The past few months have been a struggle. I have realized that while I know beyond any shadow of a doubt that I am excellent at developing leaders, I have a severe lack of knowledge when it comes to developing a business. I’ve never done this before. I’ve always worked for someone else. I’ve been given projects or built systems or fixed something that was broken, and I have succeeded in all those areas. Now, I have to find those projects and systems and broken things, and then convince someone else that I know how to solve their problems. It’s a very strange place to be.
In addition to figuring out social media, networking, clients, and prospects, I’m also trying to figure out life. How much of myself do I give to all of this? I only have 100% to give, so how do I divide up all of me? Who the hell knows?
What I do know is that time is important. If you’ve followed any of my social media to this point, you know that Dead Poets Society is my favorite movie. You know that “Carpe Diem” is not tagline for me; it is genuinely how I want to live my life. It’s not easy to be present. It’s not easy to seize the day. I have to work on it and remind myself to lean into it mindfully every. single. day.
We’re given 86,400 seconds in a day. Here’s how I choose to spend mine:
Be grateful. I open my eyes in the morning, take three deep breaths, and give thanks that today I woke up. If I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep, I list the things I am grateful for: a bed to sleep in and clean sheets, a roof over my head, my fur-babes lying beside or on top of me, my health, access to clean water, clean produce, good food, and on and on.
Run. I run every day for both my physical and mental health. Being physically active attends to my heart health, my weight, and my overall bodily fitness. It also keeps me sane. That’s not an exaggeration. I run to clear my mind and work through personal issues, and regardless of how difficult or even painful the workout might be, I have never once regretted challenging my mind and my body in that way.
Time block. I am a list person. I like a beginning, a middle, and an end, and I like to cross things off. I mark time for specific activities on my calendar, and I do my best to adhere to my schedule. Not only does that keep me on track with what I want to accomplish, but it also leads to a feeling of productivity by the end of the day.
Do something that scares me. I love the quote from Eleanor Roosevelt (who probably ought to be a weekly topic at some point) that says “do one thing every day that scares you.” That thing doesn’t have to be huge. It simply has to be something that pushes you out of your comfort zone. For me right now, that’s networking. I have never used the words “want to have a virtual coffee?” more times in my life than I have over the last four weeks, but I’ve had more insightful conversations due to those coffees than I have in the last four years.
Talk to my mom. I usually text her at some point through the day, but I talk to her every night as we’re winding down. She is my touchstone – she keeps me honest, she keeps me humble, and she reminds me that I am loved.
Time is a funny thing. When asked to explain the theory of relativity, Einstein said, “When sitting on a bench with a beautiful woman, an hour seems like a minute. When sitting on a stove, a minute seems like an hour.” We all get to choose how to spend the time we have. How do you choose to spend yours?
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