You Can Get More Done in 6 Days than 7!

January 14th, 2010

It's great to have you back! For those who want to respond or share your wisdom with other readers, leave a comment at the bottom of the entry.

For more strategies just like these along with the support to implement them, click to find out about the FBA Circle.


Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes

How do you get more done in your business and have balance in your life? Watch this video for one of the answers. More strategies are available when you join the FBA Program.

You also get to see in the video what I  do in my free time. Enjoy.

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Work Hard and Play Hard

January 11th, 2010

Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes

Believe it or not, there is more to the Big Rocks story that I shared in the previous posting. (If you’re not remembering where you left off, go ahead and reread the story before continuing.)

The teacher then said, “Let’s continue with our exercise. Is the jar full now?”

By this time the students were on to him. “Probably not,” they said.

The professor then produced two cans of grape soda from under the table and proceeded to pour their entire contents into the jar – effectively filling the empty space between the sand, the pebbles and the rocks. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor “here’s another point: no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of sodas.”

In your life and in your business schedule the big rocks first (what’s most important) and make sure that there’s room for a couple sodas (fun and rejuvenation). If you have too much work or too much play, you will end up either wiped out or bored. Having a good balance of both will bring you a sense of joy as you work hard and play hard.

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Do You Have Your Priorities Straight?

January 7th, 2010

Reading time: 3 – 4 minutes

I used to volunteer at the Juvenile Detention Center in Tucson teaching a class on healthy choices. Once a month I would have about 20 adolescent offenders who believe it or not were generally attentive while they considered their own priorities and how things might be different on the “outs”.

Here’s a story I shared with them at the end of the class to sum up the learning.


A professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he picked up a wide-mouth gallon jar and proceeded to fill it with some fist-sized rocks. He set one rock in the jar… then another… then another.

He asked the students, “Is the jar full?” The students looked at the rocks in the jar and said, “Yes.”

Then he said, “Ahhh” and pulled out a bucket of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open spaces left by the big rocks.

He asked the students again, “Is the jar full?” The students said, “Yes.”

“Well, let’s see!” he replied. He picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. It went in all the little spaces left by the big rocks and the pebbles.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “If this jar represents your life, what’s the point of this exercise?”

The students just looked at him (much like my students at the Juvenile Detention Center did).

“Well,” he said, “if I hadn’t put the big rocks in first, would I have had the room for them after I put in the pebbles and the sand?”

“I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The big rocks are the important things in your life  – your family, your friends, your health  – Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.”

“The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car.”

“The sand is everything else. The small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are most important to you.”

“Take care of the big rocks first, the things that really matter. The rest is just sand.”

I always knew I had them at the end of the class as they sat there in silence thinking about the point of this story. It really puts into perspective the choices one makes as you set your priorities in life.

Here’s a great example of this story in action: I remember reading in one of Stephen Covey’s book (though I can’t find the reference now) that he put all of his daughter’s soccer games into his schedule before any speaking engagements. Even though he is a very busy man, he was at more of his daughter’s soccer games than any of the other fathers.

What are the big rocks that you’d like to make room for? Feel free to share by leaving a comment.

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Get More Referrals!

December 14th, 2009

Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes

Amy ZastrowEach month the Focused Business Action program offers a free teleseminar in which you learn about one aspect of marketing and begin work on the material presented as part of the call. The next Marketing Action Seminar is this Tuesday, December 15 at 5 PM Eastern and our guest expert will be Amy Zastrow, the Kick Butt Business Mentor. She will be speaking on Get More Referrals!

Referrals are the easiest and most cost effective way to get more business. While everyone wants more referrals, very few people are intentional about getting them. If you want more referrals, then you need to:

  • explore and know the value of a referral to you
  • use simple steps to make getting referrals easier & more effective
  • create a simple plan to increase the quality and quantity of your referrals

Amy will be sharing how to do just that. She is an energetic speaker with practical and actionable tips to get more referrals.

For more information and to register for this free conference call, click here.

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