Time; life’s second most important asset after health.
My friend wrote to me:
“you always look so happy in your photos, it make me so delighted life is good for you”
I strongly believe the reason I’m a happy-bunny right now is due to my new found appreciation of time.
You see, in 2010 and 2011 I lost two of some of the most important people in my life; my Dad, who taught me the importance of respect and the morals I live by, and Nick; my first best friend.
This had a dramatic impact on me. The biggest impact was making sure I get the most out of my time. As we all know; our time can run out when we least expect it.
Here are a few rules I live by to optimise my time:
1. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
When I was young, I had hearing problems and needed to have surgery (grommits) once or twice a year. I used to get scared week’s before I was due to go under general anaesthetic, but I can remember my dad telling me “there’s no benefit in worrying about it now. Worry about it on the day.” So true.
There’s no benefit in worrying about things before you need to worry about them. The same goes for sweating the small stuff; there’s rarely any upside.
A story comes to mind; I was sitting in a coffee shop in Hanoi when a tourist went crazy after he was served the wrong blend of tea. The tea was less than a buck, and he made such a scene it spoiled the whole ambiance (and time) for everyone in the coffee shop.
If get served the wrong tea or you find your flight is delayed or your in the shower and you forgot to stock up on Shampoo – don’t sweat it. There’s nothing you can do and there is absolutely no positivity that can come out of getting heated and stressed. Don’t waste this precious time. Learn to go with the flow.
2. Be picky who you interact with.
There are so many negative people out there. These are the zombies you want to stay away from. Negativity spread’s like germs, and they will only eat at your time in the most unproductive way possible.
This is why I love entrepreneurs so much; they are almost all optimistic and positive. Being surrounded by people wanting to improve other people’s lives is one of the best decisions you can make. Seriously, try hard to surround yourself with people you inspire to be like.
3. Make decisions fast.
At Founders Grid we had a member who responded to a thread that started with “I hope Chris doesn’t mind me posting this, but…”.
Guess what? I did mind. He knew I would mind. I didn’t believe in the advice he was giving and having given him prior warnings, I had to make a quick decision.
I had 3 options; I could let it slip, delete he’s post or simply ban him. I thought about it for a good 20 minutes and come to the conclusion my life, and the forum, would be better without him.
I banned him, and as soon as I pressed the delete button on he’s account, a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. It felt great.
If I had not of acted quickly, this problem would have stayed on my mind and would have had a negative impact on my work flow and the people I interacted with that day. It almost always pays to act fast.
4. Do what you love.
“Some 80% of your life is spent working. You want to have fun at home; why shouldn’t you have fun at work?” Richard Branson.
I woke up at 6am this morning and was pumped to get to work. While getting my morning coffee I wondered how many others in this world can say the same thing.
Now there’s a lot of advice online that will teach you one of two things; 1) do what you love or 2) follow the cash.
Having done both in my life, I can tell you my life is more rich, fulfilling and fun working on something I love and believe in, over dollar signs. It sure makes the bumps and the lows more bearable.
Want to make cakes for a living? Go and work for bakery for free on the weekends and learn your craft.
Want to have an online business? Email me to schedule a Skype call and I’ll try my best to give you some advice and some ideas you can test, without wanting anything in return.
Want to sell skateboards for a living? Ask your skate buddies what they dislike about their current board and design a new one. Get a prototype made. Ask your friends for additional feedback. Repeat until you’ve got something everyone is begging to give you cash for.
If you are going to work for most of your life, you need to be working on something you you will be pumped to get out of bed for. Otherwise, what’s the point? You’ll only be wasting precious time.
Don’t sweat the small stuff. Surround yourself with positive people. Act fast. Do what you love.
