Boosting Your Productivity

Now that you have learned how to change your mindset we can now begin to talk about how to boost your productivity. What is one of the most valuable things in life? Is it water? Is it money? Is it having a great body? No, it's time! Time is a person's most valuable asset because it shapes every other aspect of our lives.

Now you may be sitting there wondering, "Well Chris, time won't get me rich. I don't have enough time in a day to even do what I need to do now, how am I supposed to do other things?" I'll give you an example. Spring is here and your lawn is looking rough from a long winter season. Your lawn has receded further then Lebron's hairline and is in need of a serious mowing, new grass to be laid and some fresh funky smelling manure to fertilize the ground. You declare to the world that this Saturday, you will block out your whole day to work on your lawn. You head to home depot, buy the grass, buy the fertilizer, buy the shovel and oil to pump into that lawn mower. You head on home and lay everything out and get to work. 4-8 hours later you have an amazing looking lawn and a tan that would make all vampires from Twilight jealous. Great day right? Possibly, if you have a green thumb. Yes you accomplished something amazing, but look how much time you lost! Almost a third of the day is gone. 

Father Time

"Well Chris what in the world should I have done?" The answer is simple, children are created to be put to work. No, but seriously, get someone else to do the work you don't want to! There are 24 hours in a day which equates to 1440 minutes, and 86400 seconds in a day. Doing something unimportant well does not make it important. Was it good that you spruced up your lawn? Maybe. Could you have used that time to work more hours at your job? Or completed a paper that was due next week? Or maybe work on an idea/project to expand your income? How do you wish to spend your time? 

Pareto's Law

If you don't agree with me, that is okay, but numbers don't lie. Have you ever heard of Pareto's Law or the Pareto Distribution? Today it is known as the 80/20 Principle. Pareto's Law states that 80% of the wealth is produced and possessed by 20% of the population. You can do the research on the theory if you'd like, but to paint a vivid picture, think the 1%. For our purposes, we are going to use that same principle for boosting our productivity. 80% of your outputs should result from 20% of your inputs. In order to get these results we have to make some changes in our habits.

Destroy Your Inefficiencies 

The goal here is to cypher out bad habits and inefficiencies in order to find your strengths and begin working smarter. Doing this is not as hard as you think. If you are a procrastinator or task abandoner, listen loud and clear.  We will change these habits by shortening the amount of time we work on a given tasks which will give us more time to focus on the important tasks. What do I mean by this? We are going to create a to-do list with deadlines that you have set for yourself, thus breaking larger tasks, projects, goals etc into smaller pieces. 

Setting Deadlines For Yourself

Have you ever noticed the closer you get to a deadline the faster you are able to complete a task that was seemingly impossible before? Setting deadlines for yourself is a way to train your mind to work in a swift and effective manner while being efficient with your time. Instead of setting out to write that 12 page paper in one sitting, break the paper up into sections. On your to-do list, state that you will create the introduction and thesis for the paper and give yourself a deadline, sooner rather then later is key. Once it's done cross it off your list and begin on the next task.

By giving yourself the opportunity to focus on smaller goals you begin to lay the foundation for the amazing wall you are about to build (i.e your 12 page paper). You will also be filled with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment by completing a small piece of the larger puzzle.

Equipping Yourself For The War Against Distractions

Studies have shown that it can take up to 45 mins to resume an activity or task once it has been interrupted. With access to the internet, tv and games only one click away, life can be very distracting. So... Christmas is coming early boys and girls. I am here to give you some of the tools I use to combat the evil forces that be!

The first tool is Rescue Time, this tool is a add-on for your web browser. Rescue Time allows you to block certain sites for a set length of time in order to keep you focused on the task at hand. It also tracks the amount of time you spend on various web sites on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis. So now you can actually see how much time you spend on Facebook and Twitter, the results may shock you.

The next tool I use is Any.DO. This great gem allows you to create a to-do list that syncs wirelessly on your computer, phone, tablet, iPad, iPhone, Mac, and your G-Mail. So lets say you sent an email out to someone using G-Mail and they told you to call them at 4pm the next day. Any.DO will actually recognize the text and pre-fill in the info for you to add the phone call to your to-do list. The best part is everyday the app presents you with a visual-show showing you the tasks you have set for the day.

The last two gifts I'll present you with is Evernote and Google Drive. Evernote gives you the ability to jot down ideas, take notes, record voices, and capture images and attachments and sync them across multiple platforms. With Google Drive you can edit and create powerpoints, word documents, excel spreadsheets and more all from you cellphone or other devices and then share them with multiple people in order to collaborate.

I won't sit here and guarantee that by implementing these changes into your life you'll become richer, stronger, faster or smarter. However, one thing I can guarantee is that you will begin to become more productive in your everyday life. Projects or tasks that seemed insurmountable or stressful before, will cause you less of a hassle. I have personally used all of the strategies I shared with you and they have certainly produced benefited me. I am more productive and putting in less time to achieve results, that's the power of the 80/20 principle. Feel free to mix and match other things that you may find online or that you have read. As long as you find a system that works for you and do it constantly, you are guaranteed to see results. 

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Change Your Mindset: Change Your Life

The game of life is a tricky thing. With the negativity we are served up daily via the internet, radio and tv, one can see why it is important to developing the right mindset. Some of the things that I always hear people say is, "I'm too busy, I don't have time to do anything." I can't make money because it takes money to make money." I can't get a job because no one is hiring." "I don't have a degree, so I can't do much." "I'm not that smart." 

You know what I say to this? B.S. The mind is like a sponge, whatever you pour into it is exactly what it will soak up. If you continue to tell yourself, I can't, I can't, I can't, your mind will automatically tell you that you can't! Conficious said it best, “He who says he can and he who says he can’t are both usually right.” 

If your reading this post your probably saying to yourself, "Chris, I want to change but where do I start?" I'll share with you a few steps that I used to change my mindset, from saying how unfair the world is to saying I can do anything I set my mind to.

The News: You Don't Need It

Studies have shown that watching the news actually negatively affects people, but you probably don't need a rocket scientist to tell you that. In Tim Ferris's 4 Hour Work Week, he teaches you how you can stay up-to-date on all of the news happening around the world in less then a min. The secret is simple, pick up a newspaper or go online and scan the headlines of the top stories. With this knowledge, simply ask your colleagues, peers, co-workers, whomever, questions based off of the headline and they will surely fill you in on the remaining details. This spares you from actually having to read the news while still getting all the information and being able to hold a conversation.

Now that you have a little extra free time since you aren't watching the news, go meditate, listen to self-empowering tapes or exercise. Remember the key is to set your mind for the day ahead or to wind down from a long days work.

Believing In Yourself And Forgetting The Rest

As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, the mind is like a sponge that will soak up whatever your pour into it. Mark Twain once said, "I have spent most of my life worrying about things that have never happened." Too often we sike ourselves out from taking on a new task or going after a dream or goal of ours. We think, what if I fail, or what if someone doesn't like me. Hey guess what? You've already defeated yourself. You have to first believe in yourself in order to take that first step forward. 

Imagine this, it is a cool spring day, the temperature is around 80 degrees. You decide to head to the beach and enjoy the day. The waves are rolling into the shoreline nicely and you are ready to head into the water, what do you do? 1. Do you dip one of your feet in to test how cold it is? 2. Do you begin to run into the water, get halfway in and realize its too cold and run back out? 3. Do you run across the beach at full speed, arms failing, screaming with reckless abandon and jump head first into the water? 

Too often in life we chose option 1 and 2, why, because it is easier. We are so comfortable in our comfort zone that stepping outside of it and journeying into discomfort is too much for us. Discomfort which is the barrier between success and the unknown is where 95% of the population wants to avoid. 

Breaking the Habit

One of the keys to breaking this habit is to act in spite of. Each time that you act in spite of your feelings, fears, worries or doubts, you are reinforcing the habit. This will allow you to confront bigger challenges and obstacles no matter what area of your life.

Saying I Can't

Now that we have removed some huge negative influencers from our daily routine, its time to work on that big ugly phrase...I can't. Have you ever set out to fulfill a New Years resolution but after a few days you gave up? What was the reasoning? There's multiple reasons but I would say there are two primary reasons: 1. The pain or fear of what you're attempting to do or in the moment of doing is too great. 2. The goal is too large for where you are currently in your life. 

The biggest New Years resolution is weight lost. The goal is to hit the gym four times a week, lose 30 pounds and have a beach body like never before. Now, I am not saying setting large goals for yourself is not good, but what most people lack is the determination and mindset to stick through with their goals. Darren Hardy, author of the Compound Effect said this, "To achieve something you have never achieved before, you must be willing to do what you have never done before." In his book he speaks on, "the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices. Success is earned in the moment to moment decisions that in themselves make no visible difference whatsoever, but the accumulated compounding effect is profound.” Using a series of smaller goals will make the challenge seem less daunting.

Acknowledge Your Success

All too often after we achieve something great we completely ruin that moment. Mentally we say, that's it? That wasn't as hard as I thought. Uh, hello! Give yourself some credit! A big challenge of mine last summer was teaching myself to code and to ride all the big roller coasters the next time I went to a theme park. Keep in mind, I am terrified of roller coasters. I accomplished both of these goals this summer but why was one goal celebrated more so then the other? After riding a bunch of roller coasters that I had been completely terrified of riding for the duration of my life, I did not celebrate like it was 1964! But I did thoroughly celebrate after teaching myself how to code. My mind simply said, that riding these roller coasters was no big deal.

The point is this, no matter the size of the task or how simple it was, acknowledge it, celebrate it, own it! We must train our minds to realize just because one task may be easier then another the success of both tasks are just as valuable. Remember to not look for what you did, or didn't do, or could have done better, instead look specifically at the progress you have made.

This transformation will not happen overnight. Changing your mindset will take time but the key is consistency. Before you know it, you'll be unstoppable.

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Interesting View On Love

Theres are not my words, but I thought this was a very interesting view on love.

ARE YOU WITH THE RIGHT PARTNER?

During a seminar, a woman asked," How do I know if I am with the right person?"

The author then noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so he said, "It depends. Is that your partner?" In all seriousness, she answered "How do you know?" Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's weighing on your mind replied the author. 

Here's the answer.

Every relationship has a cycle… In the beginning; you fall in love with your partner. You anticipate their calls, want their touch, and like their idiosyncrasies. Falling in love wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love.

People in love sometimes say, "I was swept of my feet."Picture the expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something happened TO YOU.

Falling in love is a passive and spontaneous experience. But after a few months or years of being together, the euphoria of love fades. It's a natural cycle of EVERY relationship.

Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens), and your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts. The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship; you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your partner might start asking, "Am I with the right person?" And as you reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. This is when relationships breakdown.

The key to succeeding in a relationship is not finding the right person; it's learning to love the person you found.

People blame their partners for their unhappiness and look outside for fulfillment. Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes.

Infidelity is the most common. But sometimes people turn to work, a hobby, friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances. But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your relationship. It lies within it. I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could. And TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few years later.

Because (listen carefully to this):
The key to succeeding in a Relationship is not finding the right person; it's learning to love the Person you found.

SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. You have to work on it day in and day out. It takes time, effort, and energy. And most importantly, it demands WISDOM. You have to know WHAT TO DO to make it work. Make no mistake about it.

Love is NOT a mystery. There are specific things you can do (with or without your partner), Just as there are physical laws Of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships. If you know how to apply these laws, the results are predictable.

Love is therefore a "decision". Not just a feeling.

Remember this always: God determines who walks into your life. It is up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let GO! ♥

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Perfecting the Art of Emulation

Have you ever heard someone say if you want to be successful just emulate those who you wish to be? In your mind your probably thinking, how in the world am I supposed to emulate someone that I've never met? I want to be an actor how am I supposed to be just like Will Smith or Tom Cruise or Johnny Depp. When I started on my journey to creating my own tech company and becoming an entrepreneur, I didn't exactly understand that concept fully. As I continued to read, study the tech field, work on my craft and fully dedicate myself to personal and physical self growth, that phrase begin to make sense. So without further ado, I will present you with those who I seek to not only emulate but one day meet as well. I view these figures as role models and people who I aspire to be.

The first set of people on my list are my grandparents, Bill and Liller Green.

Their decision to start a school for African American students in 1965, helped to change the lives of thousands of people around the country. Ivy Leaf until its closing in 2008 was one of the longest running private schools in the country. The mentality I have now was instilled into me at such a young age by the teachings at Ivy Leaf school. I can not even begin to imagine the struggles my grandparents endured to make their dreams into a reality but they never wavered. They displayed prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance while helping to "build future leaders of tomorrow, educating youth today." They taught me by example how to treat people, stay grounded and believe in your dream and yourself.
 

The second person on this list I have gotten to know via technology and social media. His blog was one of the driving forces for me to step out on faith and attempt to turn my dreams into reality.

Garrett Gee, CEO and founder of SCAN is such an inspiration because; he had no prior experience in the tech field and self-taught himself the skills necessary to get a company off the ground. His work ethic to better his skills allowed him to outwork those with nature talent. From my interactions with him, I can tell that he is a humble and down to earth person. From reading his blogs, I learned that,"There is nothing quite like having an idea, and having the skills needed to take this idea and, seemingly out of thin air, bring it into being. To create it."


The next person on my list is multi-talented actor/singer, Tyrese Gibson.

Tyrese is the definition of a "Go-Getter." Born and raised in the Watts district of Los Angeles, California, Tyrese was able to overcome every possible obstacle to reach the top. I admire Tyrese's not only for his drive to be the best person he can be talent wise but to be able to balance his life: spiritually, mentally, and physically. I learned from him the ability to overcome no matter your situation. If you have the right mindset, the universe will begin to open doors for you. If you have not watched his documentary, A Black Rose That Grew Through Concrete, I suggest you do and prepare to be inspired.

The next two people on my list are Russell Wilson and Jeremy Lin.

If you have not heard of Russell Wilson, he is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. His story is so inspiring because he was constantly told he wouldn't be a successful quarterback in the NFL because he's too small yet Russell took all this in stride and as a rookie, lead his team on a remarkably playoff run that captivated the country. His ability to stay humble and focused while maintaing a sense of his identity is the reason I look up to Russell Wilson.

Jeremy Lin, was thrust into the spotlight last year when he lead the New York Knicks on a winning streak unlike anything people have ever seen before. Though Lin displayed an uncanny ability to play at the NBA level he was constantly criticized due to his race (Asian-American). Lin was also told he'd never make it in the NBA. He was not offered any athletic scholarships coming out of high school and ended up attending Harvard University. He was undrafted coming out of college and jumped from multiple teams until he was called on to play in New York. What I take away from Lin is his commitment to continue to work on his craft because you never know when an opportunity will come your way. If he was not prepared he would have missed his chance.

The next person on my list is Tristan Walker.

If you don't know, Tristan was the former Director of Business Development for Foursquare and is a staple in the tech community. The reason Tristan is on my list is not only because he is African-American and in the field of technology, but because he is heavily engaged in helping to give back. His  company, CODE2040 seeks to match high performing black and latino undergraduate and graduate coders and software engineering students with Silicon Valley start-ups. One of my goals is to be able to help inspire others to aspire and give back to others and that is why Tristan is such an inspiration.

The final three people on my list are Will Smith, Jony Ive and Wiz Khalifa.

Now you may be thinking why these three men, Will Smith said it best, “I consider myself to be of basically average talent, right? What I have that other people do not have is a sick, obsessive, raw animal drive.” These three men display this animal drive and have changed the world while pursuing their dreams.

We all know Will Smith from his days on the Fresh Prince and him being one of the highest paid actors today. What we didn't see was his unstoppable work ethic. Smith is not candid about his belief that he is not the most talented actor or rapper, however, he has found great success in both of those avenues. Will inspires me to continuously push myself. I know that all of the long days when I get off work at midnight and come home and coding until 6, 7am will surely payoff.

Jony Ive, many of you may not have heard of this man, but he is responsible for leading a design team widely regarded as one of the world’s best at Apple. As the driving force behind the look and feel of Apple's innovative products, Ive helped change the tech world as we know it today. Ive has had a major role in development of the iPhone, the iPod, the iPad, three products that ignited my love for design and simplicity. Ive inspires me because of the way he finds a way to make products visually appealing and stimulating while still making them basic and simple enough that someone from 8 years old to 88 years old can use it.

Wiz Khalifa, the weed smoking rapper may seem like an odd choice but hear me out. What I truly like about Wiz is his ability to stay true to himself in an industry that is ridden with men who portray themselves as something false. If you ever watch one of Wiz's daytoday videos you will see how generally happy he is to be making music, traveling the world, and enjoying success with those who were there with him from day 1. What I take away from Wiz is the ability to not only keep a select group of positive and true friends around who I can enjoy not only success with but the downs of life too, but to not take myself too serious. When I say to not take myself too serious I mean this, if someone dislikes my work, or publicly criticizes me, to realize it's okay, at the end of the day I'm happy and others are benefitting and enjoying what I do.

Though a majority of these people I have never met, that does not matter to me and it shouldn't matter to you. If your looking to become successful in a certain field then study those who have made it. Research things they did, watch videos on them, read their blogs, books or papers. Follow them on Twitter, Facebook or visit their website. Famous Italian writer, Niccolo Machiavelli once said this

Men nearly always follow the tracks made by others and proceed in their affairs by imitation, even though they cannot entirely keep to the tracks of others or emulate the prowess of their models. So a prudent man should always follow in the footsteps of great men and imitate those who have been outstanding. If his own prowess fails to compare with theirs, at least it has an air of greatness about it. He should behave like those archers who, if they are skilful, when the target seems too distant, know the capabilities of their bow and aim a good deal higher than their objective, not in order to shoot so high but so that by aiming high they can reach the target.

I am in no sense in place where I can say I have achieved success or reached my goals, but what I can say from embarking on this journey I have not only grown as a person but I have come to realize there is no secret recipe to success. There is no mandate that says only a certain group of people are destined for greatness. It is up to us to create our own success, make the journey easier for yourself and learn to emulate those who are successful. Remember to always aim for the moon because even if you miss you'll land among the stars.

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