Five Tips to Take Your Learning Off Autopilot

I think the most important lesson any teacher can teach their students is that education is not a passive experience. This idea hit me the other day as I was walking through the library looking at all the books I wanted to read. It got me thinking about what I was like in high school and most of college and how I hadn't really learned how to learn until recently.

In high school, I was a pretty excellent student. AP classes, all A's, top 5 in my class -- the usual accolades for a high school all-star. Despite (or maybe because of) all this, I don't think I really learned all that much. I was good at giving my teachers what they expected and absorbing the information they presented. I did little to no outside investigation of the topics we were learning in class and I didn't ask many questions either. I saw my job as being a passive sponge to acquire as much "knowledge" as possible.

Once I entered college, not much changed. I still got good grades because I could write well and recite information. I also began to do a better job synthesizing multiple viewpoints into my own, unique point of view. However, I was mostly just High-School-Sam +1. It wasn't until my last couple semesters of college that I began to take an active role in my education. I'm not sure what finally flipped the switch in my mind, but I began to realize that there was so much more I should be learning about than what was covered in the few classes I was taking.

Ever since that time, I've tried to be as active as possible in my self-education. Reading one book will raise a list of questions and topics that I want to know more about. I take time to actually sit down and learn about something new on a daily basis. I'm grateful that I finally started to figure it out, but I can't help but wonder what I would be like if I had figured this out in high school.

I want to give anybody who has recently graduated high school a couple words of advice about not being passive. This is coming from a guy who wishes he could go back and do it again even though I was "successful" by most standards.

1. Explore everything: You don't want to pigeonhole yourself too early. There is so much more out there than what you are exposed to in school. I hadn't even heard of positive psychology until my Intro to Pysch class in college, and even then it was only in passing. Once I started reading more about it I realized that this was something I found insanely interesting. I didn't even think about it in high school because psychology wasn't a class that I took. Don't let your classes restrict your mind.

2. Read things you don't understand: You read things in high school that are specifically selected for your "level". College gets away from that a little bit, but you still won't be exposed to the true breadth of reading material that is available. Don't be intimidated by something that is supposedly "hard" to read. Worst case scenario, you don't understand everything but you've stretched your mind by trying.

3. Read things you don't agree with: One of the best ways to figure out what you truly believe, and why, is to read things you know you don't agree with. It's helpful to see the thought process and reasoning behind the "other side". Don't get caught up in choosing sides over controversial topics. Read about every aspect and you'll be able to make a much better decision for yourself.

4. Ask for help: I wish I had talked to my teachers more in college. Up until my senior year, my contact with professors was extremely limited. During my last year, however, I made it a habit to stop by their office hours and talk to them as much as possible out of class. You'll quickly discover that this will put you in the minority of your classmates and that your professors love talking about their area of expertise. At no time in your life will you have such unfettered access to legitimate experts. Don't waste it!

5. Write about the process: Writing helps you articulate your thoughts in a way that nothing else can. Reflecting on what you're learning, questions you still have, and thoughts about your education is such a powerful tool.

Most of us have already spent our time in the school system and no longer have "mandated learning." Not being passive in our self-education is probably even more important than not being passive in our formal education. This is a topic for another day, but it is one that I am becoming more and more passionate about.

How do you take charge when it comes to self-education? How active were you during your formal education? 

Earning Achievements in You: The Videogame

It used to be that just reaching the end of a video game was enough. After hours of playing and working your way through different and progressively harder levels, you'd finally reach the end. In a climactic battle against the gnarliest boss you've encountered in the entire game you would finally reach the end and could set down your controller with a sigh of relief. You have beaten it, and you are the master.

Today's video games, however, don't settle for letting you merely beat the game. You're welcome to play through the story line and reach the conclusion, but that's not where the real fun hides any more. Instead, video games today have what are known as Achievements. Each game comes with a different set of unique Achievements that encourage you to spend time playing the game in a different way than you normally would. Essentially, they are little trophies for accomplishing certain things within a game. For example, I recently bought Starcraft 2 (it's about time, Blizzard!) and have attained Achievements for killing a certain number of units in a limited amount of time, for executing certain aspects of the game very quickly, for progressing the storyline forward in the campaign mode and many other actions. There are probably a hundred more that I have not even begun working on yet-- but I plan on it. It adds an interesting dynamic and a ton of replay value when you have something to work toward other than just "finishing" the game.

WHY AM I WRITING ABOUT VIDEO GAMES ON A PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT BLOG?

I've recently realized that I have taken the concept of video game Achievements and applied them to my own development. Instead of just mindlessly rushing through life to get to the end, like an old school video game, I've been taking time to accomplish interesting and unique things on the side. If you could take a look at my Sam: The Video Game Achievement Showcase, you'd see the following:

1. The "Go Vegetarian for a Week" Achievement

2. The "Completely Disconnected Weekend" Achievement

3. The "Complete a Duathlon" Achievement

4. The "Travel to a Foreign Country" Achievement

In addition to these already accomplished achievements, I'm working on a couple more:

1. The "Re-read all of the Lord of the Rings books" Achievement

2. The "Write a 2nd Ebook" Achievement

3. The "1/2 Marathon" Achievement

Video games aren't the greatest way to spend leisure time but they have at least encouraged me to spend time away from the beaten path and to try new ways of doing things.

What achievements have you earned in You: The Video Game? What ones are you working toward? Share in the comments!

Dominate Your Laziness Today

You aren't stuck because you're afraid.

Every personal development blogger has written about fear. The fear of succeeding, the fear of failing in public, the fear of being laughed at, the fear of failing, the fear of being afraid. Evidently there is a lot of fear in the personal development community. I'm not going to throw my hat into the fray because I think there is a different explanation as to why people don't accomplish the things they think they want; laziness.

Being afraid removes the responsibility of action. Everybody knows what it's like to be afraid and therefore we can easily empathize with somebody who is fearful. Fear has evolved for a pretty excellent reason, keeping us alive. Thousands of years ago, if you were a fearless human you were probably a dead human as well. Nowadays, people let fear, or what we seem to be describing as fear, keep them from doing awesome things with their lives. Every time I've found myself thinking about why I'm not doing more to move my goals forward or why I seem stuck in a rut, I never think about being afraid. Fear is a function of a dangerous environment and frankly, I don't face much nowadays that is particularly dangerous. In fact, my problem is that I spend a lot of time in extremely comfortable situations. My apartment is cozy. I have some hot coffee by my side. I have enough money to feed myself. Life isn't THAT hard right now. And so, I get lazy. I don't accomplish things, I don't push myself and most importantly, I'm definitely not afraid.

My hypothesis is that you feel lazy a lot more often than you feel afraid. It's OK to admit it. I know I felt a lot better once I realized all of these articles about conquering my fear didn't seem to apply to me. The question, however, is how can I overcome the laziness and use my time most effectively as much as possible? In my experience, these five things are helpful tips to try:

1. Get started on something, anything: Motivation seems to be an incredibly inertial beast. It's hard as hell to get moving, but once you get that sucker moving, look out! If you find yourself being incredibly lazy, try finishing the easiest of easy tasks first. Then, tackle something only marginally more difficult. Then, a little bit more difficult. Before you know it, you've eased into your primary project and you have the momentum at your back.

2. Change your environment: My body is an idiot. Try as I might to convince it that it's ok to do work at the desk in my apartment, it's convinced that this desk is only for doing fun things. It's nigh impossible to be productive in the same space where I go to relax. So, when I have serious work to do, I have to take my idiot body to the library or a coffee shop. The change of surroundings is what it needs to be convinced to actually get to work. Maybe your body isn't as idiotic as mine, but it's a useful tip to try.

3. Look back at past accomplishments: Even the laziest of people have bursts of inspiration. Look back on things you've accomplished in the past as proof that this laziness can be conquered. Sometimes, when I feel particularly lazy I will read through my old blog posts. Every once in awhile I'm moderately impressed by what I've written. Present-Me doesn't like feeling more lazy than Past-Me and the next thing I know the laziness has lifted.

4. Read, watch, or listen to something inspirational or motivational: When I am in the depths of laziness, it's easy to feel like everybody is this lazy too. It doesn't make sense, I know. To help me snap out of it, I like to read about inspirational people. Reading about Teddy Roosevelt usually helps. Or, an even quicker fix is to go to TED.com and watch a couple of the videos tagged as "inspirational." Guaranteed pick-me-up.

5. Organize and plan: A lot of the time, laziness stems from being unclear about what to do. When it's not clear, it's easy to just mope about and do nothing. Spending some time reviewing my projects, figuring out what I have to do to move them forward, and updating my next action lists is usually enough to get me inspired to work on them. I try to only commit to projects I'm excited about so spending some time thinking and planning helps remind me why I was excited about it in the first place.

Fear isn't holding me back and I don't think it's holding you back. We are all far too intelligent and comfortable to be afraid anymore. As a fellow occasionally lazy person, I don't feel bad for saying it but, you're being lazy. Stop it. Pick one of these five tips (or all five if you're feeling EXTRA lazy) and get your rear in gear.

A Tribute to John Wooden

On June 4, 2010 the world lost one of the wisest, kindest, and inspirational people that has ever lived. John Wooden is considered by most to be the best college basketball coach of all time. He won 10 National Championships with UCLA over a 12 year span. He was the first person to be in the College Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. Despite all of his impressive accomplishments, I don't care about those at all. The reason I am mourning the loss of John Wooden is that he was a profound thinker regarding self actualization and self improvement.

Entire books have been written by Coach Wooden and others about his philosophy and I would be at a loss to try to give an overview of everything he embodied. So, instead of trying to do that I'm going to share three of my favorite Wooden quotes.

"Rings and jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. They only true gift is a portion of thyself."

Material goods and gifts are trumped by sincere donation of time. I think John's love for coaching embodied the spirit of this quote. He put everything he had into developing the young men under his charge. Gifting a "portion of thyself" speaks to the importance of experiences instead of "things." Give yourself to your family, your spouse, or your friends; they will appreciate it more than anything you can buy them.

"Do not become too concerned about what others may think of you. Be very concerned about what you think of yourself."

This quote made me think of an article I wrote a long time ago about your most important relationship being with yourself. In my own coaching and in my own life I try to emphasize that the only things worth our attention are those that fall under our sphere of influence. If something cannot be affected by our actions, what use is it to worry about it? You can't change how others think so worrying about that is a waste of time, effort, and attention.

"Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."

There will ALWAYS be more that you cannot do than you can do. If you let that freeze you into inaction, suddenly you aren't doing anything. For example, I am worthless with Photoshop and design but I tried to not let that prevent me from authoring and publishing an ebook. Sure, it wasn't the prettiest thing in the world and there is much room for improvement in that area, but at least I focused on what I could do; namely, write coherently about a topic I care deeply about. Instead of focusing on everything you cannot do, which of your strengths can you focus on? What do you do well that you can leverage?

Rest in peace, John Wooden. You were, and are, an inspiration to everyone.

Moving Beyond the Low-Hanging Fruit of the Simplicity Movement

I've mentioned several times that one of my core values is Growth; I am always looking for opportunities to grow in every aspect of my life. With that end in mind, I have turned my attention toward my own practice of simplicity.

I've been living a simpler life of varying degrees for at least four years now. I've gradually reduced the amount of stuff that I own to the point where I could definitely be considered a minimalist. However, the visual entrapments of life are not the only, or even most important, area that needs simplifying.

I like to call decluttering and physical-possession-minimalism the low-hanging fruit of the simplicity movement. For most people, reducing their stuff is the first step. It's a great first step, don't get me wrong. I'm very grateful that I've learned the benefits of having less stuff. However, simplicity shouldn't end there. In fact, if it does end there I would argue that your newly decluttered and organized space will not stay that way for long. Cultivating the more difficult habits and actions of simplicity is where the largest opportunity for growth lies.

How much have you addressed these hard to reach yet vitally important areas?

1. Living mindfully and patiently: Being in the moment instead of lost in the unalterable past or the unknown future is where I should be. Too much attention on anything but the present is a waste of energy and effort. I plan on beginning a ritual of meditation into my daily routine that will help me in this aspect of living a more patient and mindful life.

2. Cultivating long-term motivation: Everybody knows what it's like to have a burst of motivation at the beginning of a project. My aim is to funnel that burst into a long-term slow burn that allows me to finish large and time intensive projects. I'm currently working on a very large research based project for this site and am training for a half marathon in October. Both of these activities will develop my long-term motivation and persistence over time.

3. Developing rock-solid self discipline: Discipline is the bedrock in which most long-term changes are founded. Discipline allows me to continue to work toward my goals and make the correct decisions even when I don't "feel" like it. Even though my previous point was cultivating long-term motivation, I don't think it's possible to be 100% motivated at all times. Self discipline is what you fall back on when the motivation just isn't there.

4. Articulating and living by values: My recent guest post on the blog becoming minimalist does a better job explaining this point than I can do here. Basically, the whole point of living a simpler life is to live life according to your values-- not to have less stuff. I think the underlying motivation can get lost in the euphoria of decluttering and minimal living. Once you've moved beyond that point, what's the next step?

5. Developing the ability to focus: Developing focus and an autotelic personality is absolutely key to living the simpler life. Focus allows you to do better, more efficient, and more meaningful work. Focus is the basis of developing your autotelic personality, or, learning how to enjoy nearly every aspect of life.

These are the attributes I am trying to develop. Other than occasionally purging my possessions that have built up over time, I'm done worrying about how many things I have or whether or not I can fit it all into a backpack. My concern is with mindfulness, focus, discipline, and values. This gives me more than enough fodder for a lifetime of growth and I'm excited to master each of these areas. I'm sure you've noticed by now, but all of these disciplines are interconnected with each other as well. Focus is part of mindfulness. Self discipline is connected to motivation. All of these are a part of my values. It is impossible to improve in one area without addressing all of the others as well.

Have you mastered the low-hanging fruit of simplicity? What can you focus on now to round out your own practice of simplicity?

"Bored" Is a Dirty Word

There is a certain five-letter word that I think might be the most offensive in the entire English language. It starts with a B and ends in ORED. I use it much more than I should and it's my own personal goal to never say it again.

Being bored is what happens when you live life unconsciously and passively. When you have no involvement on what is going on you will end up bored. However, the key to developing the autotelic personality that seems to derive pleasure out of every aspect of life is actively engaging with everything and anything. When you have cultivated the ability to engage with the very mundanity of life you will never have to use the horrible B-word again.

In Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book, Flow, he tells the story of prisoners of war that faced terrible conditions and mind numbing isolation yet still remained engaged with their environment and even further developed their autotelic personalities. "They followed the blueprint of flow activities...they paid close attention to the most minute details of their environment, discovering in it hidden opportunities for action that matched what little they were capable of doing, given the circumstances. Then they set goals appropriate to their precarious situation, and closely monitored progress through the feedback they received. Whenever they reached their goal, they upped the ante, setting increasingly complex challenges for themselves." Alexander Solzhenitsyn describes how one of his fellow prisoners mapped the world on the floor of his cell and then imagined himself traveling across Asia, Europe and America, covering a few kilometers each day. Other prisoners have sustained themselves by having poetry translation contests, doing gymnastics, playing chess mentally etc. According to Csikszentmihalyi,"When adversity threatens to paralyze us, we need to reassert control by finding a new direction to invest psychic energy, a direction that lies outside the reach of external forces."

I'm guessing very few of you have spent time as a prisoner of war and the adversity you face pales in comparison to Alexander Solzhenitsyn or others who have spent time in prison. If they could find positive outlets for their psychic energy in such harsh conditions, what is stopping you? With all of the technology and connectedness that is available, what excuse is there to be bored? Being bored is a loss of consciousness; being bored is a loss of valuable time.

The next time you find yourself being bored, try one of the following activities or make up one of your own. The possibilities are truly endless.

1. Pick a topic and dive into it: This article I wrote several months ago is a great place to start. There are an incredible number of websites that provide access to a huge amount of educational resources. Pick something you know very little about and dive into it. Start with a Wikipedia search to get a rough outline of the topic and links to resources at the end of the article. Before long you'll find yourself two hours deep into interesting research and being bored will be forgotten.

2. Write (or record) a stream of consciousness piece: The key to making this work is not filtering your thoughts at all. Your fingers (or voice) should be the conduit for whatever rattles out of your consciousness. This can be a great way to analyze any hidden emotions or stress. I guarantee that if you do this correctly you will be surprised by at least one thing that comes out.

3. Brainstorm something awesome: A year from today are you going to be grateful you started that awesome project? Where do you want to be or what do you want to be doing a year from now? Figure out the smallest of steps that will set you on that path and do it right now. You're future self will thank you.

4. Practice mindfulness: If you're bored because you are doing some sort of mindless task, try truly focusing on it for awhile. Is there anything you can do to make it more tolerable or possibly take less time? Even if there isn't, use it as an opportunity to practice your mindfulness: your ability to be truly present.

5. Savor the nothingness: Most of us live very hectic and busy lives. If you're bored because you suddenly have no commitments or a hole in your schedule learn to savor it. If it's generally pretty rare for you to have nothing to do then you should do everything you can to truly enjoy it. Not having any immediate responsibility while having the time to refocus is incredibly valuable.

What do you like to do when you're bored? Share some of your suggestions in the comments so I can add it to my list!

Are You Too Comfortable?

In The Talent Code, a book I recently reviewed, I mentioned an idea regarding training facilities. Daniel Coyle discovered that many training facilities in talent hotbeds, areas that produced an unusual number of people with world-class talent, tend to be run-down, shabby, and nearly dilapidated. He said that if all of the training grounds of all the talent hotbeds he visited were magically assembled into a single mega-hotbed facility it would "…resemble a shantytown. Its buildings would be makeshift, corrugated-roofed affairs, its walls paint-bald, its fields weedy and uneven."

What Coyle uncovered, according to John Bargh, a psychologist at Yale University, is what's called the Scrooge Principle. It states that "our unconscious mind is a stingy banker of energy reserves, keeping its wealth locked in a vault. Direct pleas to open the vault don't work; Scrooge can't be fooled that easily. But when he's hit with the right combination of primal cues-- when he's visited by a series of primal-cue ghosts, you might say-- the tumblers click, the vault of energy flies open, and suddenly it's Christmas Day." Training in a gorgeous, state-of-the-art facility does not provide any of the primal cues needed to trick our subconscious into unlocking that energy vault. Bargh says, "If we're in a nice, easy, pleasant environment, we naturally shut off effort. Why work? But if people get the signal that it's rough, they get motivated now. A nice, well-kept tennis academy gives them the luxury future right now-- of course they'd be demotivated. They can't help it."

How can you make your environment more conducive to unlocking your energy vault? What can you learn from the Scrooge Principle?

1. Create adversity for yourself: The best talent hotbeds are not extremely pleasant places to be-- by design. The mind is cued to work harder. What can you do to make your own working environment a little less luxurious? If you're a writer, is it possible to shut off the Internet and only access it for a short time each day? Since moving to my Internet-less apartment I have seen my creativity and production sky-rocket. Try working without the air-conditioning for a week or use a couple blankets to keep warm instead of your heater. It may seem silly or counter-intuitive but making your environment less comfortable might be a great first step toward developing your own talent.

2. Use the simplest tools available: Youth baseball in the Dominican Republic does not have the fancy equipment or specialized training tools that many elite baseball teams have in the United States. In the Dominican, athletes use the simplest equipment. I remember when I played a couple exhibition games against a youth hockey team from Russia. They were all using wooden sticks (everybody on my team was using expensive composite sticks), and old equipment. My teammates and I thought we would dominate this team. We quickly discovered that top of the line equipment was not needed to be a good hockey player and we were soundly beat several times. In your own work, what is the simplest tool that you can use and still be productive? If you're a writer, try writing with a piece of paper and a pen for awhile. Try running without your iPod or even shoes. Use the simplest tools available.

3. Focus on your core competency: At the Spartak Tennis Club in Moscow, a club that produced more top-twenty-ranked women than the entire United States did from 2005-2007, students spend hours practicing without tennis balls. They call it imitatsiya and it develops the core competency of every tennis player: their swing. If you are a writer, write. If you are a runner, run. If you are a painter, paint. It can be easy to get caught up in the related yet not essential tasks that your work creates. If I'm not careful I find myself spending my time researching for an article much longer than is truly necessary. Formatting my writing is important; but, not nearly as important as actually writing. Connecting with other bloggers via Twitter may be mildly productive, but it's not writing. Reading about running may be inspirational, but it's not going to make you suddenly able to run a marathon. Mastering the component parts of your activity (grammar if you're a writer, perfect stride if you're a runner, technique if you're a painter) is what will make you improve just like the tennis players practicing their swing without balls. What distractions can you eliminate from your working environment?

The tagline of this website is "Live consciously." However, your subconscious is an extremely powerful component of your mind. Learn to setup your own working environment like some of the greatest talent hotbeds in the world; the run-down baseball fields of the Dominican Republic or the dilapidated shack of the Spartak Tennis Club in Moscow. Send yourself the primal cues that you haven't made it yet, you aren't living the high life, you aren't a master of all you do, and you will be closer to the world-class talent that you desire. 

Three Ways to Take Control of Information Overload

Imagine that you have a small and dainty tea cup in your hands. You are extremely thirsty and would love to fill your cup with some nice, cool, and refreshing water. Luckily, a nice young man with a fire hose happens to be with you (a convenient situation indeed). He kindly offers to fill your cup with water and you are nearly giddy with excitement. He turns the valve on the nozzle as you hold your tea cup at the ready.

A blast of icy water erupts from the hose and nearly knocks you on your back. Your tea cup flies out of your hands and shatters on the sidewalk. You're still thirsty but now you're also dazed, sore, and wet.

This is how I feel about the Internet.

My RSS feed, my Twitter timeline, Facebook status updates, and a never ceasing flow of email all serve as the high pressure hose to my mind's dainty tea cup. I crave information like my fictional character craved water. However, the sheer volume and velocity of content makes it nearly impossible to actually get anything worthwhile in my tea cup of a mind.

This can't continue much longer. How much sense would it make to get back up, dripping and aching, glue my teacup back together, and tap the man with the hose on the shoulder and ask for more. How many times do we get knocked down by the information wave only to get up and ask for more?

I can't do it anymore and here's how I'm getting control.

1. Living in an apartment with no Internet or TV: I recently moved to a very small apartment that currently has no Internet connection. I could probably rectify that situation but I've actually discovered that I like it. I live close enough to a public library with free wi-fi that I can still connect if there is something I really need to check.

2. Reducing my RSS feed count by 80%: Lately I've found myself just skimming articles in my feed reader because I'm overwhelmed by how much there is to read. People work hard creating this content and I'm not giving it the attention it deserves. I'm going to ruthlessly cull the number of sites I follow so that I can actually take the time to digest what I read.

3. Using Instapaper for anything that looks interesting: Instapaper lets me read content on my terms. Especially with limited access to the Internet, I don't want to be wasting time online reading things that I can easily take with me when I log off.

There is just too much excellent information to absorb out there and I don't think I'm doing anybody justice by trying to catch bits and pieces of it as it goes whirling by. I'd much rather fill my tea cup from a small pitcher of delicious lemonade and enjoy it at my leisure.

Do you feel overwhelmed by the amount of information you face everyday? What are you doing about it?

Your Most Important Relationship is With Yourself

High school "mock elections" are stupid, I know. It seems like most of those voted as "most likely to succeed" end up living in a van down by the river anyway, right? Mock elections were always frivolous and entertaining and I never expected to win one. Somehow when I sat down at school one morning and listened to the morning announcements I heard my name through the crackle and hiss of our decrepit speaker in the classroom. That's right, yours truly won a high school mock election and is actually proud of it. The category that I "won", as voted by my peers, was "Most Reliable."

It felt good to know that my friends thought of me as a reliable person. I've always tried to treat my word as more than just words. I did my best to keep promises, be there for my friends and be a responsible classmate. I'm proud that my picture is in my senior year yearbook nestled between "Cutest Couple" and "Best Smile."

However, I've come to view the connection between personal development, self-discipline and reliability in a different light over the past few years. It's important for other people to see me as reliable, that's for certain. Colleagues need to know they can trust me. My students and players have to feel like I'm invested in them. On the other hand, there is somebody else I think is even more important to be reliable to: myself.

Having the self discipline to follow through on the goals and expectations I set for myself creates that sense of self-reliability. If I couldn't rely on myself, how many goals would I set? If I even managed to set some goals, how safe would they be? The more I develop my self discipline the more I know that I can count on myself to show up when the going gets tough.

My classmates viewed me as a reliable person back in high school because I tried to make sure I always stayed true to my word with them. If I said I'd do something for a friend, I'd do it. Now that I'm outside the social-bubble of high school, my self-reliability is what I care about the most now. If I tell myself I'm going to do something, do I do it? If I tell myself I'm going to lose 10 pounds or stop biting my nails, do I show up?

If you can't trust yourself, who can?

Five Tips to Shatter Your Productivity Bottleneck

The more I write about productivity and personal development the more I learn about myself. Considering that was a stated goal of this blog from day one, I'm pretty happy with the development. My latest realization has to do with productivity bottlenecks.

A productivity bottleneck, by my definition (which is what matters, obviously) is anything that restricts your ability to do work efficiently. It could be one tiny part in your process that ruins everything when it isn't operating smoothly. Time management systems can be surprisingly complex and if yours is breaking down at a specific point, it's probably a major bottleneck in your productivity. Bottlenecks are what prevent progress, even if the rest of your system is working splendidly.

My number one bottleneck is definitely my to-do list. When my to-do list sucks, I suck. Unfortunately, my to-do list has many different ways in which it can suck. It can be incomplete, thus making me anxious. It can be poorly worded, thus making me confused. It can be ambiguous, which makes me angry. The list goes on.

In the past, I'm pretty sure I kept working off the same to-do list until I finished it, regardless of its health. My to-do list could be gasping for air and whimpering feebly but I was going to finish that little SOB before I even thought about re-writing it. Luckily, I appear to be growing up.

At the first signs of my productivity slacking, I take a good hard look at my to-do list. After giving it the evil eye, I usually do one or all of the following:

1. A complete mental RAM dump: If I'm feeling anxiety about my to-do list, chances are it's not complete. Sitting down and mentally vomiting all over a piece of paper can be much like real vomiting: you might be a little surprised at what comes out but you'll undoubtedly feel better.

2. Re-write any ambiguous entries (must have clear action!): If I can't look at an item on my to-do list and know EXACTLY what I'm talking about, I'm in trouble. Sometimes really ambiguous entries make it on the list because I trust my future self way too much.

3. Break big to-do's into smaller to-do's: Let's face it, no matter which way you slice it, "figure out where I stand on religion" (this was actually on my latest to-do list) is not a to-do. Your brain knows when you are asking way too much of it. When you do that, it will shut down and your productivity will plummet. Be honest with yourself, it should only be on your to-do list if it is something you can actually DO. Break that monster project up into some smaller steps and attack them one at a time.

4. Get rid of things I don't need to do anymore: The easiest way to fly through your to-do list is to delete things. Even the most productive of people can't beat that. There is nothing wrong with doing that either, as long as it is legitimate. If deleting something won't have any real ramifications and it isn't something you really think you need to do, by all means get that little attention hog out of there.

5. Make somebody else do something: If you can't delete something it must be moderately important. That doesn't mean you have to do it though, right? See if you can get one of your underlings (or friends or little brother or whatever) to do it instead. If it's not something to love and it has to get done anyway it's just eating up the time you could be using on something amazing. Find someone you trust, give them the tools they need to accomplish it, and get the hell out of their way.

When I have a beefy to-do list in front of me with well-written and actionable items my productivity flies through the roof. A to-do list means all the decision making behind what to do is done ahead of time. When it's time to work it's time to focus on the doing. No more bottleneck, no more frustration and no more productivity lapses.

How to Use the Path of Least Resistance Productively

I'm all for taking the path of least resistance. Honestly. Do whatever is easiest. You have my permission.

That doesn't sound right coming from a personal development aficionado, right? I'm supposed to tell you to buckle down, put your nose to the grindstone and persevere. I'm not pulling your leg either, I'm being serious.

Take the path of least resistance but (ah, there it is) make sure you created that path. Set up your own path of least resistance and follow it as far as possible. Here are some examples of what I mean.

ARE YOU RUSHING AROUND IN THE MORNING AND AS A RESULT NOT EATING A GOOD BREAKFAST OR GETTING A GOOD START TO THE DAY?

Set your clothes out the night before and get breakfast ready as much as possible. Instead of stumbling around like a zombie when I wake up and rushing to get out the door, I can stumble into my clothes, find my breakfast waiting to be finished on the counter, and suddenly have 10 more minutes to end my morning in a peaceful manner. Sure, you have to have the discipline to prepare the night before, but once you've mastered that, which is easier-- preparing the night before and gliding through your morning routine or rushing around like a fool in the morning?

HAVING TROUBLE GETTING THE MOTIVATION TO WORKOUT WHEN YOU GET HOME FROM WORK?

Immediately change into your workout clothes, even if you have no intention of going. Sometimes when I come home from work I know I should workout but I just can't get the motivation to go right that instant. I'll tell myself that I'll go later but I've found that getting the motivation to change AND go workout can be a little too much to overcome. Take care of the changing earlier and working out later might be much easier to accomplish!

GET TO THE GYM AND THEN HAVE A LAME WORKOUT?

Go with a plan! Write down what you're going to do before you even start working out. Instead of just working out by "feel" and quitting what you want get through that list! If you've made the decisions beforehand it's much easier to just follow the plan. Don't trust yourself to make decisions regarding what's best for your workout after you just finished busting your butt on the treadmill. Take the path of least resistance and follow your pre-written plan!

HAVE A HARD TIME STAYING FOCUSED WHEN YOU SHOULD BE WORKING ON YOUR COMPUTER?

Install a program that blocks all of the sites that suck up your time. I use one called SelfControl on my Mac and it is awesome. I set a time limit and hit a button and suddenly all my time wasting websites are completely unavailable to me (even if I restart my computer). Sure, I know what hitting that button means. But hitting a button and then "suffering" through four hours of distraction free computer usage is much easier than trusting my self-discipline to not go to those sites. Make it easy on yourself and impossible to be distracted!

FIND YOURSELF EATING UNHEALTHILY AND WOULD LIKE TO IMPROVE?

It's really quite simple… don't bring any "bad" food into your house. If you are dying for a snack and your only options are fresh fruit, some nuts, or some other healthy and whole food it makes the decision making process much easier. Don't always rely on your self-discipline to make the right decision. Even the strongest of us will falter occasionally when we are constantly tempted.

Making your own path of least resistance usually takes a little bit of effort and planning-- but less than forging a path of difficulty. Where else can you develop a path of least resistance to make yourself more productive or happier?

Four Ways to Close the Open Loops that are Driving You Nuts

I don't like my attention to be spread across many different areas at once. I've found that when I can focus my attention on only one or two areas at a time, I tend to do much better work. When I first started this blog, I tried to maintain my personal blog and my teaching blog at the same pace as this one. I thought writing 8 articles a week for 3 different blogs was sustainable. I quickly realized that was insane and dropped my two less-important blogs to a more sporadic posting schedule. A similar example is when I have more than two books going at once, I seem to get through none of them. On top of that, not only do I seem to not finish anything, I can never remember where I am in each book and end up re-reading a lot of it. If there is one thing I have learned as I have delved more into the concept of simplicity it is that my attention is nearly the most important resource I have. The people who are very cognizant of how they spend this incredibly finite resource seem to be the ones who make the most impact.

Last week I was feeling very spread out and thin. I decided to take a look at the "open loops" I had going and was not surprised to find the culprit behind my lack of focus. I was reading four books at the same time, I had three rough drafts for posts waiting to be edited, a couple more in outline form, two partially read articles sitting on my desk and a small stack of unresolved mail. Each of these open loops was gnawing at my subconscious.Individually they were easy to ignore-- together they were driving me nuts.

I work best when I can take all of my attention and energy and focus it on one point of impact. Having multiple ongoing projects or nagging errands sitting around was slowly eroding my ability to focus.

1. Identify open loops: An open loop is anything that is demanding some of your attention when it really should be spent elsewhere. For me, open loops can be partially read books or articles, small but annoying errands, and partially completed projects of many kinds.

2. Pick the easiest to close: Figure out all the errands you need to run and do them all together (also known as batching). Decide what book you want to finish first and ignore the others until you do so. In fact, are those other books you're reading really that good? You don't get a ribbon for finishing a book you know-- if it's not worth your time, close it and forget it.

3. Work your way from the bottom up: Pick the easiest ones to finish first because we're trying to build momentum for those larger loops that need your attention. Remember, the whole idea is to get rid of these little attention grabbers as quickly as possible. The larger the loop the more attention you're going to need.

4. Get back to work on what really matters: This is the most important step-- do not skip it! Now that you've taken an hour, an afternoon, a day, whatever, to close these open loops it's time to focus on the work that really matters. Do not let the act of closing loops lull you into a sense of great accomplishment. You have much more important things to do.

If you are feeling spread out I recommend you follow these steps. Your focus is the key to accomplishing great things. You can't center it on those great things if you have open loops begging for attention.

How do You Stay Motivated Through Monotony?

Much has been written about staying positive when things seem to be going against you. We all have those times where it seems like everything we say is taken the wrong way, everything that can go wrong is going wrong, and when it seems like our best course of action would have been to turn off that alarm clock and sleep until the early afternoon. Pushing through the hard times is an admirable trait.However, how do you push through monotony?

Nobody writes about pushing through the hum-drum because it isn't nearly as glamorous as conquering the world as it tries to smash you beneath it's proverbial foot. Rags to riches stories are the stuff of Hollywood legend. Most of us aren't in literal or metaphorical rags, though. Most of us are doing a pretty good job at whatever it is that we do-- not really getting ahead but certainly not falling behind. How do you push through and do something amazing when nothing seems to be changing around you?

This post is more of an actual question than my usual articles. I never try to portray myself as having all the answers but I really don't have the answers in this case. This seems to be the main thing that I'm experiencing in my own life right now. I'm not down on my luck, seriously handicapped, or particularly unlucky. I am a 23 year old college graduate living at home, substitute teaching on a part-time basis, and trying to do a little writing.

I've always been a very high achiever. 5th in my high school class, graduated college with all A's and one B, won several scholarships and a department-wide honor for historical research and writing, the captain of nearly every hockey team I've ever played for etc. But I live at home. With my parents and four younger brothers. I share a room with an 8th grader.

I try to keep the bigger picture in mind and I think that's probably the main reason I started this blog. I know this is not my end-game. I will find a job eventually (or who knows, maybe this whole writing thing will work out?) and I will move out. I will continue my life.

But right now I'm doing the hum-drum.

How do I break out of this? How do I make the boring work for me?

Three Reasons We Like Reading Common Sense Advice

Let's face it, a lot of what I write about (and Everett and Leo and Tim and Steve and Jeffrey) is common sense. In fact, there is very little written out there in the genre of personal development and simplicity that is truly groundbreaking material. Of course, sometimes I read something that feels like it is completely new but upon further reflection I can almost always categorize it under I-feel-like-I-knew-this-but-it's-nice-to-be-reminded. I'm not saying this to bring down the other writers I mentioned (or even myself). In fact, I think they are doing great things by taking those pieces of common sense and repackaging it into something that seems much less common. My point is to ask why it is that the basis of this field seems to be common sense and yet people still love reading about it?

1. It gives us a sense of control: Reading something that you already knew, at some level, gives me a sense of control. Think about it, if you read or learn something that is completely separate from your experience and beyond your level of comprehension, you are unlikely to feel very good about it. The basis of learning is being able to tie new information to information we have already learned. Much of the "lifehack" literature is a rehash of our own experiences. We've all felt what it's like to be in "the zone," even if only for a few minutes. Almost all of us can remember a time we threw out a bunch of old stuff and felt better about it afterward. Common sense is within each of us and therefore is familiar.

2. It is usually very easy to implement: Please note that I did not say it is easy to implement well or consistently. However, almost every piece of lifehack advice can be very easily implemented at least once. Check your email only twice per day? Sure, any of us can do that for a day. Reading advice that makes you think, "Well that doesn't seem too hard-- I can do that," can be very empowering. You can spend thirty minutes reading blogs like Zen Habits or Lifehacker and have a full list of things that you can immediately start doing without too much effort.

3. It can create a huge change in the quality of our lives: Not only is the information at least vaguely familiar and easy to implement, it can create a huge change in our lives. If this point was not true then I doubt I would be writing this blog right now. If people are successful in implementing some of what they read in the personal development genre then chances are they have experienced a positive change in their life. That experience can become intoxicating and people embark on a search to find that next piece of lifehack advice that will give them the same "high" as before.

All three of these reasons for enjoying lifehack advice are not bad in their own right. The real problem comes when I begin thinking that reading about changing my life is the same thing as actually doing it. As long as I'm able to accept that reading about personal development can be valuable research and not actual development in itself, I don't see the harm in enjoying it. I know that I truly appreciate those that take the time to read what I have to say here but if this website ever became such a distraction as to keep them from applying what they read I would tell them to delete my RSS feed immediately.

Common sense is common. Applying common sense is very rare.

Paradoxical Simplicity

It can be tempting to think that life is built around universal principles that are devoid of any fallacies or contradictions. Unfortunately, as we all know, life is full of paradoxes and I've recently come across one in my own quest for a simpler life.

One of the benefits of living with a more minimalist mindset is that the concept of "quality over quantity" suddenly becomes much more attainable. Instead of buying more of a mediocre object I can buy less of a better product. I've written about this before and it is nothing earth-shattering.

However, the paradox comes into play when you think about another core principle of living a simple and happy life, being content and grateful for what we already have. Much of the suffering and complications that arise in our lives seem to be centered around the attainment of more "stuff." The desire to have things that we cannot afford is the basis of many people's financial woes and psychological unrest. Breaking the cycle of consumerism and learning to be content with what we already have is a huge step in the direction of simplicity.

With that being said, does anyone see the contradiction between these two principles? On the one hand I'm arguing toward having better stuff and on the other arguing for being content with what I already have. What gives?

To resolve this conundrum I advocate the idea of "responsible upgrade" of physical items in your life. The first step would be to identify where in your life you would want to apply the quality over quantity principle versus being content with what you have. I would recommend that anything you use on a daily basis or more regularly should be purchased and maintained on the quality over quantity principle. For example, I wear a watch everyday. I could have purchased a very low quality watch that might break after a couple years or, I could have one watch that will last for a LONG time that might be initially more expensive.

On the other hand, anything that is not used a lot or maybe isn't that important to you can be centered around the idea of just being grateful for what you have. For me, clothing and fashion is not incredibly important. I have nice looking clothes, but they aren't designer labels or expensive because that is not something I care about. If, however, I decided that I wanted to upgrade my wardrobe the "responsible upgrade" would be to start setting money aside now so that when the time comes I can apply the quality over quantity principle and not be financially ruined.

Navigating the contradictions and paradoxes in our lives is a very tricky thing to do. Unfortunately we do not live in a world where everything is always clear cut or black and white. As you begin to live a simpler life keep in mind the principle of quality over quantity while also holding close the idea of being content with what you already have. If you can resolve these two ideas I guarantee that you will be living a simpler-- and happier-- life.

The Simplest Task Management System Ever

An entire industry has been built around the concept of personal management and productivity. The best known of these experts is probably David Allen and his Getting Things Done system. David's books and system have been very helpful in my own life and I always try to recommend his work to anyone who seems to be drowning in their own commitments and responsibilities. There are countless other gurus out there who do the same thing as David Allen-- helping people organize and manage their work and daily lives in the most effective way possible. These individuals are doing beneficial work and I applaud them, but, I think that sometimes the whole process is over-complicated.

At the very core, a personal management system is supposed to help you decide what to do and when to do it. In Getting Things Done the workflow is centered around project lists that each have discrete next action steps that keep them moving toward completion. Each next action has a context assigned to it that should help you decide what to work on based upon where you are located. For example, you can look at your @office list while you are at work and not be distracted by those things you can only do at home or at the grocery store. Additionally, there are weekly reviews and a whole GTD workflow that must be memorized and executed. While extremely effective if done correctly, it can also be very complicated. Some, such as Leo Babauta, have tried to simplify the entire process. Leo took the GTD system and created his own take on it called Zen to Done. I highly recommend this ebook as I think it does a great job taking the core principles out of GTD and stripping away all the ancillary fluff.

However, I think all task management systems can be broken down into one sentence. Are you ready?

Do what is weighing on you most, most of the time.

That's it. We all know at some level what is causing us the most psychological discomfort in terms of our work. Whatever that is nagging at the back of your mind when you are sitting in front of your computer or walk into your office is quite often the thing that you need to get done most urgently. For me, writing these articles is what is usually gnawing at my subconscious. It's the very core activity to keeping this blog going and when I have finished a writing session I feel a burden lifted off my shoulders. It's not because this is a particularly onerous task-- in fact, I quite like writing these articles. It's not even that these are the most urgent in terms of deadline. I'm scheduled several weeks in advance so my blog will not shutdown if I don't write this article today. It's just that I know this is what I'm supposed to be doing. This is what drives my blog forward and this is what drives my own intellectual curiosity and sense of accomplishment forward. The more I write the better I feel.

If you aren't sure what you need to do and are drowning in your work, take a second to be still. Close your eyes and decide what would feel the best to have completed. When you've decided what that project is, make the next thing you work on be something to make that your reality. You might not finish it, but even taking small steps toward it's completion can lift that mental weight a little bit. Chances are the reason an activity is causing you stress is because you know that it's important and that you have to get it done.

Just remember, at the end of the day after you've made all your to-do lists and project lists and mind maps and brainstorms and outlines and meetings and conference calls you still need to actually DO something.

Do what is weighing on you most, most of the time. It doesn't get much simpler than that.

The Hierarchy of Simplification

Abraham Maslow was a psychologist that developed a theory known as the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs. This theory describes what people must have in order to live a fulfilling life. At the very lowest level of his hierarchy are the very basic physiological needs of food, water, shelter etc. Without first fulfilling these needs, a human cannot move forward toward a more complex existence. I wouldn't be writing this article if I was starving and Leonardo da Vinci wouldn't have painted the Mona Lisa if he was spending his time trying to find shelter.

As these basic needs are met people can start achieving bigger and better things. Each level of Maslow's hierarchy must be attained before the next level can be reached. At the very tip of his pyramid is the pinnacle of human existence or self-actualization. This level is characterized by creativity, problem solving, spontaneity etc. In Maslow's theory, this is what people are striving for and the more their prerequisite needs are met the more likely they are to achieve self-actualization.

Despite criticisms of Maslow's actual theory, I think the concept can be applied to the process of simplification. I recently made the connection between Maslow's theory and my own quest for a simpler life. At the very basic and broadest level of my simplicity hierarchy is the identification of values. I've written many times about how the whole point of simplifying must be something other than simplification for its own sake. For me, I am trying to live a simpler life so I can make decisions based on the values I think are important.

Once my values are articulated, the second level is physical decluttering of my space. Decluttering is a very basic activity that most people think of when they think about simplicity or minimalism. Of course, you could simplify without articulating your values first, but what's the point? If you don't know why you're doing it I doubt your living space will stay very decluttered for long. Physical decluttering serves as a very important base for further simplification, but it is not the ultimate goal.

The next level is mental decluttering and the cultivation of attention/focus. I argue that mental decluttering cannot happen until physical decluttering is completed. In my own experience, it is nearly impossible to clear my head and focus when surrounded by chaos. This level is all about learning to harness our minds to focus on one thing at a time.

The fourth level is where we take our newfound mental clarity and strengthened focus and apply it to our passionate work and leisure. For me, it is coaching and writing. Whatever your "great work" is, this is the level in which you make strides toward achieving it. Passionate leisure may seem like an oxymoron but I see it as the cultivation of productive hobbies. There is no reason our leisure time cannot be as productive and beneficial as our passionate work while also being an outlet for relaxation and stress reduction.

Lastly, at the very tip of the simplicity hierarchy is "living a life driven by personal values." When I first sat down and began planning this blog I wrote that I thought many people lived a life stuck on "autopilot." Instead of examining their own values and passions, people allow themselves to be directed from one frivolous pursuit to another by advertisement and others' values instead of their own. By identifying personal values, decluttering our physical space, decluttering our minds and cultivating our attention/focus, and then applying our attention/focus into passionate work and leisure we can live a fully actualized life. Instead of being stuck on autopilot we have our hands firmly on the controls of our own existence.

Stop Worrying About What You Can't Control

In twenty minutes of leisurely Googling I found 66 blogs on simplicity, minimalism, and personal development. This genre has taken off in the past couple years and with Zen Habits leading the way, is becoming very popular. I'm very new to blogging and entrepreneurship, but even I know that with so much competition it can be nearly impossible to differentiate myself. How is this website any different from the hundreds of other blogs that write about the same stuff? What makes me think that I can write anything that hasn't been written before on one of these other blogs?

The short answer to that question is that I'm not sure what I'm doing here is standing out in anyway. The general advice is to usually find a niche and become the authoritative voice for your little corner of a subject. What is my niche? Twenty-something college graduates that couldn't find a job and are living at home with his parents and four little brothers? Or, maybe more optimistically, twenty-something coaches and teachers with a passion for learning and teaching? Or maybe my niche is taking aspects of simplicity and minimalism and applying a more academic or philosophical bent? Or maybe it's focusing on the experiential and personal in my own quest for simplicity?

I don't know what my niche is right now, and honestly, I'm OK with that. This blog has been an incredibly personal reflection tool for me over the past few months. It has forced me to sit down and write a little bit almost every day. It has forced me to think about these aspects of life that I find interesting. It has helped me learn how to articulate what I'm thinking and, more importantly, why I'm thinking that way. Even if my blog is lost in obscurity among the hundreds of similar ones, the personal gain I have experienced has made this effort worthwhile.

Of course, I would love to somehow find my niche and experience the popularity explosion that the most well known blogs in this genre have experienced. However, that cannot be my ultimate goal. My purpose with this blog is first and foremost to poke, prod, and challenge myself. Secondly, I want to help other people examine their own lives and thoughts through my writing.

In the past I have worried too much about doing something that someone else had already done. Instead of starting a blog, I'd spend my time thinking about how my blog would be different or better than every other blog. Instead of being an invigorating thought, I would immediately get discouraged by the thought of all these well-established blogs overshadowing my own efforts. This time, the big difference was that I just started writing every day and putting my words out there. I stopped worrying about what other blogs were doing and focused on what I could actually control, my own output. Maybe at some point I'll reach a level of success where I can spend more time thinking about how to make my blog more popular, but right now my focus is solely on content. At the very least, this blog is a great personal tool even if I never have another set of eyes look upon it.

I hope that if you've found my writing interesting in the past you will continue to do so in the future. I would love for you to drop a comment on an article, send me an email, catch me on Twitter or Google+ and start a conversation with me. I want to talk and think about this stuff with you and I hope this blog is a valuable starting point for your own exploration of your life.

Values "Next Actions"

It's not enough to just have values, they must become the cornerstones of your decision making process. Anybody can say they have values, but that's not the point. In fact, you shouldn't even have to articulate them in order for the people you interact with most to be able to describe them; if you actually live your values on a day-to-day basis, it becomes obvious what they are.

I've written about my values in the past and I want to make sure that I don't fall into the trap of making a list that sounds good but isn't actually practiced. I think the best way to prevent this from happening is to actually make a list of value next-actions that will help you live a life that is aligned with your values. This is sort of taking a page out of Getting Things Done and the importance of having truly actionable "next actions" for every project. By making sure that your next action is something that can truly be accomplished even the largest of projects can keep moving forward.

For example, one of my stated values is "growth." Some of my next actions to further this value are, "Watch a TED talk," "Finish reading current book," and "Begin researching ebook project." Another one of my values is "family" so some possible actions I can take to further this is, "call cousin in Florida," "email my grandparents," and "go to brother's hockey game on Wednesday."

Values can be very amorphous things when you don't take the time to actually figure out what it looks like to live with them guiding your actions. I recommend sitting down and giving yourself 2-3 actions for each of your main values at the beginning of every week. You don't necessarily have to do it for every single value that adhere to. In fact, I think it's probably a better idea to focus on only one or two values a week in order to make the biggest impact.

The bottom line is that your values mean nothing if your actions don't align with them. Give yourself some next-actions ahead of time and the rest takes care of itself.

Five Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful People

I recently read Why Smart Executives Fail And What You Can Learn From Their Mistakes by Sydney Finkelstein. Much of the book was fairly specific to the business world, but there was one chapter titled, "The Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful People." Finkelstein analyzed many, many instances of failed businesses and the habits that their CEOs seemed to share. I'm going to adopt his list to my own needs here and give some of my own commentary. So, instead of focusing on unsuccessful CEOs, here are the five habits of spectacularly unsuccessful people in general.

1. They see themselves as dominating their environments: People start getting into trouble when they think they have everything figured out. When things are going well it can be easy to forget that there is so much that we have no control over. Being ready for the unexpected is a distinctive feature of successful people. What is your backup plan?

2. They identify so completely with their job that there is no clear boundary between personal interests and their job: In today's era this is becoming more and more prevalent. It can be easy to get sucked into your job so completely that it is difficult to see where it ends and you begin. It is vital for successful people to have a life and interests outside of their job, regardless of how much they love it. At the very least, having non-job related interests allow a person to become more well-rounded which, in turn, can pay dividends at work. How do you spend your weekends?

3. They think they have all the answers: Much like number one, when people think they have all the answers trouble is usually just around the corner. Successful people know they don't have all the answers, but they usually do know how they can find the answer. Whether that means knowing how to research or who to ask, successful people embrace the fact that they don't know everything. Where can you go if you don't know the answer to something?

4. They ruthlessly eliminate anybody who doesn't believe exactly as they do: Successful people surround themselves with people who think like them and with people who have contrary ideas to their own. It can be easy to surround yourself with people who will agree with everything you say, but that is not the catalyst for success. Having people close to you who aren't afraid to play devil's advocate or produce opposing ideas to your own will only serve to help you as an individual. Is there anybody in your close group of friends who challenges you?

5. They are obsessed with their own image: Successful people do not worry about what others think. Being obsessed with a personal image results in effort and time being placed in a domain that you have no control over,namely, what other people think of you. Instead of worrying about that, successful people worry about only those issues with which they have control, such as their own effort and expertise. What is the number one thing you are worried about right now? Is it something you can even control?

What other habits do unsuccessful people tend to have? What can you do to counteract them?