Productivity Planner

Review: How To Win Friends and Influence People

Buy it now $25.00 $11.86

How to Win Friends and Influence People is the first, and still the finest, book of its kind. One of the best-known motivational books in history, Dale Carnegie’s groundbreaking work has sold millions of copies, has been translated into almost every known written language, and has helped countless people succeed in both their business and personal lives.

First published in 1937, Carnegie’s advice has remained relevant for generations because he addresses timeless questions about the fine art of getting along with people: How can you make people like you instantly? How can you persuade people to agree with you? How can you speak frankly to people without giving offense? The ability to read others and successfully navigate any social situation is critically important to those who want to get a job, keep a job, or simply expand their social network.

The core principles of this book, originally written as a practical, working handbook on human relations, are proven effective. Carnegie explains the fundamentals of handling people with a positive approach; how to make people like you and want to help you; how to win people to your way of thinking without conflict; and how to be the kind of leader who inspires quality work, increased productivity, and high morale.

As Carnegie explains, the majority of our success in life depends on our ability to communicate and manage personal relationships effectively, whether at home or at work. How to Win Friends and Influence People will help you discover and develop the people skills you need to live well and prosper.

This grandfather of all people-skills books was first published in 1937. It was an overnight hit, eventually selling 15 million copies. How to Win Friends and Influence People is just as useful today as it was when it was first published, because Dale Carnegie had an understanding of human nature that will never be outdated. Financial success, Carnegie believed, is due 15 percent to professional knowledge and 85 percent to “the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people.” He teaches these skills through underlying principles of dealing with people so that they feel important and appreciated. He also emphasizes fundamental techniques for handling people without making them feel manipulated. Carnegie says you can make someone want to do what you want them to by seeing the situation from the other person’s point of view and “arousing in the other person an eager want.” You learn how to make people like you, win people over to your way of thinking, and change people without causing offense or arousing resentment. For instance, “let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers,” and “talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.” Carnegie illustrates his points with anecdotes of historical figures, leaders of the business world, and everyday folks. –Joan Price

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7 Ways to Distract Your Distractions

In this ever complicated world of social media, cell phones, land line phones, instant messaging, Facebook, email, etc. etc. etc. there are certainly more than enough distractions to completely monopolize our time. When I was in high school, boarding school actually, I was always coached by one teacher to “Distract My Distractions.” That has always stuck with me. It’s much easier to give in to distraction when you are not strategically planning for it. Here are 7 examples of ways that you can “distract your distractions” as an executive.

Email

Do you get a popup message every time you receive an email? If so, then you should probably disable that feature. If you just can’t let go of knowing the exact second those emails come in, make a point to not react to each one individually. Pick two times per day that work for you and respond to all of your emails then. Most emails are not so important that they need an immediate response. And, if it’s a true emergency that person can call you on the phone.

Updating Social Media

Again, like email, if you have this running all day long it is going to distract the heck out of you. Determine a plan for your social media marketing and stick to it. For instance, pick two times per day and retweet articles that you have found useful from your RSS reader. Pick two times per week to search for new people to follow and ditch those who either don’t post often enough or don’t follow you back. There are a number of services that are useful for optimizing Twitter.

Walk-ins Not Accepted

There are plenty of people in any work environment who are looking for ways to waste other people’s time. It is unavoidable. So, you must find ways to either keep them from coming in or if they do get them out as soon as possible.

If you have a door, meaning if you have an office, don’t leave it wide open all the time. I used to work with a guy whose office was in a main hallway. He always kept his door wide open and his desk faced outwards. Every time I would walk by I would see his peripheral vision shift to see who was walking past. I am sure that over time this had a terrible effect on his productivity. So, if you have a door and you want to have that “open door” policy, leave it cracked instead of wide open. People will be less likely to distract you as they walk by and also will probably think twice about coming in to just shoot the breeze. Even better you can close your door but put a nice sign on it saying “Please knock and come in!” and a smiley face.

If you work in a cubicle, this tactic is a little trickier. Some people suggest wearing headphones. But depending on the culture of your office this practice could be somewhat off-putting. Another way to head off those “walk-ins” at the pass is to stand up immediately when the begin talking to you. Then you might say something like “What can I do for you?” or “I don’t want to be rude but I am right in the middle of this project. Is there a question I can answer for you right now or can we catch up later?”

Telephone/Cell Phone

Much like email only respond to those voice mails once or twice a day. You can add a disclaimer to you voice mail message stating that if it is truly an emergency they can call you or your cell phone. That will cue people in to the fact that you are not responding immediately to calls. Also, similar to the cubicle “always be closing” method try to arrive at definitive outcomes as soon as possible on the phone. You can also respond to voice mails with an email to help reduce unneeded banter and small talk.

If you use a Smart Phone do NOT set it to alert you every time you receive an email.

Meetings

One sentence, well two if you count this one. Only hold meetings to discuss pre-outlined topics and determine and assign actionable items.

Don’t Buy in to Perceived Urgency

Just because someone thinks that something is urgent does not necessarily mean that it is urgent. Treat each request objectively and view it within the grand sphere of your goals and responsibilities. You will encounter people who want everything 5 minutes ago and believe their needs trump all others. In the case that this person is your superior often times you do not have a choice. You might suggest something like, “Right now I am working on X. If you would like to me stop working on X and start working on Y I can do so but the result on X will be…” If the person is not your superior use your judgement not theirs when evaluating their requests for your time.

Summary

There are endless ways to allow yourself to become distracted today. Notice I use the word allow because 99% of the time we have a choice whether or not we want to give in to our distractions. By using some of these methods and others you develop you should be able to “Distract Your Distractions”

How do you deal with distractions in your work environment?

Brian Landi

Blogger/Author

Bits of Business

http://www.bitsofbusinessblog.com

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Increase Productivity and Eliminate Payroll Issues

1) Better Dispatching and Routing

With GPS tracking, dispatchers know the exact location of every vehicle in a fleet. This helps them to direct the closest vehicle to any job site. Some GPS tracking solutions go a step further by providing a feature that automatically locates the vehicles nearest to any address.

In addition, dispatchers can ensure drivers take the most direct route to any job site and quickly re-route them should they get lost on a journey. Some GPS tracking solutions also provide real-time traffic reporting so dispatchers can warn drivers of traffic delays and provide rerouting as needed.

To ensure that you get the most efficient dispatching and routing, look closely at the mapping functions of any potential GPS provider. Many solutions offer inaccurate or incomplete mapping. Choose a GPS solution that includes powerful mapping – like Google Maps API – to give you pinpoint accuracy.

Lowering fuel consumption and reducing wear and tear on vehicles through efficient routing is an obvious benefit. But less time spent on the road also means more time spent completing jobs during the day.

2) Monitor Inefficient Employee Practices

Another reason productivity increases with GPS has to do with simple human nature. When employees know that their vehicles are monitored, they tend to drive and work more efficiently. In essence, GPS gives fleet owners the ability to ride along with their drivers. Under direct supervision, employees perform their duties faster and at a higher level.

Some GPS tracking solutions also include features that monitor vehicle idle times and engine status. Business owners can use these tools to ensure that drivers are not wasting extensive time idling in one location or spending an excessive amount of time at a particular job. Combined with an alert function, owners can be notified if a vehicle has idled or remained inoperative after a certain amount of time and quickly determine the cause.

By knowing the location of every vehicle, business owners can also immediately determine if a driver deviates from a direct route to a job site. This eliminates the practice of employees using work hours to complete personal business.

Vehicle monitoring can also help improve productivity by giving business owners a quantitative measurement of employee performance. This works especially well with GPS solutions that provide in-depth historical reporting.

Businesses can use hard data gathered through GPS tracking like idle times, mileage, speed and engine on time to implement an employee reward program. Bonuses based on tangible performance metrics encourage productivity and boosts morale.

The best GPS solutions provide data reporting that dates back all the way to when a client first begins using the system. In some cases, performance can also be compared between drivers or against the company average.

3) Automate Timesheets and Payroll

A majority of businesses with vehicle fleets rely on manual timesheets to determine payroll. A manual system often opens the door to inaccuracies and falsification of work hours. By automating payroll, business owners can ensure their employees are paid accurately for actual work done.

Many GPS systems track the time when a vehicle starts for the first time during the day, and when a vehicle shuts down for the day. This provides an accurate, automated record of how long an employee worked. In addition, shutoff and startup times during the day can be used to record accurate time spent for lunches and breaks.

Reputable GPS providers include extensive reporting functionality that compiles this information in an easy format that can be used as an electronic timesheet. Integrating this information into back office applications will further increase business efficiencies and reduce administrative costs.

In addition, accurate and automated payroll can help eliminate payroll disputes. For example, C. Jones Trucking in Aberdeen, MD found themselves in a court dispute with employees. Their drivers claimed they were owed $120,000 in overtime pay. Fortunately, the company had a reliable GPS solution installed to track actual work hours. With evidence from the GPS reports, the suit was settled for only $7,000 and the company avoided financial ruin.

4) Eliminate Unauthorized Vehicle Usage

GPS vehicle tracking can give business owners the ability to ensure employees use their vehicles only for authorized purposes and only during specific times.

High-quality GPS programs help in this effort by alerting business owners when their vehicles enter areas considered off limits. For example, drivers may congregate during business hours at a specific location, wasting valuable company time. GPS can alert owners when their vehicles enter that location.

These alerts can also notify fleet owners of employee theft. For example, Ingersoll-Rand, a HVAC-R company found that their employees were turning in scrap copper from company jobs for personal profit. Copper from jobs was supposed to be turned into the company. Ingersoll-Rand used GPS alerts to notify them when any vehicle entered or exited local scrap yards and eliminated the theft.

In addition, some GPS tracking solutions can notify business owners when their vehicles are used during unauthorized hours. These alerts are essential in notifying business owners of vehicle theft in progress and can help with quick recovery of a stolen vehicle.

But a vehicle activity alert is especially useful for businesses that allow drivers to take company vehicles home. Employees that use company vehicles for completing unauthorized side jobs tend to spend time during work hours scheduling and handling administration of non-company jobs.

Eliminating unauthorized vehicle use can ensure your drivers avoid restricted areas, significantly improve production during the day and reduce any liability of drivers using vehicles during off-hours.

Case Study: Di Pinto Brothers

DiPinto Brothers Transportation specializes in delivery of containers to and from the ports in the New York area. It operates over thirty vehicles that travel throughout the Northeastern seaboard. From its 115,000 thousand square foot facility in Edison, New Jersey, its fleet racks up 133,000 miles per week.

However, the company found itself struggling under the weight of a payroll inflated by too much overtime. DiPinto Brothers had no way of knowing the accuracy of its timesheets or how efficient its operations really were. The company implemented GPS vehicle tracking across its fleet in order to gain control of payroll and overtime expenses.

“We have seen significant savings since installing GPS,” said John Puya, Fleet/Safety Director at DiPinto. “In our first year alone, we saved $190,000 in overtime costs.”

DiPinto Brothers reported a series of benefits from the implementation of its fleet management software. On the payroll front, the company is no longer paying out wages and overtime based on driver estimates.

Using GPS, dispatchers can monitor the location of all vehicles night and day. For example, an alerting feature enabled the company to set a two-hour limit for trucks waiting at a pickup or delivery site. Previously, drivers might end up sitting at one spot for many hours. This led to heavy overtime costs as well as lost revenue.

“Before, we would have to pay the driver many extra hours of overtime yet would not be able to bill the customer as we often didn’t find out until well after the fact,” said Puya. “By alerting the customer before the two hours are up, we ensure we get paid appropriately for our services.”

It is also much easier to monitor driver lunch hour habits. Under a manual system, the organization had to accept whatever was recorded in the driver logs. Puya suspected that these were not completely accurate. This has been borne out in the return on investment.

“Improved payroll accuracy has saved us approximately one hour per vehicle per day,” said Puya. “That’s why we’ve recommended the system we use to four or five other companies who are now implementing it.”

Conclusions

The current economic recession has been particularly hard on businesses with vehicle fleets. In addition to lower revenues, fleet owners have had to deal with volatile fuel costs. GPS fleet tracking has helped businesses around the world meet their immediate need to decrease fuel consumption and increase their profit margins.

Often overlooked are the impacts of GPS on productivity and payroll. Almost all GPS tracking services in some way provide the information needed to gain more control over these two areas. But only reputed, forward-thinking GPS solutions include a wide variety of tools to make it easy for business owners to leverage the most benefit.

When choosing a GPS tracking provider to maximize productivity and control overtime, look for these features:

• Precise, Minute-by-Minute Tracking

Make sure your provider tracks vehicle locations at least every minute and provide regularly updated mapping.

• Traffic Reporting

This helps ensure your drivers spend more time on the job and less time stuck in traffic.

• Monitors Idle Times and Engine Status

Knowing how long your vehicles idle and when they are actually in operation is imperative to reduce wasted time.

• Management Reports and Alerts

Your GPS solution should have a variety of reporting functions to provide easy access to data gathered by the system. Reliable GPS tracking should also provide immediate alert notifications when drivers deviate from rules you set, including entering restricted areas.

• Automated Timesheets

If you still have to use manual timesheets after installing GPS, then your system is not using the latest tracking technologies. Eliminating manual timesheets is essential to improving payroll.

• Historical Reporting

The ability to view historical information in key metrics such as idling, mileage, average speed and engine-on time will enable you compare drivers to each other, view your top offenders, and make corrections to driver behavior as needed.

http://www.fleetmatics.com

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Top 10 Ways to Get Ahead in Life

In this very competitive marketplace, everyone is looking to get ahead. For myself, my clients and most people – I don’t mean at the expense and failure of others. I am talking about using the untapped resources and opportunities within and around you, and propelling yourself to where you WANT to be – and not just trudging through life.

Knowing that all successful sports athletes, top executives and the most respected entrepreneurs currently use coaches and mentors, it’s very apparent that in order to get ahead in life – it pays to get the right kind of help!

Here’s a short list (in David Letterman style) of the TOP 10 ways to get ahead that I’ve discovered by working with various clients from all different walks of life, who were looking to be better at who they are and what they do!

10. Set the Plan for Maximum Achievement

Start by having a plan. As the old saying goes, “Plan your work, and work your plan”. And while you’re developing and building that plan – why not set the destination for maximum achievement? If you’re going to go through all the effort, time, investment and work to get where you want to be, go ahead and shoot for what you REALLY want.

Maximum achievement for you may be living in abundance and joy, or realizing your dreams and goals in alighment with your values and purpose. Setting your plan to a reasonable “high altitude” may bring you the time with loved ones, or the peace and accomplishment you’ve been missing for so long.

9. Develop Crystal Clear Clarity

In this “hyper attention age”, it’s too easy to lose focus and not maintain clarity on what’s important. As you probably know from personal experience, when you were set, clear and focused on one thing – you got it done. Maybe it was waking up 30 minutes late for work, and you were FOCUSED on getting ready and out the door in record time. Have you ever had a presentation or project due within a crunch deadline, and you pushed out all distractions in order to focus on the immediate task at hand?

That kind of laser-focus clarity does amazing wonders for your success. It’s when you get side-tracked and lose sight of what’s important, that hinders your personal development or business success.

8. Write Down Your Goals

Most people were not brought up to set goals. What a shame!

If your mind doesn’t know what to aim for, it won’t work the body to get there. Do you know what you top 3 personal goals are – long-term and short-term? What are your top 3 financial goals, long-term and short-term? If you’re an entrepreneur, you should have written business goals. As a career professional, what are your career goals? Event a house wife should have goals for your family, accomplishment goals and written clarity for anything else that is important to you!

With the goals written, now come the action steps to determine what to do daily and weekly to get there. Have at least three action steps per goal, in order to develop activity to move you consistently in the right direction.

7. Commit to the Time and Process

Almost everyone who engages a coach wants MORE, and knows that they must make certain changes in their personal and professional lives in order to get more of what they really want. These changes certainly take time and effort. You got to where you are today over the course of thousands of little decisions, and lots of time. The sooner you come to the realization you’re life’s improvements happen with time and better decisions – and not a pill or snap of the fingers – the better your result.

Even if someone told you that “Result X” would take two years, don’t get frustrated. Two years is going to come anyway! Would you rather be exactly where you are now in two years, or leaps and bounds ahead?

6. Begin Attracting the Right Things Into Your Life

Through the power of attraction, you can accomplish more of your objectives in less time, and have an abundance of time, energy, love and power. It is important to understand what you’re already attracting, and how to get more of the good that you want or begin to stop and reverse the negative that you don’t want!

Attraction happens through shifting your attitude, home, life, career and habits. Attraction happens through strengthening your personal foundation, and becomes a way of being. Whether you know it or not (or believe it or not), you are bringing people, actions and results into your life by how you attract them. That can either be a great thing, or a very bad thing – depending on what you’re attracting and the results you actually want.

5. Focus + Action = Results

Have you been told you must work harder to create more results? Focusing on an effective “plan of action” is half the battle. Moving continually towards the desired target is the other ingredient. When you are clear about what you want, often times, you quickly forget. Not because your goals and objectives are no longer important, but because you got caught up in life, got busy and present moment challenges evaporate your attention.

It’s important to hold your focus, and keep that vision alive. We all need to be reminded of “What’s Most Important in YOUR life” and reminded of the action steps needed to take us there. Keep that focus in front of you at all times, because: Focused Attention + Deliberate Action = Fabulous Results.

4. Don’t Hold Yourself Accountable

Have you ever broken a promise that you made to yourself? I have too. The power of your “word” to an unbiased third party (namely your coach) does have amazing results! Having someone to commit to every week, puts more leverage on you to make your own commitments happen. You see this all the time in life – whether it’s with your boss, your spouse or your family. You can give yourself a “pass” all day long, but not the person you’re accountable to!

Why do successful people NEED accountability? Shouldn’t they be disciplined enough to “just do it” on their own? Most times, with assistance, you’re able to identify action steps that you never would have thought of on your own. How can you implement an idea you never had? Whether you consider yourself motivated or not, disciplined or not, creative or not, never underestimate the power of your word within the coaching relationship.

3. Make Fewer Mistakes

In your business life or in your personal life you are bound to make mistakes. Welcome them and learn from them! So how is it possible for me to say “make fewer mistakes”? The old model of learning from mistakes on your own is extremely expensive and time consuming. An old saying is: “A wise man learns from his mistakes. A wiser man learns from other’s mistakes.”

Why should YOU be the one to make the same mistakes that other’s have already made for you? One of the benefits of having a coach is the perspective outside of your own mind. Someone who sees around the corner from the direction you’re going, and has the experience to suggest otherwise. Oftentimes, it can be the questioning of your goals, ambitions, actions and strategies that make all the difference. If you don’t have solid answers to relevant questions, then maybe you’re about to make a mistake that someone else has already made.

2. Stretch Your Boundaries and Grow as a Person

Since infancy, we all have an innate desire to learn and grow. As we age, many people have stopped learning and growing in life, and are among the “walking dead”. Learning and growth are among the most satisfying and fulfilling experiences available to us. I’m a huge believer in “life-long learning” and using the tools available to all of us. There are scores of books to read that can change your life, seminars to learn from, ongoing training and life lessons from people and personal experiences.

I attract clients that love to learn and grow, and want to take themselves to the next level. There are many reasons people use coaching to get ahead in life, but the bottom line is CHANGE, and change means growth. Do not limit yourself based on what you’ve done, or what you think the boundary is. Your ability to grow as a person, and expand beyond any pre-conceived limitations is a freeing and powerful fact many people fail to experience.

1. Give Yourself the Edge

In many Olympic game events, we find a similar phenomenon that happens in car races, horse races and other types of sporting events. The Gold Medalist and the 1st Place Prize go to the individual who won by the smallest of inches. This is very common, and happens all the time in sports, business and in daily life.

In any event, the prize money is dramatically different from 1st place to 2nd place. The salaries are thousands of dollars more for a CEO, vs. a Vice President. Being awarded the large contract brings much more revenue for the company, than having to settle for what’s left.

The winner takes 1st place by just an inch or less. Oftentimes, that tiny edge is all that’s needed to separate you from 1st and everyone else who came in after you. All things being equal, having a coach gives you an edge over the competition without a coach. In your career, in your business and in your life, having a coach means having an edge. An edge that has you three to four strides ahead of those chasing you. An edge that gives you strength, confidence, and empowerment to handle difficulties in your business and your life. An edge that propels you forward into life – maximizing your fulfillment along the way. Is it important to have an edge? Just ask the person who came in second…

Kris Cavanaugh is a speaker, author and coach who specializes in helping others cultivate a C.E.O. mindset in every area of their life so their businesses, careers, and personal lives thrive. She is an expert strategist with an amazing ability to pull her clients through difficult challenges to obtain the life they truly want.

If you have a desire to live your life “on purpose”, so you wake up every day excited about the possibilities and maintain an unwavering belief that you will overcome any obstacles to achieve your personal and professional goals more easily – call Kris at 404-551-3601 or go to http://begintoshift.com/landpage/MakeTheSHIFT.htm to schedule your complimentary meeting today.

Kris is author of “Stuck to C.E.O.” now available from Amazon at http://amzn.com/0982663668.

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Back to the Basics Planning

Have you ever noticed that there are certain times of year that fly by? And other times just drag on forever? Summertime seems to be one of those times – alternately flying and dragging. Mostly flying though. Have you already gotten summer brain? You know what I mean: it’s hot, it’s mid-July, everyone is on vacation (even those still at work), and it seems like there is no point doing anything because nothing is really going to get done until September.

I was thinking about some work I was doing with a client last year on planning. We were meeting in early June, and school was almost out for her kids. She wanted to create a great plan for the summer – one that allowed her to have a vacation as well as get all the work and other stuff done without being a stressed out maniac. As we were talking, I started asking about what had to be done to get the kids ready for school in the Fall. At first, she was confused and didn’t even want to talk about that.

After all, school wasn’t even out for the summer yet, and I was asking her about the next school year! But as we looked in more detail, it became clear that if she didn’t think and plan now for the end of the summer and the start of the school year, she would be that stressed out maniac sooner than she wanted to be. In early June it can look like September is months away. And it is. But remember, summer flies by and September comes far sooner than we’d like.

By taking a little time right then, she was able to arrange the back to school medical checkups quickly. She also pulled together the rest of the paperwork the school always wants, and which always can’t be found in August. So, when school let out the next week, she was able to take her summer long vacation with absolutely no concern about what had to be done when she returned. It was already planned, scheduled and would be waiting for her when the time came.

Planning. A schedule that works for you. These are two of the fundamentals I keep coming back to. They establish a foundation on which you can build your business, and your life. Without that foundation, you are building sandcastles. Beautiful to look at, and they can be quite elaborate and impressive. But not stable. Not lasting. You can get a jump on everyone by taking a little time to refine your plans, to re-define your schedule, to look at how things are getting done.

When was the last time you inspected your foundation?

In the meantime, have a great summer – but remember – time flies!

(c) 2010, Terry Monaghan
Want to use this article in your ezine or website?
You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:
Consultant, coach, speaker, trainer and entrepreneur, Terry Monaghan, publishes Now What, a weekly ezine for entrepreneurs and professionals who want to double their productivity, improve their performance, and have a life! If you’re ready to jump start your performance and your results, then get your free tips now at http://www.TimeTriage.com.

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Batch Processing 3 Tips to Working Faster

Though I always advocate doing a little bit everyday that will add up to the realization of your bigger plan there are certain situations where processing things in a big group will yield a better result.

An example of this is when sending off parcels or making deliveries. In these cases it is best to sort out what needs to be delivered or sent off then doing so.

Here are 3 tips if You’re batch processing.

1. Bite Sized Chunks.

When using batch processing the most important thing is to sort out what you’re doing into bite sized portions that You can handle. If you’re writing 5 articles a day and upload them twice a week make sure that the uploading days aren’t wearing you down or making you dislike writing the articles.

The point of batch processing is to make things easier for you by doing it at one time so make sure it’s doing just that.

2. Pick The Right Time.

If You’re a morning person then get the batch processing out of the way in the morning and move on to the other things that You have to do that day. Even though batch processing is a ‘no brains’ way of doing things it still takes some concentration to get it done right.

Also remember that since You’re doing a lot at one time if You make an error it may carry through to more than just one instance.

3. Get In and Get Out.

When dealing with batch processing as well as anything else when it comes to work I always recommend the ‘get in and get out’ approach. Block out everything else, turn off the phone, lock the doors and get all the work you need to do done so You can leave.

Thank You for reading and have a great day.

Ricky.J.K.Ruto.
http://www.Delta14.com

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The 7 Flaws of Small Business Owners

Small business owners often share personality traits, like confidence and determination, and we operate under similar circumstances, like limited time and high stress. These commonalities lead us to also share a set of behavioral defects that hold us back and limit our success.

What’s more, over time these behavioral defects become habits that we are often blind to. Listed below are the 7 most common flaws of the small business owner. See if you recognize any of these weaknesses in yourself.

Superman Complex - Caused by our confidence and the necessity to function as the jack-of-all-trades in the early days of our business, the Superman Complex is typified by the belief that you can do anything. While not necessarily a bad thing, it often leads to us taking on projects we shouldn’t.

Solution: Know your weaknesses, your limits, and remain humble. Make a list of things to “stop doing” to remind you when to say “no.”

Pattern Persistence – We are so busy we tend to stick with existing solutions and ways of doing things out of habit and simply because we don’t have enough time to stop, reflect, research, and implement better ways of doing things.

Solution: Schedule a time to rethink existing processes. Keep a journal of problems as they occur so you can reflect on them later.

Burnout-Mania Cycle – We come to rely on “elbow grease” and “burning the midnight oil” as the de facto approach to moving things forward. Unfortunately, the brute force approach to progress can only go on for so long before we become burned out. This leads to periods of extremely high activity followed by periods of low motivation and avoidance.

Solution: Take time off and relax before you want to. By the time you want a break from work, the damage has been done and you’ve already lost motivation.

Failure to Delegate – Closely tied to our Superman Complex, we are prone to do things we shouldn’t be doing because we feel its too much of a hassle to delegate or we think we can do a better job than anyone else. The business owner’s time is a limited resource that should be carefully spent but it is often frittered away on low level tasks that anyone else could do just as well.

Solution: Force yourself to delegate. Maintain awareness of what you are working on. Get a virtual assistant and commit to delegating a certain amount of work each month.

Working “in the business” Rather Than “on it” – We tend to spend our time working for customers or doing maintenance work while the big picture and long term plans are neglected. Our time is spent reacting rather than being proactive.

Solution: Schedule time for progress and treat it as sacred. Forward progress only happens when you make it an unshakeable priority.

Creative Impulsiveness – Our work is dictated by inspiration. We are inspired by our latest idea and our time and energy is directed there leaving countless worthwhile projects half-finished on the backburner.

Solution: Keep a list of projects that you continually prioritize. Make a rule that you will only work on the top one or two projects at a time.

Perfectionism – We have high standards for what we will attach our name to or associate our company with. We take pride in our work and have a hard time saying, “Good enough.” As a result, we slow our progress as we continually edit details that few others would notice.

Solution: Become obsessed with the idea of making things happen rather than making things perfect. It’s not necessary to lower your standards but putting your focus on the act of delivering will keep you moving rather than spinning your wheels on details.

Brian Gladu
Owner, LongerDays.com Virtual Assistance
brian@longerdays.com
800-507-1622 ext: 610

Find out more about how we can help you grow your business and be more productive.

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Multitasking The Grand Illusion!

Most people try to multitask, and many of them consider themselves quite adept at it.

Multitasking is the scourge of modern day society. It is the root cause of poor listening, poor communication, and sloppy execution of many day-to-day tasks.

Slowly, assiduously, we have adopted one communication device after another until the devices have become the tail wagging the dog. We have become slaves to the tools.

Watch some harried person, or perhaps yourself, who is actively plugged into the complete communication system; that would mean live email, fax, Twitter, smartphone/cellphone, landline phone, internet, Facebook etc. That person will literally live their daily life in response to the never-ending “siren calls.”

You might be thinking, yeah, so what’s your point?

The point is this, if someone is continually responding to the constant beeps and buzzes then clearly they’re not in control of their life. Put another way, would the person live differently if the devices ceased all communication for the day?

Years ago if a telephone rang every few minutes we would say, “It was ringing off the hook.” Compared to today’s ceaseless assault from all fronts, a singular ringing telephone is hardly noticed.

The purpose of this writing is to create awareness of a serious problem that we’ve allowed to control our lives while we unconsciously ignore its effects. Incredibly most of us are completely unaware of this growing problem – the ceaseless intrusion and interruption to our focus and conscious thoughts. Every time a devices sounds off, we drop our focus and divert our attention to the latest incoming message. In fact, many of us wouldn’t have it any other way. We have come to believe that orchestrating several different communications gadgets, while studying, watching TV, and socializing is a sign of our adeptness, mental prowess and infallibility. In reality it demonstrates inefficiency and an inability to focus.

Numerous studies have shown that the human brain is incapable of multitasking.

Most people who attempt to multitask are under the delusion that they can perform several cognitive duties at the same time, in perfect harmony, and in a fraction of the time than if they focused on one task and then another and finally another.

Before we dive into whether we can or cannot multitask the first step is to define multitasking. There are two actual definitions: 1. From a computer perspective it’s the concurrent operation by one central processing unit of two or more processes. 2. From a human perspective it’s the carrying out of two or more tasks at the same time by one person.

When it comes to successful multitasking, your subconscious mind is a master. It can simultaneously orchestrate millions of calculations per second as it oversees your heart rate, body temperature, digestion and everything else to keep you alive, while it effortless steers your car down the highway when you suddenly decide to daydream and pawn the task to your subconscious.

Your conscious mind however, is not capable of multiple, simultaneous calculations. It is capable of doing one thing at a time. Period. One thing at a time. If you’re about to protest by giving examples of your ability to watch TV while writing a report then you have landed on the very point of this writing… that’s multitasking and your ability to do so is an illusion.

By definition, when you think you are multitasking what you are really doing is rapidly shifting your focus from watching TV to writing your report, but you are not doing both things at the same time. In fact, most of your mental power is burned up in high-speed travel while you switch focus from one task to another.

Multitasking is the modern day version of the person who is incapable of concentration and focus. This is the person who is at work but is thinking of his family and what he wants to do when he gets home. Then when he gets home he’s thinking of all the things he needs to do at work. Result; he’s never really anywhere or truly present for anyone.

The above example is an ultra slow version of the inefficiency of switching attention.

You might be thinking; “That’s different, when I multitask I’m getting both tasks accomplished with perfect aplomb so who cares if I’m actually shifting my attention back and forth?” That’s just it. We fool ourselves into thinking that we’re doing more than one thing at a time, but in reality we just end up doing one thing after another poorly.

People who multi-task are 50% more likely to make mistakes and 34% less productive. It gives the illusion of doing several things at once but we’re doing a lot of things poorly. The human brain cannot multi-task and there’s down time when switching from one task to another.

A Stanford Study on multitasking reports;

People who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information do not pay attention, control their memory or switch from one job to another as well as those who prefer to complete one task at a time, a group of Stanford researchers has found.

High-tech jugglers are everywhere – keeping up several e-mail and instant message conversations at once, text messaging while watching television and jumping from one website to another while plowing through homework assignments. But after putting about 100 students through a series of three tests, the researchers realized those heavy media multitaskers are paying a big mental price.

“They’re suckers for irrelevancy,” said communication Professor Clifford Nass, one of the researchers whose findings are published in the Aug. 24 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Everything distracts them.”

The conscious mind can only do one thing at a time; it cannot do two things simultaneously.

Do you remember when someone told you to try and pat the top of your head while at the same time you were to rub you stomach? It was impossible to do until you focused your attention on one task (rubbing your stomach) and then delegated that assignment to your subconscious while your conscious mind focused on patting your head. Then if you were asked to try and reverse the process, pat your stomach and rub your head you had to once again focus on a task, assign it to your subconscious mind, and then your conscious mind could perform the remaining task.

How often do you drive down the highway deep in thought or conversation and suddenly realize that you’ve driven a long way past your exit? In situations like that who was driving? Your subconscious mind of course. You delegated the duty. That was a form of multitasking but notice what actually happened; your conscious mind may have started the journey but at some point it decided to focus on something else so it handed the task of driving over to your subconscious mind so that it could focus on daydreaming or conversing with someone in the car. Notice that your conscious mind was capable of handling just one task at a time.

Still not convinced? Try this little exercise. Pick up a pen or pencil and hold it tightly in your outstretched hand. Now ‘will’ yourself to drop it. The pencil fell no problem right? How did the pencil happen to drop? Your conscious mind told your hand to release its hold and the pencil fell.

Now I want you to hold the pencil in your outstretched hand again and while squeezing the pencil tightly I want you to say to yourself, “I can drop the pencil; I can drop the pencil…” repeat this over and over. You will clearly see that if you focus on what you are saying you will be incapable of releasing the pencil. The only way you will be able to do so is stop your internal dialogue and change the focus of your conscious mind from rambling speech to instructing your hand muscles to open. You see? As simple as this task is, you cannot consciously do two things at once. You cannot think “I can drop the pencil” and at the same time say to your conscious mind “Now, I will drop the pencil.”

The myth that we can multitask is an illusion. Falling prey to the illusion can have catastrophic effects on every aspect of your life. It can and will affect your ability to communicate, perform tasks that require concentrated effort and to simply enjoy a moment of solitude without intrusion.

Not too long ago one would have been branded as the unfortunate result of poor breeding if during a conversation one answered the phone or diverted one’s attention from the speaker without a legitimate emergency and a heart-felt apology. Today, such inconsiderate behavior is practically common. In the middle of a conversation people will wordlessly pick-up their phone and begin reading and responding to an incoming message as if the other person never existed.

Even though such behavior is becoming increasingly common, the basic needs of mankind to be appreciated, listened to and understood haven’t changed. The person who understands and practices the simple basics of social etiquette will always be welcome.

Whether we’re talking to another person, thinking, or performing a task, if something is important it deserves our undivided attention. If it isn’t important, then we might want to ask ourselves, why we’re even bothering.

Richard Fast, the author and creator of more than 30 toys, games, puzzles and books, has devoted the past twenty years into the research and development of his 29 DAYS template. He, like the rest of us, had always been told that if you want to change your life just change your thoughts. But how can we change the way we think?

Richard discovered that we can change our fundamental thoughts into desirable new habits by following the same cognitive procedures that we used to create our existing habits. Richard’s 29 DAYS template for change uses proven, scientific techniques, technology and online coaching, to guide you through a step-by-step process toward changing your thoughts and acquiring desirable new habits… permanently. Richard Fast is the author of 29 Days… to becoming a great listener and communicator.

http://29daysto.com/

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Attracting Wealth Into Your Life With Mind Movies

Every few weeks something new comes along and claims it can help you make a difference in how you think and how successful you are in your endeavors. Weeks later, as you stare at your empty email inbox, you wonder what went wrong.

The truth is that those other programs are missing something extremely and fundamentally important – the inner drive and mind power to make it happen. What good is a goal if you don’t visualize yourself making it happen day after day?

Putting the Law of Attraction on Steroids

This all relates to a new service I uncovered of late called Mind Movies that has been helping men and women with trouble following through on their goals to visualize and train their brains to constantly strive for success.

You’ve heard of the Law of Attraction, I’m sure? It’s the global phenomenon that simply states “if you believe something strongly enough, it will happen.” I’m not talking about figurative, metaphorical responses by the universe to your desires.

I’m talking about actual, positive results to your inner beliefs that can help drive your goals to fruition. The idea isn’t new. It’s been around for thousands of years in many forms – meditation, prayer, spirituality, and plain visualization.

The idea is that your brain will actively work to close any gap that exists between what you perceive and what actually exists. If we tell ourselves something often enough, we start to believe it and our actions will reshape to match up with the world around us.

If you visualize your wealth and success often enough, your brain and body will start striving to make it happen, even when it’s not consciously on your mind. Brilliant ideas, carefully organized plans, and a variety of detailed business strategies will start to develop as you visualize your success on a daily basis.

Where Mind Movies Comes In

So, where does that leave Mind Movies? The new service helps to develop positive messaging movies of about 3 minutes each that you can watch twice a day to reaffirm your goals for the future. Visualization is hard after all – some of us are not imaginative people. We think in words, not pictures.

Yet, with a movie that we can watch multiple times each day, it is much easier to generate that mental imagery needed to work towards our goals. Video affirmations that target the specific goals you have for your future will help you to put aside all that self-doubt and truly strive for success.

Because, let’s face it, it can be mighty hard to believe that you’re going to find success after a few weeks of failure. Imagine what happens when you’ve been unsuccessful for weeks at a time, building site after site, watching money go down the drain. When will the profits come in?

And if you think like that, it will seem hopeless – the profits may never come in because you’ll always be questioning your ability to create them.

But, if you have a strong mental image of what those profits will look like and how you will live your life in one, two or three years with all the new wealth you’ve generated, everything will seem simpler and your brain will start to take over for your body, making the money you haven’t been able to.

It’s hard to imagine how a simple video can change your thinking forever, but it really does work. Whether you prescribe to the Law of Attraction or the psychological basis of visualization, know that success is possible.

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Business Building Strategies Goal Boards

A lot of people set goals, many of them even write them down, but few actually make goal boards. Goal boards are simple to do and an extremely effective way to keep your goals in front of you. If you are a visual person which most of us are, this is the best way to make sure you accomplish all your goals in a timely manner. Because that is what we really want right? To not only accomplish our goals but actually do it in the time frame we initially anticipated.

I know being a business coach for the past 6 years if my clients commit to this I see a much higher success rate of accomplishing their goals than if they just merely write them down. I mean let’s be honest (I have even been guilty of this myself) you write down some goals they get lost in your note book or that pad of paper you were using at the time, then 6-8 months later you are looking for some notes or that phone number you wrote down and run across the goals you set some time ago. With goal boards this never happens because they are literally staring right at you in your office. When I find myself kind of floundering around, which I do on occasion, I go back to the goal boards to get laser focused on what I am supposed to be doing in order to accomplish my goals.

The goal boards can be done on poster board or what I like to use is the poster board size sticky notes which you can get at Staples or Office Depot. These are awesome because you can just stick them right on the wall. I learned of these a few years back in a mastermind session with a guy from a Fortune 500 company. There were about 12 of us all in a board room and he put up all these poster size sticky notes and we just started brainstorming for about 2 hours. Our minds were just flooded with new ideas and then he had all of get up leave the room and walk outside for 15 minutes. This was really cool because it allowed our brains to slow down a bit and come back refreshed so we could start implementing the ideas into goals that would become reality.

I still use these today. I have monthly goals and weekly goals and these goal boards keep me focused on what I really need to be working on. Go get yourself some big poster size sticky notes and see your goals start to become reality!

Tammy Burnell founded Turning Passions into Profits in September of 2009. Within 90 days of opening her coaching company, she had filled her coaching schedule and established herself as an expert in helping people find their own entrepreneurial spirit. She has since become one of the top group leaders of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs and an in-demand motivational speaker.

Tammy’s ability to help others fast track their success has made her an extraordinarily effective coach. She helps clients get immediate results and start cashing in on their passions.

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