10 steps for making new year’s resolutions

12/26/2025 by

If you’re wondering about steps for making New Year’s resolutions, dear reader, this article is for you.

As a new year approaches, it’s natural to think about the year ahead and how it might be appropriate to make some resolutions to be improved versions of ourselves.

Perhaps we feel it’s time to reinvent ourselves. Maybe we recognise that we’d be better off if we could get rid of some bad habits or possibly develop a few good habits. Lose a little weight, perhaps? Then again, maybe we think it’s time to start our own business with the goal of becoming financially independent.

Whatever it is we have in mind, the new year is a new beginning, so we often see it as a vehicle for change. We think it will provide us with the motivation to make changes in our lives. However, rarely does it work out that way successfully. Certainly not for most people, in my experience.

All too frequently, we promise ourselves that we’ll do this or that, but as January progresses, we forget we’ve even made a New Year’s resolution. And that doesn’t really help us at all, does it?

So, if you’re thinking about making some New Year’s resolutions, dear reader, make sure you don’t set yourself up for failure.

Successful change is achieved in small steps, not giant leaps.

If you’re going to make some resolutions, make sure they’re achievable. Make resolutions that are hard to keep, and they won’t be kept. Simple!

Here are 10 steps for making New Year’s resolutions you can successfully stick to for the long term:

Steps for making New Year's resolutions

Steps for making New Year’s resolutions:

1. Time for reflection:

The first step is to spend some time thinking about where you are in life and where you’d like to be.

What have you accomplished so far, and what would you like to accomplish in the future?

Where have you struggled, and why? Perhaps your skillset needs improving, or maybe you have some really bad habits that you should eliminate.

Spending some time on reflection should help you identify areas of your life that you want to focus on improving in the new year.

However, let me stress once again, think in terms of small steps rather than giant leaps.

2. Be specific:

If goals are to be achievable, then they need to be specific.

Rather than say, I want to lose weight. It’s much better to say, My goal is to lose 16 pounds by the 1st of March.

With that goal, you’ll know you must lose two pounds every week if you’re to achieve your target.

Then you can start focusing on related issues like diet, calorie count, exercise and so on.

3. Focus on a few goals:

You’re not going to achieve 20 goals in the new year. Most of them will get lost very quickly.

Decide on one, two, or possibly three things you’d like to achieve, and then prioritise them.

4. Write down your goals:

You’ll have a much greater chance of success if you commit your goals to paper.

Psychologically, it will have an impact on you if you write them down. It will seem like a true commitment, and it will drive your unconscious mind to think about what needs to be done.

5. Share your goals with someone:

Sharing your goals with a friend will again reinforce your psychological commitment to those goals.

This will help you stay motivated, and it means that you make yourself accountable as you’re working towards achieving your goals.

Let’s face it, no one wants friends or family members to know that we failed. So, if they know you’re committed to a goal, you’ll have no choice but to make sure that you achieve it.

6. Planning:

For each of your goals, you must plan accordingly.

Break each goal down into its constituent parts and come up with a plan as to how you will achieve them.

Really, this just means breaking your goals down into smaller, actionable steps and then creating a timeline for completing each step.

7. Anticipate problems:

Reaching goals is never easy. There will always be problems along the way. That’s just life.

So, make a list of the potential problems that might occur at certain times of the day, in given situations, or with certain people as you work towards achieving your goals.

Once you’ve identified the potential problems, you can then work out ways that will help you deal with them as and when they occur. In short, be prepared.

8. Set dates:

This is all about being specific again, and it fits into the planning process.

When will you get started?

When will you achieve your goal? By what date, specifically?

Be realistic, but challenge yourself too.

9. Regular review:

Right, you’ve set goals, you’ve got a plan in place, and you’ve set dates for starting and completion.

The next step is to set regular intervals to review progress.

This might be weekly, monthly, and/or quarterly. Whatever seems appropriate, depending on the goal.

As you review progress, you’ll be able to identify whether small adjustments need to be made to your plan to achieve your goal on time. 

Obviously, you’ll need to be flexible and willing to adjust your goals and plan as required.

10. Reward success:

To achieve your goal, you’ll need to be very disciplined, of course, but it also helps if there’s a potential reward at the end of the process.

So, promise yourself a suitable reward if you achieve your goal.

Success deserves to be rewarded.

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Concluding remarks:

We’ve all made resolutions over the years that have come to nothing.

It’s easy to say what we plan to do, but it’s much harder to do it and achieve our end goal.

However, just because you’ve failed with resolutions in the past doesn’t mean you’re doomed to fail in the future.

Set your resolutions carefully, approach them methodically, and don’t give up until you get to where you want to be.

It can be done, and people do. So can you!

Now that you know how to make a New Year’s resolution, you’re one step closer to achieving your goal.

Remember, small steps and not giant leaps.

Good luck!

Phil Sutton

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What makes a great idea and why you should keep a journal

12/21/2025 by

What makes a great idea? Now, that’s an interesting question, in my opinion.

How is it that one idea can be successful and another idea less so?

Why has the iPhone been so successful, yet once-popular smartphones like the Blackberry have disappeared?

How do you know when one of your ideas might make a big difference?

The importance of timing

A key ingredient for a great idea is timing. Ideas are a dime a dozen. The trick is to know when one of your inspired thoughts is right for its time and, therefore, how hard to push it.

If you’re too far ahead of other people’s thinking, the inspired thought you believed was a great idea will only be ignored because it won’t resonate with people.

If you’re too far behind, then it will be ignored because they’ve seen it all before, or something else is already doing it better.

However, if you can hit that sweet spot between the two extremes, then you can generate value from your idea because it will solve a problem or capture the imagination of the people who are ready for it.

An idea whose time has come is a truly great idea. Though coming up with one is not so easy, of course.

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Good ideas are valuable

Great ideas are rare, so they become very valuable. And that value is why it’s worthwhile to constantly seek out great ideas.

Should you decide the world is not quite ready for your inspired thinking, don’t worry. The world not being ready now doesn’t mean the world will never be ready.

Keep a journal and make a note of all those flashes of inspiration. And add your journals to your library. Never throw your journals away. Go through them occasionally and see what ideas you’ve had for which the time might now be right.

Keep a journal

The real message today is:

KEEP A JOURNAL!

Your journals could be a source of pure gold in the future, so make sure you buy quality notebooks that you can add to your library as you fill them with your thoughts and inspiration.

By keeping journals, you’re creating value. Value starts with a good-quality notebook, so it’s worth investing in quality.

And never, ever dismiss your ideas. They may not work today, but one day they may make you a fortune.

Phil Sutton

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Thank you for your support, dear reader.

Saily eSIM
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How to develop effective time management skills

12/14/2025 by

Time Management Skills:

Developing effective time management skills is an essential ingredient for success, and I’m sure you’ll agree. You can’t add real value without making the best use of your time.

However, making the best use of it is not always easy in practice, is it?

So, how good are you, dear reader, at managing your time?

Do you have a reputation for being ruthlessly efficient and productive, or are you someone who’s always struggling to keep up?

When someone asks you to do something in the office, do you accept their request without question and simply add the task to your ‘To Do’ list? If you do, you’re not alone. Many people will do that, in my experience.

Alternatively, perhaps you’re the type who thinks carefully relative to your priorities before you accept such a request. Now be honest. We’d all like to think we’re the latter, when in fact far too many people are the former I think.

Time Management Skills
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Productivity is what matters:

In the world of work, it’s easy to confuse being busy with being productive, but these two concepts are not the same thing at all, are they?

For instance, you can be busy doing things that don’t need doing at all. Whereas being genuinely productive means delivering real results from high-value tasks, which can only be done by someone with your skills.

And let’s face it, reputations are built by being productive, not merely by being busy. It’s the results you deliver, not the energy you expend, that matter most.

Time is your most precious resource:

How often do you hear someone say, “Oh, I would love to do that, if only I had the time.“

And yet we all have the same amount of time, i.e. 168 hours per week.

Time is simply a resource like money, although it’s more important than money. I say that because you can get more money, but you can’t get more time. None of us can do that, can we?

So you must learn to use your time wisely. Time is your most precious resource, so you must develop effective time management skills.

High-value tasks must take precedence:

Modern pressures mean it’s easy for us to try to do too many things. We can all be a bit like that, including me, dear reader.

Our lives are cluttered with too many activities, too many objectives, too many distractions, and far too many demands on our time.

The result is that we tend to lose focus on what matters most and in the end we don’t do anything as well as we should have done.

In my experience, in most jobs, you’ll find that 90% of productivity is down to completing the top three or four major activities within that job. What I call high-value tasks.

If you take the top three major activities – the high-value tasks – associated with your job and focus on those to the exclusion of just about everything else you’ll almost certainly maximise your productivity and efficiency.

Most common time management mistake:

The problem is, when we’re working, we seem to find it easier to focus on minor tasks and random actions requested by other people.

We feel obliged to accept requests from others. It’s a common mistake of which we can all be guilty.

Now, while tidying up all those minor tasks might make us feel like we’re achieving some quick wins, we’re usually fooling ourselves.

By the end of the day, we’re usually left with a sense that we haven’t done all we should have done, and that leaves us feeling stressed.

And that’s when we start to think about how we might improve our time management.

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We can’t do everything, nor should we try:

We must recognise that we can’t do everything, but we can be selective about what we choose to do.

And if we’re going to get those major tasks of higher value completed, then they must take precedence over those low-value, minor tasks, which can always wait if necessary.

High-value tasks should always take precedence over low-value tasks.

Work smarter:

People often think of time management as a skill that would allow them to work faster. Well, let me tell you this: that’s not the idea at all.

Effective time management skills allow us to work smarter rather than harder.

Instead of getting lost in the minutiae of everyday life, with effective time management skills, we focus on and prioritise those things that will add the most value to our productivity. In other words, we focus on high-value activity.

The law of three:

So. if time management is an issue for you, dear reader, start by taking a good, hard look at your list of daily activities and asking yourself these three questions:

  1. What single task can only I do and, when completed by me, will add the most value to the business?
  2. What’s the second task on my list that only I can do, and when I’ve completed it, will allow me to add the most value to the business?
  3. What is the third task on my list that only I can do and that, when completed by me, will add the most value to the business?

Once you’ve identified your list of three major, high-value tasks, that’s where your focus should be each day before you touch any other minor tasks or accept random requests from other people.

Phil Sutton

Most powerful time management tool:

The point of work is to deliver results. You’ll deliver the best results if you concentrate on your top three major tasks first.

And never forget that you’ll be judged by the results you deliver. No one cares what you have to do for someone else, they only care about the results they expect from you.

Your time is your time, and you must decide how it is to be used most effectively.

Just because someone asks for a piece of your time doesn’t mean you’re obliged to give it to them at the expense of your productivity. Never be afraid to deploy the most effective time management tool of them all.

And what is the most effective time-management tool? It’s the word NO.

Think of the word NO as a baseball bat.

Whenever someone requests that you do something, NO is how you can whack that request right out of the ballpark.

Be in control of your time, at all times:

You’re not obliged to agree to a request even if someone asks nicely. It’s reasonable to be working to your priorities.

All too often we feel obliged to do things for other people when we should have just said politely, “No, I’m sorry, but I can’t do that right now for you because I have to deliver this by 5 pm and it’s a priority.”

If our productivity matters to us, and it should, then our focus should always be on our major, high-value deliverables.

Unfortunately, we allow ourselves to be driven by the agendas of other people.

However that’s not good for our productivity, nor is it good for our well-being or stress levels.

People will take everything you’re prepared to give:

I can tell you from experience that other people will take everything you’re prepared to give and a bit more besides. That’s the nature of people.

However, if you fail to deliver what you’re being paid to deliver, then no list of incidental work completed for other people will be accepted as an adequate plea in your defence when your boss wants to know why you’ve failed to deliver your high-value results.

If you’re painting my house, I’ll measure you on the quality and timeliness of your work, not the amount of help you gave to my neighbour by, say, looking after her dog.

What you do for other people is irrelevant to me, should you fail to deliver what I’m paying you to deliver.

Focus on your priorities:

In reality, if your colleagues can’t get something done by you, they’ll simply ask someone else. So let them.

Why worry? Just be very polite when faced with a random request, but say NO firmly. I can tell you this: you’ll have to be disciplined, but it’s a habit worth developing.

We can all be guilty of expending far too much of our energy helping other people achieve their aims, to the detriment of our interests and our ability to deliver high-value results.

To achieve anything of significance in life, we must be focused on our major activities.

We must concentrate on completing our big three major high-value deliverables daily and focus relentlessly on working towards achieving our own goals generally.

The need for balance:

If you’re asked to do something, then it’s perfectly reasonable to say NO, if doing otherwise would prevent you from delivering the results you’re being paid to deliver on time.

Yes, of course, occasionally there will be tasks you’re obliged to accept for whatever reason.

However, mostly being firm in declining such a request is a sign that you’re assertive and in control of delivering as much value as possible.

Another polite but firm response to a request might be something like, “Sorry, I would love to help you with that, but I cannot right now because I have my hands full with the deadline for this project.”

As with everything, there is a balance to be struck, of course.

Sometimes it’s in your interest to do someone a favour because one day you might need them to return that favour. That’s reasonable, provided you always retain a primary focus on keeping your main things the main things.

Conclusion:

You should always ensure that you’re making progress towards achieving your big three deliverables and your own goals generally.

It’s perfectly reasonable to have your agenda and a desire to achieve your own goals and add the greatest value only you can add.

If you want to make a difference, focus on your three major activities.

Those activities that only you can do.

And to ensure that you’re doing that, don’t be afraid to use the most effective time management tool of them all whenever necessary. Use the word NO politely but firmly.

Always keep the main things the main things.

Phil Sutton

Please share this post with your friends:

Did you find this article interesting and useful?

If so, then please share it on social media with your friends.

When you share, everyone wins.

Go on, please share it now.

If you do, I will be forever grateful, and you’ll be helping a keen blogger reach a wider audience.

Thank you, dear reader.

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How to sell anything to anybody and make money

11/15/2025 by

Selling is a subject that often gets a bad name. Some people even look down on those who make their living by selling.

However, we’re all trying to sell something all the time. Even if it’s just the skills we have or a service we can provide. Let’s face it, if we’re to make a living, we must sell something. If you think about it, I’m sure you’ll agree, dear reader.

Learning the art of successful selling is very important. Everyone should hone their selling skills, even if it’s just to sell themselves effectively.

Selling is a process, and by learning a few simple techniques, you can improve your ability to sell.

So what are these techniques?

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How to sell anything to anybody

1. Know your product:

Ultimately, it’s all about the product.

If you want to sell anything successfully, you must know your product. You must believe in the product too.

That product has to be something that you would buy yourself.

You need to know the product in detail. You need to know the features and benefits. You must be able to explain the advantages and the disadvantages.

Then you need to know all about your competitors’ products that your customers could buy as an alternative to your own.

This is important if you are to position your product against that of the competition and counter any reasons given by your customers as to why they might be reluctant to buy from you.

You need to be able to talk about your product favourably, relative to any other options that may be available to your customer.

2. Know the problem your product solves:

Ultimately, every product must solve a problem for the customer. A product must make the customer’s life easier in some way.

If a product doesn’t solve a problem for the target customer, why would they buy it? Why would any customer part with their money unless the product made their life easier?

So it’s simple. You must have a good understanding of the problem or problems for which your product can be an excellent solution.

And you must be able to explain this in simple, straightforward language.

3. Capture buying intent:

Cold-calling is the most inefficient and soul-destroying sales approach there could possibly be. Phoning or door-stepping people and saying, “Want to buy this?” will have a low success rate.

The key to successful selling is capturing warm sales leads. In other words, you must capture buying intent.

If a customer walks into a shirt shop, then you know they’re looking for a shirt, and therefore you have a very good chance of selling them one.

So find ways to engage people who are actively looking for something like the product you are selling.

To do this, you’ll need to ensure that your customers and potential customers have visibility of your product.

You must raise awareness of the product, as well as the features and benefits and the value it offers. You must create desirability too.

4. Know the customer’s needs:

Your product should have a target customer. You must know the sort of person for whom the product offers an ideal solution.

In other words, you must know who the product is aimed at and what their needs are likely to be.

To understand the customer’s needs, you may need to ask some questions first.

For instance, using the shirt-selling example again, a customer may be looking for something to wear for a formal occasion, or perhaps they’re looking for something more casual. You want to ensure that the shirt you sell them is right for their needs.

So you must identify the ways in which your product will satisfy the customer’s needs because, if you make a sale, you want the customer to feel they’ve got exactly what they wanted.

You want to ensure that they get a good buying experience. You certainly don’t want them to feel like they’ve been cheated in some way.

5. Build trust with the customer:

Trust matters, particularly when selling big-ticket items.

Customers need to feel that they can trust you to deliver a quality product and provide excellent after-sales service.

Far too often, people pay good money only to be let down. So naturally, they’re wary of salespeople, particularly when high-value products and services are involved.

Take the time to build trust with customers and reassure them that they will get what they’re paying for, and, should there be any problems at all, you will be there to ensure any such problems are resolved quickly and efficiently and at no cost to the customer.

Building trust with customers will pay dividends.

6. Sell the benefits:

You don’t sell the product to the customer; you sell the benefits and the problems that it solves.

In what ways will your product improve the customer’s life?

In what ways will your product potentially be an answer to the customer’s prayers?

In what ways does your product offer excellent value for money?

You don’t have to be the cheapest on the market, but you must convince a customer that it makes sense to buy your product rather than simply going for the cheapest product on the market.

Customers won’t part with their money unless they believe your product will add value to them somehow.

7. Know why your product is their best option:

Now, dear reader, if you’re in business, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that it’s a highly competitive world out there.

Put simply, today’s customers have plenty of options.

You must be able to convince a customer as to why your product is their best option.

If you’ve got a good story to tell about your product, you can stimulate the customer’s interest.

And once you’ve got the customer interested, you can gently apply pressure to close the sale.

And don’t be shy when it comes to applying pressure gradually.

Business is business, and if you don’t close the sale, you can be sure that someone else will.

There’s an art to knowing how much pressure to apply, of course.

You shouldn’t push too hard because that can result in a negative reaction from the customer.

It can also leave customers feeling like they’ve been sold something they didn’t need.

If that happens, you’ve made a sale but lost a customer. That’s counter-productive.

The last thing you want is an unhappy customer because they’re likely to tell a lot of people about a bad experience.

Bad publicity and customers badmouthing you can hurt your business if you’re not careful. I’m sure you know that, but it’s worth repeating.

Conclusion:

No business or individual can succeed without making sales.

If it’s your job to sell, then you’ve got to sell. And if you don’t sell, you’ve failed. Simple!

If you don’t make sales and meet your targets, then the result is likely to be that you’ll lose your job very quickly.

Business can be an unforgiving environment, as I’m sure you’re only too well aware, dear reader.

No company can afford the luxury of having people on the payroll who don’t deliver the results for which they are paid.

And let’s face it, we’re all paid to deliver results.

In order to sell, the question to which you must have the perfect answer is:

“Why should the customer buy my product?“

If you’ve got a good answer and you’ve targeted the right customer with buying intent, then you’ve got a good chance of making a sale.

You also want to be confident that you can leave the customer feeling that in exchange for the money they’ve spent, they’ve received good value and a good buying experience.

So learn the art of successful selling. It will pay you a handsome dividend.

Saily eSIM

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So please share it now. If you do, I will be ever so grateful, and you’ll be helping a keen blogger reach a wider audience.

You’ll be helping your friends, and you’ll be helping me too. So you really can make a difference to the lives of others.

Thank you.

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Top 10 Tips for How to Manage Your Time

10/27/2025 by

How to manage your time? A question that is frequently asked, but few actually manage to master the art of effective time management, in my experience.

“If only I had time!” is an expression I hear constantly.

People will say to me, “Oh, I’d love to do that if only I had the time.”

However, we all have exactly the same amount of time. We all have 168 hours each week, and it all comes down to how we make the best use of it. In other words, our priorities.

Time is our most precious resource, wouldn’t you agree, dear reader? Yet far too many people don’t use their time as wisely as they should.

So here are my top 10 tips for how to manage your time.

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How to manage your time:

1. Be in control: Just because someone makes a demand on your time, it doesn’t mean that you have to agree to it. You are the captain of your own ship and you should always be in control. And you’re mindset should always be, “I am in control of my life and if anyone wants a piece of my time then they’ll need to provide me with a very good reason as to why I should agree to their request.”

2. Keep your life and your desk free of clutter: Dealing with clutter just stresses you out, so be ruthless and get rid of it. You cannot work efficiently at a desk which is full of clutter. And you will waste so much time looking for things you need. So clear your desk and get rid of anything in your life that will prevent you from managing your time as efficiently as possible.

3. Be organized: A place for everything and everything in its place. If everything is in its place then you’ll know where to find it should you need it. And that reduces clutter and makes for a better environment in which to work, be it in the workplace or in your personal life.

4. Make lists: You need to plan your week and plan each day too. Write it all down so you won’t forget it. Having a weekly planner is a good idea. Knowing what needs to be achieved each week, allows you to identify ‘must do’ activities each day. At the end of each day make a list of what needs to be done the next day in order to achieve your objectives. And do not rest until your list has been completed each day.

5. Prioritize: Everything is urgent these days, so you have to identify those things that are important to you achieving your objectives. Those are then the activities on which you must focus. You should know your priorities and they are the things that will allow you to achieve your objectives and meet your deadlines.

6. Develop routines: Having a proper routine will allow you to get very efficient at what you do. For instance, rather than responding to emails as and when they arrive in your inbox, set aside two or three time windows each day when you will deal with email. That could be for exactly one hour at the beginning of each day; half an hour just before lunch and then say half an hour at the end of the day just before you leave your desk. Be very strict about these windows for dealing with email and don’t allow email to become a distraction at other times.

7. Set deadlines and stick to them: If you have a piece of work to complete, judge how long it will take, use that to set a deadline for completion and then focus on that work such that you complete it within your deadline.

8. Delegate whenever possible: You should only be doing those things which absolutely have to be done by you. If you are lucky enough to have people to whom you can delegate then make use of them as much as you possibly can.

9. Don’t procrastinate: Procrastination is the thief of time. If you have got something to do, then get on with it. Don’t mess around. The sooner you start the sooner you’ll finish.

10. Learn to say No: Master this skill and it is the biggest time saver of them all. Far too often we agree to do something for someone else simply because we don’t like saying no. It may not even be our responsibility but we do it anyway rather than say no. Always be polite but it is perfectly reasonable to say, “I’d love to help you but I’m busy right now.“

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Bonus Timing Saving Tips:

Here are some useful time-saving tips that are often overlooked. Increasing your productivity will mean getting more done in less time. What’s not to like about that?

1. Use Keyboard Shortcuts: Learning and using keyboard shortcuts for your most-used software can significantly speed up your work. Whether it’s for operating systems, word processors, or specific applications, mastering these shortcuts reduces the time spent navigating menus and will increase your productivity.

2. Leverage Automation Tools: Utilize automation tools and apps like IFTTT (If This Then That) or Zapier to automate repetitive tasks. These tools can help with tasks like automatically saving email attachments to cloud storage, posting updates across social media platforms, or organizing files. Automation can save you countless hours in the long run.

3. Create Email Templates for Common Responses: If you find yourself frequently sending similar emails, create a set of templates for these common responses. This can save you a significant amount of time and ensure consistency in your communication. Most email clients have features that allow you to save and reuse templates with just a few clicks.

4. Batch Processing Similar Tasks: Instead of switching between different types of tasks throughout the day, try batching similar tasks together. For example, set specific times for answering emails, making phone calls, or doing administrative work. This reduces the mental load of constantly switching contexts and increases overall efficiency.

5. Set Up Quick Access for Frequently Used Files and Folders: Organize your digital workspace by creating shortcuts or bookmarks for frequently accessed files and folders. Whether it’s pinning important folders in your file explorer or bookmarking essential documents in your browser, having quick access can save you the hassle of searching through directories every time you need them.

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Master your time management skills:

Whilst this is not a comprehensive list, it’s a good basis on which to start improving your time management skills.

If you want to be successful then effective time management is an essential skill.

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How to stop worrying and start living

10/26/2025 by

How to stop worrying and start living is a topic we would all do well to reflect on.

We all tend to worry a bit more than we should.

Worrying is natural, but it is rarely helpful. It just adds to our stress levels. And what’s the worst thing that can happen anyway?

And even if it did happen, would worrying have stopped it from happening?

Life’s too short to stress ourselves out with worry.

The question is, how do we stop ourselves from worrying? Well, consider this idea.

Dale Carnegie’s book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living is a very useful guide. This book is a great personal development text, and it’s well worth reading. I can strongly recommend it to you.

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How to stopworrying
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How to stop worrying:

However, until you have the chance to read it, this animated video provides a useful summary of the key ideas in the book.

So I can recommend you watch this video now and then read the book whenever you get the chance.

Further reading:

Readers serious about their own personal development will be keen to establish their own small library of motivational resources, I’m sure.

Dale Carnegie’s book would be an essential addition to any personal development library.

So, take action now. Check out How to Stop Worrying and Start Living while it’s fresh in your mind.

Check on Amazon USA
Check on Amazon UK

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How to find and do work you love, now and forever

10/13/2025 by

How to find and do work you love? A great question for all you very intelligent readers to contemplate today.

Now, not everyone will find the answer, of course, but most people frequently ask this question in my experience.

Job satisfaction:

How many people would say they get job satisfaction from their work, in percentage terms?

Apparently, it’s only around 20%.

That would suggest that 80% of all people hate their jobs.

If true, I think that matters, and it’s especially relevant to society if you think about it. Why?

Quite simply, because it suggests that most people will not be quite as productive as they might otherwise be. Let’s face it, you can’t really be at your most productive if you’re not happy in your job.

A sense of purpose:

So dear reader, which side are you on?

Does the work you do place you in the 20% who enjoy job satisfaction, or are you one of the 80%?

Essentially, job satisfaction comes as a result of doing work that gives us a sense of purpose.

If we have a genuine sense of purpose, we’ll have a strong desire to do our work well. And we can only do it to the best of our ability if it really matters to us.

Doing our work well matters because that’s how we make a difference.

Hence, that’s how we make a contribution and leave a legacy behind us.

So in that sense, job satisfaction certainly matters.

Consider your work:

Does your work really matter to you?

And does it give you a sense of purpose? Perhaps it’s simply the means for paying your bills?

Do you get out of bed each morning looking forward to the day ahead?

No job is ever perfect, but given that work takes up a third of our lives, it’s essential we enjoy what we do and derive at least some job satisfaction from it.

Maybe there’ll be some elements of a given job we dislike, but mostly we should enjoy our work because that way we’re better placed to do it well.

In the inspirational TEDx Talk video embedded below, Scott Dinsmore explains how, during the early part of his career, he was encouraged to do any job just to build up his resumé.

However, he very quickly realized that this approach was unwise and resulted in no job satisfaction.

He makes his point with an excellent quote from Warren Buffett who said, “Taking any job just to build your resumé is like putting off s*x until your old age.”

Now, why would that make sense?

Experience is important, of course, but work should not just be about building your resumé.

Work should be about adding value and making a meaningful contribution to society.

It should be about using your skills and natural talent to make a difference to the lives of others.

So, if success is your aim, then the work you do must matter to you.

If you find work you enjoy, then job satisfaction will follow.

Put simply, if you like the work you do, you’ll do it well. And if you do it well, people will notice. And once people begin to notice you, then you’re on your way to achieving real success.

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Knowledge required:

The trick is to find work that you can’t not do.

Something you’d happily do for nothing if you couldn’t find someone to pay you to do it.

That’s the basis for real job satisfaction.

All of this is more easily said than done, of course.

Perhaps you’ve no idea about what matters to you in terms of work.

If you’re relatively young and new to the world of work, how could you possibly know? In that case, you need to start improving your basic knowledge and awareness.

1. Know yourself:

A good starting point for improving your knowledge is becoming a self-expert. Knowing just what you have in your arsenal.

  • What are your unique strengths?
  • What are your weaknesses?
  • What fills you with enthusiasm?
  • What fills you with dread?
  • What do you love to do?
  • What do you hate doing?

If I asked someone you knew well to tell me what you’re good at, what would they say?

  • For what activity do they regard you as the ‘go to’ person?
  • What do they regularly thank you for?
  • What would you do for fun if you couldn’t do it for a living?
  • On what activity can you lose yourself for hours at a time?

By answering these questions and others like them, you’ll get a better idea of what you’re looking for. And let’s face it, if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you’ll never find it.

2. Know your values:

What do you regard as your set of values? What moral framework matters to you when you’re making decisions?

What would you not do simply because you wouldn’t want to disappoint your family? What would make you feel proud if you were to tell your family that’s what you’re doing?

Anything you choose to do should be congruent with your own set of values.

3. Know your experiences:

The most powerful lessons in life come from the mistakes we make. The lessons we learn from our own mistakes and the things we’ve done are collectively known as experience. And experience is a valuable commodity.

Pay attention to your experience. Think about the things you’ve done right. Think about the things you’ve done wrong.

When have you felt completely in control of a situation, regardless of the challenges you face?

When have you felt completely out of your depth?

Think about the things you’ve enjoyed doing. Think about those activities you really hated.

4. Know what matters to you:

In crude but simple language, the underlying question here is, “What is it that you actually DO ‘give a sh*t’ about?”

We tend to do stuff because other people suggest it’s what we should be doing. However, it really should be about what actually matters to us.

Identify what it is that makes you come alive and makes you feel energized.

John Lennon’s Aunt Mimi famously said, “Playing the guitar is all very well, John, but you’ll never make a living at it.”

Fortunately, John didn’t listen to her, and his guitar helped him to make a very lucrative living because he really enjoyed writing songs and playing music.

In fact, his creative output continues to generate millions of dollars for his estate 45 years after his death.

John Lennon did well because he did something he enjoyed doing, and he didn’t allow himself to be influenced by those who thought he should pursue a different line of work.

Confidence compounds:

By working to your strengths, your confidence will grow.

Each success you have will improve your confidence. And as your confidence grows, one success will lead to another. It’s a virtuous circle.

Environment matters too:

Jim Rohn once said, “You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

Personally, I think this is true.

The people around you really do matter.

They influence you, and their attitude rubs off on you.

Human beings are social animals, and we exist within groups. We also have to fit into the group otherwise we’re very quickly ostracized by other group members.

Hang around with people who inspire possibility. People who lift you up and not pull you down. Mix with people who will influence you in a positive way. Find role models from whom you can learn.

How to find and do work you love:

Scott Dinsmore’s mission is to change the world by helping people find what excites them and build a career around the work only they are capable of doing.

If you can find the work you are compelled to do, then you can add real value to your fellow human beings.

Discover what you’re really meant to do and you’ll be on to a winner.

You’ll also get maximum job satisfaction.

Therefore, in conclusion, if you’ve yet to find what you’re looking for, then keep looking until you do.

In the meantime, I recommend that you watch the video. It is thought-provoking and compelling, and it will be a good use of your time.

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If so, then please share it on social media with your friends. When you share, everyone wins.

So please share it now. If you do, I’ll be forever grateful, and you’ll be helping a keen blogger reach a wider audience.

Thank you for your support.

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Why you should put something away for a rainy day

10/08/2025 by
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Dear Reader, have you ever considered why you should put something away for a rainy day?

When you’re doing well and have a good income, it’s easy to imagine that the good times will go on forever and you can enjoy it all with the expectation that money will continue to flow in your direction without interruption.

But life’s not like that. Into every life, some rain will fall, as the saying goes.

Good times don’t last forever. Life tends to be cyclical, like the changing of the seasons.

The time to repair your roof is when the sun is shining, for winter will have its day and we must be prepared for inclement weather.

Savings matter:

When you get paid each month you must set some money aside, separated into three accounts, as follows:

You must be prepared to pay those bills that come in regularly; you must be ready for an emergency. Equally, you must start creating wealth, so that one day you’ll be able to retire.

Bill Payment:

You cannot live in the modern age without incurring bills.

Whether it’s utility bills, phone bills, TV subscriptions, mortgage payments or rent, credit card payments, food bills, repayments on a car loan, et cetera. You must set money aside to pay all those bills when they fall due.

Emergency Account:

As the saying goes, stuff happens.

And when stuff happens you must be prepared to deal with it. You must have an emergency fund you can tap into to deal with emergency repairs or even an unexpected interruption to your income. These things do happen.

Financial Freedom:

When you’re young, it’s easy to think that you’ll keep on working, if you must, to earn an income.

However, trust me, one day you will want to retire from work, or at least from the daily grind.

If you are to retire you will need some wealth.

The best time to start building wealth is when you’re young.

Start a 401K or pension whilst you’re young, pay into it regularly and with some luck and good financial management, you can enjoy a comfortable old age.

By starting young you will benefit from the magic of compounding. The impact of compound interest should not be underestimated.

Remember; it will rain:

Think of life in terms of the seasons and prepare accordingly.

Most people experience hard times at some point in their lives, particularly when they’re young.

You can be sure it will rain; the only question is when.

You will be able to weather the storm a lot better if you have a financial cushion in the form of some savings.

If you are lucky enough to have an income now, you’d do well to remember to put some of your income away for a rainy day.

It’s easy to squander your money thinking the good times will never end.

However, nothing lasts forever. So, my advice is, to be prepared.

Why you should put something away for a rainy day
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Change habits and you can change your life

10/05/2025 by

To change habits requires discipline and recognition that change is essential if life is to improve.

So, is your life going in the direction you’d like it to go, dear reader? Perhaps, it’s not.

Somehow, you can’t quite achieve the results you’d like to achieve. Would that be true?

In the video included here, Bob Proctor explains that the reason you’re stuck and can’t get the results you want is likely to be because of a paradigm.

And what’s a paradigm?

Well, Bob goes on to explain what paradigms are and how they are formed.

He also explains how change can be achieved.

If change is something you’d like to achieve, then this is a really interesting presentation; it is fairly short but worth watching.

I recommend it to you, so take a few minutes and check it out now.

Quotes about change
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Change habits:

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15 Quotes by Elon Musk to help get you thinking

10/01/2025 by

Today I am exploring quotes by Elon Musk.

Born in Pretoria, South Africa, Elon Musk is a technology entrepreneur and engineer. He holds South African, Canadian and U.S. citizenship and is probably best known as the co-founder, CEO and product architect of Tesla Inc.

In 2016, he was ranked 21st on the Forbes list of the World’s Most Powerful People.

Apparently, his net worth is around $19.4 billion and he’s listed by Forbes as the 40th-richest person in the world.

By any definition, Elon Musk is a clever and successful man and of course, it’s always worth listening to successful people.

So today I offer you 15 quotes by Elon Musk dear reader.

He’s an interesting character and his observations will certainly get you thinking I’m sure.

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15 Quotes by Elon Musk:

  1. I think it matters whether someone has a good heart. ~Elon Musk
  2. I hate writing about personal stuff. I don’t have a Facebook page. I don’t use my Twitter account. I am familiar with both, but I don’t use them. ~Elon Musk
  3. When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favour. ~Elon Musk
  4. If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it’s a bright day. Otherwise, it’s not. ~Elon Musk
  5. People should pursue what they’re passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else. ~Elon Musk
  6. I think that’s the single best piece of advice: constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself. ~Elon Musk
  7. There have to be reasons that you get up in the morning and you want to live. Why do you want to live? What’s the point? What inspires you? What do you love about the future? If the future does not include being out there among the stars and being a multi-planet species, I find that incredibly depressing. ~Elon Musk
  8. Some people don’t like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is disaster. ~Elon Musk
  9. People work better when they know what the goal is and why. It is important that people look forward to coming to work in the morning and enjoy working. ~Elon Musk
  10. I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better. ~Elon Musk
  11. Man has the power to act as his own destroyer – and that is the way he has acted through most of his history. ~Elon Musk
  12. Really, the only thing that makes sense is to strive for greater collective enlightenment. ~Elon Musk
  13. We can’t have, like, willy-nilly proliferation of fake news. That’s crazy. You can’t have more types of fake news than real news. That’s allowing public deception to go unchecked. That’s crazy. ~Elon Musk
  14. Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time. Sometimes it will be ahead, other times it will be behind. But brand is simply a collective impression some have about a product. ~Elon Musk
  15. In order to have your voice be heard in Washington, you have to make some little contribution. ~Elon Musk

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You did? I hope so anyway.

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