Those of you who have followed Tom Peters over the years know how much he’s contributed to the growth of excellence in businesses worldwide.    His book In Search of Excellence he co-authored with Robert Waterman is considered “the greatest business book of all time” by many and indispensable by most.

Well, Tom has a new book called The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE.  I am thrilled and honored Mr. Peters included of my essays as one of the ways to pursue excellence!   Mine is pursuit #50 starting on page 136 about how you have to show up to move up.  You can read my contribution by downloading the Acrobat pdf of it here (posted with permission):  Show Up! (It’s a Start.)

My copy of Little BIG Things arrived last week and it is indeed a BIG book – a whopping 576 pages in all.  But it isn’t the type of book you read cover-to-cover in one sitting.  All of the 163 pursuits are condensed nuggets of excellence building tips and strategies.  Pick one, read it, think about it and digest it.

There is a lot you can take out of just one of the tips.  If you employ all 163 you’ll be unstoppable!

My journal about my week 2 with the couch to 5k program – a training schedule designed to help you work up gradually to running a 5k marathon. You can read my notes on week 1 here. These are my two week results including feeling more energetic and how I am keeping motivated.

You can read my week 1 plan and goal here.

Week two went as well as week 1 for me. One difference I’ve noticed is I have had a few nights where I wake up at 3am and can’t get back to sleep.

Overall, I feel like I am sleeping lighter. So, my normally groggy mornings are still groggy. But I am hoping once I get into the full 5k mode, I will not have this problem.

My wife reports she is feeling better physically. But that the increase in running time wasn’t as easy for her as it was me.

I normally wear Vibram 5 fingers for jogging and walking. But due to the cold I put on running shoes one day. This made my run much more difficult.

My wife usually opts for running shoes. On the days she wears Vibrams, she keeps a better pace. Which makes me wonder if running shoes actually hurt performance long term. They certainly do for me at least in the early stages.

Motivation has remained. Though, some days I am just plain exhausted. Luckily, it hasn’t been enough to throw us off track.

Taking our time

Toward the end of week 2 we weren’t feeling as gung ho as in the beginning. This is natural. So what I said is we’re just going to go at our own pace. We don’t need to rush or strain. We can extend the week two plan into week 3.

Who cares how long it takes if we reach the same destination?

So we ended up running the week 2 plan 5 times instead of 3 with rest days in between. So the actual week 2 plan took us almost 2 weeks.

On to week 3….

Dear Brad,

My name is Dusan and I am living in Serbia.
My dream is to become IT professional in the field of network and web.
I am in college and I learn computer science.
My problem is that I learn only the basic of the programs, nothing advanced.
And when I read the blogs of IT I can not discuss because i know only the basic. And that’s killing me.
Can you help me?
What is the  programs that I must learn ADVANCED to become web guru.
Web Guru is my favorite word and I want to feel very good when said that.

You are right about college teaching only the basics.  But don’t be distressed.  College is a beginning where you get a taste of many different things.  From there you can decide what you like and dislike.  And then you can focus.

Computer science is a huge field with many different specialties.  Even within the term “Web guru” you have Web server expert, ASP.NET programmer, HTML programmer, CSS designer, Java programmer, Ajax expert, Ruby on rails…. and the list goes on.

It is good that you have a fairly specific goal and you are highly motivated to get there.  However, I think you need to get more specific.  So what I recommend is you spend 5 or more hours per week in self study and working examples in books.

You may find you like ASP.Net, or you might like PHP better, who knows until you dive in and work through some good books on the subject?

For instance, when I started programming heavily, it wasn’t due to college.  It was because I spent a year every night working examples in the book VB.NET How to Program by the Deitel brothers.  I loved it and had a blast doing it.  But it’s like a 1500 page book filled with problems.  So it took a long, long time.

I recommend you spend some time browsing Amazon for the higher rated web technology books.  Pick a title that seems interesting to you.  Ask if your school will loan you a copy.  Then (and this is most important) WORK through the book.  Don’t just read it.

Work problem 1 – 999 all the way through.

It might take you 6 months to get through a book completely.  Do at least 20 example problems or scenarios before you decide you want to try something else.  Because it often takes 20 scenario problems before the light clicks on and we say “ohhh I get it now!  I really like this!”

This type of advanced learning is hard for most people.  It takes discipline and focus.  But if you really want to be a guru, you’ll do it.

After you’ve done a few books, you’ll start to feel your expertise and will be motivated to show that experience.  You’ll build a site or a hot Ajax gadget.  That’s where your ‘guru’ reputation will come.  Through building something.

So to sum up.  Use your college as a buffet where you can taste many technologies.  Try to pinpoint 2-3 specific technologies you’d like to master.  Then do the hardcore book learning I describe above.  The rest should come naturally.

If you have a question about your personal goal, send a confidential note to Brad via his contact page.  It might be featured on Persistence Unlimited.

Over the past holiday, my wife and I both felt the Spirit though we ate a little bit too much and exercised a little bit to little.

So we decided something had to be done.

Together we talked about doing the couch to 5K running plan. Which is a “get up and go” start running plan for new runners.  I always read good things about it, so maybe now would be a good time to give it a try.

Both my wife and I are in pretty good shape already. We’ve walked consistently – three or more times a week for years.  And normally eat an above average diet in terms of vegetables, etc.   But this past Thanksgiving and Christmas, we got into trouble.

Couch to 5k week 1

Our first day out was mostly fun, but cold. Like most of the United States we are in one of the coldest winters we’ve had in a long time. So getting out in jogging is extra pain during this time.

The one of the advantages of running is you warm up rather quickly – and burn more calories – or so I’m told.

The first week was very simple. You warm up for five minutes run for one minute take a break for a minute and a half.  Do this for 8 intervals  then you’re done with the day.   You then do this 3 days the first week, being sure to skip at least 1 day in between in order to rest.

You gotta love that it’s only 25 minutes including the warm up.  Some of our past walking took up to an hour, which is hard to fit into a busy schedule.

We found this to be very easy on the first week. On the third day of week one, however, my wife had some issues with pain in her ankles so we decided to extend the first week activities into week 2.

Couch to 5k Week 2

We are currently on week two.  So far so good.

At the end of this project we are wanting to run a 5K marathon. Whether we win or lose, the goal is to run a 5K. I think we’ll get there pretty easily based on the first few days. So why don’t you follow our progress – I will be posting as we go through it.  Subscribe to our RSS feed so that you can see if this plan is right for you!

Now it’s your turn. What are your thoughts on the couch to 5k plan?  If you have experience with the couch to 5k running plan, please post your experiences below.

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.” Abraham Lincoln

Did you know most people screw up the meaning of New Years resolutions?

What does resolution really mean?  A resolution means you have resolved to be different. Resolve is a powerful word. It’s not flighty, it’s not a change of mind, or a pathetic try to do something. Resolve means you are NOT going to do something ever again. Or you ARE going to do something whether it kills you.  Resolve is a firm decision to take actions so you’ll never have to live a certain way again.

Enslaved people resolve and then fight to be free.

Thus a resolution is two things – a passionate declaration and a fight for change.

In the case of resolving to quit a bad habit: resolving means you are fed up. You are not going to do the bad thing ever again.  To break a your resolve would require medieval torture.

If you resolved to quit smoking in 2009 but you are still smoking, you weren’t outraged enough.  It wasn’t a resolution, it was a goal with temporary motivation.

Resolve is more than a personal commitment, it implies you’ve already changed.

Women who RESOLVE to leave a relationship with an abuser take actions and follow through. They hire an attorney.  They ignore the pleas, threats and false words “I will change”.  And they leave – even if it literally kills them.  They fight the fight.  THAT is resolve.

They can take the risks and actions necessary because resolve means they are done. No matter what happens from here on out, they are done with that phase of their life.

Yes, a resolution involves brashness, courage, and fire.  It is a call to arms.

So a resolution to lose 50 pounds is nonsensical.  If you are resolved, fed up and not going to take it any more, shouldn’t it be “I am done weighing over X pounds – period – end of story!  Even if I have to chain up my refrigerator I’ll never weigh this much again.”  THAT is how resolve sounds.

But there is more than just sounding resolved.  You must make a plan against impending Bon Bons.  And you must fight.  And fight – even if it means for the rest of your life.

Resolve involves a passionate declaration AND steady action… forever.  You never hear of enslaved people casually walking away from their captors temporarily.   They make detailed plans and they act those plans until they are free.  To ask a former slave whether he’d willingly go back would prove you wise enough to buy the bridge I have for sale in Florida.

When we picture a new years resolution, we may see the fireworks, new years eve horns, and streamers. It can take the wind out of what a resolution really is – a fire of determination and the resulting action which will elevate you from one life situation to another.  But as smart people, we need to see beyond those colorful displays.

So when you set your new years resolution today, get fired up. Get angry. Get determined.

Carrying debt can make you unhappy.  It ruins relationships, stresses you out and results in what I’d call slavery.  Here’s my manifesto on why debt is bad and what you need to do about it.

Almost daily I read about how banks aren’t loaning money to consumers.  I’ve also read how Citibank (and other credit card companies) are shocking customers by implementing punishing interest rates of up to 29.99% to their customers across the board.

While touted as major crisis by the media, I think both of these lending roadblocks are good for you and me.

How so?  Because both lead to less personal debt.  If the banks aren’t loaning money, then you can’t acquire debt.  If the credit card companies are levying punishing interest rates, then people hopefully will be reluctant to get into more debt.

I view personal debt as slavery. But it took me several years of getting kicked in the head to learn that the hard way.  Debt, especially credit card, car loans and home equity, gives the control of your future earnings to other people.  In the case of the credit cards, think of it this way.  Someone might be paying $50 a week in interest.  Then the credit card company decides they want $100 a week and there’s nothing you can do about it.  They’ve got you by the short hairs.

Outside a mafia Don, who else can make this type of arbitrary decision about your money?  (Well, the government can with taxes, but that’s a discussion for another day…)

But while we are on the government, I’ll toss up a thought you might not have considered.  Why do you think the US government is so comfortable with such staggering levels of debt?  (~$12 Trillion currently)  It is because we the people are so comfortable with such high levels in our personal lives.  The government is a reflection of the people’s attitudes and values.  If we don’t think twice about carrying a boatload of debt in our personal lives, we will elect people who don’t mind carrying debt into the public sector.

I think if we are to be adults, we need to leave behind the childhood getting what we want today just because we want it.  Only a mature mind can delay gratification and admit they cannot afford something at the present.

When did admitting you can’t afford something become shameful?  It seems that if my buddy can afford a Lexus and I cannot I should feel ashamed?  Why?  Shame is the child mind speaking, not the adult mind.  An adult thinks “I can’t afford to pay cash for it, but I am managing my finances in such a way that I will one day be able to.”  That is what true financial optimism is.  Using credit to fool yourself that you can afford it now, but pay for it in the future is a pipe dream.  It’s one of the leading causes of unhappiness and divorce for people in the US right now.

There is nothing shameful in admitting we can’t afford something.  What’s far more shameful is deluding ourselves that a little bit of debt and the resulting slavery isn’t harmful to our attitudes, relationships and future well-being.

When we use credit instead of cash we can pay 10%, 20% or more for something than it’s actually worth!  Just think.  You buy a flat-screen TV today on credit for $1000 at the end of one year you’ve paid $1169.76.  That’s if you pay it off in 1 year.  Most people “revolve” into several years.  It’s quite possible that same TV that cost a cash payer $1000, costs someone who uses credit $1,500!  Are you really that well off that you can afford to spend such a high percentage more than people who save up and pay cash?

And then consider when you eventually do pay off the TV.  In a year, best case, is the TV worth $1,169.00?  No, of course not.  It’s probably worth $800.  So the person who paid cash has lost $200 while the borrower lost $369 – nearly twice as much!  That’s why we hear of people who can’t afford to sell a car they can’t afford.  The car is worth $8,000 but they owe $12,500 on the loan.

I think we should invest the time to do the math as I’ve done above.  The math will reveal the traps others have set for us.

We have only a limited time to work and build success while we live on this planet.  The money we make can be used to produce more money or it can be used to dig us into the hole of slavery.  Paying later for stuff we get today seems small, almost inconsequential early on – but becomes a noose that strangles as the years wear on.  Are we so content that we will delegate the value of our future earnings to other people without as much as a sigh that we are embracing years of servitude?

Whatever happened to saving up for what we want?  Have we come so far that saving is passe, not cool or too old-school?

We need to become uncomfortable with having debt at any level.  Debt should be a painful ache until it is eliminated.  Cash and cash only needs to be our battle cry if we are to become financially successful and avoid the slavery that debt imposes.

If I’ve struck a nerve or opened your eyes, I encourage you to share this with your spouse, friends and relatives.  And send it to your elected officials.  Only through building awareness of debt’s shackles and gaining the support of those around us, can our futures be free.

Last night I was trying to start my dishwasher. It was late. I didn’t want to wash dishes by hand. But for some reason, I couldn’t get the machine to start.

I went to check the breaker, flipped it back and forth a few times to make sure it was on. Tried the machine again. No luck.

Then I considered a half-hearted search for the manual. But knew I probably wouldn’t find it.

I thought, it’s probably not gonna be much fun to pay that bill, but on the other hand it’s pretty late at night. I knew I shouldn’t be worrying too much about it, there was nothing I can do. So I went into the other room and started reading a book, thus do nothing.

As I read, my thoughts kept drifting back to the dishwasher. I knew the problem was electrical.

I continued reading.

Suddenly it occurred to me that sometimes there is a light switch on a neighboring wall – possibly in another room that controls the electricity to dishwashers. I started flipping light switches and eventually found the culprit. The dishwasher fired right up – thereby saving me $100 or so in calling a repair service.

Doing nothing takes patience. It takes getting away from the problem as much as possible. But sometimes nothing is the best action we can take.

Today I visited a farm with my family.

They had goats, sheep, guineas, chickens, peacocks and turkeys to name a few. It was a relaxing tour. But it also reminded me about a time when things were simpler.

As someone born in Topeka, Kansas the farm is not alien to me. Although I never lived on one, some of my extended family members did. My grandfather’s neighbor grew potatoes and I’d often go help dig them to pass the time. I’d visit my other grandparents where we’d drive out to the farm and return with ‘bushels’ of corn, peaches and snap beans. Regrettably, I still don’t know what a bushel is.

But what is clear about the old way of farming is the work was clear. You shucked corn until every ear clean. You dug potatoes until there are none left to dig. There was time for thought and time for talk. And there were harsh consequences for farmers if they did not do their work.

Today’s work is not so clear – especially if you are working on yourself. Your arms won’t rot off in October because you didn’t harvest push ups today. You probably won’t starve to death in December because you forgot to plant the seeds of your small business in April.

That’s what makes getting ahead these days so persnickety. Consequences for inaction can take years to appear.

The solution is we must all work on our fortune telling skills. It’s not as hard or mystical as it sounds. We can use imagination and logic to see the result of not acting today, tomorrow and the next.

You don’t need a crystal ball to see what happens after 3 years of drinking a bottle of vodka each day. Nor do you need one to see what happens after 3 years of developing a profitable service that helps thousands of people.  Successful fortune telling means seeing the future and altering your behavior accordingly.

Leaders call this having a strong vision.