Big Idea Coach

Where Do You Think You're Going?

A few weeks ago I sat down to write a Big Idea newsletter....

I thought I had it all figured out. I knew exactly what I was gonna write about. But when I sat down to the computer and started typing, something completely different ended up on the page.

And you know what?

It worked out quite nicely. The feedback I received on that newsletter article was 100% positive.

It just goes to show that -- sometimes -- the things we plan for often end up being quite different from the things we do.

Very, very different.

(I'm reminded of what John Lennon sang, in "Beautiful Boy": "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans....")

My experience has shown that the most successful people around are those who can -- while they're busy making other plans -- keep their eyes and ears and minds open to new ideas and new paths that might propel them towards their goals faster than ever.

I can't even count the times I thought I knew on where I was going, what I was doing, and how I was gonna reach my goal... and then stumbled across a better path, a different path, a more exciting path...

Of course, it doesn't have to be about simply getting to your goal faster or easier or cheaper.

It might mean exploring an entirely new road. --Perhaps a less trodden one... that diverges into a yellow wood... covered in leaves no feet have trodden black...

...A road that takes you to someplace wonderful, someplace beyond what you had imagined....

But to take that road, your eyes -- and your mind -- must be open.

So today, be bold, be courageous! Explore the possibilities that lie just outside of where you think you're going!

___

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The 3 Most Powerful Time Management Tools EVER!

Are you ready? Here goes...

1. "Yes."
2. "No."
3. "Let me get back to you."

If you really want to conquer your time challenges, you start by conquering your calendar! And for most of us, our calendars our filled at the request of others. So... the more quickly you can decide if you are ("Yes, I can do that.") or are not ("No, I can't do that.") going to do a project, the more quickly you can get focused on taking action.

In those cases where you just don't know (or where you don't feel like you can say "no" at the time the request is made), "Let me get back to you" is a great stop-gap....  It givesyou a bit of extra time to check your schedule, clear your head, and choose the best option for you.

And if you still don't know, go with "No". You'll end up doing less of what others want you to do, more of what you want and in those rare cases where you feel really bad, you can always change your mind ("I double checked my schedule and, you know, I can go out to dinner with you...").

5 Minutes to Save You Time... and Save the Planet!

Here's a great time saving idea that can save the planet, too -- perfect for Earth Day (that's today, by the way)!

ELIMINATE JUNK MAIL!

That's right, reduce (or eliminate) the amount of junk mail (catalogs, flyers, mailers, etc.) that you receive every day, and you not only save yourself time... you save the planet, too.

Think about it....

If you reduce the amount of time you take to go through your daily mail by 2 minutes each day, you'll save yourself just over 10 hours a year (2 minutes daily x 6 days a week x 52 weeks = 624 minutes per year saved = 10.4 hours)!

It's easy enough to do, too.

Just go to the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service and opt-out of their members' mailing lists. That should dramatically reduce the number of catalogs, flyers, and junk-mail flotsam you receive -- and that means, ultimately, fewer catalogs get mailed, fewer get printed, and fewer end up in landfills.

And while you're at it, saving the Earth and all, visit OptOutPrescreen.com to remove yourself from those annoying credit card and insurance offers (which is also one thing you can do to reduce your chances of identity-theft).

See, saving the planet can be rewarding in more ways than you can imagine!

"My Biggest Challenge" Teleseminar for April 2008

I don't know why I hadn't mentioned it here earlier, but better late than never, as they say...

Since the start of the new year, I have been offering a free, monthly teleseminar called My Biggest Challenge in which I offer some free coaching to any and all who share the challenges, obstacles, or fears that are keeping them from creating the success that they are pursuing.

It's my way of getting to know my readers and website visitors, as well as a way to do what I've long wanted to do, which is help everyone get one step closer to making their dream life their real life!

So, if you're looking for some input on a personal, professional, or business challenge that you face, go to the My Biggest Challenge teleseminar page to get details about the April session (April 28th, 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Eastern) and to submit your big challenge. I hope to "see" you there!

Eating Plastic, Avoiding "Free" & Other Food Facts

I recently recorded a terrific interview with Patricia Setzer, a health & fitness sleuth who helps people learn to read food labels, as well as understand what all those hard-to-pronounce ingredients in processed food really are.

It's just about 30-minutes long and filled with some real mind-bending facts that everyone oughta know... at least, that is, if they eat food.

You can listen to it online or download it HERE.

Absolutely free... so it's good for your wallet, too!

My favorite questions...

The right question is the perfect tool for analyzing an idea or a goal and determining if that  dea/goal is something we really ought to be doing....

By asking -- and answering -- some probing questions about what we're doing, we can focus our efforts, eliminate distractions, and reduce the time it takes to go from idea to reality.

Here are some of my favorite questions and why I think they are important to ask.

• Is this a NEED or a WANT?

  This helps prioritize how important an  idea/goal actually is. Needs take priority, on any "to do" list, while Wants always deserve a second look as they may be things that we can put off a little while longer.

• How committed am I to doing what needs to be done to make this happen?

  Often, even though we say we want a thing, we're not prepared to commit all the time, energy, and effort that's required to really make it happen. This question can prevent us wasting a lot of time and effort on goals that we're just not that in to.

• What is the truth here (or... Is that the truth)?

  This question helps us focus on what is true about a situation rather than just what we think about a situation, which may be very removed from the truth.

  It helps us be honest about our motives so that we come to a clearer understanding of what
  we're trying to do.

• Will this move me closer to, or farther away from, my goal(s)?

  Everything we do has a positive, negative, or neutral impact on our goals.

  By focusing only on those actions which move us towards our goals, we can make progress each and every day.

• Do I want to be remembered for this?

  All of our actions -- everythings we say and do -- become the legacy we leave behind, they become the memories our families and friends remember us by.

  Asking this question before we do or say anything (especially when we are angry, upset, and frustrated) can help insure we set the positive example we intend to be.

These are just a few questions to get you thinking more deeply about the goals you're working on.

There are plenty of other great questions -- I'll be highlighting more of them in the coming months in the Big Questions category -- but these are my go-to questions that I rely on for defining, refining, and outlining my goals. I hope they help!

The test of your mission...

"Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't."

          --Richard Bach, author of Jonathon Livingston Seagull, One, Out of My Mind, and many other inspirational best-sellers well worth reading.

One damn thing after another?

"It's not true that life is one damn thing after another; it is one damn thing over and over." 

--Edna St. Vincent Millay (quoted in the Toronto Star... but I found it in The Week magazine).

What is impossible, really?

"Impossible" is really "I'm possible" misspelled. --Robyn Spitzman

Quoted by Cynthia Good, founding editor of PINK magazine (a fantastic new business magazine for women -- but  I like it, too) in the editor's column of the May/June 08 issue.

Beware of the smart "stupid rich" people!

You find the most interesting facts in the most unexpectated places. So it is with this piece which I uncovered in a local coffee-house free-newsletter.

Ohio State University professor Jay Zagorsky studied the relationship bewtween intelligence and financial success and discovered some interesting facts.

One of those is that for evey IQ point scored on a standardized test, a person's gross income rose on an average of $400 / year.  Okay, but...

...people with lower IQ's tended to have a higher net worth!

What gives? What happened to that wealth advantage those extra brain points gave the (cough, cough) smart folk?

Well, it seems that while smarter folk might earn more they also tend to spend more, charge more, and pay bills late -- assuming that they'll always be able to earn more money in the future.

Maybe so, but it'd be a whole lot smarter to spend less and save NOW.

Does this mean you should rush out and take an IQ test to gauge your wealth potential?

You can if you want to, but, as professor Jagorsky points out: "Intelligence is not a factor for explaining wealth. Those with low intelligence should not believe they are handicapped, and those with high intelligence should not believe they have an advantage."