sharppodcast

Episode 72 – We chat with Casanova Brooks. Casanova has driven himself from poverty and difficulty to significant success. We find out about his inspiration, his world, and how his frame of mind has helped him achieve that success. We get a different perspective here to many of the areas we’ve looked at before. Inspiring stuff!

Look at all this stuff we covered in this full episode:

• Being a parent and how his children inspire him
• Getting away from trading time for money
• Growing up with no Dad
• What ‘monopoly’ has to do with his success in real estate
• His ‘why’ (it’s not real estate)
• Building relationships
• BHAG goals
• Why podcasting gives him the most satisfaction
• Work-life harmony
• The 40 40 40
• How many cats there are
• The three E’s
• And LOADS more 

Here is the resource we talked about:

• Dream Nation – Casanova’s community to help you build your dream
• Dream Nation Podcast – Jack Canfield episode
• Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki
• Richest Man in Babylon – George Clason
• Go For No – Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz
• The Millionaire Fast Lane – MJ Demarco
• Chicken Soup for the Soul – Jack Canfield
• The Success Principles – Jack Canfield
• Jim Rohn
• E-Myth – Michael Gerber
• Rocket Fuel – Gino Wickman 
• Grant Cardone
• Dean Graziosi

As always, we’re really grateful for your help in supporting this podcast. To do this you can:

• Buy me a coffee (I’d be ever so grateful)
• Rate or subscribe on apple podcasts by going here – apple podcasts
• Contact us on Twitter – we are @sharppodcast here

Thanks EVER SO MUCH for listening. If we help you to BE BETTER at what you do, then it’s all been worth it!

Episode 71 – This is the audio from my recent YouTube video all about the benefits of meditation. It was recorded on location, so the audio is different to the regular episodes. 

Look at all the stuff we covered in this short episode:

• The YouTube video this came from
• Modern meditation doesn’t need candles or the lotus position (unless you want them)
• Dan Harris and his panic attack live on air
• How he learned that meditation could help him 
• A bit of science research (it’s actually Martinos centre – but don’t tell anyone!)
• Some kinds of meditation
• Mindfulness
• Compassion (sometimes called ‘loving kindness’)
• Body scans
• Transcendental
• How I’ve benefitted
• Calm
• Lose the inner chatter
• Separating the match and the fuse
• How to do it
• Where the resource is

Here is the resource that we use and you may find helpful:

• Dan’s panic attack
• 10 Percent Happier App and Podcast
• Calm
• Headspace
• Jack Kornfield
• A YouTube channel we use for guided meditation
• The Martinos Centre research

As always, we’re really grateful for your help in supporting this podcast. To do this, you can:

• Buy me a coffee (I’d be ever so grateful)
• Rate or subscribe on apple podcasts by going here – apple podcasts
• Contact us on Twitter – we are @sharppodcast here

Thanks EVER SO MUCH for listening. If we help you to BE BETTER at what you do, then it’s all been worth it!

Episode 70 – We investigate the idea of work-life balance. What is it? Is it really a thing? How do we get it? 

Look at all this stuff we covered:

• What really IS work-life balance?
• Why much of the advice seems to be unhelpful
• It means different things to different people
• Three different perspectives from the ‘TED’ stage
• It is important and urgent for us to solve
• Work-life balance is a fallacy
• We could revisit our perspective
• Steve-In-The-Field’s adverts are definitely unhelpful!
• What happens if you ‘google’ family-life balance or hobby-life balance
• Considering the research, what are the practical steps?

Take up Shawn Achor’s DAILY challenge for 21 days

• Write down 3 gratitudes
• Journal 1 thing that went well because of you
• Exercise
• Mediate
• Perform 1 Random Act of Kindness

Take stock of your life

• Look at the whole picture
• Consider everything
• Michael Hyatt’s 10 domains can help:
• Social
• Parental
• Marital
• Physical
• Emotional
• Intellectual
• Spiritual
• Financial
• Avocational (hobbies)
• Vocational (work)

Set goals for the two or three you want to improve

• Be specific
• How would you feel?
• What would be happening?

Work out the little things

• What are the little things you can do, which will support the bigger goals?
• How will you measure if you’re doing the little things?
• Keep a record…
• Make a commitment…
• Log a daily streak…
• How do we consider ‘work’ in light of these new plans?
• Boundaries
• Commitments
• Choices with intention
• Let us know how YOU got on – all the links and research are below

Here are the links to the resource where you can find out more:

• Wikipedia’s unhelpful definition
• Mental Health Foundation’s study
• Reed’s article
• Forbes and the evolving definition of work-life balance
• Steve’s plumbing work?
• Nigel Marsh’s TED Talk – It’s a problem to be solved
• Michael Walters’ TED Talk – Is it a fallacy?
• Shawn Achor’s TED Talk – Being happy in work (I love this talk so much)
• Houses On Line’s delivery standards?
• BBC stats on global pay scales
• Qora answers on salary
• Michael Hyatt’s Life Score Assessment

As always, we’re really grateful for your help in supporting this podcast. To do this, you can:

• Buy me a coffee (I’d be ever so grateful)
• Rate or subscribe on apple podcasts by going here – apple podcasts
• Contact us on Twitter – we are @sharppodcast here

Thanks EVER SO MUCH for listening. If we help you to BE BETTER at what you do, then it’s all been worth it!

Music and effects in this episode courtesy of:

https://freesound.org/people/Benboncan/sounds/91924/

Neon Laser Horizon by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7015-neon-laser-horizon

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Aurea Carmina by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4982-aurea-carmina

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Episode 69 - We look ahead at what's coming this year and what our thoughts are for making the podcast EVEN BETTER than it is now. Tell us what you think; we're gonna do a Q&A episode in the future. So ask us your questions in the comments on the website, on social media or by e-mail at [email protected]

Look at all this stuff we covered:

• Moving house
• Building the new studio
• Top tips to use ToDoIst with a big project
• A friend of the show, Laurie, pops in to say hi
• Our ideas for the coming year
• The kitchen table - new house, new ideas
• Dealing with change
• Nothing's perfect
• Nothing's permanent
• Nothing's personal
• Q&A - send us your questions, ask us anything

As always, we're really grateful for your help in supporting this podcast. To do this, you can:

• Buy me a coffee (I'd be ever so grateful)
• Rate or subscribe on apple podcasts by going here - apple podcasts
• Contact us on Twitter - we are @sharppodcast here

Thanks EVER SO MUCH for listening. If we help you to BE BETTER at what you do, then it's all been worth it!

Episode 68 – We have a look back at 2020. An awful year for many. So we decided to focus on what’s happened with the podcast. There are 3 sections: we look at what changed for ‘sharppodcast’ in 2020, we quickly revisit each episode with a tiny sample, and then end with Steve and Lisa at the table.

Look at all this stuff we covered:

• What’s new for sharppodcast:
• Making videos
• New formats for some episodes
• Covering current subjects
• Then we do a quick visit to each episode, like a taster menu, but better:
• January – STP058 Mind Maps
• February – Sharing Is Caring
• March – STP059 Laurie Jeffery
• April – STP060 Help With Change
• May – STP061 To Do With Todoist
• May – STP062 To Do With Todoist 2
• June – STP063 Todo Level 3 and Top Tips
• August – STP064 10 Cognitive Biases Spoiling Your Thinking
• August – STP065 Resource Roundup
• October – STP066 The ALPEN Method
• November – STP067 Resource Roundup
• December – STP068 Reflecting…oh, hang on, that’s this episode!
• Steve and Lisa back at the Kitchen Table
• Sharppodcast episodes from 2020
• How 2020 has demanded more focus on home life
• Moving house
• The weekly planner
• Our weekly ‘meeting’ (if you want to know more about this, let us know)
• Walking to work
• Why winning the lottery doesn’t necessarily make you happy
• Treating personal goals the same as work goals
• Getting vaccinated
• Hugs!
• Jeff Wayne’s War of The Worlds – Here’s the official website, if you haven’t heard this, you DEFINITELY need to find out about it

As always, we’re really grateful for your help in supporting this podcast. To do this, you can:

• Buy me a coffee (I’d be ever so grateful)
• Rate or subscribe on apple podcasts by going here – apple podcasts
• Contact us on Twitter – we are @sharppodcast here

Thanks EVER SO MUCH for listening. If we help you to BE BETTER at what you do, then it’s all been worth it!

Episode 67 - We've collated the best of the resource we've shared on social media in the past few weeks. We're aiming to give you a selection of things to look at for yourself, and hopefully, you'll find something that works for you.

Look at all this stuff we covered:

• Procrastination
• Time chunks
• Your 'why' and your 'how'
• Mindsets and self-sabotage
• Damaging your brain
• Dealing with overwhelming to-do lists
• Recharging
• Taking things personally
• Meditation

Here are the links to the resource where you can find out more:

• Robert Taibbi - 8 Steps to Overcome Procrastination
• Bryan Robinson - Procrastination a Friend Without Benefits
• Accidental Creative - Time Chunks
• My Instagram post - Work on your 'why' to help your 'how'
• Celine Da Costa - Stop Self Sabotage
• Best Brain Possible - 7 Modern Lifestyle Habits Damaging Your Brain
• Zen Habits - Overwhelming Todo Lists
• My Instagram post - Recharging
• Lachlan Brown - 11 Tips to Stop Taking Things Personally
• Hackspirit - 25 Surprising Meditation Tips
• (And as promised, just for you, here are the links):
• Headspace
• Ten Percent Happier
• Jessica Abel - Hell Yeah! Or Hell No!
• My pic of the tree inspiring my thoughts on change

Episode 66 - If you struggle to get things from your to-do list actually done, then ALPEN is for you. We have a look at this great method...

Look at all this stuff we covered:

• Why it's different from other to-do list methods
• You don't have to work long hours to be effective
• Professor Lothar J Seiwert - who is he?
• Why we don't like the word 'productivity' (again)
• Two acronyms (depending on your language):
• Activities
• Length
• Plan Buffer
• Establish Priorities
• Note Success
• OR:
• Aufschreiben
• Lange schatzen
• Pufferzeit einplannen
• Entscheidungen Treffen
• Nachkontrolle
• Activities - Get them written down
• Length - Work out how long each one will take
• Plan Buffer - Add in 40% (we tell you why)
• Establish priorities - Decide on which ones you're going to focus on
• Note Success - Review the day and identify what worked well
• The Sydney Opera House planning disaster
• What Helmuth Von Moltke the Elder said
• Reviewing your list every week
• The Two-Minute Rule

Here are the links to the resource where you can find out more:



• OECD stats working hours across the world
• How to prioritise
• Episode 7 - Habits and the Write Stuff (featuring Eisenhower Matrix)
• Professor Lothar J Seiwert talking about what he does
• Find out more about Lothar J Seiwert
• Yodelling: Astounded Christopher J Astbury Switzerland

Episode 65 - A different approach in this episode. We've collated the best of the resource we've shared on social media in the past few weeks. We're aiming to give you a selection of things to look at for yourself, and hopefully you'll find something that works for you.

Look at all this stuff we covered:

• Brain hacks
• 3 daily habits
• Goals
• Today is unique
• Stop taking things personally
• Can we trust our brain
• Stress and burnout
• Habits and streaks
• Doing more
• Past, present and future
• Stress
• Process instead of goals and targets

Here are the links to the resource where you can find out more:

• Entrepreneur.com - Brain Hacks to boost motivation/beat the work from home blues
• Success.com - 3 things successful people do daily
• Psychology Today - Wide awake at 2 am?
• Michael Hyatt - 4 ways to make daily progress on goals
• Sharppodcast on Instagram - Today is never going to happen again
• Hackspirit.com - 11 ways to stop taking things personally
• Psychology Today - Can we trust our brains?
• Psychology Today - I miss the old 'me'
• Lifehacker - You don't truly build a habit until you break your streak
• Psychology Today - Do more by doing less
• Sharppodcast on Instagram - thoughts about the past and future are all in the present moment
• Psychology Today - Stress can be good for you
• Lifehack - Why people who focus more on the process than the goal gain more from life

Episode 64 - Your thinking isn't as rational or balanced as you think. Let us tell you why and how you can be more aware of what's stuffing it up.

Look at all this stuff we covered:

• What cognitive biases are
• How they affect us
• Why your brain is SO effective - and that's the problem
• How not to make a cup of tea
• Our top 10 chart of biases
• The difference between sharks, selfies and coconuts
• THE IDIOT (and his lockdown diary)

Here are the links to the resource where you can find out more:

• Buster Benson's image showing 200 cognitive biases
• The Visual Capitalist - 24 Cognitive Biases
• The Scientific American article on the role of luck in success
• "Thinking Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman
• The excellent VeryWellMind article on biases
• Ted-X talk on the Dunning Kruger effect
• Myles on the Just World hypothesis
• Vicky and her amazing art at Etsy
• Jessica Abel's Creative Focus Workshop
• Laura Gassner Otting
• The Woo Long Talks podcast
• Run With Me On This podcast

Episode 63 - The final episode in our kind of 'trilogy' on using Todoist. We briefly explore how to use Todoist at an advanced level. We also share great disciplines for managing tasks regardless of whether you use paper, Todoist or something else.

Look at all this stuff we covered:

• We meet Theresa - she's a 'Level 3' kind of person
• Sharing files - so others can help you with the project
• Filters - to keep track of everything
• Needless references to Findus Crispy Pancakes AGAIN
• The 'Teams Plan' on todoist
• Summarising Level 1 - The things Wanda might do:
• Simple to-do lists
• Shopping Lists
• Summarising Level 2 - What Emma could use it for:
• Projects
• Actions
• Recurring tasks
• Labels
• Prioritising
• Karma
• Gamification
• Productivity
• Summarising Level 3 - The sophisticated stuff for Theresa:
• Sharing files
• Uploading files
• Complex projects
• Assigning tasks
• Using Slack and Dropbox
• Filters to manage it all
• Whether you use todoist or not - our Ten Task Managing Take-Aways:
• Capture things well - either in a notebook, on paper, or electronically
• Keep a master list of ALL your tasks somewhere
• Review it regularly once a week, moving things from your master list to places where you will come across them when you need to on an app, a calendar or a diary
• Use 'Projects' if something has 2 or more actions
• For each action, write it down starting with the verb (the action word) e.g. "Write the..." "Call..." "List..."
• Group tasks together by contexts - where you will do them
• Carry out the tasks in batches - do similar things together (phone calls, check e-mails, brain-dead stuff, focus stuff etc.)
• Keep a record of what you've done and reflect at the end of the day
• Review what you've got for the next day - plan to do the task you enjoy LEAST first
• Plan the good stuff in, too - don't assume it will just happen

The resource and links to find out more



• Real people doing real things with todoist
• Uploading files in todoist
• Using Slack
• David Allen on projects
• Why using 'contexts' is a good idea
• The benefits of journaling and reflecting at the end of each day
• Eating the frog