Editor's announcement: If you're the type who likes listening to posts rather than reading them, here's some cool news. Pick Your Goals posts are now available in audio format, thanks to Odovox! Scroll to the bottom of the post to listen. Enjoy! 

Each day, I receive a ton of emails from PYG readers. (Thank you!)

Recently, a reader named Herbert wrote to me with an interesting question. I thought it’d make a good post because most of us share this same frustration in life.

Here’s what Herbert wrote to me:

Dear Pooja,

Thank you for your newsletters, they are a great deal in my life and am sure to other peoples’ lives.

I am aged 30 years and my life has been a testimony to many (from dust to grace). I grew up from a very humble background and am at a certain level now. Am a courageous person who believes that everything is possible in life.

My only problem is inconsistency in the fire and drive inside of me to attain success. Certain months, am all fired up in every sphere of life while others, I get locked up in a comfort zone. How do I keep refreshed with a burning desire for success in life?

Thank you.

First off, thank you for a great question, Herbert!

Now, to my answer. Here’s what I replied:

Hi Herbert,

Thanks for writing. 

What you resist, persists.

If you’re feeling low on the fiery energy, I suggest let it be. Be low. You won’t be so for a long time, anyway.

But the more you resist it, and “try” or “force” yourself to get motivated, the sooner you’ll replenish your energies. It’ll break the back.

The comfort zone ain’t a bad thing necessarily — it’s for our comfort after all. So enjoy being comfortable for a while and then when you’re rejuvenated, do something that stretches you out of your comfort zone.

After all, life is dynamic and we cannot keep desiring more, more and more — we also need some time to stop and smell the roses, hey? Treat your “inconsistencies” as a sign that a new, vibrant energy is soon to come. In the meanwhile, enjoy the “down” time thoroughly.

Hope it helps.

Pooja

Let’s expand on that answer for a minute, shall we?

What you resist, persists.

Herbert here was feeling the urge to relax or let go. If he resists it, things will only go south.

Let’s face it. Life is full of ebb and flow movement. You can’t be super-motivated all the time. Some days, you’ll feel the need to laze around, do nothing and basically stuff your big plans.

Should such a need arise, I like to pay attention to what my mind and body are saying. Usually, they talk a lot of sense.

Yes, your mind could be pulling the procrastination trick, but that’s not always the case. So it’s OK to cut yourself some slack.

A Personal Story

When I was in college, I knew a guy who would push all the wrong buttons in people. Let’s call him Travis. I’ve never met anyone of that name, so I think it’s OK to call him that.

You know how you want some people to just shut up because they can’t talk sense and have zero empathy toward others? Yes, that was Travis.

He’d come up with the starkest of remarks out of the blue and do things a normal person would never do or say about their friends.

While Travis clearly thought he was being smart, in reality he was alienating people. By a million miles per hour.

So while it seemed like everyone hated disliked the way Travis behaved, no one took it that seriously. At least, they didn’t let it show.

And I was no different.

My Resistance to Facing Reality

In dealing with Travis, I’d force myself to change my reactions and thoughts toward him. Because I thought I was being judgemental. I suppressed it – and when I really wanted to tell him he’s being a jerk, I kept quiet.

For a long time, I didn’t talk about it with anyone because I felt guilty of such thoughts — what an irony, right?

Long story short, it bothered me big-time.

The result of doing that was surprising. The more I resisted, the more reactions were triggered which, in turn, I suppressed.

Can you see what was happening? I was going round in circles.

So here’s what I did to snap out of it:

I had to fully accept what I thought about Travis. Then, I had to come up with a plan to tackle my feelings.

Why were his actions pushing my buttons? The first place was to look within me because it may not be solely related to him.

A few things surfaced in the answer to that question

One, I couldn’t take it when someone was targeted for no reason (which is what Travis usually did, picking on one or two people) — you can call me a cheerleader of the “underdog”. It’s just who I am. Is that a good thing? I don’t know.

Second, I felt I was being ridiculed by his derogatory remarks. This was a sign that I wasn’t good enough. As if I had to please everyone, including Travis, to feel validated. But was that true? Heck, no.

Lastly, I realised it was my dominant, egoistic, masculine energy that was responding.

In the end, dealing with all of this was my business, not his.

So, How Do You Deal with People Who Push Your Buttons?

My course of action was to fully acknowledge my feelings minus any guilt. Yes, I’m responsible for what happens in my life because I control my reactions.

That said, sometimes you gotta call a jerk, well, a jerk. Even if silently. It needs to be done for your sanity.

Instead of resisting and suppressing, I took time to acknowledge the feelings of contempt, guilt and a lot more that was going on inside me. I gave myself the “permission slip”. It was OK to feel this way. I don’t always have to be so hard on myself.

After that episode of soul-searching, I started wholeheartedly ignoring this person’s comments. That worked like a charm and he eventually drifted away from my life.

The point of this story? Anything you resist will come back to bite you. Don’t. do. it.

Make sense?

How Do I Keep Motivated and Fired Up Every Day?

Coming back to Herbert’s email, my answer is you don’t.

In the next post, I’ll decode the second part of my reply to Herbert — is your comfort zone a blessing or a curse?

In the meanwhile, tell me what you think. Should you deal with the complex stuff up front or resist it? Should Herbert resist his urge to relax and keep going? Should he cut himself some slack? Is it OK to feel not motivated at times? Love to hear your thoughts.

Creative Commons Image via DrSam.

The post How Do I Keep Motivated and Fired Up Every Day? Answer: You Don’t. appeared first on Pick Your Goals.

Editor’s announcement: If you’re the type who likes listening to posts rather than reading them, here’s some cool news. Pick Your Goals posts will soon be available in audio format, thanks to Odovox! Now you can listen to them by scrolling at the bottom of each post. Enjoy! 

If you’re wondering how many hours of sleep do you really need, you’re not alone.

I used to stress out if I didn’t get eight hours of sleep a night. “I’m not going to be very productive today – I didn’t get enough sleep,” I would tell myself.

Just like me, you may be even scheduling your sleep in 8-hour increments each night.

But here’s the thing: Sleeping eight hours can actually be more harmful than you think.

Here’s why.

A 2002 study concluded that the lowest mortality rates occurred among the subjects who slept between 6.5 and 7.4 hours per night.

Basically, it means that people who slept for that amount of time each night were the healthiest among those included in the study. So, maybe, the optimal amount of time to sleep each night is less than what we’ve all been told since we were six.

For those of us who have felt guilty with each new article and doctor who frowns upon the less-than-stellar sleep habits, this is good news.

If this correlation holds true, your sleep habits might not be so bad after all.

But Don’t Be So Quick

Keep in mind that simply because the study found a correlation between sleep duration and mortality, it still doesn’t prove that less than 8 hours of sleep is better for you. But it is an interesting suggestion.

Media outlets (and, yes, even some scientists) are quick treat correlation and causation as the same thing when, in fact, it is quite possible for two factors to share a correlation, without one factor directly causing the other.

The logical fallacy of correlation-causation can lead to many false conclusions.

In this case, one study that reveals a correlation between sleep duration and mortality is not enough to prove that improper sleep duration causes or directly affects mortality rates.

There are countless other factors that can and do come in to play for both sleep duration and mortality.

For instance, diseases and disorders that contribute to mortality rates may also cause an increase in sleep duration. When you suffer from the common cold or the flu, you tend to sleep more as your body exhausts itself working to fight the illness.

Those suffering from devastating and life-threatening illnesses also tend to sleep longer as their bodies fight or succumb to said illness.

It is difficult for any study to take each and every possible factor into account. So it is possible that the sleep habits of mortally ill patients could have skewed the results of such a study (and, in turn, the conclusions drawn from said study).

Similarly, warnings that oversleeping could cause illnesses and health risks such as depression, diabetes, obesity or heart disease also fail to take other factors into account.

For example, income status, genetics and lifestyle can all contribute to mortality rates. Assuming that sleep habits cause heart disease, without accounting for these other factors, will likely result in incorrect or incomplete conclusions.

So What Does All this Say about Your Sleep Habits?

Should we return to striving for eight hours a night? Should we try for seven now? Will it really affect our health or productivity at all?

Regardless of whether or not oversleeping increases mortality, it is clear that flawed sleep habits do have a negative affect on our health, personalities, productivity and overall well-being.

Research and personal experience also makes it clear that sleep needs are highly personalized.

An adult male who repairs and operates machinery may find that his ideal sleep schedule is 7.5 hours a night, while a six-year-old girl adjusting to elementary school may require 10 hours to feel fully rested.

In fact, our sleep needs are proven to differ with age. Children and teens tend to need between eight to ten hours a day, while adult needs vary between seven to nine hours. Senior citizens may require even less.

Perfecting Your Sleep Habits

Rather than looking for a magic number to chase, try discovering your own unique sleep needs and meet them. Next time you have a free weekend, try going to bed at a decent hour—without setting an alarm—and then noting what time you naturally wake up.

This should give you a rough ideal to follow.

Sleep habits can be just as critical as how long you sleep.

Luckily, good sleep habits have a strong connection to good old common sense:

• Aim to go to sleep and wake up at a similar time each day. (Yes, even on the weekends!)

• Take 10 or 15 minutes to unwind before going to bed.

• Avoid caffeine too close to bedtime.

• Keep your bedroom free of distractions: Televisions, computers, work you’ve brought home — everything needs to go.

• Exercise regularly.

• Invest in a mattress and pillow that meets your body’s unique needs.

Studies will come and go, and the mythical “magic amount of sleep” will change and change again.

Focus on determining the amount of sleep that makes you feel best throughout the day, and try to stick to that pattern.

The amount of sleep that is best for someone else might not be best for you, so try not to get caught up in the latest sleep fads and studies if they go against what your body naturally tells you to do.

Your Turn

How much sleep do *you* think you need? Share your experiences below!

The post How Many Hours of Sleep Do You Really Need (It May Not be 8 Hours) appeared first on Pick Your Goals.

 Click to Listen [15 mins]

A multipotentialite is a rare (or is it?) breed of humans who have several passions, although seemingly unrelated. These people love to “smoosh” different skills and interests together to build something unique.

If you look at a multipod’s resume, you’ll either see a series of totally unrelated “jobs” (although chances are, they will be business projects) or you’ll see a beautiful “mess” that somehow works and sticks together and even lets a multipod make a cool living off it.

But in reality, especially if you’re a freelancer, small business owner, or serial entrepreneur, being a multipotentialite, (or a multipod, scanner, renaissance man or woman) is a huge asset.

Here are some examples of renaissance men from history:

• Leonardo da Vinci: Painter, Sculptor, Philosopher, Engineer and more.
• Michelangelo Buonarroti: Painter, Sculptor, Poet, Writer, Musician.
• Galileo: Astronomy, Mathematics, Philosophy, Physics.
• Isaac Newton: Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy, Alchemy,Theology.
• Rabindranath Tagore: Literature, Musician, Painter.

And there are many more.

In this podcast, I talk about my story of multipotentiality, how to identify a multipod (and if you’re one), their characteristics and how to keep up with the demands of such a lifestyle.

 Click to Listen [15 mins]

Books mentioned in the Podcast:

• Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher

What did you think of the podcast? Leave a comment below!

The post [Podcast] Are You a Multipotentialite? appeared first on Pick Your Goals.

You look up at the clock on your bedroom wall, and watch the second hand tick away with a ruthless, mechanical precision. Tick … tock … tick … tock – the time slips away like quicksand.

You let out a sigh of defeat, and look back down at the computer screen, your face bathed in an eerie artificial glow.

This was supposed to be the day when I finished my report for the boss, what went wrong? Where did the last few hours go? Surely that clock has to be wrong.

Your mind starts counting back through everything you’ve done today that wasn’t the work you wanted to complete.

You reckon a couple of hours were spent on Facebook and Twitter … after all; you’ve got to know what your friends are up to, right?

Then there was that cooking show on TV that you just couldn’t miss, and religious checking of your favorite news sites, and all those text messages that you just can’t ignore when your phone starts buzzing.

A familiar feeling of frustration spreads through your mind – you’ve just wasted another day, with nothing to show for it when the sun goes down.

You woke up this morning ready to own the day; knowing exactly what you needed to do. And now, as you ought to be winding down for a well-deserved night’s rest, you’re mentally kicking yourself instead.

Can you relate?

If you do and you want to go “cold turkey” on your time-wasting habit, then I’ve got the medicine for you.

When I was at college, I’d waste a lot of time. I would sleep in until lunchtime (missing classes in the process) and crawl out of bed just in time to play video games or watch movies.  Of course, my essays and assignments would only just manage to be completed in time.

Basically, I threw away dozens of hours every week. This is time I can never get back. At a conservative estimate of six wasted hours every day, seven days a week, for three years, I threw away something in the region of 6552 hours.

That’s 273 days over a three year period; practically one year of my college life up in smoke, like burning paper, never to return.

It was at this stage of my life that I realized I needed to tackle my demons, and stop wasting so much precious time. I couldn’t afford to throw away almost a third of every day – and no longer did I want to.

So what did I do? Made some changes.

In this article I’m going to share some of my favorite strategies for eliminating wasted time, so that you have more opportunities to accomplish your goals and do great things in your life.

How to Stop Wasting Time and Get More From Life

1. Limit How Others Access You

One of the most powerful time management lessons I have ever learned comes from The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss.

Ferriss suggests that one of the most common time wasters – especially for those of us who work in a corporate office environment – is allowing colleagues and those around you too much access to your time.

Basically, in an office environment it’s not unusual to have people come up to your desk to ask questions, or bombard your direct dial with requests, or send endless litanies of emails to your inbox.

These interruptions vie for your attention, and therefore waste your time – taking away from the resource you have to meet your goals and get important work done.

The solution is to manage the access that others have to you in a better fashion.

Here’s a simple blueprint you can follow, which delivers very positive results:

• Let your colleagues know (in the friendliest possible way) that you are busy. Consider putting up a “do not disturb” sign when you really cannot afford to be interrupted.
• Respond to emails at set intervals – rather than on a when-they-come-in basis. I’ll talk more about this shortly, but for now know that this will free up a lot of time.
• Give off an air that makes others not want to interrupt you. My favorite strategy here is to don a pair of noise-canceling headphones; wearing headphones gives off a vibe that you are busy and don’t want unplanned company. The other benefit of wearing noise-canceling headphones is you can block background noise, and removing the distraction.

By managing your own access better and discouraging those around you from needlessly interrupting you, you’ll free up large swathes of time that would otherwise be wasted, and get more work done.

2. Quit Checking Devices and Emails

Another massive time-waster (and a problem that seems only to be growing in stature) is the 21^st Century affliction that I call “device addiction”.

Are you bitten by the device-addiction bug? Here’s how to find out:

• You check your phone for texts/notifications/missed calls every few minutes.
• You sometimes imagine you are hearing your phone ring or vibrate – but when you check you haven’t missed any notification.
• You constantly check your email inbox (whether at work in front of your computer, or at home, or on-the-go on your smart phone or device).
• You cannot leave any message, missed call, or email unanswered … even if responding would actually interrupt the flow of what you are currently working on.

Device addiction leads to massive amounts of wasted time. And what does that mean? You are missing out on getting the most from life.

I’ll be realistic here – it’s unlikely that you will be able to “banish” device addiction completely.

Our modern lives are so intrinsically tied up with digital technology, that to try and eliminate it from your life would be a totally Luddite and pointless.

Instead, make it a goal to structure your use of mobile devices and email.

Rather than constantly checking, replying, and getting caught up in procrastination, make it a habit to limit to a set “timing structure”.

For example, resolve to check your emails and mobile phone once every hour.

And give yourself no more than ten minutes to make any replies (which means that unimportant messages will have to remain without a response).

Of course, you need to be ruthless in doing this and wean yourself out of the mentality that you have to check your phone every five minutes, or that all work emails are 100% mission-critical.

3. Avoid Time-Wasting Activities (aka Kick Procrastination)

Lastly, avoid things that contribute to procrastination.

Go ahead and create a list of activities you often indulge in, which also happen to be a time-suck.

I’m talking about things like:

• Playing video games
• Browsing online shopping sites
• Channel surfing on the TV
• Reading trashy magazines

Your list can include anything you would rather not spend your time doing.

Once you’ve created your list of activities that waste time in your life, you need to take steps to reduce the impact of that wastage.

This will obviously depend on what activities you included on your list.

In order to get the ball rolling, here are some examples:

• Playing video games – Sell your games consoles and games. You’ll free up some extra cash, de-clutter, and eliminate the temptation completely.
• Browsing online shopping sites – Use technology against technology! Get a site-blocking tool, such as StayFocusd, in order to limit the time you can spend on such websites.
• Channel surfing on the TV – Get rid of your expensive cable plan, and set yourself a time limit for how much TV you will allow yourself to watch on any given day. Plan your viewing in advance, so that you don’t need to channel surf.
• Reading trashy magazines – Cancel your subscriptions, and throw away existing magazines (or donate to someone who wants them).

By the way, this will have a double benefit of saving you money too. So not only do you get more time, but you free up extra cash as well!

The point?

Make it super hard for yourself to procrastinate. Soon, you’ll procrastinate procrastination itself

Conclusion

To recap, we’ve looked at three very powerful strategies for reducing the amount of time you waste. Now it’s up to you to implement these strategies, and redirect the time you free up into more productive pursuits (such as accomplishing your life goals).

I’ll leave you with a powerful and pertinent quote from Benjamin Franklin:

Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.

If you love life, then do your best to eradicate wasted time – it’s a challenge you’ll never regret undertaking.

The post 3 Simple Ways to Stop Wasting Time, Kick Procrastination and Get More From Life appeared first on Pick Your Goals.

It’s round up time of the month!

This time, I’ve hand-picked 6 newest and coolest posts on confidence, success and productivity from the Net.

Pick one post from the list at a time and give it a read. Number 3 and 4 are my favourites.

Don’t forget to come back to leave a comment on which one’s your favourite and why!

6 Best Confidence + Productivity Posts this Week

1. How to Get 40 Hours of Work Done in 16.7: Like most people, the author worked 60 hours a week, sometimes totaling to 100 hours even. That’s when he experimented with Pomodoro Technique and in doing so, he asked a key question: Is it better to work 5 days a week or 7 days a week? The answer will surprise you. Neat post!

2. Nine Nuggets of Career Advice I’d Give to My Younger Self: What would you tell your teenage self? Twenty-year-old self? Thirty-year-old self? Nine professionals share their best career advice such as “start saving as soon as possible” and “always dress with success in mind”. Take these 9 tips to avoid regret in your gray-hair days.

3. 10 Words People Who Are Not Confident Always Use: The next time someone uses words “might”, “suspect”, or “worried” a little too much, take it as a red flag of lack of confidence. Intrigued? Read the post for a full list.

4. 14 Ways To Manipulate Your Mind For Success: Aristotle said that excellence is not an act but a habit. And it’s true — you can’t start a business and expect it to sky-rocket under normal circumstances. You inch your way up by showing up every day. Same goes for your health. Exercising once in a while for 3 hours straight will cause your body more harm than good. The idea is to balance it all out by developing a habit and starting small.

5. Do People Only Use 10% of Their Brains?: Actually, no. It’s an age-old myth and this post does a fine job of clearing the air.

6. 10 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself. #9 Is a Must: The author shares some great tips in this post. No. 7 is spot on for me!

Hope you enjoyed this round up. More coming soon.

Which one was your favourite of the above? Do you agree/disagree with any? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

You might also enjoy: 6 Best Better Habits + Productivity Posts this Week: Round Up #7.

The post 6 Best Confidence + Productivity Posts from the Net: Round Up #8 appeared first on Pick Your Goals.

 Click to Listen [14:07]

Human behaviour is a fascinating and, at times, mind-boggling field of study.

Why do you favour a particular person over another?

Why would some people never go back to a favourite store because they had one rude encounter with the new sales girl?

Why would most of us still continue once the free membership to a magazine converts into a paid one? Are we being lazy or is it something else?

In today’s podcast, I talk about a key ingredient that will put some light on above scenarios because it influences all your decisions.

It’s called cognitive bias. Think of it as a mental human error, something that’s present and prevalent in each one of us.

It’s independent of your caste, creed or religion.

It stands irrespective of your principles and values leading to errors in decision-making and judgement.

You may be a smart, rational person, and still be biased toward certain way of thinking.

In today’s podcast, we look at 5 types of cognitive bias that stop you from acting rationally:

1. Confirmation bias
2. Negativity bias
3. Loss Aversion
4. The Halo effect
5. Illusion of control

If you want to live a happier life and process information intelligently based on logic, rationale and evidence by understanding why you do what you do, listen to this podcast while driving your car or running on the treadmill.

 Click to Listen [14:07]

What did you think of the podcast? Leave a comment below!

The post [Podcast] 5 Types of Cognitive Bias that Stop You from Being Rational appeared first on Pick Your Goals.

If I am not conscious, I will be reliant on my mood and respond. That could literally mean anything. My behavior will be inconsistent simply because mood is forever changing.

That would stop me from making smarter decisions, having more choices and control over myself and having other people’s trust and support.

Which is detrimental to my own goals and happiness in the long run. You can’t do it all alone, you need others to cheer for and lift you up.

For example, at times I may feel like listening to this person and really understand where they are coming from.

But it could also mean I don’t feel like listening just because I’m having a bad day.

The emotional center or primitive part of our brain is involved in every decision we make. When you’re feeling strong emotions, these parts can hijack your brain.

That’s where self-awareness is so purposeful.

Awareness happens between the space of feeling something and doing something as a result of that feeling.

It lets you use your emotions wisely and catch yourself before you go into the primitive flight or freeze response.

It’s not that hard. All you need to do is step back and observe the two humans, you and your friend, engaged in a conversation.

Now watch your body language. Are you animated? Are you agitated? Are you engaged? Could your words be hurting this other person? Are you enjoying this person’s company, and vice versa?

By detaching yourself from “you”, you get a chance to become even more aware of yourself. Kind of like an Out of Body Experience (OBE).

How can you be more aware the next time you’re in a heated argument?

The post Thoughts on Self-Awareness appeared first on Pick Your Goals.

I have. In fact, I used to do that a lot.

I’d stare at the computer screen, dreaming about doing something that would inspire me.

Doing something that would truly make me happy.

And allow me to use my creativity to make a living.

A lot of times, I’d read stories of other entrepreneurs who started an online business with ridiculously low investments.

One day, I discovered that you could create a website for under $20 and get it up and running in under 30 minutes.

I was hooked. Soon, I was consuming new information and digesting it. Although when the thought of taking action came, I’d suppress it because I was afraid.

Each day, I’d “escape” my working window and open up a new one to read blogs of these people who were living their passion.

After five years of courting the idea of quitting my job in hopes of something bigger, better and less restraining, I finally quit to start my writing business from home.

I remember that evening when I came back from work. I’d quit! I was ecstatic.

I’d finally be free from the shackles of a day job and do what I always wanted to.

What could go wrong? I had done enough research. I knew where to look for assignments.

That evening, I sent out a few emails to prospective “clients” that would hire me, and waited.

And waited…

Waited…

Until a few days later, one responded back.

She was a Content Manager for a rev-share site. I won’t go into details, but suffice it to say that with a rev-share site, you don’t know when you’ll get paid (if you get paid at all that is).

After writing several pieces for them, I had whopping $34 in my account and that’s when the company decided their model was no longer working and the website shut down.

What happened to my $34? Who knows.

So much for a glimmer of hope.

But that was not a complete waste — I learned heaps from writing those few pieces at 700 words each. I used them as clips for real clients.

That was in early 2010. Many such hard lessons later, I came to discover a whole new world of lucrative freelance writing assignments that’s so different from a typically dull 9-5 JOB.

I make full-time living working (almost) part-time.

Here’s what you’re getting into.

I get to work from home;

I can wake up at 9 AM or work until 2 AM if I want to;

I help amazing clients with their content;

I can take a day off in the middle of the week “just because”;

My work constantly gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling inside every day.

Luck is B.S.

I didn’t reach her by chance or luck. It has been a looong journey of learning, unlearning and relearning in my business.

A profound principles in life is that there is no overnight success. I read on James Altucher’s blog once. An overnight success takes at least five years of solid work.

So freaking true.

Your life doesn’t give a rat’s ass about you.

If you don’t show interest in it, that is.

But if you want to create a life on your terms, listen up.

I want you to have it all. I want you to live the life I’m living.

I am willing to give you everything I’ve learned in these 4+ years all wrapped beautifully in a gift box.

This is where we reach a fork in the road.

At this point, I want to tell you two things:

• This is no get-rich-quick scheme.
• If you want to make a living as a writer, you need to know how to write and string a sentence together.

And this is not for everyone, by the way.

If you cannot sacrifice the stability of a monthly paycheck even a little bit (because you’ll need a few extra hours transition into your writing business, gradually) OR if you cannot spare a few hours to put into your business from the start, you can safely skip reading any further.

This is for you if:

• You love freedom and working on your own terms;
• You’re ready to do the work;
• Hate the feeling of a “boss” always looking over your shoulder;
• Want to spend ore time with your family instead of commuting;
• Have no ceiling over what you can make per month
• Love writing

So! I am excited to invite you to The Well-Paid Writers’ Club.

Inside the Club there is everything you need to get started to make a living writing.

It is my hold-your-hand mentorship course that has step-by-step reports on how to:

• break into freelance writing with no experience
• make your first $1000 writing
• find high-paying new clients
• transition into writing full-time (if you wish to quit your day job)
• market your services as a new writer without appearing desperate
• identify the types of writing that pay from writing scams
• pitch editors and get new assignments
• negotiate and price your service
• insider tips from my ow first-hand experience
• monthly Q & A to ask your burning questions about your business
• access to a writer community

All this at a monthly price of a cheap dinner.

Let me be honest. Working behind the scenes on the Club has already taken more than 15 hours, and I’ve not even uploaded 15% of the content yet.

Using simple math, if I were coaching you for 15 hours, I’d charge you $2475 at least.

In the Club, I am giving away the same lessons I do with my one-on-one coaching clients. I give away marketing tips and productivity hacks through resources that you can keep for life.

I also host a monthly webinar where you get to interact and ask me your burning questions first hand.

Ask me anything from getting your first break or moving to $6K/mo in your writing business.

Value? Priceless.

You can have all this at only $19/mo.

No, I’m not kidding.

How to Become a (Paid) Writer & Make Your First 1K Writing

At this time, I am taking only 20 driven students inside the Club. If you think you’re one, go here and register your interest.

We’ll be opening the gates for the first time in the coming days. Behind the gates, your content is ready, waiting to be served.

You can opt out anytime. No “cancellation fees”. No “contracts”. Nothing.

It’s only for 20 people who are READY to make an extra income from writing from home.

Once you tell me you’re interested, you’ll be the first one to know when the gates open.

I’m not sure when we’ll open them again once 20 seats are filled.

Cool?

Listen: You’re unique. You have a message to share. And writing can give you that platform. The possibilities are endless.

I know what you’re capable of.

So I’ll be waiting for you on the other side.

Let’s get this party started!

The post How I Make a Living as a Writer (and You Can too) appeared first on Pick Your Goals.

Click to learn how to make your communication more effective with this one simple tweak

Picture this: You’re sitting at a cafe with a friend. This friend is very passionate about their new business idea and they want your honest opinion about it.

You listen with keen interest, mentally making notes of all the loopholes you want to prevent your friend form making. After they are finished talking, you’re ready to jump in and emerge as a helpful and smart buddy.

You say, “Adam, I love your idea, but…”

You’ve lost them the moment they hear you say, wait for it… “but”.

Every form of conversation is a type of selling. In this case, you’re selling your opinions to your friend, and it’s up to them whether they accept or reject them.

The problem? Selling is about them not us. Get that itched in your head.

You’re selling at every point of your day. From selling an idea to yourself — example: should I cook pasta or mashed potatoes tonight — to selling to others in our lives — example: Kids, it’s sleep time now!

But when you do it backwards — focusing too much on you than the other person — you start using the negator “But”.

The moment you hear “but” in a sentence, your mind will automatically negate what goes before “but” and only focus on what comes after (which is not going to be what you want to hear most of the times).

So in this case, your friend will only remember the problem with the idea, and conveniently forget the fact that you said you loved it.

Be mindful of your buts is so important in everyday language.

In today’s podcast, I tell you one simple tweak that will make your conversations more enjoyable and your negotiations more effective and juicy.

Ready? Hit the Play button to listen today’s podcast. [9:21 mins]

Click to learn how to make your communication more effective with this one simple tweak

The post Get Your But Out of the Way appeared first on Pick Your Goals.

Most of us live a life where we don’t question our everyday-doings. We go about the day and our life the “usual way”.

As kids, we’ve been taught to behave a certain way and to do what’s right. We carry the same societal conditioning into our adulthood about the rights and wrongs of living life.

You keep putting your head down, doing what everyone else does – grow up, get a job, get married, buy a car and a house on mortgage, have two kids, work every day tirelessly to retire someday.

In the process, you die every day to live someday waiting for the day of retirement when everything will be as you always wanted it to be.

But guess what? It doesn’t work out exactly as per the plan.

What a sad way to waste a life.

The culprit seems to be the “So, what do you do?” question at parties. You want to be able to say you’re a successful entrepreneur minting millions, or a doctor, or a lawyer, an engineer – someone.

Whether you love it or not is entirely different (and unimportant). You don’t have to love your work so long as it’s socially acceptable, right?

Wrong.

Is it possible to make a living while doing something you love? Look around you – you will find tons of people crushing it while blurring the lines between work and play.

Take Pat Burke from Tipperary for example. Pat sells Irish dirt to Americans at OfficialIrishDirt.com.

Do you think his idea was met with bubbling enthusiasm when he first started? After all who’d have thought you could make people lighten their pockets by selling them dirt?

Turn out, he proved them wrong.

Or take Jason Sadler. He rents out his torso for ads reportedly earning $66,000 in first 3 months of his business.

My point? The “normal” cycle of wake up, drag yourself out of the bed, curse your boss as you check last evening’s emails, reach work to curse some more, think about escaping your career for good, fighting your way home in traffic and fall asleep on your couch is actually not quite normal.

If you’re someone who’s striving now and living a passionless life just to see a glimpse of happiness and peace in later, think what you’re giving up.

The future is uncertain, so why continue the drudgery of 15-days-annual-leave (or whatever that is called)?

Because your parents said so? Friends? Family? Frenemies?

Listen to yourself – is it worth it? If not, what are you going to do about it today?

One way to find out is question everything you do and think deeply. Go back to being a child. Be childlike curious. Ask “purpose” questions:

For what purpose do I watch TV? To stay entertained. For what purpose? To feel happy. And so on…

Even slow progress is progress. A small start toward your own business goes a long way than thinking about how cool it’d be if you had one.

If you feel something is off, it most definitely is.

Start with questioning everything you’ve learnt. It’s how you unlearn and relearn. It’s the only way.

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