Don’t Be Like Rocky Balboa
It hurts me to say it, but it’s true.
I’m even from the greater Philadelphia area.Don’t be like Rocky Balboa.He got his shot at the big time, and it’s true that he survived it—but he sustained some serious damage.He has brain trauma, he almost went blind, his friend Paulie lost all of his money, and it took him years to muster up the courage to see his son.It’s all very sexy in the movies.But Rocky is a clumsy fighter and it took him two movies just to get the training he needed to be a more technical fighter.We all know how the story goes, but what if something had gone wrong?
Just one half-inch could have flipped his life even more upside down.
So, the next time you are faced with a problem or an impossible challenge, you should consider working smarter and not harder.Consider the odds and the consequences.Hope is not a strategy.Increasing your odds is a strategy.
2 Minute Action
What’s something is taking up 80% of your time or energy?Whats the thing that is causing 80% of your friction in whatever you’re doing.Work or life.That is your target.Take 2 minutes to identify some possible targets today.
A Little Known Shortcut To Instantly Increasing Efficiency
You're not going to like this one.It's one of those "simple but not easy" idioms.
If you want to increase your efficiency or productivity:
Delete most of your tasks. I get that this is a bit of a clickbait-y headline, but stick with me.It's important to focus on what matters.Email is everyone else's to-do list for you--so don't start your day with that.Phone calls feel urgent, but if it's important enough to pick up, they'll call you again.Meetings can either be delivered as an email or scheduled as a phone call instead. If you absolutely HAVE to go to meeting try standing up. We tend to get straight to the point when we're standing instead of sitting.You get the point.What else do you NOT have to do, today?
2 Minute Action:
Check your to-do list and run through it with this question in mind:What would happen if it didn't get done? How bad are the consequences?Just remember that every item on that list should fight for its life to stay there.Delete a few excess tasks every day and then multiply that by a lifetime?Now we're talking.
The Secret Weapon Of Long Term Productivity
You know the wall?
The one you hit when you can't take another step.The one you hit when you can't talk, write, or work any longer.The one you hit when you just can't go on.The interesting thing about the wall is that once you've gone through it a few times, you realize that you're not made of glass.You get to the other side and you realize that there's more gas in the tank.This is called "the second wind," and it's the little secret that we forget about all the time.It's hard in the moment because it feels like you'll never make it--like you have no idea when this pain will end.But if you stick it out long enough, you get your second wind and you keep going.What's even weirder is that there are third, fourth, and even fifth winds.It's in this moment that we just can't go on that we're tested.It's here that we all quit.No one quits a marathon at mile 2. They all quit at mile 22.But if we had just pushed a little bit more, we'd have gotten all the benefits of finishing. Instead, we choose to quit at the most inopportune time possible, right when it was about to pay off.Next time you can't see the ending, try reminding yourself of the second wind. You may be surprised what happens when it shows up.If you charge the wall and get your second wind enough times, you just might start trusting yourself to take on bigger and longer-term goals.It's up to you to start. It's up to you to finish.It's up to you to build the trust with yourself to get through the wall.The second wind is a secret weapon that is completely under your control. It just costs a little pain to access it.
2 Minute Action
When was the last time you quit something?Was it 10 mins in? 3 days? 7 years?What would you have done if you didn't have a choice--if you just had to keep going--if your life depended on it?Would you have made it? Would you have died? What would be the consequences?Write them down in a list and evaluate the severity.Is the outcome worth these consequences?Choose today. Start today.