Category: Book Reviews

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

by Dale Carnegie

 

Work and stay busy and you won’t have time to worry

It has been said that nearly all of our worries have come from our imagination and not from reality.

The law of average tells us that it most likely cannot happen to us.

What are the chances that what I am worrying about would ever occur?

We can get through anything if we would just decide to.

In the mind we see and live.

There’s a remedy for everything under the sun –find and try and if it is not possible then accept that.

If you can fix things than do it but if you cannot, do not bother with it or stress over it.

You can either bend with the storms of life or you can break. When things happen that are not according to your will, you can do nothing about it so just bend and go with the flow.

Tires are made to absorb the bumps in the road – and if we are going to live a peaceable life, we must learn to absorb instead of fighting.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.

Cooperate with the inevitable.

How much is this problem going to cost you? If you stress more time over the problem than the time it takes for the problem, you lose!

When something happens you must realize that you can do nothing to change the past. So you must either forget it or analyze and learn from it, and then forget it.

You cannot saw sawdust because it is already been sawn. And the same applies for worry – you can do nothing about it, so leave it alone.

All the kings’ horses and all the kings’ men cannot put the past back together again.

Our thoughts make us what we are.

A man is what he thinks about all day long.

If we think sick thoughts, we will probably be sick; if we think failure thoughts, we will probably fail.

Hellen Keller wasn’t able to see yet she enjoyed life; others can see and do not enjoy life – It’s all in your mind.

When we hate someone, it is not hurting them it is only hurting us – it hurts us physically, emotionally and in every way. If our enemies knew how much our hatred towards them destroys our own selves, they would be happy.

If hatful people try to hurt you, cross them off your list; do not try to get even with them. Getting even with them will only destroy yourself, not them.

It is proven that hatred and resentment will destroy you. Your blood pressure rises, heart failure, anxiety, etc. Forgiveness is a great medicine.

No one can humiliate or disturb you if you do not let them.

An angry man is always full of poison

If you expect gratitude and recognition, you’ll live frustrated. Never expect it and you will be happy.

Jesus Christ healed 10 lepers and only one thanked to him – why should we expect any more thanks than Christ received?!

If you have all you need, don’t complain. Listen to this saying that has a lot of meaning: I had the blues because I had no shoes until I met a man on the street that had no feet.

If you want to be happy and not worry, concentrate on the 90% that is going well and not the 10% that is going wrong.

Think and thank – think about all that you have to be grateful for and thank God for it.

We seldom think about all the things that we have and focus on what we do not have.

Count your blessings, not your troubles.

Be yourself and quit trying to be someone that you’re not.

If you have a lemon, make it lemonade. Learn to turn a minus into a plus.

Two men looked out the bars; one saw mud the other saw stars.

The most important thing in life is not capitalizing on your gain; rather turning your losses into profit.

Our infirmities can help us obtain success.

Two reasons why we should work at making all our lemons into lemonade: 1) because we may succeed, and 2) because it will help us look forward and not backwards – at what we can do instead of what we can’t do.

Think about how you can please others instead of worrying – it will allow you to sleep again and replace the worry or helping/pleasing others.

By helping others you will forget about your own problems and discomfort. Take your attention off yourself and put it on others.

When you’re good to others, you’re best to yourself.

Take an interest in people – ask them how they are, what they’ve done, their ideas, their plans, how they succeeded, etc.

Learn to complement others and talk positively to them, it you will change their day and yours.

Forget yourself and find interest in others.

Fill your life full of peace, joy and multitude because your life is made up of your thoughts.

Never waste a minute thinking about people that you do not like.

Prayer is an excellent substitute for worry. Prayer helps us feel and know that we are not alone.

Prayer helps us know that we are sharing the burden with somebody else. Bottling things up will only hurt us, but sharing them is better for everyone – and prayer is sharing with God.

Learn not to worry about criticism. People criticize because they want to feel important or better than.

When you are criticized, just laugh and let it roll off your back like water off of the dock. People do not know how to respond when someone laughs about criticism.

Let’s not let the critics beat us to it, criticize ourselves so we become better in many areas. And when we are reproved and criticized, learn from those mistakes to be a better person.

Some of the greatest men are those that have learned from the critics and grown from their criticism.

Fatigue often causes you to worry or worsens your worry. Fatigue lowers your retention for fear and worry.

Learn to relax. Learn to rest often.

Even the US Army knows that a soldier needs a 10-minute rest for every hour if they are going to perform the best.

You don’t have to cure fatigue you can prevent it.

John D Rockefeller was the richest man at the time and lived to be 98 years old. How did he do it? He took a good nap for 30 minutes every afternoon.

Rest is not just doing nothing; it is a time to repair.

Worrying is one of the biggest reasons for fatigue.

When you face a problem fix it, don’t keep putting it off.

Don’t have unfinished work.

Learn to organize, deputize and supervise.

If you cannot sleep, get up and do something – read or work until you get tired.

If you cannot sleep, try prayer. Ask God to protect you and think about how He is with you. If you cannot sleep, exercise – get so tired that you have to sleep.

You can crowd worry out of your mind by reading a book.

Learn to live with gusto – if you enjoy your life and what you do, you will be less worried.

Learn to play games – if you can enjoy yourself you will take away worry.

Exercise is great for worry – use your muscles more and your mind less and it takes care worry. Worry goes when exercise begins.

If you would devote half the amount of time solving your problems as you do worrying about your problems, you wouldn’t have these problems.

Find out exactly what your problem is. Find out what caused that problem. Find a solution to that problem.

It’s good to look back on any big problems that we had to face because it helps us get through the small worries of every day – they can’t be as bad as that one time.

Don’t take yourself too serious learn to laugh.

The secret of being miserable is having the luxury to sit down and worry.

People lose time in life because of worry.

When you are worried, write it down and put it in a drawer and close it. If you can put that worry behind you, you can move on.

Time solves a lot of things so if you can let time go by, you’re worry will probably not come to pass.

If you can learn to say as Jesus said to God “thy will be done”, your worries can disappear. Leave it in Gods hand.

Realize that worry will destroy your career and destroy your health.

You can change your worry by changing your mental attitude.

If you can change your emotions, you will change your health.

If you will hang around positive people and talk about good subjects, you will dissipate your worry. You can catch and learn happiness and success from others just as you can worry about negativity.

If something worries you, take care of it immediately and get it off your mind.

What is the worse a problem can do? Concentrate on that mentally and then how to solve it.

How to Pray

by R.A. Torrey 

• Prayer is important because the devil is our enemy and does not sleep.
• We have not because we ask not
• why is it that we see so few saved, so little accomplished, etc? We have not because we ask not.
• Mighty men of the Bible and outside of the Bible are all the men of prayer.
• Prayer played a very important role in the life of our Lord – Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12
• Prayer is what God chose to use for receiving from him – Hebrews 4:16; John 15:24
• Prayer is communion with our Savior and in his presence is where Joy is – Psalm 16:11
• Prayer is the way that we rid of anxiety and have the peace of God that passes all understanding – Philippians 4:6-7
• We are to pray to be ready for His coming.
• In answer to prayer he forgives – Psalm 51
• In answer to prayer, he gives wisdom – James 1:5
• Prayer brings power to our work – prayer often avails where everything else fails.
• Prayer brings blessings to the church
• There is special power in prayer. If there’s power in individual prayer, there’s something very special in united prayer.
• When we least feel like praying sometimes we most need to pray.
• Many obstacles in Prayer: lack of forgiveness, stinginess, problems between spouses, lack of faith, etc.
• The Lord teaches us to pray in the morning, at night, alone, and when we are busy. And when we are most busy we most need to pray

Have a New Kid by Friday

Dr. Kevin Leman 

Below are topics he talks about:

• Allowance
• Anger
• Attending Worship
• Attention
• Babysitting
• Bad Language
• Bathing and Hygine
• Bedtime
• Bedwetting
• Bullying
• Carelessness W Money
• Cellphone
• Cheating
• Chores
• Christmas
• Courtesy
• Communicating
• Complaining
• Curfew
• Defiance
• Disruption In Class
• Driving
• Drugs
• Earrings
• Eating Hassles
• Fear
• Fighting In Car
• Forgetfulness
• Going On Overnights
• Grocery Store Antics
• Helpless
• Hitting
• Homeschool Teaching
• Homework
• Hyperactivity
• Ignoring Parents
• Internet
• Interuptions
• Irresponsibility W/ Car
• Isolating
• Know It All
• Lack Of Cooperation
• Lateness
• Laziness
• Lying
• Manners
• Me Me Me
• Messy Rooms
• Misuse Of TV
• Music
• Music Lessons
• My Space
• Name Calling
• Not Getting Up
• Nursing
• Obsessive Compulsive
• Overeating
• Over caution
• Parties
• Peer Influence
• Pets
• Picky Eaters
• Pornography
• Potty Training
• Power Games
• Procrastination
• Punching Holes
• Put Downs
• Respect
• Retention
• Rolling Eyes
• Rudeness
• Saying Thanks
• Screaming
• Selfishness
• Sharing
• Showing Off
• Shyness
• Sibling Rivalry
• Slamming Doors
• Smoking
• Spaciness
• Spanking
• Spitting
• Sports
• Stealing
• Stomping
• Stubbornness
• Talking Back
• Tattling
• Tattoos
• Telephone courtesy
• Temper Tantrums
• Thumb sucking
• Undereating
• Unkindness
• Wardrobe
• When Life Isn’t Fair
• Whiners
• Youth Activities

 

Top 10 Countdowns to Having New Kid by Friday:

10. Consistent in your behavior as a parent

9.  Always follow through

8.  Respond, don’t react

7.  What would old self do – do what new self would do

6.  Never threaten

5.  Never get angry and apologize when do

4.  Don’t give warnings – if do, you are saying, “you are so stupid I have to tell you more than once”

3.  Ask self, who’s problem is this – don’t own what is not yours

2.  Don’t think problem will go away

1.  Keep a happy face on – even when want to do something else

“A” (attitude), “B” (behavior) and “C” (character) – all in their order.

Remember that “B” (behavior) doesn’t happen until “A” (attitude) is taken care of.

Guided by Grace

By Paul Chappell

• One reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail, not his tongue.

• Greatness for God requires greatness with God.

• The key for any pastor is that he learns to control his schedule, disallowing his schedule to control him.

• We cannot become an emotional hermit and still serve God’s people.

• Example of David – pg 96-97 (look at it)

• We know that Biblical separation does not avoid contact with the world, only conformity to it.

• We must be out in the world without conforming to the world.

• Biblical separation is turning away from sin and toward Christ.

• People would rather see a sermon than hear a sermon any day.

• Biblical vision is clear, compassionate and courageous

• Every day Christopher Colombus wrote in a personal journal. Some of those entries are only four words – “Today we sailed on.” We too will experience many days during the course of our spiritual journey when all we can record is “Today I sailed on”. Be encouraged – siling on is better than turning around. The implementation of spiritual vision is an act of obedience to God’s Word, and sometimes that means we must stay the course without seeing visible results. This is the nature of vision. William Carey, recognized as the father of modern missions, called it plodding.

• The man of God prays to God, gets Biblical vision from God and stands up to proclaim the Word of God.

• It is only as we develop others around us that we permanently succeed in the ministry.

• A local pastor who believes that his only responsibility is to teach the Bible has not captured the full understanding of his calling.

• Most Christians realize the mission of the church is to evangelize the world with the Gospel of Christ, but a definite strategy of accomplishing this goal is often not clearly implemented.

• The word influence is derived from the Latin word for influenza or what we commonly refer to today as the flu. How is the flu contracted? It is passed from person to person through one-on-one contact. Influence passes from person to person in a similar way—unseen.

• Although recognizing leaders is an important first step in developing them, I is incomplete without mentoring. It is vital that those who are currently in leadership of the local church spend time with and mentor the future ministry leaders.

• Fellowship with purpose – the activities we have should not just be for any reason, but have a purpose.

• However, mentoring is not an end in itself. The process must proceed to the next step which is equipping.

• It seems we don’t mind mentoring and equipping, but we struggle to share the ministry with others. Unfortunately, if people are not allowed the opportunity to share in the real ministry, they are hindered in exercising a leadership role, and the entire organization is stifled. Maturity doesn’t come with age. It comes with acceptance of responsibility.

• The two basic reasons we do not delegate are: insecurity (lack of spiritual growth) and Disorganization

• The process of delegation can be outlined in the following way:

• Remember to mentor and teach before delegation.
• Give clearly identifiable duties for the given task.
• Verbalize confidence in the person to whom you delegate.
• Give him authority to get the job done.
• Establish budget limits if applicable.
• Allow him room to fail and learn from his mistakes.
• Set predetermined checkpoints fro evaluation.
• Praise him and give him credit for a job well done.

• The process of leadership development

• Saturated in prayer
• Mentoring
• Equipping
• Delegating
• Evaluating
• Multiplying

• In the Epistles of Paul, John, James and Peter, they are full of names of believers mentioned who made a difference by laboring together – None of these men stood alone in the ministry.

• Learning is change

• A critical spirit equals ministry suicide.

• Building a team requires time and commitment. It involves building relationships with the members of the team. Many church leaders get so caught up in administration and paperwork that they forget to invest in the lives of their people.

• Learn to enjoy teamwork. After all, anything worth doing is worth doing together.

• Fellowship is a tool in the continuing process of an equipping ministry. We are not going to develop a team without fellowship. We may not think we have time to take out staff to a ball game or invite them to our homes, but we don’t have time not to. We need to redeem the time, and that includes building relationships.

• The common, ordinary, one-gift Christians are the very backbone of the church. We have our great evangelists, our large congregations led by dynamic leaders and our wealthy brethren who are able to finance great works. But if the work of the Lord is to be done and if the Gospel is to be taken to the lost, then it will be accomplished by ordinary Christians.

• Christian pollster George Barna has reported in a number of surveys that three-fourths of the church growth in our day is growth from transfer of memberships from one church to another. North American pastors need to be reminded that the ministry is not about paper work—it is about people work.

Five Love Languages

By Gary Chapman

• Words of Affirmation

Positive verbal reinforcement. If this is your love language, you feel wonderful when someone gives you a genuine compliment. You may feel insecure without encouragement or regular expressions of approval. You feel loved when your partner expresses appreciation for the small things you do.

• Quality Time

Periods where you have complete attention. If quality time is your primary love language, you feel neglected without time spent specifically focused on each other, or doing something together that you love to do. You enjoy sharing things you love with others, and feel special when someone else includes you in something they are passionate about.

• Receiving Gifts

Physical or visual symbols of affection. If receiving gifts makes you feel loved, that does not mean you are superficial. Some people simply respond to tangible illustrations of the love in a relationship. Different from being a “gold digger,” someone who speaks this love language appreciates thoughtful, personal gifts, not necessarily dependent on price. A home-made card or tiny trinket can speak volumes, if well-chosen and suited to the recipient.

• Acts of Service

Doing things for a loved one. If this is your dominant love language, you feel loved when someone goes out of their way to make things more pleasant or smooth for you. Examples include: doing chores, cooking dinner, taking care of something that would normally be your responsibility, chipping in without being asked. Most people can relate to this love language, though in very different ways, and it is extremely important to practice this love language out of genuine feeling, rather than duty, to avoid resentment.

• Physical Touch

Bodily contact between people. Not restricted to sexual intercourse or intimacy, this love language encompasses all kinds of touch, from hugs to kisses to cuddling. Physical contact can be its own form of communication. If this is your love language, you need your partner to recognize what kinds of touch are pleasant and which are irritating, and focus on increasing the former and reducing the latter.

Faith Promise for World Witness

By Norm Lewis

 

Could a Mariner sit idle

if he heard the drowning cry?

Could a doctor sit in comfort

and just let his patients die?

Could a fireman sit idle,

let men in burn and give no hand?

Can you sit at ease in Zion,

With the world around you damned? – Leonard Ravenhill

Do Christians really care? Do you? If so, the faith promise plan may be part of your answer.

II Cor. 10:16

Ask yourself, how important is world evangelization? To God? To you? To me?

The grain that is not reaped will rot!

Men and money – both must be produced in huge supply.

Few things stir the hearts of people as much as seeing those from their own congregation dedicate themselves to the active doing of God’s will. As the plan aids in realizing such results, it is profitable to any church.

Love for Christ and for the lost should guide our giving.

Motivating people to trust God is a duty and a privilege.

Faith promise is wholly voluntary.

When Christians put their shoulders to the wheel to share Christ with all men everywhere, giving to local needs also increases. Thus the faith promise plan greatly benefits the whole church program.

A pledge generally emphasizes the horizontal relationship between the giver and his church. A faith promise emphasizes the vertical relationship between the giver and his God. A pledge is usually considered to be a legal and obligatory contract, but faith promise is not. Statements or dunning letters are never sent.

The Faith promise plan is of benefit to all believers of all ages. Its emphasis encourages young people to yield their lives for His service.

A common shortcoming of Christians in the United States is that they consume the full loaf of gospel bread at home while sending only bits and crumbs abroad.

Let us give priority to completing Gods discipling plan around the world using the faith promise plan.

The pastor is the first key to the faith promise plans success.

Pour time, effort and prayer into people who are moving with God.

Faith promise seems to have been initiated by AB Simpson in his missionary conferences in the 1880s.

God’s plan is for churches to produce, send and support missionaries during this age of grace. The work must not cease until the trumpet signals Christ second coming.

Faith promise emphasizes: the importance of people. The purpose of giving. Giving for love of Christ. Willing giving. Weekly giving. Face centrality. Spiritual substance. God. Dependence upon Christ. Christ coming kingdom, …

Occupying till Christ comes. John 10:16; I Corinthians 12:27; Colossians 1:18; Revelation 5:9; Matthew 25:6; Mark 13:10

Everyone Communicates, Few Connect

By John Maxwell

 

You can learn to communicate to any person at any situation

• Think about others
• Capture their interests, inspire

Learning to communicate with others is one of the most important skills to learn

• Connecting is all about others
• If you only think of yourself and not connect with others, you will isolate yourself, offending and hurting others
• Value others, connect with others
• Its not about you, its about them
• Change the focus on inward not outward

Many think that the conversation is about themselves because of the following reasons:

• Maturity – maturity is the ability to see and act on others.  Focus on others. You’re not the center of the universe.
• Ego – Being caught in self love doesn’t allow you to connect.  If you are more worried about the speech then connecting with people, you will lose them. All speakers all wonderfully received when they warmly connect with the audience.
• Failure to value everyone – to add value to others, you must value others. Don’t ignore people. All people are significant.
• Insecurity – the more you are seeking approval from audience, the more it becomes about yourself. Have an attitude of selflessness.

3 Questions to connect with people:

• Do you care for me? There should be a mutual concern. Care for others, you will connect with them.  If you care you can Connect with people and will make your life better and theirs.
• Can you help me? Focus on what benefits you can offer to someone. Focus on benefits.
• Can I trust you? Trust is vital to any business and life itself. Keep reminding yourself to connect with others.

What we say only accounts for 7%; the way we say it accounts for 38%; the way others perceive it accounts for 55%.

• What people say verbally (Connect verbally) – In the first 7 seconds people will decide all about who you are.  Movement conveys a clearer message. Environment plays a huge role in communication

– If you want to connect with others, be prepared to make adjustments.

• What people understand (Connect intellectually) – communication must go beyond words. Connecting must go beyond words.

The teacher is not good because of what he knows rather because of what his students know – John Maxwell, communicating and connecting.

How not to connect:

• Be Monotone
• Look down, not at the people
• Think it is all about you, no need to help them
• Assumption – think they know something or behave a certain way
• Arrogance – live on higher ground, overlook them
• Indifference – not care about the way they do or think.

Repetition is key to learning.

Tell people what you are going to say, say it and then remind them of what you just said

• Say it clearly – you must be able to see it clearly in your mind to say clearly with your mouth. Have one main idea.
• Say less – better they think you speak too little than too much. Some of the greatest speeches are many times the shortest ones.

There are no bad audiences, only bad speakers. If people are sleeping, someone should go upfront and wake up the speaker.

Communicate in the world of the audience – say things in the perspective of the listeners.

Tips on communicating with your audience:

• Ask questions – interact with them by asking questions (to respond or just making them think)
• Get people moving – stand, move or do something.
• Have the audience Interact with each (talking, shaking hands, looking, etc.)
• Say it so it’ll stick – package it in a fresh and clever way so that it will be remembered.
• Humor
• Don’t be predictable – people go to sleep because they know where you are going so throw them off by saying something or going a way they did not expect.
• Tell stories – everyone loves stories; it wakes them up and puts interest back into the people.

Some people inspire us more than others do.

What they know + what they see + how they feel = inspiration.

The inspiration factor:

• What people need to know – people need to know that you are on their side. People need to know that you understand them and are focused on them.  Inspiring communicators always expect something from their listeners. Everyone wants someone to challenge him or her. Great speakers inspire others.

• What they see – their perception of the speaker. People need to see your conviction. They need to see your credibility. People need to see evidence of your character. The real message does not stop when your speech stops.

• What they need to feel – people will not always remember what you say or what you did, but they will remember how you made them feel.  People must see your vision – vision without passion is like a picture without purpose. Passion is powerful. People need to see your confidence in yourself and in them. People need to feel your gratitude towards them. You as a speaker should be grateful that they would stay and give you their ear.

Inspiration connects with people.

Don’t just inspire people call them to action. Most people already know more than they do; the good communicator will help people with their follow through.

A motivational teacher makes you feel good but the next day you do not know what to do; an inspirational teacher makes you feel good and the next day you’ll know what to do. One makes you feel good and the other makes you do good. We should help people move from the know-how to the do-now. The true test of inspiration is action.

With credibility leaders connect with people, without credibility leaders disconnect from people.

Wisdom is knowing the right thing to do; integrity is doing the right thing.

Eat that Frog

By Brian Tracy

 

Change the way you think and do things

Apply things until they become a habit

Why do some people get more done than others? They do things right, use time differently – and what they do, I can do too, just ask them and do same thing.

Key to success is action

Always much to do and more ideas, but key is to focus on most impor things

Do hardest thing first and then the easiest

If have to eat a live frog, it’s not going to help sitting there and looking at it – just do it

Activity and accomplishment are often confused, but not the same

Learn to start and finish a job

Practice is key to master something

To become a successful person – Decision, Discipline and Determination

• Decide what you want or are expected
• Write it down – goals not in writing lead to not getting things done
• Set deadline on goal
• Make a list of steps to complete job
• Organize the list into a plan – what to do now and what to do later
• Take action on the plan – execution
• Do something every day towards the goal – discipline of reading or doing things give you fuel to continue

Long term thinking improves short term decision making. Making decisions of the present is easier when you know what your long term goal is. What are the future consecuences or benefits of what I am going to do in the present.

First law of success is concentration – bend all strenghts to one point and focus on that point.

There is never enough time to do everything, but always time to do important things.

We may never be able to catch up, so get that out of your mind – better to just do what is most important and forget the rest.

3 questions on getting things done:

• What are my highest value activities
• What can I and only I do that is done well and that can make a difference
• What is the most valuable use of my time right now – this is the core question of time management. Every hour of every day I need to ask this question. Do first things first and second things… not at all.

When fully prepared, you can get much more done.  Most creative people make the place they work at a nice, comfortable and clean place where they are going to work – this will help you work well.  The cleaner and neater, the more effective and efficient you feel to work.

Learn what you need to learn so you can do what you are supposed to do. Much of procrastination is because we don’t know exactly how to do what we are going to do. Continuous learning is a key to success. What others know, I can learn as well.

There are certain things you can do or learn to do that can make you valuable to others.

You can not do everything, but you can do those things that make you accel

How do you eat an elephant? – one bite at a time – and the same method is used to finish a big job.

Only about 2% of people can do work entirely without supervision – they are called leaders. Learn to put the pressure on yourself. The world is full of people waiting for someone to come and motivate them to be the type of people they should be – but no one is coming to help them.

Keep yourself motivated and be your own cheerleader.

Don’t share your problems with others because 80% don’t care anyway and the other 20% are glad you have those problems.

Don’t blame others, accept responsibility, don’t dwell on the negative.

Go the extra mile, do more than you are paid for. Wake up earlier, stay up later, work a little harder.

Successful people put the pressure on themselves. Work as though you have 1 day left to get all the things done – become a high performanced person.

Write out the steps to do projects and then work exclusively on these task.

If you do things when you are energized, you will get more done as oppossed to being tired. Turn off the TV and go to sleep. Take off one day a week and relax, do things that will not tax your brain and allow your brain to recharge yourself – a change is as good as a rest. A vacation, a weekend off, etc will rejuvenate you. Be careful of what you eat – feed yourself as you would feed a world-class athlete before a competition because that is what you are before you are before beginning that task. And finishing the task gives you more energy and helps you feel like you have accomplished much.

One of most powerful words in time management is “NO” – say it often and say it quickly. Do not accept things that you can not do.

Always do the most difficult job first

Many have become best sellers because they have written 1 page a day until finishing the job – working in time segments will help you tremendously (read so much of a book, exercise for 30 minutes, call during this part of the day, etc). Someone who creates blocks of time completes more than the normal person. Remember that the pryamides were built one stone at a time. Make every minute count by planning and preparing your work in advance.

The key to happiness and effectiveness is to eat the frog, the difficult task, every day before starting other things.

21 ideas for getting things done

• Set the Table – decide what you want, write out goals before begin, clarity is essential.

Ability to concentrate on most important things = happiness and getting more done

10/90 rule – first 10% of time you plan will save you 90% of time when you begin to work

We always have enough time if we manage it right

• Plan day in advance – think on paper. Every day you spend time planning will save you time in execution.

Write out what you want will help you

Planning is bringing future in present so I can do something about it right now.

Every minute in planning saves you at least 2 hours in wasted time

Proper prior planning permits proper performance

Think on paper, you will be able to do more

Make list at end of day or night before and be ready for next day – you will be more effective the next day.

A. Have a master list

B. Have a monthly list

C. Have a weekly list – to plan out week in advance

D. Transfer from monthly/weekly list to daily list

• Apply the 80/20 rule – 20% of what you do will amount to the 80% of importance. Concentrate on most important

There is always 20 percent (2 out of the 10 to-do things on my list) that are more important and will be more profitable if I do it.

Resist the temptation to clear up the small things first – if you choose to do the small things at the first of the day, you will make a habbit of doing small things, so start with the big things first. Most people do the small things and procrastinate on the big things.

Time management is life management – control over what you do next.

Your ability to choose between the important and most important is important and will allow you to accomplish more than the average person.

• Concentrate on the consecuences – what are the good or bad consecuences of doing what I am going to do.

• Practice the ABCDE method continually – organize by value and priority

ABCDE rule: put an “A, B, C, D, E” beside every task to see what is the importance.

• Something very important – the frogs of your life
• Should do – not as important as the “A” task. Never be distracted by a tadpole when you have a frog in front of you.
• Nice to do but no consecuences at all if do – call a friend, etc
• Something you can delegate to someone else – you should delegate things that can be done by others.
• Something you can eleminate all together because not important to do. Maybe was important at one time, but not important now.

• Focus on key result areas – what are the things I have to do well at and focus on those things.

• Obey the law of forced efficiency – there is never enough time to do everything, but always enough time to do the most important things.

• Prepare thoroughly before you begin – proper prior preparation prevents poor performance.

• Do your homework – more knowledge you have about the task you are going to do, the better and more quickly you can get it done.

• Leverage your special talents – determine what you are good at or what could be good at and do those things very well.

• Identify your key restraints – focus on alleviating the constraints to be more affective.

• Take it one step at a time – you can accomplish if you just take it one step at a time.

• Put pressure on yourself – imagine you have to leave town and you have to complete things before you leave – that will help you accomplish it.

• Maximize your personal powers – identify your best times of day mentally and phisically and focus on working during those times. Get lots of rest so you can perform at your best.

• Motivate yourself into action – be your own cheerleader. Look for the good in everything, focus on the solution rather than the problem. Always be optomistic and constructive.

• Practice creative procrastination – since you can’t do everything, pick the most important things and do the other things later.

• Do the most difficult task first – the one task that can make the greatest contribution to your job.

• Slice and dice the task – break large task into small task and do them parts at a time.
• Create large chunks of time – organize your days into sections of time so that you can do what you need to do.

• Develop a sense of urgency – become known as a person who does things quiclky and well.

Highly effective people plan and set priorities

Stopping and picking back up task can take up to 500% more time than just doing it. You get more done when continuing something, but when stop a task, you break the flow of doing it.

Self discipline, self mastery and self control are the base of character and high performance.

• Single handle every task – set priorities and work until the job is 100% complete, this is the real key to high performance and maximum productivity.

Persistence is self discipline in action