"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..." So the famous Serenity Prayer begins. Most of us acknowledge the wisdom of accepting the things that are out of our control, that life throws us curve balls and we must learn to accept them. However, German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche takes this a step further (as do other stoic philosophers), and claims that we would do our...
Even a minor amount of short-lived stress can make an impact on your health (both physical and mental). While entrepreneurs often feel that they need to “go go go” in order to be successful, taking time out of the day to practice meditation has been a proven, effective method for increasing your productivity, providing appropriate perspective, and training to react appropriately to stress.
Taking time away for a personal retreat is a discipline that not many professionals take seriously enough. We have enough going on in our daily lives that a break “just to think” sounds pretty unproductive. However, it is during those breaks in our routine that we discover whether or not what we are being productive in is what really matters.
In my book, The 9 Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs, I outline a series of regular routines that maximize your energy, save time, and allow you to enjoy consistent wins. Just as there are habits that should be added to your routine, there are also a few toxic habits that should be controlled. These habits are common to many entrepreneurs, and those who have found success have also...
Most of us know how to tackle large tasks: You make a plan, set aside time, and execute. However, how do you make sure those little, pesky to-dos get done? Put new batteries in the camera. Call the bank about that letter. Pick up some milk while you’re out. Small to-do tasks are easily forgotten because they just aren’t important enough to stay at the top of our minds.
If you’re following along with the blog, you’ll know that this is week number three of my gainful unemployment. One of the biggest challenges that I’ve had to face this week is maintaining momentum, and knowing exactly what to work on. The former I handle through a mixture of Trello, Evernote, and Google Calendar. One of the biggest tricks, however, is to maintain that momentum–To manage my...
I have a pretty busy life. With 4 children under 5 years old, and a wife who works in the evenings, when I’m not working at my day job, I’m changing diapers, fixing dinner, or cleaning up before my wife gets home, and I head to bed after a little bit of time together to discuss our day. I’ve tried staying up late to get more done, and when I was in my 20s, that was a pretty valid option. However...
Okay, I admit, this post has a double motive. Earlier tonight I was flipping through LinkedIn and was looking at several key businesspeople to follow. One CEO that I admire is Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo! Inc. When I clicked on Marissa’s LinkedIn profile, I noticed that she only had 138 connections. Most CEOs have several thousands of connections, so this was intentional as she is VERY selective...
This is the first of what I hope to be an ongoing list of blogs and websites that I take a few minutes to analyze and pull out useful tips based on what the site creator is doing right. For my first of these types of posts, I turn to Laura Roeder’s successful blog, LKR Social Media.
You start a blog, promising that THIS time you’ll stick to it for one reason or another. You stay strong for a short period, posting regularly…you are loving seeing the posts start to add up. You check your analytics, watching for the hockey stick growth–that never comes.
HI, I'M RYAN. I believe the best way to learn and remember is by writing things down and sharing them with others. This blog exists to help me synthesize and process my journey towards self-improvement.