Genuine Curiosity

Need a GPS for your mind map?

A few months ago, I started working with Adam Sicinski’s amazing mind map diagram called the “MasterMind Matrix.”  I’d like to tell you a little about it, since I think it is a very interesting and useful self-coaching tool.

At first glance, I felt that Adam’s work was impressive – this is one of the largest and most comprehensive mindmaps I have ever seen.  You see, Adam is a Life Coach, but is also a guru/student of self development.  He set out to find a way to allow himself and others to answer questions like:

• How do my emotions interact with my beliefs, values and other building blocks of my personality?
• What influence do other people have over the development of my personality?
• How does my Brain interpret what I do? And how does it consequently influence my future decisions & actions?
• How do each one of my choices and decisions influence all other aspects of my personality and life?
• How do I know if I am on track moving towards fulfillment, or off-track moving towards disappointment?

The result is a terrific tool that helps you drill down on various challenges and strengths so you can improve your performance and break through bottlenecks by better understanding how your strengths, blind spots, and emotional tendencies interact.  It’s tough to describe without experiencing it yourself, but I found the process to be very intriguing and invigorating.

You can get a PDF version of the file (that’s what I’m using), or you can order a wall poster.  I am thinking about going for the wall poster, since I can’t interact with the PDF as easily on the screen (though I’m glad I have the PDF for use on the road).

If you want a taste of what this tool is like, you can download the accompanying MasterMind Matrix mind map for free.  This is kind of like an index that can guide you to the right places on the bigger map.

I recommend you read Adam’s “Journey through the MasterMind Matrix” for his perpective on this tool.

You can find out even more about the matrix at the IQMatrix site, or get your own copy at the IQMatrix Shop.

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del.icio.us Tags: personal improvement,self development,mindmap,Adam Sickinski,Dwayne Melancon,mindhacks

The power of not positive thinking?

I was just reading Kare Anderson’s thought-provoking post on daily affirmations, where she discusses some research that indicates that positive affirmations aren’t as powerful as we’ve been led to believe.

We’ve all heard the “positive self talk” pitch before – repeat the affirmations, become more like them.  (“…I’m good enough, and smart enough.  And doggone it, people like me.”)

Turns out, the conventional wisdom around affirmations may not be entirely accurate (read Kare’s post for more). 

I thought about that one for a while.  Why don’t these affirmations work that well?  What works better?  I’m no expert but I do have some thoughts on this.

• Maybe the affirmations can create too much dissonance inside us.  In other words, even though we say the right things, perhaps some part of us (and even deeper inner voice) remains skeptical.  Could be.
• Maybe some affirmations work better because the don’t define us, they merely inspire us.  For example, maybe we’re more apt to believe an “I can do this.” kind of affirmation before we believe an “I’m a good person.” affirmation.  There is a subtle difference – one encourages us to succeed, while the other places more of a subjective label on us.

Perhaps this is why setting bold goals works for so many of us:  we are more likely to be inspired and motivated to do something than we are to be something.

What do you think?  How well do affirmations work for you, and what works best in getting you through challenges and tough times?

 

Technorati Tags: self improvement,Kare Anderson,Dwayne Melancon,motivation,affirmations

Defining your job

The last week has been busy and very inspiring.  I spent 4 days at a "boot camp" kind of training, in which I had the opportunity to do some formal & informal benchmarking with other organizations on a variety of topics.

I'd like to share one particular aspect with you, which I gleaned from a company that has really "nailed it" in terms of how to make your job your own, and enable you to market your value to your organization.

In this organization, there are 7 core principles they use as guideposts:

1. Don't allow for any ambiguity.
2. Distill your work down to simple objectives.
3. Manage your time against those objectives.
4. Know precisely what success looks like.
5. Understand manager and peer expectations.
6. Systematically review how you are doing.
7. Publish your progress.

I think these are right on the money, and worthy of taking to heart. 

What do you think?  Anything to add to the list?

Bigger goals - the bigger "yes"

I've just returned from a trip to London and have been reflecting on goals and outcomes. I wanted to record my initial thoughts in this post (from my iPhone, no less). I've often heard that goals / objectives must be "reasonable" so you can achieve them. But is that right?

When you look at the great achievements of history, you often hear the words "achieved the impossible" or "succeeded against all odds.". Those hardly sound like the accomplishment of "reasonable" goals.

When was the last time you made a big bet by declaring a goal that seemed impossible?  For me, I think it's been a while. With that in mind I'd like to encourage you to think beyond your safety zone and try to set at least one goal that seems impossible, and try to engage the forces of the universe to help you achieve it.

Awesome “give & get” opportunity

In my last post, I reviewed Rajesh Setty’s book, Upbeat.  Well, I finally got around to subscribing to his new newsletter and was pleasantly surprised that this entitled me to download a PDF copy of his book, “Beyond Code” (which I’ve also reviewed).

This is a phenomenal example of “give & get” – you give Rajesh permission to keep in touch with you in his newsletters, and you get a free copy of a very powerful book.

By the way – I just realized it’s been over 3½ years since I first read Beyond Code, and I still feel its impact.  I have re-read it a couple of times, and have recommended it to others countless times.

If you want to sign up for Rajesh Setty’s newsletter, you can do so by clicking this link.

Kindle 3 – early scoop

Just saw a video on the Kindle 3 – just amazing.  It will let you read The Lord of the Rings trilogy in only 9 hours – who knew?  I’m glad I have my Kindle 2 to tide me over…

Check out the Kindle 3 video (if the embedded version below doesn’t work, here is the link).

Watch The Kindle 3 on CollegeHumor

By the way – I’ve done a full review of the Kindle 2 if you’re interested.

del.icio.us Tags: Kindle 3,Dwayne Melancon

[Review] Who’s Got Your Back

Keith Ferrazzi’s latest book, “Who’s Got Your Back,” is about developing an inner circle of advisors who will never let you fail. This book is both inspiring and actionable – a very strong combination. 

Superheroes and Mere Mortals

I found this book to be a very reasonable and achievable approach – in other words, something I believe I can actually do.  Why do I mention this?  Well, when I read Keith’s first book “Never Eat Alone,” I was inspired but very intimidated – “Never Eat Alone” felt very compelling, but I believed Keith must be some kind of Superhero to be able to do all of the things he described in any sustained way.

In “Who’s Got Your Back,” Keith shares some of his challenges and helps us see that he is Mere Mortal after all.  In fact, he talks about how some of the relationship skillz he mentions in “Never Eat Alone” were missing inside his company.  [I can relate – I do a much better with communication, organization, and relationship management at work than I do at home.]

He then goes on to share how he has found 3 key people in his life that provide him with unvarnished feedback, encouragement, and input on life strategies.  These are the 3 people who will not let him fail – the 3 people who have “got his back.”

Five key learnings

I got a pre-release copy of this book and got an email from Keith asking me to summarize my five most compelling ideas, anecdotes or lessons that stuck with me.  I thought that was a good approach for this review, so here are mine:

1. Generosity, Vulnerability, Candor, and Accountability are the currency required to bring people into your inner circle.  You have to invest in relationships with others, and trust comes from investing these four things.
2. “Each of us is responsible for creating the safe place around us.”  When I read this line, I had a flashback to my post from a few years ago about taking responsibility for your own well-being.  In the context of this book, that means we are each responsible for creating the environment / demeanor that invites others in.  Sometimes, that may also mean explicitly inviting them in.
3. “Give and Let Give.”  It’s great to be a mentor or give of your talents to others – it can be quite another thing to be able to accept the gifts and talents others share with you.  If you feel you aren’t worthy of others’ attention or “investment” it can be difficult to ask for help or accept it when it’s given.  You are worthy, and “they” are helping you because they want to – accept the help graciously.
4. You can’t rush trust.  Throughout the book, Keith talks about having conversations over “long, slow dinners.”  Relationships take time and if you rush things or try to do too much at once, you probably won’t enjoy them as much.  Trust takes time to build – they don’t sell trust in the drive-through lane. 
5. If you and your mentor aren’t being candid, something is wrong.  This works two ways:  1) they need to know how you (really) feel and what’s important to you, even if it’s hard to talk about; 2) they need to be able to tell you the straight scoop, even if it’s not something you want to hear.  If you have the right mentor, and you’ve created the safe place around that relationship, you can make this work – if it doesn’t feel safe, review 1-4, above, and see if you can figure out what’s missing.  Still not feeling it?  Have no fear, the book will help you get there.

Step by step, you’ll get there

This book does a great job of providing specific steps to help you through the process of building your inner circle.  I’m still working through it, but the steps are clear and concrete so I think you’ll be able to apply them on your own.  Keith also includes a lot of examples from his own life and these stories help you get a feel for what’s required of you at each step.

You’ll find a bunch of other inspiring stories, too – like the one about two real estate pros that had complementary strengths who worked together and were more successful than either could be alone.  Powerful stuff.

“Who’s Got Your Back” touts itself as a program “…to build deep, trusting relationships that create success – and won’t let you fail.”  I think it delivers.

Unlocking the iPhone’s potential, part 1

Despite the title, this article is not about unlocking the iPhone so it will work on networks other than AT&T.  And as much as the cool kids keep trying to tempt me to do it, it’s also not about jailbreaking the iPhone so you can run rogue apps on it.

As you may know, I wrote about my “top 3” challenges with the iPhone a while back and they were irritating enough to get me to switch back to my Blackberry.

Now, I’m back on the iPhone 3G.  What’s changed?  This post begins the discussion about what’s changed for me in the hopes that other iPhone users (or wannabe users) can benefit from what I’ve learned.  I want to share with you how I’ve been able to overcome (or at least make tolerable) some of the iPhone’s current limitations, and I’ll start with my top 3 issues from the previous post:

Voice power and your phone

I am in the midst of a switch of phone platforms, yet again.  I’m going back to my iPhone 3G.

During the coming week, I’ll share more information with you about how I’m working around the iPhone’s limitations (I’ve mentioned why I switched away from the iPhone in a previous post).  In the mean time, I wanted to share information about a free “super app” that works on both the Blackberry and the iPhone.  The application is called “vlingo” and it allows you to talk to your phone to make it do stuff.

Voice control is very handy in many situations, such as when you’re driving.  You can use Vlingo to call people, update social network status, do web searches, and more.  The Blackberry version has more functions and is a little easier to access since it maps to one of the “convenience keys” on the side of your phone, but the iPhone version is still very good (I wish I could use vlingo to send text message on the iPhone – I did that all the time on the Blackberry).

Very cool – check out vlingo today – it is free, after all.  Would love to hear what you think.

Want to see a demo first?  There are a couple of cool demo (Flash) videos online of vlingo on the Blackberry, and vlingo on the iPhone.

Do It Tomorrow

Ok, I gotta say, when I saw Mark Forster’s book, “Do It Tomorrow” on the shelf I was drawn to it.  I thought it might be some best practices guide for how to procrastinate more effectively.  Well, it wasn’t that…but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The full title is actually “Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management,” and it’s Forster’s straight-forward system to help you become more focused and productive (this is one of the GTD alternatives I mentioned a few weeks ago).

One of the core concepts in Forster’s approach is to plan what you must do tomorrow, and create an action list to drive what you do.  This allows you to enter the day knowing what your targets are for the day.  Furthermore, you up your chances of success by treating this list as a “closed list” so you don’t keep adding things to it.  That doesn’t mean you don’t write down new tasks – it just means you don’t act on them until some future day. (Don’t worry – you can still deal with true emergencies).

Principles of productivity

Forster’s methods are based on 7 principles.  If I gave you a list of the principles here, it wouldn’t do them justice as they sound like things you may be familiar with (for example, the first on is “Have a clear vision”) and you might discount the value of this book without giving it a chance.  On the contrary, I found that Forster doesn’t just refactor the things you read in so many books about productivity – he adds his unique spin and pragmatism to each principle.

The book takes you through each of the principles and provides some “what if” scenarios, techniques, affirmations, and exercises to help you adopt them effectively.

These exercises help you identify the most relevant or valuable use of your time based on “litmus tests” you can apply during planning, as well as in-the-moment.  There are also a lot of techniques to help you deal with other people’s faulty approaches to time management so they don’t undermine your effectiveness.  I’ve tried a couple of these techniques since I read this book, and seen them work – pretty cool.  I’m definitely not a Jedi master but Forster’s techniques are sound.

Simple can be good

While some of Forster’s approaches sounded familiar (his explanation of “To Do vs. Will Do" sounded a lot like “Someday Maybe” from David Allen’s Getting Things Done, aka GTD), I found he always biases toward simple approaches.  This means you can quickly understand and apply Forster’s principles so you’ll know whether they work for you within a very short time.

If you’re already familiar with GTD (but shying away for some reason), or you’re just looking to be more productive, this book would be a good addition to your library.  But if you want to order, Do it Tomorrow.

If you want to read a chapter before committing, Mark’s made Chapter One of “Do It Tomorrow” available on his site.

Epic Fail: My Time Audit

Well, last weekend I told you I'd be doing a time audit during the past week. I had my forms printed and everything. I did a couple of entries on Monday morning and that's about it.

While I didn't learn much about the specifics of how I spent my time, I did find that I somehow got a lot of the items on my list done this week, so I must have done something right.

What next? Back on the horse next week. "There is no try - only do or do not," as Yoda says. This week I will either do, or do not. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Time for another audit

Well, it's that time again - I'm going to do another "time audit" starting next week. As I've written in the past, I get a lot of value from periodically analyzing how I spend my time. Time audits help you better adjust your prioritization, balance, and productivity and I'm feeling like I'm due for one.

Tools for tracking

As usual, I have been looking for tools to make this easier and I've found one that I think is going to be really effective: it's from David Seah's "Printable CEO" toolset, and he calls it the "Emergent Time Tracker."

At David's site, you can find several formats of this form that you can download for free, along with instruction on how to use the tracker and interpret / analyze your results. There is even an annotated example to get you going quickly (thumbnail at right), and a beta version of an online time tracking tool.

Bren told me about another web-based tracking tool called "SlimTimer" that looks interesting.

Give it time

If you're going to do a time audit of your own, I recommend doing it for two weeks. Not only does this give you plenty of data to work with, I also find that my 2nd week is more complete because I'm more diligent about logging my activities as the habit starts to settle in.

Taking another cue from David Seah, I've also just ordered a Kitchenaid timer. I think it'll help me be more conscious of how I use my time and help me with time boxing.

Amazon's Kindle 2 Starts A Fire

I've had Amazon's Kindle 2 for the past couple of weeks, and I am really glad I bought one. I thought I'd take some time to share what I've found with you in case you're considering buying one.

First, I'd like to give you some context to better understand where I'm coming from.

• Contrary to my gadget-loving nature I didn't buy the first Kindle (though I was chomping at the bit to pick up version 2).
• This is my first time using an electronic reader, and I've never liked reading long documents (much less books) on a computer.
• I read quite a few books -- typically 4 or more each month, and usually with more than one going at a time (one or more business / non-fiction, one fiction, etc.).
• When I travel, I typically have 3 or 4 books with me which can be heavy and bulky.

The Device

I'll start with my impressions of the device itself. Amazon took a cue from Apple and really paid attention to the "unboxing experience" with the Kindle. The elegantly boxed arrived and I felt like I was opening a gift, rather than just some gadget I ordered. The fit & finish are impressive - this is a sturdy, light device - and it has a nice minimalist feel. The only items you need to carry around are the Kindle itself (about as big a footprint as a Moleskine notebook, but thinner than an iPhone), a USB cable that you use for charging and connecting to your PC, and a USB-to-AC adapter so you can charge via an electrical outlet).

I added Amazon's protective leather cover for the Kindle 2, which about doubles the thickness of the device but gives me peace of mind that it won't get dinged up as I carry the Kindle around. Click the image at right for a larger view of all the gear together.

Obtaining Stuff to Read

One of the things that's been a breeze is buying books for the Kindle. The device is integrated seamlessly with my Amazon account, so I can:

• Buy Kindle books via the Amazon web site, and they show up seconds later on my Kindle 2
• Browse or search for books on the Kindle, order (with automatic billing to my account)

These are the two most common actions, but there are other ways to get content to read, including:

• You can email PDF's and Word docs to yourself and (for a cost of 10 cents) they will be converted and appear on your Kindle a few minutes later. If you are a GTD user, this could be an effective way to bring your "To Read" stack with you without adding bulk to your briefcase. You can also add others to your email "good list" so they can send you documents this way.
• You can subscribe to newspapers (of which there are quite a few) or magazines (there aren't many) from Amazon's Kindle Store.
• You can subscribe to a small number of leading blogs (more are purportedly coming) so you can read your RSS feeds on the go.
• You can get free books via ManyBooks - they have Kindle format versions of many books from Project Gutenberg.
  • ManyBooks has over 20,000 free eBooks available, and a bunch of them are available in Kindle format (.awz files).
  • You can also browse to "mnybks.net" from your Kindle to download from ManyBooks directly on the device.
  • If you download the books to your PC, you have to manually copy them to your Kindle 2 via the USB cable but hey - they're free!

In addition to reading, you can listen to things on the Kindle in a couple of ways:

• Have the Kindle read a book to you in its robot voice (I'm not wild about the voice, but it might be good in some situation I haven't yet encountered).
• Copy MP3's to your Kindle (again, via USB) so you can listen to music or audiobooks on the device. Warning: MP3 files take a lot of space (but Kindle format books do not).

Book prices are reasonable. First, you can download samples of books to decide whether you want them or not. When you buy, most current / hardcover titles cost $10, while older / massmarket paperback books range from free to about $8 (most of the massmarket books I've bought run about $6 or $7).

The best thing? The Kindle weighs the same and takes up the same amount of space no matter how many books you put in it.

OK, So What About the Reading?

Now, let's get into the reason I bought this device: the reading. In short, "wow - this is cool, and better than I expected." You start with a home page that shows you all of the books currently on your Kindle, with a small, graphical indicator of how much you've read. When you find what you want to read, point to it using the joystick and press in on the joystick to select. Boom - the book comes up on the screen and you're ready to read.

The controls on the Kindle 2 are easy to use and you forget about them after a few minutes of reading (you'll mostly use the Previous and Next Page buttons). At any time, you can mark text, add annotations, add a bookmark, or look up a word using the built-in dictionary. You can also switch to another book, and the Kindle 2 will remember where you left off any time you return to a book already in progress. Very nice.

The on-screen reading experience is surprisingly good. I have read for up to 4 hours at a stretch with no eye fatigue, and find I can read faster on the Kindle than I can using a "real" book. I suspect it's because I can adjust the text to a size that's optimal and because the whitespace around the screen makes it easier to focus on the page that's before me.

The annotation tools are handy, too. Since I often review the books I read (or at least the ones I like), I find myself using the highlights a lot and they're a snap to use on the Kindle 2. In the screen shot at the right, you can get an idea of how easy it is to keep track of multiple highlights and annotations - click the pic for a larger view (and please excuse the wonky angle - I didn't get the camera straight).

Net-net on the Kindle 2

Once again, I'm really glad I bought the Kindle 2. If you read a lot, you'll love this device - and I think heavy readers will be able to justify the expensive price much more easily. There are so many things I haven't even mentioned in this review, but hopefully you've heard enough to get an idea whether this device is right for you or not. If you still want one, pick one up a Kindle 2 from Amazon - and happy reading!

And here are my top 5 pros and cons, to wrap things up.

Kindle 2: Top 5 Pros	Kindle 2: Bottom 5 Cons
Excellent, readable screen with adjustable font size	Expensive
Seamless integration with Amazon account	Joystick is a little stubby and harder to use than I'd like
Huge library of current (and older) books available on-demand	Battery and memory are not user-accessible
Very portable form factor, even with charging cable	No ability to password protect the device or its ability to order (though you can disable it via Amazon.com if it's stolen)
Easy bookmarking, highlighting, and annotation	Not enough magazines available for subscription yet

Memopal: An interesting online backup option

As you may be aware (since I've written about Mozy in the past), I use Mozy to backup my home computers because I like the ease and peace of mind that comes from automatic, off-site backups.

Recently, I've had the privilege of trying out another online backup product called "Memopal. " I've been running on one of my computers for a couple of months, and it has some interesting characteristics that really impressed me:

• Memopal allows you to back up as many systems as you'd like for one fee, because you buy a 'pool' of storage rather than a licenser per computer.
  • You pay $49 per year for 150 Gigs of storage, $99 per year for 250 Gigs (they offer discounts for multiple years).
• Memopal allows you to share files with other people through their service. This is a very handy way to share really large files with other people without clogging up email.
  • In Windows, you simply right-click on a file on your computer and select "Share" from the Memopal menu. There is similar functionality with their Mac client.
  • You are given the option to share the file for 1 day, 1 week, or unlimited (you can revoke sharing at any time).

• Memopal has an impressive array of supported platforms: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Mac, Linux, and iPhone (yes, iPhone!)

If you don't have a backup solution already, Memopal is a good one to consider and I've been happy with the performance, functionality and ease-of-use during the 2 months I've used the product.

At this point, I'm not going to convert any of my other systems from Mozy to Memopal since I'm still quite happy with Mozy and it meets my needs (plus I still have over a year on my contract). However, I think Memopal is raising the bar on economical, online backups and when my Mozy contracts are up... who knows?

Money-saving tip: Memopal is also currently offering an "Easter special" through April 25, that will save you 15%.

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So many choices - what do I do?

Now - if you're trying to decide between Mozy and Memopal, I have some additional thoughts to consider:

• Company
  • Backing
    • Mozy is part of megacorp EMC, while Memopal is an angel-funded startup. I'm not overly concerned about this because I have multiple types of backups, but make sure the company you pick is stable.
    • Incidentally, Mozy was a startup when I began using it and when it was acquired by EMC I had two reactions: 1) good, they aren't going anywhere, and 2) I hope EMC doesn't raise the price. [EMC did raise the price for business accounts, by the way.]
  • Company location
    • If this is an issue for you, make sure you understand it. Mozy is US-based, while Memopal is Rome-based.
• Terms of use and policies
  • Both Mozy and Memopal are very clear about their policies, terms of use, etc. and both have very "user-friendly" policies. I've looked at other services where this was not the case.
• How you'll use the product
  • If you regularly need to share large files with others, Memopal does that while Mozy does not.
  • Platform support may be a consideration - ensure that the platforms you intend to back up are supported (for example, Mozy will not back up Linux or iPhone).
• Pricing subleties
  • If you are only backing up one system, Mozy and Memopal will cost you about the same per year. If, however, you are backing up multiple systems Memopal can be quite a bit cheaper.
  • The caveat here is that Memopal will charge you more if you outgrow the capacity you've purchased.
    • For example, if you are backing up 2 computers that (combined) have less than 150 Gigs of data, Memopal will be cheaper; if those same 2 computers require you to bump your storage up to 250 Gigs, the price will be the same (and Mozy provides unlimited storage).
  • Bottom line on pricing: Think about it and do the math before you jump in.
• Try it before you buy it
  • Both Mozy and Memopal offer free trials - give them a test drive before you purchase to make sure you'll be happy.

I hope this information is helpful in your decision - whichever one of these products you choose, I think you'll be happy with the choice.

Pause and Resume

You may have noticed that I’ve been a bit quieter than usual here of late.  You see, I’ve been dealing with the illness and death of my father-in-law, and I pressed the “Pause” button while traveling this past week for his funeral.  He was a wonderful man - we will miss him, and I will be forever shaped by the beautiful example of his life.

While I have your attention, I might as well give you an idea of what you can expect in the near future as I press Play again:

• I’ll share my early experience with Amazon’s Kindle 2;
• I’ll (of course) review a number of books, including one that provides a very intriguing alternative to GTD;
• I’ll review a backup service that provides an interesting alternative to Mozy;
• I’ll be sharing more about some interesting gadgets and travel tips;
• And more.

Also, if you have feedback on what you like or don’t like here (more of x; less of y; etc.) drop me a line (Email Me).