Then stop.

Do not add any of your normal deprecating comments to the end of the sentence. You know those comments you always add - "oh but ...."

And it doesn't have to be spoken.

For example, if you get something you weren't expecting - say thank you. It could be a gift, a token from a vendor, a free sample, something you find on the sidewalk / pavement - always say thank you. People laugh at me for picking up small coins - but I have found several hundred of them over the past year or so and I always say thank you....because you never know what the next "gift" may be. If you stop saying thank you, the "universe" or whatever higher power you believe in, may deem it necessary to stop giving them to you because you were ungrateful.

So what do I do with my small coins? Well I usually find a charity pot and add the coins to that.....that way what i call "green energy" keeps  moving.

I was flabbergasted, how can someone dismiss Uluru as "just a rock". But then I remembered the first time I saw the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. I was in a bus on the way to the hotel where the conference was being held, we rounded the corner and there was the harbour. My stomach did a back flip and settled - Wow ! That's the harbour bridge - AND the opera house, how blessed am I? A little while later, I happened to be in Sydney again - again the Sydney harbour, bridge and opera house - but not the same stomach flip. It was still amazing, but the "flip" had gone. What had happened? Complacency over something so amazing as the Opera House!! Hardly in my case, but I was expecting to see the bridge and the opera house and sure enough they were there.

When you see the same things over and over again, it is easy to become complacent. We think it will always be there. We think the people will always be there to speak to us, to love us, to care for us. We forget that sometimes things happen and we may not get to see them again for a very long time (if at all).

So today I would like you to consider all those things and people you take for granted. I know I've asked you to say thanks to the people who've made a difference to your life for whatever reason in the past. Today I would like to offer a challenge to you.

If you keep a journal - write down only those things that have made a positive impact on your life. Try not to dwell on the negative, the bad, the moods that threaten to engulf you whenever you think about a certain something or someone. It might sound easy - but as a journal keeper, it can be easy to whinge and whine when you think no one is looking. Well consider these journals as a legacy to your children - what would you prefer them to read? Now I am not asking you to never write down the bad - just consider there needs to be balance in your writing.

Then I would like you to get out your address book and choose a person you have not spoken to in a while and either pick up the phone and give them a call, or do as I do and put pen to paper and write them a note. I keep a supply of cards in my office just for these kinds of occassions, and I write to them. If you've ever gotten a hand written card / postcard you will know how good it makes you feel, so return the favour and make someone else feel good.

It can be easy to let complacency creep up on you, but today I would like you to look at your world with brand new eyes. What haven't you noticed recently? Take a good look at the people around you, the place where you work, the clothes you are wearing, the look you have on your face, the new lines, the grey hairs, the spare tyre that's formed around your middle.....yes they do have a habit of creeping up on you when you're not paying attention, then do what you can to make those changes you want to see happen. You may be happy with what you see, but you know what - it doesn't hurt to look.

With love
Elle

• Must remember to take tiddles to the vet
• Must remember to book the car in for a service
• Must remember to get hair cut
• Must remember to .....

Whilst these things need to be done, they can distract you from major projects.

So, before ditching the list completely - a couple of things

Before you head off for your lunch break tomorrow, set aside 5 minutes and make the phone calls that need to be made. Book these pesky appointments into your diary and then cross them off your list. Make the appointments for when you know you've got time to do them, then you won't have to re-schedule them, and if you book them well enough in advance you can usually pick the times that are the most convenient to you.

Then tonight before you go to bed, take one of the items you need to do around the house - and do it. Most of the time, they only take a few minutes, and you can go to bed with the knowledge that you have gotten rid of another one of these time distractions off your list.

Slowly, over the course of a few days you can get rid of most of these "busy" items without them impacting on your work time, or your major project time.

Rude, belligerent, every thing in capitals and to emphasise the point just a bit further - !!!!!!!!!!!!! yes a few of those thrown in for good measure. Thankfully the person had responded from the address they had subscribed with so was able to remove them from the database.

Several things crossed my mind:

Cured. I've cured one person of the procrastination habit. If someone can be THAT motivated to do this - surely they will not suffer from motivation in the future :-)

But the really interesting thing about this - is this - why can someone be so motivated by something so trivial.

Don't be motivated by the trivial...it's a waste of life. Get motivated over the things that really matter....PLEASE !!!!!!

Cheers

Elle

Before we get into today's edition a couple of housekeeping issues:

1. I can only unsubscribe you using the address you subscribed with. Please do not get angry, annoyed or otherwise grumpy with me if I cannot find you. My list is not automated as I prefer the personal touch, and I'm sorry if that offends those of you who are used to automated impersonal services. That is not what Motivate Me is about.

1a. And talking of the personal touch. All emails and comments to MotivateMe - I do endeavour to read and respond to all messages sent directly to me, and those left on the site as soon as I can. All I ask is that you treat the site with respect and do not flame, blame or spam either me or anyone else. At the moment, the comments are not moderated before posting - however, after a spate of messages that I have had to remove from the site, this may change...this means it will delay postings a little but if that's the way it has to be to prevent the site being overrun by ill mannered persons then so be it. 

2. All Hotmail users - please adjust your filters so that messages can get through to you - yesterdays message was blocked for some reason known only to them. Sorry guys - but you will have to read yesterdays message on the site if you're interested. It was about bad business writing.

3. AOL users - again - your messages are being deferred...and I don't know why.

Thanks

Elle

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Motivation is interesting. What motivates you one day may not inspire you the next. It's also true to say that what motivates you, may not motivate your neighbour, your children or your work colleagues. We are fickle creatures when it comes to motivation and more importantly procrastination.

So what can you do?

Well - accept that sometimes things just are. Emotions and moods play a huge part in our ability to get things done, and get things done in a motivated and inspired way.

You see, some people get motivated when they are angry. "I was so upset about so and so I marched round to their offices and gave them a piece of my mind." I'm sure we've all been there once or twice.

Then we are sometimes motivated out of fear. Fear that something will happen, or not.

Or

We are motivated out of a determination that today we will do better than yesterday. "They" will not keep you down. "They" don't know what you are capable of. We are determined to build a better life for ourselves - because we can, because we deserve it, because we are worth it, because our families deserve it, because our kids and spouses deserve it, because our community deserves it, because .....

Whatever your "because" is the key to a more motivated life.

So next time you are faced with an unmotivated moment or two - remember your "because"

1. Not sure who your market is. Your writing is not specific, nor is it personal.

2. Not sure what your prospects problem is. How can you sell something if you don't know what problem it is you are trying to solve.

3. You're not sure what your solution is. What can you and your organisation offer as a way to solve your prospects problem? Find the answers to questions 1 and 2 and you are on the way to working out whether you have a solution for them. However, if you don't understand what it is you are offering, if you don't believe in your solution - you will always have trouble selling it...especially in written terms.

4. Your writing style is not readable. Now I am not saying it's full of bad spellin and poor grammer but it is so full of jargon you need an interpreter to decipher it for you.

5. What you are saying is not 100% believable. Some of the most amusing ads I've read over the years occurs in heatlh and fitness magazines. For example our product strips fat 282% faster..... faster than what? Don't use it.

6. Your writing is lack lustre. It lacks any kind of passion. You couldn't convince an eskimo to buy a heater.

7. You've chosen to use testimonials that are so weak they might as well not be there at all. Of course it could be argued you don't need them at all, but if you do use them, make sure they say the right things about your organisation...in the right way.

8. Your offer is not 100% clear. Vague, wishy washy writing guarantees poor results.

9. You don't give them a reason to buy now....Time limited offers are OK, but what I mean is buy now - because you simply can't resist. Does your writing do that?

So what does this tell me - I need to ensure I don't work another 70+ hour week - yes that goes without saying. But it also highlights to me the need to find balance. I decided to work rather than exercise - bad idea. So exercise is well and truly back on the agenda. And I need to find time to meditate rather than stare at a computer screen.

We all have habits. Some of them good and some of them bad ones to have. One of my bad habits is thinking I can carry on when in truth I shouldn't. What does your body do to you to remind you that you are well and truly overdoing it?

As always - something to think about.

Elle

Rarely do they make eye contact with the people they are serving, and you can usually tell at a glance if you are interrupting their day - clipped tones, bad body language, vague directions and even less help. A note at this point - I did say for the most part - there are SOME good ones out there. But I can almost guarantee you will come across poor time management on the part of others when you are in a hurry, and need to get on.

So how do you cope with this interruption to your well planned day?

And that is a good question.

• You can leave whatever it is you are queing for and go back when it is less busy, or when you have more time
• You can choose to wait - and complain loudly
• Or better still you can choose to wait and practice your deep breathing exercises. If you don't do this anyway, very deep breathing stops panic from setting in - you control the amount of oxygen going into your body and out again, by forcing more air into your lungs than you normally breath in. Not only does it clean out the stale air in your lungs, it produces an instant calming effect on your body.
• Take the opportunity to watch other people. Queues are a great way to see what motivates other people. You can see if they care about themselves, their spouses, their children, by how they handle the waiting. And
• You can work on your plan for the rest of your day, I always carry at least one notebook around with me, but most mobile phones these days have some form of note making facility.

Of course, queues aren't the only time we wait for others, I'm sure you can name many times you've waited for phone calls that didn't arrive, people to turn up for appointments and so on. These moments are the times you can use to move your tasks and goals on, or you can use them as a way of stopping, as a "breather" in your busy day. Just remember - our expectations will always be different to other people's.

The classic three D's of unprocrastination kicks in:

• Do it now

• Delegate it to someone who can do it better / quicker than you - and I include offloading the lawn mowing to a lawn mowing service / house keeping and laundry to organisations who specialise in doing those things for people without the time or inclination to do it for themselves and finally

• Dump it. If it doesn't need doing, or needs throwing away - then for goodness sake don't keep it, and don't do it. Magazines you won't read, and email you shouldn't. Make sure your filters are set to filter out funnies, jokes and e-zines that you should get around to reading one day - into a folder for that purpose...when you get five minutes at the end of the day.

So, don't allow another day to pass by without clearing one of your problem areas.