It was a long time since I wrote on this blog so time to update. The reason has been that I have been very busy working on the www.site-hype.com/wordpress site, all articles on web traffic generation has been posted on that blog as well of a lot of text about Twitter.

I want to focus this blog on personal development, mostly for my own references. So to get this blog going again here are Napoleon Hills Principles of Personal Achievement listed.

1. Definiteness of Purpose
2. Mastermind Alliance
3. Applied Faith
4. Going the Extra Mile
5. Pleasing Personality
6. Personal Initiative
7. Positive Mental Attitude
8. Enthusiasm
9. Self-Discipline
10. Accurate Thinking
11. Controlled Attention
12. Teamwork
13. Learning from Adversity and Defeat
14. Creative Vision
15. Maintenance of Sound Health
16. Budgeting Time and Money
17. Cosmic Habitforce

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• Free Download – “Think and Grow Rich” (helpwithdebtnow.com)

When you wake up from sleep each day your body is as most dehydrated. Your body is in need of fluid… Spend 5 seconds as the very first thing you do when you wake up and drink a large glass of water. You will re-hydrate your body and almost instantly feel a buzz of energy. If you can turn this simple action into a habit, I promise you that you will get more done each day.

To form a habit your will need to do the same thing at every day for at least two weeks in a row. Write a note and put on the door to the shower and other places where you know you will notice it each day. Form your new habit a day at a time until that first glass of water is a habit of yours.

Another simple thing that does wonders to boost your productivity is to begin your day writing down on paper what you intend to do this very day. Combine the planning with the simple glass of water and you will most likely double your productivity and feel much better!

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You want to get something done. Then the most important thing is to focus your attention.

If you divide your attention you will get stressed up but usually not much more will happen.

That is why I gave the advice in another post about creating a list with your daily targets.

In software development there is a very popular new development methodology called Scrum. One of the main components in Scrum is to divide the work up in sprints. In scrum you focus your attention on the work closest in time.

A project is divided into a number of sprints and each sprint start with the team deciding on what to focus on during the sprint.

Each day in Scrum is started with a team gathering where every one says what they will focus on during the day.

Focus is important since you make progress on what you focus on. If you don’t focus your attention you are probably not spending your time where it makes the most difference.

I start my day by writing down my goals for the day. Actually I write my goals two times, one for my daytime job and one for my other projects. In this way I can focus on work during work time and my new projects during my free time.

I have all my meetings scheduled in Outlook. I also schedule meetings each day with myself having reminders saying things like “Are you doing the right thing right now”. It is easy to get sidetracked and I like getting reminded like that.

If you are getting my newsletter with web traffic tips, focus on one tip at a time. Store all the tips in a folder and select one that you will use to get results. If you try to use them all you will spread your attention.

Focus on one marketing tactic at a time and see if it works for you.

Being successful on the internet or in life in general requires you to get things done. One very common technique to help you with this is to start your day with a planning session. This is really simple and I will tell you how. If you don’t do this or something similar you are in effect wasting half your life!

I have taken up this habit the last year and I would say it has about doubled my productivity. It has also decreased stress and increased my motivation as I see myself making much more progress toward my goals.

Start the day with a blank paper and write down everything you plan to do during the day.

Sit down alone and remove all distractions. Take the phone off hook, disconnect your mobile phone and really concentrate on what you need to get done today.

There will be things that you have to do, for example buy food, wash laundry.

Then there will be stuff you have promised to others.

Finally there is stuff you need to do to make progress on your current projects.

When I have something I need to have completed on a particular day I use outlook and book a time with myself just to get a reminder.

During your daily planning session you write down the tasks for the day on the paper. Then carry around the paper during the day and check off each item as they are completed. If there are stuff left at the end of the day you use them as a starting point for you next planning session.

Working with paper works fine and was recommended in the classic Lead the field from Earl Nightingale.

Now I use Simple-ology that uses this system as part of its first course. I highly recommend you try it. It is free and can be a real life changer. The only “problem” is that it is done by Mark Joyner who truly is a master marketer. You will probably end up buying some of his other products as well, they are good though.

So now you can get even more of my daily traffic tips done.

Here is a more formal definition – “Metacognition refers to one’s knowledge concerning one’s own cognitive processes or anything related to them”

So here is a task that can really change your life, no kidding.

Set as a goal for one day to try to notice when you are thinking about something or when you are talking to yourself.

The more you are aware about your inner voice the easier it is to control it. You biggest critic is yourself. Even when no one is giving your bad feedback it is far too easy to start an inner dialog dragging yourself down. Self confidence is perhaps the most important success factor and by talking to yourself in the right way you can build your self confidence a little day by day.

Once you have an unshakable self confidence nothing can really stop you. Combine this with a positive mental attitude where you make an effort to take all news as positive news.

Now you not only have a much greater chance for success in what ever you decide to do. You will have an easier time dealing with people and most important of all. Even if what you do does turns out as a failure you will even enjoy that.

For me it was a big revelation when I realized I could actually analyse what I was thinking and try to change my thinking. I still have a long way to go. But now I catch myself all the time realizing I am thinking in non constructive ways that only harm me and I can change my thinking.

Just as I would recommend “Think and grow rich”, “Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude” is well worth a read.

I listened to the audio verison but I would recommend you to get the pocket version to be able to make notes. The book has a whole lot of good advice in point form, just as Think and grow rich. With a pocket version it is much easier to go back to the point list and repeat.

The good advice in the book are presented with examples how how real persons have succeeded with PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) or how they have failed because of MNA (Negative Mental Attitude). Then each chapter has a summary in point form of what you need to do yourself to improve.

This book is filled with rememberable quotes here is just a few samples:

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve”

“One of the surest ways to find happiness for yourself is to devote your energies toward making someone else happy. Happiness is an elusive, transitory thing. And if you set out for it, you willl find it evasive. But if you try to bring happiness to someone else, then it comes to you.”

“Every adversity has the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit”

It is obviously how Hill has influenced most of todays personal development gurus. I even recognise some use his exact same wordings.

In conclusion, read this book, it is well worth your time and money.

Napoleon Hill spend 20 years of his life trying to answer just that question and he spend the rest of his life teaching his findings.

If you have not read “Think and grow rich”, you should!

It is a short book, you can get it cheap and it most likely will change your life for the better.

Just search at for it at Amazon or where you buy books, there is an audio version of the book available but this one you realty want in print to be able to make notes in it. Or perhaps both to listen while you read it.

I am currently listening to “Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude” by the same author, Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone. The books teaches how you can turn problems into success and how a Positive Mental Attitude is required to do that.

Napoleon Hill was a very famous author and teacher. Clement Stone followed Hills teachings and was very successful in his time. What most people don’t know is, though Napoleon Hill did make a fortune he also ended up broke. Clement Stone on the other hand applied the ideas in the book by following a system, and he ended up very rich.

I am currently listening to the audio version and expect to write about it once I have completed it.