Great post here from marketing guru Perry Marshall …
My morning commute – from bed to library, where I write -
is about 18 feet. Beats 18 miles, believe me.
But there is one disadvantage (isn’t there always a
potential disadvantage with everything?):
I can roll out of bed at 7 or 7:30, throw myself into my
work and not even look up until 10 or 11 o’clock. So much
to do, so much to do…. like the Dunkin’ Donuts guy says,
“Time to make the donuts.”
It’s REAL easy to not stop and center myself first.
I’m in Dan Sullivan’s Strategic Coach program and the #1
thing they teach in Coach is: “Positive Focus.”
Namely, that you start every interaction, every meeting,
and every day with this question:
“What’s GOOD?”
“What’s good right now? What positive thing happened
yesterday? What positive thing happened today? What do you
appreciate about the person you’re talking to right now?”
The Strategic Coach guys finally got through to me. A
couple of months ago I started a new habit. I take out this
teeny little Moleskine note book, it’s maybe 2 inches by 3
inches – and I write down something positive. First thing
in the morning.
That all by itself isn’t enough. I don’t know anyone who
prays or meditates who doesn’t think it’s the most healthy
thing they do all day. But writing down one or two or three
sentences in that tiny notebook is what gets me STARTED.
If it was a BIG notebook and I had to write a couple of
paragraphs, it would never get done. My brain’s a little
sludgy at 7:30 in the morning. But I can do 2 or 3
sentences.
The thing we all have the hardest time doing is getting
started. Writing down two or three things that are
positive, that’s the first 20%.
Now the train is rolling down the tracks.
As you know, one of the things I like to do best is crank
out a nice juicy rant. Gets my brain cells boiling, and
everybody else’s too.
Some of that is driven by my perfectionism and it’s great
to be able to find the fly in the ointment. It’s why I’m
good at solving problems.
But too much perfectionism can be its own curse, as we all
know. Everybody I know who runs an online business is at
least a little bit obsessive and you want that
obsessiveness working for you, not against you.
Namely: Solving problems and moving forward, not uselessly
grinding away on “the way things ought to be.”
Also, gratitude is a GREAT reminder that most of the
challenges you’ve faced in your life, you HAVE solved.
(Right?) You might be facing some stiff opposition today.
So remember that all your victories will be built on a
foundation of what’s good, not what’s wrong in the world.
Start with something positive RIGHT NOW, and Seize the Day.
Perry Marshall
The Content Network is one of the most overlooked volume
