Khoa Bui - The Online Entrepreneur

Today I’m proud to announce that I’ve been featured in LifeHacker Australia. Since I launched my video “The 3×5 Box Organiser Method” it has gained alot of responses and attention from the media.



I’ve been a reader of Lifehacker for a few years now and just in case you don’t know what LifeHacker is, it’s a huge website that provides quality information, tips, advice and strategies in improving your life. The website alone inspires hundreds of thousands of visitors each day.



I never thought the day would come when my face would appear in this great community website.



What I also find most interesting was this.



It was an idea conjured in my head. Implented in 1 day. I was not motivated. I only had a few hours sleep before hand. No planning. No preparation. A non perfect video.



On the flip side of this.



In the video, I pulled out the card that said “Just produce the non-perfect product and tweak later”



I had no idea it would be featured in a popular website!



Here’s the link:



http://www.lifehacker.com.au/tips/2009/01/19/organise_your_life_with_a_3_by_5_file_box.html



Thanks LifeHacker!

Let me ask you a few questions:

• Do you have too many things to do but so little time?
• Do you find it hard to focus on your projects?
• Do you feel sometimes that you seem to have too many ideas but just never end up getting them done?
• Are you a great starter but a terrible finisher?

If you answered yes to the above questions, then you are not alone.



Introducing The 3×5 Box Organiser Method. This concept has been around for quite sometime and many successful people such as Dan Kennedy uses this method too!



I’ve been applying the 3×5 Box Organiser Method in my life and so far, I’ve received excellent results from it.



I found with personal experience that if I write down the things I want to complete on a digital file on my computer, I only complete maybe 20% of the tasks on the list, or sometimes I even completely ignore the document.



I was so inspired yesterday with an instant idea I congured up only 24 hours ago, to record a video that gives you “how to” information in organising your life - using the 3×5 Box Organiser Method. This method has helped me taken massive action in getting my projects done and also most importantly helped me focus on the most valued tasks.



I found that the 3×5 Box Organiser Method also helps you store various ideas on a physical database so it actually frees up your brain space so you can absorb more information.



Call me crazy if you want but I must admit, there’s something powerful behind this method and the act of physically seeing your idea on a single 3×5 index card activates some unknown force.



Anyway, I’ve recorded a 5-6 minute video on how to set up the 3×5 Box Organiser Method, how to use it and also a few examples.



Enjoy!

One of the most frustrating things you can ever do is simply have too many projects to do, starting them and never finishing them. Also, when you have too many projects, you jump from one project to another and end up repeating the cycle. As a result, you never finish the projects and end up where you started from… but a list of incomplete projects that costs alot of time and money in the process.


But there must be a better way to keep track and stay focused right? Yes there is. It’s called The One Page Business Plan.


This particular type of planning I believe is very important to setting goals and achieving them. Since I’m a big fan of goal setting, I’m always on the lookout for new ideas and techiniques to get me where I want to go faster.


I admit that one of my limitations is not that I don’t have any ideas, but that I have too many ideas to implement. So far, all of the projects that I have achieved and finished is only a minute fraction of all the ideas that I conjured up over the years. However, one of the biggest drawbacks of having too many ideas is that you can really get lost in the mist of things and you get busy chasing after the next shiny object.


You become an excellent starter but a terrible finisher. I’ve been there… many times. However, one thing I realised is that an idea that has been started and never finished is the same as an idea that never existed in the first place. The true antedote to this is focus!


The One Page Business Plan is a very effective way of keeping you focused and on track. To describe the one page business plan, there are three boxes:

• 1. Where am I now?
• 2. Where do I want to be?
• 3. How will I get there?

In the first box, “Where am I now” you describe exactly where you are at this current time in two separate headings “Strengths” and “Weaknesses”. For example, you can say you have excellent computer skills and know how to generate income online but in the weaknesses heading, you can write you don’t know how to build a website.


In the second box, “Where do I want to be?” you describe exactly where you want to be in 3 - 5 years. You also need to write down critical things you MUST have in place within 12 months. For example, you can write, I wish to live in a four bedroom, two bathroom, house only 5ks away from the beach, swimming pool where I can practice to become a professional swimmer. Critical - Need to get internet business up and running by the end of the year.


Finally, in the third box, “How will I get there?” you write 5 different strategies in which you believe will get you there. In each strategy, you have a separate box and write down the steps in which to achieve each of those strategies. For example, strategy 1: start an interenet business that generates income for me. Step 1. Research my passions. Step 2. Decide what I am good at. Step 3. Ask someone to build a website on what I am good at. Step 5. Write everyday to generate traffic to the website. Step 6. Setup affiliate products and my own products.


The great thing about the One Page Business Plan is that it’s all on one page and you can pin it up at your office or where you can see it often. Most importantly, it keeps you focused and on track to achieving your goals.

This is one of my favourite speeches of all time by Steve Jobs at Stanford University. I think it’s inspirational and keeps you on track to following your passion. I hope you find it inspiring as much as I did.


Enjoy!

For the past 2 weeks I’ve been working a secret project that I will be launching in a few weeks time. This project involves alot of publicity, alot of lessons I’ve learnt from my mistakes, alot of fine tuning, education I’ve bought and have applied and also more focused on my core goals. It seems as if alot of things have come into place for me to embark on this journey.

Since I’ve come back from travelling the world, I feel as if I have changed in someway, many so called “problems” I dwelled upon before I left now seems infinitely small now. I Honestly thought I was crazy for thinking this but it turns out many people who go travelling and experience different cultures have different views on life as soon as they get back, they feel more fortunate about themselves, grateful and just stronger.

Anyway, when I got back, I had the biggest urge to start something new and clear away the old. This new project I’m starting has taken on a new philosophy … which is “Your ducks will never line up, just do it and remember that perfection is your enemy” So far, this philosophy has served me extremely well, I’m nearly finished completing this project and good old “Waiting for the right time to work on it” was not invited.

There were times when I didn’t feel motivated enough to work on this special project, it was raining outside, I only had a few hours sleep, I was tired and lacked energy. However, I just sat down and started to work on it and then I felt much better and drew alot of energy from that task which was quite interesting.

One thing I’ve learnt is that there are many things that we want to do and projects we want to start, however one of the biggest obstacles that stop us from doing those things is… waiting for the right time, the right energy, the right mood… we are just waiting for our ducks to line up. Our ducks will never line up.

Just do it.

Sometimes when you work so hard you forget to look after yourself. The previous few days, I’ve been on 4 hours sleep getting client work finished before I go away this Sunday. There have been existing website updates, launching brand new web sites, sending off newsletters, repackaging projects and fine tuning.


What I realised is that working hard is good for the soul but don’t let it interfere with your health, relationships and with your clients. If you’re not focused 100%, your productivity drops and error levels begin to increase and you start getting grumpy!


As Steven Covey once said… look after the golden goose that lays the golden eggs.


Get some sleep buddy!

Ah, it’s good to get away from the office sometimes and work at a cafe. This morning I woke up with a sense of change in scenery. I grabbed my laptop, packed my work and headed to my nearest Dome cafe. I think it’s a good idea to have a change in environment once in a while. It’s usually times like this, I’m more productive and have extra ideas to add to my project master list. Anyway, I highly recommend it.