#generation hope: scism

[big-gay-apocalypse]

We all came to Xavier’s to learn. I learned what my friends smell like as they burn.

#fuck #generation hope (2010) #generation hope: scism #david alleyne #prodigy #idie okonkwo #oya

[mindthump]

Sleep In and Make Millions: Why You Don't Need to Wake Up at 5 A.M. http://ift.tt/2ptNwmk

We've all heard how successful entrepreneurs wake up well before the crack of dawn and get a metric ton done before 5 a.m.

However, as a successful entrepreneur who struggles with mornings, I wanted to let the late risers out there know that there is hope for you, too. So, I spoke with a variety of millionaires who wouldn’t even think of waking up at 5 or 6 . . . or even 7 a.m.

Here’s our best advice to be successful when the snooze button is your best friend.

Know what works for you.

Getting proper sleep is more important than waking up at a certain hour. And, if you are more productive at a late hour, that should be your priority.

Millionaire serial entrepreneur Bryan Clayton, now CEO of GreenPal, gets out of bed between 8 and 9 a.m. He says, “While building my last company, I tried as hard as I could to get out of bed at 4 or 5 a.m. After forcing myself for over six months to crack dawn every morning, I realized that I was half as effective as I was when I was getting 8 to 9 hours of sleep every day.

"It's better to accept the fact that you need a good night’s sleep to be the best at what you do than forcing yourself to be something that you're not.”

Ross Andrew Paquette, founder and CEO of Maropost, has a nine-figure net worth. He wakes up between 9 and 9:30 a.m. He says, “I go to bed when my ideas are exhausted, not when I a.m. The early morning is overdone. If your best ideas come at night, work at night. Take sleepless nights as a sign you have something worth working on, then take those sleepless nights to work on it.”

Paul Koger, who is a self-employed millionaire trader and owner of Foxytrades, regularly gets up at 9:15 a.m., just 15 minutes before the markets open. He advises that if you like to sleep in, you can be successful if you tackle more difficult tasks when you are more productive and take it easy in the morning.

“Many successful people have been promoting lack of sleep, getting up early and working crazy hours, while it is actually more important to recognize what works for you and optimize workflow accordingly,” says Koger.

Related: 22 Qualities That Make a Great Leader

Be ready to work when you wake up.

Craig Wolfe, a multi-millionaire and President of CelebriDucks and Cocoa Canard, says, “I actually get up between 8:15 and 9 a.m., but since I manufacture in different time zones, I usually have to work into the night. To be successful, no matter how much time you have and when you start and end work, you have to come up with set times throughout the day where you are 100 percent available and also times when you are committed to handling different aspects of your day-to-day business needs.  

"For instance, I may sleep in, but when 9 a.m. comes, I am taking calls no matter what. To be most efficient, I have set blocks of time when I work on proposals, when I return calls and when I do public relations. It's all a matter of scheduling your time and sticking to it to maximize your efficiency.  This includes even a block of time in the evening where I devote time to my factory overseas. You can be a late riser, but you better be a master of setting priorities and being disciplined with how you schedule your time each day and night.”

Related: 11 Ways to Make Money While You Sleep

Schedule, schedule, schedule.

Regardless of the time that you wake up, a key secret to success is managing your schedule. Being more productive during your waking hours trumps getting up early and not being productive.

Natasha Nelson is a multi-millionaire who recently sold her Yogurtini business to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and now owns the toy company Kauzbots. She wakes up between 8 and 9 a.m. regularly.

She also gets ready for the next day the night before. “I plan out my next morning as the last thing I do at the end of my workday,” says Nelson. “I don’t have to take time to get organized and start making my to do list that morning. Since I do get emails and texts in the evening that are unavoidable, I always add them to my to-do list that I look at immediately when I wake up. There is no lapse in time from getting out of bed and work starting, and I don’t have to spend a half-hour or so getting my day organized.”

Scheduling for success also means that you are acutely aware and focused on high-value activities. This also means prioritizing your work.

Brittani Nelson, a millionaire “business matchmaker” who wakes at 8 a.m., blocks her entire day, from tasks to sales, follow-up to marketing and more, making sure to balance current clients and new client activity so that her pipeline remains full.

She also is disciplined about secret time-wasters. She says, “I avoid logging onto Facebook or social media unless it is scheduled time for marketing online. I avoid checking emails and phone calls I am not expecting until it is time to check email and return phone calls.”

And, Brittani is decidedly old-school about it. “I use my paperwork worksheet that I created for time blocking. No apps or electronic calendar.”

I personally attribute my own millionaire success to scheduling, as well. When I can get away with it, I sleep in until 8 or 9 a.m. and try my best not to schedule early morning meetings. But, my schedule is pristine. I use my calendar to schedule everything and set alarms for moving from one task to the next, always prioritizing important tasks that move my business forward and revenue-producing activities over busy work.

Create strong systems.

Being successful means having the right systems in place to make the most out of your time, regardless of what time of day the clock says.

Michele Scism, a millionaire and business consultant with Decisive Minds, regularly awakens between 8 and 9 a.m. She says, “With systems and a great team you can sleep in and know things are being taken care of."

You also have to know what is worth working on to get your business to the next level. GreenPal’s Bryan Clayton says, “I attribute much of my success to spending time on high-leverage activities and less on the day-to-day grind of whatever it is that I'm working on.

“For instance, when you catch yourself doing a repetitive task, ask yourself five times why that task has to be done until you get to the root cause of the problem and then implement a solution to prevent the problem from happening again.

“Spend more time on high-leverage activities, such as strategic planning, networking with mentors, fundraising from investors, and generally speaking, tasks that are important, but not necessarily urgent.”

Related: 11 Habits of Truly Happy People 

Take care of yourself.

Having a later-skewed schedule can make it difficult to find balance with things like self-care, family and more, but it is critical for your success. I can attest that getting in a workout 4-5 times a week is not only critical for my health, but allows me to clear my mind and give the best of myself to my work. I wouldn’t be able to be successful without it.

Whether it’s doing small meditation breaks throughout the day or using your lunch break or finding time later in the day to have some quality down-time for yourself and with your loved ones, finding some semblance of balance is definitely key to success.

So, late-risers, there’s no need to wake-up when it’s still dark outside. Just make the best use of your time and that million-dollar success can still be yours.

Carol Roth

Carol Roth is the creator of the Future File™ legacy planning system, a “recovering” investment banker, business advisor, entrepreneur and best-selling author. She is also a reality TV show judge, media...

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#IFTTT #Feedly #business #good to know #TIL #FBA

[antonfalone]

From the Travel Diary of Anton Falone, Priest of Pelor

Day 1 After our unfortunate experience with the dragon and coming to this new land, I focused primarily on calming the flock and ministering the wounded.

After several days, I, along with several others, were approached by Erevan the Warlock. There was a mine that they had apparently explored previously. Something about a cult of some sort and something with tentacles. He explained that there were now undead appearing at this mine, and at this point I saw why I may have been on his list of people to contact.

So we agreed. My compatriots are Randal, a soldier of some sort, Erevan of course, and two people that remind me of my past more than I would like (Thamir and Felix). We've ridden for about a day now, and Thamir and Erevan assure me we will reach this area in a few days time.

Day 2 Nothing of note has happened on the ride. I must admit, I did not know my neighbors as well as I had hoped. I will have to rectify that during this journey.

Day 3 Nothing interesting. The constellations are different here, and I find it hard to see the stars as comforting here in this strange land. Does Pelor's light still reach me? I feel her divine essence still guiding my magic, though I wonder.

Day 4 It was a very... interesting day. We arrived at the, well, not mine. Temple? Headquarters of an interplanar order of knights? Tomb? Prison? It's a little confusing. We entered the tomb with little issue, retreading apparently much the same ground that was explored the previous time Erevan and Thamir were here apparently. After an unfortunate incident with a living suit of armor, which I admit stemmed more from old habits than anything, we found our way to the second level of the tomb.

Tomb, I feel, is definitely the right word. We found a sarcophagus that contained the body of a woman inside. On it was the inscription, written in common, dwarvish, and apparently deep speech;

"Behold my edict, those who trespass unto evil: The law of magic may bend to thine will but thine soul is forever lost unto the Eater of Worlds. Repent, ye who seek the Keepers.

Behold my edict, those who seek goodness upon worlds: Know that the forces of evil never sway in malice or deception. Know that thine will must be pure, and thine cause be just. Enter, those who seek the Knights of Void."

The room was filled with steam, and strange pipes ran from the sarcophagus to the walls, and some to a sort of handle. In dwarvish the handle said something to the extent of "turn left for undeath, right for burial" Seeing my own views and the inscription, I turned it to the right. To my surprise, the sarcophagus opened! The woman had been buried in very fine robes (had been being the opperative words, but more on that later), a silvered weapon, and a book about the Void Knights. There was a bit of tension as to what should be done with the body between myself and Erevan, but we agreed to let it sit as we explored further into the tomb. Thamir also insisted that we not read the book, as he believes it has already sent him back in time once, or perhaps he had a vision of the future. Unsure. After a strange mechanical door, we found our way into a library of sorts. Very focused on the study of stars, astronomy, and the like. We also found more, less flashy, versions of the robes the woman was burried in.

Now, slight disclosure, there were some fights that broke out between us and some undead cultists, apparently members of The Keepers of the Robes, up to this point. We discovered that their symbol was apparently an inversion of the Knights of the Void.

It was here in this library that we found the partial history of both the Knights and the Keepers. The Knights were some sort of interplanar order dedicated to, what I gathered, general knight things. Order, goodness, protect the weak, etc. They came from many different worlds and formed one organization. Also on the many worlds note, apparently that is the origin of dwarves? Anyways, as time went on, a scism developed in the group, and that's where the Keepers came from. I admit, I had wandered off at this point, but the gist I got was that they sought power for themselves and had resorted to using human sacrifices to create some sort of golem creation, using psionic energy, and feeding the strange tentacle beasts. Apparently it gave them more power.

We discovered that these robes, when an incantation was spoken, turned into magical chainmail with some sort of protection against necromantic magics. How I wish I knew how it worked! How much pain that would have saved me! At this point, Felix went back and immediately stole the clothes from the buried woman, and we obtained 5 others from the room. I placed them in my pack after handing a set to Randal and doning one myself. The weight was familiar, but knowing I can turn them into standard robes is a relief if it becomes necessary. As we explored, we found some sort of workshop with a mass of pulsing flesh in the center, and mumified bodies in some sort of metal chambers. I laid all those bodies to rest, and Erevan found an incantation and components giving him instructions on how to create a flesh golem. Which he did. He had to give it three commands. 1. Protect him (Erevan). 2. Kill undead. 3. Don't harm living things.  They may have not been the most well thought out commands, but they have served us well thus far. After that we explored deeper. Unfortunately this will be where I get a little vague due to circumstances.

There were mummies, and I was knocked unconcious (and apparently cursed). When I came to, we were all worse for wear, though apparently the flesh golem had killed both mummies. Erevan informed us his name was now Jerry, and we decided to baracade ourselves in a nearby workshop for a longer rest to recouperate. There is a ritual happening, and it would be unwise for us to leave it unattended.

Until tomorrow. -Anton

#D&d #dungeons and dragons #session write up #west marches #game