Success Freak: Kick Ass in Life in 7 Days

by Bruno Gralpois

DAY THREE, SKILL THREE ACTION PLAN Now that you have completed the exercise section and have reflected on ways you can build this new skill, it’s time to act. Here are seven specific actions you must take to immediately apply what you’ve learned in this chapter: CHALLENGE THREE: LEARN TO FAIL SMART AND STRENGTHEN YOUR CHARACTER Fail forward. Consider every failed attempt moving forward as an opportunity for personal growth and improvement. Practice makes perfect. Tell yourself “I Will What I Want” and don’t give up too early. Keep trying until you make it or learn from it. Do not waste time pointing fingers at others. Own it. Take full responsibility for your mistakes. Tell yourself, “Been there, done that.” Apply what you’ve learned immediately. Never repeat the same mistakes twice. Don’t be short-sighted or reckless. Evaluate all your options before making a move. Make sure the end justifies the means. Look for new learning opportunities. Make risk-taking an integral part of how you manage your life in the future. Push yourself. Embrace vulnerability and practice humility. Share the findings of your mistakes with people close to you, and learn from theirs, too.

Be obsessively outcome-oriented

Let’s be realistic. It’s so easy at times to delay decisions, postpone taking important action, put off making difficult decisions, and push out important milestones until the very last moment.

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle guides readers through steps on how to live in the present moment and avoid being paralyzed by the past or the future.

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.

The key principles and productivity concepts (do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it)

“Might.” “Could.” “Would.” There is no room for those words in your new, Success Freak vocabulary.

DON’T CONFUSE MOTION WITH PROGRESS

Sustained progress is the ability to say “no” to old distractions and “yes” to new opportunities.

BALANCE PASSIVE THINKING WITH ACTIVE DOING

Don’t just think about it or say it, do it. Knowledge and dialog without acting is wasteful. Jumping into action without thinking or communicating is careless and dangerous. Too much thinking or talking can also create inertia. Too little can create unrecoverable disasters. What’s the right balance? Should we listen to our hearts more than our brains? Should we talk less and do more? Do we perform better when we don’t overthink?

We must think like an individual of immediate action, and act like an individual of deliberate thought.

SET THE RIGHT PRIORITIES TO GET MORE STUFF DONE

AVOID THE TRAP OF PERFECTIONISM

We must focus on getting things done, moving us forward rather than chasing perfection.

the process, don’t confuse abilities with accomplishments, or skills with outcomes.

We also need to get our hands dirty and focus on the small details in life to walk the talk.

We find ample reasons to slow down, stop, or delay decisions. However, to become successful, we will need to embrace the incredible power of action and let go of bad habits that have been holding us back for too long.

In life, you will meet thinkers, talkers, and doers. You need to be all three, but ideally, in the right sequence: think, do, and then talk about

EXERCISE #4 CONSIDER THIS EXERCISE TO COMPLETE THIS CHAPTER. WRITE DOWN ANSWERS TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: 1. How do you currently organize all your tasks and to-do lists so you can easily access and review them? 2. Do you feel that your current approach to managing all your deliverables is effective enough? If not, what could you do differently? 3. How do you stay focused and prioritize your activities today to make the most effective use of your time and efforts? 4. Are you prepared to confidently say “no” or delegate to make your life far more productive than it is today? 5. How do you track your progress against your goals and what decisions do you make if you fall behind?

DAY FOUR, SKILL FOUR ACTION PLAN Now that you have completed the exercise section and have reflected on ways you can build this new skill, it’s time to act. Here are seven specific actions you must take to immediately apply what you’ve learned in this chapter: CHALLENGE FOUR: BE OBSESSIVELY OUTCOME-ORIENTED Minimize daily distractions by reducing screen time, for example, and avoid wasteful activities (let’s be honest: you know what they are)! Free up time to do things that matter. Set clear priorities and measurable goals so you can laser-focus on the most important tasks and activities to propel you forward. Make productive use of your life by working diligently through your to-do list. Infuse your life with action. Do not postpone important tasks that can be done today. Live with a constant sense of urgency. Say no again and again to demands that don’t move you forward. Don’t overthink to the point of inaction, but act with enough knowledge so you are most effective at what you do. When it’s time to act, trust your instincts. Favor actionable ideas and tangible results over perfection. Remind yourself that success is never a popularity contest: it’s better to be disliked for what we do than loved for what we don’t do.

What if I told you that there are seven fundamental rules for managing time efficiently?

That would require practicing every minute you are awake for about a year and a half, or about three hours a day for nearly a decade, if you live a relatively normal life.

UNDERSTAND THE REAL VALUE OF TIME AND PRACICE DELAYED GRATIFICATION IN MODERATION.

Keep in mind, however, that the evil twin of self-control is procrastination, so practice delayed gratification in moderation.

AVOID DEADLY TIME TRAPS LIKE THE PLAGUE

FOCUS YOUR TIME IN SHORT, TIMED INTERVALS

Pomodoro Technique,

DON’T FORGET TO RECHARGE YOUR BATTERIES

work/life balance.

compartmentalize our time between our personal and professional activities.

Most ambitious individuals don’t value the benefits of rest and sleep in the way they should, until they learn that lesson the hard way.

We can’t function productively when we are perpetually stressed, overworked, and overcommitted. Dedicate enough time for sleep and exercise, and schedule time to maintain important relationships and hobbies in your life. When you do, you’ll become far more engaged and alert, and your productivity will soar.

The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World,

CHANGE YOUR LIFE WITH THE 6D PRODUCTIVITY RULE

First, you must put in the time and give it your all to see outstanding results. Second, time alone is not enough to get you there; productive time is what we must embrace. Only when our time is spent wisely and productively do we realize the outcomes we seek. Set daily priorities, say “no” to time wasters or asks that do not move you forward, and dedicate time for specific activities and projects.

Success has twin brothers: working fast and smart.

I’ve also learned over the years that people who tend to be disorganized waste significant time they cannot recover. To be productive, you must be organized.

To make every day a productive day, one can think about these incoming activities in three buckets: 1) a decision might be required; 2) an action might need to be taken; or 3) some information ought to be shared.

Decide or delay: If you are to make a decision, you must either decide on the spot, or delay making that decision until you have more information or need to further reflection. Either way, you must decide quickly and move on to the next one. For example, you might receive a text asking you to jump on a call the next day. You can immediately confirm or decline it, or delay responding until you have better visibility of your calendar. Drive or deflect: If an action is required, you must decide to either see it through to completion or deflect it and do nothing. If it’s an email, you can simply decide to delete it and move on. For example, you may be asked to provide a point of view on a topic. You might decide to contribute your perspective and drive the discussion. Or, you might simply decide that the question has little merit or limited value to you and simply ignore it by deflecting. If you take action, apply yourself fully. You probably won’t have time to fix it later or redo it. Distribute or delegate: If the activity is based on information that is of tangible value, it can either be distributed to the right individuals, or delegated to others for them to act. For example, someone might ask for an updated sales report. You might decide to respond by distributing the information to all concerned parties or ask someone else who is better positioned to fulfill the request to take on the responsibility of sharing this information.

80/20 or 70/30 rule,

Stick to a regular, predictable schedule whenever possible.

“5-hour rule,”

where you set aside at least an hour every work day—effectively five hours a week—to read, reflect, meditate, learn, and take notes.

Wunderlist, Todoist, Remember The Milk, the classic Franklin Planners (or various planning pads), or even your default to-do list app on your smartphone to manage all your activities and priorities.

DON’T PLEASE EVERBODY. SAYING NO TO SOMETHING IS SAYING YES TO SOMETHING ELSE.