Defend Your Sanity: Make Your Own Zoom Rules
A year ago, many people had never heard of Zoom. We have been using it for years. In fact, because of various programs I run, my company has four separate Zoom logins in order to accommodate all of our training programs and needs under one account. But the world changed when . . well, when […]
You Can Rebuild Your Life – with World Enough and Time
This month represents a big anniversary for me. Ten years ago – January 2011 – my life was at an emotional and monetary low. My divorce had become “final” in 2010. My daughter, the absolute center of my life, moved off to college. The country was in recession, and my finances were in complete disarray. […]
Slow Down, Get More Done
This is so central to my life and my business that I had a poster made for my wall that says, “Slow down, get more done.” There are any levels to this advice. The simplest one is that sometimes you are so intent and frustrated in your work that you cannot make progress. For example, […]
Work ON Yourself, Not Just In Yourself
One of the truly great books I’ve read in my life is The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. If I could make every small business owner in the world read one book, it would be this one. For many years, I re-read this book every year. Now, after thirty years, I re-read it every other […]
The Walk-On Method
My friend Jim Roddy has released a new book called The Walk-On Method to Career and Business Success. It’s all about lessons of how “underdogs” became extraordinary. I have to be honest: I’ve never been a huge sports guy. Due to a series of physical ailments over the years, it was just never an option […]
How to Minimize Interruptions
The last few posts have been about minimizing interruptions. Interruptions are literally the single greatest productivity killer in your business or personal life! If interruptions are coming from an outsider, including clients, it is easy to set up rules to deal with this. But insiders (your employees and family) are a different story. You can’t […]
The Interruption Diet
In the last post, I talked about avoiding interruptions. Here’s a great exercise for making interruptions visible to you. Create an “Interruption Diet” like this: Interruption Time Start / Stop Importance Notes Example:Phone Call 8:45 am – 8:50 am Not! Sales call. Grrr. Create a whole sheet like this for each day of the week. […]
Do Not Be Interrupt-Driven
This is an Absolutely Unbreakable Rule. In both your personal and professional life, you should avoid interruptions. This rule follows from another: Prioritize Everything!. I’m a huge fan of silencing my phone and having it off at all times. With rare exceptions, for example when I’m expecting a call, my phone is off, and it’s […]
Never Stop Learning
One of my favorite motivational speakers is Brian Tracy. If you ever run across his books or audio programs, make the investment. You won’t be sorry. And one of my favorite pieces of advice from Tracy is to listen to audio books. Whether you’re driving around town, mowing the lawn, or just puttering around the […]
Success Is a Habit
Some people who follow me on social media think I am an unreasonable boss, over-controlling, and that I ask the impossible from my staff. Those who have read my books tend to have a very different perception. I think the main difference is that those who dig in and read a book are more likely […]
