As a young boy growing up on a farm in East Texas, I used to watch my grandfather plow his fields with a mule. That mule was wild and restless every morning, eager to dash in any direction except the one intended. But my grandfather had a secret: he put blinders on the mule. Those blinders blocked out distractions, allowing the mule to focus solely on the path ahead.
I'm always seeking ways to be more productive and grow both personally and professionally. That's why Jerry Seinfeld's "don't break the chain" method has become one of my favorite ways of staying on task to achieve goals.
The core idea from comedian Jerry Seinfeld is this: Do the most important thing for your big goals for at least 15-20 minutes every single day without breaking the chain. Get yourself a calendar and cross off each day you put in the work.
What we focus on and the questions we ask casts a spotlight. This spotlight sets our mindset and determines how we see the world. Remember when you bought your first car, and then you began to see others like-it—the same make, model, and color everywhere? It’s like they magically appeared. But they didn’t. They were always there; you merely weren’t casting your spotlight in that direction until you had one, and then you began to see them.
Have you ever met a negaholic and thought to yourself I wish I were more like them?
It’s much easier than you might think.
Here are some surefire ways to jump-start your negaholic journey. World-class negaholics adopt all seven of these habits, but if you can make just one of them a habit, you will be well on your way to being a negaholic.
No matter how skilled an individual or team is, having the self-discipline to execute on projects and ideas is the single most important skill needed in today's business environment. An individual or team with average talent and skill can outcompete a more talented team if they have mastered the art of discipline.
In my book Water The Bamboo®: Unleashing Teams and Individuals I encourage both individuals and teams to identify and water their bamboo (vision). It takes four to five years of watering for Giant Timber Bamboo to grow over 90 feet in 60 days.
Thanks to constant distractions from email, social media, and other technologies, the average human attention span according to a recent study has dwindled to just 8 seconds, not much more than a guppy. In addition, there's increasing pressure to get more done at work and work longer hours—these productivity hindrances can be especially detrimental to engagement and team growth.
How many bricks does it take to complete a patio? The same amount it takes to start building a patio. Answer: ONE! This is the approach I took when I wrote my book Water The Bamboo — "one page at a time" — besides, you can only water one bucket at a time. You must focus on one brick at a time to finish. However, if you are like most people, you start more patios than you finish. I think it's okay to not finish from time to time but one should address this if it becomes a pattern.
Recently, one of my daughters received an award that caused me to pause. Among the awards she received was the best listener award at her Dance Team banquet. Instead of the certificate below, I thought she should have been given a gold embossed ear trophy! This is an award that I would have never won as a teenager but it is one that I have strived for as an adult, both in my personal and business life.
