So let’s take a step back here and start fresh at the beginning.

I want to tackle 2 key questions here…
#1, What is the 80/20 rule? And #2, Why should you care?

First, What is the 80/20 Rule?

Simply put, the 80/20 rule is this: 80% of output come from 20% of input.

That’s about as boiled down as the definition gets. It’s a super simple idea that can be unpacked in a variety of different ways. Here’s one of my favorite applications:

80% of your happiness comes from 20% of the people in your life.
80% of your unhappiness comes from another 20% of the people in your life.

We can all immediately relate to this. I’m sure right now you can think of your 10 closest friends. And of those 10, just 2 will fall into that “happiness” category. Likewise, 2 others will fall into that “unhappiness” category.

And we’re just scratching the surface. There are many areas of personal life, work life, productivity, etc, where the 80/20 rule can quickly reveal where you’re getting the best results (and the worst results).

Of course, there’s a lot more to this idea than I’ll cover here. If you’re eager to learn about the history, background, and other info — be sure to check out the Wikipedia entry on Vilfredo Pareto (the 80/20 rule is also known as Pareto’s Principle since Vilfredo came up with the idea in the early 20th century).

But for our purposes, you only need to remember the key definition:

80% of effects come from 20% of causes.

Why Should You Care About the 80/20 Rule?

Personally, I believe everyone should care about this idea because if you put the principle to work you can definitely get more out of life in virtually all categories.

But, if you’re reading this blog, chances are good that you’re interested in some form of business application — systems, productivity, and marketing.

For these key business areas, the 80/20 rule is a power player.

As I hinted at above, the 80/20 rule is all about getting more good stuff and less bad stuff. Here are some quick 80/20 style questions you can ask yourself in each of these 3 key business categories:

Systems:
What 20% of your existing (or broken) business operations are creating 80% of your problems?
What 20% of your product/service offerings are generating 80% of your revenues, profits, etc?
What 20% of your staff is causing 80% of your headaches, problems, etc?

Marketing:
What 20% of your marketing strategies are bringing in 80% of your new customers?
What 20% of offline marketing could help grow your business by 80%?
What 20% of new leads are creating 80% of your new sales, and how can you get more of those same types of leads?

Productivity:
What 20% of your daily tasks are eating up 80% of your time?
What 20% of your upcoming projects could lead to 80% of your business growth this year?
What 20% of your daily work could be outsourced or handed-off to an assistant to free up your time for 80% more productivity in target areas?

Put the 80/20 Rule Front-And-Center

Start making a point of asking yourself some 80/20 focused question at the start and finish of every working day.

Regardless of your working role, the 80/20 rule can bring huge results if you apply it every day. As these quick questions above illustrate, there are so many ways you can become more results-oriented by simply bringing 80/20 to bear on your areas of interest and responsibility.

I write a lot about different hacks and strategies because I’m a big believer in working smarter, not harder. This post is more of an overview and introduction to the 80/20 idea because, as “old hat” as it might seem to some of you, it’s a simple but powerful you can put to work right away if you make the time and stay committed to the principle.

And remember this article is part of today’s 20% that helped you make 80% more progress!

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First, The Productive Points App

Before I get too carried away with all the minutiae of how Productive Points works exactly, I want to point you towards the app. Because this system has been so damn effective, I decided to have an app developed to help me manage everything from my iPhone (sorry Android users).

The app is currently available from the iTunes store — you can download it here.

BUT… I recommend reading this post before trying to use the app. It will make your implementation process much easier.

Plus, good news for you non-iphone users: the app is NOT necessary to use this productivity system. It’s just a tool designed to make the tracking process easier and more fun.

The Quick and Dirty Description

So here’s a nuts and bolts description of how Productive Points works…

1. You create a list of your most important tasks and goals.

2. You prioritize this list by assigning point values to each item — lower points for low-priority stuff and higher points for high-priority stuff.

3. You create a list of rewards, giving each reward a “required # of points” — the better the reward, the more points needed.

4. You complete tasks throughout the day and give yourself points every time you complete an item on your list.

5. You track your points over time until you earn rewards.

6. You sit back and enjoy your earned rewards.

7. You repeat again and again.

Let’s Talk About REWARDS, Baby!

The reason I’ve had so much success with this system over any other system I’ve tried to implement is pretty simple… Very few productivity methods actually MOTIVATE you to get things done. Usually, productivity techniques just make it easier for you to organize your brain farts. They don’t actually give you incentive for moving from point A to point B.

Human psychology, though complex in certain ways, is actually very simple when it comes to motivation. People need a strong reason to do something, otherwise they probably won’t do it.

This is exactly where Productive Points scores big time. Not only does the system give you incentive to cross things off your list, it also (if you work it right) gives you stronger incentives for tackling the high-priority stuff first.

After using this system pretty consistently for nearly a year now, I’m finding myself starting each day with a simple question, “How can I earn the most points today?” Or, alternatively, “How can I get to my next reward fastest today?”

Rewards work because they help us feel better about indulging AND they give us a sense of completion and achievement — something we’re often missing in our “knowledge worker” economy. (When was the last time you really felt good about something you finished?)

Also, working with Productive Points has produced a number of very interesting side effects — my personal favorite is an increased sense of discipline. I’m getting better every day at *delaying gratification* — something most of us in a “first world” lifestyle could use a little more of.

Where I used to just indulge in 2 hours of mindless TV or a glorious 90-minute massage without real justification, now I push back these rewards until I get lots of things done. Believe me: those deep tissue treatments are much better when I can reflect on how much I’ve accomplished in the past 2 weeks.

How to Use Productive Points

I’ve created a separate website to go over this topic in full detail. If you’re eager to start using this method soon, head on over to www.ProductivePoints.com to read my complete tutorials…

• How to Use Productive Points
• Frequently Asked Questions about Productive Points
• The Various Productive Points Tools
• Plus… The Productive Points Blog

In addition to my Productive Points App, I also use Things for Mac on my desktop, iphone, and ipad. Things is a great tool for managing projects lists and active to-do lists. It makes a great companion to Productive Points for keeping track of the details of all the projects, goals, and tasks you’re working on.

So I use Things to keep track of what I’m working on and Productive Points to motivate me to take action and make progress towards my top goals.

Master the Art of “Getting Things Done”

Productivity is the cornerstone of so many areas of your life. Either you’re making progress towards achieving your goals, or you’re not. This is such an essential life skill. The more you build this muscle-group, the more results you’re bound to see in your personal life, your business life, and virtually everywhere else.

Obviously, there’s no perfect method or technique, but some will work better for YOU than for others — and vice versa. It’s also critical that you adapt methods to your personal working style. Nothing is “one size fits all” in this category, so you have to stretch and pull until an idea works for you.

I look forward to hearing your comments about my system, my productivity app, and any other ideas/comments you have about productivity systems.

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How It Works — The Short Version

The most essential element of my system is the 25-minute block of time. If I have to boil everything down to just one process that brings the greatest results (a la the 80/20 rule), then it’s this…

• Grab your nearest kitchen timer
• Set the timer to a 25 minute countdown
• Choose one single task to focus on
• Start the timer
• Get to work!

When the 25 minutes are up, take a break. Then, rinse and repeat.

How It Really Works — The Full Version

Obviously, there’s much more to it than that. To make this system really work for you, you have to begin by organizing your “work sphere” into some well defined goals and then transform those goals into workable projects.

1. Make a list of your top goals/projects
2. Keep this list visible or accessible in your work area
3. Use this list plan your working days

We’ll get more into exactly how to use this list further along in the post…

I’d recommend limiting this to a maximum of 5 projects or 5 areas you’re working on. Anything above that number is going to be too distracting to your daily efforts. Plus, if you’re the type of person who tries to do too much or always has too many goals and projects, the very act of getting serious and committed with just five of them is going to improve your productivity exponentially.

What’s with the Tomatoes?

Yup, we might as well deal with this issue now. In creating my Time Management Leverage system, I’ve stitched together my own experience along with the ideas and strategies from some of the world’s greatest productivity gurus.

The “tomato” concept comes from a time management system called “The Pomodoro Technique.” Pomodoro being the Italian word for tomato, and the idea stemming from kitchen timers shaped and styled to look like tomatoes.

If you’ve never read about the pomodoro technique, I highly recommend checking it out if you’re really interested in time management theory. But though I’ve borrowed a lot from that system, I’ve also made a lot of modifications to make this system more practical and more connected to long term goals. Also, the PT is IMHO pretty over the top in terms of how rigorously its creators recommend you track and monitor your time. I’ve done a lot to make it more flexible and thus easier to use.

One thing I really do like from the Original PT is using the term “pomodoro” to talk about a segment of working time. In other words, when I’m working I actually refer to my 25-minute focus periods as “pomodoros.” It has a nice ring to it and comes in handy if someone tries to interrupt you. Nothing more enjoyable than just saying, “I’m in a pomodoro. Can I do it later?” It’s golden.

And What’s with the Sauce?

Let me remind you that the goal of this system is to learn how to Leverage time, not to manage it. Perhaps the very best definition of leverage I’ve read narrows it down to one simple concept…

Leverage is “doing a lot with a little.”

And that’s exactly what you’re doing with my tomato sauce time management leverage system. You’re taking something small, a 25 minute time segment, and turning it into something very big: completing an important goal or finishing a critical project.

From little 25-minute tomatoes, you’re making glorious tomato sauce.

To extend my fun little metaphor even more… let’s remember that fresh, ripe tomatoes rot if we don’t put them to use. And what better use is there for something perishable than to transform it into something we can save and benefit from again and again later on? Likewise… what better use is there for today’s time than to invest it into something valuable that will reap rewards well into the future? Hence, spending 25 minutes on an important project and/or goal?

How to Make Tomato Sauce with Tomatoes

Now that you have a clear overview of my system, it’s time to start putting it to work. I recommend getting a fresh, new lined-page notebook. On the inside cover, write down your top five projects and goals. You’re going to need this notebook to help track your progress every day.

Then, get your hands on a kitchen timer. It doesn’t need to be shaped like a tomato, but it does need to be a timer and nothing else. In other words, don’t use your smartphone, your microwave, or the timer on your laptop.

And before we complicate things even further…. sit down at your workspace, open up your notebook, write down today’s date, and draw a line. Then, take a look at your top five projects. Use these to stay focused on your long-term goals inside the present. Make a list of just a few activities you want to accomplish today. Try to keep your list to five or fewer items — ideally, at least one item per project/goal area.

Finally, choose your first task, set the timer for 25 minutes, and press the start button. Once the 25 minute session begins, you should be working ONLY on your target item and NOTHING else. When the timer buzzes after 25 minutes, finish up what you’re doing, take a break of at least 5 minutes (get away from your computer!) and then get started again.

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Why You Need to Fire Your Time Manager

Now we’re going to dig down into the nitty gritty of why most daily work-time systems typically fail. This will help clarify why I’m sitting pretty here making tomato sauce and you’re probably over there fooling about with lemons.

As far as I’m concerned, there are 3 primary reasons why being a time manager does not work in today’s Information Worker world…

1. It’s too structured.
You spend hours planning your whole day out hour-by-hour (even minute-by-minute) only to realize that, oh yeah, life is NOT like TV and it rarely goes the way you want it to go. Some structure is good, too much structure is bad. Very bad. (P.S. — Even if you’re just “sort of” doing this, you’re doing it.)

2. It fails to make room for our lame “time wasting” addictions.
Let’s face it folks, we 21st century people love to waste time. We tweet. We update our FB status. We look at our email so compulsively you’d think we’re waiting for a message from god himself (or herself, or whatever). Sure, we need to avoid this crap as much as we can. But it’s really too much to expect that we’re going to eliminate it altogether. Forget about it, it’s woven into the very fabric of our culture.

3. It creates guilt. Lots of guilt.
Psssst… You! Yes, you. Do you make lists? Right. We all do. Lists, lists, lists. To list or not to list, that is the question. And what usually happens to those lists? Well, here in San Francisco we pretty much compost everything. Lists are just one way we create guilt (unless you’re using them correctly, of course). We also create guilt when we schedule that morning trip to the gym for 7:00am and don’t actually get there until 7:00PM…. two days later! Guilt is worthless because it makes us feel worthless. Here we are, being managers again. Pointless.

Why You Need to Hire a Time Leverager

Now that we know exactly why time managing is bad, we can just flip over these puppies and see oh so clearly why time leveraging is good…

1. It’s flexible.
Like yoga. Hey, if you expect to be a guru, you can’t be all stiff and rigid. Not unless that’s what you need to do right NOW, of course.

2. It’s realistic about your constant need for information.
Feeling a little connectivity withdrawal? Don’t worry! Time leveraging systems will help you be more productive AND make time for checking in on Yelp with your overzealous smartphone technology.

3. It creates a greater sense of productivity. Guilt free!
You need to be flexible and you need to make time for web 10.0 productivity. But you also need to get things done. This is our #1 goal — to move more in this direction using a system that actually works without making us feel horrible for just throwing out that Franklin Covey planner.

Let’s face it — we live in a world where everything is happening right now. So many things demand our attention every single minute of every single day. And, frankly, we love it. Call it singularity; call it what you will.

But let’s be honest about the problems it causes.

Because we’re always bombarded with demands on our time, we struggle to get things done during our working time. And that means we struggle to make real progress towards our goals. IMHO, this is a serious problem with very frightening consequences for each of our individual lives and for our entire culture of work, business, and productivity.

So… are you ready to learn a simple method to help you Leverage more and Manage less? Damn right you are!

More to come soon, young Jedi.

In the meantime, leave a comment below about your personal experiences with the evil Manager villain. How have you experienced the downsides of too much structure, information overload, and excessive guilt? Thanks in advance for sharing!

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Why Time Management Sucks

First, let’s all agree that “time management” as a concept… well, frankly, it’s crap. As many other folks before me have shown, it’s pretty lame to think about *managing time.* As far as business language goes, this one’s pretty crummy indeed.

Instead of thinking about how to manage time, it’s a lot more powerful to think about how you can leverage time to get more results. I don’t know about you, but when I hear the term “time management” I get a bit queasy. The idea should be to learn how to get more out of time and learn how to plan your working (and your non-working) hours better.

The Whole Point of Leveraging Time

But let’s really break this down. What’s the point? Put simply, the point is to get more time to do the things you really want to be doing and to spend less time frittering away.

Even though I used the term “time management” to title this article, I want to make one thing very clear — most time management systems only do one thing… they teach you how to work, work, work like a crazy type A personality until you’ve successfully filled up 10 hours of your day with senseless tasks that make you feel like you’re getting somewhere when all your doing is compulsively ticking boxes, obsessively checking email, and unconsciously browsing social networks. Not good.

Leveraging v. Managing

When you manage time, you work to fill hours with tasks… ANY tasks. But when you leverage time, you make a clear plan to move forward on a clearly defined goal.

When you manage time, you obsess over how long things will take and end up doing too much at once. But when you leverage time, you break things down into clearly defined chunks to get the greatest level of focus and productivity.

When you manage time, you let it control you. When you leverage time, you put it to work for you.

How I Stopped Managing My Time and Started Getting More Leverage

In this article series, I’ll show you exactly how I built a clear, easy, and repeatable system to….

• Work with greater focus and productivity every single day
• Plan my days without overloading myself and without creating stress
• Spend less time on pointless tasks and more time on high leverage projects

Learning how to get more productivity in your life and in your business is perhaps the greatest lesson we all need to learn in order to make more money AND to enjoy life to the fullest.

Before we move on, I’d like you to do me one small favor. Leave a comment in the box below. Tell me about what, if any, systems you use to manage your time or to plan your working day. It can be systems you use now or systems you have used in the past. List everything you can, whether or not any of it actually worked for you.

This series on Leveraging Time is not just about your work — it’s about your LIFE.

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If you’re a reader of this blog, you know that my favorite topic is generating Passive Income sources online. This year, my goal is to help you get there even faster. It’s my New Year’s Resolution and I want it to be yours too. But first, let’s take a step back and talk about some principles before we dig into the money stuff…

Why Most New Year’s Resolutions Fail

Most years, I find myself making a long and sordid list of all my hefty goals for the year ahead. It always seems like a good idea, but then a few months into the year I begin to realize that most of those goals don’t really matter to me and I end up focusing in on only one or two.

According to one statistic, something like 60-70% of New Year’s Resolutions get dropped in the first WEEK of January. Does that surprise you? Doesn’t surprise me one bit. Most people usually do bite off more than they can chew only to give up quicker than they ever imagined.

Still, it’s pretty strange that everyone gets so excited about the New Year and their personal goals and resolutions… only to drop them less than 7 days later. Seems pretty odd to me.

After a lot of thinking lately, I’ve decided that it always comes down to one problem — lack of focus.

Now, I realize there are lots of other words for “focus.” We could call it “desire” or even “intention.” Whatever it is, it boils down to one simple thing, most people don’t actually KNOW what their resolution is in the first place. This is why they give it up — they never knew what it was to begin with.

How to Focus on Your New Year’s Resolution

The best way to focus on your resolution is to get ultra-clear about what it is. And the only way to do that is to find the “center” of your life that needs most attention and the greatest amount of growth. In my humble opinion, I think building sources of Passive Income is far and away the best place to focus your energy for the year ahead because it is the one goal that will have the most dynamic influence on all of your other goals.

Let me explain.

Let’s say as you’re reading this that you’re probably also thinking about all of the other things you want to improve in your life. Maybe you want to eat a vegetarian diet, lose 50 pounds, get that six pack abs, or be a better wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend. Typically this is how we operate. We want more money, better relationships, sexier bodies, and happier lives. Right? Right!

Now, here’s my argument…

The best way to go about all this is to focus your energy on ONE goal that will have the most dramatic affect on your entire life. Again, my humble opinion is super clear on this one — building more passive income is the best way to creating a better life. Why? It’s simple. What we all need to be happier, healthier, wealthier, and sexier is TIME.

Think about it. The reason your relationship isn’t where you want it to be is because you don’t have the TIME to invest more into it and to get more out of it. The reason you never lose weight is because you don’t have the TIME to prepare healthy foods, count your calories, and stay focused on your exercise plan. And the reason you feel depressed is because you don’t have the TIME to expand your social life, volunteer, and find meaningful things to do with your life.

My 2011 Challenge to You And Your Promise to Me

So this year, I want to help YOU get super-focused on the one New Year’s Resolution that really matters — Creating Passive Income Online. I want to do this for two selfish reasons… 1) I really enjoy teaching people and sharing my greatest passion; and 2) I know that if I help you then ultimately it’s going to help me get even farther along with my goal to DOUBLE my income this year.

In order to do this, though, I need you to make me two very important promises: 1) that this will be your #1 goal for 2011 and 2) that you will put as much energy, time, and effort as you can (outside of your normal life) to make this happen!

How to Get Started

There are two things you’ll need to do officially to join me in the 2011 Passive Income Plan. 1) Make sure you’re signed up to my www.JasonClegg.com email newsletter and 2) make sure that you’re signed up as a member at www.ArticleMarketingSEO.com

When you sign up for #1, you’ll get my free ebook which covers the essentials of starting an online business. And when you sign up for #2, you’ll get free access to my fundamental lessons on Article Marketing to help you learn the best and cheapest traffic-generation strategy that exists online today.

Both of these memberships are free, so there’s no official cost to you. Of course, as we move through the year I will recommend certain products and services that are going to make your Passive Income Goal Quest that much easier.

My method is simple — I want to share with you the techniques I’ve been using over the past 6 years to generate Passive Income Online. My goal is to help you get to the level you desire by the end of the year. Yes, this is going to require discipline, work, and focus from you. But if you’re willing to team up with me, I’ll do my very best to help you every step of the way.

This plan is for ANYONE and EVERYONE who is interested, regardless of your experience, background, and know-how. I look forward to working with beginners, veterans, and everyone in-between.

Here’s to our success in 2011!

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I’m a perfectionist at heart. It’s true. And while it can sometimes be one of my greatest assets, it’s long been a major deterrent to progress in business growth. Someone once said, “If you want to speed up the rate of success, speed up your rate of failure.” Nothing could be more spot-on than that. The secret to success really is failure. And the reason is simple: unless you fail (and I mean REALLY fail) you never get out there and learn those critical lessons you can ONLY learn on the field of battle.

Why Deadlines Work
Deadlines force failure because they make it absolutely necessary for you to fail. If you have a deadline in place and you keep it, you’re much more likely to actually achieve a goal and to take your idea or project from idea to fruition. In the realm of ideas, things work much differently than in reality. This is the whole point of entrepreneurship — moving from ideas to reality.

But let’s be honest — reality is a scary place. There are risks, uncertainties, problems, unexpected crises. Anything can happen at anytime and bad things *will* happen.

For me, learning how important it is to speed up implementation has helped me get better at welcoming failure as a means to move faster towards success. This concept “Speed of Implementation” just means moving towards goals faster by getting things done sooner. At the end of the day if it’s not you, it’s going to be your competitor.

Let’s dig into a real example….

Accountability is an Asset
At the beginning of this month, I launched my very first membership website. This was a goal I’d had for several years now and a big milestone. Now I realize how huge of an accomplishment it was to go from zero to full-speed on a project that was once just an idea floating in my mind. A mere possiblity transformed into a fruitful reality. Awesome!

But I owe much of my success to one important thing — deadlines. But why are deadlines so damn important? What do deadlines do for you? And what is it that makes them work so well?

To be fair, the real credit here doesn’t go to deadlines but to acccountability. Deadlines just make accountability possible. The trick is to put the two together for the greatest results. Lack of accountability prevents most people from ever reaching their goals. Without accountability, deadlines are pointles. Without someone or something to hold you accountable for what you say you’re going to do, you probably won’t do it.

So how can you get accountability? There are two essential ingredients for making this happen…

1. You need to commit to yourself.

2. You need other people to enforce your commitment.

Most people make the grave mistake of just working with #1. Sure, making promises to yourself is an important part of the process but you just can’t do it alone. Even if you are literally doing all of the work yourself, it’s critical to enlist the help of others to take on the huge psychological task of staying focused and moving towards a goal.

Say Hello to My Little Friend
If you’re an entrepreneur, you know how important your mind is to your success. You need your mind for new ideas, innovating thinking, creative problem solving, and everything that goes into the process of building and running a successful business.

But you also need your mind to stay focused in setting and achieving big goals. You have to know “the magic of thinking big.” And you have to have the mental power to press on when things seem too big and some goals seem like just far too much work for the risk.

This is a job you should not do alone.

That’s why the single best thing you could ever do for yourself is find other people with similar goals and ambitions to start taking on that job together. And that, dear readers, is the role of the Mastermind Group.

You’re probably saying one of 3 things to yourself right now…

1. What the $@!@# is a Mastermind Group?

2. Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard this routine before.

3. It’s true. It works for me too.

If you answered like #1 above, then go out and read Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” and report back to me when finished.

–If you answered like #2 above, then go out and start a group already!

–If you answered like #3 above, cheers to you!

I’m fairly new to masterminds, but I’ve known about them for a looooong time. Frankly, if I’d started one earlier, I’d already be much farther along in my business.

Fail Faster to Succeed Sooner
The only way you’re going to make progress is by getting out of your comfort zone and welcoming mistakes. Two steps forward and one step back. If you spend too much your time thinking, analyzing, assessing and too little time taking action, you’re never going to move forward.

It can be difficult to figure this out on your own because all too often we fail to see our own shortcomings. Other people are much better at showing us the way and encouraging us to strike out in a positive direction. I know it sounds contradictory to open yourself up to failure when what you want is the exact opposite. But getting more comfortable with failure is the best way to make progress.

If you do anything after reading this, do this: Find 3 or 4 like-minded people and form a group. Get together at least 1x per week and take turns sharing your current business goals and your most pressing problems. I guarantee you that this one change can help you speed up your rate of implementation and increase your rate of success!

What’s Your Greatest Obstacle to Getting Things Done?
And one more thing…

I’m curious to learn about what prevents you from “Speed of Implementation” right now. Share your greatest obstacle in the comment box below.

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First, the two apps–

Freedom from the Internet

If you’re looking to block your computer from web access for a set period of time, you need Freedom. This handy little application will completely block you from the Internet anytime you turn it on. Simply open the app, set the number of minutes (from 1 minute all the way up to 480), and turn it on. Presto! No more web access for you, buddy. (Mac AND PC versions available for this app.)

Self Control from Your Mindless Web Surfing

If you’re looking to block only particular websites, I highly recommend Steve Lambert’s “SelfControl.” Turn this app on and you can designate exactly which websites you want blocked. Create a running list so anytime you turn it on, the same sites are blocked. Enter the number of minutes you need a little self control, activate, and ba-bing! No more annoying little sites like Facebook, Twitter, or email access. (Mac only.)

The makers of the Freedom app also recently released a new app which I have not yet tried out called Anti-Social which basically does the same thing as SelfControl but is available for Mac AND PC.

Why Get Away from the Web?

This point might be obvious for some and completely missed by others, so let’s unpack it. If you do any kind of work on the Internet (which includes virtually all of us these days), chances are extremely high that you spend a great deal of your computer time surfing aimlessly and getting lost in the high tide of websites, email, and social media.

Whether you want to believe me or not, you simply do NOT need to check your email, Facebook, and all your other little accounts 1723 times per day. It’s NOT doing you any good.

BUT…

Quite frankly, it’s really really really HARD to stay away. I don’t know about you, but the second I sit down and pop up my laptop screen I’m racing off to about 1,326,028 websites, email accounts, and god only knows what. All it takes is one little thought in a different direction and click, click, click, and suddenly I’m watching random videos on YouTube about how to blow bubbles in my beer.

UNLESS…

I make a point of activating Freedom if I want to stay off the web completely or SelfControl if I want to do focused work online.

Neither of these applications are expensive. Freedom is just $10 and Anti-Social is $15. SelfControl is free. And just think of how quickly this tiny little investment will translate into income-producing work time.

There’s a time for silly websites and random web-browsing. But if you can get a little help from these applications, you’ll be far more likely to know when it’s time to get some work done and when it’s time to play.

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Why Relocate Your Life and Your Business?

Relocation has been at the center of my lifestyle-design and business-building strategy since my first journey to Berlin in early 2009. Much of this was inspired by the well-known business book, The Four Hour Work Week.

A Four Hour Work Week? Are You Kidding?

Not really up to speed on all this 4HWW (Four Hour Work Week) mumbo jumbo? Take a gander at my 4HWW Series articles here…

4HWW Part One
4HWW Part Two
4HWW Part Three
4HWW Part Four
4HWW Part Five

I once read that the best ways to power up your motivation is this…

1. Back yourself into a corner.
2. Do everything in your power to get out.

I believe this is exactly why I managed to go from a $37,000 per year college instructor to a six-figure Internet Business owner in just a few years.

To go from zero to 60 required serious motivation, and I had it. No doubt about it. But here’s the real key: to muster super-high levels of motivation requires LOTS of reasons to succeed. It can’t be *just* about money or *just* about travel. And it can’t be *just* about prestige or status. You’ve got to find LOTS of reasons and they MUST be very real to your mind, body, and soul.

Maybe that last line sounds a bit hokey, but I’m quite serious.

If your reasons for doing something big don’t resonate on a mental, emotional, and spiritual/higher level, then you’re simply NOT going to make it happen. Again, I’m talking about doing something BIG, something life-changing. The reason most people never take action to achieve something big is because they don’t really want to do it. Why not? They don’t have enough reasons.

Before I read the 4HWW, I already had a desire to start building a business. In fact, I already had a business. It just wasn’t exactly running like a machine. The ideas behind The Four Hour Work Week resonated with me in many powerful ways and on many meaningful levels. I wanted to travel more. I wanted to meet different people from around the world. I wanted to experience different types of cultures, cuisines, and ways of life. And most of all — I wanted to live a better life. I wanted to work smarter not harder.

To put it all in one simple statement: I knew the rat-race sucked and I didn’t want to spend my life doing it.

Relocate, Renew, Recharge

Before I get too far astray in this blog-sized novel, let’s get back to what’s happening right now. As I write this, I’m sitting on an AeroMexico flight to Costa Rica. My girlfriend is sitting next to me playing on her iPad while I’m over here struggling to speak Spanish with the flight attendant pouring my coffee. Life is good. Pura vida!

What is it about travel that inspires us so much? It’s two things: Time and Freedom.

Think about it. Why are vacations so damn wonderful? Time and Freedom. And why do most people in modern cultures look forward to retirement so much? Time and Freedom. Remember childhood? What was so great about the playground, school recess, and summer vacation? Time and Freedom.

This is exactly why I love relocation so much. In a nutshell, relocation is traveling to a new place to live, work, and play. But for me it’s really a chance to recapture the true spirit of things and get back to the basics.

Mini Retirement v. Relocation Recalibration

My last relocation in early 2009 to Berlin, Germany, was more of a 4HWW mini-retirement. I went there to get away from work and to learn more about myself. But this time my purpose is much different. One of the best things about relocation is the process you go through right before you leave. It works like this: First, you unpack your current life. Then, you pack up your new life and hit the road. Somewhere in between you get rid of 80% of the crap you don’t really need. When it’s all finished, you feel a great sense of relief, clarity, and lightness. It’s probably one of the most therapeutic things you could ever do for yourself.

This time around instead of a mini-retirement, I’m looking at this journey as more of a “Relocation Recalibration.” Instead of avoiding work, I’m going to reclaim more balance between work-and-play. For my business and personal life, I’m looking to do one very important thing — focus on what’s really important in life and ignore everything else.

As Stephen Covey once put it — “Begin with the end in mind.” The path will unfold before you…

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One reason I’m so excited about my launch is pretty simple:  Frankly, I’ve never seen anybody offer what I will be offering.

Sure, there are countless article marketing ebooks out there.  But I’ve yet to see anyone create a full-fledged member’s resource area with complete courses and highly targeted video trainings.

(Trust me, I’ve read virtually every ebook out there and even they can’t come close to offering as much massive value as I have been preparing for you.)

Whether you’re an affiliate marketer or a small business owner, someone just getting started or someone with tons of experience on the web, I know you’re going to get a lot out of what I have to offer.

But back to the point.

I was going through some of my member’s only resources today when I ran across a few images on a presentation that I think you should see now.  People are always asking me about the potential of article marketing and what they can expect it to do for them.

Folks, check this out…

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