Spaces on the Wall

Do. There is No Try

To paraphrase one of my favorite childhood teachers, Master Yoda, "Only do, there is no try".

Trying is non-committal. It forms a mentality of being present but not actually being there. I don't mean trying like sampling a new meal or laundry detergent. I'm talking about commitment to a particular goal or action step. It's pretty black or white - I'm either going to do something or I won't. That applies to endeavors I pursue or work that I perform. There isn't anything special about this message. I just know that I like to be fully engaged in something, and give it my best. As a result, I produce great stuff. Maybe there's a positive visualization component here, but I'm pretty sure the same could apply to anyone.

I'll try to get something done, or I'll try to be a better (insert role here) are statements poised for failure. Trying is a half ass attempt where doing is a fully committed mindset that leads to right action. Doing is pouring your heart and soul into the task and having the drive to accomplish it until its over.

There isn't much risk in trying. There isn't much reward either.

There Are No Problems, Just Situations

I learned a valuable lesson per my recent trip to Jamaica. The locals there have this over-arching philosophy that there are no problems, only situations. When I first heard that, it was so profound. After I saw it plastered on gift shop tee-shirts, it lost a little luster.

What I took away from this is that they see problems as opportunities - not as obstacles. This is a huge realization ok, so stew on it for a sec. Once you see problems apart from yourself - you'll see how to tackle your problems very differently. Regardless if they're large or small, it's how you deal with the problem that also counts.

I thought hard about this since my trip to Jamaica was full of obstacles. The problem was my passport had just expired. I discovered this fact the night before my flight was scheduled to depart. I couldn't blow the trip off since it was my best friends wedding and I was the best man. So how did I do it? Piece by piece, I identified all the opportunities - no matter how crazy they were and created an action plan. Each action was dependant on the next, so it was critical to execute each task flawlessly. Sure there's more to the story, but I won't bother you with the details (if you really want to know, there are ways to game the system). Just know that I worked through my situation, and in less than 24 hours I was sipping cold drinks on the beach and watching my best friend become a whole person.

Problems can be solved. But you must work through them. Think objectively and remember to stay cool and in control. The rest will follow.

Trust In Your Own Instincts

Do you ever second guess yourself? Everything may look great on paper, and all the facts fit together nicely - but there's a weird feeling in the pit of your stomach, telling you that something isn't right. That something is your instinct that's developed alongside you - learning each of your life's lessons subconsciously.

In the absence of factual data, all you have to go on are emotional signals - which in most cases can be unreliable and unstable. Instincts have historical significance wrapped around physic energy. That's the kind of metaphysical stuff that we can't prove exists (yet), but know is present.

Deciding what to each for lunch all the way to hiring a new employee - I base it all on trusting my instincts.

Keep Your Eye On The Ball

So much happens throughout the working day, that sometimes we lose sight of why we do what we do. I'm sure you've experienced these sorts of invisible distractions: Someone wants something from you ASAP, the boss needs a mission critical report, an emergency fire breaks out, somebody calls in sick, friends or co-workers need to chat.

Sure these unplanned things will popup - but what can you do stop it? Here are a few tips:

1. Don't check e-mail every minute - Just twice a day.


2. Return calls at scheduled times only.


3. Signal to co-workers that you're busy and can not be bothered.


4. Turn off ALL communication devices when before you get in the zone.


5. Install tracking software to monitor and remind you to stay on task.


6. Write down your goals.

I've noticed that my generation has a mild case of A-D-D, so we need constant stimulation to keep us moving. We're geniuses at getting lots of things done. The problem is focusing. Focusing on the task - and focusing on our goals. The point is to push away the distractions in our daily routines.

What do you have trouble focusing on?

What You Give is What You Get

Pouring your heart and soul into something you really want will eventually bear fruit. There are tons of sayings to underscore this point, but what I meant by my wallpaper quote "What you give is what you get", is that if you want to accomplish something, you gotta work at it every single day.

Eventually putting the time and energy into your something will pay off some pretty big dividends. Same goes for how we treat others, what we put in our bodies, or the work we're supposed to be doing. Drip by drip, these little things start to add up to bigger things. When we're good to others, social points will overflow. When practicing healthy diets, our bellies get flattened. Nothing gets accomplished unless YOU put forth the effort. That goes for everything in life. You control the outcome for how you want things to be - really. Just step back for a second and think about all the last time you took the initiative and made the "impossible" happen. Relish in that huge win. What did you accomplish? How did that make you feel?

Write it down, post it on the blog or e-mail it to me - I really want to know.

Writing Down Your Dreams

Block off about 1 hour of time and write down all the dreams you'd like to accomplish. No matter how crazy they seem - write them ALL down. This is not as easy as it appears. It took me a long time to remember what I truly wanted, and not what I was expected to want. Do you know what I mean?

As I reviewed my list of dreams for the first time, I noticed 3 major dream categorizations. Shit I want to own, places I want to go, and people I want to meet. Your results will vary - but start looking for the common threads to your dreams.

You have to dig deep and remember all those wonderful things you said you wanted to do one day. It's also a bit painful since most of what you'll write down are things you had every intention of doing - but somehow your dreams got pushed to the side, and "real life" took over.

The point is to remember what you really want out of this life. Be totally honest about what you want and write it down. Because everything you write down is actually the precursor to something even better than your amorphous dreams - it's the realization of your tangible goals.

If you're open to it, send me your list of dreams, and I'll send you mine. Then we can talk about how to transform your most important dreams into real things you can see on paper.

Overcoming Procrastination

I used to think procrastination was due to laziness or a lack of motivation. Laziness makes sense since we eventually get to the task at hand. Have you ever thought to yourself: "I've got enough on my plate right now, I'll get it it later"? Then later rolls around and you keep pushing the due date out even further. There's always tomorrow right? Well, the truth is we avoid doing what needs to be done today.

So now I've come to realize that procrastination is the fear of taking action. There's something hidden that we're not prepared to face that's holding us back from doing what we need to do. For example, I'd been procrastinating for weeks now on writing our SEO whitepaper. I put it off not because it wasn't important, but that it was too important. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to write what I know about the topic in simple, jargon-free language since I rely too much on technical concepts, terms and explanations to get my point across. Would I really know how to explain what I know without relying on this major crutch? The answer was a victorious NO.

After realizing what my fear actually was, I was able to figure out a way of overcoming procrastination. It's easy to stop procrastination once you know the true root of your fear. On a blank sheet of paper, draw a line right down the middle, creating two columns. Be honest with yourself and write down what you need to do on the left side - and why you're not doing it on the right. It's amazing what we discover when we write these things down.

It's simple when you're being honest with yourself. If you find some other informative articles on procrastination, please send them my way.

3 Ways to Motivate Others

There's 3 major ways to motivate others around you: Fear, Incentive and Attitude.

Fear is something I find the most ineffective because it's so short lived. It has its place in the arsenal of getting things done. Fear is based on consequences - which deter us from doing bad things. This is the undesirable stuff like punishments, fines, time-outs, revoked privileges, job security, hunger, and homelessness. What's funny is that when we imagine worst case scenario's based on fear, and what could happen based on consequences, we really get creative and think of the most horrible shit that can wreck our worlds.

"I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened." - Mark Twain

Usually, it never happens, but the negative consequences are so powerful that they become real in our mind. Motivating through fear can cause harmful side effects, so try not to use it too much for you or others around you.

Incentive, on the other hand, is based on positive outcomes and is rewards based. Money, power, prestige, or freedom usually fall under this category. This is the stuff we want - so we work hard to get those things. But what happens when you've had enough - and you no longer care for or need the rewards being offered?

These motivational powers diminish after the threatened penalty has been avoided or the promised reward has been gained. People eventually realize they want to do things because they want to - so the best way to achieve this positive form of motivation is from within. Positive self motivating attitudes are the most effective because they become learning experiences, produce desired results and will last forever. Be prepared, since this is going to be a never-ending process and struggle to stay positive amongst all the current negativity out there (that's why I created this blog in the first place).

So keep your head clean, commit to realizing what you want to achieve and then do it. Keep reading this blog and subscribe to my motivational desktop wallpapers to give you daily support. Then tell me what you're going through and how you intend to get through it.

Are You Better?

If you can beat box better that than these guys, I'll give you a $100.

The Downward Spiral

Most of us love Apple. Trent doesn't. But that's because he has a reason not to (right now). Personally, I think he's over reacting a bit, but his point is a valid one - Who should be allowed to create things for others to consume? Since the gatekeepers have become us, the natural answer is "us".

However, that's really not the case when creating iPhone applications. Remember guys, that Apple is on a closed network. Always has been, always will be - and they've been pretty consistent about that (shaken baby app anyone?).

Check out the Downward Spiral iPhone Blog Post and tell me what you think.