How can I be more successful?

I absolutely love this TED talk by Conor Neill. He talks about the fact that the best predictor of success is the marshmallow test, also known as the delayed gratification test. Children who manage to avoid the temptation to eat the marshmallow do so by ignoring it. They know how little willpower they actually have.

Three criteria Warren Buffet uses to predict success are integrity, energy and intelligence. Integrity allows you to focus only on the things that are important to you. Energy allows you to take action. Adaptive intelligence allows you to change course and keep moving.

Conor’s tool to maximise intelligence is to write ideas down every day. To maximise energy, he suggests we only focus on the next step and don’t let our mind jump forward. To maximise integrity, he suggests we focus our time on those things that are important to us.

Step by step, decision by decision, one marshmallow at a time, we make progress towards our goals. Failure is repeated bad decisions. Success is repeated good habits. The rule to remember for success is “don’t stare at the marshmallow!” Small changes add up to big successes over time.

Project 365

I set up this website after deciding that I want to build a more creative life for myself, so I can give up my job and be in control of my own destiny.

I have set myself a goal of publishing an article on my website every day this year, to document my journey from employment to self-employment.

The name I chose was Project 365 because I see this as a year that I have dedicated to learning and self-development, as I countdown to freedom. It started on 1st January 2021, so I have 267 days to go!