Productive Goal Setting – Goal-Setting
Productive Goal Setting
There's been a lot written about goal setting and there are many different approaches and methods ? in fact, it's easy to get caught up in the confusion about how to set goals and not end up setting any. These simple steps will help you to set powerful goals and make goal-setting an invaluable part of your life. You'll be amazed at what you can achieve with the help of some well though-out, written goals ? try it!Make a date. Make time in your diary to find a quiet, comfortable location to set your goals. I spend a morning at my favourite table in the tearoom of the Sheraton on the Park (a beautiful hotel in Sydney city) in January every year to review my goals and set new ones for the year ahead.Take five. Create five categories for which to set goals: physical, educational, spiritual, financial, relational. By setting goals for each of these areas of your life, you will be taking a balanced approach and not neglecting any important aspects of your life.Write it. You must write your goals down ? it makes them more powerful. Use positive language ? words like "I will" and "I am" ? this will help you to feel as though you have already achieved your goals and to change your behaviours accordingly, for example, "I am going to the gym three times per week". Make sure you allocate a specific timeframe for the completion of each goal, for example, "By the beginning of March, I am going to the gym three times per week". Now, identify a reward for achieving each goal ? don't just make a list of rewards, relate a specific reward to the achievement of a specific goal. This will inspire you even more toward the achievement of your goal. And finally, list the possible obstacles that will get in the way of you achieving each goal, and how you will overcome these. This will help you to pre-empt the things that might go wrong and immediately swing into action with your solution, rather than giving up on your goal.Share. Make yourself accountable to someone you trust. Share your goals with them and ask them to check in with you regularly to see whether you are on track, and if not, why not.Review constantly. I have been told that the difference between a millionaire and a billionaire is that a billionaire reads their goals twice a day. Simple really. I keep a copy of my goals in several locations around my house (on the bathroom mirror, on the printer, outside the shower screen, on the fridge, on my bedside table and in my wallet), which makes it easy for me to see my goals and be reminded of what I am working towards several times a day.Keep track. When you return to your favourite place next year, review your progress and take the time to feel proud of those goals you achieve before you move on to setting goals for the next year.Neen is a Global Productivity Expert: by looking at how they spend their time and energy ? and where they focus their attention ? Neen helps people to rocket-charge their productivity and performance. A dynamic speaker, author and corporate trainer, Neen demonstrates how boosting your productivity can help you achieve amazing things. With her unique voice, sense of fun and uncommon common-sense, Neen delivers a powerful lesson in productivity. Find out more at http://www.neenjames.com/
Top 10 Ways to Use Quotations to Be Healthier, Happier and More Productive! – Top7-Or-10-Tips
Top 10 Ways to Use Quotations to Be Healthier, Happier and More Productive!
Most people have at least one favorite quotation from a famous or not-so-famous person. Some people collect them like baseball cards, figurines or classic cars. You can find hundreds of websites featuring quotations, thousands of sites with a favorite quotes page, and many collections in any bookstore you walk into. All of this proves that quotations are popular. What may be less evident to you is exactly how you can use them to improve you life and your results.Below is a list of eleven ways you can do just that!Use when journaling. My Grandmother kept a diary, and so does my mother. Fewer people call them diaries now, and more call them journals. It really doesn't matter what you call them. If you spend time writing each day, you can use a quotation to relate to your activities for the day, record what you have been thinking about, or to help you with your writing in general.Share at work. You can use quotations whether you are the boss or anyone on the team. Post a new quote on your door, on the bulletin board in the coffee room, or send out in an email. If you pick quotes that are relevant to the work of the group and are positive in nature, you won't believe what an impact they can have ? and how much people will miss them if you don't keep posting new ones!Share with clients. Use quotations as a way of keeping in touch with clients. When you read a great quotation that you think a client would enjoy, send it off to them with a quick note. This is both thoughtful and thought provoking (and keeps you in the mind of the client too).Share with yourself. When you find a particularly powerful quotation with specific meaning to you, put it where you can see it! Put a copy on your mirror, on the side of your computer monitor, on your refrigerator or anywhere else you will see it and read it often. Instead of turning on the radio, think about a quotation you've recently read and how it applies to you.Use in your email. I know I mentioned email in the last tip, but here I am talking about putting a quotation in your signature line. Most all email programs allow you to create a standard message at the bottom of every email that includes your name, contact information and anything else you would like to include. Consider using a quotation that is thought provoking, funny, or that expresses a personal belief or value. This way without any extra effort you can be giving others the opportunity to think about your quotation, and differentiating yourself from the crowd at the same time.Use in speeches and presentations. Many people give speeches, talks, training, or presentations of some kind. Using a wise quotation from someone else can add credibility to your message, help you persuade others (after all that is what Ben Franklin or Winston Churchill or Gandhi said, not you!), and show that you are well prepared. Beyond these benefits, the right quotation can help you build your talk more effectively, by giving you a focus to build from.Use in writing. We've talked about journals, which are for ourselves. But many people write for others to read. Whether an article in the church newsletter, a letter to the editor, or your Great American novel, quotations can help you get your point across more clearly and beautifully. Quotations can also be helpful with "writers block," giving you great spurs to help you get your ideas flowing.Use when you meditate. Perhaps you meditate, pray or spend quiet time reflecting on your day. If you do, you may read something as a part of that activity. Quotations can be used as a seed for your thoughts or "mental conversation" during this time. Other people would like to be more proactive in building this habit. Quotations can be even more valuable to the "newcomer" as it helps give them mental food for their reflection.Commit them to memory. You can use quotations as a way to exercise your brain! Pick a quotation you love and commit it to memory. Then, you will be able to use it whenever you want ? for yourself or while in conversation with others.Use as an attitude adjustment. Having powerful, positive, proactive thoughts around can be a great way to adjust your attitude at anytime!So, the next time you read a great quotation, do more than just think it is it very good -- decide to use one of the ten ideas above to help the wisdom of the quotation benefit you and those around you.Kevin is Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. Kevin publishes Powerquotes Plus (http://PowerquotesPlus.net), a daily ezine which includes inspiring quotations, questions to ponder and actions to consider designed to help you start your day in a more positive and proactive way.
Convert Productive Articles to Profitable eBooks – E-Books
Convert Productive Articles to Profitable eBooks
How many articles, reports and discussion papers have you written in your life? If you are like most people, these articles have probably been used very little maybe only once. Why not use the work you've already done and create a new product that can improve both your productivity and your profits.The eBook is the electronic version of a book. eBooks are easy to produce, require little in terms of investment and generate profit margins of 50-95%. The combination of writing skills and eBook technology allow anyone to become a published author with relative ease. This is even more so since you already have a content source ? your articles. Even if you have to write some new articles the amount of work involved will be manageable and rewarding.eBooks are electronically downloaded via a web site or as an attachment to emails. Costs for distribution are minimal. The recipients have the option of reading your eBook on their computer monitors or printing them in hard copy. Either way, the reader can have the eBook almost instantly allowing them to satisfy their need for "immediate" solutions to their problems.Consider your area of expertise and passion. Gather together all the materials you have created regarding the chosen topic. This is the theme of your material that you are going to incorporate into your eBook.Consider your target market. These are the people to whom you are going to market your newly created eBook. You will offer them a collection of articles around a common theme designed to help them solve a problem. You will further organize your articles to address various aspects of the topic you have chosen.Consider the individual members of your target market. What are their problems that you can help them with? Are these people beginners, experienced or masters of the chosen topic? Where do these people "hang out"? What organizations do they belong to? Are they the same organizations you belong to? What magazines, newsletters, newspapers, and periodicals do they read? What conferences do they attend? What professional organizations do they belong to? Get inside their heads. Consider how useful your articles will be to these individuals. Consider the fact that some articles will be more useful than others.You can "tweak" your existing articles to suit the target market audience. To do this effectively you must write a profile of the individuals within your target market. Begin by re-reading your articles from the perspective of the reader. Make changes to reflect the needs of your target market and your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) that you will bring to the reader. This USP is what will intrigue your potential customer enough to want to purchase your eBook. What makes your collection of articles so unique compared to other sources of information that will interest the reader?While considering what articles to put in your eBook, think about what it is you want to convey to your target market. There are three basic things you can share with your audience and only three things. What are they? Just A.S.K. They are Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge. If all three areas are addressed within each article or distributed among the various articles you will have all the teaching basics covered. All teaching and learning should involve these three areas. The one most forgotten is the attitude. Skills and knowledge come much easier both to learners and teachers. Spend some time on attitudes. In fact, an entire article on this one topic may be an easy way to address the reflective side of the topic.Your eBook need not be sold but rather given away. Many professionals use their eBooks as a free bonus along with the purchase of other goods and services. Authors also gain additional business by providing complimentary eBooks that demonstrate their expertise to potential customers laying the foundation for a long-term working relationship. The eBook serves as a promotional product much like advertising. The low cost of production and distribution makes it an attractive alternative to other forms of advertising.The Table of Contents (TOC) is the most important part of your eBook. It may very well be a list of the articles as eBook content. It is what will guide you in the writing of the eBook. It will show you where you need additional material as well as indicate topics that are covered well. The TOC can also give you an indication that a second eBook could easily be written to address other topics or a slightly different target market. TOC's act as a checklist of what has been completed and what has yet to be done. Potential customers will want to see this TOC as part of your sales pitch and ad copy.What can eBooks do for you as the author? Have you ever noticed your reaction to someone introduced to you as the author of a book? Do you have a heightened interest in that person? Do you begin questioning her? Are you envious of what this person has accomplished? Do you automatically assume they must be an expert?Defining a person as an "expert" can be attributed to a variety of things. Ownership of something commands respect. Awards and recognition for achievements is another. Being associated with 'famous' people also works. But expertise for the average person readily comes from authoring a book. And converting your collection of articles to a published eBook will give you that same respect for your knowledge ? your expertise. Remember, if nothing else, you are definitely the expert on your eBook and all of the content within it.Publishing an eBook is called compiling or ePublishing. There are many software programs that can convert your word processing document into an eBook. Each of these different software conversion programs requires a unique "Reader" so that the person who purchases your eBook can read it on their monitor. Fortunately, eBook Readers are distributed at no cost to anyone who wishes to download the Reader. This is another great advantage of eBooks for the consumer as well as for the author wishing to distribute their eBook.Adobe Acrobat software converts word processing documents into eBooks using Portable Document Format (PDF). In addition, Adobe provides Acrobat Reader as a free download. Although there are many formats for eBook production, Adobe Acrobat ? PDF has many advantages. The primary advantage is that PDF documents can be used by virtually any computer ? MAC, PC or any other platform. Adobe is also recognized as a world leader in document production. There is hardly anyone who hasn't used an Adobe form or document. Most computer users already have Adobe Acrobat Reader on their computers for other reasons besides eBooks.Paul Jackson and Glenn Dietzel have developed what they refer to as "The 10 Steps to eBook Authoring".The 10 Steps to eBook AuthoringStep I IDEA YOU start with an Idea!Step II REFLECTION YOU reflect on your idea.Step III COMMITMENT YOU make a commitment.Step IV BIG PICTURE YOU have to visualize the Big Picture.Step V CHUNKING YOU need to organize your information.Step VI WRITING YOU are ready to write.Step VII EDITING YOU must perfect your eBook.Step VIII PUBLISHING YOU are ready to compile your eBook.Step IX MARKETING YOU must take your eBook to market.Step X CELEBRATING YOU have earned the"write"to celebrate.You can see for yourself how these steps could be applied to your collection of articles converted into an eBook. The great part is that the writing portion of the Steps is either completely or partially finished already.Whether you are considering your eBook as an additional source of income, a description of products and services you offer, an introduction and branding of yourself as an "expert" or as a bonus offer to go along with goods and services you already provide, using a collection of articles you have already written is a cost-effective and profitable way to maximize work you've already done.