Prioritize your projects

Have you so much to do you can’t figure out where to start?
When you prioritize your projects, that pressure disappears.
You know what you must do first and what to do next.
As Mark Twain suggested, go for the big frogs first.
Here’s an example of how you might make this work for you.
Jim Howard and I drove to Charlotte for an NSA Carolinas meeting.
That's our local National Speakers Association chapter.
Jim’s a great friend who also handles my Internet marketing.
Ted Janusz spoke at NSA on social networks and other eTools.
By the end of the day, 14 new projects were on my list.
These included setting up a Google Ad Words budget.
Another was to rewrite our website Home Page copy.
A third was to write my next book’s marketing plan.
Ted stimulated many ideas, concepts and strategies.
On the way home from Charlotte, we talked these over.
We set priorities based on what promised the biggest payoff.
Google Ad Words topped the list. Set up a new blog came next.
Then a Home Page rewrite. Everything else fell into place.
If you’re struggling with a long to-do list, you can do this, too.
Put the biggest frogs on top of your list. Do them in order.
Set deadlines for completing each. Be accountable.
You may be surprised by what you accomplish in record time.
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Good habits vs. bad habits

More than 500 high school students heard my message last week.
It was an eye-opening experience for me and perhaps for them.
One’s grandfather said it was an eye opener for his grandson.
Schools are nothing like they were in my day.
TV had not been invented. Now there are TVs in every room.
Students regularly present school news by closed circuit.
In my school days, Al Gore had not yet invented the Internet.
Laptops and PCs are everywhere in today’s classrooms.
Here’s a story I shared with them about choices and habits.
My early military school days were marked with constant fights.
One of my classmates stabbed me with a pencil. I still have the scar.
I’m sure he has not forgotten how I retaliated. I haven’t.
They tested me. Before long I was atop the demerit list.
That meant no weekends in town. I was stuck in detention.
One of my coaches taught me the error of my ways.
Make good choices, he counseled. They are easier to live with.
Develop good habits. They’re harder to develop, easier to live with.
Do your homework. Quit fighting. Stay out of trouble.
Bad habits are easy to develop. Harder to live with.
Smoking. Drinking beer. Ignoring your school work.
Good habits win rewards. Bad habits bring consequences.
But for that coach, I may have been kicked out of school.
I asked them to teach that to their younger brothers and sisters.
And be conscious that what they do, the younger ones will do.
You are already a leader to younger ones who look up to you.
Being "cool" is setting an example that they can safely follow.
If you have not been back to school recently, think about it.
Schools are eager for guest speakers to talk about the real world.
To inspire their students. To extend their education.
You could make a difference in the lives of many young people.
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