Failure is an opportunity. If you blame someone else there is no end to the blame. Therefore the Master fulfills her own obligations and corrects her own mistakes. She does what she needs to do and demands nothing of others. – Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching PRODUCTIVE … [Read more...] about Failure Is an Opportunity
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Clay made it in!!
I just found out today that your friend and mine, Clay Collins, made it on Alltop's Lifehack page. I wanted to take a second to cheer him on and give him some gratz love. For those of you who haven't been following this blogging phenom, his first blog post on TheGrowingLife was on January 24, … [Read more...] about Clay made it in!!
A Special Theory of Productivity
I mentioned after I completed the Daily Momentum Planner that I figured out how to write this post. Life intervened and I lost the muse. I'm currently in the process of reconstructing the train of thought and managing by time management systems, but it's going to be rather rough. The hardest … [Read more...] about A Special Theory of Productivity
Don’t We Get to Choose What Words Mean?
Clay wrote a brilliant comment on my last post dissenting (somewhat) about the importance of words, roots, and their meaning. I started to write a comment in response but it became clear that that response is its own post. First, I really appreciate Clay voicing his comment, for multiple reasons. … [Read more...] about Don’t We Get to Choose What Words Mean?
Replacing Passion With Vitality
Loren at Writing Power asked a question the other day that I've been thinking about a lot recently, since I've been thinking about metaphors and how language affects our thinking and behavior. Her question: "What term would you like to see replace "passion" in our personal development … [Read more...] about Replacing Passion With Vitality
Build a Small Fire and Sit Close to It
This Friday's meditation is an original in the Taoist spirit: Try to be everywhere, and you will find yourself nowhere. Try to be there for everyone, and you will be there for no one. Try to always be available, and you will never be available. Try to work all the time, and you will not work … [Read more...] about Build a Small Fire and Sit Close to It
Broken Theme and Something In-between
Many of you have probably noticed that my pages load really, really slowly. I've been doing some research on the guts of my system, and I've been able to determine why. Some of it is due to my ignorance, and others go way beyond that. While doing speed tests this morning, I came across something … [Read more...] about Broken Theme and Something In-between
How Friends Help You Flourish
Friends and flourishing are like cookies and milk: the addition of the one makes the other so much better. But friends and flourishing are unlike cookies and milk in that you can't have one without the other. "Friends," Aristotle says, "are our second selves." They help define who we are and … [Read more...] about How Friends Help You Flourish
New Blog Domain, Same Old Blog
Okay, I've managed to move everything to the new domain name. Everything should now be under Productive Flourishing. It wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. Except for the feeds. I think I have it set up so that the old feed still works and you shouldn't have to switch anything up. This … [Read more...] about New Blog Domain, Same Old Blog
The Daily Momentum Planner
The video above is a short walkthrough of the Daily Momentum Planner. The Daily Momentum Planner helps you plan to do the right projects and actions during the right part of the day. The most up-to-date version of the Daily Momentum Planner is on the Free Planners page – you might want to grab it … [Read more...] about The Daily Momentum Planner
Friday Meditation on Contentment
One of the things I love about approaching the weekend is that it is a time to relax, step back, and think about things. I read something that stood out to me and I wanted to share it and my thoughts about it with you: Fame or integrity: which is more important? Money or happiness: which is more … [Read more...] about Friday Meditation on Contentment
Changes planned for APPD
There are some major changes that are going to happen to this blog that I'd like to announce: This blog will be moving to a new domain name and renamed to "Productive Flourishing." There will likely be some hiccups, but I hope you make the switch with me. Most of the ads will come off of the … [Read more...] about Changes planned for APPD
When to Swallow Your Daily Frog
If you know you have to swallow a frog, swallow it first thing in the morning. If there are two frogs, swallow the big one first. - Mark Twain You know how it goes. You wake up in the morning, and there it is. Ribbit! You pour your morning coffee, and there it is looking at you. Ribbit! As … [Read more...] about When to Swallow Your Daily Frog
The Triple Filter Test
There's a common knowledge story kicked around about "The Triple Filter Test." Sometimes it involves Socrates and other times it involves an Arab scholar, but the truth of the story is the same. Here it is: *** In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an … [Read more...] about The Triple Filter Test
Fake Plastic Trees
I'll give you fair warning on this post: if you don't like "the making of" pieces or introspection, you likely won't get much out of this post. I'm not sure how it's all going to fit together or whether I'm going to be providing anything useful. I'll also admit that part of this post is to relay a … [Read more...] about Fake Plastic Trees
15 Ways to Be A Better Friend
This post is a continuation of the Practicing the Virtues Series. This week, we'll talk being a better friend. I'll give a brief recap of where we're at. We become more virtuous through practice. To be a better friend requires doing the things to be be a better friend - not wishing, wanting, … [Read more...] about 15 Ways to Be A Better Friend
Making a Habit of Changing Habits
Some people seem to be able to script themselves to change habits almost at whim. Where most of us falter and fight, these people make a quick decision either to radically change their lives or look at their current good habits and tweak them to make those habits even better. These people have what … [Read more...] about Making a Habit of Changing Habits
What Preschool Taught Us About Time Management
I mentioned in How Heatmapping Your Productivity Can Make You More Productive that I thought most personal planners got time wrong and presented all blocks of times as being equal. Later that day, I was thinking about how to capture the rather inchoate ideas in A Special Theory of Relativity (it … [Read more...] about What Preschool Taught Us About Time Management