One of my favourite things about this business is having the ability to recharge and strategize with my team and clients after a powerful event.
I couldn’t resist. I kept writing down ideas, quotes and notes that really resonated with me and it felt so good to hear other people share about their personal and professional experiences.
It’s funny how we can often feel, and ingrain in our brain, that we’re the only person going through what we’re going through. The truth is – you’re not alone, at all. Many of us are faced with a lot of the same challenges, but more than half of us never take the leap and address the problem because we think we’re alone.
I’m here to tell you, loud and clear, you’re not alone.
To be more specific, there are 3 major things I’ll be sharing with you today that I know you’ll enjoy and deem incredibly valuable, too.
The first thing I’d like to share with you is the power of focus and concentration. One of the things that happens to all of us is that we allow distraction to eat away at our time, our focus and our productivity every single day.
When we were at the Archangel Summit, Dandapani explained how awareness moves through the mind and how we essentially allow other people to control our awareness. Because our brain goes wherever somebody else is directing it, we are not focused and concentrating on taking our awareness where we want it to go.
I want to encourage you to really think about how much you actually concentrate on getting the things done that are important to you and your business.
I want you to become aware of where the opportunities are to improve. Click To Tweet
This morning, I updated my little Panda Planner and I have all of this stuff that needs to get done. Some are simple tasks and others are really important things. With two strategy projects and meticulous preparation for a website strategy call, I’ve got things that require some focused energy!
But what did I check off?
I paid some bills, I accepted an email transfer from somebody else and I made a few quick notes in preparation for Profit Pods. Oh, I also responded to some emails and checked Facebook multiple times.
I had an hour of time to focus on productive work and instead, I spent it on tasks.
I spent my time on things that were not as important as the list of priorities that I have, and the reason that I did that (and I’m sure you do it, too) is because we have trained our brains over the last 10 to 15 years to multitask and be highly distracted.
It’s time to take back control and train our brains to be able to focus and concentrate on getting things done. The only way that you can do that is by increasing your sense of awareness of how distracted you really are and practice focusing on getting the stuff done that really matters to you and your business.
The second topic also circles back to focus.
In “High Performance Habits” written by Brendon Burchard, one of the things that he spoke about is one way that your productivity gets zapped by 30% almost every single day.
This ONE thing starts you down the path of distraction every day and minimizes your ability to focus.
When the first thing you do in the morning when you wake up is roll over and check your social media and emails, you’re immediately distracting your brain from what is important to you and you’re ensuring your productivity is diminished by 30%.
Chances are, you’re losing the first hour or more of your day to mindless scrolling and your productivity for the REST of the day is diminished by 30%. Don’t think you spend that much time on your phone? Download the Moments app and start tracking it. You’ll be shocked.
Over these last few mornings, I have been desperately trying not to check my phone for the first hour that I am up and I gotta say, it’s really, really hard. A few mornings I’ve been successful and one morning I got through 55 minutes before I started scrolling away – but I am keeping my focus on changing this habit and you can, too.
The last thing that I’d like to share with you was inspired by the master class sessions, this event and reading this month’s book in Thought Readers which is called – How to Never Lose a Customer Again.
If you can’t do it alone, get help. If you have a project or a task that’s continuously being added to your to-do list and you’re not getting it done, hire somebody that will help you to get it done. Hire somebody to hold your hand, support you and do it with you, or bring somebody on to do it for you.
We often don't spend money on things because we know that we can just do it ourselves. Click To Tweet
We tell ourselves that we’ll get to it and that we don’t need to hire somebody. But we never get to it.
As I’m reading “How to Never Lose a Customer Again,” and thinking about what’s important to me and my business, something that I keep saying is really important to me isn’t in alignment with my actions. I keep saying I want to write another book, but I’m half-assing it.
In reading this book, the author begins to share that he actually hired somebody to help him write his book. He hired a ghostwriter that would interview him to then use his content and help him.
That’s how I had to do it the first time, so what makes me think that I can do it on my own the second time?
If it’s really important to you, invest the money to take it to the end zone.
Hire somebody to help you get it done instead of continuously putting it on your to-do list and pushing it off. Ask yourself – how valuable and important is this to me? And don’t be afraid to invest what is necessary for you to reach your goals.
One of the reasons that we join groups, become board members or associate with a specific organizations is because of the ongoing accountability and coming together as a community, but the truth is – accountability is inside of you.
Accountability is directly impacted by your ability to focus, your ability to concentrate and having the willpower and the self-discipline to do what needs to be done. And sometimes, you just need to hire somebody to help you get it done.
If there are big things that you have been wanting to do, but haven’t made the time for, don’t let those big things slide by never getting them done.
Make the decision to do something about it. If it’s important, it deserves your attention and your investment.
Continuously put in the effort to put yourself first. Make a commitment (like not checking your phone for the first 60 minutes of the day) and stick to it. Map out a plan to keep the momentum in your business so that you don’t get derailed. Attend meetings, show up to the events, step outside of your comfort zone and again, know that you are not alone.
If you enjoyed reading my three takeaways from the Archangel summit, I invite you to join me on November 7th at the Ottawa Conference and Event Centre for the 2018 Money Mindset & Marketing event, where I’ll be sharing stories and unique ways for you to stand out through storytelling. I’m also thrilled to have three great friends who will reveal some golden nuggets for you to take home, too.
Leave me a comment and let me know that you’re putting yourself first by disconnecting from your phone for the first 60 minutes of everyday.
