Think of the last time you struggled to focus on a boring or difficult task. Your wandering attention probably felt like it was outside your control, as if you suddenly lost the ability to focus and didn't know how to regain it. We all feel that way sometimes.

Even in those moments, when you feel like you're fighting against your own instincts, you can stop procrastinating and get focused. You just need to recharge your willpower.


"Willpower gives you the energy and endurance to deal with challenges, the ability to persevere in the face of setbacks, and the strength to tolerate conflict or stress that might otherwise make us run away from goals or projects we care about," says Kelly McGonigal, a Stanford psychologist and author of The Willpower Instinct (Avery, 2011).

Your willpower works like a muscle -- it needs to be trained, developed, and maintained. "A lot of people will tell me they have no willpower," McGonigal says. "But nothing I've come across suggests a willpower gene."

Anyone can learn to improve their willpower, so here are five tips to get you started:

1. Remember your goals. If your willpower feels drained, think of the task at hand as a necessary stepping stone to help you achieve your goals. "Willpower is very easily depleted if its disconnected from your values and goals," McGonigal says.

For example, if you dislike invoicing, then viewing it as an isolated task will make it hard to muster the energy to do it. If you recast it as one of the many ways you build a thriving business, then the passion you feel for your business will help motivate you to focus on -- and even enjoy -- the invoicing.

2. Practice coping with stress. When you're working toward a goal, you are bound to hit tough times. To reach ambitious goals, you need to persist in stressful conditions, even when anxiety, fear, or even boredom threaten to sap your willpower.

Mindfulness helps you cope with stress and strengthen willpower. Try mindfulness meditation, or better yet, do hot yoga to learn to stay with discomfort and find some serenity within it. "It's almost like a willpower workout," McGonigal says.

3. Forgive your mistakes. You are bound to make mistakes, but your willpower will be stronger if you take those errors in stride. "Forgiving yourself for your mistakes increases motivation and engagement with goals," McGonigal says.

Treat your own failure with the kindness you'd offer a friend, but note the ways that you can do a better job next time. "That's very different than the usual self-criticism or ego-boosting," McGonigal says. It allows you to bounce back and grow at the same time.

4. Connect with colleagues. Willpower naturally rises when we feel recognized and appreciated for our work. "We think of willpower as being so tough and individual, but the more connected people feel, the more willpower they have," McGonigal says.

When you feel unmotivated or distracted, go talk to a co-worker or invite your colleagues to lunch. The simple pleasure of working with people you care about toward a common goal is a surprisingly effective way to restore your willpower.

5. Trust that it will get easier. We often struggle to stay engaged during difficult tasks because we imagine, sometimes unconsciously, that they will continue to be just as hard in the future. We feel defeated or hopeless and give up.

To combat that feeling, remember that your skill improves with practice. "Appreciate that a task is difficult but don't tell yourself the story that it's always going to be difficult," McGonigal says. Most likely, the task will be a little bit easier every time you try it.






































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Geoffrey Rush the Oscar winning actor said he has strived to accomplish two things in his life…”Credibility
and Visibility“.
 
If you are a job seeker then standing out is important in securing that next job.

Business owners and entrepreneurs need to be noticed to obtain funding and sell their products and services.
To succeed as a musician and artist your work obtains visibility as it is played, displayed and seen.

Authors have the challenge of writing a book that has to stand out in a mountain of 15 million books that will be published in 2012.

If you want to stand out, Seth Godin recommends “Purple Cows”

Do something unique and different.

Pick Yourself

We live in an age where we have the means and the machines to self publish and self market. Technology is democratising publishing and marketing.

The Gutenberg press has been superseded by the digital press. The written word has been set free from the confines of time and space.

On a social web  you don’t need to wait to be picked to publish. You can “Pick  yourself”.

No longer do authors have to pitch or beg a publisher. Amazon is providing the platform for self publishing.
The tools and technologies now allow you to publish short form content in an instant. That could be on Tumblr, Facebook or Google+.

Even your smart phone is a publishing machine in your pocket that can publish images and text whether that is on Instagram or Twitter.

Emulate then Innovate

Online video adds to the publishing mix which provides the means to communicate with all the power of face to face communication with all its associated subliminal messages.

The motivating power of face to face communications is not restricted to the boardroom or the town hall. YouTube is leveraging the transmission of skills that cannot be transmitted just with words.

You can’t show someone how to dance with text.

Video transmits the non verbal such as facial expressions, gestures, passion and eye contact where serious magic happens.

Reading and writing are fairly recent inventions whereas face to face communication has been honed by tens of thousands of years of evolution.

“What Gutenberg did for writing video is doing for face to face communications“.

Video enables people to view how something is done, then emulate and finally innovate.

Radical Openess

The hardest part though is being prepared to open up and expose yourself to the world. Content needs to be set free and giving away your secrets is part of this new paradigm of radical openness!

Credibility is achieved through the display of your skills via your content whether it is carried by music, words or video. Visibility is achieved by building online tribes and followers and sharing with them  your ideas.

So what can you do to stand out on a very crowded web?

1. Tap into your passions

Some  people know from the first awakening of awareness, what they will do for the rest of their life. We all have an inkling of what we love. What keeps you up late at night, what do you read about, what makes you leap into your car and drive for hours?

This is your engine room.

2. Leverage your innate abilties

What are you good at? Reading, learning, loving, writing, video production, speaking, cooking or running? This is where you start. Along the way you will discover other skills that you didn’t know you had.

3. Build your Soapbox

This can be a Facebook page, Google+, Tumblr or a WordPress blog. My pulpit of choice is WordPress technology, with my own domain and self hosted. It is mine, I own it and I have control.

I like that.

Don’t  hand over the keys of your content hub and home to a social network  that can cut you off or ask you to leave with an explanation.

Some people have made their home on a Facebook page or Google+. If you are removed (and it has happened and regularly) then I can only wish you good luck in calling their help line.

4. Start

This is where the rubber hits the road.

I remember reading a blog post on Hubspot and it said even if you aren’t exactly clear on what you should be publishing ….just start. This could be writing, creating YouTube videos, posting fashion photos, Publishing images of your art, paper folding or infographics.

In short create content. Don’t wait for the design and branding to be perfect. The refinement can happen on the journey as the crowd tells you what works and what doesn’t.

Just do it!

The magic is in the movement.

5. Know your audience

Understand the persona of the audience(s)who you are targeting.Don’t over complicate this, the audience will become clearer over time. You will hear their voice and see their shadows. You will sense what they want.

Just listen.

6. Educate

“How to” articles are always popular. It is the fastest growing category on YouTube. Educate with stories. A story’s power is twofold. It provides knowledge of how to act and inspiration which is the motivation to act.
Don’t underestimate people’s desire to learn.

7. Inform

In your target niche people want to know what is happening. Keep them up to date with the latest facts, figures and news. Articles that provide insights into the latest industry news will keep your audience coming back for more.

8. Inspire

Show people the potential to change their life and show them a future with potential and let them know that dreams can come true.

A vision is vital.

7. Stay on topic

We are all tempted to go off on tangents. You need to keep asking yourself “does my audience want to read about this”. You can try new angles but the crowd will tell you via the retweets, Google plus ones, shares, likes and comments what they like and don’t like.

Focus is vital.

8. Keep it  simple

As you build knowledge through researching, reading and creating you will be hit with the “Curse of Knowledge“.

“The better we get at generating great ideas—new insights and novel solutions—in our field of expertise, the more unnatural it becomes for us to communicate those ideas clearly. That’s why knowledge is a curse.”
So keep the message simple and clear of “industry speak” and acronyms.

9. Market and promote everywhere

Create a brand and presence on the large vibrant social networks. Publish and promote your content from your blog to as many social network platforms as time and resources allow.

Be “ubiquitous”

10. Build for search engines

Google with its latest updates called “Panda” and “Penguin” is valuing unique content that receives social votes, whether that is a “plus one” on Google, a “Like” on Facebook or a retweet on Twitter. Use WordPress plugins like “SEO all in one” or “Yoast” that create search engine friendly titles, descriptions and tags that make it easy for Google to crawl your site and show up in search engine results.

11. Build your tribes

Tap into the power of reciprocation. Follow people on Twitter and they will follow you back (some of the time). The great content on your homebase (blog) and the essential engagement with your followers will help you build a tribe. Be real and be willing to show the human side of your self.
Open the hood and reveal your secrets and the tribe will leap in.

12. Communicate with multi-media

Everyone learns differently. The younger generation prefers a short video. Baby boomers would rather read an article. The LinkedIn types like powerpoint presentations on Slideshare.

Provide the same content in a variety of media.

13. Hone your writing skills

If you want to write then you need to “read”. Writing can be learned. The basics are vocabulary, tempting headlines and well structured articles.

Tempting visuals (eg Infographics) will add a little bit of content contagion.

14. Be relentless

I can’t stress too much how important this is. Producing content once a month isn’t going to cut it. It is like flying plane.

Full throttle for takeoff until you reach cruising altitude.

 How About You

Are you visible online? What has worked for you in getting attention? Is it video or is it writing articles and blog posts?

Have you tapped into the power of writing great headlines? Do you need to build a larger and more engaged tribe.

Look forward to hearing your stories.








































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Just about everyone is a blogger these days whether they realize it or not.
If you write something on Facebook and receive comments and feedback then you are a blogger.
Tweet a short sentence of 140 characters on Twitter and you are a micro blogger.

Upload a video to YouTube where you can obtain subscribers and elicit comments, then you are a video blogger.

Arianna Huffington said that “self expression has become the  new entertainment” and people are increasingly likely to participate online than just vegetate in front of the television.

It is creating an explosion of creativity and  expression that is opening up digital doors for invisible experts worldwide.

Formal qualifications such as a degree or a diploma are still vital in a knowledge economy and display good educational discipline. The fact though is that no longer do you have to wait 20 years to be declared a visible formal expert by an institution or mass media outlet who has picked or anointed you. Pick yourself and publish.

The democratization of publishing and marketing through self publishing (blogging) and self marketing (social media) are breaking down barriers to display invisible experts who previously would have been hidden from view.

Professional Blogging Platform

If you want to take a serious stake online to display your passion and knowledge then a self hosted blog with your own domain name is the clever way  to proceed. This is a professional blogging platform. If you want to play then Tumblr or a Facebook “page” can provide a simple home base for amateurs.

If you have an inkling or even a tiny thought that your online brand may become your day job and profession, or you may want to change your lifestyle in the future then building a good foundation with a WordPress blog is essential.

Any good home requires a solid base to build on that “you” own.

The 10 Benefits of Blogging

I have discovered that blogging has many side benefits that are not apparent from an outsider looking in. This is what I have found to be the bonus benefits to blogging that you may find empowering and maybe enlightening.

#1. You will  become a better writer

Just the discipline of sitting down and writing will improve your writing skills. Thinking and planning doesn’t  cut it…action and doing does!

#2. Your video skills will improve

If you spend some time interviewing people with videos or even  recording yourself to provide online education and “how to”‘ tips via video, then your video skills will improve whether that is the lighting, the structure of the set or even the sound quality.

#3. You will learn

To write you have to read. There is a very distinct direct bonus from this activity. You will learn …a lot!
Stephen King the novelist summed it up well ”If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”

#4. Visibility – People will hear about you

People discover information online today, so if you want to be a discovered and become a visible expert then blogging and social media will provide you with the visibility. Conducting a Google search is how we find people and information today not the library or the town square unless you are a stalker.
Geoffrey Rush the Oscar winning actor said “In my career two things have been vital.. Credibility and Visibility”

#5. Expert status

Perceived or real, the art of publishing online via blogging will transform you from an amateur to a  professional. Keep doing this with enough passion, purpose and focus and you will become “that” expert on your chosen topic if you persist.

#6. Become a champion researcher

You will also find the best ways to obtain information as you hunt down information and resources for your blog. You will identify global bloggers, resources and experts that will provide the insights and information you need to provide ongoing value to your readers.

#7. Power networker

As you start to become noticed people will want to connect with you and catch up for a coffee or invite you to their events and gigs. What a great way to meet your tribe who love your topic as much as you do.

#8. Your memory will improve

Exercising the brain through writing and learning will provide much needed exercise for the neurons. Keeping the body fit requires physical exercise. The mind needs stimulation and activity as well to be mind fit. You will be amazed by what you will remember from participating in mental gymnastics provided by blogging activities.
This will also have a the side benefit of looking more intelligent at cocktail parties and that has to be a good thing!

#9. Your creativity will increase

Nothing like a focused passion to improve your creativity.You will find that your brain will think more creatively as you move from conscious skills to unconscious and automatic activity, that frees up the thinking for out of the box thinking.

#10. Synergizes and Synthesizes Focus

The act of writing and expressing yourself online will provide you with internal and external feedback that sharpens the intuition and focuses your mind. The benefits of a social interactive web is that it taps into the global mind that will provide you with the feedback loop that will sharpen and amplify your purpose and passion if you are willing to listen.

Blogging as Self Fulfillment

Blogging for me has been a path to not only to self expression but self fulfillment that has become a journey of self discovery. I have found what works for me and what doesn’t. I write about topics that resonate with my soul and purpose while keeping focused and relevant.

These elements combined have provided an experience that has both changed me and others around me, both in the physical and cyber world. It is an exciting time to live where you can connect to your global tribe with rich multimedia that transcends time and place.

We all now have the power in our hands to make a difference and maybe leave a legacy. If you embrace this global and interactive social mind by participating actively you will be surprised and amazed as to where it will take you.

What About You

Has blogging changed you. What are the benefits you have discovered on your blogging journey?
Look forward to hearing your experiences and stories.



































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