Worst Advice Ever
Recently you might have read my Worst Advice Ever. It was a Facebook post that received over 100 “Likes”.
Yet it’s called that because no one wants to hear it, let alone implement it in their lives. Sorry.
But here it is again in case you missed it:
“Wake up earlier. Almost every problem can be solved by getting up earlier. Avoid checking email for as long as possible. Be ruthless with your time and block your time for uninterrupted work. Set deadlines. Work hard and hit those deadlines. Oh, and yes, expect this to suck. It won’t be easy. But nothing worthwhile ever is.”
When this advice is given, most folks want to question it. They want to find excuses why it won’t work for them.
“But what about for people that work better at night?” they ask.
Well, here’s the politically incorrect truth. You will find, like everyone else, that you get more done when you get up early. Doesn’t matter if you’re a night owl or a night party animal.
Listen to this…even Neil Strauss, NY Times best-selling author and man who has traveled with Motley Crue, found that he was able to achieve more in the morning.
“I recently tried an experiment. I decided to see if I was a morning person. Instead of staying up all night writing, I decided to do one of my 30-day experiments: I spent a month going to bed at 9:30 p.m. every night and waking up at 5:30 a.m.
Though it meant dashing out of dinners early, turning down all nighttime plans, and going to sleep with work still unfinished, I discovered that I was much more productive this way. By the time most of my friends were waking up, I’d already finished much of my work for the day.”
If Neil can do it, so can you.
So there you go. Worst advice ever. Probably a waste of time for you to read it and for me to write it, as only the top 1-5% of achievers will ever take me up on it.
But if you are a top 5%-er, you’ll get more done, make more money, and actually have more FREEDOM in your life from this advice. Use it wisely.
Now to finish with more QnA:
Q: What’s are the top 5% business activities that a business owner should concentrate on, and what are the 95% that can be outsourced/delegated ? – Patrick
Answer:
Selling and motivating, as my friend Bedros Keuilian of www.facebook.com/fitnessmarketing would say.
Plus, your unique ability, as Dan Sullivan would say. Delegate everything else.
Q: You are famous for being crazy disciplined (confirmed by your friend and mine, Vince DelMonte). When you get up at 4am, is there a “first 15 minute ritual” like mediatation or something that you do? Or do you just get up and grind?
Answer:
When I get up, I turn on my phone and read something for 2-3 minutes. The bright light of the screen helps get me up and prevents me from rolling back over and sleeping.
Then I pet the dog (he sleeps in), and slowly – and quietly – work my way down the stairs to the kitchen. I start my day with 2 cups of cold water, a probiotic pill, 2 grams of vitamin C, and then I spill the contents of my brain out onto word documents.
I’ve trained my brain to work overnight so the words flow in the morning. It’s not that hard. Almost anyone could do the same.
Before you go to bed at night, give your brain something to work on. Ask it a question. It will have the answers for you in the morning.
The writing goes on from 4am to 7am. At that point, then it’s super-fun-dog-walk-time, and then I workout, eat breakfast, do a Facebook QnA at www.SuccessQnA.com, and then get back to writing by 10:30am. That goes until lunch, and then I check my email, and try to do a little more writing before the end of the day.
Q: I saw your Facebook post of all the books, magazines, and newsletters that you ordered. How do you read so much?
Answer:
You just have to learn to filter what is important and what is not, and it would probably help if you read a speed-reading book like 10 Days to Faster Reading by Abby Beale
Q: For time management, what software do you recommend for management of tasks for your team? Something each member can log in to and see what they need to complete, and then mark as compete for you to see. Or do you have a better way to organize your team for accomplishment of tasks when you can’t all be in the office together. – Sean
Answer:
We use Google Docs to organize stuff, but we don’t address the other components of your question. We also use a service called “Idonethis.com” that allows everyone to share what they did that day and enables everyone to give feedback on it.
Finally…
If you’re SERIOUS about creating and selling info products online (ebooks, manuals, membership sites, videos)…you’re invited to a one day private mastermind with Bedros Keuilian and myself in Nashville, TN on Friday November 9th.
This is the last and final one day info mastermind that Bedros and I will be holding in 2012. The investment is $1,997 (worth every penny). Email Frankie@Keuilian.com if you’re interested.
Here’s a video from one of our info mastermind meetings.
You will get my best advice ever, I promise.
Let me know how I can help,
Craig Ballantyne
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou