Supermarket Lessons – Self Checkout Reminder

March 30, 2008 By Tim Gary 4 Comments

Another reminder that you can learn something almost anyplace, as long as you’re paying attention.

Tonight while at the grocery store I witnessed a great example of this. A gentleman was at one of those new-fangled self checkout booths, and apparently pressed the button to view things in Spanish. The lady attending to the booths noticed this and made a comment on his selection (he didn’t look like Spanish would be his first language).

He said that he liked to keep in practice, and selected the spanish language option when he had a chance to brush up.

The lady at the checkout was impressed, and so was I.

What a great example of doing something that might slightly stretch your comfort zone for whatever reason. Most of us would press the English button, even if we knew some Spanish at one time. This might make things go a little smoother, but it wouldn’t help us to grow or progress in any way.

There are many things that we tend to do because they’re a habit, and easy…

  • Checking email frequently.
  • Surfing the web endlessly (uh.. “research”).
  • Watching TV.
  • Going to the same restaurants, stores and supermarkets.
  • Reading the same newspapers, blogs, author’s books.
  • Learning too much, doing too little.

It’s been said that you should work on your strengths, instead of your weaknesses (farm those out), but this is different. This is about working on habits that are keeping your thinking locked into patterns that are counterproductive. This is about pushing your boundaries so that you can do new things, and succeed in new ways.

So… Do something different. Do something a little challenging. Take the above list, and expand upon it, then reverse the habit and do the opposite.

This is especially important when you have a project you are “working on”, but it’s not something you’ve done before. You know you need to do it. You know that if you don’t, it’ll be just another in a long line of half-done projects. It’s just out of your comfort zone.

All learning requires you to break out of this comfort zone. It doesn’t have to be difficult, and the easier the better. But it will require stretching your mind, and doing some new things.

Keep thinking!

-Tim

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My Boring Blog, and Why it Matters to YOU!

March 25, 2008 By Tim Gary 11 Comments

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about this blog.

My conclusion is that it’s boring. No, it’s not that the information isn’t great, it’s that there’s little or no personal connection. Even though it typically takes a couple of hours to compose a post, it comes off as dry. You don’t know me, or the reasons behind my posts. This is BAD.

It’s bad because when I take a survey of blogs I visit and look forward to, they exude the personality of the owner. Sometimes it’s through technical details, sometimes through stories and writing style. Usually there are comments left for every post, and they can go both positive or negative–but always with respect.

I have a lot of things to talk about. Some could truly set you up for success. It might be quick. It might be slow. But if the ideas are presented in a way that makes an impact, they could be the start of dramatic change in your life. If they aren’t presented in an interesting or personal way, they will likely fail spectacularly.

If you have a blog, or are “about to start one” (JUST DO IT ALREADY!), do yourself a favor and look at the blogs you frequent. Ask yourself why you visit them, and what you could do to gain the same following. Is it the personal stories? The controversy? The technical details presented in every post?

Whatever it is that makes these blogs special to you also make them special to their readers. If you don’t have this connection to your audience, you will never gain a following, and you will suffer with a few regular readers (and your mom). I love my mom, but she’s not exactly my target reader, and probably isn’t yours.

The posts which follow WILL do a lot to bring myself to the table. Some ideas I have, which you might copy, include:

  • Tell personal stories, and give detailed examples.
  • Stir up controversy when something is going on which you don’t belive it–or have a differnt perspective of.
  • Stop filtering and editing posts – the biggest obstacle to letting yourself show through is rewriting, and over thinking posts. Stop it!
  • Limit the time you take in posting. This helps you to stop over thinking a post.
  • Break away from your primary topic from time to time so that people see a more fully rounded person. Talk about your trips, pets, and family. If you have a running “bit” about some personal element in your life that people can follow, it’ll do wonders for your readership.
  • Stop taking things seriously. Spontaneous is usually 1000 times more interesting than calculated.
  • Reframe “unrelated” information to fit your niche, and personal style. Visit blogs on music, technology and magic, if that’s what interests you.  See how things might related to your blog.
  • Learn from everything, good and bad.  Outside the box.  I’ve got over a page of notes on life lessons I’ve learned from our cat! —–I’ll share that in the future as well.

There are many others, but the point is, without the personality of the writer, who gives a sh*t!

Please let me know what you find most interesting in the blogs you visit. It will help both of us in bringing you the best possible content.

Comment below———Please.

Thanks!

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