1. Deadlines and Urgency
1.1. Chapter 54: You can be the author of urgent
1.1.1. i. I'm the author of this novel called my life and I'm not going to give that up. I'm not going to pretend I'm not the author. (The word "authentic" and the word "author" come from the same place.)
1.1.2. ii. I get to say when anything's urgent and when it's not.
1.1.3. iii. Most people use a child's viewpoint to create their daily priorities: would someone else get mad if I didn't do it by this time?
1.2. i. The more seriously you regard your deadlines and the more you keep your word on meeting your deadlines, the stronger you get internally. The higher your self-esteem becomes. The more you trust yourself.
2. Greatness needs S______s
2.1. When he writes a book without a writing schedule
2.1.1. It becomes a nightmare
2.1.2. It doesn't get done right
2.2. Most people run away from structure/systems
2.2.1. Because they want freedom
2.3. As Steve Chandler says
2.3.1. "Paradoxically, the best creativity... the best work comes from working with the most structure you can possibly impose on yourself."
2.3.2. "Anything you can do to schedule yourself increases your HIGH quality work output"
2.3.2.1. If you are a knowledge worker of any kind
2.3.2.1.1. Creator
2.3.2.1.2. Developer
2.3.2.1.3. Entrepreneur
2.3.2.1.4. Executive
2.3.2.2. You need to schedule yourself
2.3.2.2.1. To do your best work
2.4. If it's on your calendar
2.4.1. You will get it done
2.5. Show me your calendar
2.5.1. And I will tell you how well you are doing in your business/career
2.6. The worst question to ask yourself during your work day
2.6.1. "What do I feel like doing in this moment"
2.6.1.1. You are being governed by your impulses
2.6.2. You should
2.6.2.1. Identify your schedule
2.6.2.2. Identify your commitments inside the schedule
2.6.2.3. And NOW work on your commitments
2.6.2.3.1. Without excuses
2.7. The best questions to ask are: "What do I want to produce?" and "What structure would guarantee that?"
2.7.1. Well this is exactly why I created FocusBlocks.io
2.7.1.1. Focus Blocks is designed to give you a structure and schedule for your Most important work
2.7.1.2. How does "Focus Blocks" work?
2.7.1.2.1. Step 1
2.7.1.2.2. Step 2
2.7.1.2.3. Step 3
2.7.1.2.4. Step 4
2.7.1.2.5. Step 5
2.7.1.2.6. Step 6
2.7.1.3. Why does "Focus Blocks" work?
2.7.1.3.1. Real Time Human Accountability
2.7.1.3.2. Extreme Intentionality
2.7.1.3.3. Leverage Community Energy
2.7.1.3.4. No Distractions Allowed
2.7.1.3.5. Single Minded Focus
2.7.1.4. Join Focus Blocks
2.7.1.4.1. Focus Blocks.io
2.7.1.4.2. Right now is the lowest price you will ever get
2.7.1.4.3. Head over to
2.7.1.5. Focus Blocks
2.7.1.5.1. The most powerful tool to get your MOST important work DONE
3. Linear v/s Non-Linear Time
3.1. non-linear approach. Just do it. The linear approach is to string the problem out over time. To put yourself though lots of linear paces as you struggle to finally "know how to".
3.2. iii. Non-linear time management doesn't ever have a long timeline. It has two choices: now or not now.
3.3. ii. I experience a stressed-out feeling whenever I think about the deadline for a creative project. But my stress comes from having that project be in the future.
3.4. The future consumes time and energy
3.4.1. iii. And worrying about the future is the very definition of weakness.
3.4.2. iv. "The constant, unproductive preoccupation with all the things we have to do in the future, is the single largest consumer of time and energy."
3.4.3. v. Slow down. Focus. And love what you are doing.
4. Optimism is a Tool not a feeling
4.1. Most people think optimism is a feeling that comes and goes, and that's why they never know how to use it.
4.2. Optimism is an effective tool, like a shovel. Think how useful a shovel is if you are going to dig a hole in your yard. You never ask before you dig. "How do I get myself to feel like a person who use a shovel?"
4.3. Like a shovel
4.3.1. iii. You use one or you don't.
5. You will never find time or motivation for your important work
5.1. Most people
5.1.1. Procrastinate on doing the important
5.1.1.1. Because they don't feel like doing it
5.1.1.1.1. In this moment
5.1.1.2. Because they can't seem to find the time
5.1.2. Spend the whole day - attending to less important tasks/projects
5.1.2.1. Feeling burnt out/tired as a result
5.2. TRUTH: You will never "find" time or motivation for your most important work
5.2.1. If you want time you must make it.
5.2.1.1. And just how do you make time?
5.2.1.1.1. By creating your day.
5.2.1.1.2. By being ruthless with planning your time
5.2.1.2. You must pull out your sword ahead of time to carve out periods of time for your most important work
5.2.1.2.1. How "violent" a swordsman you are going to be before your day begins? How much uninterrupted time will you carve out for yourself?
5.2.2. If you want motivation - just show up
5.2.2.1. Motivation will follow
5.2.2.1.1. The biggest fallacy there is about getting big things done
5.2.2.1.2. Try this: Have the action happen first.
5.2.2.1.3. Work itself is what inspires us
5.3. What should we do?
5.3.1. This is exactly why I designed FocusBlocks.io
5.3.1.1. Just book your Focus Block
5.3.1.1.1. And show up for your Focus Block
5.3.1.2. You don't need Motivation inside Focus Blocks
5.3.1.2.1. Just show up for your Focus Block
5.3.1.2.2. You get guided by the Focus Guide to do your most important work
5.3.1.3. Inside the Focus Block, you are surrounded by other like minded people from around the world... all coming together to do their best work
5.3.1.3.1. You are NEVER alone
5.3.1.3.2. You leverage the power of the community
6. Become a warrior
6.1. v. Voltaire observed, "No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking."
6.1.1. vi. The key word in Voltaire's observation is "sustained." We don't sustain. We don't take long, thoughtful, sustained walks. We don't sit quietly in space
6.2. Rocky Marciano, undefeated champion and FOCUS
6.2.1. Exclude himself from world 3 months before a fight
6.2.1.1. including wife and family
6.2.2. 10 days before fight
6.2.2.1. no calls, no mail, no new acquaintances
6.2.3. Week before
6.2.3.1. No shaking hands
6.2.3.2. No new foods
6.2.3.3. No car rides
6.2.4. i. Bruce Lee identified the warrior as an average person with laser-like focus.
6.3. Your problem is not time management, its lack of Purpose
6.3.1. i. You're on your way out the door to the car to drive to the airport and somebody says to you, "Hey, do you have a minute? I've got a couple of things I want to discuss." You simply say, "No, I don't. I don't have time right now, I'm on my way to the airport."
6.3.2. ii. You are a warrior in that moment of time. You can say no.
6.3.3. iii. Purpose makes you that way.
6.3.4. iv. You wouldn't have any problem whatsoever managing your time! The reason for that is you have a specific mission. You have a commitment.
6.3.5. v. So with a clear mission driving me, time management is never a problem.
6.3.6. What, exactly, do I want to do?
6.3.6.1. i. Push my head under the water and I experience an increase in energy because I am immediately focused on what I want to do. I want to get out of the water. So I know exactly what I want to do.
6.3.6.2. ii. And any time I know exactly what I want to do my energy increases.
6.4. keep your soul alive
6.4.1. i. To know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying "Amen" to what the world tells you to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive. - Robert Louis Stevenson
6.4.2. ii. As warrior (not worrier) I will wake up and create my day based on how I prefer to serve this world.
6.5. Forget about your safety!
6.5.1. i. Most of your own lack of success comes from an exaggerated inner compulsion to feel safe and sound.
6.5.2. ii. Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious. - Rumi
6.5.3. iii. "If you cannot risk, you cannot grow. If you cannot grow, you cannot become your best. If you cannot become your best, you cannot be happy. And if you cannot be happy, what else matters?"
6.5.4. iv. Later, as adults, we find habits, addictions and comfort zones to hide out in, not even knowing we are doing it until we are on our deathbeds looking back.
6.5.5. v. Kicking ourselves. For not living dangerously. For not taking more risks.
7. Beating Procrastination
7.1. 1 Hack to Stop Procrastinating
7.1.1. So every year
7.1.1.1. You set big goals
7.1.1.1.1. You start with big ambitions
7.1.1.2. You take action for a few days
7.1.2. But somehow
7.1.2.1. You fall back
7.1.2.2. You stop taking action on your big goals
7.1.2.3. You delay
7.1.2.4. You procrastinate
7.1.3. Maybe
7.1.3.1. You are trying to build a great body
7.1.3.1.1. You go to the gym for a few days
7.1.3.1.2. You eat clean for a week
7.1.3.1.3. But unfortunately
7.1.3.2. You are trying to start your business
7.1.3.2.1. You take action for a few days
7.1.3.2.2. But a month later
7.1.3.3. Or You want to work on your investments/Finances
7.1.3.3.1. You work on your investments/finances once in January
7.1.3.3.2. But you don't follow through
7.1.4. And what happens as a result?
7.1.4.1. You get frustrated
7.1.4.1.1. Because you just can't get yourself to follow through
7.1.4.2. So you start shrinking in life
7.1.4.2.1. You stop setting big goals
7.1.4.2.2. And instead start setting smaller goals
7.1.5. If that is you....
7.1.5.1. In this Video I will teach you a very powerful technique that will help you crush procrastination
7.1.5.1.1. So that You can accomplish your biggest goals this year
7.1.5.1.2. So that you can
7.1.6. Here is the technique
7.1.6.1. Whatever you are procrastinating on
7.1.6.1.1. Just do it for 3 minutes
7.1.6.1.2. Set a countdown timer for 3 minutes
7.1.6.1.3. Don't do anything else for those 3 minutes
7.1.6.1.4. 3 minutes
7.1.6.1.5. The key is to tell yourself
7.1.7. For example
7.1.7.1. You are procrastinating on
7.1.7.1.1. Going to the gym
7.1.7.1.2. Doing your taxes
7.1.7.1.3. starting that podcast or youtube channel
7.1.7.1.4. Building a new marketing campaign
7.1.7.1.5. Hiring process
7.1.8. What will happen as a result of taking action for 3 minutes
7.1.8.1. Well, something magical happens when you take action for 3 mins
7.1.8.2. You actually feel energized to keep going
7.1.8.3. And you end up getting things done!
7.1.9. So Why does the 3 minute Rule work... there are 4 Reasons Why it works?
7.1.9.1. You know there is an end in sight
7.1.9.1.1. You just have to do it for 3 minutes
7.1.9.1.2. You can stop after 3 minutes
7.1.9.1.3. So it does not feel scary
7.1.9.2. You don't get overwhelmed by the complexity
7.1.9.2.1. Your procrastinate on things you find overwhelming
7.1.9.2.2. But if you just have to do that for 3 minutes
7.1.9.2.3. Just tackle the easiest part of that task
7.1.9.3. You get past inertia
7.1.9.3.1. Internal Inertia is what keeps people stuck
7.1.9.3.2. But Once you take small action
7.1.9.3.3. And momentum builds on itself
7.1.9.3.4. And now you want to keep doing it
7.1.9.3.5. You want to do more of it
7.1.9.4. You manufacture motivation
7.1.9.4.1. Most people procrastinate
7.1.9.4.2. When you take action on something for even 3 minutes
7.1.10. So the next time you are procrastinating on something important
7.1.10.1. Try the 3 minute Rule
7.1.10.2. And see how it kills procrastination
7.1.11. BTW, if you are a serious about making massive progress in this new decade, I have 2 videos for you that you must watch.
7.1.11.1. The first Video I want you to watch is
7.1.11.1.1. 2 Modes of Thinking you need to cultivate in order to become extremely productive
7.1.11.1.2. You can find it right here
7.1.11.2. The next video I want you to watch is
7.1.11.2.1. A simple 2 minute hack
7.1.11.2.2. That will literally double your productiivty
7.1.11.2.3. You can find it right here
7.1.12. And If you enjoyed this video
7.1.12.1. Make sure to share it with a friend, family member or colleague who could use the 3 minute rule
7.1.12.2. And don't forget to smash the Like Button
7.1.12.3. And Subscribe to the Channel for More Videos like this.
7.1.12.4. I have personally read over 1,500 of the world's greatest Business and self help books
7.1.12.4.1. And I share the wisdom from those books on the 2000 Books channel and Podacst
7.1.13. The mind makes all future tasks big and scary. So we procrastinate.
7.1.13.1. iii. Even little things, when we imagine doing them in the future, get distorted and take on frightening proportions.
7.1.13.2. iv. Because the imagination, when it ventures into the future, always finds the worst case.
7.1.14. Action is the answer.
7.1.14.1. But not always big action
7.1.14.1.1. Give your task 3 minutes
7.1.14.1.2. vii. Small actions. Any tiny action.
7.1.14.1.3. Make it as easy to do as possible
7.1.14.2. GO as small as possible and execute it
7.1.15. Smallest acts are like ATOM
7.1.15.1. i. If I'm procrastinating then I want to identify my next action.
7.1.15.2. ii. And then I want to split the atom.
7.1.15.3. The atom is a very small thing, yet very powerful when split. The smallest acts are like atoms. They often turn out to be the most important acts of our lives. So once I identify the big scary imagined task as a distortion produced by my own worried mind, I want to go small, as small as possible.
7.2. Just Begin
7.2.1. The beginning is half of every action. - Greek proverb
7.2.2. The problem with procrastination is that there's no beginning going on
7.2.3. we challenge like a warrior challenges. By simply beginning the task
7.2.4. i. Begin - to begin is half the work, let half still remain; again begin this, and thou wilt have finished. - Marcus Aurelius
7.3. Let your life be a small thing
7.3.1. Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together. - Vincent Van Gogh
7.3.2. Dream a really big dream and once you do that ....take the tiniest action possible, the smallest step imaginable in the pursuit of that dream.
7.3.3. It's not a choice between success and failure in living the dream, it's a choice, today, between a tiny step and no step.
7.3.4. We weep for the part of us that does not give its all.
8. Serving is the opposite of pleasing
8.1. i. The most efficient use of your time is to serve with it. Serving is always effective. It always has an amazing (though sometimes delayed) return on investment of energy.
8.2. ii. The least efficient use of your time is to please people with it. To try to win approval. To impress someone.
8.3. iii. Ineffective people think they need more and more love from others.
8.4. ii. Focusing on my own "needs" will cause me to lose sales, lose friendships, lose business, lose happiness. Wanting something for myself is demeaning and always feels infantile at the level of soul. Wanting something for you is more fun than I ever dreamed it could be.
9. Action Orientation
9.1. Stop all that thinking
9.1.1. ii. Doing is the most underrated thing there ever was.
9.2. Don't Freeze
9.2.1. i. What I do not advocate is being out of action. Waiting. Trying to decide things. Calling time out.
9.2.2. ii. Being frozen while making difficult decisions. It leads to misery.
9.2.3. iii. Stop trying to decide what to do. Just choose something and do it.
9.3. Want to know who you are?
9.3.1. i. Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you. - Thomas Jefferson
9.4. How do I become creative?
9.4.1. All action has you leaving your comfort zone. That's what's fun about it when you do it - and scary when you think about it in advance.
9.4.2. ii. Creativity is not about the mind, it's about the body, and the action that body takes The mind just shows up later with a bundle of fresh new ideas. Ideas you'll enjoy acting on.
10. Identity
10.1. Try risking your identity
10.1.1. i. You have to be able to risk your identity for a bigger future than the present you are living. - Fernando Flores
10.1.2. That's what has to happen for an individual to go from pretty okay to absolutely great - at whatever endeavor
10.1.2.1. Lose that identity
10.2. Don't Seek Approval
10.2.1. the more approval I try to win, the worse I feel.
10.2.2. winning the approval of other people is a descent into cowardice as a man. It's the act of going pathetic in the face of circumstance.
10.2.3. It is pathetic
10.3. Don't seek permission
10.3.1. i. The question isn't, Who is going to let me; it's Who is going to stop me? - Ayn Rand
10.3.2. Dont look outside yourself for permission to do something
10.4. Victim Mindset
10.4.1. Our problem is that we forget we can be the director and actor. Instead, we pout like little children. We go on strike against life.
10.4.2. I dont know How to
10.4.2.1. people begin sentences with "I don't know how to.." and right then they are down the rabbit hole. They have become victims. The primary thought of a victim is "I don't know how to." And it's always a lie.
10.4.2.2. Aristotle: "Whatever we learn to do, we learn by actually doing it. People come to be builders, for instance, by building. By doing self-controlled acts, we come to be self-controlled, and by doing brave acts we become brave."
10.4.2.3. A warrior doesn't have to "know how to" do something. A warrior simply chooses to do it.
10.4.2.4. Van Gogh said, "If you hear a voice within you saying "I am not a painter," then, by all means, paint... and that voice will be silenced."
10.4.3. I don't know enough
10.4.3.1. All of us know much more than we think we know. We may not know everything, but all of us have the chief resources we need to solve our problems. - Nathaniel Branden
10.4.3.2. Is the act I'm about to do going to raise or lower my self-esteem? Is the day I am planning out going to end up raising my self-esteem or lowering it?
10.4.3.3. I always knew much more than I thought I knew. I always had all the resources I ever needed to solve my problems in life.
10.4.4. Chapter 15: Replace knowing with choosing
10.4.4.1. i. And you don't have to know how to do it. Knowing takes time. Choosing, on the other hand, makes time. Just choose to do it.
10.4.4.2. ii. Most people believe a deficit in knowing is their problem - which is why they have such a challenge with time. They believe they don't know what to do. So it will take time before they do it. They think they don't know "how to" do the thing that obviously needs to be done.
10.4.4.3. iii. Learning "how to" takes lots and lots of time. Past, present and future time.
10.4.4.4. iv. But choosing! Takes no time.
10.4.4.5. v. Theory is good for the intellect, but action is good for the soul.
10.5. Impossible is fun!
10.5.1. Describe your IMPOSSIBLE vision. Make sure it has previously existed in your mind as "impossible."
10.6. Dealing with Ego
10.6.1. i. Capture each negative thought or image on paper and work it. Challenge it. Go to war with it.