Miracles happen when entrepreneurs give 100% of their available energy and attention to a meaningful project or goal. This is easier said than done for the seemingly many entrepreneurs prone to being hyper-creative and borderline ADD. Fortunately, however, there are strategies, rituals, and rules that can be implemented to harness your wantonly wandering mind and endless energy fluctuations. Warning! As you get better at being attentive in the moment, you may experience several beneficial side effects. But don't worry. These positive changes in the quality of your life will be permanent soon enough! Side effects may include more and better results produced in everything you do; achieving more entrepreneurial success; enhanced relationships with your colleagues, family, and friends; and finally, better health and greater and more frequent feelings of well being.

Here are 7 of my favorite (yes, there are many others which I promise to share with you another time) rituals, do's and don't-do's, and methods for ensuring that you are giving your all towards the task at hand.

1. Use my phrase, "Am I here now?” The purpose of this cue is to immediately snap your attention back into the present moment when your mind begins to wander off. We've all been there, or not been there, when our mind's attention is divided. This can even occur when you're sitting right in front of someone and they are speaking to you about something important, but you're thinking about that report you forgot to file or that nagging problem you have to attend to at home. In order to experience the benefits of undivided attention and the energy that it provides, you must be in the present, absolutely focused on what you are doing. When you cue yourself by internally asking the question, "Am I here now?," you will learn to immediately snap out of it, snap out of your trance, and snap back into what you're doing with 100% of your available energy and attention. This will cause outstanding results when practiced frequently.

2. Lay off the caffeine first thing in the morning and strongly consider weaning yourself off of it completely. Caffeine unnaturally accelerates everything. Your mind, your heart rate, your breathing. You may think that you're increasing your ability to focus; however, this is an illusion created by a caffeine haze. You have not experienced true, undivided, caffeine-free attention until you learn to rely on your own powers of energetic focus developed through positive mental rituals, being physically fit, and giving your body and mind the fuel it needs to perform maximally

3. Eat 5-6 small, healthful meals throughout the day rather than 2-3 larger meals in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Eating smaller meals keeps your blood sugar levels stable which provides sustained energy over time rather than the big ups and downs we experience when we eat larger meals. An entire book could be written about this ritual, and many already have, so I will not spend an entire blog post explaining the characteristics of a healthy diet. I will, however, say this: Learn to appreciate and enjoy fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and nuts. And, learn to stay away from processed, convenience foods. You don't know how good your body can feel and how clear and supple your mind can be until you have turned away from "the dark side." This includes all of the processed, chemical-enhanced garbage that we Americans have been "tricked" into putting into our mouths by highly sophisticated marketers and food chemists employed by the mega-corporations that create the majority our tainted food supply.

4. Don't skip meals because you'll throw your body into a low blood-sugar situation that will leave you feeling tired and unmotivated. When your blood sugar is low from missed meals you're more likely to reach for the convenient pick-me-up offered by a caffeinated beverage or a sugary snack. Additionally, when you skip meals frequently your body goes into what I call "hibernation mode." When you haven't eaten in awhile your body begins to horde calories by storing them as fat for burning later during long periods of time between eating. This process will not only make you feel sluggish and decrease your ability to perform at a high level, but it will likely make you fat and more prone to chronic disease as well.

5. Take a 5-15 minute break every 90-minutes during each workday. Just like athletes, you need breaks from intense periods of work to recover and rejuvenate. If you have trouble remembering, use an alarm or a timer. Most cell phones come with an alarm feature. Or, if you work on a computer most of the day, try a simple desktop timer like Cool Timer. It's also a good idea to get a little sun during these breaks if at all possible because direct sun exposure causes an increase in seratonin levels which is a feel good hormone that will be released into your blood stream, leaving you feeling re-energized.

6. DO NOT multi-task. Ever been talking to someone on the phone, or even in-person for that matter, and you just known their attention is somewhere else like on their computer (they may even be typing while simultaneously talking to you...drives me insane) or on their to-do list? Not only does this make effective communication impossible, but it is disrespectful and shows a lack of concern for other people. Multi-tasking is a terrible philosophy that has invaded corporate culture and our lives and has spread faster than swine flu. People are actually admired for their ability to multi-task and you will even see "must be able to multi-task" listed as a qualification on a job listing. This is a very, very bad thing and ultimately leads to a degradation of work quality and productivity.

7. Disable the snooze feature on your alarm. You'll feel much more awake throughout the day if you just get up the first time your alarm goes off. Trust me on this. I've experimented on myself and asked many other people. Don't snooze, just get up and get going. Make this a ritual and you'll thank me for it later.