You Need to write down a few ideas each day to keep the creativity flowing and the idea muscle exercised. You Need to be physically healthy. And You Need to keep the gratitude muscle exercised EVERY DAY. Wisdom from James Altucher

“Make a lot of mistakes.”

Steve Jobs’s emotionally intelligent approach to mistake-making can help you build a better business.

The year was 1984. It was shortly before Steve Jobs left Apple and several years before Jobs would go on to conduct one of the biggest turnarounds in business history, bringing Apple from the brink of bankruptcy to make it one of the most valuable companies in the world.

Jobs was giving an interview to Michael Moritz, who at the time was a reporter covering Silicon Valley. In the interview, Jobs argued that the key to his success, what truly set him apart, wasn’t a superior design sense, or any other special gift.

“Things get more refined as you make mistakes and do them,” Jobs told Moritz. “So I’ve had a chance to make a lot of mistakes. Your aesthetics get better as you make mistakes.”

“But a real big thing is, the way I’ve always felt is, that if you’re going to make something, it doesn’t take any more energy–and rarely does it take more money–to make it really great,” continued Jobs. “All it takes is a little more time. Not that much more. And a willingness to do so: a willingness to persevere until it’s really great.”

There’s a great message in perseverance for anyone trying to build a better product or business. But it all starts with five key words from Jobs:

Jobs’s “make a lot of mistakes” philosophy is emotionally intelligent because it allows you to shift your mindset. It takes the process of making mistakes, which most view as negative, and reframes it as an integral key to making your business or product better.

Let’s break down a story from Apple’s history that illustrates the value of this advice, and see how you can apply it as you build your own business.

Fast forward to 2001, and Jobs had already begun Apple’s turnaround. However, the company faced an unexpected dilemma.

The iPod had just been released and became an overnight sensation. Designers and executives at Apple were understandably thrilled, but they also knew they needed to keep innovating–fast.

Why? Because the next logical step was to place MP3 players inside cell phones. It was only a matter of time before a major phone manufacturer figured out how to do it, which would make the revolutionary iPod obsolete.

And herein lay the problem: Apple didn’t make cell phones.

To avoid losing market share, designers quickly got to work on the first prototype of an Apple cell phone. Tony Fadell, one of the original designers, described it as “an iPod with a phone module, if you wanted to dial a number, it was like using a rotary dial.”

His conclusion? “It sucked.”

Jobs scrapped the entire project and went back to the drawing board. He pulled up plans from 1993’s Apple Newton–the company’s first attempt at a touchscreen device (and one of its biggest flops of all time). But a decade had passed, technology had advanced, and touchscreen research had improved. Jobs took one look at the plans and said, “Maybe this is the phone.”

And the rest is history.

Stories like these illustrate the value in Jobs’s philosophy: Apple’s success hasn’t been based on getting everything right the first time. In fact, critics say that the company doesn’t actually innovate. After all, the Mac wasn’t the first computer, the iPhone wasn’t the first smartphone, and the iPad wasn’t the first tablet.

However, Apple has built a reputation for “getting things right.” They find creative ways to take design, functionality, and user experience to the next level and give the public products they adore.

So, how do you apply this lesson to your business?

Let’s say you want to build an online course, or an app, or some other product. Start by studying your competitors, and identifying what problems or gaps their product has. How can you fill those gaps? Use that question to guide your process.

As you do that, you may be tempted to wait until your product is perfect before launch, or to beta test forever using a small test group. You shouldn’t. No matter how much you research, test, and iterate it won’t be perfect. Remember, the Newton was a total failure, and even the iPhone didn’t come close to iPhone two, or three, or 10.

Instead, make things as good as you can. Use user feedback (and your own good sense) to help you identify what needs to be improved. Then, improve. And keep improving. Continue to revise your product, again and again.

Persevere until it’s great.

Above all, remember: Mistakes are part of the journey. The more mistakes you make, the more chances you have to refine and improve.

All you need is a little more time, and the desire to see it through. Because if you can persevere, the result will be nothing short of greatness.

Thanks for your Wisdom JUSTIN BARISO

According to a study done by Microsoft, we lose interest in just eight seconds. That means our attention span is less than that of a goldfish’s!

The battle for our mind is very real. Never before in history have we had so many different vehicles vying for our attention. Disney+, Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok are just some of the heavy hitters out there and unfortunately for us, they are all very good at what they do.

The good news is we can fight back.

1. A Good Night’s Rest

Researchers have found that we need between seven and eight hours a night to operate at peak performance.

A good night’s sleep allows our body to reset itself; reducing stress and alleviating muscle wear. Our ability to focus increases and we are able to reduce our mistakes.

Solution: It isn’t rocket science – schedule your sleep as you would a meeting with an important client. It’s that important.

2. Dust Off Your Jogging Shoes

We have become a sedentary society spending an average of ten hours a day seated. Our body suffers as a result. To counter the effects sitting has on our body we need to move. It doesn’t have to be jogging, but we do need to get our blood pumping.

Most people fail when it comes to exercise because they try to do too much, too fast and simply give up. Play the long game.

Solution: Start with just five minutes of exercise a day. Everyone can find five minutes. Once the habit sticks, it’s easy enough to increase it to ten or twenty, but without the habit, your chance of success is low.

3. Nature is Your Friend

When it comes to natural ways to improve focus, nature is a winner. Too many of us go through our day simply moving from one screen to another.

Put your smartphone away, and get outside. Even just a short walk for 15 to 20 minutes can boost your concentration. Got a writer’s block? Same thing, get outside and simply enjoy nature. A short walk around the neighborhood or wandering through a park will do wonders to get your creative juices flowing. If you’re near a beach or river, even better.

Solution: Spend more time in nature. Here what happens to your brain when you walk in nature.

4. Tai Chi

Tai Chi is an ancient form of focusing the mind that includes body movement often described as “medication in motion.” This low-impact, slow-motion exercise challenges you to focus on your breathing and circular movements in which the muscles are never tensed.

Solution: If you’ve always wanted to give martial arts a try but want a lighter version, Tai Chi could be for you.

5. Meditation

We live in a world of noise. Meditation allows us to clear our minds.

Meditation isn’t for everyone. Maybe try yoga instead. In many ways yoga and meditation are intertwined. They both rely heavily on breathing exercises so if you have trouble sitting still, yoga is a better option for you.

Solution: Try adding a healthy dose of yoga or meditations activities to your daily life.

6. Improve Your Diet

Too many of us fail to invest the time to create a healthy diet conducive to our focus and productivity.

The key to living well is simply a more well-balanced diet. The breakdown of my seven lunches and seven dinners each week is usually 40% chicken, 30% fish, and 30% meat. And every meal comes with a variety of vegetables and fruit. Lastly, and most importantly, I rarely eat till I’m full.

Solution: You don’t need to go vegan; a well-balanced diet can work wonders to improve your focus.

Bottom Line

We just need to fight back! The 6 ways above will help you increase your focus naturally and boost productivity.

Thanks Adrian Shepherd for your Wisdom

You can find out more HERE

If you’re looking to up your writing skills a level or two, a few good writing tips and tricks can help make it happen.

1. Edit Like Crazy

Many first drafts are clumsy, sloppy, and difficult to read. This is true for most writers — even experienced, well-known ones.

So what separates great content from the nondescript?

Editing.

The hard part isn’t over once your first draft is complete; on the contrary, it’s only beginning.

To take your big words to the next level, you need to spend just as much time editing your words as you do creating them.

It’s ruthless work. It’s kind of boring. But it’s vital.

2. Craft Irresistible Headlines

Smart Blogger’s CEO, Jon Morrow, recommends spending at least 20% of your time on the headline for your content.

That isn’t a typo.

If you spend 10 hours writing an article, 2 of those hours should be spent writing and re-writing the headline.

Why so many?

Because if your headline sucks, no one is going to give your content a chance.

In short:

It’s a writing habit that’ll pay off again and again.

3. Write with Rhythm

In digital media, short sentences and short paragraphs are your friends.

But that doesn’t mean every sentence and paragraph you write should be short.

Too many short sentences in a row and your writing will bore your readers. Too many long sentences in a row and you’ll overwhelm them.

So, mix things up.

Let the rhythm of your words dictate when each paragraph begins, and you’ll strike up the perfect balance between short paragraphs and long.

4. Challenge Yourself to Write in Weird Places

Having a designated writing space (especially when you’re working from home) is important.

However, writing in different places from time to time can spark creativity.

Give it a try.

More Tips from Kevin J Duncan

Visitors to Steve Jobs’s house in Palo Alto or to Apple’s corporate headquarters in Cupertino, California, were all too familiar with one habit that helped Jobs to clear his mind and develop novel ideas.

Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson didn’t know it when he first met the legendary Apple co-founder, but he soon learned that Jobs preferred to have serious conversations on long walks.

Brent Schlender covered Steve Jobs for 25 years for Fortune and The Wall Street Journal. In Becoming Steve Jobs, Schlender recalled that Jobs would invite him to the house “for a walk” when he wanted to talk about a subject. Jobs and chief designer Jony Ive were often seen taking regular “brainstorming walks” around the Apple campus. Pixar employees told Schlender that Jobs “was always big on going for walks with people.”

A recent batch of neuroscience research proves that Jobs was on to something. Walking really does spark our creativity.

In The Net and the Butterfly: The Art and Practice of Breakthrough Thinking, authors Olivia Fox Cabana and Judah Pollack cite current studies that show breakthrough ideas occur when the brain switches modes–from the “executive network” to its “default network.” While the executive part of our brain is task and goal-focused, the default network–the “genius lounge”– meanders and brainstorms. The two work together. The executive network sets a goal or identifies a problem and moves on to perform other tasks while the default network comes up with creative solutions.

According to the research, taking a walk is the best way to trigger cooperation between the two modes and unleash your most creative ideas. “If we had to choose one single mindless activity for you to do, it would be walking,” Cabana and Pollack conclude.

According to a Stanford study, walking boosted a person’s creative output by 60 percent. The subjects were given “divergent thinking” tests, which measure creativity. They were asked to think of alternative uses for a particular object and they had four minutes to come up with their responses for each set of objects. Responses were “novel” if the other participants in the group had not thought of the idea.

The Stanford researchers measured the creativity of subjects while they walked and while they sat. The majority of participants were far more creative when they walked. Movement was the key. “The act of walking itself, and not the environment, was the main factor,” according to the Stanford research.

Florence Williams prefers to walk outside. The author of the new book The Nature Fix and a contributing editor to Outside magazine, she writes, “We benefit cognitively and psychology from having trees, bodies of water, and green spaces to look at.” Like The Net and the Butterfly, Williams cites research that shows our brains’ default network is the key to creativity. According to Williams, it’s the part of our brain that’s “free-ranging, day-dreaming, and mind-wandering.”

Our ancestors were on the move.

Neuroscientists who study attention say the results of walking studies aren’t surprising because our ancestors moved–a lot. According to University of Washington biologist John Medina, “from an evolutionary perspective, our brains developed while working out, walking as many as 12 miles a day. The brain still craves that experience.”

In a study for the American Journal of Human Biology, Yale researchers say that because our brains evolved while walking, it’s good for our health and good for our minds. “So move, and preferably often, since the need for activity seems to be built into our bones and hearts and being.”

Certainly, there are health benefits to being on the move. Lower blood pressure and the reduced risk of stroke seem to be the primary benefits of walking for exercise, according to the Harvard Medical School. The latest neuroscience confirms that walking really does have a creative benefit, too.

So consider getting up out of your chair and getting on the move. A breakthrough idea might be waiting in your brain’s genius lounge.

Thanks for your Wisdom Carmine Gallo

You’ve heard it said many times that you can’t be creative, productive and successful if you’re not happy. Often times that means you’re not happy where you live. Easier said than done but maybe think about moving if you’re not happy where you are?

I was recovering from very minor cancer in 2000 so I decided it was time to move to an area I loved. My very 1st visit to San Diego was 8 years prior – I found the weather PERFECT and the people the most friendly I’d ever met. So I moved here knowing only 1 person and having no idea what I would do for work. Well, happy to say after living here for 20 years I couldn’t be happier!

“Today I don’t feel like doing anything, I just wanna lay in my bed.” Bruno Mars

How often have you felt like that? You might just need a rest. But what if you feel unmotivated every single day? That, my friend, is called a slump.

In the past, the greats regained motivation through exploration. Before recording the White Album, The Beatles trekked through Northern India and studied transcendental meditation. Steve Jobs did the same, met a guru, and invented the iPhone.

But with borders closed all around us, the closest thing to wanderlust is grabbing a pizza across town—not quite as invigorating.

The good news is motivation surrounds us; we just need to know where to look.

Here are ways on how to increase your motivation when you’re in a slump.

1. Unplug (but for Real This Time)

Take your lunch to a park, or go for an urban hike.

Listen to the sounds of nature. Smell the plants and flowers. Focus on being entirely in the present moment, and you’ll realize the world didn’t suddenly end in 2020.

2. Put Some Motivation in Your Ear

I’ve found that all it takes is one rousing speech to change your mindset.

Pop in your headphones, and do a Google search for “motivation.” There are thousands of speeches on YouTube, even mega-mixes of motivational speakers like Joel Osteen, Wayne Dyer, Les Brown, etc. TEDx has inspiring speeches by Dan Pink, Angela Duckworth, Tony Robbins, and more.

3. Give Back to Others

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Mahatma Gandhi

It’s counterintuitive, but it’s true.

These acts of service make your problems look and feel smaller. Most importantly, you feel more empowered to overcome any challenges you face.

Try this: Go to volunteermatch.org and find a charitable opportunity that is meaningful to you. I promise that giving back will lessen the weight of your problems.

4. Call Your Most Positive Friend

We’ve all heard the adage, “you are the sum of your five closest friends.” It’s true because what our peers say affects us.

If you suffer from negative family members or peers, their cynicism will slowly infect you. Instead, drown them out. Spend more time with people that are ‘glass-half-full’—those that look for the upsides.

5. Find Your Creative Side

One unseen benefit of the quarantine was that many people finally had time for creative projects. By invoking our imagination, we can often break through mental blocks. This can help us increase our motivation to do things.

Have you ever wanted to write poetry, play an instrument, or paint? Stop talking about it and start doing it. Pull out a piece of paper unleash your artistic side to break through your slump.

6. Start a Gratitude Journal

“The struggle ends when gratitude begins.” Neale Donald Walsch

Let’s take some lessons from this horrible pandemic—a simple but profound one: just appreciate everything that we have.

Build a habit of writing down three things you’re grateful for in your journal every day – or at least one!

7. Sweat Out Stress

I am a firm believer that an incredible workout (and a delicious recovery meal) can cure almost any bad day. It’s no coincidence that so many successful people like to run or bike.

Getting into a physical state brings levels of mental clarity like nothing else.

Get your endorphins flowing!

8. Disable the Distractions

The average person gets interrupted once every 8 minutes.

Put your phone on do-not-disturb, or shut it off completely. Do the same for your desktop. If you’re in a noisy environment, get noise-canceling headphones or earplugs.

Follow the Pomodoro Method and set a timer for 25 minutes. After one Pomodoro, take a 5-minute break, then start again.

You will find yourself getting better results, creating a virtuous cycle of motivation.

Final Thoughts

Everyone encounters a slump at least once in their lives, but what differs from person to person is how they handle it. Hopefully, these tips will help you overcome that slump and be the best that you can be.

Thanks for your Wisdom Chris Tubbs

I totally agree!!! My most creative work is done in the evenings – many afternoons are spent at the ocean running or swimming. Working for yourself allows YOU to choose the time to work that that fits YOU best!

Local Input~ Tired man covering his mouth white yawning isolated on a white background
Credit: Fotolia

Forcing staff to start work before 10 a.m. is tantamount to torture and is making employees ill, exhausted and stressed, an Oxford University researcher has claimed.

Dr. Paul Kelley, of Oxford University, said there was a need for a huge societal change to move work and school starting times to fit with the natural body clock of humans.

Experiments studying circadian rhythms have shown that the average 10-year-old will not fully focus on academic work before 8.30 a.m. Similarly, a 16-year-old should start at 10 a.m. for best results and university students should start at 11 a.m. Dr. Kelley believes simply moving school times could raise grades by 10 per cent. He was formerly a head teacher in Tyneside, where he changed the school start time from 8.30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and saw the number of top grades rise by 19 per cent.

Similarly, companies who force employees to start work earlier are likely to be hurting their output, while storing up health problems.

“This is a huge society issue,” Dr. Kelley told the British Science Festival in Bradford. “Staff should start at 10 a.m.

“Staff are usually sleep deprived. We’ve got a sleep-deprived society. It is hugely damaging on the body’s systems because you are affecting physical emotional and performance systems in the body.

“Your liver and your heart have different patterns and you’re asking them to shift two or three hours. This is an international issue. Everybody is suffering and they don’t have to.”

We’ve got a sleep-deprived society

He said that the body was attuned to sunlight and it was not possible to change its 24-hour cycle to learn to get up at a particular time.

“This applies in the bigger picture to prisons and hospitals,” he added. “They wake up people and give people food they don’t want. You’re more biddable because you’re totally out of it. Sleep deprivation is a torture.”

Sleep deprivation has been shown to have significant effects on health. A week with less that six hours’ sleep a night led to 711 changes in how genes function, one study discovered.

Lack of sleep has been found to affect performance, attention and long-term memory and to encourage drug and alcohol use. It also leads to anxiety, frustration, anger, impulsive behavior, weight gain, high blood pressure, lower immunity, stress and mental health conditions.

Tens of thousands of children are starting school at 10am in an experiment by Oxford to prove that later classes can improve exam results. GCSE students at more than 100 schools will take part in the four-year project based on evidence that teenagers are out of sync with traditional school hours. The findings are expected in 2018.

Thanks for your Wisdom Sarah Knapton