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Recent Readers
How To Build a Reader Empire
Once you have made the decision to start a blog, you’ll need to determine a schedule and then continue with it. When considering this consistency try to take into consideration all aspects of your life and then make the decision on posting frequency. My recommendation would be to start out with one post per week and slowly work your way up from there. (read more on blogging consistency)
Blogging and the Reality Time Management
When I decided to address time management I did some research and thought about the courses I have taken in the past in my university studies. This subject can be long and discussed forever but that is not truly necessary in my opinion. Personally I think when it comes right down to it everyone knows what it takes in order to effectively manage time but only a small percent of people actually take those steps. The number one reason in my opinion is laziness and the unwillingness to except change and work hard towards that specific path!
When it comes to blogging time management becomes something that you are hit with right in the face! My personal situation is I’m married with two children and work a full time job so time management plays a big part in making or breaking my continued rising success.
Blogging from looking from the outside may seem very easy to the untrained eye but to actually maintain a family, job and write one article daily can deem to be impossible sometimes with out the discipline of following a success plan.
What is my plan? Simple, kick myself in the a** and then an article takes me about an hour to write and at least thirty minutes to gather my thoughts before hand. When am I able to write my article? The average time that I am able to do this is between 7:30 p.m. & 9:00 p.m. Then any time I have free for; commenting, emails, tweaking, optimizing, researching and reading I take it.
- Manage your time by making decisions and acting on them.
- Establish a plan for success.
- Decide what your priorities are and then concentrate on them.
- Apply all to 80/20 Principle of Pareto / Juran.
Time Management Education:
Time management defined is simple just the management of your time into the most productive path for successful outcomes. As simply as it sounds it seems that so many people out there are lacking in this area to an instant that they reach the end of their lives without actually ever succeeding in this area. The time is now to take action and start making decisions that produce results.
There are many time management systems out there that try and entice you into paying money for what ever their given system may be at that time. The reality here is that these plans take your money and distract you from actually accomplishing what it is that you set out to do in the first place. The fact is until you establish a plan that you are willing to go forth with you will never successfully manage your time effectively. Start by finding out what you feel is your blogs purpose and use that reason to coerce yourself into making those needed improvements. Now decide what your blogging priorities are and then start concentrating on them.
Apply the 80/20 Rule by Pareto he established that 20 percent of people owned 80 percent of the wealth. In Juran’s work he identified that 20 percent of defects caused 80 percent of the problems. Ok so given this the 80/20 basically means that 20 percent is essential and 80 percent is inconsequential.
Using this method what you should do is remind yourself daily what 20 percent of blogging is important for success and begin focusing on it first. What are your thoughts on time management and blogging?
My 7 Personal Values To Live Life
My 7 personal values that I live a better life from are Integrity: Do the right thing! Courage: Face your fears accept and take on new challenges. Passion: Live your life to its fullest potential. Contentment: Fulfillment of human needs. Action: Now is this best approach. Respect: Treat others as you would like to be treated. Expectation: Live with hope and set achievable goals.
- 1. Integrity This is the most import value in my opinion and I consider it to be the foundation of achieving a better life. Integrity is the value in which a person’s character can be determined by others. People that hold high integrity portray this in their work and everything else they strive to achieve has a sense of superiority.
- 2. Courage The moral and mental strength that allows for the acceptance of new challenges without regards to the fear that may lie beneath. Start a method of thinking boldly and greater results will follow in the recreation of a better life.
- 3. Passion Live life to its fullest potential by taking an enthusiastic approach and start by becoming a self motivator. By keeping your mind constantly renewed at the highest possible level you will begin your path to happiness which in turn will empower your passion.
- 4. Contentment The pursuit of contentment is a state of mind established by fulfilling your basic human needs. The basic needs that need to be fulfilled include; shelter, food, health, hope and love. Many studies have produced results showing that content people are more; energetic, decisive, trusting, creative, flexible and happy in society.
- 5. Action Now not tomorrow an expression I use when I want something done and do not want to wait a lifetime for it. Nike’s slogan Just Do It! This is an excellent catchphrase do not wait until tomorrow when it can be accomplished today. Stop the procrastination and start taking action.
- 6. Respect To treat people as you would like to be treated. This is of great significance in everyday life and without it life can seem intolerable at times. First establish self respect by determining your identity and value. Then begin respecting others by formulating a positive judgment about them by evaluating their character.
- 7. Expectation Hope should be the number one tool for overcoming situations that life throws your way that seems discouraging. Hope can come in many forms; spiritual, people, events and family. Set the expectation and use the power of hope to drive this goal or inspiration.
Generally people that set values to live by are more successful in life and become an example to follow. Some self improvement spokespeople say that if you write your values down on paper then you are on your way to success. I do not agree with this at all, writing them down is the easy part in my opinion it is the actually doing part that shows success. A piece a paper with some writing on it is useless if it is just collecting dust beside your bin at home. So Just Do It, like Nike has been saying for years.
Effective Balance Adds Success
I have always felt the true meaning of a balanced life has to do with how you actually feel and not the actual material success you have accomplished. We are surrounded by commercials, programs and advertisement that
stress the importance of material gain. These material accomplishments in my opinion will never give you true meaningful balance in your life. Why do you think it is that there are so many financially successful people out there and they are still unhappy with their life?
1. Early Start
My day starts at 5:00a.m every morning not including weekends and I have noticed this has given me the time that adds the extra balance I need in my day. I used to stay up later in the past but I have noticed that now I find myself going to sleep around 10:30pm since waking up earlier. So anyway when I wake up, I have a shower and take care of my personal hygiene. Afterwards I have a Vive drink not sure they are available in the states or not but basically it’s a health drink that gives you half of your fruit and vegetable intake for the day. Getting this early start gives me a feeling of being more energetic and an overall feeling of being more productive in my day.
2. Exercise and Breakfast
I leave for work at 5:50 a.m and arrive at 6:15am for my personal fitness program to maintain my health and fitness goals. Monday is arm and abs day, I focus on triceps, biceps and shoulders then 100 reps on the abs machine. Tuesday is chest day three targeted chest exercises and then 15 minutes on the elliptical cardio machine. Wednesday is back and abs two targeted back exercises and 100 reps of abs again. Thursday is my day off and then Friday is leg day one targeted exercises per leg muscle.
Also after each work out I follow this with 15-20 minutes in the sauna and then a cool shower. I want to add what a relaxing experience the sauna gives to your entire body and it is key to leaving your work out with an overall relaxed feeling. Directly after I go to my office early and have a banana, Power bar and large Evian water. The 30 minutes I spend in my office eating breakfast gives time to reflect on general thoughts I have for the day or future and read up on the latest news.
3. Personalize Workspace
Since most of us spend the majority of our workday at our office or work related area I feel it is extremely important to add the balance you need by personalizing your space. Personalization will give a feeling of being relaxed at work and typically transforms your abilities to stay focused. Pictures of your family or pets give the feeling of being close to them without actually being there. The idea behind personalization of your workspace is if you feel balanced and happy then your productivity will remain in a high status.
4. Effective Communication
Communication is the most important aspect of adding the right balance to your life. Using effective communication in your family, work and social life will add an invaluable amount of balance that is needed to be happy and maintain high productivity. I give my wife credit for teaching me how important this really is especially in marriage. If you are unable to effectively communicate with the person you love then how will you ever accomplish this in the other areas of life. You should always understand and know the person you are communicating with because if you do not you effectiveness will definitely be a lost cause. So always try to learn as much as possible about colleagues or people you are interested in effectively speaking to and getting you point across successfully.
E Savings Account Where’s Your Money
This subject actually came up yesterday when a colleague was talking about how they were unsure what they should be investing their money in. The first question I asked was where do you have your money now and of course it was setting in a savings account that draws around the National Average of 0.82% (U.S.). I know that there are different averages internationally but I am going to focus on the (U.S) since that is where I am from.
This is something that you hear all the time (I do not know how to save) well at least I do anyway. An easy solution is take charge of your life and start putting your money into the highest yielding savings account you can find, until you can get your head out of your ass and learn or find a financial advisor to help sort you out. Why is it that people spend more time researching what cars, pizzas, and clothes they are going to buy than they do on how to save and what the best possible place is for their money?
The worst thing I’ve heard about saving money actually came from my father when he said why save your money when you may be dead before you retire and get to spend it. While this may true yes you may die but what if you don’t! Everyone has their guilty pleasures just as my wife and I have ours (cars) but we still research, plan and set successful goals for the future.
Off Topic Some: We spent $50,000 on a BMW Convertible and to some that is a waste of money. Our answer to that is we maybe dead (father’s reason) before we are able to buy a luxury car when people say it is appropriate to do so. You know when we are unable to see and walk and then the grandchildren come over and steal the car. Which brings to me to say, Where’s Your Money take control of your finances like you would do to ensure you have that pizza, burger and beer on the weekend. I know that I am going way off topic oh wellbecause I wanted add some facts about my life that show the ability for change and taking control of your life! Ok, my background poor trailer trash kid that swore to himself that he would never live that way again and have been digging himself out of that hole for years (if you like that life then more power to you -I do not). Accomplishments so far; Bachelors degree from OSU – Computer Information Systems, Minor in Management, First Real Estate investment purchase 28 (Kelly (British-Wife) purchased her first & second house at 19 & 22 – influenced me on Real Estate investment), that BMW at 29 paid cash, Successful Marriage, Great job working in Europe, Seeing the World Traveling, setting values to live by and doing things for our children that I could never imagine as a child growing up. Oh and almost forgot I am 32 now and Ja Kel Daily Dot Com one the most successful blogs on the net – around 2 years from now.
Back on subject since I have been using E*Trade (5.05%) for four years now and they have the new Complete Savings Account that has no minimums and no account fees (5.05%), I will be recommending them because the bottom line is they satisfy all my financial needs; kids trust funds, e-payments, mutual funds, stocks, CDs, and of course the savings complete account. In case in the back of your head you are thinking this is an affiliate attempt on my part it is not. At the moment I just want to help people get the most out of their money. However if I do find an E*Trade affiliate program I will definitely be promoting it in the future – just like my RSS Feeds.
There are other E Savings accounts out there that have much higher yields than the average such as; ING Direct (4.50%), Emigrant Direct (5.05%) and Citibank Direct (4.75%). Unfortunately, I do not have any recommendations on the International side since I have not done the research so I am leaving that up the International readers to educate others by commenting on what places are best to save your hard earned currency at.
Bottom line is that people are going to do what they want in the end but at least research things first before just doing what you and leaving your money in the first hole in the ground that you find.
Sex Education
To maintain a healthy marriage or relationship, sex I would say is the number one deciding or ending point for established relationships. In the beginning of a relationship or marriage it is a learning process of getting to know your partners ins and outs. Sex is not something that you get perfect every time it is definitely a work in process until you perfect it to each others standards.
With sex comes the emotional bond that you and your partner form over time and it should grow stronger and stronger if you are doing things right. If this is not the case then you will begin to grow apart over time and then the inhabitable will happen, the end of your relationship or marriage. Maybe you are saying but my sex isn’t great and I am still together with my partner, but the question I ask are you truly happy? I think that if you do say yes then you are lying to yourself because it is human nature to want and need this sexual bond with your significant other. So basically put your first foot forward and go into your relationship or marriage willing to learn and educate your partner in the rules of making your bodies and emotions happy.
- 1. Communication: very simple stop being afraid to tell them what you like and want.
- 2. Showing: start showing them what touches best turn you own and give you the most pleasure.
- 3. Doing: ok then what are you waiting for start doing what you’ve talked about because if you do not then you have not accomplished anything have you!
10 Steps Goal Success
Setting successful goals and staying on path are very important. My family’s long term goal of paying for a house with a 10 year mortgage, is what I call a forced savings method. By using my 10 steps of successful goal achievement I will demonstrate how my family are using them and have successfully continued to stay on path to achieving our set goal.
10 Steps
- 1. Start by writing them down it is as easy as that. Think about what you want to achieve either long term or short term. Writing down your goals is a tested and proven method of effectively declaring your intentions and working towards them.
- 2. Think about what it is you want to achieve and be specific on the areas you want to make improvements in.
- 3. It is important to set time limits for both short term and long term. I suggest 0-2 year short term and 2-5 long term time limits.
- 4. When you have you goals set and written down start thinking how these goals will benefit you and write it down. Use these benefits as a motivation tool to help keep you focused on the goal at hand.
- 5. Consider all possible paths that can be taken to achieve your goals. Evaluate these paths and calculate all possible consequences that may occur and cause possible obstacles.
- 6. Take the above five steps and start to prepare and form your plan of attack.
- 7. Categorize your resources you have and make a list of all additional support needed.
- 8. Check your life balance this will help you in the process of adding needed balance to your life.
- 9. Do not just sit there start now by taking action on those thoughts going threw your head. If you do not then you will remain in a state of never achieving anything you have a desire to do!
- 10. Review your plan and if possible have a close friend have a look at it also, a second opinion. Remember if you do go for the second opinion most times if you have a high goal set people will be negative. Be prepared for criticism when trying to break away from the norm of regular day to day life. Stays focused and make a habit of regularly checking your progress on your set goal.
My Family Goal
- 1. Find Investment property and pay for it in 10 years and then sell after property is paid in full (long term goal).
- 2. Use profit made from the sell of property to invest into more properties.
- 3. Time limit 10 years stated by mortgage paper work.
- 4. Will improve my family with better financial means.
- 5. Path to be taken live in the house for 3.5 years and renting it for 6.5 years, renter market already established.
- 6. Established plan pay mortgage payments and continue to update house to highest standard of living this will increase property value.
- 7. Resources: use government overseas paycheck allowance that would have been allotted to rent if we did not use it for the mortgage. Either add allowance to your assets or you give it away to the landlord. Other resources include my home improvement knowledge and access to my father in-laws’ home improvements knowledge.
- 8. Continue to add balance to your life, posting a article later.
- 9. Action taken and method is in place and now watching our assets grow.
- 10. Communication is a must with all goals and including our goal. My wife and I are always talking about how we can better our family. At the time of writing this the heating contractors are installing the central heat in our house and will be finished Friday and just two months ago we finished our loft conversion adding another room increasing the value by $30,000 according to our real estate broker estimate. It is definitely an essential and most important step to review and discuss your plan to insure goal achievement success.