Dominate Your Email: Tell Your Email Who’s Boss with this Simple 5-Question-Filter

May 5, 2012 in Social Media with 0 Comments

My email inbox used to overwhelm me, but not anymore.

I used to have this problem where emails would pile on top of each other, and I’d get so frustrated and overwhelmed by the amount of emails in my inbox, that I just simply wouldn’t open any of them.

But that’s changed, for good.

Ever since I started using a Simple 5-Question-Filter technique, I’ve been able to dominate my email and keep it from overwhelming me.

This is not to say that my emails don’t pile up, because they do (It’s possible for me to go an entire day without looking at email because I’m doing other things.) The difference though, is that when emails pile up, I can sift through them like butter and not get frustrated, irritated, or overwhelmed.

I now dominate my emails, and so can you.

The 5-Question-Filter email domination system

Here’s what you do. Every time you open your email, you have each message filter through one of these five filters:

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7 Must-Read Books For Beginning Entrepreneurs

April 25, 2012 in Business, Social Media with 2 Comments

Are you (somewhat) interested in going into business, but have no clue where to start your learning?

Have you thought about doing business as mission - using business as a means of helping other people? Or maybe you’re just curious about business, but find it confusing, vague, or “too hard” for you?

"Wow, check out these sweet books!"

I’ve had several conversations recently with people interested in business, but not sure where to start their learning. Some are interested in doing business as mission and others just want to learn the basics of business.

Listed below are seven books that were monumental in teaching me the fundamentals of business and business as mission. They were a vital part in helping me start my freelancing career, and I am sure they will help you no matter what kind of work you hope to do.

Click on the book title to purchase the book, and click on the author’s name to go to his or her website/blog. NOTE: All these books listed here are affiliate links, which means I make money if you buy the books through these links :)

1. The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business by Josh Kaufman

The Personal MBA is an MBA in a book – except that you’ll save over $70,000 that you would pay to get your degree from an actual brick and mortar graduate school. This book has the essentials that you need to understand about business, communicated in a clear, simple, and understandable way. (No abstract academia concepts here!) If you’re interested in learning about business, but have no clue where to start your business education, this book is for you!

 

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The Southwest Airlines Formula for Success

April 17, 2012 in Business, Social Media with 0 Comments

“I’ll take that trash for you sir; would you like more coffee?”

Simultaneously shocked and delighted at my flight attendants question, I smile and replied, “oh no thanks mam!”

Flying with Southwest Airlines on a recent trip was a delightful experience. Their prices were unbeatable, airline attendants were friendly and personable, the company was present on various social networks online (so customers could chat with them), and they even offered snacks and free coffee (with free refills)!

Even before I flew with Southwest, my friends were even raving about the company: “Oh, I always fly Southwest; I love that airline!”; “Southwest is the best airline to fly; definitely fly Southwest.”

There's much to learn about business from Southwest!

There's much to learn about business from Southwest!

There’s a lot that you and I can learn about business and work from flying with Southwest Airlines.

Here are three lessons from Southwest Airlines that will help you, your work, and your organization:

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5 Luscious Links: Top Articles Worth Reading This Weekend

April 14, 2012 in Business, Jesus, Justice, Life, Social Media with 0 Comments

Want some helpful, juicy, ridiculously good articles to read over the weekend? Look no further.

Here are five lucious links worth reading this weekend.

1. Vocation: Discerning the Call of God by Tim Keller

  • This article by Tim Keller is a MUST read for anyone wondering what God’s will for their life is, and/or anyone wondering if their job/career has any significance. Keller assures you that all work contributes to God’s work, no matter what field of work you are in.

2. On Building A Network

  • What does it mean to have and build a network? How does one do that? This post by my friend Mike Worley has great insights on what networking is (and isn’t), and provides some helpful tips on how to network with people better.

3. 3 Steps to an Effective Social Media Strategy 

  • This a fantastic article on developing a social media strategy, especially if you are just getting started.

The 2 Activities That Can Change Your Life

April 10, 2012 in Business, Life with 0 Comments

If I asked you, what are 1-2 goals you have for this year? What action steps (activities) do you know you need to take in order achieve those goals? - what would you say?

Sometimes, knowing what the next step is in achieving our goals is the problem. But often, consistently doing what we know we need to do is the real issue.

Stephen Covey, In his incredible book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, talks about two activities that can change your life and work:

What one thing could you do (you aren’t doing now) that if you did on a regular basis, would make a tremendous positive different in your personal life? What one thing in your business or professional life would bring similar results?

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You’ll Never Do It If You Wait Until You “Feel It”

January 3, 2012 in Business, Life with 4 Comments

Before I started running, I thought I had to wait for some magical “zap” to inject my soul before I got off my butt and ran. I wanted to feel the desire to run, before I actually started to run.

But I soon realized, that’s not how it works.

Each day I would wait and wait, hoping that magical “zap” would come, but it never did. Each day I sat around waiting to feel the desire to run was another day I didn’t run.

But then I discovered a secret. 

When I actually started running, I began to feel the desire to run. 

This whole tangle with running taught me something very important, not only about running, but also about life:

If you wait until you feel the desire to do something, you may never actually do it. You’ll just keep procrastinating and putting it off. The best way to “feel it” is to start doing the thing(s) you want and/or need to do today.

Two of my blogging goals for 2012 is to launch an email newsletter and publish an eBook manifesto. And most days, I don’t feel like writing either of them.

But when I start writing, the desire comes. I begin to “feel it.”

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Doing Whatever Possible to Help the World with 9 Dollars

December 31, 2011 in Justice with 0 Comments

You don’t have to look far to realize that there are a lot of problems in the world.

Murder, rape, famine, suicide, divorce, neglect, lying, hatred, lust, greed, and more. The list goes on and on.

And if you’re not careful, it’s easy to get sucked into the whirlwind of lies that say, “you can’t do anything to change this.”

But that’s not true.

You can, in fact, do something to help the world.

Three years ago two of my good friends went to Kenya on a fourth-month trip. Their intent was to visit the people of Africa and serve them: in the schools, churches, and slums. To raise the financial support for their four-month trek, they hosted a benefit concert called AFROCKA. (Combine the word “Africa” with the word “Rock,” and you get “AFROCKA.”)

When they returned, they weren’t satisfied to let it be just another mission trip. They wanted it to be something more; something that continued to help, bless, and serve the people they knew in Africa.

So they took AFROCKA and turned it into a non-profit organization, hosting benefit concerts, raising awareness, and starting campaigns to get the funds needed in order to build schools and wells, get clothes for children, provide food for those who were hungry, and give school supplies for the children learning in the schools.

www.afrocka.org

They invited their friends to join them in their effort to help the people they met. They knew that most teenagers waste their high school years getting drunk, playing hours upon hours of video games, and driving around in cars yelling out the window because they don’t have anything else better to do with their life.

Many jumped on board with AFROCKA, doing the little that they could at the present time to help people thousands of miles across the globe. It wasn’t much, but it was better than doing nothing. (And a whole lot better than beer, sexting, video games, and pranks)

And so the story continues.

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Winter Reading: What Are You Reading During the Holidays?

December 24, 2011 in Life with 2 Comments

school_books (1)

Reading has become one of my favorite things to do in life. There is so much you can learn from the wisdom and experience people share in books. Books inspire, offer hope, encourage, motivate, challenge, and change us for the better. (well, at least the good ones do.) Reading is also great for your mind.

I see reading as going on a journey – a vacation, you might say – with the author of the book.

When you read a book, you get to go on a journey with the author. The author is taking you on a trip through the stories, experiences, lessons, and wisdom he/she learned along the way. And you get to benefit from their brilliant masterpiece they’ve created in the book.

As a college student, I have the next 3 1/2 weeks off for winter break, and I am SO stoked, mainly because I get to read whatever I want.

I’ve been brainstorming a list of books to read over the holidays/winter break, and I’ve nailed down five I plan to read. I decided to share with you all what I’m reading this holiday season, and I’d love to hear what you are reading during the holidays as well.

Listed below is my winter break reading list, with a short description about each book. Please feel free to share what books you are currently reading and/or planning to read during the holidays this year in the comments below!

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A Secret Technique I Use to Make Schoolwork and Other Work Fun & Exciting

December 19, 2011 in Business, Life with 7 Comments

If you are a student or have ever been a student, you most likely hate or have hated homework at one point in your life.

I won’t get into whether or not homework is good or bad, because we could be here a long time talking about that. But I have wondered from time to time,

Is there anything I can do to make homework more fun end exciting?

One day, I got so sick of not enjoying homework that I decided to figure out how I could enjoy it.

Image Courtesy of Mikael Miettinen (via Creative Commons)

I discovered that if I rewarded myself for doing an assignment, I actually enjoyed doing homework.

If I rewarded myself for working on a homework assignment for a specific amount of time – say, 30-45 minutes – homework became fun and exciting, because I looked forward to the reward afterwards (and the feeling of actually completeing my homework assignments).

I also discovered that this technique not only helps you get your homework done, but it also helps you get any work done that you are having a hard time doing (i.e., writing that book, crafting that sermon, finishing that project.)

So even if you are not a student, you can still use this technique to make your work more fun and exciting.

Here’s what you do:

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How to Blog When You’ve Got A Busy Schedule

December 8, 2011 in Social Media with 7 Comments

Most of us are busy. We have commitments and acitivites in our lives that take up a lot of time: work, school, relationships, personal health responsibilities, children’s extracurricular activities, etc.

If you’ve got a lot going on in your life, you might find it hard to find time to do the things you really enjoy doing like blogging.

So how do you find time to write/blog when you’ve got a heavy load?

I'm glad we have Macbooks and laptops to write & blog on :)

Being a full-time college student with loads of homework, papers, and projects to do, I’ve thought a lot about this as I’ve tried to write/blog diligently and consistently in the midst of college, working for two organizations, maintaining strong relationships with family and friend, volunteering at church, and just enjoying life outside of these activities.

I’ve discovered four steps that have helped me be more focused and diligent in my writing and blogging.

And whether your a full-time college student or not, I believe these four steps will help you create time in your schedule for your writing and blogging (or anything else that is important to you in life).

Here are the four steps I’ve used to create time for blogging while being a busy full-time college student:

  1. Clarify priorities
  2. Schedule time each day, each week
  3. Execute excuses
  4. Do a little (or a lot) each day

Let’s look at each step in a bit more detail.

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