One of the best times for me to get things done is when I am alone on a personal retreat.  I usually take one day every three to four months and go away to think, dream, plan, and write.  I get a hotel room either here in Jacksonville, or close by so I do not have the stress of driving far.  This time away helps me get out of my familiar surroundings and open up my mind for new ideas.

So how do you do this?

1. Plan ahead.  Know where you are going.  Like I said I go on short trips for my get aways.   If you are going somewhere unfamiliar then make sure you have driving directions before you leave.  Get your hotel reservations made in advance.  I use La Quinta Inn’s and no I am not getting paid to write this.  From my experience La Quinta has some of the lowest rates and best hotels at least around here.  $45 per night a lot of time.

2. Set your agenda.  What do you want to get done?  By asking yourself this question and writing out what you want to do you will get more done than if you just show up.  My writing agenda looks like this.

• Arrive and relax – first thirty minutes.
• research – thirty minutes to one hour
• break 15 minute
• write thirty minutes to one hour
• supper and unwind one to two hours
• read or listen to something motivational 30 minutes (this usually spurs and idea or two)
• write thirty minutes to one hour or until tired.  ( I am a night person so I do more at night.  If you are a morning person get rest now and start writing more in the morning)

3. Don’t turn on the TV.  I have turned the TV around before if I thought I was going to try to watch it.  If nothing else unplug it so you are not tempted.  If you turn it on you will get nothing done.

4. Take what you want to drink with you. This may sound simple or just to picky, but if you take bottled water or soda with you will not have to leave the room to go looking for a vending machine if you get thirsty in the middle of what you are doing.  I even take snacks and sometimes sandwich stuff so I can stay secluded as long as I want. Besides, it will save you some money.

5.  Don’t go down rabbit holes. By this I mean don’t follow every link on the internet when you are researching.  I can waste a couple of good hours just following links to every affiliate program squeeze page around.  Just make a conscious effort to stay on topic and not to get lost looking for the next big thing.

While this is an easy list, it is also one that many of you know you have left off one of these things and wasted and entire evening or lost your train of thought never to get back that one good idea.  Plan ahead, stay focused, and accomplish everything you need to.

When I quote the title for Rick Pitino’s book, Success Is a Choice I can get anything from agreement to heated debate.  In our culture today mediocrity is the norm.  We are told every day by the news that we don’t have to strive for anything better because it is not our fault we are in the condition we are in.  It is the democrats, republicans, Christians, gays, big government, stock market, boss, virus, coworker, spouse, police, lawyers, credit card companies, Wall Street, Wal-Mart, guy next door, public schools, home schoolers, psychiatrist… You get my point?  It is OK to blame anyone we choose; except ourselves.  You make a choice to settle for mediocrity.  Yes I understand there are circumstances like complete handicaps, but if you think about it most handicap people strive for success more than non-handicap people.  The Paralympics, and the Special Olympics are a testament to the success of the handicap community.  They refuse to settle for mediocrity.  They could use their handicap and say, “I can’t because I’m not able”, but they don’t.  Do you?  Do you say, “I Can’t?”  do you make excuses for not giving it your all each and every day?  Stop making excuses and start doing what you sere called to do.  If you can hear, use your hands, and read just a little, you can succeed in your own way.

Make new friends.  “But I like my friends.”  Are your friends encourages, do they build you up, do they dream about success with you?  If they don’t then you need to get around people who do.  Find people that are doing what you want to do then start hanging out with them to find out how they do it.  If your current friends are always pessimistic then you need to get around positive people.  If everyone you know are negative then buy some books and cd’s of positive people.  Burn the cd’s into mp3′s and carry them around on a mp3 player.  Listen to positive talk as much as you can.  This will begin to penetrate your thoughts, and soon you will begin to see a difference. three great resources are:The Power Of Positive Thinking The, The Magic of Thinking Big, and Think on These Things: Meditations for Leaders. Fill your mind with the positive images in these three resources and you will see a difference in your attitude and how you think about your world.

Take time to think.  “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, your right,” Henry Ford. Think about what you loved to do as a child, think about what you would do if money were no object, think about what you look forward to retirement to do.  These things will give you insight to your calling in life.  I believe every person was created for a reason.  My wife knew from the time she was eight years old what she wanted to be and spent every waking hour thinking about that and did everything required to accomplish that goal. 

Don’t get hung up on money.  You don’t have to be rich to be successful.  What you have to do is what you were designed to do.  When you do this all the money you need will come.