99 Thoughts to Help You Fill Your Life Management Tool Box

By Nathan S. Collier

This book is a compilation of personal leadership and development blogs written by Nathan S. Collier, a real estate developer, entrepreneur, attorney, general contractor and certified public account. His words of wisdom are meant to help, motivate and encourage those looking to improve in different aspects of their lives by focusing on goal-setting, motivation, positive affirmations, leadership, life work balance, personal awareness, habit creation and continual learning techniques. His thoughts are based on real life experiences rooted in great challenges and extraordinary success.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781312127739

Book preview

99 Thoughts to Help You Fill Your Life Management Tool Box

99 THOUGHTS

TO HELP YOU

FILL YOUR

LIFE MANAGEMENT

TOOLBOX

by Nathan S. Collier

Copyright © 2013, Nathan S. Collier

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

Introduction

We come into life naked, without an Instruction Manuel.  As we grow up, we learn how to read and write and add and subtract but we receive very little if any formal instruction in the vital area of Life Management skills. Instead the process of becoming an adult is a classic case of On the Job training, with key life lessons often presented in confusing and haphazard ways.

I was extremely fortunate as a young child to have a very dysfunctional single mother. Today Mom would have probably been quickly diagnosed as a barely functioning bi-polar but the 50's and early 60's were a different era. I say I was extremely fortunate because I viewed my Mom's disorganization (to put it mildly) with horror and I was determined to be different. I knew there had to be a better way and I was committed to find that better way.

So began a life-long pursuit of learning, of continuous improvement, of honing my Life Management Skills. Along the way came much prosperity and material success but it was the journey, the learning, the testing, the trying and the doing that brought the twin blessings of happiness and contentment into my life.

This e-book contains 99 excerpts from my twice a week blog which can be found at NSCblog.com. Each thought is designed to take a few short minutes to read yet provide enough inspiration or focus or wisdom to take you a few steps further on your journey to your best self, your.

Who is Nathan S. Collier?

The longer I lived, the more I learned that it was EQ not IQ that was the secret of my success

-          Nathan S. Collier

Grandson of Robert Collier, the author of The Secret of the Ages quoted four times in the New York Times best sellerThe Secret,

Spiritual seeker that fully believes your quest to be the Best You guarantees great success,

Entrepreneur that believes in Main Street ideals,

Philanthropist that is driven to produce prosperity more than wealth,

Avid learner that never stops trying to figure out how to create opportunities from impossibilities.

Why Should You Listen to Nathan S. Collier?

Self-Made Man:

Starting with a single duplex purchased with just $1,000 down, Nathan S. Collier now owns over10,000 apartments and is largest individual owner of Student Housing in America

Entrepreneur

Founder/Owner of The Collier Companies, 163rd largestcompany inFlorida (3rd largest state) per Florida Trend 2013

Author:

Construction Funding: The Process of Real Estate Development, Appraisal, and Finance, published by John Wiley & Sons, now in its 4th edition and recently published in Chinese and Korean.

Industry Leader:

Endowed The Nathan S. Collier Master of Science in Real Estateprogram at University of  Florida

Real Estate Expert:

Founding Chair of the Student Housing Committee of theNational MultiHousing Council

Writer:

Over 1,000 blogs on Personal Development and Leadership @ NSCBlog.com, over 1,500 inspirational quotes tweeted @ CEORealEstate

Philanthropist:

Serves onColumbia University's ColumbiaJournalism Review Board of Overseersas well as the University of Florida’sBergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies; Life member of the University of Florida Foundation

Continuous Learner

Graduate of Harvard Business School's OPM 25 class.

Attorney

Certified Public Accountant

Building Contractor

Real Estate Broker

Private Pilot (inactive license)

Table of Contents

99 THOUGHTS  TO HELP YOU  FILL YOUR  LIFE MANAGEMENT  TOOLBOX

Copyright © 2013, Nathan S. Collier

Introduction

Who is Nathan S. Collier?

Why Should You Listen to Nathan S. Collier?

Table of Contents

GOAL SETTING

Success the Cliff’s Notes Version

Bright Burns the Candle:  The High of Commitment, The Power of a Goal

A fool with a plan can beat a genius without a plan – T. Boone Pickens’ father

If Everything Is a Priority, Then Nothing Is a Priority

Big Rocks

The Motivational Power of Consequences, Standards and Deadlines

New Goal: Fail Often!

Cheerfully Executing Plan B

Balancing Roles: Finding the Anchor Within

The How To: Goal Setting Blog

DISCIPLINE

What Don't You Want to Think About?

You Are the Programmer

You Are Not Trapped

Staying Hungry

Directing the Monkey Mind

The Extra Degree

There's Gotta Be a Little Rain Sometime

Self-Discipline: The Breakfast of Champions

Acknowledge the Power of Your Thoughts: Where Your Mind Goes, Your Actions Follow

STEP by STEP (Habit Creation)

Taking the High Road

Why are Destructive Habits so Hard to Break?

Daily Strokes of Effort

Reprogramming the Procrastinator Personality

Tickler File: A Busy Person’s Best Friend

18 Simple Ways to Make a Habit

Micro-Actions

10,000 Times: The Cumulative Power of Small Actions

The Secret of Your Future is Hidden in Your Daily Routine

THE KNOWING (Self Awareness)

Whole Hearted People

Personal Brand

Reversible Destiny: Do Not Go Gentle

We Are Meant to be Different

Pleased But Not Satisfied

Personal Power Through Awareness

Are You Willing To Change?

Releasing Your Brakes, Losing Your Baggage

Did It Change Your Happiness?

THE DOING (Accountability)

Broadcast Your Mistakes

Blame No, Responsibility Yes

We All Are Accountable

Deep Learning

Your Tendency Is Not Your Destiny

The Unexpected Benefits of Frugality

Pack Your Own Weight

Look in the Mirror

Self-Handicapping

CONTINUAL LEARNING

Becoming a Self-Directed Learner: A Key to Super-Powered Living

Five Ways Ordinary People Create Extraordinary Success

What I Learned From That

Live the Questions

No Question Poker

Profound Change

Many Hands Make Light Work

Push Yourself

Are You Coachable?

BALANCE

The Adaptive Perfectionist

The Maladaptive Perfectionist

The Freedom of Enough

Finding the Gift

Motivated Ignorance

In Praise of Duck Moments

How Will You Measure Your Life?

5 Rules for Happiness

Mindfulness: Being Fully Present in the Present Moment

STEWARDSHIP LEADERSHIP

Just How Big an Ego Do You Need to be a Leader?

Fostering the Hardy Personality

Peter Drucker on Leadership

An Entrepreneur's Questions

Sugar Coating Only Causes Calories: Three Keys to Difficult Conversations

The Wisdom of Doubt

A Mentor's Questions

The Power of One

Our Fears or Our Dreams? Which Defines Us?

MOTIVATION

In Praise of Humble Beginnings

Micro-Victories

Hold Fast Your Dreams

No, It’s Too Hard. Forget It, No Way You Can Do It

Don't Give In To The Wall

Obstacles of Our Own Creation

No Excuses: Lives of Inspiration

Those Words Branded My Soul

Why Not You?

POSITIVE THINKING/VISUALIZATION

Affirmations: Stepping Stones to Greatness

Creating Your Destiny

We Are Just Dealing With Thoughts, and Thoughts Can Be Changed

Can You Control Your Mind?

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

Tail Enders

Harvest Joy, Harvest Miracles

The Power of Framing

The Power of Negative Thinking

ENERGY

Skinner's Secret to Skinny: Losing Weight, Slow But Sure

Shinrin-yoku

The Big Forgive

Live Long and Prosper: Your Choice

Beyond Calories

10 Secrets to a Stress Resistant Life...Plus a Bonus

Managing Your Energy Pie

Harnessing Activation Energy

Are You Sleeping Through the Good Parts?

GOAL SETTING

Success the Cliff’s Notes Version

This is as concise as I know how to make it:

1. Set Goals:

You GOTTA set goals. If you don’t have a dream, how are you going to make a dream come true? And that is goals for ALL the major roles of your life:

Family/Personal

Career/Financial

Physical/Health

Spiritual/Creative

Education/Mental

Social/Community

Each goal should have an action plan (no matter how brief) with targets and deadlines.

2. Commit to continuous learning:

Committing to continuous learning, to never ending personal and professional growth is one of the highest leverage activities you can adopt. If you are not growing, you are stagnating. The world is forever changing, change with it or you will wake up one day to find yourself obsolete. Plus, approached with the right attitude, continuous learning is fun and exciting.

3. Journal faithfully:

Regular journaling is a vital form of feedback. Journaling is not keeping a diary, journaling is recording your thoughts and progress toward your goals, getting a perspective on yourself, methodically developing your self-awareness.

4. Self-motivate:

The ability to motivate yourself, to learn your triggers, to manage your moods, to be able to summon your talents at will and bring your best self to bear when needed: these skills are golden. There are many powerful techniques to self-motivation (see Unlimited Power and Awaken the Giant Within, by Anthony Robbins); the foundation is tapping into desire (so easy when I want to, so hard when I don't) and self-belief (we never attempt what we expect to fail).

Pick goals that are aligned with your deepest desires and then make them real with visualization, go the extra mile, hard work and persistent, laser-like focused effort. Do not expect overnight success: If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. Be content with incremental progress. Baby steps, baby steps: Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.  — Robert Collier; 1885-1950.

Coda: The secret is not in the knowing, it is in the DOING.

PS: The most successful life is a balanced life; material success is incredibly hollow without true friends, deep family ties, and connection to your community… and do not forget to give back; the social contract is fundamental to civilization.

Bright Burns the Candle:  The High of Commitment, The Power of a Goal

At the age of 61, Diana Nyad is preparing to do what no one else has done before: Swim from Cuba to Key West, sans shark cage. One hundred three miles. Sixty hours in the water. Swim all day, swim all night, do it again, and then do twelve hours more. (The New York Times, July 18, 2011)

Why? The prospect of turning 60 triggered an onset of malaise, unsettling her greatly, and she needed a fresh, powerful target to stir up her energy and ambition.

’I need commitment to take over. This level of commitment has been such a high. There is no thinking about regrets or what I will do with the rest of my life. I’m immersed in the everyday, full tilt. It is so energizing...I want the candle to burn bright.

Closing quotes:

"I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply all my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy."  — Og Mandino; 1923-1996

The idle man is a wretched man.  — John Burroughs, author; 1837-1921

Purpose is what gives life a meaning.  — Charles H. Perkhurst; 1842-1933

A fool with a plan can beat a genius without a plan – T. Boone Pickens’ father

Every summer session I teach a module to the incoming students of the University of Florida [Nathan S. Collier] Master of Science in Real Estate program. Just like this blog, I title my class Personal Leadership, focusing on soft skills. I tell the students that while the hard skills they will learn