Today’s Oracle
My software angels choose this oracle quote for you today:
23) wake up neo… the matrix has you.
You can use my Potent Quotes Oracle page whenever you need help. Hold a question in your heart, and see what quote comes up for you when you scroll down. Get the Wizard’s Handbook on Oracle Creation and have fun with oracles.
Announcing a New Book and a Giveaway
I have published Book II of the Do More of What Works Series.
Naturally, you’ll find some gems. Consider reading it.
The basic idea starts with the core life coaching aphorism:
Do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
Clearly, when you do that, your life will bloom. Right?
But there’s a trick. I feel sure you’ll uncover it with just a moment’s reflection – what works and doesn’t work isn’t so easy to determine. And that is the point of this book.
I will help you to figure out what’s working in your life so you can do more of it, and what’s not working so you can do less of it.
These ideas need to be where-the-rubber-meets-the-road practical. If the changes only live in your mind and don’t show up in your actions, your life won’t blossom. Right?
You will need to act on your insights. Not taking action fundamentally doesn’t work for you or anyone else. OK?
In Book II you’ll find out –
- How to avoid psychic emotional scurvy.
- How to harness habits to make your life fun and easy.
- How measuring can almost guarantee your success in any endeavor you choose. This alone will make the book purchase worth your time.
- Why taking action matters for your success and happiness.
- How to be happier and enjoy your life more by killing one simple but pervasive myth. It’s easy.
- How attending to the present moment can bring you a lifetime of happiness. Wow.
- How going with the flow can transform your entire life. It did mine.
- How to get the sleep and the rest you crave.
- How to use Byron Katie’s profound insights to relieve the pain of living, relieve your suffering from any unwanted emotion, and return you to joy. You will need to work a bit, but the results lead to enlightenment. It’s much faster than you’d think – minutes vs. years.
- How by asking one simple question, at the right time, you can be truly happy.
- How you can use word judo to turn your life upside down, in a good way.
- And many more practical ways to improve your life. Now.
- : )
You could have a life you love. If you want a life that works for you, get the books and go for it.
Book Giveaway
You can get Book I at no cost and get caught up. It will be available from
12:01 AM Saturday, June 28th to midnight July 2nd the day Sasha comes back from studying in Germany.
Get it here => Book I
Then you can get Finding Your Own Best Ideas: Book II: Over 27 Practical Prescriptions for Figuring Out What Works in Your Life.
Enjoy them and then please write a sterling review of each of them.
Now, enjoy this chapter from Book II of Finding Your Own Best Ideas.
Measure Something
If you want to improve your results in any area of your life, then measure what you’re doing.
If you want to feel more motivation to do more of what works, then measure something.
If you want to feel good about keeping your word to yourself, then measure what you do and keep a log.
It may not matter as much what you measure, as it matters that you measure.
Business mentor, Peter Drucker’s classic quotation popularized the idea:
What gets measured, gets managed.
A Microsoft millionaire client of mine modified it –
What gets measured improves.
Summary
Measurement = Motivation
So, measure something. Measuring works.
In Book I, we looked at some ways you can measure what works. Now we’ll go into it a bit more.
What do I mean by measure something?
Some examples:
I measure how much weight I lift and how many times I lift it for each exercise I do.
I log how many minutes I walk or bike. I used to measure miles. I find measuring time better now as it allows for the ups and downs of daily or weekly energies.
My doctor and I track health indicators with my blood tests.
I count the grams of carbohydrates I consume each day. This has led to great blood tests and returning to my high school weight.
I track the number of clients I see each season. And the number of people who get my books each month.
I weigh myself and measure my girth weekly so that I can then calculate my body composition (lean body mass vs. fat) using this calculator for men. Here’s the one for women.
As a tracker, I log nature observations, mostly in my neighborhood. Going back decades, I can tell you when I sighted the first Osprey of the year or the first Surf Birds returning in autumn. I can tell you where the sun will rise on equinox or on winter solstice.
Suzanne tracks all the exercises she does each day, including pushups at the kitchen counter while the blender roars preparing her morning protein shake.
Tip: Suzanne logs her activity on one of the attractive wall calendars we receive from the non-profits we donate to.
Get the Habit of Measuring
You want to develop the habit of measuring. Why? Because it will keep you motivated to continue doing those things that work for you. Do more of what works and you live a happier life.
Nike+ has software for logging your runs and a huge running community to share it with and be inspired by. Their motto: Nike+ helps you find the motivation to keep going. Yep.
Their research shows that after logging in and recording their runs just five times, people get hooked and continue to track their progress. Stick it out and log your actions five times and see the results accumulate in your life. I have years of records.
Note: I virtually never look back at what I’ve done. It’s enough for me to log the information and move on. I used MS Publisher to make my logs, which run for four weeks. They just keep stacking up. It amounts to a long standing acknowledgement of my commitment to my health.
And my commitment to my commitments.
Apps and Devices
As you might guess, the gadget mongers have come up with a long list of support tools. Some cost you nothing, others can cost $100s.
Some of my clients love Fitbit for tracking the number of steps they take each day. One of my clients has parents in their 70s competing with their own records and each other on the number of steps they take each day. Can you think of anything more wonderful?
Daughter Sasha has a friend at Washington State University that has an app on her phone that doesn’t count steps, but logs distance walked using the internal GPS. It also informed her that in hilly Pullman, she walked uphill the equivalent of a 20 story building. Cool and motivating, wouldn’t you agree?
Measurement Implies Action
The operant word in Do more of what works is DO. Do equals action.
Healthy practices, or evil practices for that matter, can change your life. Goals are OK, but they have to be actionable. I want to earn more money. Lovely. But how can you take action?
Mentors found out that when employees track sales phone calls made, income for the business went up, and so did the employees’ income. You can measure the number of calls made and you have control over this. You don’t have control over sales.
I love this one from Tim Ferriss –
A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.
Imagine tracking that? Woof.
I know this works in relationships.
I measure what’s important to me. I want you to measure what’s important to you. You’ll be amazed at how much your life improves because you’ll automatically be doing more of what works.
Walk in beauty,
William
P.S. Again, you can get the giveaway here => Book I
And then you can get the new book here => Finding Your Own Best Ideas: Book II: Over 27 Practical Prescriptions for Figuring Out What Works in Your Life.
Enjoy them and then please write a sterling review of each of them.
P.P.S. Naturally, please let your friends know about this.
