Henry Ford capitalized on the assembly line system to produce cars more efficiently. He designed his manufacturing system to introduce efficiency and help roll out affordable cars faster from his production lines.

What kind of systems can you set up to be working for you 24/7 to introduce efficiency and effectiveness in your life or venture? This blog for example, is a simple system working for me. It is able to deliver value to my readers in 90 countries, 24 hours a day / 7 days a week.

Footballers earn a lot of money, so do musicians, but have you ever spared a thought about the people who own the systems… the football franchises, the recording industry magnates etc. These people working behind the scenes earn a lot more; in fact they are the ones who pay the footballers and the musicians.

Having systems work for you is a major leverage for getting ahead in life. Unfortunately not many people obsess over setting up their own systems. If you do not obsess about setting up systems to serve you, you will be limited on how high you can ascend. Your own flesh and blood can only do so much.

Decide what vehicle you want to use to deliver value to others, and employ smart systems to serve you around the clock. Your system might be a computer program like in the case of this blog, or it may be a monthly arrangement with a professional e.g. a bookkeeper or cleaner.

Aim to have systems around what you do. Free your time for creativity and growing your venture, not getting stuck in a rut. What if you had hundreds of systems working for you 24/7/365 days?

The Internet is a good place to setup systems to serve you. You could setup a simple blog to act as your CV. You could setup a shop on the internet to be selling your goods and services even when you sleep. Please check out a couple of articles I wrote on how you can use the internet to serve you; 1) How to use Social Media for Personal Branding, 2) How to use Blogging for Personal Branding.

Think about your daily activities, especially if you run a business. Are there some of your actions that can be automated, delegated or outsourced? Could you create a system to do what you did yesterday? Aim to create a new system per week to make your work more efficient or effective. Examples of systems working for others include classified advertising, production lines, websites, subcontracting work, personal budgeting, automatic investment plans etc.

In Summary

To get ahead in life you need to release yourself from the mundane and repetitive tasks that can be done by someone else. Think of building systems and processes to serve you and multiply your efforts, ideas, talents and resources.

If you like this blog post, please share with your friends on Facebook, or via email. I would love to hear from you through the comments system with ideas or questions about setting up systems to serve you.

Anger management skills include stress management, empathy, impulse control, forgiveness, managing expectations, positive self talk and communication skills improvement.

This is the first topic that I am dealing with in this new series of emotions. It was not originally going to be the first topic. But yesterday someone really pissed me off. They just happened to know how to press my buttons. They said all the wrong things, did all the wrong things. I just about had enough of them. I got angry. I got mad.

Then I started thinking about anger. I asked myself why I was angry, why this person had managed to make me feel that way. I felt that I could not effectively do my work or focus on the good in life. Then it hit me, I am not alone. Many of us experience anger on a constant basis. Some know how to deal with it. But one thing is clear; anger keeps us from achieving our objectives.

For some people, anger becomes a habit, a natural state. We become what we think about and do on a regular basis. We are creatures of habit. The purpose of this blog is to inspire you to be the best you can be. Anger does not bring out the best in people and I hope to inspire you to better manage anger. This blog post is a letter to me as much as it is a letter to you.

Anger in different areas of life

• Family – Children get angry with parents for not letting them have their way. Anger may be directed towards siblings and other relatives. Parents may direct their anger towards their kids for not behaving as they should.

• Relationships – People in relationships may stockpile resentment and give each other the “silent treatment”. They may avoid intimacy, affection and communication because of anger. Some of the reasons for anger may be minor while others maybe major, enough to shake the foundation of the relationship.

• Career – An employer may be angry at the employees for not doing enough to help a company meet its objectives. Employees may be angry at the employer for an array of grievances. People may also direct their anger to co-workers, competitors, customers and business partners.

• Society – Some people may feel slighted by society and blame others for their misfortunes. Inequalities in society may breed anger sometimes with serious consequences.

• Politics – Anger at the stand taken by one government may lead to an invasion or a world war. Many people are angry at lawmakers for laws that do not serve their objectives.

What is Anger?

Anger is a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance. It is an emotional state that may range from minor irritation to intense rage.

Anger clouds judgment. It is distracting and kills concentration. Anger can bog you down and makes mountains out of anthills.

Anger is a result of failed expectations. Anger is the difference between what you expected and what you experienced. If you expect people to do something within a particular timeframe and they do not do it, you may get angry. How we chose to interpret things and why they happen is a strong determinant of how angry we get.

Benefits of Anger

Anger is not entirely evil. It is an internal message that tells us that something is not right. It is a message that tells us that we are not happy with how things are. Without anger, people would just accept the status quo and not advance.

• Anger may fuel the desire for success. Some people use anger to spur them to action, to reach within their depths and find success in what they do. Anger can motivate us to work harder to accomplish our goals.

• Anger helps modify society. Laws and what is socially acceptable can be modified by anger. Many laws have come into existence because of public outrage. Many laws on domestic violence, child abuse, police brutality and animal rights can trace their roots to anger.

• Anger helps us ask better questions. If we keep asking the same questions, we get the same answers. Anger makes people ask questions that may illuminate a different way of thinking that may lead to success.

• Anger builds relationships; depending on how anger is dealt with, it can enhance the quality of relationships. Anger helps highlight differences in people’s way of thinking and resolving the anger may help the relationship get stronger.

Dangers of Anger

• Anger is self perpetuating – Whenever a person feels angry they start focusing on what is making them angry. The more they focus on something, the more reasons they get for being angry. Many relationships are broken by anger and rage.

• Anger leads to failure - Anger clouds judgment and cause people to make mistakes. Anger prevents people from listening and taking advice. It messes up with the ego and leads people to a path of destruction.

• Anger leads to arguments and confrontation – Anger can lead people to violence, abuse and confrontation. Anger prevents people from reasoning together and causes disagreements.

• Anger stifles creativity – Many people are not at their element when angry. The people who feel slighted are on a lower plane of thoughts than winners. Anger makes people only as creative as it would take to right the wrong, but not to move beyond that. Anger steals focus and concentration.

• Anger reduces happiness – An angry person is not happy as they find all the reasons not to be. Happiness is a state that does not sit very well with anger.

• Anger saps energy – Anger takes away energy that could be better used in pursuing success and improving the quality of life.

• Anger prevents responsibility – Angry people tend to blame others instead of taking responsibility. It is very hard to succeed in life without taking responsibility for ones fortunes or actions.

Anger Management Techniques

• Use a journal to record every time you feel angry. Proactively notice when you are about to get angry. Analyze the associated feelings and thoughts. Start addressing those issues one by one. Address each of the thoughts and feelings.

• Avoid victim mentality – A victim mentality makes people angry. Adopt a winner’s attitude as opposed to that of a victim. Winners make things happen while things happen to victims. Winners take responsibility while victims blame others. Winners look at the positive in situations while victims look for the negative.

• Use Humor – Laughter is the best medicine. Humor helps one to get a more balanced perspective on issues instead of being dangerously angry. We say that one day “we shall laugh about this” when in difficult situations. Why not laugh about it today? Avoid sarcastic laugh and jokes as they may just perpetuate the reasons for anger.

• Calculated Response - Delay your responses when angry. You may need to take time out or try your best to control your impulses. Remember that you always have a choice to do right or wrong. Think of repercussions before taking rash action when angry.

• Ask Better Questions - Use anger to solve deep problems. Try and learn from the reason why you are angry and think of ways of preventing future anger.

• Manage Expectations - Avoid unrealistic expectations and give room for error to others.

• Empathy - Try put yourself in the shoes of others to help you understand how your anger may affect them or their reason for doing that which made you angry in the first place.

• Positive Self Talk - Fill your mind with positive messages and think of ways of improving your life and the situation instead of focusing on the negatives and the details of your anger.

• Forgiveness - Forgive yourself and those who wrong you. It does not mean turning the other cheek and letting people walk all over you. Instead communicate your unhappiness and resolve differences then move on.

• Communicate Effectively - Be assertive in your communication. Express your needs assertively without hurting others or resulting to aggressive behavior.

Summary

I hope this article has helped you look at the emotion of anger in a new perspective. Anger has some benefits but it can slow us down in the journey for success if not handled properly. Handling anger is a necessary and important part of success.

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