How to Change the World While Waiting for your Toast

About the Book

This book is purposely short. It is meant for people who don't have time to read. If that's you...this book is written for you. Take an hour, grab a coffee and read. While you are reading, have a pen handy. You'll come up with some ideas that will change your world. Write them down in the book. It's easy, quick and it could change your entire situation or business as you know it.

People have asked us if this is a business book or a personal growth book. Our answer is simple. It's both! As business consultants we do something unique when starting a working relationship with a company. We begin with the business owner. What is their personal mission in life? What are their personal goals? We believe that who we are as people drives who we are in the workplace or who we are as business owners.

This book specifically focuses on capturing moments of time and then applying that captured time to something of lasting value. In many cases the time needed to spawn a thought that will change the world is just about the time you wait for your toast to pop out of the toaster! We hope you enjoy the read.

About the Author

Randy Friesen

Randy Friesen's background includes over 15 years of management experience as a practicing manager and business consultant. In addition, Mr. Friesen is a Management instructor for the School of Business at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Canada's premier polytechnic institution located in Vancouver, British Columbia.

With experience in unionized and non-unionized management roles as well as a strong relationship with the entrepreneurial community, Mr. Friesen brings a powerful depth and breadth of knowledge to Wardell clients by being able to provide practical 'real life' solutions to problems that business owners face.

He holds a diploma of Marketing Management (Small Business Development Option) and a Bachelor of Technology Degree in Management. He has also completed Post Graduate studies in the area of Knowledge Management from the University of South Australia.

Together with his family, he makes his home in the horse and wine country of the Fraser Valley, just outside of Vancouver, BC.

Mark Wardell

Having reached the national level as a gymnastics coach, Mark Wardell knows what it takes to win. He took that same drive and desire that made him a success in the world of sports and applied it to business. That transition was founded in tremendous sacrifice and vision which became the building blocks for the Wardell Professional Development program.

Years of research, practical application and mentorship training added to Mr. Wardell's formal university education (degree from Simon Fraser University) to provide a perspective that is based on solid business principles. This perspective has proven exceptionally applicable in a practical sense for companies as diverse as animation studios and steel fabricators.

Mr. Wardell is propelled by a desire to see businesses succeed. That success lies in the mindset of the business owner. Working one on one with business owners, he has revolutionized businesses that have partnered with Wardell Professional Development.

A committed life long learner, Mr. Wardell is constantly researching, networking and exploring new ideas with successful people with the goal of continuing to provide Wardell clients with the premier experience and results in business consulting and coaching services.

Excerpt

Excerpt from Chapter One

"I'm doing your favourite thing Dad", 12 year old Max explained eagerly.

"Really? What's that?", I replied, trying to figure out exactly what piece of information I had harpooned his way had hit the target.

"I'm multitasking", Max said confidently.

"Multitasking? What exactly are you doing?"

"Just like you said Dad, I'm doing two things at once. I've got the oatmeal cooking in the microwave and at the same time I'm doing the toast in the toaster oven. The cool thing is that I'm doing two things at once, but I'm only working as hard as I would if I was doing one thing."

That was a defining moment for this young man. The understanding that to succeed you had to learn to multiply your efforts. Not just work harder, but be smarter at your work.

A successful financial analyst was drowning in his own business. Working incredibly long hours and putting in excessive amounts of sweat and tears, he found it still wasn't enough. Despite his efforts, his growth rate was slowing and his family time was disintegrating. If he kept up this pace for much longer, either he or his business was going to break...quite possibly both.

This story has a happy ending however. By using straightforward techniques like delegating and designing systems, he was finally able to concentrate on the important aspects of his business, changing his world dramatically.

The point is that the changes weren't exactly rocket science or difficult to implement. They just needed to be applied consistently over time. But you don't have any time right? That's a huge problem facing many business managers and owners. They are out of time. They are washing dishes and fixing engines when they should be building their business. They are like the orchestra players on the Titanic. That orchestra was very busy, playing diligently as the massive ship (read business!) plummeted into the icy Atlantic.

Is your business drowning?

Are you working hard at home or at the office without feeling successful?

Are you looking for some practical solutions without a lot of 'consultant speak'?

Are you ready to take charge of your life?

Then read on!

This book is dedicated to those who want to change their lives, change their businesses and change the world.

It starts with as much time as it takes to wait for your toast!

What is the value of time? We've all heard that time is precious but what does that really mean? Much of the understanding of time comes from our perspective of time. What does that mean? If you ever have had a brush with death, or had an experience with somebody leaving this earth unexpectedly, you know what perspective means. It makes you look at life in a different way. It changes the perception of how you see events or relationships.

There does come a time when life is over, but as a society we tend to believe that we will live forever, or at least it is easy to get caught up in that thinking. Wasting time can easily become a habit that is ingrained to the point where we reach retirement or worse yet, the end of our lives and wonder what we've done. Have you ever had a day where you've sat in your office at 5 pm and couldn't figure out what you actually had accomplished? You've been exceptionally busy, but what had you really gained towards your ultimate goals?

Peter Legge, a brilliant international speaker and successful businessman provided some perspective in one of his keynote addresses. He suggested that the average human today is around for 80 years. Sounds like a lot. A fair bit of time to waste and you'll still have plenty of years left. What he said next however, brought the perspective home.

Eighty years is only 4,160 weeks. Wow!

Now calculate your age and think about how many weeks you have left on this planet! We are betting you want to make them count.