Go for mini-goals ...

Breaking down big projects into smaller steps is almost essential. I even would break them down to a daily to do list. I am so happy to see all the tasks ticked in my agenda .. then I know I am a step closer to my goal. Personally I am still struggling with a weekly of monthly goal, as I am really working from day to day. But I do review projects weekly, so I don't lose control. I would adapt my daily agenda to it.

Doing it on a daily basis, my agenda can be stuffed with things to do. I train myself to be so committed and disciplined, that I really go through the list and do the task and then I tick it off. Yes, I won't make the whole list for a whole day sometimes. How do you know how long it takes for some tasks? The answer for me is practise, just do it and you will see. I know I can spend 30min to write an email, because it is not my "speciality". But at least I did it.

My mini-goals for today are quite a lot of networking. This would include some "work" in ecademy and facebook. But this was done already this morning. And it is rescheduled in a couple of days, so I really don't procrastinate it. Another goal for today is, sending 3 birthday card, which means finding the right words for the right person. And I almost forgot how to write in german. For my PhD project I would like to start the analysis today, running the IntAct data for human interaction and filtering just the proteins out which I have in my list. Unfortunately, we have today our 2-hours labmeeting. For this I had to prepare a small presentation and this took me already more than 60min. This would be one example for failed time-management. Anyway ... it is all about failing forward ;o)

I wish you all an amazing day and make Magic :o)

Happiness ...

I just have written about it in my last Blog and completely failed in practising it. Yesterday I had to give a so called Monday Midday Meeting-talk, where the whole Institute comes together and listens to two speaker, presenting their work. But what can you talk about in 20 min, especially when you have a 3-years project. Anyway, it was my turn yesterday and YES, I was nervous. It was supposed to be my final PhD talk, so fingers crossed I will go without any talk until next April 8-)

So, having finished this talk with some technical issues, that were not my fault ;o) , I expected to be absolutely relieved for the rest of the day. But nothing. Really, I was almost down. I didn't see the achievement I had just completed. I didn't acknowledge any nice comments from colleagues. It didn't cheer me up. Instead, I looked straight ahead again, what is awaiting for me in the 6 months. What next obstacles I will have to manage. Why am I doing this?

Photo courtesy by Markus Brosch

Why can I not be just happy and celebrate a little bit? And just today I read in the ZenHabits blog from Leo the following words:

Happiness shouldn’t be something that happens to us in the future, maybe someday, if things go well. Happiness should be here and now, who we are now, with the people we’re with now, doing the things we’re doing now. And if we’re not with people who make us happy, and doing things that make us happy … then we should take action to make that happen.

I really have to learn to be happy anytime, and celebrate every little step that I make in the right direction.

Reward yourself often ...

"Yes, done" ... sometimes this is reward enough for me to keep going. But there are moments, where I think "and now?" Then I have just forgotten, that I have just done a little step forward to my goal. So, rewarding is very important. As I have mentioned in my last blog, a week full of Xs can be so satisfying ... I swear. I would never cheat on myself.

Yeah, a simple chocolate bar is a reward for me as well, so long I don't take reducing weight too serious. I think it is still not urgent, is it? So, tomorrow I give my talk in front of the whole IMB institute, maybe around 150 people. So, what will be the reward? I don't know yet to be honest. Stéphane is not here, so I might just be happy for myself and say "Yes, done!" with a big smirk in my face.

YES, I am f... nervous, that's why this blog is so short. But I will make it! See you on Tuesday, one step closer to my goal ;o)

Chart your progress ...

This is something I must have inherited from my mum, tables, statistics, spreadsheets and so on. Sometimes as a kid, I only did the housework, because I wanted to see the X marked in the calendar. It was even more satisfying to see a full row of Xs than the achieved sum of pocket-money at the end of the week. It just kept me driving.

And still today … I have re-discovered the power of charts, spreadsheets and calendars. Putting things down, keeps your mind free. One really important feature. But having a goal, like in the worst case doing a PhD *smirk*, and you have a plan written down, it is more motivating than knowing, it will be over in 3 years. But you have to chart your progress. I failed at first in doing that. I didn’t see the results I have reached in between. I just saw the work ahead, not the work I have done so far.

I don’t say it is easy. I also started a lot of things and tried to monitor and chart the progress, but after a couple of days or weeks, I didn’t see any inspiration in it anymore. Mostly, because I was just too impatient I didn’t get the results straight after the first week. But being a lord-like person, I still love looking at tables and charts. They tell me sometimes more than a fancy picture.

So, where do I use charts right now?

· Balance Sheet ... I started to monitor my monthly income and expensive in the style of Robert Kiyosaki, but I got bored, because it was every month the same ... will go back to it soon, as the income is growing
· Google Analytics ... paradise for Lords and Mechanics
· SpeadReading ... words per minute rate
· and so on ...

Thoughts ...

During the last 2 days, I had meetings with several people about completely different things. But next to the actual topic we talked about I got something out of them, that makes me think now.

I spoke with an eMarketing Director about the use and improvement of SEO of a specific website. Maybe I was blended by the name of the position this person is holding and I should definitely remove this prejudice, but I am struggling now. Using a content management system, learning about a specific industry area and looking for the right keywords ... I don't really see the challenge.

Another meeting was about my presentation I have to give next week. My supervisor didn't like one specific part of my talk and I just didn't get it what he wants to see there. I felt like explaining nodes and edges being proteins and their interactions was too primitive. But obviously not. Networks and their utility in Molecular Biology ... for me .. it just jumps straight into my head. It is so clear for me. Why am I hesitating so much to go back to the basics? I am working in a research institute ... I mean cutting-edge research ... top research ... and I still have to explain the basics? My supervisor says, the audience is too broad. Still? Most of the talks and presentation I am listening to, I get the main idea and I understand them. Either is it developmental biology or stem cell research in kidney ... I get the main point. Do I really have such a broad background?

Then later the day I had a meeting with a CEO of a IT company and we chatted about moving website and how I would monitor it etc. And then he said something, which touched me deeply ... he said something like this: You have high expectations from yourself, so you expect the same from people you are dealing with. That's where you get disappointed in others so easily. I heard similar comment from someone else before, and I am surprised about this. Because we are going right now during a similar process. We set our goals and dreams ... and do action ... we want to be different

Yes, I challenge myself, because I get bored too easily, so I think that is a normal reaction. And yes, I am struggling with people around me. We don't have similar thinking anymore, and I don't want to go "back" to this thinking. I prefer to be out of the box. I think this underlines I really have to find people who are supporting me, who I can still learn from, people who challenge me, people who are out of the box ... I know where to find them ...

Get help ...

It is hard to accomplish something alone, but this is how I feel about doing a PhD. Everyone is praising teamwork and it is proven that several minds work better in a team and that you can go much further than working alone on a project ... but no, doing a PhD is about you. You have to sit down and do it. You can not delegate the work, because what appears in the Thesis at the end must have been done by you alone. And right now this thinking is so much the opposite what I have learned during the last couple of months with XL and the big entrepreneur world.

However, to come back to more positive thinking, there are people I can ask to inspire me again, to help me with ideas and I can sit down with them for a brainstorm session. And I am very grateful for this.

For all my other goals and dreams there is plenty of help out there. You just have to see it, it is sometimes not really obvious. But with an open mind it all comes to you. For example to improve my reading, I apply special techniques as suggested in several books and I keep track on the words-per-minute rate. Like other people are counting calories intake daily, I count the words I can read per minute. And I keep reading about it to stay motivated.

If someone comes with the excuse I don't know how ... I don't believe him/her anymore. If other people have done it already, you will find either a blog, an e-book, a book or something else about this topic, online or in real ... just ask the right question (in Google) ;o)

Just get through the low points ...

Motivation is like the tide, it comes and goes. So, one good thing to do is Work during the "high tide". It feels soo miserable, when you can feel it going away. What do you do then?
I am not in the state anymore, that I want to throw away everything I have done so far. I am well aware of that the motivation is coming back. You just have to go through it. Either you find someone to talk to. Or just go back to the books and CD, who brought you where you are now.

View from my balcony

There are not many people I actually can talk to. Or I might have to say it this way, there are not so many people who can actually motivate me again. Especially during low points you better avoid doomsayer. If I cannot reach someone, I just go to bed and prefer to be alone.

I have to say, it is still not easy to be motivated for the final months of my PhD. But the goal is set and I can see the end already, I just have to go through it. It would be much easier with a bit of motivation ... will see ... I keep searching. Might have to create mini goals ... *thinking*

Build on your successes ...

yes, every little success needs to be celebrated. I tend to play my successes down, although it might be a big achievement, like finishing my engineer degree back in Germany. I've never really celebrated it, because the situation I felt like in was starting new again. And now I am on my way to get a PhD ... and still there are days where I am not proud of it what I have done. Why is that? Because I am comparing myself with others. I see them going on holidays, I see them doing stuff I would like to do and I still can't afford it OR I have bigger dreams and I don't allow myself to rest until I achieve. A gratification in between, would put be some steps back again ... it doesn't matter in what. I am building a base now on which I can build on when I have finished my PhD. Is it my network full of people, is it my work as an entrepreneur, or is it just putting some money aside instead of spending it right now. My time will come.

It is a hard way, with lots of up and downs ... and celebrating every little step I have done, keeps me motivated. How I celebrate? Sometime a glas of wine or sometimes just trying to have a day off. (Sorry, I still don't see the fun in going shopping, hehe).

So, what kind of successes did I achieve so far? I am a known inofficial member of XL. People recognize me on events. Sounds weird, but I think that is a good sign ;o) People contact me and want to work with me. Boutique Wineries is growing. You don't see it in the everyday work, more when you look back, what we have achieved during the last year. I am on a good way to finish my PhD. The periods that I feel up and motivated are longer now. Yes, there are still down periods, but changing habits is a long process :P Further on I realize that people in my team are growing and achieving something as well and that the support for each other is immense.

I celebrate everyday I have done my MITs and I ticked a lot of my todo-lists. I celebrate I get organized. I celebrate after every meeting (because I am always soooo nervous before them). I celebrate every single baby step I do towards my goals ... as Leo says in his blog

After a couple of months, your tiny steps will add up to a lot of progress and a lot of success ...

Thanks for taking the time and reading it.
Have a wonderful day! :o)

Read inspiring stories ...

To get the motivation back, I mentioned Reading about your goal in a previous blog. But this time it is about inspiring stories. Stories from people who walked the talk, people who are where I want to be.

The Kiyosakis are a living example for me. Nothing is impossible. It is not about trying to copy what they have done, it is more about learning and getting an idea. In their books, Kim and Robert describe ways of investing and seeing the world in a way I was scared of before. I grew up in a system where everyone speaks about security. The "other side" cost too much money and is too risky. RIGHT ... of course, when you don't learn about it and don't play the games by the rules it is risky.

Photo courtesy by Markus Brosch

Just sit down and educate yourself. Nobody taught me about money, at least not to see it this way. The majority of people speaks about how to save money, but I want to know how to make money. If I want something, I try to figure out how to get it. I work more hours, I improve my business, I extend my business, I start another business ... and so on. I want to grow, not shrink.

Oops, I drifted off a little bit from my initial topic, sry *blush* ... a proof, that inspiring stories work hehe

Have a wonderful day and make magic!

Find like-minded friends ...

I think it was in April or May last year ... I just contacted a cashflow club here in Brisbane. It was one of the critical moments in my life I will never regret. I met like-minded people who actually think similar to me or, what happened to me, they open your mind even more and you grow ...

I was looking forward to meet them again and again every fortnight to play cashflow 101 and meet new people. I was learning soo much and now we are even business partners. I am soo happy that I did this first step last year.

THANK YOU JODIE and JEREMIAH

But you have to keep doing it. Meeting other people, you will be surprised ... there are actually people out there having similar goals and passions. Of course there will be people as well who come and go, but the ones you are stuck with ... you can move mountains when you are in your flow.

I can see it in my PhD ... I am not in rapport with any of these people at the institute ... I hardly know what to talk about with them. I've found like-minded people somewhere else and my network is growing.

Stephane and I keep pushing each other to do this networking part and we encourage each other to succeed in our goals. I want to thank you, Stephane, as well deep from my heart ... thanks for kicking my ass ... and re-focus my goal again and again. BKBH²

Read about it ...

That's how everything started ... I read one book, then another. During the last year I have probably read so many books .... I don't know. But every single book counts. It is not about reading any kind of book ... I mean books that made me think. About me and my life. I have started to re-think, what are my goals, why am I here and so on. And I definitely keep reading, because I am just in the middle of my journey which hopefully will never end. But I am sooo happy that I have started it.

Photo Courtesy by Markus Brosch

Leo from Zenhabits said to read everyday on your goal. It sounds quite stressy, but he is right. There are just too many things out there that can distract you, bring you down and out of focus. Keep reading of things that motivate you, so it becomes a habit. It is not about being talented in something, it is more about to have it as a habit ....

And when you are feeling down, just one chapter in any Kiyoaski book or a Stephen Coney - chapter. That brings me back and I get things done again and am organized. I can recommend WINK from Roger Hamilton. It is a book you better read again and again anyway, because every single time, you come out with something new that you haven't noticed before.

Have a quick look at my Visual bookshelf on facebook, I put some books there that I have read and that I still want to read ... it changed my life ... Keep reading :o)

Get excited again!

It is unfortunately too easy to lose excitement after a while ... especially when you don't see results immediately. When you are an impatient person as I am then you know what I mean ;o) Can you get back being excited again? I have to put in some effort to get back on track. But I am happy to say, it became a habit. Seeing the goal, knowing that I have learned soo much already ... getting some self-confidence ... it helps a lot.

Here comes in as well the point, why have I been excited before? Being different? Doing something significant for me, but especially for someone else? What happened? Did I give, before I received something? Did I meet the right people having clarity and vision? Getting an idea to be in flow, that makes me excited. I am still a beginner in being a FLOW-ER, but I think I can smell it from time to time. People who know Roger Hamilton know what I am talking about ;o)

Yes, I can get excited again ... because I know what made me excited and I can refocus on it. That gives me the energy and power I need to be a MECHANIC, hehe ...

Have a lovely day

Think about the benefits ...

Doing this little first step ... oh yeah, this can be soooo hard. Either it is starting to prepare a presentation or just getting out of bed early. I know that I will feel good after I have done the first step ... but just doing it ... ahhhhh. But I have learned during the last couple of months to focus on the outcome. It is still not a habit, but it will be. The day is soooo much better when you get up early or you have done something that costs you quite a bit of effort. It will definitely energize you.

February 2008 after 8 hours of coding with a STAR, no wonder I have red eyes :D

Just yesterday I read another chapter in Anthony Robbins first book (I think) Unlimited Power. The name of the chapter is Anchoring yourself to Success. And it is just so true. To brace oneself or as we say in german " ... den inneren Schweinehund ueberwinden ;o)" ... just do the first little step. For me the anchor is making a fist and saying to myself (or sometimes loud) yes, c'mon, you can do it.

I did some networking yesterday and updated my ecademy profile. I am a little bit proud of it that I finally did it. It is amazing what kind of snowball reaction you start immediately. Yes, most of the emails you get are automatized, but it is a good way to get in contact with other people, which is still not easy for me ;o) And one of the messages I received contained the following poem which I would like to share with you (I got the permission ;o) ) Enjoy your day and think positive ...

The Dream
A man lay on his bed at the end of his life waiting to die.
His dream came to pay his last respects and bid farewell to the man who had never used it.
As it entered the room the man looked down in shame.
"Why did you not realise me ?" the dream asked.
"Because I was afraid," the man said.
"Afraid of what," said the dream.
"I was afraid I would fail."
"But haven't you failed by not attempting to use me?".
"Yes I did, but I always thought there would be tomorrow."
"You Fool!" said the dream" Did it never occur to you that there was only ever today? the moment that you are in right now?
Do you think that now that death is here that you can put it off until tomorrow?".
"No". said the man, a tear gently rolling down his cheek.
The dream was softer now, because it knew that there were two types of pain, the pain of discipline and the pain of regret, and while discipline weighs ounces , regret weighs pounds.
Then the dream leant forward to gently wipe away the tear and said, " You need only have taken the first step and I would have taken one to meet you, for the only thing that ever separated us was the belief in your mind that you couldn't have me".
Then they said goodbye and they both died.
Mark Baker

Squash negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones

... this week was challenging and I am not even sure whether I've passed the test. I hope my supervisors don't read the blog, but I did nothing this week, because I am completely out of focus and questioning everything. I have to prepare a presentation, but you know ... when you are not committed anymore to the work you have done, what do you want to present. I would love to present the stuff I am proud of ... but all this is gone with the wind somehow. I don't want to questioning the whole PhD, but if I don't move on now, someone else will start questioning it and the same for the funding. I don't have another choice.

If you could see my thoughts, you probably would have given up on me already. One good thing is, I am aware of the negative self-talk, but currently I don't have the energy to replace it. Leo suggests in his blog, just to swap the words to positive ones ... and I know that works. Sometimes I feel the mind is ready to move on, but the body just doesn't react, like not going out of bed or I am just not starting it.

Yes, I am challenging my body with my thyriod story as well. Maybe it is just the wrong timing, as some of the symptoms are depression, lose of concentration and gaining weight. Yes, I am tempted to go back and take the supplements again. After 3 month I cannot report any positive affect ... I have the feeling that I cannot do my work properly .... :o(

Stay accountable ....

oh yes, how many times did I start something and then .... uuuhhhh ... it was gone with the wind. I mean, most of my things I have started are still in my mind and not forgotten. There is for example my cross-stitching project. It is big, I mean really big and more than 100 different colors, so you can maybe imagine what kind of effort it is (or maybe not, hehe). I know I will finish it, the question is just when. After I have finished this project with the big lion, I have promised Bene, my good old buddy (hahahah) a cross stitch with a pig ... and yes, I will do it. Let me just finish the PhD, develop some businesses (or call it passive income) and I will come back to my stitching mood.



Actually, maybe it is good to do it, just to have a day off. Just to do something completely different and not to brain storm all the time. There is a little chance not to feel bad about it. I brought all tools with me to Australia, just haven't touched it yet. What do you think? That is a good idea. One afternoon in the next weekends I will do some stitching .. yeahhh!

Mmmm, now that I have it written down here, I have to commit to it ... as Leon told in his blog. I will definitely keep you up2date with the stitching and with my PhD. Next time more about the PhD thingy ....


Have a good one :o)