WHY GREATER PRODUCTIVITY LEADS TO MORE INCOME

Productivity doesn’t just increase your efficiency. If you do it right, it can also increase your income. The problem is that traditional systems get productivity all wrong.

They define productivity as the ability to do more and do it faster. But that approach just accelerates the hamster wheel we’re already on. Instead of getting ahead, our productivity gains sometimes leave us feeling frazzled, fried, frustrated.
True productivity isn’t about getting more things done. It’s about getting the right things done.

The Plague of Fake Work

The trick is identifying and investing your time in what I call your Income Producing Activities or IPAs. Unfortunately, a lot of what happens is business has little to do with producing income. In fact, according to workplace consultants Brent D. Peterson, Gaylan W. Nielson,

Much of the work that people do doesn’t achieve results. . . . [A]cross all the organizations we have studied, about half the work that people do fails to advance the organizations’ strategies.

Half! Think about the all the tasks, routine meetings, or busywork that fail to drive revenue or results for your business. Peterson and Nielson label these activities “fake work.”
The problem with traditional productivity advice is that it doesn’t filter fake work. But being productive doesn’t mean doing unproductive work faster. It means focusing your efforts on those IPAs that contribute the most to your business.

3 Ways Productivity Boosts Income

Whether you work for yourself or a larger organization, there are three ways this kind of improved productivity leads to more income and a greater impact.

1. Adding value. If low-value fake work is so prevalent, there’s a wide-open opportunity for you to add real value. While many of your coworkers are happy with non-challenging tasks, focused high-achievers can help their businesses reach their goals.


2. Driving revenue. Whether it’s launching new products, making more sales, or boosting billable hours, by focusing on your IPAs you help drive revenue to your business. Those gains stand a good chance of generating higher receivables, performance increases, larger commissions, and/or bonus income.


3. Redeeming time. Fake work might fill time, but productive work redeems it. By trimming busywork and other low-yield activity, you can invest your hours in high-yield tasks and ideation, while preserving margin for rest and rejuvenation.

Income Equals Impact

All three of these reasons add up to greater impact—not only for your family, but the world around you. Increasing your income creates an opportunity to share and invest in the lives of others. As my friend Stu McLaren says, “Money provides leverage.”
More income for you means more charity for others, new jobs for others, and new products and services for others. Fake work on the other hand—no matter much we do or how fast we do it—deprives others by decreasing our impact.
I’d go so far as to say I have a moral obligation to make as much money as I reasonably can, within the scope of my calling and ethical standards. Why? Because there are people in need, and I have the opportunity to help them.
When we maximize our income, everyone stands to win.
That’s why I created my Free to Focus productivity course. It’s designed to help you focus on the work that drives tangible results for your business, while cutting out the interruptions and tiny tasks that prevent you from getting ahead.
Today’s the last day public enrollment is open. If you’re interested in learning more, click here before midnight tonight when public enrollment closes.

Question: What would be possible in your business if you were finally free to focus on the work that matters most? You can leave a comment

                  What problem do you solve?

What problem do you solve? The answer to this question will bring you joy, satisfaction, and purpose.
I learned this simple concept from Rabbi Daniel Lapin: “God is never happier with His children than when they are solving the problems of His other children.”
Let me share with you a little bit about me and the problems that I solve. This will help you answer the question for yourself.
I love speaking, writing, and coaching. Rick Roussin, one of our Ziglar Legacy Certified trainers, calls me an “intellectual engineer” because I love the why behind the WHY so much.
When I work with people, either from the front of the room as a speaker before thousands, or one-on-one in Executive Coaching, there are three problems that I love to help solve.
Engage - Success
Equip - Significance
Transfer - Legacy
Engage. Far too many people are passively coasting through life. Their belief is that the good things in life are meant for other people. I love igniting hope and passion in people! When you Engage in life and understand that you have what it takes if you will only believe in yourself and develop the qualities of success that are within you, everything changes. YOU are designed for Success.
Equip. My personal mission statement is “To help you become significant by equipping you to help others become significant.” Success is fantastic. Significance is even better! Significance is when you help someone else Be, Do, and Have more than they thought possible. My heart sings when I equip you to help others become significant. YOU are engineered for Significance.
Transfer. Legacy is when you teach and transfer the habits that build character, integrity, and wisdom that will ripple through eternity. “Legacy is a transference of habit.” – Tom Ziglar. All of us are going to leave a legacy. I love helping people intentionally transfer their legacy. Transfer your legacy by design, not by chance. YOU are purposed for Legacy.
Now you know what problems I solve. What problems do you solve?
You are Born To Win, so go ahead and Live To Win!

7 REASONS TO CONVERT YOUR WORDPRESS.COM BLOG TO WORDPRESS.ORG

If you’re serious about extending your influence and increasing your impact, I recommend blogging with WordPress. There are two ways to go.

WordPress.com is great for beginners. It’s free, easy to use, and WordPress hosts your site. But if you really want to maximize your message, you’ll want to upgrade to self-hosted WordPress, also known as WordPress.org.
With self-hosted WordPress, you download the software for free and install it on your own server or one you lease. Modern hosting services like Bluehost let you do this with just a couple of clicks.
Bluehost is WordPress’ own top hosting recommendation. They host over a million WordPress blogs with 24-7 customer support.

WordPress.org (self-hosted WordPress) provides seven advantages over WordPress.com (hosted WordPress):

1. You can use a custom domain name. Nothing is worse when it comes to online branding than a domain name that is long and includes someone else’s brand attached to it. MichaelHyatt.WordPress.com is an example of what not to do.With self-hosted WordPress, you can buy your own domain and then connect it to your blog for free. Yes, you can do this with WordPress.com, too. It’s one of their premium services, but you have to pay $13 per year—every year—for the privilege.


2. You have access to more themes. Because WordPress.com runs in a closed system, they are very selective about which themes they let you install. At this writing, you have your choice of 194 free themes and 184 premium themes (starting at $19).While this may sound like plenty of options, compare it to the thousands of themes—both free and premium—that are available for self-hosted WordPress. I am admittedly biased, but I don’t think you can do better than the Get Noticed! Theme™ for WordPress. This is the premium theme Andrew Buckman and I developed for me. It is the perfect theme for anyone wanting to build a personal brand.


3. You can install third-party plugins. These add additional functionality to WordPress. Unfortunately, WordPress.com does not allow this. You are stuck with the standard WordPress implementation.Just to give you an idea of what you can do with plugins, here are five of my favorites:
   
   
   
   • Yoast SEO—Optimizes your WordPress blog for search engines (SEO). It allows you to customize the meta data for each post.
   
   
   • OptinMonster—Adds simple drop-down banners, popups, and other forms for email optins, announcements, or ads.
   
   
   • Blubrry PowerPress—Embeds my podcast into specific blog posts (show notes). You can pick from a variety of player styles and display the one you want in your post.
   
   
   • Disqus Commenting System—Replaces the native WordPress commenting system. It has a number of features that I like better. It is arguably the most popular commenting plugin available.
   
   
   • VaultPress—Allows us to backup and synchronize every post, comment, media file, revision and dashboard setting on our servers.
   
   
   
   


4. You can customize and tweak the code. This might not be important to you, but it is critically important to me. I am constantly wanting to make “improvements” to the site.This could be as simple as adjusting the spacing between bulleted text (which requires modifying the site’s style.css file) to moving the post date from the top of the post to the bottom (which requires modifying the single.php file).WordPress.com does allow you to modify the CSS, but only with a $30 per year upgrade. You can’t modify the PHP files at all.


5. You can run your own advertising. WordPress.com runs its own ads on your site. This is one way they pay for your “free” site. For $30 per year, you can remove these ads entirely.However, you still can’t run your own ads like I describe here. This requires the ability to ad plugins or embedded code—something WordPress.com doesn’t permit.


6. You can setup a web store. Eventually, you will want to monetize your site—especially if you are thinking of going pro. Selling ads is one way to do it. But there are other, more lucrative ways to turn your blog into a cash machine.One way is via a web store. This gives you the opportunity to sell your digital wares or your physical ones. Unfortunately, WordPress.com doesn’t provide any mechanism for doing this, since all the WordPress e-commerce solutions require self-hosted WordPress.


7. You own and control your home base. In my book, Platform, I define a “home base” as a place online you own and control. This is distinct from an “embassy,” which you don’t own or control but where you have credentials and a presence.Clearly, a self-hosted WordPress site qualifies as a home base. You own it. You control it. But a WordPress.com site? That’s a little iffy. It’s fine for hobby bloggers, but I would not run a business or pro site on it. It simply doesn’t provide enough control.

Ready to step up to self-hosted WordPress?
I am an affiliate partner of Bluehost, which means I get a small commission when people sign up using my link. However, I would happily promote and recommend them even if I weren’t an affiliate. They are that good.

                     The very best HABIT 2

Before I share with you the final habits you shared with me, I thought I would share with you the most powerful habit I learned from Dad. I put this habit into a quote.
“What you feed your mind determines your appetite.” – Tom Ziglar
Make it a habit of feeding your mind the right information – and all of the rest of the habits will be just a little
bit easier!
Challenge: Which of these following habits are you going to adopt?
Not fidgeting with my phone when with clients. First things first; thus, God first every day.
-Frederick
Short prayer in the morning before coffee. At bedtime, listening to my Bible verses. OH -- that's 2. Lol
-Barbara
Each morning I thank the Lord for blessing me with another day on this earth with my family.
-Sean
I daily wake up at 5 am and do yoga, asana, and meditation. Second habit: I read books written by great people.
-Madukhar
The first thing when I wake up I thank God for another day to work towards my life's goals. The second thing I do is read; sometimes articles, sometimes books, and occasionally just fun topics.
-Denise
Always willing to help someone else out. Get way more done when I make a list the night before.
-Maz
My best habit is replying immediately to my customers’ concerns. Not more than 12 hours if possible.
-Rieza
I think a good habit that I have that has made my life immensely better is starting my day off by repeating my affirmations and praying. Most days, I start my day off in the car, so it has become a ritual for me to repeat my affirmations and prayers in the morning. It has also been beneficial because I used to listen to the radio of repeat songs, but now I have my affirmations and prayers. Additionally, instead of listening to the radio further in the day, I listen to your podcast. I absolutely love it, and have enjoyed my time in the car so much more! Thank you!
-Thank you, Bree
I believe that one of my good habits is waking up and saying, “Thank you, God, for giving me another day.” Second, I list my daily tasks because by doing so I can manage better my time. Third, I read motivational books. It helps a lot.
-Regards, Angela
I do extra practice every day of the week for 30 min. (Note from Tom Ziglar: Dad taught this habit as “a little bit extra!”) Strive to improve my trading knowledge on reading a book or research.
-Teboho
My first good habit is I like to get to work 20 - 30 minutes early; it gives me plenty of time in case of bad weather (I live in Colorado Springs), and I don't have to rush like everyone else. My second habit is I like to start the day reading my Bible before I look at anything else like news, etc. (Like Zig used to say, I want to know what both sides are up to!)
-Krikor
Hi, my best habit is to read helpful books and articles as much as possible.
-Best, Honest
I have two best habits,,,, that changed my life.

1. I am a recovering alcoholic, am sober for five years and nine months. Leaving this habit behind has moved me TOWARDS a great life.


2. I started looking after my health. Now I extend my life expectancy.

Thank you and have a great day….
-Kind Regards, R.
Well.... I think habit #1 is doing exactly what I am doing right now. My alarm clock went off at 4:30am. Waking up early is a miracle IF USED PRODUCTIVELY. I use the early morning to collect my thoughts, read/ listen to personal development content, and then go for a run to power up my brain. Also, installing the habit of listening and/or reading your "personal ethos"(goals in affirmation form) is a strong and important habit of mine.
Again.... if you are ever interested in coming to Yazoo City.... I will gladly buy you lunch. (Note from Tom Ziglar: Thank you Tripp! I will come hungry!)
-Tripp
Best Habit:
I use the bus ride home for my language practice (app on my iPad).
I use the time I spend getting ready in the morning to listen to encouraging podcasts.
-Thanks for your podcast!
Liz
Hi, Tom,
Almost every day I have people coming to me with problems I have started listening to people tell me about the problems without me talking or butting in. I then ask for suggestions for possible solutions from the speaker. I get ideas, I get time to think, I get less pressure, I get more silence.
-Barry
I read my Bible first thing each morning. I’m connected, encouraged, confident, and so thankful for God’s grace, mercy and blessings. When I don’t, I seem to always be lacking something.
-Thanks for all you do to encourage us…just like your Dad,
Betty
Often, while I’m driving, I get great ideas that can help better my work, personal, or family life. The problem is, I normally have a lot on my mind, and often forget that amazing revelation by the time I get to my destination, or even find a spot to pull over and write it down. Since I don’t want to be a distracted driver, I simply call my office phone from the Bluetooth on my ear, and leave myself a voicemail, or I use the Bluetooth to send myself an e-mail with the note. This has prevented me MANY times from misplacing some great inspiration in the dusty recesses of my neck-top computer!
-Gary
I get up early and exercise
And to others, I will advise
An early day walk
Enhances your talk
With good health as the ultimate prize
-Cliff (Note from Tom Ziglar: Cliff – thank you for all of your poems of encouragement - you continually
bless me!)
Simple good habits I follow as below -

1. To get up early in the morning, start up the day with Yoga/exercises. (To be alert/wake up whenever I listen to alarm.)


2. Read few lines in a book before going to bed, not to be on social media at EOD.

-Thanks & Regards, Poornima
In the last few months I have replaced the habit of overeating to deal with stress and anxiety (bad habit) with intense exercise (good habit). This one small shift has led to big results, both physically and mentally! I have lost over 20 pounds and feel way better!
Replacing a bad habit with a good one is a game-changer! I honestly feel that being intentional about sculpting our habits is one of the most powerful things we can do to lead a life of significance!
-Allan
I listen to podcasts as well. It brings me up. Joyce Meyer. Joel Osteen. It's a game-changer. Makes me be
better self.
-Bo
My first words when I wake up are to say "Good Morning" to my husband. On his birthday I remember to wish him a happy birthday. I also start my day with, "This is the day the Lord has made. I WILL rejoice and be glad
in it."
-Louise
Tom,
I read a fantastic book...The Miracle Morning. I have gotten in the habit of getting up an hour early and doing my Miracle Morning list. I have also gotten in the habit of studying Spanish on Duolingo every day!
-Chris
Wow! We have covered a lot of great habits in the last five Zignificance newsletters. Thank you so much for contributing your thoughts.
This just proves that… J
YOU are Born to Win, so go ahead and Live To Win!

                    The Stairway to the Top

Way back in 1974, Dad published the concept of the Stairway to the Top in the book, See You At The Top.
What a simple concept that is even more true today. In order to get to the top you have to take the stairs! There is no “free ride” on the elevator to success. Getting to the top requires action – you have to step up the stairs – and you have to do it yourself.
Getting to the top, and staying there, requires taking the right steps on the stairway. Here they are:
Step 1: Self-image
Step 2: Your relationship with others
Step 3: Goals
Step 4: Attitude
Step 5: Work
Step 6: Desire
Remember, if you want to reach the top you have to take the stairs!
You are Born To Win, so go ahead and Live To Win!

5 PROVEN STEPS TO REACH PEOPLE AND MAKE MONEY—IN LESS TIME

One of the hardest things about growing an online following is not knowing how to get from where you are right now to where you know you have the potential to go.

If you’re like me, you’ve felt like this from time to time—maybe even right now. You’ve got something important to say or something useful to sell. You know you it could make a huge difference in people’s lives.
But navigating the platform world can feel like traveling without directions. It’s easy to get lost. Imagine what it would be like having a clear path from here to there. Now you do, and it’s free.

If you have a message or product the world desperately needs and are frustrated because you can’t seem to get the attention you deserve, Your Path to Online Influence is the resource you need.
Seats are limited, but everyone who registers in time will discover:

• The No. 1 reason you’re not making progress with your personal platform (even though you’re working nonstop).


• Three game-changing productivity tools to help you finally blog consistently, even with a crazy schedule.


• The biggest mistake I made early on in my blogging career—and what you can do today to make sure you get it right.


• The specific tactics you can focus on this week that have been proven to create serious online traction.


• My best traffic tips to guarantee your content gets noticed, spreads to more people, and makes an impact.


• How I turned my online platform into a thriving, multimillion dollar business and how you can do the same.

Here’s one thing none of us has to spare—time. If you want the quickest route to making a significant impact, Your Path to Online Influence will show you how.
This exclusive training is free—but seats are limited, and they’re already going fast. Don’t lose your spot to a potential competitor.

WHY I CHANGED MY EMAIL NEWSLETTER STRATEGY

I decided to change my email newsletter strategy last month. For years, I sent the entire blog post in the body of the email. We used a custom template that included many of the design elements from my blog. For a long time, that served us well.

But we are no longer doing that. Instead, we are sending a plain-text email that describes the post and invites the reader to click-through to my site to read the actual post.
Why did we make the change?
I sometimes think of my blog as a laboratory. When I experiment and share the process, it allows you to understand my approach. It also lets you shortcut a certain amount of trial and error. You can learn from what’s working for me.

With that in mind, there are three reasons why I made this change in my email news strategy.

1. The Majority of Readers Weren’t Getting the Newsletter

Why? After some research, we discovered that the newsletter was ending up in the Promotions tab for Gmail users. That’s about 68 percent of my list, so we realized we had to do something.
After a lot of experimentation, we discovered that images and links at the beginning of almost any email trigger Gmail to move email from the inbox to the Promotions tab. This is not quite the spam folder but nearly so for a lot of users.
As a result, we tested plain-text emails with no images. We also made sure that links don’t appear until further into the body of the email. Success! That worked. All of our test emails with the new format ended up in the inbox—exactly where we wanted them.

2. The Majority of Subscribers Didn’t Visit My Blog

Honestly, they didn’t really have a reason to. We were giving them everything in the newsletter.
All things being equal, there was nothing wrong with this. After all, it’s not the medium but the message that matters, right? Yes, but the trouble is not all things are equal.
From a pure traffic perspective, this meant that subscribers weren’t counted in my traffic reports. In other words, when people read a message in their email, it doesn’t count as a pageview.
You could argue that unique visitors or pageviews are just vanity metrics, and you might be right. But as it was, Google Analytics was under-reporting how many people were actually reading my posts. More accurate numbers are important for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is communicating with potential sponsors for my various projects.
In addition, by never visiting the site, subscribers were not seeing other content and promotional items not included in the newsletter.

3. The Majority of Subscribers Weren’t Being Trained to Click

As a reader, this might not seem immediately important. But as an online marketer, it’s critical. If people don’t click, they don’t buy. And if I don’t get buyers for my signature products, I can’t continue to provide resources like my blog, podcast, and ebooks for free.
Instead, I want to train people to click, so I can raise my overall conversion percentage (percent of people who take action). The early results tell us it’s working. We’re getting more clickthroughs now than a month ago.
The bottom line is that this new strategy is another experiment in the laboratory.
I am paying close attention to my unsubscribe numbers and complaints. So far, I’ve only had a handful complaints. On the flip side, I’ve had about twenty people write to tell me they like the new format better.

Question: Have you made similar changes to your email strategy? What were the results? You can leave a comment

7 WAYS SUCCESSFUL CREATIVES THINK DIFFERENTLY THAN UNSUCCESSFUL ONES

s a publishing executive, I worked with authors for more than three decades. I’ve also worked with speakers, recording artists, designers, and other creatives. I have had the privilege of working with the best—and the challenge of enduring the worst. What separates the two?

That question is of greater importance now than ever before because creative work plays a bigger role in business today than at any time previous. Ask any entrepreneur.
The easy answer is the wrong one. It’s not talent. Talent definitely plays a role. But it doesn’t explain why some creatives with marginal skill become successful and others with extraordinary abilities never really make it. (I could name names, but I would get myself in trouble on both counts!)

Instead, I think the determining factor is to be found in how they think. Successful creatives cultivate a different mindset than unsuccessful ones. This is evident in seven ways.

1. Successful creatives think big. The best creatives think, Go big or go home. If they are going to go to the trouble of writing a book, preparing a speech, or recording an album, they might as well make the biggest impact they can. They aren’t naive about the amount of work it will take, but they still dream big. They are always asking, “What could we do that would exceed everyone’s expectations?”


2. Successful creatives take responsibility. The best creatives take responsibility for the outcome. They don’t expect someone else to make them famous or successful, though they realize they can’t succeed without others. They own their work and accept responsibility for how it is received by the market.


3. Successful creatives listen well. The best creatives are not know-it-alls. They understand that being good at one thing (e.g., writing, speaking, or singing) doesn’t mean they are good at everything (e.g., packaging or marketing). As a result, they listen to those who have more experience. Ultimately, this raises their probability for success.


4. Successful creatives seek help. While the best creatives accept ultimate responsibility for the outcome, they enroll others to help them succeed. They know they can’t do it alone. As a result, they build world-class teams and don’t hog the credit. They happily shine the spotlight on their teammates. They are constantly asking, “Who else can I enroll to help get me where I want to go?”


5. Successful creatives work hard. The best creatives are not lazy. They don’t assume that their work is done once the book is written, the speech prepared, or the album recorded. In a real sense, their work has only just begun. They don’t display a spirit of entitlement. Instead, they roll up their sleeves and do the work that lesser creatives are unwilling to do.


6. Successful creatives demonstrate grit. Nobody bats a thousand. And creative work is subject to a high number of frustrations, flops, and failures. But the best keep going regardless. They don’t let setbacks define their worth. Instead they keep showing up, even when things don’t go their way.


7. Successful creatives remain humble. The best creatives know that success is elusive and fragile. They know that they didn’t attain it on their own, nor will they preserve it on their own. This makes them grateful and humble. Though they face the same temptations to become arrogant, they understand the dangers and comport themselves accordingly.

The bottom line is that you have more control over your success than you may think. However, you must develop a winning mindset and cultivate the habits of successful thinking. This is what separates the best creatives from all others.

Question: Which of these habits do you need to work on? You can leave a comment.