It’s OK to take a nap

Meet the world's most creative dog

I used to get by on three hours sleep.
Ambition drove me.
Newspaper editing by day.
Radio and TV scripts by night.
I struggled with a novel.
About my GI buddies in Korea.
The manuscript was lost years ago. No real loss.

Recent research shows the error of my ways.
Sleep not only recharges our batteries.
It gives our subconscious mind time to work.
Sleep produces solutions to our problems.
It helps us better assess our opportunities.
We are more creative with proper rest.

Our pet editor Scoop Bellune sleeps all the time.
He is one of the world’s most creative dogs.
You don’t have to be a dog to be creative.
But you can follow Scoop’s fine example.
Just take a nap. It’s good for you.

Most of us divide our days in two.
One for sleep. One for wakefulness.
This may not be a natural sleep pattern.
More than 85% of mammals are different.
They sleep for short periods throughout the day.
Children and the elderly nap.
The rest of us are too driven for napping.
We think we have too much else to do.
We appear to be sleep deprived.
That affects our creativity. Makes us irritable.
Affects our mood. Skews our judgment.
Makes problem solving seems impossible.

Excuse me. All this is making me drowsy.
I think I’ll just stretch out for a nap.
While I’m asleep, here’s something you can do.
Want to win more than $1,000 in prizes?
Enter our Bottom Line competition.
If you had a good year, you should enter.
My subscribers already have the details.
If you are not a subscriber, here’s what to do.
Email me at Jerry@JerryBellune.com
Just put “Bottom Line” in the subject line.
I’ll send you an entry form.
It will take 20 minutes to complete - tops.
Invest 20 minutes or $1,000? No brainer.

Facing the inevitable

We can learn from an example of courage
in the Giffords shooting

My sister wrote from New York.
She’s going in for knee surgery. That’s no fun.
It will put her out of commission for some weeks.
As a therapist she works with disabled children.
She loves them and will miss them for a while.

As we age, all of us will face similar challenges.
Osteoarthritis had crippled my left knee.
I lost 20 pounds and the problem almost disappeared.
No shots in the knee for more than a year now.
Now I’ve developed a new problem:
Adhesions in my left shoulder.
The soft tissue around the shoulder joint contracts.
It makes moving your arm very painful.

Why am I boring you with this health report?
To advise you to take care of yourself.
This is the only body you will ever have.
Good care will make it less painful as you age.
It’s hell to get old but it beats the other alternative.

Will you know when it’s time to go?
Here’s an example of someone ready if necessary.
He was shot in the arm in the Giffords’ massacre.
He lay on top of his wife to protect her.
The gunman was almost on top of him.
He figured the next shot was it.
"Here I come, God," he thought.
What a reaction. That takes courage.
It also takes an attitude of acceptance.
He was ready to go if needed to save his wife’s life.
All of us will need to be brave when the time comes.

On another note, here is a challenge for you.
Our Bottom Line contest is open for entries.
You will be asked for:
1. Your 2011 percentage gain at the bottom line.
2. How you achieved it.
3. Your top three goals for 2012.
If you enter, you get to read other winning entries.
Those entries will contain some great strategies.
That will be an enriching experience for you.
For an entry form, email me at this address.
It will take you 20 whole minutes to fill it out.
You stand to win more than $1,000 in prizes.

Your family time

Professional speaker and trainer Ty Boyd wrote the other day.
“You mean we hafta have a plan?” he asked.
“Wish somebody had told me that long ago.”
Ty was only joking.
He recalls when bookings ran his life.
“Too often my family only got the leftovers,” he said. “Next time, I’m planning family and personal time first.”
That’s an important message at Christmas.

We watched Bob Hope in “The 7 Little Foys” on TCM the other night.
Hope played Eddie Foy.

Foy was always on a booking.
When he came home, his dear wife got pregnant.
Then he was off again for another show.

Hope was tremendous as ever.

What a legacy he left.
The message: We all make choices in life.

By the way, the movie saved Hope's career.

He was considered washed up.

He won the part and revived his career.

He never looked back

Professional speakers are like Eddie Foy.

They're always on the go.
It gets to be a lonely life.

Long waits in airports.
TSA scans. Empty hotel rooms.

Meals alone. Calls or emails from home.

Don’t waste your family time.

There’s precious little of it.
They are the reason you work hard.
But they deserve your attention.
I wish you and your family a great holiday.

Make the most of it - together.

Next: Sharpen your ax.

Get more done in less time

Do you feel overwhelmed with work?
Most of us do, particularly at this time of year.
We have our regular tasks plus getting ready for the holidays.

Here are 3 strategies to help you ease your work and holoiday burdens.

1. Learn to say no.
This is hard for me to do, too.
I’m a patsy for anyone who asks.
My bride stays on my case about this.
And she should be. She’s helping me.
She’s taught me - reluctantly - to say no.

2. Guard your time.
None of us has more than 24 hours a day.
But we always have 25 hours of work to do.
If we don’t value our time no one else will either.
Just say “Not now. Please ask me later.”
Say that enough and others will learn.
They will come to appreciate your time.

3. Get rid of non-essentials.
We all have too much busy work to do.
Delegate it. Delay it. Or dump it.
Make a short list of the really vital projects.
List three you might do today. No more.
Rate them in order of priority.
Put the high payoff projects first.
Everything else can wait for you.
Do these three. I promise you a better 2012.

Next: Your family time.

Work your plan

Tune in to station WIIFM

Last week we talked about planning.
Planning is great as far as it goes.
But someone has to execute the plan.

That someone is you.

Enthusiasm achieves goals.
Know what motivates you to do what you want to do.
Think about station WIIFM.

That stands for “What’s in it for me”.

Is it money? Prestige? Power? Honor? Glory?
Is it losing weight to feel and look better?
Is it the thrill of doing what’s never done before?
Of going where no one has gone before?
Not just geographically but mentally and spiritually?

Is it the satisfaction of contributing to a cause?
Of finding and fulfilling your life’s great purpose?
Many of our goals in life cannot be achieved alone.
You will need others to help you.
Think now about “What’s in it for them”.
Is it money? Prestige? Recognition? Appreciation?
Sharing your cause? Mission? Life’s purpose?
Whatever it is, recruit those you need to help.
Recruit those with passion and energy.
Energy translates into enthusiasm.
Enthusiasm is catching. It’s contagious.
Get on with it while they are eager to do it.

Plan your work and life step by step.
Put a realistic deadline on each step. And go to work.
Next: How to get more done in less time.