7 Ways To Be More Self-Disciplined, Because You Can Accomplish Whatever You Want

By Carolyn Steber

Doesn’t it sometimes feel like everyone on the planet is all successful and motivated except for you? Those people at the gym, that vegan coworker, your cousin the author — they all seem to have discovered ways to have more self-discipline. And they make it look so easy.

But self-discipline isn’t easy, and it wasn’t for them at first, either. Because the truth is, no one is born with the magic ability to publish books, or the miraculous desire to give up dairy. These things are hard to do, and the process sucks. So really, the only difference between you and the so-called successful people is that they stuck it out, and you didn’t.

That sounds way harsh, but it’s actually meant to be super relieving. I mean, those successful people aren’t better or smarter or faster than you are — they are simply more self-disciplined. What a relief to know that you can have all the same things if you put in the same amount of effort.
And luckily, self-discipline can be applied to pretty much everything. Learning guitar? Use some self-discipline. Quitting smoking? Self-discipline. Trying to drink less soda? Self-discipline.

You can do these things. They don’t require any special powers — just a little (OK, sometimes a lot) of extra effort. So if you want to make make a change, from something small like waking up earlier, to something huge like running a marathon, then here are some ways to stick with it until you meet your goals.

1. Do It Even If You Don’t Feel Like It

One of the biggest ruiners of self-discipline and self-motivation is that “eh, I’ll do it later” feeling. Maybe you’re tired, or it’s raining, and it just feels so much easier to stay on the couch. But if you keep putting things off until tomorrow, soon a week has passed, and then a month, and then years without anything getting done.
So keep this in mind — you’re always going to be tired, and it’s always going to rain. My point is, try not to use everything as an excuse. It may feel really difficult, but just get up and do it anyway. Write a few pages of your book, spend an hour practicing the piano, or go for a five minute jog outside. It may feel fruitless and difficult at first, but it’ll get much easier if you keep pushing forward towards your goals, even when you don’t feel like it.

2. Set Out To Prove People Wrong

It’d be great if we could stay disciplined for ourselves without anyone else in mind. But sometimes it’s good to draw a little motivation from all the haters, especially when we’re feeling less than jazzed about making a change. So think of the times when people shot down your dreams, or threw a a judge-y smirk in your direction. Wouldn’t it feel great prove them wrong?

3. Remove Any Temptations Or Distractions

If you get super distracted by Facebook, or can’t help but max out your credit card at the mall, then think of ways to avoid these temptations and distractions. According to Amy Morin on Forbes, “Although we’d all like to believe we have enough willpower to resist even the most alluring enticement, it only takes one moment of weakness to convince ourselves to cave to temptation. Making it difficult to access those temptations can be pivotal to increasing self-discipline.”
If the Internet is your downfall, then hide your phone or disconnect while working on a project. If you’ve been having a problem with your budget, then leave your credit card at home while you go out. Little changes like these take away the temptations and distractions, and make it easier to feel more in control.

4. Tell People What You’re Up To

If you’re making a big life change, or setting off after a major goal, then it might help to let some people know as a way to stay self-disciplined. Telling family and friends what you’re up to creates an “external deadline” as you work to deliver what others expect from you, and it can massively boost your drive to succeed, noted Tyrrell. Those of us with strict work deadlines and project end dates know this feeling all too well.
But what if you don’t have any external deadlines for your goals? If that’s the case, you gotta make some. For example, Tyrrell suggested writing up a contract, such as “I will write 100,000 words in two months,” and then signing it in the presence of friends. It might sound silly, but knowing people have expectations helps create a very motivating sense of accountability.

5. Be OK With Feeling Uncomfortable

Another huge ruiner of self-discipline is discomfort. Nobody likes those first painful days of working out, the horrible feeling of writer’s block, or the sense that they’re being deprived in some way (be it of leisure time, food, sleep, etc.) So it’s very normal to panic and back out of change.
It’s important to push through those first few crappy days of muscle aches, or writer’s block, or sugar cravings, especially since it will get easier. According to Morin, “We can usually stand a lot more discomfort than we think we can. Practice allowing yourself to experience uncomfortable emotions like boredom, frustration, sadness, or loneliness and increase your tolerance to the negative emotions that you may experience as you increase your self-discipline.”

6. Imagine Your Life Once You’ve Met Your Goals

If you feel like giving up on something, take a second and imagine your life after your goals are met. Are you basking in accomplishment? Do you feel super healthy? Are you rolling in extra cash? According to Erin Cox on HuffingtonPost.com, “The more clear you are about the way you’ll feel when you achieve whatever goal you’ve set for yourself, the more likely you are to hunker down and do whatever it takes to achieve it.” Picture it all in detail, and let that be your motivation.

7. Don’t Give Up If You Make A Mistake

Even with visions and external deadlines, it’s still possible to mess up from time to time. I’m talking about slacking off at the gym, temporarily giving up on your poetry, having a cigarette — anything you consider a slip-up that isn’t helping you reach your goals.
Don’t let it get you down, and don’t feel all guilty like you “ruined” something.. As Morin noted “Self-discipline comes easier on some days than others … Making mistakes is part of the process to becoming better. The way you recover from those mistakes is what’s most important. The key is to acknowledge your mistakes and move on from them with even more resolve to do better next time.”
If something is important to you, or it’s necessary to make a major life change, then stick to your guns. A little self-discipline is all it takes, so don’t give up.

Keeping Your Ideas Organised

By: Debbie Dragon

Ideas and inspiration can strike at any moment. You may have ideas for a new business, a product or service, or new ways of improving the efficiency of your operations. Regardless of what your ideas are about, if you don't want those ideas to disappear from your memory as fast as they arrived, you need to develop an organized method for recording your ideas when they occur - and another plan for what to do with all of those ideas you generate.

•Digital-Based Idea Organization

You've probably discovered it doesn't work to jot down ideas in your mobile phone, laptop, tablet and computer depending on where you are when inspiration strikes - because you have no idea where anything is later when you need to put those ideas into action!

Your best solution is to implement a web based application that you can access from any of your internet-connected gadgets.

This way, you can add ideas wherever you are, with whatever devices you happen to have with you at the moment, and they will all be in one, organized place for later retrieval.
You might keep it as simple as using Google Docs, and create folders for each topic you come up with ideas for (advertising, training, products and services, etc). Within each folder, you might then have a document of ideas pertaining to each topic. If you want to save web pages, you can create a spreadsheet of links within each topic and jot down a description or why you have saved that site in your idea bank.

If you are a fan of mind mapping for idea generation, you might like Comapping - an online version that lets you keep track of your ideas and tasks in a single map.

You can use it alone or share it with others.
Alternatively, if you like to see your ideas alongside the tasks you're currently working on or the projects you are responsible for - you might try using an all-in-one solution like a web based project management system. There are several on the market, including paid software and free options. WorkZone allows you to set up your entire work responsibilities, personal to do lists, and make use of the popular Gantt charts. Create a project for ideas and keep adding to it - the benefit to this system is you can literally schedule 'due dates' to remind yourself to review ideas and put them into action later so they don't just get recorded and forgotten.

•Paper-Based Idea Organization

Many people find a three-ring binder is ideal for keeping their ideas organized.

You can quickly jot down ideas as they occur to you, no matter where you are, and slide them into the appropriate section of your binder. You can also print information from a computer and insert into your binder, or rip pages from magazines and newspapers. Office supply stores sell inexpensive dividers that allow you to label each section in your binder. The labels you use will depend on the type of ideas you are organizing, but some examples may be: Advertising Ideas, Increasing Efficiency, Staff Training, New Products/Services, etc. For paper that is the wrong size for 3-hole punches, you can include dividers with pockets, or insert a folder to hold odd-shaped paper.

You might also decide to use the expanding accordion-style folders. If you use these to organize your ideas into the various pockets, it's recommended that you purchase the flexible plastic type rather than the cardboard file folders, as they will hold up longer.

Whichever paper-based organizational method you choose, you will still need to schedule time to review the ideas after they are saved.

On your calendar or to-do list, make a date weekly or bi-weekly to review ideas and start putting the best ones into practice.

How To Use Facebook To Market Your Book

by Sherrie Wilkolaski

Facebook continues to grow as the marketing platform of choice for just about everything – goods, services, and causes – so it’s an obvious place for authors to consider when you start marketing your book. To get the most out of your Facebook presence here are 4 things that every author should know:

1.  Create a Fan Page

There are two types of Facebook pages – a profile page and a fan page. Profile pages are what individuals use to connect to friends, family, classmates and colleagues. Fan pages are used for promotion. They are perfect for building closer relationship with your audience and customers.

Every author should have a fan page. To set up a fan page, go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php and follow the step-by-step instructions. Now that you have a Fan page you can promote your page on your website, in your ebook and in press releases. 

2.  Ask People to Like You

Your goal is to have people “Like” your page. Once someone likes your page, any updates you post to your Fan page will be visible in your stream. This keeps your fans engaged and keeps you and your books “top of mind”. This makes it more likely that next time a fan is looking for a new read, or recommending a book – you and your work will come to mind. To get your first “Likes” send a message to family and friends asking them to like your page. Ask current fans on your website to Like your page. If you are on Twitter ask your Twitter fans to Like your page. Anytime you receive media exposure make sure to mention your Facebook page.

3.  Install the Facebook App for Authors

There is a great FREE Facebook app for authors that you should install on your page. To install the app go to: https://apps.facebook.com/authorapp/?ref=ts. It takes less than 30 seconds to get the app onto your page.

The app has these great features:

- Allows you to import your book information directly from Amazon.

- Allows your fans to buy your books with one-click.

- Allows you to offer a free chapter of your book.

- Allows you to collect email addresses from your fans so you can send email updates.

-  Allows you to highlight upcoming book signings and event you are holding.

To learn more about the app you can visit:

http://www.freebooksy.com/freebooksy-author-marketing-ap/

4.  Stay Engaged

The key to a successful Facebook page is to consistently update your page. You can decide on the frequency – at a minimum you want to post something new once a week. Your posts can be simple: something that inspired you (a picture, a quote, an interaction); an upcoming event you are holding; an update on the new book you are writing; a news article that you found interesting. It’s more important to post something than to post the perfect thing, so don’t spend too much time obsessing over what to post, rather, just put something out there.

By following these four simple steps you will be on your way to using Facebook as a successful marketing tool!

Tell us what you think about the Author App!

Tags: author app, infinity publishing, book marketing, book publicity, self publishing, self publishing companies, independent publishing, sherrie wilkolaski, facebook

Principles of Instructional Leadership

By: Ryan May

Instructional leadership refers to the administrative duties required by those responsible for leading educational institutions. These managerial tasks commonly fall to the principal or lead administrator and comprise all actions that he or she undertakes personally or delegates to others to promote growth in student learning. In short, the instructional leader creates a student-centered school environment.

The National Association of Elementary School Principals cites the primary function of instructional leadership as leading learning communities.

Within this concept, the shift in education has gone from teaching to learning, with some even going so far as to coin the term "learning leader" in reference to an instructional administrator.

Within a system of instructional leadership, the administrator encourages educational achievement by making the quality of instruction the top priority of the institution. As such, the role differs from that of a traditional school administrator in a number of crucial ways. Chief among them is the act of transforming the role of administrator from someone who spends the majority of their time dealing with administrative duties to one who becomes the primary learner within the organisation.

In this capacity, the instructional leader is better able to strive for excellence in education by working with teachers, parents and even the community as a whole to redefine educational objectives and set school-wide or district-wide goals for improvement.

Additional responsibilities in this role require the instructional administrator to provide the necessary resources for learning to students as well as continuing education opportunities for teachers and staff, thereby ensuring that the institution remains up to date on the latest approaches and techniques for learning. Acting as an instructional resource, the administrator may:

*Establish clear goals for students, teachers and staff

*Allocate resources

*Manage the curriculum to ensure it coincides with goals

*Monitor lesson plans to make sure they conform to the established guidelines

*Evaluate teachers based on the new parameters

Reasons for Adopting Instructional Leadership

Those who train to become instructional leaders must exhibit a clear sense of direction for their school, prioritising the issues that directly impact the output of students.

In addition, an instructional leader continuously monitors the classroom to leverage the strengths of teachers while reducing their weaknesses. But more essential than any other factor, these principals lead by example, serving as a visible presence and committed to achieving the highest success in teaching and learning.

As in many other avenues of life, those who exhibit the most enthusiasm are the ones who inspire the most people. And this contagious enthusiasm is at the core of instructional leadership.

Viewed as a collaborative learning environment that readily employs the ideas and creativity present in teachers and support staff, the process of learning within a system of instructional leadership is no longer confined solely to the classroom. Instead, it becomes the objective of all educators.

The rise of instructional leadership indicates a significant departure from the tradition of an authoritarian administrator.

Instead, the process of learning is viewed as a pursuit that should take place from the top-down. In theory, if those overseeing the management of the institution and its resources are excited about learning, they'll share this enthusiasm with those around them, a viral process that spreads from teachers to students, from students to parents and, before long, from parents to the community at large.

Aside from the obvious benefits received by students, think what this level of enthusiasm among voters would inspire when considering a funding-based referendum on the next ballot.

How Small Business Culture Can Create Success

By: Business Dictionary

What do you think of when you think about small business culture? It can mean many things depending on who you talk to. It can be a "brand," motto, values, uniforms, or behaviors. It could also be service level, return/exchange policy, or customer appreciation gestures. Do you think of Main Street USA, with all the "Mom n' Pop" shops on both sides of the street? Do you think about a small business doing business out of a garage? Culture is a set of attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and customs.

These cultural cues are ingrained in the members of the business, team, or group, and then accepted as the norm. Beliefs about the role of the business, and how business activities fall into this understanding of culture, is typically dictated by how employees interact within their own cultural boundaries. Small business culture will determine what kind of customers it attracts, the service it delivers, and its growth. Customs of a business culture might be dress code, communication style, physical environment, or even the level of formality. Dress code in the workplace projects an image about the company, to potential and current customers. If a business doesn't have a dress code, employees will certainly attempt to wear whatever they deem to be appropriate, and this may not always be acceptable. Customers do not want to feel like they are giving their hard earned money to a business that doesn't care about its image. In a business to business relationship, it is important to understand that each party is a reflection of the other. Business owners/managers should always protect their interests by having a written dress code policy, otherwise the business might suffer. Communication style (in the literal sense) is another custom that reflects onto the business. If communication within an organization is relaxed and unprofessional, the same will occur when meeting with customers. Maintaining professional dialogue will also minimize the chance for harassment charges.

Communication style in the functional sense is an important part of a business' success. If communication breaks down within an organization, service and sales will be compromised. Businesses should set forth expectations for communication protocol, in order to prevent lost sales. Most successful business leaders would agree that the physical environment of a business can make or break the bank. In a retail environment it is crucial to have an inviting environment, which includes clean, uncluttered, and safe. Not many consumers will frequent dirty, cluttered, and unsafe establishments. A good rule to follow when creating business culture, especially in retail, is "Straight is clean, Crooked is dirty". In a manufacturing environment, clean, safe, and uncluttered are equally important the success of the business. If the physical environment in a manufacturing plant is not maintained, morale tends to be bad, and accidents are frequent. Morale and injuries tend to go hand in hand, and both affect the company's bottom line. A business that creates a culture of cleanliness will also experience better morale and fewer accidents as employees will be more inclined to maintain a clean environment. Professional office environments must also be maintained and inviting, otherwise customers will likely avoid visiting or directing new business to the company. Most people clean their homes before inviting guests, the same should be true in the workplace. Attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are related, and have a huge impact on business culture. Is there a difference between large business culture and small business culture? The answer isn't easy. Large businesses have usually established through expensive media campaigns, and large cash outlays for remodels, uniforms, or other things that will help them establish their "brand" or culture. However, despite these investments, they may be challenged by employees that don't buy into the campaign. The customer may easily identify the culture to the business, but that doesn't guarantee employees will deliver according to the cultural context. Small businesses on the other hand may not have the resources for expensive media campaigns, etc. invested. Small businesses pride themselves on customer intimacy, less bureaucracy, and ability to "walk the talk". Employees in small businesses tend to share the same understanding of goals, processes, and expectations. Large and small business cultures require the same ingredients, just on different levels. Both require established dress codes, communication processes, clean facilities, and most importantly, EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT. If employees don't buy into the company culture, everything else is wasted. Company culture should begin in the early stages of training, train to retain employees that believe in the company culture. Employees that believe in the company culture will also live and share it with others. Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN

QUOTE

"Always see the best in people and appreciate everyone you meet no matter how they behave.  Remember, everyone is fighting a battle in life."
-Happy James

THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF KFC

The only antidote to procrastination and failure is taking the right action at the right time. Today, I will briefly talk about a man named Colonel Sanders, who, despite his age, took the right action at the right time and built a chain of restaurants.

He once said, "There is no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery. You can't do any business there."

Harland Sanders was born just outside Henryville, Indiana. At age 10, Harland Sanders holds a variety of jobs including:
Farm hand, streetcar conductor, army private in Cuba, blacksmith's helper, railyard fireman, insurance salesman, tire salesman and service station operator for Standard Oil.

Colonel Sanders was 65 years old when he received his first social security cheque of $99. He was broke, and owned a small house and a beat up car.

He made a decision that he has got to change. The only idea he had was a chicken recipe, which his friends liked. With that idea in mind, he took massive action. He left his home in Kentucky and traveled to some states in the United States to sell his idea. He told the restaurant owners that he had a chicken recipe that people liked and he was giving it to them for free.

What he wanted in return was for the restaurant owners to pay him a small percentage on the pieces of chicken sold.
He got rejections after rejections, but did not give up. In fact, he got over 1000 rejections. He got 'NO' 1009 times before he got his first "YES."

Today, with just this one 'YES', Colonel Hartland Sanders changed the eating habits of the whole world with Kentucky Fried Chicken, popularly known as KFC.
Kentucky Fried Chicken has more than 600 franchised outlets in the United States, Canada and several overseas outlets in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa.

If you want to accomplish great things in 2015, you must take the right action now, not tomorrow. Remember, tomorrow is not in the calendar of champions; only fools have tomorrow in their calendar.

How many of us will keep knocking on doors when we have received 1000 rejections? I presume not many! This is why there are not many successes like Colonel Sanders.

Age is no barrier to success, and so is capital. What is needed is an idea put into action, followed with prosper planning and persistence. A single action can make you be the best in your industry this year. Discover what works and take the appropriate action.

See You At The Top In 2015. #MoreGrace!

  To Your Success!