Last week while working with a client here in Toronto, our conversation turned to how he had so much work to do but the little things in life kept him from getting it done.
For example, every week he mows his father’s lawn because his father is no longer able to do it. That extra trip to his father’s and back (in addition to his regular weekly visit), plus the time it takes to mow the lawn eats up a good three hours of his week.
It also happens in his business. He has employees, but he still insists on doing the small tasks – like running errands – because he’s not comfortable asking the college-aged student to do it.
My client has a mental hang-up he has to get over. It’s one that I had as well when I was just starting out. After all, both my client and I were raised by hard-working parents who did everything themselves. But they didn’t have a business to run or the resources to have other people do some of the work for them.
As my client has become more successful, he now has the resources to remove many of the minor tasks from his workday so that he can concentrate on the big projects that will move his business ahead. However, he stands in his own way.
The expectations of our parents and the hang-ups we bring from these expectations are mental hurdles we all need to get over. My client’s inability to delegate is certainly costing him tens of thousands of dollars per year, all because he refuses to hire someone to cut his father’s lawn and to have his assistants do what they were hired to do – assist him and make his life easier.
As I explained to him why it was so important to make these changes, I used an analogy given to me by my friend and marketing expert, Bedros Keuilian. Bedros long ago explained to me that business owners are like fighter jets. We’re specialized, our time costs a lot of money, and we need people to take care of us so that we can do the things that only we can do.
Now listen, this isn’t meant to come off as some type of ego trip. Instead it’s a simple lesson in how you need to view yourself and your time. After all, you’re the only one in control of your destiny. If you want to achieve your financial independence and finally start living your version of the American Dream that you deserve, you need to take control of your life now. The government’s not going to help. They’re too busy arguing with each other – even when they’re on the same “side” (especiallywhen they’re on the same side).
You are the only one you can count on. And you have to make your time count, now more than ever. You are the person in your business with the unique ability that drives the success of your organization. It’s your time that must be protected so you can move everyone ahead. Everyone depends on you, but not for the little things. They depend on you for big ideas, the big action, and the big results. Doing the little things is not going to help anyone.
Spend time on your unique ability. Get everyone around you to understand what this is, why it's necessary, and how they will benefit too.
It all starts with you.
You have to stand up for what is right for you.
You have to stand up for your dream and mission.
You have something in you that can change lives, and cutting your lawn or washing your car isn’t going to bring it to the world.
Identify your unique ability and start to delegate the rest of the menial tasks that cut into your productivity.
Just like a journey of one thousand miles, you do this one step at a time.
Today you find a local kid to do your yard work and soon you’ll be finding a local web designer to take control of your website. With each step you free up more time on your schedule, and you’ll make more money to invest back into your business and your journey to financial independence.
For example, every week he mows his father’s lawn because his father is no longer able to do it. That extra trip to his father’s and back (in addition to his regular weekly visit), plus the time it takes to mow the lawn eats up a good three hours of his week.
It also happens in his business. He has employees, but he still insists on doing the small tasks – like running errands – because he’s not comfortable asking the college-aged student to do it.
My client has a mental hang-up he has to get over. It’s one that I had as well when I was just starting out. After all, both my client and I were raised by hard-working parents who did everything themselves. But they didn’t have a business to run or the resources to have other people do some of the work for them.
As my client has become more successful, he now has the resources to remove many of the minor tasks from his workday so that he can concentrate on the big projects that will move his business ahead. However, he stands in his own way.
The expectations of our parents and the hang-ups we bring from these expectations are mental hurdles we all need to get over. My client’s inability to delegate is certainly costing him tens of thousands of dollars per year, all because he refuses to hire someone to cut his father’s lawn and to have his assistants do what they were hired to do – assist him and make his life easier.
As I explained to him why it was so important to make these changes, I used an analogy given to me by my friend and marketing expert, Bedros Keuilian. Bedros long ago explained to me that business owners are like fighter jets. We’re specialized, our time costs a lot of money, and we need people to take care of us so that we can do the things that only we can do.
Now listen, this isn’t meant to come off as some type of ego trip. Instead it’s a simple lesson in how you need to view yourself and your time. After all, you’re the only one in control of your destiny. If you want to achieve your financial independence and finally start living your version of the American Dream that you deserve, you need to take control of your life now. The government’s not going to help. They’re too busy arguing with each other – even when they’re on the same “side” (especiallywhen they’re on the same side).
You are the only one you can count on. And you have to make your time count, now more than ever. You are the person in your business with the unique ability that drives the success of your organization. It’s your time that must be protected so you can move everyone ahead. Everyone depends on you, but not for the little things. They depend on you for big ideas, the big action, and the big results. Doing the little things is not going to help anyone.
Spend time on your unique ability. Get everyone around you to understand what this is, why it's necessary, and how they will benefit too.
It all starts with you.
You have to stand up for what is right for you.
You have to stand up for your dream and mission.
You have something in you that can change lives, and cutting your lawn or washing your car isn’t going to bring it to the world.
Identify your unique ability and start to delegate the rest of the menial tasks that cut into your productivity.
Just like a journey of one thousand miles, you do this one step at a time.
Today you find a local kid to do your yard work and soon you’ll be finding a local web designer to take control of your website. With each step you free up more time on your schedule, and you’ll make more money to invest back into your business and your journey to financial independence.
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