Discover the Power of 3×5 Cards
June 25, 2008
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”
Mark Twain
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all there is to do and all that’s on your brain? It’s so important when you feel overwhelmed to STOP and regroup. That feels counterintuitive to us since when we feel stress the logical thing is to try and work harder. But that’s not what you should do. Take time to think about all that has to be done.
Go out and purchase some really cool colored 3×5 index cards. My favorite color for the cards is neon green! Then when you feel overwhelmed take out the cards and write down one thought on each card. Perhaps one says go to the grocery store, another says call Mary, and another says clean out e-mail inbox. Keep going until you feel like your brain is completely drained. Then look at all the cards and ask yourself “What is the most efficient use of my time right now?” Take that card and turn it over. Then ask “What’s the 2nd most important thing to do?” Take that card and turn it over on top of the 1st card. Keep going until all the cards are turned over. Then flip the pile over and you have your thoughts in a logical order and in the priority in which they should be done.
If any of the cards is a large project take the project and break it down into small tasks with a card for each task.
Other uses:
To get the kids to help:
Write a chore down one per card, let the kids each pick 1 or 2 cards from the deck (they can’t see them) and send them off and watch things get done. Put a reward on the back that they get when they hand the card back in.
When you’re on the road:
Take 12 - 3×5 cards and clip them with a small colored binder clip – keep in your purse or pocket. As you’re out and about and think of things that you need to do write one item per card. When you get back home or to the office put them in your “In” basket and you won’t have to try and remember all those great things you though of when you were out.
Getting organized:
Look around the room and write down one area that needs to get organized on each card. Kitchen areas might be refrigerator, pantry, south cupboards, north cupboards, etc. Shuffle the cards around and whatever one ends up on top – DO IT!
Discover the power of 3×5 cards! They are the most inexpensive and simple way to get control back of your day and your life!
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Elizabeth Hagen is a dynamic and inspiring speaker, author, and consultant who has motivated thousands to take action and get organized. She is President of ElizabethHagen.com and works with overwhelmed people to help them get more focused, more organized, more confident and more productive. Her latest book “Organize with Confidence!” is a pocket book and manual that will change your life! Subscribe to Elizabeth’s free ezine “Extraordinary Results” at http://www.Elizabethhagen.com and receive the “31 Tips to Simplify Your Life” as her gift to you. |
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How to Overcome Seasonal Slumps and Finish Strong in 2007
November 26, 2007
Since the Holiday Season has officially begun in the USA, it is important to recognize the wave of seasonal momentum that accompanies it. For some this time of year brings great growth and positive momentum, yet others experience a decline or negative momentum, as in a slow down.
There are many myths about the Holiday Season when it comes to business. These myths apply to both online and offline businesses.
The Biggest Business Myth of the Holiday Season: “Only retail and gift businesses grow during this time of year, every other business slows.” This is simply not true. I love it when people tell me that business is slow this time of year and that my business will slow whether I want it to or not. It seems like a rather helpless proposition, doesn’t it?
In most cases, business slows for them because they stopped doing the daily method of operation that their business needs in order to continue moving forward. Many business owners actually reduce their efforts and fail to follow their own action plan during this time because they believe it is a slow season, because someone told them it would be and so it becomes true for them. Because they believe and accept this erroneous prediction, they stop trying, they actually fail to inject life giving effort into their business. That is why business slows for them.
Yet for others, this is the time or year to create exponential growth. If your competition is reducing their efforts, and most are, it is the perfect time for you to rev it up and make your move.
Don’t get caught in the trap of reducing your efforts because the media, your peers or anyone tells you that business slows. Do not ever accept that invitation to slack or minimize your efforts. This is the most critical time of year to practice consistency for any business. Every action you take in December contributes to a stronger January. Keep the ball rolling.
The keys for thriving during the Holiday Season are persistence and consistency. Every day people are looking for whatever information, service or product you offer. Those who keep up, stick with their plan or even increase their focus and efforts this time of year are the ones who will reap the rewards and explode their growth in the coming year.
Choose to be one of them.
You do not have to succumb to the myths that others use to rationalize their own laziness or reduced actions that are based purely on opinion.
Momentum breeds Momentum.
Winners know that finishing strong in December is the catalyst for massive growth in January as it sets the tone for the rest of the year.
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Finding Your Millionare Mentor: A Shortcut to Success
November 12, 2007
There is one key ingredient to success that is often overlooked.
If you are working on your dreams, you might be just one ingredient away from unlocking and unleashing your destiny.
You might be one ingredient away from living your dreams.
You might be one ingredient away from becoming a Millionaire or Multi-Millionaire or even a Billionaire.
This one ingredient often means the difference between taking decades to reach your goals or speeding up the pace of advancement to a matter of days.
That one ingredient is a Mentor.
There are seeds of greatness within you right now, but sometimes it takes the assistance of a Mentor to help you on your way.
I have been blessed to have had many types of mentors throughout my life, from teachers in grade school, to youth service workers in my community, to business people who saw something in me and encouraged me or offered to guide me.
I lived in the same impoverished ghetto as people who went on to join gangs, drop out of school, become addicted to drugs, and many of them are no longer with us. They made different choices. Those people had the same potential within them that I did. But I had mentors to look up to.
I made a decision as a youth, to search out positive Mentors. Not just as a one time thing, but as a lifelong mission. And even though I have gone on to success in mentoring thousands of people, I still Mentor others and I still seek out Mentors.
When mentors appeared, I embraced them and studied them. I read what they told me to read, I went where they told me to go and I did what they told me to do.
What makes a great Mentor?
A great Mentor sees more potential in you than you do in yourself.
A great Mentor can show you the way and point out things you might not otherwise see or be aware of. Sometimes weaknesses, sometimes strengths, sometimes patterns that you unconsciously practice that hold you back.
A great Mentor believes in you.
A great Mentor inspires you.
A great Mentor knows that the same seeds of greatness that were inside them are inside you too.
A great Mentor cultivates and nourishes those seeds, they help you grow.
A great Mentor helps you bridge the gap from where you are now to where you want to be.
A great Mentor Coaches you to breakthrough your limiting beliefs.
I have been invited to be a part of an amazing new movement to bring you some of the greatest Mentors of our lifetime. It is actually one of the most powerful, positive projects I have ever seen and you can be a part of it too.
If you would like to learn from today’s most empowering leaders, I urge you to head over to http://www.MillionaireMentor.com and sign up so you can be part of this incredible experience.
I want you to reach your goals. I want you to live your dreams. I want you to have access to the BEST Mentors anywhere in the world.
All you have to do is take the next step.
http://www.MillionaireMentor.com
Live Your Dreams,
Jill Koenig
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Monday Momentum: The Best Way to Begin Your Week
October 15, 2007
Let me ask you, how did you begin your day today?
And how do you approach your week?
With positive determination and strength, eager to seize the day and opportunities before you?
Or with apprehension, dreading all you have to do?
Do you guide the direction of your week based upon your Goals?
Or do the circumstances of the week sweep you off track leaving you feeling like there’s never enough time?
I learned very quickly that Mondays are a crucial day.
Some people are going to have a rough week simply because theyhave not decided to create an amazing one starting right now,today.
Your Goal for Mondays should be to create as much momentum asyou possibly can towards completing your Goals and objectives, creating measurable progress, advancing your mission, giving asmuch as you can and taking a bite out of life.
I call it “Monday Momentum.”
Why?
Because Monday sets the tone for the remainder of the week.
When you create momentum, it is actually easier to do what needsto be done later and the energy that your momentum createsactually carries you through.
Momentum breeds Momentum.
Momentum feeds your energy.
Momentum is contagious.
Here are tips for creating Monday Momentum:
* Plan your entire week on paper in advance on Sunday evening.
* Get up a little earlier Monday mornings.
* Listen to an uplifting motivational or educational audio. http://www.TheTimeCommandments.com is a great one to get yourhead on straight to take on the week with focus, clarity andenthusiasm. (spaced repetition is one of the most powerfullearning strategies known to man)
* Get your workout in early in the morning. (this will energizeyou to take on the day and you can even do this while you arelistening to the audio)
* Look at your Goals. Rewrite them.
* Drink lots of water and be sure to follow healthy diet and nutrition to keep your energy upthroughout the day.
The beginning of anything is always a crucial time.
The same applies to your week.
The first hour in the morning is the rudder of your day.
No one should be hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock.
You should be popping out of bed like bread pops out of thetoaster!
When you get off to a great start on Monday morning, the rest ofthe week will follow and you will breeze through the rest of theweek with vitality and vigor.
What you do with your time and what time of day you do it iscritical to understand in relation to Time Management. High performing men and women consistently apply this secret and advance rapidly in life.
And Time Management is as much about having the right prioritiesand energy to create an amazing day full of momentum to buildupon, which will lead to an amazing week, which leads to anamazing month, which leads to an amazing year, which leads to anamazing life… follow me?
Create a new habit of generating Monday Momentum.
What will it cost you if you don’t?
Become invigorated.
Become unstoppable.
Live Your Dreams,
Jill Koenig
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8 Keys to Know if it’s Time to Build a Virtual Team
September 24, 2007
One of the best ways to create massive momentum is to leverage the expertise, time, skills and knowledge of others.
Here are some powerful insights from Melanie Benson Strick:
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The Delegation Dilemma: 8 Keys to Know if it’s Time to Build a Virtual Team
During a recent webinar I taught , one of the attendees, Steven, asked, “I’m just getting started in my business. I’ve got lots of bills, tons of work to do but not a lot of income coming in. Would I benefit from building a team?”
Last week, during an interview by my friend and client Kendall Summerhawk, a woman in her program asked, “How do I know it’s time to add more people to my team without losing profitability?”
For the entrepreneur, cash flow is the make or break point. Interestingly enough, many of us will throw thousands of dollars at programs and products that suggest they will make us money but you will hold back from investing in the ONE KEY STRATEGY that is proven to help you achieve a six to seven figure income.
I’d like to help you identify 8 Keys to Know If It’s Time to Build a Virtual Team.
- You want to grow fast but have limited time. This is crucial for people who are still employed, mothers of young children and people with multiple businesses. The fact is, you can only grow as fast as you have time to move your projects forward. A team can execute on work while you focus on other things.
- You have more referrals than you can follow up with. This is a sign that you either: need an assistant to help filter out leads and get them in your funnel or you need to outsource work to others.
- You are doing things that you hate, screw up or procrastinate. After I booked myself to Ft. Lauderdale when I needed to be in Orlando, I realized booking my own travel had to be delegated to my assistant. These tasks will cost you hundreds, if not thousands, until you delegate them to someone who loves the tasks. Bookkeeping, client invoicing, website updating, paperwork all fit here. P.S. That travel mistake cost me $500 extra dollars. =-(
- You need and want more freedom to enjoy your life, but you can’t afford to be away from the business. The right team will be able to handle anything while you are gone.
- You routinely are late, deliver incomplete projects or forget things you promise people. This is a sign that you have too much on your plate. Even delegating email management and phone call follow up can free up 8 – 10 hours a week!
- You are an opportunity addict and don’t want to give that up. Let’s be honest. Some of you are just really good at new ideas and you don’t want that to stop. You thrive on the creative phase. But someone has to implement your ideas – that’s where a team comes in.
- You are a speaker, information marketer, coach, consultant, service professional or business owner with more on their to-do list than time in the day. I guarantee you I can find at least 25 items in your to-do list that could easily and profitably be delegated!
- You truly desire a six to seven figure income. The one thing that every successful person knows is that they could not have done it alone.
Last year I interviewed five 7- figure entrepreneurs who all said, “If I could do one thing differently, I wouldn’t have waited to build a team.”
Ready to build a team but still not sure how to pay for it? Learn how at: Virtual Team Building
About the Coach:
Melanie Benson Strick, The Entrepreneur’s Success Coach, teaches entrepreneurs how to stop feeling overwhelmed so they can create more money, more freedom and more prestige.
If you’re ready to stop working in your business and start working on your business, go to Virtual Team Building to learn the secret to growing your company to a six and seven-figure success without employees or a 90-hour work week!
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