We're all aware that many people
feel that we must be careful
when focusing on money
or affluence or abundance … that in
the pursuit of those things, there is
danger. If you pursue money and affluence
to the exclusion of other values
in life, you have lost, not won.
However, let's consider this question:
If you could do better financially,
should you? In the time you have
allotted to labor, economics, success,
achievement, productivity, the creation
of value, the development of
skills and creativity, if you could do
better, should you?
I believe one of the greatest satisfactions
of living life to the fullest is
doing the best you can with whatever
you have. Doing anything less than
your best has a way of eroding the psyche.
We are creatures of enterprise.
Life seems to say to us, "Here are the
raw materials — your creativity, and
24 hours to use it. What splendid
things can you produce?"
The Enterprising Person
Enterprising people are those people
disciplined and dedicated enough
to seize opportunities that present
themselves ... regardless of the current
situation, struggles, or obstacles.
Think of a few people you know
who are enterprising. Think of people
in the news, in your office, in your
neighborhood, who manage to succeed
regardless of the obstacles. What do
these people have in common? They're
probably always on the go, developing
a plan, following a plan, reworking the
plan until it fits. They're probably
resourceful, never letting anything get
in the way. They probably don't understand
the word no when it applies to
their visions of the future. And, when
faced with a problem, they probably
say, "Let's figure out a way to make it
work," instead of, "It won't work."
Enterprising people see the future
in the present. They will always find a
way to take advantage of situations,
not be burdened by them. And enterprising people aren't lazy. They don't
wait for opportunities to come to
them; they go after the opportunities.
Enterprising means always finding a
way to keep yourself actively working
toward your ambition.
However, we humans can be particularly
creative at working at less than
our potential.
Work Smarter
It's an obvious — yet often overlooked
— truth: rich people have 24
hours a day. And, poor people have 24
hours a day.
The difference between the rich and
the poor is in the management
of that time. Successful people
often work harder and
longer than most, but they
almost always work smarter.
If we get more from ourselves,
if we can make an hour
as valuable as 10 hours used
to be, we can get as much
done in a day as we used to
get done in a week. Imagine
the potential compounding
effect of working smarter.
By practicing a few simple
disciplines every day, you
can use time like the rich —
with focus and effectiveness.
1) Run the day, or it will run you.
Part of the key to time management is
staying in charge. Some will be masters
of their time, and some will be servants.
Enterprising people become the
masters of their time.
To master your time, you must have
clear written goals for each day that
you keep with you at all times. It helps
to create each day's list the night
before. Prioritize your goals for the day
and constantly review them.
And here's a good question to ask
yourself constantly: Is this a major
activity or a minor activity? By asking
that question, you will reduce the
amazingly natural tendency to spend
major time on minor things. In sales
training, we are taught that major time
is the time spent in the presence of the
prospect, while minor time is the time
spent on the way to the prospect. If
you are not careful, you will spend
more time "on the way to" than "in the
presence of" your goals.
Before you answer an email, ask
yourself if this is a major activity or a
minor activity. Before you make a
phone call, ask yourself if this is a
major phone call or a minor phone
call. Enterprising people don't let the
minor activities distract them from the
major activities — the ones that hold
the keys to their success.
2) Don't mistake activity for productivity.
You probably know some
people who always seem to be busy
being busy. To be successful, you must
be busy being productive. Some people
are going, going, going, but they're
doing figure eights. They're not making
much progress. Don't mistake
activity for productivity, movement
for achievement. Evaluate the hours
in your days, and see if there is wasted
time that you could manage better.
Remember there is an opportunity
cost to every single activity you do.
The time you spend doing one thing is
time you could spend doing something
else. Before investing your time
in anything, briefly ask yourself if this
is the highest leverage activity you
could be doing to accomplish the most
important priority on your list for the
day. And, make sure the activities on
your list for the day are the highestleverage
opportunities to accomplish
your short- and long-term goals.
3) Focus. The third key to time management
is good concentration. You've
got to zero in on the job at hand and,
like an ant, let nothing stand in your
way and let nothing distract
you from the task. Assuming
this is a major activity in pursuit
of the highest leverage
opportunity available, there
should be nothing more valuable
to invest your time in.
This is easier said than
done. Concentration takes a
lot of discipline. It takes discipline
to demand privacy, to
not react to the minor activities
that try to demand your
attention, such as new emails
and ringing phones.
If you have a long list of
things to get done within one day, do
the toughest one while your concentration
is at its peak. If you're a morning
person, get the job done in the
morning. Don't wait until the evening
when your energy is all spent. Do the
jobs that need the most concentration
when your body is best able to handle
them.
One of the greatest enemies of this
sort of concentration is worry.
Worrying about your future can prevent
you from being where you are
right now. We all have worries, and
they are useful. But, don't let worry
distract you. Stay focused on changing
what you can change — that is the
only true way to overcome the source
of your worry anyhow.
Enterprise is always better than
ease. Every time we choose to do less
than we possibly can, we limit our
possibilities — we stifle our potential.
You can alter your life by doing a little
more each day to work smarter, by
developing a habit of efficiency rather
than the habit of activity.
The Ant Philosophy
When was the last time you saw ants reach an obstacle and give up with their
heads down and head back to the ant hole to relax? Never. If they're headed somewhere
and you try to stop them, they will look for another way. They'll climb over,
they'll climb under, they'll go around — regardless of the effort involved. What a neat
philosophy, to never quit looking for a way to get where you're supposed to go.
Here's another question. How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare
for winter? All that it possibly can. Ants don't have quotas or "good enough"
philosophies. They don't gather a certain amount and then head back to the hole to
"hang out." If an ant can do more, it does.
Imagine what you could accomplish if you never quit and always did all that you
could do.
Learn more about Jim Rohn and
his audio series The Day that
Turned Your Life Around.