The Weiman Consulting Letter, May 2008

Wynnewood, PA

An AWESOME Morning Exercise!
Have you read “The 4 Hour Workweek?”
How to Un-Complicate Your Life
What Happened In Vegas?
Relax! (And do it for 20% OFF!)
Resources
New Video on Leadership Skills

An AWESOME Morning Exercise!

For the last few years, I have done an exercise every morning that helps prepare me to have an outstanding, productive, and happy day.

It’s not a physical exercise (I do a physical workout a few times a week!), it is a mental exercise. And I want to share it with you because it is a very high leverage activity that takes very little time.

The exercise has three sections. Each section takes about five minutes. I am going to share the first section with you in this newsletter, and I will share the other two sections in the next two newsletters.

As those of you who know me understand, I am a person who believes very strongly in creating in our minds first what we wish to achieve in the real world.

I am also a person who believes in gratitude. So, the first activity of my day, and the first section of my morning exercise, is to be mindful and express gratitude for everything wonderful in my life.

When the alarm goes off in the morning, I get out of bed, and as I walk to the kitchen I began expressing gratitude, in my mind, for everything that I have. I begin with how grateful I am that I’m alive, that I have a place to live, that I can do pretty much whatever I would like, and for the personal values that I possess.

Next, I express gratitude for all of the amazing people in my life, beginning with those who are closest to me: My family. I literally get an image of my mind of every family member and express gratitude for that person.

I then express gratitude in my mind for my closest friends. Finally, and to conclude the exercise, I express gratitude for the fact that I have a job that gives me the opportunity to serve others.

Starting your day with an “attitude of gratitude” puts you in a positive state of mind. It is impossible, I assure you, to begin the day in a bad mood or with a feeling of sadness or worry when you have just taken inventory of all the things that you can be thankful for.

It takes no more than five minutes of your time. It pays back in ways that can’t be measured.

Have you read “The 4 Hour Workweek?”

I first read Timothy Ferriss’s outstanding book, The 4 Hour Workweek, a few months ago. And I have to tell you that dollar for dollar, the cost of the book is the best investment in an information product that I’ve ever spent.

Ferriss discusses in this book how he has used various technologies to simplify his business life and provide the time to do the kinds of things, like vacations and learning how to tango, that many people put off because they are too busy. Check this out, because even if you are not able to follow all of his recommendations, even using a few can ease the burdens of everyday business life.

Here is the link to his website, where he describes the book and gives bonus information: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com

Here is a review of the book that I wrote in my blog recently: http://www.leadershipupdate.blogspot.com

How to Un-Complicate Your Life

I recently discovered an excellent website. It is Merlin Mann’s http://www.43folders.com And it is the home of the original article about the “hipster PDA.”

Then hipster PDA was Merlin’s answer to all of the high tech gadgets that people use to keep track of things like telephone numbers and what tomorrow’s date is.

It’s essentially a stack of colored 3 x 5 cards held together with a clip, and after using one for about a week, I can tell you that it is better than anything you can buy at RadioShack!

If you click on the link at the top of his website for the most popular posts, make sure you check out the video of him presenting to Google employees about how to keep their e-mail inboxes clear. It’s a wonderful technique for un-cluttering your life, and not letting e-mail dictate what you do from minute to minute.

What Happened In Vegas?

Well, the commercials say that what happens there stays there, but I want to tell you that the two-day workshop that David Frees and I presented, Breakthrough in Vegas, was phenomenal.

We covered the deep psychology of successful goal-setting, how expert communicators get their message across, the psychology of successful marketing, relaxation for leaders and much more. I’ll share key tips from the seminar here and in future newsletters.

One very high-leverage activity is to reach out to staff to find out what is on their minds, instead of waiting for them to come to you.

Everyone in a leadership position is accustomed to the fact of business life that information has a hard time traveling “uphill” to the executive suite. Rather than wait for direct reports and others to come to you, schedule regular meetings with all key staff to proactively learn what’s happening.

If you want to learn more about the seminar, click here:

http://www.breakthroughinvegas.com

If you want to be alerted to when we’ll do the seminar next year, just drop me an e-mail and I’ll create a separate list for next year’s program.

Relax! (And do it for 20% OFF!)

We devoted an entire session in Vegas to relaxation (stress reduction) because the higher you rise, the more stressful the position. The realities of executive life are that the air is thinner at the top, there is more pressure than ever to succeed, and more people are depending on you for their own success.

My good friend and colleague Dr. David Mulligan (http://www.isihq.com/) just sent me an article from an incentive business magazine citing plenty of new research that work-related stress is getting worse up and down the corporate ladder and across fields.

What can you do about it?

One of the most important things you can do to manage stress (instead of having it manage you) is to be mindful of those things that you can do something about, and those you can’t.

It’s also important to learn key relaxation techniques and stress management tactics that can help restore peace and sanity to your life.

My book, The Stress Solution, is a workbook that you can order by hard copy or in instant download format. It was written for executives, and contains helpful worksheets and exercises to help you enjoy a more satisfying business and personal life.

If you order either the hard copy or the e-book during the next week, you can get 20% OFF by entering the code ANN20 in the “Coupon Code” section of the order page. The discount is good through Friday, April 25.

Either item is worth many times the price, even before the discount. Get it now! And start reducing the stress in your life.

Resources

I am often asked what books I read, or resources I use for my own personal success. I recently listed them all at my website. You can browse them here:

https://www.weimanconsulting.com/other_resources.htm

New Video on Leadership Skills

Here’s a video just completed on 5 tips for more effective leadership:

Click here to see it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FckiqMDTzYU