Recently, I decided to release an updated version of the DASH book. I made this decision not because I felt there was anything wrong with the original book. In fact, I am still quite proud of this book and the impact it has made in many people’s lives. Yet, the fact still remains that it was first released two years ago. As a result, it doesn’t incorporate the lessons I’ve learned from meeting and working with some of the most successful people in the country since that time.

During the process of incorporating these lessons into the updated manuscript, I came to realize that I needed to do more than update the book. I needed to update my dash. In other words, I needed to put these new ideas and strategies into practice; and not just on paper. I realized that for the most part, I’ve been running my life on Dash 2003 software.

Up to this point, the DASH Principles have served me well. Yet, I can’t possible expect to excel in the future without using the latest bells and whistles. Think about it. You wouldn’t try to run a computer software company using computers running on MS-DOS, would you? Of course not. You’d want to use the latest and greatest operating systems available. Well, the same should be true for running the most powerful supercomputer in existence – the one between your ears.

And, in this case, it’s not just an issue of education. If you’re anything like me, then you attend workshops, read books and listen to tapes regularly. When you hear a good idea or strategy, you probably even jot it down for future reference. Yet, how often do you go back and actually make that idea or strategy part of your actual operating system? In updating the DASH book, I realized that I had been guilty of not implementing many of the new strategies I’d learned from some of the most successful people in the country.

Therefore, I urge you to take some time this week to go over your notes from the past year or so. What success strategies have you picked up but failed to install into your life? Remember, no matter how good the idea, it won’t work if you don’t work it.

It's Time for an Update (PART II)

And don’t just stop with the ideas that you’ve read in a book or heard on an audiotape program. The self-help “gurus” aren’t the only people who have ideas for success. Very often, we come across everyday people with lessons to teach us.

For example, have you ever met a couple that simply exuded joy, passion and commitment? You know the kind of couple I’m referring to. They’ve been married for 30 years and they’re still holding hands and playing “footsies” under the table at dinner. This couple knows more about what it takes to make a marriage work than all of the relationship “experts” combined.

If you get the opportunity, pull this couple aside and ask them how they do it. They may be able to provide you some insights that would take you decades to acquire by trial and error. And once you’ve learned the secret of marital bliss, then, by all means, implement it in your relationship. Perhaps, the only thing worse than not knowing how to improve your relationship is to know what to do and not do it anyway.

I also encourage you to make upgrading your “operating system” a regular activity. Don’t wait a year or two to implement the good ideas you learn along the way. If you read or hear about a new sales technique, put it into practice in your business immediately. If you wait until things slow down around the office to implement a new strategy, you’ll be waiting forever.

The same thing applies to ideas that could enhance the quality of your health or your relationships. There will never be an ideal time to start implementing a new exercise routine or “Date Night” with your spouse. If you wait until after the holidays to start eating healthier or after the kids go back to school to start spending quality time with your spouse, you run the risk of never getting around to doing it at all.

On the information super highway, you can’t afford to get caught standing still. Well, the same thing applies along the road of life. Last year (or even last week’s strategies) won’t take you where you want to go in your dash. You need to use latest tips, tools and techniques. Therefore, you need to regularly update.