Learn to control money but do not allow it to control you

Firewalker

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:.

Can I make this the hymn of the tread?

FW

Sea78

Classic! Thanks MG xxx

elantan

Ok i have to ask .... Why call them frogs ? Just because a guy that wrote a book called them frogs ? Do u think of them as frogs ? I have never thought of them as frogs ( but call them that for the benefit of others) why not think of them as something else ? Something personal .... And why make them nast horrible yucky etc .... Why not tasty ... Vause when they are done you can do the more enjoyable things u want to

Im aware that i do think differently from some people though so please feel free to ignore

elantan

Sorry on the stupid iphone again

Firewalker

Well, El, you are probably right; we call them frogs but not simply because Brian Tracy called them that. Before him I think Mark Twain said that if we had to eat a live frog first thing every morning nothing will be able to scare us or deter us. The things I think of as frogs are all the things that I will not do cheerfully, all the things that I will ignore - because they are big and scary, for example. You know, all the things that don't get done for ages.

This weekend, for example, we did things that have needed doing for over ten years - like really clearing the garage, or changing some lights that are non-essential but make the kitchen more functional, taking down a climbing frame that has been in the garden for twenty years now and taking it to the tip. Interestingly the things that I tend to push back are not always things I don't enjoy doing. I love writing - but at the moment writing the blog seems a really big task. If I did not practice the priciples set out by Brian T. I will probably never get around to doing it.

The whole thing that I jokingly have started referring to as 'frogology' is about relatively simple things that have to be done like we swallow bitter medicine - without dwelling and recognising the benefit. It is about:

working out what is really important in terms of what we set out to achieve;
chunking it in doable bits;
approahcing it head on forgetting about fear, consequences etc.
persisting till it is done to the standard we set ourselves;
doing it first thing - otherwise our brains find a way to get out of it.

In fact, what Brian T. sets out in Eat That Frog is very similar to what Tim Ferriss advocates in the 4Hour Work Week - are you productive or are you busy. Frog eating is about being productive, about spending the time to decide what is the parsimonious course of action, conserving energy rather than wasting it.

El, I am afraid this is more than you asked but this is what I thought anyway. And of course it is not so important what we call these things - the important thing is to do it; get on, don't procrastinate, don't just keep busy. Be productive, be unique and unbelievable. As we all are and are destined to be.

Firewalker

elantan

I agree there FW can i ask though .... Did u enjoy clearing all the stuff away ? Did u ask yourself why didnt i do this before now? Did u see a wholenew garden / garage when u were done ? Did u feel an enormous sense of achievement ? And did u say ... Im going to live my life the best way i know how ?

Just asking ? I think i wouldve

Firewalker

Clearing this stuff out made my heart sing and my soul rejoyce. This was a big statement - a statement that we, as a unit, are over the worse and are ready to build. We had lost interest in our home and had not done much for ages.

But clearing these things, throwing things out of my study and doing files is also helping me see things more clearly. Physical clutter and mental fogginess are connected; I am convinced of it.

Firewalker

Firewalker

I have not shared my really good news here. I am not sure whether any of the readers of this tread believe in the generosity of the Universe and the power of sending a wish. I was a bit dubious but decided to give it a go; and this time it is not about buses although they still come punctual as clockwork.

About a year ago I went on the Secret website and printed out one of the empty cheques there. I filled it in (to myself) and put a rather hefty sum on it; following the instructions I pinned it where I can see it, above my desk. Yesterday I had to take this cheque down as well - because I have already made slightly over what I wrote on the cheque. Now there is another one for double the amount - and let us hope that the Universe will be with me.

Firewalker

Karmacat

The frog thing - and I love the word frogology, by the way! - I like it, and I like what we're calling it. I see it as things that are productive, in the way you're describing it, FW, and that give a massive sense of achievement, in the way that you're describing El - and its that mix that makes them frogs, not just something horrible that you have to do. If you've been putting something off - like for 10 years, as FW says - then doing it and managing to get it done relatively quickly, feels brilliant. When it also frees up space, mental, emotional, physical, then it feels better still. And I also agree that mental and physical clutter are connected. Five years ago, I wouldn't have, but I'm convinced they are now, after my experiences of the last few years.

InaPickle

Firewalker wrote: »

I have not shared my really good news here. I am not sure whether any of the readers of this tread believe in the generosity of the Universe and the power of sending a wish. I was a bit dubious but decided to give it a go; and this time it is not about buses although they still come punctual as clockwork.

About a year ago I went on the Secret website and printed out one of the empty cheques there. I filled it in (to myself) and put a rather hefty sum on it; following the instructions I pinned it where I can see it, above my desk. Yesterday I had to take this cheque down as well - because I have already made slightly over what I wrote on the cheque. Now there is another one for double the amount - and let us hope that the Universe will be with me.

Firewalker

You can print them from the website?!

Thanks! :j *Runs to website for a Big Cheque*