Ambition

I wonder what my parents were thinking and feeling when they were my age... Ambitions never end no matter what stage of life you are in. This is from the DLM Blog:

Dumb Little Man - tips for life

How to Achieve Ambitious Goals

Posted: 24 Apr 2009 07:35 AM PDT

Do you get jealous of the couple next door? You know, the people who seem to have everything including a big house, nice car, and leftover money for holidays with the kids? Don't be. Set your sights and make it happen.

I am currently building a house, about to go on a trip overseas, and planning on starting my own business in the next few years. All of this and I’m only 20 year old and admittedly on a very low income. How do I do it?

I’m going to let you know how I achieve all those big goals that so many people think they can’t do. You can’t just wait around for the perfect opportunity because more likely than not, it will never come. Create your own opportunities and you will get what you want.

1. Know what you want
   The key to accomplishment is to be motivated, determined, and positive. It is not going to be easy, there will be many bumps and bruises along the way and you will never get through them if you go into this project half-heartedly. You can achieve anything if you put your mind to it. Know your direction and pursue it - - in full.
   


2. Brainstorm
   Get a piece of paper and write down all your ideas about your goal. Be as ambitious as you want, but be ready to be flexible down the road because all plans change at some point.
   


3. Organise
   Get all of those ideas you just wrote down and organize them into workable groups. Say you want to start your own business? Your ideas could be put into groups such as: what your company will do, what staff you plan to have, what kind of customers you want, where your business will be, etc.
   


4. Budget
   Do some research and find out how much money your goal is going to cost you. If you want to go on holiday, go online to get prices of flights, accommodation, travel expenses, etc. Try not to underestimate, you don’t want to be running into hidden expenses later on.
   


5. Sort out your finances
   This can be a tedious job but is essential for goals that involve spending money. Know what money is coming in, and where your money is going out, then look at your budget. Do you need to cut back on your spending to save more? Most of the time, this is where people give up on their goal because they aren't willing to sacrifice. Will you need to temporarily get a second job? Will you need a loan?
   


6. Timeline
   Break your goal up into smaller goals, and put them along a timeline. This will not necessarily be the exact way it pans out, but if you have a rough idea of when you want to achieve your goal, you have something to work towards.
   


7. Plan
   So now it is time to formulate your plan of action. Put all of the essential information you have into one document, then you can know what you need to achieve and when you want to do it.
   


8. Implement
   This is where your motivation, determination and positive attitude kick in. Unless something substantial and unforeseen happens, you should have no reason not to carry out all the steps to achieving your goal. And even if it does, that does not mean you have failed in your attempt. Just go back through the steps you have taken and see if there is a way you can overcome it.

This list sounds simple because it is. There is no reason for anyone to sit and wallow in regret or doubt when it comes to hitting goals. Make it a simple process that allows for a slow progression and you'll see just how simple it can be!

Written on 4/24/2009 by Ashlea Wheeler. Ashlea is a young woman currently working in Print Production but hoping to start her own tourism business.

Photo Credit: tgraham

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Do you need a Wake-Up Call?

Spring is really here in Northern Indiana. No more excuses, time to spend more time Outside. Take a look at this recent posting from the DLM Blog:

Dumb Little Man - tips for life

Don't Ignore Your Wake Up Calls: How To Know It's Time For a Change

Posted: 22 Apr 2009 06:01 AM PDT

For far too long I turned a blind eye to many indicators telling me that it was time to take control of my health. I was convinced that I was simply too busy to worry about fitness and wrote off any comments or signs telling me otherwise. However, I ignored these wake up calls to my detriment. If you feel burdened about some area of your life that needs changing, heeding these warnings may be the best thing you could do.

Listen to Voices of Wisdom
For me, this came in the form of a health screening at my office. When the numbers came back from the health professionals, I found out that I needed to improve my cholesterol levels and that I was officially classified as obese. That really hit me hard. Even though I knew I was overweight, I had not realized how bad I had let things get. It was very sobering.

Listen to Friends and Family
People that care about us are supposed to be the ones to tell us the hard truths. Often times the ones we are closest to have a more thorough view of our situations and struggles than we do ourselves. If someone is bold enough to share a concern they have in your life, do the right thing and listen to them. Maybe they are way off base, but more often than not, they are right on target. Remember, these people love you and want what is best for you. Don't blow them off.

Listen to Your Body
Sometimes, even our own bodies may be telling us something. My sedentary and gluttonous lifestyle brought me to a place where I had frequent headaches and digestive problems. It was pretty obvious what the problem was (my lifestyle) and what the solution was (a better diet and regular exercise). Others may experience different problems if their situations are different. Lack of sleep, ulcers, tension headaches, etc. are all examples of physiological problems that may be caused by your lifestyle. If you suspect your body is trying to get your attention ask a medical professional what might need to change in your life.

Listen to Yourself
Do you notice that something is wrong in your life without anyone having to directly tell you as much? You don't have to wait until things get out of hand to step in and change your habits. Often times I would look in the mirror and simply not like what I was seeing. I knew I needed to change but I was just postponing it until so many alarms were going off that it became almost deafening. You don't have to hit the snooze bar and postpone the inevitable. If you're going to have to make a change sooner or later, you can save yourself a lot of grief by simply taking that first step.

First Steps Toward a New Life:

• Take Stock of Yourself
  If you have heeded the wake up calls and have begun noticing things in your life that are awry, take honest stock of yourself to see what really needs to change. For me, this was fairly obvious. I needed to drop some weight and get in shape. I simply refused to ignore the obvious any longer.
  


• Make a Decision
  If you are aware of the problems, make a bold and public decision to correct them. I would encourage you to actually come up with a specific plan to get things right. Don't just say "I'm going to get in shape!” Instead, write down a plan for how you are going to do it. Are you going to jog three times a week? Are you going to cut out all fried foods? Another recommendation I would give would be to tell others about your decision. This has the effect of really solidifying your plan of action and making it much more real.
  


• Follow Through
  This is the tough part. Now that you know the problem and you are bold enough to try to correct it, you're going to have to put in some work. Follow through on your plans and don't let anything hinder you. It will be hard and you won't always have the confidence you do at the start, but the rewards of getting in shape, or otherwise getting your life in order, will be worth it.

Written on 4/22/2009 by Brandon Morgado. Brandon is a self-professed fitness geek and blogs regularly at FitHacks.com when he isn't running, playing Ultimate Frisbee or wasting his life away on Twitter.

Photo Credit: Kıvanç

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Plan for Play

A great article from the DLM Blog recently:

Dumb Little Man - tips for life

Enjoy Life More: Schedule Your Leisure Time

Posted: 17 Apr 2009 07:02 AM PDT

Time management advice often talks about the important of having a schedule. When you’re at work, the plethora of meetings, conference calls and to-do lists probably provide a lot of structure. Whether you are actually getting things done is another story.

But have you ever given any thought to scheduling your leisure time? Many of us find it all too easy to let our evenings and weekends fall into a comfortable – and often rather boring or unsatisfactory – routine. To get the most out of both your work and your play, try some of these ways of giving your leisure time a little structure too.

• Scheduling Leisure Time During Your Day
  If you’re a student or freelancer, you probably have a fair degree of flexibility about when you do your work. You may also find that there are times when you try to micro-schedule your work, but you still end up procrastinating, working much more slowly than you know you should, and rushing things at the last minute.
  
  The answer is often, paradoxically, to stop worrying about scheduling your work time and start building in some time for fun instead. For example, if you tend to start work at 8AM, schedule yourself a break for 10AM (and plan something that you genuinely want to do – perhaps a walk round a favorite park, or watching an episode of a TV program you love). Having a concentrated two hours to work in will help you focus and challenge yourself to see how much you can get done in that time.
  
  This is also a good method to prevent your productivity from nose-diving because you’ve been trying to focus for too long at a stretch.
  


• Scheduling Leisure Time In The Evening
  Whether you work for an employer or for yourself, it’s a good idea to give some thought to your evenings. As a freelancer who can work at any time of the day or night, I know how easy it is to get sucked into “just one more thing” after dinner. And for many office employees, email and other company systems are available outside work hours. If the only other attraction in your evening is the television, it’s easy to get caught up working.
  
  Try planning for at least one or two evenings a week where you schedule time to do something different. Maybe it’s going out for a nice meal (not just grabbing takeout to eat while in front of your computer). Perhaps you’ll finally catch that play or movie you’ve been wanting to see. Or maybe you just want to snuggle up on the sofa for an hour and spend some quality time with your partner. The important thing is that you plan ahead – this gives you something to look forward to during your busy day, and it makes it much more likely that it’ll actually happen.
  


• Scheduling your leisure time is particularly important when you have a big project that you want to get moving on, or keep up with. For example, if you’re trying to write a novel this year, you might schedule an hour on Mondays and Thursdays to write in the evening. Or if you’re launching a small business to bring in some side income (as many people are thinking of doing in the current economy), you could make sure you always spend the half-hour straight after dinner working on this.


• Scheduling Leisure Time At The Weekends
  Do your weekends end up involve sleeping late, a feeling like you’ve wasted half the day, a ton of chores, and some dull television? Instead of just waking up on Saturday and having no idea what you want to do, try planning ahead. If you’ve got something exciting to do during the day, you’ll be much more motivated to jump out of bed and get on with it – and the thought of a fun-packed weekend can get you through a busy or dull week at work.
  
  One of the best things about scheduling your weekend is that you’ll have something to look forward to. The anticipation of a leisure activity can be almost as fun and uplifting as the activity itself.
  
  You might also be surprised to find that when you do block out a chunk of time for something – a day trip, perhaps – everything else that needs to be done will fit in around it. Perhaps you’ll get up early to do the laundry, or maybe you’ll give the kitchen a quick clean on a Friday night.
  
  And if planning your weekends ahead of time feels too regimented and strict for you, then plan for spontaneity! Decide that you’ll spend, say, noon till bedtime on Saturday doing something purely for fun – and make it happen.

Do you schedule your leisure time, or do you just take life as it comes? Do you like to have something to look forward to (whether it’s a coffee with a friend at 11am, or a big weekend away) – or do you prefer to go with the flow?

Written on 4/17/2009 by Ali Hale. Ali is a professional writer and blogger, and a part-time postgraduate student of creative writing. If you need a hand with any sort of written project, drop her a line (ali@aliventures.com) or check out her website at Aliventures.

Photo Credit: Jesse Gardner

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I warned you....

Boredom? What's that?

We pause to catch our breath.

My life is probably similar to yours, in that you are multi-tasking more than ever. There is no excuse to be bored with your life. There is simply too much to do, you simply need to get out and live.

I grew up as an only child encouraged by parents to try different things. I recall playing basketball, owning a unicycle, stilts, a skateboard, guitar, trumpet, and one lonely snare drum. Never tried all of them at once!

I did a lot of cycling and swimming and still enjoy bike riding which I will do a lot more of this year.

I had contemplated becoming a psychologist, lawyer, race car driver, joining the navy, and being on the radio as a disc jockey. Only one of those came true, due to a series of events that occurred during my high school days.

But when I look back at where I was ten years ago compared to today, life has changed dramatically. For the Good. (And it was not a result of any government program either!)

The changes have been self-inflicted by the choices I have made or my reaction to choices others have made. I like that freedom. Life in this country is still filled with opportunities, that's why people risk it all to come to America.

Since sometime this past winter, my wife Kathy has been planning, organizing and doing all the leg work for a timely event that went off without a hitch yesterday morning. The Spring Fling Thrift Style Fashion Show raised hundreds of dollars in ticket sales which will be added up and then divided between two local charities. Over a dozen resale shops participated; friends and family volunteered and countless man hours were devoted to the production. And except for paying for some printing, not a dime was spent on paid advertising. We received a decent schedule of ads on one of my radio stations, at least three newspaper stories and plenty of publicity due to online resources including Twitter!

Together Kathy and I have 5 kids from our first marriages, including Kathy's son Ian, father of two that lives in town, Rachael, my oldest who also lives in town. My son Josh graduates in June from school in Maine and has had a full life already at his young age of 24. My youngest daughter Tiffany and her husband moved west about 6 months ago and are exploring their dreams while paying the bills and Abby seems to float between Fort Wayne and Purdue where she is wrapping up her sophomore year before heading off for a paid internship this summer.

I cherish our family and try and tell them how much they mean to me, even when I'm distracted by my work and other activities.

For the past 6 years, I have worked out of an office on Lower Huntington Road for a group of radio stations known collectively as Summit City Radio. My primary responsibilities are related to advertising, which is how we generate our operating funds. It's a simple concept, businesses need to invite our listeners to become their customers and they pay us to air commercials.

The details are a bit more complicated and my approach is much more complete when it comes to working with a businesses overall marketing. Plus I have managed, lead, mentored, taught, developed and directed our sales teams over the years. Add to that on-air hosting and co-hosting of talk shows, and commercial writing and production, there is very little that I haven't done in the radio business.

In order to fulfill my desires to help others with their marketing, I serve on a couple of marketing committees for Scouting, Lions, a financial services firm and am on the Board for our local Advertising Federation. I have discovered that I am among the "Leading Edge" locally when it comes to the use of the web and social media even among those that should be plugged in.

This website along with the 4 others I keep updated are attracting well over 3000 new visitors each month without spending a dime to promote them. (Total cost is under $100 a year). Time & energy are my only investment.

So if you are bored, take responsibility for yourself. There really is something to do, someone to meet, someone to help, some way to escape from "boredom" to "fulfilment."

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