The Confidence Booster Newsletter - August 2007
This issue of the Confidence Booster Workout Newsletter focuses on the theme of procrastination and the discipline of getting things done. The feeling of overwhelm can have a detrimental effect on self-confidence. The following story will be of benefit to anyone who finds it hard to do what needs doing, at the time it needs doing. Rebuilding confidence one step at a time.
Remember - In The Presence Of Confidence, Doubt Cannot Exist
Jerry Seinfeld's Productivity Secret
Years ago when Seinfeld was a new television show, Jerry Seinfeld was still a touring comic. At the time, I was hanging around clubs doing open microphone nights and trying to learn the ropes.
One night I was in the club where Seinfeld was working, and before he went on stage, I saw my chance. I had to ask Seinfeld if he had any tips for a young comic. What he told me was something that would benefit me a lifetime.
He said the way to be a better comic was to create better jokes and the way to create better jokes was to write every day. But his advice was better than that. He had a gem of a leverage technique he used on himself and you can use it to motivate yourself - even when you don't feel like it.
He then revealed a unique calendar system he was using to pressure himself to write.
Here's how it worked. He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker.
He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red "X" over that day. Then he added:
"After a few days you'll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain."
"Don't break the chain." He said again for emphasis.
Over the years I've used his technique in many different areas. I've used it for exercise, to learn programming, to learn administration, to build websites and successful businesses.
It works, because it isn't the one big shot that gets us where we want to go, it is the consistent daily action that builds extraordinary outcomes.
Daily action builds habits. It gives you practice and will make you an expert in a short time. If you don't break the chain, you'll start to spot opportunities you otherwise wouldn't. Small improvements accumulate into large improvements rapidly because daily action provides "compounding interest."
Skipping one day makes it easier to skip the next.
I've often said I'd rather have someone who will take action - even if small - every day as opposed to someone who swings hard once or twice a week. Seinfeld understands that daily action yields greater benefits than sitting down and trying to knock out 1000 jokes in one day.
Think for a moment about what action would make the most profound impact on your life if you worked it every day. That is the action you need to put on your own "Seinfeld" calendar. Start today and earn your big red "X." And from here on out do the same each day.
Start now and don't break your chain of "Xs"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Many thanks to Brad Isaac for this story. You can read his motivational strategies every day on his goal setting blog at http://www.persistenceunlimited.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for reading this far down.
Please write to me at martin@theatreofwork.com with any questions or comments.
See you next time.
Martin
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Martin Perry is the Confidence Coach and the author of the popular self-help book The Confidence Booster Workout. His coaching is designed to liberate natural confidence.
Subscriptions to this newsletter are free. If you liked this issue, pass it on to a friend.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact Martin Perry - martin@theatreofwork.com
Tel: 00353 (0) 14417360 / 087 763 0682
