Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Jeffrey Tang of The Art of Great Things.

“Do what you love.”

We’ve all heard this advice before. It’s great advice, though not many people truly take it to heart.

But sometimes doing what you love isn’t enough to keep you going. Inspiration, passion, and motivation are difficult things to hold on to. They always seem to slip away right when you need them most.

You know that feeling. Where you’re that close to finishing a project, or achieving a goal, or crossing a task off your to-do list … but you just can’t muster the energy. You’ve lost interest. You’re exhausted. Drained. And you don’t know why.

That’s burnout. It’s something many of us are all too familiar with. I’d like to share with you a few ways that I fight burnout – or prevent it from catching me in the first place.

1. Achieve in increments. When you only focus on a big goal someday, it’s easy to get burned out by the daily grind. It’s like driving toward a mountain in the distance. You can drive for hours, but the mountain doesn’t seem to get any closer. And spinning your wheels gets real tiring real fast.

The solution is to give yourself a way to measure and record every little step forward you take. Here’s how:

• Get a journal, notebook, or calendar. Writing things down is important.
• Identify milestones on the road towards your goal.If you’re writing a book, you could treat each chapter as one milestone. Or, even better, treat each 500 words or 1000 words as a milestone.
• If milestones aren’t obvious, create them. For example, if you’re training for a marathon, hold yourself to a progression of distance. If you start out running at your maximum distance, you’ll plateau very quickly. Instead, start at a shorter distance – even if it’s very easy for you – then work your way up slowly.
• Track milestones in a simple, visual format. Think of the progress bar on a download. One glance tells you exactly how much progress has been made. The format you choose doesn’t need to be detailed or comprehensive. It just needs to show that you’re moving forward day by day.

Learn to appreciate the little accomplishments. Let yourself enjoy the feeling of getting things done.

2. Train your muse. One of the biggest myths about inspiration that it’s random. One day you’re inspired and motivated, the next day you’re burned out – and there’s no way around it. Or so they say.

In fact, inspiration is just like any other skill. It may start out as unreliable, but it can be trained and developed into something you can rely on.

So how do you train your muse? The best way I’ve found is immersion. Surround yourself with things that inspire you and reflect your goals. Great composers listen to music. Great authors read voraciously. Great marketers attend seminars. Great productivity-ists subscribe to Zen Habits. And so on. Immersion trains your mind to work efficiently in the ways you need it to.

The more that your inspiration becomes a part of your life, the less likely it is to run out when you need it most. With that in mind, be creative. What ways can you connect with your inspiration on a daily basis?

3. Work less. Cut down on the amount of energy and time you spend working. If you have sick days or vacation days left, take advantage of them. Or, if you’re self-employed, force yourself to work fewer hours each day – even if that means turning down new projects.

Working less doesn’t mean you have to slack off or get less done. It does mean that you:

• Eliminate unnecessary tasks.
• Take strategic breaks.
• Stop multi-tasking.
• Seek help from other people.

4. Define success realistically. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having big dreams and big ambitions. But if you’re constantly frustrated by a lack of progress, it might be time to take a step back and examine your goals. Are they achievable? Are you holding yourself to a reasonable timeline?

Here’s a good way to do this. Get a piece of paper and write down your big, ambitious goal. Then write down at least 10 specific, concrete steps that will allow you to achieve that goal. Be as detailed as possible. If you can’t come up with a series of down-to-earth steps to get you from here to your dream, that’s a sign that you need to either redefine your goals or rethink the way you’re pursuing those goals.

5. Get more sleep. You’ve heard this before, I know. So have I. But that didn’t stop me from going against my better judgment and tiring myself out by staying up late to work. Getting enough sleep takes a conscious decision – and, just like any good habit, takes time to develop.

One of the biggest barriers for me in this area is procrastination. I have a tendency to put things off throughout the day, then stay up later as a result. What’s keeping you from getting the rest you need?

6. Take it slow(er). The world tells us to rush things: “Get there faster. Make money quicker. Retire sooner.” And while these things aren’t necessarily bad, they can easily get us in over our heads. If you’re feeling burned out and overwhelmed, it’s time to slow down.

A few ways to take yourself out of 24/7 high gear:

• Spend at least 10 minutes a day in a quiet place, away from distractions. Breathe.
• Put together a playlist of slow, relaxing music. Listen to it whenever you start feeling frazzled.
• Take a butcher knife to your to-do list. Set a limit to the number of tasks you  take on each day and stick to it.
• Extend your deadlines. Do you absolutely, positively have to get this done now? Just remember – this isn’t an excuse to procrastinate.

7. Get a second opinion. It’s hard to spot burnout from the inside. Your close friends and family are likely to identify the signs of burnout long before you do. So listen to what they’re saying. The next time your spouse, parent, or best friend tells you you’re working too hard, take it seriously.

8. Set clear boundaries. Burnout happens when we allow work to overflow its boundaries and interfere with every other part of our lives. So set strong boundaries. The clearer the better. In writing, if possible.

For example, instead of saying: “I’ll spend at three hours every night with my family,” make it clearer: “I won’t work after 8 o’clock. That’s 100% family time.” Clear boundaries are easier to stick to and harder to rationalize away.

Once you’ve set up your boundaries, make them public. Let your family know that you’ve set aside time just for them. They’ll hold you accountable to your promises. Let your clients know that you’ll be unavailable during certain hours. This will reduce the temptation to fudge on your boundaries.

9. When you’re working, focus. I’ve found that concentrating on work is actually less exhausting than allowing yourself to be wishy-washy about it. When you decide that it’s time to work, buckle down, eliminate distractions, and do it wholeheartedly. There’s something amazingly refreshing about pure, sharp focus.

10. Create outlets. If you’re a person of diverse interests (and really, who isn’t?), it’s likely that you have several very different goals and ideas bouncing around in your head at any given time. These ideas need outlets. If you hold them inside, they’ll eventually start interfering with your focus and creating unnecessary frustration, leading to burnout.

In other words, I think it’s okay – healthy, even – to start a few side projects as outlets for creative energy. Just make sure that you keep your priorities straight and your side projects fun. If these side projects become sources of stress, cut them out immediately.

11. Know when to power through it. This is going to sound out of place given what I’ve said above, but it’s powerful – if applied correctly. Sometimes the solution for burnout is just to power through it. Sometimes burnout can be an illusion. In these cases, the best choice is to refuse to use burnout as an excuse, ignore the fact that you feel burned out, and just work through it. It’s like a runner gaining her second wind and coming out stronger on the other side.

However, just as an experienced athlete knows when to push through the pain and when to pull back, you’ll need to be very careful how you take this particular piece of advice. Until you develop a keen awareness of your own tendencies, it’s usually better to err on the side of caution and pull back when you start feeling burned out.

12. Never accept defeat. Burnout is an obstacle like any other. It can hold you back for a while, but it’s not the end of the world – unless you let it defeat you.

If you have a great goal in mind, don’t give up on it, no matter how apathetic, exhausted, or frustrated you might feel. If everything I’ve said up until this point fails, do this: hold on to your dream – even if it doesn’t feel like much of a dream at the moment. Hold on to it anyway. That way, when the storm clears, your dream will still be intact, ready for another try.

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Been a while since I did one of these… So here goes. Enjoy.

1. BKW has written a great article on Loyalty recently, with regards to team players, etc. Superb read.

2. Jon Cherry is also loving the Jack Parow Vibe. Remember to check the article here for the originaaaal Choon ekse.

3. Ou nuus, but here is the new Gold Fish video, called Fort Knox. Their concert the other day, top of the roof, courtesy of 2oceansvibe, one word… STELLAR.

4. Not reading The New Rules? You should be….

5. How to take back your time! by SitePoint rang home true. Its a constant message. How much clutter are you filling your time with?

Cool post in about 2 hours continues on that theme. Stay tuned. Thanks for the mails lately, you guys rock!

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I had a rather strange morning, going to Stellies to collect a car for my pops (check out his rear fender accessory here) and have 2 quick meetings, one with the honorable Dan Hugo, the other with a client.

After waiting for an hour (first meeting quick and klaar early) my 2nd meeting cancelled on me, wait for it, 15 minutes before the meeting was supposed to commence. Via email nogal, which made the taste that more woolies sour worm-ish.

Nevertheless, I took off towards the SafeHouse2.0, with some running gear in the car, and on the way had a look up at the sky, and made the decision to run early, over lunch today. What a decision.

Shirtless, I ran the trail around Lions Head and Signal Hill. 1 hour 7min today. I kid you not, the view was this good towards Clifton…

It was perfectly still.

Since the weekend, and Ironman Hawai, I have had this image stuck in my head, and its jumped back a few times in actual conversation with people.

This is the image…

Its one of the best images I have seen in ages, and gave me goosebumps when I first saw it. Its two guys, at the TOP of their game, in battle. Some people choose to fight battles with their fists, others with their minds. As a guy who loves Ironman, we choose to fight a loooong fight, in the ocean, then over land on a bike, and finally, we don our running shoes for the marathon.

The two guys in the picture are amazing, humble guys in person, from what Dan tells me about Andreas, and from what I know about Crowie, having met the dude last year. I also saw a tweet about them all being together at a braai tonight, chilling, having a good time. Those same two guys.

In that moment, they would not share a potato if it was the last thing on earth, even if they are friendly. They would not give each other an inch. Its the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, and a big paycheck is on the line, as well as a huge amount of honor and history.

Nobody remembers 2nd place in Kona.

F A C T

Pure competition only lasts as long as the competition is running. Further from that, its rivalry that extends to a personal dislike of that said person. Competition isn’t personal. Thats why I love it.

The image has had me thinking about the choices Pro’s make to give up corporate jobs to be there, IN THE MOMENT, in battle, competition, because that’s why they train, for the love of competition. Its why they race, for the love of competition. Yes, there is the money aspect, but I bet if you asked Tiger Woods if he would be happy being a semi-wealthy guy, instead of a billionaire, if the competitions were the same, I bet he would.

That’s why guys CHOOSE to throw their whole lives into the eggbasket of a small sport, in spite of there being limited cash involved.

Its for the competition, to go Mano e Mano on the playing field.

Its pure…

and I am in love with that feeling. To be right there, in the moment. Nothing else exists.

Could that be me? YES, I believe if I had the financial backing to take 3 years to get there, I could be there. I would have to give up just about everything I know, move countries, expectations, life goals, etc to be that guy, and that is why guys like James Cunnama do it, to be there, in that moment, racing the other guy, with ALL you have got.

Its honorable beyond belief in a society filled with fast solutions. There is no fast solution to get to the top. Something reiterated by Dan today during coffee. The kid is looking lean and mean, and knows the value of hard work, but he knows he still has hours to do, to pay his dues, to get to the top. He too, is taking the life I am talking about here.

I salute you, every single pro out there, in any sport, living the dream of being involved in competition in the moment. You are amazing.

I have a tiny drop of jealousy going about this, but value the life I am carving for myself just as much, because I took the chance to pursue a passion really close to me too, which is storytelling, which I now do for a living, leaving the corporate side for this. I have NO regrets. Life is GOOD.

Its alot of thought for a one hour run, but time did seem to stand still there for that while, running there, in the moment, at lunch time on a Tuesday, above one of the most beautiful coastlines in the whole world.

There is very little I would swop that for…

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Nokia N97 mini RAOUL Limited Edition available for pre-order

I mean… come on…

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this, from one of my favorite new sites, First Off the Bike

Sunday, 11 October 2009

Wellington and Alexander rule Kona

The day started off with a bit of wind but this dropped as the athletes jumped into the warm waters of the bay. With the navy SEALS doing there thing and jumping into the bay from a few thousand feet the cannon sounded to send off the pros. All the talk was done and all speculation as now going to end.

The swim was the usual affair with the pros all drifting from the start as the poor officials were getting pasted by them as they tried to restore order. By the time the cannon went it was a bit of free for all with so many edging ahead. By the end of the swim it was Andy Potts who got out ahead of the rest. He proceeded out on the Queen K Highway but was not really expected to ride away with this one. One guy who got out early was British athlete Phil Graves. He is a real talent and had talked up a bike course record pre race. What he was getting was a lesson in the lava fields as he slowly lost hi momentum.

The real momentum was with Chris Lieto as proceeded to write the damage report for this year’s edition of the race. Not content to just sit in the bunch he took off out of Hawi and rode away. The groups splintered on the road with the other athletes not quite knowing how hard to chase. it was decision time for the rest of the group and the end result was a a broken up bunch and pros strung out on the highway.

The women’s race was not going to script for the other contenders. Linsey Corbin and Teresa Macel were nowhere to be seen and Wellington was opening up a lead that would prove insurmountable. The rest of the women were riding hard but making little impact. Wellington had booked a ticket to a sub 5 hour bike time and had not invited anyone else along for the ride.

So it was going to come down to this. Could the hare out run the hound. Crowie had done this before in other races but all the mail pointed to the improved running of Lieto. Throw in upstart Andreas Raelert Chris McCormack and the mix was complete. Macca was the first to crack, walking through some aid stations. Then went Raelert before Crowie was able to pull away front the rest and do what he does best. His marathon time (2:48) was some 14 minutes better than the time set by Lieto. Lights out.

For Wellington she has no challengers except herself and the clock. She is immune from those would take her crown. She’s 8 for 8 over this distance and it would have taken a truck to stop her. While all her competitors imploded she remained calm and continued to apply pressure. In the end it was a new record set on this course and buoyed on by the voice of Ironman Mike Riley she greeted the tape with her trade mark smile and roll across the line. She was then joined by her family to soak up the line and wait a full 19 minutes before young Aussie Mirinda Carfrae ran herself into second with a 2:56. Carfrae’s time was also a course record. Rounding out the top three was Virginia Berasategui.

But the day belonged to Alexander and Wellington. They came into this race with all the pressure on them and delivered on the world’s biggest stage.

Women’s Results

1. 8:54:02 Wellington, Chrissie 54:31/4:52:07/ 3:03:06
2. 9:13:59 Carfrae, Mirinda 58:45/5:14:18/2:56:51
3. 9:15:28 Berasategui, Virginia 58:52/5:01:42/3:10:43
4. 9:23:43 Macel, Tereza 53:29/5:04:17/3:21:12
5. 9:25:48 Keat, Rebekah 57:17/5:15:50/ 3:04:32

Mens Results

1. 8:20:21 Alexander, Craig 50:57/4:37:33/2:48:05
2. 8:22:56 Lieto, Chris 51:07/4:25:11/ 3:02:35
3. 8:24:32 Raelert, Andreas Drage 51:00/4:38:01/2:51:05
4. 8:25:20 McCormack, Chris 52:51/4:32:45/ 2:55:59
5. 8:28:17 Henning, Rasmus 51:06/4:37:07/ 2:55:33
6. 8:28:52 Bracht, Timo 54:30/4:33:49/2:56:27
7. 8:29:55 Bockel, Dirk 50:50/4:37:29/2:57:42
8. 8:30:15 Jacobs, Pete 50:03/4:38:41/2:57:14
9. 8:30:30 Potts, Andy 47:45/4:46:07/2:52:15
10. 8:31:44 Al-Sultan, Faris 50:53/4:33:40

    firstoffthebike.com’s Kona coverage is presented by Powerbar.

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Click the PLAY button below this for a dash of pure awesomeness.

‘)

Lets see if that works. That is the funniest thing I have heard in a long time…

Spread the love, tweet this, put the link on your Facebook. Jack Parow needs your love…

credit to Wezzo for having this on his page… it is awesome.

WOW. I am done, perfect medium rare that is golden…..

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Whasp giving away free gels at all local Bike shops

From today you can go to any Local Bike shop in the whole of South Africa and get the following special while stock lasts.

If your local shop doesn’t have the special running tell them to get hold of Jeff on 082 746 0435 to get the stock into shops.

NOT AVAILABLE ANYWHERE ELSE EXCEPT LOCAL BIKE SHOPS.

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So I turn 30 soon, and today I started planning the big party, which for now, involves the pool on the roof at the Safehouse 2.0, some good music and people having a great time. If you are struggling to get into your mind what I mean, here is a video…

Got it.

I am busy tying in all the brands associated for a great day of giveaways, great real beer, fantastic wine, some short, small drinks, and some healthy snacks. Added will be some DJ’s playing superb funky house music, and possibly another white theme, as the last one went down such a charm.

The plan, after that, is of yet undisclosed, but I can tell you there will be a move to a secret location for after dark party continuation. Our neighborhood will not tolerate our after hours music level, as I plan to personally RIP up the turntables from 11 till 2am with a DJ set I am already planning which is going to redefine the summer.

I am only going to go into my third decade once, so might as well do it in real style.

If you are in town… gimme a shout. we can party it up together.

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Right now you are going about your day like it’s any other day…

but 12 hours behind SA there is a small town on the Big Island of Hawaii going through the best week of the year. The Big Show happens this week. Last year I was there, blessed to be a part of the action. this year, I have many friends racing. Big up to Greg, Sarah, Marta, James, Johan, Sandra, Bek, Yvette et al for making it there this year – biggest SA contingent ever I reckon.

If you have no idea what I am talking about, watch the clips here and here.

Its Ironman World Champs time.

Goosebumps

I will post my predictions on thursday, but I expect a superb contest to go down in the mens race, and yes, in the womens race as well. Its not the Chrissie show anymore.

I wish I was there this week. Its the coolest week of the year. Definately going back, sooner than later….

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I am not going to lie to you – all this training has me a little sluggish. In my first block for our crazy challenge next year I have racked up around 150 hours of training in the last 9 weeks. I have also got a new business up and running, and dealing with quite a bit of personal stress.

I have a rest week this week, thankfully, to try piece back my niggles into strengths and get back into the full swing by next week. A while back I was taught about anti-oxidants by my missus and whilst listening to her go on about Star Trek type “evil” things, the following was really the message to take to heart:

Antioxidants are substances or nutrients in our foods which can prevent or slow the oxidative damage to our body. When our body cells use oxygen, they naturally produce free radicals (by-products) which can cause damage. Antioxidants act as “free radical scavengers” and hence prevent and repair damage done by these free radicals.

Health problems such as heart disease, macular degeneration, diabetes, cancer etc are all contributed by oxidative damage. Indeed, a recent study conducted by researchers from London found that 5 servings of fruits and vegetables reduce the risk of stroke by 25 percent. Antioxidants may also enhance immune defense and therefore lower the risk of cancer and infection.

Why do we need them? Because if we don’t take them to combat Free Radicals, which make you old and decrepit faster than Usain Bolt on the corner in Berlin in the 200m final.

Another thing to consider is Carotenoids (hence the Star Trek reference):

In human beings, carotenoids can serve several important functions. The most widely studied and well-understood nutritional role for carotenoids is their provitamin A activity. Deficiency of vitamin A is a major cause of premature death in developing nations, particularly among children. Vitamin A, which has many vital systemic functions in humans, can be produced within the body from certain carotenoids, notably beta-carotene (Britton et al. 1995). Dietary beta-carotene is obtained from a number of fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, spinach, peaches, apricots, and sweet potatoes (Mangels et al. 1993). Other provitamin A carotenoids include alpha-carotene (found in carrots, pumpkin, and red and yellow peppers) and cryptoxanthin (from oranges, tangerines, peaches, nectarines, and papayas).

Carotenoids also play an important potential role in human health by acting as biological antioxidants, protecting cells and tissues from the damaging effects of free radicals and singlet oxygen. Lycopene, the hydrocarbon carotenoid that gives tomatoes their red color, is particularly effective at quenching the destructive potential of singlet oxygen (Di Mascio et al. 1989). Lutein and zeaxanthin, xanthophylls found in corn and in leafy greens such as kale and spinach, are believed to function as protective antioxidants in the macular region of the human retina (Snodderly 1995). Astaxanthin, a xanthophyll found in salmon, shrimp, and other seafoods, is another naturally occurring xanthophyll with potent antioxidant properties (Di Mascio et al. 1991). Other health benefits of carotenoids that may be related to their antioxidative potential include enhancement of immune system function (Bendich 1989), protection from sunburn (Matthews-Roth, 1990), and inhibition of the development of certain types of cancers (Nishino 1998).

Riiight…. basically they are your first line of defence against free radicals.

Now, as a guy who hangs out in lycra in the sun alot (not like this, more like this, albeit not much better) I need to be quite aware of these things, as they do take a toll on my body and do NOT help my long term plan of becoming a male supermodel at 50. You get it…

So this week I undertook the notion to get some quality anti-oxidants. I have long been a fan of Wellness Warehouse and their website is the bomb diggity, so I checked there and found something I particularly liked, called Phyto Organix. Check this out…

They looked about the best, based on what I could read up on in an hour this morning. Here is the low down:

Look at it this way…..

Simply put, good nutrition converts into vital energy, good looking skin, hair and nails, strong bones and great health.

Modern lifestyles don’t often allow enough time for healthy food preparation and purchase and we often end up eating on the run or without full awareness of what we are consuming. Besides that; pollution, artificial additives, unhealthy habits and a whole lot of other factors compromise optimum health.

To guard against the negative factors and to provide essential, vital nutrition Phyto Organix have put together 4 of the worlds super fruits in vegan friendly tablet form.

NONI FRUIT known as the Queen of Health Plants
The Noni fruit is known to be immune boosting, supportive of healthy cellular tissue growth, antibacterial, antiseptic and rich in amino acids

ACAI FRUIT from the Brazilian rain forests
Acai fruit is highly nutritious and contains anthocyanins, fibre, sterols, gallic acid, potassium, calcium, iron, protein, Omega-6 fatty acid, Omega-9 fatty acid, B vitamins and vitamins C and E.

POMEGRANITE FRUIT ancient symbol of fertility
Pomegranite is extremely rich in antioxidants, Vitamins A, B, and C, tannins, and oxalic acid. It tones the heart, liver and kidneys and is anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial

MANGOSTEEN FRUIT tropical South East Asian fruit
Mangosteen fruit has powerful phyto-nutrient antioxidants with xanthones. Xanthones are biologically active plant phenols with antioxidant properties to help find and destroy roaming free radicals.

Personally I went for the Pomagranite & Noni and went to their Kloof Street branch to go collect some. They are well priced, and look better than fat burners & sleeping tablets in your bathroom, both which can be avoided by eating properly and getting adequate sleep.

I will give you an update on how they are going and if the missus sees a change in my skin as I never notice, but she always does…

Anti-oxidants = NOT COOL. That’s the basic message here. Do something about it.

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