Success Making Machine

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Recently, my family went to my in-laws for for a few days to celebrate Passover as is our tradition each year. When it came time for cake she brought out sponge cake and home made brownie. This may not be significant to you, but it was to me and my wife. My wife looks forward to a specific brand of sponge cake that is only made for passover. No other sponge cake will do. Brownie is my favorite cake and the passover selections aren’t great. She bought the exact mix my sister (who always makes great cakes) recommended a year ago. It was not only thoughtful, it was delicious.

So what is my mother-in-law’s secret for getting us exactly what we want after a whole year? She set herself up for success. Last year (and every year) she wrote down all these specifics so she wouldn’t forget and put it with her passover recipes. This year as she sat down with her recipe books to plan what ingredients to buy she came across this list (I’m sure it has much more- she buys the kids their favorites too). At that point it was almost easy (especially if she wrote down the stores that sell it). She just added it to her shopping list and now has grateful kids (and grandkids).

Lesson: Make lists and keep it where you’ll use it

Some people go to hotels for passover but not me where could I get this kind of service!?!

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Posted by Heshy under Altomate & Passion | 1 Comment »

It was a Wednesday like any other. I passed by my CFO’s office and we began discussing the Mets’ previous night’s victory.

The HR director walked in and interrupted our conversation. “I thought you were talking about work. Are you a Mets fan?” he asked.

After I confirmed it, he said “We like the Yankees around here. You’re fired”. He proceeded to turn to the CFO and have the same conversation.

Of course this conversation was all in jest. Now the three of us have something we can jibe each other about.

Wouldn’t it be great if other work disagreement could be discussed as candidly without each side getting defensive?

Next time you’re in an argument (or about to get in one) ask yourself “What’s the best way to resolve this?” Often you’ll find avoiding the whole issue or agreeing to disagree can save a lot of ill will and time.

In the meanwhile I’ll be plotting my revenge against the HR director.

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Posted by Heshy under Motivation & Passion & Reduce Stress | No Comments »

I always try to break down every concept to it’s basics. It makes it easier to learn and excel at. I’ve been eagerly following Francis Wade and his 2Time system as it breaks down time management to 7 basic habits: Capturing, Emptying, Tossing, Storing, Acting Now, Scheduling & Listing. I think these are core concepts that you should read about (see below) but are there more? What about delegating/followup?

He wrote an interesting manifesto “The New Time Management: Focus on the Fundamentals and Toss Away the Tips” which goes through the 7 fundamentals. Time management is a key component to success and these fundamentals certainly help with time management- check out the manifesto.

What else makes up the fundamentals of Time Management?

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Posted by Heshy under Time Management | 3 Comments »

As I mentioned, I recently entered a contest at ChangeThis- whose mission is to “spread important ideas and change minds“. My proposal “Stop Bring Productive, Start Being Successful” was selected to be voted on. The person with the most votes for their proposal gets their manifesto (long article) published. I was against 9 others with big ideas. Fortunately, with your help (Thank You) I won! The manifesto is coming soon. Here’s some of my take aways.

Think Like a Winner

Put your concerns aside and do your best. Confidence and determination are key. Think of a plan how to get success and do it.

Put Yourself in Position To Win

“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.”

Wayne Gretzky

If I had been intimidated by the other good ideas I wouldn’t have entered. As the lotto says- “you gotta be in it to win it” (not that I’m advocating playing the lotto). Take whatever cliche you want, the point is if you aren’t trying, you definitely wont win.

Look For Inspiration

By blog buddy Francis Wade of 2Time had entered a previous contest and won.

Ask for Help

You can’t win on your own. I asked Francis for some pointers. I asked my readers to vote. I asked my online buddies to vote. You all came through. Thanks.

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Posted by Heshy under Motivation & Principles & Think | 3 Comments »

No ones likes the last minute rushing and headaches that comes with an urgent project. Seth Godin has an intriguing post Managing Urgencies. He concludes, “a career putting out fires never leads to the goal you had in mind all along”. This is exactly the reason to “Think” before you do. Here are three ways to avoid fire drills.

Focus on quality

1. Think in advance- Think about the right way to do it before you start any project.
2. Double check- Double check all your work before it goes out.

3. Audit- have an audit procedure to make sure you did it right.

Reign in expectations

1. Don’t over promise- Don’t commit the world if it’s not required. Know what you’re capable of. See what you have the time for and do your best.
2. Educate your customer- Let your customer, boss, spouse know how long tasks typically take so they can set their own proper expectations.

Control your time

1. Don’t overschedule- If you have too much going on you risk getting into a time crunch and startign a fire.
2. Don’t let others schedule for you- Don’t let others automatically schedule you. Sometimes it’s something they can do themselves- teach them how.

Make it your goal not to get in fire drills and you’ll be less stressed and more productive.

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Posted by Heshy under Principles | No Comments »

Guy Kawasaki has started a new venture, AllTop.com It consolidates the content of numerous top sites for numerous categories including: LifeHacks, Personal Finance, Sports, and World News. I’m happy to say Success Making Machine is in the career section.

I think it’s a great way to keep up with your favorite topic.

Check it out.

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Posted by Heshy under Success | No Comments »