Applied Mastery

Lighten your load

First, my apologies for the lack of posting frequency lately.  I know there are one or two of you out there that regularly check in, and I haven't brought much to the table lately.  That being said, I only want to put material here if a) I think it's useful or interesting, or occasionally b) it's humorous.  Frankly, lately I just haven't had anything that fit the criteria.  What can I say...it's been a tough second half of the year so far.

That's all about to change though, as I think I've got something *extremely* thought provoking you might want to take a look at.

I came across this guys stuff on Twitter a couple of weeks ago, and at first I have to admit I was thinking "what the hell is this...you've got to be kidding me...".  But, as is often the case in life, I started to actually *think* about it, and behold - I was suitably impressed.  Mainly by the utter simplicity and "cut through the BS" aspect of the material.  And, after all, that's what we're all about here at Applied Mastery -- cutting through the BS.  The teaching is so direct and to-the-point, that it's almost anti-climactic, and leaves you looking for more.  The cool thing is, you probably don't really need much more.

To paraphrase John -- a lot of people out there are starting to realize their life force is being worn down from over-caring.  In my opinion, this one sentence alone is filled with transformational potential.

Anyway, enough of my commentary - I'll let John's material speak for itself.  Make sure you give it time to sink in and don't let any potential initial reactions dissuade you.

Here are links to his Twitter page and website, and below is a short video that pretty much says it all.

Sometimes... doing nothing is the best approach.

Sometimes, if you listen closely, you'll hear that small still voice within.  And sometimes, with a whisper so faint you almost can't detect it, the voice will tell you that you need to wait...do nothing...the situation is out of your hands at the moment...

"Doing something", and taking action, is not always what is called for.  There are times where destiny is at work -- higher powers and forces that are out of our control.  These times are an incredible test of inner confidence and fortitude.  Doing nothing, and patiently waiting for the cosmos to align, can at times be one of the hardest challenges a person can face.

This will be a big area of focus for me for the remainder of the year, as I move through each day trying to reduce things down and simplify. 

Too many times, my urge to "do something", or "fix the situation" has been ill-timed and served no purpose other than to exacerbate the initial problem.

Simplification is not only about reducing clutter in our homes and offices, it's also about getting the mind and emotions to slow down and demonstrate some patience under pressure when appropriate.

Keep your ears open for that small still voice...I know I AM.

Top 5 ways to get healthy and improve your life

I'm feeling blunt and direct today, so let's get right to it.

Would you like to get healthy, lean, energetic, happy, and more productive?

Here are the best and most direct ways I know of to accomplish that:

1. Strength train twice per week.  I like mainly bodyweight routines and (more recently) kettlebells.  Use whatever approach you like -- but do the research.  Do the appropriate due diligence.  Don't just do it because some "personal trainer" at your local Bally's said so.  Know why you're doing the kind of strength training you're doing.
2. Reduce your carbohydrate consumption to between 50 - 75 grams per day.  As much as possible, keep it closer to the 50 number.  Doing this will basically force you to eat real food, rather than processed garbage.  See my friend Marc's site and also Zen to Fitness for a great variety of details and ideas on how to accomplish this.
3. Clearly define your life philosophy, what you stand for, and what your mission is (short as well as long-term) in life.  Clarity is crucial.  We all need a compelling reason to get up everyday.  When you have all of your high-level guiding principle's and objectives in place, all of your short-term/daily/tactical plans will automatically fall into place.
4. Get enough sleep.  Seriously.  Don't overlook this area.
5. Learn the power of focus.  As I've written about before, I think the ability to focus and concentrate is one of the highest achievements and skills one can strive for and develop in this life.  Most people don't have it, and can't do it, which (in my opinion) is a big reason why most people aren't getting what they want out of life.  Spend some time researching this important area -- you won't be disappointed.  Developing this one skill alone, will set you far ahead of your competition.

Vincit qui se vincit.

Practical help from a dead Italian mathematician

This is one of my favorite subjects, and is also something that can have a huge positive impact on almost anyone's life.  I'm talking of course about the "Pareto Principle", or what is also frequently referred to as "The 80/20 Principle".

More detailed information can be found here, however in a nutshell the principle refers to the concept that 80% of the results in a given situation are produced by 20% of the people or actions involved in that particular situation.

For example;

• 80% of your investment profits will be produced by 20% of your investments
• 80% of sales will be generated by 20% of the sales people
• 80% of the usage of a software program will be focused on 20% of the features
• 80% of the time, you will wear the same 20% of your clothes
• 80% of your enjoyment will be caused by 20% of your activities

If you take a look at various aspects of your life, career, etc, you may very well find there are a number of situations where these ratios play out.  I certainly have in my life.

So, how do we take advantage of this phenomenon in our lives?  Well, the idea is that you want to spend (invest is probably the better term) the majority of your time focusing on the tasks and activities that will produce 80% of your results and life enjoyment.

Obviously, in order to do that you'll need to spend some quiet time assessing the various areas of your life (as well as your life as a whole), in order to then proceed to put the technique into practice.  I'd recommend picking up a copy of "The 80/20 Principle" by Richard Koch, as well as his audio tapes on the same subject, which I believe are available at Nightingale-Conant.  Richard does a fantastic job at elaborating on this very important subject, which I believe can help almost anyone -- and in a big way.

Enjoy.