Monday, November 22, 2010

Eat that Frog!

Eat that Frog is a book by the great American motivational speaker Brian Tracey. www.briantracey.com This short book deals entirely with the concept that on everybody's daily 'to do' list there is always one task that is bigger and more important than the others but is a pain to do and hence we leave it until last or even worse we put it off until the next day. This leaves us invariably feeling inadequate at work and leaves us with this black cloud hanging over us. Brian Tracey tells us that we need to discipline ourselves, stop procrastinating and tackle  this task, or frog as he calls it , immediately. The sense of achievement associated with completing this task will then boost you through the day and your effectivity and self confidence will soar.
Yesterday I ate a huge frog and I could not be happier!
I have been studying internet marketing since late summer, I've bought everything that moves , watched more videos than I have in my whole life, written more notes than I ever did at school and have even bought the tee shirt . As many people looking to get involved in this field of work I fell foul to information overload and despite learning a whole new set of skills  the holy grail of internet marketing- having a product to sell on line- seemed no closer than the day I started. The frustration of not making progress in this has been horrible and as a result even the stuff I really enjoy, like blogging has taken a side line. To be fair to myself I got a lot closer than most people ever do ( helped along by throwing money at it!) and I have plans and ideas to keep me going for the next decade but there was always something blocking me.
Well yesterday I spent 7 hours hunched over the computer and voila, the frog is gone!
I cannot describe the feeling of accomplishment and achievement I feel. I couldn't be happy if I had won the lottery and its like the sun has come out on everything. Am writing my first blog in around 2 months and have numerous more ideas of things to write about. I got replies to emails that I had given up on, found someone to sort out my mess of a personal web site and got concrete info about tap dancing lessons I have been wanting to do for years. In general I have had a very positive day and am looking forward to starting my next on line product!
To all of you who are struggling at work or at home try identifying the frog on your list each day and dealing with it first for the next 7 days. See what a difference it can make to your work and your life. Worse case scenario you have more time in the day to do the fun stuff . Whats not to love about that?