Over the last month, I’ve started to put together a life long dream. This is something I’ve tried many times to start, only to be overwhelmed by the size and scope of the project.

I’ve been well meaning and even set aside time, created an outline, did some research, but month after month and year after year the project has gone un-started.

That is until this labor day weekend.

I did something unthinkable.

I started writing.

And the words flowed and the first chapter came into being.

This became exciting and pictures started flowing in my mind, characters were created, and dialog was put on the written page.

My first book is on its way.

The interesting thing is it’s totally different than I thought it would be.

The story is created in my mind and the words just flow.

As the chapters have come together, I realized that I wanted to take this thing called writing to a higher level. I want my chapters to be more colorful, the characters more exciting, and the places more vivid.

I searched the bookstore for help and picked up a few books on writing. After buying a few of them I became frustrated. I knew what I wanted, but I just had trouble creating it. And these books really didn’t help.

Then I saw it, a simple little six dollar book called The Lively Art of Writing, written in 1965 by Lucile Vaughan Payne.

This book, in just a few hours has revolutionized how I write. It has taken my sentences, and made them more complete. It has opened up a vast world of active verbs that add color, action, and vivid description.

And it has given me a new confidence. A confidence that I can truly put on paper the vivid pictures and stories in my mind

Pick this little jewel up and add it to your library.

Soon your writing will shine like the spit shined shoe of a Marine!

I love the concept of determination. You “determine” where you are going and set a path to reach it. People who have determination are often very goal oriented and focused. Yet determination can often be confused with stubbornness.

A stubborn person may also be very focused and set very realistic goals.

Here is the difference…

• Determination is the willingness and ability to overcome obstacles and to avoid distractions.
• Stubbornness is the resolute adherence to your own ideas or desires

Determination involves others. It is asking what is best in a given situation and working with others to achieve a common goal. I am determined to do this whatever it takes.

Stubbornness is self centered. It is setting your heels in and not budging unless you get your way. I will not do that new task unless they change the job description.

Determination is positive…

Stubbornness is negative…

Determination gives you the flexibility to achieve your goal.

Stubbornness limits your ability to take the next step to reach your goal.

Two words, Two concepts, Two very different outcomes.

Have you ever been driving and come upon an intersection in which you didn’t know which way to go? You look right and the road seems small and insignificant, yet the road to the left is fast and furious. The onramp on the left is calling you and the person behind is honking.

You have to make a decision.

Do you get on the freeway that everyone else is on, or do you take the road less traveled?

In our time starved world, it is easy just to get on the freeway of life and travel down to our usual destination. Many days we don’t even think about it. But how about stopping at that intersection today, and turn right instead of left. Take the road less traveled… and see where it goes.

Maybe you’ll be a few minutes late to work. Maybe you’ll meet someone new. Maybe you’ll see a wondrous place you have never seen before. Maybe life will change for you.

Those few minutes of peace may make all the difference!

Take a turn for the better.

Take that small significant turn… today.

Growing up I used to have many dreams where I was flying. In the dream it was easy. I would just jump and flap my arms a few times and instantly I was flying through the air. The cool thing was I could instantly fly over my house and down the street. I could go high or low and I could easily land on a rooftop or telephone pole.

I was like superman without all the fanfare. While these dreams were very cool and many times I would want to go back to sleep just to fly some more, I quickly realized that this was just pure fantasy when I woke up. As much as I wanted to fly, there was no current way to do it like I did in my dream.

In high school I had another dream. I wanted to be able to speak like Martin Luther King, or John F. Kennedy. I wanted to be able to motivate people like Zig Ziglar or Billy Graham. I had a whole bunch of words inside of me that I wanted to share with the world. Yet I was scared to death to get up in front of the audience.

In my dream public speaking was easy, but when I woke up, reality was a much different place. Through the years I just about gave up on the dream. Fortunately someone invited me to a Toastmasters group. In Toastmasters I was able to give my first scary speech in front of a group of supportive people. And you know what… I didn’t die!

In fact I actually did pretty good my first time out. I remembered most of my speech and I didn’t need my notes as much as I thought. The cool thing was, all those words that had been trapped inside of me for years had a way to finally come out. Within weeks I was doing additional speeches, each time with more passion and confidence. Toastmasters helped me take the fear out of public speaking.

While both of these dreams were pure fantasy at first, public speaking became a reality because it was a doable thing. Others had blazed a trail and all I had to do was follow. Someday we’ll all be able to fly. Someone will blaze a trail and come up with an invention that will free us all from gravity.

Maybe that person will be you?

But for now, personal flying is a fantasy. We can dream it but we can’t do it.

Are you pursuing dreams in your life that are realistic and doable… or are they just fantasies blowing in the wind?

As an example, I have many co-workers that play the lottery every week. They probably spend an average of 10 dollars a week or 40 dollars a month pursuing this fantasy. No one has ever won the lottery where I work, but people play just the same.

The interesting thing is, those same people could amass a fortune over the years by taking that same money and investing it in an investment account that compounds interest. The path is straight and the concept is proven, but many people do not follow it.

The choose fantasy over reality.

We have all seen the people that try out for American Idol that can’t sing. They have this misplaced notion that they have singing talent when they really don’t. It’s somewhat humorous but often just sad to watch them give it their all. Their singing fantasies just don’t come true.

I would love to be able to sing and participate in a TV show. But my natural talents don’t include singing. While I could spend many years with a speech coach trying to improve my singing voice, it would probably be better for me to pursue something that I’m naturally good at.

One of the best ways to find out what a person will be good at is to have them take a strengths test. The Gallup organization has put out an online test that will help you find out your top 5 strengths. It’s quick to take and the results can really help you see your areas of excellence.

The test is part of a book entitled Strengths Finder 2.0 written by Tom Rath. For under 20 dollars you get the test and a book full of helpful advice to take your individual talents to the next level. Researchers have found that you are much more likely to be successful focusing on your strengths rather than your weaknesses.

My five top strengths include, Ideation, Positivity, Learning, Futuristic, and Individualization. The materials in this book and on the accompanying web site have been very helpful in setting my sites on what is truly achievable in my life. Instead of just dreams and fantasies I now have a road map to reality.

If you work in any type of corporate environment or large educational institution that uses Microsoft Exchange E-Mail, you’ll be ecstatic about the new Exchange client for the iPod Touch.

This $9.95 software upgrade takes our favorite iPod and turns it into a productivity powerhouse. This new Apple application is by far the best hand held implementation of Exchange E-Mail that I have found. It takes your e-mail and makes it scrollable, adds your outlook calendar to the built in calendar application, and imports your Outlook contacts into the contact interface.

I downloaded the application through iTunes and followed the step by step instructions. The software did a complete rebuild of my iPod and within minutes was ready to go. I would strongly recommend that you have a good broadband connection to do the upgrade on as the file size is over 100 megs and needs to have a reliable connection to complete the upgrade process. Patience is a virtue here.

Once the software was installed, I clicked on settings and chose the mail setup screen. Lo and behold there was the bright and shiny Microsoft Exchange selection button ready to go. I clicked on the button and added my current exchange web mail settings. Within a minute it found my exchange server and started the download.

Soon my work e-mail was setup along with my Outlook calendar and my full contact list. All of a sudden this iPod became much more than a toy. Since we have wireless internet access where I work, I now have a way to take my e-mail with me wherever I go throughout the building or at our remote sites.

Here is the BIG advantage… I can now have my e-mail, calendar and contacts without paying for a data plan for my phone. In fact for many users this may do away with the need for a work phone at all.

This simple software package can possible save your organization hundreds or thousands of dollars a month in phone charges. If you currently have wireless installed in your building and you use exchange e-mail, you’ll be good to go. If you have wireless internet at home you can have work e-mail access at the touch of a button. The iPod touch may become the Hi Tech Pager of the 21st century.

This software update also includes a whole list of new applications which we’ll cover in another post. Until then… happy e-mailing!

Procrastination is one of those insidious forces that keep us from doing important tasks and accomplishing our goals. It comes in many forms, from the seductive TV show that draws you in, to the suspense caption on your web browser about the latest Hollywood gossip, or even the benign water cooler calling you to get up for another drink.

In our busy lives distractions come at all angles… phone calls, e-mails, drop in guests… If we want to get something done we need a way to stay focused on the important things throughout the day. We need some simple tools that can help us stay on track and are easy enough to use that we don’t have to think about them.

I’ve been experimenting with three tools that I think you might find useful. Each one of these is simple to setup and keep updated. The price is right too… You can try each one for free.

The first is a web site called Joe’s Goals. Joe has created a simple web based tool to put your daily goals on your browser screen where you can access them from almost any computer or browser enabled cell phone. The interface is clean and is setup in weekly calendar format. You just setup the categories on the left side of the calendar and track them in the calendar cells to the right.

When you have accomplished the goal for the day, you just click on the calendar cell and a green check mark appears giving you confirmation that the task is done. It’s simple and effective. You can also setup negative goals that you don’t want to do as in the eat out example in the picture above. If you do the negative action, a red check mark appears.

I like Joe’s Goals since I can pull it up at work or home and even on my smart phone. The basic ad-enabled site is free and it is simple enough to be effective. The web site even has a get inspired section to see how others are using it and a cool logbook section to journal your activities.

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The second tool is the Smart To-Do List by Scott Karstetter. This useful piece of software is based on David Allen’s Getting Things Done philosophy of next actions. You just install the software on your Windows PC and open the simple interface. You enter your projects one by one and then fill out a to-do list for each one.

If you are a GTD aficionado you can also tag each item with an @-Tag. For example, you can use the “@ computer” tag to mark items that you would do using a computer and a “@ phone” tag to do items that would require a telephone.

The interface is no frills but that is really its power. The software is very simple to use and can be left running on your machine throughout the day. When you have accomplished a to-do item, you just click the little X next to it and the step disappears.

You can filter by tag so you can see all the tags for a given item on one screen. For example, you can filter by “@ phone” to see all the phone calls you need to make. This one feature makes this a very useful tool. You can download a test version that is limited to two projects for free or pick up the full version for a reasonable $14.95.

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The last item on the list is our own “Walleteer” cards that help you take your to-do list or next actions with you wherever you go. This set of cards is printed out on Avery business card stock and can be displayed on your desk using a simple pencil and clip viewing station.

This set of cards has 9 different cards for common uses. Just print up a few sets and keep them by your desk. Use a Sharpie marker to fill out your daily goals and put the cards on your desk where you can see them. It’s a simple but effective system to help you overcome procrastination and truly get things done.

Using any one of these systems along with a 48 Minute Focused Work Philosophy will help you overcome even the toughest procrastination. If you find yourself struggling to get things done, why not try one of these tools today… come on now… don’t put it off…