TCOBaG – kNow ThiNkIng AllOwEd

I’m hooked on this ‘time’ thing. “I don’t have enough” “there’s not enough time” . . . But it all boils down to moments. Period.

What we do with our lives, we get caught up in thinking over the long term, when actually we’re living in the short term.

What defines your life? 20 years of research? 38 years of dedicated marriage? 10 years as an undergrad in college? (was that just me?

None of those things, define your life, or at least they shouldn’t.

What defines your life is this moment, this time, right now . . .

what you are doing, what you choose to do, how you choose to act in the little moments of life, those are the things that define you.

A moment of joy, a moment of kindness, a moment of passion, or two moments if you’re lucky, a moment of being awestruck by seeing the fantastic, for me Rodan on display in Italy.

That’s what you should know, what you should think about in trying to live your life to it’s fullest. Living in, making the most of, and making a lot of ‘moments.’

In a way our society has now decided to reward some for their ‘lifetime achievements’ and that confuses us. Oscars, grammies, presidential awards, but even those are what?

A collection of moments.

Add one moment a day, and don’t call me in the morning.

Not usually a problem for me, but I get this from my writing students on a regular basis, and friends aspiring to be writers or to write more . . .

What do I write about? I have no idea!

You know that great, “write what you know” crutch, fallback, senseless patter, right?

First, you gotta decide ‘what you know.”

Little brainstorming session.

5 minutes should do it . . .

Paper, pencil, (I like to do this on paper, gives it a physical feel but you can use your computer as long as the solitaire game is at least minimized and you don’t have the sound up for new messages arriving

Start at the top:
Just start listing all of the topics you’ve ever studied in school.
Magazines you read regularly
Kinds of articles, topics
Books,
Hobbies
Sports you like to play or watch
Games
Software you use
Forums you visit
Newsletters (ezines)

Don’t stop writing for 5 minutes, write “I can’t think” or “I have no idea” when you er, ‘have no idea’ but keep the pencil or the typing fingers moving for 5 minutes.

Now, look at your list.

Anything jump out at you?

No?

Want to try again for 5 more minutes?

Thought not

Look over the list. Grab the first 7 that seem to stick out.

Narrow that down to the top 3 and list them in order of your knowledge, interest, and desire to write about them.

Done?

Good.

Now you know what to write about.

Not painful at all, eh?

Just look at what you can do . . .

People ask me all the time, what kind of site, what kinds of things, can I do on the internet?

This question never ceases to amaze me, nor does the incredible number of possibilities.

There are so many ideas that you can use to build your site around.

And Yes, there are a ton of sites already out there.

What you need to do is find a way to make your site, like you No, no, not boring, balding, and belly-widening, that’s like me, I mean

UNIQUE!

Here’s a great example of taking offline ideas and implementing them into online ideas.

It’s also a great way to spend some time, so don’t read the rest of this if you’re in a big hurry to get things done

Here’s a site that uses digital photos to make jigsaw puzzles, online, and you can do them right there.

This link will take you to a puzzle I had made from a photo my wife and I took on a recent trip to Korea. It’s a picture of the most famous temple in South Korea, the oldest still operating one as well if I recall correctly.

The name of the temple is Bulguksa (“sa” here means “temple” so it’s a bit redundant to say Bulguksa temple, but I see this a lot on maps and brochures. I’ll save that rant and explanation for another time. Lucky you, hehheh). It’s located in Kyungju, the ancient capitol city of Korea.

It’s a well-made site, it’s light and fast, and it shows you just how you can utilize offline interests for your online endeavors.

http://justjigsawpuzzles.com/jigsaw_Bulguk_Temple_Korea_SR003.html

Johnny Cash, The Man in Black. Capital “T” for “the.”

What made Johnny Cash so memorable?

I’ve seen photos of him when he was a young man, I suppose he was sort of handsome in a rugged way.

Frankly, though I enjoyed his music (8-tracks from the pickup truck rides with my dad, I didn’t think of him as a great singer.

The songs were catchy, easy to remember, but there has never been a shortage of those kinds of singers, those kinds of songs in any genre of music, now has there?

So, what made Johnny “Johnny”?

We’re always being told to find your angle, you way, your USP. Separate yourself from the pack, the herd, do something everyone else is doing, but do it differently.

Johnny Cash was a perfect example for me.

Think about it.

He was a big guy, well over 6 feet tall, 200 pounds. Rugged, tough, low voice.

Guys liked that. Not the wimp.

But he was also very, very popular with women (fans that is, he was also famous for his devotion to his wife June and their family, another part of his persona).

Why? What was he doing? Was he the king crooner? Great moves like James Brown? Cutting edge of the country music world?

I say, no, no, and sort of.

Here was a man, talented man, yes, who sang about life, little things in life, and how life and love were bigger than any man, and doing it in a very straightforward, honest way that appealed to both men and women.

Men thought, hey, this is sooooo true, and I feel like this, but I often can’t just say that, or act like that. Kind of the ‘thanks for saying that for me’ and ‘thanks for the validation’ so I know I’m not alone.

Women thought, hey, this is sooooo true, and good to hear that men, even big, rugged ones, have big hearts, can hurt, know the value of love and life and family.

Then, he added that extra little bit, that rebel, Highwayman side and the black clothes.

No country singer had ever, still hasn’t unless you include someone like Garth Brooks who used much of this same ‘everyman’ approach to be one of the top selling artists in all genres, done that.

Marketing yourself, your site, your product, doesn’t need to be any different than this.

What you’ve got, others are offering, but they can’t offer it in the exact same way as you as an individual can.

Think about that. Find your ‘man in black’ angle, and you will find success.

How do I stay on course?

While this is a big, broad topic, there are a few simple things that we can learn, and if applied, will help us in most areas of staying on course, or remaining focused.

First off we need to remember the ‘why’ factor in our goal. If we aren’t strong enough in the reasons we desire reaching a goal, it’s just not likely to happen, especially if that goal is a challenging one, and I do hope my readers are not choosing those simple, light-weight non-challenging goals, eh?

Okay, if we have a strong why, and we have our goal with a deadline, then we need only do a couple of things to keep on track and stay focused.

One, get someone to remind you. Simple, right? Two things this will do. One is that telling someone else about your goal makes you 70% more likely to follow through in order to remain consistent (that’s a whole other article, but it is coming. Promise.) You can also use software to remind you.

The second benefit of this is that you will be reminded about your goal, you will revisit the goal, and you will either stay focused on working towards your goal and attain it, or you will avoid the friend and drop the goal.

Two, ask yourself every day at the beginning of the day what you will do to further your journey on the path to your goal. Sometimes you don’t even need to answer the question at that time, but be open to it, be serious with the question, and if you don’t answer, tell yourself, “Self, give me the answer to this question later today when you’ve had time to mull it over.” This works very well to free you from stressing about it, and you will more often than not suddenly find you’ve been ‘inspired’ with a thought about your project or goal. Try it.

It really is that simple.

Here are a couple of easy tips to help you with this:

Put two notes on the corner of your computer screen, or work area, right in front of you. On one write the Question? Am I still working towards my goal? On the other write: Why do I want this goal?

Put them where you will see them, read them, and answer both questions honestly. It’s best to do this at least a couple of times a day. When you glance at the notes, answer the questions.

Every 3 or 4 days changed the notes, their position, simply reverse them, but do something to keep you from becoming complacent about seeing them, getting too comfortable and failing to notice and respond to them.

That’s it. You will see results from this technique almost immediately. Just remember to change them up occasionally and this method will continue to be useful tool for keeping you on track and focused on your goals.