Being totally self-reliant, able to fend for yourself – it’s an appealing idea, one that’s been romanticized in literature and the movies.

Think Robinson Crusoe – Daniel Defoe’s adventure about a man shipwrecked on a desert island for 28 years. And Walden  - Henry David Thoreau’s account of his two-year “experiment” in simple living. And Cast Away – with Tom Hanks as a too-busy executive suddenly marooned for four years after his plane goes down during a business trip.

I’m not the build-a-cabin-with-your-bare-hands, grow-your-own-food, cook-over-a-wood-stove type. Still, I’d like to think I could make do without modern conveniences.

No, wait. I don’t have to think I could do it, I know I can do it.

In 2004, two hurricanes (Frances and Jeanne) scored a direct hit on my hometown. For more than a week after each one, my neighborhood had no electricity, no hot water, and sometimes no water at all. But I was fine.

With the help of a couple of ice chests and a manual can opener, I fed myself and my dog. Cold showers – unpleasant, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. A plug-in phone and a portable radio connected me to the outside world. And a neighbor ran an extension cord between his generator and my computer so I could get my work done.

It was a challenge for people who had young children that needed to be kept busy all day long. I had a different challenge… because there were an awful lot of unexpected hours I had to fill by myself.

Gas stations weren’t pumping gas, and there was debris all over the streets, which made driving anywhere a risky proposition. So I was pretty much stuck in the house. Much to my surprise, I didn’t mind at all.

What would you do if you were stuck in the house for days on end with no electricity? I’m guessing you’d do what I did – things you love to do but never seem to have enough time for.

While it was still light out, I went for walks and visited with neighbors. I sketched. I painted. When it got dark, I read by the light of a Coleman lantern. I did a little writing. And when the electricity finally came back on, it was like coming home after a good vacation. I felt rested and rejuvenated.

Maybe more important, I was inspired to find the time to do more of the things that had been giving me so much pleasure – things that we all know are necessary for leading a well-balanced life… and making life a little richer.

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To succeed in business and your personal life, you often hear that you need to be more competitive – that you need to keep "raising the bar." But is that really necessary… or even a good idea?

"Raising the bar" is a metaphor that was borrowed from the sports world. So let’s see how it works there.

Let’s say you come to me because you want to be a world-class high jumper. I’ve written a best-selling book called How to Be a Champion High Jumper, so you ask me to coach you. You come out onto the field all excited and ready to go.

I set the bar at seven feet, because that’s what the world’s best high jumpers can do. So you stand there looking at the bar waaaay up there.

I say, "Come on, you can do it! Think positive! Get psyched!"

You, being the trooper you are and not wanting to disappoint me, take a few steps back, then run as fast as you can, jump up with all your might… smack!

Not even close. You miss the bar by a mile.

"That’s okay!" I say, clapping my hands. "You’ll do better next time!"

You gamely try again and again. I try to keep you encouraged and motivated. But you miss that damn bar every time.

Do you realize how many people put themselves in a similarly impossible situation? They raise their "bar" so high that even when they do accomplish something, it never seems good enough. Sound familiar?

That’s why I often tell my clients to lower the bar. Here’s the difference…

"Raise the bar" means:

• Close more sales.
• Finish writing your article.
• Make a million dollars.
• Find the right person.
• Lose 20 pounds.
• Don’t make a mistake.

"Lower the bar" means:

• Listen more than you talk.
• Start writing your article.
• Learn about smart investing.
• Be the right person.
• Exercise for 15 minutes today.
• Give yourself permission to be human.

Write down five ways you can lower the bar today, this week, and this month. Write down how and where you’ve expected yourself to be perfect the first time out. Then lower the bar… and give yourself permission to succeed.

[Ed. Note: Noah St. John is founder of SuccessClinic.com and author of the upcoming book The Secret Code of Success. He's been featured on CNN, National Public Radio, and in The Washington Post.You can get Noah's Special Report "How to Double Your Income in 12 Weeks by Working Less" at SuccessClinic.com.
 
Get dozens more proven techniques that can help you accomplish your longest-held goals with ETR's Total Success Achievement Program. Learn more here.]

A frequent language question concerns the use of different from and different than. When do you use one or the other, and why?

The answer is easy – except when it’s hard! But let’s give it a try…

The phrase different from is correct when a noun or pronoun follows: "Girls are different from boys."

Here’s the explanation. A comparative adjective, such as bigger or better, takes than. But contrary to what some people assume, different is not a comparative adjective; it draws a distinction. So from is the right word.

But suppose a clause rather than a noun or pronoun follows. Here, different than is usually the superior choice: "The situation now is different than a year ago."

The common-sense reason is that when different from precedes a clause, it requires additional verbiage, and the result is often cumbersome or awkward. To be correct using from, the above example would have to be reworded as: "The situation now is different from what it was a year ago."

As with many disputed language issues, some permissive authorities insist that both different from and different than are "standard" and it doesn’t matter which is used. But I suggest taking the more cautious route and observing the above guidelines. What’s more, if you develop a good "ear" for language, that skill will often help you determine whether a construction is right or wrong. If it sounds bad, it probably is – and it should be rewritten.

[Ed Note: For more than three decades, Don Hauptman was a direct-response copywriter. He is author of the wordplay books Cruel and Unusual Puns and Acronymania, and is now writing a new book that also blends language and humor.]

Are you interested in getting smarter?

I think most people are. However, I also think most people misinterpret what "getting smarter" really means… or… should mean.

Let me explain…

When most people think of increasing their brainpower, all they think about is increasing their IQ. And there are many books out there promising that if you just add a few points to your IQ, your life will improve… and improve dramatically.

Nice hook for selling books… but… I disagree with the concept. If we want to be successful in business and in life, I don’t think the goal is to have a higher IQ…

Not at all. And here’s why…

I’ve had the good fortune to meet many smart people. A few of them legitimate geniuses, with extremely high IQs. But when I sized up their accomplishments, there was much to be desired.

So if increasing your IQ doesn’t make you smarter in terms of reaching more of your goals, what will?

I think I have an answer…

For me, getting smarter in terms of reaching my goals means improving myself in certain key areas: my ability to concentrate, the speed at which I learn, my problem-solving ability, my mental endurance, the clarity of my writing, the depth of my creativity… and… my ability to remember, recall, and put what I learn into practice.

Does this resonate with you? Would improving yourself in these key areas help you reach more of your goals?

Most definitely.

Richard Restak, a renowned neuropsychiatrist and author of Mozart’s Brain and the Fighter Pilot: Unleashing Your Brain’s Potential, referred to the above as "goals of cognition." Your mind’s ability to attend, identify, and act. And the latest research shows you can significantly improve your cognition with training.

You see, even though the brain is an organ, in many ways it behaves like a muscle. What I mean is, your brain, unlike other physical organs, doesn’t wear out. In fact, the more you use your brain, and the more you challenge it, the stronger it gets.

The flip side is also true. If your brain isn’t stimulated consistently, it atrophies. "Use it or lose it" is the operating principle behind your brain’s performance as well as your physical body’s performance.

All right, so let’s say you’re on board. You want to "get smarter." You want your brain to get stronger and better instead of weaker and slower. What do you need to do? You need to do some brain training.

You train your brain the same way as you train your body – with both direct training and cross-training.

Direct training is where you focus "directly" on improving the specific skills you are after.

And cross-training is where you engage in activities that improve the skills you are after… "indirectly."

A simple example: If a baseball player wants to increase his bat speed, he would engage in both batting practice (direct training)… and weight training (cross-training).

A more elaborate example…

Let’s say you want to increase the effectiveness of the marketing copy you write.

First, you identify and work on the mechanics involved in copywriting. You do this by reading "how to" books, taking courses, going to seminars… and so on. These are all direct-training activities.

Next, you identify cross-training opportunities – things like reading popular novels. And not just reading them for entertainment… but for form, word choice, etc. Watching hit movies. Also not just for entertainment… but to learn about pacing, action, and the things that motivate different kinds of people.

Okay. Now that I’ve got you thinking in this direction, I’m sure you’ll be able to come up with your own brain-training program to improve your cognitive skills and give a "bump" to your chances of success in reaching your specific goals. You simply need to:

• Identify both direct and cross-training activities that will help you… and…
• Engage in them, frequently… preferably daily, at the same time every day.

[Ed. Note: Rich Schefren, known in marketing circles as "The Guru's Guru," coaches many of today's top Internet experts. He's an online business exploder whose clients rake in more than $500 million every year - piling up more than $1 billion in sales every two years. To learn how to streamline your business while skyrocketing profits, visit his blog here.