Thursday, January 11, 2007

Multiply your productivity

Have you ever had a feeling that you could be more productive. Sometimes people do their best and again are not as productive as they could. Even taking up a lot of great opportunities they still could not reach great success. At the end they can't see neither a big progress, nor a sufficient revenue. Where the key for that is? In fact, if you look up the picture above maybe you will find the reason for that low productivity. Well it is just in not finishing what have started. The same as the buildings above. I bet that the right building is priced a hundred times more than the left, or maybe a thousand times! It's the same in life - if you finish your tasks, goals, crafts or whatever you take up - you will have hundres of times greater benefit.

Let's take for an example one my fellow. He always has had the greatest ideas in the world, however he still can not show off with any results. He've started things like "Internet Service Providing", "Web sites building", "Designing and Distributing Video Security Systems" and he is dealing with "Voice over IP Telephony" now. All of these are concurent on the market and can bring him a great revenue. However the fellow I'm talking about could not show any results. I know why. He never finishes anything. I've shared this my view with him lots of times and hope he will come out with a finished product soon. The problem is that some people always go after the last excitement for the day and left what whey've taken yesterday in the past.

In fact it's a very simple concept, which is neglected lots of times. If you don't finish fully what've been taken up - you lose lots of money, time and value in general. I can guarantee that 9/10 finished work is a hundred times less that a 10/10 (fully) finished. Lets take for an example the sphere of "Internet Service Providing" - imagine that a client wants from you to supply him with internet. OK, you buy cable, you go to the address, next you install the cable. At the end you go to the client and plug the cable for internet into his computer, however your telephone rings and left the client. Your sweat client has everything but the configurations of the computer - he just doesn't get any service (but he has almost everyting). Well it's fairly simple example but it illustrates the results of not finishing your work. It's the same with anything else, even if not so visible sometimes.

Yes it's really simple to multiply your productivity, revenue or even your leisure time. Just follow my advice and finish everything you take up to the real end.

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

You should not do that!

May be you've heard that words from your mom. Even more, everyday you hear something like that: "You should not smoke cigarettes; You should not drink alcohol; You should not go there". Well there're hundreds of other unhealthy things like eating MacDonalds or even going to the center of your capital and breathing the "smogish" air.

Well, if you look around, you will find thousands of delicious things. Yes, there are a lot of people who are considering all that unhealthy stops. Imagine what could be in the head of such people - a huge mess of stops: "I should not eat that; It is not good to drink that vodka with my friends :); I can not go in there - there're so many smokers". How do you think, does the productivity of such a person is less or more?

Now, I'll try to explain how it could be without all that negative thinking and stops in your mind. Try the positive way. "I want to eat healthy food", then buy a few oranges :). "This hamburger looks delicious" - get one and eat it up. The key is to do whatever is on your heart if that thing brings you happiness :). If you want to breathe clean air - well go to a mountain for the weekend but don't restrict yourself going to the dirty center of the city. If you achieve to forget all restrictions your mind will be free and more productive and you will enjoy far more your time.

At the end I will finish with a quote of Josh Billings:

There's lots of people who spend so much time watching their health, they haven't got time to enjoy it.

Monday, January 8, 2007

MySpace.com : The Jungle Makes Money

Recently I read a lot about MySpace. I even visited that jungle. Yeah, it's the most famous jungle with its users climbing to reach 100 million in the near future. If you read results from a related survey you can find that most of the teenagers use that jungle to play and communicate with friends. May be, some of you are wondering why I call it a jungle. Well it won't be difficult for anyone to randomly browse 5 public profiles and see that at least one of them is so so ugly, but who cares? It's popular! Some people even claim that myspace is even more popular than Madonna and Beatles. Do you think so?

MySpace is even in the top 5 of the most poor sites in some competitions. In fact, what do you think means to be thought for totally bad and at the same time to have millions of users. Well in my view, it's just good politics. There are so many "poor pages", that is because every one can easily make his page as his bedroom and invite there whoever he wants. Even without worrying how big are his friends` heads (most social web pages limit avatars/pics to be as big as 100x100 or smaller).

Well it looks like giving all the freedom to your clients/users is a great business strategy. If you browse the web you will find a lot of people talking against myspace. Yes, myspace could be called a jungle, however it's the jungle where every one is free. And as a result making millions of dollars. Are you an entrepreneur or just a manager of a service ? If yes - take into account the freedom of your clients.

Sunday, January 7, 2007

Your Clients Don't Need YOU!

Yes, that's the real truth. Your clients don't need you. When doing business or just going to buy your product no-one cares that you have a mortgage to pay. Moreover not a single client is interested why his delivery has been delayed or what your hobby is. If you thought you are special for your clients, believe me - you are not. What's special is your product and it's good to concentrate on that in case you want big profits.

I'm working in the telecommunication sphere and can assure everyone that all clients are interested only and only in what they pay for. Again, if we want to be profitable, we should stick our minds to what our clients need not what our company is. When you are talking with your clients the first thing to be done is to ask about their problems and listen up them to the end. A bad mistake is to start narrating about the glory of your firm. Usually if a client has come to you, he just has a problem and already knows about you. Remember - first ask for their trouble.

I'll quote Steve Jobs: "You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new". In fact that doesn't mean to stop asking your clients what they want. The idea here is to continuously be interested of your clients` needs, even while you are building what they want. So if you want to be profitable, remember that it's most important what your customers need now, not what you are building now.

Saturday, January 6, 2007

A Ticket For Reaching The Stars - Ambition

If you want to make your dreams come true, first you will have to take the train of life. The ticket for that trip is nothing else but your ambition. All successful people have had tons of ambition. If someone knows a example for a success without an ambition, please let me know - I don't.

A significant part of the ambition is not letting a way back. As well as not giving yourself a chance to hesitate. If your burn the bridge behind you - you will hold up your conscious in the state of strong desire for victory. For example, once upon a time, a great leader had had his army to fight against a lot larger force. As soon as all machinery had been off the ship - he had ordered to burn it up. After that he had cried out - "There's no chances of going alive from here unless we win. You should choose - victory or death". Yes, the smaller army had their triumph and victory.

People who have real ambitions don't hesitate to take the first step. They just build up a specific plan and immediately start with its realization. They bar any reverses. Well, I think this is a real factor for success. There's one more characteristic of all people with great ambition - they have a clean goal and a irrepressible desire for achieving it. So, to reach your goals don't let anyone make you change them.

Remember that all successful people have a difficult start but a great ambition. They lead a lot of hard fights with life before reaching the so desired victory. Well, most often big success comes with big difficulties - when your mind is just going on the edge.

Thursday, January 4, 2007

Freedom and Democracy?

We first develop our democratic thinking during education. It's common for children to rise against the world around them. However one of the main targets of educational process is to gripe that incite to rebellion. Children are taught to like one type of people and to be friendly with them. Moreover independence of judgement and thinking is not taught at school. Even more - there's a struggle against it. Also there are prepared thoughts for students which they should learn by heart. All ambitions to learn new things at school are not get seriously by teachers. All questions are get angry and answers are lead away.

Often, in our social system, a person feels himself powerless and just waits the specialist to come and tell him where to go and what to do. He also has the fear to formulate his own goals. Moreover he thinks, feels and wants whatever is assumed for right from the society. This way he loses his own personality. This loss leads to stronger need of obedience, because he starts doubting his own ego. As a result that person, which don't have his own ego, can have security only if he lives the way that society dictates to him. For that security we pay high price - our real freedom. Behind the facade of happiness there's misfortune.

In fact, where are the real freedom and democracy? They are friends with personal realization and approving of person's own ego. The real freedom is in spontaneous activity. If a person can live spontaneous but not as others think for right - he could claim that he has his freedom. That way he realizes that he is an active and creative person and the life has one meaning - its full going through and getting all the experience now. Well, democracy is the basis however it's far from the real freedom.

Do you think you have your freedom?

Used sources: book - "Freedom and Democracy", Erich Fromm


Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Gather Stars For Your Success

You want to be successful? OK, first you should gather some stars. In other words you have to set up some goals. Setting goals is vital to accomplishing your daily to long-term agenda. By directing your attention to a specific area, you are able to use different strategies to get the results you want. Goal setting is a key component in leadership, team-building, and overall professional productiveness. What about this questions:

  • Do you create a daily agenda?
  • Do you complete the goals you set out to accomplish?
  • Do you check the progress of your long-term goals?
  • Do you write down the goals you have set?
  • Do you create a step-by-step process to achieving long-term goals?
If the answer of any of the above questions is no, may be you are in trouble. In case that you don't have any long term goals - set one now. The creation of step-by-step process for achieving your long-term goals is equivalent to have a road map to the location you want to visit. Take this example: "I want to have $1 000 000: First, I will graduate school. After that I'm taking an IT diploma. Next becoming a specialist in my sphere. At the end starting my own business". Well this is a good long-term goal and it has clear steps for achieving. In it's own way every sub step could be separated in more detailed parts.

You need to work out what is really important to you, so you can decide what is really your goal. Describes what you want to accomplish with as much detail as possible. At the end, after gathering a few stars - your goals, you will have clarity and everything will be easier.
"All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them"
- Walt Disney

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

How old you have to be? In fact any age! If you have a great idea and the determination to make it happen, you could join that list of young entrepreneurs who enjoy some huge success. What do you need for being an entrepreneur? Well, you just need a problem and a unique way for solving it. You would also need a lot of determination and belief in your idea. If you don't believe you will be successful - it's better to stop with that. Moreover a great help is to have the emotional support of your friends and family. It will be even better to have a mentor with a lot of knowledge and experience to help you. Of course, you should be ready to devote a lot of your free time to your passion and future business.

Are entrepreneurs born or made? The debate still rages, but the current consensus is that successful entrepreneurs share some characteristics:

  • An eye for opportunity: Many entrepreneurs start by finding a need and quickly satisfying it.
  • Independence: Even though most entrepreneurs know how to work within the framework for the sake of profits, they enjoy being their own boss.
  • An appetite for hard work: Most entrepreneurs start out working long, hard hours with little pay.
  • Self-confidence: Entrepreneurs must demonstrate extreme self-confidence in order to cope with all the risks of operating their own business.
  • Ability to accept change: Change occurs frequently when you own your own business, the entrepreneur thrives on changes and their businesses grow.
  • A desire to achieve: The push to conquer problems, and give birth to a successful venture.
  • Optimism: Live by the philosophy that this is the best of times, and that anything is possible.
  • Profit orientation: Want to make a profit; but the profit serves primarily as a meter to gauge their success and achievement.
Whatever you’re into, there are opportunities to create new products and services. Find something that turns you on and find out more about it. If you are reading this, may be you should start thinking more seriously on achieving your dreams and ideas.