2021 Productivity Challenge

Welcome to the 2021 Productivity Challenge

For the 12th consecutive year I’m creating a blueprint and framework for you to be massively productive and prolific. You may wish to go through my 2020 Productivity Challenge first, or simultaneously to get a jump start, but it certainly isn’t necessary. And two years ago I turned the 2019 Productivity Challenge into a 30 Day Free Membership Site. You may still sign up and go through it because the content and training remains relevant, perhaps more now than it was a year ago. Let’s get started now with your 2021 Productivity Challenge, shall we?

This year I am back to the original format, where I add something new each day. There is no need to opt in if you are on my list already. If you leave a comment, I will know you were here and I’ll be able to answer your questions. Let’s get started with your 2021 Productivity Challenge!

In order to be massively productive, you must first have an idea of what you’d like to achieve. There is a story you may have heard about an entrepreneur who was so excited about getting his business off the ground he ran enthusiastically in the wrong direction. I’ve worked with people who are doing this, and others come in to my courses and mentoring program with a history of taking action around all the wrong things. Typically, this become an exhausting way of living and doing business and is quite expensive as well.

Most recently I heard from a woman who is simultaneously working on a coaching certification, working with coaches in three different programs, writing a book of quotes and ideas in a niche she has no experience around, and looking for a VA (virtual assistant) after the last two disappeared on her. I’m worn out just sharing this story with you! In the meantime, after almost two years and many thousands of dollars spent, her website/blog is a mess and there is no way to opt in to her list because she’s still getting ready to launch her business. Please don’t do this…

Instead, I want you to think about what you want from an online business, take some decisive action, and then find a mentor you trust to guide you through the process. I’m happy to serve as that person for you throughout this 30 day Productivity Challenge and entrepreneurial blueprint for success.

Before you begin… Think about “The Importance Of Why”

Before you start any business or goal in life, you should get to know and truly understand your “why” first. Knowing why you’re doing anything in life is a crucial step as it can easily make or break your business or goal before you even get started. When you know why you want to do something, you can better understand the actions and resources needed to get there.

Your why is the determination, focus, inspiration, and motivation you need to keep working towards your goals each and every day. As uncomfortable as it may feel to accept your daily actions are the direct results of what you want in life and have already achieved.

If you don’t achieve something even if you want it, it’s likely because you didn’t take the necessary action to get there. Your “why” to get there either wasn’t clear enough, or you simply weren’t true to yourself.

The following tips and tricks help discover your true “why” and how to use it to your advantage:

List Your Values and Aspirations  – Start by listing your values and aspirations for all areas of life. List the most important thing you would like to achieve. The first value or aspiration that comes to mind is likely the one that you value the most.

Are There Consequences to Not Getting There? – Ask, “What will happen if I never do it?” Take notice of your emotions and write down precisely what you are thinking and feeling. Then evaluate what you wrote down—your true why is likely within these words.

Be Sure It’s for The Right Reasons – Why do you want to achieve what you want in your life? Whether it’s money, fame, or happiness, make sure it aligns with you, your values, and your morals; no one else’s. Even if everyone else is doing it, it may not be for you, and that’s okay.

Passion Doesn’t Always Equal Business Success – While this may be hard to hear, it can also be a great and beautiful thing. Just because you love something or are very passionate about it doesn’t mean it can be a viable business opportunity. You must make this realization before you get started and fail. Use it as a hobby and a great way to de-stress instead.

Be Aware: Money Won’t Ever Be Enough – While money unlocks some freedoms and can reduce stress, money by itself won’t be enough. If you didn’t need money, would you still want to do it? If the answer is no, then start somewhere else.

As you can see, your “why” is what empowers you to get things done. Your “why” helps you become successful. If it’s not realistic, you likely won’t get there no matter why you do what you do.

Day 1 – Start a notebook where you will record all of your thoughts, ideas, hopes, dreams, and actions around online entrepreneurship. For now, make a list of what you want and what you don’t want in your life and business. Perhaps you want more income and free time, or a new house or vacation. Next, write down why you want or don’t want what you just wrote down. Finally, how does it make you feel to think about changing your life and the possibility of the changes you desire coming true? Call your notebook your 2021 Productivity Challenge thoughts and ideas and keep it close at hand through this 30 day period.

Now, think about what productivity means to you…

When you think of being productive, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Before you continue reading, briefly write it down in your journal or a notepad. Really think about your own definition before you continue. This way, you can be sure your perspective is really where it needs to be to run a productive business.

Productivity has a variable definition and affects every aspect of your life, both business and personal. When you think about it, every decision you make and action you take affects your productivity somehow. Your health, creativity, journey in life, or direction of your business all depends on the type of productivity you produce.

In business, reaching the tasks required to achieve specific sales goals, gaining more subscribers or followers, or being the next innovator within your industry are a few examples of being productive. In your personal life, a few examples could include following a daily or weekly budget to buy a big purchase, paying bills on time or setting up auto-pay, or following a healthy exercise and diet routine such as meal planning and weightlifting.

While productivity can have variable perspectives and definitions depending on who you ask, it is vital to make sure that the procedures and strategies you implement lead to high rewards for your business or goal. At the same time, the effort you put into it is worth it when the results show it is worth it. This is the basic definition of productivity and can be measured with a simple math equation.

Productivity is equal to your output divided by your input.

If your effort is greater than the reward, it may not be worth it in the end. If you’ve determined the reward is good enough, then it is. All of this is really up to you to decide. However, you should use the math equation above in real life to be sure you are realistic.

For example, if you are a writer and you wrote six articles this morning in three hours, your productivity would be calculated as two articles per hour. You could further compare this number to your overall writing goal to see where you need to improve or work harder.

Another way to be sure you are the most productive is to create a list of all the activities you did each day and compare them to the goals you wish to accomplish. How do they compare? Do the tasks that you’ve chosen to do get you closer to your destination, goal, or job, support you in any way? Don’t be too shocked if many of the tasks you do end up getting you nowhere. It is easy to equate being busy to being productive.

Once you take a moment to evaluate your actions, you can change your plans and daily to-do lists to do what needs to be done to accomplish your business goals. Starting each day with a primary goal and to-do list, implementing proper time management strategies, and taking advantage of tools and technology are a few tips to improve your productivity throughout the day. Remember, if you want to run a successful online business or achieve any goal, improving your productivity is a must.

We will explore these and other concepts as you joyously and determinedly work your way through the 2021 Productivity Challenge.

Day 2 – Leave perfectionism behind! This may be the most valuable piece of advice I ever share, yet it continues to plague so many of the people I work with and connect with, online and in person. I’m a recovering perfectionist myself, so I know firsthand the havoc this personality trait can wreak in your life. I recently wrote a post about this topic, entitled When Perfection is Your Goal, You Have a Long Way to Fall. Read through that article and see what you can glean from it that will help you to make a shift in both your thinking and your actions.

It’s much more important to have something completed and ready to go than to spend endless hours working on something that will never see the light of day. Talk to yourself (Yes! This is a strategy!) and say whatever is necessary to get you over the hump and past the hurdles that are holding you back. Only you can make this change and it will pay off handsomely over time as your life begins to change in amazing ways.

Day 3 – Share your gifts, talents, and expertise with the people who want and need to hear your message. By this, I mean that I want you to create a way for your target audience to join your list and online community. When I began online in 2006, people were sharing reports and eBooks that were anywhere from 20 to 50 pages, or even longer. This was quite intimidating to me, as I was not yet a writer with any regularity. Over the next few years these opt in reports got shorter and more focused on the specific topic the entrepreneur wanted to become known for online.

The most effective solution, in my opinion is to create a seven or ten lesson eCourse to share with your prospects. Take a look at what I’ve put together at “How to Become a Public Speaker” as an example of how to put together an eCourse and deliver it over time through your autoresponder service. I use AWeber for this and you can get started at no cost or obligation at AWeber Free. Also, I co-teach an ongoing course with Norma Allen Esler on how to profit with eCourses that you may find extremely helpful in building a list, attracting prospects, sharing your knowledge, positioning yourself as an expert, and exploring sub-niches within your overall topic.

Audio and video are yet another way to share yourself with an audience. I have a podcast called Praestabilis: Excellence in Marketing and a YouTube Channel you may wish to check out as well. Please subscribe to each of these so you won’t miss a thing, and let us know where we can find your blog, podcast, or videos by leaving a comment here.

Day 4 – Start or go back to blogging. This continues to be the most controversial advice I share with the people I mentor, as well as those in my online community. I get it. Most of us are not writers when we start our online business. There is so much to do and so many moving parts and now we’re supposed to be blogging regularly as well? Yes, blogging makes a huge difference in how you are perceived by your prospects and colleagues for a variety of reasons.

It was Denise Wakeman who got me started with blogging when I was brand new online in 2006. With her kind and expert tutelage I slowly got into the habit of blogging every week. Today, three blogs and more than three thousand posts later I’m so thankful I took this step. My writing has improved significantly, I’ve become an author of more than twenty non-fiction books, and I am perceived as an expert in more than a few different niches because of what I share within my posts.

Begin with private label rights (PLR) content in the beginning, and sprinkle in more of your original writing over time. You’ll be so glad you took this step, as blogging is quite lucrative as well. I continue to hone my writing skills, and you will benefit from reading this post from Henneke Duistermaat called 29-Point Blog Post Checklist: How to Seduce Your Readers to Buy that will change the way you blog forever.

Day 5 – Set your goals and intentions. If we don’t know where we’re going, it’s likely we will end up someplace else. So goes the dilemma of people everywhere and of entrepreneurs in particular. Take the time to think about, write down, and discuss with others what it is you want from your life and business. I can testify to the fact that we are capable of achieving anything we want in our lives. Knowing what that might be is what holds us back.

What will your days look like when you are earning income from your writing, creating, and marketing? One of my goals was to be able to work from home, or from wherever I happened to be with only an internet connection, a laptop computer, and my ideas. Then I added in an income goal to make sure I was earning more than enough to cover everything I had in mind to do. Each day I continue to set my intention as to what I’ll work on and accomplish throughout the day. Share your thoughts on this in the comments and I will write back directly to you to give you additional food for thought as a part of this 2021 Productivity Challenge.

Day 6 – Get used to the idea of being in business and selling things to others. Nothing happens, and you are not considered to be what is known as a “going concern” until you make your first sale, and then repeat that process many times over.

I’m reminded of my first month working in real estate. As I made my way around the office, introducing myself and getting to know some of the other agents I was confused by their responses when I asked them how they liked being in sales. They would say things like “Sales? I’m in real estate!” or “Salespeople know nothing about real estate. I’m a professional.” I finally came to the realization that those who embraced selling and thought of themselves as being real estate salespeople were the ones who made sales – and money! – and stayed in the profession. The others came and went and never did reach anything close to their full potential.

Marketing is not the same as sales, but it is the “procuring cause” of everything you will sell to others. Marketing allows you to share the product or course or service with those who would most benefit from it, all the while putting your own spin and perspective on how you will present it to them. Think of yourself as your own best Case Study and share the details of how something you are selling or recommending to others has made a difference for you.

Become a student of both marketing and sales and your income will grow exponentially. The “Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness” by Jeffrey H. Gitomer is one of my favorite books on this topic. It’s timeless and I learn something new I can add to my repertoire each time I reread it and execute one of his suggestions.

You may also benefit from my simple, yet highly effective training on “How to Sell Yourself and Your Stuff” that I created for the people I mentor and have now made available to everyone in my online community.

Day 7 – On the 7th day of your 2021 Productivity Challenge, let’s discuss what must happen in order for you to leverage the power of the internet, shift your thinking and actions into high gear for massive productivity, and move you into position to become profitable as an online entrepreneur. What is this thing I am alluding to here?

Building a List!

Yes, we must have a list of the names and email address of the people who have chosen to come aboard and follow us. My friends in the offline world sometimes refer to this as a database, but whatever you call it the reason for placing great importance on it remains the same. Having a permission based list of highly responsive, focused, and loyal followers will allow you to teach, share, advise, nurture, serve, and make offers to them on a regular basis.

Long gone are the days when people would drop everything they were doing and sign up for someone’s newsletter or eZine. That was the case when I came online in 2006. I can even remember where I was and exactly what I was doing when I made the effort to sign up for Jon Gordon’s list. He was preparing to release his first book, The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy and I was anxious to get the hardcover version in my hands. But it wasn’t long before I joined millions of people in being highly selective about whose list I would sign up for, because receiving more email was no longer desirable.

So how do you overcome people’s objections to receiving more emails, while still building your list every single day? Offer them something irresistible, at no cost or obligation, that is directly related to the pain they are experiencing right now and the goals and dreams they wish to achieve. I know this may sound like a tall order, but you can definitely deliver the goods when you think about it and take action.

What I am suggesting you create as your free giveaway is a short course, referred to as an eCourse. It will be comprised of short lessons that can be delivered daily, or at some other interval. I co-teach an ongoing course on exactly how to do this with Norma Allen Esler. You can take a look at some of the eCourses and membership sites I’ve set up as lead generating eCourses, and all at no cost to the person wishing to learn more.

What are your questions about creating eCourses to build your list and get into profit quickly and easily? Will you create your own content, or use high-quality private label rights (PLR) content for this? I’ve done it both ways and recommend you experiment to see what works best for you as you move through this 2021 Productivity Challenge.

Day 8 – You’re creating content with articles and blog posts. You’re thinking about your business in terms of having things to sell. You’re building a list. What’s next? Creating your own simple information product. I’m emphasizing the concept of SIMPLE here because we all tend to get too complicated when it comes to sharing our knowledge, expertise, and ideas with others. My recommendation for your first product is that you create it as an eBook.

My first information product was an eBook on the topic of real estate farming. I had worked in real estate for the more than twenty year period leading up to coming online in 2006. Over this time I had perfected my process of prospecting for new leads, using something referred to as “farming” as a way to connect with people in a specific geographic area. I assumed – don’t do this; it will be too expensive – that everyone in the real estate world already knew how to work a farm. They didn’t. My eBook was a hit and I even expanded it over time and raised the price as well.

I’ve written a post on this concept of eBooks I’d like for you to read. It’s called Everyone Should Know How to Write an eBook and contains some excellent (in my opinion, of course) ideas on why this is so important and something I highly recommend to everyone I work with in my courses and mentoring program. And at the end of that article, I mention my long-time friend and colleague, Jim Edwards. I spoke on three of the Caribbean cruises (called the Jim Boats) he used to host years ago, but that’s another story for a different time.

Jim’s expertise with teaching others how to write, publish, and market eBooks is legendary. He has a top-notch training that is also reasonably priced called “How to Write and Publish Your Own eBook… in as Little as 7 Days” that I’d love for you to consider picking up. Yes, that’s my affiliate link, and I continue to learn from Jim and benefit from his ongoing training.

Day 9 – Relationships are everything. This is especially true when you have an online business, as you tend to meet with your community seldom, if ever. Having the ability to connect with people becomes even more important and I prefer to meet with people on a platform that’s comfortable for them. My long-time friend and colleague, the legendary marketer Marlon Sanders called me up one day to ask me what I was doing to bring so many people into my courses, trainings, and mentor program. My answer shocked him, or at least that’s what he said in his over the top, dramatic way that has always been his style.

I told him that once someone had purchased anything from me, I reached out to them to schedule a time for us to talk. Most of the time this is by phone, but Skype, Zoom, and other platforms are also common. Meet others where they are instead of where you’re most comfortable as a way to stretch out of your comfort zone. Once we were together for a call of any type, the relationship began to grow and blossom. Suddenly, we knew each other in a more intimate way that will always serve as the basis for a long-time relationship.

My challenge to you is to connect with someone you have purchased from, has purchased or even downloaded something from you, you’re an affiliate for, or you connected with on social media. Expect great things – the “habit of expectation” is a powerful habit to embrace – and see what occurs, initially and over time.

Day 10 of Your 2021 Productivity Challenge – Create a schedule that includes items from your to-do list. For many years, I shared how I was using what I continue to refer to as a “dynamic” to-do list. Each item would be worked on an completed, or delegated to others, or deleted because I had decided not to do that particular item on my list. I have many notebooks (I prefer the small sized “mini” legal pads for this purpose) that I’ve saved over the years, though I typically do not go back to them later on. Perhaps they are a part of my legacy I’ll leave to future generations of authors, speakers, and entrepreneurs.

In any case, what I neglected to add until a few years ago was the concept of adding what I intend to take action on to my schedule for the day in which I plan to actually do it. To-do lists can be distracting, lack constraints, and aren’t very practical for accomplishing your goals. Instead, create a schedule where you will add your tasks and activities in a manner that is consistent with your daily life.

For example, I begin my online work each morning before the sun rises in the east. Within two hours or so, I have emailed my online community, checked social media for updates, written an article for one of my blogs or added a section to a product or course, and done some reading of a book not related to business. I also walk for at least 15 minutes before joining my online exercise group.

If these activities were simply on a to-do list, I wouldn’t be naturally inclined to work on them to completion. The schedule approach sets in place what is known as an “implementation intention” that accelerates your mind’s tendency to plan. An implementation intention is simply a self-regulatory strategy in the form of an “if-then plan” that can lead to better goal attainment, as well as help in habit and behavior modification. It is subordinate to goal intentions as it specifies the when, where and how portions of goal-directed behavior. Furthermore, planning out well in advance how you intend to spend your time is the only way to know the difference between getting excellent traction (what you said you would do) and avoiding distraction (anything else).

Are you using a to-do list? Do you keep a schedule? How may I best serve you in this area of time management and productivity, today, throughout, and after the 2021 Productivity Challenge is complete?

We’re one third of the way through the 2021 Productivity Challenge! How does it feel to be focusing on your goals in a way that is both effective and manageable in terms of your productivity and time management? What have you accomplished, so far that you’d like to share with me and the others currently going through this Challenge?

Day 11 –  Set up a membership site for your niche topic. The idea of having my own membership site when I got started in 2006 was only a distant dream. They were costly and required ongoing help by an expert in technology in order to keep them going. Then two very smart entrepreneurs in the Mastermind I became a part of, Tracy Childers and Stu McLaren created Wishlist Member, a WordPress plugin that put membership sites within all of our reach and changed forever the way online entrepreneurs could build a lucrative business, quickly and easily.

My most recent membership sites include my 2020 Vision Quest and my Action Habits Challenge. In addition, I set up my Productivity Challenge in 2019 as a Wishlist membership site. I now recommend this model to everyone I mentor and teach in my online programs.

Take a look at my recent post on 5 profitable membership models to get a better idea of what you may wish to create. I highly recommend you begin with a free membership site, and then move on to a paid version on the same website. This free model continues to be used successfully by people from all walks of life and in a variety of niches.

The two that come to mind are ones started by actress and health advocate Marilu Henner and another by futurist Mike Dooley at least a decade ago. I’ve met both of these people on more than one occasion and learned that they lacked the confidence and believed it was not right to charge the people who wanted to learn from them in the very beginning. In both instances, they changed their minds when their members began giving them testimonials as to how they and their ideas were life changing for them. Marilu sold her site several years ago for an undisclosed amount. Mike Dooley – you may remember him from The Secret film – continues to run TUT.com (this stands for The Universe Talks) and I’m now a happy, paid member.

Day 12 – The “Work Product” Principle – Years ago, in a galaxy far, far away I worked for Liberty Mutual Insurance as a claims adjuster. I did not love this job, but I had a company car, an expense account, and the opportunity to learn about a world I did not know existed. What has stuck with me over the decades is the principle of something referred to as “work product.” Your work product is what you create for the work you are doing. As a claims adjuster I made many calls each day, dictated letters and memorandums, and negotiated with plaintiffs, insureds, and attorneys.

If what I was doing each day as a part of fulfilling by job requirements was something that could be documented and usually printed out in hard copy to add to a file for that case, it was work product. Everything else didn’t count, at least inasmuch as it pertained to my job performance. I did not understand any of this until it was time for me to sit down with my supervisor to go over everything after I had been with the company for six months. Then I understood it in a crystal clear way that made sense.

My six month raise was not automatic. Instead, it was based on the work product I had created, along with the results of that work product related to the amounts of the claims that we paid out. Fortunately, my work product was satisfactory on that day and I did receive a pay raise on my next paycheck.

After leaving that job, I went on to become a classroom teacher and a real estate broker and residential appraiser. My pay and compensation was not directly related to the work I produced, or so it seemed to me at the time.

When I came online in 2006 I immediately understood the correlation between what I created each day and how much money I could earn. Writing, in the form of articles, reports, and books that were written, published and shared; emails written and sent; audios and videos released; presentations, both virtual and in person, presented and shared; and products and courses completed, marketed, and sold, all contributed to my income. Everything else? Not so much and usually a part of “my” time and not directly related to my business.

Make a list of the tasks and activities you are involved in each day for your business. What part of this work is truly “work product” that has the potential to lead to sales? How can you be more productive and manage your time in a way that will lead to more income in your bank account? How may I best serve you as you move through this 2021 Productivity Challenge and take your business to the next level?

Day 13 – Ask yourself regularly, “What’s for sale?” Years ago I invited people from my online community to meet me in person the day before a live event where I was speaking was to begin. We gathered in the lobby and made ourselves comfortable in the chairs and sofas the hotel had set up. During the first hour I had everyone introduce themselves by sharing where they were from, why they had come, and what they were doing in their online business.

Next, I asked them to share their biggest challenge with online marketing. I was not surprised when almost everyone in my group of about 25 new and newer entrepreneurs said that making money was the most difficult part of the process. They spoke of the confusion over what to create, what to become an affiliate for, and how to make offers that were relevant to their overall topic.

Finally, I asked them how many links they had online, either to their own or affiliate products. This would include anything they had on their website, within their blog posts, or posted regularly on social media. I was shocked at their answers. There wasn’t one person that day who had more than three links, or “buy buttons” as we refer to them, out on the internet. A third of them had zero links available and still wondered why they weren’t making any money?

I launched into a discussion of “What’s for sale?” and impressed upon them the great importance of making offers on a regular basis. Think of it as a conversation with a friend. You’ve read a great book and you think they would enjoy it too. You’ve put together a short report on a topic you’re very knowledge about. Send out the link.

And don’t be afraid to share links to things that are free, especially when you can use an affiliate link to do so. If you become my affiliate, during this 2021 Productivity Challenge or beyond, you will be able to share my Action Habits Challenge with your “circles of influence” through an affiliate link, and it’s completely free to them to come aboard. How will you earn income from taking this action? You’ll be “cookied” into my system for ongoing sales of my paid courses, products, and programs. When someone makes a purchase, and I promise you they eventually will, you earn a commission as the referring affiliate.

Day 14 – Create a simple product. I know how that sentence reads if you are new to the world of online marketing. For almost an entire year others told me I needed to have my own product to sell in order to establish myself as an online entrepreneur. I would nod my head in agreement, yet I had no idea whatsoever what type of information product I could create as a new entrepreneur. Then one day the bright light came on and I got to work…

I began my entrepreneurial journey with blogging. I’m embarrassed to say that I had at least ten different blogs that first year, on topics ranging from small dogs, walking for fitness, and reinventing your life to using the law of attraction, eBooks, and learning about internet marketing. Early on I was introduced to the article directories that were popular at that time and I began submitting my articles to them on a regular basis.

This process and activity drove highly responsive traffic to my blogs through the link we were allowed to share at the end of our articles, within something called the “resource box.” At some point I realized that the success I was experiencing was unique and that others would be interested in and benefit from learning about it from me. Herein lies an important concept for you to make note of for your own business, online or offline; teaching and sharing what you know with others is lucrative! We tend to think that just because we know how to do something, everyone else already knows it as well. Not true.

Here is a post I devoted exclusively to sharing these “create a simple product” tips and strategies.

Day 15 of Your 2021 Productivity Challenge – Take the day off. You absolutely must do this one entire day each week. This serves many purposes, including helping to unleash your natural creativity and wonder. Daydream. Imagine a new and different life for yourself and your family. Find pictures in the clouds. Think out loud. If you know what you don’t want as a part of your life and business experience, that’s your starting point. Next comes the more difficult task of knowing what you do want.

I make lots of notes on my day off. There’s no deadline or goal or risk or other person to censor my thoughts. The best ones from the day make it to my notebook I keep in my office for this purpose. I date my entry and write down anything else that was special or fun or enlightening that day. I go to sleep that night with a request to my subconscious to plant the seeds I need for the garden I intend to grow. Magic occurs when you are willing to do this regularly, and with the intention of changing your life completely and creating an experience that surpasses anything you could have previously imagined.

Day 16 – Think of yourself as both a writer and an author. I published my first book in 2010, four years after coming online as an entrepreneur. I loved the feeling of being a published author and how others were now perceiving me. Seemingly overnight, my credibility and visibility soared and my profitability increased significantly. Quickly, I came up with ideas for another book. Then another and yet another after that. I’ve now authored or co-authored more than twenty full length, non-fiction books and my life and mindset is changed forever.

Authors write and publish books as a part of their overall business model and marketing plan. Writers write every day for the joy of stretching their minds and sharing their thoughts and ideas with their readers. Becoming an author was a simple process for me in that once I had created my outline and written my content, the book was ready to publish and market. Becoming a writer is a years long process I will be refining for the remainder of my life.

I will encourage you to become a blogger first, then an author. If you are called to writing on a regular basis, listen to your little voice and follow the path. This is a journey that will be life changing. My third blog, begun in July of 2019 is where I am publishing the writing that does not relate directly to me business but feeds my soul and gives my life more meaning. It is a body of work that will become my legacy in the future, long after I am gone. Done consistently and with the intention of sharing your message with those who can only hear it from you, writing will give you the power to earn as much income as you’d like, in a way that feels right for you. Consider hosting your own Challenge, much as I have done with this one, the 2021 Productivity Challenge for authors, entrepreneurs, and speakers.

Day 17 – Review your assets and “feel” your way to the next steps of your success. In the online world, your assets are mostly virtual. I have over four hundred domains, almost as many websites, and a host of writing, information products, online courses, audio recordings, and videos that make up my digital assets. Yes, my books are also available in print, but that is simply a detail that adds to the bigger picture of being able to run a highly profitable business from anywhere in the world without having to cart any stuff along with you.

I imagined this life years before I was living it. I went for the feelings of what I wanted to create, and then reverse engineered the day to day activities I would be engaged in. I envisioned myself writing at a desk and felt the power and the freedom of sharing my words and ideas with people all over the world. I daydreamed about teaching people individually and in small groups and having them express their gratitude to me. I thought about how it would feel to earn money while I was sleeping, to be a bestselling author of too many books to count, and to speak in person and virtually to people who needed to hear my message and trusted me to deliver it in a way that would inspire them to take action.

What do you have set up right now? How does it feel right this moment to be on the precipice of greatness in the way that you are imagining for yourself? How may I best serve you as you move forward each day with the 2021 Productivity Challenge?

Day 18 – Journal your ideas every day. I met author and thought leader James Altucher in 2015 and he told me and the others in our small group to write down 10 new ideas every day. This request seemed silly and insignificant to me at the time. I probably told myself that “I already knew that” and that type of thinking can be detrimental to our progress. A few days later I took out the notebook I always keep in my purse and began to write down ten ideas for that day. I’ve continued to do this every day since, and now I can’t imagine my life or business without this habit in place.

What types of things do I write down? It varies, of course. But I always include my random thoughts, stories from my childhood, and requests to my subconscious. Some of these end up as ideas for blog posts, products, courses, and even books. More importantly, at least in my opinion is my ability to piece together my thoughts and record them in a format that can be repurposed later on. Please try this and let me know what questions you have and the results you experience. This is powerful!

Day 19 – Embrace and leverage the power of technology and the internet. I had been the “computer person” at the schools I taught at before coming online. I created banners and lesson plans and all sorts of things. Also, I taught the students how to use computers and received a grant that gave me additional computers and software for my classroom. My confidence grew over time and I was accepted into a graduate program for educational technology. That’s when I came to the realization that although I could do many things with technology, I was not the computer person in the bigger scheme of things. This was also the year I decided to leave teaching and come online. I left the program before receiving my graduate degree and never regretted that decision.

Once online full time, I embraced technology and learned how to leverage the power of the internet to grow a business quickly. This meant staying abreast of the latest updates and changes, asking questions, and joining my local computer users group. I had to be willing to humble myself to others in order to learn not only what to do, but why. This education was invaluable and I developed many critical thinking skills in the process. Instead of turning your back on technology and throwing up your hands in despair, be open to change that will alter the course of your life experience in new and amazing ways. It’s worth it!

Day 20 – Learn your way around WordPress. My first two websites were built the old-fashioned way. They were straight HTML (hypertext markup language) and not easy to navigate or change. One time I decided I wanted the appearance of this site to look different than what it did, and I asked the web designer to make some changes. Imagine my shock when I went back to the site and realized my five blog posts I had painstakingly written, edited, and published had disappeared, along with the information and images on my “About” page and on the front page! This is because when he changed the look of the site everything there previously went with it. No, I hadn’t backed it up elsewhere because I didn’t know I needed to do that.

WordPress is a CMS, which stands for Content Management System. The theme you choose is simply a “skin” that can be changed at any time, leaving all of your content and pages intact. This is reason alone to use WordPress, but there is more… much more. The Plugins allow us to do almost anything. This includes setting up free and paid membership sites like I do on most of my sites using the Wishlist Member plugin.

Set up, or have someone set it up for you, a WordPress site. All you need is a domain name – your name at dot com is best; I use GoDaddy for domains and also recommend NameCheap for this purpose – and a c-panel (control panel) hosting account. I use and recommend the “Drive” plan at A2 Hosting. Write and publish one post, write a few paragraphs for your “About” page, and add an opt in box – I recommend the free version of AWeber to get started – and you’re officially in business.

You’re at the two thirds point in the 2021 Productivity Challenge! How does it feel to be moving forward in a precise and organized way? Are you feeling more confident and productive?

Day 21 of your 2021 Productivity Challenge – Goals: Setting and Achieving the Big Ones. You may be wondering why I waited until Day 21 to discuss goal setting. My reason is a simple one; you must dip your toe in the water of entrepreneurship before you know exactly what it is you wish to achieve with this business. Anything is possible, as long as you can describe what that “anything” will be for you.

If we sit down and think about it, most of us already have goals. The problem is, they are often undefined thoughts just sitting in our subconscious. In reality, these are more daydreams than goals. If you are ready to actually set a goal that can change your life, then follow these tips:

• Figure Out What You Want to Change – If you could change one aspect of your life, what would it be? Would you focus on your career, family or health? It doesn’t matter what you choose, you simply need to figure out what area of your life you need to change.
• Know Why You Want to Change – Why do you want to change that area of your life? Think about this …a lot. This is essentially your motivation. Take some time to brainstorm all the benefits of changing this area of your life. Go back to the list often, especially when motivation starts to wane.
• Dare to Dream Big – SMART goals are important. Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely goals should make up the majority of our goals. That said, don’t fear dreaming big. Sometimes it takes a big goal to really motivate us. What may seem unrealistic now, might not be as far out of your reach as you think.
• Write Your Goal Down – Keeping your goal in your head, is only worth the paper it is printed on. You can’t set proper goals without writing them down. Simply writing your goals down will differentiate you from the vast majority of people. Choose your goal and write it down. It is simple as that.
• Break Your Goal Down into Smaller Goals – If you took the above advice, you dared to dream big. That has probably left you with a big goal that may overwhelm you. The best way to deal with this is to break this larger goal down into smaller, more achievable goals. These smaller goals can be considered your action plan.

Goal setting and achieving is a joyous process of creation in my life and business. Please let me know how you’re doing in this area by leaving a comment here in this 2021 Productivity Challenge post.

Day 22 – Be a disruptor in your niche! You may already be familiar with “disruption marketing.” This is similar to your USP, or unique selling proposition or unique selling position. What makes disruption marketing different and unique is that it helps your prospects to achieve greater success than they could otherwise.

What makes you different from everyone else in your niche? That was the million dollar question the year I got started online – 2006. Like many new online entrepreneurs, we feel like we have nothing new and unique to share, but that simply isn’t true. I will be discussing this topic during Episode #56 of my podcast later today.

The truth is that no one else could possibly be doing what we do because we are all unique human beings. Even if we attempt to be like someone else, it won’t work. Using something known as “disruption marketing,” your goal is to become known for something you are doing. I initially achieved this by proclaiming that you did NOT need a list of 10K or more to get to 6 figures a year, because I had done it with a list of 651 names! You may have been one of those people on my list at that time.

This is what I’m recommending for you to make sure you can disrupt your market in an awesome way:

• Observe your own behavior and results. What are you doing differently from others? This could be around your content creation, product and course creation or delivery, social media updates, or something else altogether.
• Change up your routine. I typically send out my email message between 9:30 and 10am ET each day. What if I sent it an hour or two later, or earlier – would my community pay attention and take some type of action?
• Write and speak about what you’re doing to grow your business so that anyone who wants to can read or listen to your ideas. I promise many more great ideas will come if you do this.
• Think of yourself as a disruptor in your niche market – this alone will begin to make a difference in your results.

I promise you that taking a stand and sharing your uniqueness with the world will change your life and increase your bank account balance over time.

Day 23 – Collaborate with people who are smart, kind, and unique. I fell into JVs (joint ventures) by accident in the beginning. I would meet someone at a live event or in a Mastermind or other group, strike up a conversation that led to a friendship, and one of us would suggest we work together on a new product or course or even a curated blog post. Soon, I made the jump to being a little more strategic about who and what I partnered with someone to create.

Initially, I partnered with Dr. Jeanette Cates to teach the Online Revenue Workshop. She was a seasoned marketer with a PhD in Instructional Design from the University of Texas at Austin. I was new and couldn’t figure out why she wanted to partner with me. I soon realized she loved creating online courses, information products, and programs, but didn’t love marketing them. I was just becoming known as a “super affiliate” and was on my way to being the “marketing madwoman.” It was a wonderful partnership for over five years and during that time Jeanette also taught me how to host live events. She and I did six of them together and then I went out on my own.

Most recently, I have collaborated with Norma Allen Esler for “How to Profit with eCourses.” This is an ongoing program taught exclusively online where we teach newer entrepreneurs how to create a 7 or 10 lesson eCourse on their primary niche topic, or on a sub-topic they would like to expand. Norma has been working almost exclusively on the internet since 1998, long before I knew anything about having a business that could be run from a home computer.

Find people you want to work with. Brainstorm your ideas. Make magic happen. That’s my recipe for partnerships and collaborations.

Day 24 – Embrace some small habits to become more productive. In an article by Darius Foroux on small habits that have a huge return on life, he states that…

My experience is that everyone can adopt any habit they want. There’s only one condition though: You need a good reason to make a change (I talk about that in-depth on this podcast episode).

And in 99% of cases, the reason to change comes from personal suffering, sadness, and hurt. At some point, you can’t stand your current behavior anymore.

Don’t worry about how you will change. Focus on what habits you want to form and why.

I also use Forouxes advice to Set 3-4 daily priorities. This is one of the best productivity strategies there is. We all know that focus is what brings us results. No focus? No results. So how do you focus? By limiting your options and tasks. Elimination is the key.

Be very clear about what you want to achieve every single day, week, and year. Every day, work on 3-4 essential (and small) tasks that will bring you closer to your weekly and yearly goals. Make sure your tasks are, at least in part, income producing if they are related to growing your business.

Day 25 – Recommend something you’ve purchased, consumed, and benefited from to someone else. This is called affiliate marketing and was the first business model I embraced when I got started as an online entrepreneur in 2006. In fact, affiliate marketing continues to account for just over forty percent of my income each year, even though I have many of my own products, courses, and programs.

The very first product I recommended as an affiliate was a short video course on the topic of dog training. I’d purchased it online to help me train my two puppies – one a Yorkshire terrier and the other a Maltese. I’d been skeptical about learning these skills from a series of videos, so when they were effective and made a difference for me I wanted to shout it from the rooftops! I did, within a blog post on what I then referred to as my “small dog blog” and someone made a purchase. I earned $21.60 from the sale of that $37 product and was sold on the idea of recommending what I used and loved to others who might benefit.

Are you doing any affiliate marketing in your business? Have you become an affiliate for my products and courses? What questions do you still have on this lucrative topic? Are you enjoying the 2021 Productivity Challenge as we get closer to the end? How may I best serve you as you move forward with entrepreneurship?

With only five days remaining in the 2021 Productivity Challenge, I promise to make each one special and relevant.

May 26 – Today’s lesson is from Marie Mack of First Cup to Close. I first connected with Marie when she began working with Justin Popovic and Ted Payne from Tools for Motivation.
Marie shares…

I want to share with you my Easy Systems Tip that helps me stay productive and feel accomplished every single workday.
{Easy Systems Tip} Top 3 Tasks

• Before you finish your workday today, write down the top 3 tasks you want to accomplish TOMORROW.
• Tomorrow when you start your workday, do the top 3 tasks FIRST.
• Repeat each workday!

By creating this list you’ve given yourself a focus for your workday and you can avoid procrastination.
You’ll also feel accomplished in your workday knowing you’ve made headway in your business without getting distracted by ALL the things that could be done in your workday.

I believe that Marie Mack is someone for you to know and learn from. What she has shared with us here is brilliant, as it simplifies the entire process of creating to-do lists, schedules, planners, and other formats used to increase organization and productivity.

Day 27 – Share a Bit of Your Personal Life with Your Online Community. When I got started as an entrepreneur, over fifteen years ago and long before I would create this 2021 Productivity Challenge for you, I believed that my life was boring and that no one would be interested in knowing about what I was doing in my personal life. This was simply not true. One day back in the spring of 2006 I wrote something about the project I was involved in with the Rotary Club I had recently become a part of and people responded in droves and with genuine interest and concern. That was when I decided to incorporate my daily life into my business.

What are you involved in away from your business? My world revolves around service to others. This means that I am volunteering almost daily in one of the communities I call home. I’m a Rotarian (Rotary is an international service organization), an Elk (this is a group that serves veterans, disabled children and their families, and others within the Unites States), and a number of other groups. During the global pandemic the need has increased significantly and it feels wonderful to be a part of the solution, in my own small way.

I’m also a cinephile and love everything related to films and film festivals. Like you, I have many interests that have little to do with entrepreneurship and everything to do with the human condition and experience. Did you know that your personal interests may lead to niches that will become quite lucrative for you? It’s true and makes entrepreneurship that much more fun. Share yourself with the world to flesh yourself out into a three-dimensional human being and your business will benefit and prosper as a result.

Day 28 – Create an outline for your first or next book. You’ll notice I didn’t say to write your first or next book here. Why? Because the process of outlining what you will ultimately write and publish in your book is a valuable experience unto itself. Attempting to write anything more than a three hundred word blog post without an outline will not turn out well. Outlining in advance shows us how to prepare more focused work that will be more beneficial to our readers and prospects and increases our credibility tenfold or greater.

What will your book be about? I recommend non-fiction, but I’ve also read fiction books that tell a story in a way that teaches the topic to the readers. My first book was non-fiction, but included the story of how I began earning huge profits with a tiny list of readers, followers, and subscribers. Take a look at all of my book titles here and please let me know if you need more help with writing, publishing, and marketing your book. If it’s an eBook you intend to write and sell, be sure to check out Jim Edwards’ 7 Day eBook training that I highly recommend.

Day 29 – Give your brain what it needs to keep the blood flowing and help you to be focused, productive, and energized. Isn’t it interesting that most of the time we seek answers to our problems from sources not related to what we know. By this I mean that we have everything we need within us to achieve our biggest dreams and goals. I became interested in brain health and function when I family member suffered a TBI (traumatic brain injury) immediately after surviving a car accident. During the following year I learned so much and had access to information I didn’t even know was available to everyone.

Exercise is the starting point for improving brain function and flexibility. Please take a look at this article I published that goes into greater detail about brain health. There are many resources included there as well. Also, download my short report called The Brain Fix Workbook.

Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know you’ve come aboard. At the end of the 30 days I always do something special for the people who have consistently taken action with what I recommend and suggest throughout the 2021 Productivity Challenge.

Day 30 – Find the right mentor for you and grow your business. A mentor relationship is built upon trust, mutual respect, and ongoing guidance and advice. Here are 5 ways mentors can keep you on track and lead you to success…

Do you ever wish someone else could just tell you what to do, give you a little nudge when you feel demotivated, or tell you to knock off those bad habits before you get too far? Thankfully, you are not alone, and many people use these very questions as part of their mission statement. Mentors and coaches can provide exactly what you need to lead a more successful life.

The following are five ways mentors or business coaches can help you be more productive in life and business:

They Provide Knowledge from Hands-on Experience – Mentors can provide experiences, knowledge, and expertise from hands-on experiences. They can warn you or prevent you from making the same mistakes they did, providing you industry education and a way to save your time and frustration.

They Provide Networking – Mentors and coaches know a lot of people. They have to in order to be successful. If they don’t know anyone, who are they coaching? Mentors love to find others to share similar interests to discuss ideas or different concepts to grow their knowledge and gain different perspectives. Opening doors to people or opportunities you wouldn’t get to meet or have the chance to do in the first place.

They Build Up Your Resilience – They show you that even with failure or mistakes, success can happen without you going through the trouble yourself. If anything, they show you that your industry is a viable income source and can provide for you if you stay consistent and provide value somehow.

They Increase Your Self-Esteem and Courage – Mentors are great at providing motivation and inspiration to tackle your goals. Their job is to get your true goals out of yours and help you create an actionable plan to get there. They show you that just with a bit of push, you have exactly what it takes to continue as long as you keep taking action.

They Are Your Accountability Partner – Most importantly, mentors keep you accountable without really doing much work on their part. When you know you will have to go over your activities with someone else and not just yourself, you will want to do better. Impressing people and feelings of validation is normal to feel accepted and can motivate and inspire you to keep going.

If you keep struggling to get where you want in life, whether to achieve personal or business goals, give mentorship or a career coach a try. As you can see, they are a wealth of information, knowledge, and motivation. If anything, it’s another opportunity to continue your education and get to know yourself a little better. It’s easy to get productive when someone else besides you is counting on it.

Yes, I have an ongoing Mentor program that has been active since 2007. Please reach out to me if you’re ready to pursue your goals with the help of a knowledgeable, trusted advisor.

I’m Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, publisher, and entrepreneur Connie Ragen Green and I would love to connect further with you, during and after the 2021 Productivity Challenge. If  you have an interest in finding the right JV (Joint Venture) partners to help you skyrocket your way to success, please check out my training at JVs Made Simple so you may get started right away.