Be Happy

Push yourself to be happy. Make it a goal and work at it. Fake being happy until you are happy. It is an attitude and something that you decide. Count all of your blessings and realize that you have a lot to be happy about. You might have a lot to be sad about but consider the glass half full and not half empty-be happy.

Consider the quote from Spencer Kimball, Happiness does not come by pressing a button, as does the electric light; happiness is a state of mind and comes from within. It must be earned. It cannot be purchased with money; it cannot be taken for nothing.

You deserve to be happy-and it's always just one choice away.

Time Management Advice From Someone in India

We received an interesting comment about Juggling Elephants from a man in India. He was reflecting on the value of the book and said, "In today's world, children should be introduced to books like these like they are to computers." At the risk of sounding self-serving, we agree.

When families are more time crunched than ever, it only stands to reason that the time available to children to complete their homework, practice a musical instrument or participate in sports and have time to engage in leisure activities is reduced. They don't (and shouldn't) have the complex schedule of an adult, but understanding the need to maximize the use of their time is important if they are going to have more time available to, well... be a kid.

If you want to teach your child some basic concepts on how to manage time based on Juggling Elephants, get out three hula hoops and visually show them the need to spend time in each ring-and the consequences if they don't. Or, grab some sidewalk chalk and draw the rings on a sidewalk or driveway (get permission first). Introduce them to the idea of being the one in control of some of their choices-of being the ringmaster.

Like our friend from Mumbai said, it's a skill that is just too important to overlook.

White Space

If you have ever had an art class you might remember the teacher saying something like, "pay attention to the white space." The white space or "negative space" your teacher was referring to are the areas on your page that are not marked - that are blank. It is the space between text and graphics. It is the margins, gutters and space between the lines.

In business, white space is sometimes referred to as the gaps in an organization chart or between job functions. These are areas or responsibilities that no one is in charge of or responsible for.

What about the white space in your life? Let's define white space as the time you have between events. It is the 15 minutes that you have in the doctor's office while you are sitting in the waiting room. The 30 minutes that you have between meetings on a busy day. If you commute, it could be your drive time. How about the time that you have after dinner and before you go to bed?

Consider how you are spending and utilizing your white space. Are you being productive or are you just waiting for the next event to come along? Well, I doubt you are just sitting there waiting but maybe you are surfing the Internet, watching TV, checking email AGAIN or reading/updating your social media. These are not bad things but you need to consider if they are helping you to achieve the things that matter most to you?

Pay attention to the white space! Have a list of important, meaningful tasks that you want to accomplish. When you have the rare 15 minutes, review the list and get something done - something that will make a difference and really matter. Best wishes with your masterpiece!

The 50 Word Rule

In our training programs so much discussion is generated around the mountain of e mail people get and how to better manage it. There are effective systems and procedures to handle it, but we won't spend time here trying to highlight them all. One proactive step you could take is to manage how you SEND email to other people. Your level of control is much greater here.

One guideline we use is the 50 word rule. If an email will require more than 50 words, choose to make a phone call-or schedule a phone call with someone (or meet with them face to face). In most e mails over 50 words there are multiple questions and information to be processed. What happens if they don't respond to all the questions or understand the information. You will spend 3-4 more emails trying to clarify the content when one phone call of 5 minutes could have handled everything.

Sure, there are times that a long e mail is the best way to impart lots of information, but people often get lost in the content (or get distracted by something else before they are done). Keeping the email short and concise increases the possibility that they will read all of it and respond accordingly.

What Is Your Intent?

I think we should invent an Intent-O-Meter. We would make a fortune. It would be a device that you could attach to your phone so that when you are talking with someone you would immediately understand the caller's intention and objectives. It would work with email too by scanning an incoming message and providing you with a score of how sincere and honest the sender's intent is (this would sure save you from sending your bank account numbers to a "widowed foreign diplomat who is willing to split $1,509,244 with you for your kind help"). The Intent-O-Meter would also work in meetings and face to face interactions with other people - especially helpful when working with salespeople!

The truth of the matter is that all people have a built in Intent-O-Meter that they use to gauge other people's aim. That is an important concept to understand. When you approach someone they immediately are monitoring you to determine if you have their best interest in mind. They want to understand what your motives are and whether you are trying to help them or trick them.

Before you email, call or meet with someone - consider what your intentions are. Are they good? Are they honest? Do you really care about the other person? Are you wanting to create a win-win solution or are you thinking win-lose? Unless you are really good with deception, most people can see through to your intent. So, make sure that you intent is good. Sincerity and honest intent are key attitudes in working with others. Are you doing something "to someone" or "with someone"? It is all about intent.