harshathlete

I agree with most of the commentators below (especially enraged_camel)... I mean did the blogger put any actual thought into writing this post or did they just copy paste stuff that umpteen other blogs have regurgitated over and over a million times ?

I exercise regularly and it definitely helps me in other areas of my life but I wont just advise "exercise daily" as the solution to anyone and everyone who has any questions about getting better.

What has worked for me so far is to set just 1 concrete goal for the year or 6 months and break it down into the smallest possible pieces and act on it daily.

What doesnt work... 1. Setting too many goals... I mean cmon are you going to start mediating, execising, going out in the nature, maintain a gratitude journal daily ? Sure maybe for 3 days..but once the novelty/willpower wears off, you will be back to square one...

2. All or nothing... Either you exercise daily or you quit..All of us get trapped into the perfection trap and end up doing nothing.. I would rather exercise/meditate/scratch-my-ass 2-3 times a week until THAT becomes a habit.

3. Giving up at the first sign of failure and blaming yourself... Too many people say to themselves "Oh I went on a diet but I ate that cookie..I am a failure... might as well eat the entire box and start afresh from tomorrow"/ "I just dont have the discipline, I am giving up".. Know that you will fail a few times before you get the hang of it..which goes back to #2...dont focus on perfection, focus on progress.

That's it... Just 1 goal to be broken into smallest possible pieces...something you can act on daily...or perhaps a few times a week...

Great post. As for consulting, I have had some really awful experiences and some really good ones.... Here are some tips that might help you with your 2013 goal to consult more.. 1. Unless its an established client, take at least a 10-20% fee up-front once you and the client AGREE ( as in, they agree in writing by email or on paper ) on the requirements. 2. Then take 50% of the balance upon demo when the client agrees that the app is up to their liking followed by the remaning 50% on app launch.

Of course, you can vary the percentages to you liking but this has worked great for me so far...

Where I went wrong was being too eager to get the business and getting started on a project without getting any money upfront.

If they are serious about the project and generally a professional entity ( person/business ) they will pay upfront..otherwise run like hell.

You will obviously make a few mistakes along the way but you will get the idea of filtering clients the more you consult.

Some clients can be more demanding than the others, but in general as long as they are paying, you will be alright!

Good luck and thanks for the great post!