I've been reading Godin's new book Watcha Gonna Do With That Duck? which is a culmination of his blog entries over the past several years.
Godin's brilliance, I think, is that he just cuts through the BS of most self-help books and gets right down to brass tacks.
Here is one section that blew me away last night.
With that forewarning, here's a bootsrapper's/marketer's/enterpreneur's/fast-rising executive's effort diet. Go through the list and decide whether each item is worth it. Or make up your own diet. Effort is a choice, so at least make it on purpose.
1. Delete 120 minutes a day of "spare time" from your life. This can include watching TV, reading a
newspaper, commuting, wasting time in social networks, and going to meetings. Up to you.
2. Spend the 120 minutes doing this instead:
* Exercise for 30 minutes.
* Read relevant nonfiction (trade magazines, journals, business books, blogs, etc).
* Send three thank-you notes.
* Learn new digital techniques (spreadsheet macros, Firefox shortcuts, productivity tools, graphic
design, HTML coding)
* Volunteer
* Blog for five minutes about something you learned.
* Give a speech once a month about something you don't currently know a lot about.
3. Spend at least one weekend day doing absolutely nothing but being with people you love.
4. For one year, spend money on only the things you absolutely need to get by. Save the rest of your
money. Relentlessly.
If you somehow pulled this off, then six months from now, you would be the fittest, best-rested, most intelligent, best-funded, and most motivated person in your office or your field. You would know how to do things that other people don't, you'd have a wider network, and you'd be more focused.
It's entirely possible that this effort won't be sufficient and you will continue to need better luck. But it's a lot more likely that you'l get luck, I bet.
Now if that doesn't get you fired up, I don't know what will.
No comments:
Post a Comment