How Do You Spend That Hour Before Work? It Could Mean Millions
January 9, 2008
By Jack and Jill live in the same apartment building and work in the same office. They both wake up at 7:00 a.m., shower, have breakfast, and get to work by 8:00 a.m. It is at this point that their habits diverge.
From 8:00 until 9:00 (when the rest of the workers come into the office), Jill plans her day and gets to work on a job that is important to her long-term goals. Jack likes to get into work an hour earlier too, but he prefers to spend the time “relaxing into his day” with a cup of coffee and the morning newspaper.
Jack sees Jill working away and feels sorry for her. “We both get credit for getting into work early,” he thinks, “but she has exchanged happiness for money.” In his opinion, that makes Jill greedy, foolish, and, ultimately, self-centered.
David Niven, a college professor and author of the book The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People would half agree. “Yes, Jill is acting out of self-interest,” he’d say, “but so is Jack.” Both of them choose to do what they do with their spare time because they believe they benefit from it.
Jack doesn’t like work. Thus, he doesn’t want to work any more than he has to. But since he has to work from 9 to 5, he figures he might as well do a good job during that time. And he does.
Jill does like to work. And although she doesn’t enjoy every single aspect of it, she especially enjoys the hour between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. That’s when she plans her day, figures out what she can accomplish, and gets some work done on a project that she knows will change her life for the better.
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The Art of Persuasion
December 16, 2007
By Ross Bonander
The art of persuasion represents the history of shrewd but diplomatic manipulation — getting people over the fence and onto your side without the use of force. Its ultimate goal is basic, but difficult: To convince your audience to internalize your argument, then embrace it as a part of their core belief system.
In his book, Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion, author Robert Cialdini defines six weapons of influence: reciprocation, commitment/consistency, authority, social validation, scarcity, and liking/friendship. Below, we’ll look at a number of persuasive techniques and how some of Cialdini’s “weapons” can be applied, along with some hints from Aristotle and one rather innovative technique offered up by two guys with distinctly Hollywood backgrounds.
Manufacture a need
Attempting to persuade others to believe you when you lack an identifiable urgency is pointless. If the thing you want — support, money, approval — isn’t obvious, you’ll need to make it obvious by manufacturing a profound need and lacing it with urgency. Cialdini’s weapon of scarcity comes into play. He writes, “People find objects and opportunities more attractive to the degree that they are scarce, rare or dwindling in availability.”
Advertisers rely on first creating a need for you (Nothing else can dehydrate your food like a Ronco Food Dehydrator), then on creating the notion of scarcity (and you have five minutes to buy one at this amazing price). In the professional world, you have two such agents on your persuasive side: time, and the indeterminate actions of your competitor. In order to get your audience on your side, you have to convince them of a need they may not be aware they had. For example, you need to get a program off the ground immediately because now is the only time it can be implemented with the best possible results.
Use loaded words
Politicians and advertisers use loaded words every day. Consider the commonly used phrases “war on terror,” “defending democracy” or “all natural.” What precisely do they mean? Not even an effectively drawn-out response could deliver the connection and the true meaning of these terms. In the desire to persuade, meaning itself is often secondary when loaded words are used.
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Warning: These Self-respect Techniques Will Change Your Life
October 2, 2007
by Alex Shalman
What has started off as a single article on the benefits of respect, grew into a follow up with 10 ways to respect others, and now finds us here as a full blown series. It’s often correct to take care of ourselves, before allotting the time to take care of others. After all, if we’re physically or mentally incapable of serving others, than we’re not being very fruitful. In that essence, we must respect ourselves, before we are truly capable of respecting others.
It’s also intuitive that if we respect ourselves, we’ll boost our self-esteem, which will than spiral outwards into how we treat others. You can imagine what kind of energy a person that does not respect themselves will give off. Let’s see how we can do just the opposite.
Respecting Ourselves
1. Take Care of Your Body. It’s not about how you look, or what shape you’re in. It’s about what you’re doing to better yourself. Yes, you might be overweight now, because you’ve slipped up. It’s okay, just show yourself some respect, and start by taking small steps towards a better you.
2. Take Care of Your Mind. You might not be a nobel prize candidate, or even a spelling bee champ, but it’s not too late. Expand your mind by reading, speaking with intelligent people, and spending less time on things that will ‘rot your brain’.
3. See To Your Goals. If you’re dreams and aspirations are sitting around on the sidelines for too long, they start to feel neglected. Respect yourself, by striving to achieve, and taking steps to obtain your life goals.
4. Think Bigger Than Before. You think you know what you’re capable of, and you believe you’re being fairly realistic about it. Chances are that you’re wrong. Your potential is an unmeasurable force that has no boundaries. So respect yourself by dreaming bigger and expecting more from yourself.
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Develop A Sense of Urgency
October 1, 2007
Highly productive people take the time to think, plan and set priorities. They then launch quickly and strongly toward their goals and objectives. They work steadily, smoothly and continuously and seem to go through enormous amounts of work in the same time period that the average person spends socializing, wasting time and working on low value activities.
Getting into “Flow”
When you work on high value tasks at a high and continuous level of activity, you can actually enter into an amaz ing mental state called “flow.” Almost everyone has experienced this at some time. Really successful people are those who get themselves into this state far more often than the average.
In the state of “flow,” which is the highest human state of performance and productivity, something almost mirac ulous happens to your mind and emotions. You feel elated and clear. Everything you do seems effortless and accurate. You feel happy and energetic. You experience a tremendous sense of calm and personal effectiveness.
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