My Life Stamp

As a youth with little a plan,
My dad oft asked,
“What footprints are you going to leave in the sand?”

It meant little then,
But with time,
This became a motivating line.

If up to me,
What will be,
My ultimate legacy?

A legacy for me,
It would seem,
A far off, lofty dream.

After all, who am I?
I’m just average,
Somewhat shy.

Then I realized something you see,
It is up to me,
My ultimate legacy.

Social media, search,
Mobile, and more,
Leave digital footprints on the floor.

Digital shadows,
If you will,
Following all that I fulfill.

My grandchildren and great grandchildren,
What will they see and think of me?
What is my digital legacy?

Will they see that I pursued my dream,
Or that I settled,
For something in-between?

That I lived a life doing things l loved,
Or one filled with,
Should of, could of?

Digital footprints remain for all time,
So I can’t commit,
The ultimate crime.

What is that crime, you say?
It is, of course,
Not seizing the day.

Yes, before I die,
I’d rather fail,
Than not even try,

I will reach for the sky,
Laugh,
And cry.

I’ll cry from joy not sorrow,
Because I lived for today
And planned for tomorrow.

My legacy,
You see,
Is truly up to me.

That’s my view,
But, now I ask,
What will you do?

—Erik Qualman

Willpower

We love to believe that willpower determines our actions. “If I just try harder,” we tell ourselves, “I can lose that last 10 pounds.” Or save $200/month. Or improve our time management.

The problem is, it doesn’t work.

Willpower is important, of course, but there’s more to behavioral change than just trying harder. Think about all the things we know we “should” do: Exercise regularly, eat healthily, max out our retirement
accounts, save more, travel, call Mom....

In one study, researchers tried to understand why people weren’t investing in their 401(k)s. In the first example, less than 40% of people contributed to their 401(k). But after they made it automatic—in other words, the day you joined, you’re automatically contributing a small amount to your 401(k)— enrollment skyrocketed to over 90%.

We know we should fill out that paperwork—and it’s probably costing us a lot of money to not be investing— but we just can’t seem to get around to it.

It turns out we “know” we need to do all kinds of things, but we oen need the right defaults—a small nudge—to actually change our behavior.

Can you help design the right defaults to help people in pro-social ways?

~ Ramit Sethi

Productivity

Getting things done is not the same as making things happen.

You can…
…reply to email.
…pay the bills.
…cross off to-do’s.
…fulfill your obligation.
…repeat what you heard.
…go with the flow.
…anticipate roadblocks.
…aim for “good enough.”

Or you can…
…organize a community.
…take a risk.
…set ambitious goals.
…give more than you take.
…change perceptions.
…forge a new path.
…create possibility.
…demand excellence.

Don’t worry too much about getting things done.

Make things happen.

~Gina Trapani