Monthly Archive for January, 2009

Top 10 trends in publishing in China

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Warwick
on January 30, 2009
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At a forum in Shenzhen, pundits zeroed in on 2008’s major trends in China’s book publishing industry.

1. The global economic chill has made titles in macro-economics hot, hot, hot. Since the stock market is in the doldrums, investment tips have little practical use and have given way to primers on economics. All the fancy financial terms have served as pointers for more systematic knowledge in how to run an economy, or avoid running it into the ground.

2. This year marks the 30th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up policy. Books that recall the old days or sum up the achievements of the past three decades have piled up in bookstores.

3. Academic books published during the Republic of China years are being “re-discovered” en masse, ranging from literature, history and all branches of social sciences. This represents a restoration of the missing link caused by political and cultural schism.

4. The Mao Dun Literature Award, an honor for novels, is showing clout in the market. This year’s winners, published in previous years, have all found their way into more conversations and more prominent display shelves. Jia Pingwa’s Qin Tune and Mai Jia’s Backstabbing are two standouts.

5. The Sichuan earthquake in May caused heartache, and sent professional writers into the disaster zone. They wanted to be part of this collective consciousness, contributing to it with depth and unconventional angles. Investigative reports and poetry are two of the main genres they take an interest in.

6. The election of Barack Obama in the United States has made books about the first African-American president a hot topic. Many of the bestsellers about him - or by him - have been or are being translated into Chinese.

7. Psychological health is a major concern to book readers in 2008. It is a continuation of the health and fitness trend in publishing, which started two years ago.

8. The Beijing Olympics have been a predictable stimulus for book editors. As many as 300 publishers across the nation rolled out various titles covering every nook and cranny of the sporting event.

9. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of China’s “online literature”. The Internet has put many unknown writers into the spotlight. Its power is undeniable but it’s more a popularity contest.

10. Tokugawa Ieyasu, a series of Japanese historical novels, have found a huge audience here in China.

(China Daily December 30, 2008)

You can see orginal posting here.

Book of the Week: The Long Tail

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Warwick
on January 28, 2009
in Skills and Wealth
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The Long TailMany many moons ago, I graduated as an economics major. I enjoyed most of the courses I took although it was the six hours of lectures per week that was more of an appeal at the time! Economics can be a rather dry subject so reading a book about demand curves may not be your idea of a good time. But I do recommend you read this book written by editor of Wired magazine. It is easy to digest and holds some valuable lessons in understanding the digital economy that we are in. Here are a few insights I found.

The 98% rule

In his research, Anderson found that the aggregate market for niche products is huge. One online music retailer found that 98% of albums sold at least once per quarter.  The implications of this are:

- the tail of variety is long (add up all the sales outside your best-sellers and that comes to a significant amount.

- it is now economically within reach due to digitizing of content, widespread computer usage and broadbank and powerful search ability.  Examples of companies featured include Amazon, iTunes, rhapsody, eBay and Netflix.

- Niches aggregate up to a significant market (see below)

Move from hits to niches

In a hit-obsessed culture we are focused on Top 10 lists and the blockbuster movies, music stars and books.  Anderson found that online retailers tap into the demand outside this limited range. The size of the long tail was between 25-40% of total sales.  Anderson makes a (philosophical) point that this is a shift from scarcity to abundance. The Long tail is culture unfiltered by economic scarcity.

Cultures started from local and fragmented groups. Became much more uniform and global. And are now returning to interest-based niches, where a niche is not confined by geography.

Three forces affecting the Long Tail

1. Production

2. Distribution

3. Connecting supply and demand

1. Production

With computer hardware and software widely available there is a much smaller barrier to entry to produce your own content. Wiki is a example of how the wisdom of crowds can produce a “product” that is accurate, self-correcting and free to use. Anderson refers to this as a probability-based system which although statistically much more accurate than, say, a printed set of encyclopedias, still has a restriction that individual entries can be of a much lower quality. However, the ability to quickly update and correct errors is a powerful feature of these online collaborations. Anderson has case studies on self publishing and a comedy group, The Lonely Island.

2. Markets

Here the key word is aggregators. Familiar examples are Amazon, eBay, iTunes, Google and Facebook. Anderson looks at markets in 5 categories: physical products, digital, advertising / services, information, and community.

The key learning here is that pure digital companies are able to tap the long tail demand more effectively than physical products and hybrids.  This can help explain why Amazon is moving towards inventory on demand with its printing on demand services.

3. Connecting supply and demand

Anderson explains the idea of a filter. For example, an editor of a newspaper is a filter as she needs to fit information into a fixed amount of newspaper “real estate”. Certain news stories have to be cut out. This judgement call acts as a filter and by definiation cuts out potential readers.

Examples of old economy “pre-filters” are editors, marketers, advertisers, studio executives. Their main role is to predict the success of a product. This hit and miss approach is based on scarity and is wasteful.

The “recommendation age” has post-filters of blogs, playlists, reviews, recommendations, customers. These new tastemaker’s main role is to amplify word of mouth down the long tail thus increasing possible demand.

Anderson declares the death of Pareto’s 80:20 rule.  An example of one 80:20 rule is that 20% of your customers give you 80% of your sales / profit. He makes a good point that this rule could just as easily be 95:20 or 80:10 as “customers” and “sales” are different variables and so do not need to add up to the 100 that you often see mentioned.  The Long tail opens up the other eg 20% because in a digital world we are not limited by scarcity or physical limitations like shelf space.

Abundance

One message I liked in this book is that abundance is the correct way to think of the new digital age.  Our current models are based on scarcity trade-offs between time/convenience and money which has been a norm since Adam Smith.  Anderson recommends that we embrace waste and account for plentitude. He references Moore’s Law and writings by George Gilder as proof of this concept.

From “Or” to “And”

Anderson concludes his book with some tips on how to create a long tail business. In short:

1. Make everything available.

2. Help us find it.

If you are interested in business and how the future will be played online, I recommend this book. It’s easy to read and full of case studies. If you are pressed for time, focus on the first 5 to 6 chapters and then refer to the final chapter. You can read Chris Anderson’s blog here.

Happy New Year of the Ox

Published
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Warwick
on January 27, 2009
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Happy New Year. I am just back in Shanghai after two lovely weeks in Bali. China is celebrating the new year which is the Ox.

Here is what wiki has to say about The Year of the Ox:

The Ox is the sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work. This powerful sign is a born leader, being quite dependable and possessing an innate ability to achieve great things. As one might guess, such people are dependable, calm, and modest. Like their animal namesake, the Ox is unswervingly patient, tireless in their work, and capable of enduring any amount of hardship without complaint.

Ox people need peace and quiet to work through their ideas, and when they have set their mind on something it is hard for them to be convinced otherwise. An Ox person has a very logical mind and is extremely systematic in whatever they do, though they have a tremendous imagination and an unparalleled appreciation for beauty. These people speak little but are extremely intelligent. When necessary, they are articulate and eloquent.

People born under the influence of the Ox are kind, caring souls, logical, positive, filled with common sense and with their feet firmly planted on the ground. Security is their main preoccupation in life, and they are prepared to toil long and hard in order to provide a warm, comfortable and stable nest for themselves and their families. Strong-minded, stubborn, individualistic, the majority are highly intelligent individuals who don’t take kindly to being told what to do.

The Ox works hard, patiently, and methodically, with original intelligence and reflective thought. These people enjoy helping others. Behind this tenacious, laboring, and self-sacrificing exterior lies an active mind.

The Ox is not extravagant, and the thought of living off credit cards or being in debt makes them nervous. The possibility of taking a serious risk could cause the Ox sleepless nights.

Ox people are truthful and sincere, and the idea of wheeling and dealing in a competitive world is distasteful to them. They are rarely driven by the prospect of financial gain. These people are always welcome because of their honesty and patience. They are reputed to be the most beautiful of face in the zodiac. They have many friends, who appreciate the fact that the Ox people are wary of new trends, although every now and then they can be encouraged to try something new. People born in the year of the Ox make wonderful parents and teachers of children.

It is important to remember that the Ox people are sociable and relaxed when they feel secure, but occasionally a dark cloud looms over such people and they engage all the trials of the whole world and seek solutions for them.  More info here.

A to Z People I am grateful for…S for Sam Jones (Toastmasters in China)

Published
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Warwick
on January 23, 2009
in Gratitude
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Sam JonesWho they are

Global Career Advisor at Wharton School. Founder and mentor of Toastmasters in China.

What they do

Sam is a people person and I have learned a lot from him on how to work through and with people to get things done. He has a great ability to build deep bonds with people and this was reflected in a recent Toastmasters meeting - Sam’s last before he returns to Philadelphia to work at the Wharton School as a Global Career Advisor after over 11 years in China. People said some nice things about Sam. Memorable phrases included:

  • Pioneer of pioneers

  • Empathy with people

  • Beyond selfish

  • Supportive

  • Give and take

  • Transformational leader

You can see the picture that is building. Honestly I don’t think that anyone Sam has met in the time he has been in China (and probably before) would have a bad word to say about him. He has an emotional intelligence that is off the charts and I admire his ability to face people problems in such a calm and constructive way.

What turning point was for me after knowing them

I met Sam in a Toastmasters club in Shanghai in 2002. Sam had a vision for growing Toastmasters in China. You can read his vision “The Shanghai expansion”here. Sam is a very giving and socially minded person and he saw Toastmasters as a vehicle to make some positive change in China. He certainly tapped into a need. Today there are over 70 clubs in China with thousands of members. Sam was the first person who saw the possibilities ahead. Up until 2003 there were only three or four clubs throughout China which had been founded in 1999. So four years of no growth. Together with Sam, we decided to set up a club which would be a benchmark club for Shanghai and fuel the growth towards 20 clubs in Shanghai within 5 years. At the time no one thought this was possible, but we reached our goal one year early.

Why grateful

Firstly, for allowing me the chance to grow as a person by serving others. I have become a much more rounded person with better communication and leadership skills through knowing and being guided by Sam. I was the founding Chairman for Toastmasters in China so tend to get more visibility and attract monikers like “the godfather of Toastmasters in China”. I was also recognized by Toastmasters International with a Hall of Fame Presidential citation. While all that is nice, I am still very grateful for the door that Sam opened for me in 2003. Together we made a good team and the time we worked together - especially to get the first one or two clubs off the ground - is a very special memory for me. And I should add that through this I met my wife. What more can I say, “Thanks Sam!”.

Are you in a fulfilling relationship?

Published
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Warwick
on January 21, 2009
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Fulfilled in your relationshipI recently took part in a discussion panel on relationships. It’s not my main topic, I have to admit, but it was enjoyable to reflect on an area I don’t usually speak on in public. The panelist included two ladies (one in a relationship, one single) and myself who is married. The main question was what does it take to attract and sustain a fulfilling relationship.

Although the panelists were of different ages, sexes and cultures there did seem to be a thread of similarities emerging. Here is my take on what it takes to have a fulfilling relationship.

Start with yourself

Personally, I believe that you need to always start with yourself whenever you are looking to make a large life change. Too often we are influenced by outside factors in the media, our family, famous people and so on.  My turning point came when I read the Power of Now in 2004.  I realized that I had spent too much time looking for satisfaction from external things, before actually getting comfortable with myself.  From this reflection, I realized that in fact my life philosophy was based around abundance in health, wealth and contribution and this has acted as my guide ever since.  Start first with yourself. Ask yourself what is most important to you, what do you stand for and what are your standards. Focus only on yourself. This exercise can be challenging and you may need a close friend or family member to help you go through the process. Look at the way you spend your time outside work and you may get a clue. Look for your passions, enjoyments and ways that you feel totally satisfied.

Now you have a clearer idea on what you stand for, it’s time to think about the type of partner you wish to attract.

Know who you wish to attract

Sometimes its a good idea to start with the type of person you don’t want!  Make a list of characteristics of the people you definitely would not wish to spend time with (lazy, alcoholic, rude etc). Write for about 5 minutes. Then, on another piece of paper write the opposites. (energetic, balanced, charming).  Build up a profile that includes personality, attitudes to life as well as the (often easier) physical traits.  You make want to keep this profile to yourself or share it with a close friend. But using the power of attraction can help. Like any goal or dream, the clearer the outcome and the more you focus upon that outcome in a positive way - the more likely you are to notice the opportunities when they become available.

Join organizations or associations where you might meet people with a similar profile. If one of the traits was a strong drive in career, look around for entrepreneurial organizations. If vitality was one, join a sports club.  At the very least you will meet like-minded people and enjoy a stronger network.

Find the common zones

I believe that aligning common values is a powerful way to find a long lasting relationship (friendship included). Think about the friends you have kept since high school and university. The ones you are still in touch with and still have flowing conversations. You probably share a common interest or value.  As you may know by now, self-improvement is a key value for me. So when I meet people I am often looking for “evidence” that they share the same value. If someone spends every evening after work drinking in a bar (nothing wrong in that in itself), they are unlikely to share my values of health and self-improvement.  Take a look at the values that you have. Which ones would you not sacrifice. Which ones are flexible.  When you meet someone who you think fits your profile, ask yourself what common zones you have. Would these sustain your relationship over time?  Many happy marriages are built on friendship.  I personally think an ideal partner is also your best friend, someone who is easy to talk with and can share and resolve problems together.

Reinvent the path you are both taking

Once you are in a relationship, the challenge is to sustain and keep the partnership fresh.  Routine and habit are the twin killers to many relationships. Routine and habit lead to boredom which leads to dissatisfaction and after a while you are wondering what brought you together in the first place.  One step you can take is to share and align your dreams.  Many of you ( I hope) have written goals and dreams. I review them in December every year to update and refocus my efforts for the coming year.  Now that I am married, my wife and I both go through this process and have aligned our family dreams and goals. This was a tricky process at first but the benefit is that it gives a common purpose, language and expression to the activities you are doing thoroughout the year. You can ask yourselves, “Would this take us towards our common destination”  In fact, I have found that there is nothing more rewarding that having two people very committed to the same purpose. It’s like a private mastermind group.  What common dreams do you both have?  Make them visual with a dream book or dream board where you can post up pictures of how your dream future will look like.  Review them together and keep adding to them.

Finding a fulfilling relationship is top of many people’s list but often people look for answers outside before they find direction on the inside. Take some time to clarify your own values and life purpose and you will start to attract the right people into your life. Then align your common zones and find ways to reinvent your relationship. Its not an easy thing to do but the benefits are tremendous.

In the next 15 years what will you do to make the world a better place?

Published
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Warwick
on January 19, 2009
in Contribution, Health and Wealth
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Dream Big

Listened to a speech by Daniel Smith this week and he mentioned a question that I wrote down.  It was an abstract, big picture question.  At first I passed over it as it seemed too vague to be useful, but then I realized that the answer to this question was an important reality check on whether my own life journey was heading in the right direction. The question was:

In the next 15 years what will you do to make the world a better place?

The lens that I look at the world comes under three categories: health, wealth and contribution (in that order). I asked myself would the vision I have for my own dreams actually make the world a better place.

Health
Health is always number one on my list of goals. Without good physical health you limit your energy and potential to live a dynamic life. Whether you like sports, going to the gym, hiking or endurance events, all these are key to making the world a better place.  People who exercise believe in self-improvement and are often competitive. I think it’s a real shame that some schools forbid sports day on the grounds that some of the children will lose. This is teaching children something terrible because like it or not the world is a very competitive place and whatever your chosen field you need to be competitive- whether you are stock trading or raising funds for a community project. Being competitive means always improving. Sports teaches this to children in a fun way. Even if you lose today, you can come back tomorrow, train harder and have a chance the next week to compete and win. That is much closer to a winning life philosophy.

During the next 15 years I intend to continue my participation in triathlon races around the world in beautiful locations like Lombok, Thailand, Malaysia.  I also will return to another love - scuba diving.  This leads onto an important part of outdoors sports, the environment. I am more aware of the importance of maintaining a balanced ecosystem.  As I become more involved in these sports over time I will direct my efforts to support efforts that are working to educate people about how to be a responsible tourist.

Good health will keep my energy high, allow me to share my talents and increase my awareness for how I can contribute to keeping nature beautiful.  What are your health goals and dreams? How do they help the world around you to become a better place.

Wealth

Many people still have a negative mindset towards money and wealth. Growing up an Irish Catholic we were taught: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24). Which is not exactly an resounding endorsement for wealth creation!

Media sensationalizes wealthy people by focusing on their material possessions, wild and debauched lifestyles and other trivial parts of an abundant lifestyle.  But wealth is more than that. Wealth creation is a important part of my philosophy of an abundant life. It says that I am responsible for my own wealth, I have the power to influence and there is absolutely unlimited “wealth” in the world.  Having wealth is about having more opportunities to live a life of purpose, passion and sharing.

In 15 years I will have a successful publishing company which spreads important skills around the world to millions of people. Education is a key value for me. I went to a great school on a scholarship and I want to share that opportunity with children and adults everywhere in the world. Educating yourself is an important step to freedom. Wealth creation is the result of that process.

How much wealth do you wish to create in the next 15 years? How will you create it? Will you exchange your time for money? Will you build a business? Are you an avid investor. Allow yourself to imagine how you will use this wealth to create a wonderful life for yourself, your friends and your family. Because once you have a healthy life and you have created wealth, the third part is the most rewarding: contribution.

Contribution
Sharing my talents with the world is my main life purpose.  In many ways, I see this as the main life purpose for us all. We all have abilities which other people can benefit from. By maximizing our ability to share them with the world is the journey I believe we are all on. Consider the people we admire. Don’t we admire the fact that they have the ability to influence and contribute to others, more than just their singular abilities. I like Michael Phelps more for his grounded approach to life than for his freakish talent. When he has stopped swimming this attitude will take him further even than his amazing sports achievements. Even if you are the smartest person in the world, this talent is only as good as your ability to share it with other people.  Is this perhaps why the most intelligent people around us are never the highest paid?  They believe that their internal talent is enough to take them to the top, whereas the less-gifted among us realize that it is only the ability to connect, support, share and build relationships that will help them rise above the more intelligent.

I founded my business on the principle of giving. We have supported Love without Boundaries since 2005 and now my new book has connected with The Library Project to ensure that enlightened self interest will also educate orphans in the rural parts of China.  As my wealth grows, so does my ability to contribute.  I read Randy Gage’s newsletter this week and he is very direct about his enjoyment of the material parts of life. He talked about buying USD10,000 pairs of shoes and USD250,000 cars. And if this makes you uncomfortable ask yourself why. He also contributed US300,000 to charities. That doesn’t mean he is a saint but isn’t that a tremendous way to live. To have the options to contribute massively to the worthy causes that turn you on.

How will you turn your health and wealth into contribution. What causes do you stand for? Education is my main cause but what’s yours? How are you going to continue your expanding contribution as you become wealthier? Feels good just thinking about it, doesn’t it?

Spend a few minutes today and write down some big, big dreams about how your dream health, wealth and contribution goals will help the world become a better place in the next 15 years.  If your read your goals and they seem unbelievable, then great because no one has done anything of note that didn’t first sound unbelievable to themselves. Keep the picture in your mind and keep believing. Have a great week!

A to Z People I am grateful for…L for Lao Tzu

Published
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Warwick
on January 16, 2009
in Gratitude
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Lao Zi

Who they are

Lao Tzu is traditionally regarded as the author of the Tao Te Ching, a book of short poems containing nuggets of golden ancient wisdom.

What they do

Continue to influence modern thinking and philosophy towards life.

What turning point was for me after knowing them

Strengthened my belief in an abundant universe (”the ten thousand things”). Helped me adapt a leadership style appropriate for working in China. Some excellent advice such as ‘govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish’ and (I paraphrase) a great leader is the one whose people say they did all the great deeds of that time.  This advice helped me shape my facilitative approach to leadership which has helped me grow my  business across China.

Why grateful

The lessons of the past are still relevant today. Even a quick read of the Tao Te Ching brings out some lovely wisdom. For example:

The greatest man is like water, water helps all other things to grow and doesn’t compete with them. The ocean becomes the ocean because it can accept any river running to it since its always at downstream (W: meaning it always keeps a low profile, which matches Chinese culture: be humble).

Water is the most flexible things in the planet, but it can overcome the hardest thing, so that’s why something which looks very weak could be very strong. (W: this is a common theme in Chinese thinking. Don’t underestimate something which appears weak or vulnerable).

Water doesn’t have a shape, that’s why it can overcome seamless barriers.  Bruce Lee said: water doesn’t have any shape, but when it goes into the cup, it becomes the shape of the cup, when it goes into a bottle, it becomes the shape of bottle. (W: be flexible, adapt to your environment).

I have the David Hinton translation found here.  Thanks also for Bill Wang for providing the inspiration and text for this article.

Book of the Week: The 4-Hour Work Week

Published
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Warwick
on January 14, 2009
in Contribution, Health, Skills and Wealth
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4 Hour Work WeekOne of my own self-development targets for this year is to read a book a week. I have a big library of books which I haven’t completed (or started!) and I really want to tap into the wisdom inside them. I also just ordered 27 books from Amazon so I will have a full year of learning ahead. Can’t wait!  In “Book of the Week” I share with you the main points (as I see them) from one of these books.

I just sat down and went through Tim Ferriss’ great book on lifestyle design. Tim has an excellent blog here which I recommend you check out. Here is a summary of what I took-away from this reading:

Become a member of the NR (New Rich)

Don’t retire. Combine rest and work throughout life with mini-retirements. Relative income is more important than absolute income ($/hr). NR make USD5,000/hr. Focus on being productive instead of busy. Focus on your strengths not weaknesses. Use Definition – Elimination – Automation - Liberation. This is used to organise the content of the book.

Stressed?

Use eustress not distress to motivate you. Eustress is a term coined by Hans Selye, and defined in the model of Richard Lazarus (1974) as stress that is healthy or gives one a feeling of fulfillment or a feeling that you have done something great. (Source: wiki)

On setting goals
Doing the unrealistic is easier than doing the realistic. What would excite me? (rather than what are my goals?). Use Dreamlining (6 months and 12 months). Spreadsheets are included with the book and on Tim’s website.

On productivity
Time management out, elimination in. Increase personal productivity between 100 and 500%. Doing something unimportant well does not make it important. Use Parkinson’s Law: a task swells to fit the time given to it. Ask yourself three times a day “Am I being productive or just active?” The key to having more time is doing less. Define a short “to do list” and a “not to do” list. What would you do if you could only work 2 hours a day? 2 hours a week? Ask yourself:  “If this is the only thing I accomplish today, will I be satisfied with my day?” Batch common time consuming tasks together (emails, phone calls).

Low information diet
Stop watching TV, don’t read newspapers. (W: totally agree with this, haven’t had a TV since 2006). When reading ask “Will I definitely use this information for something immediate and important? Check email twice a day at 12pm and 4pm.

On automation
Build a system to replace yourself. Eliminate before you delegate. Use a VA (virtual assistant). Select on cost per completed task (not per hour). Use a VA firm rather than a solo operator. Never use a new-hire VA. Create new unique login and passwords for your VA. Hiring a VA (Ask for excellent English). Find a product or service “muse” to put your income on autopilot (W: Tim focuses mostly on products). Micro-test your products.

In conclusion, this book is a great refresher on lifestyle design. I especially like Tim’s idea of having goals that excite you. I took a look through my own list and to be honest - although many goals were worthy - they didn’t all excite. I went through the dreamlining process and came out with some more exciting goals.  Don’t let the book title put you off - it’s more of a challenge than an actual target. Start your journey to join the New Rich this year!

Are you still on track? Setting New Year’s resolutions that work

Published
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Warwick
on January 12, 2009
in Health, Skills and Wealth
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Keep on Track

It’s now 12 days into the new year. Are you still keeping your New Year’s resolutions? January is a month when gym memberships soar, new diets start and alcohol is abstained from after the blow-out holiday season. But how sustainable is this way of making life changes?

Perhaps not very. “New Year’s resolutions are a form of cultural procrastination,” says Dr. Timothy Pychyl, an associate professor of psychology at Carleton University who specializes in goal-setting and the study of procrastination. ”Every culture shares the circle of rebirth and concept of a possible self where you have an intention, but start in January. If you really want to do something, you can start anytime.” Dr. Pychyl’s term “possible self” can be thought of as the aspirations for yourself, your family and your life. Just what do you want to be, to do and to have.

If you are struggling to keep your new plans on track, read on.  We have four ways to help you keep your self improvement going well into 2009:

1. Are you ready for change?

Are you really ready for the change you want to make?  Change is a process not an event. Ask people who have tried to give up smoking several times before succeeding, it is easy to slip back into a habit that has been built up over many years. Even people who seem to have just quit or just started a new healthy habit have likely gone through a cycle of smaller changes before, even attitude changes.  I became a vegetarian in 2006 but had stopped eating seafood in 2004 after watching The Blue Planet BBC documentary which showed the damage deep sea fishing was doing to the ocean floor.  My change took a number of years and smaller shifts in attitude before it became a habit.  What smaller change or shift can you make towards your life change?   Find someone who is already living the change you want to make and ask them questions. I found a few vegetarian friends who reassured me that you could live healthily and energetically without meat. They were competing in endurance races and lived very active lives.

2. Are you targets realistic?

Once you are ready for the change, set yourself a target. Can you sustain it?  People who start exercise programs often start off very frequently - going daily or several times a week - only to get injured or taper the training off until old habits return.  While I like to have a huge “unrealistic” target to get me excited and motivated about a new sport, I still need to start with smaller steps. When I started thinking about competing in triathlons I wanted to race in the Ironman which is probably one of the toughest endurance races around. When I started talking to triathletes and learning about the sport from podcasts, I realised that you need at least three years solid training to build up to that race, which for an amateur would take around 12 - 16 hours to complete.  Realising this I shifted my attention to the shorter Olympic distance races which I finish in around 3 hours and are enjoyable.  I still have the intention to finish (at least one) Ironman race but I keep myself going with smaller targets.

3. Don’t make excuses for yourself

Are you good at finding “reasons” why you should not follow through on your intentions. Why you don’t need to get up (in the cold) and go for that jog, or why it’s perfectly fine to eat that lovely cheesecake. Dr. Pychyl says excuses reinforce the negative behaviour you desire to change. “We say, ‘No more cake,’ but we give in to feel good, then the “what the hell effect” takes hold, and you eat the whole cake.”  I have to admit I am a master of making these type of excuses - rationalising my actions so I still feel as though I am on track. At some point, we have to stop lying to ourselves!  I make a game to help. For example, when I realised over the summer as I was writing my book The One Minute Presenter, I was hammering the coffee and candy and was putting on some weight. Rather than try to give up them up, I turned it into a game.  I limited myself to a coffee in the morning and cut back the cake and candy to the weekend. I made a simple scoreboard so I could track my progress and after about a month my weight was back to normal. It was really fun to go to Jamaica Blue on a Saturday after five days without, I enjoyed it so much more! So stop making excuses for yourself, make the change a game.

4. Substitute rather than “give up”

Many New Year resolutions tend to be “give up” ones. Give up smoking, eating, drinking.  Instead of just quitting something, switch a positive action for it. So instead of not eating junk food, combine that with ‘ a visit to the gym/ swimming pool / park twice a week’.  Be sure to replace a negative addiction with a positive one - not another negative one. So if you quit smoking, don’t start eating five bars of chocolate a day.  Set yourself targets (daily / weekly / monthly) and measure them. Tick off the days on a piece of paper or chart. Make sure you keep the chart visible, paste it up in your bathroom or kitchen.

Most New Year’s Resolutions are history by February. I don’t want that to happen to you.  Contact me if you need any support with making your life changes a reality.

Read more about Dr. Pychyl here. You can also see similar articles on written goals here, getting started by making yourself a promise here, and some quick tips on getting focused here.  Good luck with our 2009 plans and goals!

How focused are you?

Published
by
Warwick
on January 9, 2009
in Skills
. 0 Comments

Get focusedIt’s been raining for about 36 hours here in Shanghai and the weather outside prompted me to think more about my holiday to Bali next month. For a minute I even felt bored. Are you ever bored with life? Boredom is defined as “an emotional state experienced during periods lacking activity or when individuals are uninterested in the activities surrounding them.”

But if you are one of the lucky people in the world to have access to a computer and the internet, you can change your surroundings immediately.  I pulled out my goals list for 2009, downloaded a few podcasts, updated my Twitter feed, checked in to see what my friends were up to on Facebook and started writing a few articles. With access to technology there is really no reason to be bored.  But perhaps a greater problem is focus - or rather the lack of focus.

You may be unfocused if:

  • You are flipping through all 222 photos of one of your friends on Facebook.
  • You are “following” 20 people on Twitter and reply to all of their messages.
  • You read an online newspaper “cover-to-cover”.
  • You are chatting with friends on SKYPE, MSN and G-Talk simultaneously.

You get the picture. With so much activitiy and access to media and friends how do you stay focused on the important goals you want to acheive this year?  Let’s go low-tech:

1. Print out your schedule

I use an A4 page to map out my weekly calendar and another A4 page to plan monthly. I post them up on my wall, so I have a four week ahead look at my schedule (4 sheets) plus I have the entire year (12 sheets) on the wall so I have a year-at-a-glance. Yes, it does tend to fill up an entire wall but I am lucky as my wife is understanding! I find this really powerful and more effective than my PDA / phone calendar. I can quickly skim through the whole year to see my holiday times (I plan on taking 6 weeks off this year), my client work is also blocked out, and travel plans. It’s quick to respond to people who call asking about my available schedule, I just turn around and it’s there. Plus I have a good visual grasp of how my schedule is looking over the year. When I am traveling its easy to take the weekly calendars with me in a folder. Low-tech but very p

2. Less goals, more results

The fewer the goals you focus on this year, the more productive and successful you will be. In 2008, I focused the latter half of the year on writing my book The One Minute Presenter .  By being laser-focused on this one goal, I completed the whole project in less than 6 months with most of the writing done in 3 months.  Now if I open my document for “Goals 2008″ there are many more targets and dreams that I want to achieve. I just decided to put all my energy into a big, important one. What are your essential, must-have, breakthrough goals that you would like to achieve this year?  Focus on no more than 2 or 3 major goals. The other goals (like learning how to surf in Bali!) can wait. You will enjoy them a lot more once you have achieved your major targets.

If you need help with staying focused this year, contact The Change Catalyst. I can help you identify the most essential goals for you and accelerate your progress to reaching them. May 2009 be your best year yet!