Key Competency #5: Brevity

If there's one thing I struggle with most when writing these blog posts, its knowing how long to make them. If I make them too long, I risk the reader losing attention. On the other end of the spectrum, making them too short runs the risk of not explaining something thoroughly enough.

In most cases, I think making them shorter is probably better. Pretty much everything life is better when its shorter, hence why I'm labeling "brevity" as a key competency.
How many of you have sat in a meeting that has gone on for far too long? By the end of the meeting, you can tell you're not the only one who feels that way. Glazed looks pepper the crowd, with many simply staring down into their "laps" (aka phones).

This is one of the points that the Heath brothers drive in their excellent book, Made to Stick. If you want your idea to stick in the minds of your listeners, it can't be long form. People just don't retain information that well. The very first "S" in the Heath brothers' SUCCESs acronym is "simple".

To quote the infamous Michael Scott, we should keep another acronym in mind: KISS. Keep It Simple, Stupid.

And keeping my own advice in mind, I'm going to end this post here. Peace!

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You're Out of Excuses

The Amazon Kindle Fire tablet is $50 and often goes on sale for cheaper than that. You can get free wifi almost anywhere, including most McDonald's locations. The best email platforms, Gmail and Yahoo, are free . Almost all social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, are free . My blog is hosted on the Blogger platform, which is free to use. If you have a library card, you can probably checkout digital ebooks for free via Overdrive. Apps like WhatsApp allow you to make calls to people for free . Interacting with people on social forums like Reddit is free . The barriers to entry have been lowered significantly. You don't have an excuse why you're not making yourself better anymore.

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