Persistence Unlimited » Brain Power

Note Taking for Dummies

Brad Isaac — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 16:43:29 +0000

Taking notes can be very difficult for people like me. My attention is always torn between the speaker and what I am writing. Often times, I write too much of the not important stuff and miss the important stuff while I write the unimportant.

“Uhh… what did she say while I was writing ‘The restrooms are up the hallway to the left’ ?”

It’s frustrating to me and apparently many others out there. I found out that for me a better technique is Mind Mapping. By simply jotting one word thoughts and branching them out, I could write faster, keep the ideas straight while also maintaining attention.

Below is my interview with my friend Gina Trapani over at Fast Company where Gina gives her method and I describe mine. Which one works best for you? Let us know in the comments.

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10 Brainstorming Techniques that Help Stimulate Your Individual Creativity

Brad Isaac — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:00:19 +0000

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by James Adams whose ideas on building a better brain are top notch.

Brainstorming is a valuable method for rediscovering your creativity. Some days, you are drowning in an ocean of ideas. Others, you are looking at the desert and hoping for an oasis. You are creative, your brain just needs a bit of priming. Here are ten methods for brainstorming to get the idea river gushing.

1. Free Writing

Stream of consciousness writing is one of the most unpredictable forms of writing. You do not know where your brain will lead you, but you can be assured that it will be interesting. There is no special preparation for this method. Open a new Notepad window or pick up a sheet of paper and start writing.

2. Wordplay

Start writing poetry about your favorite topic. Use words that rhyme. Write the song that is going through your head. Pick your favorite prefix or suffix and start listing all of the words within which that fragment resides. Attempt to be as silly as possible.

3. What If?

Most novels are written on the premise of ‘what if?’ What if there were no water on our planet? What if there were too much water on the planet? What would happen if our feet were digitigrade instead of plantigrade? Ask some what if questions and see where the answers take you.

4. Mind Map

Mind mapping is an exciting method of generating ideas because you are building on the idea of ‘and then?’ You are mapping out those tangents that your mind takes. Take a concept or idea and write it in the center of your page. Write concepts and ideas around that idea until something interests you. When you exhaust the options for one of the topic, elaborate on one of the subtopics.

5. Analogy

Take two unrelated topics and attempt to connect them. Start with the question ‘How is _____ like a ______?’ and see what happens. Your brain is geared toward answering questions, so you will immediately start finding answers. Write down your list and see where it leads.

6. Role Playing

How would someone else handle the situation that you are in? What would someone else have for dinner? This exercise is all about looking at the alternative perspective to a problem. How would the person that you dislike the most care for their pets?

7. Escapism

Start with a common problem or situation that everybody has. Write a list of surreal solutions. There can be no reasonable or completely feasible answers on this list. Once you have your list, search for items which can be altered to become viable.

8. Outlining

This brainstorming technique is perfect for analytical people. This is like the mind map method. You are using writing instead of drawing to convey your ideas. Start with a broad subject and break it into subtopics. The outline method is very useful for writing non fiction.

9. 77 Storms

When you are brainstorming, aim for a specific number and do not stop until you have reached the number. Do not judge the ideas, merely fill the page. This will give you ideas and directions.

10. Questions

Look at the items which surround you and ask questions. What is the history of this object? Why is the mantlepiece made of faux wood? These questions are intended to be childlike because it will spur on your brain. Search for answers to your questions after ten minutes.

Using these creativity techniques will help you to get your ideas once again flowing like a river. Brainstorming will add that extra push to your writing and take you in exciting directions.

By day James writes reviews of products such as the HP 300XL ink cartridge for an online print cartridge supplier based in the UK. By night he indulges himself posting about design and media on their blog.

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Choosing Personal Growth in the Age of Stagnation

Brad Isaac — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 21:26:00 +0000

“We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here.” – Richard Dawkins

I’ll grant Richard Dawkins‘ views on life and death are controversial, but I still love this quote.

To me, it asks several important questions. Only the naive among us will never consider them and what they mean.

What is life exactly?

To me, life isn’t just waking up, breathing, eating, and muddling through your daily work. I think of that as stagnation.

Where life is the act of growing.

One may say “I’m growing. I grew by 20 pounds last year.”

That’s not the type of growth I am talking about, fatty. I mean growing in mind and developing your natural talents…Becoming more than what you are today — Getting smarter, stronger and becoming an expert in something.

If you aren’t growing, you are stagnant. Stagnant by definition means not advancing or developing.

When we talk about stagnant water, what do you think of? Water that is sick, murky, possibly infected with tapeworms. You don’t want to be infected with tapeworms do you?

Stagnant humans have their own murkiness. They might drink too much alcohol, suffer from depression, or worst of all settle for much less than they are capable. Much of the unemployment and recession woes are a symptom of people becoming stagnant. Not all can be blamed on stagnation, but a good portion can. People simply became too comfortable and trusting that what was easy would be there forever.

Becoming comfortable is a quick way to stagnation. The story goes as follows: He got a job. Liked the job. Did his work. Went home and watched TV for ever and ever. Amen.

Now, aside from that being the second most boring story on the planet, only eclipsed by The Great Gatspy, what can he expect if the company he works for is downsized? What if he gets laid off? What if his retirement account is raided like what happened with Enron? I guarantee, comfort will be the furthest from his mind. Panic will be the new best buddy.

But aside from avoiding calamity through growth, there is a joy we can experience too. Advancing our knowledge in our strong areas can be a lot of fun as well as lead to job security and advancement.

Increasing our expertise often leads to internal self worth and the respect of other people. Try it for a month and you’ll see. Pick up a challenging book that would increase your knowledge in your chosen field. Study it like you are preparing for an important test. Then come back and comment about how you feel.

I guarantee, if you study you won’t get tapeworms!

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Pzizz Power Naps Come to iPhone

Brad Isaac — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:41:26 +0000

Although I don’t get the opportunity to take many naps, I like mine to be quick and refreshing. I hate to sleep over an hour and wake up more tired than I was when I laid down. Twenty minutes is just about right for me.

Frequently, I use Pzizz generated naps to help me accomplish this. I’ve written before about Pzizz power nap software. Basically, the software generates a new relaxing soundtrack for you to listen to each time.

Before, you had to fire it up on a Mac or PC desktop and generate MP3s to download to your player. However, I found out today, they released a version for iPhone and iTouch.

At $2.99 in the app store it’s a great deal since their software is normally $20 and their stand alone device runs $60 (I think). Anyway, I bought a license today and tried it out. The settings were the same and it generated the same sounding pzizz nap as it’s big-brother.

The only difference was it played the nap in it’s own player I noticed there didn’t appear to be a fast forward or rewind (no extending naps by rewinding). But that’s a small issue compared with the strength of it generating a fresh new soundtrack every time.

If you own an iPhone or iTouch and would like to recharge your batteries more often, I recommend you give it a try. Pleasant dreams.

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10 Little Tips to Turn Negatives into Positives

Brad Isaac — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:00:52 +0000

Stressful jobs, recession money woes and unrelenting pressure from family and social duties can turn even the most cheerful person into an anxious pessimist with little motivation. But positivity is all in your mind, and once you understand that your mood and your outlook on the life is something you can actually control, you’ll be more ready to tackle any challenges that life hurtles your way. Here are ten little tips that will help you turn negatives into positives, ultimately letting you lead a life with less worry.

Speak in the positive. Even if you have to convey a negative thought or emotion, say it in the positive. For example, instead of saying or thinking “I can’t get through this,” say, “I’m lost” or “I need help.” Speaking in the negative just reiterates your negative feelings.
Rethink obstacles. Try to view problems as something you can work through, instead of obstacles that prevent you from getting what you want. Just because your first plan of action didn’t work, doesn’t mean there isn’t another way.
Avoid ultimatums. The more pressure you put on yourself and other people, the more out of control you’ll feel. Ultimatums also tend to make small issues blow up into problems that cause more trouble than they’re worth.
Force yourself to smile or laugh. Release a little positive energy by smiling at someone or telling a joke.
Remember the things you’re good at. If your job is killing you, think of all the things you’re actually good at, like fly fishing, listening to others or painting.
Reach out to others. You don’t have to see a therapist to reap the benefits of talking about your problems. Friends and family can also give you another perspective on your problem that will help you get through the tough times.
Sleep on it. If you just can’t see around an obstacle, put it aside until after you get a good rest.
Start more sentences with “I can.” Try to turn as many “I can’ts” into “I cans” each day.
Reduce your stress level. Try to reduce your stress level by doing one positive thing each day, by giving yourself a little more free time, going to bed early, or visiting with friends.
Figure out how your problems will pan out in the long term. Will this problem still be a major issue in 3 weeks, 6 months, or one year? Gauge your reaction to problems by asking yourself how important and relevant they are to your life.

This post was contributed by Tara Miller, who writes about the online psychology degrees. She welcomes your feedback at TaraMillerr00 at yahoo.com

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Don’t Complain, Wallow or Whine – Get Educated!

Brad Isaac — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:43:52 +0000

Think about your most pressing problem or challenge for a second. Unless it is health related there is most definitely a solution out there.

Read everything you can on the subject. Take a class or two if you can find one. Join a local “enthusiast” club dedicated to solving your problem.

The fringe benefit of self education is less complaining, less disappointment and worry.

If you are broke, studying how to make more of it decreases the human tendency to “wallow” in it. You will start to see a future of increased financial security and more material wealth.

If you find yourself fighting with your spouse and considering separation, educating yourself about relationships can serve three purposes.

It can give you new communication skills.
It can get you out of the house where you can develop new ideas to bring home.
When you learn and use your brain, an optimistic attitude will result. It’s tough to fight when you both are improving yourselves and feeling happier.

If you find you are simply bored, education is the perfect remedy. Boredom is a sign that you’ve hit a plateau. You need to grow. Self education or classroom education, even if it’s the wrong subject, will decrease your boredom. Plus, finding what does or doesn’t work is important too. Discovering lets you make choices for more of what you do like and less of what you don’t.

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12 Hacks for Becoming a D.I.Y. Master – Amaze Your Friends & Baffle Your Enemies!

Brad Isaac — Thu, 01 May 2008 20:54:43 +0000

Clive Thompson in an article in Wired indicates hacking or DIYing might be good for American Innovation. We aren’t talking about illegal hacking, but hacking in terms of modifying personal gadgets and other possessions so they work better.

Thompson says that where companies are persuading consumers to buy, use and throw away, the legions of DIYers out there aren’t buying into it. In fact, they are using, reusing, rebuilding and modifying devices so they work more efficiently, have better features and last longer.

As an example, he points to people hacking their hybrid cars to get up to 100 Miles per gallon. He questions why Detroit hasn’t been able to do this and says “One reason might be that the engineers there spend all their time tinkering with CAD software,”

I’ve posted some of my own DIYs, here and on other sites so I certainly believe that hacking is good for you. But I didn’t do it for the higher good of improving American Innovation. I do it to save money and to improve my experience with my various gadgets. If I can hack my Pocket PC so it will connect through a Bluetooth tethered cell phone connection so I can check e-mail while riding down the highway at 65 Miles per hour, then I’ve both improved my experience AND saved money on cables and added service charges.

So if we agree that DIYing is a good idea, how do we get started? It’s simple. Continue reading 12 ways to become a master DIYer:

1. Don’t fear trying something new -

When you are new to modding, you might be afraid to use a soldering iron, you might be unsure of where to start at first. That’s ok, start with general areas instead. What interests you most? Do you like electronics, computers, woodworking or knitting? (yes there are mods for woodworking and knitting.) But start in your preferred general area and get to reading.

Start with Google and search for “yourinterest hacks”. You’ll be surprised at what you find and how motivated you’ll be to get started right away.

2. Start with something small -

Rome wasn’t hacked in a day. So if you are just starting out don’t start with a build your own personal helicopter project. Start with something manageable like one of the many LED projects you can find at Instructables or Make.Then as you learn, try more challenging projects.

2. Find the area you love -

Some people like LEDs, others like robots, I’m a connection guy myself. I like connecting different gadgets and making them work together. As you begin your quest as a master modder, then you’ll start to discover what focus you like best. Stick with that area so you can increase your odds of inventing something new.As a master DIYer, you’ll increase your odds of inventing the next big thing.

3. Build before you buy -

Isn’t it sad the day you pick up your iPod or remote control and suddenly it isn’t working? Not necessarily if you are a DIYer. Broken stuff presents a great opportunity to get under the hood and see if you can fix it.Once my son’s iPod wouldn’t start. I tried charging it, soft and hard resetting it. Still, all I saw was the sad mac face.

So I did some surfing and found a trick that just might work. I pulled out my Leatherman, opened up the iPod and placed a business card folded up underneath the hard drive. Low and behold, once I put it back together, the iPod booted and played music! In fact, I tried it again just this morning and it works fine.

4. Conserve your cash -

I think most passionate DIYers don’t like buying new stuff if there is a chance they can fix or make better what they already have. If you can just go out and buy a new Tivo any time you want it, there’s no real benefit to building your own PVR.The master at DIY knows electronics and gadgets decrease in value faster than a new car in a blasting zone. So if we can save money by repairing what’s broken, we have more money to spend on new gadgets and hacks.

5. Teach as you go -

One of the best ways to embed knowledge in your brain is to teach others. This enhances your creativity and once you’ve got others who know what you know, then there is great problem solving power in bouncing ideas off of each other.

6. Write procedures -

Unlike an elephant, humans can forget. You might remember a time when a great family recipe was lost because your aunt passed away or developed Alzheimer’s . I know there are countless great recipes lost forever due to the lack of a written recipe. My Grandmother’s gooseberry pie? Lost for eternity. My grandfather’s fried chicken? Nevermore…How better would it have been if they handed down written recipes. I could have archived it in a family recipe booklet for this and future generations.

When you create a new hack, be sure to write up procedures. Procedures let you go back in case you forget a resistor, measurement or solder joint. Plus, procedures are an easy way for you to teach others. You can even post your procedures to your blog to teach thousands of people your hack.

7. Take photos -

Photos of the steps in your procedures are perhaps the most powerful descriptors. You save time, by not having to write every last nuance of detail. Also, pictures cross all language barriers. You don’t have to know French to understand the Eiffel tower. The picture says it all.

Photos will allow you to also communicate your craft effectively with people from different countries and backgrounds. Additionally, there are a few of us who can’t read our own handwriting, a picture can rescue that DIY from being lost forever.

8. Study the Art of DIYing -

When you’ve found the area of hacking you love, study it. Collect books, articles and You Tubes of projects that interest you. You never know when you might have a rainy day and a box of LEDs just begging to be put together into a new Infrared headset.

9. Collect Parts -

Let’s face it, gadgets break. They age, and they become outdated. That doesn’t mean you have to throw it all away. An old (out of warranty) MP3 player is a good excuse to do some hacking. Take it apart and collect some of the more valuable parts inside. LEDs can be reused. USB ports can be reused. Some memory cards are good too. But don’t go too crazy with saving every last part and broken gadget.

A desk drawer full of spare parts is good – a shoe box full of parts is better. A garage cluttered with parts is a sign you don’t know how to separate the wheat from the chaff, so you are collecting everything. If that’s the case, it’s time to go back to studying.

Professionally, I’ve cleaned up server rooms where the admin(s) saved every last piece of broken equipment. Stuff piled 5 foot high where you couldn’t even walk. This is a sign that they don’t understand the equipment, what’s valuable and what’s not. When I get done, all that’s left is a filing cabinet of hot spare storage, Software licensing and a drawer full of emergency parts and cables. If an entire network DIY setup can consume just 1 filing cabinet, your home parts should fit into a desk drawer.

Note: Use caution when taking apart something that plugs into a wall – especially monitors. I don’t recommend taking apart old tube monitors because the tubes carry a charge and you can electrocute yourself. Just use common sense and read up before delving into an area you aren’t experienced.

11. Finish your projects -

Don’t be like the guy who has a car up on blocks in his front yard for 2 years. Finish your project or throw it out. Master DIYers always complete their experiments – even if they fail. If you fail, no biggie, throw it out and start something new. But what’s important is finishing. You can’t reach anuber -level of hacking expertise if you don’t finish your projects – plus, having a bunch of half finished projects lying around is an eyesore.

12. Have fun -

Most of all, this should be a fun adventure. It’s exciting to create something new and make it work. Once you learn a new mod, you’ve got a new McGiver- like skill you can whip out in a moments notice to fix a gadget, hack a buggy program so it works or create something you can sell at a profit. DIYing presents endless opportunities for fun and entertainment on those rainy days when you’re bored with nothing better to do.

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Build Your Very Own Meditator — Or Not…

Brad Isaac — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:15:44 +0000

Ha ha ha… An funny retro piece over at Modern Mechanix shows a 1970 excerpt from the magazine Popular Mechanics. In it, they show how to build a meditator ‘tank’ for relaxation and reflection.

‘Bye for now, says the man of the house as he retreats into think tank….’

Aside from the contraption being huge, I just can’t imagine it being helpful for meditation. Seems like it would get stuffy and confining. The whole time I’d be thinking “Man this thing is huge. I’m going to have to take it apart after this and put it away.”

“The fun, then, in making your personal Meditator, is double: First you create 11 pholages (only the access panel is left bare), then discover the unexpected cross-referencing when you wrap yourself in the assembled panels. Beyond that, you’ll be able to compare responses with your friends. And when you feel you’ve exhausted the potential of a given assembly, it’s easy to paste new pictures over the old.”

I recommend for meditation some 25 cent earplugs and a quiet room…

via Boing Boing

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10 Completely off the Wall Ways to Stay on Track to Reaching Your Personal Goals in 2008

Brad Isaac — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 01:47:10 +0000

“So much of life, it seems to me, is determined by pure randomness.” –Sidney Poitier

Sometimes you just can’t insist on the order you get your ideas. Sometimes they come in crystal clear, sometimes they arrive in random format.

This is one of those posts.

Although it may seem strange to post them randomly in this way, there is a benefit. Sometimes, the most inspirational ideas come out of left field.

Read with an open mind and an eye for what you are going to do.

So here are 10 Random, yet powerful ways to reach your goals in 2008:

1. Measure your results — Part of knowing where you are going is knowing where you came from. Someone who wants to lose 50 pounds needs to know their starting weight and track the weight loss as they progress.

I recommend using goal steps make these measurements. For example, in the case of losing 50 pounds, you can set a step to lose 5lbs in the next 2 weeks. At the end of those two weeks, measure. If you are 5lbs lighter, it’s reward time baby! If not, measure again, the following week. Get your check mark and reward.

Once you’ve gotten the first step out of the way, start the next one. And then the next…

2. Resist your dependence on tomorrow – Nobody is guaranteed a tomorrow. Death is certain for us all. What would it mean if you died tomorrow knowing you hadn’t done your part today? Would you be content in the idea you did your best? No? I thought not. Don’t count on tomorrow. One day, it won’t come.

3. Schedule work on your goal – To make every day progress in the most efficient way, I recommend you schedule task sessions. Pick a time every day that you can dedicate for goal tasks. Some people work better early in the morning, others better at night. Whichever you do best, schedule the time. Set an alarm reminder for that time in your electronic calendar if you use one. If you don’t, set an alarm clock. Get in the habit of working at the same time every day and they’ll go easier on you. Trust me.

4. Read for 30 minutes each day about your goal — Did you know the more you study a subject the more interesting it becomes? Think about some of your most recent large purchases. Didn’t you spend a lot of time thinking about it, reading reviews, and getting the opinions of others? It’s the same with your goal. You can motivate yourself simply by dedicating 30 minutes or so per day to studying it.

If you are overweight and aren’t interested in exercise, buy a book on exercise and see what happens.

If you would make a good business owner but don’t feel like starting a business, read a book on entrepreneurship and you’ll be inspired to start.

Stressed out all the time but aren’t interested in meditation? Buy a book on relaxation techniques and you’ll learn other ways – if not take up the habit of daily meditation.

5. Journal your progress — working on a goal is a marvelous thing. It is also your life in action. That’s why it is important to Journal or record your progress as you go. Wouldn’t it be nice to hand down to future generations your struggles and victories you experienced while working through the steps on your goal list? It’s a part of your family history — especially if you choose a goal that is big.

Another good reason for journaling is you can go back in history to what you were thinking and what you were doing when you first started. It is great fun and very enlightening to go back into the Journal to see what I was thinking when I first started a particular goal. Sometimes I think “how naÃ¯ve I was by approaching it this way…”

However, and this might be embarrassing, other times I have found that I actually started out the right way and slowly drifted into the wrong way. This happens to most people who set personal goals eventually. You start down the path and things are going great and so you tweak them and they stop going so great… what do you do? Well if you have a journal you can go back and compare what you are doing now to what you were doing before and then readopt what you were doing back in history. If you don’t have a journal it’s likely to your former success will be lost forever.

6. Gain the support of your family — this tip is especially important for married people. It is important to get the agreement of your spouse or significant other will for you journey off towards a large goal.

Big goals take time. Families take time. If you have a big goal, make sure that it does not conflict with your family. If it does, it may need to be re-targeted so that there is no interference. If your spouse loses support for you during the pursuit of your goal your ability to do it becomes 10 times more difficult.

However, having the support of a spouse will pay off royally in your ability to get it done. Who better knows you and what buttons to push to get you off your butt then your spouse? Who knows what guilt trip is most effective to get you to stop procrastinating?

7. Hire some help — this tip is especially true for entrepreneurs. But it can also work wonders for people who want to free up more time for their family or who want more time for health pursuits. There are plenty of people out there who want to do work do you need done. Be it mow your lawn, or clean your gutters, doing those types of chores pull you away from more important tasks. You always have the option of hiring someone else to do the time consuming no pay jobs do you have to do or are responsible for.

Now you might say “I don’t have enough money to hire anyone, I am barely scraping by.” Well maybe you should consider doing a side business where you are providing that type of service to other people so you can build your income. It’s just an idea…

8. Test new ideas — everyone is unique. Therefore what is good for one person may or may not be good for you.

That’s where testing comes into play. All inventors and innovators are good testers. They like to test to see what will happen. They like to combine formerly incompatible substances and make something new. As you move toward your top goals, you too can test the waters.

Perhaps you’ve read a book on how to achieve the position of CEO. However you are stuck in middle management. You might stumble on an idea such as an anonymous note to the office blabbermouth telling him you are in line for a promotion to CEO.

This is, of course, not an often used idea. But you are sure to draw attention to yourself by doing it. And who knows, it just might work.

9. Hire a mentor — Nobody knows it all. That’s why getting a helping hand from someone who has done what you want to do is so important. Picture a goal you estimate will take you three years to achieve. Maybe you want to finish graduate school. What if you knew someone who finish graduate school in one year. Wouldn’t you be interested to talk to that person? I know I would. I’d like to get it done in get out the door as soon as possible.

But that’s what mentors do. They save you time, they save you energy, and they save you money. What’s cool is in almost all realms of goal setting, you will find someone somewhere who has achieved what you set out to do. It may cost money to speak to them and to get their advice. But they could be knocking years off the time it will take you to succeed.

10. Build your self discipline — Many people first starting out goalsetting feel that they do not have enough self-discipline to get through a major goal. But what you will happily find out he is building self-discipline is easier than you think.

Building self-discipline is similar to how lifting weights will build your muscles. by forcing yourself to do the things you know you should do, you will build your self discipline. Now like lifting weights, building discipline is the same approach. Start with something small like disciplining yourself to wash and put away your dinner dishes every night.

It may seem small, but by forcing yourself to do something small on a repetitive basis, you begin to build that muscle of self-discipline much like doing curls will build the muscles of your biceps. So pick a task and do it every day. Self-discipline will soon follow.

This post covers tips 57-67 of 101 Goal Setting Breakthroughs: A 31 Day Blog Series That Will Make 2008 Your Best Year Ever! Subscribe to my free RSS feed to get the rest of the series and never miss a tip!

P.S. If you like this post, please give me a thumbs up on StumbleUpon or vote for it on Digg. Many thanks!

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The 2 Flavors of If Only Syndrome

Brad Isaac — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:29:48 +0000

If only I was taller…

If only I was smarter…

If only I lived somewhere else…

If only I had the right computer…

What if onlys are holding you back from persuing your goal?

If onlys come in two flavors. The ones you can do something about and the ones you can’t. Either way, here’s the way to get rid of these before they undermine your goals.

Which category does this if only go?

What’s the difference between “If only I was taller” and “If only I had a car”

Answer: one you can do something about, the other you can’t.

Don’t go changing for me…

You were born with physical and mental attributes that make you unique; some of which you cannot change. Likewise, there are other people in your environment who you cannot change either. You might call this the hand you were dealt.
With that said, what you think is your weakness often turns to a strength in the long run.

I remember when I was in my early twenties, I was networking with a local and highly successful restaurateur. I was trying to decide whether to take a major loan against my home mortgage and open a restaurant franchise.

After doing the math, I decided the risk and investment wasn’t good at the time. But the business owner had another opportunity. He offered to fully finance a new restaurant concept with us as partners. I would manage the business – he’d finance it.

He even had a location picked out!

Well, after touring the location, I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. The rental agent was pushing for a quick sign on the lease – my potential business partner was pushing for me to sign his contract ASAP. The more I thought about it, the worse I felt.

Something just wasn’t right about the deal – but I didn’t know what.

However, at the time, I was kicking myself for being too sensitive and analytical.

“If only I wasn’t so emotional about business decisions.”

“If only I could ignore my intuition.”

I was pretty hard on myself for not ignoring my gut feeling and going for it. There was so much money potential and here I was walking away from it…

Fast forward a year -

Turns out that the location the rental agent said was “going to be rented to someone else tomorrow” sat empty for a over a year…

A benevolent couple who had purchased a franchise from this guy called me and warned me not to do business with him. He exaggerated his bottom line and they felt like they were left holding the bag with this franchise.
Although I don’t know the reasons why, every last one of this entrepreneurs restaurants went out of business. It was a mystery to me why these went under so quickly with the lines of customers they had every day.

So you can see, my weakness of intuition and making decisions with my gut turned out to be a blessing.

Fixing the if onlys you can fix..

Abraham Lincoln called what I am talking about sharpening the ax.

Nothing stalls forward goal progress like getting in gear to work on your goal and finding out the one tool you need to make it all happen is unavailable.

Before you get started on your tasks, decide what do you need in order to work on this goal. Do you need some pens or paper? Do you need some new running shoes? Do you need to buy some software? Whatever it is go get it! There’s no sense putting off a goal’s progress when it’s just a tool standing in your way.

The time to collect the tools you need is when enthusiasm is high and inspiration has it’s grip. Most times you’ll find that it’s when you are first starting out that getting the right tools is necessary.

If you wait, then the lack of the right tools become “if only syndrome” If only syndrome results in destructive little gremlins knocking you off your game… They persuade non action because you can always say “If only I had a pair of decent running shoes I’d run today.” “If only I had some fresh vegetables, I’d make a salad instead of throwing in this microwave pizza…” “If only I had that computer book, I could study for my certification.”

Have you ever had an experience where a personal “weakness” turned out to be a strength? Was there ever a time when getting the right tool moved your progress forward? If so, please tell us about it in the comments below!
This is part 26 of 101 Goal Setting Breakthroughs: A 31 Day Blog Series That Will Make 2008 Your Best Year Ever! Subscribe to my free RSS feed to get the rest of the series and never miss a tip!

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