The difference between fear and drive

Fear pushes you from behind:
I fear I may not keep up with my work
I fear I may be left behind by technology
I am afraid I may not perform well enough
 Our work, technology or performance are chasing us from behind.  We sweat and struggle as we run with flailing arms trying to survive.  That is fear.
Drive […]

Count your chickens before they hatch

If you are a chicken farmer you would do well to pay attention to the old saying:
Don’t count your chickens before they hatch
If you are not a chicken farmer, then maybe this wisdom isn’t always so wise.
This worn out old saying is all about not presuming success.  It tells us that before an event has […]

How to learn Japanese

I have been working on structuring a new goal around the subject of becoming conversant in Japanese.  I have been living in Japan for 18 months now and I have had a few half hearted attempts at learning the language and except for my Kanji study, they have all been nearly fruitless.  This week I […]

When things don’t go as planned

Take a break
Go back to your objectives
Take stock of your successes
Learn from your losses
Give yourself a break
Re-commit yourself to your goals
Get up and go again

Hit a Goal From All Angles

Would a world class football player get to the top just by practicing sprints?  Would a successful politician succeed just because she mastered her presentation skills?  Can a surgeon build an international reputation just by practicing her stitching?
Nearly every achievement needs at least a few things to come together.  Hardly ever can we hope to […]

Getting to the turning point

This week Quint from Win Your Mind has, in a round about sort of way, inspired me to get going with my Japanese language study.  I am already working hard on learning kanji, but this has little advantage in my ability to communicate on an average day.  So now I have to get going on my […]

Multi-tasking - Efficiency at the expense of effectivity

Electronic equipment is designed for multi-tasking.  The PC I am typing on can edit my writing, while it automatically backs itself up and plays me music (if it is having a good day).  My watch can tell me the time, plot my heart rate, track my movements, and calculate my speed.  These devices are designed […]

The Power of Two

The old man waved the stick high above his head, and then “crash”.  A wild but focused blow to the helpless tree.  The debris rained down all around him as he took aim again, ready to continue his assault.  He shouted, short sharp orders at the vegetation.  Strong, unintelligible from my vantage, and serious.  I remember the concentration […]

Why will you succeed?

Do you have particular skills?
Do you have particular stamina?
Do you have particular resources?
Do you have particular experience?
Do you have particular intellect?
Do you have particular connections?

I hope you have at least a few of these 6 traits, but those that you don’t, can be picked up along the way.  All of the 6 that I mentioned […]

The Power of Averaging

Today I am writing about Averaging - a very simple, but ignored, performance tool that works in many different situations.  Averaging, is a concept that occurs naturally sometimes when we form a goal or a plan, but at other times it is strangely missing.  Why is that?
When I use the word averaging, I mean performing to a standard […]