Contemplate the consequences of acquiescing. If I say yes to something that I don’t want to do, I’ll be miserable and I’ll likely make other people miserable. That’s certainly not what I want. Consequences often provide clarity beyond your immediate visceral reaction. Say no when you need to say no, or your problems are just beginning to unfold.
Why you say yes when you want to say no
Be wary of your feelings, they often take the wheel and lead you to say yes when you need to say no. Funny story, yesterday, I was on the subway on my way to see a friend, the train stopped at 5th AVE and 53rd street. I’m new to the city so I’m still learning the ropes. At the last…
Productivity by minimizing what you schedule
Your schedule can only have 2 or 3 substantial things per day, beyond this you’ll just be shuffling the deck chairs on you calendar because you’ll never get much more than 2 or 3 things done in a day. Cut all the stuff that doesn’t matter, you’ll be surprised how much you get done by doing less. Less is more.
Personality tests are nonsense
You shouldn’t label your past behavior. You can easily deny your own growth by fixing into the mindset of the label you’ve selected or been given by someone else, or some wacko personality test. What you should do is label yourself according to what you want to become. Then, you’ll guarantee your own success. And, chances are you already exhibit…
Money back is a no-brainer
Unless you doubt your abilities–in which case, why are you in business?–a money back guarantee is a no-brainier. Even in consulting work. In a way it’s bluffing because you know you’re so good that you’d never have a customer ask for their money back. But at the same time the customer doesn’t know that so you’re selling them peace of…
Todo lists can be depressing
If you want to be productive, schedule your work. Know when enough is enough and know how to celebrate what you’ve accomplished. Less is more. The most common mistake people make is keeping a queue of work and then feeling disappointed every day because they barely make a dint in their 80 page todo list.
Studying isn’t learning
Studying isn’t learning, nor is memorization. Learning is influencing your future behavior. Anyone can rattle off a list of leadership qualities, that doesn’t mean they can lead people effectively. Spending four years studying is not a guarantee that a person can act, in the moment, on the studied information.
Writing things down
Just this morning I listened to someone suggest that the more you document the more control you have. And the less you document, the less control you have. Of course the trade-off in this person’s mind was in overhead versus control. More overhead (from writing things down) results in more control, but sometimes the overhead isn’t worth it. And thus…
People change
Are you the same person you were a year ago, five years ago, ten years ago? Let’s keep in mind that the balance of features any individual exhibits today, is not the same set of features they’ll exhibit a year from now, nor is it the same necessarily tomorrow.
Saying no gets easier
The more you say no, when you know it’s a no, the easier it will be to say no in the future. The more you say yes, when you know it’s a no, the easier it will be to say yes–when it’s really a no–in the future.