Andy Core - Change Your Day, Not Your Life: A Realistic Guide to Sustained Motivation, More Productivity and the Art Of Working Well

ANDY CORE

Cover image: Energy iStockphoto/Bierchen

Cover design: C. Wallace

Copyright 2014 by Andy Core. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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ISBN 978-1-118-81598-4 (cloth);

ISBN 978-1-118-81522-9 (ebk);

ISBN 978-1-118-81518-2 (ebk)

To my wife, Naomi Core, and my little girls, Bella and Camille: I cannot thank you enough for your love, support, and for showing me what truly matters.

And also to my mom: Everything good in me is because of you.

My brothers, Matt and Jess Core: Team Core.

My mentor and friend, David Pincus, whose vast intellect is only matched by the size of his heart.

Jan Dargatz, a true master in the art of writing and communication.

To my clients, who have trusted me to share in their journey.

The sheer amount of work you do each day can leave you tired, stressed, and less than enchanted with work and life. The problem and the paradox are this: hardworking adults striving to grow often end up defaulting to a daily life that is undermining their ability to succeed. Have you experienced the symptoms of this paradox?

• No energy
• Distracted and unconnected
• Too busy to be productive
• Too worried to be fully present today

Author Andy Core can help you beat this. For over two decades, Andy has helped working adults and organizations all over the United States, Asia, and Europe add positive energy to their work, teams, and personal lives. And he does so with a surprisingly simple premiseChange Your Day, Not Your Life.

You will better understand Why am I so tired? Why am I so stressed? Why dont I want to do what I know I should do?

You will learn to beat Motivational Amnesia, the strange phenomenon in which your motivation to hit your goals can be high one day, but disappear the next... then reappear... and on and on...

You will learn specific mini-patterns that you can plug into your day that will trigger the best parts of who you are to emerge or brighten and become more powerful drivers of what you do and how you think.

Change Your Day will introduce you to Thrivers, Strivers, and Strugglers, and ask the question, What makes some people thrive in high-demand environments while others struggle? The answers are simple. Thrivers:

• Are better at how they mentally approach their work, especially under pressure.
• Are better at keeping their energy up.
• Are more clear about why they are working so hard.
• Are better at designing the flow of their day.

Next, you identify where you stand with these Core characteristics. Then, you will learn specific examples of how Thrivers use these ideas in the real world.

And finally, it will help you Change Your Day, but not your whole day. You will start building mini-patterns into your day that will become part of your way of life and will consistently fuel your motivation, productivity, and ability to work and live well.

With this book you will turn wasted hours into tasks accomplished. You will find you want to live healthier, even though that was not your intention. It will fuel your want to achieve great things, just for the sake of achievement. In the end, you will create sustainable motivation, be more productive, and will be able to work and live well.

A hired car glided smoothly into the pick-up area in front of the MBA advertising agency in London. Two advertising agency executives climbed into the car at the chauffers directive. They had no idea where they were going or why. They at least knew they werent being kidnappedthey were only going on a secret assignment.

The executives settled into the backseat and watched the buildings go by as they were driven through the heart of London. They soon arrived at a business office, where they were greeted by Darren Brown, a well-known illusionist in the United States and the United Kingdom, and the host of a popular television show titled Mind Control.

As they sat down in a conference room at Browns direction, they were given this challenge: Design a logo and strap line (slogan) for a new chain of stores. The product? Taxidermy, the stuffing and preserving of dead animals.

Before he allowed the advertising executives to begin their design work, Brown announced he had already drawn up some ideas and had put them in a sealed envelope, which he had placed under a stuffed cat on the conference room table. Brown gave them 30 minutes to complete their task, and he left the room.

The ad men immediately launched into full brainstorming mode. They identified various ideas and themes, threw out most of them as ridiculous, and then focused on one idea and developed it as best they could in the time given.

Brown returned to the room and the men revealed their ideas:

• Logo: A bear sitting on a cloud playing a harp.
• Slogan: Animal Heaven: The best place for the best dead animals.

Brown complimented them on their creativity and then asked them to open the sealed envelope he had left in the room. They opened the envelope and as they read the contents, the blood seemed to drain from both of their faces. One of the men dropped his head into his hands as he thought,