Monthly Archive for September, 2009

Making Persistence Easy

Published
by
admin
on September 15, 2009
in Newsletters
. 3 Comments

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. … Persistence and determination are omnipotent.” Calvin Coolidge

The other half of success through small steps is persistence. A small effort, expended daily, adds up to a huge result.

This is great news for those of us who sometimes have only a little time or energy to spare in each day. It’s also great news for those who want to accomplish large projects. Like Rome, books and businesses and weight loss and world change are not completed in a day. In many cases, a small action, repeated, is not only easier than doing a whole project at once - it is the only way to complete the project at all.

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.” Benjamin Franklin

If you find the thought of persisting discouraging, I have great news for you. We used to think that persistence came from personal willpower. The greatly persistent - who held a goal with unwavering courage - had some type of moral fiber that let them do it. They became great because they started with the attitude and skills that let them persist.

That may still be true. The determination to persist is a useful attitude.

And we also now have a technology to make persistence easy. Like many valuable discoveries, it has been refined through games. Game makers want their customers to enjoy their games, and keep playing them. So they have been looking for the elements that entice people to persist in playing games. Recently, they’ve put words around these discoveries, and begun calling them “addictive game design”.

Two of the elements of addictive game design are: small rewards frequently and larger rewards infrequently.

Can you see how you could incorporate those elements into some task you wish to persist in?

Martha Beck’s book The Four-Day Win illustrates this process for the goal of weight loss. Check it out for inspiration for any goal. Another approach is to work with a life coach. The coach can help you structure your goals into small steps with small and large rewards along the way. For many, the hour of having the full attention of the coach is a reward in itself.

May you easily persist in the actions that lead to your unique greatness.

Anna

Small Steps

Published
by
admin
on September 15, 2009
in Small Steps
. 0 Comments

“That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Neil Armstrong, as he placed the first footprint on the Moon.

This issue’s Small Step for Space:  Become a space entrepreneur.

Check out the history of Jeff Greason for inspiration. It’s available here: http://tinyurl.com/qpfw2b

Notice that his education is a B.S. in electrical engineering, and that his previous work was as an Intel engineer.  Then, after two years at a rocket company, he co-founded his own business in 1999.  Ten years later, XCOR Aerospace is profitable and influential.  It can be done.

Writing Tip

Published
by
admin
on September 15, 2009
in Writing Tips
. 0 Comments

Speak the language of your audience.  If you are writing for a specialized audience, use their technical terms and inside references to show you understand them.  They will have more interest in what you have to say if you meet them on their own ground.

Book Recommendation

Published
by
admin
on September 15, 2009
in Book Reviews
. 0 Comments

Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge

Vernor Vinge accomplishes at least three writing coups in Rainbows End, and makes them all look easy.  First, he creates a plausible and fresh vision of the near-future - one of the most challenging settings for science fiction.  Second, he maintains the strong plot of a technical thriller, as multiple parties close in on a terrorist weapon.  And third, he takes a thoroughly disagreeable main character, and makes us sympathize with him.  We see what Robert Gu has gained, when he recovers after a new Alzheimer’s cure, what he has lost, and, eventually, what he is becoming.  Rainbows End also contains an utterly gonzo battle between… I’ll let you see for yourself.  This is beautifully structured and a lot of fun.  Highly recommended.

Slacking

Published
by
admin
on September 1, 2009
in Newsletters
. 0 Comments

Let me make a guess here.  Some days, you don’t have as much energy as others.

Is that true for anyone besides me?

Just in case it is, I have a useful technique for those low energy days.

Are you ready?

Ok, here it is:  Do less.

Yup, that’s it.  Do less.

Now, if your mind is like mine, it just started telling you all the reasons you can’t do less.

“I have to scrub the floors before company comes.”
“I’ll lose the respect of my network.”
“My boss/spouse/personal trainer/World of Warcraft Guild will yell at me.”
and the classic
“I’ll lose all my money and become a bag lady.”

That’s really interesting, isn’t it?  On the one hand, less energy, on the other hand, fear of doing less - that adds up to quite a bind we’ve put ourselves in.

So, I’m inviting us to notice that tension.  Go ahead, take some time to notice that.  How does it feel?  Is there another truth hiding behind that tension?

After all, noticing is doing something.  So, if you like, and you have lower energy, you have an alternative.

Instead of doing less, do more:  do more noticing.

All the best to all of you,
Anna

And welcome to our new subscribers!

Writing Tip

Published
by
admin
on September 1, 2009
in Writing Tips
. 0 Comments

Short on ideas?  Make time for unstructured activities.  Creativity springs from freedom and new experiences.

Small Steps

Published
by
admin
on September 1, 2009
in Small Steps
. 0 Comments

“That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Neil Armstrong, as he placed the first footprint on the Moon.

This issue’s Small Step for Space:  Make an online calendar of space events.

Tell me about it, and I’ll check it every day.  I missed the recent Apollo 11 anniversary.  I’d like to know where there are new major launches expected, when the commercial and national space organizations plan events, when our manned and unmanned spacecraft reach particular milestones.  I’d like to know when there are conferences and parties and anniversaries.  I haven’t found a complete resource on this.  So, here’s your opportunity.  Find or create such a calendar and let me know.

Book Recommendation

Published
by
admin
on September 1, 2009
in Book Reviews
. 0 Comments

Telling Lies for Fun & Profit: A Manual for Fiction Writers by Lawrence Block

I’ve mentioned in various places that this is my favorite writing book.  It’s a collection of columns Lawrence Block wrote for Writer’s Digest magazine.  The advice is good, the writing is good, and he covers a wide variety of subjects well in the short chapters.  What I like most about the book is the voice.  Lawrence Block accepts that we have different abilities and interests.  He admits to some slacker tendencies and small vices of his own - and that helps me feel fine and free to be exactly the writer I am.