How to use MAGIC to create awesome results!

Here is a thought experiment - imagine that you walk into a time machine and are transported back 100 years! As you exit the time chamber and walk on to the city streets you are charmed by everything you see. You pull out your handy smartphone and start clicking some snaps. Soon you have a crowd around you. They are amused by the little shiny slab you wield. You click their photos. You play a video of your recent family road trip for them.

Suddenly, they back away. With wide eyes and open mouths, they scratch their heads under their turbans. It’s magic! For them, you are a wizard. How else could you capture them in the palm of your hand, just like you did to your family and your dog! Their amusement turns to fear.

For the folks from 1917, the technology in your hand is beyond all imagination and comprehension. And that, precisely, my dear friends, is what magic is.

• Usain Bolt runs 100m in 9.58 seconds.
• Michael Phelps wins 8 gold medals in Beijing.
• Steve Jobs revolutionizes at least 3 industries in his lifetime.
• Howard Schultz creates Starbucks which runs 24,000 stores in 70 countries.
• Coach John Wooden's teams win 88 consecutive NCAA men’s basketball games.

To you and me, it looks like magic! It’s possible for ‘them’. You and I can’t imagine doing such feats. But the truth is that there is a method to their magic. These people have found something that works. They have found the M.A.G.I.C. formula. 

M for Murder. That’s right, I have to commit murder. Murder boredom! Get on your butt and put in the hard work, even when it gets tough or mundane. The word for this ‘Sitzfleish’. Look it up. You’ll like it!

A for Appointments with myself. Do away with to-do lists. Rather use the calendar to schedule a specific time to get specific jobs done. 

G for Good Guesses. Yup, you will never have all the data. You will never be able to predict exactly what will happen. My ability to anticipate what might go wrong and take quick decisions increases the chances of things going right.

I for improvements. It’s easy to fall into the trap of comparison with others. It’s easy to obsess over perfection. Rather, do something and get it out there. Move quickly. And then, look for ways to keep improving it.

C for Coach. Smart people find good mentors and coaches, people who have done it before and helped many others do it. Good coaches increase my speed and reduce my mistakes. They ensure I learn fast. Why not take their Help?

Do this, and voila, watch the MAGIC happen!

Wizards and witches of today are not burned at the stake. Rather, they are celebrated!