I’ve decided that life is pretty simple in ways – it’s made up of “drivers” and “distracters.”  In other words, each person has one or more factors driving who they are, what they do, and who they become.  On the other hand, people also have one or more factors distracting them from who they are, what they do, and who they become.  Drivers and distracters can be held in our subconscience or can be completely conscious decisions. Either way, a large part of the ways in which our lives evolve can be attributed to these two elements.

So what does that mean and why should you care? Awareness and acknowledgment of what drives and distracts you can ensure you are living in and developing the life that you truly want.  In other words, you can more fully maximize your mind and personality while enjoying a more rewarding life through accurately pinpointing your drivers and distracters and making adjustments as necessary.  Here’s an example in a different context: a person who has been diagnosed with ADD or OCD can subsequently learn how to not only manage, but maximize their so called “deficiency” because they become consciously aware of the hidden inner workings of their mind and personality.  This newfound awareness helps them understand who they are as a human being and what makes them tick.  Whether or not they choose to use medication to assist with their deficiencies, just the simple act of acknowledgment can lead to a more productive and rewarding life.  In that same regard, by recognizing and acknowledging what drives you and what distracts you, you can more fully manage and maximize yourself.

To ensure we’re on the same page, I’ll roughly define what these two terms look like:

• An example of a “driver”: You want to be wealthy, so you get up each day and work hard so that one day it will happen.  You want a family, so you work hard to find the “perfect” wife and then work hard to have kids.  You want a great job, so you go to college and put in the time and effort to make it a reality.
• An example of a “distracter”: You feel out of control of certain elements of your life.  So, to make your life more bearable and enjoyable, you subconsciously (most of the time) choose distracting endeavors in order to make you feel more in control or more satisfied.  For instance, people have bought material possessions, had a kid, got married, taken a vacation, taken up a hobby, or read a book all because they simply wanted to be distracted.  They may not have fully realized this, but those distracters eventually take them to a life they thought they wanted before they realize they never wanted it at all, they were simply caving to distractions.

Is it that simple? Are drivers good and distracters bad?  Not necessarily. There isn’t a tangible, concrete line between the two and there isn’t always a crystal clear answer. It takes individual judgment, thought, and meditation to brainstorm and determine which activities and thought patterns are driving you or distracting you.  Awareness and acknowledgment will help you balance yourself and achieve more peace and achieved goals.

There is a funny thing about life.  It’s common knowledge that if you don’t make decisions on your own, someone will make them for you.  It would be a monumental task to compile a list of all of the people who have led their lives simply via inertia.  They build up a particular paradigm of who they should be, what they should do, and how they should feel about it.  It’s almost like there is an invisible list of expectations based on demographics, background, money, etc… that only a select few choose to altogether throw out.

It may seem completely counter-intuitive, but only in a life with no expectations can you fully maximize who you are.  It’s not until you fully peel off the ideology that each of us has been fed since day one and recognize that we are all unique. In fact, not only are we unique, but the epitome of a fulfilling livelihood can be achieved by simply becoming more aware of ourselves, becoming less content to accept the status quo, and by actually choosing for ourselves our drivers and distracters. So many people view the lives of celebrities, athletes, authors, and people living-it-up with fun jobs, happy marriages, and fulfilling family lives and convince themselves that those are just “lucky” people and those results can’t be achieved in their own lives.

In my opinion, elements of your personal life can be compared to the life of a business.  It amazes me sometimes how business people will develop a plan, include controls and contingency plans, and constantly re-evaluate the progress and life of their business to ensure it becomes what they want it to become instead of what it will become simply from the waves of the market.  This is a point worth remembering: whether you’re talking about your business or your life, if you do not consciously choose your drivers and distracters, you could potentially end up living in a life that you never wanted or owning a business that is something far different from what you dreamed about.

Here’s your homework: over the next few days, take a little bit of time to think about what could potentially be driving you and what could potentially be distracting you.  Go ahead and ask your spouse, family, or close friends if you want an outside perspective as well.  Then, ask yourself what you want your life to look like in a year, in five years, in ten years, etc…  Now you must examine what is lacking in your life right now from the life you want to have.  After doing so, you may find you should play a little “musical chairs” with the drivers and distracters in your life.  The goal is to evaluate and potentially reorganize your priorities as you ensure they are in line with your long-term vision for your life.

“You can always find a capable helping hand at the end of your own sleeve.” – Zig Ziglar

Being resourceful is tantamount to being useful.  If you’re resourceful, you have the ability to, here’s the key concept, work with what you have to find quick and clever ways to overcome obstacles.  Are you being resourceful in your personal and professional life?  In today’s free-wheeling, credit-wielding economy (circa pre-2008 of course) many individuals and organizations have lost the art of resourcefulness and frugality in their problem solving and decision-making.  Thanks to the worldwide recession, wallets are being cinched, VCs are pulling back, and businesses are running lean.  Resourcefulness is in again, it seems.

Can you imagine if you won the lottery?  And not just any lottery, but a jackpot of tens of millions of dollars?   You’re probably already fantasizing about how you would spend that kind of money.  I wouldn’t mind a Lambo or additional capital myself! It’s easy to fantasize about a life made easier with vast or unlimited resources.  The human mind certainly likes to paint a rosier picture on the other side of the fence.   Problem is, if you wait until the stars are perfectly aligned (like winning the lottery) to do something, you’ll mostly likely never end up doing it.  Ideas abound, execution is another story.  I’ve seen countless people dream a big dream, but never start, poorly execute, or quit early because of a lack of resources.  In my mind, it’s often not as much a matter of resources, but a matter of how resourceful you are.

Starting a business on a shoestring, landing a date with a supermodel, or providing value to your client base can be accomplished with a vision and diligence.  You can’t snap your fingers and make these goals realities, but you can take a hard look at what you have in your toolbox, where you want to go, and how you can take baby steps to get there.  If you’re starting a business, but think you need a million to make something happen, don’t sit idle while waiting for the cash monsoon.  Start a business plan, get your branding started, research your competition, network with investors, and start a blog to begin building your marketing channel.  A lot of success isn’t a result of luck, it’s a result of setting yourself up for luck.  After all, you’ll never win the hand if you’re not at the table to begin with.

Don’t end up on the treadmill of life, static in a moving environment or moving in a static environment, with inertia driving your path.  Sometimes, you need to pull up your sleeves and make do with what you have.  If you’re striving for usefulness, for yourself and others, then form a habit of using your existing assets wisely.  If you want to be a writer, but don’t have a publisher on board, maybe you should self-publish, blog, or build up a Twitter following to get your name out there.  If you want to meet people, but feel socially awkward, take a public speaking class coupled with a geography class and watch your fear and lack of conversation material will wane.   My point is this: Rome wasn’t built in a night, legacies weren’t built in a month, and lasting businesses (useful ones) take time to build. Riding the ebbs and flow of life will present hurdles and opportunities, but with resourcefulness you can make the best of both worlds.  -Written By @epsilonc

“Remember you will not always win. Some days, the most resourceful individual will taste defeat. But there is, in this case, always tomorrow – after you have done your best to achieve success today.” -Maxwell Maltz

It’s the easiest yet hardest way to have success in business. It’s called “authenticity.”

In an age of spam, advertising inundation, and fast food, our senses are being vied for seemingly every minute of everyday. In order to get through the junk, businesses oftentimes resort to the quick and easy way of dealing with the problem by simply making it bigger with more clutter and more junk! Instead of the hard approach of doing something remarkable, most do something adequate and simply make it appear to be remarkable. The bad news is, this rarely works and when it does it works for only so long. It’s true: lies often have a way of getting found out!

If you want to build a remarkable company, sell an awesome service, create an amazing product, or simply get the word out about your offering, you need to “get real.” Stop looking for shortcuts or incorporating misleading ad copy or trying to reach your audience by simply using a bigger megaphone. Stop marketing your products or services as better than they actually are and stop backing policies only designed to “look good” and not designed to actually help your customers.

Get real by fully standing behind what you provide. Get real by doing the legwork it takes to actually provide more real value to your customers. Get real by not thinking “how can I increase revenue” or “how can I make customer service cheaper” and thinking instead “how can I be the absolute best in my niche” and “how can I improve the lives of my customers.” Instead of resorting to typical advertising or spamming your audience, why not try and start a two-way conversation with your audience? Why not do work that is so good that people simply have no choice but to talk about it?

I’m not going to say it’s easy, because usually it’s not. Being authentic and building an authentic business that adds value and communicates that value in a real way is no easy chore. But the payoff? The payoff is worth it and I’m not simply talking in terms of revenue or profit or an IPO. I’m talking about going to sleep every night knowing that you and your business is making an impact on people’s lives. Chances are, the money will come if it’s not first and foremost what you’re after.

If you’re still lacking in motivation, check out Seth Godin’s books The Purple Cow and All Marketers Are Liars for a nice shot of adrenaline.

-RB