Knowledge v's Learning

We all have knowledge.. With so much information available to us today via so many different mediums we would struggle not to gain knowledge every day.

So, I challenge Dunn and Bradstreets comments and say nearly all the business owners I meet and work with do indeed have KNOWLEDGE. The difference is they don't have the LEARNING.

So what's the difference?

For me the difference is in what we do with the knowledge.

Knowing is not enough, we must DO. Doing turns our knowledge into learning. Once we learn something it then becomes cemented or locked in and is far more likely to stay with us. A habit if you prefer...

A good example of this is driving. I can read books on the theory of driving and I can watch videos of how to drive. This is KNOWLEDGE, I become knowledgeable of driving.

In order to LEARN to drive I need to get into the drivers seat and DO driving.. Now I am learning. This ensures I generate the habit and as a consequence retain the information.

So read, watch, listen, observe... Great KNOWLEDGE providers...
But you need the DO to get the learning..

I meet many business owners who ask for my help to keep them accountable on the DO... They have some the knowledge but have not learnt from it and so don't DO it..

The best way to get both KNOWLEDGE and LEARNING is to get a great coach or a mentor to help you They will give you information/skills (knowledge) and help to keep you accountable by setting goals and planning and doing (learning)

Consulting vs Coaching

What is the difference between Consulting and Coaching?

Many people today are considering hiring the services of a coach. There are business coaches, life coaches, employment coaches, etc. But do you need a consultant or a coach? Is the difference significant and of any consequence?

Yes, there is a significant difference between a consultant and a coach! A consultant is someone you hire to solve a particular problem you have. The consultant is the one solving the problem not the client.

As soon as the client has another problem, the consultant is called and they solve the problem. The relationship for the client is a very dependent one. They depend on the consultant to solve the problem.

The relationship with a coach is very empowering and geared towards the client becoming independent from the coach. In the coach relationship the client solves the problem. The coach works with the client to help bring out their strengths so that the client can solve the problem for themselves.

A professional coach has been trained to be quite the opposite of a consultant. The consultant is the expert and can have their ego involved in the process. The coach has been trained to not have an agenda, to be neutral and egoless, so that the process is all about the client, not about the expert.

The consultant is all about giving the client the answers. The coach is all about asking the right questions. The coach believes they do not have the answers for anyone, but have been trained to ask the right questions to bring the answers out of the client.

Let’s say a client has called both a consultant and a coach to solve a problem they have. The problem is that the client can’t seem to reach the revenue goals they desire. The consultant would analyze the situation and give specific suggestions as to achieving the desired goals. The suggestions would probably include some kind of system or process to implement. The coach would help the client understand themselves to the extent that the client would be able to create their own system that would work best for them.

For example, the consultant may give the client specific processes to go through in order to implement a successful cold call to prospective clients. The coach would help the client determine if that were their strength and therefore the best method for the client to use. What if the client’s strength is promoting to a room full of people, possibly hundreds of people but feels completely uncomfortable talking to one person via the telephone about the very same thing? Which would be the most successful? The coach would look at what will work best for the client.

The secret to selling - My 7 top tips

A critical success factor for all businesses is how good they are at selling.

Every business is selling something, a product and/or a service, but very few are actually trained in the art of selling. Here are seven keys to selling to help you on the track to greater business success:

1. Ask more Questions:Questions are the answers in sales. Too many sales people tell their customers the features and benefits of their product or service but never take the time to find out which of the benefits the customer is actually interested in. So, ask them to tell you what they want.

2. Set daily targets:A common theme in sales - chase enough customers in the hope that one or more will buy. In reality this leads to sales people only selling to the early adopters or price shoppers who would probably buy from anyone. However by keeping track of how many customers buy on average from a given number of leads and then introducing strategies to convert a higher percentage will ensure your sales team learn how to improve their results. Set daily targets and assess your performance against these targets.

3. Use sales scripts:No one likes to hear someone read from a script but customers do expect us to be consistent. So how do you ensure all your interactions with prospects are consistent and that you deal with objections in a professional way? By writing down what it is you say in any given situation and by training your team to use the same questions and language you can bring a lot more productivity to your sales process.

4. Offer / Guarantee:Why should someone buy from you and not a competitor who can provide the same product or service at a lower price? What is it that you offer them or can guarantee them that will differentiate you from your competition? Your offer must generate excitement to get prospects to make a decision to buy now.

5. Ask for the Sale:One of the biggest common failings in sales is not asking the prospect to buy. A fear of rejection, that the sale will be lost, prevents many sales people from actually asking the final question. Just do it and learn from those that say no so you can improve your conversion rate over time.

6. Learning:To be successful in sales there absolutely must be a habit of learning. Learn from other sales experts, learn from books, learn from your best customers and learn from past experience. Both your good and bad experiences can be a huge help in improving your sales success. You must record these experiences and build your knowledge over time. Write it down so you do not keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again.

7. Testimonials:We all need to be reminded of what we are doing right and why our best customers love dealing with us. Sometimes we focus too much on what is going wrong rather than what we are doing right. Focus on the good stuff and we will do more of it! Get your customers to write down their testimonials so you can use it in your marketing and attract even more great customers.

Question: When is the best time to make a sale?

Answer: Just after you made your last one. Ever hear stories of football players who stop scoring goals and it seems they will never score again? Well generally they change something about themselves; their attitude or a superstition or a habit; and then suddenly they are back in scoring form again and they keep scoring.

Get the message from your Business Coach, change something about your sales process and improve your scoring.

Discipline

DISCIPLINE
The price of excellence is discipline.
The cost of mediocrity is disappointment.

• Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.
• We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.
• All disciplines affect each other. Mistakenly the man says, "This is the only area where I let down." Not true. Every let down affects the rest. Not to think so is naive.
• Discipline is the foundation upon which all success is built. Lack of discipline inevitably leads to failure.
• Discipline has within it the potential for creating future miracles.
• The best time to set up a new discipline is when the idea is strong.
• One discipline always leads to another discipline.
• Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.
• You don't have to change that much for it to make a great deal of difference. A few simple disciplines can have a major impact on how your life works out in the next 90 days, let alone in the next 12 months or the next 3 years.
• The least lack of discipline starts to erode our self-esteem.

T.R.A.F. -What to do with that mountain of paperwork!

A large part of our time is consumed by attention topaperwork of various kinds, in both our business and personal lives. How effectively we deal with all that paper will influence what we can accomplish in terms of ourpersonal growth and development.

You might benefit from a review of the TRAF method,popularized by Stephanie Winston, to manage the constant onslaught of written material that faces you every day.

This method allow for only four things you can do with any paper that ends up on your desk:

• Toss it
• Refer it to someone else
• Act on it
• File it

Notice that the TRAF method does not include putting the paperwork aside to address at another time! Typically, most of us keep more paper around than is advisable. If you have little or nothing to lose by tossing something, by all means, get rid of it.

SMART 'en up your goal setting

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting

• S = Specific
• M = Measurable
• A = Achievable
• R = Realistic
• T = Timely
  

Specific
Goals should be straightforward and emphasize what you want to happen. Specifics help us to focus our efforts and clearly define what we are going to do.
Specific is the What, Why, and How of the SMART model.
WHAT are you going to do? Use action words such as direct, organize, coordinate, lead, develop, plan, build etc.
WHY is this important to do at this time? What do you want to ultimately accomplish?
HOW are you going to do it? (By...)
Ensure the goals you set is very specific, clear and easy. Instead of setting a goal to lose weight or be healthier, set a specific goal to lose 2cm off your waistline or to walk 5 miles at an aerobically challenging pace.

Measurable
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. In the broadest sense, the whole goal statement is a measure for the project; if the goal is accomplished, the is a success. However, there are usually several short-term or small measurements that can be built into the goal.
Choose a goal with measurable progress, so you can see the change occur. How will you see when you reach your goal? Be specific! "I want to read 3 chapter books of 100 pages on my own before my birthday" shows the specific target to be measure. "I want to be a good reader" is not as measurable.
Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goals.

Achievable
When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop that attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. Your begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.
Goals you set which are too far out of your reach, you probably won't commit to doing. Although you may start with the best of intentions, the knowledge that it's too much for you means your subconscious will keep reminding you of this fact and will stop you from even giving it your best.
A goal needs to stretch you slightly so you feel you can do it and it will need a real commitment from you. For instance, if you aim to lose 20lbs in one week, we all know that isn't achievable. But setting a goal to loose 1lb and when you've achieved that, aiming to lose a further 1lb, will keep it achievable for you.
The feeling of success which this brings helps you to remain motivated.

Realistic
This is not a synonym for "easy." Realistic, in this case, means "do-able." It means that the learning curve is not a vertical slope; that the skills needed to do the work are available; that the project fits with the overall strategy and goals of the organization. A realistic project may push the skills and knowledge of the people working on it but it shouldn't break them.
Devise a plan or a way of getting there which makes the goal realistic. The goal needs to be realistic for you and where you are at the moment. A goal of never again eating sweets, cakes, crisps and chocolate may not be realistic for someone who really enjoys these foods.
For instance, it may be more realistic to set a goal of eating a piece of fruit each day instead of one sweet item. You can then choose to work towards reducing the amount of sweet products gradually as and when this feels realistic for you.
Be sure to set goals that you can attain with some effort! Too difficult and you set the stage for failure, but too low sends the message that you aren't very capable. Set the bar high enough for a satisfying achievement!

Timely
Set a timeframe for the goal: for next week, in three months, by fifth grade. Putting an end point on your goal gives you a clear target to work towards.
If you don't set a time, the commitment is too vague. It tends not to happen because you feel you can start at any time. Without a time limit, there's no urgency to start taking action now.
Time must be measurable, achievable and realistic.

Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!

Go Givers!!

It's been said that you cannot give away what you do not have. One of the most spiritual important insights or secrets in life is that you already have, and always have had, what you need to give away! If you impart the message that 'I am not worthy' the universe will send it straight back in many shapes, forms and circumstances.

When we say 'give me' we are imparting this message. We are saying we think we need to get something to complete ourselves or prove our worth. Most of us are taught to live a life of gimmie gimmie gimmie - always striving, desiring, wanting, struggling.

We do so only because we think that when we get what we want we will be fulfilled and esteemed by others. But it's an illusion. We are all already complete and worthy but we cannot know it and experience it, until we give it away!

Only giving allows us to know what we are and what we have within. Ask the question- how can I serve? The intention to serve will point you towards what you need to give. If the intention is real it also generates the will.

The most successful people in life are not go getters, but go givers!

Hearing and Listening are not the same thing

Active Listening

Hearing and listening are not the same thing. Hearing is the act of perceiving sound. It is involuntary and simply refers to the reception of aural stimuli. Listening is a selective activity which involves the reception and the interpretation of aural stimuli. It involves decoding the sound into meaning.

Listening is divided into two main categories: passive and active. Passive listening is little more that hearing. It occurs when the receiver or the message has little motivation to listen carefully, such as music, story telling, television, or being polite.

People speak at 100 to 175 words per minute, but they can listen intelligently at 600 to 800 words per minute (WPM). Since only a part of our mind is paying attention, it is easy to go into mind drift - thinking about other things while listening to someone. The cure for this is active listening - which involves listening with a purpose.

It may be to gain information, obtain directions, understand others, solve problems, share interest, see how another person feels, show support, etc. It requires that the listener attends to the words and the feelings of the sender for understanding.

It actually takes the same amount or more energy than speaking. It requires the receiver to hear the various messages, understand the meaning, and then verify the meaning by offering feedback. The following are a few traits of active listeners:

• Spends more time listening than talking.
• Do not finish the sentence of others.
• Do not answer questions with questions.
• Are aware of biases. We all have them...we need to control them.
• Never daydreams or become preoccupied with their own thoughts when others talk.
• Lets the other speaker talk. Does not dominate the conversation.
• Plans responses after the other person has finished speaking...NOT while they are speaking.
• Provides feedback, but does not interrupt incessantly.
• Analyzes by looking at all the relevant factors and asking open-ended questions. Walks the person through your analysis (summarize).
• Keeps the conversation on what the speaker says...NOT on what interests them.


• Takes brief notes. This forces them to concentrate on what is being said.

The Brain Test!

THE Right Brain vs Left Brain test ...

Do you see the Dancer turning Clockwise or Anti-clockwise?

If it is clockwise, then you use more of the right side of the brain, if she is spinning anti-clockwise then you use more of the left side of the brain. Interestly, some of you will be able to get her to spin in either direction. This is you switching sides of your brain from left to right and visa versa.

The brain sides have very different functions and the trick is to generate "whole brain thinking" to get the best from your life. Find ways to incorporate both left and right brain into your learning.

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS

• logic
• detail oriented
• facts rule
• words and language
• present and past
• math and science
• order/pattern
• perception
• reality based
• forms strategies
• practical
• safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS

• emotions
• colours
• control of our 5 senses
• big picture oriented
• imagination rules
• symbols & images
• present & future
• philosophy & religion
• spatial perception
• fantasy based
• presents possibilities
• impetuous
• risk taking

Another really important (and often over looked) point is that the right side of the brain looks after your long term memory. So if you want to remember something then I always recommend finding ways to learn that involve the use of colours, our senses and good use of the imagination.

7 Steps to make that “follow-up” call a Success

1. Don't assume the sale.
Prospects are used to the traditional buyer-seller relationship. They assume you’ll pressure them. Therefore, they may decide not to tell you things that make them vulnerable to pressure. Until you’re sure you know the complete truth, you can never assume the sale is yours.

2. Keep making it easy for potential clients to tell you their truth.
Toward the end of your conversation, ask, “Do you have any more questions?” If the answer is no, follow up with the 100% final truth gathering question: “Now, are you 100% sure that there’s nothing else that I can do on my end to make you feel more comfortable with this situation?” You’ll be amazed how often people will reply, “Well, actually, there’s one more issue...” It’s at this point that you really start to hear their truth.

3. Call back to get the truth, not close the sale.
Most potential clients who suddenly disappear expect you to chase them down. They expect you to call and say, “Hi, I was just wondering where things are at?” Instead, eliminate all sales pressure by telling them you’re okay with their decision not to move forward, based on their not having called you back. In other words, take a step backward. Most of the time, this will open the door to a new level of trust-filled communication.

4. Reassure them that you can handle a “no.”
Of course, we’d rather hear a yes. However, the only way to free yourself and your clients from subtle sales pressure is to let them know that it’s not about the sale – it’s about the best choice for them. If that means no sale, it’s okay with you.

5. Ask for feedback.
Whenever prospects disappear, call them back (e-mail only as a last resort because dialogue is always better). Simply ask, “Would you please share your feedback with me as to how I can improve for next time? I’m committed to understanding where I went wrong.”
This is not being feeble or weak. It’s being humble. This invites the truth.

6. Don't try to “close” a sale.
If your intuition tells you that the sales process isn’t going in the direction it should be going (which is always toward greater trust and truth), then trust those feelings.
Make it safe for prospects to tell you where they stand. It’s simple. All you have to say is, “Where do you think we should go from here?” But be prepared because you might not want to hear the truth of how they’re feeling. You can cope with this by keeping your larger goal in mind, which is always to establish that the two of you have a “fit.”

7. Give yourself the last word.
Eliminate the anxiety of waiting for the final call that will tell you whether the sale is going to happen. Instead, schedule a time for getting back to each other during your conversation. This eliminates chasing. Simply suggest, “Can we plan to get back to each other on a day and at a time that works for you? Not to close the sale, but simply to bring closure, regardless of what you decide. I’m okay either way, and that’ll save us from having to chase each other.”

You'll find that these suggestions make selling much less painful because you stay focused on the truth instead of the sale. The truth is, the more we release the idea of needing to make the sale, the more sales we will likely see.

Top ten tips to improve your memory

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY

Four simple truths about memory:

1. It is normal to forget.
2. You can remember more and retain more for a longer period of time than you probably think you can.
3. A few memory aids that many people have found useful may work for you.
4. The best memory technique may be one you create for yourself, one that corresponds to your learning style.

Top 10 tips

The following is a list of strategies that have worked for many people:

1. Decide to remember. Resist passivity. Become an active learner by making a conscious, deliberate decision to remember. Follow through on this decision.


2. Combine memorizing with a physical activity. Each sense that you use while reviewing provides another pathway for information to reach your brain. Recite either silently or aloud, while riding a bicycle, while doing aerobics or calisthenics (floor exercises like sit-ups and jumping jacks), and while walking or running. Feel good about yourself for keeping fit and for exercising your mind.


3. Use mnemonics. Mnemonics are tricks, games, or rhymes that help you remember things. You learned some as a child—“In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”


4. Use acronyms. An acronym is a word formed by the first letters of other words or items that you want to remember. For example, “TEAM” is an acronym for --
   “Together Everyone Achieves More”.


5. Associate to remember. Association is the process of connecting new information that you want to remember to something that you already know. An association is often
   personal. For example, use something personal to you to remember something unrelated. A friends name or a place you know can be used to trigger the association.


6. Visualize. Form an image, or picture, in your mind of something that you want to
   remember. Visualization is an especially good way to link names with places or parts with
   locations. Draw things on a board or in a book that will remind you of the thing you need to remember rather than listing in words what needs to be remembered


7. Use an organizational technique. Organize information in a meaningful pattern that shows how each item relates to the others. List steps in a process. Outline complex
   materials. Make charts, diagrams, and information maps that show the relationships of parts to a whole or one part to another.


8. Sleep on it. Reviewing before sleep helps you retain information. Because you are relaxed, concentration is focused. The information stays in your mind while you sleep. When you awaken, try to recall what you reviewed the night before. Chances are good that you will remember.


9. Remember key words. Sometimes you have to remember a series of connected ideas and explanations. To recall items stated in phrases or sentences, select a key word to two in each item that sums up the whole phrase. Recalling key words will help you recall the whole item.


10. Memorize. Useful for recalling certain kinds of information, memorization can be an effective tool if it is combined with other memory techniques. Memorization works best when recalling spelling, definitions, maths and facts about historical events, life cycles, etc.

Remember: A flexible memory system is best. The basic elements of successful memory work also include the following:

• Be organized. Information that is organized is easier to find.
• Be physical. Learning is an active process. Get all of your senses involved.
• Be clear. You can reduce the background noise that may interfere with recall.
• Be smart. Intelligent application of memory techniques can save work.

Your memory is a muscle.. if you exercise it, it will become bigger and stronger… Exercise your memory daily…
By improving your memory, you can find greater success in your career and in your personal life.

Business Owners 10 great questions to ask yourself

1. Customer base
Ask yourself: If I just bought this company, how would I sell more/expand what I sell to this customer base?

2. Cash
Ask yourself: If I could invest this cash in any one part of this business/niche/product line for the biggest cumulative return/profit over the next 5 years, where would I invest it all?

3. Market Leadership
Ask yourself: To remain the market leader for the next 25 years, where should I invest my time and company's resources right now?

4. Reputation
Ask yourself: What can I do to double the strength of our current reputation, within the next 6 months?

5. Momentum
Ask yourself: What's working well right now and how can I keep it working well?

6. Key Staff
Ask yourself: Who are the 5 key people in my organization and what game/plan can I create with them so they'll stick around for a long time?

7. Systems
Ask yourself: What systems work so well that we take them for granted? How could we improve them?

8. Responsiveness
Ask yourself: How quickly and completely do we respond to changes in our customers, market, technology, staff needs or economic conditions?

9. Intellectual Property
Ask yourself: What do we have, IP-wise, that just isn't being as leveraged as it could be?

10. The X Factor
Ask yourself: What do we have that's very, very special and that we could really maximize, just for the pleasure of it?

18 STRATEGIES FOR HIRING THE BEST

1. Focus on hiring only the best.
2. Make sure you have a written job description.
3. Don’t limit your sources for good employees.
4. Avoid hiring someone who averages more than one employer every two years.
5. Use a rating system so that early candidates are not forgotten in the interview process.
6. Where possible, promote from within to maintain employee morale.
7. A person with an extensive self-employment background is very likely to go back to self-employment as soon as possible. Hire this person as a consultant.
8. Disabled workers often do a better job with greater loyalty and less absences.
9. Use a temporary employment agency instead of hiring an employee in haste.
10. “Over qualified” people are better than “under qualified” people.
11. Have the person leaving the position interview their replacement.
12. Test the skills and industry knowledge of a prospective employee. Get specific.
13. Look into a potential employee’s energy levels. If you engage in more than one interview, try to do it at different times of the day.
14. Look into any significant gaps in employment.
15. Consider using outside recruitment agencies if you won’t follow a process.
16. Use pre-employment questionnaires.
17. Check an applicant’s background and all references thoroughly.
18. Memorialize the terms of employment.

The Power of NO!!!!

The Power of NO!

You don't know how to say No to a person then please learn because a single Yes can eat up your fruitful quality time.

1) If you don't know how to say NO, people will take undue advantage of you. At office you will be bogged down with work and others will enjoy while you will be doing their stuff.

2) Adapt yourself to all circumstances and situations because it may so happen that your Boss or your peers may transfer their own work to you because you cannot say “NO”

3) If you are a parent you very well need to understand when to say NO or else children's take undue advantage and when you give in they become a spoiled brat.

4) If you cannot meet a person’s expectations just tell him NO rather than thinking what will he think if I say NO and then worrying and getting sick.

5) Its always better to say NO rather than saying YES for a work and then suffering afterwards.

6) If you cannot drink alcohol say NO, Cannot smoke a cigarette just say NO rather than getting addicted and suffering afterwards.

Be true to yourself, you understand yourself better than anyone else. Believe me this is the truth and reality. You have to understand when and how to say NO. The people who are close to your heart may feel bad if they hear a NO from you, so you very well need to understand how to tell NO to them assertively without hurting their feelings and without giving in to the situation.

It happens with everybody and you are not the only one. In day to day life we face these situations and it’s upon us how well we can manage that situation.

We have got 24 Hrs in a single day and we need to manage that time for all our work. We need to go to office, look after home, do shopping for home, look after parents and children, do social activities, take out time for friends and take out some time for ourselves and our personal life.

If we start doing others work there will be a great imbalance in our own life which may lead to irritation and frequent quarrels.

Try out the power of saying “NO” and be a different and transformed person

Eat a Frog for Breakfast!

The secret to successful time management.
From a book by Brian Tracy

The key to happiness, satisfaction, great success and a wonderful feeling of persona power and effectiveness is for you to develop the habit of eating your frog, first thing every day when you start work.

Fortunately, this is a learnable skill that you can acquire through repetition. And when you develop the habit of starting on your most important task, before anything else, your success is assured.

Here is a summary of the 21 Great Ways to stop procrastinating and get more things done faster. Review these rules and principles regularly until they become firmly ingrained in your thinking and actions and your future will be guaranteed.

1. Set the table: Decide exactly what you want. Clarity is essential. Write out your goals and objectives before you Begin;
2. Plan every day in advance: Think on paper. Every minute you spend in planning can save you five or ten minutes in execution;
3. Apply the 80/20 Rule to everything: Twenty percent of your activities will account for eighty percent of your results. Always concentrate your efforts on that top twenty percent;
4. Consider the consequences: Your most important tasks and priorities are those that can have the most serious consequences, positive or negative, on your life or work. Focus on these above all else;
5. Practice the ABCDE Method continually: Before you begin work on a list of tasks, take a few moments to organize them by value and priority so you can be sure of working on your most important activities:
6. Focus on key result areas: Identify and determine those results that you absolutely, positively have to get to do your job well, and work on them all day long;
7. The Law of Forced Efficiency: There is never enough time to do everything but there is always enough time to do the most important things. What are they?
8. Prepare thoroughly before you begin: Proper prior preparation prevents poor performance;
9. Do your homework: The more knowledgeable and skilled you become at your key tasks, the faster you start them and the sooner you get them done;
10. Leverage your special talents: Determine exactly what it is that you are very good at doing, or could be very good at, and throw your whole heart into doing those specific things very, very well:
11. Identify your key constraints: Determine the bottlenecks or chokepoints, internally or externally, that set the speed at which you achieve your most important goals and focus on alleviating them;
12. Take it one oil barrel at a time: You can accomplish the biggest and most complicated job if you just complete it one step at a time;
13. Put the pressure on yourself: Imagine that you have to leave town for a month and work as if you had to get all your major tasks completed before you left;
14. Maximize your personal powers: Identify your periods of highest mental and physical energy each day and structure your most important and demanding tasks around these times. Get lots of rest so you can perform at your best;
15. Motivate yourself into action: Be your own cheerleader. Look for the good in every situation. Focus on the solution rather than the problem. Always be optimistic and constructive;
16. Practice creative procrastination: Since you can’t do everything, you must learn to deliberately put off those tasks that are of low value so that you have enough time to do the few things that really count;
17. Do the most difficult task first: Begin each day with your most difficult task, the one task that can make the greatest contribution to yourself and your work, and resolve to stay at it until it is complete:
18. Slice and dice the task: Break large, complex tasks down into bite sized pieces and then just do one small part of the task to get started;
19. Create large chunks of time: Organize your days around large blocks of time where you can concentrate for extended periods on your most important tasks;
20. Develop a sense of urgency: Make a habit of moving fast on your key tasks. Become known as a person who does things quickly and well;
21. Single handle every task: Set clear priorities, start immediately on your most important task and then work without stopping until the job is 100% complete. This is the real key to high performance and maximum personal productivity.

Make a decision to practice these principles every day until they become second nature to you. With these habits of personal management as a permanent part of your personality, your future will be unlimited.

Just do it! Eat that frog.

TRYING DOESN’T WORK!

Trying doesn't work. When we say we're going to try, it presupposes failure.

I tried for years to make certain changes and do certain things. What I didn't realise was that the feeling of trying was becoming familiar. People like what's familiar, so once I got used to trying, my neurology didn't want to shock me by having me succeed. So I went on trying for years.

Have you become familiar with the experience of trying or struggling? If so, it may be time to find out what happens when you move beyond trying. What happens when you imagine getting what you want? How does it feel?

As Yoda said "Do or do not. There is no try." Trying doesn't work.