Success Making Machine

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I rarely procrastinate. My secret? Self discipline, the usual tricks plus I try to live by “do more of what you like and less of what you dont.” Let’s face it if you enjoy something you wont procrastinate on it. But there was one project that I just wouldn’t start. It was important and each day I’d find a bunch of other productive things to do but not this project. So I tried to figure out why I’m procrastinating. Is it because I don’t have time? That’s true but I never “have time” and accomplish plenty. Is it because I don’t enjoy it? No, because there are some parts of this project that I do enjoy. I couldn’t figure it out.

Then I had an epiphany- the project was just too big. I could start of course but there’s so many places to start from. You cant just do a project. Then I quickly spelled out each tasks. Some of which were fun others weren’t. Now I can just check off the items as I do it. There will be tasks I don’t enjoy as much but those are just individual tasks and I can reward my self with fun tasks after.

This isn’t a novel concept and is the basis behind Getting Things Done’s Next Actions. Break down big projects into small actionable parts. Actionable means something you can do something about. For example, create web site isn’t a next action. You break it down into brainstorm site sections, design theme, design home page etc.

Next time you find yourself procrastinating ask yourself why.

I finally got started on my big project. Now you start on yours. Let me know why you were procrastinating and what you did to beat it.

Take Away: Find the reason you’re procrastinating and work around it.

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Posted by Heshy under Enjoy & Motivation & Time Management | 2 Comments »

Recently I submitted a proposal to ChangeThis, a site whose mission is to “spread important ideas and change minds” (based on a tip from 2Time). My idea is that we should Stop Being Productive and Start Being Successful.

Are you working harder and harder and becoming more “productive” yet you still feel like there’s much more to do with no end in sight? The problem is that productivity (doing something well) is only one of the three pillars of success. I will explain the other two pillars and show you how you can use a few easy steps to significantly increase your ability to succeed.

They have a voting process (everything is a reality show) and they will distribute the “manifesto”* of the winner. Please go to the site and vote for my idea.

What Will I Write

Readers of this site know the three pillars of success: Think, Do, Enjoy. I plan to expand on these concepts and explain how they can be used to enhance success.

What You Will Get

When my idea is selected (I’m thinking positive), you will be able to download the full document for free.

* Manifesto always reminds me of the unibomber. I promise no people will be harmed in the making my manifesto.

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Posted by Heshy under Enjoy & Principles & Think | 4 Comments »

Michael Jordan can beat you at a game of basketball without trying. Donald Trump can find a better real estate deal than you with just a few calls. Jeremy Schoemaker can make money on a web site faster than you with minimal effort (and get other people to promote for him for free). Skellie can get more subscribers for a new site in just 5 days than you can in a year of trying. So how do they do it? Why is it so easy for them? The answer is they built a machine.

In this article I’ll outline how you can build your own machine. The concepts are simple but the results are long reaching. Building the machine may require hard work to create a foundation, but once it’s built you can achieve success without really trying. Follow the four rules below and your machine will give you long term, self-perpetuating success.

Long Term

Is Trump smarter than you? Maybe, maybe not. But his machine is certainly better than yours for making real estate deals. Trump’s machine has many industry contacts to get him the right deals. It has his knowledge in evaluating deals. It has his financial backers allowing him to move on his deals. His machine has many parts to it that allow him to succeed almost automatically.

A machine is different than an experience. It’s built to have long term results. I may have bought a house once and certainly would have some knowledge of buying a house but I’m not setup to do deals consistently. It’s more than just being smart- anyone can take the time to read a book to get the essentials of success. It’s about building a foundation. It’s building the bank relationships. It’s building the industry relationships. It’s building a track record to make people want to invest in you. It’s building a staff that knows what needs to be done. It’s the mind set that this will be done more than once, so I should plan accordingly and not just get it done.

Quality

The Trump example doesn’t mean that you need to be big to build a machine. Being big can actually be detrimental if you don’t have your machine under control. Let’s take Skellie for example. Does she have a big organization behind her? No. Is Skellie a better writer than you? Probably, but not necessarily. She may be a good writer but there are probably a number of blogs that are better written than hers that don’t receive the attention she gets (I don’t have examples because those blogs don’t get attention so I haven’t seen them). So what is it that makes Skellie able to launch a site and instantaneously attract 1000 subscribers? It’s her machine of course. Her machine is her ability to use her creative talents and harness loyal readers. Her machine includes the loyal readers she built up at Skelliewag. It includes her contacts with other bloggers. You get the idea.

Building a machine requires a commitment to quality otherwise your machine will work against you and create problems instead of solutions. Success requires that you solve the problem. That you create a process to ensure quality. That you review your open commitments so items don’t slip. A well built machine does the same thing over and over again.

Skellie didn’t take shortcuts by sacrificing quality in her content. Quality takes constant introspection and improvements. For example, Skellie batches her writing to one day a week (in advance) and has a system to deal with writer’s block. Skellie has found the way to keep creating quality content and her machine helps her achieve success.

Self-Perpetuating

How does Paris Hilton have the resources to continue her escapades? Simple, she’s an heiress to the Hilton fortune. The money in her trust is her machine. The money that built her nest egg just keeps earning more money with little effort. Some people are lucky enough to take advantage of other people’s machines.

A machine simplifies a process and makes success self-perpetuating. It provides a road map to the future and provides the tools to get there faster. This is what makes Success Making Machine special. It’s not merely a few helpful tips, it’s something you can build on.

Enjoy It

Even when I’m old and grey, I won’t be able to play it, but I’ll still love the game.
Michael Jordan

I’ve always told people that to be successful you have to enjoy what you’re doing and right now I really enjoy what I’m doing. I’m having too much fun with my life. Why would I want to do something else? Why would I want to run for governor?
Donald Trump

Enjoy your work and you’ll never work a day in your life. If you asked Trump or Jordan to do what they do for free, they would. With dedication like that it’s no wonder they overcame the obstacles in their way.

You can build your machine to eliminate the tasks you don’t like. Machines can do the heavy lifting. I’m sure Trump isn’t interested in the nitty gritty of making his deal more tax effective, but people in his machine take care of that for him. Always enjoy the journey.

The Right Way to Build a Machine
Building a machine is a conscious decision to create a quality focused, automated system for the long term for something you enjoy. Using these principles helps you realize your efforts today can have huge long term ramifications that can improve your life. Once your machine is built you can just live on the interest- without really trying.

What kind of machine do you want to build?

Photo by: Coda

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Posted by Heshy under Eliminate & Enjoy & Goal & Principles & Success & Success Machine | 8 Comments »

Readers of this blog know that being more successful can be easy and fun- all you have to do is follow The Rule of Thumb for Success: do more of what you like and less of what you don’t like. Today we’ll concentrate on doing less of what you don’t like using techniques you already know.

Identify Your Tasks That You Don’t Like
The first step in any en devour is to figure out what you’re trying to accomplish. During the course of your day there will be numerous tasks that will annoy you, cause you to pull out your hair or that you simply don’t like. Identify them- they are now put on notice. Pick a few items you will work on eliminating. I suggest you start with a few easy ones so you can see quick results (see layering). Once you get the hang of it go for the really annoying ones that may be harder to eliminate.

Eat the Tasks You Don’t like
Now that you know what you want to accomplish it’s time to plan how to do it. I recommend you Ate your task- By ATE I mean eliminATE, delegATE or automATE. Below I’ll explain the concepts and show you how you can use it. To better illustrate the power of these techniques I’ll give you specific examples using everyone’s least favorite task: washing dishes.

Eliminate

• Decide- Decide that you don’t want to do it. It could be it’s not needed or it’s not that important anymore. If you’re doing the task for someone else ask them if they still need it. If you’re too chicken to ask your boss if he still needs that monthly report, just ask him if you can enhance it or make it better in any way. Perhaps you know of a different report that will do the job better.

Lets see how to use this to do fewer dishes: Decide you don’t want to do dishes anymore and switch to plastic (at least for really mess stuff). Decide that you don’t want to bake anymore.

• Combine- Combine the task you dislike with something else you like. People often combine exercise with TV. Before they know it they’ve run another mile. Be sure that the tasks are compatible (e.g. no tv and washing dishes) and that you don’t multi-task. You need to give each task the appropriate attention.

Do fewer dishes: Use dishes time as quality time with your partner. You are going to talk about your days (at least you should) and discuss future plans you may as well get something accomplished at the same time. He can even dry.

• Simplify- Try not to over complicate the process- that may be leading to your dislike. Try to isolate the parts you don’t like doing and find a solution for that.

Do fewer dishes: Eat out/Order in. The goal is to eat- not to cook. If you don’t cook, there are no dishes. If your issue with washing dishes is that your hands get too dry be sure to have gloves handy and that will eliminate your problems.

• Batch it- Do multiple tasks together and save setup time. It will also limit your dislike time to a small portion of the day.

Do fewer dishes: Don’t wash a dish at a time, wash them all together.

Delegate

• Insource- See who within your organization (or family) you can get to do the horrid task. Offer to trade tasks or even bribe them. If you don’t have people capable train them. You may think it takes a while to train but it can pay huge dividents in the future.

Do fewer dishes: Trade tasks with your partner- you take care of the kids if she’ll wash the dishes.

• Outsource- Pay someone to do it. You can find personal assistants for virtually anything. It may be expensive but you may decide to skimp on your budget elsewhere or put in extra hours just to afford the luxury.

Do fewer dishes: Hire help.

Automate

• Automate the process- Look to computers and other technology to take care of the task for you. It may take an investment of time or effort but often can lead to huge dividends.

Do fewer dishes: Get a dishwasher.

• Habits- Set habits for yourself that will make your job easier. You can try to set habits for others to.

Do fewer dishes: Annoyed that your kids don’t bring the dishes? Have a candy dish at the sink. When dishes are deposited then they get to take an item. Replenish it quickly at first and then less in the future until it becomes second nature.

Bonus

Sometimes there are tasks that you just have to do so try to make it more fun. Add music to it. Do it in a fun way (splash the water). Remember it’s not work if you want to do it.

At Seth’s Blog he calls our rule of thumb for success: Have to vs. Get to. Wouldn’t it be great if you get to do what you have to do.

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Posted by Heshy under Altomate & Delegate & Eliminate & Enjoy & Reduce Stress | 7 Comments »

Most times when I read a blog post and it has some good ideas I’ll file it
away. But it usually isn’t used. The problem is there’s just too much information out there and without quick action a new idea has taken its place in your mind. But there’s one post by Skelliewag that truly inspired me to act and it has already helped me achieve results.

The Problem
First, a little background. I’m interested in being more productive (aren’t we all?). I’ve read the productivity books and the productivity blogs. Some are interesting, some are useful but they’re all flawed. One common flaw is that although they can teach you how to do a task faster they don’t consider that maybe you shouldn’t be doing it at all! But the biggest flaw is that they concentrate so much on “doing” (faster, better) that they neglect to realize that you’re not enjoying what you’re doing. What’s the point in doing something if you don’t enjoy it?!? It’s no wonder there are so many posts on motivation and overcoming procrastination.

Based on my readings and experience I’ve boiled success down to a simple formula: Think, Do. Enjoy. The doing is important but when you think before you do and enjoy the process- it increases the potential for success exponentially.

Using this formula, I know I enjoy writing and seeking ways to be more
productive and successful so I launched my site Success Making Machine which shares the details of my system. But a site takes time to grow so I had to think of ways to promote my site.

Think
I can just continue to post quality articles and hope someone notices to make a big splash. But that’s a long process. Then I saw inspiration: Skellie’s post Audacious Blogging. There are many ways to be audacious. The Success Making Machine principles
encourages calculated risks. I wouldn’t try to be a guest poster for a New York Times blog, that’s too big of a risk (waste of time). My idea was to be audacious by trying to become a guest blogger on Skelliewag it’s a warm site in my target and she recommends guest posting (#58),

Do
When you’re doing something do it right. I could have just sent an email inquiry to Skellie asking if she would be interested in a guest post but that would have made it too easy to brush off. So I wrote the entire post in advance. Why spend time writing the full post when an inquiry would have seen if there was interest- audacity! I need to prove that the post would be quality.

Enjoy
At every stage of doing and thinking you should enjoy it. I follow a simple Success Making Machine principle: Do more of what you like and less of what you don’t like. Without enjoyment people give up at the first sign of adversity. So why am I up past midnight with an early morning tomorrow writing? I could have put this off for another day. The answer is I enjoy it.

Results

So does Audacity work? This isn’t Hollywood, everything doesn’t have a perfect ending. Skellie “loved the post”, but she’s not accepting guest posts at this time. But there is a happy ending which shows it is worth it to shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. She did offer to link to the story on my blog. So I modified the original for my blog (this makes the original post the best post you never saw). I now have a link from a popular blog and a great story. I think audacity works.

So act now and be audacious.

Update: Skellie linked to this blog at The 5 Barriers to Success Series — Part 3: The Absence of Definition

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Posted by Heshy under Calculated Risks & Enjoy & Motivation & Think | 4 Comments »

In Rules of thumb Chris Franklin commented on the Rule of thumb for success:

“In general, this is good advice, but some of the most necessary things in life are hard. I like eating french fries. I don’t like exercise. I like dating whoever I want. I don’t like being committed to just one at a time. I like play. I don’t like work. I don’t like brushing my teeth. I like sugar.”

These are great points and answers point to the power of the enjoyment principle.

Let’s take your points one at a time.

“some of the most necessary things in life are hard.”

They don’t have to be. Let’s go through your list and see how some “hard” items can be eliminated.

“I like eating french fries.”

So eat it. The problem you probably have is that it’s not healthy. I’m not a health professional but french fries never killed anyone- in moderation. If you otherwise eat healthy a few fries shouldn’t hurt you (confirm with your Dr.). But when you eat it make sure you’re eating the best ones. Why waste empty calories and lots of fat on subpar food? Treat yourself to the best.

“I don’t like exercise.”

Welcome to the club- most people don’t. Sara recently complained about the same thing. After discussion the solution was simple- don’t exercise- watch TV. Do you like TV? So go to the gym and watch you favorite show as you run or do another exercise you like better. Last night Sara reported that she worked out for over an hour. I warned her not to overdo it as she’s just starting out. “I didn’t feel it- I just wanted to finish watching my show”.

“I like dating whoever I want. I don’t like being committed to just one at a time.”

These can be worked out with thinking and honesty. Figure out what you want and what you don’t want.

“I like play.”

Have fun (when it’s time to have fun). Now think about a way make money off this fun and then you can play and have fun at the same time.

“I don’t like work.”

Then quit. But before you do figure out what you do like. Put yourself in position to get that job (it may take time- but once you make it you wont work another day in your life). Before you make the leap look at your current job- are there ways you can make it more fun? Work on it.

I don’t like brushing my teeth.

Do you like music? comedy CDs? Play something while brushing and you wont realize it.

;I like sugar.

So eat it. But see my suggestions about french fries above.

These are some ideas off the top of my head. If you apply your brainpower to this and add your knowledge of what you like/don’t like you’ll come up with even better ideas.

Good luck.

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Posted by Heshy under Enjoy | No Comments »

Everywhere people talk about success they focus on the doing- do it faster and better. That is commendable and certainly true but that’s only one aspect of the Success Making Machine and fails to get the most of your actions. Some of the conversations even address the thinking- getting goals and planning for them. This is important because without knowing where you’re going how will you get there. But it misses using broader planning- such as the ATE system- eliminate, delegate automate to achieve success.

The biggest blunder though is missing the enjoyment. Successful people enjoy what they do. They work to make their work more enjoyable. So a goal is to make their day to day life more enjoyable.

Case in point is the
10 Essentials for Success published on Millionaire Mommy Next Door. It addresses many important aspects of success, it even addresses passion:
Find what you love to do - you will never “work” again.

But it fails to address “Enjoy”.
* DO more of what you like, do less of what you dont like
* Do something you enjoy- refresh/rejuvenate yourself.
* Eliminate stress

More on Enjoy later.

What’s surprising is that it seems the Millionaire Mommy Next Door seems to have figured it out herself but didn’t mention it. She retired early (at 40) by realizing she didn’t need material things to enjoy life (GOAL). So now she can be retired and do what she wants (her blog and raising a family- more goals) rather than being a slave to “things”.

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Posted by Heshy under Enjoy | 2 Comments »

A basic pillar of the Success Making Machine is if you enjoy doing something you’re more likely to succeed. There are two simple rules that can change your life, make you more productive and much happier too.

1) Do more of what you like

2) Do less of what you don’t like

Simple right?

Do more of what you like

What do you like to do? Think about ways you can get paid to do it. Think about how you incorporate it into your current job or time with your family. Find more friends that enjoy the same things you do. Think about changing your job.

Do less of what you don’t like

Determine which tasks you don’t like and work hard to think of ways to avoid those tasks. Sometimes you can barter away tasks you don’t like or other times you can eliminate them completely. Perhaps some of the tasks you don’t like aren’t needed. Maybe you can outsource or delegate tasks you don’t like.

Let’s see it in action: Do you like doing research? Make a deal with your partner that you’ll do the research and he’ll do the bulk of the writing. Do you abhor cleaning but don’t mind putting in an extra hour at work- work an extra hour and take the extra pay to hire someone to clean your house.

Think creatively and you’ll find that you can incorporate more things into your life that you do like and eliminate what you don’t like. Then you will guarantee success.

This is now submitted at Rules of Thumb, you can see details at How to Succeed.

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Posted by Heshy under Enjoy | 2 Comments »