|
October 19, 2006 How To Overcome Idea-itisIn This Issue:Feature Article: "How To Overcome Idea-itis" Quick Tips: "Get It In Writing!" Fast Facts: "Does Getting Enough Sleep Really Matter?" * FEATURE ARTICLE * “How To Overcome Idea-itis”If you're an entrepreneur, inventor or creative type, or have aspirations in one or all of these directions, chances are you're constantly coming up with ideas.Ideas for businesses, products, services, inventions, toys, games, books, novels, movies... anything really. And that's a good thing. Frankly, it's your idea "antennae" that MAKES you an entrepreneur, inventor or creative type. But having lots of ideas can also be a curse. I call it "idea-itis" (although I'm sure I didn't invent this term) and it's where you're constantly coming up with ideas... and acting on none. Or at least you're so busy flitting from idea to idea that you don't devote enough time, energy or resources to any one idea for it to succeed. And the result is... no result. You don't actually finish anything... which means you don't actually achieve the success you're after. Now, there may be a few reasons for your idea-itis, ranging from short attention span to perfectionism, and next week I'll explore some of these causes of self-sabotage in more detail. But for now, let's agree that if you have idea-itis, you need to nip it in the bud. Now. How? Well it's easy... but also a little hard. It's easy in that you simply discipline yourself to choose ONE idea, see it through to the end no matter what, and write all your other ideas down in an ideas book or file. That way, you get to finish something... and give yourself the chance to succeed at it... but also have your other ideas safely recorded so you can pursue them later. (And they're no longer rattling around in your head distracting you from the task at hand.) But of course, it's disciplining yourself to do this that can be a little hard. I know - I am constantly fighting off my own idea-itis. But to help you overcome it, it may be useful to understand what really is holding you back from focusing on one project at a time. We'll discuss that in next week's Success Accelerator. * HIGHLY RECOMMENDED * “Do You Have Purpose, Productivity and Profit In Your Biz?”If you're exhausted and worried about money let me show you another way. Discover the major mistakes we make with our energy while building a business and how to avoid them. (It's probably not what you think!) This FREE EnergyRICH(tm) e-Book chapter and audio recording will tell you how. Heather Dominick, “The Energy Expert”, has over 10 years of teaching and coaching experience. Heather’s primary focus is in helping solo-service professionals identify sources for increasing the productivity and profit in their business. * QUICK TIPS * “Get It In Writing!”When I was a lawyer, it was my job to record just about everything down in writing.Whether it was drafting a formal letter, noting down what was said in a meeting or telephone conversation, or preparing a quick email. All those written records became invaluable when disputes arose. Even though they were really just MY interpretation of matters, these records were often treated as "evidence" of what was claimed, agreed, said or done. I've continued this "habit" in my own business and even in my personal life. No, I don't mean getting out my legal pad whenever my husband and I decide on who's watering the garden! But I do mean noting down the time, date, who I'm talking to and what they say, when it comes to speaking with a client, or someone from the phone company, or the electricity company, or the credit card company. I mean, how many times are you told one thing... and then something entirely different... by someone from a big (or even a small) company? Like you've been given a waiver on your credit card fee... Only you can't "prove" it because you don't know who you spoke to, let alone when you spoke to them... Which means you don't get the waiver... Well, you can often avoid situations like this by... getting it in writing! So do keep a notebook by the phone and jot down the time, date, speaker and what they say, so whenever you're speaking with someone you're doing business with, you have "proof" of what they say in case a promise isn't fulfilled. And, if appropriate, confirm things in writing via email too. Make this a habit... and when that big company says you can't have something you were promised... you'll have "proof" of why you can. (Disclaimer: this doesn't work with people and companies who are blatantly dishonest or refuse to believe you even if you have a written record... but it will help if you end up taking legal action!) * HIGHLY RECOMMENDED * “Discover How To Motivate and Manage Employees... And Get Greater Productivity, Performance and Results From Your Staff”Are you an entrepreneur, executive, professional or small business owner who’s realized that to grow your business, fast-track your career or improve your bottom line... you need other people’s help? Then you’ve probably also realized that to get other people to help you... you need to manage them more effectively – whether it’s managing them up, down or across. Better yet, you know that if you become a GREAT manager, you'll be able to attract and retain the best people to help you – people you can trust and who will do an even better job than you at the things you want them to do. There’s just one problem... How do you become a great manager? Well, it's not difficult... once you know the "system". Click here to discover that employee management system... * FAST FACTS * “Does Getting Enough Sleep Really Matter?”Research by sleep deprivation expert Nicole Lamond from the University of South Australia indicates that anything less than 7-8 hours of sleep WILL impair your performance.In one study of university students, Ms Lamond found that decision making and reaction times were:
While you may rarely, if ever, go without sleep altogether... how many nights do you get by on only 4 or 6 hours of sleep? Well, unless you make up for it, not getting enough sleep on a regular basis will lead to ongoing problems: inability to fully concentrate, short-temperedness, and, oh yeah, that feeling of... tiredness. Lack of sleep has also been linked to weight gain because short nights of sleep boost the concentration of a hormone that increases hunger. Bottom line - try to get 7-8 hours of sleep each night. If you can't get this amount of sleep... sleep more the next night. (Only don't overdo it, because it may be difficult to get to sleep again the following night!) Oh dear... I'm feeling tired just writing this... * HIGHLY RECOMMENDED * “Don’t Apply For A Job... Don’t Even Look For A Job... Until You Read This!”Are you tired of looking for a job... and getting nowhere? You know, where you spend day after day pouring through job listings... applying for countless jobs... sending numerous cover letters and resumes... ...only to get a “we’ll keep your details on file” rejection letter... or an interview with someone who seems determined NOT to hire you? Well, it's not so surprising when you discover that 50% of all new jobs go to "Insiders"... people who take a different - and much more effective - approach to getting the job they want. Yet all the books, career counsellors and recruiters tell us to apply for a job using the conventional "Outsider" approach! No wonder getting a job is so hard. Well it doesn't have to be... and it's NOT. Not when YOU discover and apply the Insider approach to getting a job. Click here to discover how YOU can use this approach to get the job you want.
|
|
