Cynthetics

Zen Habits is my favorite blog that I follow. I am re-posting some brilliant thoughts. Hope you enjoy and ponder before you write your new year’s resolutions.

28 Brilliant Tips for Living Life

Post written by Leo Babauta.

Sometimes the littlest change can make a world of difference.

Start waking a little earlier and spending some quiet time to start your day? The rest of the day has been transformed.

What little change might change your life? You can pick one or two from the list below at random — I can almost guarantee that one of them will do worlds of good for anyone.

I compiled this list this morning after asking on Twitter: “What’s your best tip that has made life better/easier?” The result was a wonderful influx of brilliant wisdom. Thank you, my friends.

Enjoy.

Use travel delay as opportunity to stop rather than get stressed. When the world stands still, let it. [Karl Durrant]
Whenever your spouse says something the first thing you should hear is “I love you & want to spend my life with you”. [David Inman]
Stop clinging and embrace change as a constant. [Isabelle Cholette]
Try and give people the benefit of the doubt if they snap at you. Might be something going on you don’t know about. [misslmdavis]
Wash your bowl immediately after eating! [niekstarr]
The daily practice of silence. [dimovich]
Life is so much easier when you make a decision within 5 minutes. Longer than that and you get bogged down & never decide. [Tiffany Cooper]
Friendship is a gift, not a possession. [Chris Reetz]
Mostly nothing is that serious as it seems in the first moment. [Julian Pollman]
Before you go to bed, write down only 3 things that you want to do the following day. This is how to prioritize. [Ziba]
Do the most important task first thing in the morning. [Jordan Ayres]
Make all driving a mindfulness practice. Well being and safety! [Branden Barnett]
When you think you want something, put it on the planner a month from now. When that month rolls around and you still want it, OK. [connie baber]
Smiling … seems to help with most things. 🙂 [zen fostering]
Love where you live, and work in walking distance from where you live. [Anoel]
Expecting less or nothing, and just being. That way disappointments are nil and you are pleasantly surprised often. Simple. [Traci]
Allow extra time in your schedule for wandering. [dylan]
Meditate — it makes everything fall into place. Being happy makes life so much better and easier! [Gabriel Rocheleau]
Do something relaxing before going to bed. No electronics. [Rozanne Paxman]
Don’t fold clothes. Saves time and hassle. [Rachel Jonat]
QTIP: quit taking it personally. [Will Hopkins]
To avoid cluttering: After any activity, put everything in place. It only takes 5 minutes vs. 3 hours if you allowed to pile things up. [La Piña]
Organic steel cut oats. YUM! [Prem]
Realizing that you treasure experiences over possessions makes life better. [Sophia Khan]
If you lick a glass before drinking from it, your lipstick doesn’t smear the glass. [natalie fergie]
When in doubt, take a deep breath. [Kevin Cuccaro]
Define what’s necessary; say no to the rest. [Dana]
Expect nothing. Welcome everything. (from a homeless man with AIDS on the streets of Vancouver.) [Sarah Chauncey]

During the holiday, I was telling a family member about an interview I listened to recently on NPR. Don’t roll your eyes, it was a non-biased, intellectual interview of a high-powered President and CEO. The most amazing part of her the interview was her lack of ability to answer two simple questions that were posed during the interview. She was being asked several questions about the state of the company at the time she decided to take on the conglomerate and the challenges she has faced. She was competently answering questions as she reiterated HP’s role in commerce today’s. But I was baffled at the lack of or dancing around the answers to two questions (not word for word, especially since I’m having a hard time remembering ever since I wrote the blog about weed): 1. Tell us “What is [insert name of company]?” and 2. In 5 words or less, describe what your company sells? I still cannot tell you what your company is. Is it a corporation that makes printers or is a company that sells IT services? In fact, I don’t even remember what her answer was, but I know it included commercial and personal computers.

Regarding the second question, she actually answered the first question, but using about 50 words or more. I am sure it is hard to hold back enthusiasm for a company you are turning around and making relevant, so why limit yourself to 5 words. However, as a CEO, having an elevator speech is part of CEO 101, and she didn’t even try.

Everyone should have an elevator speech. In college, whether we took speech class or a management course, we all had to learn an elevator speech. This is where you pretend you are in an elevator and someone introduces themself to you and asks what you do. You have about 30 seconds to tell them what you do. Why does it matter? Because you never know who you are going to meet in an elevator. Stammering and getting into too much detail will kill an opportunity to make a great first impression. Imagine you are in an elevator on your way to a job interview and the person next to you starts talking. Now just imagine that person is the interviewer. You need to be ready and prepared at all times with your elevator speech. “Cynthia, glad to meet you. I am a writer on my way to an exciting job interview as a sex and relationship columnist.” (sorry, still wishing I was the actual Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City.) “Being able to sum up unique aspects of your service or product in a way that excites others should be a fundamental skill.” Bloomberg Businessweek, June 18, 2007.

Do you have an elevator speech? Even inanimate objects, like television shows, have elevator speeches. For instance, Star Trek, “Space — the final frontier.” In four words I know the show is about space. I have immediately checked out, but sci-fi fans are geeking and all of a sudden Star Trek has 15 million fans.

I would love to have your elevator speech. If I can get enough, I will compile them into a posting.

Carpe Diem!