I’d say just about everyone has a desire to be a better version of themselves.  We all talk about how we are working toward a promotion, growing an audience on social media, or trying to get healthier. But, to me that’s all talk, all hypothetical. I think the better question is, what percentage of the talkers actually act on it on a daily basis?

I bet it’s pretty disproportionate to the amount of people who think they doing it.

As great as self help books are, or going to conferences, or even my SID audio content, the resources themselves don’t do anything but offer ideas. While it is very important to learn about the strategies, techniques, and reasons for certain things, at the end of the day it is only knowledge. It still requires that you take action. 

I encourage you to reflect on your life and be honest with yourself. Are you accountable to goals, do you have routines, are you changing habits, do you have certain favorite techniques? Do those things match the lifestyle, productivity, and efficiency you want to live with?

There’s no trick to personal development, because the responsibility is on you to take action. Identify those things that fit into your life, the person you want to be, and put in the work to change your life to match it.

What do you do when you realize you made a stupid mistake? Or when you can’t figure out where your error is in a project?  If only there was a way to keep these things from happening.

Well here is! It’s a really simple fix. Double check your work.

It is one of the first things we learn in school but we don’t continue with it for some reason. It might be pride or naivity, whatever it is, best set it aside.  

Double checking your work will clean up all of the small and tedious blemishes before they become mistakes. Although it seems counterintuitive, double checking your work right away will actually help you be more efficient with your time. This is because all pertinent information is still warm and ready to be recalled because your brain hasn’t transitioned the tasks yet, which will allow you to correct the mistake cohesively and effectively.

How can we get ourselves to double check our work? There are two ways. The first way is to move slower through the task the first time and double check proactively, and be more diligent in your work. The second way is to set aside a time to revisit your work before you have finished the task. By creating that plan, and a commitment to the task, you won’t consider it complete until you have double checked your work, and that cognitive dissonance created by having a lingering unfinished task will motivate you to get back to it.

Double checking your work will improve quality and be more efficient with your time! Now time for me to double check the accuracy of this information before posting it!

This message is about setting boundaries, and understanding that you have the control and autonomy to decide what want to do and not do. Oprah spoke about this on her show, specifically around the topic of sexual abuse, and empowers people to choose what is best for them.

The best thing to do to know your boundaries is to state where your boundaries are before the moment arises. Whether it is the number of drinks on a night out, or times you will try to reach out to someone, it is best to determine that amount in an unemotional state. And something that you could try to stay accountable to that amount is writing it down somewhere. There is strong commitment to your own handwriting.

I recently did an article published by Addicted2Success.com, and I think the core concept is worth sharing here. The article is about independent travel, and how that experience translates to improved performance at work. While most of us have no plans to travel, the lessons presented in this article about being independent are more widely applicable, hope you enjoy!

The first lesson is about building relationships from nothing. Doing anything alone puts a strain on your social needs, and forces you to step out of your comfort zone, and is arguably the most difficult part of traveling alone.

The next lesson is about self awareness, which is fundamental to a healthy personal state, and has been getting the attention it deserves. Time on your own helps you realize exactly what you want to do for yourself, which is a valuable lesson, because it makes for a happier you.

Third, I talk about taking ownership for poor results. When acting independently, you can’t point the finger at anyone else, and having those moments of self-reflection where you realize that you are at fault is a powerful perspective to have.

To expound on that, you learn how to solve problems. Again, when there is no one to turn to and you find yourself in a situation, you and only you are capable of getting out of it. Taking pride in and solving your own problems is a huge asset in life.

And last, you learn to trust your gut. With this trust in your own impressions comes a confidence and poise that is extremely valuable in traveling, business, and relationships.  

Lets talk about procrastination, and dive into what I learned about it that will debunk a few misconceptions we have about it. In doing so, I hope you will be able to get back to the things you want to do more quickly and more consistently.

Procrastination does serve a creative purpose in certain settings, but the from of procrastination more pertinent to personal development is called destructive procrastination. This is when you put off things you know you need to do fully aware that there will be consequences. 

Something we need to understand about procrastination is that it is actually a defense mechanism to stress that provides with mini hits of dopamine that help us cope.  The problem is that procrastinating exacerbates the problem over time.

Mel Robbins proposed an easy 3 step solution to overcoming procrastination that I want to share. The first step is to forgive yourself. By removing guilt from your experience, you’ll be more objective about the task at hand. The second step is to picture your future self, meaning you look at your present self from a critical and more experienced lens. This disassociation can be very motivating. The final step is to engage in a starting ritual that initiates action.  Mel Robbins’ famous starting ritual is her 5 second rule, but starting rituals can be physical as well as psychological, like a clap, stretch, or breathing pattern. 

Overcome your procrastination once and for all and never look back. The hardest part is starting, and it gets easier every day moving forward.

For those who don’t know, Gary Vaynerchuk is a serial entrepreneur and social media personality with a ton of influence. 

One of Gary’s pillar principles described in his book “Thank You Economy” is the 51/49 principle, which basically states that you should give 51% of the time and receive 49% of the time.  He says this is valuable in business because then you have leverage in the relationship, but it is also a good tactic to use in a more casual capacity because it prepares you for the long term and whatever that entails. 

So today’s tip is to use the 51/49 principle, or more conventionally known as giving more than you take. 

This concept works for a few reasons. First is reciprocity. It is a human condition to want to remove debts you owe to someone else because holding debt is uncomfortable by nature. This principle positions you to reap the benefits of others’ reciprocity. Additionally, giving is an innate mental boost, and there are physiological benefits to giving to other people.

So how can you give? Well you have more to offer than you might think. Obviously you can aid someone financially, but more creatively, you can also offer your attention, expertise, emotional support, advice, or time. All of these things are an asset that possess their own equity and can easily be shared with others as part of this 51/49 paradigm.

I’ve been thinking for a while about how to create a tip out of the following audio clip, but I think the lesson speaks for itself.  Listen to what actor Jim Carrey has to say about fear, living in the present, and doing what you love.

As a huge Jim Carrey fan, this clip always moves me, and encourages me to pursue my passion, regardless of what challenges I might face.  As crazy as life can be, you only have one, and it is yours.

A big component to personal development is goal setting, and this tip will make sure you are working toward your goals in the right way, specifically by SMART goals.

No, I’m not talking about having goals around your intelligence. SMART, in this case is meant to be used as an acronym. Each letter represents a different contributing factor to a well crafted goal. SMART stands for, specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.

To quickly breakdown each of these, specific means that the goal is narrow enough so that it can be independently focused on and worked toward. Measurable means that the result can be tracked in an objective way, eliminating any doubt you have about your progress. Attainable and Realistic go hand in hand, because they both talk about the importance of the goal actually being possible and can be achieved. Goals that aren’t attainable or realistic are not beneficial. Last is timely, meaning that you have established a time frame by which you want to have completed the goal, creating an accountability to work toward it. 

Together, these factors provide a complete framework to achieve your goals. It has been adopted in many different industries, from professional sports, to corporate suites, to personal development. 

The best thing to do if you want to start creating SMART goals today is to figure out what goal you want to accomplish, then unpack that goal into simpler components using the SMART principles. For example, instead of setting the goal “work out more”, it would be smarter to have the goal, “workout for 45 minutes 4 days of every week”.  Do you see how much neater that is, and how it provides a plan of action just based on how it is written?

I want to share something I learned at sales training that really stuck with me. It is a very empathetic technique that doesn’t feel natural at first, but with repeated use it gets a lot easier.  I myself am still working on presenting it smoothly.  

What I was taught in sales, is that its important to first probe your target to figure out how you can deliver value, Then, explain why your product or service fills that need, with the close coming at the end of that explanation.  The very small part I want to focus on here is when you check to see if your communication was effective.

The tip. Instead of asking the clarifying question “Do you understand”, instead ask “Did I explain that well?”.

Framing the clarifier in this way seems subtle but it is packed with implications. Most notably, if the point wasn’t effectively communicated, stating it as an “I” statement, "Did I explain that well?", implies that you are the one responsible for the misunderstanding. This is important because it ensures that you are being respectful of the target’s intelligence level while making sure they understand exactly what you are trying to say.  Growing on that, putting the responsibility on yourself is an act of humility that often goes appreciated in relationships, and anything that strengthens the rapport in the conversation is a step closer to a sale. Lastly, by allowing the target to be disassociated from the error, they are more likely to admit if they don’t completely understand, which will let you get deeper into your pitch.

You can train yourself to say, “Did I explain that well” instead of “do you understand” just as you would train any sales technique, which includes rehearsals, role plays, and memorization. And if you manage to make the substitution naturally, I’m curious to hear about your results!