You’re backed up with work. There’s no time to spare. You’re busy, busy, busy. You eat your lunch at your desk and keep plugging away. An hour passes, then another. It looks like another late night at the office. And it’s Friday. Guess you’ll be working this weekend. As evening approaches, you get a call from a friend who is chairing the fundraising committee this year for his favorite charity. He asks if you’d help raise money this year. The campaign kicks off in a month. Oh, what the heck you say – it’s over a month away. No problem! You don’t think anymore about it. The weeks turn into a month. You get an e-mail reminding you of the first committee meeting. You’re just as busy now as you were when you committed to it. But now you have yet another obligation – you have to serve on this committee. ___ ___ The future becomes the present A study done a while back showed that we do have a tendency to think we will miraculously be less busy in the future than we are today. So we say “yes” to requests for our time in the future. Then we’re shocked when the future becomes the present and we have even less time than we had before. We’ve overcommitted ourselves … again! 5 questions to ask before committing yourself The first question is simply a check. It may be obvious, but we didn’t feel we could leave it out. How will this request advance me toward my goals? If it doesn’t, why say yes. The next four questions aren’t sequential. They should be answered simultaneously. If you had to do this tomorrow or next week, would you still say yes? If you can’t say yes to this question without hesitation, why commit yourself? But consider the next question before saying “no”. How significant would the impact be on your life if you say yes? You may be willing to pay the price of overextending yourself if the pay off is high enough. If that’s the case, look at the next question. How much time will it realistically take? You can only operate in a state of hyper-activity for a short period of time. If it will take a year, you can’t push yourself that hard. So if it’s a long-term project you may have to say no. If it’s short-term you may be able to say yes. In either case, consider the next question. What am I willing to say “no” to or put “on hold” in order to do this? You only have 24 hours in your day just like any human. Will you sleep less? Spend less time with your family? Skip your next vacation? Be realistic about what you have to give up. Is it worth the price?  Once you’ve answered these questions, you’re ready to commit (or not commit) your time in the future. You understand that you won’t have more time then. So you’ll be careful to only commit to those things which will make you a bigg success! ___ Get the tips and tools you need to be a BIGG success! Subscribe to the Bigg Success Weekly – it’s FREE! ___ We greatly appreciate you reading our post today. Join us next time as we look at the difference between being battle-scarred and battle-scared. Until then, here’s to your bigg success! Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed. Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file: http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00267-111808.mp3 Related posts Meet Count Clockula Is Your Schedule Overloaded Like A Dishwasher? (Image by Undy) Less

We read the transcript of a great speech, entitled How to Get Rich, given by Jared Diamond at the Museum of Natural History in New York City. It offers some great lessons in history, economics, and innovation. ___ ___ He asks the question, “What is the best way to organize human groups and human organizations and businesses so as to maximize productivity, creativity, innovation, and wealth?” Now wouldn’t we all like to know the answer to that question? He says that in the thirteen thousand years of human history, we have thousands upon thousands of “natural” experiments. To answer his question, he looked at extreme examples of societies in isolation. The isolation begins About ten thousand years ago, the places we know as Australia, Tasmania, and Flinders Island were connected – people could freely travel back and forth between them. Then the glaciers melted. Even though they were only about 200 miles apart, the water-going craft of that era couldn’t traverse the rough seas between these three islands. So the 4,000 people of Tasmania and 200 people on Flinders Island became completely isolated from the rest of the world. The isolation ends In the seventeenth century, these two islands were “discovered” by the Europeans. The first to be rediscovered was Tasmania. It was noted that, at the time, the society was the least technologically advanced and most primitive group of people in the world. They had no fire. They didn’t have any tools. They didn’t even know how to fish. In fact, archeologists have shown that they had less technology than they had ten thousand years before. So, you ask, what about the 200 people on Flinders Island? When it was discovered around the same time, there were no people there. They became extinct. Our islands So we learn that small isolated groups don’t innovate. They may even regress. This historical example got us thinking about islands that we create, often without even realizing that we’re placing ourselves in isolation. Field Discoveries aren’t isolated to a single field. If you only talk to people within your field, if you only consume content in your space, you’re missing out on a whole world of ideas that may be fruitful for your field. Media Many people only consume media with which they agree. Seek out the opposing point-of-view. When you do that, you’ll either reinforce your beliefs or you’ll start to discover other alternatives. People Universities often don’t hire graduates of their own programs as professors. They fear it will lead to nepotistic thinking. Let’s learn a lesson from their policy. Get outside your circles of friends and business associates. If you work in the for-profit world, get to know some people in the non-profit world. If you work in government, make sure some of your influencers are in the private sector. ___ I’m a pretty social person. But looking back on my former businesses, I’ve come to realize that I wasn’t feeling fulfilled because I didn’t spend enough time seeking out ideas and alternatives outside my sphere. ___ It’s so easy to get so busy running your business, working your career, or managing your life that you fail to invest important time in connecting yourself to people, places and things that expand your mind. Islands are a great place to visit. Just make sure you don’t get stuck there. What islands have you seen people create? Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed. Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file: http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00264-111308.mp3 Related posts Less

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed It’s super-easy to do things on a computer. If you’re mobile, and don’t have access to the Web… how do you manage to do what you need online? You could always call a friend, but then you’d have to give out your usernames and passwords. Do you really want to go to that kind of hassle? Why not check out Dial2Do? Dial2Do lets you do common tasks by just calling a number and speaking. Use it to send Email or text messages, record reminders to help you remember things, post updates to your Twutter or Jaiku stream and listen to your favourite internet content. It’s easy and handsfree. When you dial we ask you two or three questions like “Do what?”, “To who?”. You say what you want and then we’ll look after the rest. We recognise what you said and look after getting your action carried out. For people who are always on the go, this can save you an insane amount of time. Send out important emails while you’re stuck in traffic, or even Tweet to ask everyone if there’s a clearer route. There are other services out there like this, but this one is seriously intensive on what you can do. Secret Mindhacks For Super Increased Productivity. Ultimate Time Management Programs. The Experts Guide To Managing Your Time. Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video: <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uQuGB0WC_p4"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uQuGB0WC_p4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://chris.pirillo.com/">Chris</a> | <a href="http://live.pirillo.com/">Live Tech Support</a> | <a href="http://media.pirillo.com/">Video Help</a> | <a href="http://feeds.pirillo.com/ChrisPirilloShow">Add to iTunes</a> Success Caption This My Favorite Travel Accessory Teaching You Tech Terms Today Pirillo’s Picks for 04/18/2007 Is Microsoft’s Outlook Team on Crack? The Outlook on Outlook 2007 The Ultimate Mobile Device Finally, the Office 2007 Ribbon Rocks! MoveDigital is Moving Forward Join the Geeks Community What Tools do You use for Mobile Productivity? Less

http://geeks.pirillo.com - http://live.pirillo.com - It's super-easy to do things on a computer. If you're mobile, and don't have access to the Web... how do you manage to do what you need online? You could always call a friend, but then you'd have to give out your usernames and passwords. Do you really want to go to that kind of hassle? http://chris.pirillo.com Distributed by Tubemogul. Less

Last century, we saw wealth created by large companies using economies of scale to keeps costs low so they could dominate markets. In the next generation economy [pdf], new wealth will be created by entrepreneurs through a network of great relationships built on trust. ___ ___ Trusting relationships will save you time and make you money. The question is, “How do you build this trust so you can build relationships?” There’s a concept called equal consideration of interests – you place your interest equal to the other party. That sounds so simple, but we believe it deserves emphasis. Win / lose. “I win, you lose” doesn’t work because it doesn’t build the trust that is necessary to have good relationships in tomorrow’s business world. Yet there are a lot of people who place their interest above everybody else’s. Lose / win. “I lose, you win” ultimately fails because fulfilling relationships can’t be one-sided. Eventually frustration leads to anger and the relationship (if that’s what you call it) dissolves. Yet there are a lot of people who place everybody else’s interest above their own. Neither one is the best path to building fulfilling relationships. There is a better way … Win / win. This is the perfect combination in today’s business world. Win / win is equal consideration of interests. Even if it benefits me, I won’t do it if it hurts you. We’ll work together to find a better way that is mutually beneficial. That’s the key to innovation – another 21st century necessity. What works today won’t be good enough tomorrow. By working together, we can find a better way than either of us could find on our own. Moving quickly on a new venture We just launched a new offline venture. We had an idea for a product. We talked it over with people in our network. Based on their recommendation, we revised it … a lot! But it was much better. We reached out to potential strategic partners and got them in place. Last week, one of those strategic partners began selling our product across the nation. It probably would have taken us six to twelve months to do this if we didn’t have the right relationships in place. Instead, this all happened in about two months. That’s another 21st century mindset – once you spot an opportunity, you have to move very quickly. It’s hard to do that if you have to develop the concept from scratch. You need to reach out to people and firms who have the infrastructure in place to help you capitalize on it. If they aren’t already in your network, it will take longer. So building trusting relationships is essential. But there are (at least) two points to consider … Relationship building is a long-term investment. It takes time to build your network. We have years of goodwill built up with some of our strategic partners. This helps get revenue-generation going quickly once you have the right idea. Don’t wait to build your network until you need it. It will probably be too late then. Make relationship building an everyday thing. Trusting people solve problems quickly. When you trust your partner and your partner trusts you, problems can be solved much more easily. As we’ve had issues, we’ve been able to deal with them very quickly. We can hear our partners considering our interests along with their own; they can hear us doing the same thing. The best way we know to capitalize on an opportunity quickly is when two or more people, with trust already in place, consider their interests equally and seek mutually beneficial solutions. It’s the way to create wealth in the 21st century! ___ Get the tips and tools you need to be a BIGG success! Subscribe to the Bigg Success Weekly – it’s FREE! ___ Join us next time as we celebrate our one year anniversary! Until then, here’s to your bigg success! Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed. Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file: http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00262-111108.mp3 Related posts Relationship Building Blocks Failure to Do This Harms Relationships 3 Keys to Effective Networking (Image by darktaco) Less

The good people at CareerBuilder recently posted the results of a survey of workers. Forty-seven percent of the people surveyed said they “always” or “usually” live paycheck to paycheck. ___ ___ Does more money help? One way to stop living paycheck to paycheck is to make more money. Forty-two percent said an additional $500 each month would help make ends meet.  Fourteen percent already work more than one job. The amount of money that comes into a household does make a difference, but not as much as you might think. Twenty-one percent with salaries of $100,000 or more said they also live from payday to payday. We’re working ourselves to death instead of thinking about the other solution to the more month than money problem. We need to look at our lifestyle. We’re so busy trying to make more money to support our lifestyle that we end up spending money we wouldn’t need to spend if we just slowed down and honestly assessed our situation. Convenience expenses We’re so busy that we spend more money on “convenience expenses”. We define convenience expenses as the premium we pay for goods and services because we don’t have time. So we end up in a downward spiral – we work more to have more, but then we spend more and we don’t have any time to figure out how to do anything differently. One example of a convenience expense is that we eat out more than we plan to. An appointment runs long. We get stuck in a traffic jam. The boss needs to talk. The next thing you know it’s late. Now we feel we have no choice. We’ve hit that wall. We’re hungry now! We’re too tired to do anything but grab some carry-out or order delivery. Cutting back It may seem like a small expense, but it eats away at your budget (pun intended). If you’re feeling like we’ve described you perfectly, don’t feel like you’re alone. We’re right there with you! Here are some ways we’ve found to cut back on this convenience expense: Always stock some food that’s easy to stick in the oven or microwave. Then if you’re running late, you can have less expensive convenience food. Plus you’ll save the time of stopping or running out for carry-out. Plan for leftovers If our next week’s schedule looks busy, we’ll cook up a little extra food on the weekend so we have leftovers which can be nuked in a matter of minutes. These leftovers are also an excellent way to save money on going out for lunch. There are more productive ways to spend a lunch hour than driving back and forth. Invest time today to save money tomorrow By planning next week’s meals, you can find coupons for the items you want to purchase. It’s like printing money legally as we learned from Crissy Thompson, who often spends as little as $10 a week to feed her family of five. You can also think about where you shop. They’re called “convenience stores” for a reason! We pay a price to be able to run into the store and grab something on our way home. This is just one example of the many convenience expenses. If you’re living payday to payday or not saving as much as you would like, think about your convenience expenses and the time / money interplay. There is a huge trade-off between time and money. If you have money, you can save time. If you don’t have money, it’s important to really  think about how you’re using your time and try to save money. ___ You can get the tips and tools you need to be a bigg success Subscribing to the Bigg Success Weekly! It’s conveniently e-mailed to you once a week. And it doesn’t cost you any money! But the time you spend reading it will help you make and save money! How’s that for a deal? ___ Next time, we’ll discuss how to create wealth in today’s new economy. Until then, here’s to your bigg success! Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed. Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file: http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00261-111008.mp3 Related posts Don't Make This Costly Mistake Getting Aggressively Passive: Creating A Passive Income That Sets You Free How To Get Rich 6 Easy Steps To Financial Freedom (Image by lusi) Less

We were talking with one of our banker friends recently about start-ups. He said that people often look for money when they should ask if there’s a better way to run their business. Money isn’t always the best solution. ___ ___ In fact, sometimes not having a lot of money to get started is a good thing because it forces you to be innovative and look for ways to save money. Obviously, it is possible to have too little money. Most of us have probably experienced that a time or two. The baker He told us about a person who wanted to start a bakery. She thought she needed a storefront. Our banker friend asked her who her customers would be. She said it would be friends and family at first. Then she expected word-of-mouth to take it from there. So he suggested that she just use her own kitchen or find a way to use a commercial kitchen part-time, instead of spending money on rent, utilities and all the other costs of maintaining a store. She didn’t need much money if she used this operating strategy. An internet business A friend of ours is putting together a really cool web site. They want to have an active community. They were going to pay a developer quite a bit of money to put together the forum area. We talked him into using open-source software and having it custom designed after his community starts building. He cuts his start-up costs drastically! A chiropractor Our banker friend knew a chiropractor who thought he needed to rent office space so he had a place for his patients. Instead, he found a fellow chiropractor who had extra space. He rented from this chiropractor for five years. Then he secured his own location – one he knew he could afford based on the income stream he had established. He reduced his risk and conserved money by finding a better solution to get started. Because if you build it, they may not come. Test it out first! The average entrepreneur starts his or her business with around $25,000. Sometimes the less money you have the better, because it forces you to think creatively and spend every penny wisely. Here are two entrepreneurs who did just that … Bear Naked Kelly Flatley is the co-owner of the all-natural snack food business, Bear Naked. When her business was young, she didn’t go out and rent a large space to manufacture her product. No, she negotiated to use the commercial kitchen at a local market after they closed. She manufactured at night and made deliveries to her retail customers during the day.  Sure, she worked some crazy hours. Don’t most entrepreneurs? That’s a concession for not having money. If you’re undercapitalized, you may have to get creative and make it up with “sweat equity”. Newman’s Own Years ago, we heard the story of how one of our favorites, Paul Newman, started Newman’s Own – his food products company that has donated millions to charity. The details here probably aren’t fully correct, but that’s not as important as understanding what he did. He invested a small amount of money to start his business. He contracted with one company to manufacture the product. Another company sold it to grocery stores. He outsourced almost everything. His business was bringing in millions a year in sales, yet it only had one or two employees! He did all this with very little money, but a whole lot of creativity! You can do it too! ___ Get the tips and tools you need to be a BIGG success! Subscribe to the Bigg Success Weekly – it’s FREE! ___ Next time, we’ll discuss how something as simple as the font you choose can get people to do what you want. Until then, here’s to your bigg success! Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed. Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file: http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00256-110308.mp3 Related posts How To Get Your Customers To Finance Your Business 10 Signs That You Are Ready To Quit Your Job And Start A Business (Image by sufinawaz) Less

We had some fun with sound effects on The Bigg Success Show today. You can read our summary here, but you might have more fun listening! ___ ___ With Halloween approaching, we felt we should warn you about a monster you may not know about. This monster lives off of your most precious resource – time. It’s downright frightening how much of our time can be wasted. See if you can relate to any of these haunting situations: Chatty co-worker You’re working on that bigg project. You reach a point where you just seem stuck. Maybe getting away from your desk will help. So you get up to stretch your legs and grab a cup of coffee. You’re in the break room when that chatty co-worker walks in. Fifteen minutes later, you’re finally back at your desk. You’ve been bitten by Count Clockula! He lives off wasted time, sometimes using other people to feed his ravenous appetite. E-mail alerts You’re busy working at your computer. You see the alert that your friend just sent you an e-mail. You can’t resist. You have to see what it is. It’s a fun video. Well, you might as well watch it now. Wow, it’s funny. Better e-mail your friend. Five minutes later, you’re back to work. Count Clockula got ya again! He sucks your time away by tempting you with things that are appealing. They seem like more fun than the important things you need to work on. Lost keys You’re running late for work. You rush into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee for the road. You grab your laptop bag. Your keys! Where are your keys? You can’t find them anywhere. You look everywhere. Ten minutes later, you find them underneath yesterday’s mail. Count Clockula strikes again! By keeping you from paying attention to seemingly little things, he can suck away a lot of your time. Misplaced files You have a meeting in five minutes and you can’t find the file you need. Where did you put that file? Is it in this stack? No. How about this one? No. You keep looking. If you don’t find it soon, you’ll just have to go without it. Ah, there it is – at the bottom of that overflowing “In” box. Closely related to the last issue, Count Clockula thrives on disorganization. Meetings You went to yet another meeting. The project leader was late. Then he didn’t keep the group on track. The conversation just floated from one issue to another without accomplishing anything.   Count Clockula sinks his teeth in again. He thrives on dead time – where groups of people are completely unproductive.  Media You have a major report due in a couple of weeks. As you were doing some research for it, you found a great site full of information. You spent a lot of time there. Sure, it was still research, but it was more than you needed for the project. Count Clockula flies again! Sometimes he overwhelms you with his charms. Lack of focus You don’t really have a sense of direction. Sure you think about your goals near the end of every year. But you don’t keep them in front of you like you should. It’s the worst bite Count Clockula can deliver. How can you allocate your most precious resource effectively if you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish? Word of warning We’d be remiss if we didn’t warn you about one more thing. Unlike other vampires, Count Clockula doesn’t just come out at night – he’s out all the time. Beware! ___ A BIGG thanks to all our iTunes subscribers. We just hit the top 100 business career online radio shows in iTunes! Keep telling your friends! Click here to subscribe to our show or to leave a review. ___ Next time, we’ll chat with Seth Godin about his fantastic new book, Tribes. Until then, here’s to your bigg success! Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed. Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file: http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00252-102808.mp3 Related posts Are You a Victim of Your Own Success? Less

Best-selling author Seth Godin recently wrote a blog post called The growing productivity divide. He described some must-haves for your tool kit in today’s knowledge-based economy. ___ ___ We recommend you check out his full list to see how you stack up. Today, we’re going to highlight three tools for getting the information you need. Your daily reading regimen ___ Reading is so important. Warren Buffett says so. I remember one of the patriarchs of the venture capital industry telling me that he was aghast that many of his young staffers read only The Wall Street Journal every day. He told them they needed to expand their horizons and read at least one additional daily paper. ___ Seth Godin suggested that you should read at least five blogs a day. There are so many resources online to keep up with content that’s important to you. Don’t get stuck in either the real or the virtual world. Read online and offline! RSS He also asked if you have an RSS reader. We might ask an even simpler question – do you understand what an RSS feed is? If you don’t, don’t feel bad … but learn what an incredible tool it is.  ___ There are a lot of sites I like to keep up with. What I love about RSS feeds is the content comes to me; I don’t have to go to it. With my RSS reader, they’re all in one location so I can easily scan the headlines. It saves me a lot of time. ___ Lee Lefever of Common Craft fame has a great video tutorial that explains RSS in Plain English. Problogger  Darren Rowse also has a great explanation of RSS on his site if you prefer to read about it. Alerts Do you know how to set up a search for a certain word, phrase, or subject? Alerts help you collect information without having to go get it. We have an article that provides a number of applications to set up alerts. One great way to test out alerts is to set one up for your web site or your name. For example, we have an alert set up for biggsuccess.com and bigg success. Subscription You can get the tips and tools you need to be a BIGG success by subscribing to The Bigg Success Weekly – it’s free!  And when we say “weekly”, we mean it. We don’t abuse the privilege you’ve trusted us with. Subscribe now and get our free Bigg Goal-Getters Workbook! Search for the information you need Seth Godin also emphasized that you must be effective at searching the internet. You can use some shortcuts to get to the content you’re really looking for. For example, quotation marks around the phrase you’re searching helps refine the search. If we type bigg success, Google will search for every instance of the word bigg and the word success. When we tried this yesterday, Google returned 20,500,000 pages. By typing in “bigg success” with the quotation marks, Google searches for that phrase as one term. So it only returns instances where the two words are together. That search “only” returned 19,500 pages. The Smartest Searcher has a post that discusses even more techniques to refine your search further. You can get more information in less time if you know how to use technology to keep up with the content that’s important to you. It’s an essential skill in today’s knowledge-based economy. Next time, we’ll discuss leadership in crisis. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!  Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed. Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file: http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00246-102008.mp3 ___ (Image by svilen001) Less

Today is Blog Action Day 2008. Bloggers from all over the world wide web are discussing poverty today in the hopes that conversation for a cause will lead to a cure. ___ ___ ___ We chose to participate because we believe in the cause and we believe in the power of people working together with a purpose. ___ ___ We remembered an inspiring Wall Street Journal article [pdf] written by Roger Thurow. It highlights how seemingly small things can make a bigg difference in the developing world. We love success stories and this one is awesome! ___ $70,000 feeds 5,000 families A group of farmers in Ohio raised $70,000 and sent it to another group of farmers in Kenya. The project is part of the Foods Resource Bank, an organization that fights hunger by connecting churches here with groups in need around the world. The Ohio farmers decided to send money, rather than food, so the farmers in Kenya could decide how to use it best. They spent the money to build a number of small dams and retention ponds to catch water in the rainy season so they would have water year-round. With that water, five thousand families have been delivered from hunger. Everybody wins Here’s an example of the impact made by just one project. The farmers in Ohio sent $3,000 to the farmers in Kenya, who hired an engineer. With the plan in hand, the Kenyan farmers built the dam with their own labor and materials. Now their village has water – for themselves, for their cattle, and for growing crops. The women of the village used to walk about ten miles to get water. Now their time is being used much more productively. With the water problem solved, the village switched its focus to better roads. These roads are the link to nearby markets where the farmers can sell their surplus produce. But they had deep ruts which made them nearly impassable. It used to take two hours to get to the market by bike, which is the main form of transportation there. Bikes cost $6 to rent. With the improved roads, it only takes a half-an-hour now to get into town and bike rents have fallen to $3. Talk about win / win! The farmers are paying 50% less to rent a bike. But the person who rents the bikes is making 100% more, because the bikes get returned so quickly. Everybody wins! Farmer increases income over 400% The article also highlights one Kenyan farmer. With the water nearby thanks to the dam, he was able to dig his own water retention pond, which he uses to irrigate his crops. His income has grown from less than $100 a year to $500 per year! That’s an increase of over 400%! Now he’s plowing his extra profits back into his business. He bought a generator and mechanical pump to double his cultivated land. He also planted 400 mango trees. Entrepreneurship at its finest! How it started All of these wonderful things started with the vision of one man – the pastor in the village. Originally, he reached out for food from the large international agencies. But he feared that his people would become dependent. So he formed a development group that created a list of needs – water was number one on the list. He sent that list to a number of organizations, including the Foods Resource Bank. They got the farmers in Ohio involved. Takeaways We found this story so inspiring because it shows that a small amount of money with a large amount of focus can accomplish bigg things. We liked how farmers here supported farmers there. We can all use our passion, knowledge, and skills to help people like us in other parts of the world. It also shows the resourcefulness of people. Get resources to people on the scene. They will find a way to overcome their biggest obstacles with their ingenuity and industriousness. The accomplishments can be phenomenal! You, too, can make a difference. Donate money or make microloans to people in need with good ideas. Reach out to organizations that have the infrastructure in place to help people in need. It only takes one person. Each of us can make a bigg difference in helping other people around the world be a bigg success.  Next time, we’ll talk with a man who left a high-paying job with a prestigious law firm to do his own thing. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!  Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed. Related posts Got Milk? Young Mom Finds Her Mission The Greatest Miracle In The World Direct link to Today's Bigg Success Show audio file: http://cdn4.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00243-101508.mp3?nvb=20081015014223&nva=20081016014223&t=06d2637e8fd2196f83c45 Less

We were fortunate today to visit with Grant Griffiths on The Bigg Success Show . Grant is the President and Founder of G2 Web Media, a firm that designs custom blogs for individuals and businesses. He is also the man behind Home Office Warrior and Blog for Profit. ___ ___ ___ One thing we need to add to your list of credentials is that you’re a recovering lawyer. ___ ___ That’s right. I went through the twelve step program and I’m now recovering! ___ ___ You have so many things going on, Grant, and that’s a bigg trend for entrepreneurs now – to find multiple streams of income. We’d like you to share some tips on how you juggle it all with the attention it needs. ___ ___ First, don’t pick businesses or income streams just for the sake of doing it. You have to be passionate about each one. For me, blogging is a passion; working at home is a passion. I spend a lot of time working, which is one of the advantages of working out a home office. ___ ___ If you can’t sleep at 2 in the morning, you can get up and get something done, right? ___ ___ Which is exactly what I was doing last night at 1 o’clock! One thing I do is really take advantage of technology. When you work out of your home, you have low overhead. Since we do, we shouldn’t cut corners when it comes to the technology because that is the key to being productive. ___ ___ What are some tools that you can’t live without? ___ ___ I use the MacBook because I can take my office with me so I stay connected to my clients and freelancers. The other tool that I would not be without is my iPhone. A PDA smartphone is essential because you can’t always have your computer with you. Basically, I’m accessible and can access anything I need to 24 / 7. I may have created my own monster! But to do what we do, you have to stay connected because you really are the company. ___ ___ You left a traditional career to do this. What was your first step? ___ ___ I started blogging to promote my law practice a month after I moved my firm to my home office. I wanted to control overhead and I enjoy technology. I was looking for some other way, rather than spending thousands of dollars a year on Yellow Pages, to market my practice. I spent about six months investigating blogging because, frankly, I just didn’t get it! I think that’s a problem a lot of people have – figuring out how blogging is really marketing. ___ ___ If a business owner wants to start marketing their business through blogging, how would you suggest they get started if they’ve never done it before? ___ ___ In my view, the first thing you have to do is pick out a niche – the more narrow you can make it, the better. Once you decide on that, start reading other blogs in that area. Don’t be discouraged that there are other bloggers in your niche because, if anything, that just shows you that maybe you’re on the right track with what you want to blog about. Jump in the conversation by commenting on blogs that you like. Drop a blogger an e-mail and ask them for help. Then just do it – do one, don’t over-think it. ___ ___ How do you stay sane? ___ ___ Have a very understanding spouse! Spend time with your spouse and children. Get out of the home office – take your laptop and run to your favorite coffee shop or whatever – to be around other people. ___ ___ Yeah, don’t turn into a hermit! ___ ___ Well, I tell people that my wife stuck me in the basement to keep me out of her hair! Another way to stay sane is to create your own water cooler. That’s where social media comes in. I’ve gotten some of the best answers to my questions by using LinkedIn and Twitter. ___ ___ And I always find great articles to read thanks to Grant’s tweets. He’s one of my favorite tweeple! ___ We recommend to all of our audience who are on Twitter – follow Grant! Thanks so much for the great advice, Grant! ___ Get the tips and tools you need to be a BIGG success! Subscribe to the Bigg Success Weekly – it’s FREE! ___ Next time, we’ll ask a question – should we try to get kids to be more like adults or get adults to be more like kids? Until then, here’s to your bigg success! Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed. Related posts Find Your Fortune Through Promiscuity (Image by Lioness65) Less

You’ve made it! You’ve arrived! You’ve reached that next level of success! You’ve achieved your dream! ___ ___ But you’re swamped. Now, you have a seemingly endless list of things-to-do. And it all just keeps coming. Minute after minute, day after day, week after week. It’s sheer chaos. You find yourself busier than ever. You’re more successful than ever. But are you happier than ever? It seems that you’re a victim of your own success – too much to do, too many clients, too many constituents. So what can you do about it? Congratulate yourself Take a deep breath and a little pause. Enjoy it for a bit! Get away from it all for a day We know … you’re too busy. But here’s the thing – you’re too busy not to get away because, on your day away, you’re going to contemplate. What’s most important? What’s least important? After you’ve thought about those two things: Hire an assistant, outsource, partner, joint venture … you get the idea Delegate – in some way, shape or form – those things that aren’t most important. You might be asking, “Can I afford to hire someone?” But you’re asking the wrong question. The question really is, “Can I afford not to?” Because the most important things – the people who are most important for you to spend time with, the projects that only you can and should do – will get pushed aside by the less important things if you don’t take this step. Set the expectations for the people in your life You need to establish boundaries for all your people. You may set certain times when you’re available to employees, vendors, and even customers. We think customers can’t be trained, but even they can.  ___ In one of my early businesses, my second biggest customer was constantly calling with demands for immediate service. Finally, I presented them with an option – they could work within our time frame for the price we negotiated or I could offer them quicker turnaround for a higher price. They chose the better price! ___ Finding your model Now you’re only working on the most important things and you’ve communicated your boundaries to the most important people in your life. You’re ready to do those things you do in the most efficient way possible. So let’s look for a model. Think about a manufacturer’s assembly line with products coming down it. What are your products? ___ For us, it is shows to produce. Articles to write. E-mails to return. People to reach out to. Products to create. Services to deliver. ___ Your production cycle may flow over an hour, a day, a week, or a month. Think about all of the important things you do – that’s your product – and engineer your processes to move that product down the line in the most efficient manner possible. Engineer your processes What is the best way to do it? Think about it logically. Step back and look at it again. Walk yourself through the whole process, step-by-step as it exists today. Now, start looking for ways to save little bits of time. ___ One of the guest speakers for my class became a billionaire by turning his little business into a Fortune 500 company. One of his secrets was finding ways to get more done with the same people. For example, they discovered a way to change how they labeled packages for shipment. It saved them 55 seconds. That’s time they could spend on something else! ___ So if you find yourself a victim of your own success, start with effectiveness – make sure you’re doing the right things. Then work on efficiency – doing those things the right way. Doing the right things the right way … before you know it, you’ll be an even bigger success without being victimized by it! ___ Get the tips and tools you need to be a BIGG success! Subscribe to the Bigg Success Weekly – it’s FREE! ___ Next time, we ask, “Are you afraid of success?” Until then, here’s to your bigg success! Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed. Related posts Moving Beyond Personal Productivity One More Thing to Add to Your Schedule (Image by brainloc) Less

Wayne Turmel dives in way over his head to talk to Dr. Tor Dahl for the second time. Sir Tor talks about how nothing great can be established with baby steps. No more incrementalism! Also, a look at the emperor Constantine and how he can help your next product launch. Tor was made a Knight First Class of the Norwegian Royal Order of Merit the day he spoke to me. Drop us a line…it might be good luck! Show Notes 0:00 Welcome to the Cranky Middle Manager Show. Today we talk productivity and bold steps with Tor Dahl. Dr. Dahl was with us last year and he’s way too smart to hang with the likes of me but he spoke to us anyway. Also we dedicate the show to the Roman Emperor Constantine. No small steps. Love it or hate it, that’s how you change the world. 2:15 We have dueling quotes of the week. Should we remember that all good change is slow or do we get fired up and just go for it? If you love quotes, don’t forget to support the show by getting a copy or ten of my new book, “125 Quotes for Whacking Weasels- Centuries of Wisdom, Motivation and Snappy Comebacks From the Cranky Middle Manager Show”. It will be available on Amazon in the US and UK in mid-October but you can get your signed copy today! And while we’re doing shameless plugs, if your company does webinars or web demos, check out www.greatwebmeetings.com and get $200 off a webinar review. 5:00 Tor Dahl is throwing around the word incrementalism… what the heck is it and why do we care? American productivity grows at about 2% per person per year. How do you take what’s in Old Joe’s head and implant it in the next person? You need to ask a lot of questions but the results are exponential. 8:30 Some simple questions… what do you do that no one on earth should be doing? What causes delays? What do you do that could have been planned better? Answer those and you’re on your way. 12:33 Is it easier to take big leaps when you’re starting from scratch? Doesn’t matter if you’re a country or a corporation…. 16:13 If you can’t measure or guarantee success, which is more dangerous- to take a risk or to do nothing? Tor is no big fan of Six Sigma… variation is what drives progress. Warning, we are going seriously into the weeds and you may need to listen twice. 20:37 At what point do you realize you can’t operate any better and you have to change WHAT it is you do? Can you pull a Kennedy-to-the-moon project in your company? 26:45 Can countries or companies do this when they are democracies? Sure China can do it, but what about Western countries? For more information you have got to check out Tor’s newsletters Don’t let the weasels get you down!!! Less

The interview: Talk Social News Episode 5 - length 33:39 download or click to play: Download audio file (TalkSocialNews-005-Yammer.mp3) Subscribe to podcast in iTunes: You can follow Yammer on twitter as : @Yammer_Team - http://twitter.com/yammer_team This week, Kipp and Wayne interview Yammer CEO David Sacks, a quick review of Google’s Andriod OS phone with T-Mobile the G1 and we review how the government could use social media to communicate with the public to inform us on what is in the bailout bill. Also we discuss how the state of the economy will effect startups, what Jason Calacanis calls the Startup Depression. Yammer ScreenCast Yammer on twitter Reminder if you listen to Talk Social News, we’re looking for some “postive reviews” on iTunes (iTunes link), be one of the first 2 or 3, to write a review of the podcast and let us know in the comments and we’ll have something special for you. Check out Ripple6 our sponsor and thanks for listening. If you’re interested in becoming sponsor of Talk Social News see the Become A Sponsor page. September 15, 2008 — Talk Social News Episode 3: Kipp and Wayne Talk TechCrunch 50 and Interview Geoff Livingston September 22, 2008 — Talk Social News Episode 4: Kipp and Wayne Talk With A Co-Founder of Qik.com About The Future of Mobile Video September 8, 2008 — Talk Social News debuts with Brightkite CTO interview On Location Based Applications Share and Enjoy: Less

The interview: Talk Social News Episode 5 - length 33:39 download or click to play: Download audio file (TalkSocialNews-005-Yammer.mp3) Subscribe to podcast in iTunes: You can follow Yammer on twitter as : @Yammer_Team - http://twitter.com/yammer_team This week, Kipp and Wayne interview Yammer CEO David Sacks, a quick review of Google’s Andriod OS phone with T-Mobile the G1 and we review how the government could use social media to communicate with the public to inform us on what is in the bailout bill. Also we discuss how the state of the economy will effect startups, what Jason Calacanis calls the Startup Depression. Yammer ScreenCast Yammer on twitter Reminder if you listen to Talk Social News, we’re looking for some “postive reviews” on iTunes (iTunes link), be one of the first 2 or 3, to write a review of the podcast and let us know in the comments and we’ll have something special for you. Check out Ripple6 our sponsor and thanks for listening. If you’re interested in becoming sponsor of Talk Social News see the Become A Sponsor page. September 15, 2008 — Talk Social News Episode 3: Kipp and Wayne Talk TechCrunch 50 and Interview Geoff Livingston September 22, 2008 — Talk Social News Episode 4: Kipp and Wayne Talk With A Co-Founder of Qik.com About The Future of Mobile Video September 8, 2008 — Talk Social News debuts with Brightkite CTO interview On Location Based Applications Share and Enjoy: Less

If you are looking to work from home online then you will know that there are many tasks that are very time consuming. To reduce the amount of time spent in this work you have the choice of either outsourcing some of this work or using a software that will enable you to reduce the time spent in these tasks. Well now you have the option of using a great software that can drastically reduce the time to do some work such as submitting articles, using RSS feeds, using social bookmarking sites and much more. To jump start your online business you need to use a software that will improve productivity today. Less

We were at an event recently as was one of our friends. As he was leaving, he announced that he “had another thing”. Now he’s a really busy person; there’s no grass growing under his feet as the old saying goes. He’s into his job, which requires a lot of meetings. ___ ___ But his “another thing” remark got us thinking. What a great way to politely excuse yourself! And that “other thing” could even be personal. He may have been going home for dinner for all we know! It leaves a good impression – you’re a busy person. You like to stick to your schedule. It’s also a great way to excuse yourself, even from people who like to talk your ears off! ___ I’ve used this before. As a business owner, I had some flexibility with my schedule. I would go to a “lunch meeting” which sometimes meant I was meeting a friend. Or I’d sneak in a work out in the middle of the afternoon by saying I was off to a meeting. ___ ___ When I was in radio, we used to have a “Morning Show Meeting” once in a while. My co-host and I would get off the air and sneak out for some breakfast. It was a great way to bond, talk about work, and just get away for a bit. We found that sometimes we got more done by leaving the office! ___ Now we’re not recommending that you use this technique to excuse yourself for a huge part of the day. But as a busy person, sometimes the best way to balance your personal and professional lives is to integrate the two! ___ Get the tips and tools you need by subscribing to the Bigg Success Weekly – it’s FREE! ___ There’s a new study that shows mean breeds mean. Next time, we’ll discuss how to avoid the trap. Until then, here’s to your bigg success! Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed. Related posts Why Work Life Balance Doesn't Work Change Your Scenery For A Change (Image by OmirOnia) Less

We all experience trade-offs. One of the most significant ones is time and money. If we have money, we can use it to buy services that give us more time. Another trade-off is status and money. ___ ___ Status at work We may ask our boss for more money, but he or she tells us that it’s not in the budget. So instead, we’re offered a title – it gives us more credibility but it doesn’t line our coffers. ___ When I was starting out in my radio career, I helped out quite a bit in the production department putting together commercials. I eventually became the go-to person when the production director wasn’t available. When I asked for more money, I was told it wasn’t in the budget but they gave me the title of Assistant Production Director. This helped me negotiate for a higher salary when I left for a different market. ___ So sometimes the title can lead to more money. If that’s the case, great! But we need to go into it with eyes wide open because status without money usually doesn’t do us much good in the short- or long-run. We may have to work more hours because of our new title. We may be held more responsible. So we have to weigh the benefits. Bringing it home We also often fall into the status trap personally. We buy things, such as cars or houses that we don’t really need or want. We do it to keep up with our friends and neighbors. ___ Two of my friends are best friends. They don’t do this anymore but, when they were first starting out, it was almost comical to watch them compete with each other. One bought a new car; within a month or so the other got a new car. One of them bought a new house; the next thing you knew the other one had his house on the market and was buying a new one. One got married; soon the other was engaged. One had a kid; soon the other one was an expectant father! ___ The point is to recognize when you’re about to do something solely to increase your status. It may hurt you financially! Which means, in the long run, you’ll have less status than you would like. It’s funny … what often keeps us from getting rich is acting like we’re rich before we are rich! ___ Get the tips and tools you need to be a BIGG success. Subscribe to the Bigg Success Weekly – it’s FREE! ___ Next time, we’ll discuss one more thing to add to your schedule to keep you on schedule. Until then, here’s to your bigg success! Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed. Related posts Getting Aggressively Passive: Creating A Passive Income That Sets You Free 6 Easy Steps To Financial Freedom (Image by Jayded74) Less

A lot of people report that they don’t have enough energy to do everything they want to do. Many people often feel tired before the day is through. ___ ___ ___ My dad used to describe it this way, “My get-up-and-go got up and went!” ___ ___ I was at an event recently. A friend of mine is part of the staff of a non-for-profit organization. They had a bigg fundraising kickoff. It started at 6 in the morning and the whole purpose was to get people to stop for free coffee, a bagel, and a fun family pack. I got there a little after 6 and there was my friend, on the corner, hopping up and down hollering, “Free coffee” and I don’t even think she’d had any. I admired her energy. I think she’s a peppy person – she’s always positive, always smiling. But I also think she really loves what she does. ___ So your energy comes in part from being prepared mentally. But that’s not the whole story. You also have to be physically ready for the day. Because, for example, if you only get two hours of sleep night after night – no matter how much you might try to psyche yourself up – you’re going to run out of energy. ___ I have a friend who is the most disciplined person I’ve ever met. He seems to have boundless energy. I’ve never seen him drink anything but water. I asked him what he does to get going in the morning. I knew he didn’t drink coffee, so I assumed he must chug a highly-caffeinated soft drink or two. Nope. He said he just runs about five miles! ___ Of course, if you constantly feel low on energy, it may be a sign of a deeper problem – a problem that demands your doctor’s attention. A simple tool to find more energy We always hesitate to suggest too much recording and tracking. It works, but it creates an additional demand on a schedule that’s already too demanding. But we’ve found it helpful to keep an Energy Diary. We record the time of day, the activity and make comments about how we’re feeling. Then we’re able to look for consistencies – activities that boosted our energy level and things that squelched it. ___ I’ve felt tired today. I noticed that I got up earlier this morning than I did yesterday. But I went to bed at about the same time. I think I need to establish a more consistent sleeping pattern. ___ ___ As we were writing this show, I told Mary-Lynn that I felt tired. Maybe it’s the subject! Seriously, I realized that I had been up for about five hours, but I had not eaten anything until about a half-hour ago. It hasn’t kicked in yet. I think I should eat more regularly so my energy stays up. ___ We like this because it’s completely personal. By tracking what you’re doing and whether you’re feeling energized or not, you can find your energy source so you get more done. Because if it works for you, it works! ___ Want to be a BIGG success? Get the tips and tools you need by subscribing to the Bigg Success Weekly – it’s FREE! ___ Next time, we’ll discuss how to deal with an upset customer. Until then, here’s to your bigg success! Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed. Related posts What We're Sacrificing to Achieve Work-Life Balance Is Your Schedule Overloaded Like A Dishwasher? (Image by briercrest) Less

In this trendwatching podcast, Nora Young mentions Cathi Bond’s Prosecast interview with Michael Greenberg, author of Hurry Down Sunshine, a memoir about his teenage daughter’s sudden psychotic break.  It makes for really compelling listening. Meanwhile, Cathi Bond pursues a trend she first talked about ages ago: ethical meat.  Since then, it’s taken off everywhere (especially status-conscious Toronto), but Cathi finds a great example close to her farm: Well Fed Food, which is really taking off. And Nora tips you off to a great alternative to the ’sign up for this really annoying online service I use so that I can invite you’ situation with WhenIsGood: it’s simple, elegant, and doesn’t require your friends to jump through hoops just to meet up.  (Thanks to Jim Milles for tweeting about it) Less