Peter Clemens, Author at Possibility Change

Daydreams: Friend or Foe?

This week I am back to full-time work after a short break. I kept myself reasonably busy during this time off, but one habit I did develop was to relax, both physically and mentally, during the mid-afternoon. On such occasions I would allow my mind to wander, or to “daydream” as this is commonly known. Daydreaming is basically a state of mind where the thoughts you experience are unrelated to what is going on in the environment around you.

Interestingly, this habit initially brought with it some guilt. I’m sure this was related to being in a “non-doing” state in a culture that increasingly values productivity. With time, however, I came to shed most of this guilt and use this period of rest in a positive way. The following are a selection of potential positives and negatives to daydreaming.

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My Beef With Multi-Level Marketing

By Peter Clemens / 39 Comments

Last year I had two different, and yet strikingly similar, experiences with Multi-Level Marketing (MLM). For those who don’t know, MLM (also known as Network Marketing) is a business model that combines direct marketing with franchising. In both instances, I chose not to become involved. In this article I would like to explain why.

My first encounter with MLM arose because a close friend invited me to a meeting to get my opinion on a business opportunity. As she later admitted, she was never interested in my “opinion”. Her mind was already made up about the opportunity, and this was just her way to get me to the meeting. Well she did succeed in sparking my curiosity, and since I had nothing else to do I went along. This first MLM opportunity was with a company called ACN and basically involved reselling the services of a telecommunications company.

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A Simple Story About Remembering Your Value

By Peter Clemens / 14 Comments

Recent events in my life have provided an important reminder: don’t let others determine your value.

As some readers will be aware, I have been looking for a job recently. As a recent immigrant to Canada, my situation is a bit different from your typical job seeker. Despite having a Bachelor degree and close to 3 years experience in my chosen industry, I have had trouble convincing some employers to take me on at the level I want without “Canadian experience”.

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10 Ways to Give Your Morning a Makeover

By Peter Clemens / 25 Comments

Once upon a time I hated the morning. Waking up was a process of hitting the snooze button over and over, only to roll out of bed at the last possible moment. It was then a mad rush to get out the door, and very often I would need to run for the bus (not surprisingly I missed it a few times). Anyhow, I gave my morning a makeover and now it is my favorite part of the day.

The following are 10 ways you too can give your mornings a makeover.

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The Truth About Debt and Dreams

By Peter Clemens / 9 Comments

Does debt cripple dreams? Or is it the very thing that makes them come true?

My first real experience with debt was a credit card I got back in 2003. I was traveling overseas for 10 months, and a credit card was both a way to access funds whilst away and a safety net for if I ran out of cash. Since it was predominantly a working holiday, for the first 9 months I had little use for the card, and what I did put on the card was quickly paid off from my savings. My last month overseas, though, I was on the road and anyone who has ever been traveling will realize how expensive this is.

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Book Review: Getting Things Done

By Peter Clemens / 6 Comments

Many personal development sites focus heavily on productivity, and for good reason. I am, however, going to admit here that productivity has traditionally not been one of my strengths. For example, there was quite some time between purchasing Getting Things Done and actually reading it – kind of ironic really.

Well I’m glad I finally got around to reading Getting Things Done. I have not read many productivity books, but I can appreciate why it is commonly known as the “bible” of personal productivity. The following are a few of the points in the book that had the most impact on me.

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What is Success?

By Peter Clemens / 40 Comments

In one of my most popular articles, 30 Fundamentals of a Wonderful Life, I stressed the importance of forming your own definition of success. If you don’t, there is a good chance you will waste a lot of time and energy chasing someone else’s version of the word. To help you, I have found 10 quotes that each, in my opinion, give a key insight into what success really means.

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Review Your Week With These 7 Questions

By Peter Clemens / 17 Comments

Often personal development material focuses on goals and intentions as the keys to success. It is just as important, though, to take the time to regularly review your life. I like to do a short review of my day each night, but once a week I like to take extra time to drawback and get a bigger picture of how things are traveling.

Whilst the number of questions in this article is an arbitrary number, there is a specific purpose to making this review session weekly. The questions in this weekly review will allow you to rise above what is, in my opinion, the sometimes limiting perspective of a single day. Here then are 7 questions to end your week with.

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The Importance of Setting Life Reminders

By Peter Clemens / 11 Comments

If I could kick myself in the ass right now, I would. Last night on my way home from the driving range I was caught for speeding and issued a nasty fine (like golf isn’t expensive enough already…). Unlike my experience in If You Want To Change, Tell the Truth, I was never in any doubt that this was anything but my own fault. I strongly agree with the principle that people should drive within the speed limits, and I put this down to a lapse in concentration. What really annoys me, though, is the fact that this is something I vowed I would never do again after the last time.

The last time was a few years ago, but I still remember it very clearly. I also distinctly remember the following weeks where the care I took driving could have had me nominated for a “Driver of the Year” award. But as these weeks turned into months, I slowly returned to a more “normal” way of driving (still predominantly safe – just more relaxed and, therefore, prone to occasional lapses in concentration).

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The Moments That Define Us

By Peter Clemens / 12 Comments

If you value your sleep, don’t have kids. I’m just kidding, of course (see my article 6 Lessons From My 6 Month Old for just some of the reasons why children are a blessing). I am, however, writing this after another night of interrupted sleep. Our little boy is teething at the moment so a decent sleep is but a distant memory.

We love our little boy dearly, and this love comes easily during the day when he is happy and cute. During the night, however, our patience can get seriously tested when he is crying and all we want to do is sleep. Anyway, this got me thinking. It is easy to love a baby when they are happy and cute, but when they really need to be loved is during the difficult times when they have been crying for hours non-stop. After all, they are the ones in real pain (especially if they are teething). In my opinion, these are the moments that matter, and therefore how we act during these moments define what type of parents we are.

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If You Want to Change, Tell The Truth

By Peter Clemens / 17 Comments

So I went to a job interview last week and, to be honest, it didn’t go well. What I found interesting, though, was in the aftermath of the interview my mind was on overdrive. And by paying particular attention to these thoughts rushing through my head I noticed something: I wanted so badly to blame external factors for the way the interview went. I wanted to blame the public transport for making me 5 minutes late. I wanted to blame the interviewer’s wooden demeanor for the uncomfortable atmosphere in the interview. I wanted to blame the unusual interview questions that had me on the back foot trying desperately to recall some specific example from past.

By the time I got home from the interview my mind had settled somewhat. Whilst in the bathroom, I paused for a moment and stared at my reflection in the mirror. It was then that I said to myself: you sucked. That was it. That was the brutal, honest truth. I went to the interview under-prepared and the famous Benjamin Franklin quote came true: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

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