Be the Master • 2020 THE GRIND™ About this Journal This journal is intended to help you Be the Master, as described in the book, Be the Master: Fourth Edition. If you’ve not read the book, this will make a lot more sense if you do. It’s available at http://leanpub.com/bethemaster4, as well as on Amazon and other outlets. Visit BeTheMaster.com for purchasing links. This workbook is copyright 2020 by Don Jones. Reproduction by any means, mechanical or digital, is prohibited without written permission. Need Help and Inspiration? Getting through The Grind can be tough - that’s why it’s named what it is! If you’re looking for some advice, guidance, and inspiration, it’s waiting for you. You can visit BeTheMaster.com to sign up for a free, no-spam, weekly mailing list that offers tips, inspirations, and advice for creating and executing your plan to Mastery. It's at least a year's worth of emails, so it's basically like getting another huge Part of the book for free! BeTheMaster.com also has inspirational stories shared by other readers, information on in- person seminars, and more. You can even share your own stories, and help inspire other readers. EXAMPLES We’ll start with a sample set of pages - a monthly plan, a weekly plan, and a weekly review, along with sample “definition” pages. I actually dug back through my notebooks to kind of recreate a particular point in my own life, so that this could be as realistic as possible. Who am I? Define yourself. How do you want others to see you? How do you want to see yourself? When you come to the end of your live, what did it look like? Don was a well-known technology instructor, and helped thousands of people learn new technologies that positively impacted their careers and their lives. He evolved into a reliable business leader, and played an important role in his companies' success. Don was also concerned about people's ability to live their best life. He's known for having inspired at least a few people to examine their lives closely, and to make decisions that took them down their best path. Don was known for his generosity with his friends and others around him. His family led an enjoyable life, filled with friends, vacations to the places they loved, and a stable home. There was always food on the table, and while Don and his family didn't have everything, they wanted for nothing. Don was also known for his charitable work, including the founding of a nonprofit dedicated to technology education that exists still. His contributions supported education, feeding the needy, children' advocacy, and the performing arts. What are my strengths and weaknesses? What do you do incredibly well - almost without even trying? Would do others say you do well? Ask around. The answers may surprise you. **STRENGTHS** I write quickly. I am very focused on meeting deadlines that I agree to. I can be personable when I want to be. I can be authoritative when I want to be. I write like a speak. I use everyday language that is not opaque or filled with business-isms. I can be counted on to be my word. **WEAKNESSES** I am very risk-averse. I am uncomfortable changing my routines. I struggle to work on teams, especially in person. I am an introvert. I can be overly firm in sharing my opinions. I am pretty sarcastic. What is my success? Use this page to define what success looks like for you. Each thing here should directly support something from your self-definition, meaning that your success should be the way you achieve the life you want. I will be known as an author who produces helpful, entertaining, informative, and valuable works of fiction and nonfiction. I will write pieces that I enjoy writing, and I will also write pieces that earn money, and I recognize that those two are not always going to be the same. I will be known as a capable business leader who can lead a team toward a company's vision. I will retire from a position of senior leadership. I will earn at least $XXX,XXX before taxes each year. I am stating that in 2020 dollars in the United States of America, and I will adjust that number annually to account for inflation and other factors outside my control. I will work in a field, and for an organization, that provides me ample time for family vacations and other personal time---at least four weeks annually. What can I teach? What topics, life skills, and so on are you able to pass on? We’ll give you plenty of room - keep this updated as new things come to mind. And, as you teach things to your apprentice(s), come back and highlight those things, so you’ll know you’ve been passing it on. Microsoft Windows PowerShell Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager Basic small business rules and concepts Basic bookkeeping Basic income tax concepts and scenarios Basic financial investing Common car maintenance and repairs Basic plumbing Basic electrical wiring