Taking time to reflect and analyze is the best self-improvement tool.
If you haven’t already, I recommend listening to the podcast that Tim Ferriss did with Jim Collins.
Jim wrote a bunch of books on successful companies but is himself quite an interesting guy.
Before the host could jump into his questions, Collins started asking Ferriss about his life and the methods that led him to success. Clearly, success fascinates Collins who searches for whatever tidbits he can to improve himself and others.
An interesting detail thing about Jim Collins is how he goes about analyzing his day.
He talked about using a spreadsheet with three cells.
In the first cell…
Four steps to make the rest of the year a success.
Businesses break their years down into four quarters. As a result, they are able to monitor and track their goals as the year progresses. Why aren’t we doing the same thing?
In January of every year, we make our resolutions and outline our goals. However, as time drifts on, a great majority of us realize that some goals are going better than others.
But it’s not too late for us to still achieve our goals!
As I’m writing this, it’s almost June 30th, which means the second quarter of the year is coming to an end. …
This post was influenced by an article originally posted on Harvard Business Review.
We are creatures of habit.
When people discuss habits they typically use what happens when you get home from work as an example of things we do without thinking. Additionally, they will talk about smoking or working out.
If you’re like me, you’ve read plenty of articles and books on habits. You might have even seen B.J. Fogg discuss his theory about tiny habits (it works).
But, you probably haven’t considered making breaks habitual.
Professors from Columbia Business School created two experiments. …
Crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, and Sudoku are actually teaching us how to become successful.
When I was young, I enjoyed jigsaw puzzles. It was fun to work on something one piece at a time. Better yet, it was fun to see the completed puzzle. I felt a great sense of accomplishment in knowing that I made all the right decisions to get each piece in the right spot.
In high school, I discovered Sudoku and found a similar enjoyment. The Sudoku puzzle had more rules than the jigsaw, which made it more challenging. Furthermore, instead of putting pieces together, I had to place numbers in a correct sequence.
The best thing about puzzles is…
Are you actually placing the things you say you want to do above the rest?
We Will Be Successful at The Things We Prioritize
Recently, I was listening to an episode of Jocko Willink’s Podcast, in which he was taking questions from his listeners. One of the listener’s asked how they could find time to read. They explained that they were busy, but still wanted to read books.
Jocko’s answer might surprise you:
“If you want to read more, you must read more.”
Elaborating, he added that you get done what you prioritize. If you say you want to read, then you must make reading a priority. Jocko’s point was that if you feel like you don’t have time to read, then you’re not…
A Brief Dive into the Pareto Principle.
In the 1950’s, a small burger joint in San Bernardino, California was looking for ways to save money and optimize its business. After reviewing their sales information, the restaurant, started by two brothers, discovered that 80% of their profit came from 20% of their menu. Since their aim was optimization, they decided to cut the size of their menu to accommodate this revelation. Instead of offering a wide variety of items, the identified 20% became 100% of their menu.
By cutting their menu in this manner, they now only sold three items. Selling…
“Do what you love.”
“Find your passion and you’ll never work a day in your life. ”
These clichés are tossed around quite often in articles about finding success and happiness.
If you’ve read Cal Newport , he’ll tell you that it’s all BS. Although I used to think these things were true, I’m starting to agree with Cal. However, there is one caveat to my agreement.
I think we already know what we want to do.
We already know our “passion” and we have always known.
Reality, however, is a different animal.
We are either too afraid to truly…
Merriam-Webster defines a habit as:
1: A SETTLED TENDENCY OR USUAL MANNER OF BEHAVIOR
- “HER HABIT OF TAKING A MORNING WALK”
2(A): AN ACQUIRED MODE OF BEHAVIOR THAT HAS BECOME NEARLY OR COMPLETELY INVOLUNTARY
- “GOT UP EARLY FROM FORCE OF HABIT”
2(B): ADDICTION
2(C): A BEHAVIOR PATTERN ACQUIRED BY FREQUENT REPETITION OR PHYSIOLOGIC EXPOSURE THAT SHOWS ITSELF IN REGULARITY OR INCREASED FACILITY OF PERFORMANCE
The definition emphasizes that habits are behaviors. Specifically, these behaviors are involuntary, repetitive, and acquired.
Behaviors are actions. Therefore, habits are things that we do, like going to the gym or watching Netflix.
“Involuntary” means that…
What you do at night is just as important as what you do in the morning.
Lately, I’ve been in a pretty good routine.
My routine has allowed me to get up early, workout, and write all before going to my day job.
There are tons of articles out there about having a good morning routine, which, don’t get me wrong, are helpful. Clearly, I have a morning routine right now.
But, my morning routine is not what has led to my successful mornings.
Rather, my evening routine has been the cause for my successful mornings.
As any night owl will tell you, our struggle is not necessarily with what to do when we get up…
