On the road again...

I'll be heading to the Middle East and then behind the iron curtain next week. If you happen to be in Dubai or Warsaw, be sure to stop in and say hi. 

Bits, Bites and a Big Event

The other night I was out throwing a football with my oldest son in the backyard.  We started talking about how life is not one big event, but it's made up of small bits and bites of activities that, all assembled, create the big event.

Everything in life follows this same pattern.

If you use your bits and bites to sit in front of the TV all day. It will lead to the "big event" of a mostly wasted life.

If you use those same bits and bites to practice the piano every day, exercise, paint, or read, the "big event" will be remarkably different.

But using the bits and bites effectively is only one half of the equation. You also need a general idea of what you want the "big event" to be.  Running a half-marathon. Mastering an instrument. Learning a language. Knowing this will help you know what to do with your bits and bites. 

But sometimes you don't know what the "big event" will be until you have experimented with the bits and bites. This is fine. As long as you're not experimenting all of the time watching cartoons on the couch.

The six degrees of separation is now one degree

I'm convinced that you can get to 75% of the world in just three stops. I just got back from Thailand where I was conducting some business:

I traveled from Salt Lake City to Portland (1st stop).
Then to Tokyo (2nd stop).
Then to Bangkok (3rd stop).

By adding in a 4th stop you can cover 95% of the world.  I added a 4th stop and went to a small beach town called Krabi. (I'd never even heard of the place before!) But from Bangkok I could have gone to nearly anywhere in Southeast Asia.

We've all heard of the Six Degrees of Separation where you can connect yourself to anyone within six social connections. I think our ability to connect has dramatically shrunk. For example, I can send a personal note to @MittRomney or @BarakObama or @JLo. Of course it doesn't mean they will read it, but I now have a direct connection to them (or their handlers).

The point is that the world is shrinking my friends! We are no longer confined within our own borders. If you're not thinking global in everything you do, your not thinking big enough.

The Most Important Thing

Here's my best tip for this year, month, week, hour AND minute:

If you're feeling anxious and overwhelmed with everything that is piling up around you at work and at home DO THE IMPORTANT THING FIRST.

It's such a simple principle! List out your tasks, prioritize them, and then start with #1.

You may only get one thing done at work and one thing done at home today. But I gan guarantee you this: It will be the right thing!

Now I need to take a bit of my own advice and stop writing this blog so that I can do MY most important thing right now.