“If your words or images are not on point, making them dance in color won’t make them relevant.”
― Edward Tufte

Most PowerPoint presentations are pretty bad, but it doesn’t have to be that way. A little effort and planning can go a long way towards keeping the audience interested and engaged. So, here are four simple tips to quickly level up your next PowerPoint presentation.

1. Spend your time improving content, not colors.
2. Present one idea at a time.
3. Read your notes, not your slides.
4. Rehearse your presentation out loud.

“Sallah, I said no camels. That’s five camels. Can’t you count?”
— Indiana Jones, The Last Crusade

What do you need to get done today? Write down up to three things. That’s your limit.

Forcing yourself to limit the list means you have to prioritize. Pick the tasks that will make the day a success. If those tasks are all you accomplish today, you should be happy with the results.

If you’re not sure what should go on the list, answer two questions:

1. What tasks are necessary so my life doesn’t get worse?
2. What tasks move me significantly closer to my goals?

Be ruthless in your prioritization. It’s amazing how many “necessary” tasks can be delayed indefinitely. If you don’t need to do it today, leave it off. You can always do more once you complete the list. Remember: If everything’s important, nothing’s important.

Once you have your list, start knocking out those tasks. Pick the easiest item if that gives you a psychological edge. Go for the hardest first, if you want to feel the relief of getting it done. It doesn’t matter, because you already limited the list to only the important stuff.

Now for the hard part. Repeat this process tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. At the beginning of each day, prioritize your list and get moving on those tasks. After a week or two, look at your progress. Check in again after a month or so. After a year of hitting your three most important targets each day, that’s over 1,000 items checked off. Enjoy your victories, but keep moving forward. Don’t stop. There’s so much more to achieve.

“One must know oneself. Even if it does not help in finding truth, at least it helps in running one’s life, and nothing is more proper.”
― Blaise Pascal

Don’t be…

• Don’t be arrogant.
• Don’t be impulsive.
• Don’t be passive.
• Don’t be lazy.
• Don’t be soft.
• Don’t be impatient.
• Don’t be indecisive.
• Don’t be unfeeling.

Instead be…

• Be prepared.
• Be observant.
• Be logical.
• Be calm.
• Be confident.
• Be brave.
• Be humble.
• Be kind.
• Be strong.
• Be adventurous.

There are hundreds of “be this” and “don’t be that” goals. Create a personal list and try to live up to it. Don’t make it about who you are. Make it about who you strive to be.

“People who have expertise just love to share it. That’s human nature.”
― David Baldacci

Everyone is an expert at something, and that means you can learn something from anyone. It also means you need to be willing to ask for help from anyone.

It can be difficult and humbling to admit that someone else is better than you at something. At the same time, if everyone is an expert at something, that means you’re an expert at something too.

“The only disability in life is a bad attitude.”
― Scott Hamilton

A positive attitude can mean the difference between success and failure. The right attitude can transform a miserable situation into a story-producing adventure.

Here are a couple of ideas that will help train your mind to always have a positive attitude.

1. Start every day with gratitude. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it. In a world that makes it easy to focus on the negative, actively choose to focus on the positive.
2. Reframe problems as challenges. A problem is an obstacle that holds you back and leads to failure. A challenge is an opportunity to grow, a chance to improve, and a moment to be great.
3. Embrace change. Change means stress for most people. But without change, you can’t grow. Change is inevitable, so instead of fearing change, embrace it and learn to use it to your advantage.

“Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.”
― Stephen Covey

Management without leadership is just like anything else without leadership. It’s inferior.

We need managers. Mangers help us do what we need to do a little bit better, a little bit faster, and a little bit cheaper. Good managers take care of their people and help the team operate efficiently and effectively. All managers should also be leaders. Without that leadership piece, the team won’t have a clear path to follow. They’ll struggle to find the “what” and “why” of the tasks they perform.

But leadership isn’t reserved for managers or people with “leader” in their title. Leadership isn’t limited to certain positions of authority.

Everyone needs to lead. You need to lead yourself, your team, your subordinates, and your boss. No matter where you are in the chain of command, you need to show others the way and put the success of the team first. Every position is a leadership position.

“Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things.”
― Peter Drucker

Efficient means getting things done. Efficient means shedding the extra weight that’s slowing you down. Efficient means staying focused. Efficient means no procrastination, batching tasks, and aggressively moving forward.

Effective means getting things done that matter. Effective means staying focused on the target. Effective means taking an indirect path when the direct path is blocked. Effective means task prioritization, contingency planning, and letting other people help.

Efficient is a tool. Effective is a superpower.

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.”
― J. P. Morgan

The first step is scary. It means going somewhere we haven’t been before. But that also makes it exciting. After all, we get to go somewhere we’ve never been before.

The unknown is scary; discoveries are exciting.

We’ve all heard that the hardest part is taking the first step. But it’s usually the hard things that are worth doing. That’s where we can make the biggest difference, have the greatest impact, and make the most progress.

So get excited with every first step. Let it fuel you to do more and push harder. Celebrate that win and anticipate the next challenge with enthusiasm about the new opportunities.

I am so busy doing nothing … that the idea of doing anything ― which as you know, always leads to something ― cuts into the nothing and then forces me to have to drop everything.
― Jerry Seinfeld

Being busy is easy. It’s safe and comfortable. But it’s the reason we don’t get the important things done. After all, we’re busy.

After a full day of running around like a crazy person, jumping from task to task, never able to catch our breath, we feel like we’ve accomplished a lot. But have we? Did we get anything done or did we just stay busy?

Being efficient and effective is hard. Prioritization challenges us. Solving difficult problems opens us up to criticism.

Stop making excuses and do the work that matters.

“People who work sitting down get paid more than people who work standing up.”
― Ogden Nash

How do you get paid what you deserve? You don’t. It doesn’t work that way. You get paid what other people think you’re worth.

On the other hand, if you want to be paid more, you need to work on your reputation. Become so obviously valuable that other people know you’re worth more.

If you’re an employee, bring more value to your boss and your team. Work on the hard problems, become a better teammate and be a leader.

If you’re an entrepreneur, founder, or owner, bring more value to your customer. Build a great team, solve problems that matter and foster long-term trust.

And one more thing: never stop improving.