Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - September 26th

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, I’m possible. – Audrey Hepburn

Success doesn’t happen overnight.  Keep your eye on the prize and don’t look back. – Erin Andrews

Setting a goal is not the main thing.  It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan. – Tom Landry

Do you know who Paul Wittgenstein is?  Neither did I when I heard his name on an episode of M*A*S*H called “Morale Victory”.  Wittgenstein was an Austrian concert pianist who lost his right arm via amputation during World War I.  During his time as a POW in a Siberian internment camp, he determined in his mind to make a career for himself as a one-armed (left) pianist.  He found an overturned crate in the camp and drew the lines of piano keys on the crate.  Daily he would “practice” his piano.  When a visiting dignitary saw Wittgenstein “practicing” on his crate, he was overcome with emotion and had him transferred to a camp that had an old piano, which Wittgenstein used to learn to play with only his left hand.  In 1915, Wittgenstein was released through a Russian/Austrian POW exchange program.  With defiant determination, he relaunched his career and became a success. 

As the third quarter of 2017 ends, I am reminded via Wittgenstein’s story that life does not always go as we plan.  However, we should never give up and push even harder to accomplish our goals and dreams. 

It’s always too early to quit. – Norman Vincent Peale

CHALLENGE: Review your 2017 goals.  How are you doing?  What changes do you need to make to accomplish your 2017 goals and finish the year strong?

Resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wittgenstein

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3WX6QVVc7wtQRCCKJzNHPJ0/paul-wittgenstein-the-one-armed-piano-maestro-of-ww1

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - September 19th

I think maybe my attention span is too long to tweet. – Nick Rhodes

Being close to nature, in general, helps boost a child’s attention span. – Richard Louv

A short attention span makes all of your perceptions and relationships shallow and unsatisfying. – Eckhart Tolle

According to a study conducted by the National Center for Biotechnology Information and the U.S. National Library of Medicine, goldfish have surpassed humans with longer attention spans.  The study stated that goldfish have a 9 second attention span; whereas, adults are now at an all-time low of 8.25 seconds. 

In Leon Watson’s article titled “Humans have shorter attention span than goldfish, thanks to smartphones”, he says the digital lifestyle has created this decline.  However, Bruce Morton, a researcher at the University of Western Ontario’s Brain and Mind Institute, believes that the shorter attention span is due to humans craving information.  With so much information, people quickly review information and then move on to the next source of data.

With only about two months left to work on goals in 2017 (December is all about family and parties so I am not counting that month), this is a great time to remove hindrances and help increase the attention span to help finish strong in 2017!

If you want to take some time away from technology and work on accomplishing a few goals without hearing “dings” while working on task, here are a couple ideas:

1.       Conduct a social media detox for a couple days allowing your mind to refocus on daily tasks.

2.       When working on the “ONE BIG THING” for the day, remove distractions such as phones, television, etc. allowing yourself to focus that one objective.

3.       Set a stop watch for a certain amount of time to work on a task.  With a set end time, it will be easier to focus on the task. 

A quick disclaimer…I love technology, use it daily and it makes my life so much better.  However, I occasionally need to remove myself from it. 

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. - Jack London

CHALLENGE: What changes do you need to make to have a better attention span than the goldfish?

Resources:

http://www.statisticbrain.com/attention-span-statistics/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/03/12/humans-have-shorter-attention-span-than-goldfish-thanks-to-smart/

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/7-tips-improve-your-attention-span-and-focus-instantly.html

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - September 12th

Wake up every day and look forward to learning something new. – Richard Branson

I’m an early riser and feel that some of the best ideas come to you between 5 and 6am. – Jonathan Weeks

If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. - William H. McRaven

Life is getting back to “normal” as summer has ended and we are heading into fall.  As we are getting back into a rhythm, we will all encounter days that craziness happens and we feel like nothing gets accomplished.    

While on my road trip to Pennsylvania, I read retired Admiral William McRaven’s book, “Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World”.  The former Navy Seal provides 10 ideas to incorporate into life to help individuals change.  The first idea that he talks about is making your bed every morning.  He believes that if you get up every morning and make your bed you are accomplishing the first task for the day.  By accomplishing that task, you will gain a sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task.  Additionally, he believes that if you have a bad day you will see the made bed when you return home and will be encouraged that you accomplished something today and tomorrow will be better.

There are various articles about what successful people do in the morning (a few are listed below in the resources section).  Successful people say they read, workout, meditate, do their one BIG task for the day, etc.  early in the morning.

I have tasks that I want to complete every day; however, after reading McRaven’s book, I changed my mindset.  My goal is to complete those 5 tasks every day before 8am.  With this new mindset, I go throughout my day knowing I accomplished “something” and I am ready to tackle whatever the world brings me next.   

CHALLENGE:  If you do not have a list of daily tasks you want to accomplish, create the list.  Then create your morning routine to accomplish them before you proceed with the rest of the day. 

Resources:

Retired Admiral McRaven’s Commencement Speech at the University of Texas - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxBQLFLei70

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/10-morning-habits-highly-successful-people-that-make-them-extraordinary.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jennifercohen/2014/11/26/10-morning-habits-successful-people-swear-by/#6a1564b36778

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2016/01/29/the-morning-habits-of-highly-successful-people/#56060169b63c

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - Septmeber 5th

I’ll stake everything on chocolate. – Milton Snavely Hershey

I started with ambition and intention of making the best chocolate that money or skill could make, regardless of the cost of manufacture. – Milton Snavely Hershey

My best advice to you is - when you tackle a job stick to it until you have mastered it. - Milton Snavely Hershey

My success is the result of not being satisfied with mediocrity, and in making the most of my opportunities. - Milton Snavely Hershey

CHOCOLATE is the most amazing thing ever put on this earth in my opinion and to think Hershey’s chocolate was almost never created! 

Over Labor Day weekend, I traveled to Hershey, Pennsylvania (and a few other places that provided some great stories!) and visited Hershey’s Chocolate World to learn how they make chocolate.  When I started the tour, there was a sign that read:

A Tale of

Determination

Delicious Chocolate

and

Lasting Goodness.

Milton Hershey was born in Derry Township, Pennsylvania and had a hard childhood.  At 13, he dropped out of school and at 14 he became an apprentice for a master confectioner in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Four years later, he borrowed money from his aunt and set up a candy shop in Philadelphia.  He had no success at his candy shop so he closed the business and reunited with his father in Denver.  While there, he worked as a confectioner and discovered caramel and how they used fresh milk to make it.  With an entrepreneur spirit, he decided to try his hand at his own business again in Chicago and New York.  Both businesses failed.  Determined he could own a successful candy company, he returned to Lancaster, Pennsylvania and started the Lancaster Caramel Company.  Soon he was shipping caramel candy all over the United States.   

In 1893, he was at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago when he became intrigued with the art of making chocolate and a few years later he opened the Hershey Chocolate Company.  With his new fascination with chocolate, he became determined to create a formula that would allow him to batch produce and bulk distribute milk chocolate candy.

He sold the Lancaster Caramel Company in 1900 and in a few years his expectations for his chocolate venture had far exceeded anything he thought.  In 1907, he created the Hershey Kiss and in 1924 the foil wrapper was added.

CHALLENGE:  If not for the failure of 3 candy companies owned by Milton Hershey, we would not have the Hershey Kiss.  During the hard times of life when you are confused and frustrated, eat a Hershey Kiss and remember the determination and resolve Milton Hershey went through for you to enjoy the sweat, amazing pleasure!

Resources:

http://www.evancarmichael.com/library/milton-hershey/Milton-Hershey-Quotes.html

https://www.biography.com/people/milton-hershey-9337133?_escaped_fragment_=