The time to make a difficult decision often comes along when we least expect it.
Temptations, ethical dilemmas, and unforeseen fallouts in relationships have a tendency to spring up and confront people when they aren’t properly prepared to respond to them. A bad decision can leave a long-lasting impact on your life, and if you use poor judgement during a crisis, you can lose everything you’ve worked for.
American billionaire Warren Buffett says “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” Building a good reputation takes dedication and consistency. One bad decision or one misstep can ruin years of hard work. To avoid blindly stumbling into a situation that could destroy your reputation, your business, and your relationships, you should consider setting boundaries for yourself in foresight of potential catastrophes down the road.
If you haven’t set any boundaries, how do you know when you’re only one step away from sudden disaster? And if you want to avoid a debacle, how do you establish boundaries that will keep your upstanding reputation intact?
To help others understand the importance of setting meaningful boundaries, and how to be effective in doing so, Aaron Walker outlines some of the boundaries that he built for himself in the fifth chapter of View From the Top.
He explains that a key first step to developing successful business relationships is to align yourself with people who have high values and strong moral convictions and who have the same goals in life as you do. When you share the same long-term objectives, the boundaries you stick to will be similar.
Setting up an operating agreement is also crucial to a creating a successful partnership. Outlining the expectations and building the agreement by asking questions about possible scenarios you might encounter will help you to make good decisions now, rather than in the heat of the moment. This official document will hold you to the rules that you’ve written for yourself within the partnership and keep you aligned with your original intentions.
In our personal lives, boundaries are equally important. Aaron shares insight on some of his personal boundaries in View From the Top. The boundaries he discusses involve social media, alcohol, electronics, social situations, email correspondence, and the rules that he and his wife have established to protect their marriage.
Aaron lives a life of influence and integrity, and keeps his reputation upright by sticking to the boundaries he has set. He faces difficult decisions like everyone else, but he has already committed to making the right decision before the situation even confronts him. His boundaries can serve as a replicable example to anyone looking to live a life of significance and success.
Although boundaries may seem cumbersome at first, they actually provide incredible opportunity to invest your attention in other places. As Aaron puts it “When you have the right boundaries in place, you will find that you are freer than you’ve ever been without them.”
To learn more about Aaron’s boundaries, and how to set meaningful boundaries in your life, pre-order your copy of View From the Top today.