Month: November 2021

1. Growth – Because if you’re not growing, you’re regressing—there is no maintaining. And success should never consist of regressing. You should always be learning—from tasks, projects, challenges, mistakes—of course. But, also from mentors, co-workers, and resources made available to you as part of the work. Ask yourself: Am I realizing my potential or regressing each day? Like the stock market, am I trending upward or downward? What can I do to improve the current trend of my graph?

2. Contribution – Are you really successful if your success is only being celebrated, shared, and enjoyed by you and you alone? I’ll tell you what success alone is—it’s sad. Taking what you’ve gained and sharing it with others? Helping people who are struggling, similar to how you were struggling before, and seeing them overcome similar obstacles as a result of your efforts? Feeling like you’re making an impact on a scale that’s greater than just you? That isn’t sad at all. In fact, that’s quite admirable, impressive, and rewarding.

3. Presence – Because, heck, if you aren’t enjoying the ride and are tirelessly just hoping to arrive, what kind of success is that? Success isn’t found at some arrival point. Success is found in the daily grind; in the hustle; in the how our days are being spent. Because if we don’t find meaning or joy in the work we’re doing—why are we doing it? Other than to provide for the needs of yourself or loved ones, your why should be inspected carefully. Years spent miserably aren’t offset by a day of arrival. In fact, it’s precisely how our years are spent where success (or not) will ultimately be defined.

The new successful isn’t busy, it’s unbusy.

Being the “busy executive” has been seen by too many as the epitome of success and it’s leading people to live wildly unbalanced lives.

There are 168 hours in the week. Minus 8 hours / night for sleeping = 112 hours. Minus 2 hours / day for eating and food prepping = 98 hours. Minus 1 hour / day for exercise and wellbeing = 105 hours.

Which leaves 15 hours / day for work, relationships, personal growth, and fun.

15 hours / day.

How is it that we’re too busy for family? For friends? For reading? For writing? For learning? For fun? How is it that we manage to fill so much of our days with busy-ness?

15 hours / day should be plenty.

Even on the days when you work 8 hours, that’s still 7 hours left for your other priorities!

It’s as if the equation for success is: busy = important = successful. And so if busy goes up, important goes up. And if important goes up, successful goes up. But, does it really?

If time is our most valuable asset—then how can we be rich if we’re time-poor?

If it’s true that time is our most valuable resource, then shouldn’t time-rich be the ultimate rich?