get swept away with excitement when you stumble across something new and exciting. Try waiting a few days before making a final decision about whether or not to commit to the new opportunity. During this self-imposed cooling-off period, you’ll probably find that your enthusiasm wanes and you’re better able to evaluate whether this new opportunity will move you closer to your goal.

During your waiting period, make a list of all things you could possibly do with your time, including both the new opportunity and your existing commitments. Ask yourself where you would schedule time for the new activity or project. You’ll quickly see that there’s not enough time for everything you want to achieve, and you’ll see exactly what you would have to give up to squeeze the new opportunity into your schedule.

* Use Review Board. I’m constantly coming up with new projects that I want to do, as well as fielding exciting joint venture proposals from colleagues. Rather than making the executive decision to take on a new project and then delegating the work to my staff, I now seek my team’s buy-in first. If they say that taking on a potential new project would require sacrificing a more important existing goal, the idea is put on hold.

If you don’t have a staff or co-workers, create your own review board. Ask people you trust and who understand your goals for input before you commit to taking on any new projects or work.

* Inner Board of Advisors. Create an imaginary group of mentors that you can turn to for advice. Simply create some quiet time, close your eyes and ask your board for advice about the opportunity you are considering. Your inner board of advisors can include anyone – alive or deceased, famous or not, people you’ve met and people you’ve only read about. Mine includes author and activist Helen Keller, as well as President John F. Kennedy. Although both are deceased, I get very distinct guidance when I ask for their help and open up to their wisdom.

* Forced Choice Technique. Write a list of all of the things you want to do. Then prioritize your list using a forced comparison. With this technique, you compare items one at a time, from the top of the list to the bottom. Start by asking which you would rather do – item 1 or item 2. Take the winner and compare it to the next item on the list. Then compare that winner – let’s say it is item 3 – and compare it to item 4. Once you’ve done a forced comparison with all items on the list, you’ll have identified your number-one priority.

Now go back to remaining items on your list, and start the forced comparison process again with the first two items. Repeat the entire process until you have prioritized the entire list of activities. This will help you gauge the importance of the new activity or project you are considering in comparison with everything else you have already committed to.

Finally, ask yourself the following two questions: “What is the most effective use of my time now?” and “What’s the most important thing to do today?” This will help you maintain focus in a sea of choices.

* Muscle Testing. Your body never lies. So when in doubt about your enthusiasm for the fun opportunity you just discovered, simply ask your body for its input. The easiest way is to use the standing body lean. With this process, you stand and ask your body to show you a “yes.”

After a few seconds, your body will start to lean forward or backward. Then ask your body to show you a “no,” at which point it should lean the opposite direction. Once you’ve calibrated yourself, ask your body whether you should act on the opportunity. The answer you receive in the form of a simple lean will reveal what truly is in your best interest.

Maintaining the focus you need to complete goals can be difficult when the world offers so many exciting things to learn, do and experience. Use these 5 tips to ensure that any new opportunities you choose to pursue will support, rather than detract, from your existing commitments. By resisting the adrenaline rush that comes from starting something new, you’ll find it easier to complete more of what you start – delivering a sense of accomplishment that’s hard to beat.
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Jack Canfield, is the founder and co-creator of book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your success tips from Jack Canfield now at www.JackCanfield.com

Josh Hinds Commentary: in the work I do coaching and speaking to entrepreneurs and small business owners this a common occurrence — that is, people moving from one great idea to the next, before really giving themselves an opportunity to succeed. Sadly, I see folks do it all the time!

My friend and colleague, Mike Litman calls this the idea avalanche — and he’s right on in this description because folks literally get buried in the “next great idea”, and end up neglecting taking ample action on anything. Use the ideas in the above article to ensure you don’t fall victim to “the next great idea” getting in the way of the success you deserve!

Motivation Articles, Essays, Tips and Advice

We already know the past. What we have yet to discover is the future.

The single best way for creating your future is through a process called Strategic Questioning.

Strategic questioning is a process whereby you ask yourself, bigger, better, and bolder questions that initiate an internal dialog and which draws you into a more exciting future with new possibilities.

Throughout my coaching and training engagements, I have used this process to help people rip the lid off their current way of thinking and open up their minds to a whole new future.

Here are a few of those questions:

“If everything I’ve done up until now was just the beginning, what’s next?”

“What do I have to become in order to get all that I want?”

“How far can I go?”

Each of these questions acknowledges the past, but uses it as the foundation for a new stage in life.

Unfortunately, far too many people won’t ask a question if they don’t already have the answer to it, but this limits them to thinking within the realm of what they already know.

Your current questions, ideas, and efforts have brought you to where you are today, but if you want to produce bigger results, you need to think bigger too!

Breakthroughs occur when you engage with open-ended questions like:

“What’s next for me?”

“What would it look like if this worked out?”

“What do I ideally want my life to look like?”

While some questions are inherently unanswerable, they are still valuable because of where they lead you — even if that’s only to other questions.

As you keep inquiring, you’ll naturally seek out solutions and structures that allow you to explore your ideas and create new things in the world.

Everything Counts!
Gary Ryan Blair
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Gary Ryan Blair is President of The GoalsGuy. A visionary and gifted conceptual thinker, Gary is highly regarded as a speaker, consultant, strategic planner, and coach to leading companies throughout the globe. Visit The GoalsGuy!

Motivation Articles, Essays, Tips and Advice

“Success is dependent on effort.” –Sophocles

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” –Aristotle

One reason that philosophy is important to understand and use is that everyone is a philosopher.[1]

Far from being the ivory-tower, irrelevant proceeding limited only to those that like it piled-higher and deeper[2], everyone is a philosopher, just as everyone breathes, eats, and has thoughts. We might even say that we hold this truth to be self-evident (just as they did in the Declaration of Independence), that everyone is a philosopher. Furthermore, we know this because each person has to make sense of the world is some way. In fact, just a bit of open discussion with any person will reveal what their beliefs are. By delving just a little bit deeper, we can readily find out what their philosophy of life is, and how it operates in their life. This is but one essential aspect of the fine art of philosophical counseling, more commonly known and marketed as life coaching. Of course, psychologists call it psychotherapy.
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As people who are interested in personal development, we’re all seeking out ways to improve ourselves. And there is definitely a ton of information out there to meet that demand. In fact, there’s so much that it can be hard to process it all. Ironically, this information overload is often most responsible for people’s lack of progress.

If you think that having a wealth of information at your fingertips full of wonderful, new, engaging ideas 24/7 (like the internet) is always a good thing, think again.
Read the rest of «How to Avoid Information Overload»

The brain determines consciousness, and a long list of attributes which affect one’s quality of life. Without exception, everything starts with the brain; it is central for everything that we do. Productivity; starts with the mind, the brain must be nurtured with, stimulation, positive affirmations and active challenges.

The Human Brain – A Remarkable Organic Computer

Volumes of data exist around the subject physical fitness and well-being. Fitness is conducive with mental ability and brain efficiency; both are relative to productivity. The brain is a complex organic muscle which needs constant stimulation to preserve the minds peak performance. Knowledge about the mysteries of the human brain continues to grow, it is immensely complex and still largely not understood, it is the most complex phenomena in the known universe. Whether consciousness is uniquely human, is still hotly debated, it is still, for the most part not understood.
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‘It is preoccupation with possession, more than anything else, that prevents men from living freely and nobly.’ ~Bertrand Russell

Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on twitter or identica.

I know there are many of you who want to declutter, or who have already gotten started … but you hit a roadblock.

And it’s a big one: you don’t want to be wasteful. Your gut tells you that getting rid of perfectly good things — things that cost a pretty penny to get in the first place — is wasteful as hell.
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You may have heard the joke at a party that a man who is balding in the front is a thinker, the man balding in the back is a lover, but the man balding in front and back – thinks he’s a lover! Well, some people are born doers. Some people are born thinkers. Some think about doing and never get anything done. It’s not the one who thinks of doing that gets ahead, it is the one who does.

Action people are usually people who are organized and seem to know exactly how to proceed from one project to another seamlessly and without effort. Others flounder in a world of disorganization, haplessly moving one piece of paper to another location without knowing why. At the end of the day, the doers typically have more energy than at the beginning as they feed on taking action.
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Some people live and work in a disorganized, cluttered environment. A large number of famous inventors lived that way. When they needed to solve a problem, they picked things up off their desk to get ideas. However, in an office environment where productivity is measured in work results rather than ideas, clutter and disorganization tend to hamper, more than help productivity.

Organization is essential in your home, office or in your home-office if you’re to function at maximum efficiency and strive for increased productivity. If you’re searching for a place to sit or an empty space to place a file it’s time to organize.
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