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Have you ever had a project where you were going along great for some time, and then somehow you let it stop? Perhaps you had a goal that you were pursuing and you were making progress, doing the right activities, and then somehow you stopped? Of course all of us have had something like that at some point.  There is something you should be doing, something you used to be doing but you are not doing it any more.

What is that activity for you?

Is it….

• Exercising?
• Eating right?
• Reading?
• Working on your side business?
• Writing?

What is the one activity that you used to do, know you should do, but just are not doing right now?

For me it is this blog.  If you look carefully you will notice that it has been nearly four months since I last posted.  For someone who used to, and wants to, post three times a week, this is unacceptable.

Sure, I have excuses.  I’m sure you have excuses to. There are likely really valid reasons why you have stopped doing that activity.  Likely you didn’t plan on stopping – something just happened – and then something else, and something else…..   I didn’t plan on taking this time off from writing for this blog, it just happened.

So now what?

You have an activity that you know you should be doing, that you want to do, but that you are not doing.  What now?

Do something.

The first step is to do something.  Anything.  It doesn’t have to be big. Just do it.  This isn’t going to be the longest post I’ve ever had.  And, while I hope it is a great post, it probably won’t be my best ever.  I’m writing something and getting something out there.

Taking action breaks the negative inertia that is holding you back. It gets you moving in the right direction.  The start is the hardest part, so just doing something is extremely valuable.

After that?

Determine your next activity.

If you can do it now then do it.  If not, schedule it and commit to it.  I commit that by Thursday at the latest there will be another post on this blog.  I’m going to get back into the routine that I used to have.

To summarize, there are three simple steps:

1.  Recognize what activity you have let slip.
2.  Do something on that activity.
3.  Determine your next activity.

Written by:
Danny Gamache – The Success Professor

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Have you heard of the 80/20 rule?  Likely you have.  Also known as the Pareto Principle, it is the concept that 80% of the effect comes from 20% of the causes. This can then be applied into many areas of life.  The phenomenon was originally observed in Italy, where 20% of the people had 80% of the wealth.  Since then it has become a rule of thumb for business.  The numbers are not exact, it is not a scientific proof, but the trend is general and consistent; consistent enough that people are able to use it to guide them into making their business more effective.

Examples of where it might be used include:

• 80% of an organization’s sales will come from 20% of their salespeople
• 80% of your business will come from 20% of your customers
• 80% of your investment income will come from 20% of your investment

You can also look at things from the opposite perspective:

• 20% of your customers will cause 80% of your headaches
• you wear 20% of your clothing, 80% of the time
• 20% of patients use 80% of healthcare resources
• the final 20% of your workout will provide 80% of the results

And of course the list goes on and on.  There are lots of ways that the Pareto Principle can be used to help you be more successful.  This article will focus on one of those.

20% of your activities will produce 80% of your results!

Think about that for a moment.  Out of all of the things you do, 1/5 th of your activity is what creates 4/5 ths of your value.  That is pretty significant.  Again, you can reverse the concept.  Only 80% of your activity accomplishes only 20% of your results.  This leads to an obvious question:

How can you do more of the activities that are really producing results?

If you can take those high-result activities that you currently spend 20% of your time on, and increase the amount of time you spend on them, you can make yourself more effective and accomplish even more. Imagine if, instead of taking 20% of your time on these high results activities, you were able to increase that to 30% or even 40%.  Your results would skyrocket.  You would be getting a lot more important things accomplished.

What are your 20% activities?

The first step in doing this is to identify what your 20% activities are.  What are the activities that produce the most results in your life and business?  What are the activities that help you move more quickly towards your goals?  The list of activities will differ significantly between different goals and businesses.

For someone in sales the 20% activities might be:

• phoning new prospects
• following up with current prospects
• making sales presentations

Things that are not in the top 20% are likely:

• updating your contact list
• cleaning your office
• analyzing your competitors products

If you are a blogger the 20% activities might be:

• writing new articles
• writing guest posts
• commenting on other blogs

Things that are not in the top 20% are likely:

• making continual search engine optimization changes
• focusing on web design
• playing with fancy new online tools

You can’t completely ignore the 80% activities.

The 80% activities will never go away.  In fact, you can’t stop doing them.  Often they provide a foundation for making the 20% activities so successful. The fact that you understand your customer’s products DOES make your sales calls more effective.  The search engine optimization you have done allows your articles to reach more people.  These activities are useful and you still need to build them into your day.

You just want to REDUCE the amount of time you spend on them.

Take the time to make your list.  What are your 20% activities? Those activities that produce most of the results as you work towards your goals. The list might surprise you.  How are you at doing these activities?  Are there ways you can do more?  Even putting in a little more time into the activities that pay off the most can allow you to reap huge benefits.  On the flip side, what falls into your 80% activities?  What are the activities that, while useful, are only contributing 20% of your results?  Identifying this list will help you see patterns.  You will be able to see what you can cut back on and where you can shift time away from.
Do it today.  Make your list. It likely won’t get it exactly right the first time, but start with a list in hand.  Use that list to plan your week.  After your week review your list again.  Make any changes you need until you are sure you have your list right.  You may even want to log your time, recording what you do in each fifteen minute segment.  Know what your 20% activities are, and then do more of them!

Written by:

Danny Gamache –The Success Professor

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A little over a year ago I shared a list of my top 10 podcasts.  The list has become one of the most popular posts on this site.  Over that time some of the podcasts have gotten better, some have gotten worse, and a few have basically disappeared.  On top of that, I have discovered a few new podcasts that are excellent. In this article you will find the updated list!

Podcasts are a fantastic way of learning, being inspired, and for personal growth. They are audio presentations that you download and are able to listen to at your convenience, whether on iTunes or on an iPod (or other Mp3 player).  If you don’t currently listen to any podcasts the first step is to download iTunes.  After subscribing to podcasts, such as the ones listed below, iTunes will automatically download any recent episodes every time you open the program.  I listen to some podcasts directly on my computer and download others to my iPod.

Each of these podcasts can be found by searching for the title in the iTunes store, or by subscribing at the webpage linked to in the title of each podcast.

1. The Daily Boost

This is a powerful motivation podcast from motivationtomove.com. The free podcast is generally a once a week motivating message, that comes out of their daily podcast service for “premium” members.

The message is short, about 10 minutes a day, and provides a powerful personal development tip that motivates you to move forward.  You may consider upgrading to the paid premium membership, the podcasts are that good!  At least check out the free version.

http://www.podanza.com/podcast/the-daily-boost/1f69ac3b897e89089c4df741388ef093/

2. Inspiring Words of Encouragement – Zig Ziglar

Motivational expert Zig Ziglar offers this excellent podcast.  The subject list is diverse within the framework of living a positive life.  Past episodes include tips on success, lessons for salespeople, and even parenting advice.

This podcast is updated every two weeks, and I never fail to be encouraged, inspired, and to learn every episode.  The full archives are available for download also, giving you lots of powerful motivational material.

http://www.podanza.com/podcast/inspiring-words-of-encouragement/45e6042b3698d45c9a06ff1686a395ac/

3. Mosaic – A Community of Faith, Love & Hope

One of two churches that make the list.  I hesitate to call it a church.   Partly because it meets in a night club, and partly because it is nothing like most churches you may have experiences with.

Pastor Erwin McManus is an amazing communicator of God’s word.  He does it in a way that communicates the true message of Jesus.  He speaks of important personal development topics such as work, relationships and money.  Be sure to make your way into the archives of past messages.  My favorite messages that I recommend you check out are entitled, “Fear”, “Work”, and “Everyone Gave”.

http://www.mosaic.org/podcast/

4. Duct Tape Marketing Podcast

John Jantsch, author of the book Duct Tape Marketing, hosts this excellent podcast filled with interviews of marketing experts and entrepreneurs.  It is always informative and helps to keep up to date with trends in the world of marketing, particularly social media and new marketing. These podcasts come approximately once a week and there is a fantastic archive of previous episodes.

http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/podcast.php

5. Harvard Business Review Ideacast

This weekly podcast from the editors of Harvard Business Review shares interviews with the author of an article in the current issues of the Harvard Business Review.  Listening to this podcast allows you to hear about import research in the world of business and get application ideas directly from the author.

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/hbr/hbr_ideacast.jhtml

6. Help My Business Sucks *video podcast*

This is the only video podcast on my list.  I am not usually as much of a fan of video podcasts because I prefer to listen to podcasts while walking to work or driving.  In spite of that this video podcast is worth subscribing to.  I let a few weeks accumulate at a time and then watch through them during a workout.

This podcast is done by Andrew Lock and focuses on marketing for the small business owner and entrepreneur.  It is an excellently produced piece that includes several different segments in each week’s episode.  The idea is that all decisions an organization makes needs to be tied to marketing.  Lock frequently repeats his theme, “Everything is marketing, and marketing is everything.”

http://helpmybusiness.com/

7. Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast

This is a monthly leadership training podcast by leadership expert, author and pastor Andy Stanley.  While the podcast is actually designed for church leaders it is a valuable resource for anyone trying to grow an organization, especially entrepreneurs.  The current series has been on the topic of vision, and it has discussed how to come up with your vision, state your vision clearly, and communicate it to your organization.

To subscribe visit this site: (it is the third podcast listed)
http://www.northpoint.org/podcasts

8. CBC Radio Vinyl Café

Stuart McLean is a master storyteller.  This podcast of his weekly radio show is a fantastic break from the ordinary as it allows you to listen to a master story teller at work. This podcast is a wonderful break for relaxation and stress reduction.  If you are looking for a personal development angle beyond the rest it is this: listening to Stuart will help you become a better storyteller for all of your presentations.

http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/index.html?arts#vinylcafe

9. Mars Hill Bible Church

The second church to make my list is Mars Hill Bible Church from Grand Rapids, MI home of pastor and author Rob Bell.  Because of Bell’s travel schedule normally about half of the teachings are from him and half are from other fantastic guest speakers.  Bell teaches the Bible in a way that helps you open your eyes to the uniqueness of who Jesus is and the type of people he calls us to be.  Again, this is not your typical church.

http://marshill.org/teaching/pcast.php

10. Behind the Leader/ Renegade Profile

This podcast is a series of excellent interviews conducted by Jonathan Fields author of Career Renegade.  The podcast consists of interviews with business leaders and entrepreneurs.  The podcast recently switched from “Renegade Profiles” to “Behind the Leader” in order to focus more on established business leaders.  There are plenty of podcasts to listen through in the back catalogue with all sorts of different entrepreneurs.  The interviews Fields conducts are excellent and thorough, many lasting almost an hour. He asks great questions that really help you get an idea of how these leaders and entrepreneurs think.

You’ll need to go to the iTunes store to subscribe, but you can check out a sample episode here:

http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/behind-the-leader-mullen-cco-edward-boches/

I hope you find a couple of valuable podcasts from this list.  What did I miss?  What is your favorite?  Be sure to share below!

Written by:
The Success Professor – Danny Gamache

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Lou Holtz is known as one of the top college football coaches of all time.  Most recently he came out of retirement to coach South Carolina and before that had a successful run coaching at Notre Dame.  He is the only coach ever to have brought six different teams to bowl games and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Recently I was at a conference where Lou Holtz was the keynote speaker. Aside from being a great football coach, Holtz is a great LIFE coach.  His lessons are clear and powerful and delivered with a mix of inspiration and humor.  Here are his five keys to success.

1. Choose Your Attitude

In life you will face many difficulties and problems. It is guaranteed that life won’t be easy.  You choose how you respond to adversity or difficulties.  You choose how you respond to rejection.  You choose how you approach life.  Be self discipline and be enthusiastic about everything you do.

“You cannot let others people determine your attitude.”

“Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.”

“Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity.”

2. Have a Passion to Win

You need to develop a deep passion to win. As you do, obstacles will slip away.  If your passion is strong then there will be no obstacle that will keep you from being a success.  You will pursue, persevere, and endure.  You will sacrifice and have no excuses.

“You can evaluate your passion to win by what you are willing to sacrifice.”

“Focus on why you can win; no on why you can’t.”

“You’re never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you’re never as bad as they say when you lose.”

3. Understand Your Purpose

Do you know your purpose?  Your purpose is your WHY: the reason WHY you are pursuing your goals.  You need to have clear objectives, and have a team ready to help you move towards your goals. Based on your purpose, ask yourself the WIN question: “What’s Important Now?”  Ask yourself this at least 25 times a day.  This will help you push back towards your purpose.

“If you’re bored with life – you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things – you don’t have enough goals.”

“I can’t believe that God put us on this earth to be ordinary.”

4. Be a Dreamer

Your purpose should be connected to your dream. Have a dream, share your dream, and use your dream to identify your goals.  Develop a dreams list of all the things you dream to do.  Have something to do, something to hope for, something to love, and something to believe in.

“Don’t maintain where you are – everything is either growing or dying.”

“Don’t be a spectator. Don’t let life pass you by.”

5. Lift People Up

You need to develop and maintain meaningful relationships with others.  Do what is right to others.  Do everything to the very best of your ability. Show people you care. All the people you meet have their own struggles and are carrying some burden. They are just like you.

“Do right. Do your best. Treat others as you want to be treated.”

“If you burn your neighbor’s house down, it doesn’t make your house look any better.”

Read more of Lou Holtz’s wisdom by picking up his book “Winning Everyday”.

Written by:
Danny Gamache
Based on a presentation by Lou Holtz

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One of the things that holds most people back in business and in life is procrastination – putting off things that should be done today and leaving them to do ‘later’. Everybody procrastinates to some extent, so you are not alone.  It is those people who can put aside their procrastination and move towards action more quickly that will be the most successful in life and business.  A favorite quote of mine is that “life rewards action!” Action, at the proper time, is the opposite of procrastination.

Why does procrastination occur?  It occurs when your mind, consciously or sub-consciously, has a view of the ‘pain’ and ‘pleasures’ that can occur from doing, or not doing the task. Each task in life has its own costs (‘pain’) attached completing it, but it has rewards (‘pleasures’) as well.  What people often forget, but in truth drives you just as much, is that for every task there are also ‘pains’ of not completing the task, which drives you towards their completion.  It is the balance of these varied pains and pleasures that result in one of two things – action or procrastination.

For example, if you are procrastinating and not mowing the lawn that needs to be cut, you view the ‘pain’ of mowing the lawn as more important than the results (‘pleasure’) that would come from having it completed.  In other words, the time you give up to do the mowing, the effort you would need to put out and other ‘pains’ that would be involved cover up the satisfaction you would get for completing the task and from having a nicely cut lawn.

But there is another ‘pain’ involved too.  Except this ‘pain’ pushes you towards to completing the task.  In this case, it would be the pain you feel from looking at your uncut lawn. The pain you perceive from the harm to your reputation you might face amongst your neighbors.  The longer your grass gets, the more this ‘pain’ becomes prevalent.  The ‘pain’ that prevents you from doing the task is a NEGATIVE ‘pain’.  The ‘pain’ pushing you towards doing the task is a POSITIVE ‘pain’.

“The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you’re in control of your life. If you don’t, life controls you.” – Tony Robbins

These ‘pains’ and ‘pleasures’ from a given task can change as time goes on, which is why you might suddenly do the task at hand.  I see this all the time with my students.  If you are a student who has a paper due in a month, there is not as much ‘pleasure’ from doing the task, and there is no positive ‘pain’ pushing you towards doing it – you only have the negative ‘pain’ keeping you from doing it.  If however, you now have only one day before the paper is due, there is a new positive ‘pain’ that pushes you towards doing the task.  That positive ‘pain’ is of course the risk of getting a failing grade.

If you are in sales you might procrastinate about making a call to a prospect.  In this case you view the ‘pain’ of getting out of your comfort zone and facing possibly rejection as being stronger than the pleasure from the results you could get from making the call.  The thing about this fact is that usually your mind has it completely wrong.  The tendency is to inflate the costs and to lower the true rewards you will receive.   That is why FEAR stands for False Expectations Appearing Real – most of them will simply never come true.

So based on this view of ‘pain’ and ‘pleasure’ and their effects of procrastination, how can you force yourself to take action more – to get past procrastination and create results?  There are three ways that naturally come out of this understanding:

1. Decrease the perceived negative ‘pain’.

This means using your mind to view the task at hand as having less negative costs.  In other words, take a realistic look at the possible outcomes.  Chances are you are making it much harder than it really is.  You are likely emphasizing negative results that in reality are never going to happen. Take a more realistic look and understand that in most cases what you fear will never happen, that the task is much easier than you are making it out to be, and will take much less time than you are figuring.

2. Increase the ‘pleasure’ from completing the task.

To do this, spend more time focusing on what you will get out of completing the task.  Think through all the benefits of completing the task at hand.  The better feeling you will gain, the removal of stress, the extra income you will earn, the easier it will make your life etc… That is why goal setting is so important.  You need to clearly be able to know why you are pursing the goals you are pursing. What are the results you will get, and why are they important?  If you are building a side business, blog, or website, you need to think through the benefits that success will bring to you and your family. Emphasize these positives in your mind.  Focus on this, rather than on the ‘negative’ pain.

3. Increase the positive ‘pain’.

In other words, emphasize all the negatives that will occur if you DO NOT do the task at hand. Think through all the potential costs with not doing it.  These could include the loss of reputation, the giving up on your goals, and the missing of deadlines.  Make these ‘pains’ as large and as important as possible.  If you are the salesperson needing to make a prospecting call focus on all the things that could happen if you DON’T make the call.  Perhaps the prospect goes with a different product, or goes with the same product but purchases it from someone else. Realize in your mind that your business will not grow if you don’t make the call – you’ll be giving up on your dreams and your goals.  Repeat to yourself the saying,  “If I don’t act, I lose!” This increased positive ‘pain’ can drive you towards completing the task at hand.

Procrastination is all in the mind. It is how you perceive the ‘pains’ and ‘pleasures’ associated with either doing, or not doing the task at hand.  Because the mind is what causes procrastination, you can also use the mind to defeat it.  Use the mind to increase the ‘pain’ of not doing tasks, increase the ‘pleasures’ of completing the tasks, and decrease the ‘pain’ associated with doing the task.  Do these three things strongly enough and you will be able to get yourself to take action on whatever you need to do.

Written by:
Danny Gamache

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The tag line of “The Think Big Manifesto” is “Think you can’t change your life (and the world)? Think again.” That is a pretty good summary about what the book is all about, although the focus is more about changing the world than your life. The book focuses on challenging you to think big about life and what you can achieve. It challenges you to think about ways you can make a difference in the world.

What I Didn’t Like

I picked up this book expecting to read a book focused on, well, thinking big. While the book talks about that, it seems to be more focused on the idea of changing the world, rather than the act of thinking big. In other words the advice on thinking big is very focused on changing the world, not on how to think big. For example, Port writes,

“Small thoughts are not reality…. You are more than you think. You can do more with your own life and you can have an impact on the larger world outside you – your family, your community, your country, our global village.”

Great advice, and very true, but not what I was expecting from the title. Instead it seems to focus more on the fact that you should think big (which I knew), rather than on HOW to think big (which I want to get better at).

Another thing I do not like is the constant “I” focus. Perhaps the purpose of a manifesto is to share more from an “I” focus, however I found it difficult at times because the “I” focus seems to take away from helping the reader.

One more thing that I don’t like is that the book seems to be a little fluffy. For example, Port writes,

“Failure is nothing. It will happen. We will transcend it.”

While I think it is great to say that failure will happen, the idea of simply “transcending it” is a little whimsical. I would have preferred a more detailed look at how we can learn from failure, how to THINK BIG in spite of failure, and HOW to move beyond failure.

What I Did Like

There are, however, many things that I liked about the book. First of all, I really like the fact that Port focuses on making a difference in the world. The book focuses on changing the world, and the fact that every person can make a difference in the world. I like that he addresses how the thing that holds most people back from changing the world is how they think. We think small and therefore we act small.
Secondly, I like that the book moves beyond the common definitions of success: a better job, more money, and more things. Instead it looks at contribution and making the difference as being the true measure of success. Port writes,

“If you’re not happy now, you’re not going to be happy when you have more money, purchase your dream home, or whatever goal you may have.”

Another thing I like is that Port shares many examples of other people who are thinking big. While some of the examples are surprising and may seem out of place, they serve to demonstrate the power to make a difference even in what others might consider the “mundane” things of life.

The second part of the book really makes up for some of the short comings in the first half. One of my favorite sections of the book is his section on collaboration. I tend to be the type of person who just gets things done myself. I have not collaborated very often. Learning from this section means I need to be open to more forms of collaboration. Port writes,

“True collaboration is a give-and-take. True partnerships are founded in equality. Equality does not equal sameness. We don’t all bring the same skills or resources to the table, but we all bring something and we all need something….. . This kind of collaboration is possible only when we are very secure, win-win, without measuring who won more. Can we allow ourselves to be happy if we get what we want, even though others get more of what they want? It’s not at our expense.”

Conclusions

So is “The Think Big Manifesto” worth reading? Yes it is. Certainly there are many things that could be improved, and I don’t think it lives up to its title; however, there is a lot of good that you can get from reading the book. I learned things and was inspired – both things that I really appreciate in a book. If you pick up this book realize you are getting a book about changing the world more than you are about thinking big. Thinking big is just the method that allows for the world to be changed.

To give you a deeper flavor for the book I’ll leave with some of the quotes that I found inspiring:

“Inspiring others to think big is perhaps the single most important act of any one individual thinking big.”

“Know that we reach only what we aim for, so there is no choice but to aim high if we are to succeed.”

“Think: ‘Why not me?’ instead of ‘Why me?’”

“The truth is that big thinking is always, always [always, always, always] worth the expenditure of energy.”

“People will be excited about what you do only if you are excited about it. People will believe in you and what you do only if you believe.”

“The more uncomfortable you are, the more challenged you are.”

“Small thinking has the power to suck in everything around it. To influence and sway small thoughts, big thinking must first exert twice the strength to achieve a fraction of the same force.”

Review by:
Danny Gamache

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WIN NOW; these are two words that can completely change the way you build your business or pursue your life goals. The result of applying the WIN NOW principles are that you indeed will “win now”! But aside from being a nice sounding phrase, WIN NOW can teach an attitude that will empower you to achieve your goals, remind you of what you should be focusing on, and help you take advantage of every opportunity you are given. WIN NOW is the combination of two important acronyms. WIN stands for What’s Important Now? NOW stands for No Opportunity Wasted.

WIN is taught by Lou Holtz, one of the best football coaches of all times and an amazing leadership speaker. “What’s Important Now?” is a phrase that will help you keep on track in your business and your life. To apply the WIN principle, simply ask yourself the question, “What’s Important Now?” over and over again throughout your day. It is a simple question which can help refocus you and take action.

Throughout the day it is really easy to get off track and move away from important action to doing things that are only a waste of time. By asking yourself “What’s Important Now” you can remind yourself that there are things that are important and you can move back to activities that will help you accomplish what is important.

The answer to the WIN question will change throughout your day. At times, WIN will mean giving complete attention to your spouse or children; at times WIN will mean taking steps towards growing your business, and at times it will mean being the best employee you can be. The key is that you SHOULD be doing the important thing at any one moment.

In order to apply WIN you need to have an understanding of what exactly is important. Knowing what’s important comes from an understanding of your mission and your goals. Your personal mission should help you always have a clear understanding of what sort of things are going to be important to you. The main part of my mission is “teaching others how to be successful in all areas of life”. Therefore, the things that are important will in some way help me to do this. In my case this can be through my job as a professor, through my role at my church, through my blog, or through my home business. In all of those situations, and in others, I am teaching others how to be successful.

After you have clarity around your mission you can set goals. For goals to be effective within the WIN principle you need to have long-term goals that are broken down into short-term goals set on a weekly basis. Each week you should set your priorities in each of the different areas (or roles) in your life. (You may want to use my weekly planning system to help you do this). If you understand clearly your weekly goals that will allow you to focus on WIN throughout each day. The things that will be important are those things that help you achieve your weekly goals.

The second part of the phrase is NOW, or No Opportunity Wasted. This is a phrase originated by Phil Keagan, the host of The Amazing Race, and his television show “No Opportunity Wasted”. NOW refers to never letting a chance for growth go past you. Opportunities are all around us. There are opportunities in all realms of life – your physical life, your personal life and your spiritual life. NOW means that you will be watching for these opportunities, you will recognize them when they present themselves and take advantage of them.

NOW will connect directly with WIN. The opportunities you will look for when applying NOW will be the things that help you achieve the important things from WIN. NOW will mean making the contact with someone you want to partner with in your business. NOW will mean getting out of your comfort zone on a daily basis; NOW will mean taking advantage of the ten minutes you have between meetings to do something useful. In other words, thinking “No Opportunity Wasted” will help you to look for any opportunity to do the important things that will help you achieve your goals.

By combining NOW and WIN you get the phrase WIN NOW; which is exactly what will happen for you if you continually apply these principles. With WIN you will be always asking yourself “What’s Important Now?” This understanding will allow you to take action towards these goals. NOW will help you to remember to be watching for opportunities throughout your day, and then spur you to take action towards those activities, even if it means moving through your comfort zone and doing things that may cause fear. These actions towards the important things in life will indeed help you WIN NOW.

Written by:

Danny Gamache
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At the start of August, many readers of this blog joined me as we launched the Success Professor’s 31 Day Challenge. The basic premise of the challenge is that you can do a lot in 31 days by focusing in on one area of your life that you want to improve.  As we have moved past the mid-point of this challenge it is a great time to revisit the challenge, renew our focus, and to report on progress.

What are you working on?

Did you decide to make a change in this 31 day challenge? If so, what are you working on? Are you improving your website? Learning a new skill or ability? Or making specific steps to grow your business? The first step in a 31 day challenge is to know what you want to work on and be specific. If you have been working on something, use the comments of this post to report your progress.

You can start today!

If you didn’t join us on the 31 day challenge at the start of August, you can start today.  Each set of 31 days can be perfect for you to grow in some area. Read the original post to give you an understanding of the purpose, and then pick something you want to improve and start today.

This excellent e-book helps you build a better blog.

Personal progress:

My 31 day challenge focused on improving this blog.  I have been using ProBlogger Darren Rowse’s ebook “31 Days to Build a Better Blog” as a guideline.

A sample of my accomplishments this month include:

• regular posting schedule set and followed – this is the first time in several months that I have kept a regular posting schedule

• two guest post written and submitted – one published and one accepted for future publication.

• added “Stumble It” button to the bottom of each post

• increased participation on Twitter

The difficult part for me has been keeping up with the daily schedule in Rowse’s ebook. The activities are great, but some times take more time than I have available.  Add into that a couple of business trips and I am a little behind.  I will continue to progress through the activities both for the rest of the 31 days of August and beyond as needed.  The ideas in the book are great.

Participant Profile – Kyle Durand – www.entrepreneurialadvocate.com

Question #1 – Tell us about yourself: Who are you? What do you do?

If you asked me this three years ago, I would have told you I was a career U.S. military officer and an attorney.  I joined the U.S. Navy when I was 17 and rose through the ranks by doing all the “right” things. I qualified as a nuclear power technician, I graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, I led troops in combat situations at sea and on land, I graduated near the top of my law school class, etc.

To the outside observer, I appeared to have a “successful” career, but inside, I felt unsatisfied and longing for more.  As I moved up the ranks, I moved increasingly further away from working with people in a personal capacity and more towards becoming a cog in a huge bureaucratic machine.

I also became increasingly dissatisfied with the lack of flexibility I was accorded to pursue my interests and enjoy life with my wife, Cynthia.  I started taking a close look at my interests and skill sets and was struck by how incongruent they were with my career at the time.  I truly enjoyed starting businesses and helping people start and run their businesses more effectively. I launched my first business when I was seven years old and had used my legal training again and again to help others do the same while in the military.

After my last deployment to Iraq, I made the decision to leave the military and follow my passion of assisting entrepreneurs in reaching their business dreams.

I now run Precept Law Group, a full service business and legal consulting firm in the Seattle area. We work closely with entrepreneurs to plan and launch their businesses and to educate new and seasoned business owners on the management and implications of business operations.

In my spare time, I explore the outdoor adventures available in the Northwest United States and travel around the country participating in long distance cycling events and triathlons.

Question #2 – What made you decide to join the Success Professor 31 day challenge? What is your goal for the challenge?

My goal for the challenge is to re-design, improve and grow my blog, The Entrepreneurial Advocate (www.entrepreneurialadvocate.com).  I enjoy blogging and connecting with other small business owners online (via twitter, facebook, etc), but the blog has fallen off my radar over the past few months.  I want to reinvigorate it with a new design, a new logo and new content.

Question #3 – How is it going? What benefits have you received?
The re-design is going great.  I hired a graphic artist to produce a new logo, and I created a new blog layout myself using the Thesis theme as a foundation.  There are still a number of elements that need work, but I’m happy with the progress.

As for the content, I purchased the ProBlogger workbook prior to August 1st and have been working to stay up with the tasks assigned for each day.  Content production has been the most difficult part of this 31 day challenge for me.

The ProBlogger workbook has been an outstanding resource for learning the nuts and bolts of creating content, promoting a blog and connecting with other bloggers. When this challenge is over, I will have to go back through the book several times in an effort to more fully absorb all of the information it contains.  But, I have learned a great deal about what it takes to build and operate a blog and have even more respect for those who put in the time and effort required to create a successful web presence.

Question #4 – What does success mean to you?

Success to me is living life to its fullest while contributing to society by doing work that really matters.  I have a personal mantra that I try to follow every day, “Seize Life’s Adventures.”

I truly believe that if you follow your passion and give more than you expect to get, success will necessarily find you.

After all, what more “success” can you obtain in life than feeling that you’ve made your best, most worthwhile contribution to the world, and that other people’s lives have been enhanced by your presence?

Thank you for creating the 31 day challenge and inspiring me to improve my blog!  It has been a great learning experience and a fun undertaking.  Now, to figure out what I’ll work on improving next month…

Thank you for your time and support, Kyle.

Written by:

Danny Gamache – The Success Professor

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