BookBabble #24: "The Perfect Day Formula" by Craig Ballantyne

"How to Own the Day and Control Your Life"

Who is this Craig B and what be his formula?

Owning your day and controlling your life seems a worthy goal, so how do we go about it? Craig Ballantyne is an author, marketer and coach who I was familiar with a few years ago and has recently reappeared into my 'sphere'.

He runs Early To Rise which is a site and newsletter worth checking out. I used to get this but must have unsubscribed at some point during a clear out. Perhaps I'll get back on the list! More recently I have been watching a few of his Empire Podcasts which he does with Bedros Keuilian and there's some tasty stuff in amongst that lot.

The other thing that led to this book was that somewhere recently I picked up a free subscription to Kindle Unlimited. I've no idea either but it appears you can read some books for free with this service. Most were unknown titles to me, but this little gem was in there, and in addition to the podcast shenanigans mentioned, I had to take a peek.

So, back to the perfect day…

Some great quotes from the book followed by my additional thoughts…

it all comes down to a fundamental distinction between the things we can control and those we cannot.

Classic Stoic philosophy. And any other worth its salt. It's a matter of figuring out which is which and focusing our attention on what we can control.

Stoicism is a practical approach to a meaningful life, one of virtue and goodness, and to becoming your best self through continual, neverending improvement.

Craig likes a bit of the ol' Stoicism, as do I. I'm not a big fan of religion and enforced ideologies, but picking the best bits of what's out there and building your own personal philosophy of sorts, is a good way to go.

A book I read on Stoicism worth a look is A Guide to the Good Life by William B Irvine. Also check out stuff from Marcus Aurelius (eg. Meditations) and his ilk… a lot of these guys followed a Stoic philosophy and it worked reasonably well for them by all accounts. Something spoke about a lot by Tim Ferriss too.

Epictetus

And here we have another one… this dude gets a mention a few times through the book and is a famous Greek philosopher kickin' about around 100AD.

What upsets us, he said, are not things themselves but rather our judgments about those things.

Exactly. We're talking the response to situations rather than the situations themselves. Everything is neutral, then we put our reaction on to it.

The formula for the Perfect Day is built on the Three Cs: Control, Conquer, and Concentrate.

What we need to get to grips with for our perfect day.

Control your mornings. Conquer the chaos of your afternoons. Concentrate on what really matters in the evenings.

Morning routines get talked about a lot, and with good reason - they set you up for the day. Afternoons can get away from you a bit so restoring order there too will work wonders. The evenings should be a bit more leisurely, but still, require some planning and application to get right.

Structure = Freedom

The classic paradox. We may want more freedom, and rightly so. But it's in the structure and routine (controlling the controllable) where we actually find it.

Magic Time

Everyone has a certain time in the day when they are at their best. This needs to be sacred, protected and optimised.

Research shows that beginning your day with a victory puts you in a positive mood. This morning momentum leads to more victories and continued progress throughout the day.

It's all about momentum. This can work against you in a downward spiral but also launch you into the stratosphere with the help of our friend Newton and the law of inertia. Starting with any kind of 'win' not only accomplishes that thing but kick-starts the rest of your day's activities.

You must be willing to match your level of desire with the same level of action and commitment to success.

Yeah, often there's a disparage. We say we want all these great things and a prosperous, fun life… but often aren't really willing to pay the price. We want the end results but not to have to put in the work or sacrifice. Completely understandable but it all comes down to a choice.

rules, or what you can also call Personal Philosophies

Craig suggests having some life rules, your own commandments if you will. These are made by you and not enforced on you by others, that's a key distinction. Not so much to restrict you and ruin your fun but to get your life in order to actually enjoy it more! He gives a list of his 12 and they are always a work in progress and can be edited.

The best to-do list sticks to a handful of very specific, actionable, and non-conflicting items. Schedule your number one priority first. Attack it immediately in the morning. Start there and you will win your morning hours and you will own your day.

Too often we have these huge to-do lists which are really quite deranged and you end up getting overwhelmed and perhaps achieving nothing. Trick is to focus on a few key things which, if successful, move the needle forward on where you want to go. That may well lead on to more items not on the list (bonus!) but you're not setting yourself up for failure.

Attack one of the biggies first thing and you're away to the races. 'Eat That Frog' is a way I've heard that presented before and is the name of a book by Brian Tracy.

Ben Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”

It's cheesy and an annoying one when people say it. Craig and I are those annoying people today. Planning is crucial, but I would also say not to overdo it, as action is even more important. Depends on the context of course.

You need a daily schedule. Writers need an outline for writing. If you want to lose weight, you need an exercise program and a meal plan. It’s Boy Scouts 101. Always be prepared.

Basic but true. Once again the importance of a daily schedule and structure of some sort.

“To live a life of virtue, match up your thoughts, words, and deeds,” said Epictetus.

'Epic'tetus is back! It all needs to match up, otherwise it's all off kilter.

I call them the 5 Pillars of Success. These are planning & preparation, professional accountability, social support, an incentive, and the big deadline.

Here are the 5 pillars and the most important feature of the book I'd say. Get these pumping away nicely and everything will fall into place.

“If it is to be, it’s up to me”

It rhymes. Plus true.

mise-en-place

Setting up your physical (and mental) space for success.

There are many things we want to accomplish in life, but there can be only one number one priority at a time.

The word priority originally only existed in singular form. There was no such thing as 'priorities', the plural of the word going against the fact that 'priority' meant the first, most important thing.

A coach not only teaches us what to do, but holds us accountable for doing it.

Accountability is a big one. A coach in general is another. We need to be taught what exactly we need to do and when, then be held accountable to get it done. Without it, we are pissing in the wind… a bit hit and miss to say the least.

You can’t succeed without proper coaching, let alone trying to do it all on your own.

Ok ok, we get the point. A (good) coach is a worthwhile investment, perhaps crucial.

“While we teach, we learn,” said the Roman philosopher Seneca.

Now Seneca's getting in on it. You tend to learn the most whilst teaching, so a good idea for realising your (and any students) full potential.

“You cannot brighten another’s path without lighting your own,” said my friend and mentor, Frank McKinney.

You're bound to at least feel good, if not gain more by helping others. Selfless is selfish… or put better - everyone wins.

Follow these two rules for becoming a wiser and better person: First, you must practice what you preach. Second, you must practice preaching it.

Yes, goes back to virtue mentioned earlier. Words and deeds being in accordance. Then go out and impart that wisdom for others…

When you’re down, your best solution is to become the helping hand to someone else.

I once heard/read that when you're unsure what to do, either create something or go help someone else. Excellent advice. Not only do you do good in some way, but also get out of your own head (which can be a dangerous place, and nice to get a bit of light relief ;)). It's a no-lose either way, and could lead to all kinds of goodness.

The average person tends to live a “crab in a bucket” existence.

The 'crab in a bucket' is a classic story about the mentality/actions of crabs… and humans. The short version is, when there is a bucket of crabs and one of them tries to climb out, the rest of the buggers pull the potential escapee back into the bucket… no lid needed as they stop each other from going anywhere! I'm sure the analogy isn't wasted.

You cannot succeed if you let the crabs in the bucket pull you back down. You cannot soar with eagles if all you do is hang around turkeys.

Watch out for those crabs and turkeys. Might be time to upgrade.

Stanford Marshmallow Experiment.

Another classic. This was a famous study done on kids years ago where they were each left in a room, alone with a marshmallow. They were told they could have 2 if they waited a certain amount of time before eating it. An observation into delayed gratification. Years later, the more patient of the kids went on to be far more successful in life. Obvious in a sense, but we all like to get stuck in to those 'marshmallows'! Read more about that study here.

Work comes first. Then reward. It’s not the other way around.

Paying your dues, then reaping the rewards. Not withdrawing without depositing first.

The Big Deadline

The importance of a deadline to get things done… and avoids procrastination!

Parkinson’s law, which says, “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”

Parkinson's back and is a crafty bugger. Best to use that space wisely.

Every successful person, no matter whether they realize it or not, has put the 5 Pillars of Success to work for them. They Plan and Prepare properly, they have Professional Accountability and Social Support, they have chosen an Incentive to inspire them, and they have given themselves a Big Deadline.

The structure of all successful individuals and organisations, whether that comes under a different name or not, all follow a similar outline.

This problem exists because you don’t yet have a clear, defined vision for your life.

This is actually quite tough. But have that clear vision and everything works back from there.

Step #1 – Write a First Draft

Of your clear vision. Be detailed. How you want your life to look. Fill it with emotion.

Step #2 – Share Your Vision

With a trusted ally. Someone to help refine it.

Step #3 – Re-Write the Final Version of Your Vision

Speaks for itself.

Mark Ford, taught me that you should set only four goals at one time, one for your health, wealth, social self, and personal enrichment. These make up the key areas in a person’s life. You are more likely to be a happy, well-rounded, and satisfied person when you are doing well in all of them.

Mark Ford was the original owner of Early To Rise (also wrote/writes under the pen name of Michael Masterson). Like with the to-do list earlier, don't shoot for too many goals at once. In fact, it's even more important with goals as it makes is harder to stick and less likely to come off. They may even conflict slightly, so best to keep it simple.

process goals to go with each outcome goal

This is key! I know I often say that but this is as much as anything ;). Process goals are far more important (or at least trackable) than outcome. It's great to have the outcome goals but you actually have no control over the result. What you do have control over, is the action steps you take in order to pursue that end.

You may want a certain amount of money. That's great… but will you hit that figure? Maybe, maybe not. There are many variables including other people involved. What you can do, for example, is have a specific number of prospects to contact each day/week and through hitting that goal (controllable) you have done all you can, and should lead you to the outcome goal. And if you don't reach it, you'll be a damn sight closer and have made some inroads regardless.

You have to share your goals if you want to get results. The trick is to only share your goals with the right people, those who will support and encourage you.

Hmm, I hear conflicting advice on this. I guess the key is, the right people. Some people are clueless but some are necessary. Check out this post based around a TED Talk on why you shouldn't share your goals.

Again, discretion is required but certain things should be shared at certain times and with particular people. Telling certainly helps with accountability too, as discussed earlier.

Winston Churchill once told the people of Britain, “Never give in—never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy”

It's a while since ol' Winston appeared in a BookBabble, so here he is with a famous quote on persistence, and keeping on in the face of adversity.

The world will tempt us with fantasy football, breaking news, celebrity gossip, and television show marathons. These are not part of your vision.

Nothing wrong with these things in their place. But your vision helps you be clear on what's important and whether these things are to be included at certain times, or removed/minimised.

You know you’ve not reached the true greatness you are capable of. You know that you are destined for bigger and better things. You know there is a big breakthrough in your future. You can feel it. You know that you are only a few steps away from achieving your deepest desires. It’s a feeling that you can’t put into words, but it’s there inside of you every day.

A delightful way to close up the book with a few inspiring words.

we go through a long period of doing the work with minimal results…and then suddenly we experience a WHOOOOOOSH effect when the breakthrough occurs

20 years for an overnight success.

You success starts in the morning. Plan your day. Get up early. Work on your number one priority in life before anything else.

Simple, not easy, but crucial.

Create your rules, set your foundation with the 5 Pillars, and write the vision for your life.

Sums up the book in a sentence. Get these rules, pillars and vision working and you're rockin' & rollin'!

Thanks Craigy! Anything else?

Solid book. Not overly complicated and another author's angle on reaching our objectives. There are common threads that run through much of this type of material and here we have a slightly different perspective again.

Having a structure to your day and life can't be underestimated. So with or without this particular book, you need to have a system of some sort to get what you want as well as to enjoy the process. Without it, you're leaving it all to chance and to the people that do have their shit together.

The 5 pillars in particular are well worth remembering and seeing if we can implement them a little better… that along with a big, clear vision and clarity on our personal philosophies (as well as continually acting on them), will all help stand us in good stead.

How about you? Any advice for a perfect day?

Check out the others in the series…