Art of the Start

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Art of the Start The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything by Guy Kawasaki (2004) Interesting book on what it takes to be an entrepreneur and a lot of these concepts can apply to transport strategy implementation. The Art of the Start gives  the essential steps to launch great products and services. It  shows … Read more

Get started, don’t worry about finishing

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A common challenge I face is starting the important, but not urgent project, but not finishing. It is easy to get started on the new project. I am motivated, even excited, to start a new and interesting project but somewhere along the way I get diverted or lose enthusiasm and find it difficult to make progress.

Have you had a similar experience? Sitting at your computer doing everything but getting on with what you want to. You answer the unimportant emails, check LinkedIn, search Google — everything but focus on your project and making progress. This is called procrastination! Lots of busy work but not much forward movement on the important task.

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How to get things done, today!

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Some days you begin with the best intentions … and end with the feeling that you achieved nothing of substance.

You sit down at your desk, determined to get things done. Then you answer a dozen emails… take a few phone calls… answer a question from your boss… help a colleague solve a problem…

And before you know it, the day’s over and you haven’t really accomplished anything.

What if you could start each day secure in the knowledge that you WILL make strides toward your goals? What if you could leave the office each day with a feeling of satisfaction?

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What is research?

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Research is … the systematic investigation into, and study of materials, sources etc in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.

A research project can aim to achieve one, or both, of the following:

  1. teach you about how to do research, the research process and how to write a report
  2. find an answer to a problem or research question.

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Are you living a charged life?

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In Brendon Burchard’s book The Charge he begins by asking: are you trying to muster up enough energy and enthusiasm to get through your busy, meeting choked day? Are you also just trying to make it to the weekend so you can do the something you really want to do?

He identifies three modes of living and we all predominately live in one of these. More on that in a minute. The good news is that “you can choose to keep it, amplify it, or change it all together.”

Recent psychology research indicates we operate on either an internal or external locus of control – referring to the extent to which individuals believe that they can control events that affect them.

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How to avoid being overwhelmed by your work

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It happens to all of us at some time.

You get overwhelmed by your work, by the things than need to get done. You get to the point where you don’t know what to do next.

This can have serious consequences. It slows you down, frustrates you, causes you stress and you don’t end up with that feeling of achievement of a job well done.

We would all like to be successful in our work, as an employee or running our own business. By being successful I mean making solid progress, not getting buried under a mountain of work and not getting the feeling of being overwhelmed.

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The 80/20 Principle

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Would you like to learn how to get more done with less effort, eliminate wasteful activities?
The 80/20 Principle, or Pareto Principle, or the Law of the Critical Few, has been described in all sorts of ways by many different people, but the central idea is the same: a few things are responsible for most of the results.

This is the basis of Koch’s book The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less. 

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How to write a professional bio

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You are a professional if you are a member of a vocation or occupation that has specialised education, knowledge, skills or experience, usually with tertiary qualifications and industry experience.

Your bio (or professional branding statement) should communicate the essence of who you are.

Your brand reflects your professional reputation, i.e. what you are known for (or who you would like to be known as). A good reputation provides you with a distinction of positive characteristics and achievements, sets you apart from others in the competitive field of employment and work.

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7 Habits that make a successful career

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You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do. ~ Henry Ford

What makes a successful career?

The core philosophy that underpins a successful career, which dates back to Aristotle, is causality or the relationship between a set of factors (causes) and a phenomenon (effect).

By modelling the causes and effects of what successful people do, you can get similar results.

The key is to learn what they do, and then develop the habits and practice them in your life.

You become what you do.

So you need to think and act your way into feeling like a successful person and shape your own character by your thinking and behaviour.

You control your mind, your mind controls your brain, and your brain controls your actions.

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The difference between a Professional and a Novice

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It doesn’t matter what you are trying to do to improve your practice, if you only do the work when you’re motivated, then you’ll never be consistent enough to become a professional.

The ability to stick to the task and do the work – especially when you don’t feel like it – is key. But it is difficult, even painful at times.

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