Thank you for joining me today for “Creating Your Amazing Life”. Please reach down and hit the “Subscribe” button. I'm glad that you are joining me for episode number 52.
So one of the things that I have had trouble with is I have tried to be clever about my productivity. I move from one thing to the other too quickly and too often and that has created a life that is scattered and non productive. When you look at pruning a tree or a bush, pruning keeps the tree or a bush from growing unruly. When we prune it then produces much more. Our lives are similar, I was always moving from one thing to the other but not moving forward in big ways. It is because of not staying productive. I would not follow this rule. But small causes are the ones that produce big results.
You have heard of the 80/20 rule. It says that 80% of effects come from 20% of the causes, but if you look at that 80/20 rule. You will find that it is part of every endeavor. Our leverage will increase our abilities exponentially as we tighten what we concentrate on. Most of us have been taught the wrong curve for success, we think along the lines of the bell curve. It follows the leverage curve which looks different. The Leverage curve goes straight until the very end and then just goes up at a steep rate at the end where success lies. Now this leverage curve is the one that makes all the difference in productivity because that's where the 20% should come from. It is not about finding ways to do more it is about only doing what is most important. Only doing the things that only you are here to do and saying no to all the things that don’t move you closer to your goals.
Warren Buffett said “That for every 100 great opportunities that are brought to me, I say no 99 times.” pretty powerful right, he also quoted “That the difference between successful people and very successful people are very successful people say no to almost everything.” So I'm working on learning to say no to things that do not fulfill my purpose. Because like I mentioned in another podcast I'm really big into saying yes but each yes is a “no” to other things. When we focus on saying yes only to things that ignite our purpose it makes us more productive and exponentially increases our output. So pick carefully.
We must “Stay Lean” meaning we cut the fat from our lives. Staying lean means taking out the things are not important and freeing up all the time that we use to spend on things outside of our purpose. You might know of the book “First things 1st” by Steven Covey. It talks about doing the most important things and getting them done then move on down in priority. They will really move the needle. Tom Peters said that “Your calendar is the only thing that demonstrates what you care about” so what does your calendar say that you are? I've been spending some time on this and I know one of the things that my calendar says is important to me is my family and my wife. Your calendar reflects who you want to be. If I can’t say “hell yes” to something then it will be a no. There is nothing in the middle of the road here anymore.
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