18 Minutes

Some people already have the first list—a to-do list—though there’s usually too much on it. Very few have the second—the ignore list.

the opportunity to achieve, affiliate, and influence,

Getting started was the hard part. Like getting into a cold pool: Once you’re in, it’s fine. It’s getting in that takes motivation. In fact, when you think about it, we need to be motivated for only a few short moments. Between those moments, momentum or habit or unconscious focus takes over. I write a weekly column. Does that take discipline? Sure

Are you relating to other people at work or socially—people you like and to whom you feel close? 3. Do you feel recognized for the work you are doing—paid or unpaid? Can you influence decisions and outcomes?

We’re ten times more likely to take action when choice is limited! It’s easy to become paralyzed when so many choices exist. We can’t decide among them so we end up not choosing. But life goes on, and no choice becomes the de facto choice, and suddenly we look back and feel like our talents have been wasted. We leave the store without buying any ja

If you want to run a marathon successfully without getting injured, spend four days a week doing short runs, one day a week running long and hard, and two days a week not running at all. Now, that seems like a pretty smart schedule to me if you want to do anything challenging and sustain it over a long period of time. A few moderate days, one hard

According to the data, most of us spend a total of almost 20 hours of each day sleeping (8.68 hours/day), working (7.78 hours/day), and watching television (3.45 hours/day). I know: Shocking, right? I mean, who sleeps that much?

Trying to distinguish ourselves by being the same as others, only better, is hard to do and even harder to sustain. There are too many smart, hardworking people out there all trying to excel by being the best at what everyone else is doing. It’s simply easier to be different.

We’ll look at the four elements—your strengths, weaknesses, differences, and passions—that form the foundation of your success and happiness. It’s at the intersection of those four elements that your time will be best spent.