Today I visited a farm with my family.

They had goats, sheep, guineas, chickens, peacocks and turkeys to name a few. It was a relaxing tour. But it also reminded me about a time when things were simpler.

As someone born in Topeka, Kansas the farm is not alien to me. Although I never lived on one, some of my extended family members did. My grandfather’s neighbor grew potatoes and I’d often go help dig them to pass the time. I’d visit my other grandparents where we’d drive out to the farm and return with ‘bushels’ of corn, peaches and snap beans. Regrettably, I still don’t know what a bushel is.

But what is clear about the old way of farming is the work was clear. You shucked corn until every ear clean. You dug potatoes until there are none left to dig. There was time for thought and time for talk. And there were harsh consequences for farmers if they did not do their work.

Today’s work is not so clear – especially if you are working on yourself. Your arms won’t rot off in October because you didn’t harvest push ups today. You probably won’t starve to death in December because you forgot to plant the seeds of your small business in April.

That’s what makes getting ahead these days so persnickety. Consequences for inaction can take years to appear.

The solution is we must all work on our fortune telling skills. It’s not as hard or mystical as it sounds. We can use imagination and logic to see the result of not acting today, tomorrow and the next.

You don’t need a crystal ball to see what happens after 3 years of drinking a bottle of vodka each day. Nor do you need one to see what happens after 3 years of developing a profitable service that helps thousands of people.  Successful fortune telling means seeing the future and altering your behavior accordingly.

Leaders call this having a strong vision.

It’s common for people with big goals to get frustrated, maybe even angry they aren’t going as fast as we’d like them to go. Yesterday, I had an opportunity to discuss this with a friend. He was mad that he didn’t burn enough calories during his workout plan – his goal is to get in shape.

First, I asked “What commitment did you make to yourself?”  He said that he hadn’t really made a commitment except that he wanted to get in shape.

It may seem like an argument of semantics, but I disagree.  He did make a commitment to take action.  But he may not have been entirely conscious of the commitment. It may have been as simple as “I’ll exercise every day for 30 minutes.”  Otherwise, what is there to be angry about?

Let me give an example.  You are meeting a friend for dinner.  She says she’ll be there at 7 o’clock.  7:45 rolls around and she finally arrives.  You are angry – or at least irritated.  Why?  Because she broke the commitment.  If she had said “I’ll be there sometime tonight.”  And she still arrived at 7:30 are you still mad?  No. She didn’t break the commitment.  My friend had a commitment that he felt he broke, but I’m not sure he was aware of what the commitment was.

Clarify Commitments

Conscious or not, I think we should be aware of our commitments and clarify them.  If my friend could put his finger on what he’s expecting from himself and write it out, then it’s easier tracked.  It will all boil down to yes or no questions “Did I exercise 30 minutes today?”

Choose Reasonable Commitments

Commitments should be stuff you can do.  If you’ve never exercised a day in your life, and you are holding yourself to 2 hours a day of 7 days a week, that’s a recipe for failure.  Like the saying goes “inch by inch….”  To be successful, we must commit to that “inch” 3-5 times a week.

On the other hand, one inch every 3 or 4 weeks (depending on how you feel at the time) just isn’t going to cut it.

Rewards and Punishment

I’d also recommend rewarding good behavior and punishing bad.  Say after a day of working out you can enjoy a DVD movie, popcorn and a glass of wine.  Then after a week of working out for the days committed treat yourself to an evening out.  But if you miss a day, then no enjoyable activities that same night.  No DVD, no popcorn, and you sure as hell aren’t getting any wine either. The punishment must be swift and you must stick to it.

Holding your own feet to the fire can be tough, but it’s crucial. Saying “oh just this once I won’t meet my commitment but I’m still going to watch my favorite show” undermines progress.  The next time you don’t feel like doing it, it becomes that much easier to shrug off.  An evening of “adult time-out” might just motivate you to meet your commitment right then and there so you can get it over with and get back to the fun.

If you see a reward at the end of the tunnel ONLY for meeting your commitment and a punishment for not doing it, then doing what you need to becomes second nature.

Arguably this is very BF Skinnerish, but it works.  It’s worked for me on countless occasions.  I had frequent rewards in place.  And I had rewards every week for weekly success.   But I also had punishments for not doing lined up too that I forced myself to stick to.  I still weep thinking of all those nights of Counter-Strike I missed just because I couldn’t get my act together.

No dessert can be just as effective on adults as on our kids…

I got a question on twitter today about how to set a daily goal. It’s a good question. Some of my short-term growth goals are a month-long. So a daily goal is almost alien to me.

However the question reminded me having a daily goal is important.

I have gotten so accustomed to the way I handle my goals and tasks.  I tend to not think of a daily goal but a #1 priority task. So what I am getting at is that whether you call it a daily goal for a top-task isn’t important.   But choosing what you want to accomplish each day is critical.

How to Choose Your Daily Goal

I recommend picking your goal based on what you want in the future. If your goal is something big like to save up for a new house… okay.  There is a goal you can do today to make that happen.  Maybe your goal might be calling a realtor.  It might be talking to the bank.  Or it might be a half-dozen other things.

Like I said we can split hairs over whether we call it a #1 priority task or a daily goal.  Whatever you call it, your daily goal should be the most important thing you can do today to move the ball forward.

There’s an important distinction to be made between a daily goal or priority task and a half. We wouldn’t call working out necessarily a daily goal. Unless it was based on something such as I want to lose 50 pounds instead if you wanted to build your health you might call your daily goal actually a half developing the habit of exercise every day. I know this is confusing to some but I think it’s important to remember that if you’re going to be doing the same thing every day forever and ever amen, then what you’re talking about is developing a habit you’re not talking goals or tasks necessarily.

Tips to get Your Daily Goal Done

1. Start Early in the Morning – Early in the morning the emails haven’t started pouring in.  The demands on your attention haven’t landed.  In the morning you have freedom to pursue what you want.  If you don’t get started early, there is a risk you won’t.
2. Start the Hardest Part of the Daily Goal First – I hate to say it, but the thing you dread doing, the thing you are putting off is probably the most important thing!   A student doesn’t put off launching a web browser to do research – he puts off making flash cards for his study – because that’s harder.  Yet, it might be the most important task to do to pass the test.
3. Allow yourself flexibility – If you’re like me, you miscalculate how long it is going to take you to do something.  Here we have to be patient and carry your daily goal over to the next day.  So you accomplish it a day late.  So what?When I was building the first Pocket PC version of Achieve-IT! goal software, I set a goal to have it done in a year.  It took me 13 months.  So what?  I was a month late, but it still got done.  Had I beat myself up about it on the 12th month, it might have been longer…

Now it’s your turn

I’m sure many of you have comments about successful ways to knock out the daily goal. Why don’t you give your successful strategies in the comments?  Beginners might be having a tough time laying out their day in this way.  It could be confusing and it can be sort of anxiety building for some of us to narrow down what we should focus on.  Your comments will help.

And if you have a goal setting question, feel free to ask me on Twitter or by submitting it here. I really do appreciate questions about goal setting and productivity, so ask away!  You aren’t hurting my feelings. 

Image credit: svilen mushkatov

Seems every time there is a recession, I hear some knucklehead pronouncing that rich people will come to the common mans’ rescue. On the bus the other night I heard a guy loudly pronouncing how Warren Buffet and friends will take heart and donate $2.5 million to every household.

These donations would end the recession and everyone would live happily ever after. Isn’t that sweet?

What insanity.

Back in 1998 I had a similar conversation with a coworker who believed Bill Gates would write a check for $50,000 to every American family. After all, Bill Gates could do that. So he would. Like a chain letter gone bad, this co-worker was counting on it.

I know it can sometimes be fun to dream about windfalls like this. But smart people should never count on them.

When dreaming about your future, most of the dreams should revolve around what YOU will do, not other people. Because you can’t control or predict what others will do. You might not even be able to control what you will do. But at least you have more experience with you.

Face the facts of our circumstance (good or bad) and take action to get what we want. If it’s more money, make the trades in your skills for the money. Your rich uncle Larry may leave all his money to his pet squirrel. And Bill Gates may decide to never write that check – I know I’m still waiting on mine.

Call it writer’s block. Call it burn out. Call it whatever you like. But my desire to write is overshadowed by the weight of writing something meaningful.

Somewhere between the early success of this blog (est. July 2005) and today things changed. I had a lot of fun in the beginning. It was new. I felt more comraderie with other bloggers. And the ideas flowed. I couldn’t wait to post again. Sometimes, I’d write 2-3 a day.

Lately I am lucky if I can squeeze out one per week. What changed? I ask myself that question every day. But I am still not closer to any real answers.

I like writing. I always have. It’s fun. But now it feels like a chore. I don’t want it to be that way.

Since the grand slams of my earlier posts, I wonder if the self-induced pressure of topping those success has gotten to me. Or could it be I’ve just gotten too technical and dry for my own good? What about the dramatic changes in my life – the death of my father – my special needs child – are events to blame? Or maybe it’s a combination of everything… It’s not clear to me, that’s for sure.

Many of you have been around since the first days. You probably know me through my writing better than most. What changes have you noticed? Are the changes better or worse?

New here? Let me ask you an important question. Why are you here? And did you find what you are looking for?

Finally, what topics do you want to see in the coming days, weeks and months?

Thanks for you input,
Brad Isaac

I am going to pick on my beloved wife for a minute. I was looking at her home office and noticed she had papers scattered everywhere.  Not only on the desk but under it.

Some of the papers important.  Some not.

My first question to myself was “who can work this way?”  Answer:  nobody at least efficiently.

My second question was “How does this happen?”  I mean, she didn’t plan to organize her office like an Exxon bathroom. It started out simple, attractive and easily accessible.

So what is the obstacle to organizing our stuff and more importantly our lives?

In thinking it through, I realized it wasn’t all her fault. Our kids can get into the area and leave their little messes. I’ve probably left a CD lying around here or there when I went to fix a problem on her computer.

So we can chalk up ‘other people’ as being a barrier to our organization.  Others don’t care about our work areas as much as we do.  They care about what they want and if it makes a mess for you, sorry – but they’re in a hurry.

But what else gets in the way of our organizing?

I noticed there was a small trash can (full) sitting in front of (blocking) her filing drawers.  These are the same filing drawers I painstakingly helped her organize – ala GTD – complete with labelmaker’d file folders.

Could this little trash can be part of the problem?

You bet it is.  Because something as simple as filing a sheet of paper into a file folder gets an upgrade from a mere task to a project.

Project: How to file a sheet of paper when your work area is cluttered:

1. Get large trash bag
2. Empty trash can
3. Find new place for trash can.
4. Open drawer
5. Find file
6. File paper

It might sound silly, but that’s how the mind works.  If something simple becomes a project, then you will resist it more.  Won’t you?

But then you can expand on that to cover the whole office.  Everything there is now an obstacle.  To do one thing, you’ve got to do 6 or more other things to get it done.  It should be simple, but it isn’t.

You see, it doesn’t matter the size of the obstacle that matters, it’s the emotional meaning we attach to it. And get this.  Sometimes the emotional meaning makes no sense!

As someone who likes projects, I’d often rather haul landscaping timbers, dig holes and build backyard planters than I would rather empty a shoebox full of items to “put away.”  That box has sat near my dresser for a month now.  Why not empty it?  Because of the emotional “project” I’ve made of it.

Sometimes just shedding conscious light on our mountains made of molehills can make all the difference…

The other day I posted about how to build a self-development day.  A self development day gives you a boost in optimism and attitude that will definately cause some great results.

But what about when the honeymoon is over and your self development day is behind you?  What is going to help keep you on the right track?  How will you continue to gather great ideas that continually move you forward?

One way is to create a University on Wheels for yourself.  Take the self-development programs you purchased for self-development day, add some other titles and keep them in your car.  Listen to an audio program on your way to and from work every day.  Whenever you set off on an errand, think of it as brain-time where you can learn or reinforce a skill.  If you travel for a living, throw some of the CDs in your carry on luggage and learn on the plane.

I don’t know how long your commute is, but if you are normally listening to FM radio and commercials, your time will be much better spent if you pop in a learning cassette or CD.  Just think of all the time you spend in your car getting from home to work and back.  If you travel for a living, how much time do you spend in a plane?

Even if you are just 15 minutes each way, that is 1/2 hour of good focused learning time each day that is otherwise wasted if you don’t have an audio program playing.  Added up over the course of a year and you’d have 125 hours per year or more of education just by making this simple change!

That is why we call it a University on Wheels, you can get a college equivalent education sitting behind the wheel of your car.

I have used this method to learn new communication skills, business and marketing tips, Spanish, negotiation,  Conversational French and more.  I am thinking of naming my school The University of Brad in Camry.

What skills would help you to get to your most important goal the quickest?  Odds are, there is an audio learning series you can get that can train you as you drive.  While other people are listening to top 40 radio and getting stressed with the commute, you could be advancing your career.

Aside from the long-term education you’ll gain from your university on wheels, there are some immediate benefits from creating one.

• You get a good mental start to your day – you are feeding your mind with new ideas that can help you get stuff done efficiently.  You’ll feel brighter and more awake.
• Driving becomes more pleasant. Listening to commercials on the radio, the sound of traffic, other radios blasting gives you a headache.  Learning more about a subject you are passionate about will sometimes make the drive seem too short!  You might start wishing for red lights so you can finish listening to the author’s thoughts before you get to your destination.
• You end your workday on a positive note.  If you had a rough day at work, we all have them, what better to boost your spirits than learning more and preparing for your future success?

Additionally, as time goes on, you’ll build your library.  You can listen to your older programs for a “refresher course.”

New idea! Voice record your thoughts: I am getting a lot from keeping a recording device with me to jot voice notes while listening to my audio programs.  When I’m listening to the programs, ideas start rolling – as they should.  But in a car, you can’t take action on any of them immediately.

Solution?   Voice record the ideas and put them on an action list when you get to work or home.  Any recorder will do (cassette or digital) as long as you can hear your voice clearly. Or better, I’ve been using the Jott app on my iPhone to send ideas to my email or (in the case of tasks) to the Toodledo app.

Over the years I’ve learned much of the value of the audio learning programs comes not from the information itself, but my ideas that arise while listening.  My audio notes are crucial to make sure I don’t lose any of them.

So if you haven’t already, get started building your university on wheels as soon as you can.

Updated: Originally posted May 12, 2006

Candidly, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from the Get Motivated seminar in Greensboro last week.  However, I was surprised to find the first 1/2 of the program was great. The second half seemed to get a little “infomercial like” so I ended up leaving early.

Here are my notes in their mostly unedited format:

Rudy Giuliani –

Reagan believed in a lot of things whether they were popular or unpopular.  He also said popular sentiment is sometimes right and sometimes wrong.  Thus to be an effective leader you have to have strong beliefs.
To be a leader you have to be an optimist.

Not only do you have to be an optimist to be a leader you need to even have to fun.

People follow problem solvers.

Optimists turn setbacks into opportunities for the future.

The key to getting ahead in life is to prepare 4 hours for every 1 hour of action.

Get up and practice your public speaking 4 hours for every 1

Looking for a job?  get up and practice job interviewing 4 hours for every 1 now.

He also highly recommended the following advice you cannot accomplish anything without the help of others.

Rudy placed a high emphasis on the following:
Ask “what don’t I do well and who can do it to help me?”
Ask your wife, husband, children, and associates get a second opinion on what you don’t do well and then find out who can help you.

Rick Belluzzo

Chief Operating Officer at Microsoft

Spoke mostly about career advancement.

He said “you are the enterprise.”
“Individuals have to reinvent themselves several times each career.”
Pursue each opportunity is if you can make an enduring impact.

Rick’s 4 keys to advance your career:

1. be easy to manage
2. except bad news
3. be an active listener and learner
4. and stay humble.

Dr. Robert Schuller

He’s still at it at 80 years old… 36+ books written

Dr. Schuller had a short 20min. appearance.

“you must make a commitment to be either a positive or negative thinking individual.”

“using the word impossible is not intelligent.”

Phil town

I’d never heard of Phil Town. He’s an investment advisor and offers the following:
His main point is with a little research an individual investor can beat mutual fund managers and analysts.
Mutual fund managers shoot to beat the S&P 500 that’s their only goal. However he’s seems to think that amateurs have been investment advantage the experts do not using the following steps:

1. Buy covered calls or stocks is covered calls (I need to research what covered calls are)

2. you treat stock investing as acting is if you’re building your own business

3. But stock in low-tech companies

4. Buy stocks that are “on sale”

5. Look for excellent cash flow growth.

He recommends the sites Wealth Magazine and InvestTools’ (investor toolbox) for managing your portfolio on your own. (I am not recommending this it’s just in my notes)

Phil Town’s Investing Fundamentals

· Look at trend analysis

· Also do not invest emotionally the stock market is the most irrational place in the world the ideal investment position is good price valuation analysis. And minute mall minimal acceptable return on investment.

· He shoots for 15% per year is the minimal acceptable return on investment but he says the most important consideration is Margin of safety — always by stocks 50% off retail.

· 80% of the money in the stock market is managed That means that 80% of the money in the stock market lumped in with mutual funds, 401(k)s and group held stocks.

· He also talked briefly about group rotation — I need to research what that means

· Insider trading — if insiders are buying it is a clue. If they’re selling that is a clue to.

Zig Ziglar

I was surprised to find out Zig Ziglar had experienced a brain injury during a fall down a flight of stairs.  His injury causes the possibility of additional falls and severely limits his short term memory.  To address these limitations his presentation was in “interview” format conducted by his daughter Julie Norman.

As the seemingly frail Mr. Ziglar took the stage, I secretly felt apprehensive.  “Oh my,” I thought.  “This is a little awkward.”

But after 2 questions Zig was fired up.  He wasn’t missing a beat.  Frankly, I was stunned because, he gave many of the prior speakers a spanking in terms of presentation.

Like when I saw him over 20 years ago, his anecdotes and jabs were right on target.  Further cementing him as one of the kings in motivational arena.

P.S. I was so impressed, I contacted his son Tom during the seminar to let him know my thoughts.  Tom was grateful, but for some reason, he didn’t seem surprised.

Final thoughts

Like I said in the beginning, I wasn’t expecting a lot.  I went with a family member who wanted to go.  But I was happy that the first half was as good as it was.

For first timers, I’d say the $20 investment is probably worth it.  But the real expense comes in if you sign up for a side seminar.  There are other seminars and products some of the speakers are pushing pretty hard.  I cannot speak to the quality of these other offerings.  Many are very expensive.  So, like anything, do your research and take your time…you don’t necessarily have to buy right there.  I certainly didn’t.

Did I leave more motivated? Not really.  However, I didn’t want to get motivated – per se.  I went mainly due to curiosity, social reasons and to keep up to date with what the motivational speakers are up to these days.  Some of my Twitter friends said they did get motivated though.  So if you need some motivation, this might be an inexpensive way to get rollin’.

Your thoughts?

Have you attended a get motivated seminar?  If so, what are your thoughts?  Do you have any questions for me? Post them in the comments.

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Tommy Galan the author of Happy Universe.

The difference between those who realize a desired result and those who don’t is often found in the language, or words we use. Even the language in the last sentence is carefully structured to avoid using the word “failure.” While “failure” is considered negative, not reaching a desired result is simply a lesson learned, and a chance to correct the course of action the next time.

Language plays a huge part in our ability to achieve goals, meet obligations, and view ourselves as valuable humans beings. Take the following hypothetical for example: There are two children. One grows up in a family where the parents constantly tell the child that he will never amount to anything, that he’s a failure, and he does poorly in school and sports because he is a loser. The other child is praised for good actions. He’s told that he is loved, and that he can achieve anything when he focuses his mind. Wouldn’t you agree that the second child has a greater chance of reaching his goals? The reason is language.

We use language to communicate to one another, and importantly, we use language to talk to ourselves. How do you speak to yourself? Do you beat yourself up when you “fail”? Sometimes we don’t even listen to the way we speak to ourselves. Our minds get locked into a pattern, and we become unaware of the disempowering words we use to describe our reality. Even words that seem innocuous can have great impact if we associate pain with such words. Exercise, for example, is a word that most people consider harmless. However, many people associate pain with exercise, and then refrain from good health. We take steps towards achieving the goals we set by reframing our self-talk.

We reframe our language by first becoming aware of the way we speak to ourselves. The best time to become aware is when we are in a peak emotional state. It is during such states that our language is most obvious. Listen to yourself the next time you do not reach a goal, or when you have succeeded. What language do you use? Do you say, “I’m such a loser, I’ll never make it” or do you say, “Where can I improve for my next attempt?” When you succeed do you think, “I’m the best, I will always win,” thereby setting yourself up for future disappointment, or do you recognize the reasons why you succeeded and hone those areas for the future achievements?

Once you become aware or conscious of your self-talk, you can then break the pattern, reframe and replace your language. Returning to the example of exercise, I find it incredibly helpful to never “exercise.” Instead, I move in a way that I find fun and exciting. I ride a bike. I play with my son. It’s exciting for me to challenge myself with long distance running. When my self-talk points me towards fun and excitement, I want to go in that direction. Understanding language and communication is power, and it starts with the ability to talk to yourself rationally.

Tommy Galan is the author of HappyUniverse, a blog dedicated to designing happy lives through exciting goals and healthy lifestyle. A few of his many adventures include performing on Broadway, earning a Juris Doctorate, finishing marathons, and traveling the world. He lives in New York City with his wife and son.

Photo by Matt Palmer

“I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” – Albert Einstein

Do you ever feel like you need a kick in the seat-of-the-pants?  A push in the right direction?  Perhaps you need a boost in morale or need some attitude adjustment.  Try giving yourself a self-development day.

Benefits of a self-development day

1. You almost program yourself for optimism

2. You feel better, refreshed and ready to seize the rest of the week

3. Side-advantage: You knock out some minor tasks you’ve been procrastinating

4. You’ll be more organized for the days and weeks to come.

The way I’ve done this in the past is I’ve picked one or two self-development/motivational audio programs that I would listen to nonstop for a whole day.  I put on some headphones and do some long-delayed cleaning and filing.  At the end of a day like this, I am feeling much more positive, more organized and a lot more energized about how I am going to deal the rest of the week.

So why does this work so well?

The simple reason is constant exposure.  If you have ever attended an all-day program sponsored by Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy or similar speaker, you probably felt pretty good about yourself and your future after the day was complete.  Constant exposure to new motivational ideas prevent the little negative thoughts (gremlins) from taking hold so easily.  For lack of a better word, it’s healthy brainwashing.

Best of all, this method is simple to do.  Just pick a day, and choose a few self-development audio programs.  Prepare some repetitive or routine work and get to listening.  Don’t stop until the end of the day!

Here are 8 tips:

1. Pick audio programs where you feel you’ll learn something or reinforce behaviors you want to preserve.

2. Make sure the day you choose is one where you can either be alone or where you can listen without people interrupting.

3. Choose titles that can get you moving in new and better directions.

4. Mentally approach your self-development day listening time with a sense that you will learn something.

5. Set aside a full day, where you can do stuff like clear your desk, your office closet, dust, file…choose simple tasks such as organizing so you can focus on the audio messages.

6. Also, keep the computer and radio OFF.  This is self-development day, not surf day.

7. It’s also not audio-book day, so don’t choose novels.

8. If you find yourself bored with the message, keep the tapes or CDs rolling.  If your mind drifts, let it drift.  Just keep it rolling.  It’s likely the next chapter will snag you.  If not, you are still getting something.

Some ideas for what to do while you listen can include filing and tossing out old papers.  Remove all the books from your bookcase, dust them and put them back.  Clean and arrange your desk drawers.  If you typically take a break, this time take a break and go for a walk.

A self-development day is an Investment in you.

This is pure YOU time, this is for your health and mental well-being.  You will surely get many ideas during this day and will probably feel a great sense of motivation and drive when the day is over.

Need some suggestions?

Here are some titles I’ve enjoyed over the years:

• The Psychology of Winning

• Lead the Field

• The Psychology of Achievement

• Your Secret Wealth

• The Art of Exceptional Living

• Conversation Power

Updated: Originally published May 8, 2006