As a 57-year-young solopreneur who also happens to be a productivity coach, I understand the power and value of a planner.

While I used to do my planning on my iPhone, today, I do it all on a paper planner.

Over the years, I've used several (certainly not all!) of the planners out in the marketplace.

And I keep returning to Grant Cardone's 10X Planner (not an affiliate link) because it WORKS!

I've been saying for years, complexity is the gateway to...

I have a confession to make.

For longer than I care to admit, I neglected YouTube.

Why is this such a big deal?

Because YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world, owned by the largest search engine (Google).

To say that I regret neglecting YouTube for so long is an understatement!

Well, I've begun to correct that.

And in this post, I'm going to share what I'm doing so you can hold me accountable. Social accountability is so powerful!

Then this happened.

On April 14, 2022, I had...

Recently, I had to take a flight and decided, for the first time in my life, to fly First Class.

Now, you would think that this would be no big deal.

And for most people, it wouldn't be.

Certainly not all.

I had a few people (mainly family members, which should have been my first clue) question this "unnecessary expense."

At first, I found myself becoming defensive by their questions.

Then I realized that I don't owe them or anyone any explanation for my choosing to fly First Class.

None. At....

Brendon Burchard once said, "true experts are students first."

When I first heard that, I admit I scoffed.

What?

Aren't experts supposed to have all the answers?

Uh, no!

I've also heard that experts are just a few feet ahead of everyone else following them.

If you're not learning, you're not growing.

And I have so learned over the past few years.

Here are five mistakes I've made with productivity that have helped me grow, so I better serve you.

Mistake #1: Overthinking. 

"Stop...

How's your positivity? 

What kind of grade would you give your positivity right now? Let's go old school on this; A, B, C, D, F, or incomplete? 

Think about it just for a second. 

Got it? 

Write this grade down somewhere to know where you are right now.

Positivity ebbs and flows. You'll have days when it's effortless to be positive. And you'll have days when negativity runs rampant. Positivity is a moving target.

You can't be positive by being reactive. 

Here are...

My morning routine continues to evolve. And so I thought it was time to share what I'm doing today, June 1, 2022.

The last time I talked about my morning routine, I went to bed at nine and got up at five. But due to my wife's changing work schedule, I had to shift that just ever so slightly. Now it's 9:30 pm until 6 am, and I'm still getting at least seven hours of sleep like I should, seven days a week.

I know only set my Apple Watch alarm (for 6 am) on Sunday mornings for Bible study and...

It happens once or twice a week.

Either I fall asleep just fine only to wake up a few hours later and cannot fall right back asleep, or I can't fall asleep despite being tired.

This post was created because of the latter. Yes, I literally sketched out an outline before the idea vaporized!

To put things into context, here's my bedtime routine (something I believe would serve everyone):

• If I have caffeine, I cease consuming it at least 6 hours before bedtime. Caffeine has a half-life...

Before I get into the lessons I learned from visiting my parents recently; you need to know a few things.

• My father, 81, is struggling physically and had to make the decision no one wants to make: put their spouse of 58 years into long-term care.
• My mother, 77, suffers from late-onset Alzheimer's.
• I am their only child.

Twice a year, I fly from my home in Houston, Texas, to where they live - south of Orlando, Floria, to help Dad do what he needs to do but can't and visit Mom (who still...

You only get one life.

This is it.

So, make it a priority to take care of yourself.

When you do, you'll feel and be more productive.

It's a win/win!

Here are five simple ways to feel better starting now that require no equipment or expense.

Get 7 to 9 hours of sleep consistently.

Aim to be asleep at the same time every night and up at the same time every morning.

Yes, seven days a week!

This includes weekends, holidays, and vacations.

Your body loves consistency.,

Bonus: once you've...

You might have heard that attitude is everything. 

Mindset is critical to your success in life and your productivity. 

The definition of mindset is the established set of attitudes held by a person. 

Everyone has a mindset, which may not be a positive one, but everyone has a mindset. 

Here are seven ways to improve your mindset. 

Choose your mindset.

Hope is not a strategy. Intentionally choose your mindset. What kind of mindset do you have when you wake up in the...

Would you like to stop procrastinating once and for all?

I apologize for the clickbait title. You can't eliminate procrastination because you are a human being. 

But I have some ideas to help you reduce the amount of procrastination you're doing. 

First things first.

Let's start with a definition of procrastination from the Merriam-Webster dictionary: "it means to put off intentionally or habitually." 

I like how Grant Cardone talks about procrastination. He says, "waiting only...

Stop.

You need to stop working, working, working, working, working.

We live in a society that is 24/7/365.

I am old enough to remember that at midnight, the television stations would play the national anthem here in America, and they would go off the air until five or six o'clock in the morning. There was no cable, satellite, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, or Tik Tok.

There were only four television stations back in the day: ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS. Fox was even a...