BROADCASTS.com

Published: June 18, 2014, 11 a.m.

Have you ever noticed that over the years, you tend to do pretty much the same things? What I mean is, if you\u2019re a reader you remain one, if you\u2019re a writer you tend to write, if you\u2019re a procrastinator you tend to keep procrastinating, and so forth. The key to being productive, profitable, and happy is not in changing your nature. It's in learning to turn your nature to your advantage.

In this week's episode, I'll share some ideas on how to do just that.

Announcements:

• If you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you\xa0subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the show. A big thanks to Brian Holmes, Nick Alexander, Tim, Rick Stevens, and John Stolpe \xa0for giving us a review on iTunes this week.

Tip Of The Week\xa0

Essentialism by Greg McKeown. This book is a great clarifying breath of fresh air. In an age where we are continually sold the idea that more is better, McKeown recommends \u201cthe disciplined pursuit of less.\u201d From the book:

The Way of the Essentialist isn\u2019t about getting more done in less time. It\u2019s about getting\xa0only the right things\xa0done.\xa0 It is not\xa0\xa0a time management strategy, or a productivity technique. It is a\xa0systematic discipline\xa0for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution towards the things that really matter.\xa0\xa0

By forcing us to apply a more selective criteria for what is Essential, the disciplined pursuit of less empowers us to reclaim control of our own choices about where to spend our precious time and energy \u2013 instead of giving others the implicit permission to choose for us.

Essentialism is not one more thing \u2013 it\u2019s a whole new way of doing everything. It\u2019s about doing less, but better, in every area of our lives. \u201c

Spiritual Foundations

There should be no such thing as a Christian who is perpetually unhappy.

But\xa0seek first\xa0the kingdom of God and his righteousness,\xa0and all these things will be added to you. Matthew\xa06:33 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but\xa0of righteousness and\xa0peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans\xa014:17

For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness\xa0reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
Romans\xa05:17

For our sake he made him to be sin\xa0who knew no sin, so that in him we might become\xa0the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians\xa05:21

Feature Segment:\xa0How To Be Productive, Profitable, and Happy

I think one of the real tricks of success is to simply recognize these things you tend to do, and then find ways to make these tendencies support your success. In fact, I think most people are miserable because they fail to do just that. Instead of working with their tendencies in order to succeed (almost effortlessly), they identify their tendencies as the problem and vow to change.

That, my friend, is called swimming against the river. And while you may get credit for working your tail off while doing it, you\u2019re not going to make much progress relative to the shoreline.

Case in point: for the longest time I was worried about my information \u201caddiction\u201d.

Just this morning, I read an entire business book. Read part of a novel. Checked out a few hundred new items in Feedly. \xa0And later I will sort through some 200 emails waiting for me.

I have dozens of PDFs in my \u201cTo Read\u201d folder on my Macbook Air. I have dozens more videos and audios to go through in my \u201cTo Listen\u201d and \u201cTo Watch\u201d folders.

And once upon a time I thought something was wrong with me because of this kind of behavior. So I struggled against it. I read books about it. I read articles about it. I listened to self-help material about it. Is anyone other than me seeing the irony yet?

One day I stumbled across an article by\xa0Dan Kennedy\xa0in which he detailed his working habits\u2026 and I was shocked to discover they were nearly identical to mine (at least when it came to info-consumption)! And Dan saw it not as a weakness to be changed\u2026 but rather as a strength to be nurtured.

That was life-changing for me.

It gave me a way to stop struggling against my natural tendencies, and to embrace the way God made me. That tendency to process large quantities of unrelated information allows me to form connections between ideas, concepts, and methods that I would not possess if I limited my information intake. So now I structure my work and my routine in such a way that my behavior in this regard in strengthened, reinforced, and nurtured \u2014 and then put to profitable use in my writing.

I look for ways to channel that stream of information so that it\u2019s not wasted.

So what does this all mean to you?

In my experience, it means that if you find yourself fighting the same old battles (chronic lateness, procrastination, forgetfullness), you\u2019ve probably unwittingly been holding yourself back by resisting your own gifts.

If you have trouble with authority, why work in a job when it\u2019s clear you\u2019d be happier as an entrepreneur?

If you are always late for appointments \u2014 why not just stop making appointments (Arnold Shwarzenneger reportedly refuses to make appointments with anyone, and he seems to be doing okay running the state of California).

And if you have tendencies that are frowned upon by others \u2014 for instance, sleeping during the day and staying up all night \u2014 why not look for a way to turn the tendency into an asset (for instance, by working via Internet with clients or companies in a different time zone\u2026 where suddenly YOU are the early riser!)?

Just because certain tendencies, behaviors and attitudes are not \u201cacceptable\u201d in one context does not mean those qualities are \u201cbad\u201d. It simply means \u2014 at least in my experience \u2014 you need to find a different context! And that decision \u2014 how you live your life \u2014 is (for most of us) entirely a choice.

(And to ward off the inevitable objections to my premise: yes, I recognize that there are behaviors and \u201ctendencies\u201d that are illegal, immoral, and unethical. That\u2019s not what we\u2019re talking about here, okay? Anything that falls into those three categories should be jettisoned from your life. \u2018Nuff said on that.)

Now take a moment to think about this\u2026

In what ways could your \u201climiting tendencies\u201d become strengths?

How could your re-arrange your life to make it so?

If you can find positive, proactive ways to answer those questions, you just might find yourself more productive, profitable, and happy.

What To Do Now

Here are some steps you can take to put this week's episode content to work for you:

1. Get the book, Essentialism.
2. Journal some ideas on what parts of your nature you have sought to suppress that might actually be a strength,.
3. Brainstorm some ideas on how you might channel your natural tendencies in a way that is more beneficial, and hat might even be an asset..

Get The Transcript

The transcript for this show will be available soon.\xa0Transcripts provided by SuccessTranscripts \u2013 a great solution if you need your podcast, sermon, speech, or other audio transcribed. Question: What natural tendency do you have that some view as a weakness or liability, but you have turned into a strength or asset?\xa0Click here to leave your comments.