Ojai Leadership Retreat on Sept 11-14

What better place to meet than in beautiful Ojai, California, where the average daytime temperature is 80 degrees! This Retreat will change the way you see things. We’ll focus on your plans for 2014, and think about how you can get more of the right things done while building a better work-life balance structure. How would you feel if  you ended more days thinking to yourself, “Yes, this is all worth it. I’m working hard, and it’s paying off.”

Plan to arrive in Ojai by 6pm on Thursday, September 11th and depart on Monday, September 15th. This will give you time for the in-depth workshop: to think and plan and organize your strategy to Work Smarter, Think Bigger, and Achieve More.

In Just One Word…What did you get from the Ojai Leadership Retreat?

This Get Momentum Retreat is limited to 15 people.
There are 9 seats available.

I promise this Retreat will change the way you see everything. By now, you’re probably wondering how much the Retreat costs. Here’s the deal:

If you do the math, you’ll notice the total amounts come out the same. So why are we doing it this way? In all transparency, we want you to upgrade your membership to the Annual level.

Our intention is to build a long-term community, a support network that continues well beyond the final days of the Retreat. The goal is to help you hold onto that inspiration that happens during the event with the close-knit community of supporters to keep the momentum going.

The Retreat fee includes meals from Thursday evening through Sunday afternoon. You are responsible for your travel and hotel accommodations.

LOGISTIC CENTER:

ARRIVE: Thursday, September 11th, 2014
DEPART: Sunday, September 14th, 2014

You are responsible for booking your transportation and hotel reservations.

We will be hosting the meals from Thursday evening through Sunday morning. *Please let us know if you have any dietary needs. (vegetarian, kosher, gluten free, paleo, juicing, etc. It’s California, we can do that…)

A “quick” way of looking at how to prioritize mid-sized projects

When it comes to getting the right things done, it’s important to look at what needs to be done independentaly from what could be done. Truth is, there is ALWAYS more that could be done. The main job of an entrepreneur, a leader, an owner is to decide what NOT to do. But, how do you do that?

I’ve used a chart like you see here for years. (This is a journal entry I wrote in 2008, and I just took a picture of it with Google Glass while sitting here at my desk.).

Here’s the deal:

  1. Write the names of at least 30 mid-to-large-sized projects you’re managing on small sticky notes.
  2. Draw the chart you see here on a large white board/flip chart.
  3. Place each project where (subjectively) you think it fits.
  4. Ask someone to listen to you explain your priorities.

How does this compare to the way YOU prioritize? Let me know in the comments below!

What successful leaders do before lunch every day

There are 4 things that successful leaders do every day before lunch. No matter what time they get up in the morning or how busy they are with EVERYthing that needs to be done today, You’ll see these people will always do these 4 things.

First, review this list:

  1. Successful leaders make a to-do list for tomorrow; yes, before lunch.
  2. Successful leaders maximize AutoText, Shortcuts and Signatures in their correspondence.
  3. Successful leaders always tag incoming information (physical AND digital) much more effectively.
  4. Successful leaders are aware of, focused on, and use the power of the “30th minute” during meetings.

Next, ask yourself which of the 4 things you’re already doing as a successful leader.

Finally, pick ONE of them to do “better” tomorrow, and track your progress over the day. My anticipation is that by implementing just ONE of these tactics you’ll save between 60-90 minutes tomorrow. Just imagine what you could do with that “extra” time…

1. Make a to do list before noon.
The brain is most active in a “dissonant state.” (Disonant: unsuitable or unusual in combination.) So, if you identify what’s NOT done early in the day, your mind will unconsciosly and objectively be focused on finishing the task you have identified. I prefer to create, update, and clean up my to-do lists early in the day so that I use my brain most effectively.

Imagine for a moment that you make your to-do list later in the afternoon, or even later that night before you go to sleep. What do you do when you care a list of “unfinished business?” You set your brain to task to complete those things. Hardly a way to get ready to rest for the evening!

2. Create at least 3 AutoText/ Shortcuts or Signatures.
As you reply to people (co-workers, managers, employees, family members, friends) via text messaging, mobile email systems and your desktop communication applications, ask yourself if you can use “text replacement’ systems more effectively. Every system has something built in that will recognize short, simple keystrokes and turn those in to longer, more complete blocks of text.

The easiest way I know of to build this is this: “As you’re about to click ‘Send’ on a message, simply ask yourself if you might ever type those words, in that order, every again. If the answer is ‘Yes,’ then you know you could use a text replacement program.”

3. Tag information as it comes in.
As I enter tasks [using Evernote], send myself an email [using gMail], reply to people [via text messaging or email], or even file paperwork [in my file cabinet in my office] I always tag the content with a few/several/multiple key words. In the digital world (say, for example, Sent Items in email) this makes finding something SO much easier if I’ve added specific, key words to the messaging.

Off to the side of your desk, make a paper-based list of the 20-30 “Nouns” you’re working with/on this month. As you send, receive, and file information related to your projects, simply add one or more of those words to each item. The real power - obviously - comes “later,” when you’re looking for something and you can pull it back based on one of those “other” words you remember.

4. Plan for the 30th minute of meetings.
I wrote a “Special Report” on meeting management. Have you downloaded that yet? (Find it here…)

You’ll read about this tip in that PDF, but I’ll give you the short version here:

If you’re attending a 60 minute meeting, set a timer for 30 minutes the moment you start. When the alarm rings, announce to the group, “We have exactly 30 minutes left in this meetings.” You’ll quickly know if you’re “about” halfway done, and what you need to do to get that meeting on track to end on time.

What would you say is the 5th thing that successful leaders do before noon each day? Please leave your habit or routine in the comment area below…

Read More, Grow Faster, Achieve More (in life AND at work)

10,000 book summaries of the greatest books written that make it easier for you to be, do and have more…

That is what getAbstract is all about!

As many of you reading this know, I read…a lot. I figure I read (in their entirety) about 70 books a year. In addition to that, I research another 150-200 books each year. You’re probably wondering…

“Jason, how do you have TIME for all that reading?”

Well, I use a few services that help me out. For example, TED.com gives me the current list of “popular” speakers out there. And, either before or after their “TED Talk,” most of those folks write a book. And, for GetMomentum members (click here for info…), you get something very, very special.

But first, let me share some of my tools with you. Audible.com gives me access to thousands of audiobooks wherever I am. And, Podcasts (I use iTunes) give me another few hours of content to listen to each month. Oh, and YouTube and Vimeo let me SEE the authors of books and articles that I think I need to be reading…Before I spend the money on their stuff!

Ever since I was a kid, I have had a love of reading. (I think it had to do with the fact that from the time I was 4 years old, until I was 15, we didn’t have a Television in our house…I HAD to read, if I wanted to escape!)

Whether I’m learning something new from educational books or losing myself in a universe that’s embroiled in some science fiction “coming reality”, there isn’t anything like losing myself in a good book, a good story.

Over the past 20 days, I have been in 5 countries, attended 2 conferences, spoke at a workshop in Bali, met clients in Hong Kong, and went for an amazing trail run in Ojai. Yup, as busy as I can think I am…I also have read FOUR books, hundred of pages of magazines, and researched another 20 or so books/authors. 

My favorite tool…an absolute game-changer…is my subscription to getAbstract.com - more than 10,000 books summarized!

Not only can I print out and read the 5-page PDF (or, download to my phone/kindle/droid), while I’m driving or even out for a bike ride or run, I can listen to the MP3 recording of MANY of those summaries.

Regularly, a three month subscription to getAbstract costs near $100.

For a limited time, we’re giving you a voucher for 3 months of getAbstract for free for ALL new GetMomentum members.

You get access to the ENTIRE library of 10,000 book summaries for…FREE!

You even get free access to summaries of popular TED Talks!

Interested in business? Read reviews of books by Tim Ferris, Sheryl Sandberg, Eric Ries, Dale Carnegie, and thousands of others all in your spare time.

Before trying getAbstract, I had thought it wasn’t for me; I thought I needed to “READ” an entire book to know whether or not it could help me. I’m so glad I gave them a shot and proved myself wrong.

This deal is an awesome way to see if you feel the same way. Click here and make sure you don’t miss out!

P.S. Join GetMomentum, and then comment below and let me know what book summary you’re going to download first! I’m going to send a Special Bonus to one of you next week!

2 Ways a Deaf Woman in Bali Taught Me To Listen Better

I always think I listen well. I know I hear a lot, and I pay attention everything I can. And then, from time to time, I re-realize that there’s more to listening than just hearing what is said…

Just last Monday, Jodi and I visited a school for the deaf here on the island of Bali. The trip had been planned by the organization that sponsored our presentation months before, but the day of the actual event became much, much more special after I had received terrible news from my home town of Ventura, California. At 9:50pm Bali time, April 6th, 2014, a dear friend of mine was hit and killed by a driver who was allegedly under the influence of drugs. (It was 6:50 in the morning, on a Sunday.)

As soon as Jodi told me (she heard the news from our friends while I was on stage speaking at a conference) I was even more resolved to visit the school and volunteer what positive attitude and focus I could. You see, my friend Chris Prewitt lost his ability to hear when he was a young child. And, for the full 38 years he was here on the planet, he didn’t let it get in his way. Whenever I was with him, I would watch as he demonstrated what it means to listen intently and intensely to a conversation as it moves through time.

During the event we were invited to, we met one of the students and in about 20 minutes we shared the process of making an “offering.” During our time together, I learned two valuable communication strategies.

And, the more I think about them, the more I realize that one of the reasons Chris was such an amazing and talented leader is that he did these two things every time I was around him.

#1. Do one thing at a time. There is no way I would have thought to ask, but immediately after we made the offering together (and, I use the pronoun “we” very loosely…she did most of the work!), we moved to the inner temple for a music and dance presentation. She was one of the 6 dancers.

So, for moment, just consider this. She’s a deaf student, welcoming strangers to her school, focusing on watching us put offerings together into a beautiful basket. At no point did she seem nervous, or preoccupied, or distant. Even though within minutes she was going to dance, to music she couldn’t hear, in front of more than 100 guests. Oh, and while she was dancing [we could see the music and dance teacher off to the side, “conducting” the dancers with her eyes, hands and hips], it seemed to me - again - that all she was doing was that one thing.

#2. Look the person in the eye. During the times when we were sitting together and DID have to communicate, she stopped what she was doing, and looked us - one at a time - directly in the eyes.

And, even though we were from different cultures, going through a different experience, looking at the world through a different lens, in that moment of connection we did seem to be able to communicate with one another.

I know that if I had the chance to come home and have another #CoffeeChat with Chris and talk about my experience at the school - and what I learned about listening from a deaf woman - he would have shared that all-knowing smile I have grown accustomed to seeing whenever I’m with him. He would have told me, “Yeah Jason, you’re starting to get it…”

Relationships That Build Momentum

I wrote about my experience and takeaways of reading a book while flying to Bali this weekend. If you’re looking to build momentum with the people in your life, it’s absolutely time to pick up this book: “Power Relationships: 26 Irrefutable Laws for Building Extraordinary Relationships” by Andrew Sobel and Jerold Panas.

To read the entire post, just click here.

Now, relative to the Get Momentum, this book touches on several of the Modules* that we have studied over the past year. Post importantly are these two: Networks and Health.

The authors each have posted a “Power Relationships Planning Guide” that you can download at either of their websites. (Just click on their names up above.) For now, let’s take a look at each of those two modules, and how this book can help you Get Momentum with each one.

Networks

I don’t know where I first heard it (and since becoming aware of it I’ve seen it come up in literature through time and around the world), but the saying, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with” has a certain ring to it. And, I’m not writing it here just so you’ll agree with me, or take it at face value. Instead, just go ahead and test it out. Make a list of the 5 people you’ve spent the most time with over the past week. Next to each person’s name, write:

  • What did you talk about?
  • After you talked with them, did you have more energy or less energy?
  • What is something you know about them now, that you didn’t know before you just talked? (Harder - and more important - to do if you’ve knowing that person for a long, long time.)
  • Is there something you can acknowledge them for?
  • Is there anything you wish they would ask you for help with?

This book by Sobel and Panas could change the way you look at the networks in your life.

Health

There is an incredible series of TED.com talks out there on the importance of - and connection to - networks as they impact your overall health and wellness. As you think about the kinds of goals you have set, the routines you’ve practiced (to perfection) and the surprises you can anticipate coming your way, it’s more and more important for you to think of your relationship to your self.

Something I know isn’t talked about a LOT out there, but I can see a future where “self-care” is something that will be researched and written about more and more and more. I just don’t see how high-power leaders, community managers, the people who are here to make the world a better place continue to leave OUT any focus on health, wellness, and taking care of themselves. Recently, I flew 7,500 miles away from Los Angeles, and was on the same two planes as a successful executive going back to work in the South Pacific (he lives in the US). We only had a couple of short conversations, and during one of them he said, “Oh, it’s ok that I work this hard. I’ve only got a few more years, and then I can retire and relax.”

I wonder…

I wonder what happens on a cellular and psychological level when we continually tell ourselves to work hard, to focus longer, to put off anything that is relaxing. Will we see research that says what we continue to tell ourselves is often what will come true? If you’re telling yourself you’re going to get healthier “later,” I challenge you, this month, to take ownership of that relationship.

Pick up this book by Andrew and Jerold and you will get an idea or two on how to do that.

 

* Every month, Get Momentum members study one Momentum Module, a theme that is integral to overall improvement, professional development and becoming the best version of yourself you can be. Click on the “About” tab above to find out more.

What EXACTLY is Get Momentum all about?

The “Get Momentum” monthly coaching program provides you as a top performer with specific tactics and practical habits to engage in a mindset-based shift toward exponential growth as a leader, contributor and global citizen.

The MINDSET to take charge of your Career Development.
The SKILLS to work more effectively, efficiently and productively.
The TOOL KIT to get things done easier, faster and better than ever before.

It is time to GET MOMENTUM.

As soon as you register for your GET MOMENTUM Account (a 1:35 video)

Navigating GET MOMENTUM Modules (a 2:51 video)

See 1 theme through all the aspects of GET MOMENTUM (a 6:50 video)