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.

514. Eliminate. Less is More

"The height of Civilisation always runs to simplicity." - Bruce Lee.

Every day decrease the amount of rubbish around you. Do not add to it. Eliminate noise, ornamentation,  excess paper, fat etc from your self and your enviornment. Learn to listen. Learn to meditate - reduce the clutter of sounds and ideas rushing around in your mind. Cultivate an appreciation of the simple line drawing of Japanese Art that brings the mind to rest when you simply let your gaze fall gently on it.

513. Be exceptional

Never underestimate yourself. You are far better than you think. Competition is always fiercest at the mediocre level. It is therefore easier to do the unrealistic than the realistic. Go for it !

512.Risk

If you define risk as the likelihood of an irreversible negative outcome, perhaps the greatest risk of all is inaction. As risk is a 4 letter word ending in k, you should be as risk averse as is compatible with progress. Action may not always bring happiness but there is no happiness without it.