Few men during their lifetime come anywhere near exhausting the resources dwelling within them. There are deep wells of strength that are never used. – Richard Byrd When you think of someone who’s extremely resourceful, what images come to mind? Do you think of someone who’s wealthy, well-connected, and in control of significant assets? Or [...]

When trying to solve various problems in life, an approach I find very useful is to first identify what I’d consider the most direct solution, regardless of how I feel about actually implementing it. What’s the clearest, most direct path to my goal or the most efficient way to get around an obstacle? Many problems will have multiple [...]

At various times over the past several years, I’ve tested the use of voice recognition software for dictating text, such as Dragon Naturally Speaking. Since I can speak much faster than I can type, the potential productivity benefits are too great to ignore. However, up until now I’ve always been disappointed by the results. The [...]

Are you afraid that if you quit too many jobs or switch careers too often, your resume (CV) will make you look undesirable? And who’s gonna hire you then? No one wants a loser who can’t stay put. You’re probably right to be concerned… assuming your primary career goal is to work for a company that wants [...]

With respect to goals, projects, and other to-do items, it’s easy to get stuck too long in the thinking and planning phase.  You can sit around writing and rewriting your goals, delving into your subconscious mind, working through emotional blocks, summoning the power of Thor… whatever.  But if you don’t eventually get into action, you’re [...]

Your alarm goes off at 5am, and you immediately get out of bed without a second thought.  As you orient yourself to the waking world, you can barely detect any lingering grogginess, even if you look for it.  You stand up and stretch, feeling totally alert, fully conscious, and eager to start your day.  The thought [...]

John Assaraf is an international best-selling author, speaker, and entrepreneur. You may have seen him as one of the experts in the popular movie The Secret (as well as in The Secret book), talking about how he manifested his dream house. What’s most amazing is that he lived in that house for quite a while before discovering it was the exact same house he originally posted on his [...]

If you want to absorb written material at a faster rate, you can learn to speedread or PhotoRead.  But what if you have a lot of audio material to listen to, such as audio books or podcasts? Did you know that if you have 60 minutes of audio material to listen to, you can very [...]

A scaffold is a temporary structure that supports tools, materials, and people while erecting or repairing a building.  A similar construct can be used to improve your personal productivity.  Much like wearing braces to reposition crooked teeth, a personal productivity scaffold is something you temporarily insert into your daily routine to help create and establish new habits.  Once those habits are conditioned, [...]

Sometimes we procrastinate on projects because we don’t know where to begin.  A goal like “write a book” might seem straightforward enough when first set, but when it’s time to act, the goal becomes this huge, amorphous blob.  Procrastination soon follows. A popular suggestion is to define the immediate next action that must be taken, and then focus on [...]