Hi Friends,

Wow, this week was a busy one. We are in the process of hiring one or two or maybe three people in the coming two weeks. Everyone is part-time, but that is basically doubling my team.

This has been a great experience of using a tool that Benjamin Hardy explains in his 30-day Future Self Program (which is free, btw) called Forcing Function. It's based on the idea that goes something like this:

"The ability of the average [person] could be doubled if the situation demanded it."

And the basic premise of this rule is: How can you setup your situation so that the best of you comes out, and so the desired results becomes inevitable? For instance:

• Do you want to launch a course? Start selling the course or getting students into the course before you finish filming it.
• Inform the client it will be done by a certain date.
• Set a weekly rhythm to ship every week by 1pm Friday.

One situation that was a forcing function this week has been hiring. Hiring people requires a few things. It has forced me to clarify the roles in the company better. It has forced me to write a welcome letter describing the culture and work ethic of the team. It has forced me to figure out our software structure for new team members (do we get everyone an email? slack? notion account? CRM?) It has forced me to figure out pay structures and systems for new employees - all in one week! I'm so grateful for it.

But because of that, these things have gotten done at a level I couldn't imagine just 10 days ago. This also worked really well for one of my team members who usually completes about 6-8 projects a week. He finished 12 this week. 12 projects! That is basically double the previous week.

Amazing!

But let me be clear - this isn't just about more more more productivity. It's about pushing our comfort zone and seeking out pressure that will help us be more. (See the quote below by Craig Groeschel, it echos the same thought)

Put yourself in a situation that 'forces' you to rise up, use a few tools:

• Short deadlines (make it critical that it needs to happen by a certain short deadline)
• High consequences for failure (as we talked about last week, we are more incline to act towards removing loss than creating gain)
• Create milestones for yourself that are clear

This week, what can you do to setup your situation so that the best of you comes out? What can you do to get more out of yourself?

My favorite finds this week

• Article: The Billion Dollar Blog - This story was so motivational and literally pushed me to think bigger.
• Article: The Simple Secret To Being In A “FLOW” State… At All Times - Flow is so powerful with work and each week I'm trying to develop systems to further implement flow in my work week.
• Quote: "It always takes courage to make an investment in yourself."
• Video: Four Tiers of Efficiency - Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast | This is a great 20 min video on the topic of priority in your workday and life. One quote that I absolutely loved from the video, "Your importance isn't measured by how much you do, but by how much what you do matters."

All in,

David

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By David Iskander

I'm David, a search specialist, and beginner YouTuber from Orange County, CA. My motto is: Whatever you do, do it beautifully. I enjoy making YouTube videos about website design, tech, productivity, and faith.