How to Make Your Next 30 Days The Best Ever

    

Author : Tom Connellan

I have always enjoyed business books written with strong things to teach, but done in a fable or story context, such as Lencioni’s book, The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team.  Connellan has done the same with The 1% Solution since it is written as a story, yet with very clear elements taught to the reader.  This particular story is of a guy, named Ken who had reached a point where things seemed to be a struggle in his life and he was noticing vast differences in people around him, some doing well, some struggling.  The coach of all people on his son’s soccer team met Ken and steered him towards a new path with the help of a group of others in a 1% solutions team.

The concept from the group was clear, that doing everything in your life just one percent better and constantly striving (deliberately) to improve just one percent can have dramatic positive consequences.  The difference between many first place medals in Olympics and no metal is often as small as 1% so that 1% can make a big difference. Whether you are after an Olympic goal or not, everyone has the ability to be better than they are, and the 1% solution provides a model and outlook towards life to do just that, be better.

As Ken meets and spends time with each of the 6 people in the 1% group, he learns important concepts about learning, improving and focusing his life around becoming a better person in many areas.  The group of 6 is realistic in having Ken think about how to get better than what HE already is, instead of thinking about where he’d like to be the best which compares to others and often holds people back from improving step by step.  The messages are very practical and cover a lot of personal development aspects I’m sure many people have seen or heard.  The author puts them into context of a person’s life and tells them in a way that is compelling and believable.  Here are just a few of the examples and messages from the text:

• You can’t be 100% better than everyone else, but you can be 1% better at hundreds of things
• Not everyone can be great, but everyone can be better than they are right now
• The more you get done, the more motivated you are to do things.  So you do more things, and you get even more motivated.  It’s a self-feeding cycle!
• The way to start is by taking action – even if it’s a small action.
• Too many people who have been around for 30 years don’t really have 30 years’ experience.  They have one year’s experience 30 times.
• What sets apart the top 1% is that they cycle throughout the day between periods of concentrated effort and planned recovery.

So, there are many other messages and I think you will certainly enjoy this book.  The author covers and uses motivation and engagement topics, teaches elements of the Pareto or 80/20 principle, emphasizes Gladwell’s 10000 hours to become an expert message, covers deliberate practice to get better faster, dives into a 30 day formula to form or break habits, includes the important aspect of properly resting and recovering from 1% progress and finally includes how all this can then be passed on to others and shared again.    If you’ve read a ton of other content in personal development, you will likely not come across anything really new in this but at the very least; it will reinforce many common aspects of becoming a better person.  If you’re searched and read some content on personal development and want a book that is easy to read yet packed with useful content and tips, then this book is definitely for you. It is an easy read, fairly short and the story is well written with a good mix of dialogue where Ken learns from the 1% group and narrative writing of his thoughts and actions.  There are additional resources at the author’s website if you want more information.  I’d love to hear your comments or questions about the book if you have read it or not, as the topics are all worthy of discussion!

Posted by Mike King under Book Reviews | 8 Comments »

I’ts funny how life presents itself and the situations you encounter in life.  Sometimes you seem to know exactly what’s important or significant in life but then you suddenly start to notice that often its the little things that are really impacting you.  I seem to continue to discover these little things, usually without looking and its these little things that usually have the real significance.  Whenever these things occur in my life, they seem to really touch a nerve and impact me for a long time.  I have one simple example of why this subject just resurfaced for me.

The other night, my wife and I had just sat down to pizza we had ordered.  Not so strangely, the doorbell rang, the dogs went nuts and I had to get up to answer the door.  Even though I never answer the phone while I’m sitting down to eat (that’s what voice mail is for afterall), I figure if someone is coming to the door, they at least deserve my answering it.  Often its someone doing a survey, selling something or fund raising.  However, you never know when its going to be a friend, a neighbor or someone really in need.  So, up I go to the door, sending the dogs away to check who’s there.  I step outside and an older man is standing below the steps bundled up from the cold weather, I greeting him and asked what I could do for him.

He was a very friendly man, he explained that he noticed ice on my sidewalk and driveway and that he was going to chip it off and clean it up for me if I would spare him a glass a water and whatever I could give him for money.  I asked his name and he suddenly got much friendlier, telling me he was sorry for not introducing himself as “Sunny Jim” and he shook my hand.  He told me he had lived in this neighborhood for 28 years and that he has been homeless for 22 now.  Amazing and shocking!  He gave me every assurance he would do the walks, showed me he had his own tools to do it, and explained that he doesn’t beg for money, but he works for it.  Weather its window washing, snow shoveling, ice chipping or whatever.  He plays music at the local community mall as a service as well for the community to raise a few dollars.  I like his attitude on this instead of feeling that its begging, he really cares for this community and is why he still lives here and does his thing.  I let him get to work and offered him some pizza when he finished up and told him I would give him some money for doing the work as well.  I went back to finish my own pizza and to let Jim work and about 15 minutes later he knocked on the door again.

I saw that he had worked himself short of breath, cleared away much of the ice that had built up and was eager for that glass of water.  I gave him some cash, some pizza and a couple extra food items and chatted a bit more with him.  I ended up sitting down on our front steps outside with him for a good 15 minutes.  He had many stories to tell about people, his memorable points in life, things he has learned and had to deal with living homeless and inspiring stories about people helping him out and offering more than he could ever expect.  He told me about a few friends he had made in the neighborhood and I assured him he just made another one.

What struck me the most with Jim, was how bold he was to say whatever he wanted to say.  He had no reservation telling me how strong he was for an old guy, how he gets by finding things, making a few bucks and run ins he has had with the police.  I could tell he was simply desperate to tell his stories and he was incredibly gracious and appreciative for the little I helped him and more importantly, how thankful he was for what he did have.  He credited it all to knowing Jesus and being a Christian which is also why I quickly connected with him and had much to share.  I volunteer at a program at my Church called Inn From the Cold that houses homeless people overnight once a month and I’ve always been quite comfortable talking to them, sharing stories and seeing that joy in their eyes to have a hot meal, warm bed and a roof over their heads.  Jim took that even farther with having that same appreciation for life, even though he is someone who seems to have so little, in reality he has a lot!  He is willing to share, is open and honest and has an obvious appreciation and love for life.

Anyway, for a couple days now I’ve seen Jim in the neighborhood where I tended not to notice him before without knowing his name.  I certainly will not take him for granted, will stop to say hi and to share a story or two again with him when we cross paths again.  And that is quite likely as I bike to work near where he camps out near the river so it is bound to happen regularly.  So, our brief encounter and discussions certainly brings the homeless to the front of my mind in these rough winters here in Calgary and especially as we approach the Christmas season, those with few possessions may have more significance than we know in our life, our communities and in connections and friendships we could build.  I certainly don’t want to take people for granted based on how they live and I’m thankful to have seen the significance in this otherwise unnoticed neighbor.

Is there unnoticed significance in your life?  Are there people you ignore or pass by who might have a similar significance to you?  Maybe it is something unnoticed about your friends, your family or your colleagues.  Slow down, sit down with someone and spend that extra time with them to share some stories.  You might be surprised how significant it can be.  Also, do you have any similar encounters or stories of unnoticed significance you discovered in your life?  I’ve love to hear your stories.

Posted by Mike King under Life | 5 Comments »

I am pleased to introduce this guest article by a new friend John, the creator of HiLife2B, where he hopes to inspire people and to help them achieve their dreams. Follow him on Twitter: @janyasor

1. Believe that even the smallest compliment can save someone’s life

2. Remember that one person can change an entire nation

3. Understand that kids are smarter than we make them out to be

4. Just because old people are old, doesn’t mean they’ve lost their youth

5. Talent can be found under the dirtiest rock or in the most hopeless slum

6. Just because someone is poor in wealth doesn’t mean they are poor in spirit

7. Poverty is the greatest gift you can give a person. It is only then that they will have a choice to either become valuable or die as a quitter

8. Let the naysayers say nay and allow the criticizers to criticize: in the end you will have found greater happiness having pursued your dream

9. If a baby can smile living off of only breast milk and a mother’s love, you can smile too

10. The prettiest people can do the ugliest things

11. You are no different than the squirrel on that branch. You both eat a lot, hibernate for the winter, and have a tendency to be curious of humankind

12. From the CEO of a major corporation to the lowly janitor who sweeps where his boss stands; they are all insecure

13. To be creative is the most valuable thing in the world; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise

14. People conform because there is strength in numbers, but true strength comes from the person brave enough to stand alone

15. Unrealistic goals are hardly ever achieved not because they are impossible, but because everyone is too scared to make them real

16. Don’t be afraid to let those go who are hindrance to your high self-esteem, the life blood of your success

17. Embarrassment is a pointless emotion that only serves to confuse and over exaggerate reality

18. The only ways to stop negativity is to avoid it completely or face it head on

19. Irrational self confidence is worth more than rational defeatism

20. To live in no one’s reality but the one you’ve created for yourself is to achieve true happiness

21. Giving is one of the most underrated tactics to getting what you want

22. Fear the person who dreams unrealistically; one day he may acquire what he desireshel

23. Everyone has a weakness

24. Live and die as your passion; to be known as anything else is an insult to your existence

25. Do not deprive yourself or others of the gift of cartoons. Their creativity, hilarity, and curiosity have made me who I am today

26. Quiet patience and adaptive persistence are the two keys to perpetual happiness

27. Never feel ashamed of your natural instincts. They are there for a reason

28. Look at the people you are following in their footsteps. Is that the person you wish to be?

29. Don’t indulge in distractions that are short-lived and derail your long term efforts

30. To create a piece of art is to exist as a God within your mental domain

31. The movers in this world are the ones who create and consume only what coincides with their ultimate vision of themselves

32. Things are never as they seem. Always dig deeper to find the gold beneath the rock

33. Stereotypes don’t come out of thin air; all that is left for you now is to disprove them

34. Any crack in your resilience will be exploited if you don’t patch it up from time to time

35. Being assertive is a sign of a steadfast will

36. Negative people don’t deserve your time; positive people crave it

37. When your beliefs are tested, bring evidence to prove them wrong (granted you actually feel the need to)

38. When you have the strength to ask for more even after being knocked down countless times, there is nothing you can’t achieve

39. To look down to the ground is a sign of weakness. Look forward to showcase your unshakable confidence

40. Even one who is deaf can produce the most beautiful music

41. How much do you want success? How far are you willing to go?

42. A true genius is one who can sit for hours intensely focused on what he loves

43. Do not screw around with your time. It is the only thing within your absolute control

44. The only sense of entitlement you should feel is toward living your passion

45. The answers are always right in front of us. Just open your eyes

46. If you do not want to put in the work to make your dreams real then you do not deserve the right to put down anyone who fails in trying

47. The human brain contains 15-33 billion neurons; do not tell yourself that you are not creative

48. Do not let yourself fall into despair; it is a massive waste of time and emotion

49. People don’t tell you to try new things because it sounds “adventurous”. They say it because it actually works

50. If today was your last day, how many of these words would you actually follow?

51. To be an authority of any kind, you must earn and emanate respect

52. When in doubt, just laugh. Find amusement in how absurd your situation is then come out of the gate with full force

53. Don’t admire those who are simply hard workers with lots of awards under their belts. Idolize the people who are successful by working hard doing what they love

54.  Life won’t let you you get by with being stupid. You have to have knowledge of some kind to live in this world

55. Don’t confuse being stupid with being stubborn. Sometimes trying harder is all it takes

56. Do NOT allow anyone to disrespect you or make you feel less than you know you are

57. Don’t blame someone else for being better than you. Blame yourself for not working harder

58. Hard work is not something we should run away from. It’s pointless work we should fear

59. Don’t carry everything on your shoulders; that’s what friends are for

60. When you’ve lost your spirit, spend some time with youth. Their thirst for life and exploration will no doubt re-invigorate you

61. The fact that nothing in life is guaranteed is both a blessing and a curse

62. There is never only one choice: you don’t have to go up after you hit rock bottom. You can also choose to stay there

63. Sometimes you have to realize when you just aren’t good at something; this is the best time to regroup

64. Using old-age methods to solve new-age problems is setting yourself up for failure

65. When you’ve been sitting in the same spot for hours, trying to get something absolutely perfect, give yourself more than just a pat on the back

66. Not many people will risk everything in order to achieve what they want; in other words, be a risk taker and you will reap the rewards

67. Even when you know you’re close to the finish line, never let up

68. The only thing you can change about people are your relationships with them

69. What’s happened in the past is done. The future does not exist yet. The only thing in your mind should be what you’re doing now

70. You may be a great writer, a doctor, a lawyer, or a banker, but at your very core, the only thing we are best at is being ourselves

John is the creator of HiLife2B, where he hopes to inspire people and to help them achieve their dreams. Follow him on Twitter:  @janyasor

Posted by Mike King under Life | 45 Comments »

Purpose is a wonderful topic to explore, and I believe that it’s a wonderful topic for every person to explore throughout their life.  Purpose is something that ought to drive everyone’s lives, and unfortunately not everyone takes the time to discover it for themselves.  Purposes also a much debated topic, and the notion of living for something that is greater than ourselves is not always easy to believe or understand.  Critics like to argue against purpose in that if you are really fulfilling your life’s purpose, and doing it not for yourself, then you shouldn’t be making money doing it.  I think you can do both, live with the purpose, and make money as a result, which is why I came up with that title for this article, “Making Money on Purpose”.

The Money Connection

Since money is so connected in everything we do, it spills over into our exploration for purpose as well.  The question of, “Why do we do things?” and similar question, “What should we be doing?”,  unfortunately are affected heavily by money.  Making money at something is not necessarily a sign that you are not doing it for a reason beyond yourself, even though there are obviously many many examples where people continue to live a life chasing money instead of a greater purpose.

The Blinders of Money

Money and materialism puts blinders on all of us.  Those blinders prevent us from seeing the big picture of life and we are stuck seeing only the next object in our life, the next promotion or the money attached to the things we buy, the time we spend and the places we go.  We fail to see the value to others and the value to God in what we do, what we work towards and what we spend our money on.  The value in those areas however are a direct sign of how we are living our purpose and we ought to consider them more carefully.

Making Money on Purpose

If we can see the connection of money to purpose and remove or at least reduce the blinders we experience in how we value money, we do have the chance to make money with our purpose in life.  Purpose is not by how much money we are, but by how we go about doing it.  It is possible to make money or earn a living while working towards a purpose beyond ourselves, and there’s nothing wrong with that if it’s the purpose that motivates us and not the money.

Being able to connect our passions, vocation, and relationships to a greater purpose is an incredibly fulfilling path to follow, regardless of whether money is earned along the way.  Following a career path that utilizes the talents we each possess will make money on purpose, its unavoidable and there is nothing wrong with it.  Our God given talents are the areas in life that we have the best chances to succeed with and using them allows us to develop skills faster than in other areas with a much greater impact in the results we get.  They simply come more naturally for us, and will be far more rewarding when used in a life of purpose.

Purpose Creating Wealth

I want to take the idea of making money on purpose just one step farther.  Consistently living on purpose is the definition I use for success, and I’m certain that each and every one of us if we are using the best of our talents in a purpose driven life, will not only make money but also much greater wealth.  To me, money is a shortsighted view of wealth even though they are closely related because most people define wealth to be measured in dollars.  Wealth to me though should be measured by what you do with your money and how you do.  If we’re making money while living on purpose, the wealth we build will be determined by what we do with the money we earn as well as all the other benefits we will realize in the journey of living a life of purpose.

Posted by Mike King under Purpose/Passion | 16 Comments »

After Armen’s list of 100, my own 100 Ways to be a better leader and now several readers creating their own lists of 100 topics, I thought I would continue this trend and build one more on 100 ways simplify your life and mind. I’ve written a couple articles before on this topic and I’ve kept a few items from those articles on my list here, but most of this is new and it is really a useful way to find things to start doing. As with any of these 100 lists, obviously you can’t do all of these things (I certainly don’t) but you can pick some items on the list and start with them to simplify things in your life. I’d love for you to comment and add your own items or why not create your own list of 100 items, link back to these if they have inspired you and challenge your own readers to do the same and keep these lists going!

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Simplify Your Actions

1. Start everyday with your most important task, leaving other ones undone
2. Do what you said you will do first
3. Say no when you are already committed and asked to take on more
4. Ask others for help whenever you need it
5. Finish things completely, don’t leave it only to have to come back again and again
6. Pick one thing at a time to do and focus on it
7. Make the most time for your passions and purposeful work
8. Leave spare time for yourself unscheduled and uncommitted
9. Prioritize your todo list
10. Keep one todo list and keep it short (only the most important things should be on it at any time)
11. Take time to be in solitude
12. Take time to pray and meditate
13. Make wasteful actions (like TVwatching or pointless internet surfing) more difficult to do to help avoid them.
14. Find and eliminate other wasteful actions in your life
15. Develop habits and daily routines to practise important actions
16. Read every single day
17. Plan your week and all major tasks for that week
18. Review your accomplishments each week
19. Be grateful for what you have, what you can do, and for everything in your life
20. Turn off your cell phone
21. Turn off all notifications on your computer from IM, email or other popups
22. Eat simple meals and don’t cook things that don’t need to be cooked
23. Eat less, which lets you also prepare less and cleanup less and store less
24. Automate any bills, payments, and money transactions that you can
25. Ignore distractions from media
26. Commute by bicycle or public transit instead of the busy freeway
27. Use commuting time wisely by reading or listening to books
28. Consider a career or job change to reduce stress
29. Find and maintain routines for day to day things

Simplify Your Stuff

30. Get rid of clothes you no longer wear or have worn in 6 months
31. Sell or give away household items you rarely / never use
32. Eliminate 2 things for every one new thing you acquire
33. Lend things out to friends often and don’t ask for it back if you don’t need it
34. Buy less stuff by only buying basic needs
35. Move to a smaller house or living space and get rid of all extra stuff
36. Give away books when you are done with them and let someone else enjoy them
37. Give up some electronic gadgets and do without them
38. Engage in simple hobbies that don’t require a lot of stuff (music, art, perhaps writing?)
39. De-clutter your living space and don’t keep any trinkets or excessive decorations
40. Consider going more green since this requires reducing things that consume power / energy
41. Get rid of your televisions or at least reduce the time you spend watching
42. Get rid of other media distractions in your life
43. Put a sign on your door/mailbox asking not to receive any flyers or unsolicited mail
44. Don’t carry all your credit or debit cards, just a small amount of cash for emergency
45. Downsize your vehicles or sell one
46. Clear out all clutter and extra stuff from your vehicle
47. Spend a weekend and pretend you are going to move, then clean out and get rid of everything you don’t need
48. Have a place for everything and keep it organized in place
49. Label, simplify and organize your file systems (both physical and electronic)
50. Consolidate your email accounts, bank accounts, RSS feeds and others
51. Recycle and reuse as much as possible
52. Give to those who have less than you
53. Volunteer your time for service to others
54. Keep a vegetable garden
55. Grow some plants and flowers
56. Enjoy nature’s company

Simplify Your Relationships

57. Be honest with others (it will help avoid complex issues and conflict)
58. Treat everyone with respect, not just your close friends or relationship
59. Treat everyone fairly, don’t complicate things with favoritism
60. Trust others without them having to earn it first
61. Accept people for who they are and don’t expect them to change
62. Compare yourself only to yourself from the past, no one else
63. Learn to say, “No”
64. Ask your friends and family for things they are looking for, and give them any items you can do without that you have
65. Keep all your contacts and address book items in one place
66. Involve your whole family with simplifying your life
67. Tell your friends about what you want to achieve by simplifying
68. Pick some of the actions above and do them with a friend
69. Focus on activities for doing things instead of buying
70. Spend less time with the “negatrons” around you and more time with positive people
71. Apologize quickly for any hurtful actions
72. Spend time in private with a significant other each week
73. Go for walks and have time to just talk with your friends and family (you don’t always need to be doing anything)
74. Make a gift for someone else instead of buying one
75. Write a personal thank you note or letter to a friend
76. Call someone you care for with no reason other than to tell them you were thinking of them and wish them a wonderful day
77. Walk away from all gosip and don’t participate in those conversations
78. Put family meals at home first and don’t let work get in the way
79. Stay completely disconnected from work on weekends and vacations
80. Listen to others and stop talking so much yourself

Simplify your Thoughts

81. Be content with life for health, love and happiness instead of with belongings
82. Keep less goals and plans (focus on just 2 or 3 at a time)
83. Exercise often as this clears the mind and keeps you healthy longer through life
84. Make time to do what you love and to provide relief from stress
85.Make a list of all your simple pleasures in life and pick an item from it to do every day.
86. Evaluate new things by asking “Will this help to simplify my life?”
87. Let go of perfectionism
88. Find what calms you and visualize it to reduce stress
89. Be positive and look for the best in things
90. Be anxious for nothing and live more in the moment
91. Let go of things from the past
92. Face and get over your fears
93. Always look for ways to improve oneself
94. Note and express gratitude
95. Know and stick to your limits for commitments
96. Seek knowledge only to apply it as wisdom
97. Look for and express love to yourself and others
98. Choose to be happy and at peace with yourself
99. All that you express, comes back to you, so think and express what you want for yourself
100. Seek and love God and He will provide, you need not worry about anything else

Posted by Mike King under Life | 46 Comments »

I’ve been quite consumed lately by the many activities I’m involved in and commit to as you may have noticed from my lack of updates here. Work of course is busy for me as always (and yes, I’m grateful that it is, since so many people are not finding that recently), and my side business of graphics and animation has been exceptionally busy the last few months with good size jobs and back to back projects. This isn’t normal for me and I’ve taken on some projects that have been consuming much of my spare time.

Its often these rushed periods in life that really make me appreciate the joys that are in life and every moment I do have to enjoy stands out in the hectic day as a time to just stop for a moment and appreciate what joys are available to me. I am grateful for those moments and take extra note at busy times to just see how many joys there truly are in life.

Sometime there seems to be less time for joyful activities when you are overly busy but on the other hand, those joyful moments can be far more intense from the contrast of it. Here are some of the joys that particularly stand out for me during these times.

The Joys of Work

While work is absolutely a contributor to the stress I mentioned above, there is still much joy in it. A big joy for me in my work (whether that in engineering or 3D animation) is the joy of creativity. I’ve written a few articles recently about creativity and how it is a form of art in life. That ability to create and drive change is a huge joy for me in my work and an important reason for doing what I do. There is joy in that work and something I much appreciate.

The Joys of Relationships

While some aspects of relationships can suffer from having less time to spend together, they can also force new focus and appreciation. Of course, the one that stands out for me is the joy I have from my relationship with my amazing wife. She is so supportive during my busy times, which helps immensely to cope with the added stress. That support and the precious time we do have to spend together is one of total joy.

Friendships and time spend with other loved ones are can also be intensified when that time is limited as you time and relationships often is taken for granted when it occurs every day or at least on a regular basis. Take some of that away however and you definitely notice the joy more when you have a chance to experience it again.

The Joy of God

While the peace and love that God provides is always available to me, it’s especially important in stressful times as that joy is something you can rely on and help you cope with the situation. Whether it’s the awe of nature, the inspiration of God’s word, or the power and supportive strength that faith based belief provides, I can always rely on the Joy of God and hold dearly that ability in times of stress.

The Joys of Sports

Other joys of mine are my sports. Oh so many sports now that summer is upon me. I just got home from a great weekend out at our place at the lake and we spent part of the day out on the water, enjoying the sun, freezing lake water and some most so pleasurable wake boarding! I play soccer on a men’s league a couple nights a week as well and I HAVE to get out either on my own or with bikers on my mountain unicycle for a couple hours as well each week.

Stop and Notice Your Joys

So I didn’t want to only share some of my joys in life but to also encourage and hopefully inspire just a few readers to stop for a moment and look at what is joyous in your life as well. Are you finding your time being eaten away by the many things that absorb you in your life? If so, stop and notice what some of the joys you have in those activities. Perhaps they are small things or only short amounts of time for them but they are still there. They are easily taken for granted and not something to be forgotten. Stop and notice your joys!

Posted by Mike King under Life | 11 Comments »