Who is your competition?

If you are working in a corporate, who are you competition? Are other companies making similar products your competitors?

If you are writing a book, who are you competition? Are other authors writing similar books?

If you are a freelancer, self employed, who are you competition? Are other freelancers in the similar fields?

The real competition is yourself, your products.

The competition comes: do you have empathy towards your customers, do you have clear determination to walk forward facing challenges, do you want to fight “I’ll do it later” tendency, do you want to get up in the morning to do the hard work, or do you want to finish the reading and writing you get to do….

No matter what you do, you are valuable when you help other, when you produce something, when you do your physical or emotional labor. When you do, you will be competitive in your own way, unique way that has your label and your flavor.

Competition is a good thing. Competition gives you or your product a category, establishes your presence, gets you the recognition.

Competition is that we are entering into the same race, but we do it together. So we will need to open to each other. We learn from each other, we encourage each other, we are each other’s company on the way for a better future.

If you strive to do better, to be better, you are competitive.

Time management = Your “why” management

For a long time, people have been saying about time management.

There are many tools available for you to choose from.

However, with tools you are still struggling with your crammed schedules and constant disruptions from all directions. Keeping your focus and staying centered in a world that seems increasingly out of balance is hard.

I tried to manage my time. There was somewhat improvement, and I expect to be better.

Then I realized that to manage the WHY is a more efficient and effective way to manage your time.

You can prioritize your day with your intention by asking yourself three whys: why you need do what you’ve planned to do; why they are important to you; why they are urgent today.

By arranging your day according to whys, you have a clear direction and sense of mission. They empower you. They can allow you to have a bigger impact to the world. At the end of the day, you feel fulfilled and happy.

Think about your whys when you prioritize your day.

Don’t dream about life, live it!

We have dreams.

We all are born with dreams, big or small dreams.

Dreams make our life colorful, rich and complicated with multiple dimensions.

We need to reflect our goals and inspirations from time to time, so that we can keep our dreams alive. Because the dreams are the source of energy, our engine to live a fulfilled life.

The fulfilled life may be filled with sweats, sore legs, but with more satisfaction of newly developed muscles and experience. They make us stronger, happier and inspired.

Don’t save your dreams, don’t leave your dreams on your computer desktop, start to live in your dreams.

Start with baby steps.

Three baby steps can be:

Know your dreams, what you want achieve
Be present and start walk one foot in front of another towards to your dream, even you may be not ready, not knowing the result.
Accept the reality and keep move forward. You can’t control the reality. You don’t know what will happen after each step. However, you can control yourself. So accept whatever comes to your way and continue going.

Don’t just dream about your life, live it now.

Start, whether you are ready or not…

Start to do something new is a scary thing, especially when you feel you are not ready yet.

You may feel that you are not ready, because you haven’t done all your research, or you haven’t practice enough, or you haven’t gotten all the advice, or… therefore, you postpone and wait for your readiness.

Waiting until you’re ready is an excuse.

You are hiding.

You choose to stay in your comfort zone to avoid daring into the unknown. And because the unknown could bring failure, mistakes, you are afraid.

However, when you start your initiative whether you are ready or not, you may find a new world, grow new muscles, make new friends.

Our society progresses by millions of millions of people venturing into unknown to bring innovation, create new roads.

Whether you are ready or not, take a leap forward. If you fall, you still fall forward.

Pick up your battle

There are many battles you have to face every day.

You need to fight your own shortcomings, laziness, illness, ego, vanity, mistakes etc. and also external battles.

Some of the battles you will never win.

“You will never reach your destination, if you stop and throw your stones at every dog barks on the way.” Winston Churchill

You can’t control many external factors. However, you can control yourself if you want and are determined to do so.

Therefore, control your ego, don’t let insignificant unrest takes control over you. Clarify your priorities and focus points and throw your energy to fight these “battles”. Then, you will have a better chance to win.

Pick up your battle.

Life-long learner

Former CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi is a life-long learner. She even went back to school for courses when she was CEO leading certain projects. She always takes any opportunity to learn and to read.

Schools and universities provide us knowledge and skills. The most important thing is that they provide us platforms to develop our thinking and ability for creation and innovation.

To keep abreast the fast world development, we need use our abilities to contribute and at the same time we will need to learn and therefore we grow.

If you stope learning, you actually will be lagging behind.

Just like, since the time you were born you start your life, like you start biking, you have to keep paddling to prevent falling from your bike.

Therefore, you get to be a life-long learner.

How much time do you make room for your learning monthly and yearly? How much you invest on your learning and read?

You can make a plan for your learning.

For example, you can make a plan to use 10% rule: 3% of your annual income + 7% of your time to invest on learning, networking, getting outside of your comfort zone.

Simple math:

Someone with $50K/annual income would invest $1500 in yourself for courses and books etc.
168h/week x 7% = 12 h/week. 12h/week you will devote to reading, courses etc. so that the courses you spend from 3% income can help you to develop new skills.

Not everyone is suitable for this 10% rule, you can make your own rule that works for your pace and situation.

Life-long learning will provide your new skills, confidence, ability to discover your potential and grow stronger. Life-long learning is a sure way for your success and fulfilled self.

Are you busy?

When I ask friends how they are doing, some of them said they are very busy. While some of them said they are doing well and not that busy.

I reflect what they do and realize that some of my friends from the second group have similar job positions with the first group, and some of them are even having higher executive positions.

What is going on here? Aren’t the General Managers supposed to be busier?

“Busy people have no future.” – one of my CEO friends said.

She further explained that she prioritize her to-do-list. She makes time to think, to rest, to reflect, to make personal growth plan. She is not busy. She feels fulfilled and happy about work and life.

Are you really busy? Or you haven’t planned your work and life that well? Or you are pursuing a busy status to show you are capable or important?

Well, you can learn how to plan your work and life through many channels as long as you are clear and determined to sort this out. Getting work done is about working smarter, not busier.

However, if you pretend to be busy, then you may be hiding. You may be hiding your talent, your character, and hiding yourself from opportunity as well.

Check it now: are you busy?

Hanging on there a little bit more

When I started to run for 5K, it’s the last a few minutes to the finish line that called my ability to overcome the puffing and struggles of my legs and feet.

Once I was able to run 5K easily, it’s the last few minutes for 10K finishing line testing my will and ability…

It’s the last a few minutes where we stretch, grow and increase our new abilities. It’s the last a few minutes that test our will, test our ability to keep the promise we’ve made to ourselves, and test our strength to overcome the challenges.

It’s the last a few minutes to finish line test us; it’s the last a few pounds we want to loose test us; it’s the last a few pages of our report test us; it’s the last a few follow ups test us…

When you start something, you will finish it – whether it’s a success, a mediocre, a failure… you get to reach your finish line.

You just need hanging on there a little bit more.

Do you really know ‘Who you are’ ?

We are human being. We always search the answer for who I am.

Once we think we know who we are after soul searching. Have you had any thinking that you are still learning who you are?

Knowing who you are is a big achievement for the time being, as long as you know that the content of who you are is a moving target.

Because you are growing and discovering your potentials every day, what you knew who you are yesterday may have new additions today.

‘This is who I am’ can be used for justification, self defense sometimes. This will limit your growth.

So next time, when you tell yourself ‘this is who I am’, think it hard: is this really the case? Does this reflect my values? My believes? Can I give the benefit of doubt and leap forward once?

By doing this, you can enrich ‘who I am’ and know who you really by reflection.

Positive thinking… and?

You know positive thinking is crucial and important for your success.

Is positive thinking sufficient for your success? Do you need anything else?

Positive thinking is the first crucial step for your success. And you need more steps to be successful.

With the positive thinking, you will need be prepared for the bumpy roads ahead physically and emotionally.

You will need to have healthy body and mind to carry your positive thinking and energy through the journey.

Your journey can be an upward spiral, it has ups and downs with many turns. It calls for positive altitude, grit and stoic for your success.