Denis Waitley

To move from Procrasination to proactive

1 Get up half an hour earlier each day and use the time to ask: How can I best spend my time today?

2 Memorize: ACTION TODAY NOT TOMORROW

Handle each piece of incoming mail only once. Block out specific times to initiate phone calls, receive phone calls, and meet people.

3 Give solution oriented feedback when people tell you their
problems. "What's the next step?" or "What would you like to see happen? ((Note: This is contrary to the advice given by the human relations types.))

4 Concentrate all your energy without distraction on the successful completion of your current major project. Finish what you start.

5 Instead of participating in group griping, grudge collecting, or pitty parties, single out someone to praise. ... be constructively helpful.

6 Limit your TV viewing to mostly enlightening educational or special shows, watch news programs on a need-to-know basis. Don't watch the news just before going to bed.

7 Make a list of five necessary, but unpleasant projects that you have been putting off. Put a completion date after each project. Stop stewing and start doing. Immediate action on unpleasant projects reduces distress & tension. It is very difficult to be active and depressed at the same time.

8 Seek out and talk in person to a successful role model and mentor. The most productive people are the ones that learn from the success and setbacks of others. Modeling is looking at other peoples lives, interviewing them, listening to them, and really finding out how they do it right.

9 Understand that FEAR is really False Education Appearing Real. LUCK is really Laboring Under Correct Knowledge. The more information you have on any sjubece, especially successful case histories, the less you'll procrastinate decisions.

10 View problems as normal indications of change and progress. Since society and business are changing rapidly, it's up to the individual to view change as normal, and to see many of the changes taking place as positive rather than negative.

With this proactive approach, you escape the clutches of procrastination and drive out spectres like fear of success. Most important you banish myths like: Whatever will be will be, and you wake up saying, whatever will be won't be because if it is to be it's up to me.

On the same side 9, there was a story about the house that love built. I notice that by putting into their own labor, they were able to make it work.

It sure would be nice to have a recorder with two entirely independent channels. One for recording on, and one for listening too.

Some things are easy to repair, and some aren't.

Harmful habits such as self criticism, smoking, excessive drinking, overeating laziness, depression, tardiness, and insensitivty are learned and developed into character traits. In the same way helpful habits of as high self esteem, substance avoidance and control nutrition, dedication, reliability, and empathy for others are also internalized and retained by relentless, self disciplined practice.

I listened to this on six audio cassettes. The above notes are from side 9.… (meer)

While I enjoyed listening to this programme, and the interviews with the older people are particularly interesting, I just couldn't agree with its message.

I read a lot of self-help literature and listen to a lot of programmes, and everything this programme preaches seems to fly in the face of everything that's been written about achieving what we want to achieve and, importantly, everything else the author has ever written! Don't want too much, don't work too hard, don't go after material possessions- pretty much the opposite of the 'dream it, believe it, achieve it' mindset that almost everything else I've read teaches.

It's interesting to hear an older person's perspective on things, but I think there are much better and more inspirational programmes out there.… (meer)