Get 6 hours of extra stuff done in a day!

Hey there!

How was your day?

I’ll be quick today. I’ve got to run because I’m late for dinner. I’m going to have streak frites and red wine…

Shhh… Don’t tell my diet coach…

You’ve met time management expert Dave Navarro before. He’s a super cool guy.

He’s so cool, in fact, that he’s giving away his fantastic 30 Hours a Day Time Management program.

It was originally a 11-CD program and Dave sold it for a zillion dollars.

Now he’s giving it away for free on his blog. Because he’s awesome like that.

I’ll let Dave explain what it is…

Hi, I’m Dave Navarro, and I want to welcome you to the 30 Hours a Day Project.  Since this project is a time management program, and since I know you’re already too busy as it is, I’m going to make this introduction short and sweet.  This way you can dive right into what you really came here for – freeing up massive amounts of time and increasing your productivity so you can get 30 hours of stuff done in a regular 24 hour day.  Sound good?  Let’s go.

About the 30 Hours a Day Project

People thought I was a little crazy when I told them I was working on a system to get 6 hours of extra “stuff” done in my day.  They thought it was impossible, I guess the same way a lot of people think it’s impossible to earn a million dollars in a year or two.

But people go from zero to a million all the time, so I figured it that we humans could go from 24 to 30 hours of productivity as well.

Pulling six hours of results out of thin air may sound unattainable, but it’s not when you really think about it. It’s like increasing your daily get-things-doneness by less than 25% – and that is certainly very reasonable, if you have a solid plan on how to do it.

(Yes, technically, I’m aware that if you take out the 8 hours that many people sleep in a day, and you’re left with 16 hours, well, then pulling an extra 6 is a little over a 35% improvement.    Still not impossible – if you have a solid plan, that is.)

The Solid Plan

The 30 Hours a Day Project revolves around three simple steps that you can take to send your daily results  through the roof:

• Discover what problems are you holding back from getting things done

• Create a battle plan to kill those problems, one by one

• Create a system to work that battle plan every day so you can reap the benefits

Now, I know that sounds simple, and that’s because it is.  Success isn’t rocket science, it’s just a matter of getting solid on the fundamentals. There’s no reason to get overly complex, like a lot of other time management methods do.

Most time management systems make things really complicated and bog you down with these huge systems that you are supposed to use to replace the way you are doing everything in your life.  From my experience as a coach, I’ve rarely, if ever, seen that work.  If you’re too busy already, the last thing you want to do is step back and try to change everything at once.

That’s why the 30 Hours a Day project does things differently.  I’m going to take you through a series of mini workshops that are going to show you the small, manageable next steps you can take to start making progress right now, right where you are.

You don’t have to change everything overnight to start seeing some massive progress.  You’ll be able to go at the pace you want to, you’ll be able to pick and choose the areas you want to work on, and you won’t really have to break away from the tools you are already using.  You’ll see what I mean as we start moving on.

Now, I told you I’d keep the intro short and sweet, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. We’re done.  So let’s start getting you closer to your 30-hour day!

Get the 30 Day Time Management System Here.

Don’t say I’m not good to you!

JJ Jalopy.

The most condescending business advice you’ve ever heard.

Hi there!

How are you? It’s so good to see you again – it’s been a while.

I had a fantastic time in Monaco, thank you very much.

But I’ve been in bed for the last two days. The combination of too-much-sun and not-enough-water will do that to you, it seems.

So, as I was hallucinating in bed last night, trying to shiver my way to sleep, I got to thinking about why most people’s mini-businesses don’t succeed.

What is the difference that makes the difference? I thought to myself, because I liked the way it sounded.

The difference that makes the difference is indifference, I replied, because I was high on sunstroke and I liked the way that sounded even more.

But I knew it didn’t make sense. Certainly not in this context anyway.

So I pulled myself together and searched my brain for a more helpful question. If I wasn’t going to sleep, I might as well do some productive thinking.

What do people most need to help their businesses thrive?

That’s better.

I don’t think it’s more information, I replied. Most people know a few things they could be doing right now to move their business forward, get more clients and stuff.

(And if they don’t, they should click on that link for a few very simple suggestions.)

The problem is that they’re not doing them.

Bingo.

What people most need is to actually do the stuff they already know they should be doing.

Brilliant! A stroke of genius.

If there’s a Nobel Prize for the most obvious and naive piece of business advice then I’m first on the shortlist.

I went to sleep.

So, why aren’t they doing these things?

Well…

Because some of the things on that list are rather unsexy.

Because some of the things on that list are a bit scary.

And, quite frankly, they’d rather be drinking margaritas, eating biscuits in bed, or flirting with the hot teenage gardener.

Not that those aren’t useful and enjoyable activities. I’m sure they are. It’s just that they aren’t going to help your business grow. And then you’re not going to be able to afford those margaritas.

I want you to have all the margaritas / pool boys / hot nannies / ice-cream (delete as appropriate) that you desire.

But first… I want you do some of those things on your list.

(NOTE: I’m well aware that I’m the only one who uses under-the-covers margarita and biscuit binges as an excuse not to follow through on tedious marketing tasks. I’m sure your excuses are much more socially acceptable and involve kids, chores and family responsibilities. Unfortunately, these things are not as funny to me so they don’t get much of a mention today. Thanks.)

So here’s what we’re going to do…

(It’s pretty cutting edge.)

What I want you to do, is to pick a few items you know you should be doing (borrow some of these, if you need.)

Then write each of these on a single day on your calendar.

And then do them on that day.

Let your calendar be your coach. It’ll tell you what to do and it tell you when to do it. You won’t even have to think about it. Just do it.

If you think this is the most obvious and condescending piece of advice you’ve ever heard, then you’re probably right.

But I can’t overemphasize the importance of getting the basics right. Most mini-businesses fail because they never really get going. The key is to start moving, and keep going.

Thanks for putting up with my nonsense today. I’ll see you tomorrow!

JJ Jalopy.

Confidence – What’s holding you back?

Hey!

Wanna know something cool?

Well… I can show you step-by-step, piece-by-piece, how you can build yourself a successful mini-business.

Whether you’re a coach, a consultant, a stay-at-home-mom, a clown, or you want to sell downloadable stuff on the internet – I can show you simple steps that will almost guarantee you success if you follow them.

I used to think that this made me special.

That was naive.

Anyone can figure that out if they have enough time on their hands. It takes a bit of work to break it down to its constituent parts, but the process is pretty easy:

• Find people who have succeeded in building successful small businesses
• Pay attention to what they did and what they’re still doing
• Figure out the patterns
• Organize into a set of steps / rules / concepts
• Give it all a fancy name like methodology
• Compare and contrast to mainstream business practices
• Make new distinctions, refine, analyze, criticize. (Basically be a bit clever.)
• Ascend to mini business consultancy nirvana.

So yeah. There’s that. 

A set of things that you might want to do to make your business rock.

A methodology, if you will.

But… knowing what would be a good thing to do, and actually doing it are two very different things.

So why would someone not do something that they thought was going to skyrocket the fledging business they’re so worried about into the stratosphere of success, glory and unlimited ice-cream?

…

Answer: Because they’re scared.

Because they’re worried they’re not good enough.

Because they think there are a load of people much better at doing whatever it is they do. So really, what’s the point?

Because doing some of the things that they know they should do are not going to be very comfortable, and are not going to be much fun.

Because they’re worried that, if they become really successful, people will recognize us as the charlatans they fear they might be.

Listen. The fact is that, unless you’re a psychopath, you, too, think you suck sometimes.

And if you agree with this then congratulations!  You’re not crazy. Or certainly no more so than the rest of us. You can stick around. Help yourself to cake.

So… you might have the perfect roadmap. The blueprint to assured success and world domination in your field!

But if you believe your business is going to fail, then it probably will.

If you believe you’re not going to be up to the task, then you probably won’t be.

Successful people focus their efforts where it does the most good. They take accountability for themselves.  They ask for help and guidance when they need it. They regularly do things that feel uncomfortable.

All of this takes confidence. 

It takes effort to fail at something. And those who have the confidence to focus their efforts in the right place, will succeed. 

Confidence is the difference between those who dick about on Twitter all day, and those who get out there and make something happen. 

Fine, you say. It’s all very well to write about this from your safe little writing room Mr. Writer Man. But what can we do about it?

Glad you asked.

How about a list? People on the internet love lists, I have heard. Let’s make a list…

• Accept that you’re scared, that you’ll always be scared and that being scared is a totally normal, natural and healthy thing.
• Understand that confidence grows from pushing yourself to do uncomfortable things. 
• Realize that you don’t have to be the best in the world. You just have to be You. 
• Make a plan to grow your confidence in certain key areas, by increasing your exposure to certain experiences in a controlled way. 

Cool.

So what’s the message to take away from all this Mr. Jalopy, Sir? 

It’s to be aware. To be a little more conscious about the decisions you make. To be aware of your beliefs and how they might be holding you back. But always to be kind, understanding and patient with yourself.

And to hire an awesome mentor who can work with you on your beliefs and help you make a simple plan to increase your confidence.

And, finally, to stick around on this wonderful blog for some group therapy on our limiting beliefs, coming to your computer screen very very soon!

Have a great evening. I’ll catch up with you later!

JJ Jalopy.

Procrastination, Twitter and my Cartoon Nose Job

Hey there!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

Relax, put your feet up and pour yourself your favorite drink as I tell you a story.

 

It was Wednesday evening this week. I sat down at the lovely big glass desk in my man cave and turned on the computer.

I feel great about today, I said to myself as my mac sprung into action. I’m going to get loads of productive work done.

I fired up my web browser and logged onto Twitter.

 

A lengthy aside about Twitter

For the uninitiated, Twitter is a bit like an online bar (except that you have to bring your own alcohol and you don’t need to wear pants.) There’s a load of people, a load of noise, some cool fun interesting people to meet, and some terrible dullards.

There are people who want to convince you that hawking overpriced vitamins on your friends and family is a good idea, as well as people who just want to hang out, get to know some people and have some fun.

The key to using Twitter in a way that doesn’t suck, is to ignore the first lot and befriend and engage with the second lot. Just as you’d walk away from the drunk guy in the corner dribbling on his sweater, and go talk to fun looking lady on the unicycle making balloon animals.

For the small home business owner, Twitter is an excellent networking and marketing tool. Especially if you’re prepared to take the time to do your marketing in a personable, non-creepy way.

It can also be an excellent procrastination aid.

It really shouldn’t be. 

It takes a few seconds to say something funny that’s on your mind, check out what other people are up to, and then get back to work.

It should be a perfect-sized refreshing break…

…if you have well-defined work to be getting back to.

 

So, back to my story… What happened with me?

Well, I noticed a comment from an internet friend. (That’s a friend I know through the internet, not a friend who is an internet. There’s only one of those.)

And I replied to said comment with a hilarious comment about rolling a watermelon down a hill, turning a house upside down with a big stick and a rock as a lever, or some other such nonsense. I don’t remember what it was right now, but it was surely absolutely hilariously irreverent.

Gosh, I am terribly amusing sometimes, I thought to myself.

And then I checked my email.

I had a message from the illustrator I’ve been working with. (I found him using elance. You can find out how to do this effectively in this article here.)

He’s making a cartoon logo of me, for reasons that are much more to do with satisfying my own ego than any serious branding considerations.

He had sent me some sketches. It’s really cool to see a cartoon version of you. I sent it to Mrs. Jalopy and a few friends. I debated whether my nose looked too big and whether my hair was curly enough.

I shot an email back to my illustrator dude. If I’m going to be a cartoon, I’m going to be a bloody good looking one, that’s for sure.

I requested a cartoon nose job.

An hour had now passed since I first sat down to work.

I should finish that article on confidence that I’ve been writing on and off for the last week. Or I should finish the About Me page on my website, or that Squidoo lens, or those sketches I’ve been promising the web designer…

Yeah, but first… I bet someone has replied to that hilarious comment I made on Twitter. 

They hadn’t. Perhaps no-one had read it yet. Or maybe they thought it was so hilarious that they couldn’t think of a worthy reply. Yeah, that was probably it.

So I logged onto Facebook, made a few comments on some people’s photos, watched some videos of monkeys playing with firearms. Soon got tired of that.

 

The bit where I hurry the story a little because you’ve got the idea by now…

Looked at my cartoon again.

Thought about finishing that article.

Or the one for April which has now been festering even longer. (Sorry April, if you’re listening. It is like totally brilliant though.)

Thought about making that squidoo thingywotsit.

Emailed the web-designer dude with a link to a website that I think is prettier than the one we’re making…

Finally I sat down to finish the article.

But by now I was feeling really tired and Mrs. Jalopy has already gone to bed. I don’t like it when we go to bed separately. I miss my snuggletime.

So I turned off the computer and go to bed, feeling a little guilty about how long I had just spent doing pretty much nothing.

 

So what went wrong?

Gosh. Lots of things. Where do we start?

I had no goal.

To be successful at doing stuff you first have to know what it is that you want to do.

“I’m going to do some networking and hopefully finish that article, talk to the web-designer and illustrator” is not a goal.

So what would have looked better? How about this?

I’m going to finish my article on confidence and reply to any urgent emails. I’ll give myself a couple of breaks to make tea and to briefly connect with people on Twitter.

I had no deadlines or defined timescales.

I had blocked off a period of time in which I was going to “do work”. I had allowed myself to be okay with not finishing anything. I was happy simply to be doing work stuff.

So I flitted around, satisfying my little ego with cartoon nose jobs and flirting with imaginary friends on Twitter.

What would have looked better?

I’m going finish my article on confidence tonight, before I go to bed. 

I had no accountability.

I sometimes talk about making non-negotiable agreements with yourself. 

This is when you say, I’m going to finish this article before I go to bed because I’ve decided that I will. There is no other way. 

You’re being accountable to yourself. You’re coaching yourself.

You may also get a lot of value being accountable to a coach, or a mastermind group trying to achieve similar things together.

Either way, accountability is a big piece of the puzzle. 

 

The bit at the end where we wrap things up.

I’m sure the story I just confessed is totally unfamiliar to a productive and efficient business person like you!

Or maybe it’s not so much…

I find it interesting that the basics to working productively are so simple, straightforward and easily understood – but also difficult to act upon consistently.

There is a huge payoff in getting the basics right. Having a plan, putting timescales and deadlines against all your tasks and being accountable to yourself and others… these are the basics.

And we’d do well to set up a habit to remind ourselves of this every single day as we sit down to work. And make a non-negotiable agreement with ourselves to do these things – even if we don’t feel like it.

How do you manage this? What systems do you have in place to remind yourself of the basics to working effectively? What strategies to you have when procrastination rears its ugly head?

Let me know! You know you can talk to me below. And you know I love it when you do!

See you soon.

JJ Jalopy.

P.S. I believe that procrastination is actually a very complex issue. It is my belief that no-one self-sabotages. All of our decisions are, I believe, made with our best interests in mind, but with limited or “flawed” information. In this post, I don’t mean to make light of the issue of procrastination, simply to highlight the importance of getting the basics right.

Help! I’m scared of the phone!

Hey there!

Today my writing may look a bit less fun than usual.

This is because Wordpress, the normally very lovely and well-behaved piece of software that runs this blog, is being an ungracious little madam this evening.

I bought her a brand shiny new outfit a few hours ago. (Your I.T. guy might call this upgrading.) And now she’s throwing a tantrum and refusing to come out to show everyone. I think she’s probably just a bit shy. Bless her.

So I’m taking my usual approach to I.T. problems – which is to forget about them for a while, go to bed and hope they work themselves out in the morning all by themselves.

Yes – sometimes I kid myself that computers are not accountable to cause and effect and logic.

Hey! Maybe Wordpress works by the Law of Attraction!

Ahem. Moving on…

So I’m writing in this HTML stuff. It confuses me and makes me feel a bit clever all at the same time.

Earlier today, I was talking to a client with a fear of making follow up calls to potential clients.

The dread of making a phone call is something that many of us experience.

You imagine an unpleasant or uncomfortable interaction. Your hands get all sweaty. Your body feels different. You suddenly think of a million other things that you might be able to busy yourself with instead.

Usually this is related to a fear of confrontation.

But sometimes it isn’t. My client was mostly concerned about infringing on other people’s valuable time or the awkwardness of having them explain they were no longer interested. Some people are so damn considerate…

It doesn’t really make a difference why you’re scared and who you’re calling. When it’s one of those calls and the fear, the guilt and the nerves start to creep in, making that call is the last thing on earth you want to do.

Yeah, I can see that. So how can I make it go away?

Well, we might choose to dive into the unconscious patterns that you run, bring awareness to them, and then install some new helpful choices in their place, before sending you packing with a copy of the phone book to go cold-call California starting from A…

But I’ve found that doesn’t work so well through the blogging medium.

And I’d kind of suck at that anyway, to be honest. Lightning bolts and silly hats are more my cup of tea.

(Tea is more my cup of tea too.)

 

 

So instead, I’m going to show you a slightly-tree-huggy exercise you can do to feel a bit better about making that call. I learned it from an awesome Yoga teacher I met in Kansas.

Here we go…

Step 1: Breathe deeply. Allow yourself to stop feeling guilty for a while, and sit down content that you don’t need to make that call right now. Not whilst we’re doing this exercise anyway.

Step 2: Get a piece of paper, and write down things you have in common with the person you’re going to call. Think about the things they worry about. Think about the similar hopes and dreams they might have. Think about similar hang-ups they might have.

Step 3: Read through the list, and remind yourself of all the things you, and this other dude(tte) have in common. Talk yourself through it if you like. You might even like to pretend that you’re talking to the other person about it. Or you’re explaining it to a friend.

At some point in this routine, you’ll probably feel a bit of a shift in your thinking, maybe let out a sigh, and realize that now is the time to go and make that call.

If you don’t, and you’re still scared shitless, then it’s probably time to remind yourself that confidence only really grows from pushing through discomfort and fear.

Then try to push yourself to pick up that phone. If you do I’ll give you a big fat Jalopy hug and I’ll tell you that it’ll be easier next time, I promise.

Cool.

It’s been a bit of a departure from the normal business-talk, but I hope this technique will is useful to you. Try it out. You might feel a little silly talking to yourself, but it’ll work wonders!

Keep on Rockin’ the world!

JJ Jalopy.

10 Simple Things that will Immediately Increase your Quality of Life

Good day!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend.

I hope you have a fantastic time with the people you love.

Here’s 10 simple things that you can do right now to immediately improve the quality of your life…

1. Get a teapot.

2. Have a bit of a tidy-up. Then have a nice cup of tea, made in your new teapot.

3. Put the phone back on its stand thing. It looks untidy lying down like that.

4. Get a mac. If you’re going to be sat in front of a computer you might as well make it a nice looking one. Like my beautiful silver iMac. Even if it crashes, you don’t get mad ’cause it’s just so pretty…

5. Tidy your computer desktop. You’ll never achieve Productivity Zen Mastery with all that crap in the way. So put those icons away somewhere. Do this: http://kinkless.com/article/kinkless_desktop

5. Buy loads of toothpaste, shampoo, soap, toilet rolls etc. Having to buy that stuff all the time is annoying.

6. Always have scissors, wrapping paper and tape in an easily accessible place. Wrapping up presents is painful enough at the best of times. Why make it harder on yourself?

7. Drink good wine. It’s nicer than the cheap stuff, you know. You deserve it.

8. Go outside. Go for a walk. Get some air. Sit under a tree. Hug it if you like. Just get outdoors. It’s good for you. 

And from Mrs. Jalopy…

9. Paint your nails. It makes life funner.

10. Carry tissues at all times.

Ta-ra! See you tomorrow!

JJ Jalopy.

An interview with a Health, Nutrition and General Zen Master Rockstar!

Hey there!

I’ve just recorded a podcast interview with holistic health expert Anthony Lemme of www.anthonylemme.com. 

Check it out. It’s awesome.

Well, Anthony is awesome anyway.

He teaches me some new words, drops some great soundbites and explains his functional approach to health and happiness. He truly is a master of body and mind. And a darned humble one at that.

Unfortunately, though, he cannot levitate.

I guess you can’t have it all…

(I lose my voice about halfway through. So that’s a plus too!)

Enjoy!

JJ interviews health expert Anthony Lemme

UPDATE: 22/05/09 – Here’s Part 2. It’s way better quality and you get to hear me call my friend, ubiquitous blog commenter Avery, an asshole. 

Interview with Anthony – Part 2

JJ Jalopy.

Why you’re not achieving your goals.

Hi there!

Hope you’re having a good weekend.

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before, but my awesome Jalopy Gang Newsletter hits your email box every Sunday. The article that I’m going to share with you below was originally written exclusively for the newsletter, but I think it rocks so much that I want to share it with you here.

Just in case you needed convincing of the value of my esteemed e-publication…

So if you’re super intelligent and enjoy great writing and practical honest, no-nonsense coaching, consulting and home business marketing advice then sign-up below and make my day!

And that is why my buddy Don Shepherd coined me The King of Shameless Self-Promotion…

Anyhow…

Today I’m going to talk about goals.

As you’re here I’m going to assume that you have set goals in the past.

I’m going to assume that you are working to achieve some of those goals right now.

I’m going to assume that you’re at least thinking about working to achieve some of the goals right now.

(Unless you’re my Dad. Hey again, Pa! He’ll tell you that he’s perfectly happy without goals, thank you very much. And then he’ll go make a new wall in the garden. He’s Zen like that. And that’s why you’d do well to read his forthcoming guest post on my blog!)

I’m also going to assume that you’ve forgotten about a few of the goals you’ve made.

And some of them you totally gave up on because – even though you really wanted to achieve the goal – life kind of happened, it all seemed like a bit too much work, and you had other stuff to do anyway…

A lot of people have written a lot of good stuff about the art of goal achievement.

A lot of people have written a lot of nonsense about the art of goal achievement.

One thing that most people will agree on, is that the key to maintaining the drive and commitment you need to follow through on your goals, is to remind yourself why you want to achieve the goal in the first place.

This is good advice. But some people are better at that “why” than others.

Meet Juliet.

Since she left school, Juliet had thought about running her own catering business. But she got married at an early age to a very busy and successful banker called Bob.

Bob would put on a pinstripe suit and bowler hat to go and pick up the Sunday paper. He was that kind of dude.

Juliet played the role of housewife. This was what Bob wanted the most, and what Juliet thought would make Bob happy.

When Juliet would speak of her idea to run a catering business Bob would get angry. He would tell her not to waste her thoughts on silly dreams. He would tell her she would never be able to do it by herself. He would pat Juliet on the head, tell her to forget all about and go and make him a sandwich, there’s a good girl.

Yeah. Bob was an asshole.

Fifteen years later Juliet would finds out that Bob had been having an affair with his secretary.

This gives Juliet the courage she needed to leave no-good Bob and move into a small one-bedroom apartment by herself. Juliet feels like the last fifteen years had been a waste. She doesn’t have qualifications, she doesn’t have experience, but she has her dream – the dream that loser Bob had told her she wasn’t good enough to succeed with.

Juliet immerses herself in self-help literature. She learns how to clarify her desired goal, and see it clearly in her mind. She gets clear about all the good positive things that would result from the achievement of her goal. She learns about positive thinking. She reads some books about self-acceptance.

Juliet decides to give her goal a bit of oomph. She goes to see Coach JJ.

Juliet explains that her goal is to have a successful party catering business, and explains what that would look like to her.

I ask her why wants this and how it will make her feel.

I’ll feel like I’m in control of my life, she says. It’ll feel great to be able to make money all by myself. I’ll feel secure and I’ll also feel free. I’ll feel proud of myself. I’ll feel like I’ll be able to do anything.

That sounds great, I say. What else?

I’ll feel like I’m a success.

How do you feel about your success as it relates to your ex-husband, I ask.

And then we start to learn about her most powerful motivation to succeed in her business…

She wants to prove Bob wrong. She wants to prove to herself and to prove to him that she can succeed. That she is good enough. She wants to show him that getting away from him and his good-for-nothing philandering ways is the best thing that has ever happened to her. She wants to show him she was better than him – and show herself she was better than him.

Juliet had read so much about positive-thinking and self-acceptance that she had been actively ignoring one of her most powerful motivators!

Now if there’s one thing I’ve learned from having Tony Robbins enthusiastically yelling into my ear on the tube journey into work, it’s that most human behavior is determined by the following two motivating factors:

• desire to move AWAY from perceived PAIN
• desire to move TOWARDS perceived PLEASURE.

Makes sense right?

And which of these two is the most powerful motivator?

PAIN!

We hate pain. We go to extraordinary lengths to avoid experiencing it.

And we can use this to our advantage to give us the motivation we need to keep working at our goals.

Sometimes our most powerful motivating factors are the ones that aren’t necessarily considered socially-acceptable.

• We have a desire to prove our doubters wrong.
• We have a desire for revenge.
• We have a desire to settle the score.
• We have a desire to make up for past mistakes.
• We have a desire to prove ourselves to others and to our past selves.

These desires and motivations may not be the ones you like to admit to others, or even to yourself, but they are often the most powerful.

Let’s say you’re trying to lose weight. What do you think will motivate you more?

The thought of being healthy and fit?

Or the thought of watching your ex-boyfriend’s double-take as your sexy ass struts past him in the street?

That’s right, Sista! You show that no-good scrub what he’s missin’ out on!

(Okay. Okay. I promise to never speak like that in public again. Point taken!)

One of the reasons why the message of Oprah-favorite DVD, book and “metaphysical” personal development cult The Secret sucks so much is that entirely ignores the biggest motivational factor in human behavior – the desire to escape pain, the desire to get revenge and the desire to prove our own self worth.

In fact, it actively encourages that you suppress these powerful motivators and delude yourself with positive thinking and gratitude.

Here in Jalopyland, I’m not here to blow sunshine up your bottom. I’m here to tell you what works, and hopefully to make you laugh in the process.

Now, I’m not saying that clinging onto the negative events of your past is a good thing. Of course, you’ll be happier if you can let go of these attachments.

But trying to ignore or suppress these thoughts and feelings is not doing you any good either. And neither will painting over them with fake feelings of acceptance and gratitude.

It always pays to be honest with yourself. If you can regularly get in touch with the real reasons you are striving towards your goal then motivation to act will not be a problem for you. You might change your goals and dreams, but you’re not going to let your goals go forgotten.

So what happened with Juliet?

Well her goal now has a momentum of its own and now her motivations have changed. You can bet your life she doesn’t think of Bob much anymore…

Cool, eh?

If you thought this rocked, and you haven’t already, then why not sign-up for my Jalopy Gang newsletter? It’s packed full of awesomeness like this!

See you later!

JJ Jalopy.

What to do when you suck.

Hi there!

The weekend starts here! Make it a good one.

I’m exhausted. I’ve had an incredibly busy week. It’s been great though.

I found out earlier today that my Dad is an avid reader of my blog. How cool is that?! Hey Pa!

He says he might write a guest post sometime soon. No pressure, Dad, but it would sure be awesome if you did!

Outsourcing to the family is beginning to look like an integral part of the Jalopy Plan for World Domination!

So…

Have you ever done something really stupid?

Have you ever done something really embarrassing?

Have you ever done something really mean?

Have you ever done something so outrageously shameful that you can’t help but wince when you so much as think about it?

 

Yeah, me too.

We all suck sometimes. 

This is a fact of life. Sometimes we screw up. Sometimes we’re mean to each other. Sometimes we take our frustrations out on the people we love the most. Sometimes we feel insecure. Sometimes we yell and shout. Sometimes we throw things in frustration. Sometimes we get angry and swear too much. Sometimes we do hurtful things to each other. Sometimes we say things we don’t mean. Sometimes we say things we’ll later regret. Sometimes we do things we’ll later regret. 

And after a monumental fuck-up, we get angry at ourselves. 

And then we often do just about anything we can to block it out and forget about it.

So we go about our lives as we were…

…and then we go and screw stuff up again.

And that’s fine, you say.

Nothing wrong with screwing stuff up, you say. It’s a learning experience.

But when did you do that learning? 

And why did you do that same stupid thing again?

Well, I have some expertise when it comes to doing stupid things. I’ve probably done most of the stupid things that it is possible to do. At least those that don’t involve a great deal of bravery, anyway. And I’ll continue to add new stupid things to my repertoire of life experiences for as long as I live.

Hopefully it’ll be different stupid stuff in the future.

I hope I never again decide to make bad jokes at the expense of a bunch of drunken cowboys in Wendy’s at 2:00 AM in Oklahoma City.

I hope I never again send the wrong email to my boss…

Well, you get the idea.

So how can we use these experiences constructively?

Well, the process I’ve just made up is a nice simple one, that goes like this…:

 

1. Allow yourself to react

So you screwed up. Doesn’t it feel bad?

Allow yourself to be annoyed. Allow yourself to be angry. Allow yourself to kick the door. Allow yourself to feel embarrassed that your toe hurts because you kicked the door.

Allow yourself to tell yourself you’re stupid; that you suck; that you’re unworthy; that you’re not good enough.

(But only if you actually react like this, of course! Don’t be mean to yourself intentionally. That would just be silly!)

Just allow yourself to feel whatever you feel. 

 

2. Realize that it’s done. It’s over. And you’re okay

Look. You’re okay. That really dumb thing you did didn’t kill you.

No-one came and crushed you with a big rock.

This is a good thing. Everything is okay,

 

3. Realize that telling yourself you suck isn’t really very helpful

It’s very nice of you to tell yourself you suck, really.

You have your best interests in mind. 

You probably think that telling yourself you suck is an important destination on the path to future non-suckage.

And you might well be right. Who cares. Just realize that the rest of your life would be a whole lot nicer if you stopped.

If that doesn’t motivate you then realize that you really will suck if you keep telling yourself you suck. And no-one wants that.

 

4. Learn the lessons

Okay, so you screwed up. It wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last time, but we can decrease the chances of you making the same mistake again by answering the following questions.

Why did you screw up? 

What would you do next time?

What actions can you take to minimize the likelihood of doing the same stupid thing?

 

5. Remind yourself of the lessons you learned

So, time has passed and you no longer spend every other second of the day thinking about your fuck up.

This is a good thing.

But don’t forget about the lessons you learned just because the emotional charge may have gone.

Set up a system to remind yourself of the positives you got from the experience to reinforce the actions you started to take in step 4. 

 

The last step is the one most people skip. It’s certainly the one I often forget about. Thankfully I’m very rarely in a Wendy’s in Oklahoma City these days…

Well I hope this post entertained you at the very least. I know that you don’t ever do dumb stuff like this, but I hope you can see the value in this for others!

See y’all tomorrow!

JJ Jalopy.

A Perfect Day

Hi there!

How was your day?

I’m feeling pretty Zen right now.

At least I would be if Zen were an acceptable adjective.

I’ve been working like crazy today and now I’m basking in the pride and satisfaction of a Job Well Done and the fuzzy, wired aftermath of a serious caffeine overload.

My limbs feel like they’re about to fall off.

I can feel the blood passing through every one of my veins.

I feel totally worn out.

It might not sound like it, but it feels really good.

I’m on the train on my way home. When I get home I will give Mrs. Jalopy a hug and I’ll tell her I love her.

Then I’ll fall asleep with her head on my chest.

It’ll have been a perfect day.

See you tomorrow!

JJ Jalopy.

Reboot.

Sometimes things are annoying.

Oh, sorry. That was rude of me. How are you?

Yeah, I’m a bit peeved.

I’ve been writing a super nerdtastic article on how to turbocharge your RSS feed and submit podcasts to iTunes! 

I’ve created beautiful screenshots with annotations, clear instructions and bullet points.

It really is a work of art. 

But I can’t share it with you yet…

…because I’ve been unable to turbocharge my own feed today. And my podcast remains unsubmitted.

I’m laying the blame for this entirely on feedburner.com because it’s the only part of the process that isn’t me. I know it’s probably my fault, but feedburner.com doesn’t have feelings and I think it’ll be okay shouldering the blame for a while.

Technical problems can be irritating because they are rarely the most profitable or effective thing you could be working on. 

And you never quite know how close you are to solving the problem.

It’s a shame to have spent four hours sorting out an RSS feed. But what if the solution is only a few minutes away? The payoff in those few minutes would be large. When do you give up?

Having gone through every troubleshooting attempt I can think of I have one last option to try… 

If there’s anything I learned from my time as an I.T. consultant, it’s that the first thing to try in the event of technical failure is to reboot the system.

That’s going to be my approach today. Except that the system is me.

Tomorrow I might have another go. Or I might decide to create an RSS feed for my podcasts manually. No turbocharging in sight. 

Either way I’ll show you how I did it, and that’ll make us both happy.

I’m off to bed for a reboot!

See you tomorrow. I’ll be cheerier then, no doubt…

Good night.

JJ Jalopy.

P.S. Two of my other websites are down today too. Sometimes it happens. Tomorrow will be better.

The TRUE SECRET to IMMENSE Personal Productivity!

Find something AWESOME to work on!

JJ Jalopy.

Are you having fun?

Hi there!

It’s great to see you as always.

I’m stuffed.

Today I treated myself to takeout pizza. It had every kind of meat in the world on it. Delicious!

 

Right… Did you enjoy my first ever newsletter?

Oh, I’m pleased!

But I have a confession to make… 

I was playing around with my shiny new e-mailer system  earlier – marveling at its sleek design, ease of use, and general idiot-proof-ness when…

…I accidentally unsubscribed a load of you.

So, yeah. I suck.

If you get another confirm email in your emailbox today then that’s why. Click the link if you want to get back on my list. Leave it alone to tell me I suck! 

Whoops. Good start JJ! 

Anyway… I wanted to go on a bit of a diversion today because I think what I’m about to ask is really important.

Now, starting your new business involves a lot of work. 

You knew that from the start, of course. And you’ve been working hard. Very hard.

My question to you is this…

Are you having fun?

That’s right. Are you having fun? Are you happy in your work? Are you happy outside of your work?

Earlier in the blog, I stressed the importance of making a plan to commit to your new business. We talked about getting friends and family onside and we agreed that it was important to schedule regular time to work on your business. 

We said that timekeeping is one of the aspects of a job that you might want to apply to your new business. We said that you’d get to play boss and you’d do well to be a bit strict with yourself.

But there was one thing that we forgot to talk about…

…and that’s to make sure that you enjoy what you’re doing.

Let’s add an extra step to my productivity formula. I contend that to be truly happy and productive in your work you need to: 

1. Understand that you can only be doing one thing at a time
2. Work on the single most important thing in terms of the profitability or growth of your business
3. Feel okay about not doing any of the other 10,000 things you could be doing.
4. And know that you might as well be enjoying the thing you’ve decided to be doing – because it’s the only thing you’re doing!

Okay fine, JJ. That’s nice and everything but some things just suck. How can I enjoy doing my taxes? How can I enjoy trying to get my documents back from a hard drive crash? How can you enjoy writing my first sales letter when I’m feeling totally overwhelmed?

You’re right, of course.

You’re always going to have a crap time trying to get your documents back from a hard drive crash. Even Buddha hated that.

And you are going to have crises of confidence. You are going to get angry when you accidentally unsubscribe a third of your one-day-old mailing list. 

I just had a little tantrum about half an hour ago in fact. It was rather camp. I’m glad you didn’t see it.

So, as much as I want to find ways to make my work as fun and enjoyable as possible, sometimes it is simply out of my emotional reach! So if I can’t be working and enjoying it, I want to be shutting myself away with no distractions, getting it done, and then winding down when I’m finished.

This is "meditation"

 

And that’s super important.

If you’re going to be holed up, working like crazy, then you better schedule in some time to smell the flowers. Make it as important as your work time.

Don’t start doing the washing or cleaning the bathroom. You wouldn’t do that in your lunch break at work, would you?

Do something that completely relaxes you. Go and play with the kids. Go and watch some TV. Make a pot of tea. Have a cuddle with your husband or wife.

…

…

…

(Ahhhh…. I should listen to my own advice more often!)

Now let’s think slightly longer term.

I’m going to bet that you threw yourself into your business with enthusiastic abandon. I bet you scheduled time to spend on your new business and then you stayed up ’till 2:00AM because you just had to finish that article. 

You woke up energized because you were excited about your new business. You were having so much fun! You were spending a bit less time with your family, but they understood because you had told them how important this was to you.

Then gradually, after three weeks of consistent hard work, it became a habit. It was easy to switch on the computer and get to work – but you began to feel a little tired. You began to find harder to get excited about working on your business. 

Perhaps you wondered if you’d be able to carry on like this? Perhaps you worried if your relationships would suffer if you carried on like this?

Well, you have two choices.

You either accept that, for the next X weeks you’re shutting yourself away and focusing on getting stuff done. And then you’ll strengthen your commitments to the parts of your life you feel have left behind a little. 

Or you make those other commitments now to create a balanced life you love right now.

Any other option is too rubbish to spend time on. And you know it, don’t you JJ?

(Yes, this post was written entirely for my own benefit!)

Right… I’m off to ask Mrs. Jalopy about her day…

See you tomorrow!

JJ Jalopy.

What would Tony do?

How to Become a Life Coach. Life Coaching Business Advice with Coaching Training Expert JJ Jalopy!

Hi there!

I hope you’re having a great day.

This is probably going to be the shortest post I ever write.

Today, I just want to share one simple question with you. One that still inspires me to action years after a good friend first dropped it on me.

I was tired. 

I was fed up.

I knew I could do better.

I knew I could try harder.

I wanted to. But I just couldn’t summon the energy.

Then… 

Dude, is that what massive action looks like?

What would Tony do?

It wasn’t. 

But I did a great impression of it shortly afterwards!

JJ Jalopy.

Coaching Business Startup 103 Bonus Podcast – JJ’s Warm Call Confidence Blaster!

How to Become a Coach. With Coaching Training Expert JJ Jalopy.

Welcome back!

Come on in.

It’s great to see you.

I’ve just sat myself down with cup of orange fruit tea. To be honest, it tastes like colorful hot water.

But I like hot water, so it’s all good.

Would you like anything? I’ll have the maid fetch you anything you like.

Dang. Just remembered – I don’t have a maid. I’ll fix it myself…

Okay… today I want to carry on our series about building a life coaching or business coaching home business.

In Coaching Business Startup 103 – Get practice clients from your network we discussed how the best way to gain experience and confidence was to start coaching right away. We agreed that you would write down a list of everyone you knew and pick ten or so people that you thought would be most receptive to the idea of coaching. You then wrote down the reasons why you thought that person would appreciate an invitation to experience a free coaching session with you.

I then challenged you to call all ten of these people one after another and make those invitations.

Did you do it?

If so then CONGRATULATIONS, you can move on. Go for a walk and get yourself an ice-cream.

If not then, CONGRATULATIONS too! You’ve just qualified for the JJ Jalopy Warm Call Confidence Blaster!

JJ Jalopy's Confidence Blaster!

 

It’s my first podcast! I had an absolute blast making it! I wonder if you can tell…

Click below to listen. It’ll open in a new window.

JJ Jalopy’s Warm Call Confidence Blaster Podcast Extraordinaire!

See you tomorrow for more fun and games!

JJ Jalopy.

Become a Life Coach