Time Management! UGG! Time management is a huge source of
frustration. Why? Because I happen to have a lot of it. Yes, I left a teaching
career to start a personal business and I have TIME. And, suddenly I am left helpless to figure out the keys of social media marketing meanwhile trying to decide what is worth my time and what isn't! The solution? It looks like a little book by Dan Kennedy! 
     This book is a gem! In 161 pocket-sized pages, Dan lays out his key traits
in time management. Although the 2004 version of his book seemed a little
outdated in some areas, Dan makes a case for how to set goals, and stay focused. With all of the fancy gadgets today's technology available to us, Dan shows the reader how much he can get done by scheduling himself and finishing the task.
      Interestingly, Dan loves to work from home. He asserts that a lot of time is
  wasted traveling to and from work. Because Dan sees time as money, this travel time is expensive. For example, if I could bill $450 for an hour of my billable  time . . . would I really waste an hour on a freeway! No Way! And that is exactly how Dan sees time. In fact, he works from home and has his mail sent to  him. Dan doesn't want to be bothered. So he hires self motivated, excellent  managers to run the office while he is productive from home. He monitors his phone calls and only checks email once a week. I also like Dans daily schedule. Dan  has shown me the need to take an hour a day to write. Dan apparently doesn't get writers block and begins his morning with an hour of writing.  In Dans book, he is  writing to be published, I would assume in magazines and journals. The  advice is relevant for anyone with a blog, like me. I also appreciate the advice Dan gives on reading. Since reading his book, I have found a new love for books! I currenlty have 3 books in my line-up of personal development. Dan apparently reads a book a week, as well as journals and newsletters. He is a speed reader. Speed reading is a skill that I  have not managed yet, but at least my books are ready! And finally, Dan helps the reader get focused on making money! Here is an excerpt about getting focussed: "identify and write  down the three most important, most significant, most productive, most valuable things you can do to foster success in your particular enterprise. Just three! Write them down. From there, translate them into three actions you can take each and everyday. Write them down. Now, Nothing and no one can steal the time required to make certain those 3 things happen. Every single day. No exceptions. No excuses!" In short, " . . . (Dan quoting Jim Rohn) look very closely at the one thing or two or three things successful people get done without fail, every single day." 
    Dan really hits the "nail on the head" when it comes to staying focussed, valuing your own time, and charging customers accordingly! Thank you Dan! Will Do! (I am off to the library to check out Dan's other books and add them to the list of Personal Development literature)!

    Its exactly 1 week after the Tough Mudder, and I have a cold
that will not let up! I felt is come down Tuesday after the mudder, and  progressively get worse through out the week. Thankfully, I don't have a temperature, but the hacking has been a difficult side effect of my post Tough Mudder event. NyQuil is my best friend, next to the Zantex that I hope will kick in! But HEY, its worth the bragging rights, right? 
    I did trudge straight up and down that hill, and the next one and the next hill, leap over the gapping moat, crawl through the claustrophobic tunnels, climb up and over logs and hay, try to carry my own body weight on the rings, and some monkey bars, swim under barrels, climb up and down clay mud hills, scale 5, 10 and 12 foot walls, run up a half pipe only to be caught by burly men at the top! I jumped off of a plank into muddy water, and yes, I tried the electro shock therapy . . . . and although difficult, I have registered for another obstacle type mudder! The Warrior Dash is only 3 weeks away! So, what's a little cold when I have the mudder bragging rights? (smile)