Learn To Read More: 8 tips

When I was slightly younger I used to hate everything about books and reading in general! That’s because I was bored out of my mind with that old and sad school program and its mandatory list of books to consume. So bored that I never even had a drop of interest to look beyond the reading program of school. Until one night. It was my cousin Julia. She was reading “Master and Margarita” and laughing her heart out. I got puzzled. “Hey, Jules, what’s so funny about that book?”- I asked. “Hm, would you care to try and learn for yourself?!” – she said. It was a challenge. But I got sooooo interested in that book that I completely forgot how seriously I hated any kind of books!
And now, in this present moment, when I learned to love reading I would like to share this pattern on how to read more with You.

How To Read More

1. Quality time

Everything takes it’s time. So find at least 20 to 30 mins a day and dedicate it to reading. Nothing else. Just you and your book.

2. Enjoy

Read with pleasure. In fact do everything with pleasure. Adopt it as a habit. Make notes and remarks. Use quotes you found appealing for your daily inspiration. Enjoy reading.

3. Share

To make this experience more fun – share with friends your thoughts on things you have read or are reading now. Once I had a friendly competition with my cousin. We were reading about 4-5 books a month. I never failed to share my experience and that made it so much more fun and made me want to read more and more.

4. New Healthy habit

Make a tick in you list of healthy habits because “reading more” is one of them! Salute and applause! No, seriously.

5. Not a chore

Remember, what feels like a chore has no place for pleasure whatsoever. You don’t want that, believe me. So read #2 again.

6. Bored till you snore?! Then let it go…

If you get bored easily then why waste precious time on struggles with reading this particular book?! Let it go and move on! The next book will be better for you.

7. Forget the speed

Who cares about the speed you are reading at?! You are not taking any exams in speed reading, are you?! So take it easy. There is no rush. Read with your own natural path. Read with pleasure. And make sure that you pay extra attention to every single bit of it.

8. Explore more

There is an unimaginable world of reading out there waiting for you to explore more and more. So make lists of desirable books to read this year and carry on! Do a great job in exploring! Read with pleasure. Read more.

By: Lesya

Source: http://havingtime.com/

Positive Thinking: 7 Easy Ways to Improve a Bad Day

BY GEOFFREY JAMES

Don't let a bad morning ruin your entire day. Use these mental tricks to change your momentum.

Had a lousy morning? Things looking grim?

Not to worry. The rest of your day need not be a disaster. It can in fact become one of your best, providing you take these simple steps:

1. Remember that the past does not equal the future.

There is no such thing as a "run of bad luck." The reason people believe such nonsense is that the human brain creates patterns out of random events and remembers the events that fit the pattern.

2. Refuse to make self-fulfilling prophesies. 

If you believe the rest of your day will be as challenging as what's already happened, then rest assured: You'll end up doing something (or saying) something that will make sure that your prediction comes true.

3. Get a sense of proportion.

Think about the big picture: Unless something life-changing has happened (like the death of a loved one), chances are that in two weeks, you'll have forgotten completely about whatever it was that has your shorts in a twist today.

4. Change your threshold for "good" and "bad."

Decide that a good day is any day that you're above ground. Similarly, decide that a bad day is when somebody steals your car and drives it into the ocean. Those types of definitions make it easy to be happy–and difficult to be sad.

5. Improve your body chemistry.

Your body and brain are in a feedback loop: A bad mood makes you tired, which makes your mood worse, and so forth. Interrupt the pattern by getting up and moving around.  Take a walk or eat something healthy.

6. Focus on what's going well.

The primary reason you're convinced it's a bad day is that you're focusing on whatever went wrong. However, for everything going badly, there are probably dozens of things going well.  Make list, and post it where it's visible.

7. Expect something wondrous.

Just as an attitude of doom and gloom makes you see more problems, facing the future with a sense of wonder makes you alive to all sorts of wonderful things that are going on, right now, everywhere around you.

Source: http://www.inc.com/

HOW TO BE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT EVERYTHING

By Laura Schwecherl

When challenges come our way, it may be easy to succumb to negative thoughts. But look on the bright side — optimistic thinking isn’t just in our heads. Thinking positively can also boost our physical and mental health [1].

THE POWER OF POSITIVE — THE NEED-TO-KNOW

Optimistic thinkers tend to anticipate the best possible outcome in any situation. (I may have totaled my car, but thank goodness for insurance!) And research suggests seeing the glass half-full is good for our health, career, and love life. Studies have found self-reported optimism predicts lower rates of mortality and cancer, and better cardiovascular health and immune function [2] [3]. Other research has found the benefits of positive thinking are especially pronounced in low-income countries [4].

One study even suggests optimism helps women battle breast cancer (although researchers asked patients to remember how optimistic they were before their diagnosis, so the results might not be perfectly accurate) [5]. And elderly people who hold positive stereotypes about old age generally recover better from disability than those who think negatively [6].

Some psychologists think optimists tend to be healthier because they cope better when they can’t meet their goals [1]. It’s also possible that people who think positively attribute less significance to stressful events [8].

But the benefits of optimism go beyond a clean bill of health. Forget the raving resume — there may be a connection between positive thinking and landing a stellar job. Optimists also have a better chance of securing a stable, loving relationship[9]. Still, thinking positively may be easier said than done.

EVERY LITTLE THING IS GONNA' BE ALL RIGHT — YOUR ACTION PLAN

While some psychologists think we can learn to be optimists, other experts believe optimism is a personality trait we’re born with. And other factors, like socioeconomic status and cultural background, may have a role in our ability to think positively. Several studies have found a relationship between pessimism and lower economic status — though it’s unclear whether low socioeconomic status causes people to be more pessimistic or the other way around [10] [11]. Cultural differences may also come into play — studies suggest Western cultures tend to anticipate more positive events than Eastern cultures do. Some psychologists suggest that’s because Westerners focus more on self-enhancement and see themselves more positively than Easterners [12].

And before becoming Mr. or Mrs. “everything is awesome and wonderful,” know that being too optimistic can have its downside. Expecting the best in every situation may lead to failed expectations [13]. Some experts argue defensive pessimism — the ’ol “hope for the best prepare for the worst” — helps people respond to certain threats and may even reduce anxiety [14].

Here are some quick tips on how to start seeing the glass half-full:

• Find the good. Even in less-than-great situations, there’s a way to find something positive. It may be hard to see at first, but try looking closer! (I may be completely lost, but the view from here sure is pretty.)

• Write it down. At the end of the day, write down a few good things that happened, like finishing a big report at work or getting an e-mail from an old friend. The habit makes it easier to appreciate the positive parts of life.

• Speak with success. Sometimes it’s not the specific situation that determines a good or bad mood, but how we talk about it. (The exam may have been super hard, but telling friends we tried our best may cheer us up.)

• Forget the green-eyed monster. It’s easy to compare ourselves to others, becoming envious of what we don’t have. Instead, try to appreciate the good qualities and remember what we’re grateful for.

• Take control: Science has shown people feel more optimistic about situations they can control. So take a seat behind the driver’s wheel and remember choices like working out more and eating healthfully are (almost always) yours!

• Smile! Grin at this: In one study, participants who held a pen in their mouth (causing them to use their smiling muscles) perceived cartoons to be funnier than those without the pen . So not only are smiles contagious, they may actually make situations seem better !

• Stay balanced. Life isn’t all good, all the time, so don’t worry if those positive thoughts don’t flow freely. Staying realistic is also important to help manage anxiety and boost productivity.

Source: http://greatist.com/

Anxiety and Deceit: 4 Lies We Love to Tell Ourselves

by Alex Keats

Just as a scorpion’s nature is to sting, it’s in anxiety’s nature to deceive.

Anxiety is a pathological liar of the highest order, and it prides itself in coming up with the most frightening stories about what may or could happen. It’ll look you right in the eye and tell you your life is about to end, when not even a hint of danger is present.

Anxiety’s goal is simple: It just wants you to believe what it says.

It knows that the more you are convinced of its lies, the longer it gets to exist. It knows the longer it exists, the stronger it gets. It knows the stronger it gets, the weaker you get.

Most of all, it doesn’t want you to understand how it operates, because it knows its days are numbered if you do.

In this article, we’ll expose four of the biggest lies of anxiety, and look at how our belief in them shapes our experience. Since a lie believed it can never lead to the freedom we desire, we’ll replace these deceptions that hurt with truths that heal.

In the end, we discover the freedom that comes from uprooting the false and seeing what was always true, seeing what never left.

Once uncovered and brought out into the light, these lies of anxiety no longer have the power to harm us like they once did. Instead, they serve to remind us that anxiety is just doing what it’s designed to do – deceive and hope we’ll believe.

Deceived by Anxiety. 4 Lies We Love to Tell Ourselves

See if any of these lies hit home for you:

1. I need to avoid people and activities I enjoy the most

Underlying this lie that says we must avoid the people and activities we enjoy most is the assumption that whatever we do and wherever we go, anxiety will rear its ugly head and strike. The driving force behind this lie is the fear of appearing weak and unworthy. What others think of us has somehow become more important than what we think of us!

Shielding ourselves from the humiliation of looking fragile, we withdraw into our own little world and stop doing what we enjoy most. In our isolation, anxiety tends to become more problematic; it becomes the pink elephant in the room we’d rather not acknowledge.

If we ask ourselves, “Is it really true I can’t go anywhere without fearing an unpleasant experience?  Is it really true that every aspect of my life is impacted by this – and that I must stop doing what I enjoy most?”

If we are honest with ourselves, we see that it just isn’t true.

Of course, wearing rose-colored glasses will have us seeing the color rose all day. However, what happens when we take the glasses off? We don’t see rose anymore. When we see through the big lie that says we must avoid the people, places and things we enjoy most, we don’t have to put our life on hold.

We can continue to spend time with those we love and do the things we most enjoy. Just because we have anxiety doesn’t mean we need to stop these things. Just because it rains doesn’t mean we stop going outside.

2. This shouldn’t be happening to me

This is perhaps the primary lie that all other lies are built on. The reality is if anxiety is happening in your experience, anxiety is your experience. No amount of wishing it wasn’t happening won’t change the fact that indeed, anxiety is happening.

When we say our favourite sports team “should have won that game,” we’re essentially denying reality. Whenever we deny reality, we suffer. No matter what happened during the game, our team lost and the other team won. In other words, our team ‘should’ have lost simply because they did.

In its utter simplicity, we overlook it.

When we tell ourselves anxiety and fear shouldn’t be happening to us (whether through resistance, denial or running from it) we unconsciously give energy to what we don’t want. It’s like pouring gasoline on your backyard barbecue when you want the fire to go out.

Put simply, if you are experiencing anxiety, you ‘should’ be experiencing anxiety! It’s not a mistake, is it? For whatever reason, it’s a part of your life journey, whether you like it or not. The most important thing is how you address it.

3. Since my anxiety feels real, it must BE real

This unwarranted leap that says, “Since anxiety feels real, it must be real” may be the Granddaddy lie of all. The fact is, if we didn’t believe the lies anxiety tells us, we couldn’t be tortured by our anxiety. Our belief in it keeps us in fear of it and we end up being afraid of being afraid.

When that happens, we’re usually paralysed most of the time…

The reality is, sometimes our feelings can be trusted as honest and intelligent responses to people and events and sometimes they can’t be trusted. The key is being able to discern the difference.

Especially when it comes to anxiety, phobias and compulsions, feelings are NOT accurate representations for what is actually real and true. The truth is, you won’t die, and you aren’t in any real danger, either.  It just feels that way.

Question the validity of what your anxiety is saying and know that the false cannot stand up to examination. When we take a closer look at what our anxiety tells us, we discover that we just can’t find any real evidence to back up what it says.

Just because it feels real doesn’t make it real, right?  What is the antidote to believing? DON’T believe!  Yet when you see what is true, you won’t need to bother with believing or not believing.

You’ll know.

4. I must wait until I feel ready to address my anxiety

If you believe the lie that says you must wait until you feel ready to address your anxiety, you may wait forever. While you may believe feeling ‘ready’ is required, it isn’t. The deceit of anxiety would love for you to believe you aren’t prepared to overcome it, but the truth is, you are.

How many times have we waited to feel motivated before we start exercising, or before we take on an important project, only to find that the inspiration came after we took action? Very often we find that motivation and “readiness” kicks in after we take action – not before it.

Life has a way of supporting us in ways we never imagined, and at times we never imagined. It’s as if we’re being rewarded for taking action when we didn’t feel like taking action.

When we move, life moves with us.

Love doesn't wait for you to be ready, and it doesn't happen when you want it to. Love happens when you least expect it, whether you’re ready or not.

Ready or not, life opens up when you do.

In Closing…

Our lives don’t have to stop just because we may be experiencing anxiety, or just because we have distressing phobias. When we stop doing the things we most enjoy doing, we’re giving in and admitting defeat.

It’s important not to run from or reject any feelings of anxiety we may be feeling. Allowing the sensations of anxiety to pass through our experience gives us the room to see that just because our feelings of anxiety feel real, it doesn’t mean they are real.

Whatever we allow can only move towards freedom.

Don’t fall for the postponement strategies anxiety comes up with. When you don’t wait to feel ready to address your anxiety, you’ll discover that all along, the readiness was there – you just had to move first.

Courage means acting in spite of the fear, not in the absence of fear.

Life isn’t a dress rehearsal. This is it.

Your life is now.

Are you living it?

Source: http://havingtime.com/

10 Tips to Overcome Negative Thoughts: Positive Thinking Made Easy

By Michelle Uy

Even though I’m a yoga teacher, I still find it’s easy to fall prey to negative thinking. Having negative thoughts play out like a movie can only bring you pain, something that I’ve experienced many times throughout my life.

Negative thoughts drain you of energy and keep you from being in the present moment. The more you give in to your negative thoughts, the stronger they become. I like the imagery of a small ball rolling along the ground, and as it rolls, it becomes bigger and faster.

That’s what one small negative thought can turn into: a huge, speeding ball of ugliness. On the contrary, a small positive thought can have the same effect blossoming into a beautiful outcome.

I’d like to share with you an example of how one small thought can turn into a very negative experience.

For the last ten years, I have lived on my own. Obviously during this time, I’ve grown accustomed to living in a particular way; I have my routines with cooking, cleaning and living happily in my place.

My boyfriend of two years who I have had a long distance relationship with will soon be moving here and we will be living together. Lately, I’ve had negative thoughts of moving in with him knowing that my living routine will have to change and we will have to create a new routine together.

Unfortunately, I’ve already jumped into the future and have had thoughts that we will not be able to come up with a living arrangement that will make us both happy. In my mind, I have seen myself already getting angry about our cooking and cleaning situation.

He came for a surprise visit this past weekend and boy, was it a surprise for him. We had a miserable weekend together. I did not enjoy his company because I was already angry with him and he was confused and equally frustrated with me. What could have been a really fabulous weekend ended up being a painful and heavy weekend.

When we start to have negative thoughts, it’s hard to stop them. And it’s much easier said than done to shift your focus to positive thoughts. But, it’s the only way—especially if you want to avoid going down a path that is painful and unnecessary.

Here are 10 things I did to help overcome my negative thoughts that you can also try:

1. Meditate or do yoga.

One of the first things I did was head to a yoga class. It took my focus away from my thoughts and brought my attention to my breath. Yoga is also very relaxing which helped ease my mind. Yoga helped me stay present to my experience so instead of jumping to what could happen, it brought me back to the now—the only moment, the most important moment.

2. Smile.

I didn’t do much of this during the weekend so I literally had to bring myself in front of a mirror and force myself to smile. It really does help change your mood and relieve stress. I also felt lighter because it takes fewer muscles to smile than to frown.

3. Surround yourself with positive people.

I called a friend who I knew could give me constructive, yet loving feedback. When you’re stuck in a negative spiral, talk to people who can put things into perspective and won’t feed your negative thinking.

4. Change the tone of your thoughts from negative to positive.

For example, instead of thinking We are going to have a hard time adjusting to our living situation, replace that with We will face some challenges in our living situation, but we will come up with solutions that we will both be happy with.

5. Don’t play the victim. You create your life—take responsibility.

The way I was thinking and acting, you would think I was stuck. Even if our living situation becomes unbearable, there is always a way out. I will always have the choice to make change happen, if need be.

6. Help someone.

Take the focus away from you and do something nice for another person. I decided to make a tray of food and donate it to the Salvation Army. It took my mind off of things and I felt better for helping someone else.

7. Remember that no one is perfect and let yourself move forward.

It’s easy to dwell on your mistakes. I felt terrible that I acted this way and that I wasted our weekend. The only thing I can do now is learn from my mistakes and move forward. I definitely don’t want to have a weekend like that again.

8. Sing.

I don’t remember lyrics very well and it’s probably the reason that I don’t enjoy singing, but every time I do sing I always feel better . When we sing, we show our feelings and this provides an amazing stress relief.

9. List five things that you are grateful for right now.

Being grateful helps appreciate what you already have. Here’s my list: My cats, health, a six-week trip to Asia, a new yoga class that I’ll be teaching, and for my mom’s biopsy coming out clean.

10. Read positive quotes.

I like to place Post-It notes with positive quotes on my computer, fridge door and mirror as reminders to stay positive. Also, I’d like to share with you a quote by an unknown author that was shared in a meditation class that I attended:

Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

Happy positive thinking!

Photo by Nasir Nasrallah

8 Ways to Keep Your Brain Innovative

BY GEIL BROWNING

When I return from the Serengeti, my brain feels new. It's as if the hot African sun sears away mental fog. You can replicate this--closer to home.

For many years, I have had the privilege of leading groups of family members, friends, colleagues, and clients to Africa. We do volunteer work for the Kenyan Children Foundation; we dig, scrub, build, teach, and--at all times--give as much love as possible to the AIDS children the Foundation serves. Every evening, no matter how late it is, our group convenes to discuss our day. This is not a vacation. This is work--expensive work! Yet year after year, people jump at the opportunity to join me. 

People want to join me because of the wonderful feelings that come from helping children whom society has otherwise abandoned. There is also the excitement of visiting such a dramatically different part of the world.

Also, after our work is done and we return home, we all notice an interesting phenomenon. Our brains feel new. Our eyes see differently. It's as if the hot African sun seared away all our mental fog.

"It seems crazy to think that I had to go that far to gain perspective," says Lauren, a human resources executive at a Fortune 1000 company. "But life there is simpler. We had no TV or radio or newspapers for three weeks. Unplugging gave me such an appreciation for life. Kenya reminded me of what's important: the beauty of the earth, good food, and fellowship. By getting off the daily treadmill, I was able to get back on it with far more patience. The Serengeti gave me the gift of seeing the bigger picture. Now, in my work, I don't get so wrapped up in the day-to-day challenges that I lose sight of the greater goal. My brain built new pathways and connections, and reached new 'aha' moments that have made my decision making more clear, my life less stressful, and my heart more grateful."

When I am in Africa, I not only begin to see the "bigger picture," as Lauren says, but I also gradually get into the rhythm of "Africa time." An 8 o'clock appointment may or may not happen at 8 o'clock. When it happens, it happens. Africa time causes the structural part of my brain to eventually give up and go on a holiday. I also find that the analytical part of my brain is forced to yield to more innovative and more social thinking--so I use the opposite parts of the brain on which Western society is largely based. All these shifts make my brain more open to inspiration and new ideas.

On the treadmill of our daily lives, we are far too busy for Africa time. Blogger J.D. Gersheinnotes that the expression "I've been crazy busy" has become the new professional apology, and asks, "How on earth did we arrive at the crossroads of manageable busy and clinical insanity?"

The problem with being "crazy busy" is that it does not allow freewheeling thought. Think of the bright ideas you've had when you were washing your face or even sound asleep. A recent article in The New York Times titled "The 'Busy' Trap" points out: "History is full of stories of inspirations that come in idle moments and dreams. It almost makes you wonder whether loafers, goldbricks, and no-accounts aren't responsible for more of the world's great ideas, inventions, and masterpieces than the hardworking."

Working incessantly is counterproductive. Our brains can handle only so much. A wonderful article by Sara Robinson called "Bring Back the 40-Hour Work Week" notes that every workday, "odds are good that you probably turn out five or six good, productive hours of hard mental work, and then spend the other two or three hours on the job in meetings, answering e-mail, making phone calls, and so on. You can stay longer if your boss asks, but after six hours, all he's really got left is a butt in a chair."

Although corporate America has not gotten the message, there is mountains of evidence that working longer hours does not produce better work. In fact, the overworked brain begins to make mistakes, and it is possible for teams to reach a point at which they are working longer hours just to correct the errors they made from working longer hours! Dramatic examples of the consequences of brain fatigue include the Exxon Valdez disaster, the space-shuttle Challenger explosion, and numerous times when air-traffic controllers have been overtired.

So what can you do to work smarter, prevent burnout, and make sure your brain is always open to inspiration?

1. Work fewer hours.

Working the longest hours of anyone is just foolish.

2. Clarify your goals and core values.

What are you ultimately trying to accomplish? Are you spending too much time spinning your wheels on tasks that are irrelevant?

3. Track your time.

Being ruthlessly efficient allows you to block out periods of nonwork time.

4. Don't overpromise.  

This is especially challenging for entrepreneurs, given that in many cases you won't get the job unless you tell the client you'll get it done in record time--for the least amount of money.

5. Say no.

Learn to walk away from jobs that will be a nightmare.

6. Hire help.

If you refuse to delegate, you end up hurting only yourself by working longer hours. You will have to learn how to not be a perfectionist and how to not be a control freak.

7. Get a life.

Make sure you have a good life outside of work and that you're not trying to escape something by working too hard.

8. Unplug. 

Block out periods of time when you will let your phone take messages and let your email collect unread. It's not going anywhere.

Fortunately, you don't need to travel halfway around the world to learn how to make your life less busy and your brain more innovative. By working smarter, you'll have an opportunity for strategic thinking and planning during prime time every day, instead of squeezing your most important visionary work into late nights and weekends.

Source: http://www.inc.com/

IMAGE: JAMIE GRILL/GETTY

How to Motivate Yourself and Stay Focused

BY MARK SUSTER

When it's time to push through tough decisions, like to sell your company or not to sell, you need to keep motivated and on point.

"Look, if you had, one shot
Or one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted
In one moment
Would you capture it, or just let it slip?"
[Eminem, "Lose Yourself"]

I've often said that to run a start-up you almost have to abstract yourself from the daily stresses and grind just to exist. You almost have to have an out-of-body experience as though it's not really your life but it's just a game you're playing in order to not be buried by the burdens of your decisions.

If you raise money the game continues. If you don't you may have to lay off staff in eight weeks. How can you process that?

Even more difficult. You have an offer to sell your company. Should you? You might net $1 million and that would change your life. But everybody is telling you not to sell and instead to "go for it" and you don't know whom to listen to.

One. Million. Dollars.

I know it's not what it used to be, but news flash--it's still a million dollars!

How can you wake up every day and process that decision. Five million? Ten?

Upside scenarios. Downside scenarios. Raise a big VC round--yeah! Now I just have a three times higher exit price if I want to sell one day. Ah, well. At least I have more resources.

How do you process your company's biggest decisions? How do you live with uncertainty and stay focused?

I'm a visual person, as many people are, and I need to be able to see things visually to process them.

I've talked before about how I use visualization to drive my creativity.

I also believe in visualizing results as a means of achieving them. I know it's sounds crazy and new-age-y, but it's not as crazy as you think. I think you'd acknowledge that athletes use visualization techniques for focus and motivation and we don't find that crazy at all.

My secret is that I use music and running.

When I first got my offer to sell to Salesforce, everybody around me told me not to sell. They told me that we had a chance to build the next great Internet company. After all, we were building DropBox before DropBox existed and we had really good early traffic. In hindsight, we know the market was there (whether or not we would have captured it is a different story).

VCs even offered me to cash out seven figures personally not to sell. But I had been down this road in 2000, and I saw how punishing markets could be when you didn't sell and had an offer.

Once I accepted my fate I had to stay extremely focused. I had foregone my VC term sheets to accept an offer, yet I knew it wasn't a 100 percent probability to close--it never is. I was also deeply paranoid that a bad recession was coming (this was early 2007). I know that sounds like Monday-morning quarterbacking, but you can ask anybody around me--especially my wife.

Paranoid. Yet focused.

"He won't give up that
Easy, no
He won't have it, he knows his whole back's to these ropes
It don't matter, he's dope
He knows that but he's broke
He's so stagnant, he knows
He better go capture this moment and hope it don't pass him"
[Eminem, "Lose Yourself"]

Back then, I ran daily. What a luxury. I lived in Palo Alto and had a 6-mile loop I would do in the mornings to get me motivated. I know, it would have been more apropos if it were an 8-mile loop, but it wasn't.

I blasted the music. He won't give up that easily. His whole back's to these ropes. He's broke. Capture this moment--don't let it pass.

I would self-talk. This is your moment. Stay focused. Get stuff done. Get through your disclosure schedules. Make sure the acquisition is still on target. Talk to your teammates and make sure they're still good with the exit. Make sure they're still planning to move to San Francisco. Work through issues and problems.

Maybe this is actually going to happen. Maybe it isn't?

Corp Dev is wrapping my knuckles because I had planned to speak at the Under the Radar Conference. They say I can't go. They don't want me around other buyers. But what if they pull out? Then I'm stuck and didn't foster relationships?

This sucks. They can't tell me where I can go and where I can't!

Just a game. Who cares.

If this doesn't happen, it wasn't meant to be. Don't worry about the financial security--it's not yours anyways. If you get it, you get it. If not, plan B. Don't visualize money in your bank account. Don't mentally spend it. Don't assume your life is heading that way or you'll never get through setbacks.

What is Plan B? Not sure. But we've built a great product--we'll find a way. Yahoo was interested. SAP was interested. VCs were interested. Plan B, fine. Later. Right now, Plan A!

"You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo

This world is mine for the taking
Make me king, as we move toward a new world order
A normal life is boring, but superstardom's close to postmortem

I was playing in the beginning, the mood all changed"
[Eminem, "Lose Yourself"]

It was a stressful period that ended well. There wasn't a day that went by that I wasn't obsessively looking at my to-do list, calling people to move the process forward, checking the news for any signs of market problems. Then I would sleep and do the same thing the next day.

I felt hugely pumped up and motivated by the music. By the lyrics. But the reminder that "this was my shot" and failure wasn't an option.

Did it control my outcome?

Probably not. But if I would have had a setback in the M&A deal, I felt emotionally ready to spring to action and solve any problem. Having a healthy mind is as important as having a healthy body, and we pay very little attention to the former.

I think more people should.

Find ways to motivate yourself. Find ways to not see this situation as actually affecting YOU, even though it obviously does. Deal in today's problems, not in tomorrow's possible ones.

Know your options. But don't sweat every single one and don't visualize the downside scenarios. That's emotionally unproductive and you can deal with those stresses if you get the bad news.

Music motivates me when I need it. I find lyrics that resonate, then I grab the message in my own world and context. It helps me focus.

I don't know what motivates you and allows you to tune out all of life's distractions in your moments of need, but you need to find it the way athletes do before a big game.

I know some readers right now will have no clue what I'm even talking about. I suspect that's just because you've never had to be a start-up CEO and deal with the incredible insecurities, uncertainties, and stresses. Surreal, it definitely is. But, as Eminem raps:

"Success is my only motherf----n' option, failure's not."

 Source: http://www.inc.com/