Chart Your Course

Image Courtsey of kogakure

I’ve always been an extremely busy person, but I’ve been EXTRA swamped lately so that’s why I haven’t even gotten my first post done in the Envision It series.  I haven’t even had time to get in  many Tweets.

It’s primarily because our business is booming at the same time I’m trying to get Rich Women Sisterhood relaunched (after we found some problems in BETA mode).  I’ve also been coaching several small business clients, something that just kinda happened as people asked for help in setting up their business to market online.

The Problem

The problem is my old methods of  tracking my projects, and everything I had to get done, wasn’t working anymore…

I’d used a paper-based planner since junior high.  When I first got married I worked for Franklin Covey (back before Franklin merged with Covey) and fell in love with the Franklin planning system.   Once I began homeschooling and running several business I found that it wasn’t working as well anymore.  Primarily because of the many repetitive tasks and multiple projects.

In all fairness, I’ll take that back…

I had automated the system by using the Franklin Covey software, but my computer crashed and I couldn’t install it on my new computer. I wasn’t willing to invest in new software at the time.  Though now their online planning system looks pretty good.

Don’t get me wrong, I still find great value in the teachings offered by Franklin Covey system, particularly when it comes to aligning your tasks with your values and core believes. I also firmly believe that it is a fantastic system for many, many people.  And I will continue to use many aspects of it in conjunction with what I am doing now.  But, there had to be an easier way than creating a new list every day.

Getting Things Done

So some time ago, I searched and found David Allen’s book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity and fell in love with the GTD methodology.  I highly recommend you read the book!

I downloaded and printed some fantastic forms for GTD (I’ll still use many of them) and created my own DIY planner and used it in conjunction with the Hipster PDA.  I found that worked fairly well, but things were still falling through the cracks.  Plus it was costing me more considerably more for printing than the Franklin planner cost.

But my system wasn’t working

It wasn’t flawed, but…

I spend a good share of my day at the computer, or away from my home office.   Some days I’d go to add things to my list and realize that my planner was in the trunk of the car.  Not a problem, unless the car is gone for eight hours.   Even if the planner was right there next to me, I’d end up taking notes on a piece of paper – simply because I’d be in to big of a hurry to find the correct page to write that particular task on.

However, now after quite a bit of research and a little time organizing I think I’ve come up with something that will work well for me. Perhaps it, or parts of it will work well for you.

A New Productivity System

It’s a system that uses technology (and no I don’t have an iPhone or Blackberry), to track all my projects and tasks, and combines it with other productive tools.  It allows me to easily capture tasks on the run.  Plus, my husband, and business partner, can automatically add tasks he needs me to work on as well.

So I’m not giving up my DIY printed planner /Franklin planner /Hipster PDA completely and I still have a project folder for each one of my projects.  But I’m merging them with other tools for getting things done. I’ll share with you what I use each of the tools for.

If I were to include everything in one post it would be counter productive, and difficult to follow. So I’ll be sharing with you the tools I use to keep track of all my projects and tasks.   Perhaps some of the tips will help you not only dream, but act.  And not only plan, but believe.

Productivity Tips for Getting Things Done

1. First post – coming soon

Daniel Rudy Ruettiger lives a life without limits.  Just how far Rudy is willing to go to reach for his dreams and the best in himself is demonstrated in the 1993 inspirational film based on his life titled Rudy.

If you aren’t familiar with Rudy’s story here is some of his inspiring story, or you can read a  synopsis of Rudy’s life at the end of this post.

Rudy gave an electrifying speech at a business training event we attended last month in Las Vegas last month.  We had the privilege of meeting him after his speech.  I was grateful that my teenage son was able to learn from him.

Here’s some Rudy Ruettiger quotes from that speech:

“Your thoughts and actions get you to where you want to go.”

“The day you stop dreaming is the day you give up hope.”

“Inspiration is the key to all education.” (my favorite)

“Little victories give you confidence.”

“It’s not what you know, it’s  what you do!”

And some of my favorites tidbits of inspiration from his website:

“Always have a Dream. Dreams give us energy to go to new levels. Dreams change lives … the power of life is in your Dreams!”

“Eliminate the confusion. Find mentors who encourage you. The right information will eliminate confusion. Visualize exactly what you want to be … and focus on that … believe in yourself and don’t let anything stop you. Reinforce your Dream every day with positive information from tapes, books, and mentors. Each day you will get closer to your Dream. Eliminate the confusion and fears, and make it happen.”

Here’s Craig, myself, and our son Austin. I’m 5’3″ and you can see that Rudy really isn’t that much taller than I am at 5’7″. That photo puts things into perspective for me.

I do recommend you view the video above, but for those who just want to read more about Rudy here it is (compliments of wikipedia)

“Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger grew up dreaming of playing football at the University of Notre Dame. While achieving some success with his local high school football team, Ruettiger lacks the grades and money to attend Notre Dame, and talent and physical size (the real Ruettiger was only 5’6″ and the film suggests that the fictional Rudy was even smaller than that) to play football for the Fighting Irish. Instead, he takes a job at the local steel mill where his father Daniel Ruettiger Sr. (a huge Notre Dame fan) works, and he prepares to settle down.

When his best friend Pete is killed in an explosion at the mill, Rudy decides to follow his dream of attending Notre Dame and playing college football for the Fighting Irish, and leaves for Notre Dame, against his father’s warning that “Ruettigers don’t belong at college.” Ruettiger fails to get admitted to Notre Dame, and instead goes to a small junior college, Holy Cross College, hoping to qualify for a transfer to the university.

During his final semester of eligibility transfer, he is granted admission to Notre Dame. After walking onto football practice tryouts, Ruettiger convinces coach Ara Parseghian to give him a spot on the football practice team, where Rudy exhibits more drive and desire than some of his big-name varsity teammates.

Upon Dan Devine’s installation as head coach, Ruettiger fears he will lose the chance to dress for a home game, an arrangement he had with Parseghian. Late in the season of 1975, his teammates, led by team captain and All-American Roland Steele, rise to his defense, demanding to Devine that Rudy be allowed to suit up in their place (by throwing down their jerseys, one at a time, on top of Devine’s desk) for the final game of the season.

The final game of the season comes, against Georgia Tech. And while Rudy is suited up, his teammates feel this is not enough, this starts a chant that soon goes stadium wide. Coach Devine eventually gives in and lets Rudy play on the final kickoff. Rudy then stays in for the final play of the game and sacks the opposing quarterback. The final scene depicts him being carried off the field by his teammates.”

Oh, here’s a clip of the famous Rudy Notre Dame play…

Questions to ask yourself:

• Are you letting little things hold you back?
• What obstacles have you overcome?
• Have you given up one some dreams that can be resurrected?

And finally…

Who do you know that is living live without limits?  We’d like to feature them here.

Click here to find an archive of the Life Without Limits stories

“Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding, find out what you already know, and you’ll see the way to fly.” ~ Richard Bach

Perhaps as a child you dreamed of being a ballerina or playing in the world-series. Perhaps you dreamed of traveling to exotic locations, of flying to the moon, or of being in movies. All of us had childhood dreams.  And many of us still have the same dreams now as adults.

Dreams are nothing more than what we imagine our life would be like. It’s the experiences we hope to live.

Sadly though, many have given up on their dreams.

“It’s to late,” they say. That may be true…

It may be to late to play in the world series, but you could still attend the world series, and adult form of  “play.”

It may be to late to be the star ballerina, but it’s not to late to dance, and to enjoy it. And it’s not to late to attend the ballet often.

And…

It’s not to late to build more dreams!
It’s not to late to make your dreams come true!

You’ve just got to give yourself permission to dream!

To help with that I’m adding a new resource, via a series of posts, here at Dream, Act, Plan, Believe. The word envision is to picture mentally some future event or events, so the new series is called Envision This.

The Envision This series will showcase some of the things I dream of doing, fascinating places to visit, exotic foods to try, things to experience, and some things you may just find interesting. It is designed to provide you with ideas – ideas of things that you can do to bring more joy in your life.

It’s a tool for you to use in creating new dreams and making dreams come true.

The first post is coming Monday.

By the way, you’ll recognize the posts in the Envision It series because they’ll have the envision this image (shown at the top of this post) in it.

Be sure to explore the site to find additional resources on how to make your dreams come true.

I was recently asked what one of my favorite “excellence” quotes was.  There are many great quotes related to excellence, but this is the one I shared that night:

“Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.” ~ Charles R. Swindoll

But what exactly does that mean?

The key word in that quote is prevailing. The definition of “prevailing” is

1. predominant
2. generally current
3. having superior power of influence.

So…

To achieve excellence you you should think of what it is that you are trying to achieve, and how to BEST achieve excellence in that area.  And you should think about it most of the time.  You strive for excellence, and are currently working towards excellence.

Your dominant thoughts should be thoughts that generate excellence.

Your thoughts will then begin to have superior power or influence, and those thoughts then go on to influence your decisions and the way you act.  Excellence comes from within.

Successful people seek excellence because they believe in striving for the best within themselves.  Yet, they understand that it is necessary to give up achieving excellence in some areas of our lives so we can better our success of achieving excellence in other areas.

What’s your thoughts on excellence?
What are your prevalent thoughts?

Image courtesy of romanlily

Imagination that doesn’t get used begins to fade away.  Eventually it may fail to produce many original or creative thoughts, or your imagination feel that it can only safely come out to play during your dreams

Do you want your imagination to work for you?  Yes! Then it needs to know that it is being taken seriously.  You’ve got to show it you are paying attention.

I believe your mind is more open to creative imagination, and apt to give you those million dollar ideas, if it knows that you will take them seriously. One sure fire way to stimulate your imagination, is to keep an idea journal.

Your idea journal really  doesn’t have to be fancy, in fact, it could be as simple as a spiral-bound notebook.  However, writing down my ideas in a beautiful black leather bound journal seems to communicate to my subconscious mind that “your ideas are important enough to me to not go in any old notebook.  They are going right here in my book that will last for centuries.”

The ideas I capture in my idea journal almost immediately seem like they are more of a reality.  So be sure to transfer any of those ideas contained on floating pieces of paper, or a napkin to your permanent journal.

How to Use Your Idea Journal

1. Use your idea journal in a way that works for you.  Some people start at page one filling-up one page after another.  Personally, for me that was to frustrating.  I couldn’t find the idea when I wanted to refer to it later.  So I numbered my pages and divided it into sections.  Ideas related to business ideas go in one, ideas related to my family go in another, etc.
2. Ask yourself questions.  Place a question at the top of a page.  Then let your imagination work on a solution. When ideas come I write them down on the page. This method never fails to stimulate my problem solving abilities.
3. Carry your idea journal with you everywhere.  Sometimes it may just be unrealistic to have it with you.  So if you are stuck somewhere without it, your job it to first commit all your ideas to any paper that you have handy.  Carrying 3 x 5″ cards with you is often the perfect substitute.  Once you get back home make sure those ideas make it to your journal.
4. Don’t judge the ideas.  Write down the ideas as they come to you.  They may not appear like a great idea now, but that idea when combined with something else may make it a winning idea.
5. Don’t use a pens that bleed, or fades.
6. Write your name, address, and phone number in the front cover and you may want offer a reward for it’s return if it is lost.

What To Keep in Your Journal

Keep track of those things that capture your imagination – those things that give you inspiration, and those things that you notice. Basically, any idea, that you get can be written down in your idea journal.  Some of them will be huge, and some of them almost insignificant.  For example:

• Business ideas.
• Product ideas.
• Sketches of paintings.
• Ideas for blog posts.
• Ideas of books.
• Ideas on how to more effectively communicate with someone.
• Record the things you’re grateful for.
• Titles for books.
• Sketches, or story-boards.
• Character ideas.
• Ideas on how to improve your home.
• Plants you want to plant in your yard.

You never know what you will learn until you start paying attention.  You may soon discover ideas you never knew you were capable of producing.

How are you going to capture your next big idea?

• Do you use an idea journal?
• What have you found works well for you?