The Underlying Blog

I’VE MOVED TO KyleMcFarlin.com, FOLLOW ME NOW

After years of sometimes reliable, sometimes flaky, always smart-ass blogging, I have moved completely to KyleMcFarlin.com. I was going to do it anyhow, but then Microsoft went and cancelled their 'MS Office Live Small Business' service so I just went ahead and did it now. In fact, not only am I moving my blog to there but VisualStrategist.com will also redirect to there, making me fully established at 'Kyle McFarlin.com'. Want to talk about massive ego synchronization... you're welcome 8-) .

The website is a work in progress. Think of it like the Death Star in 'Jedi'. The laser cannon works, but there are still condominiums to install. And hopefully pissed off people in bowl cuts and teddy bear costumes don't band together to blow my ass up. But if they do, I’m ready.

So anywho, please take a moment and add my new blog to your favorite reader:

Visit KyleMcFarlin.com now

And while you're there, take a moment and add me on your favorite social media networks, which are linked at the new site:

Visit KyleMcFarlin.com now

And if that weren't enough, you can sign-up for the Kyle McFarlin newsletter at the new website (if you already signed up for the Visual Strategist newsletter, you're good as it is the exact same newsletter from the exact same person, under a different title).

Visit KyleMcFarlin.com now

Thank you for your years of loyal readership (If it's not true, I'll never catch you), and please enjoy my new website / blog. I will be getting pretty unhinged when everything gets going, but you will never personally be in danger, and that's everything. Think of me like a nerdy Charles Barkley who can't ball (maybe not as witty either). But certainly as smart-assed. Again, you're welcome.

Go Kyle!

 

Visit KyleMcFarlin.com now

The Dark Kyle Rises

That title sounds like a Viagra commercial. I am tan right now… still that’s sad and funny. Are you as tired as I am of hard-on commercials spoiling classic blues and rock songs? I can no longer listen to Elvis’ ‘Viva Las Vegas’ with integrity (if that was ever possible). Or Howlin Wolf’s ‘Smokestack Lightning’. I am angry: Look I love anything that brings two people who care for eachother together, please just stop making these weird associations in my mind! And stop airing them at 3 o’clock in the afternoon: I pity the father who has to explain the term ‘erectile dysfunction’ to his 7 year old while trying to enjoy a ballgame together.

And Cadillac destroyed Led Zeppelin’s ‘Rock and Roll’ for me ages ago. I love Cadillacs. I love the song ‘Rock and Roll’. THEY DO NOT GO TOGETHER.

Okay, back on topic: Anyone else think the best part of the new ‘Harry Potter’ movie was ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ preview? I’m a Harry Potter fan, and the movie has not been completely effective when I’m rooting for Voldemort the whole time. I mean, I wanted Harry to go down with Tony Montana ‘say hello to my little friend’ gusto, but I still wanted him to go down. At least Ron put the mack down on Hermoine I guess. I think there was something about the pacing that threw me. Who knows. And now I’m off topic again.

Back to the Dark Knight Rises. I get the impression that Batman may throw his gear back on and kick the hell out of a returning Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze… or Tom Hardy as Bane. And Batman better get a date with Catwoman because he’s been rather romantically challenged in this trilogy so far. The preview for the movie is effective in referencing that part of the Hero’s Journey that Joseph Campbell and Christopher Vogler would refer to as ‘Ordeal, Death & Rebirth’. In the preview, Commissioner Gordon is explaining that Batman, who functionally (not physically) died in ‘The Dark Knight’, must return for there to be a tomorrow. It is Bruce Wayne’s choice to rise or not.

The reason I bring up ordeal, death and rebirth? Not because I have any illusions about being Batman (my car is black though), but because this is the first summer where I can legitimately say I’m hauling some ass on Important but not Urgent projects. So, the procrastinator in me has died to an extent, replaced by this annoying image of me with a close-cropped haircut, wearing a suit and keeping me productive. Armani Kyle is a jackass, you heard it here first. And yet I respect him because he makes me play hard in the 4th quarter: The bastard.

So in thinking about my last blog post, I have come through. I have worked my butt off this past month. If I had an aircraft carrier, I’d fly onto it with a Mission Accomplished banner behind me. It’s been that kind of month productivity-wise (Meanwhile my ego streaks across the sky). So now I’m faced with the hardest thing of all: Celebrating my victory, step 3 in my last post. I tell everyone else to do it and yet when it comes down to it, I’m a C- at best on celebrating. Usually it involves driving my happy ass to Chipotle and forgetting what it is I’m celebrating. So here’s advice to myself for enjoying victory.

3 tips to celebrate your recent victory

1) Tell the person in your life who keeps you accountable what you have done and what you are proud of. If appropriate, invite them to the celebration with you. For some reason, talking about it out loud has a solidifying effect, much like the professor who is so brilliant because repeated communication of the content has locked it forever in his / her mind.

2) Have a vocal internal dialogue on the way to your celebration in which you take on the role of a mentor or someone you respect and tell yourself about the accomplishment and why you should be proud of it. If you’re comfortable with this (and in a car, not the subway), actually talk out loud and address yourself. I do this sometimes and I assure you no one is laughing at you, they just think you have a microscopic bluetooth headset on they can’t see.

3) Before doing the celebratory act, frame the celebration in your mind. declare in your mind, ‘I am going to enjoy this as a celebration of ______’. And do so.

Next Actions

· If you’ve done something worth celebrating, follow my above steps. Duh. If you haven’t, do something worth celebrating. Double duh.

·Please RSS my feed if you haven't already. It'll make your life easier by eliminating the need to always be checking back here.

· Feeling generous? I greatly appreciate any bookmarks you want to give me in Digg, Stumbleupon, Delicious, etc.

· Hey if you liked this post or thought it blew, I don't care, tell me something and show me you're alive ;).

Technorati Tags: Kyle McFarlin,Harry Potter,Batman,Joseph Campbell,Christopher Vogler,Procrastination,Mission Accomplished,Victory

3 Tips for Going Luke Skywalker on the Death Star of Summer Procrastination

 

Burritos & Sundresses

It's summertime and most of my motivation, to put it bluntly, is focused on Chipotle, Mountain Dew and girls. It reminds me of that episode of Friends when someone asks Joey what he'd rather give up, food or women? I still have no answer, all I see is a pretty lady in a sundress handing me a Chipotle burrito with steak and guacamole, telling me I won the race. I have no damn clue what that means. Someday this paragraph may be used against me.

Seriously though, and especially given that I live in Ohio, land of the 4 schizophrenic seasons, I don't feel like working at all... and I actually have a lot to do. I have some exciting things going on over the next year (like Chipotle and Mountain Dew), and this is the perfect time to plan for them and get ahead.

If only I had motivation... so in 'continuing the greatness' as Bron Bron would say and blogging monthly, I've written the following to myself in the hope it helps you and I. Even if you don’t work for yourself, summer procrastination is still worth Power Swording.

 

3 Tips for Destroying Summer Procrastination

Tip 1: Make yourself work, at a minimum, 9-5 OR an 8 hour shift

If you need to break it up into 2, 4 hour shifts that's fine. Just do some damn work. Don't take days off just because, ya know, it's summer. I see people do this, and it's bullshit. Especially if you do consulting work like me, this is probably your lightest quarter of the year, making it the PERFECT time to get ahead and position yourself masterfully for the rest of the year and the first half of next.

If your client is having drinks on a beach somewhere and you’re at the office, don't be jealous, be productive. It's the ideal time to do some delayed spring cleaning. More importantly, it's the perfect time to work on those projects that the folks at Franklin Covey would call 'Important' but not 'Urgent'. You know, the project that will actually make you the most money in the long run but gets pushed back because of day-to-day, week-to-week demands.

Tip 2: Use vacation days when you play hooky

If you work for yourself, it means you have a certain amount of passion for whatever you are doing. Which means if you just walk out of the office when there is work to be done, you'll spend the duration of the time feeling guilty. So however you allocate your vacation time, use it if you want to take a day off. Which leads to…

Tip 3: Absolutely DO take some time off in summer to celebrate good work

Look, I live in Ohio. We have the 4 seasons. I'd be nuts not to take SOME time off in summer. Also, as I said before, a lot of clients tend to go on vacation this time of year so the opportunity is perfect. To make them count for even more, use them to celebrate milestones and accomplishments for the work you are doing. The ultimate albacore around your neck is a vacation day you spend feeling guilty about lackluster performance. So take time off to celebrate having played hard all 4 quarters of the game that is whatever you do professionally. Because you know, PEOPLE RESPECT YOU MORE WHEN YOU PLAY HARD ALL 4 QUARTERS OF THE GAME.

WARNING TO YOU

Ignore these tips at your own peril... Kyle.

Next Actions

· Please RSS my feed if you haven't already. It'll make your life easier by eliminating the need to always be checking back here.

· Feeling generous? I greatly appreciate any bookmarks you want to give me in Digg, Stumbleupon, Delicious, etc.

· Hey if you liked this post or thought it blew, I don't care, tell me something and show me you're alive ;).

Technorati Tags: Chipotle,Mountain,Franklin Covey,Ohio,Summer,Vacation,Kyle McFarlin

Mind Mapping Threatening to Dreams of Underachievement?

This is going to be a quick post this month… but let’s make super sexy note of one thing: I’ve kept my promise of blogging monthly. Wow, I need to do something hypocritical in some other area of life because I’m kind of ‘balls and my word’ over in this here realm.

So this month I have something cool for you to checkout. Chuck Frey recently posted a new report on mind mapping and the human potential. It’s a cool topic I’ve personally always been curious about. And by curious I mean I teach people this stuff for a living and rule at it. Pride before the fall but I’m wearing a parachute made of Chipotle rice – science says WTF. Chuck isn’t even asking you for an opt-in to get the report, even though you ought to join his list if you haven’t yet.

Here it is:

New report: How does mind mapping impact human potential?

Overall I liked the matter-of-fact treatment Chuck’s guests gave the subject. I’ve seen treatments in the past that are just a little too far out for me, a little too ‘let’s wear natural deodorant alternatives’. I wear Mitchum. I remind people of a Ford Truck. The Mitchum part is true.

And here are my thoughts, in 5 bite-size bullet points. Here’s what I think mind mapping is for:

1. Brainstorming
2. Arranging Information
3. Strategy & Goal Planning
4. Relationship Management
5. Execution on all fronts mentioned above (especially when using something like Mindjet’s Catalyst product)

That’s it.

Everything flows from those 5 things… everything.

That’s what I use it for, I meat and potatoes man (I think beer commercials are seeping into my brain as I read back over what I’ve written here. You can always tell when I’ve been watching NBA games).

If you’re in a hurry, just go to page 12 of the report for the mind mapped bullet points.

New report: How does mind mapping impact human potential?

What did you think? Leave a comment below.

Technorati Tags: Kyle McFarlin,Chuck Frey,mind mapping,Mindjet Catalyst,human potential,NBA,Brainstorming,Information Management,Strategy,Goal Planning,Relationship Management

Own it Or Disown it, but Never Just Fly Over It

In the past I'd make a snarky remark or joke about not having blogged in a while. This time I'm just plain embarrassed, and for that I'm publicly apologizing to you on the interweb. There's no excuse and it's a bit hypocritical of me ... Allow me to explain.

About mid 2009, when I stopped blogging I was at the point where I'd built up enough long-term clients that I felt I didn't need to blog the way I was before. It was roughly the equivalent of taking the money and running. In my defense I didn't realize this blog was as important to other people as it is (That reeked of ego, I'm leaving it). Even friends who have no connection to the world of mapping have been asking me where I've been hiding. Apparently deep-fried smartass has a strange allure all it's own. I want my own cologne.

Showgirl in Amish Country

The thing I didn't consider is some of the clients I am coaching on goal management, especially the marketers, look at me like a showgirl in Amish country when they find out I blog... every 2 years. And part of what attracted the clients I have to me in the first place was at least the vague faith that I would at least have a blog post up in the same year it in fact is. I absolutely hate blind hypocrisy, which I'm now realizing how staggeringly I've been guilty of. How am i supposed to preach relentless consistency in GTD, goal management, product development, process systemization and self-discipline when I'm not even showing it to the world on my main communication platform? How will snarky angels get their wings?

Little side note: Self-aware hypocrisy is the guacamole on the Chipotle burrito that is life especially when your mind resembles a centrally planned corporation as much as mine does. Yes, I just compared myself to General Electric - Deal. And don’t get yourself into to trouble, I’m talking about dancing when you would normally play Halo, not driving backwards down I-95.

Naturally, if I wanted to avoid hypocrisy I could also declare my blog dead. For reasons science cannot explain I WANT to blog. I've got the fever like Robert Duvall in the Apostle!!! There, I said it. I want to be a loud voice and a place where my love of fried chicken can live forever. Before, even when I was blogging I never really and truly took ownership of it. My start in blogging had been the idea of others, and now it's time to scream from the mountain tops (okay, hilltops in Ohio) that I want to blog and I own it. That's right Charlie Sheen, I'm an F-22 who wants you to star in Apocalypse Now Part Deux for all you have recently put me through.

So here's my commitment to you: I'll blog monthly or tell you explicitly if it will be longer. I know that doesn't sound like a lot but at least you have a consistent timeline from me. Most importantly I have a consistent timeline from me: Don't look at me that way, I'm the one who has to shave this face every 4th day.

The Lesson of Goodness – Boy Scout Reborn… Awwww

Here's today's lesson extracted from my past as a deadbeat blogger: You'll be mediocre as long as what you're doing is built on the behest of someone else. Even if someone else started you down the path, at some point you must consciously take ownership. And if you're skeptical, just think about the different results people get when weight loss or quitting smoking is their idea or someone else's. The self-starter is often a missile on a mission, ultimately celebrating new life as skinny and smoke-free (she looks hot in my head). The imposed upon is a chain-smoking Jabba the Hut, resentful and doing the minimum necessary to preserve the relationship with the person whose idea the initiative was.

So if you're doing something at someone else's request, figure out if it's something you should be doing. If not, get out a.s.a.p.. Life's too short as they say (Who are they?). If so, make it yours because the day you take ownership... Watch out, freight train of YOU coming through! Not corny at all.

What do you think? Is taking ownership really that important? Leave a comment below.

PS: Big ups to Mark & Shelly for the steadfast encouragement to bring my online personae back to life: You are as true of friends as can exist. And you too Dr. Brian Friedlander.

Technorati Tags: Kyle McFarlin,GTD,mind mapping,hypocrisy,goals,self-discipline

Your Brain on the Brain is Better than Your Brain on Drugs

3 months since my last blog post…Too bad I can’t fire myself.

Recently I’ve taken to using a new application alongside MindManager. That’s noteworthy, because I’m not the type who tends to play with new programs for the hell of it. It’s called TheBrain. For those of you who don’t know, it’s in essence a visual database. Why I like it is because it caters to my innate laziness. Though theBrain can be used as a full fledge data suppository repository (Read: Real Work), I’ve taken advantage of one killer feature that takes about 5 minutes to put robustly into place: The ability to visually navigate the folder structure of your computer.

I’m gonna make this short & sweet because the Lakers are on right now. And I’ll likely talk more about theBrain in the coming months/years. Even if you never went beyond the recommended steps below, you’ll get one helluva a lot of benefit out of theBrain from using this technique alone…

So, here are your next actions:

1. Download theBrain.
2. Install it (Duh).
3. Under Options > Preferences > UI, make sure you have ‘Show virtual thought folders’ checked.
4. Open theBrain and File Explorer next to each other. Drag one of your mission critical folders from File Explorer into theBrain as a main topic directly off of the central topic.
5. That’s it. Use theBrain to quickly navigate from folder to folder, file to file. If you use my VSS template set, try navigating it with theBrain. Like a Ferrari for your filing system. As Pac said, ‘Picture me rollin’.
6. I like to have theBrain and MindManager open next to each other. See how it works with your screen real-estate. For the record, I think these two play nicely. Both companies should sooo buy me a steak dinner for believing that.
7. If you’re motivated, take a look at theBrain website, where they’ve stocked it out with learning materials. Also the blog is killer.

I hope that helps. Let me know what you think of theBrain in the comment section below. If you don’t leave a comment, my feelings will be hurt. My feelings of steel that is. Colbert forever.

A special thanks to Brian Friedlander for his ludicrous belief and subsequent encouragement that I would blog again. You win Brian.

Technorati Tags: Mindjet MindManager,TheBrain,Database,VSS,Visual Strategist,Kyle McFarlin,Chipotle,Brian Friedlander,Gyronix ResultsManager

Christmas in January with Context Organizer

Before I wrap for the evening and watch King James go ballistic on the Hornets, I thought I’d blog the piece of software I’m most excited about this year.

I’ve always enjoyed reading. And I’ve always felt an elephant was standing on my head when I would walk into a Barnes & Noble and realize there’s all of this information and no way I could ever read it all. As time went by, I understood that you don’t have to read everything to get the jist: Just get broad enough you sound competent around yuppies and know the hell out of your chosen field.

Sounds easy, right? Well, I could still probably spend the rest of my life covering visual mapping and all of the topics influential to it. Another ‘screw it, the hell with visual mapping, let’s play video games’ moment brought to you by our sponsor, ‘feeling of overwhelm’.

Never one to back down from a bucket of fried chicken challenge, I’ve done everything I can to learn about speed-reading and faster ways of consuming information. But still, it takes time to summarize a book into those beautiful little chicken nuggets of value. Can you tell I haven’t eaten dinner yet?

That’s why I’m so damn excited about Context Organizer, which I just started playing with tonight. Now, we all know that I’m lazy when it comes to giving product description, so I defer to Brian Friedlander’s excellent post. According to Brian:

“Context Organizer you are able to quickly get the context of attached documents as well as web sites right within MindManager 8, that are visually displayed as topics and subtopics.”

I’ll add that it also works with MindManager 7 because that’s what I’m using on this computer (Don’t get your knickers in a twist Mindjet, I’m using MM8 on my other computer. You know I’ve got love for ya! Holla.). Further, it’ll summarize a document you are hyperlinked to from within MindManager.

I summarized a website and 2 PDFs… and found that I can get immense topical value out looking through the output. In fact, I think the output from Context Organizer is very similar to what speed-reading programs are trying to get you to pick up on.

A perfect reason to do absolutely no more work tonight.

Good Night and God Bless.

You can get a free 21 day trial of the software at Context Discovery.

Technorati Tags: Brian Friedlander,Kyle McFarlin,Context Organizer,Mindjet MindManager

Are You 'Watching' Your Mind Maps?

Lately I've been a little bit disenchanted with my mind maps. Not because of content, just because I would create a map and often not look at it again. Also, when you work in mind mapping for a living, sometimes you just don't feel like going back into a map and fooling with looking at it. May sound crazy, yet if you map it right you've committed a lot of it to memory. I'm mostly talking about content maps... execution maps I live in. It's like the fast food employee who burns out on hamburgers. I love fast food. McDonald's is swell.

What I have been doing though, when I want to brush up on a subject, is just going into MindManager 7, clicking on the 'View' Tab, and throwing it into presentation mode. Then I can just watch the map by continuously hitting 'Tab'. It's entertainment on par with Scarface and Nemo.

Maybe all of you are doing this already, yet it feels like an epiphany for me. And I think the term 'presentation mode' makes us think that it's only for when you're showing it to other people. NOT SO. Maybe Mindjet should call it 'Sit on your butt with some popcorn and be entertained mode'. I rule. You can have that one for free Mindjet.

Much love to all of my readers. Now I've got to go watch CP3 face down San Antonio.

Technorati tags: Kyle McFarlin, Mindjet MindManager, McDonald's, Chris Paul, NBA, Scarface, Finding Nemo

Business Case for Mind Mapping Found Before Big Foot!

I'm sick of the lack of awareness of what Mind Mapping can do for businesspeople. Day by day, workers/executives/entrepreneurs drown, and I don't use that word lightly because like shark attacks and bull running it scares me. They drown in a sea of e-mail, crappy bosses, projects, romantic affairs (what the *#$%?), operations, files scattered everywhere, PowerPoint Presentations, Excel spreadsheets, relationships, trips, family, American Idol, fried chicken, etcetera. Meanwhile, they get little in the way of tools that truly help them shovel their way out of hell.

In Chuck Frey's new book, The Mind Mapping Manifesto, he throws a harpoon right at the heart of the business world's ignorance of mind mapping, especially felt here in the US (Seriously Europeans, take a moment and savor how mind map friendly your nations are). And priceless is Chuck's new phrase of mind mapping: 'The Savvy Executive's Secret Weapon.' That's pimp.

According to Chuck,

'Not enough executives and entrepreneurs truly understand what mind mapping software is and what it can do for them. This is the best software you've never heard of!

So I decided to do something about that. I'm Chuck Frey, founder of InnovationTools.com, author of the Mind Mapping Software Weblog and of the popular e-book, Power Tips & Strategies for Mind Mapping Software.

I've seen the impact that it can make on the work and lives of people just like you. Mind mapping software can help you to:

• Conquer information overload
• Make better decisions
• Reach clarity faster on key issues
• Become a more creative problem solver, and
• Supercharge your effectiveness

That's why I've written The Mind Mapping Manifesto - to spread the word about the productivity benefits this type of software offers, and to help you to make an informed decision about investing in it. In short, I've built the business case for mind mapping software.'

Well you go Chuck, and hopefully the thought virus you've created spreads. Hells bells, Chuck even encourages you to spread the book around to members of your organization, so I have to imagine the Barons of Linear Notetaking may be waking up very soon. And it may even feature some choice bits from everyone's favorite espresso fiend. This year, let's hope I improve at Halo 3 (has anyone written an e-book on how to enjoy getting your ass shot off?) and mind mapping finally starts to get the recognition it deserves as THE tool that will finally reconcile hippies and suits.

Discover more about the Mind Mapping Manifesto now.

Technorati tags: Kyle McFarlin, Chuck Frey, The Mind Mapping Manifesto, Europe, US

Before I get Stoned in Starbucks by Readers for Using a Computer

In my interview on the Personal Productivity Show, I took great pains to say that one day a week, you should get off of your computer and not work for an ENTIRE DAY. Hot damn and oops, I think I may have shot my big mouth off too soon about turning the technology off. Look, if your idea of a great Saturday is making some computer music or playing some computer games, more power to you... that's hobby, not work. The last thing I want to do is destroy your enjoyment of the one day per week you tell your work where it can go, so if I spoke hastily, my apologies.

And in a lot of ways this is a CYA (Cover-Your-Ass) blog post as I was talking about me above when I said computer music and games (Seriously, I do mind mapping for a living: What the hell were you expecting, running with the bulls and shark fishing?). So, before I get booed out of the local Starbucks, I thought I would give you the insight that my original intention in telling you not to work/touch a computer 1 day per week was since most of you are desk jockeys, the easiest way to free you was to remove the enabler, your computer.

Turns out, this angers a lot of us who have hobby-related stuff on our computers. So... If your hobby is on your computer, orders from headquarters are for you to go crazy with it on your next full day off. Just don't give me any BS about your work being your hobby as an excuse to work. Even if originally it was a mere hobby, it's now a full-time gig and you need a different hobby to keep from going crazy (or too crazy if you're already there). Further, if you love your work and do it passionately 60-100 hours per work, one day a week is needed for proper brain elasticity (I'm not a scientist, but the brain does feel stretched at times). Just make sure you don't check e-mail or do any work. Repeat after me, 'E-mail & Work can kiss my ass on (Day you take off) '. There you go.

I know I'll be hobbying it up on my computer this coming weekend, with e-mail and work kissing my rump the entire time.

If you have any feedback, please leave a comment as there's still a part of me that thinks the computer ought to stay off completely one day per week if for no other purpose than change of scenery. What do you think?

Technorati tags: Kyle McFarlin, Saturday, Personal Productivity Show, Email, Work