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Motivation + Perseverance + Meaning = Life Success, Part 3

By Royale on May 16, 2012 in Make a Difference, Purpose

When we are talking about life success, we are talking about not only achieving goals and financial success but also a high quality life in general, meaningful relationships, good health, enjoyment and laughter a fulfilling connection to the world outside of us. We have talked about how motivation and perseverance play a role in achieving a life of satisfaction and success. If you missed those posts, I recommend you read Part 1 and Part 2 first.

But meaning is also an important factor in achieving life success; it’s possibly the most important one. There needs to be purposefulness in both your life and your work in order for us to be truly fulfilled.

What exactly do we mean by “meaning?”

For our purposes, we will define meaning as purposefulness, a driving force or perhaps even a mission. If something fulfills us, touches us in some way, or feels worthwhile. If it makes us say, “Yes, this is good and right,” then it probably has meaning to us.

When you discover your mission, you will feel its demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it. - W. Clement Stone

How do we know what is meaningful to us?

It calls to us, it compels us to action, it sparks our passion, or evokes strong feelings. These things signify meaning and they will differ, sometimes drastically from person-to-person, organization to organization. It really doesn’t matter what we find meaningful, what matters is that we recognize what is meaningful to us and we tried to incorporate that into our lives. Finding meaning in what we do and how we live may truly be the most significant factor in the quality of our lives.

Types of things that may have meaning to us:

Using our talents and skills in a way that benefits the world around us. – Each of us has a special gift of some kind that brings us joy and satisfaction. We may be compelled to look for and explore these talents and gifts or we may not recognize that the skills we possess are actually very important and useful.

What is your special talent, skill, or gift that you have to offer?

Upholding our values – If something angers us or feels unjust in some way, if we feel compelled to act or speak out in some way, there is usually something happening in our lives or the world around us that is in conflict with our values. When we take action when we defend an innocent, when we take a stand or try to correct a wrong, we are expressing our values. Our values clearly have meaning to us and in many ways drive the decisions we make.

What do you believe is right? What is important? What do you value? Whom do you champion?

Growing as individuals – When we seek to improve some aspect of ourselves or to expand and stretch beyond our previous limits, that growth, that expansion has meaning to us. It may be meaningful to improve our health, to gain knowledge, to explore our creativity, to develop a deeper awareness of what’s inside us, or to cultivate a stronger connection to that which is beyond our individual selves. Expansion and growth provide a strong sense of meaning.

How do you seek to grow or expand yourself as an individual?

Growing as a society – When we are compelled to improve upon the world around us, to make our community, our world better in some way it speaks to something meaningful inside us. A desire to right a social injustice, help others preserve our world and our history or to affect in a positive way the future legacy we are leaving those who come after us is indicative of something that is fiercely meaningful to us.

What do you strongly feel needs to be changed in the world around you? Moreover, what role do you feel you can play in bringing about that change?

Knowing what has meaning to us can be a heavy and deep concept. However, finding why we do what we do, what drives us to succeed, to excel and to push ourselves beyond our limits, what calls to us, what compels us, what makes our hearts sing, or our blood boil, is the key to life success.

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A Simple Way to Put Your Words in a Cloud

By Royale on March 9, 2012 in Inspiration

Have you ever heard of “word clouds?” Probably some have and some have not. No matter, the concept and the process are incredibly simple and the result quite revealing and in many cases beautiful.

Some word clouds I really loved:

If you’d like to make your own word cloud for either yourself or your business, head over to Wordle and give it a whirl.

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10 Things You Could Do With an Extra Hour per Day

By Royale on March 7, 2012 in Happiness, Health, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Productivity

Image via Wikipedia

Have you ever stopped to think about how you could spend an extra hour a day if you had one? I surely have, quite often actually…and here are some of my suggestions.

1. Write the novel you’ve always wanted to write

At the normal average of writing 500 words per hour, you could finish and proof a typical 80,000-word novel in 6 months. See you on the bestseller’s list…

2. Participate in a daily exercise program

Even just walking an hour a day, burning the minimum 300 calories, you could lose 30 pounds in a year. Or not gain 30 pounds…

3. Play with your children

If you spent an average of 60 minutes a day interacting with your children each day, you would add an impressive 365 hours a year to your parenting journey. That’s quality and quantity time…

4. Read that stack of books sitting on your shelf

If you read an hour per day, you could finish nearly 50 books in one year. That’s amazing…

5. Work an extra hour a day

I don’t recommend this, but if you in need extra money or are working toward some large career goal, you could earn an additional $5,000-$15,000 in a year, depending on your hourly rate. That’s not chump change…

6. Learn a new skill

In an hour a day, you could learn to play an instrument, a new sport, or a new hobby in less than a year.

7. Make a Difference

Volunteering in America data shows that the average person who volunteers their time gives around 52 hours a year. Even more interesting, the average value of one volunteer hour to an organization is $21.36. That means that by volunteering an hour per day, you could effectively donate nearly $8,000 worth of volunteer time. That’s really making a difference…

8. Find inner peace

If you used your extra hour to meditate, journal or do yoga, you would be giving yourself the gift of literally 15 days per year dedicated to peace, calm, and inspiration. As an added bonus, lowering stress and cultivating a positive attitude can lengthen your life span as much as 9 years. If that’s not incentive to meditate, I don’t know what is…

9. Laugh and have some fun

Laughter raises serotonin and dopamine levels, which increase happiness, and decreases stress levels. It also makes you more enjoyable to be around, which may improve the relationships in your life. Moreover, if you are going to live longer, you may as well have fun while you’re doing it…

10. Spend time really connecting with the people in your life

Think about all of the relationships you could improve if you invested only an extra hour per day. You could have a more active love life, strengthen your marriage, call your mother, make new friends, or participate in a club or organization that interests you. Aren’t relationships what life is ultimately about anyway?

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7 Ways to Stay Productive While Working from Home

By Royale on January 4, 2012 in Productivity

Today’s post is a guest post by Amanda Tradwick. Enjoy…

You’ve worked only one hour, and it’s nearly 4:30. The kitchen smells like a wharf with last night’s shrimp leftovers, the neighbor needs you to trim those branches that keep shedding leaves onto his precious lawn, the dogs peed on the carpet again, but the boss is breathing down your neck in cyberspace.
According to Business News Daily, people who work from home name household chores as their number one interruption at “the office,” and that’s followed by distractions like television, errands, children, and the Internet.

No one can fix all of these problems for us, but there are ways to keep chaos at bay.

1. Choose one room from which to do your work—and only one room. Working in a common area like the dining room sets you up for family- or roommate-related distractions. Choose a quiet space, preferably with a door from which you’re going to hang a “Do Not Disturb” sign (yes, you are) and with adequate natural lighting to keep you wide awake.
2. Keep your workspace tidy. Working in a clean and organized environment means you’ll be spending less time cleaning and organizing—or using cleaning and organizing as an excuse to procrastinate work—and more time accomplishing tasks. Try to spend five minutes daily or thirty minutes at the end of every work week putting your work place in order.
3. Look professional. Just because you work from the spare bedroom doesn’t mean you should do so in pajamas. Our hygiene and outfits have an impact on how we feel on a date just as much as how we feel in an office, even if it’s a home office. So, have breakfast, shower, and put on deodorant and clean clothes.
4. Invest in lumbar support. You’re probably going to be sitting in your chair for several hours; doing so in a cheap one can lead to shoulder and back pain and an overall I-hate-work mentality that will damage productivity. Try Craigslist or your local thrift store for a cheaper option.
5. Keep a glass of water nearby at all times. Not only will the motion of drinking every few minutes keep you awake almost as effectively as a cup of coffee, you’ll force yourself to take small breaks throughout the day, which is important for your body and mind.
6. Shut the door and turn off the phone. Remember that “Do Not Disturb” sign? To prevent upsetting family members, gently explain to them that just because you work at home doesn’t mean you’re always available for errands and favors. Your home office is still an office, and it should have office hours during which you work, not mow the lawn. Explain this to anyone who tends to call you during work hours, too, and then leave your phone on silent or turn it off altogether to maximize focus. If people refuse to help you on your path to productivity despite these conversations and the passage of time, it’s probably safe to say that you won’t lose much by ignoring them.
7. Define and separate work and play. One of the most difficult parts of working at home has been keeping myself from checking my Facebook and other social sites—while my work email is loading, after I’ve come back from the bathroom, when I get a notification on my phone, etc. My solution is this: create a business profile alongside your personal profile on your computer. On the business profile, use only business-related tools and use only a browser that has business-related favorites. The process of logging out of my business profile, logging in to my personal profile, checking Facebook, logging out, then logging back into my business profile has been enough to deter me from temptation…at least until lunch.

About the author:

Amanda Tradwick is a grant researcher and writer for CollegeGrants.org. She has a Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Delaware, and has recently finished research on minority grants and student grants in Utah.

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Why You Need a Clean Sweep if You Want to Improve Your Success

By Royale on December 30, 2011 in Energy, Goals, Life Balance, Personal Growth

Photo by Jesse Gardner

Every once in a while I get the urge to just dump everything…well almost everything… that I’m doing and clear the decks. Just sweep them clean. Create a blank slate on which to write our aspirations, goals and dreams. We get so tied up and bogged down in everything we have on our plates; projects, commitments, habits, that we have no room to breathe. No space to experiment. Not even the tiniest crack in our schedule to stop and think.

Do I truly care about the projects I’m involved in?

Why am I doing this again?

Do I really need to do that thing?

Here’s the harsh reality. If you haven’t made any progress on those goals you set earlier in the year, you need to question if they really matter.

Now take a deep breath and let them go. Make room for new goals, fresh ideas, creative projects.

What would you do if only you had the time?

It’s almost a new year, time for a fresh start.

Time for some house cleaning, both literally and figuratively.

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Self Indulgent Birthday Gift to Myself

By Royale on October 23, 2011 in Inspiration, Life Balance, Personal Growth, Relationships

Image by Јerry via Flickr

As a very self-indulgent birthday gift to myself, I’m going to share my favorite poem of all time. Though it may not be relevant to business; it is most certainly relevant to life.

Happy birthday to me!

I have a beautifully framed version of this poem sitting on my bookshelf, given to me by a dear friend, that I look at every day to remind myself to be thankful for each day I am given. In the spirit of gratitude I’d like to share it with you.

If I Had My Life To Live Over

If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television – and more while watching life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, “Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.”

There would have been more “I love you’s”.. More “I’m sorrys” …

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute… look at it and really see it … live it…and never give it back.

Question everything, move forward, enjoy the journey.

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Are You Getting a Marginal Return on Your Time and Effort?

By Royale on September 28, 2011 in Productivity, Time

Are you getting more than a MRTE (Marginal Return on Time & Effort?)

Is it better to be a perfectionist or just do enough to get by? Obviously the answer is neither. I think the answer is very simple: when the additional time or effort you invest exceeds the output gained, stop working on it. That is the point of “good enough.” Maybe you could change a few words, make a few tweaks, whatever the fine points are, but it is not a productive or efficient use of your time and/or effort.

Another way of looking at this is to make it a rule that you should stop working on any project or task when the extra input invested gives less output than doing a comparable task.

Some examples:

See what the difference is when you spend 2 hours writing an article or 2.5 hours. Are you adding to content and readability or just changing a few words for aesthetics? Does the extra time really improve your result or is there another article that is waiting to be written?
What happens if you only spend 45 minutes checking email instead of 60 minutes? Does your effectiveness decrease?
Does that extra hour spent scrubbing the kitchen tile really make a drastic difference when compared to the 15 minutes it takes to mop the floor? Could you better spend that extra time in another area or on something more readily visible like cleaning the front door or entryway (which might have more impact?)

The project or application does not really matter; the general idea is just to determine if spending more time on something is going to get you enough return to be worth the investment. There will be certain exceptions; there always are. You have to have standards, but just make sure your standards aren’t so high that they are costing you lost opportunities in other areas or on other projects. It’s all about valuing your time!

Question everything, move forward, enjoy the journey.

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What Do You Need to Do First?

By Royale on September 26, 2011 in Goals, Productivity, To-Do

Content: A picture of a green check mark. PNG ...

Image via Wikipedia

Simple Steps

Put first things first each day!

What is your most important task today?

Not your most urgent - unless of course it is a matter of life or death, or imminent job loss – but your most important. What will have the most impact on your business, home, relationships or whatever your focus is at the moment? What one thing will make you feel as if you have accomplished something concrete today?

Now, whatever it is do it first!

If you make this a habit; you will see a tremendous boost in productivity.

Question everything, move forward, enjoy the journey.

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Don’t Overestimate Your Capacity

By Royale on August 22, 2011 in Uncategorized

Image via Wikipedia

Oldie, but Goodie…

Do you have too many projects? Who doesn’t? Sure, I do too, but for some reason it never occurred to me that I could do something about it in a way that could help me to be more successful. Who in their right mind would throw away a perfectly good project? Apparently some very smart, productive people; people and businesses that by the way are more successful than I am and probably less stressed too.

I was introduced to this concept by Anne Messenger, a colleague of mine of Messenger Associates Inc., after she returned from a WPO conference this spring. One of the speakers, Dr. Rebecca Henderson, of the Harvard Business School had given an address on overloading your capacity. She called this concept “Kill Project #26.

It is really a very basic philosophy when you stop and think about it.

Most people, especially entrepreneurs and small business owners consistently overestimate their capacity.

So, take a few minutes to examine all of your projects and possible commitments with a critical and realistic eye; whether they are ongoing, in the planning phase or tabled for a later date.

Do you have any projects that have been hanging around for quite a while?
Projects that have been started, but are just dragging on and don’t seem to get completed?
How about projects that everybody is in favor of, but nobody has the time to tackle?
The toughest are the projects that you are just so attached to and desperately want to get off the ground, but you don’t have quite enough time to get to today, or this week or this month.

Hint: If you find yourself saying, “I’ll get to that tomorrow,” “maybe I’ll schedule some time for that next week,” “after the busy season is done,” it is a tip-off that it is a doomed project.

These projects are wonderful, worthwhile and possibly valuable undertakings. The problem is that there just aren’t enough resources to devote to them. The kicker being that even if you did clear the decks and power through the aforementioned project; it would turn into a “time-suck,” draining resources and time away from the rest of your business or your life.

What do you do then? I like Dr. Henderson’s advice, but “kill” seems so unkind and 26 seems so overwhelming to me. I would be overcapacity way before # 26. I prefer, “Terminate project 10.” Why? Simple, because “terminate” brings to mind having to let go of an employee that everyone loves and has such a great personality, but just can’t do the job. It’s similar to terminating a friendship or relationship that you have been clinging to, but has just turned into a toxic drain. I chose 10, because that seems like such a nice, round, even number. It would seem to your mind that you should be able to do 10 projects at once; it sounds reasonable, but it isn’t.

It won’t be easy. In fact it may be painful if you are emotionally attached to a certain endeavor, but for your own sanity and the health of your company you must say farewell. Do you want to retain your competitive advantage or not?

Your task, should you choose to accept it: Get out the ax and terminate project 10!

Then toast “Bon Voyage” and let it go.

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Why Ruthlessness Can be a Good Quality

By Royale on August 5, 2011 in Life Balance, Mood, Relationships

Be ruthlessly selective, both in life and in the workplace. If you want to cultivate a fulfilling, satisfying and productive career or home-life you must carve it out for yourself. You need to be careful to make choices that take you closer to the life you want to live or to the career that is most fulfilling to you.

And sometimes those choices may be difficult. You may make people angry. You may let people down. But in the end if you want to achieve your best life, your best career, your best balance between the two, then you must be brave enough, bold enough and sometimes ruthless enough to make the difficult choices.

This is your life! This is your career! Isn’t it worth a little bit of ruthlessness?

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