524. Back It Up !

Always keep backup copies of everything you do, write, build, create, whatever. File them neatly under a sensible system. Keep one copy at least off site. Better still, keep 3 or 4 in 3 or 4 off-site locations.

523. How to Double Your Intelligence

Every time you add a new distinction to a subject, you double  your intelligence with respect to that subject. This is how you measure true intelligence - not by IQ numbers which only measure how good you are at doing IQ tests and are not at all a true measure of intelligence.

522. Paradox

Sometimes, when seeking the Truth, you will find two or more things that are equally true but also equally utterly opposed to each other. This situation is called a Paradox. It is a rare and golden opportunity for your mind to resolve the apparent conflict. These situations challenge the mind to see the bigger picture. It is only in this way that the paradox can be resolved. By referring the situation to the next level up, the true relationships of the elements in the paradox can be seen. Even when you do this, sometimes the paradox remains. Then the right thing to do is to let your mind rest with it. One of the characteristics of Leonardo da Vinci's mind was that not only was he comfortable with ambiguity, he actively embraced it. He even deliberately used it in his paintings as a conscious technique called Sfumato - smoking.

521. Mind Your Own Business.

It is a fool's errend to take up someone else's burden.
"To do the duty of another is fraught with danger." -Bhagavad Gita.
You will get no thanks for doing it, you will probably be reviled and you will alienate others.

520. It's Not About the Money...

"Whenever someone says 'It's not about the money...', it IS about the money." - H.L.Menken

519. Roots

Even when you become a Rugby International, or a Silat Grand Master, never forget your old club. Remember your roots and keep them close to your heart.

518. Power and Vulnerability

Very often the thing that makes you most vulnerable is the power you give away to others. Work from respect and expect nothing less in return. Enforce it where necessary. For those who disrespect you, do not give them the energy and power over you that they seek. Do not waste time trying to argue with the uneducatable.

517. Paul Bear Bryant's Prayer

This is the beginning of a New Day.
God has given me this day to use as I will.
I can waste it or use it for good.

What I do today is very important because I am exchanging one day of my life for it.

When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving something in it's place that I have traded it for.

I want it to be a gain, not a loss - good, not evil - success, not failure, in order that I shall not forget the price I paid for it. - Paul Bear Bryant.

516. Two Important Daily Questions

Ask yourself every day :

1. Am I being productive or just being active ?

2. Am I inventing things to do just to avoid the important things ?

515. Effective vs Efficient - What to Do, How to Do It.

From a state of complete rest, become effective. i.e. engage only in those activities that move you closer to your goals. Simply doing something unimprtant very well does not ever make it into something important. Learn to distinguish between what is effective and that which is merely efficient. Efficient gets the job done. Effective advances your plans.

In financial terms, effectiveness means gaining maximum income from the minimum necessary effort and this includes the minimum number of customers. Apply Pareto's Rule, (The 80:20 Rule) and eliminate the 80% that cause you the most effort.