Posts Tagged achievement
Today Matters
Posted by David C. Buchan in Inspiration and motivation, Self improvement on February 1st, 2010
Reading time: 2 – 4 minutes
Over the recent Christmas break my attention was taken by the simple and powerful idea that what we do today sets us up for the success of tomorrow. John C. Maxwell writes about the concept and his experience applying it to life in the book Today Matters.
My experience of self improvement books is that many give high level ideas which sound fantastic but are too far from day-to-day reality to put into place unless you can stop the world. Others are so highly specific as to be interesting but non-applicable. It’s as if you get the destination without transport, or transport and no destination. Thankfully Today Matters provides both in abundance — and with travel tips to boot.
Make twelve decisions. One each in an important area of life and then apply discipline on a daily basis to achieve goals consistent with your decision.
Possibly the most important learning for me was the difference between distinction and habit. I have beaten myself up too often over the failure to develop a habit. You know, that thing you must do each day to be successful. What I had failed to realise was that habit comes not from repetition, but from the repeated application of discipline. If I am disciplined enough to take action each day, the habit will follow.
I absolutely have Today Matters in my top five must read books and recommend you take the time to read and apply it to your life.
I’ve taken on three areas to start with. Two areas which I have assessed to be strong and one where I have assessed myself to be weak (all relative to one another). Maxwell’s suggestion is to work on an area for 60 days and no more than one weak area at a time. That’s great advice for my melancholy nature which would otherwise take on all twelve.
I’ve chosen Growth, Health and Finance. For personal reasons I will refrain from sharing the decision I made in each area. I hope you don’t mind. Yet, having made the each decision it was immediately apparent which disciplines I had to install into my daily life.
Under Growth I have recommitted to reading 15 minutes a day and freshly committed to reviewing my growth each day and counting the number of times during the day I help another improve themselves. With Health I have learnt more about the nature of a good diet and applied it (loss of 3.5kg in 3 weeks) plus exercise of 30 minutes most days. My weakest area was Finance and in that area I’ve learnt the ways in which I justify poor spending decisions, reviewed my insurances, taken steps to secure my retirement and helped my daughters begin to understand what money is (thanks to The First National Bank of Dad by David Owen).
Half way through my first sixty days I can confidently say I have made progress in all three areas which would not have happened if I had not read Today Matters or limited myself to only three areas of focus. Stay tuned.
Closing my open loops for 2009
Posted by David C. Buchan in Getting Things Done, Self improvement on January 5th, 2010
Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes
An open loop is something which is pulling on your attention. I have a few from 2009 relating to Quantum Gardener which I will close today lest they fester and end up consuming more and more of my time.
50 book challenge (2009)
In 2008 I successfully read 50 personal and self improvement books in a 12 month period and once complete immediately set myself the same task for 2009. Whatever the reasons, and I could create many, my progress this time around has been much slower. As of today I am at 16/50 which leaves 34 between now and April. In terms of open loops I had committed to myself to write up a short overview of each book for you the reader and I’ve managed just 8 of the 16. So, here are they are:
Getting Things Done by David Allen; At least my third reading of my productivity bible. Each time through I learn something new. See my Getting Things Done category of posts for more information.
The Way of the Bow by Paulo Coelho; The most succinct book on goal setting I have ever read. It uses the various aspects of archery as metaphors for goals. The title is available for free online.
“But never hold back from firing the arrow if all that paralyses you is fear of making a mistake. if you have made the right movements, open you hand and release the string. Even if the arrow fails to it the target, you will learn how to improve your aim next time.
Go for No! by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz; A second read in the period and perhaps more interesting the second time around (see my earlier review).
The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz; This is a classic reminder that our thinking is the ultimate limiting factor in the success of our life. This was my second reading and I was grateful to be able to identify those times I’ve thought big and achieved results. It also helped me identify all those times I didn’t think so big and pulled back for no real reason.
“We must be willing to make an intelligent compromise with perfection lest we wait forever before taking action.”
The Manual of the Warrior of the Light by Paulo Coelho; A series of short stories, often in parable form, exposing virtuous characteristics. I often take inspiration from these stories. For those familiar with The Warrior of the Light newsletter, much of the content here will be familiar. The title is available for free online at http://paulocoelhoblog.com/internet-books/
Today Matters by John C. Maxwell; This is the most important book that I read in 2009. So much so that it was read cover to cover twice in a matter of weeks. The basic concept is that what we do each day sets us for the success of tomorrow and we must put daily disciplines into place for that to occur. I’ll write more in a later post.
Practising gratefulness daily
A little while ago I wrote about the benefits of practising gratefulness daily. My well meant intention was to post what I was grateful for each day on Twitter and sadly I haven’t come close to doing that. I am often grateful but may not pick up the habit of a daily post until later this year.
Declaration of closure
And so I declare my 2009 open loops closed with regard to Quantum Gardener. There are still many ideas trying to get out of my head and into this blog. It takes time to organise them all and find space to write clearly. It may be as part of my 2010 self-improvement learning plan that I commit to a weekly blog entry at a minimum yet before doing so I do need to be sure it won’t be at the cost of something else.
It’s A Wonderful Life
Posted by David C. Buchan in Quantum Gardener on December 23rd, 2005
Reading time: < 1 minute
It’s been a wonderful year for me and I hope you have experienced the same. The Christmas holiday period is always a good time for reflection, so let’s each find some time to spend by ourselves amongst the hussle and bussle of the season to sit quietly and reflect on all that we have achieved.
Seasons greetings to you.
Develop a 5 to 1 habit
Posted by David C. Buchan in Productivity toolkit, Self improvement on September 30th, 2005
Reading time: < 1 minute
Curt Rosengren has a practical suggestion for overcoming obstacles. He calls it a 5 to 1 habit and suggests that for each obstacle you immediately identify 5 ways around it. I might add a sixth, which is to take a moment and check if it even is an obstacle.
Quote on planning and work
Posted by David C. Buchan in Inspiration and motivation, Productivity toolkit on September 21st, 2005
Reading time: < 1 minute
Here’s a great quote I found in The Art of Achievement by Tom Morris.
Plans get you into things, but you got to work your way out — Will Rogers (1879-1935)
-
-
You are currently browsing the archives for September, 2005
Charter for Compassion
