Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in his book “Flow” outlines what it takes to achieve happiness – a state of flow.
It turns out that the state of flow comes more naturally to some people. Some people are Autotelic and this means that they have self-motivation and are internally driven. This quality of their personality makes them “gifted” when it comes to being able to achieve the state of flow. But others can achieve this state as well if they know what to do to achieve it.
How do you achieve it? There are certain factors that allow the state of flow, and they are…
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Comments Off | tags: flow, motivation, people skills, practice, self-help, success | posted in Lifestyle Design, Motivation, People, Practice
I have purchased and read (or listened to the audio-book) probably around 30 books on self-improvement (self help) and motivation. I’ve told you the common messages in a previous post. But what if you want to read (or listen to) these yourself? Which ones should you pick? Below are my recommendations.
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Comments Off | tags: books, money, motivation, people skills, self-help, success | posted in Lifestyle Design, Motivation, Practice, Wealth
Intrinsic motivation is necessary for any individual to succeed. In 100% of every case where someone has succeeded at anything, they have had intrinsic motivation. Do you?
First, I’ll describe the two types of motivations, and how they occur in my life and yours every day.
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Comments Off | tags: assertiveness, motivation, self-help, success | posted in Lifestyle Design, Motivation
When working with foreign cultures, it can influence the way you speak and write to the point where your speaking and writing with your home country colleagues can change – for the worse!
I’ve noticed this because I have worked with foreign cultures for years now and have adjusted my writing style in emails to foreign contacts in order to accommodate their limited understanding of my English language and grammar. How, you ask?
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Comments Off | tags: communication, people skills, profession, speaking, writing | posted in Interaction, People, Writing
Maybe it’s time you slowed down. Now that 5 mph over the limit is not an “accepted” amount by law enforcement, I took a hard look at just how much time I save by speeding:
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Comments Off | tags: anxiety, money, safety, time saving | posted in Lifestyle Design, Reclaim Time, Wealth
Last summer, I had the unfortunate experience of having my Gmail email account hacked and taken over by someone. Google was not helpful at all in getting my account back. They asked me if I could remember when the first time I opened my email account. I couldn’t remember that, so I can’t ever get my Gmail account back again! To make it worse, I had Google Voice with this account, my Google calendar, my Google home page, my Google Chrome favorites, my Google everything, basically. All gone. Inaccessible. Someone else now has my favorites where all the links to my bank accounts are stored. Devastating. Continue reading
Comments Off | tags: computer skills, email, security | posted in Security, Writing
If you use Powerpoint for presentations, then you’ve run across the time when people are looking more at your slides than they are watching or listening to what you have to say. Here’s a simple trick that will put the focus back on you: Continue reading
Comments Off | tags: assertiveness, powerpoint, presentations, profession | posted in Writing
If you drive a lot, then you know that you can get some serious neck and back strain by not sitting correctly. One of the main culprits that I have found is the slouch. I slouch while driving and it puts a needless compression on my back and neck that makes for a painful time after I arrive to work each morning after the 1 hour drive. Continue reading
Comments Off | tags: health, pain, posture | posted in Health
I’ve been wanting to write a book for awhile and trying to figure out how to make time has been difficult. Practice makes perfect, I know, but how can I write my book if I can’t find the time? Finding the time is only one part of the problem – where and what to write are other issues. When do I write and why?
I studied myself and found that if I had an interest, I would write. For example, email at work. I am forced to use email at work and have to write it. However, email-writing is not the same as book-writing. It just isn’t because the style isn’t right. Continue reading
Comments Off | tags: books, computer skills, email, motivation, time saving, writing | posted in Motivation, Reclaim Time, Writing
First, a definition of the French word, debrouillard…
debrouillard: [de-broo-yar]
- adjective
1. skilled at adapting to any situation;
resourceful.
- noun
2. a resourceful person who can act
independently or cope with any development.
One of the things that this word means to me is that I must “try until.” This “try until” attitude is a hallmark of great people and it is a system of thinking that will make you extraordinary! Who would not want someone on their team that embodies the debrouillard mindset? Who wouldn’t want to know someone like this? They don’t give up.
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Comments Off | tags: GTD, people skills, success | posted in Expert, Interaction, Lifestyle Design, Motivation, People, Proficiency
Because I have a long commute (1+ hours), I use my time in the car to listen to audio books. This allows me to make use of that drive time that would otherwise be wasted in listening to the radio, cursing other drivers, etc. But there are a few things that I have learned that are absolutely essential to getting the most out of any audio book while driving: Continue reading
Comments Off | tags: audio books, books, proficiency, self-help, time saving | posted in Lifestyle Design, Motivation, Proficiency, Reclaim Time
Most people know the print screen command on their PC computers and use it to copy a “screen shot” of their screen to the clipboard.
If not, here’s how: To save a “screen shot” of your screen to the clipboard, you press the “Prt Scr” button on the upper right of the keyboard. Doing this, you get a print of the screen, saved to the clipboard where you can paste it into another program’s screen (like PowerPoint, Word, Writer, Excel, etc.).
But wait. There’s more. Continue reading
Comments Off | tags: computer skills, proficiency, time saving | posted in Proficiency, Reclaim Time, Writing
When using the Firefox browser, I found a neat trick! If you are becoming nearsighted (as I am), then for any page you are viewing, you can zoom in on it and make it larger very easily: Continue reading
Comments Off | tags: computer skills, proficiency, time saving, vision | posted in Lifestyle Design, Proficiency, Reclaim Time, Writing
I’ve been told that “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” This is a great saying and almost always right! I avoid getting my hopes up if something just seems implausible (couldn’t happen) or improbable (probably won’t happen) because it seems just “too good.”.
But how often have you heard “if it seems too bad to be true, it probably is?” I turned the other (“good”) saying around and got this one. And why not – it’s the same thing really!
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Comments Off | tags: 2011, 2012, anxiety, end of the world, probability | posted in Interaction, Lifestyle Design, People
Email is over-used for communication in business and personal life. It has its place, but has become the lazy person’s alternative communication strategy.
For non-confrontational people and organizations, it has become the standard way to communicate. I think this is wrong for a few reasons.
- Some people studied it and found that a small percentage of communication effectiveness is via the written word. The remaining (>80%) is through the spoken word, expressions, gestures, and other body language. So email is not very effective at getting a message across.
- You can easily be misunderstood when communicating via email, especially if the recipient has never met you or “know what you mean” when you say what you say. There are no visual or auditory cues that help state your message – only what you wrote. We all know that words and phrases can be taken different ways.
- It is not constrained by time. By this I mean that if I am talking directly with someone, they respond immediately. If via email, the response will be delayed. This creates anxiety for the sender if they think of email as immediate (as many people seem to do). Anxiety makes communication worse.
The solutions? Simple. Continue reading
Comments Off | tags: anxiety, communication, email | posted in Interaction, People, Reclaim Time
I would say that every self-help or motivational book that I have ever read has said one common thing:
You must set goals!
But how? What do goals look like? How should they be written? How many should there be? How do I stick with my goals? Do I just write them and leave them for later? What do I do with them?
The answers are in very few books, but I’ve found them:
“The Four Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferriss
“Ultimate Power” by Tony Robbins
“Unleash the Giant Within” by Tony Robbins
“Ultimate Goals Program” by Brian Tracy
“The Magic of Thinking Big” by David Schwartz
In order for the information in these books to really work, I had to take bits and pieces from several different books and combine them into one coherent message. I tried it to see if it would work for me, and it does. It can work for you as well. Here are the steps you’ll need: Continue reading
Comments Off | tags: books, goals, motivation, self-help, success | posted in Lifestyle Design
You’ve seen my list of self-help lessons I have learned from reading lots of books on the subject of personal development, and my self-help book reading lists. But what really works?
Here again is my list of lessons learned from reading self-help and motivational texts, but this time with notation to tell you what works and what doesn’t, and what is supported by scientific evidence, and what just seems to work without science to back it.
Tony Robbins and Jim Rohn: Two of the most effective personal development gurus available.
My List:
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Comments Off | tags: books, expert, motivation, people skills, self-help, success | posted in Lifestyle Design, Motivation
Updated 2-August-2011
This concept map shown here is the linkage and chronology (upper people are older or were born earlier) of motivational and self-help writers and speakers throughout history, based on how they attributed who taught or influenced them. Continue reading
Comments Off | tags: books, motivation, people skills, self-help, success | posted in Lifestyle Design, Motivation, People
I have read a lot of “self-help” and “motivational” books lately. They certainly work. They all have the same things in common. Here they are: Continue reading
Comments Off | tags: motivation, people skills, self-help, success | posted in Interaction, Lifestyle Design, Motivation, People
Practice makes perfect. Heard it a million times, huh? You think you know what it means, but do you really?
No. You don’t. Continue reading
Comments Off | tags: expert, profession, proficiency, talent | posted in Expert, Lifestyle Design, Proficiency
Here is a cheap, easy and effective life-enhancing technique that you can begin and see immediate results whether you fit any of the criteria or not. I highly recommend that you do this because it is simple, effective, and it works immediately. You will see results.
I have learned that many people, including me, are not very assertive. They get “ran over’ by everyone else and do not stand up for themselves. They get frustrated at how things are going. Discouraged. Upset. Maybe they even live in constant anxiety and fear. Fear of losing their job. Fear of failure. Anxious to please others. Sound even a little bit familiar to you?
If so, there’s good news. You can change this. I have started this process myself, and it is making a huge difference in how I feel and how I deal with others. Keep in mind here that I didn’t have to do it. I didn’t have to change anything. I was acceptably effective at dealing with situations and people, but I wanted more. That is the key. I wanted to be better.
Also, if you are the other way – too assertive. Too angry all the time. Too demanding. This can help.
Doesn’t sound familiar? Do it anyway. You will be surprised! No matter who you are, you have to deal with people – probably daily. Deal with them better. Interact with them better. Feel better about what you do. Reduce your anxiety.
Enough of me talking, o.k. here it is. It’s easy: Continue reading
Comments Off | tags: anxiety, assertiveness, people skills | posted in Interaction, Lifestyle Design, People
