The Seven Minute Difference

You can be different tomorrow...

A wise man once told me, "You can't choose to remain the same and expect your life to change.  If you want your life to be different...
YOU must be different."

There comes a point in each of our lives where we choose to continue to stay the same, or we choose to welcome change into our life.  What simple choices could we make that might make change easier to accept.

My list includes:
1. Reducing the clutter in my home and office
2. Organizing the remaining items so that they are easier to manage
3. Making sure I get at least 30 minutes of exercise 5 times per week
4. Focus on starting and completing one task at a time
5. Limiting the amount of time I spend mindlessly watching TV
6. Increasing the amount of time I spend reading books that can help me grow
7. Specifically remember to be grateful for the good things in life

“The Monday Morning Staff Meeting”

Try a new approach with your next “Monday Morning Staff Meeting”.  Using a few of our “7 Minute” ideas you can work toward making your next staff meeting more efficient and productive

1. Determine who needs to attend the meeting and invite only those people who are key decision makers for the issues that will be discussed.
2. Create a written agenda for the meeting and have a copy for each attendee.
3. Set a realistic ending time for the meeting and stick to it.

Setting Goals in PRESENT TENSE

The human brain is a powerful tool.  But, when it comes to setting and acheiving goals it is important to know that the brain functions best in the PRESENT TENSE.  Everything is seen as RIGHT NOW.  So, when you are setting goals for your future, it is important for you to write them down as though they have already occurred.

Future Tense	Present Tense
“I will get in shape.”	“I am in the best physical shape of my life!”
“I will lose some weight.”	“I weigh 117 pounds.”
“I will be more organized.”	“My office is clean and clutter free.”

By writing your goals in the present tense, your brain can more clearly see the outcome and, it will begin to subconsciously draw you closer to your goals.

Your Top 10 Goals for the Next 90 Days

Of all the practical goal setting tools I have seen or used, this form from coachville.com has by far been one of the most important goal setting resources I use.

Once a quarter our team sits down with this form and we write down our "Top 10 Goals for the Next 90 Days."  G1 - stands for "Goal #1".  A1 - A5 - give you room to write down up to five "Action Steps" you can begin to take right now that will allow you to reach these ten goals within the next three months.

I especially like this worksheet because it is on a single sheet of paper and it forces me to boil down what I believe to be the most important short-term areas for focus.

You can download the PDF version of this form by clicking the following link:

http://www.thesevenminutedifference.com/resources/attachments/124top10goalsin90days.pdf

And, you can find 500+ useful forms and checklists for life and business at www.coachingforms.com.

"Goals" by Brian Tracy

Goals: How to Get Everything You Want – Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible
by Brian Tracy
(Berrett-Koehler 2003)

I first listened to this book in 2004 and knew within minutes that it would help me better understand the direction I wanted my life to take.  In fact, this book was so good, I listened to it twice and then decided I better buy a hard copy so I could read it and take notes.  Some of the key take aways:

1. Write down your goals
2. Make plans to achieve them
3. Work on those plans everyday

Now, that may sound simple enough, but it is actually quite difficult because most of us are so consumed with our day to day lives we don’t have time to breath much less take precious time out of our day to write down our goals.  His second suggestion is one of the keys that successful people are able to accomplish so much more than the average person – once you have your goals in writing, you must then create plans or action steps or follow up activities that will bring you closer and closer to accomplishing your goals.  When was the last time you listed four or five specific ideas that you could do tomorrow that will make your life happier, more productive or more fulfilling? Finally, the real challenge is to create a work schedule that will allow you to work on reaching your goals everyday.  Rather than being reactive with all of your time – prioritize, organize and simplify your life to a point where you are taking pro-active steps toward reaching your goals.

Some of the key chapters include:

• Unlock Your Potential
• Determine Your True Goals
• Decide Upon Your Major Definite Purpose
• Measure Your Progress
• Become An Expert In Your Field
• Manage Your Time Well
• Persist Until You Succeed

Please add this to your New Year’s reading list.  This book is full of practical and intriguing ideas for making your work life and your personal life better.  I highly recommend this book.

Buy Goals by Brian Tracy.

Posted by: Allyson Lewis on March 9, 2008

CLARIFYING your Goal Setting Process for 2008

Setting goals is nothing more than CLARIFYING who and what you will be in writing.  The physical act of taking out a pen and a piece of paper and writing down what you want to accomplish is a monumentally positive step in accomplishing your goals.

For the next several blog posts, we will be discussing several “7 Minute” ideas to help you creatively and effectively set your goals for the next three months.

The first “7 Minute” idea is to explain why CLARIFYING your goals is so important.  When you CLARIFY your goals, you are taking time to think more objectively about what is really important to you.  The word CLARIFY is an action verb – when you CLARIFY your thoughts you make them clearer by explaining them in much more detail.

Much of life is lived off the cuff.  You react to life as it is thrown at you.  By CLARIFYING your goals, you are not reacting to life, you are defining what you would like your life to look like.

Spend today beginning to CLARIFY what you would like your life to be like.  The clearer you can see that vision – the easier it will be for you to begin to establish your written goals.

More on goal setting in the next several posts.

Join audible.com - listen to audio books

In my book, The Seven Minute Difference, we regularly speak of using what we call “micro-actions”, tiny little ideas that you can often do in 7 minutes or less.  In these last several posts I have been encouraging you to read books that can change your life…yet, reading takes more than 7 minutes.

Here is an idea for you to try, join www.audible.com – they have an audio book library with more than 30,000 books available. With audible.com you can buy books and download them to your iPod or favorite mp3 player.  This allows you to listen to books while you exercise or clean your home or do yard work.

Audio books allow you to listen and learn.

Audible.com has a promotion going where you can join and download two free books.  Click here for a trial subscription to audible.com:

http://www.thesevenminutedifference.com/resources/recommended_websites.html

Your Library Card

Many people would love to read more, but books can be very expensive.  One of our favorite “Seven Minute” micro-actions is to encourage each of you to go to your nearest public library and acquire or renew your library card. 

Your library card is completely free and will allow you and your entire family to enjoy a virtually unlimited supply of books, magazines, audio books and even DVDs.

Start your “Seven Minute Revolution” by Reading

According to the American Booksellers Association:

• 80% of Americans did not buy or read a book this year;
• 70% of American adults have not been in a bookstore in the past five years;
• 58% of American adults never read a book after high schools; and
• 42% of university graduates never read a book after graduation.

View this 2:15 minute video:

Let that sink in…58% of Americans will never read a book after high school! 

If you want to be different tomorrow than you are today, consider one of the most important micro-actions we discuss in our book, The Seven Minute Difference.

Micro-Action: Reading Ten Pages a Day

If you will make a decision to choose to read 10 pages of a book every day, this micro-action will definitely impact your life.

Here is a list of my “Top 10 Books”:

1. The Seven Minute Difference                                   Allyson Lewis

2. Endurance                                                               Alfred Lansing

3. Lone Survivor                                                          Marcus Lutrell

4. Goals                                                                       Brian Tracy

5. How to Win Friends and Influence People               Dale Carnegie

6. Think and Grow Rich                                               Napoleon Hill

7. Getting Things Done                                                David Allen

8. You: On a Diet                                                         Oz and Roizen

9. Good to Great                                                          Jim Collins

10. Blue Ocean Strategy                                              Kim and Mauborgne

You can view our complete reading list at this link…

http://www.thesevenminutedifference.com/reading/index.html

Start your own “Seven Minute Revolution”

As the author of The Seven Minute Difference, I deeply believe you can be different tomorrow than you are today.  That is the key message of the book.  There comes a point in each of our lives where we reach a fork in the road and we must choose…some will choose to stay on the same path and remain the same, and a fortunate few will decide to travel by a different route.

Start your "Seven Minute Revolution"

by watching this video clip (2 1/2 minutes).

I am challenging you to consider all of the options that now present themselves in front of you. I hope you will take your next “7 Minutes” and ask the following questions:

• Who do I want to be 90 days from now?
• What kind of physical shape do I want to be in?
• What will I weigh?
• What new skills will I choose to learn?
• What will I read?
• How will I focus on and improve my closest relationships?
• What is really important to me?

I believe you can be radically different by focusing on various “micro-actions”.  These micro-actions are tiny steps you can take (many micro-actions you can complete in “7 Minutes” or less).  But, it all begins with the first step of deciding you are ready for a change.

We hope you will join the “Seven Minute Revolution”!