Welcome to the "Better Than Your Best" Newsletter! Please leave your comments in the box at the bottom.
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Thank you for being a loyal reader of the "Better Than Your Best" Newsletter. I hope you are having a wonderful and relaxing holiday season. Your New Year is about to get a lot better because you are even now growing into your better Self. Read on . . .
NEWS FLASH!
Ken will be interviewed by Dr. Nathaniel Williams about his new book, "Your Better Self: A Simple Guide to Where You Want to Be" on VoiceAmerica Internet Radio on Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time).
The radio show is called “The Navigating Your Life Show."
You can listen live that morning by CLICKING RIGHT HERE.
Of course, you may go to the same site to listen to the recording thereafter.
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The Value of Knowing What, Where and When
December 27, 2009
After hours of frustration trying to get my drain unclogged, I finally broke down and called a plumber. Upon arriving, he asked where the problem pipe was located. I took him to the bathroom and, pointing to the open doors under the sink, I said, "There's your challenge, right there."
He spent a few moments surveying the situation and then took from his toolbox a simple pair of pliers and gently tapped the entire length of the curvy piping. After just a few minutes of inspection, he wrapped his pliers with a bright red bandana he took from one of the many pockets in his tattered blue overalls. With precise aim, he drew back and struck the pipe about halfway between the bottom of the basin and the point where the piping disappeared into the wall.
It worked! The water flowed freely and all was right with the world. The entire visit lasted a mere five minutes. The plumber wrote on the invoice the following words: "House call . . . FREE; Knowing What to Do (Where to Hit the Pipe) . . . $75.00.
But knowing what and where is not enough. The noted comedian, George Burns, was said to have interrupted a person who was not quite finished asking, "What is the key to comedy?" with his answer: "Timing!" In addition to what and where, you must also know when.
There is such a thing as "putting the cart before the horse:" you wind up having to pull a load you wouldn't have had to were you to have done things in the proper sequence and at the right time. You cannot hope to reap without having sown or to acquire wisdom and solid character without making the daily choices to discipline your baser instincts.
Wisdom comes from understanding what you should be doing with your time. . . right now wherever you are. Getting to the place where your knowledge, skills and experience position you to "move the needle" and succeed faster is the essence of living in peaceful abundance. When you know you know you can make things happen, you become equipped with the power you need to achieve what you want. Furthermore, what you want becomes shaped by what you know you can accomplish rather than merely hoping for something you doubt that you can achieve.
This, indeed, is a peaceful – and powerful – life that emerges from becoming your better Self.
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Make Your Meaning Clear Every Time
One of the most difficult tasks in any organization, whether large or small, formal or informal. business or social is to effectively communicate so that the results of people's work and effort are what was initially designed and desired. Just because we can talk doesn't mean we actually communicate. Assuming so makes for embarrassing, sometimes painful or even disastrous mistakes.
Communication often fails because assumptions are made about the use and mutual understanding of terminology, jargon, concepts and colloquialisms. Likewise, assumptions about the intended and implied meanings of any written or verbal communication cause misunderstandings when not made explicit during the communication process.
Check out my checklist for giving instructions as a surefire way to make your meaning clear every time. Click here for the checklist. Say what you really mean and get others to clearly understand it.
Check out the links on the left to find more helpful and stimulating ideas.
"Your Better Self: A Simple Guide to Where You Want to Be" is now available in eBook version here – or the physical books (hardback and softcover) can be ordered from any of the online booksellers, like Amazon.com .
The audio version of "Your Better Self" will soon be available. If you're like many people, reading anything can be a chore, given the hectic activities we constantly conduct. The audio book can be taken anywhere you want either on a CD or on your mp3 player. It's coming!
Early in 2010 I will be adding the "Your Better Self" Self-Study Guide that will help readers apply the content of the book to their own personal self-improvement efforts so they can more easily and quickly attain their personal and professional goals for the new year. Look for the announcement coming soon . . .!
