I always find it incredibly ironic and a bit comical when I see a fat fitness instructor, or a financial advisor who drives a Yugo, or a realtor who doesn’t own a house.

Warren Buffet once said, “Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls-Royce to get advice from those who take the subway.”

A great piece of wisdom is:  Read the rest: http://darrenhardy.success.com/2009/08/ practicing-the-preach/

Learn Less. Study More.

As the chief champion of self-education and continual learning, this probably sounds like an odd statement, but here is the conundrum I think we find ourselves in. For any SUCCESS reader, and certainly anyone reading this blog, learning is not what we lack; in fact, it might be what’s bottlenecking us.

Beyond CDs, DVDs and books, we also live in an age of e-zines, blogs, RSS feeds, personalized readers, Digg, Facebook, Twitter, et al. We have a never-ending flow of ideas, tips, quotes, suggestions and advice being constantly pumped at us. Swimming in a sea of infinite information, we paddle like crazy just to keep our nose above water. It can be exhausting, right?

We read an article and then move on to the next. We listen to an audio and then seek the next. We finish a book and then start the next….

Therein lies the problem: We are reading a lot, seemingly learning a lot, but never really stopping long enough to digest, contemplate, act, review and improve on anything we have just learned.

As you know, knowledge is… CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE: http://darrenhardy.success.com/2009/06/wa-step12wa-step12/

CLICK HERE TO READ FULL POST: http://darrenhardy.success.com/2009/05/wa-step11/

Refueling the jets… Learning to Value Time Off

How does America regain its supremacy in the productive world? How do you improve your personal productivity?

ANSWER: Go on vacation.

438 million. That is the number of vacation days American’s failed to take in 2007 according to Harris Interactive research group. More than any other industrialized nation.

Here is the result: America ranks #1 in depression and mental health problems. Americans are experiencing burnout, reduced productivity, diminished creativity, failed relationships, stress or stress-related ailments such as depression, heart disease or stomach ulcers in record levels.

Our entrenched puritanical conditioning, being valued on how “hard” we work, fear of being replaced or left behind, and our addiction to always being “busy” are actually not only destroying our mental and physical health, but also destroying our creative productivity.

This is especially true in our new global economy where our advantage and future is as knowledge workers, not laborers. Our future, your future lies between your ears – your mind and your ability to think: creatively, innovatively and productively.

When you are working 80 hours a week, your mind gets cluttered and stale. Like a pressure cooker, if you don’t give your mind some time to clear some steam out, it will boil over causing the ailments above and loss of effectiveness and real productivity.

I am not suggesting you need to take a vacation to better “enjoy life,” “find your bliss” or have “life balance.”

I am telling you time off is an important component of hardcore achievement and productivity.

Benefits of taking time off:

CLICK HERE TO READ FULL POST: http://darrenhardy.success.com/2009/05/wa-step11/

How to Qualify, Hire, Manage and Empower Virtual and Local Assistants

In Step 10 we discussed how you can get 2-10X more done in the same amount of time, if you stop trying to do it all yourself.

Your ability to delegate and manage important tasks outside your few vital functions is the key to you rising above your current performance, thus income level.

This post is to outline the best practices I have learned in hiring virtual and local assistants to help me stay focused on high-value functions in my unique strength zone.

CLICK HERE TO READ ARTICLE: http://darrenhardy.success.com/2009/05/wa-step10-howto

In this step I am going to share a success tip that could not only significantly reduce the stress in your life, but also make you far more productive and successful.

How would you like to get 2X, 5X, 10X or more done each day in half the time?

Sound good? OK, here is all you have to do…
Read rest of this article: http://darrenhardy.success.com/2009/05/wa-step10 (or click headline above)