One of my friends issued me a challenge, and that challenge was to write about the smartest thing I’ve ever done.
Well, I accept the challenge.
It’s hard to narrow down the smartest thing I’ve ever done…dumbest..well, that would be easy because I’ve probably done more dumb things that smart things.
Also, we all do smart and dumb things in our personal lives as well as in our professional lives. But for my readers, I’ll tell you the smartest thing I have ever done in my professional life back in my more entrepreneurial days.
RAISED MY PRICES…bear with me cause this is only part of it.
I’m not sure how any of you will take that, but when working as a marketing consultant and as a copywriter, my prices went up each year. And when I returned to South Korea and took a “regular job” my initial salary demand was triple what I had received before. It was a process to get there, but the first price increase is what made all the difference.
It was then I undserstood the value I brought to a business. And once I realized it, I could have kicked myself for not realizing it sooner (when a client tells you he made hundreds of thousands of dollars and you only made hundreds from the deal, you start to understand just how valuable your services are).
That first time when you realize your own value…the value of what you do and what you bring to people. That’s when your life turns a corner.
I mean, just the other day I was talking with my friend who is an audiologist. Part of his job is selling hearing aids. He told me how he doesn’t like selling hearing aids. But I told him that he is not selling hearing aids. He is selling life, fuller and more quality life.
He had no idea what I was saying. But think about it, I said.
To be able to hear your grandkids’ voices. To be able to go into a crowded place and hear the person next to you. That’s life–a life we all take for granted. And you give them that life back.
My friend didn’t think what he was doing was valuable. But in the grand scheme of things, he was doing something truly valuable (which he still does to this day).
Needless to say (and this might just be a coincidence) he went in and asked for a raise a week later.
But the smartest thing—raising my prices was the symptom…but really it was undervaluing my contribution to the world around me.
All to often we look at ourselves with the idea that we are not contributing something valuable to society, our homes, or our jobs. But the strange thing is that 9 times out of10, it is we who are undervaluing ourselves. Often people will take you at your word that your are valuable. It is your assessment of yourself that people pick up on–both in your professional and personal life.
When we understand our own value, people respond in kind and treat us like we a re valuable. Most of us think that people should just KNOW how good we are. But all too often they don’t.
So, take today to look at the value you bring to your job, your life, and to yourself. Discover if you are undervaluing yourself, and come up with steps to change the situation.
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I am pleased to have been tagged by Priscilla Palmer and have her add me to her impressive list of personal development blogs. But I can’t take credit for it all. I’d like to thank those who specifically recommended my blog to be added to list like Daniel at Idea Sellers and Mark McManus at Build Your Life to Order . If I missed anyone else, I’m sorry.
The only blog I would add to this list is Steve Harper’s Ripple Effect Blog. He might think he’s writing a business blog, but it’s personal development all the way.
I cannot personally vouch for all the blogs on this list, but many of them I do read on a regular basis. There are many quality blogs to choose from on this list.
Also, be sure to check back this week to Possess Less Exist More as my posts this week will cover:
- Why you may not be getting ahead in life professionally or personally
- Why you should ignore 99% of the people around you
- The one word that can save you from yourself (new podcast)
- And more…
The Personal Development Blog List
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Posted: August 27th, 2007
Categories:
Personal Development
Tags:
personal_development
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5 Comments.
With a simple change, I was able to run errands in less than half the time it usually took me. And the truth is I accidentally figured this one out.
You see, when I was running my own business I worked some wacky hours. I did a lot of work for companies overseas, and so sometimes I wouldn’t start working till 6:00 PM.
So, when was I supposed to shop, go to the bank, etc.? Well, one day I started grocery shopping at about 10:00 AM. And that’s when I started noticing something was amiss.
I noticed that hardly anyone was at the store. Whereas it used to take me at least an hour to get through the store, it now took me half an hour. Then I started running other errands at different times. Go to the bank at 2:00. Go out to eat at 11:00.
Heck, I was missing the lunch rush. Traffic was non-existent. It didn’t get any better.
Live Off-Peak
And that was the key right there. The key is to live your life off-peak. Do things at times other people aren’t doing things. Shopping and eating out are two things that can take up a lot of time. By doing those things off-peak you can save yourself A LOT of time.
“But I Have a Job. I have to do everything at a certain time”
Some people might be thinking this to themselves right now. And it is true. Having a job requires you to do things at certain times, like show up for work and leave at a certain time.
At the moment, I am working at a publishing company in South Korea. So, I understand this. However, I still live off-peak. How do I do it?
Here are a couple of ways you can shift your way of thnking (and that of your boss) to live more off-peak:
- Think in terms of hours worked, not a schedule
I work a set amount of hours. Why should it be 9-5? I go to the gym every day. Now, I could kill myself and fight with all the other people who go before work. But I go at 4:00 PM. NO ONE is there. My workout goes by quickly. I simply worked it out with my company that I take an hour break at 4:00 and I still work the same amount of hours. Just at different times.
This shift in thinking can also lead you to work some from home. I do that occasionally. And in that case no one can “count” your hours.
- Negotiate an off-peak schedule
Again, who said you have to work 9-5? How about 10-6? 11-7? You get my drift. Of course, the best option is to work remotely. But we all assume that we have to take the schedule we are given when the truth is many times the only thing a company cares about is that you get your work done.
These are a couple of things to think about. But if you want to increase your productivity and get your errands done in half the time, you should find more and more ways to live an off-peak lifestyle.
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‘Tis the season for diet books. A WHOLE bunch of them. I must admit. I feel overwhelmed by the diet industry in general. Form books to pills, it boggles the mind.
But the truth is I understand where a lot of it is coming from. Many people are desperate to lose weight. And most of us want to look good because we want to feel better about ourselves.
I myself am not immune to this. At one point in my life, I gained 25 pounds in a few months after quitting smoking. And for a good year, I was not able to do anything about it. It made me feel bad about myself and hurt my ability to develop.
But I accidentally stumbled upon a very easy diet. And when I say stumbled upon it, I mean it literally. I came up with it after falling down chasing my (at the time) 6-month-old baby. And it’s so easy that you can stick to it with minimal willpower.
With this diet I lost the 25 pounds before my body said “NO more”. And I have more or less maintained the weight (for full disclosure, I have gone on more strict diets in accordance with my workout schedule for building muscle…but this diet is not for building muscle). So, how did I do it?
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Posted: August 21st, 2007
Categories:
Health/Fitness
Tags:
lose_weight,
simple_diet
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I have always liked those makeover shows. You know the ones. Woman comes out (usually a woman but a man every so often) looking not so hot, then throw on some make-up, change the hair, new clothes, and voila—she emerges one SMOKING HOT WOMAN!
I do know reality, however. Some producer probably told the woman, “now when you come on the show, be sure to wear your worst clothes—a sweatsuit is preferable—don’t wear make up and maybe just run a comb through your hair once.”
We all love contrasts, right? And they go for the highest contrast possible.
But contrast is not what makes these shows interesting to me or a lesson for all of us. The thing that makes these shows valuable tools is that they reveal one’s…
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Most of what I’ve ever read about time management and how to be productive deals with organizing and re-organizing. And much of that is necessary (in fact, I blog about things to eliminate things as a means of organizing all the time). The more I read about time management, however, the more it seems to focus on modern technology and information overload. For example, you might hear people tell you to throw away your blackberry (not a bad idea, but…).
That is good advice. But I have found that there is one thing that will kill your production. And it has nothing to do with modern technology. In fact, this was a problem since the dawn of mankind and doing nothing about it will stop your production dead in its tracks.
And that problem is…
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Today, I am taking a “break” from this blog to celebrate my daughter’s fourth birthday.
Yep, the big F-O-U-R.
So, I am not going to be able to give you one of my usual posts. Instead, I want to ask each and every one of you to celebrate yourselves today. Do something, anything, that will put a smile on your face. Listen to your favorite song. Play a game. Whatever.
What did I do? I went out today and sang loudly (pretty loud, actually) on the street. That’s not the proper thing to do in South Korea (or anywhere that I can think of really), but I just couldn’t help myself. I was filled with life, and I just had to express it in song. I chose to sing Rob Thomas’ “Little Wonders”. The words just seem to hit home to me today.
As for birthdays, a birthday is a day when we should be celebrating our existence. My daughter certainly is. Kids are happy to be alive. They are carefree. But as adults, we tend to not care so much about our birthdays. We think we are just “getting old”. We can’t do much about getting older, but we can control how we get older. Shall we fight against the inevitable or celebrate the passage of time?
But birthday or no birthday, our existence is worth a celebration. Do something today to make you happy. And after you do it, please let me know (hey, I told you what I did). I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment below.
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When I was marketing consultant, there was one bit of advice I would give to most of my clients. This advice provoked outrage 70% of the time or passive-aggression 29% of the time and affirmation 1% of the time.
I felt so strongly about this subject I blogged on it more than once. The only problem is that I had a near-revolt from angry people telling me where to stick it—both times I blogged about it. But in all fairness to these rippers, they chose to rip me directly by e-mail rather than posting anonymous comments.
And what advice was it that provoked such outrage?
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Ever since I was a young boy, I’ve heard the same thing over and over again:
“You put everything off till the last minute.”
Of course, for years I’ve struggled with this problem. Everybody from parents, teachers, girlfriends, friends, spouse, and heck even my soon-to-be-4-year old tells me I wait too long to do things. In other words, I’m a procrastinator.
They’re mostly right. I tend to do everything at the last minute. When I was in collage. Study for a test? If I could ever be bothered to study, I did it last minute. Reports? The day before it was due. When I got a real job? The hour before it was due.
To hear everyone tell it, this must be a big problem.
To hear Wikipedia tell it (everything in Wikipedia just has to be accurate), this is either a symptom of my ADD or depression.
But there’s only one problem with the Wikipeida diagnosis.
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OK, Carlon. You’re going to Osaka tomorrow,” Mr. Oh said. Time for me to head to Japan to renew my South Korean visa. Yeah…I have to leave the country every so often to re-new my work visa that expires every year.
But hey…I get a 2-day trip out of it. So, why not?
But Japan. What do I really know about Japan other than what I learned in “Zen Buddhism and Japanese Culture” class I took in college? Well, I planned to make the most out of it. Lack of language be damned!
As you may have read, I have a much different travel philosophy than others. So, if you expect to hear about famous sites in Osaka, you probably won’t enjoy my story. But if you enjoy about a good adventure story about a guy who manages to find what he is looking for in a foreign country despite the fact he has no idea where he is, then sit back and enjoy…
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