Success's Secret Weapon

“All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone,” according to brilliant mathematician and scientist Blaise Pascal.

As a child prodigy who showed innate genius in 17th-century mathematics, Pascal was allowed by his father to sit as a silent on-looker in the presence of the great mathematicians of the time. This so inspired him that he went on, at the tender age of 16, to develop his famous 'Pascal's theorem', earning recognition from the famed mathematician Descartes.

So, what's the point? The point is you.

When you gift yourself with time alone to think creatively and absorb the focused teachings of others, you benefit more than you can imagine. One of our mentors, Lee Milteer, recommends scheduling an Idea Day every month. We suggest you take a single day, or even a half day, to start with. After you try it once, you'll head for the calendar to schedule more.

Here's what to do:

• Pick a place away from the office, away from home, and especially away from telephone and email.
• Take with you that stack of newsletters, books, journals, CDs, etc that you've been saving for 'some day'.
• Preferably, take drinks and snacks so you don't have any excuse to interrupt your Idea Day and your flow of creativity.
• Be sure to take a pad of paper and pen to jot down ideas and action items you think of as you read or listen to your resources.
• As you read and listen, think creatively about how you can use what you're reading in your own business.
• As you do additional Idea Days, you might find you'll want to focus them on particular areas of your business such as business strategy, marketing, new or better revenue streams, PR, or managing employees.
• Idea Days can even be used for personal development or personal issues. It's like a day at the spa without the massage oil!

Don't underestimate the power of quiet time used productivly. You might even create something that will go down in history like Pascal did!