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The video is explained on why I hired a slapper from Craigslist and how it quadrupled my productivity. Some people take a more hands on approach to motivation :)

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Being Super: How To Endure Your Day Job

You have a personal ambition, dream or big idea that you're working on before, after and sometimes during work to make it happen. There is nothing more frustrating than enduring a day job that you no longer have any interest in. It seems pointless. It saps your energy and anything that could possibly provoke you, probably will. In short, it would be better for everyone if you just quit... right?

Oh except the small matter of bills, mortgage, credit cards, car payments and child care. Hmm, perhaps there's another way. For some the next sentence will feel like a banshee screaming into their very soul:

"You could simply hand in your resignation and invest every waking moment into that big idea that just refuses to leave your head or your heart."

For those who haven't fainted after reading that, there's a less dramatic option – ride it out. Ride it out with a plan.

If you find yourself caught between the rock of a regular income and the hard place of pursuing your big idea; here are a few tips that may help this transition period feel less like purgatory and more like a stairway to heaven.

Accept it. 

They give you money and you do the work!  That's the deal.  Recognise that you are using your skills, knowledge and experience to work for an organisation or individual who rewards with a wage. That's it. That's the truth. Accept it without feeling too emotional about it.  Don't expect hugs or kisses. This is often difficult when you joined a business to contribute to its values and passions, but along the way those have disappeared. That's not your fault and it's not theirs. Think like this: “I simply give them my skills for a number of hours a day and they pay me for those hours”.  It will also feel less like a burden if you give yourself a definite leaving date – three months, twelve months or eighteen months away.

Respect it.

Stop trying to come up with excuses not to go to work. Your day job can do a lot for you.  Firstly, it does help you pay your bills today, and chances are it's a more established brand than your own big idea. It can teach you a lot about running systems, collaborating with clients and suppliers, and working in teams. Use the time you have left to learn more about your colleagues. “What does the guy with the retro glasses do? What software do they use to manage the pay roll? How do they plan holiday cover?” Seeing the day job as an opportunity to learn about running a business might give you a new passion for it.

Leverage it.

It's a fancy way of saying making the most of what you've got. As well as it being your secret school for learning business insights, there may be more overt training opportunities open to you. Whether its direct training related to your job or other areas that you might be interested in (something to support your big idea perhaps), why not see if you can get tooled up with more skills and competencies. This could be class room based, online tutorials, being part of a new project or a career coach. Remember all those personal development sessions you were too busy to do?  Now is the time.  All of these will add to your CV and competence.

Prepare for it.

Your day job is as close to a gift horse as you will get. One that frustrates and undervalues your full potential but a gift horse nonetheless. So while you have that gift, save a bit of money to carry you over the first few months after you quit. It does mean that you will need to be more disciplined with your spending (no more impulse buying of shoes) and setting out a budget for yourself. If you work at it diligently for three months, it will begin to feel easier.  It will also help you budget for your big idea.

Plan it.

You want to leave now but are you prepared? You've cut out the indulgent restaurant dinners and shopping sprees, so you will find you have a few extra evenings on your hands. It's now time to take stock of everything you need to get your big idea off the ground. This way, on the day you walk out of your day job you will have a clear action plan of what you need to do. Could you do anything about the big idea now?  Register the company name and website? Write a business map or practice your pitch? Find a graphic designer? Start networking? With clear time-scales you can plan everything you need to get you set up in advance.

Get Help.

Find a friend who is as invested in your big idea as you are to keep you motivated. Better yet, get a Coach or mentor who will help keep you on track. The likelihood is that without this help you will get bogged down in the demands of your day job - trust your boss to always have an urgent, last minute task up their sleeve. The best way to do this is to have someone else (other than yourself) hold you to your word... “I will start my big idea in six months and here's what I need to do to get there”. A good Coach will assist you to prioritise, structure and action your big idea while you lend your skills to your day job.

Remember that your day job has a purpose. It helps you pay for the things you need today.  However, it is merely a finite resource. You may get a pay rise, but you don't control how much. You might be getting a good commission, but to get great commission you'll have to spend less time on your big idea, your family or whatever else makes you more happy than the day job. 

If you are staying with your day job for a bit longer, we hope these tips have given you a ray of hope for the last few months of suffering your tiresome boss and soulless work. No offence, of course.

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T Harv Eker interviewed on Teatime with Natalie and gives an overview of Millionaire Mind ahead of November's Millionaire Mind Intensive weekend.

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Richard Branson's five top tips to starting a successful business

Via LinkedIn

'As LinkedIn is a business that started in a living room, much like Virgin began in a basement, I thought my first blog on the site should be about how to simply start a successful business. Here are five top tips I’ve picked up over the years.

  1. Listen more than you talk

We have two ears and one mouth, using them in proportion is not a bad idea! To be a good leader you have to be a great listener. Brilliant ideas can spring from the most unlikely places, so you should always keep your ears open for some shrewd advice. This can mean following online comments as closely as board meeting notes, or asking the frontline staff for their opinions as often as the CEOs. Get out there, listen to people, draw people out and learn from them.

  2. Keep it simple

You have to do something radically different to stand out in business. But nobody ever said different has to be complex. There are thousands of simple business solutions to problems out there, just waiting to be solved by the next big thing in business. Maintain a focus upon innovation, but don’t try to reinvent the wheel. A simple change for the better is far more effective than five complicated changes for the worse.

3. Take pride in your work

Last week I enjoyed my favourite night of the year, the Virgin Stars of the Year Awards, where we celebrated some of those people who have gone the extra mile for us around the Virgin world. With so many different companies, nationalities and personalities represented under one roof, it was interesting to see what qualities they all have in common. One was pride in their work, and in the company they represent. Remember your staff are your biggest brand advocates, and focusing on helping them take pride will shine through in how they treat your customers.

  4. Have fun, success will follow

If you aren’t having fun, you are doing it wrong. If you feel like getting up in the morning to work on your business is a chore, then it's time to try something else. If you are having a good time, there is a far greater chance a positive, innovative atmosphere will be nurtured and your business will fluorish. A smile and a joke can go a long way, so be quick to see the lighter side of life.

  5. Rip it up and start again

If you are an entrepreneur and your first venture isn’t a success, welcome to the club! Every successful businessperson has experienced a few failures along the way – the important thing is how you learn from them. Don’t allow yourself to get disheartened by a setback or two, instead dust yourself off and work out what went wrong. Then you can find the positives, analyse where you can improve, rip it up and start again.

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Discover and understand different aspects of your personality by taking these free tests.  Including Myers Briggs, Left/Right Brain Hemisphere and Multiple Intelligence test.  A comprehensive report is available for a relatively small fee.

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Post We Like: The People’s Supermarket

By Ryan Tym | @ryantym | Reposted from www.identitydesigned.com

Unreal, a London based branding and advertising agency have recently completed the identity for a brand new co-operative supermarket; The People’s Supermarket.

For the people, by the people

Set up in Spring 2010 by chef Arthur Potts-Dawson, retailer Kate Wickes-Bull and an army of others, The People’s Supermarket is a community-based shop that’s managed and owned by members and open to all. It’s based just around the corner from Unreal’s studio, on Lamb’s Conduit St, London WC1 and takes its format from the popular co-operative ‘Park Slope’ in Brooklyn, NYC.

In addition to the membership scheme, much of the produce in the shop is locally sourced, seasonal and sustainable, meaning they stock the best food at the lowest possible prices. The story of the supermarket will be broadcast in its own Channel 4 documentary, due to air in early 2011.

The People’s Brand

After approaching the Supermarket to design some launch posters, we were tasked with developing the brand, which needed to reflect the co-op’s core values of being communal, affordable and democratic without appearing too virtuous or elitist. A full identity programme was required including logo, stationery suite, advertising, packaging and brand guidelines.

As the organisation is not-for-profit and production budgets are consistently low, the designs needed to be simple to implement. As a result, much of the packaging and print material needed to be produced in-house.

The help of a hole-punch

In researching and developing ideas for the branding, we stumbled upon a potential icon that we felt was instantly recognisable, basic, honest and utilitarian. The ‘Euroslot’ is the hole punched at the top of numerous packaged products around the world. This handy little device goes un-noticed in day-to-day life despite being synonymous with retail. We decided it was time for the slot to have its day and purchased the hole-punch below.

— Euroslot hole-punch Purchased from eBay for £12.50.

The slot can be easily cut through anything from letterheads to in-store packaging, creating a simple, clever and cost-effective branding device that can be consistently applied across all communications. It has the ability to evolve from a decorative feature on letterheads and business cards through to forming the handle of bags, or a tab device in in-store signage.

— Stationery suite Short run, laser printed in-house at Unreal on GF Smith Colorplan Pristine White.

— Brand guidelines Printed in-house at Unreal on GF Smith Colorplan Pristine White 120gsm. Packaged in brown paper bags hand-made at Unreal.

– Basic in-store signage Printed in-house at Unreal on GF Smith Pristine White, 120gsm.

The People’s Colour

The completed project is friendly in its look and utilitarian in approach, being applied in a bold, straightforward manner and always appearing in two colour. The strong use of yellow represents the colour of t-shirts which members are given when they join.

The People’s Produce

The supermarket has its own range of products made by sourced suppliers, such as The People’s Loaf and The People’s Wine. These items needed consistent labelling and the Euroslot device allowed this to happen easily.

— The People’s Produce Labels printed in-house at Unreal on GF Smith Colorplan Pristine White, 120gsm.

The People’s Kitchen

Finally, in recent weeks the supermarket has also opened its own in-store kitchen — The People’s Kitchen. This serves up food cooked by chef Potts-Dawson, using ingredients from the supermarket itself. Unreal were tasked with creating a sub-brand identity for this, whilst retaining much of the features of the original logo. A range of kitchen utensils was added along the lower bar, and the fonts tweaked to form the mark seen below.

— The People’s Kitchen Window decal printed digitally on clear self-adhesive vinyl, by c3imaging.

All photography shot on location at The People’s Supermarket by supermarket members Liz and Max ofHaarala Hamilton photography.

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View more branding work on Unreal’s website.