Eliminate Chaos, Clutter & Overwhelm From Your Life

Does the idea of having E-mails, of both the ‘Read’ and ‘Unread’ categories, being zero at the end of each and every day seem beyond belief to you? And I am neither speaking about a mass delete nor about having such a massive accumulation that one simply makes still another archival folder and “dumps” them all in, regardless of their status.

In order to reduce the massive amounts of e-mail, the following procedure has worked miracles for many thousands of folks, allowing them to get to that magical number of ‘ZERO’ each and every day this way. Continue reading →

One of the most powerful characteristics about humankind is the fear and unwillingness to allow change in our lives. This is even where the person sees quite clearly that this change is for only the most positive of reasons. It actually takes courage to permit ourselves, or allow others, to contribute to us in order to enact any change.

Our minds are far more powerful than most of us give it credit. Now couple this with a mindset of “I’ll do it my way. After all, I’ve been doing it my way for most, if not all, of my life”. This mantra (we can actually call it that), becomes the rationale to justify our position, hence sabotage any degree of support from those who attempt to offer this support to us. The excuses, rationalizations and stories we tell ourselves seem to be adequate justification to the mind in the avoidance of change. Continue reading →

In the ebb and flow of our lives, most people fervently believe that circumstance, happenstance, coincidence, and luck control our outcomes. However, I recognize that our own subconscious mind provides us with the empowerment to directly affect this ebb and flow for ourselves, to an extraordinary degree.

The ‘Power of Intention’ has been the most significant realization of my adult life. Since 1973 I have spoken in my presentations around the world of the conscious and the subconscious, and how far more powerful our subconscious is in each one of us. Yet, we spend the majority of our lives rarely tapping into the strength and resolve of our subconscious. We are basically unattached to our subconscious mind, let alone believing that it has significant power. Continue reading →

Let’s say I send Bob an e-mail with four questions I need answered. I find it both exasperating and discourteous when Bob answers my questions by hitting ‘New’ rather than ‘Reply’.

By sending the response to me via ‘New’ I am not in touch with my questions (which Bob may not have responded to for days). Receiving something like this:

Hi Len,
Here are the answers to your questions:
- Friday
- No
- Yes
- 18
Bob

I have no idea what the questions were! Had Bob hit ‘Reply’, the questions would be in the same e-mail I originally sent for me to easily relate to. Continue reading →

“Anytime is a good time so long as you know what to do with it.”

In the current, and I fervently believe, the temporary, state of our nation’s economy, it is somewhat intuitive to see only the short term and its effects. The result is anxiety, stress and, worst of all, hopelessness. This economic situation is an enormous opportunity to evoke still higher levels of our intelligence and wisdom. Our country is made up of businesses that have thrived on challenges. And this current challenge is forcing us to look to the smartest, most resourceful ways to maintain, and I daresay grow, our productivity. This is the long term approach. My company’s business growth over the past thirty-five years, has been a result of training people in basically two ways- productivity enhancement and stress reduction. Continue reading →

I have come to realize that in this world of cyberspace, there is a need for cyber-etiquette. You make a call and end up in the person’s voice-mail. You take the time to leave a brief, yet detailed, message seeking information that you need.

The person calls you back, saying “Hi, I see that you called me,” And then there is silence. You break the silence by asking “Do you have the answers to my questions?” Their response many times is “Oh, I didn’t bother to listen to your message. I’m just returning your call.” Now it’s up to you to remember what questions you originally asked.

Now that’s VOICE-MAIL EXASPERATION. I’m aware that we live in an age wherein speed and multi-tasking is the norm, yet I consider this to be duly lacking in respect. Continue reading →

Most people believe that it is the next piece of software that will be the panacea for taking them out of the chaos of information overload.

While, in this day and age, we cannot live without software, software alone as the sole solution is a fairy tale approach to an overwhelming condition.

What has been incredibly overlooked is, what I refer to as, the ‘Human’ side of information management. Whether it be paper-based or electronically-held, teaching people how to regain control of all that falls upon them in this myriad of ever-flowing channels has to be coupled with tools that transcend software. Continue reading →

Business across the country have no idea how much money is being lost on a daily basis as a result of information being lost or misplaced, hence losing control of your work.

Independent studies over the past fifteen years have been conducted in the arena of information management, all of which were independent of one another. However, each study happened to ask one question in common—how much time does an employee spend per day looking for information that they cannot locate? Each study arrived at 60 to 90 minutes per employee per day. Take the low end of the study-60 minutes-now multiply this by the number of employees you have; now multiply this by 22 (working days per month); now multiply this by 12 (months). Continue reading →

I contend that, virtually, each and every day in your work you are either a sabotageur or sabotagee. While you most likely find this accusation to be startling, you are about to understand its relevance and reality.

Imagine that you have been working for a week on a proposal to present to a prospective client. If accepted, this would be the largest contract ever brought into your firm. You have made the final touches on it this evening. Prior to leaving the office you place the proposal in your boss’s in-tray with a note attached asking for her review and blessing. Continue reading →

I contend that the biggest disputes taking place in relationships, both in our business and our personal lives, emanate from the failure to convey information. The most commonly used mea culpa of “I forgot” does not lend itself to forgiveness very often.

One of the world’s greatest pool players of all time is Willie Mosconi. What made Mosconi so adept at the game was not simply that he could shoot a ball into any pocket on the pool table, rather his uncanny ability, as a result of shooting his last shot, to have that little white cue ball in the perfect position for his next shot. In other words, Mosconi was a master of what I call ‘Next Step Mentality’. Continue reading →