Today I will show you how to be more productive at work, at home, and in life.

We’re half way through 2018, and if you’re like most people your New Year’s resolution has been off track for a while.

Luckily, you still have six months to make 2018 your best year yet.

Now is the perfect time to get back on track.

So, let’s double down, make some moves, and scratch some shit from your 2018 to-do list.

In this post I’ll show you 18 ways to be more productive.

I used these tactics to improve my career, finances, health, body, relationships, and life in general.

They are the same tips I used to go from fat to ripped, miserable to happy, and from broke to having money in the bank.

How to Be More Productive in 2018 (and beyond)

I don’t think you could have found this article at a better time.

People are more stressed out today than ever before.

I get it:

It’s hard to keep up with life – family, friends, house, job, bills, etc., etc. are all extremely demanding.

Once you boil it all down, people “just don’t have enough time in a day!”

What if I told you I could help you get one-two hours (or more) back every day?

Well, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

I’m going to show you how to get MORE done in LESS time with a few simple ‘rules’, because you’re ability to produce means everything.

Productivity is Everything

You are either a producer or a consumer.

Producers add value and value is king in this world.

Cease to be productive and you no longer add value. You start to fall behind.

You’re ability to produce is the single greatest factor to your success.

“Our world is one of accelerated change, specialization, and increasing complexity.” – Les Brown

We live in an unprecedented time of rapid change. Change only gets faster each year.

In the workplace, expectations placed on people rise each year. People are expected to produce more and more and more.

Therefore, staying the same means falling behind.

And rightfully so:

You should accumulate knowledge and skills each year and be more productive as time goes on.

Improve or Become Obsolete

It’s a natural law – Evolve with the times or go extinct.

That’s the choice we all have.

Expenses rise, inflation increases, and life becomes more demanding each year. Thus you MUST demand more from yourself.

That doesn’t mean working harder (although that’s one route), but it does mean working smarter.

Whether you want to be more productive to make more money, have more time for family and friends, find time to workout, or start a passion project, these are 18 actionable tips you can use to be more productive NOW.

18 Ways to Be More Productive in 2018

#1. Have a Clear Goal

Lost souls have no goals.

Goals are your guide through life’s choppy waters.

Without a goal you drift around like a ship lost as sea. A life without goals is one full of unfulfillment and frustration.

It’s impossible to get anything done without a goal!

Goals give you a target to focus your energy.

You can have big goals or small goals, Life goals, yearly goals, monthly goals, daily goals, even minute goals.

Just have a goal.

Goal setting is an important skill. It can be learned by anyone.

Goal Setting 101

Be as specific as possible with your goals.

If you describe your goal to me, I should have a clear picture in my mind of what you want to accomplish.

Example of a good goal:

“I will be promoted from my current position to manager of my team by the end of this year. I will complete my To-do list every day and will prepare for the next day’s work the day before. Starting now, I will get to work early, take shorter lunches, and stay at work later everyday for as long as necessary until my goal is achieved.”

Example of a shit goal:

“I will get promoted.”

This is a start but there’s no substance to back it up. It’s empty and the owner of this goal is unlikely to achieve it any time soon.

Example of no goal:

“I will eat this entire Wendy’s value meal on the drive home so I can plop on the couch and watch the Kardashians without distraction. I will then promptly take a nap at the conclusion of the episode so I have energy to scroll Facebook for two hours before bed”

Sadly, this is how a lot of people drift through life. No direction, no purpose, no goals. Just a void that becomes filled with nonsense.

Goals ensure you work toward a worthwhile objective and get s done.

Your Goals Must Inspire You

What do you want out of life?

What does your perfect life look like?

Want to own a Yacht? Want to travel the world and get paid for it? How about make money without punching a clock? Or maybe you want to meet a nice girl and raise a beautiful family without having to worry about money?

All of these things are possible because people already do it.

So dream big, aim high, and work for it. And then work for it and work for it and work for it and work for it.

Just keep your goal in mind because you lose steam when you’re uninspired. Use your imagination to create a clear vision. The more detail the better.

This will motivate you to work harder and longer with abundant energy. See your new life in your mind and that reality will pull you into it. This will keep the desire alive while building the future you want.

Time Blocking Goals

I time block every objective.

I especially time block the stuff I hate doing (paperwork, etc.) I’m sure you can think of a few things you hate doing, so you procrastinate.

Some tasks are so unpleasant and painful  that it takes two hours to complete them instead of 20 minutes.

When faced with such a task, challenge yourself right then and there – set a goal to finish that TPS report in 10 minutes.

Then work like a berserker as fast and thorough as you can to complete it. Work with fury and single minded focus until it’s done. Then move on to the next thing.

Crushing tasks one after another gives you a morale boost. It gets all the piddly, annoying stuff out of the way so you can focus on bigger, fun stuff.

I look at it this way:

The mundane is part of the process. No one is above it and it can’t be avoided. So just suck it up and get it done as fast as possible. Remember you reap what you sow.

Oh, and goals are worthless unless you use them.

Just like a GPS is worthless if you don’t use it to get to a place you’ve never been. Stay focused on your goals. There will be temptation to sway. Don’t. Grind while others play. After a while you’ll start to pull ahead.

When you cash in your hard work, the script will flip – you’ll play while they work (quite possibly for you).

And you’ll play a lot more, whenever you want, with much better toys and playmates.

#2. Have a Plan

“Plan your work, then work your plan.” – Some guy

I don’t know who said that, but it’s true.

With a plan you’ll always know what to tackle next.

Your plan doesn’t need to be perfect but it should outline major milestones and tasks to complete each milestone.

A plan helps you act decisively, build momentum, and eventually your vision will begin to materialize.

A plan provides an easy way to track progress and make adjustments if needed.

Seeing the progress always fires me up. It makes me want to tackle more tasks.

Make a plan, then work (and re-work) your plan relentlessly until finished.

Don’t skip the plan creation step:

A plan is critical. You need a plan with a task list so you can consciously and methodically execute toward your goal.

Spending a little extra time to create a plan before diving into a project will save you time and frustration in the long run.

#3. Prioritize

Your priorities directly impact your productivity.

To assess your priorities, take a look at how you spend your time.

Are you getting drunk and chasing tail on the weekends, or using that time, money and energy spent at the bar to build a better life?

Your actions unveil your true priorities. You can say you prioritize health, wealth, career and family but does that align with how you spend your time?

I used to be at the bar Friday and Saturday nights. Getting drunk and tangled up, throwing away my money and precious time.

I was broke and unfulfilled as a result.

I didn’t like the way I was going so I changed it.

My body and my business became my priorities.

I traded late nights for early mornings and exchanged my bar tab for steaks and protein shakes.

Now I have a ripped, strong physique, a business that pays me every month, and no hangovers ever.

It was a good trade in my mind.

Spend Your Time Wisely

I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but it’s worth repeating every day:

Time is all you’ve got so spend it wisely. There are too many distractions. I need a reminder to stay the course. I try to remind myself everyday.

How do you spend your time?

Scrolling through facebook watching Worldstar videos, or reading books to build a foundation of knowledge?

Partaking in senseless gossip or crushing your to-do list?

I don’t need to tell you which of these activities dulls your mind and which gives you an edge.

We all have a choice and every second counts.

What matters most to you? What do you want out of life? You’re answer determines your priorities. Now the direction is clear so what are you waiting for?

Don’t get caught in the delusion that you’ll take care of it later. Prioritize and execute.

If you want to lose weight, then you need to prioritize your meal planning and workouts.

Make it top PRIORITY to go grocery shopping, meal prep for the week and plan your workouts

Intelligent Planning

After you make a plan, it’s time to prioritize your tasks intelligently.

A simple way to organize tasks is with the Eisenhower Four-Box Method.

It goes like this – Tasks are organized into four categories:

• Important – Urgent
• Important – Not Urgent
• Not Important – Urgent
• Not Important – Not Urgent

Important-Urgent tasks are top priority. Do them now!

Schedule Important-Not Urgent tasks. Get it out of your head and on paper. Don’t worry about it until the time comes so you can freely work on what’s on your plate right now.

Delegate the Not Important-Urgent tasks and eliminate tasks that are not urgent and not important.

Simple. Clear. Effective. Do it.

#4. Take Care of Your Body

If you want to be more productive, you need stamina to work hard for long periods of time.

Plus, you need to be healthy to fully enjoy the fruits of your labor when it’s time to reap.

In the wise words of Jim Rohn:

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”

Keep this in mind while you chase down your million dollar mansions, super cars, and mega yachts. You can only enjoy life and all it has to offer when in good health.

Imagine finally being able to afford your dream home but now you’re fat, sick, and tired all the time. Yikes.

Get your priorities in order. Your health being Number Uno.

Hell, maybe you’ll even get your mansion sooner because you can put in more work if you’re healthy.

You’re body and mind are the only tools you have. Keep them sharp and fit with exercises and good food. Eat and train for high performance.

High performance = More productive. More productive = more of anything you want.

Your body is your highest value asset

A healthy body is always capable of more productivity than an unhealthy body.

Work hard, work smart, and workout.

#5. Eat Clean

Human beings are designed to eat all-natural whole foods.

We are not designed to eat processed foodstuffs that pollute our bodies.

Real food has nutrients that make you healthy, strong and energized.

Processed foodstuffs have no nutrients and are loaded with chemicals that kill you.

Stay away from processed foodstuffs and eat only freshly prepared all-natural foods. Eat clean for a week and watch your productivity go up.

Clean eating keeps the body trim, lean and healthy. It also makes the mind sharp and focused.

Eating garbage makes you fat, sick and dumb.

Nothing kills productivity like getting sick, diseased or tired because you didn’t eat the food that gives you the strength and energy you need.

#6. Wake Up Early

Successful people all have one thing in common:

They wake up early.

It’s no coincidence that early risers rise to the top.

Getting a handle on your day means getting ahead of it. You get ahead by starting before everyone else.

Wake up early and get right to business. Start early, start fresh, start focused.

I love waking up and crushing my day while others are still asleep.

Beat the sun up everyday and watch your energy, mood and productivity skyrocket.

#7. Automate or Delegate Everything

Automate everything you possibly can.

Your bills: utility, cable, internet, phone, car, insurance, mortgage, rent, and credit card bills should all be set to automatic payment.

Not doing so is foolish and wasteful.

Automatic payments can be set up for free, and once done, you never have to worry about missing a payment. Just set it, forget it and enjoy your extra time.

Don’t waste another minute writing a check or mailing a bill. Even paying bills electronically once a month is a waste of time. If you’re concerned about anything bad happening to your finances, you can always review your monthly statement and make sure everything is OK.

You could automate your bills, your business, your job, or anything that you can think of that takes time out of your day. Look for ways to leverage technology to automate repetitive tasks.

You can even automate your grocery shopping. Order your food online and have it delivered to your house each week.

I even automated some of my chores. I bought a Roomba to vacuum my house while I work on other things. Just set a timer and it goes. My floors are spotless and I never touch a vacuum cleaner.

Think about it:

Let’s say it takes you 30 minutes to vacuum each week and you make $20 an hour. It’s costing you $10 to vacuum your home.

Multiply $10 by 52 weeks a year and that’s $520.

You can buy a Roomba for less than that. AND it will vacuum daily. So you’ll save time, money and have a cleaner house.

If you can’t automate it, delegate it.

Hire someone to do tasks for you.

If you can pay someone less than what your time is worth, then you’re making the right choice.

It’s worth hiring someone to handle tasks that are necessary but add no value (think lawn care, maids, etc.) so you can focus on frying the big fish.

If it takes an hour to mow the lawn, pay a kid $10 to mow it for you. Your hour is worth more than $10 right?

People will think your crazy or even lazy for doing this. My friends and family give me weird looks whenever I suggest it.

But hey, none of them are pulling money from a side hustle either. I’ll pay people to take care of the tedious stuff. It frees my time to focus on projects to increase my income while helping someone earn some scratch. Everybody wins.

Bonus Tip: Don’t be effected by people that respond negatively to you.

If you think differently people will dismiss or argue with you.

Don’t waste your time convincing them why you’re right. They aren’t ready to receive the idea because it challenges their way of life.

Maybe they’ll come around once they see what you’ve accomplished. We’ll touch more on this subject later. In the mean time, don’t let it slow you down.

Batch Things You Can’t Automate

Batching is performing similar tasks in one setting.

The theory is that batching increases focus and reduces transition time. Every time you move between tasks, you have a ‘warm up’ period.

During this warm up period you’re slower than usual. Once you hit your stride, keep riding the momentum. Try to reach a ‘flow’ state where you just go and go and go until the task is finished. Once finished, move on to the next batch of work.

Examples of tasks you can batch:

• Meal Prep
• Emails
• Chores like dishes, laundry and cleaning
• Grocery shopping
• Yard work

Meal prep is a perfect example of batching:

Most people spend 1-2 hours daily prepping and cooking meals. Meal prep only takes one to two hours a week to prep, cook, and  clean. In one hour you can have 10-20+ healthy meals.

You can even batch your grocery shopping. Go to the store, once a week MAX. No running out every night because you need to pick up an item or two you forgot. That’s a huge waste of time.

Or, skip the hassle and have all your food delivered straight to your house with Amazon’s Pantry.

#8. Get Off Your Damn Phone

Gluing your eyes to an endless stream of mind-numbing content from your ‘friends’ feed turns you into a dopamine dependent zombie.

Hey, I love memes as much as the next guy but there’s a fine line many people crossed a long time ago.

Cell phone addition is a one-two punch right in the face:

First, it’s a huge distraction and waste of time.

Second, day-to-day task become harder to complete because they are now extra boring relative to all the fun stuff on your phone. Work emails don’t stand a chance against Black Twitter and family facebook drama. Even the smallest task becomes agonizing when suffering dopamine withdrawal.

When the dopamine rush subsides you’re sad and depressed.

You feel down because now your chemical equilibrium elevated.

Cell phone addiction is real and it’s costing you a lot of money and it’s impacting your health.

Here’s How Your Break Cell Phone Addiction

Don’t look at your phone within the first three hours of waking up in the morning. Clicking between 10 different apps turns you into a scatterbrained, disorganized, burnt out chump before breakfast.

When it’s time to work, turn off your phone and work for an uninterrupted 3 hours.

Then check your phone for 10 minutes MAX once you’ve worked for a solid three hours. Do two more uninterrupted three hour sessions.

You’ll be amazed at how much work you get done. This is something you can any time at work or home.

I put my cell phone in another room when I need to get work done. I put it on silent and out of sight.

If it’s within arms reach or I can see it, I will grab it. Keep it out of sight and out of reach and watch how productive you become.

#9. Cut the Deadweight

We are all influenced by our environment whether we admit it or not.

That’s why you need to control your environment. This includes the people in it.

I can sum up my philosophy in three letters:

O.Q.P.

“Only Quality People“, as Les Brown says

No knuckleheads allowed inside the gates of my personal kingdom. That’s a recipe for disaster.

There’s no time for de-railers, detractors, derelicts, or dipshits on the way to the top.

Take my advice and cut the deadweight. NO MATTER THE SOURCE.

Friends, family, significant others, and “day ones” are all suspect.

Poison is poison and will kill ya no matter the source – friend, family, or foe.

“But I can’t cut them off, they’re family!”

Then let me ask you this:

If your arm was infected and you had to choose to cut off your arm or die from infection, what would you do?

Friends, family, teammates, partners, anyone – Anyone that infects you with their bullshit can be cut off. The sooner the better.

The choice is yours.

Lucky for you, if you’re reading this now, it’s not too late. You can make a clean break and keep yourself healthy and intact.

You are the sum total of those you spend your time with. Be selective with your associates.

How do you know who should stay or who should go?

Perform an audit on everyone you interact with using the questions below:

• How do you feel when interacting with them?
• Do they energize you or drain you?
• Do you feel inspired by them?
• Are they helpful, courteous, and thoughtful?
• Do they excite you and make you feel alive with their presence, words, and energy?
• Do they challenge you to be a better person?
• What is their attitude like?
• Do they pull you up?
• Are they positive or negative?
• Do they tend to find the problems in every situation without also seeing the good?
• Do they take responsibility for their station in life or do they play the blame game?
• Are they petty, small, or argumentative?
• Do they complain, nag, or bitch?
• Do they gossip or whine?

If they are a positive influence, cherish them. If they are negative, bid them farewell and lock the door behind them on their way out.

Time and Energy Must be Protected and Cultivated

Time is limited and energy is transferred. Only hang around those that make the most of your time and give you energy.

Just don’t forget to give energy back to them!

Hopefully you have positive people in your life that build you up. If not, find them by becoming one of these people yourself. You’ll be more inclined to attract them.

If you have big dreams and work hard, you’ll naturally gravitate toward others that do the same.

Do not waste another minute with losers. Time wasters and energy suckers do you no good. Do not give their negativity a chance to seep into your psyche.

Only associate with the ‘A Team’. (Make sure you are striving to be an A player yourself in order for this to work.)

Remember, everyone either helps you or hurts you.

Take a good hard look at who you spend your time with. Will they help you get where you want to go?

#10. Surround Yourself with Winners

Now that you’ve cut the deadweight, you have room for winners.

Find people that are driven, creative, and smart. Look for successful, ethical, entrepreneurs and stable career guys and gals.

Seek out the best folks in your field of interest. If you’re genuine, they are usually helpful if they have the time.

People love to show others the way because they want more people in the world that ‘get it’.

Their attitude, energy, and enthusiasm are contagious.

#11. Get Mentors and Coaches

Mentors and coaches are basically the same thing. The only difference is you pay for coaches

Coaches and mentors give you real life ‘short cuts’.

Learn from people who have “been there, done that.” They are the best sources of useful information.

Coaches and mentors can get you from Point A to Point B faster than you could alone. Find a coach or mentor that has done what you want to do. Preferably one that has a decade experience or more.

Talking to a good coach for 30 minutes will save you three years of effort. Learning solely by trial and error is a sure way to get nowhere fast.

Don’t shy away from paying coaches for their knowledge. Any coach worth their salt will give you more than 10x the value you paid for them.

Like Brian Tracey said:

“You won’t live long enough learn everything you want and do everything you want through trial and error.”

That’s seems to be the secret shortcut to success – Learn from others’ success.

#12. Read like a Fiend

The average CEO reads 50+ books a year. The average person might read 50 books their entire life.

It’s no wonder CEOs get paid big bucks. They know so much more than the average guy or gal.

Books are essentially mentors and coaches. Not as interactive, but full of advice, knowledge and ideas to help you succeed.

All of human knowledge is document in writing. You can learn anything you want a library card or internet access.

Don’t  spend years reinventing the wheel – read a book in a week and it could save you a decade of trial and error.

Now, right now, in this moment, you live during and unprecedented time. There’s never been more knowledge readily available than there is today!

Don’t let destiny slip through your fingers because you didn’t pick up a book to learn the skills needed to pursue your dreams.

Need a recommendation?

Start reading Think, And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill as soon as possible.  This book changed my life forever and I’m willing to bet it will change yours too.

Listen to Audiobooks

Audiobooks are fantastic. You can listen to books while driving in your car, cleaning house, or mowing your lawn. Hands free, passive learning. Incredible.

I’m amassing a nice little library on Audible. Try it our for yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

Another thing I like to do that’s similar to audio books is listen to valuable podcasts and youtube videos.

Tim Ferris has a superb podcast. Or, o to YouTube and search Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins or Les Brown for a boost of knowledge, motivation, and life changing advice.

#13. Focus on ONE Thing at a Time

Multitasking is a lie.g

There IS something to be said for filling time between tasks with email or another activity, but you can only do one thing well at a time.

When I try to type a sentence and listen to a meeting I type complete gibberish and only catch every third word the person says. Instead of doing two things poorly, I do one thing well. When I’m listening, I listen. When I’m talking I’m talking, when I’m writing I’m writing.

Focus and concentration are extremely powerful. Giving something your full attention makes the result infinitely better.

Switching between tasks make you less productive. Focusing on one task until it’s complete before moving on to the next thing is the way to get stuff done.

In Gary Keller’s book, The One Thing, he talks about the world’s highest performing individuals and how they are uber productive.

Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady all have ridiculous, sick level of work ethic and focus. They focus on the essential and fuck the rest.

They work insanely hard on what’s important and everything else takes a back seat.

Whatever you’re doing in any give moment, give 100% to it!  Give everything you got. Every ounce of energy and focus. Get consumed by it in the moment and your production quality will jump.

#14. Have Three Areas of Progress

I heard this idea from Tim Ferris. Although I was already doing this, I didn’t realize it until he explained it.

Having three concurrent areas of progress keeps your morale high and hedges against setbacks.

The idea is that if you have three areas, you’ll always make progress in at least one, even if progress stalls in the other two.

The areas can be anything: hobbies, sports, art, business, your job, etc. Ideally, they are all in areas that allow you to gain valuable and transferable skills.

Making progress in one area allows you to rally around that win and heightens your morale to build momentum to breakthrough other areas.

For example, my three areas of development are:

• Fitness
• Career
• Business

I have goals in each.

I have a career goal, business goal, and fitness goal.

A breakthrough in one area keeps you motivated if other areas are rough. Making progress in all three at the same time builds super-human confidence and momentum that results in more productivity everywhere.

For example, let’s say my web traffic is down and I gained a little weight, but I crushed my project at work. I’m still feeling pretty good about things overall because my job is going well. I can tap into that for motivation to help energize me to perform better in the gym or with my business

#15. Task Stack

Task stacking is doing two thinks at once: one manual labor the other cerebral. The manual labor I’m talking about here is the automatic no-thinking type. Nothing dangerous.

An example of task stacking would be listening to a college class lecture while cleaning your apartment.

Another example, when I was training for my bodybuilding competition I would write articles while doing my cardio on a stationary bike.

I was petaling for an hour every day for a month and I was able to write newly 20 articles partially or completely and over 80 pages for my upcoming book.

You need to think and be creative but there are ways that you can kill two birds with one stone very effectively and without having one hold back the other (like it does with multitasking).

Another effective method is to listen to audiobooks or motivation speakers while you workout. Although you don’t hear everything that’s being said, you pick up on a lot of it. The trick is to do this every time you workout for a long period of time. After a while the reputation will cement what you hear into permanent knowledge.

Listening to something motivational kicks your workout up a notch. These guys have incredible stories of challenge and triumph that inspire me to crush hard workouts.

I learned while you train or learn while you’re driving your car or commuting listen to podcasts there’s so much information and your fingertips audiobooks anything motivational speakers you can learn anything while you’re driving.

#16. Minimize and Organize

Bruce Lee said it perfectly:

“Perfection is not achieved when there is nothing more to add, perfection is achieved when there is nothing left to subtract.”

Get rid of clutter to rid your mind and body of tension and stress.

There’s nothing like coming home to a nice, clean organized house after a hectec day at work.

It’s soothingto the soul and creates harmony in your life.

A trashed, cluttered mess will wreak havoc on your happiness and wellbeing.

You can’t live like a hoarder and expect to be happy and free.

Stuff literally weighs you down. At an atomic level, everything has gravity. All your shit is literally pulling at you and zapping your energy.

After you get rid of all bu the necessities, organize the rest.

I used to be  most disorganized person in the world until I realize how much time I wasted searching for things I needed.

I’ve spend a stupid amount of hours looking for important documents, phone numbers and passwords because I was too lazy to organize them.

Now I find what I need instantly by looking in it’s designed spot.

Once you’re working you don’t want anything stopping your progress. A critical piece of information can be a showstopper if you don’t have it. Taking a few extra seconds to keep things organized can save you hours later.

#17. Turn Failure into Fuel

I used to be scared to death of failure. I expected to be perfect at everything the first time I tried it and if I wasn’t, I stopped doing it.

As a result I became shy, withdrawn and sensitive.

This hurt my social development and caused a slower maturity.

I wasted a lot of opportunities because I was too afraid to take action.

After a while I realized that not acting because of fear is stupid.

Fear is imaginary and you just let the boogie man scare you out of becoming better.

Fear doesn’t really go away, but you learn to use fear as a motivator. It triggers you to heighten your game.

Next time the boogie man shows up unannounced baring his teeth, square up and choke-slam that motherfucker.

Failure is Part of the Process

One of my favorite Michael Jordan quotes is: “I’ve failed over and over in my life, and that is why I succeed.”

Realizing failure is a good thing changed my life. At first it started as me no longer accepting being controlled by fear. Then I began seeking challenging opportunities where I might fail because I knew I would get stronger.

I will do it and get through it. I didn’t care if I stubbled, stammered, embarrassed or made a fool of myself. Eventually, I will win because I never give up. Each failure makes me stronger.

I jump into to something new, scared to death, might embarrass myself but you know what?

Next time I’ll be better. Do this enough times and you’ll be formidable.

Anything worth having is on the other side of fear. Fearing failure is normal. But being courageous is rewarded. Effort is what matter. effort and work ethic and tenacious drive.

I’ve fallen on my face countless times but each time I get up and grin with dirt on my face because I know I’m one step closer to getting what I want.

I’ll admit:

I was scared. I’m still scared sometimes. (most of the time) of failure. BUT now I know that failure is part of the processes.

Trying again and again and again and again is how you get better. Try enough and eventually you’ll succeed at whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish.

I’ve spend a lot of time studying people who ‘made it’. Every one of them failed. Sometimes went completely broke.

They also never gave up no matter what.

They had complete faith that they would break through eventually. That and unshakable confidence in their own abilities (gained through applying themselves again and again.

(I highly, highly recommend that you read Think, and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. It will show you the mindset you need to succeed. This book is magic. Seriously. If you read any book in 2018, make it this one. It’s timeless, relevant and will be worth any price you pay for it.)

I used to be a big scardy cat. Seriously, I was a chicken shit in a lot of ways. I was afraid of failing or looking stupid. I was actually afraid of not being perfect. That’s a lot of pressure. Because of that I became more withdrawn and really hurt my own development. I kept my self distracted with video games or other things that didn’t really matter.

Now it’s much easier for me to fail. First of all, I’ve built my confidence up by not ever giving up. Even when I wanted to cave.

Even when I was so scared to do something the next day I couldn’t sleep. I did it anyway. And even if I fell on my face, I showed up the next day to do it again.

Fast forward a ways and I look back and laugh at how much I cared about something so trivial. I do things now with a big smirk that used to scare me to death.

#18. Raise Your Standards

Raise your standards and your productivity will increase immediately.

Evaluate your standards in every aspect of your life.

Raise your:

Relationship standards

Find someone that makes you a better person.That means, makes you want to be a better person.

Job standards

No job is beneath you but strive for fulfilling work that pays well.

Your appearance standards

When you look good you feel good. Feel good and good things happen.

If that’s not a good enough reason to dress well daily, here’s another – You only get one chance to make a first impression so whatever you’re doing you better look the part. People judge appearances, that’s life. What are you going to do about it?

Don’t get overlooked because you dress like a slob. Get a nice shirt and stylish shoes and you’re halfway to becoming a new man.

Physical health and fitness standards

Don’t neglect your body’s needs.

Workout, eat healthy, don’t trash your body, etc. This simple stuff goes a long way. Also, don’t support the bastardization of foods, and don’t support companies getting your kids hooked on sugar (drug).

Personal Standards

Communication standards verbal and non-verbal. Stand up tall, look people in the eye and speak confidently. Know your outcome with every interaction or endeavor. But don’t shy away from unexpected ones.

But most of all, hold yourself to the highest standard. Demand excellence from yourself and nothing less.

Look inward before looking outward. Know that you are capable of more and start acting like it. Change yourself and the rest of your world will naturally improve.

BONUS Productivity Tip: Know Your “Why”

Everyone has been talking about this lately.

What is your “Why”?

In other words, why do you do what you do?

What’s your motivation? Why does that motivate you?

What’s your desired outcome? Why do you desire that outcome?

You’ll get what you need and

A little introspection can make a big difference. Finding out why you do something is important.

Maybe you’re doing something just because that’s what you’ve always done.

C’mon, we’re gunna need a better answer than that.

Discovering why you do something is important because it keeps you focused to complete the work.

Or it might make you realize what you’ve been doing isn’t really what you truly want. So now you focus on what you do really want. You love it, you work harder and longer on it, and you take off.

Boom more productive just from asking a simple one-word question.

know and understand why you are doing what you’re doing know exactly why you’re doing it and what outcome your actions will need to

To be productive you need to work on the right stuff.

Right now as you’re reading this have more advantage and potential than anyone that has come before you because at this point in time no one else has had the occasion to level of accumulated total human knowledge than you have right now as you are reading this so what are you waiting for?

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