New Goals - Same As The Old Goals (Sing Along, Won't Ya)

Last night, I came across my Sony micro cassette player (complete with tape inside). Wondering to myself just what in the world I was thinking at given moment in the past, I choose to play the tape. --- Well, what would you do?

Picking up speed
 
After about a minute or so once the player learned that it was supposed to play the tape when I press the play button (it's been a while since it was used), I could actually begin to understand the voice on the tape. (once it got up to speed).

And yes, it was me rambling on (hard to believe) about goals for July 2005.Actually, it was more about things to work on during the month ahead. (at least I am thinking it was the month ahead and not me thinking about it on say July 19th or something).

What did I say?
 
The David on the tape talked of getting into the habit of writing every night for say 30 minutes. Then he dropped back and adjusted it to maybe 3-4 nights a week.

He also mentioned the owl book which was started years before. He mentioned newsletters, articles for anthologies, rewrites of ebooks to make them more up to date. And he wondered just where in all of this his writing would fit in.

Is having the same goals a good thing?
 
As I played the tape a 2nd time, I wrote down the above mentioned things the David of 2005 mentioned. Looked at the paper and thought to myself it looks a lot like the things I write down still today. (and for those wanting to know, no, my handwriting has not improved by doing this).

After reviewing the vintage tape, I have come to the agreed understanding of sooooo many others in the past and present that it's important to write your goals down.

For those with crummy handwriting (or printing), feel free to type them into a computer and print them out where you will see them. Then after you see them over and over, act upon them.

It really does make sense.

• Write your name on the top of a piece of paper
• Write today's date 1 year from now.
• Write what you want to accomplish by that date.
• Create milestones which you will need to reach to get to that accomplishment
• Get started on the trip.

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David Stoddard
The Unmotivated Motivational Writer
Twitter: twitter.com/djstoddard
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A List To Live By

When I was putting together my first ebook, ‘Que Sera Sera – The book,’ I wanted to put something in there that would pretty much sum things up. Its one thing to gather columns and put them in a collection, but it is another to have something concise that gives people short sayings to live by.

This list is what I wrote for the back of the ebook. Think of each of the 26 as a piece of advice or in a few of the cases, a MUST DO to live your life as it should be.

With all that is going on in the world as we speak, it’s necessary to understand that we most likely won’t be able to change that. But we can change ourselves. And this is how to begin.

I know it has probably been posted before in another blog I've had over time, but figured it is just as relevant now as before.

A = Abandon what you have thought in the past
B = Believe that life can and will be better
C = Create the world you always imagined
D = Decide today to do what you want to do
E = Eat your veggies
F = Find others who will support you and you them
G = Go out there and get it
H = Have a great day, week, month, year and life
I = I am only one, but I am all I need
J = Join a group that gets you involved in something
K = Keep your eyes on the prize
L = Learn to live like a kid again
M = Make the most of those must-dos
N = Never say never
O = Open your eyes to all that is possible
P = Plan, prepare, partake and prevail
Q = Quit waiting for that perfect moment, no such thing
R = Read David’s books and articles
S = Sing as if no one will hear
T = Today is all you are guaranteed
U = Unveil the you that you once outgrew
V = Visit a children’s hospital when the world’s not fair
W = Write down what you want to accomplish
X = X-amine your thoughts and dreams more often
Y = You are in control of more than you can imagine
Z = Zip up, and get ready for the time of your life


 --David

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David Stoddard
The Unmotivated Motivational Writer
Twitter: twitter.com/djstoddard
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Piggy-Backing Previous Procrastination Post

Yes. to answer your question, I am lazy at times. But I just had to link back to a previous post (It doesn't happen often) to relate to this post.

A week or so ago, I linked to a video of Ellen talking about how well she procrastinates. You can see the post/video here.

At the time, I thought very little (let alone nearly nothing) about consequences procrastination could have on our day, our lives, our menu, or what have you.

And then friend and fellow Motivational Mama (umm, ok, I'm not a mama, but you know what I mean), Angie Buckner Lay wrote about something which she had in her mind and spirit for a fairly decent amount of time... but didn't quite get around to acting on it.

To see what happened and the feelings, thoughts and frustr......  Umm, I'll let her give you the story.

Read about it on her Motivational Musings blog.

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David Stoddard The Unmotivated Motivational Writer

Twitter: twitter.com/djstoddard

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How Patient Do Ya Gotta Be?

Ever have one of those days where you put together a lunch or picnic outing for friends or even co-workers, and no one seems to remember when or where it is?

See, my buddy Teddy here (cute name I thought) is just waiting patiently for lunch.

You can see he hasn't eaten yet. No mess to speak of. (really, bears are not exactly known for cleaning up after themselves). So I am guessing he has not had a bite in a little while (though Teddy may think that person with the camera is beginning to look like a nice snack until his friends make there way to the campgrounds.

How long do you think he will sit and wait, before getting up, tossing the table over on end and searching for his own potato salad and hotdogs?

What can you say: Would you have eaten the photographer by now? Go off into the woods? Or just hang out with the ants at the table? Or something else.....

Photo creatively borrowed from Sarah Jackson's blog/site http://sarahcentric.com/

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David Stoddard
The Unmotivated Motivational Writer
Twitter: twitter.com/djstoddard
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Giving In To Writing Related Distractions

Ever have those moments when you just don't know what in the world you are doing? You're sitting there typing away, and a thought comes to your mind that you gives you this feeling that you have no idea what is happening?

Maybe it's a thought you should be doing something else, be it a different writing project such as working on an article instead of your current blog entry, or maybe you feel you'd be better off searching for new markets instead of writing the same ole piece on what to do with pumpkin insides once you carve it for Halloween.

For me, perhaps those thoughts are telling us something. Either that or they are just being a distraction, trying to take us away from what we are and should be doing at a give moment.

As an idea, take a moment, give in to the thought that there could be something else you should be doing (writing aspect that is), and take a short walk up the block and back.

See what the fresh air, the sights and sounds of the outdoors and the feeling of the approaching autumn tells you.

Then sit down, write out what you thought during your trip and see what new ideas are there for you to do right now.

Try it out. And let me know what you came up with, as well as other ideas you have had to fight the urge to do other things.

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David Stoddard
The Unmotivated Motivational Writer
Twitter: twitter.com/djstoddard
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Creating Content When Ya Got Nuttin

The following infographic is from CopyBlogger

Folks ask writers all the time where they get their ideas. This helps anyone come up with ways to create ideas. Trust me, the graphic does a better job of showing than I am about telling.



Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.


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David Stoddard
The Unmotivated Motivational Writer
Twitter: twitter.com/djstoddard
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Ellen Shares My Procrastination Problem(s)

I know what you're thinking... But David, you are writing stuff from time to time. You are getting things done. Words are being put together into sentences and then small paragraphs. You can not possibly have a problem with procrastination... (and no, we, your adorable readers, will not mention the periods of time between your posts... It's our secret with ya dude).

Well, thank you. All of you who allowed me to type for you just then. But it is true. There are so many things I need to be doing. Want to be doing, but just don't get around to it.

As Ellen will explain to you, my steps may be different, but her skills of procrastination are on video to be shared with you now. Please enjoy and learn from our busy lives.





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David Stoddard
The Unmotivated Motivational Writer
Twitter: twitter.com/djstoddard
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Totally Lacking Time Management Skillz

You know him, you love him.Cyril Northcote Parkinson. He is the very person named Parkinson who Parkinson's Law is named for.  

In short, the Law states that Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

In my case, non-work activities and actions are doing a super job of filling this huge time void between when I first signed on to do stuff for the event and the actual date of the event itself.

I highly recommend taking part in activities that have nothing to do with much of anything when it comes to things you need to be working on.

On second thought, perhaps my way of getting things done (or not done) may not work as well for you.

Maybe you like getting things done ahead of time because...

• You like getting things done ahead of time.
• You just know something else is bound to come up.
• It gives you time for tweaking - you crazy tweaker, you.
• You like sitting back while the rest of us are stressing out at deadline time..
• You've always been the busy little bee, haven't you? Go ahead. Admit it.

Oh, sorry. Got a bit carried away there.

As for me, I've almost always been a last minute doer kinda guy. No matter if I had to write a term paper, put together a video, or squeegee the countless things that needed squeegeeing, it would do them pretty close to when they were due. Hey, it's a living.

Why did/do I do that?

• Assures there is less time to stress about if something was wrong.
• Gets whatever it is done in a shorter amount of time.
• I can get back to more exciting activities not related to anything. (see earlier in this post).

Despite this, I have on occasion been reminded the benefits of working on things early on and getting them done. Usually that happens after I realize that whatever it is I'm working on is going to take a lot longer than (not) planned.

Take this post for example. If I had gotten started on it earlier, planned it a bit better, maybe I would have been able to come up with a better ending to this post than this.

This is the end of this post.

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David Stoddard
The Unmotivated Motivational Writer
Twitter: twitter.com/djstoddard
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I Double Dog Dare Ya

"Don’t ever tell me there is something I can’t do- I’ll spend years (4…) proving you wrong."

I came across that quote from someone I used to work with who found me on Facebook.

I don't know the story behind her quote, but I can imagine there are others in her life who either doubted what she was wanting to do, or maybe it was their own way of challenging her to do more, be more.

So without preaching or anything like that, my question is this (and I think it's for all of us), what in your past have you been dared to do which is still in the back of your mind to this day?

Or better yet, what have you wanted to do, which you still want to work toward, but for one reason or other, haven't made the effort to complete?

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David Stoddard
The Unmotivated Motivational Writer
Twitter: twitter.com/djstoddard
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RIP Whitney - And THANK YOU

One Moment In Time

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David Stoddard
The Unmotivated Motivational Writer
Twitter: twitter.com/djstoddard
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