The Frog Man Is Back In His Home Town For 1 Night ONLY!
With Less than 1 day to go and 3 seats remaining until Melbourne Mini Eat That Frog event is SOLD OUT.
- Connect with people for WIN/Win networking
- How to overcome procrastination
- How to become more efficient and productive faster
- The importance of setting goals and making a plan
- Overcome obstacles that can derail your success
- High performance time management techniques
- And much, much more..
Greetings again, fellow frog eaters!! You Parodies here…
Well, it’s been a few months between blog updates, so what’s been happening (I hear you ask)??
In my infinite wisdom, I embarked on a 2 month tour of the UK; the two major reasons being 1. To watch the Ashes during daylight hours (let’s not talk about those, shall we); & 2. To catch up with a number of friends all around the UK.
To this end, I managed to succeed in both quests. The highlight of the tour was surely my live performance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, which is, of course, where the Beatles got their start & met their manager, Brian Epstein. (Exciting for a Beatles’ fan, humdrum for a heathen WHOOPS!! I mean a non-Beatles’ fan…
Anyhoo, I digress slightly. Now back on Terra Firma Australis & over the ensuing jet lag, I am back in the groove. I will be performing at Mark’s upcoming Mini Eat That Frog workshop this Thursday (the 8th) at The London Hotel in Caulfield & have once again got the ball rolling with some other events / entertainment companies, so LOOK OUT!!
Another thing that I managed to do while in Blighty (England, for those of you who just said "What the??") was to write some new parodies for my upcoming 3rd album. So I now have 5 parodies written for that & will also soon be doing a video clip for my ever popular song "Thunder Thighs", which is the first track on my first album.
And that’s about it!! Hope all is well in the frog devouring community & I look forward to catching up with as many of you as possible at upcoming Eat That Frog workshops.
Cheers,
You.
How to Get More Time in Your Life
Imagine having more free time every day to do the things you really want to do in your life.
If this sounds like you – RIGHT NOW is the time to do something about it.
- Stop procrastination by eliminating low-value, no-value activities
- Overcome obstacles that can derail your path to success
- Achieve Your Goals in the 5 Key Areas of Your Life
- Apply the ABCDE method to prioritise your highest value tasks.
Remain Flexible at All Times
By Brian Tracy
The Menninger Institute of Kansas City conducted a study not long ago to determine what qualities would be most important for success and happiness in the twenty-first century. They concluded after extensive research, that the most important single quality that you can develop, in a time of rapid change, is flexibility.
The Speed of Change
Today, perhaps the most important factor affecting your life is the speed of change. We are living in an age where change is taking place at a faster rate than ever before in human history. And if anything, the rate is increasing, year by year. Change today is not only faster, but it is also discontinuous, not following a straight line but starting, stopping, and moving in unpredictable directions. Change is coming at us from all sides and in so many different ways that it is often impossible to anticipate what might happen next.
A Major Cause of Stress
Change causes enormous stress for people who are fixed or rigid in their beliefs about how things “should be.” They fall in love with what they are doing, with their current methods and processes, and are unwilling to change, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. Don’t let this happen to you.
To remain flexible, you must constantly be open, alert to new ideas, information, and knowledge that can help you or hurt you in your business or in the achievement of your goals. One new idea can be enough to make or lose you a fortune. One idea can start you on the road to riches or knock you off of it.
The Tide of New TechnologyThe second factor driving change is the rapid growth and development of new technology. Every new piece of scientific or technical knowledge leads to an advance in technology aimed at helping people and companies get things done faster, better, cheaper, or easier. And the speed of technological change is increasing every day.
Playing LeapfrogBeing in business is like playing an endless game of leapfrog. You look for a way to leapfrog over your competitor and serve your customers, better, faster, and cheaper. Your competitor then leapfrogs over you with a new or better product or service. You quickly regroup and leap over your competitor with a new innovation or improvement. Your competitor then leaps over you, and the game goes on without end.
Action ExerciseBe willing to admit, in each area of your life where you experience stress or resistance, that you could be wrong or that you have made a mistake. Resolve today to cut your losses wherever possible.
Eleven Keys to Increasing your Productivity.
By Brian Tracy
- Develop clear goals and write them down.
Because higher productivity begins with clear goals, goal setting is a key component of our coaching program. As you know, a goal must be specific and measurable to be effective in guiding your behavior. It must reflect your beliefs and be within your power to achieve. - Write a clear action plan.
Next, if you want to turbo-charge your productivity, make sure you have a clear, written plan of action. Every minute you spend in careful planning will save you as many as ten minutes in execution. - Set your priorities.
The third step is to prioritize your list. Analyze your list before you take action. Identify and start with the high-value tasks on your list. - Concentrate and eliminate distractions.
In this step, choose a high-value activity or task, start on it immediately, and stay with it until it is done. Focusing single-minded attention on one task allows you to complete it far more quickly than starting and stopping. - Lengthen your workday but increase your time off.
By starting your workday a little earlier, working through lunchtime, and staying a little later, you can become one of the most productive people in your field. - Work harder at what you do.
When you are at work, concentrate on work all the time you are there. Don’t squander your time or fall into the habit of treating the workplace as a community where socializing is acceptable. - Pick up the pace. At work, develop a sense of urgency and maintain a quicker tempo in all your activities. Get on with the job. Dedicate yourself to moving quickly from task to task.
- Work smarter.
Focus on the value of the tasks you complete. While the number of hours you put in is important, what matters most is the quality and quantity of results you achieve. - Align your work with your skills.
Skill and experience count. You achieve more in less time when you work on tasks at which you are especially skilled or experienced. - Bunch your tasks.
Group similar activities and do them all at the same time. Making all your calls, completing all your estimates, or preparing all your presentation slides at the same time allows you to develop speed and skill at each activity. - Cut out steps.
Pull several parts of the job together into a single task and eliminate several steps. Where you can, cut lower-value activities completely.
What are your ten most important goals? Carefully review your ten most important goals. Select one that, if achieved immediately, would have the strongest positive impact on your life.
Persist Until You Succeed.
By Brian Tracy
The most important single quality of success is self-discipline. Self-discipline is having the ability within yourself, based on your strength of character and willpower, to do what you should do when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. Character is the ability to follow through on a resolution after the enthusiasm with which the resolution was made has passed.
Persistence is Self-Discipline in Action
Perhaps the greatest display of self-discipline is persisting when the going gets tough. Persistence is self-discipline in action. Persistence is the great measure of individual human character. Your persistence is, in fact, the true measure of your belief in yourself and your ability to succeed. Each time that you persist in the face of adversity and disappointment, you build the habit of persistence. You build pride, power, and self-esteem in your character and your personality. You become stronger and more resolute. By persisting, you become more self-disciplined. You develop within yourself the iron quality of success, the one quality that will carry you forward and over any obstacle that life can throw in your path.
Get Going and Keep Going
Orison Swett Marden wrote in his book, “There are two essential requirements for success. The first is ‘go-at-it-iveness’ and the second is ‘stick-to-it-iveness’” Referring to the quality of persistence he wrote, “There is no failure for the man who realizes his power, who never knows when he is beaten; there is no failure for the determined endeavor, the conquerable will. There is no failure for the man who gets up every time he falls, who rebounds like a rubber ball, who persists when everyone else gives up, who pushes on when everyone else turns back.”
Perhaps your greatest asset is simply your ability to stay at a task longer than anyone else. B.C. Forbes, who founded Forbes magazine and built it into a major publication during the darkest days of the Depression, wrote, “History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeat.”
Adversity is What Tests UsThroughout history, great thinkers have reflected on this paradox and have concluded that adversity is the test that you must pass on the path to accomplishing anything worthwhile. Herodotus, the Greek philosopher, said, “Adversity has the effect of drawing out strength and qualities of a man that would have lain dormant in its absence.” The very best qualities of strength, courage, character, and persistence are brought out in you when you face your greatest challenges and when you respond to them positively and constructively.
Action ExerciseYour greatest successes almost invariably come one step beyond your greatest failures, when everything inside you says quit. Think of failures in terms of how you can make them successes.
Prepare Thoroughly Before You Begin
By: Brian Tracy
Have Everything At Hand
One of the best ways for you to overcome procrastination and get more things done faster is for you to have everything you need at hand before you begin. When you are fully prepared, you are like a cocked gun or an archer with an arrow pulled back taut in the bow. You just need one small mental push to get started on your highest value tasks.
Clear Your Workspace
Begin by clearing off your desk or workspace so that you only have one task in front of you. If necessary, put everything on the floor or on the table behind you. Gather all the information, reports, details, papers, and work materials that you will require to complete the job. Have them at hand so you can reach them without getting up or moving. Be sure that you have all writing materials, computer disks, access codes, email addresses and everything else you need to start and continue working until the job is done.
Set up your work area so that it is comfortable, attractive and conducive to working for long periods. Especially, make sure that you have a comfortable chair that supports your back and allows your feet to sit flat on the floor.
The most productive people take the time to create a work area where they enjoy spending time. The cleaner and neater your work area before you begin, the easier it is for you to get started and keep going.
Assume The PositionWhen you sit down, with everything in front of you, ready to go, assume the body language of high performance. Sit up straight, sit forward and away from the back of the chair. Carry yourself as though you were an efficient, effective high performing personality. Then, pick up the first item and say to yourself, "Let’s get to work!" and plunge in. And once you’ve started, keep going until the job is finished. Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, take a good look at your desk or office, both at home and at the office. Ask yourself, "What kind of a person works in an environment like that?"
Second, resolve today to clean up your desk and office completely so that you feel effective, efficient and ready to get going each time you sit down to work.
Three Skills to Improve Conversation.
By: Brian Tracy
One key to becoming a great conversationalist is to pause before replying. A short pause, of three to five seconds, is a very classy thing to do in a conversation. When you pause, you accomplish three goals simultaneously.
The Benefits of Pausing
First, you avoid running the risk of interrupting if the other person is just catching his or her breath before continuing. Second, you show the other person that you are giving careful consideration to his or her words by not jumping in with your own comments at the earliest opportunity. The third benefit of pausing is that you will actually hear the other person better. His or her words will soak into a deeper level of your mind and you will understand what he or she is saying with greater clarity. By pausing, you mark yourself as a brilliant conversationalist.
Ask Questions
Another way to become a great conversationalist is to question for clarification. Never assume that you understand what the person is saying or trying to say. Instead, ask, "How do you mean, exactly?"
This is the most powerful question I’ve ever learned for controlling a conversation. It is almost impossible not to answer. When you ask, "How do you mean?" the other person cannot stop himself or herself from answering more extensively. You can then follow up with other open-ended questions and keep the conversation rolling along.
The third way to become a great conversationalist is to paraphrase the speaker’s words in your own words. After you’ve nodded and smiled, you can then say, "Let me see if I’ve got this right. What you’re saying is . . ." Demonstrate Attentiveness
By paraphrasing the speaker’s words, you demonstrate in no uncertain terms that you are genuinely paying attention and making every effort to understand his or her thoughts or feelings. And the wonderful thing is, when you practice effective listening, other people will begin to find you fascinating. They will want to be around you. They will feel relaxed and happy in your presence. Listening Builds Trust
The reason why listening is such a powerful tool in developing the art and skill of conversation is because listening builds trust. The more you listen to another person, the more he or she trusts you and believes in you.
Listening also builds self-esteem. When you listen attentively to another person, his or her self-esteem will naturally increase.
Listening Develops DisciplineFinally, listening builds self-discipline in the listener. Because your mind can process words at 500-600 words per minute, and we can only talk at about 150 words per minute, it takes a real effort to keep your attention focused on another person’s words. If you do not practice self-discipline in conversation, your mind will wander in a hundred different directions. The more you work at paying close attention to what the other person is saying, the more self-disciplined you will become. In other words, by learning to listen well, you actually develop your own character and your own personality. Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, make a habit of pausing before replying in any conversation or discussion. You will be amazed at how powerful this technique really is.
Second, continually ask, "How do you mean?" in response to anything that is not perfectly clear. This gives you even more time to listen well.
Pay Yourself First.
By Brian Tracy
Resolve today that you are going to save an invest at least 10 percent of your income throughout your working life. Take 10 percent of your income off the top of your paycheck each time you receive one and put it into a special account for financial accumulation.
Save Throughout Your Career
The fact is that if you save just $100 a month throughout your working lifetime and you invest money in an average mutual fund that grows at 10 percent per annum, you will be worth more than one million dollars by the time you retire. This means that anyone, even a person earning minimum wage, if he or she starts early enough and saves long enough, can become a millionaire over the course of his or her working lifetime.
Lifelong Habits
Developing the lifelong habit of saving and investing your money is not easy. It requires tremendous determination and willpower. You have to set it as a goal, write it down, make a plan, and work on it all the time. But once this practice locks in and becomes automatic, your financial success is virtually assured.
Practice Frugality
Practice frugality, frugality, frugality in all things. Be very careful with every penny. Question every expenditure. Delay or defer important buying decisions for at least a week, if not a month. The longer you put off making a buying decision, the better your decision will be and the better price you will get at that time.
A major reason that people retire poor is because of impulsive buying. They see something they like they buy it with very little thought. They become victims of what is called "Parkinson’s Law," which says that "expenses rise to meet income." This means that no matter how much you earn, you tend to spend that much and a little bit more besides. You never get ahead and you never get out of debt. Don’t be a Victim
You don’t have to be a victim of Parkinson’s Law. If you cannot save 10 percent of your income, start today by saving 1 percent of your income in a special savings and investment account. Put it away at the beginning of each month, even before you begin paying down your debts. Live on the other 99 percent of your income. As you become comfortable living on 99 percent, raise your savings level to 2 percent of your income, then 3 percent and 4 percent, and so on. Grow Your Savings and Investments
Within one year, you will be saving 10 percent and maybe even 15 or 20 percent of your income and living comfortably off the balance. At the same time, your savings and investment account will start to grow. You will become more careful about your expenditures, and your debts will begin to be paid off. Change Your Financial Outlook in a Year
Within a year or two, your entire financial life will be under your control and you will be on your way to becoming a self-made millionaire. This process has worked for everyone who has ever tried it. Try and see for yourself.
Open a special account for financial accumulation today. Make a deposit in this account, no matter how small. Then, look for every opportunity to add to this account. Begin to study money so that you understand how to make it grow. Read books and magazines by experts on the subject. Never stop saving, learning, and growing until you become financially independent.
Eight Steps to Problem Solving
By: Brian Tracy
There is a simple eight step method for systematic problem solving. By solving problems in an orderly way, you can dramatically increase the power of your thinking.
Proceed With A Positive Attitude
First, approach the problem with the expectant attitude that there is a logical practical solution just waiting to be found. Be relaxed, calm, confident and clear in your mind.
Second, change your language from negative to positive. Instead of the word "problem," use the word "situation." Problem is a negative word while situation is a neutral word. "We have an interesting situation", is better than, "We have a problem."
Define the Situation Clearly
The third step in systematic problem-solving is to define the situation clearly, in writing. "Exactly what is the situation?" Then ask, "What else is the situation?" Sometimes stating the problem in different words makes it much easier to solve.
Once, when I was working with the Chamber of Commerce, I came to the attention of a senior executive who hired me away from the company I was working for a year later at triple the salary. Meeting people is very important. Network at every opportunity.
Fully 50% of situations can be resolved by accurate definition.
Step number four is to, ask "What are all the possible causes of this situation?" Failure to identify the causes or reasons for the situation often causes you to have to solve it again and again. Fully 25% or more of situations can be effectively dealt with by discovering the correct causes.
Step number five is to ask, "What are all the possible solutions?" Write out as many solutions or answers to the situation as possible before moving on. The quantity of possible solutions usually determines the quality of the solution chosen.
Clear Decisions Are KeyStep number six is to "Make a clear decision." Usually any decision is better than none.
Step number seven is to "Assign clear responsibility for carrying out the decision and then set a deadline for completion and review." Remember, a decision without a deadline is just a fruitless discussion.
Finally, step number eight is to follow-up, monitor the decision, compare actual results with expected results and then generate new solutions and new courses of action.
Action ExercisesNow, here are two ways you can apply this technique to think more creatively.
First, state the problem clearly, in writing, so that you know exactly what it is that you are trying to solve. Ask, "What else is the problem?"
Second, develop as many solutions as you possibly can, including doing nothing, before you make a decision. Quality of ideas is in direct proportion to the quantity that you generate.
