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Time = Gold (and … money = silver) by @SBSLEducSoltns

November 16, 2018 by SJ Barakony Leave a Comment

by SJ Barakony | Featured Contributor

Putting Productivity ahead of Busy-ness in Business

 

“I’m so busy!”

“How are you? How’s business?  Busy!”

 

There are mild variants,  yet, the theme is constant: The individual is … say it with me now …. B-u-s-y.

Since when did our nation’s backbone, entrepreneurs, decide that this status was the end all, be all, in conversation, let alone in practice?

Let’s reframe. First, though, empathy & grace are necessary.

I know: There’s a LOT on your plate;  I’m sure many of these are on your calendar, scribbled on sticky notes, and/or are pop up reminders on your smart device:  Payroll. Review insurance coverage. Talk to the V.A; accountant; and/or financial advisor. Respond to client messages. Etc …

Still, we shouldn’t aspire to busy-ness; when we stop, if merely for a moment & reflect, we realize that as entrepreneurs, we’re solution providers & producers.

Thus, the more we produce, the more pro-ductive we are: it’s productivity which we should strive for, a 1:1 replacement for the ‘busyness’ that is our default answer to so many questions.

Painting a picture to aid in this mindset shift, we revisit the 1st few words …

 

Time = Gold.

 

… and now can move to implement this truth in our business first ( self-leadership ), then, model it for staff + customers, lastly, replicating it to other entrepreneurs in our network.

 

Those who are wise won’t be busy, and those who are too busy can’t be wise.”
― Lin Yutang

Click to Tweet

Lin Yutang #quote

 

 

Precious Metals

 

Gold :  

Time is an irreplaceable asset, just like gold. Gold is finite & very rare: Its value has held firm for thousands of years & once was used regularly in commerce worldwide. Just like there’s always been a 24 hour day, the amount of gold available for mining is constant; fluctuation in the ‘price’ of gold is due to the underlying currencies, just like your productivity ties to how well you lead yourself.

Silver :

Money is a reflection, a flag, which signals how much value you’ve added to the marketplace; your monetized service, product, &/or specialized knowledge is your entrepreneurial bridge b/w problem identified & solution provided. We look to silver now, as its value is also stable, yet it’s more abundant in nature than gold. So, with an abundance mentality x growth mindset, you know you can grow your share of this not fixed pie.

 

 

Two must read books

Without a shred of doubt, I wholeheartedly recommend both. Each has a high ceiling of potential energy which can be tapped to lead to dramatic improvements in your productivity & reduced busy-ness.

 

E-Myth: Revisited

The Fifth Discipline

 

Stephen R. Covey

He passed away over 6 years ago, gone & not forgotten as a pioneer; through his off the charts levels of contribution, we have much to tap into. The 4 quadrants is something to study often, & implement in short order.

 

Covey’s Time Management Matrix, in the written word

Or perhaps you’d learn better from a visual?

 

 

Suggested ‘Twitterverse’ Follows

 

A Helpful Guide to Becoming Unbusy by Joshua Becker

How to Stop Being Busy All the Time from Gus Razzetti

4 Ways to Break Free From Being “Too Busy” penned by Rikki Rogers , culled from The Muse

 

Leverage = Legacy

 

This concept is transformational.  Pulling from the vastness of the internet, here are two marvelous resources. Once you take this small two-step seriously, my advice is to keep going!

 

Kelly Azevedo

Amanda Abella


Systems Thinking?  

 

Its powerful.  In a previous post, you learned all about the power of principled self education.

Here’s a superb opportunity to practice what you read by visiting Donella Meadows ‘s website.

And if you haven’t yet bumped into this infographic, please, I implore you, dive in over the next 24 hours. Your income can become systems driven wealth through active application of this business truism.

 

In my ongoing discovery, I’ve repeatedly shared these maxims with those whom I mentor, in coffee 1:1’s, & elsewhere: Why? They’ve allowed me to run multiple business ventures at the same time, all while making strides towards being productive = gold = time & (more) passive = silver = money.

 

Next steps:

 

 

What can Westminster Abbey teach about implementing this content?!  

 

This inscription, when understood at a deeper level, reflects the ongoing value of lifelong learning.

 

Action Time

 

As with anything you choose to read, listen to, or watch, the truest formula = what you do next, how you proceed, & why?

Reflect, through meditation, prayer, yoga, or in a moment(s) of silence on this post, please, & thank you for reading!

 

In short …

 

  • A producer is productive; a consumer is busy. ‘Busy’ shouldn’t be a status, symbol, or state of being for the wise entrepreneur
  • Time = gold.  Money = silver.  Prioritize your irreplaceable asset;  focus on it and not on money (income, wealth) as #1.
  • Review the links to invest in 2 highly recommended books
  • Covey’s quadrants/matrix is a terrific tool in and by itself
  • Suggested Twitter follows & some of their scholarly tweets. #MustReads
  • Understand systems & leverage in your entrepreneurship education
  • Leadership starts with self

 

SJ Barakony

SJ Barakony is a serial entrepreneur, futurist, & connector.

He lives in Ohio & is the Founder of Service Before Self Leadership: An Educational Solutions Provider.

He offers four highly customizable solutions to encourage families, individuals, faith institutions, & business owners to create & cultivate lifelong learning cultures in our homes & workplaces.

He’s been a guest on an educational podcast; been interviewed for an online small business community; is a guest blogger for Innovate NA; and has been an invited speaker five separate times for HECOA.

He believes strongly in youth & social entrepreneurship: He continues to serve two chapters of the YEA program (student mentor, mock judge, ad hoc consultant ) & has co-facilitated a session of the SeaChange Accelerator program.

He serves as the TDD for Cleveland & Columbus (Ohio) for the H7 Network.

He also recently became an educational advisor for Tessr.io, a startup  in the exciting world of blockchain/cryptocurrencies that will be establishing a cutting edge educational foundation.

Filed Under: Blogging, Business Relationships, Conferences & Events, Creative Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship & Business, Featured Contributor, Guest Post, infographic, Inspiration, Leadership, Lifestyle, Mindset, Money & Finances, Resources, She Owns It, Startup & Grow, WAHM Tagged With: books for entrepreneurs, books to read, business, business mindset, busy, busyness, cash flow, click to tweet, creative entrepreneur, education, empathy, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, freelance, Freelancer, gold, grace, Inspiration, Leadership, learning, legacy, Leverage, Michael Gerber, mindset, mompreneur, money, money mindset, networking, not enough time, productivity, quadrants, quotes, Robert Kiyosaki, SBSL, servicebeforeselfleadership, side hustle, silver, small business, Stephen R Covey, Success, systems, systems for entrepreneurs, taking action, thought leadership, time, Time Management, time management for entrepreneurs, truth, WAHM, wealth consciousenss, wealth mindset, woman entrepreneur, women entrepreneurs

Transitioning with Grace by @melindamassie

January 6, 2014 by Melinda Massie 1 Comment

Transitioning with Grace

by Melinda Massie | Featured Contributor

It’s the start of a new year and with that always comes the hope of creating the new. Now, I absolutely LOVE this kind of energy, but let’s be realistic … most New Year’s resolutions die out with the sparkle of the flattening champagne.

I’m going to encourage you to try something a little different.

Instead of trying to go full force into creating something new, we need to first accept where we currently are and the transitions that took place to get us here.

In my work, I’ve noticed that the cause of much, if not all, clutter stems from a major life transition that wasn’t fully adjusted to. Sometimes these are good transitions: marriage, having children, children moving out, or even just generally stepping up in adulthood. Sometimes they are negative: serious illness, divorce, and death. However, in all instances, the person didn’t acclimate or maybe even fully accept the new life.

Notice that I very specifically say “life” here rather than “situation.” Because these changes are often permanent, the situation that took place has created a new phase of life.

By fully accepting and embracing who we are now:–widowed rather than married, married mother of three rather than single gal, healthy rather than seriously ill–we can then start to make the changes we want to see.

These changes can then extend into creating a home environment that supports who we are.

Now.

Not then.

Not yet.

In the very now.

How do we do this?

  • First, settle into the idea of who you really are now – good, bad, and ugly. It’s helpful to do this in silence, first thing in the morning while there’s still a beautiful stillness to the house. We’re often so over-stimulated with clutter and TV and technology and over-scheduling our calendars with activities that we don’t know what stillness is anymore. Find stillness and hang out with it. (This will totally be awkward and uncomfortable at first if you’re not used to it … go with it anyway.) It’s in this stillness where you can begin to identify and then accept whatever your personal transitions are. Who you used to be no longer exists. (Sure, parts are still there, but not that exact whole.) Who you are to be isn’t here yet. Luxuriate in the feeling of who you are now. If you don’t like who you are now, still sit with it. (No judgment, of course!) Feel uncomfortable. Get REALLY uncomfortable. Change happens when the fear of change sucks less than the fear of staying the same.
  •  Now, if you don’t like who you are, or haven’t accepted who you currently are (especially if it’s been change for the good!), what do you need to do to fix it? What changes need to be made in your home to support your life’s transitions? Do you need to release a little or a lot of clutter? Do you need to make repairs or remodel your home?  Maybe you need to switch the functions of rooms to break free and function better. (Example: in the home of one of my widows, because she could no longer sleep soundly in the bedroom she shared with her late husband, we turned it into a dressing room.) From here, create your road map. Get it down on paper or use your favorite app of choice. This will help you keep your head clear. After all, we want to keep our heads clear so we can better accept our current life transitions!
  • Know that changing your home will create even more transitions that must be adjusted to! But we’re doing this all with grace, right, Sunshines? That means that if you’re typically messy and leave things about, you’re going to transition into a person that puts their things away when they’re done, yes? Yes! If you used to have a model-perfect home and now have children, you’re going to loosen up a little and have a kid-friendly home. (Don’t let the toys overrun the whole joint; just ease up on the idea of “perfection.”) If you’ve been ill, you have to clear out all the accumulated clutter and negative illness energy to allow fresh space and healing energy to re-enter your home and life. If you’ve moved, you will fully settle into the new house even if that means changing EVERYTHING from how you did it in the old house.

New Year’s resolutions come with the promise of new and better things. However, instead of trying to force even more “new” onto a life that we haven’t fully transitioned into, let’s start by fully accepting and embracing the transitions that have brought us to where we are. This will give us a solid foundation on which to build where it is we want to go.

——————————————————————————–

Melinda Massie – Professional Organizer of Organizing with a Side of Fabulous – Ft. Worth, TX

Melinda Massie headshot - croppedOften called a healer, therapist of stuff and the organizing ninja, Melinda Massie is the owner of Organizing with a Side of Fabulous in Fort Worth, TX. If your home is a hot mess then she’ll help you take control over the clutter so you can make your home fabulous. Combining her sensible, no-fuss organizing philosophies with a vivacious personality and healthy dose of “redhead,” she makes getting organized suck less. As a former professional ballroom dancer and event planner, she also brings in some sparkle and entertainment to the process.

Melinda was named Best Personal Organizer 2011 by Fort Worth, Texas Magazine and Most Glamorous Home-Based Business in the 2011 StartupNation Home-Based 100. Her tips have been seen in Woman’s Day, SHAPE and many other local and national publications.

In her free time, Melinda enjoys yoga, cooking and eating indulgent food and believes that champagne is meant for the everyday.

Connect with Melinda on:

Facebook – Twitter – Pinterest

Melinda Massie
http://www.melindamassie.com

Filed Under: Featured Contributor, Healthy Lifestyle, Lifestyle, Mindset Tagged With: grace, life changes, life stages, Melinda Massie, New Year Resolutions, transition

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