Perfect Life Project

Starting all over again

What do they say about even the best laid plans coming unstuck?

I haven't posted in the last 6 weeks and there is a very good reason. I would have been unable to maintain the theme of this site due to the fact that my "perfect lifestyle" has hit a few hurdles of late. I have been buried in work, chasing my tale and unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Sound familiar?

Obviously its something most of us experience and try to cope with every day, but for me it has been a shock to the system after a year or so of idyllic existence.

So what happened?

Firstly the economy has slowed, in case you didn't know, and my business was affected slightly. Nothing terrible but a downturn all the same.

Secondly, my most productive employee left. She was the one I counted on most to get things done and remove stress from my life. She was reliable and hardworking. She also caused friction amongst my other staff (which became more apparent after she left) and may have held the business back a little creatively.

Thirdly, I was in the process of re-organising the business, positioning ourselves in a niche area of the advertising industry for a greater strategic goal when this happened. So I already had a bit of work on my plate.

Fourth, I took a week holiday (planned well in advance with family) when I cold least afford the time.....and got sick.

The Multi-Tasking Myth

Multi-tasking is good isn't it. Get twice as much done in half the time! Cram more activities into your day!

Wrong. Multi-tasking makes us less effective beings.While we are being encouraged to do more and more with advanced tools, the truth is it is preventing us from performing effectively.

Consider this:
Brain activation for listening is cut in half if the person is trying to process visual input at the same time. A recent study at The British Institute of Psychiatry showed that checking your email while performing another creative task decreases your IQ in the moment 10 points. That is the equivalent of not sleeping for 36 hours—more than twice the impact of smoking marijuana.

Turn off the twitter, eliminate the email, shun the sms, ban the Blackberry. Do one thing at a time and do it well.

This one piece of advice has made an enormous impact on my life. It can help reduce your daily work / desk time from 8 to 2 hours. It can improve the quality of your output and lead to a much happier, less stressed existence.

Try it.

Holiday in paradise

I have just returned from my third holiday for the year, a week in one of the jewels of the South Pacific...Lord Howe Island.

Lord Howe is an incredible island off the coast of NSW, about 1 hour 40 minute flight from Sydney. As a World Heritage listed site, it is a pristine environment complete with unique flora and fauna, the world most southern coral reef, an abundance of sea life and stunning topography.

My extended family and I spent the week exploring relaxing and celebrating a special family event. It was a great location for grandparents, parents and grand-children alike.

The trip was also a chance for me to recharge my batteries after a more-hectic-than-usual couple of months with my business. We have shaken things up a bit in the agency after encountering a market slowdown and the results are beginning to show.

I will post soon regarding some great business advice I have recently learned that should help you continue building a great, low maintenance business and Perfect Life.

Meeting Tim Ferriss part two

Tim Ferriss' 4-Hour Work Week launch party was held in Sydney on Friday night. While I read the book upon its US release I was interested to meet the author and gauge the Aussie response to his 4-Hour Work Week message.

Around 150 guests filled the Hotel CBD's Jam room and the drinks flowed freely as we chatted to Tim and threw questions at him about his lifestyle design philosophy. Interestingly, many of the questions Tim fielded were technology and web related, rather than travel and freedom

Of course the contentious topic of Geo-arbitrage and outsourcing his work to "India" were discussed.

All in all it was an interesting night and Tim came across as a gracious host. He is friendly, enthusiastic and informative.

I have found a couple of links to other people who were there for the event with more details and photos.

The 4-Hour Work Week has been an inspiration to me and helped spark my improved lifestyle. Since reading the book 12 months ago I have travelled extensively within Australia, South-east Asia and the USA. I have managed 10 weeks of holidays in that time with another trip strating this week to take the 13 months total to 11. As Tim points out, all this can be done while successfully owning a business.

Less is More

Source: Robin Sharma

The person who does too much accomplishes very little. Less is more. The most effective people in business (and life) have the discipline (and brilliance) to focus on doing just a few things spectacularly well.

Less is more. You can actually be more productive doing fewer things. Please think about that. As Peter Drucker said: "There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently, that which should not be done at all."

Are You Perpetually Exhausted?

Source: Donna Karlin, Fast Company

Are you ignoring that exhaustion, telling yourself you’ll take some time off in a month or so?  In the meantime how are you able to effectively lead if you’re too tired to process everything that’s going on around you?

If you don’t manage your energy, it doesn’t matter how you might manage your time as you are not processing what you need to nor are you mentally retaining what’s happening.  Leadership is more than an organizational position; it’s leading your people in a way that they and the organization can move forward.  If you’re exhausted, your mental capacity is diminished and you are not leading, you’re hanging on to the status quo hard enough so you don’t fall.

Meeting Tim Ferriss

I have been a little slow with the posts this month due to a lot of changes I am currently implementing to my business. Some short term time investment for long term financial and freedom gains. More on this soon.

In the meantime I am excited to say that i am meeting Tim Ferriss, author of the amazing 4 Hour Work Week, tonight. Tim is holding an Australian launch party in Sydney and I am on the door list.

Tim has been an inspiration to me and his book has been a great help in designing a better life.

I will let you know how the party was in the next few days.

Going Low Carb Revisited

Back in February I posted about beginning a low-carb diet to quickly shed some weight and get back to my racing shape. Unfortunately that effort was unsuccessful due to several lifestyle interruptions and what in retrospect was a poorly designed program. In fact, I returned from my Malaysian holiday the heaviest weight of my life. It was time to take serious action.

Almost 4 weeks ago I began another low-carb diet, this time properly designed by a dietitian friend. Out went all the bread, pasta, rice, biscuits, and most simple sugars. All I could eat were 3 pieces of fruit per day, as much undressed salad or steamed vegetables, 100grams of lean protein and some dietary bars, or shakes. I did keep coffee and the occasional beer and wine on my list, because life is too short to miss out on some things.

The first few days were hellish. My body screamed at me and I almost gave up within 3 days. Then it started to get easier. By the end of week one a small weight loss was evident and I was feeling pretty good. I was encouraged to see out week two as thats when the results start to really show. Sure enough, I had shed a few kilos by then.

Simple advice on how to live

We have heard it all before, but there is one piece of advice that we really should take to heart:

Live every day as if it is your last.

Whatever you are doing today, ask yourself "is this what I would want to be doing if this was my last day on earth?" Its a very powerful reminder of what is truly important.

Unfortunately, the significance of such thoughts were abruptly brought to my attention once again yesterday when I discovered a friend had died. He was a champion athlete, loving father and great company. He had been battling a sinister disease for a long time and finally lost his battle.

Times like these put everything else into perspective. Don't waste a moment. Don't look back on your life and regret not chasing your dreams.

Live every day as if it is your last.

Plan to survive the wobblies

Business plans require constant revision, even when they have been successful. Everything changes. Your goals change, your circumstances change and so your plan must change. It's significant change that I am now contemplating for my business.

Almost 3 years ago I was about to purchase my (now) advertising agency from its founder. I had drawn up a plan of attack for the agency's operation, turnover goals, profit goals and finally the lifestyle goals I hoped it would deliver. As regular readers would know, the agency was built around delivering me the lifestyle I desired first and foremost.