It has nothing to do with their current financial situation, their upbringing, or their intelligence.

The reason that someone else is succeeding and you aren’t is that they are working their ass off while you are sitting at home watching Lost.

I didn’t have to work today. Actually, I wanted to sit at home and watch reruns of Lost, but I got up and went to the library at 7:00 AM, because I had a goal of getting a product created and available for sale by the end of the week. I am almost there, but it is because I did what many others don’t do . . . I got up and started working toward my goal.

What did I get done today that moved me forward?

Since 7:30 this morning, I have:

• Set up a personal VPN
• Wrote, edited, and posted this blog post
• Drafted three other blog posts
• Edited three additional blog posts I have been working on
• Edited a 39 page workbook
• Set up a new website
• Wrote the draft of my sales page
• Read 50 pages of Alan Weiss’ new book
• Sent a draft of my product to my accountability partner
• Had lunch with my girlfriend

I don’t say this to brag. I say this because I think it is important to demonstrate how much you personally can get done when you put your mind to it. The problem is the people that think that sitting around doing nothing is going to get them rich. They believe that they can think their way to riches or outsource their product creation to someone.

The Problem with the 4-Hour Work Week

I have nothing wrong with Tim Ferriss or the success he has had with the 4-Hour Work Week (Amazon Affiliate Link). I am actually a huge fan of what he has accomplished and what he strives to inspire others to do. What I have a problem with are the people that think that creating a product or service is about outsourcing everything on elance for as cheaply as possible then sitting around on a beach while the money rolls in.

What outsourcing knowledge and product creation does is create a large volume of cookie cutter products devoid of originality and value. If you sit down and read4-Hour Work Week (Amazon Affiliate Link) and other books that have copied Tim’s idea, you will see that working 4 hours a week is not done on the front end. It is done after you have built a portfolio of knowledge and products that can be developed into an automated system for delivering that knowledge and product to your customers.

Are you looking at the amount of work you are putting in?

So if you are wondering why your boat hasn’t arrived, maybe you need to look at the amount of work you are putting.

Are you actively learning and developing new products and services as much as possible every day?

If not, don’t you think it’s time to get off your butt and get to work?

Stay tuned and hold on tight, because I am gong to have some more on this topic and how you can get off your butt and create a product in the coming weeks.

The Reason for Success is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. Good is the Enemy of Great
2. 5 Reasons Smart People Fail at Creating On-line Businesses
3. How Not to Do Free Content

When I got the phone, my girlfriend believed that she was going to become a Smartphone widow. The first few days after receiving the MyTouch, it seemed she was right. But after goofing around with it for a few days, I have gotten into a routine with the phone that has given me more free time and not less as some might have predicted.

Here are a few ways the phone has simplified my life:

No More E-Mail Breaks

Before buying the MyTouch, it would take 5 to 10 minutes to get my computer set up, turned on, and to check my e-mail. With the MyTouch, I am notified when I have e-mail and it takes just seconds to see if it is something important. I have even chosen a few times to ignore the beep of an incoming mail with the knowledge that it is there and I can check it at a moments notice.

My Lists are in Sync

With the program Astrid, I don’t have multiple to do lists strewn across a multitude of locations and computer systems. I have one master to do list that can remind me of what I need to get done when I need to get it done. Because I always have my phone close at hand, I can enter a task as it comes up and I am not writing it down on scraps of paper to transfer to my calendar or to do list later.

Social Media Simplified

As with e-mail, I have got my phone set up to notify me of replies on twitter and notifications on Facebook. I am not sneaking off to see what is going on, because I know what is happening on my Twitter and Facebook streams with a quick glance at my phone. When I want to post something, I can now use Pingdroid to post to multiple services using Ping.fm.

Effective Use of Downtime

This has been one of the greatest benefits of the myTouch. Whenever I am faced with a long wait or delay, I am able to use that downtime to catch up on feeds in Google Reader, check e-mail, or clean up my to do lists. Then when I am back in front of my computer, I am able to get down to work without wondering if I have an e-mail, reading feeds, or catching up on what people are saying on Twitter.

What are your experiences with Smartphones?

Have they made you more productive or less?

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

P.S. The comments are only open for 14 days. I have found that leaving them open any longer makes them a spam target. If you want to let me know what you thought of the article after 14 days, then contact me from my contact me page.

How a New Phone Can Make You More Productive is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. How to make your speaking, e-mail marketing, and blogging more effective.
2. How Not to Do Free Content
3. Make Yourself More Transferable