Doing More By Doing Less

Have you ever ran into an old friend and asked how they were, only to hear the typical response, “I’ve been so busy”? Why is everyone so busy? Why does it always seem like there is not enough time in the day to finish everything we have on our plate?

The answer is simple. We do not prioritize well and we have no idea how to say, “No.” Any time someone asks us to do something we say yes. We don’t analyze how important each individual thing we do actual is. Most of us schedule our day based on other people’s priorities for us – not our own. Most of us do not proactively plan our day, we react to it. This creates stress, multi-tasking (which is not at all effective) and a constant feeling of overwhelm. So what is the cure to this ugly disease of busyness? Saying “No” to things that are not a top priority and doing less – consciously.

This goes against the programming of most of our brains, but we must identify our priorities for the following day by asking ourselves one simple question, “If I can only accomplish 2-3 things tomorrow, what are the most important?” Write them in order of importance. Multi-tasking must be abolished because it does not work. 100% of your energy needs to be focused on the first task on your list the second you get to work. Only when you finish that can you move on to task #2, and so on.

Nothing should detract your focus from accomplishing the 2-3 tasks on your list. Nothing should interrupt your focus. Checking email can wait. Your phone should be unplugged. Your email notifications should be shut off (permanently).

The only way to really be productive is to laser-focus your efforts on pre-determined tasks. This way you are dictating your day and you are ensuring that the most important tasks get accomplished. You are not allowing someone else’s email to dictate your schedule for the day. You are in command.

Becoming task-oriented, rather than time-oriented, ensures that you accomplish measurable items. An 8 hour day can easily pass without any clear accomplishments being fulfilled. When tasks are outlined, it forces you to carefully think of what is actually important, versus what seems to be important.

Once you have become task-oriented, you become better at telling people “No”. You become better at focusing on higher-margin activities and projects. You understand that most “work” is busy-work that really doesn’t contribute to the bottom-line. You start to see the bigger picture and create massive results without working harder. You become strategic. Like Abraham Lincoln used to say, “If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I would spend the first 4 sharpening my axe.”

Start sharpening your axe and taking control of your day. Watch your stress levels decrease and your meaningful results go through the roof. Keep your to-do list to 2-3 items. Any more than that will be defeating the purpose. Share your results with everybody below in the comments. I have seen huge results from these minor modification and am positive, you will too.

The Law of Large Thoughts

“No matter how large the picture that you hold in mind, make it larger. The reason why so many people come to the point where they stop is that they come to a point where they stop growing in their own minds. They come to a point where they can see no more, thinking that because they have really done a big thing they should stop there. We must watch our thought for signs of inactivity. Nothing in the universe ever stops. Everything is built on a boundless basis, drawn from a limitless source, come forth from an Infinite sea of unmanifest life. We speak forth into this life and draw back from it all that we first think into it. Life is always limitless, and the only thing that limits us is our inability to conceive mentally, and we should draw more and more from that limitless source.” – Ernest Holmes

Take a long hard look at your goals. What are they? Write them down. Now take a look at those goals and ask yourself, “Why are they not bigger?”

We all do this. We set goals that seem realistic based on societal norms but we are only limiting ourselves. You can only grow as much as your mental image will permit. Think about that. You will never grow beyond that which can conceive in your mind. If you don’t picture yourself walking around in that perfectly in-shape body, you never will. If you don’t picture yourself driving a Lamborghini, guess what? You never will.

Progress stops wherever vision does. Anytime you are reaching a plateau, whether it is related to your personal or professional life, it can be broken through internally – by working to develop a bigger and stronger vision.

Take a second today to think of one goal that would absolutely scare you to death. Something that would bring you great joy but that you think is not possible in your life at this time. Now get an (erasable) marker and write it on your bathroom mirror. Read it out loud every morning and night and work to connect with it emotionally. Do this until you are sick of doing it and watch the transformation start to take place. You will start to develop belief in this “crazy” goal and you will start to accomplish it.

The mind is the most powerful faculty we have access to. We can leverage it to get whatever we want. Your wish is your mind’s command. Think bigger and keep fighting to not set limitations for yourself.

Greatness Bowing to Greatness

If anyone saw last night’s Thursday Night Football game, they are probably aware that Devin Hester broke Deion Sander’s “returned touchdowns” record. He surpassed Deion, aka PrimeTime with his 20^th touchdown on a 62-yard punt return. Records were made to broken, right?

If you have ever watched Deion Sanders play the game of football, he is an absolute bad-ass. He was one of the cockiest players in the league and took the first punt return he ever touched, to the house. He was more commonly known as PrimeTime for his performances under the lights on “PrimeTime” television. He played professional baseball AND professional football. He was absolutely one of the greatest cornerbacks and football players of all-time. He previously held the record with 19 returned touchdowns…..before Devin Hester came along.

Deion said, several years ago, that Devin Hester was the best return man of “all-time”. He said he was even better than himself in his “prime”… (pun intended) He recognized the potential of Devin Hester and was committed to mentoring this young kid to the top at the beginning of his career. He sure did a hell of a job.

There is nobody that could refute the greatness of Deion Sanders as a football player. He was absolutely electric to watch. So what really makes him so great?

What makes him so great, is that he was rooting for Devin Hester to break his record. A lot of players would congratulate someone who broke their record, secretly hoping that they would fail. Not Deion. Devin Hester told Deion in an interview last night that he really appreciated all of the encouraging texts that he received before football games over the last few years. Deion was constantly encouraging Devin to go out, do great things, and break his own record. That is true greatness. That is a man who is a true leader in this world. A man who roots for advancement and progress. A man who roots for someone better to come along. It doesn’t take away from the greatness of Deion Sanders – it adds to it.

Deion Sanders just proved to the world his greatness – again, and in a different capacity. I have always been a huge fan of Deion as a football player and I just became an even bigger fan of Deion Sanders – the man. The ultimate success in life is in mentoring and coaching people to become better than yourself. Rooting FOR people to break your records. That’s advancement. That’s progress. That is life.

My hat goes off to Deion Sanders. All the greatness in the world should bow to his greatness, just as he did to Devin Hester. Deion Sanders – you are the greatest of all-time. Thank you for your inspiration, self-esteem and for leading the world by example. 

The Little Girl and Her Dog

The other day I saw a little girl, about 4 years old, walking her dog. The dog was about 4 times as big as her, so the dog was really walking her. Anyways, she was totally elated. For no apparent reason. She was genuinely happy. Her dog was happy. They didn’t have a care in the world other than enjoying each other’s company. She ran down the sidewalk and looked up at me and gave me, a complete and total stranger, the biggest smile I have ever seen. I could not help but smile back. It made me very genuinely happy. Her happiness was infectious. It was probably one of the most adorable things I have ever seen.

That little girl made me think. We have all been carefree and happy like that before. I remember being a kid and all I cared about was playing outside. It didn’t matter if it was football, basketball, street baseball or creating chalk masterpieces on the driveway with my little sister. It was true happiness. How often do we adults just smile at each other for no reason? I catch myself paying no attention to people I pass on the streets. Occasionally, I’ll even shoot a disingenuous half-smile, but nothing like the smile that little girl gave me. As adults we are consumed with other things. We are stressed out. We are worried if we say “hello” and smile at a stranger, we might not get a response. That little girl couldn’t have cared less if I smiled back or not. Her happiness did not come from my response. Her happiness was internal. Her happiness was more powerful than anything I have ever seen before.

It still blows my mind how much power a little girl could possess. This little girl possesses the secret to riches and a lifetime of happiness. I hope she never loses that infectious enthusiasm. That enthusiasm will carry her to great heights. It will inspire others to be happier and more loving and caring. She can do amazing things by just holding onto her true-self. By not allowing others to convince her to be something other than herself. To follow her heart in all that she does. To maintain her authenticity at all cost. That’s what’s funny about the world and the law of attraction. We all want to be like people who are genuinely themselves – people who are authentic. You don’t need a reason to be happy. You don’t have to justify it. It doesn’t have to be difficult; it’s just a choice we all make every morning when we wake up. Wake up every day like the little kid inside of you wants you to. Be happy for no apparent reason. They always say, “When you smile at the world, the world smiles back at you.” Give the world your biggest and brightest smile – just like that little girl, and see who smiles back at you. J

Nothing Less Than Legendary

I remember preparing for the baseball tryouts my freshman year of high school. My dad told me that everyone had to know I was the best player at the tryout, BEFORE the tryout actually started. I didn’t really understand. I asked him “what do you mean?” He said, “when you are walking to the field, people have to know that you are a bad ass. When you are warming up, people have to know you’re a bad ass. When you are stretching, you want the coaches talking about you, asking ‘who is that kid?’ Before you ever take a groundball or get an at-bat people need to know who you are." This theme stuck with my sister and I throughout our high school years, into college…..and shoot, we are still the same at the local 5k race. It’s not cockiness – well maybe a little. Although my dad never promoted cockiness. He absolutely hated when we wore Nike wristbands, Underarmour sleeves and bright, flashy and obnoxious colors. We did it anyway because they looked cool. He would always say things like, “put up, or shut up”. Or, “don’t talk about how good you are, show everybody”. What my dad was talking about was a mindset. A belief in yourself. Walking into a situation that could be intimidating and not allowing it to get the best of you. Being a freshman walking into a tryout with a bunch of older guys and KNOWING that you can play with them. It’s swagger. It’s a quiet confidence. It doesn’t mean that you walk into the tryout being loud and obnoxious, but people can feel your energy when you know you belong. You are different than all the other nervous freshman wondering if they are good enough. I can’t thank my dad enough for instilling this powerful mental strength in me. I have called on it so many times in my athletic life and in my professional life. I used this when I played in an All-Conference game my senior year of high school and again walking onto the baseball team in college. I have used it giving presentations to professionals worth more than $30 million dollars. If you believe in your mind that you belong on the field, or in that boardroom. You do. People can sense it. It’s a real, physical frequency that you are emitting. It means nothing can truly intimidate you.

Nothing less than legendary, is a line in a T.I. song that I love. It’s the same mindset that my father instilled in my sister and I. It’s self-belief. If you believe you are legendary, you will be. Your actions will be legendary and therefore, so will the results. You have to believe things before you can accomplish them. Because of these incredible lessons my sister and I learned at a young age, we don’t limit our accomplishments. My sister has won several sprint triathlons and half marathons. She now has her sights set on winning a half-ironman. There is no doubt in my mind that she will. I want to become a professional racquetball player. I will accomplish that. There is no doubt. The possibilities are endless. Sometimes when my sister and I tell people of our plans, they are deemed “unrealistic”. But are they? We don’t believe that you can just dream of winning a triathlon, never train, and do it. But it all starts in the mind. You have to see yourself winning every race. You have to see yourself dominating a baseball tryout or absolutely crushing a sales presentation. That will fuel you during your training and preparation. When it hurts or when you get tired, you will keep pushing. When you want to quit, you won’t. If you get beat, you’ll be back. It’s a relentless mentality. A mentality that gets tougher with the circumstances. A mentality that craves people to not believe – giving you an opportunity to prove your greatness.

Life becomes incredibly exciting when you stop seeing limitations. Even if your situation isn’t particularly awesome, you see great things. I can’t understand people that stop dreaming. I am going be a child the rest of my life. I see the world as an endless place of opportunities. I will never run out of goals, whether it is becoming a professional racquetball player, starting businesses, advising entrepreneurs, being on the senior PGA tour or sailing a yacht around the world for a full year. These are things that are real. There are people that do these things. What makes them so special? They put their socks on the same way that you and I do. The difference is that they just believe in great things and know how to work hard towards accomplishing them.

Don’t escape your reality. That is all too common in this world. People give up. They give up on their health, their professional dreams, and their happiness. They quit chasing things that excite them and replace it with things that are detrimental, like drugs, alcohol, excessive eating, etc. There is nobody that really wants to weigh 600 pounds, yet there are plenty that do. There are tons of people that don’t want to hate their job, but do. I see it on Facebook every week. Everyone joking about “humpday” or saying things like “can’t wait for the weekend” or “I hate Mondays”. Change your perspective and your life will change. Being miserable 5 out of 7 days, every single week, for your entire life, doesn’t seem like much of a life to me.

When is enough, enough? When are people going to get pissed off and decide to do something great? When are they going to get pissed off and truly decide to follow their dreams? What’s stopping people? When are they going to get off their ass and stop accepting mediocre and normal? Do people get fed up not having everything they want? Is drifting aimlessly ok for most people? I just don’t get it. People would rather complain than do something about it. I get so fired up. I want to meet every person who is fed up and help them break through that wall of inertia. Whether it’s losing weight, quitting their job, writing a book, or becoming a division I athlete. Yes you can! I’m fucking sick of people saying you can’t. I’m fed up. I don’t buy into that bull shit. With planning and relentless action, you can do anything. I’ll prove it.

Winners win in their mind long before they win in public. They don’t accept failure as final, because it never is. You always have an opportunity to rebound. You can always get better and you can always do a little more. You can always think bigger and be more relentless. There are no limitations in this world. We create all of them for ourselves. Belief is reality. You become the person you see in your mind. It happens autonomously. Your subconscious mind propels you in the direction you see in your mind. You don’t even realize it is happening. You attract things that you hold in your heart and repel things that you don’t. If you believe in limitation, success will avoid you. If you don’t, it will find you. This can be applied to every single area of your life. Guard your thoughts like hell. Don’t allow these limitations to creep in. Don’t allow negativity to take over. Fight for positivity and accept nothing less than legendary, for your life. 

Something to Prove

Whatever it takes is what you have to do. If pain motivates you, then seek it out. If people doubting you lights your fire, find every doubter that you can. If proving people wrong is your motivation – then go out and prove the world wrong.

Having ‘something to prove’ is a mindset. It’s a dare to anyone who has ever questioned your greatness. To anyone who has ever tried to persuade you to do something safer or easier. Anyone who has tried to get you to lower your ambitions or be more like ‘everybody else’. To hell with that. I will never submit to that. My sister will never submit to that. Having confidence in your own abilities is your safety net. Safety is knowing, without any doubt, that no matter what happens to you – you will succeed. Safety is in knowing that you will rise to any occasion and overcome any adversity. In fact, you welcome adversity. Adversity is what toughens you. It makes you stronger and more confident. Even at your worst moments, or lowest points, you know you are the best.

They always say that intense motivation follows a moment of intense despair. Pain can be an ally of greatness. It can help you realize the things you don’t want in this world. It can be the necessary inertia that powers the change in your life. It can reconnect you with your true purpose. Think of a big loss in a major sporting event. Some people give up. Others are the first one in the gym the next day following a big loss. They are working to avoid that pain again. Which type are you?

Some people are not destined to find good jobs. They are destined to create huge opportunities. Some people have the will-power to push their body to the absolute limit. Some people will always believe in themselves. Some will not accept anything less than everything they want. Some people are built to prove a lot of people wrong. Some people spend every waking hour dreaming and working to create themselves. Some people are destined to break down the walls of possibility. Some people smile and grin through any pain they experience and keep pushing and moving towards their goals.

Some people ‘prove’ they are great.

Rejoice

“When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die the world cries and you rejoice”

-Native American Proverb

Any time somebody passes away it puts me in a very introspective state of mind. I take a look at the current trajectory of my life and do an evaluation. I wonder if the current path I am on is “good enough”. I don’t think that phrase really exists inside of me – in any regard. It’s my unique perspective on the world that has given me this gift. It is an insatiableness. It’s a boredom when I feel like something is too easy, or not challenging enough. It’s a desire to engage in unnecessary battles for battle’s sake. I’ve never been able to change it, so I’m not going to try. I can’t help but see opportunities for improvement everywhere I look. With my workout plans, my writing schedules, my diet, my sales techniques….literally everything. So what would make me rejoice? What is the end goal?

We all are born with one debt that we must repay. Death. We rent our body and our life for a fixed numbers of years. Those years are unknown. The only thing you can really do is live each day to the fullest. That sounds like the worst cliché in the world, and it is. But imagine someone had to give your eulogy today. What would you want them to say? Would you be proud of your life to this point?

Growth is my life. There is nothing else that matters to me. If I’m not growing, you might as well bury me today. I want to leave this world with a gift; a gift that keeps giving and giving. I want that gift to be inspiration and motivation for people to go do incredible things. My biggest inspiration is Muhammed Ali; I can’t help but dream of leaving a legacy as great as him. His legacy will live on for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. He will continue to inspire young men and women to believe in themselves. He will convince people that they too, are the greatest at whatever they want to be, if they believe it. He will continue doing this long after he leaves this world. Muhammed Ali was, and still is, a winner. He has battled Parkinson’s disease for over 30 years. He never plays the victim for his current situation. He has made the best of his situation and continues to inspire me and millions of others. A reporter asked him in a recent interview if Parkinson’s ever makes him feel “depressed?” In classic Ali fashion, he quickly responded with, “Depressed? Why would I be depressed? I am the 3-time heavyweight champion of the world.”

That is true legacy. That is true greatness. That is a man who made the best of an opportunity years ago and is continuing to do so. That is a hero. He is a token of exactly what he told the world he was at the age of 22 – The Greatest of All-time.

For me, rejoice would be the perpetuation of my ideas for thousands of years. To inspire people for thousands of years, long after I am gone, to continue fighting to get better each and every day. I want to be mentioned in the same breath as Aristotle, Muhammed Ali, and Ayn Rand. That is the kind of impact I intend to have. I want people to remember me as the guy who always made everyone feel incredible about themselves – whether in person or through my writing. I want to be the greatest ever at inspiring and motivating people to get better. I want to be second to no one when it comes to helping people move themselves past the immobilizing inertia that stops most people from being incredible. I want every person I meet to become a better person. I am going to continue fighting for the souls of brave men and women ready to make a change. People ready to place a bet on themselves and their own personal greatness. People who are ready to believe that they deserve greatness and all of the prosperity that this world has to offer.

Sometimes it takes a tough emotional experience to really awaken yourself. Every morning I say that I don’t end my day until I am exhausted, but is it really true? There are days where I don’t push myself like I need to. Where I don’t act like a bestselling author or a professional athlete. These are the days that are tough. The days that you have to look yourself in the mirror and make the necessary changes. The days you have to whoop your own ass into doing more. These are the days that it is necessary to set bigger weekly commitments. Or to put something on the line to ensure your progress and your further betterment. Accomplishment is the greatest joy we can experience in life. Accomplishment presumes the freedom to pursue your own convictions. We live in an incredible country. We should be thankful every day that we are free to pursue whatever we desire. Man is a hero. I am a hero. You are a hero. Everyone can be a hero. There are so many people that just need to meet the right person, or hear the right message at the right time. These are the people I am after. The people that are ready to make a little sacrifice to show the world how great they really are.