Welcome to the New Year! I’ve never been more excited with all of the great new initiatives we’re launching at View From the Top 2020.
The good news for you is that we have found the most important place for you to invest this year!
There’s no need to consult your financial advisor, your business coach or your mentor. It doesn’t require any additional funds beyond what you already earn. You don’t need special insider knowledge or connections.
You also won’t have to spend one additional second of time to do this, though I’ll concede you might need to reshuffle some priorities. You already have time in your schedule.
All of the time, money and people you need to do this already surround you; just blink.
By now you might have guessed it: the investment I’m talking about is your family.
Endless Return
Most entrepreneurs list their families as one of the top reasons they pursue excellence and achievement.
As a Christian life coach, I’ve talked to many men who point to a picture of their family and say, “I’m doing this for them,”. That’s the way it should be; we should want to succeed to benefit the people we love.
However, I’ve noticed many healthy marriages depleted or diminished by entrepreneurs who get wrapped up in business and neglect loved ones.
I’ve told the story before: a few years back, I came home with a pocketful of money to a house full of strangers. If it was obvious back then, it’s even more noticeable now: business comes and goes, but family is forever.
My daughters, Brooke and Hollie, are grown women now, with families of their own. I’m enjoying some of the best years of life as a grandparent.
God will catch me off-guard, though. I’ll stop in the middle of the day as a distant memory passes … my daughters’ voices as little girls, saying “Daddy!” If I think long enough, it’ll bring tears to my eyes.
That’s not to mention the little bundles of energy that come running up yelling “Grandpa!” every time I visit my daughters now.
God’s mercy and grace are overwhelming. I was so addicted to work that I nearly lost them.
Sweat the Small Stuff
The hard part about prioritizing family boils down to the same problems we have maintaining laser focus in business.
If both family and business are spiritual matters, however, it’s safe to say we can use some practical steps on one that we employ in the other.
On our website, we’ve developed a handy Productivity Planner that will help you go a long way in keeping both business and family at the forefront of your mind.
A pastor I know once said “Men are like trucks; we run straighter with a load on our backs.”
If you’re constantly pursuing these two things plus the third leg of personal development with God, it gets harder to run into trouble.
Since we created and began using this tool, I found myself apologizing to Robin far less frequently for neglecting things she asked me to do. Many of the men in our online mastermind groups reported similar results.
I challenge you to download the Productivity Planner today, and use it. I also want to make some recommendations on how you use it.
Using the Productivity Planner
In his new book Unlock It, author Dan Lok observed that “Billionaires like Bill Gates have the same 24 hours we do, but for some reason, they get a lot more done.”
As I started using the Productivity Planner, I noticed I had plenty of tasks and objectives to fill in the columns. However, I still left some things undone if I only penciled in what I planned to do.
In other words, the more specific I got about not only “what,” but added in details like “when,” “where,” “with whom” and so forth, then I became very efficient and productive.
I especially want to emphasize “when.” I started assigning time in the schedule for each task, limiting myself to that time only to do it.
You’d be amazed what happened next … I couldn’t even get distracted by my phone! I wouldn’t check in on social media until late in the afternoon, because I’d been so busy doing working with the clock that Facebook and LinkedIn couldn’t make the cut!
We also made this tool traverse the personal and professional, so you don’t get lost in business and neglect your family.
I challenge you to commit to a certain time of the day when you execute tasks your spouse and children need from you.
You’ll also include your “not-to-do list,” where you can write out bad habits and sloppy behavior you need to reduce or eliminate.
Be It Resolved
The world is sufficiently tired of “New Year’s Resolutions” that I think it’s safe to bring them back, and here’s a challenge for you in 2020.
Although the Productivity Planner will help you stay focused and productive, you’re eventually going to face temptation to abandon it.
Why take the chance and rely on your own willpower? Environments change, emotions change, resolutions change, motivation changes … but online mastermind groups like Iron Sharpens Iron remain focused on helping men lead authentic, transparent and vulnerable lives.
If this Productivity Planner works for you, the day will come when you need to set it before others to hold you accountable.
We’re running out of room in ISI, but I want to extend this opportunity to you to visit our website and apply for one of the few remaining spots.
I look forward to hearing from you, and Happy New Year!
