“Life’s like a play; it’s not the length but the excellence of the acting that matters.” ~Seneca

Excellence is a scarce commodity. It’s becoming harder to find in our so called efficient, fast paced, plastic laden society. And because it’s rare, it’s highly rewarded when found.

We instinctively have an appreciation for the beauty that comes from genuine and skilled effort, even by today’s standards.

The thing that we fail to see about excellence is that it’s scarce by choice—the cumulative choice of the masses to just get by with half assed effort and mediocre results.

We can’t change how everyone acts on this planet. But we can choose to act differently, to become excellent at what we do.

Excellence comes from excel—to do extremely well, to be exceptionally good at or proficient in an activity or subject.

Excellence is:

Focused: You can’t be excellent in everything all of a sudden. You will need to focus your effort on one thing at a time.

Doable: You can become the best you can be if you decide to do so.

Meaningful: What you do has to mean something to you in order to pursue a higher level of proficiency.

Intuitive: You know in your heart what you want to be really good at.

Action: You can’t become good at anything without action, and lots of it.

Excellence brings ease and beauty to whatever you do. It inspires and transforms. The road to success is paved with excellence.

Excellence is not:

Perfect: It is your best at any given moment, which means it changes as you grow.

A destination: You don’t get to excellence. You become excellent. It is a way of life—a way of being—and not a goal.

A three step process to becoming excellent

The three steps below are quite simple but not easy. Take your time and move through the process slowly.

1- Do the best you can.

Doing the best you can means you don’t do things begrudgingly, rushing through one thing so you can jump to the next thing. It means focusing your energy with ease into the action you’re taking without the need for validation or reward.

You get to define your own best and work with it.

2- Make it a habit. Keep doing the best you can.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. ~Aristotle

Habits are born from doing the same thing over and over. If you do your best every time you do something, you cannot fail. The action becomes part of who you are.

The biggest challenge is to keep going when you feel discouraged and you doubt your abilities. If you keep going, you will get better and better, till you become the best you can be—you master the action.

It is in this step that you transform your talent into a valuable skill that is highly rewarded and appreciated.

3- Do the best you can in everything you do.

Work with the motto: the way you do anything is the way you do everything. Make excellence the rule and not the exception.

You can choose one thing to be excellent at. As time goes by make a conscious choice to be excellent at everything you do.

This doesn’t mean overwhelming yourself and trying to be perfect. On the contrary, you choose a few things to do and do them really well. You own a few excellent items. You work on a few projects and do your best.

This turns excellence into a way of life. You become an excellent parent, spouse, cook, worker, student and so on.

Becoming excellent uplifts your soul to higher elevations of being. The ultimate outcome anyone of us can hope for in this life is to be the best we can be. And excellence is the best way to achieve that.

“Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.”

The year is almost over—can’t believe it passed so fast. Time flies when you’re having a fun and rewarding experience. And with the end comes a new beginning.

Stepping back is a good way to reflect, gain insight from our experiences and then move forward to what’s next—letting go and starting afresh.

We can of course do this any day or moment. We don’t have to wait till year-end to ponder and learn. The collective pause at the end of the year, however, can be a compelling reason for us to stop and take stock.

Let’s do this with the understanding that we can choose a new start any time.

I’m going to share with you what transpired during the year and what it means to you. Let’s start with promises that I kept and didn’t keep.

Looking back

What I promised at the end of last year was the following:

1. Content. I will focus on content that I hope can inspire you in the smallest of ways to accept and appreciate your experience and truth in this moment.

2. Free report or eBook. This is the least I can do to say thank you for your continued support.

3. Meaningful interaction with you through social media.

I managed to the best of my abilities to keep two of my promises.

I wrote articles from the heart, with the intent of helping in any way I can. Initially I wanted to write more than one article a week but realized that I couldn’t do it while maintaining focus, depth and more importantly having fun while doing it. I managed to write four articles each month at a relaxed pace.

I’ve been very fortunate to have private conversations with many of you. The interactions were inspiring and motivated me to keep going. The best reward for sharing an idea or experience is to know that it affected someone else. It enhances our interactions and deepens our connection.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being here. I’m very grateful.

The promise that fell by the wayside was writing an eBook or report. I have failed to deliver though it was always nagging at me.

Why did I break my promise?

I have mentioned at least a couple of times my desire to write an eBook. Unfortunately that didn’t materialize and I have no one to blame but myself.

My reasons are by no means an excuse for not delivering on my promise. While none of them is intentional, this is the case most of the time when it comes to promises—to ourselves and others—that we don’t keep.

Confusion in priorities: as much as I wanted to write a book, it obviously wasn’t the most important thing to me. I did not make the time, i.e. give up something else, to make it happen.

Unclear direction: I did not have specific topics or ideas that I wanted to explore in depth as a basis for a book. This resulted in feeling overwhelmed and unmotivated to get started.

Not only did I need a topic, but also I needed measurable steps to deliver (e.g. writing frequency, an outline, number of chapters and words). The measurable steps would not be set in stone, but they would be very effective in maintaining momentum and making progress..

No sense of urgency or a specific deadline: the only thing that would’ve gotten me to face the setbacks at the start is a dose of good old willpower to meet a deadline. Sometimes it’s the only thing to get us started and keeps us going.

As you can see the above three reasons can create a vicious cycle that continues to feed itself unless it’s consciously broken.

How did the theme “less is more” work out?

At the beginning of this year I wrote about themes and how they can guide you during the year. My theme was less is more.

Overall I stuck to my theme. The main areas where I felt visible results were:

• Wrote less articles but with more focus and depth. The readership grew slowly but surely.
• Used social media (Facebook and Twitter) less and had more meaningful interactions.
• Reduced my email volume by 90% from the prior year.
• Spent less time online and more time doing what matters—meditated, exercised, journaled daily, started learning new skills and read more books.
• Cut down on material possessions and new purchases. This is still a work in progress. I have more stuff to give away or sell.

The main area where I fell short personally is music. This is something I need to show up for in the upcoming year.

Hope this year was kind to you and your loved ones. Please take the time to reflect on your journey this year and how you have grown from it.

Looking forward

They say the past cannot be used to predict the future. But we sure can use what we experienced as a guideline for what we’d like to do next.

My new theme for the year reflects a desire to work on what I started or promised in the past.

New theme: Relentless focus

I want to focus on a few projects that mean something to me and eliminate all the noise. Most of the projects I’m referring to are things I’ve started but didn’t complete.

My unrelenting promise to you

I will produce an eBook or report no later than May 17 come hell or high water.

I will continue to write weekly articles and interact with you at the same pace. I feel you have a lot on your plate and if you’re kind enough to give me your attention each week for a few moments I want to make sure that what you read is worth your time and you have ample time to use some of the ideas in your life.

If you have a certain subject that you want me to write about, or include in the book, I’d love to hear from you.

Personally

On a personal level I would like to complete an accelerated learning program. And leaving the most challenging for last: music. This desire is very dear to my heart but is the most intimidating. I am not going to talk about it unless I show meaningful progress that I can share with you.

That is it. These are my main three targets for the upcoming year along with maintaining my daily routine activities and work.

Please take some time and think about what the upcoming year is going to be for you. Pick a word or theme. It doesn’t matter as long as you have a general sense of direction for your year.

Look at your life and determine the areas where you’d like to grow. And keep one thing in mind: it is your journey. You set your compass and sail in the direction that suits you and no one else.

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. It has been a pleasure and a privilege sharing this space with you. I wish you a peaceful and prosperous new year.

With much love and appreciation.

I never worked harder than I had to, and that was a problem. He wanted me to think about the magnitude of the commitment I was going to have to make if I really wanted to pursue music as a career. He was serious about working with me and teaching me the ropes, but I was going to have to show up for my own party.

This is what Canadian Artist Jann Arden did to get to where she is today. She committed five years of showing up every single day, writing songs, recording and honing her skills before she released her first album in 1993.

If you want to move, in a meaningful way, towards your desires and aspirations, you’ve got to show up for your own party—the party of your heart and soul.

They say the majority of success comes from just showing up. Today let’s explore this concept in more detail.

What does it mean to show up?

It means that you physically show up, fully committed to the task or project, no matter what. No excuses, buts or ifs.

The essential elements of showing up

1. Full alignment

Before you show up you need to align yourself—mind, heart and body—with your desire to pursue a certain goal or passion.

You can’t be committed and show up if you’re conflicted about your desire. You need to be fully and completely focused on this single desire.

This is the time where you ask yourself:

• Why do I want this?
• Would it matter to me in 5 years?
• How would I feel if I didn’t commit to this goal?
• How would I feel when I get there?
• What does it mean for me to live my dream?
• What am I scared of when it comes to this passion?
• What do I feel is lacking for me to make this happen?

Look deeply into your reservations and limiting beliefs. Find counter points to neutralize them. Don’t dwell, trust your answers and move on.

And remember fear is part of life. We don’t need to conquer it. We just need to keep going in spite of fear and doubt.

2. Plan, set up and invite the universe

Just like any party you host, you need a plan for your soul party.

In this step you create a detailed vision of what you want to accomplish. What is the ultimate goal? What steps do you need to start moving?  What would it take for you to start with the first step?

Then get the tools you need, and set a space for you to do your work. This would be your sacred space where you do your thing.

Don’t get bogged down with finding the best tools and the best setup. Get the essentials that you need and move on.

For example if you want to write, get a pen and some paper or a word processor on your computer. Later you can add a dictionary or any other resource you need. Focus on the basics.

Keep your space aligned with your desire and your personal style. If you don’t like clutter or noise for example, make sure you have a neat and quiet area to work in.

Decide on the time where you need to be at your party. This time is not negotiable and has to be specific. Imagine sending an invitation to a party stating the time as when I’m ready. No one, including you, is going to know when that is.

When I feel like it, when I’m ready, someday, are not dates and times. They are excuses for not showing up.

When you have your space ready and your time set, invite all of the creative and supportive energies of life to accompany you in your journey.

3. Physically be there

This is the beginning of the real journey where the rubber hits the road. You need to go to your place of work and be there every single day—or at least the majority of days. The thing about showing up is that it’s hard. It takes determination and conviction.

In the book War of Art  Steven Pressfield states:

It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write.

Sit down and allow the universe to inspire you. And keep doing it day in and day out. If you don’t do this, you will be missing out on your party.

4. Take action

Take single focused action in the direction of your desire.

If you’re a writer, write. If you want to learn the piano, play it. If you want to be fit, start moving.  One single word, key stroke or step at a time.

Be open to what comes to you in the process. Act on inspiration or what feels right at the moment.

If you don’t know what to do, don’t despair. As long as you continue to show up and keep the creative doors open, inspiration will come.

Don’t quit your party. If you don’t know what to write, stare at the blank page till something comes to you. If you’re stuck in your piano lesson, break it down to one simple note and play that. You will get unstuck sooner or later.

5. Trust

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Not knowing how things will turn out is one of the hardest challenges. You will have doubts about your abilities. Resistance and fear will creep in the moment you start wavering. The voice of naysayers will be amplified a thousand times in your mind.

Have faith and trust that you’re on the right path for you and that you’re doing the best you can.

Things will change as you keep going. It’s part of the journey. You won’t anticipate every change and won’t be prepared for every challenge. But you will deal and move on.

There are so many times where I don’t know what I want to write about or I start a draft, then the next day I feel compelled to write about something else. And I have no idea how I’m going to weave a few words and ideas together.

Usually the actual writing turns out to be easier than the exaggerated obstacles in my head. Once I start, words start to flow. When I get stuck, I leave space for the thought or idea. When I come back to it later, the words tend to bring themselves to me.

The beauty of trust is this: the more you trust, the better you feel, the more fun you have, the more you keep going. And when you reach that stage, nothing can stand in your way. Your success is inevitable.

Keep going. Repeat steps 3 to 5 and revise 1 and 2 based on the progress you made.

What party am I showing up for? And what’s next?

Personally I’ve been showing up to write these blog articles. I set a specific target for publishing four posts per month, no matter what.

The tools I’m using are a text editor, word processor and Windows Live Writer. I have a quiet space in the office where I like to write or in the living room by the fireplace when it’s really cold. On writing days, the writing becomes my main mission. Other than normal routine tasks, I don’t commit to anything on that day.

I have not been as committed to music as I’d like to be. So the next party is going to be about music. I want to learn more and start refining the music I’ve created. I will show up, in spite of the overwhelm and all the aspects of music composition and production that I know nothing about—yet.

Before I end this article, here are a couple of books I highly recommend for anyone who wants to pursue a creative endeavor.

Recommended reading

If you want to motivate yourself and face your challenges, read the following books.

• War of Art
• Do the Work

Steve Pressfield dissects resistance and gives you enough ammunition to move past it so you can show up to do your work.

Showing up is the antidote to resistance and inertia. It’s hard in the beginning, but with time it gets easier. It becomes a habit—a routine—like brushing your teeth. This is when action starts to flow with ease, with minimal struggle and less need for willpower.

When you show up, all of life shows up to support you.

Photo courtesy of Eduardo Merille

We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge. ~John Naisbitt

How many pieces of information do you go through in a day? More importantly, how much of it do you use in your life?

I ask myself these two questions every day.

There is an overload of information out there. I read at least 5 blogs posts a day and later in the evening I read part of a book for about an hour.

Most of the stuff I read is very useful to me. The thing is: what do I do with all this information?

Gathering or reading a lot about a subject doesn’t make us knowledgeable, unless we use this information.

I can’t tell you how many articles are bookmarked with a note that says interesting, check it out and do later. The same applies to books. I start a text file for all the stuff I think I want to use from a book.

A few notes about books and articles are not a problem. But when the pile of notes keeps getting bigger and bigger, the interesting information becomes a drag. Nothing gets used and the stuff just sits there.

The one idea

After feeling overwhelmed with all the information I have to process, I decided to just pick one idea and forget about the rest.  I created an archive folder and moved all the old notes to it so I don’t have to worry about them. I figured if I haven’t dealt with them, they were not that important to me. I deleted the archive folder later.

How does the one idea work?

Once you read an article, and it may have 10 things you can do, pick one and run with it. You may say but I want to keep going and apply the rest. How many can you apply at one single attempt?

Pick one. Write it down. Reflect on it for a few minutes. Does it excite you? Do you feel it’s something that you want to use in your life?

Go for it and forget about the rest. As you use it, you’ll know when it’s time to pick a new idea. You may also find out that this idea is not working for you. And that’s okay. Now you know, because you used it.

After mastering an idea or dropping it, move on to the next one. And repeat the same process.

A note about reading

Before moving further, I’d like to share with you something about reading that makes a big difference. Read with a purpose. Engage with the material you’re reading. Why are you reading an article or a book? Is it for entertainment? To learn a new skill? To solve a problem (what’s the problem)?

The more specific you are about your purpose, the more your subconscious mind will guide you as you read.

When you read with a purpose, you become an active reader. You will be open to the ideas the writer is sharing with you. You will become more skillful at picking ideas that suit you.

What happens to all the other useful information?

As you read more articles and more books, you will have more ideas than just the one you want to start with. What do you do with the rest of the ideas?

Keep a log of ideas

Write down the idea you’d like to use in a notebook or a log.

I created a log as a word document you can download here. Use it if you like or create your own. I also attached an example here. (Right click and download the files to your computer).

Please keep in mind, with every tool you use, you need to keep things simple and maintain your system.

Guidelines for keeping ideas

In order to get results and avoid shuffling things around, create your rules for keeping ideas and stick to them. Consider the following:

• Write the idea in the simplest form possible with the least amount of words.
• Limit the number of ideas that go into your log. Mine is set right now at 20. If I need to add more, I’ll get rid of one (usually the oldest).
• With every idea you add, include the date. If the idea stays in your log for a long time, let it go.
• Review your log on a regular basis and clear out old stuff.

What to do with your reading material

Instead of having countless articles and books, you’ll have one document with the information you want to use.

You can safely get rid of all the articles and just add a link to them in your ideas log.

When it comes to books, it’s a bit harder, especially if you don’t own the book or you’re planning on giving it away after you’re done reading. In this case, write the idea, the book title and page number. Even if you give the book away, you can find it at your library or borrow it from someone else. Resist the temptation to hold on to books—I admit I’m still working on this one.

Trust your intuition and inner guidance. Keep the ideas that you want to work with and let the rest go.

Imagine if you just implemented 12 ideas per year (one per month) what a difference this would make in your life. Of course, you can do more or less. It doesn’t matter as long as you do something.

Can you spare 5 minutes a day?

Today this is all I ask you to do—give yourself 5 minutes to do something you’ve been meaning to do for some time.

What would happen if you took 5 minutes starting today and did this one thing?

Here is the simple formula:

5 minutes x 5 days x 50 weeks = 21 hours

• If you spend five minutes every day,
• for 5 days a week (assuming you’re taking two days off),
• for 50 weeks a year (assuming you’re taking two weeks off) ,
• you will dedicate 21 hours to this one thing that is meaningful to you.

You might say there is nothing I can do in five minutes. The things I want to do take much longer than that.

Think of the 5 minutes as your starting point. Here are examples of what you can do in this short period of time:

• Read an article or a few pages in a book
• Go for a brisk walk
• Relax, meditate or practice stillness
• Take a photograph or two
• Play a musical instrument
• Brainstorm a few ideas for a writing project
• Write
• Learn a few words in a foreign language
• Practice a dance move
• Learn how to use a new software
• Work on your finances
• Plan for your retirement
• Plan for your next vacation
• Paint or draw
• Clear some clutter in your home or office

Why it works

The five minutes formula works best in making sustainable change. Here is why.

It’s simple. Because you focus on one small action, you are more likely to do it.

It’s doable. Five minutes a day doesn’t require a lot of planning and prioritizing; you can easily spare 5 minutes of your day.

It’s something. When you start with 5 minutes, you avoid the trap of all or nothing. You embrace the mantra of something is better than nothing. You support your desires instead of laying more roadblocks in your way and sabotaging your progress.

It’s resistance proof. You will be able to do your five minutes before your subconscious mind has a chance to resist and come up with excuses why you shouldn’t do it.

It’s momentum friendly. If you do something consistently over time, you will build momentum—making your action more effortless and powerful.

How to start

This simple formula requires a few steps and then you’re on your way.

Determine the one thing. Make a decision as to what you want to do and set your intention.

Imagine the outcome. How would it feel to do this one thing? What would you ultimately get out of doing it? Do you feel excited? Is it going to give you results that are meaningful to you? Let your heart speak to you and the rest will take care of itself.

Start today. Don’t turn it into a commitment or a promise; just get up and do it.

The magic of compounding

Another objection might be 5 minutes is not enough to master a new skill. It takes a considerable amount of time to make progress.

While 5 minutes may not be enough, it’s better than spending no time at all. Think of the formula above compounding over time.

Five minutes of consistent action compound your progress, just like interest compounds on your investments over time.

If you continue to spend five minutes a day, you will get better at whatever you’re doing—it’s inevitable. You will also feel better. And when you feel better, you will become more motivated to keep going, to grow and accomplish what you desire.

Over time, the five minutes can turn into 10 and then 20 and then 30. Who knows where it will take you.

Think of it this way:

5 minutes over time—> improvement—> feeling good—> motivation—>more improvement—>growth—>meaningful achievement

The most meaningful achievements come from small steps taken consistently.

Try it today; give yourself 5 minutes to do one thing and do it again tomorrow and the day after and see what happens.

For more information about action and sustaining change check out these articles.

The Top 3 Reasons We Succeed or Not in Sustaining Change

The Next Thing: A Simple Approach to Action and Getting Things Done

We live in a digital age where information is abundant and readily accessible. Such availability comes with a price though. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. And it’s much easier to skim through heaps of information without learning anything or enjoying the experience.

To avoid the traps of overwhelm and aimless browsing, we need to be clear about what we want to read and how we can do it with ease.

Today I want to share with you some of the tools I use to make online reading more efficient, effective and enjoyable.

You might be familiar with some (if not all) of these tools. If you’ve been using such apps, I would love to know how they’ve impacted your reading. If you’re not familiar with them, give them a try. I hope you’ll find them useful.

3 reading tools

The above is a screen capture of my browser showing the bookmarklets (links to apps) I currently use.

Readable

This simple app removes the clutter/ads from an article and allows for distraction free reading. You can customize the font, color and layout and then drag the bookmarklet to your browser.

Once you open an article, click on Readable button and it will format the page for you. It’s the best app to read blog posts.

You can also use it with Google RSS reader to transform an article to the format you’re used to. It works perfectly.

Using this app will help you focus on your reading. The added space and customization will reduce eye strain and possibly increase your speed.

Instapaper – Read Later

This is one of the most useful tools for reading. Instead of jumping from one article to another—especially when you’re checking links on twitter or facebook, you can click on the Read Later bookmarklet and save the article for reading at a later time.

Reading is more pleasurable with Instapaper. You access your account to read—and do nothing else.

Instapaper is easy to use and has useful features. You can read the article in simple text format without having to visit the original publisher. You can also archive your articles or create a publication to read on the go.

Print Friendly

Print Friendly cleans up articles and formats them for printing. It gives you the option of printing on paper or creating a PDF file. I love the PDF feature.

I use it to create PDF files of articles for research or study. Once you save the PDF file you can move it to your smart phone or tablet or keep it on your computer. You can read and annotate without having to be online.

If you use the above tools for reading, consider the following two apps for organizing your notes and links.

2 organizing tools

Evernote

It’s a very popular note-taking tool. As you read and find something you want to use or refer to again, highlight the section and click on the Clip to Evernote bookmarklet. The application will save your notes in your Evernote account.

Evernote is a great tool to capture text and images. I personally use it for blog post ideas. Whenever I have an idea, I write it down in Evernote. You can use it for learning, recipes and ideas—your imagination is the limit.

You can use the app on your computer, online and on your mobile device. Your info synchronizes seamlessly.

Delicious

I use delicious for bookmarking pages that I want to visit again. It’s very simple to use. There were rumors of it shutting down. This has not materialized yet. In case the service gets discontinued, you can always export your bookmarks to another service.

If you’re not too keen on using Delicious, you can use Google bookmarks, Yahoo, or your own browser. The most important thing is to set a purpose for bookmarking.

Bookmarking is useful for sites you want to visit frequently or for in-depth research on a certain topic. For example, I use Delicious to bookmark investment research sites, local attractions and government resources.

Whenever you visit a web page that you want to bookmark, click on the Delicious button in your browser to add it to your bookmarks (Google and Yahoo offer their own bookmarklets). Use tags to sort your bookmarks. You can also add notes to each link.

Having your information organized and accessible online and in one place makes it easy to get on with your reading and research.

A final word about using any tool or program: the tool itself doesn’t do anything on its own. What matters is how you use it. Consider the following guidelines to maximize your use of tools.

General guidelines

1. Set a time for reading.

Don’t read whenever you see something worth reading. Set a time for reading, and make it sacred. Read without distractions or multitasking. You will benefit more from your reading, plus you’ll enjoy it more.

2. Perform regular maintenance.

Clean out old stuff from your Instapaper and bookmarks. If you use email or an RSS reader, clear them too.

If you save PDF to your computer or phone, delete old stuff on a regular basis.

I usually clear my Google Reader and Instapaper accounts once a week and go through delicious bookmarks every three to four months. I remove the PDF files once the project is completed. If it’s something I want to keep, it gets filed in a documents folder after I’m done with it.

Clearing old stuff creates space for new reading and reduces stress over items that haven’t been processed and that are not that important to you.

3. Keep it simple.

Keep all of your reading in one place and all of your bookmarks in another. Have a purpose for every tool you use and don’t use it for anything else.

If you use Evernote for taking notes, don’t copy stuff to text files or bookmark the same sites in another app. You’ll complicate things–needlessly.

A word of caution about Evernote: if you don’t pay attention, you can end up with a boatload of information that you may never use. Organize your notes and know why you’re keeping stuff.

The fewer tools you have the better. If you don’t need a bookmarking site, don’t use one. If you read articles on the same day and don’t need to use Read Later, don’t use Instapaper.

Reading is one of the simplest and most pleasurable experiences in life. To enjoy your reading, make it personal. Try the tools above; use what works for you and let the rest go.

Happy reading!

Photo courtesy of Ingo Bernhardt

A reader asked why I succeeded at early rising this time vs. other times. Was it just the focus on the next thing or was there more to it? This led me to think of a couple of questions.

• Do we succeed in changing because of one single reason?
• Why do we sometimes fail in sustaining change in spite of our best efforts?

By reflecting on my experiences I came to the conclusion that change starts with a trigger or a reason. Sustaining change, i.e. succeeding takes more than that. And I’m not talking about willpower or discipline. I believe the three factors below make a huge difference in implementing effective change in our lives.

First off let me clarify something: failure is good. It tells us that what we’re doing is not working—loud and clear.

In order to increase your chances of maintaining new habits in your life, consider the following.

1. Limiting beliefs and assumptions

I spoke about this in broader terms previously when I talked about your perspective and how it can change things in an instant.

Today let’s dig into our hidden beliefs and assumptions. These are the repetitive thoughts that go unquestioned.

Your beliefs and assumptions can be a great help or hindrance—depending on what they are.

Early rising example

After reading about early rising, the following beliefs and assumptions came to the surface.

Belief # 1: I’m a night person. I totally believed that I was a night owl. I’m not a morning person went unquestioned for years.

When I read that there is no such thing, I paused and questioned my belief. Is it true?

I thought about my family—every single person I can think of is actually an early riser. Genetics and nature then don’t count.

Belief # 2: Late night is the only time you can be alone. I confused the desire for quiet reflective time with the time of the day or night.

This started when I was a teenager and wanted time alone away from my parents. The late nights were the only choice, but not as an adult. Early hours of the morning can offer as much, if not more peace and quiet.

Belief # 3: I can’t do it. I don’t have enough energy. This was something I’ve been living with for at least 17 years. I went through a few years of challenges that my body gave up on me. I couldn’t wake up in the morning.

The thing is: my circumstances changed more than 14 years ago and my life got much better—but not my belief about waking up in the morning. I believed that I was drained of energy and can’t do it.

What changed? I questioned the assumption: Why don’t I feel good when I get up? The answer came very clearly. I have nothing to dread and my days are pretty much what I like them to be.

This awareness is all I needed to start my day in the morning. If I feel drained in the morning I just ask myself: what am I dreading today?

Belief # 4: I’m not an early riser because I’m a grump in the morning. Another confused assumption went unnoticed for quite some time. I’m not a happy riser regardless of when I wake up. I need my time to get into the groove of things unlike other people who get up smiling (you know who you are ).

The beliefs and assumptions that go unchecked can be the simplest and smallest of thoughts but they can make a big difference.

Once I addressed those four beliefs, I gained a better understanding of why things didn’t work out in the past. I neutralized beliefs that worked against me, which made the change easier.

2. Changing for the wrong reasons

It’s very important to know—really know—why you want to change something.

Why I wanted to wake up early

The last time I tried to wake up early was because I wanted to be ready when the stock market opened. Since I live on the west coast, it meant that I had to wake up before 6:30AM.

The time I started my habit was October 2007 just a short while before the financial crap hit the fan. Within a few months I had no desire to get up at all.

The previous attempt was to make it to work before rush hour traffic. Once I quit my job I had no reason to get up early.

This time I woke up because I really wanted to. I wanted to regulate my sleeping and I wanted to get a head start on the day. And the biggest reason was wanting to get things done early so I can have more free time later in the day. For me, freedom is the magic word that does miracles.

Focus on your inner true reasons.

If you rely on outer reasons, you will succeed for as long as your reason is valid. Once the outer situation changes, you’ll struggle until you find a stronger motivation.

You’re more likely to succeed in change if it comes from inner authentic desires, regardless of your circumstances or environment.

3. Lack of mental preparation or the wrong mindset

In order to change you need to prepare your mind for it. Breaking or changing a pattern is hard. Without preparation, you won’t be able to withstand the resistance and excuses that your genius mind will come up with.

You don’t need to spend months thinking about what you want to change. It’s about giving yourself some time to imagine yourself doing what you want to do and how you’ll feel about it.

If you’re changing an existing habit, visualize yourself doing things differently. This is how I prepared myself for early rising.

For a couple of weeks from the time I set my intention, I imagined getting up and just doing the next thing. When I woke up in the morning, regardless of what time it was, I imagined what it would feel like to just focus on the next thing. Then I moved out of bed.

When I set the alarm at 5:55AM, I repeated the same steps but this time it was for real.

If you’re eliminating a habit (like quitting smoking) or starting a new one (like exercise) think of how you’d do things differently.

What are your alternatives for the negative behavior? How are you going to find time to add the new habit to your daily routine?

Think about the above questions and start imaging and capturing the feeling of change.

Your subconscious mind has a lot of programming and needs time to embrace change. The cool thing about your subconscious mind is that it can’t differentiate between what’s real and what’s imagined—which makes imagination a very useful tool in implementing change.

It’s a good time to think about what you want to change in your life and how the above can apply. Then go for it and learn from your challenges—this is how we grow.

To your success!

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Ever wake up not wanting to get out of bed? Before your day starts, you think of the million things on your to do list and the errands you have to run.

Sometimes you feel the weight of the entire world is on your shoulders. It feels much safer to stay in bed—wrapped in the warmth of the covers and the comfort of not having to do anything.

If we can live like we sleep, it would be total bliss.

But, alas, you can’t stay in bed long because you know you have to get up and do something.

What if I told you, getting up can be as simple and peaceful as going to sleep?

What if you didn’t have to think of the countless items on your list—or in your head?

What if you only had to worry about just one thing from where you are right now, warm and cozy in your bed?

The next thing: my early rising experience

If you think about it for a minute, the only thing you really need to do after you wake up, is to get out of bed.

And that’s exactly what I did.

For the past couple of months, I’ve been getting up at 6 AM. Prior to that, I was getting up whenever, usually between 9 and 11:30 AM (gasp!). I went to sleep around 3 AM. My sleep pattern was non-existent and that affected the quality of my waking hours. I was groggy most of the time and had to keep pumping my system with caffeine to get anything done.

I had a couple of failed attempts at early rising in the past. But I knew I wasn’t done trying. After reading on the subject and reflecting on my experiences, I had to convince my mind and body to cooperate. I can’t sleep at 3 and get up at 6 and be okay with that. And I can’t force myself to sleep earlier. It never worked.

I set the alarm for 5:55 AM. And when it went off, I turned it off and reminded myself, all I had to do was move out of bed. That’s it. I don’t have to do anything else—this is my only mission at this moment, and doing it means I’m a success.

And let me tell you, no matter how tired and sleepy I was, I got up. I’ve been doing this for more than 55 days now and I haven’t slept in since. Now it’s a habit thanks to just focusing on the next thing.

As you probably know, it’s not easy to start and build a new habit. You will face setbacks. Using this approach can be a great help because of its simplicity.

Doing the next thing works seamlessly with your daily routines. There were a few habits and practices I dropped in the past that I added again because of this approach. They include meditating, using the Neti pot and focused writing.

Doing the next thing is about breaking down action in to the smallest steps possible and just focusing on the very next thing—not jumping ahead to what you need to do in an hour or a day, a week or a month—just the next really tiny action step.

Why it works

From my experience so far, the main two reasons I believe this approach works are:

1. You go with the natural rhythm of life. Everything in nature happens in a sequence of the smallest of steps. This is how we learn, how we grow and how we heal.

2. Thinking of only the next thing breaks down your resistance. From now to the next simple thing, there is no room for your subconscious mind to talk you out of doing something or overwhelming you with details. It can handle the next small step.

Advantages of the next thing approach

When you are doing something now and the only thing lingering at the back of your mind is the next thing, you will transform your action and experiences. Think of the following:

1. You start, you do, you move forward. If you’re idle, you start doing the next thing. And if you’re doing something, you keep doing it knowing that you only have one other thing to do. Motion generates momentum, which in turn accelerates your progress.

This method is very effective when your motivation starts to wane and you don’t have enough self-discipline to keep going.

2. You enhance your focus and clarity. You can’t get distracted when you perform a short simple task and your mind is not bogged down with countless ideas and things to do—you focus on now knowing what’s next.

3. You become aware of what  you do and what works. Focus and clarity make you more aware of what’s in front of you and what’s soon to come. You can sense any struggle and revise your approach.

4. You get things done. A small action step now and the next one make it virtually impossible to not finish what you started.

5. You feel more relaxed and at ease. As mentioned above, your mind won’t resist a simple two-step approach (now and next). You don’t fret and overanalyze—you just do. And when your mind feels at ease, your body follows.

6. You become more flexible. You can change the next thing in an instant if you decide to move in a different direction or deal with an unexpected interruption.

General guidelines

As you see there are so many benefits to this approach. If you want to give it a shot, consider the following guidelines.

1. Break your action down to the smallest/simplest steps.

For tasks that need extended focus, you need a bit of dissection. If you still feel one step takes a long time to do, use a timer and set a time interval.

Let’s say you’re learning how to play the piano. Developing a new skill takes a lot of time and effort. Learning one page of sheet music can be one action step. But this may take you hours.

You can break it down by measure (learn one bar of a few notes) at a time. This would be simple enough. Or you can use a timer and just practice for 10 minutes. So if let’s say you’re having dinner and your next thing is piano practice, you’ll practice the piano for 10 minutes. And you’re done.

2. Deal with interruptions as part of your next thing method.

What happens if you’re interrupted with an emergency or an urgent request from your boss?

The emergency becomes your next thing. Visualize for a second what you need to do. If it’s something you can simplify, break it down to steps, and do the first step then the next.

Once you’re done, move to the next thing. And you’re back on track.

You may not do what you initially intended on doing, but you accomplished something. Now you can move on.

3. Keep your commitment to yourself.

Unless you’re dealing with an interruption, do what you said you‘d do. If you’re using a timer, stick to the time limit and don’t go over. You need to move to the next thing. If there is no next thing then you’re free to do whatever you want.

When using a timer, start with a short interval and move your way up as you become more comfortable performing a task. I recommend 5 to 45 minutes max. Don’t get overly ambitious, you’ll get tired and your mind will start to wander.

4. Do things slowly and deliberately.

You don’t need to rush when you’re doing anything. The next thing is simple enough and will get done in no time—you can focus on what you’re doing now.

5. Mix things up.

Try to vary the next thing from day to day for repetitive routine tasks. Shuffle things around and consider doing things differently.

For example, if you brush your teeth and then floss, do the reverse. Floss then brush. If you use the right hand, use the left hand to brush your teeth.

Don’t vary your routine when starting a new habit. Instead, attach the new practice to a well-established routine step and stick to it until the new habit is ingrained as part of your routine.

6. Revise your approach whenever something doesn’t work.

Do what works for you and drop what doesn’t. Think of alternatives and don’t be afraid to try new things. Think of other ways to do the same thing. Sometimes it’s the how not the what that makes a difference.

7. Plan and visualize your steps.

Give yourself enough time to plan projects and break them down. Don’t ignore this step and drown in chaos. Imagine how you’ll do something, or describe it in writing. If your action is simple enough, you’ll have no problem visualizing it.

This approach may sound too simplistic to work, but trust me it does. Try it for yourself and see what happens. If you don’t get tangible results, at least you will have more peace—I guarantee it.

Please share on twitter or facebook. Thanks dear friends!

Photo courtesy of Ralph Hogboom

Imagine you have a few minutes to break your routine and can’t go outside, you don’t feel like socializing with others, you’ve done some movement, got water, took a few deep breaths, but you still feel bored or unfocused. What would you do?

My suggestion is to give yourself a few minutes to enjoy something online. A small dose of digital inspiration can go a long way.

You might ask, aren’t we supposed to take a break away from the digital world?

Taking time off away from computers is a good idea, especially on your days off—you can engage in physical and social activities without the pressure and demands of work.

A digital dose is something you do during your workdays. Being online is not bad in and out of itself. It’s what we do with our time that matters.

Why is it important to break your routine?

It is a good practice to stop and change direction. You can experience some, or all of the benefits below. A break can:

Energize you. A break from your routine gives you a sense of renewal and motivates you.

Help you refocus. You get back to your work, after a few minutes of fun, with better focus and less distractions.

Lighten your mood. When you read or watch something that uplifts your spirit, you will do better at anything.

Give you ideas. The best ideas usually come when you least expect them. A break allows your subconscious mind to get creative and come up with a new concept or a solution for a challenge you’re dealing with.

Mix things up a little. It’s wise to try to break the monotony of the day. A break can add a bit of excitement and fun—which are always welcome.

When do you need a break?

Whenever you start feeling foggy and can’t seem to focus. Usually we start checking email, Facebook or surf the web to escape. You don’t need to escape. You need to stop and take a moment to yourself.

How many breaks?

As many as you need during the day. Only you can tell. If you have a couple of physical breaks, you can add a couple of online breaks.

Practical guidance

When it comes to breaks, people tend to either not take any or take too many. So you need to be mindful of both extremes.

Do something that works for you and you feel comfortable doing again, without guilt. If you tend to ignore breaks, book an appointment with yourself, otherwise, you won’t do it.

When giving yourself a digital treat, consider the guidelines below.

1. Set a time block. You don’t want to end up spending hours. Sometimes all you need is 5 minutes.  The internet is tricky—it can be a huge time suck, which can leave you, more drained than when you started.

2. Mindfully set your intention. Where would you like to go and why? If you just need a mindless few minutes, state that as your intention.

Stick to your intention and don’t veer away from it. If you realize you want to do something you haven’t thought of before, write it down so you can do it later. This is not the time for it.

3. Stick to your time by using a timer. If you don’t have a timer, use a countdown timer online. Stop once your time is up, no matter what. Don’t give yourself a minute or two. You’ll end up spending an hour or more. Let it go or note what you would like to do on your next break.

4. Do what you enjoy. If you start doing something and find you’re not enjoying it, stop and move on to something else. Check the places below for more ideas.

5. Don’t engage. Don’t use a break to respond to emails or try to catch up on Facebook or twitter. Engaging in a conversation makes it harder to pull away. This is your time—alone. Your digital dose is a one-way experience. It ends when you stop.

6. Give yourself enough time, but not more. I suggest keeping your digital dose between 5 to 20 minutes. You won’t feel so rushed or completely absorbed in something that you wouldn’t want to get back to work.

7. Refine your process. Keep what works for you and come up with new ideas to replace what doesn’t. Bookmark the sites you enjoy, or the articles you want to read on your next break. Make it as easy and fun as you can.

A few places to check out

1. Blogs. Read an article or two from one of your favorite blogs. Check Alltop if you are looking for new reading material.

2. Videos. A good chuckle watching a YouTube video maybe all you need. Be mindful of your time. You can get lost on YouTube. If you find something, you want to watch later, bookmark it. Ted Talks is a great source of inspirational or thought provoking videos. They tend to be longer than a few minutes. You can break one video into a few sessions.

3. Funny and humorous web sites. A good laugh or two can do magic for you. Search the web for comics and other funny stuff to enjoy. One of my favorite sites is the ONION.

4. Window shopping at your favorite store. You can look at new releases on Amazon, or check eBay for the latest gadgets. Browse through any online store you like for a few minutes, nothing wrong with that.

5. Images and art. There is so much talent and beauty in our world. Plenty of it is available online for you to enjoy. Flickr and Deviant Art are a couple of my favorites.

You can also check the websites of your favorite museums for a view of upcoming galleries and collections. One of my favorites is The National Gallery online paintings. You can explore by artist or century.  Do a Google search for collections and bookmark the museums you want to explore.

6. Online quotes. A great way to spend a few minutes is to check the timeless wisdom of the ages. Here are a few sites: Think exist, The Quotations Page, Brainy Quote, Wisdom Quotes, Quoteland, Quotes Collection.

7. Online books. Read a few pages for inspiration from the plethora of books available online. Project Gutenberg, Google books, and online libraries offer a great selection.

Indulge in the magic of the internet for a few minutes, and forget about the stresses of your day. Have a few moments of unadulterated joy—you owe it to yourself.

When you stay open, you awaken to the beauty of life—online and offline. You can have meaningful experiences as long as you’re aware of your purpose and actions.

Inspiration is all around you; all you need to do is look and see.

P.S. If you know all of this stuff, I hope you have a mindful digital treat and savor every minute of it, guilt free.

Please share on twitter or facebook. Thanks my friends.

Photo courtesy of Steve Paine

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a new year? Is it a fresh start … a time to make a new list of goals … an invitation to be a better you?

The opportunity of a fresh start inspires us to take on new challenges and goals that can bring us more happiness and fulfillment. However, as a new year starts, it’s easy to be swept away by the collective desire for achievement. We end up committing (or over committing) to resolutions that may or may not reflect our true desires.

I don’t know about you. But over the years, I’ve come to the conclusion that resolutions and goals don’t work for me. They’re too rigid and detailed—with an all or nothing connotation.

An alternative approach: a theme

In 2010, inspired by Stephanie Quilao, I decided to go with a theme. I stopped trying to preempt the year with all sorts of goals and lists.

A theme is a general guideline with a focus on the larger picture. It serves as:

1. A reminder. Your theme can come in handy in reminding you when you’re stuck or indecisive. You choose the action that is in alignment with your theme and desires.

2. A motivator. When you’re not up to it, a theme is simple enough to pick you up and get you going again.

Your theme can be anything that inspires you—you get to define it. It doesn’t have to be specific and it doesn’t have to be SMART. It just needs to reflect your own desires—not what others expect of you.

It can be a word or a phrase, sophisticated or cheesy, profound or silly. It doesn’t matter. It’s yours and only yours.

Why choose a theme?

Because you make up your own rules, you will find your own reasons. My reasons for choosing a theme are summed up below.

1. It’s flexible. A theme is your own creation. You can choose what works for you and modify it as you go along. It works with your current circumstances and adapts to unexpected challenges or interruptions. (See #3 below.)

2. Comes from the heart. The one requirement for a theme is: let it come from your heart and speak to your heart—not intellect. Your true heart’s desires are your best motivation.

3. Embraces your lifestyle. A theme has more to do with your life in general and not a particular area like health, relationships and so on. It guides you throughout the year as you make decisions and take action.

4. It’s simple and focused. You have only one theme representing one direction. No goals to review. No further reminders. Your experiences flow with the undercurrent of your theme, focusing on what matters effortlessly.

How to choose a theme?

There are no rules that apply to all. The thing that matters the most is to make it yours. Below are a couple questions to get you started.

1. What’s the one thing or most important thing that has stopped you in the past from getting what you desire? or

2. What’s the one thing that you want to accomplish and the most important step to get it done?

Find a word or phrase that answers one of the above questions, and speaks to your heart.

If you’re not clear about your answers to the questions, go with your gut feeling. Choose a word or phrase that makes you feel good—that excites you.

And please remember: keep it simple, and meaningful to you. Make it as personal as you can.

A couple of examples

Get on with it. When choosing a theme for 2010, I looked at my desires and asked myself one question: what would it take for me to accomplish what I want?

The answer was simple: get going and start moving forward. So my theme for 2010 was: get on with it.

Less is more. After reflecting on 2010 and looking ahead, I felt 2011 will be a year of simplifying and doing less. So my theme is going to be: less is more. This is how it would work:

Do less work but with focus and achieve more meaningful results. I will attempt to find the most effective way to do something with the least amount of effort and stick to it. My biggest motivation is that I love laziness and doing less.

Have less possessions and enjoy each one more. This is an easy one and requires less action. I won’t buy anything new and will focus on what I have. In the process, I will eliminate a few things and that’s an added bonus.

How to stick to your theme

The interesting thing about a theme is you don’t need to stick to it—it will stick to you as long as it represents something meaningful and authentic to you.

All you need to do is remind yourself until you’re thinking it automatically. Consider all or some of the steps below.

1. Write it. Give your theme life by writing it on a piece of paper. Take it with you wherever you go and read it often.

2. Visualize it. Find or create a picture of your theme. Have it as your computer background image for the first couple of months of the year. The image above is my current desktop background. Or create a mental image of what it would look like and think about it.

3. Make it physical. Create a symbolic reminder like a button, ribbon, or a little stone  to take with you and keep reminding you. Be creative and make it fun if you can.

4. Get musical. Find a relevant song that inspires you. Or create a little song that you can hum to yourself while you’re in the shower, on the road or don’t know what to do with yourself. Here is an example. This is my 2011 masterpiece.

Less is simple … less is wise … less is lazy … more is my prize.

5. Think about it often.  The more you think about your theme, the faster it becomes part of your daily life.

6. Work with it. The most important thing is action. Use your theme frequently. And if it doesn’t feel right, don’t hesitate to tweak it or move in a new direction with a different theme. Keep what works for you.

Would it work?

Yes if you want it to. A theme is another tool that is as useful as you make it out to be. Give yourself time and don’t constrain yourself with unrealistic expectations—they’re the number one motivation killer.

You don’t have to give up goals or resolutions if you enjoy the process and get your desired results. The beauty of a theme is that it can work in any way you want it to.

It’s your year and it’s your theme. Own it. Do what you love and have fun with it.

Wishing you all the success in the new year.

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