Let’s be right up front: The dirty word of success that’s often kept on the hush by the “gurus” is work. Most people are smart enough to know the right kind of work, hard work, smart work, efficient work, work you are good at and work you take pride in will ultimately lead you to where you want to be. The dirty word of success is work.

There are too many books and speakers out there who dance around the issue of work. Funny, there was a guy who worked real hard to make a book called “The Four Hour Work Week” a New York Times bestseller. I give Tim Ferris much respect and “props.” But do you think he eats his own cooking? I’m sure on some weeks it takes him at least six hours just to travel to and from a speaking engagement – makes you wonder huh?

The world where I spend most of my time – the Internet Marketing world – there are so many gurus who take pride in talking about how easy it is to make the green stuff online. Maybe after a few years of hard work and preparation it does get a little easier, but up until then, it takes work.

Onward…

If you want a good marriage what do you have to do? Right, work at it. If you want your teenager to stay off drugs it takes work. If you want to keep your job in our tough economy it takes work. If you want to advance in your career guess what you’ll have to do – work!

My first book, Motion Before Motivation, was about taking action and getting in motion. What do you do when you take action? Right, you work. And to stay in motion you have to keep working.

And then, the facts- go ask anyone (Lottery winners and rich socialites like Paris Hilton aside) who has any sort of financial success and they’ll tell you something like this…

“I worked hard, I worked smart, I worked effectively, I worked with the help of a team and my family for every penny. Most importantly,  I worked hard to keep it. I worked hard to protect it from the two legged meat eating sharks who actually want to destroy me because they think I didn’t work hard for what I’ve earned.” Basically, what they’ll tell you is they worked hard for any career, business, family, personal and financial success they achieved.

Don’t get confused though…

Don’t confuse hard work with the nightmare of doing something you genuinely despise. Finding work you are passionate about and can make a living at is where hard work rewards you even more. If your current situation has you in place where you are working hard and not getting any personal satisfaction only you can work to make changes. Just start working a little a time.

My disclaimer:

I never pontificate when I write. I simply pass on observations and experiences that are filtered through my own knowledge of what’s effective and what’s not effective in achieving ones desired results. I am totally aware of all my short-comings. I am working on some and others are on the back-burner. One thing I’m working on for example, is not double booking myself. Sometimes I’ll agree to a meeting or something and not put it in my calender. Then, something else will demand my attention at that same time and I’ll be forced to shuffle things around. Anyway…

The problem with flakiness is it usually effects more people than just the flaky person. The flaky person’s actions not only sabotage his success, but usually end up holding others back.

We live in this world of interdependence. I depend on you and you depend on me and then there are others who depend on what we produce and the world goes round and round.

A recent flaky episode…(names, situation and identities left out)

I sat in on a meeting recently and the person across from me said: “OK Mike, you send me X right away and then I’ll do Y with it.”  Like any entrepreneur worth his salt, I went back to my office and sent what I needed to send. Then a strange thing happened…. Nothing! No confirmation and more importantly the “Y” never happened. After that, not even a mention of it again. Almost as if the time spent at the meeting talking about this particular item only tool place in my wild imagination.

So how do you deal with flaky people and how do you improve your own flakiness? Since “whacking” flaky people is not always the best option and improving yourself is something you’re into, here goes…

It starts with the understanding the Four Stages of Learning and Awareness. These four stages can also be applied to flakiness.

Unconscious Incompetence- That’s when you are flaky and don’t know you are flaky. This is the most dangerous. If you ever find yourself dealing with someone at this stage – don’t try to fix them, you are wasting your time.

Conscious Incompetence – At this stage the lights are starting to come on. More importantly, the flaky person’s mind is now open and things can be improved.

Conscious Competence – This is when the work to get better starts to pay off. The flakiness is gone. But there’s a small chance of regression if the effort not to be flaky is not kept up.

Unconscious Competence- It’s the place to be. It’s when we are competent all the time and we don’t even have to think about it. In this context we’d be doing everything we needed to do with minimal flakiness  automatically.

We all real busy, some of us working harder than ever. If you end up flaking on a few things here an there, don’t beat yourself up. When it comes to others who flake on you – you just have to know where to draw the line.

When I was a senior in high-school I became obsessed with Movado watches. The all black face without the second hands, the single dot a twelve representing the sun at high-noon. Only years later did I discover Movado means: “Always in Motion.” Combine the beauty of museum watch” with the fact most Movados are not way over-priced made owning one much more appealing and realistic. 1997 was the year I got my first Movado watch.

It had a black leather band, the signature all black face with gold trim around it. It was about $495 at the time. Lucky for me, my mom, agreed to go half and make it an early graduation gift. It was a classy  time piece for sure. About a year after graduating from high-school and about nine months into being a “wet behind the ears” small business owner I decided I wanted a Movado with a stainless steal band. No going halves with mom on this one though!

I went out one night in November of 1998 and bought one. I ended up wearing the new one with the stainless steal band most of the time. In my secret reveries I dreamed of being a collector of fancy time-pieces one day. But in 2002 my collection was reduced by half when my leather-banded Movado disappeared. My frugality and practicality kicked in and I decided the stainless steal Movado was good enough for me.

In 2008 the Movado stopped (“always in motion, but not all the time). I got the battery replaced and it worked for a short time before it conked out on me again. Then, I sort of forgot about it. But in late 2009 I decided it was time to get it fixed because I wanted to wear it again. So I began my search on Google’s home page. I found a jewelry store in down-town Concord which advertised it was a Movado dealer. I called the store two days after Christmas to verify they were open. Then, I headed south on I-93. When I got there I encountered something I can only describe as pure rudeness!

I tried to explain what I thought was wrong with the watch at which point, I was abruptly cut off and “told” how they handle Movado repairs. Imagine, Scrooge, before he was converted by the three ghosts! “$300 should cover it. That’ll include shipping it to our facility in Massachusetts, taking it apart and repairing all the mechanical.” I chimed in (or at least tried to), “But is there a way for you to tell me what is wrong with it?” Scrooge replied: “You probably got water in it.” Me: “I’m pretty sure I didn’t get water in it.” Scrooge: “Well, that’s just my guess!” Me: “Great, a $300 guess!” I grabbed my Movada and my shattered confidence of getting my watch repaired and headed for their door faster than a jack-rabbit who just drank a Red-Bull.

The search continued .

But this time we weren’t on Google’s home page anymore. I spotted another store so I went in with my fingers crossed. Two pleasant young ladies gave me the name of a watch repair shop across the way. The Bristol Watch Maker in Concord if you’re taking notes. They informed me he kept limited hours so I gathered the info and went back home. The Movado, still not in motion.

Then one day I realized I always pass a local jewelry store right here in Tilton. I went in and picked a nice little sliver bracelet out for Jamie and asked about watch repair. Guess who they mentioned. Right, the same guy that was referred to me in Concord two months earlier, The Bristol Watch Maker

Fast forward about seven months and I finally brought my watch to the only person in Concord, and the entire central part of New Hampshire (at least that I’m aware of), who could fix a Movado. The price range given to me over the phone? About $200 less than our rude friends on Main Street. The final cost or repair? Sit down…. A whole $15! What was wrong with it? The battery leaked inside the watch causing it to stop. No water at all, just as I suspected!

Funny thing is this…

I’m really easily persuaded. If the owner of “Rudes R Us” on Main Street were just a little nice I most-likely would’ve just said “OK, whatever you need to do, I want my watch working again.” But they weren’t. Their excuse for being rude-mongers? The holiday season. I kid you not!

The moral of the story? I don’t know, but maybe this…

I don’t believe being “nice” all the time is always the best policy. Sometimes you have to put your foot down. Plus, there’s that old thing about “nice guys finishing last.” So while being nice doesn’t work all the time – being rude really never works.

Just a quick reminder…

If you don’t have my book: Motion Before Motivation, The Success Secret That Never Fails

Grab it here…

MotionBeforeMotivation.com

Here’s why…

If you’ve read the book, you know one of the true principles of success. And if you ask a dozen successful people – people you respect for creating and living lives of fulfillment they’ll back me up on this… Getting started FIRST, even when you don’t feel motivated makes all the difference in the world.

I’ve connected with readers from all over who have shared their stories of putting things in motion and then feeling the fire of motivation to keep going ignite inside them. I have no doubt that taking action first really works. I have no doubt that little actions can lead to bigger success. Yes, it works! But, it doesn’t work all the time and I experienced its failure the other day. Here’s what happened…

In years past when I operated my “brick and mortar” businesses I, along with my partner, some “hired guns” and a couple employees usually did most of our own renovation work. Occasionally, our place needed a paint job. On a few occasions we decided changing the layout would help us grow. Other times we opened new facilities or moved. Each time we did the brunt of the “labor.” Why? Mainly to save money. And partly because, not including me, there were people on our team who really weren’t bad a swinging hammers and doing this type of work. There’s no doubt if you’re “handy” or someone close to you is handy you can save a few bucks.

Over the years I stopped embracing “handy work.” Two reasons really… One, I really was not good at it. Yes, I was able to follow along and take simple directions and work as part of a team, but   I really wasn’t useful for anything else. And two, because I realized it’s more productive to work your true talents then try to be good at everything. Some things are better left to professionals. Back in 2005, I made a proclamation I would never again engage myself in work I wasn’t suited for.

Never say never of course! Since then I have done some painting. Once, with the guidance of my late Father-in-Law, my wife and I did a basic remodel of our kitchen when we lived in Philadelphia.

Nowadays whenever I engage in this type of work I usually end up taking direction from Jamie, my wife, who, by the way, enjoys “household projects” much more than me! In-spite of my total incompetence, with the help of some good friends and an occasional good neighbor. things actually get done (no thanks to me!). So what’s this have to do with “Motion Before Motivation” not working all the time??

Here’s what…

The last project involved moving some rocks from along the drive-way to around the new above ground swimming pool. This involved a little raking, a little shoveling and a little hauling. Was I motivated to work on this project? A little, simply because I knew it was important to Jamie and I didn’t want to be a total jerk. And yea— it did make sense to fill in the area around the pool.  Logically the project was sound. So I got in motion. I started digging and raking the rocks into a pile to be moved. I was in motion which usually leads to “motivation.” Yea, usually! But not in the case. About thirty-five minutes into it I was not motivated any more. The initial “excitement” of accomplishing this task was wearing off. The truth was the motion was not leading to motivation, it was leading to fatigue, day-dreaming and plotting to figure out what I can do instead.

So here’s the conclusion and the secrets to making “Motion Before Motivation” work for you…

1- The goals you are working on need to be goals you’ve identified and want to achieve for your own reasons. It’s OK to have goals in common with your team/family, but those goals need to excite every one, especially you.

2- The tasks associated with accomplishing the goals need to utilize talents and skills you possess. Face it, when we are good at something confidence increases. In-fact, one of the roots of confidence is competence. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all about fun either! There are times when you might be working toward your goals and utilizing your talents when you’re not having “fun.” As Larry Winget says, “It’s called work for a reason.” But, if you’re working toward goals that are yours the “grunt” work is a necessary part of it.

Over the years I have had a few conversations with colleagues that have gone in the direction of “venting.” We were venting mainly about incompetence, apathy and downright mean-spirited treatment we’ve encountered from all kinds people. Some of these people were family, friends, co-workers or owned businesses we were dealing with. We joked at times that we should write a book called “How to Lose Friends and Irritate People.”  It’s funny, because there’s a book titled: “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.” It’s a memoir by a guy named Toby Young. It was also turned into a movie. (news to me!) I’ve never read it or have I seen the movie despite Meghan Fox being a supporting actor.

I doubt our book “How to Lose Friends and Irritate People” will ever be made into a movie – and there’s a slim chance that it’ll ever be written. This article might be it! But here’s what I know. Some people learn when they are taught what NOT to do. We all learn the hard way! So while “How to Win Friends and Influence People” is a mega-success, some can’t use it because it is about what “to do” and not what “not to do.”

So if you want to lose friends and irritate people do the following. Or simply learn what NOT to do and you’ll be OK. Here we go…

How to Lose Friends and Irritate People

1- Make a lot of Excuses. Once people become aware of your excuse making prowess they’ll exit your life if they are smart. You’ll also be guaranteed to really irritate them until the time they realize it’s in their best interest to get as far away from you as they can.

2- Over Promise and Under Deliver. Do this once and you’ll be certain to strike some nerves. More than once and you’ll never have to see your subject again (if they’re smart)!

3- Don’t return phone calls. I know voice mail is tough to keep up with. Wait, is that an excuse?

4- Don’t return emails. We understand, you’re the only person who has too many in your in-box. The rest of us are sitting here anxiously awaiting for the AOL guy to say, “you’ve got mail!”

5-Send stupid Facebook messages.

6- Don’t make an effort to keep in touch. Yep, this is a tough one and it’s more in the category of “losing friends.” The truth: Both sides need to give a little when time and distance takes its toll on a personal relationship.

So there you have it. A success and self-help classic put in the “do the opposite tone” for all us who must learn the hard way.

to Get a Free Recording: “The Success Secret That Never Fails” Click Here  Motion Before Motivation.com/Free

Who knows you may have been in the audience!

When I speak people often ask me about getting the talk recorded to listen over and over again. So if you’ve been in one

of my audiences consider this me “listening to you.”

And if you’ve never heard me speak- you’ll enjoy this too.

It’s about 8 minutes and I know you’ll love it.

It’s all about taking action and getting in motion.

You can play it here…

The message is not about pondering your next step too long. It’s not about waiting for the “right time.” And it’s certainly NOT about dressing up Procrastination as Perfectionism. That’s when your excuse for delaying or lack of action is the fact that things are just not quite perfect yet.

The last time I spoke I stayed around for some Q & A. A gentleman in the crowd sort of objected. Don’t get me wrong he wasn’t a heckler or anything like that. (That would have been fun!) He simply brought up the point of how important it is to “think things through”

I couldn’t agree more!

During my talk (he must have drifted) I drive home the fact that taking action, getting in motion and getting mobilized is NOT about reckless action. It’s not about stupid action. It’s about taking steps everyday toward the goals you’ve set. They can be goals driven by profit or some other greater purpose. As long as the goals are wholeheartedly yours while they utilize your best talents. Chances are when you get the first two right and apply some sound business principles you will end up with profit.

The fist part of my answer was to remind him of my disclaimer about reckless, stupid actions. I’ve taken some reckless and stupid actions so I speak from the school of hard-knocks not the University campus.

He opened up a keg of worms for sure…

What I reiterated to the group was weighing the consequences of their actions.

Some choices and actions have enormous upside potential and very little down side risk. I brought up the idea of being different in your marketing. I used the example of when I sent a copy of my book to a magazine editor, with the hope of contributing some articles to his publication. I enclosed a pair of socks (new ones of course) with a headline on the cover letter; “This book will knock your socks off, so here’s a new pair!” Long story short, he requested an article submission from me. The upside consequences were greater than the downside for sure – “Who is this crazy guy sending me socks?”

We touched on perfectionism. Perfectionism holds a lot of people back! Waiting and waiting and waiting to get it just right. You really can get away with tying up lose ends as you go. But…

And this is a really big But! (just like Sir Mixalot Likes ‘Em!)

If your BP it’s advised you DO Strive for Perfection!  See the difference here??

When actions have enormous upside potential and little downside consequences get moving, get in motion, take action, get mobilized.

The Problem???

People put off making decisions and taking actions that can lead them to their goals!

We discuss…

• Simple Tips for Starting Your Business or Taking Your Career to The Next Level
• How to Effectively Network and Get Others to Help You
• How More Doors Can Open When You Take Action
• The Clint Eastwood Model for Success

Keep in mind, this 9 minute video was taken from a 30 minute interview. We did our best to get you as much “meat” as possible!

Enjoy!

The term “multitasking” was originated in the computer engineering industry. It was used to reference the ability of a microprocessor to apparently process several tasks simultaneously.

That spun off… Human Multitasking

Human multitasking is the performance by an individual of appearing to handle more than one task at the same time. An example of multitasking is listening to a radio interview while typing an email. Some believe that multitasking can result in time wasted due to human context switching and apparently causing more errors due to insufficient attention. Other research illustrates our brains are capable dealing with certain “dual multiple tasks” at the same time.

It is useful to point out, “appearing to handle.” Something to think about. As with most things it comes down to using it properly and wisely…

This morning I pushed my own multitasking limits.

After a quick morning workout I went into the kitchen, opened the fridge and simultaneously took out everything I needed for my breakfast, my wife’s breakfast, the kids’ breakfast and kid’s lunches and snacks for the day ahead. I lined it all up and then realized I forgot to drag the garbage down to the end of driveway. Bacon was on the menu that morning so I turned on the stove and let the pan heat as I arranged the kids’ lunches. The lunches were packed and the pan was hot so I threw the bacon on. Then I grabbed the garbage bags out of the kitchen cans and went into the garage. “Why was there more garbage this morning than usual?” The holiday weekend I figured… “Gonna have to split this up so I don’t burn the bacon”…

Two garbage cans to the curb and two to go I hustled back up the driveway ( a bonus workout). Then I washed my hands, really I did, and flipped the bacon. It was just about done so I decided to wait for it. While I was waiting (no standing around!) I grabbed a couple of slices of bread and popped them in to the toaster. “Good, the coffee is almost done!” So I grabbed my mug and added the cream and a little sugar. (Yes I put the cream and sugar in first, you should try it some time, no stirring needed.) I Poured some OJ too. Then…

Off with the bacon and on with the eggs. “Feels like an over-easy morning.” Eggs are cooking now so here’s my chance. I ran back out to the garage and then drug the last two garbage cans to the curb. Ran back in ( another bonus workout) and washed my hands. “Yes! Just in time to slide the eggs off the pan.” They slide off so gracefully when cooked in bacon grease! The toast was ready too. I poured my coffee and brought it plus my full plate, my OJ and my morning newspaper to the table. I ate while flipping through the headlines.

Multitasking works sometimes. But be careful when and where you use it. So here are some ideas and maybe even some do’s and don’ts…

Look at the consequences…

Always better to focus 100%! But when the consequences are not server or life or death why not have fun and multitask? The consequences of over-cooking my eggs are nothing compared to losing control of my car. So texting while driving is a no- no. Taking a second to finish writing an email before you start a phone conversation a better idea than trying to carry on a phone conversation while you’re writing an email. The consequences of a damaged relationship are not worth it.

Good times to multitask…

Read while you’re in the bathroom taking care of the greater number, you’ll be amazed how many books you can read in a year. Yes, if you want to barrow a book from my library you’ve been warned. They have all been in the bathroom with me! I also like listening to informational or inspirational audios while I go for a walk. Other times it’s good to just go for a walk and do some thinking.

A good rule to follow…

Only multitask when you only need your mind for one of the tasks. Thinking that you or I can focus on two items at once that require our undivided attention is simply delusional. Oh, and just to point it out to you… My multitasking morning was powered without coffee. My first cup of the day is always with breakfast.

Depending on where you live your neighbors might care because their houses are closest to yours. Do  they really care about your lawn? Not really! They only care because your bad lawn may be driving down their property value or just annoying them. Then, you care and just about everyone that lives in your house cares. Only you and the people closest to you actually care. Other than that, not too many people care. I’ve also learned through experience that even landscapers and lawn services really don’t care unless you make an effort to bring your bad lawn to their attention by stalking them with phone calls and emails. So what am I getting at?

If Your Lawn Sucks Only A Few People Care – Translated – If Your Life Sucks, Only A Few People Care.

Before you think I’m being harsh or cynical remember a few things…

First: When I use the term “life sucks” in the context of the article define it as any area in your life that you know needs some improvement. Define it as any area of your life that you really want to improve.

This is not about having a bad attitude, no way! It’s about working to make things better.   There are many items on my list that I’d like to improve (including my lawn) and I know you’ve got a bunch too. We all do!

Next…

Success is a relative term and so is thinking “life sucks.” What is success for you may not be the same for someone else. What seems to be a mountain of problems to you might be nothing compared to the problems of another. The point is you define success in life just as you define what frustrates you. It’s all relative. At the end of the day you can choose to improve your situation or you can leave it exactly the way it is. Yes, the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement, but you make the choice to improve. So who really cares if you improve your situation?

Hopefully you care enough to improve it since it is ultimately up to you. The people closest to you care because your improvement may directly help them in some way. But other than that, unless you’re effecting them in a negative way nobody else really cares if things are not going well for you.

So what to do?

Don’t be sad. If you’re not totally happy with where you are it’s OK because you can improve if you want. Identify some goals, write them down and start working on them. Take little steps for sure, but remember to take a lot of little steps! I’ll be stepping right along with you and may be even sprucing up my lawn in the process.