Why Set Goals?

One really good reason is so that you have more time to enjoy the things around you. I noticed the clouds as I was driving from a clients and snapped this photo out the window while driving. If you don't examine your life you often miss the little things you take for granted. Goal setting is, for me, all about thinking about what you are doing to ensure you derive maximum benefit from the appropriat effort....while enjoying the unintended consequences that are all around you. 

Meta Principals

So where did I go wrong? The looking at things within a framework has helped but I haven't made much progress on inividual goals. The challenge seems to be the perenial one of time management and prioritizing. My days are packed so I have to make sure i am fully focused on each activity and fully engaged. Too much multitasking seems to lead to a sense of movement without accomplishing much worthwhile...It also seems to lead to a fair degree of residual anger when I feel I'm not 'getting' to things I know I need to get done. So tomorrow will be a day of focus and ensuring I can create focus and balance.

Progress so far...

Not too good. Some things I did well and you certainly learn as you go. I have a strong tendency to internalize the stresses around me. I think the key is to be engaged but not involved unless you choose to be......so what occurred exactly: next post

Meta Principals

As I reflect on what is important to me I have decided that their are four key pillars to any framework for Personal Life Rules.

1 . Strengthen you Will - if your will is weak you will accomplish nothing.
2. Perception - you need to see the world around you clearly, as well as yourself, as they really are.
3. Strive - you need to strive for goals beyond your current abilities or comfort zone to keep yourself growing even if the goals are inner goals.
4. Be Present - we live in the moment so you need to enjoy each moment as it comes, to the fullest...But don't internalize the stresses of others or the environment

The end of these four principals for me is a greater degree of personal happiness and fufillment. The challenge will be bringing these principals to each area of my life and applying them effectively. So...Let's look at my day I am on the way to my primary job.... Tasks for today and normal barriers

Rules to live by.....

Why do we keep making the same mistakes in life. One of the reasons, I suspect, is that we are very busy and have many distractions. This means that when faced with a new task we have a tendency to 'reinvent the wheel' each time. Sure we bring some of our past learnings to the table but I think this is often more accident than design. Sure, one can argue, that certain manual skills lend themselves to using prior learnings and skills...Changing a cars brakes for example. However, the vast majority of human interactions don't fit this paradigm . Relationships, our interactions at work all happen in a steady stream and don't lend themselves to reflection. Even when we do reflect we don't often leverage that learning. We think...'I should do x in future...' but because when the future situation arises we often react immediately we fail to leverage our experience to the fullest. We need a paradigm to approach life, just like we have to approach manual tasks we don't do everyday. To this end I am going to agree on a framework for reflecting and documenting my life and to see if I can more effectively leverage my own learnings and experience.

Work My Plan Registration Page - simple, fast and easy

Work My Plan Registration Page - simple, fast and easy....Goal Setting is a challenge, this link helps keep you on track with suggested Goal Plans and email reminders.

Why we work

Why do we work so hard to build a life...partly for ourselves but mostly for our children. Their the embodiment of all our hopes and dreams....and here are mine. 

The Majesty Nature

Living in Canada you forget how incredible Niagara Falls Really Is 

The beauty all around you

I am off to work on a scorching Tuesday morning seriously wishing I could work from home and as i was sittin on the train i was reminded of the gorgeous view I pass by every day. I see the lake in all the different seasons. I see attractive people (few) and I see a fair bit of a great city each day. The chalenge is keeping yourself focused and that's where www.workmyplan.com Has helped keep me focused. We all need to be reminded to look for the beauty around us not just the things we don't care for.

Small Business

Working in the Small Business space I attened Visa Canada's Small
Business conference in Toronto today. Its amazing how varied and
interesting the business's are that people run. The key insight I took
away is the focus on the basics. What do people want? How can I meet
that need, resolve that stress. How can I differentiate myself. How
can I find more customers. How can I really understand the
fundamentals of Business financial management. The problem with being
an entrepreneur is everyone starts from a different place but to
optimize their chances for success they need all of the pieces. You
can either grow and hire the knowledge or you need to learn. It's
pretty exciting dialogue and I enjoy the discussion. I attened the
Warrillow conference in Chicago last week which was Big Business
selling to Small and the same holds true. Those who are successful
either have a "can't do without offering" or understand the basics.
What does the customer want/need and how can I deliver it at a profit,
in both the near and longer terms. Their are no real "revolutionary"
ideas just repackaging of the fundamentals. Very much like weight
loss, you can go for the diet of the month or work the fundamentas of
balanced excercise and diet. The latter is harder, its always easier
to write a cheque. The same holds true for Big Business, it easier to
advertise relationship and "we value you" than it is to put together a
"feet on the street" strategy that proves you value staff and
customers.

blogging

I am constantly amazed at how prolific some Bloggers are. The real key
in establishing a readership base seems to be posting often and on a
unified theme. The challenge for me is making my thoughts readable not
just a note to myself. The benefit is you often forget your frame of
reference so if you write directly without "assuming" a certain base
knowledge it will hopefully still be relevant years later when you
read it. I think the core deliverable is to agree on what oue Blog's
purpose is and I realize I am not firm on that. My thoughts is to
generic a topic....

Perspective

I was reading Blog's of note and clicking through and was suprised by the diversity. It's amazing how many different kinds their are and the variety of readership. I decided that mine is definitely not of interest to a wider audience...thank god I only planned on an audience of one. Indiauncut.blogspot.com was refreshing in Amit's candor as he talks about his experiences as an Indian journalist. If you read between the lines you can extrapolate...you need to examine your actions and beliefs and those around you to get the true picture. Are emotions and attitudes superficial or real? This caused me to look at some of my own relationships and attitudes towards those around me. Why do I treat those around me as I do, espeacially my partner. I need to treat them as I feel they should be treated....not as reward or punishment for their behaviour. We'll experiment with that for the next few days and see how it goes.

keeping the brain active

Time. How do you balance all the constraints of modern living with keeping your brain active and growing?

Release yourself from expectation...

I have been pondering the same thought on my other Blog. Release yourself from expectation but not necesarily Desire. I desire a certain outcome but don't "expect" it in the sense that it is "due me" I decided one of the largest barriers to happiness is unrealistic expectations. I go to work and when I come home feel I have arrived at the end of a journey and should therefore be able to relax. Life intrudes and I become angry. In reality, home is just a phase of my day so I should release myself from the shackles of these expectations and relax where I can. If I can read a book over lunch then that is my "relax" time. When I get home their are things I need to do, just like at work. I should enjoy the environment, family etc free from expectation. The trick is to avoid disapointment yet not lose the "striving". I think that's the problem with Buddhism, its really a philosophy of "stopping and accepting" versus Growth.

What's 500 years or so..?

I was reading Montaigne's essays and it surprised me yet again how little things change. He approaches his topic's in a refreshing and practical manner (albeit from the viewpoint of privledge). It is always interesting to have someone point out the logical inconsistencies in behavior of those around him at a time when their were real consequences to doing so. I have especially enjoyed his discourse on the raising of children, since he looks at it realistically in terms of desired outcome versus fanciful. He suggests a teacher who employs the Socratic method rather than rote learning since you want your child to build on what they have learned rather than regurgitate knowledge...All of which fits in well with my own thinking. The trick will be to implement a course of learning for my children that accomplishes that in an age of distraction's....http://www.uoregon.edu/~rbear/montaigne/1xxv.htm

He has a great quote concerning Aristotle and Alexander the Great: I am of Plutarkes mind, which is, that Aristotle did not so much ammuse his great Disciple about the arts how to frame Syllogismes, or the principles of Geometric, as he endevoured to instruct him with good precepts concerning valour, prowesse, magnanimitie, and temperance, and an undanted assurance not to feare any thing; and with such munition he sent him, being yet verie young, to subdue the Empire of the world, only with 30000. footmen, 4000. horsemen, and 42000. Crownes in monie.

a very tiring day....

After a night of mediocre sleep the dramatic temperature shift today has left me with a pounding headache. I had a fairly productive day at work so far but haven't got much accomplished for "me" so far. I will have to work on that this weelend after ZAmin's family goes (they are coming tonight for dinner). Their are always so many competing priorities (although I set up a couple of lunches next week that I feel good about). We'll have to see what transpires.

progress so far

Keeping in mind the importance of balance I have discussed things with Zamin and seem to have made some progress so far. I have been making sure that I go to lunch with someone at least 3 days a week to keep in touch. I had dinner with an old friend last night and had some good, lively conversation. I talked to another friend Tuesday at lunch about a possible business venture and have followed up with another meeting suggestion. Now the key will be to do something for my health and get the house ready for sale. Having a plan of action takes a fair amount of stress out of the unknown. So let's see how the weekend goes....

Using down time effectively

One of the ways I am trying to stay ahead of things is by using my downtime effectively ie using my RIM on the commute etc. The challenge is that while you can respond to email etc it isn't condusive for real thought. It's also amazing how stressed I get due to the lack of release via exercise etc. I had planned to get to the gym today and was very very edgy when things conspired to mess that up. I need to find a way to stay firm to my committments and not let distractions eat into that time ie I need an hour and 20 min to work out and I take a call that leaves me only an hour so I scrub the whole process. Very annoying.....

Lack of Balance leads to stress

I have been feeling like I am on the "freaking out" all day and have been struggling to try and work out the reasons. I think foremost is a lack of balance and control. I have so many things on my plate that I need to get done and with the kids and zamin their is no time which leads to a sense of falling slowly more behind (with the resulting increase in tension). So today I decided that I need to build into my already crazy schedule:

1. Exercise
2. Healthy Eating - Snacks, Drink's especially
3. I Beam Time Management Review
4. Networking Plan follow up
5. Review time for Key Priorities in my life
6. Build in "Reflection and Forward Thinking" Time
7. Fun time to relax and recharge

Now the big question is how do I implement that...?

so far so good....

So things have been pretty challenging so far. I know what I need to do but it seems impossible to squeeze it all in. I need to do a better job of getting the most from my time....more on that soon. Cold day, minus 4. The weather has spoiled me lately, not like a good canadian winter at all.

The Growing Crew...

Lately I have been spending a lot of time with my two youngest and it reminds me just how fabtastic being a parent is and how fast they grow up. I can barely remember Blake at this stage and yet he clearly was and now he is eleven. that's what prompted this journal in part because I want to make sure I have a record of events for them as well as myself. 

The Journal Begins..

Although I have used Blogger before I am going to see how it works using it as my personal journal...