What comes to your mind when you consider the word discipline? Do you envision the proverbial ruler over the knuckles, or being sent to bed without dinner, or something else?

The standard dictionary provides seven different meanings for the word discipline. We’ll focus on one.

A system of rules of conduct or method of practice:  - “for such a plan to work requires discipline”.

This definition implies that being disciplined requires a plan. For example, my plan is to get up every morning at 7:30, read some good literature for 30 minutes, then I’m out the back into the mountain trails to workout for an hour. Equally, as important as my plan is my personal action or self-discipline.

I hear ya… “Self-discipline is a Simple Action” Cool!

In my opinion, my resolve to get out of bed when the alarm sounds is critical to my plan’s success. As one comedian noted, “How many plans has the snooze button destroyed? As my first decision of the day, I will go back to sleep! Nothing like starting out the day with a little procrastination.”

Procrastination is the antithesis of planned success. For me, the first decisions of the day create a domino effect. If I start well, I end well. Why would I expect anyone to work with me in my business, unless I have the self-discipline to make the small decisions early in the day that forward my plan?

A good leader must have the discipline to work toward his or her vision single-mindedly, as well as to direct his or her actions toward the goal. Action is the mark of a leader. A leader can analyze aspects of their life or business actions as long as they do not get stuck in that mode. To analyze briefly is fine to gather information, track progress, assign duties to staff, etc. But it is always the “doing something” in pursuit of the vision and the inspiring of others to do the same that works.

I invite you to review your life plan or business plan. I invite you to be disciplined with your plan. I encourage you to include in your daily/weekly plan the following four action items:

1. Introduce or discuss your plan with at least two people you trust.
2. Enroll at least two people in a “Mastermind” group who will participate 100%.
3. Focus on your goals.
4. Encourage your mastermind team to keep you accountable to your commitments and be there for the other members of your team to hold them accountable as well!
Yours in Success,

Ron Maurer

Enough is enough!”   “I can’t take this anymore!!”   “There is simply too much on my plate, I don’t see how I can do it.”

Sound familiar? Well as Bob Dylan put it so well… “The Times They Are A Change’in”, and it seems that when it comes to feeling the stress and overwhelm, the changes aren’t making life any easier.

I thought that the advancements I dreamed of while watching “The Jetsons” as a kid would have been here by now. And I guess that many of them have arrived. But, they don’t seem to be making life any easier!

Change is in the air as we sit on the brink of a new President and just after a new year what better time than now to tackle this overwhelm head-on!

I invite you to take a deep breath, grab a pad and your favorite pen, and lets look at a simple tool to help you solve your most overwhelming problem - overwhelm.

Here we go; Get in a quiet place to do each step.

1) It’s brainstorm time; I want you to take as many lines or even pages and start writing down everything you have to do and everything you want to do…everything you have been assigned or asked to do by a boss or spouse. If “Go to Spain” comes up?… write it down. If “Brainstorm about all the things I am supposed to do” comes up?… You might want to go to the blog: www.SimpleActions.com because… You’re me! (Ha.. Just kidding.)

2) Now, Once you think you have everything you can think of. I want you to pick one thing. It could be an easy item or a tough one. It doesn’t matter. Just pick one!!

3) Grab another pad if you have one. If not… It’s OK, just flip a few pages back to allow for future items that you might think of to be added to step one’s list. Now, put that one item you chose in big letters on the top of the page.

4) Now repeat step one; But this time you are going to brainstorm about all the things that you could do to move forward on this item. And do it as if you had all the time, energy, and finances totally abundant and available to you right now!

5) Here’s the fun part. You can take a break at any time because you can pick up where you left off very easily in this process. But I do recommend that you do your best to finish each brainstorm as completely as possible especially when you’re on a roll!

Hint; It may help to think of it as a map you are creating from now to the point in time that this one item is complete. The goal is to break it down to simple steps you can do in a short period of time.

6) When you’re done with the first one, Stop and imagine how that would feel to actually be done with this item… pat yourself on the back and go to the next one. Which one? I don’t care, Just pick one!

**When I did this the first time I actually got three big 5-packs of letter size pads. Each one ended up with an item heading I called a “Project Heading” I went all out with three colors of G2 Gel pens, clipboards, nails in the wall, etc.

Do whatever works for you and is still something that keeps the process moving!

Some may argue that you have to prioritize each item. then that you must prioritize the task list aka: Action Items. I say “Bull _____” Yep, let others go out and prioritize and micromanage every minute I thought… That’s not for me. The point is that you are moving forward on the things that are important to you. And sometimes that’s a life long dream of doing something outrageously fun (Like that trip to Spain?)

I think that the things you have to do and the ones you love to do can be the same things. So just pick what you feel like doing that day that will move you forward toward the goal or completion of that project and one day… You’ll feel more like doing the things you didn’t want to do on another day, etc.

Are you ready to start moving forward toward your goals and dreams? Ok, Great! You are going to apply the simple actions concept to your lists.

7) Each time you find a few moments in your day to work on your project(s) It’ll all be right there. Pick what you can be passionate about in that moment by reviewing the project titles. Look through the list of tasks of that item and find something that you can do quickly. A phone call you’ve meant to make. An email to that contact that can help you achieve this goal., etc. and then it’s easy…

Now you got it? Great!… Do it!

You will find that when you do this consistently, compounded over time… you’ll see that you are creating the predictable and controllable results you’ve set out to achieve!

Get started Now!

Yours,

Ron

It’s January 12th already and that marks the 12th day in a row that I’ve taken a hike.
It wasn’t a New Year Resolution. It was a New Year Inspiration!
On January 1st I took off with one of my best friends, his wife, and Sherman (the dog) to climb Bear Peak which overlooks Boulder.

The hike takes you up 2,829 feet above Boulder to about 8,400 ft. above sea level. It’s 6.7 miles out and back and during the spring, summer, & fall (the recommended seasons to climb it!) they say it should take about 4.5 hours.

We ran into snow and ice and a windy summit but were back to the trailhead in about 3.5 hours! Exhausted, hungry, and a bit cold… but we were back.

You are probably wondering why I am writing about taking a hike on the blog today and the funny thing is, I can’t help thinking that there are so many things that apply that it’s hard to decide what to write!

Many of you have heard the comparison to climbing a mountain to climbing the ladder to success. You know, there are the tree roots that trip you up, the rocks to go over or around, the streams to cross, and in this case there was ice on every step that could slip you up at any moment!

These things represent the obstacles along the way and they represent every moment that you have a choice to either push on or turn back.

Then there’s “The view from the top” How does that feel? What new goals are there now that you’ve successfully hit this one? Did you enjoy that way to the top? Did you bring others with you? Did you do it in integrity without stepping on anyone?

They say that in alpine climbing the trip down is just as important as the climb up!
I would have to agree. It is then that you are most vulnerable to the elements, your already cold, tired and mistakes can easily be made.

On the way down you pass other people still on their way up. I find myself giving people information that may help them on their way up. Some of them ask “How far to the top?” It’s rewarding to offer an encouraging answer.

I think the way down the mountain is more than people make it out to be and the summit is only the half way point. In success, it represents our opportunity to help others achieve what we have and to reflect and learn from your experience.

So, there I was… enjoying the view and all I could think of is how to tell you about it? How it could help you get to the top in whatever you set you intentions to? And, what could I do to convey to you that this stuff really works?

Then I realized a good way to do that would be to keep on hiking and encourage you to do the same. So, it’s the 12th and I’ve gone out every day no-matter-what! Even today with a splitting headache, six inches of fresh snow… I was out there.

It wasn’t Bear Peak or Everest! but along the way I was reminded by the little obstacles it takes to get to the top.

Have a great hike!

Ron

I was speaking with my coach Anthony Costa the other day about New Year resolutions. He began to touch on a training he does called;

“It’s Not Your Fault Because…”

He wanted me to get the word out, as a 2009 gift from both of us to my readers… Please, do not get down on yourselves as we bring 2008 to a close and please cut yourself some slack.”

Anthony shared that “People have a tendency around New Year’s to blame themselves as they look back over the past year and also over their entire life collectively and then get down on themselves because they erroneously perceive, and  they mistakenly think or believe that they have failed in accomplishing many of their over-all goals!”

According to Anthony; more than 97% of people do not stick to and achieve their New Year’s resolutions because we all have hidden obstacles we are not even remotely aware of, but that constantly get in our way and greatly reduce our chances for success whether it is in love, life, business, or whatever… 

However, the silver lining in this dark cloud comes in the form of this simple statement; “It’s not your fault! because…”

It’s not your fault because all of us have hidden obstacles and false beliefs about ourselves and our world, and it is those things that are stopping us - not our lack of initiative, or determination, or intellect, or courage - or anything else.

In addition, it’s not your fault because none of you have ever been given any of the rules or strategies that you need in order to help you operate successfully in a world full of these hidden obstacles and false beliefs! 

Part of this problem, and the reason that you might feel that you have not gotten what you want in your life so far, is the fact that we have all been systematically indoctrinated in a number of insidious ways to believe that we cannot ever be more than mere worker bees, rather than business owners or entrepreneurs. 

And, in a very real way, you have actually been trained to fail in order to help make other people rich!!! And, obviously, this is tremendously dangerous to our over-all well being!
In fact, according to the U.S. government’s own statistics, the average American earns 2.5 to 5 million dollars in the course of his or her lifetime.  Yet 98 out of every 100 folks in the U.S. who work their entire adult life of 30-40-50 years or more, all end up flat broke when it comes time to retire!

Also, over 97% of people who actually set a particular goal (or resolution) fail to attain it over 97% of the time… 

Anthony pointed out that people in powerful positions almost always try to sell us on the idea that this sad situation is due to human nature, but that is simply not true; 

As Anthony said;

It is not part of human nature to fail - it’s human nature to excel!”

So, you might be wondering why all this is happening? Well the answer was already stated earlier in this blog entry:.. It is almost entirely due to our “hidden obstacles and our false beliefs” which were instilled in us - without our knowledge and without our permission.

 However, fortunately for us, there are people like Anthony out there who can help you identify and remove your hidden obstacles and false beliefs - once and for all - which in turn will allow you to soar instead of stumble. 

So, what I was hoping to do when I starting writing this entry was to inspire you to beat the statistics and to overcome all those hidden obstacles that you have been forced to deal with even though it is not your fault for having to face them in the first place!

I

also I hope that in this coming New Year, you will find someone like I have to help you overcome the massive obstacles that were put in your way… And who knows, maybe someday soon I can get Anthony to do a little class for us, we’ll see.

 In the meantime, as we come so near to another New Year… 

Please remember to be kind to yourself… Please give yourself a break, and… Please don’t blame yourself any longer in spite of where you find yourself in life at year’s end… And lastly…
Please remember if you are not totally happy about where you are in life…

It’s not you fault… It never was and… It never will be!!!
Here’s wishing you the Happiest, Healthy, and Most Joyous New Year…

Your Friend,

Ron Maurer

“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” - Abraham Lincoln

Failure can either break us or make us. Those broken by failure are haunted by unpleasant memories. These memories are like shadows that lurk in front, behind, beside, beneath and above. It is also a cage that traps the mind, preventing it to entertain possibilities of freedom and success. They are convinced that they cannot do it; therefore, they will not try.

For those that failure could not break are those who became made “men.” Failure to them is not a ghost, but a friend who taught them well. It is also a stepping stone to wisdom. These men and women are convinced that true failure only happens when one gives up.

History has been kind to President Abraham Lincoln. He has been painted as probably the greatest president of the United States of America. It is the good thing that history also recorded his failures. It reflected his frail humanity but also showed his attitude of never giving up.

These failures could not stop him, he kept moving forward. The following is a short list of his ups and downs and ups.

*1831 – Failed in business
1832 – Defeated for legislature
1833 – Again failed in business
1834 – Elected to legislature
1835 – Sweetheart died
1836 – Had a nervous breakdown
1838 – Defeated for speaker
1840 – Defeated for elector
1843 – Defeated for Congress
1846 – Elected for Congress
1848 – Defeated for Congress
1855 – Defeated for Senate
1856 – Defeated for Vice-President
1858 – Defeated for Senate
1860 – ELECTED PRESIDENT

He was defeated more times than he won, but that did not mean he was a failure. Remember, that failures are only permanent if we stop trying. I believe the only real failure is the failure not to move on.

———————————————————————————————-

the only way
to deal with failure
is to learn from it
and move on

———————————————————————————————-

Brix, a friend of mine, narrated his adventure in climbing Pico de Loro, a mountain that spans parts of Cavite and Batangas, Philippines. He said that he was exhausted and was about to give up. He told the guide that he wanted to go down. But the guide said that he was only a few more steps from the peak.

What a waste of effort if he gave up. But his efforts were rewarded by the view and by the lesson. Now he can’t stop talking about the experience.

A breakthrough may just be a few steps away. What a pity for those of us who would stop moving on. As far as I am concerned, the only way to deal with failure is to learn from it and move on.

The end result for Mr. Lincoln was that he became president and through his influence, was able to defend the constitution by winning the civil war, and was able to free slaves in certain states through the Emancipation Proclamation.

He even tried to give voting rights to the colored people for which he was assassinated. He has been long gone yet he is remembered dearly by all who read about his story. His very name is a legacy of success!

What would be your end result? You may not know everything but you can determine your attitude to failure. You can either allow it to break you or allow it to make you. Your call!

I’m a big believer in growth. Life is not about achievement, it’s about learning and growth, and developing qualities like compassion, patience, perseverance, love, and joy, and so forth. And so if that is the case, then I think our goals should include something which stretches us.
Jack Canfield

So what does this mean to us? I have always written my goals down and kept them in front of me as I perform my daily activities so that they are always in my face motivating me. But what if they were too easy?

If you are living your daily life, and you have goals to change it, you don’t want your first goal to be easy. You want to challenge yourself. Make it hard, but not too hard.

For instance, lets say you want to make more money this year than last year, but you know that your job will not produce any more income for you so what do you do? You find a way to supplement your income, and come up with something realistic. Like you will increase your income by $500 extra per month. You don’t want to start off saying that you want to increase it by $10,000 per month and not have any plan on how to get there.

You want to lay out your goals in steps. What I do is I say to myself first, ok within the next 2 months, I have to do this and that and if I do and I am successful at it, I will increase my income by X amount of dollars and I make it a challenge, but I keep it realistic.

If we set goals that we will never reach, we will finally give up when we can’t reach them, but if we make goals that are too easy, we will not challenge ourselves to do even better.

So while reading this post, grab a piece of paper and a pen and write down a goal. Think about what it is in your life that you want to see better or changed completely and envision yourself completing it. Challenge yourself. Once you have it written down, post it in the comments so that I can see.

Anyone that I know who is very successful writes down their goals and dreams on paper first and then makes them happen or come true. You just have to want to bad enough, and having it in front of you every day will keep you more focused on it. Make yourself see the outcome…

So lets see those goals!

Jared Said:

“Simple Actions is such a great concept, from the day I first read ‘The Slight Edge’ I realized that Success in any endeavor, it all boiled down to what ya talk about here on this blog, just that Simple Actions (Disciplines) repeated daily over a consistent period of time. On the flip side, Failure is simply, ‘Small errors in judgment (seemingly insignificant) at the time compounded over time’. It really is pretty simple, so simple most people totally ‘miss it’! It’s easy to do, and also easy not to do and therein lies the beauty of this concept and your blog, reminding people that it is the simple daily ACTIONS done consistently over time (forget about the quantum leap or ‘overnight success’) that will allow anyone to go from where they are to where they want to be in any area of their life. This concept is always at work (whether people realize it or not) might as well use it to our advantage aye!”

Thanks Jared, I appreciated your comment so much, it needed to be front and center as the main post for today!

You see… the most troublesome decision about creating this blog in the first place came down to one question; “How would it be possible to come up with enough to write about?” After all, it’s so simple:

“A Simple Action, Consistently done, Compounded over time, Creates a Predictable and Controllable Result”

Then there’s the part about “The Slight Edge” and other great books, tapes, CD’s, etc. that had been written. How could I possibly come up with anything new? Would my success applying the concept be enough to inspire others to do it? Then there was the interview with John Milton Fogg. We talked about my version of this and John quickly realized that I hadn’t heard of The Slight Edge (yet) and that I was really coming from a place of personal discovery unique to my own experience. It was very exciting!

I want to point out one specific thing today that you mentioned because I’ve been on the verge of writing about it anyway. In your comment you said: “On the flip side, Failure is simply, ‘Small errors in judgment (seemingly insignificant) at the time compounded over time’. It really is pretty simple, so simple most people totally ‘miss it’!”

In the Simple Actions blog entry titled ”A Simple Action (Part 2)” we talk about the negative side which you refer to as ‘Small errors in judgment’ using the “Twinkie™a day” plan compare to the “Apple a day” plan. And there are other places it’s mentioned to show the contrast in the decision we are making at each critical moment. (which is right now, right now, and right now!)
Most importantly is what you said about those small errors seeming to be insignificant! And how for that very reason most people totally miss it.

Failing to tie your shoe can be a insignificant thing. But, if you consistently fail to tie you shoe… one of these days you’re going to trip and land on your face, break a wrist, or trip right of the curb in front of a bus! How significant is that!

So, the next time you get in the gym, take a hike, or play with the kids in the park. Ask your self; What if I hadn’t stopped going to the gym 6 months ago? How would I look today? What if I would have done this hike every day for the last year? How would I feel? and What if I had taken the kids to the park every chance we had over the last few summers? How much healthier would our relationship be because of it.

Do you see the power in that? Can you convert or flip that negative into the positive of possibility and easily motivate yourself into taking consistent actions?  Can you see how  you could choose to feel bad about not doing those things in the past -or- you can choose to not be down on yourself and simply choose to take action now? I can, and despite the cold snowy weather today, I’ll be working up a sweet on a long healthy hike in the Rocky Mountain foothills.

-Cheers, and Thanks again Jared

I was listening to a song today and noticed within the lyrics something I hadn’t noticed before. It was there all the time… But until today, I never caught it. The song is “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. In one part he says “You win some… You learn some” rather than “You win some… You lose some”

Funny how the mind wanders, I’m surprised that any of us really get anything done. There I was cruising down the Boulder turnpike thinking about how that related to what we’re talking about here.

I’ve often taught “The only way to truly fail is to quit! So, the only way to fail miserably is to fail having learned nothing” So, I was thinking of the lyrics. How is there any failure with that attitude? It’s so simple - yet great! “You win some, you learn some” Brilliant!

Way to go Jason!

I think many people have to win… because if they lose, in their mind, they’ve failed! But if we look at it from this new perspective we can understand a bit better why people made up the saying “Won’t do that again!” There’s no way they’d even try again. They risk hearing “Haven’t you learned anything?”

So, the next time you’re feeling like you failed, the obvious question comes in: “What is it that I can learn from that experience?” and “Next time, what can I apply from what I’ve learned to better guarantee success?”

Back to properly charging the events in life in a more productive way, Right?
See blog entry: Willing It -vs- Winging It

~Ron

Hello, my name is David Foster and Ron has invited me to share on his Blog as well. I will not be adding as much content as Ron, but hopefully you get something out of my little posts.

I wanted to talk today about the power of creating a schedule for yourself so that you can stay focused to get things accomplished instead of being all over the place. This is geared towards people in business, but it would work for anyone who has a problem focusing on getting things done.

See I am the type of person that is easily distracted. I could be working on a website, and then I see an email come in that has a link to a funny youtube video and the next thing I know an hour later I am still on youtube laughing and have forgotten about the work I needed to get done. After that it is hard for me to get refocused. Maybe you can relate!

So I decided that I would try something and MAKE myself do it and the results have been amazing!

I created a schedule. I even wrote down when to shower. Here is my schedule for Mon-Fri so that you get an idea. Saturday and Sunday I do by appointment only. But usually I take those days off.

• 8:00 AM to 8:15 AM: Drink my weight loss shake (breakfast)
• 8:15 AM to 9:15 AM: Check and answer my emails
• 9:15 AM to 9:45 AM: Brain Food. I listen to or watch something motivational
• 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM: 24 Hour Fitness to work out
• 11:15 AM to 11:45 AM: Shower and get dressed
• 11:45 AM to 12:00 PM: Drink my weight loss shake (lunch)
• 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM: Break time. I just sit down relax and do whatever I want.
• 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM: Work on Projects for Client #1
• 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM: Work on Projects for Client #2
• 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM: Supper. I eat a well balanced meal
• 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM: I organize my business, accounting etc.
• 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM: Read and answer emails, make phone calls and follow up with prospects.
• 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM: Phone Conferences with Business Partners/Consultations
• 10:00 PM to 12:00 AM: My personal time and then bed

Then I wake up the next day and do it all again. I would say that my productivity has increased by at least 85% since I have started doing this. The only thing is that you have to be diciplined. You have to make yourself stick to it, and that can be hard, but you know what they say…it takes 21 days to form a habit, so if you can stick with your schedule for 21 days, you are home free.

So this fits right in with the Simple Action philosophy. If I do this schedule every day consitently over time, I will and have been getting VERY positive results.

I challenge you to create a schedule. Some people can just do this naturally, but I am not one of those people. I actually have my cell phone set to send me reminders just so that I remember not to get off track. There are many goals that I want to accomplish and I will never do it if I am not focused and watching funny Youtube videos all day long!

Post some comments below about your schedule, or if you tried this and lets see what your results are. I have a feeling that you will be pleasently surprised!