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1. Set two goals to achieve in 30 days and focus just on them
2. Limit playing video games or television watching to 1 day a week.
3. Clean out your wardrobe to just the things you actually wear.
4. Find 5 things every day that you can either throw or give away.
5. Give away the books that you have already read to your local library or to a friend.
6. Cook all of your own meals for a day.
7. Give up relationships that don’t help you grow.
8. Spend 30 minutes cleaning your place before you go to bed.
9. Drink only water.
10. Spend 30 minutes working out.
11. Cancel your subscription the paper and subscribe to their rss feed instead.
12. Get a DVR and batch your tv show watching to one period of time.
13. Only check email twice a day.
14. Answer all of your voice-mails at the same time unless they are urgent.
15. Reduce the amount of activities your family participates in.
16. Get rid of your desktop and only have a laptop
17. After 6:00 turn off your blackberry.
18. Take everything off of your desk and only put back 2 items.
19. Rise Early
20. If you have a blog, focus on one or two topics.
21. Stop drinking soda.
22. Take time to pray or meditate every day.
23. Have coffee/tea with a friend once a week.
24. De-clutter one room a week.
25. Turn your wifi connection off when you work on projects.
26. Remove all the icons off your desktop and access them via command lines.
27. Remove any software off your computer that you don’t use.
28. Get rid of all your CD’s and save them to a hard-drive.
29. Take the TV out of your bedroom.
30. Only check the news once a day.

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SUMMARY:

The Vikings were ravaging the land. The Anglo-Saxon people are disorganized and without a true leader. An unlikely king rises up from the ashes of his homeland to save his people from a pagan enemy. Through strategy and faith this king becomes the only king of Anglo-Saxon decent to ever be named “the Great”. He starts a renaissance of education and peace that the island hadn’t seen in years.

Sounds like a great movie doesn’t it? The real Alfred the great is the subject of the book by Benjamin Merkle.Mr. Merkle took the time to piece together the often controversial life of Alfred the Great in a book that makes history an easy read. It reads more like a fantasy novel than historic work but overall gives you a good basic picture of this man’s life.

MY THOUGHTS:

So, I started out reading this book like a sports car taking off the line. I was extremely interested in the topic, I found the the characters amazing, and I really didn’t want to put it down. Then…then it started to get dry. I don’t really know why, but I found myself struggling to finish this book. (I am glad I did.) I hated myself for it because Alfred himself is a controversial and amazing character that deserves to be learned about.

Myth and fact are blended here…only because the history we do have of Alfred could be  a re-write and thus be not entirely true. However, most scholars believe that most of what people said he did was true. Mr. Merkle does a great job of blending the two sides and letting you know which one he believes most.

Really the things this man did by the time he died (in his 50’s) makes my first 27 years look extremely boring. I mean really, this guy saved England from the vikings and then educated the whole nation, oh all before he was in his 40’s. I mean this guy has some serious wisdom. He strove after it, yearned for it, and wanted others to feel the same way about it. His title “The Great” was well earned and this book makes me want to learn more.

I say this book makes me want to learn more because it feels like the cliff notes of the subject. It gives me a ton of information and tries to be compelling at the same time but for some reason it isn’t. I mean it felt like the author was spewing facts at me and occasionally throwing in a thrilling story. I commend him for doing as well as he did, don’t get me wrong here. However, I just feel he either should have written a scholarly work or gone for complete entertainment. Blending them here, unlike Alfred’s myths and facts, does not work.

PEOPLE’S THOUGHTS:

“A Decent Springboard”

“Where is our White Horse King?”

“Complete History of Alfred – But it’s dry reading”

LIFE:

How do we apply this information to our lives? I mean that is  why we read right? Sure it may be entertaining, but deep down we seek to gain wisdom from the things we read.

1. Leadership comes from adversity:

You quickly learn that the reason Alfred was so great was because of his upbringing. He lived through viking raids and saw brothers and friends murdered right in front of him. He knew how precious life was and because of that he was a good leader. He knew how precious people were and treated them that way. He wanted every one to have an opportunity to become the best version of their self as they could be. I mean this man fought on the front lines at around the age of 17…shield to shield with the most fearsome warriors in the world. That will put some hair on your chest.

So take time to learn from your adversity and apply it to becoming better. Don’t waste those moments when things are hard and life seems doomed. Go after it. Fight it like a “wild boar” as Alfred was said to do.

2. Education is key:

Alfred grew up with a love for Anglo-Saxon poetry. His mother instilled this love into his life very early on (good lesson for you moms out there) and it stuck with him. Even though he was known as a great warrior, his love for knowledge and poetry was even greater. He used the information and wisdom he gained from reading to better his life and the lives of his subjects. From developing an education system to making sure his leaders were of the same mind as him, he truly changed the Anglo-Saxon world with a love for reading and a thirst for knowledge.

3. Faith and Hope matter:

In this book we learn that at one point in his life Alfred was living in a swamp while his kingdom had been overrun by the Danish Vikings. Despite this he continued to have faith in his God and hope that he would one day rule his country. We know this eventually came true, but I still can’t fathom what was going on in his head at the time.

No support, no troops, hardly any food. I mean this guy was basically a run down robin hood hiding in the swamp! He kept at it though and eventually ran a guerrilla campaign that forced the vikings out. It really proves to me that a lot of success is not talent or being in the right place at the right time, but just to shear will power. He knew he would reign again and take care of his people…so he went about life thinking that way and it got him back to the place he belonged.

RATING:

4 out of 5 stars

Definitely go out and pick up a copy of this. You can even click on the picture of the book above and help support my book buying habit! Take some time and really go through this material, there is a lot of wisdom to comb through. I will probably have to read this book about every 5 years just so that I can see his life from a different vantage point.

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I remember the day I suggested it. My team totally laughed at me, but they got it. (I was grateful for that.) I mean it really was going to be a fun way to teach new employees how a wireless network works. Granted it was unconventional…but it was something that I did as a kid. Is playing unconventional?

We were going to build a wireless network with Dots candy and toothpicks.

Now before you laugh me off the internet, wait for a second. I guarantee every single one of the employees that we trained that way remembers that part of the training. They may have forgotten what frequencies GSM service ran on, but I know for sure they wouldn’t forget how a call routed on our network.

Sometimes the best training of all is laughable and childish. As kids we learn from playing and games, why should our adult learning lives be any different? Do we really believe that power-point and lectures are going to make me any better at my job?

Unconventional training methods pop up all over the place. Kettleball training for fitness is really catching on. Companies are using video-game-like online trainings to teach people & even one trainer is using Dots to teach about wireless network structures. (haha)

Think outside the box…but remember to think inside the sand box. Put a little play into your trainings and watch that information stick…like Dot candies.

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Image via Wikipedia

So my brother is starting a new blog over at www.dreamloaf.com. I really do mean starting, nothing is even up there yet. (1/31/2010) So he wanted some ideas for what to read/watch to learn how to blog well. So I put together a list of the resources I use for learning  to blog better. (I hope i am getting better haha). Maybe you will get some good advice from these too.

Things to set up:

Analytics.google.com

Adsense.google.com

www.wordpress.com

www.feedburner.com

www.twitter.com

Stuff to read:

www.problogger.net

www.zenhabits.net

http://www.43folders.com/

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/

www.lifeexcursion.com

www.upstartblogger.com

www.writetodone.com

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/05/how-to-make-money-from-your-blog/

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/01/how-to-build-a-high-traffic-web-site-or-blog/

http://www.pronetadvertising.com/articles/5-ways-to-building-a-better-blog.html

Stuff to watch:

http://garyvaynerchuk.com/tagged/keynotes

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Image via Wikipedia

Instead of re-inventing the wheel for my Paleo diet post for my manifesto I went and got two videos that pretty much sum up the diet well and then give you some tips for keeping it. I still haven’t gone completely paleo/primal yet.

I just finished the Paleo Diet book recently and I am also reading The Primal Blueprint . After that I will probably go for a 30 day challenge. I am already losing weight just doing a pushup/squat workout on alternating days. Look for more on that, I was pretty shocked at the results in so little time. Well without further ado’ enjoy these two quick videos, they might just change your life.

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Yabusame – Tim Ferriss from Kevin Rose on Vimeo.

Tim Ferriss has a lot of credits to his name:

• Record holding Tango dancer
• Speaks multiple languages
• Author of NYT best selling book, twice.
• TV Star
• Internet Star

I mean seriously this guy gets things done. What I want you to see from this video is the way he breaks down an extremely difficult task into something he can do. He takes unfamiliar movements and uses movements he is familiar with to conquer them. In the video above he likens reloading his bow with reaching for a lost scuba mask, brilliant.

He learns fast because he takes a very scientific method of learning.

• Break down the key movements or ideas
• Relate them to familiar activities
• Recognize your strengths and weaknesses
• Train better than you need to. (He needs to reload in 9 seconds, he trains to reload in 7)
• Learn by watching pros
• Have confidence

Those are just a few of the learning keys you are going to learn by watching this 45 minute video. The greatness of the way he learns is that you can use it for anything.

Do you a way of learning that helps you get things done faster? Leave it in the comments.

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Image by johnsam via Flickr

1. Stop & Count to 3
2. Pray for 3 seconds
3. Give someone a hug

I am not going to go into each one because they really explain themselves. I really think that if you can do at least one of these whatever you are going through will improve. It is all about putting things into perspective. Sure I am tired after a really long 50 hour week, but people in Haiti are suffering a lot more than me.

Even just 3 seconds can change your thoughts and put you in a different mood. Take some time and try it.

1

2

3

Feel better?

This also works in reverse…so be careful.

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Image by Snap Man via Flickr

All of us have had this type of training:

• Given material to finish before a class
• Attend class, be bored and comment on how many sales you are losing
• Fill out a survey after class and move on

I am probably not the first person to tell you this doesn’t work. Not at all. In fact this type of training (a good 70-80% of trainings) never works. Most of the time this type of training prevents future trainings from working as well.The end result of this type of training is an animosity between the groups being trained and the training team. Overall, not a good situation.

Truth is, I have done these trainings. Mostly at the request of my superiors but nonetheless I have done them. You as a trainer might like them…because there is less work! Really a trainer and the employee’s manager are copping out in this type of training. They are basically going through the motions so that they can tell the executives that we have a training program.

Like the posts entails Follow Up is the most important thing when it comes to training. In fact the really great trainers live and breathe it. Nothing will get your sales up, your people more knowledgeable, and your boss more happy with you than following up with your training class.

Let me tell what follow up is not:

• A short quiz after the training
• A Q&A email after the training
• Asking the class if they have any questions

While those might go into follow up, most trainers will use just one of those methods at a time and move on. That is not what we are talking about. We are talking about actually caring whether or not your trainees grow and get better or not.

A great example of follow up would be this:

1. Trainer sends out email reminding every one about the class and attaches a few documents for students to read in order to be prepared for the class.
2. When the class shows up on the set day, Trainer follows up on the documents that they had the students read. Asking specific questions about the material and answering any questions. (This will also set a routine for the future)
3. Trainer delivers material
4. Trainer asks review questions after the material is done, perhaps doing this in a game format
5. Trainer thanks the class and hands out a survey for the class to take. This survey doesn’t just ask questions about how the trainer did or what the room looks like, but should also have a few review questions. Set a due date of 2-3 days.
6. Trainer sends out email on day 2 after the class to remind them of the survey.
7. Trainer then follows up 1 week later with a review quiz delivered in person if possible. This may not work for every situation, might have to be over the phone, but it is key to making the material stick.
8. Trainer follows up with the employees superior/boss after the quizzes have been corrected and feedback given to the students.
9. Trainer tracks results of quizzes and feedback notes.
10. Trainer submits materials to their boss.

Phew! Looks like a lot of work right? Well it is. Written between the lines is the massive amount of work you have to do to meet with everyone. You have to work with schedules, people avoiding you, bosses who don’t care, ect. Believe me though, as soon as you do this…and the results start to show…all departments will be begging you to train their folks. I have seen this happen and it is quite a thrill.

*Another thing to make note of is that you might have to follow up even more, especially if you are changing a policy or how your sales people are selling. Paradigm changes takes months if not years to change. The more follow up you can provide for your students the easier it will be to make these changes.

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Image by louisvolant via Flickr

So, I wrote up a post on 10 iPhone apps for trainers but don’t think I forgot you Blackberry users. I use both so I have the unique experience of using both devices for different reasons. I tend to use my Blackberry more on the business side and my iPhone for fun. That doesn’t mean

1. HandyLogs Money: Rating 4 stars, Cost free: Keep track of your mileage, hours, and expenses all in one program. I love this because I have to do all 3 and it can get quite complicated if you don’t stay on top of it. Traveling around to each training, buying your meals, it is a lot of information to keep track of. Great App for this purpose.
2. UPS Mobile: Rating 4 stars, Cost free: When I am traveling about, sometimes I need to drop off a package. The company I work for uses UPS so this app is perfect for me. I can find UPS locations and track my shipments all from the palm of my hand. It may not seem like a big deal, but it really saves me a lot of time.
3. Cortado Flight Mode: Rating 5 stars, Cost $2.99: Before you take off on that plane click on Cortado Flight Mode. It will download all of your emails in totality so that you can read them in flight mode. Nothing is worse than trying to catch up on email and not being able to see the rest of the email because your Blackberry didn’t download all of it. This gives you the ability to actually get work down. Of course you could just ignore it and relax…
4. Fuze Meeting: Rating 4 stars, Cost free: Attend and manage meetings from your Blackberry…wow nuff said. This works on your phone and on your desktop. You can even desktop share with your phone, this is the future of conference calls. No more breaking out that lap top to log into a meeting. Love this app.
5. eOffice: Rating 3 1/2 stars, Cost $14.99: Basically like Documents to Go but cheaper. Most Blackberry’s come with a free trial of Doc to Go, but after that you are out of luck. Give this one a try I think for most people it will work for your needs. Even works with open office.
6. Evernote: Rating 2 1/2 stars, Cost free: Don’t let the ranking fool you. This app is great. You can get it for the iPhone as well. A tip to make your experience better is to create your account on www.evernote.com first and then download and run this app. You can track, memo, record, and just about anything you can think of in terms of remembering stuff. The logo is an elephant for a reason. This app has saved my hide quite a few times. You can make a voice note about that question one of your students asked and email it to yourself, or take a picture of that TV you eventually want to buy. It really is a great app for storing information you want to keep track of.
7. Gwabbit Premium: Rating 4 stars, Cost $9.99: I just have the free version and  I love it. Every time I get an email it looks in my address book to see if I have a contact made for that person. If I don’t it makes one automatically. If there is already a contact but the email has new information like a fax number, it will update the contact. This app has probably saved me hours of time.
8. Drivesafe.ly: Rating 3 1/2 stars, Cost free: Driving and cell phones don’t mix. This app actually does something that will probably save your life. Say you get a text message and because you are addicted you read it. BAM! Right into a telephone pole! This app will read your text to you and send an automated message to your friend telling them that you are driving and will get back to them later. It also does this with your emails. A simple app that does a great job of what it was made to do. If you drive at all for your job, you need this.
9. AllSport GPS: Rating 2 1/2 stars, Cost $19.99: If you run, bike, or snowboard this app is for you. Trainers can’t be working all the time. We have to be out in the world experiencing the things we talk about every day. This app tracks things like calories burned, distance, time, PR’s, ect of any sport you are doing. (Probably not swimming). I love using it to track my speed…I am a speed nut.
10. Qik Live Video Streaming: Rating 2 1/2 stars, Cost free: Go to www.Qik.com, set up an account, and then download this app. Now you can live stream to the internet any time you want. What is so great about this is that people watching you live are able to send you messages so you can respond to them live. Got a team you need to do a Q&A with? Give them your qik.com page and have them get a text when you go live. A great way to stay connected on the fly.

Got any Blackberry apps that you love to use that I didn’t mention? Email me or hit me up on Twitter.

I am a trainer & I have an Blackberry Bold 9700, those are my qualifications for this post.

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