Jul 25, 2012 - Musings    3 Comments

Motivation Tips

Motivation Tips

Despite your best efforts, passion, habits and a flow-producing environment can fail. In that case, it’s time to find whatever emotional pump-up you can use to get started. Here are a few:

  1. Go Back to “Why” – Focusing on a dull task doesn’t make it any more attractive. Zooming out and asking yourself why you are bothering in the first place will make it more appealing. If you can’t figure out why, then there’s a good chance you shouldn’t bother with it in the first place.
  2. Go for Five – Start working for five minutes. Often that little push will be enough to get you going.
  3. Move Around – Get your body moving as you would if you were extremely motivated to do something. This ‘faking it’ approach to motivation may seem silly or crude, but it works.
  4. Find the Next Step – It’s impossible to work on a project. All you can do is focus on the next immediate step. Fighting an amorphous blob of work will only cause procrastination. Chunk it up so that it becomes manageable.
  5. Find Your Itch – What is keeping you from working. Don’t let the itch continue without isolating it and removing the problem. Are you unmotivated because your tired, afraid, bored, restless or angry. Maybe it is because you aren’t sure you have time or delegated tasks haven’t been finished yet.
  6. Deconstruct Your Fears – I’m sure you don’t have a phobia about getting stuff done. But at the same time, hidden fears or anxieties can keep you from getting real work completed. Isolate the unknowns and make yourself confident you can handle the worst case scenario.
  7. Get a Partner – Find someone who will motivate you when you’re feeling lazy. I have a friend I go to the gym with. Besides spotting weight, having a friend can help motivate you to work hard when you’d normally quit.
  8. Kickstart Your Day – Plan out tomorrow. Get up early and place all the important things early in the morning. Building momentum early in the day can usually carry you forward far later.
  9. Read Books – Not just self-help or motivational books, but any book that has new ideas. New ideas get your mental gears turning and can build motivation. Learning new ideas puts your brain in motion, so it requires less time to speed up to your tasks.
  10. Get the Right Tools – Your environment can have a profound effect on your enthusiasm. Computers that are too slow, inefficient applications or a vehicle that breaks down constantly can kill your motivation. Building motivation is almost as important as avoiding the traps that can stop it.
  11. There are No Small Problems – The worst killer of motivation is facing a seemingly small problem that creates endless frustration. Reframe little problems that must be fixed as bigger ones, or they will kill any drive you have.
  12. Develop a Mantra – Find a few statements that focus your mind and motivate you. It doesn’t matter whether they are pulled from a tacky motivational poster, or just a few words to tell you what to do. If you aren’t sure where to start, a good personal mantra is, “Do it now!”
  13. Build on Success – Success creates success. When you’ve just won, it is easy to feel motivated about almost anything. Emotions tend not to be situation specific, so a small win, whether it is a compliment from a colleague or finishing two thirds of your tasks before noon can turn you into a juggernaut. There are many ways you can place small successes earlier on to spur motivation later. Structuring your to-do lists, placing straightforward tasks such as exercising early in the day or giving yourself an affirmation can do the trick.
Jun 2, 2012 - Musings    2 Comments

True Business 101

The ‘market’ is not the Stock Market.  The Stock Market is not the ‘economy’ or the best indicator of what products and services are creating the highest social value. It is a win/lose game that preys on hope and re-directs investments to non-productive processes.

The money invested in the stock market does not go to the companies. No R&D or product/service improvements are created by buying the stock of a company as none of the money invested is received by the company.  The money is traded between brokers and stock account holders.  No product or service is ever created.

Without the influence of the stock holders the leaders of a company are responsible for managing their business in way that creates profits.  Profits result from efficiently managing costs and sales of products/services that are purchased by customers.  When the products/services increase their social value, as perceived by the customers, profits rise.  Profits that are re-invested in products/services improvement that are appreciated by customers generally increase.  Guiding this process is the job of responsible leaders.

Now, more than ever, we require courageous responsible ‘real market’ leaders – in our businesses and our governments. Not stock holder controlled businesses or governments who focus primarily on increased share price and not improved products.

Leaders should be catalysts focused on innovation and energy release. Responsible leaders should be facilitating inspiring conveners stimulating changing conditions for potential progress.  Conditions change because we do.  Conditions get better because we do.

Especially our government leaders must become aware that they don’t have all of the right answers.  They must start again and ask better questions.

May 31, 2012 - Musings    2 Comments

Irrational Complacency

In the late 1990’s Alan Greenspan cautioned us of the condition of ‘Irrational Exuberance”.  I suggest that we must now aggressively combat the disease of ‘Irrational Complacency’.  As a proud American I feel that too often our nation is  being inoculated into inactivity with continual doses of the refrains, “We are the greatest nation, We are the greatest innovators. We are the greatest  ____”.  These refrains may have had more truth for the ‘Greatest Generation.’ Today their effect is to lull too many persons into complacency which breeds resistance to change – to progress.

While many doddle in America the world has changed – has progressed through ‘globalization’, world-around ‘connectivity’, highly-skilled comparatively low-pay workers, people elsewhere willing to save, sacrifice, and work ever harder for a perceived better tomorrow.  At this same time, too many Americans have been cajoled into believing that we are in a temporary economic dip and that the former ‘good times’ will return so no change in regulations, policies, attitudes, or actions are required.

Isn’t this what the entrenched enriched benefactors of past practices are preaching?  “Don’t panic, don’t change, we like it as it is.” – for it has greatly benefitted us, the recipients of inordinate societal wealth.  Many have exchanged no social value.

I contend that change is absolutely necessary.  Change in the mindsets of the general public and especially our leaders.  We must recognize that there has been a ‘paradigm shift’ in where and how sustainable comprehensive social wealth will be created in North America and Western Europe.  We can’t expect this to be promoted by the current rich in Western societies.  When kings fell it was the royal court who suffered.

As the virtual ‘royals’ largely control public messaging it is important to pierce the veil of their pretended social conscientiousness, reveal the impact of narrow self-aggrandizing public and business policies, and let free markets instruct us as to what is wanted and needed for expanded economic opportunity for the general public.

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