1. If you want to get better with your time management, switch to a task management focus. This means to focus on getting high priority tasks completed, and not focusing on arbitrary time designations for completing them. For instance, it is better to ensure that you return all phone calls and emails prior to leaving work rather than to set aside your last hour of the day for doing so. After all, what if it only takes ten minutes to return those calls and emails? Task completion, not time allocation, is the way to go.

2. Details matter, especially in regards to work and relationships. The difference between top-level athletes and mid-level athletes is in the details of work ethic, attitude, and resiliency. The same is true in business, and in relationships. The more you can master and attend to the small but important details (for instance, the language you use, knowing the difference between "your" and "you're," how you dress, money management, time management, etc), the higher standard of living you'll create for yourself.

3. Challenge the arbitrary assumptions of everyday life as often as you can. Just because something is popular, or "common knowledge," doesn't mean that it's helpful, or useful, or effective. I'm frequently told by coaches that I need to see one of their athletes weekly, and I face many requests by others for "an hour of my time." My first thought is usually, "why?" Once I meet with the athlete, I can determine better what their needs are. And, why is an hour needed? What if we accomplish our objectives in ten minutes? Are we required to sit around for another fifty and twiddle our thumbs uncomfortably? Challenge arbitrary notions and assumptions as often as possible.

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"From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend on reading it."

Groucho Marx

Someday, I'll wake up and realize that my life is exactly how I want it. I'll wake by the light of the sunrise in my eyes. Outside my window, the sounds of ocean waves lapping at the shore on a beautiful 65 degree tropical morning serve as background music to another day lived well. On that day, I'll take my time getting up and enjoy a fresh cup of coffee and as I plan my coming adventures.

My stress will consist of having to decide between engaging in snorkeling or going parasailing. It will also be stressful later that day when I sit down and force myself to write four or five more pages on my new bestselling book, which by this time will be my tenth such feat of writing.

I'll have to go online to reconcile my bank accounts for the day, and to search travel sites for my coming vacation to Europe to research the difference between performance anxiety in European athletes and American athletes. Is it more convenient to fly into Paris or London initially? I'll need to figure that out, and perhaps I can better accomplish that by asking for advice from my children, who will be the final judges in the matter.

To have that conversation, I'll need another cup of fresh coffee, made by a personal chef who is also trained in Brazilian Ju-Jitsu and speaks five languages fluently, aiding my personal development in numerous ways beyond meal preparation.

Someday you'll enjoy your own version of reality that's better than the one you live through currently. Someday, conditions will be perfect for you to take that leap into the unknown, to let go of the fears that have bound you to your quiet and comfortable life. Someday, you'll learn that risks usually disappear when you finally take them. You'll realize that you've lied to yourself in untold ways in order to assuage the dissonance you feel about the life you've chosen. Someday, you'll stop dreaming about wanting more out of life than you have now, be it in relationships, career, or otherwise. Someday you'll be able to afford having children. Someday, one day, you'll feel understood by those you love. You'll be able to tell them, and show them, how much you appreciate them, without strings or conditions attached, and without fear of the sound of silence following your declarations of admiration. Someday, you'll take those chances. Someday, you're sure to do it.

Someday.

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