Welcome to Spark an Idea Thursday’.  Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers.  We invite you to grab our image and carry the tradition through to your own blog!  If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired! Today’s topic? Spark an Idea to Finish What You’ve Started.

This week’s “Spark an Idea Thursday” is all about finishing what you started!

Now I think this is a great topic but I’m going to put a little twist on this one, OK?

What I’d like to talk to you about instead is WHY you don’t finish what you start.

Why the closer you get to finishing something, the harder it is to complete.

For instance, whenever I’d jump into a home improvement project I’d start with such enthusiasm…but just about the time I should be finishing up…I stop.

I’ll just get bored and I’ll move on to other things.

I’ve done ALL the heavy lifting and now I just can’t seem to finish the detail work, know what I mean?

It doesn’t matter if I’m painting the house, cleaning the basement or installing a laminate floor ( By the way, I guarantee if my wife is reading this she’s saying…yes, go on sir…)

Anyway, I never really understood why I’d start a project and then have such a hard time finishing it.

It really bugged me!

This was until I read “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield.

Steven Pressfield is a best selling author of many well known books but he’s most notably known for writing “The Legend Of Bagger Vance.”

Now in “The War of Art,” Steven Pressfield clearly identifies the problem that ails us all at one time or another.

And by the way, this is the primary reason we DO NOT finish what we start and her name is… PROCRASTINATION!

Or, as Pressfield labels her, Resistance.

Pressfield labels Resistance as the enemy of creativity.  The destructive force which lives inside all of us preventing you and I from reaching the mountain top of life or simply prevents us from finishing the moldings around our laminate floors!

Pressfield humanizes procrastination and warns us of her behaviors.

You see, Resistance will stop at nothing to prevent us from starting or finishing anything we deem worthwhile.

Pressfield says any act that rejects immediate gratification in favor of long term growth, health,or integrity triggers Resistance.

The more worthwile cause or activity, the harder she fights!

In fact, as I sat down to write this post, Pressfield reminds me: Writing this post is not hard, it was getting me to sit down and write that’s the hard part, got it?

I’m a little off topic here so let me swing around and get to my point, OK?

You see, on page 18 of his book, Pressfield hits the nail on the head as to why you and I don’t finish what we start and here is what he says….

“The danger is great when the finish line is in site. At this point, Resistance knows we’re about to beat it. It hits the panic button. It marshals one last assault and slams us with everything it’s got.”

See, this is where you need to be most prepared…it’s at the end when you must be alert to Resistance and be prepared for the “counterattack!”

I’ve found humanizing Resistance and being able to identify her has helped me bust through the wall of getting it done!

Any time my little voice says, ” Just do it tomorrow” or “I’ll only watch 15 minutes of this show, THEN I’ll do my work” is just Resistance keeping me from doing my work!

Like Pressfield says, ” Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”

So, have you put off starting your business?  Do you have a book idea you would like to start writing?

Or, do you just want to finish the baseboard moldings around your brand new laminate floor?

Now it’s time to MAN UP and kick Resistance in the Butt!

Now get busy, Bill Parlaman

Welcome to ‘Spark an Idea Thursday’.  Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers.  We invite you to grab our image and carry the tradition through to your own blog!  If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired!

So as a new business owner I am trying hard to stand out from the crowd and go the extra mile for my clients.

And as luck would have it, this weeks “Spark An Idea Thursday” is all about how to show appreciation for your clients.

Well in this crazy world we live in I think it’s the simple things that gets noticed more than anything, know what I mean?

Let’s face it, people and businesses do NOT want to work to get or keep your business, right?

I personally believe this is one of the biggest reasons most businesses are sucking wind these days…it’s not that you and I have less money, but rather most businesses are practicing “sales prevention.”

I can’t tell you how many times just this past week I’ve been begging a business to take my money but the sales folks or employees just don’t get it.  They can’t be bothered and they for sure do not go the extra mile for my business!

In a time when doing just the bare minimum is the new excellence it really does NOT take a huge effort to stand out from the crowd.

So, with every new search engine optimization, website design or marketing client I get, the first thing I do is send out a little handwritten thank you letter.

I actually take the time to hand write each letter, fold it, put it in the envelope, lick the stamp and mail it to my client.

I’ve received great feed back from my clients after receiving their note.

Sometimes I’ll even cut out an interesting article or something that might apply to their business and attach it to their note.

So for the low low cost of just forty four cents, I have a truly grateful client and customer who will more than likely refer me the first chance they get! ( Provided I perform my service as promised of course!)

In a world where few people are even willing to do the bare minimum, even something simple as mailing a little handwritten note goes a very long way!

So next time you want to show appreiciation to your client or someone special just pull out the old stationary and a pen and get busy!  You’ll be glad you did!

Now get busy, Bill Parlaman

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… CY: wait… I: wait… YCat: wait… I: wait… Top: wait… I: wait… L: wait… C: wait…

Welcome to ‘Spark an Idea Thursday’.  Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers.  We invite you to grab our image and carry the tradition through to your own blog!  If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired!

Guys, even though it may be a tad late to impress the ladies with your six pack abs at the beach this summer, it doesn’t mean you still can’t get in great shape and use the summer as your motivation!

You see if you are like most guys you may have spent a little too much time eating not so healthy foods and drinking a little too much beer while watching your favorite fall and winter sports.

It’s pretty easy to hide those extra pounds under a sweat shirt or heavy winter coat right?

Well trust me, I’m no different.

You see in addition to setting a goal for myself to leave my full time job and start my own business by May 1st, 2009, I also told my wife I would trim down and reveal my six pack abs by this summer!

Well if you read my last blog post you’ll know I was able to leave my full time job but I didn’t do so well with the six pack….abs that is.

I was so busy working and preparing for my escape from the rat race I didn’t stop to think about what I was eating during those late night working binges.

I was also working so many hours I was dead tired during the day and the last thing I felt like doing was exercising even though I knew it would help improve my energy levels and mental clarity.

So anyway now that I’ve left my job and I’m my own boss, I’ve  been eating much more healthy and exercising multiple times a week and I feel great.

Maybe it’s a  little too late to reveal my six pack abs but not too late to drop 20-30 lbs over the next few months.

So, I’m going to use summer as my motivation and start living a more healthy lifestyle.

I actually think it’s easier to be healthy in the summer months as you can fire up the old hibachi and grill leans meats, fish and veggies basically whenever you want.  Not that you cant do this year round but living in the northeast it’s a little more difficult then our brothers in the sunbelt and out west.

Summer is a great time to add fresh fruits and local veggies to your diet from produce stands and local farm markets. Nothing’s better than stopping at one of those roadside stands and picking yourself up some fresh summer berries and maybe a zucchini or some fresh broccoli for the grill!

It’s all about making simple changes to your diet and not beating yourself up if you want a cheeseburger and beer at the family picnic.

In addition to all the fresh fruits and veggies in season you can also take advantage the nice summer weather.  It’s much easier to get outside and start moving around on a nice warm sunny day than it is on a freezing cold  January afternoon right?

So over the next few posts I’ll share some of my fitness tips and healthy eating tips ANY MAN can follow.  ( By the way, I am also a certified personal trainer so I do know a little something about this stuff!)

In the mean time I’d love to hear from you!  How do you stay motivated to keep a healthy lifestyle? Or maybe tell me about your frustrations trying to be healthy….I’d love to try and help you out if I can!

So send in your questions and comments and lets see if we can both lose a few” lb’s “over the next few summer months OK?

Now get busy, Bill Parlaman