June Surprise: My Blessings On Your Sweet Whatever

Last week I promised y'all a surprise, in addition to the just-published 5th chapter of my Action Manifester. And, true to my word, here it is--in the form of the best tool you're likely to find to help forge your own personal changes.

I guaranty you: the tool works, whether you're writing a novel...beefing up your online promo...looking for a better job...or trying to lose weight. I could write a book on the subject, having used it in different forms to quit drinking, quit smoking, lose thirty pounds...and, now, achieve mastery of Action Manifesting. Instead of a book, though, I'm keeping this short...the precise length it needs to be for you to keep it in mind.

Here we go:

Find your own hard-copy 'prompt'.
And then wear it down to the nub.

Every word in that sentence counts. First off, you need your own visual prompt to help you keep your engine  revved and to stay on point. It must be yours and it must, I'm convinced, be solid and not digital. Some live on their laptops and smart phones. That's cool. But neither of those can afford the same oomph to be gotten from a hard-copy prompt...or what I call your 'whatever'. Here's why:

Though I prefer a pocket-sized Moleskine and you may prefer some index cards containing your days' notes or mantras, we'd both share one major advantage over a digital prompter: As we flip through our pages or cards, they begin to acquire a cheesecloth-like consistency. And this reinforces the sense of their familiarity and usefulness. The more worn they become, the more we have been through them--checking on our progress, reviewing our old notes. In fact, we can witness our progress as we see the differences in color of the pages or the cards.

If you're using it right, your whatever should look battered, almost bloody. My Moleskine's used pages look ready to disintegrate. And the cover is creased from my having sat on it so many times. I don't really give a damn: it's not a cocktail party toy--it's an instrument of war.

Coach Joe Gibbs' book 'Game Plan for Life' may put some off because of its Christian slant. But something early in the book is worth a look from everyone: a copy of an actual play plan. Here you'll see a game--like life--broken down into a battle for the inches.

So, please: set your smart phones aside...find a hard-copy prompt...and wear it down to the nub. Believe me when I tell you:

If you do this daily--you can't lose.