One mid-afternoon, many years ago, I was on my way back from Long Island. I entered Manhattan, and since I’d skipped lunch, I needed to grab something to eat. I stopped by Chinatown, parked my car the old way, just in front of the restaurant, and I picked up my food.
When I came back to my car, there were three guys in their twenties looking at it up close. As I approached, they moved away, whispering something. It was a sunny day, and after turning the ignition on, I opened my window, after which, one of the three guys approached on the left side of the car and asked me politely, “Excuse me, sir, what do you do for a living?”
You know I’m a big proponent of entrepreneurship and the curiosity that goes with it, so I answer right away: “I have my own business.” Then I proceeded to clarify a further point: “I’m a high school dropout. What do you do for a living?”
“Nothing.”
“You like the car?”
“Yes!”
“What’s your plan to get your hands on one?”
“I … don’t have a plan.”
“What will happen if you keep doing nothing?”
He laughed and said, “Nothing.”
“You’re right,” I told him.
“But what should I do?” he finally asked, at last.
“Wait a second …” I turned off the engine, got out, and opened the trunk, where I took out a book. I closed the trunk and showed him the book. “I was your age when I read this book, and it changed my life forever. I owe everything to this book, including this car.” I stared at him dead serious. “Now, to answer your question, I want you to study this book like you study the Bible, especially the third section. If you live by this book and its insights, you will own a car such as this, one day—and so much more.” I could see he was listening to my words, so I reached into my jacket and took out my pen. I asked for his name and wrote some words inside the book:
You ARE what you BECOME, and you BECOME what you DO.
Then I left.
How many times have you been in a situation where you saw a person doing something that doesn’t lead anywhere, or doing NOTHING? You personally don’t have enough minutes in your hours; you don’t have enough hours in your days; you’re always in a hurry with a ton of projects—running your business, growing it, starting another one or buying one, taking a course, going to a conference, writing a book, training people, getting trained, not to mention family life, reading a book, working out, playing the drums or guitar, or whatever it is you do to get your kicks.
Then you see some people doing NOTHING, holding their dicks as if they were going to live over 900 years like some biblical prophet—day-in, day-out. It used to drive me crazy, until I decided to do something about it, especially with young people, at least those with whom I can impart some words that resonate. As for this particular kid, I don’t know what happened to him or his book; whether he read it or whether he ditched it.
In my wildest dreams, I hope to see him on the cover of Inc. Magazine one day. A similar situation had happened to me a couple of times, and those moments always stuck with me. So I always keep some copies of that book in my trunk, and I share the right dose of wisdom with those whom I think are receptive to hearing it, to help put a stop to their sleepwalking through life, to give them a little nudge onto the right path. Something we all need from time to time.
PLAN IT!
By the way, do you want to know what that book was? It’s a classic. I read it first in 1999. I bought it by chance one day when I happened to be looking for a self-development book for the first time in my life, actually. Some would call it FATE. I chose this book. I don’t remember why. The best choice of my life. I’m sure most of you have heard about this book, and NO, it’s not Think and Grow Rich! And it’s not How to Win Friends and Influence People. I’ve also read those, and compared to the book I gave to that kid, they’re a waste of time; and I don’t say that lightly.
The book I’m talking about, the one that’s changed my life, and hopefully that kid’s life in some capacity, is Stephen Covey’s classic, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
The most important part for me, as I mentioned to the kid, is the third section about time management. I’ve read a lot of other books on the topic, but none, NOT ONE, is as effective or as comprehensive as Stephen Covey’s. If you want to implement efficient time management in your life, if you feel like you’re ready to meet the challenge and to bring your whole life to the next level, just read it. Even if it’s just the third section to start with.
Time management has been a passion of mine for twenty-three years, the origin of which is from reading this book in 1999, when I discovered my path to freedom. Let’s call it time management for clarity, but it really ought to be called priority management or life management, because this is the foundation of all your coming successes. No less.
Nature abhors a vacuum: if you don’t plan your life, somebody else will do it for you. Your life will end up in somebody else’s plan.
The principles in The 400-Hour Work Week are all about time management, and there’s a reason why PLANNING YOUR LIFE is the first GOLDEN activity. Working on GOLDEN activities is what gets you into the zone, and that’s where I want you to spend most of your time. If there’s one catalyst that makes a difference in people’s lives, it’s PLANNING THEIR LIVES. Every successful business owner dead or alive has done this.
How can someone possibly think that they will reach their destination without making a plan before?
“If a man does not know to what port he is steering, no wind is favorable to him.”
– Lucius Annaeus SENECA –
High performers know their priorities and how to organize their time. In addition, they are DISCIPLINED, which allows them to plan wisely and follow their plan confidently. Some consider this a form of slavery, while in reality it’s freedom. Once you have your plan and follow it down to a T, every single activity you think of undertaking is scrutinized under the spotlight of your grand vision. You’ll no longer be at the mercy of any random event that occurs during the day.
Some people rebel against time planning, something they consider to be constraints under the pretense of freedom, but in fact, they become subject to their impulses. In doing so, they renounce their own freedom and become their own slaves.
When you follow your plan, you won’t get trapped in just any activity that crosses your mind or lands on your desk. You’ll focus your time on uninterrupted blocks—that’s how you get things done. Most people fall for another umpteenth urgent or pleasant task that doesn’t move the needle towards their true north, that is, their destination, and instead they’ll find themselves veering off course, reaching out for some tantalizing short-term bate.
TRANSFORMATION
Let’s talk about the transformation process. Anything worth learning is supposed to change not only the way you see things, but the way you do things. If you succeed in time management, it makes all the difference. Just in case you were half-asleep earlier: you ARE what you BECOME, and you BECOME what you DO.
Write that down. Remember it forever. This is the 5-word sentence TRANSFORMATIONAL process.
You are what you do.
If anybody tells you otherwise, don’t believe them. They have something to sell. Choose what you do very wisely. If you sculpt the wood, you’ll become a carpenter. If you play the piano, you’ll become a pianist. If you play video games for hours, you’ll become a gamer or a Youtuber, at best! Or a wanker, at worst … I’ve been there myself.
Now, that’s not too difficult to understand, is it?
I want you to know how this works, how you can become what you want to be. I want you to be aware of what you’re doing. What I’m giving you is a framework, so you can see where you are on the scale of time management: at the top, when you act in accordance with your grand vision, you’re INVESTING your time; in the middle, when you put in an average performance and do things that may or may not move the needle, you’re SPENDING your time; and at the bottom, when you do useless things, you’re WASTING your time.
As a consequence, you’ll either get a life of fulfillment, or you’ll get one fraught with frustration, regret, and low self-esteem. Then the question is: why would someone SPEND or WASTE their time instead of INVEST it? The answer is easy:
Investment requires effort, and the rewards only come later.
People rarely see the long-term benefits that come with compound gains, as they’re so focused on instant gratification. Something worthwhile always requires efforts, and if it doesn’t require effort, then it’s probably not worthwhile. WASTING time requires no effort at all. Henri Laborit’s Law of the Least Effort states that human behavior drives us to do first what SEEMS to make us happy, which in reality is just comfort disguised as happiness. The Law of the Least Effort seldom brings us satisfaction or fulfillment.
This reminds me of a business owner who was proud of his sixty-five-hour work week, who kept telling me he was still working like he was broke and that was key to his success. I soon discovered that during his weekly work, there was lots of chitchatting and internet browsing, which to me takes on an entirely different meaning of “working like you’re broke.”
When I coach business owners, I sometimes feel as though I care more about their time and their businesses than they do. After we had a conversation about his working hours, I told him that I found his approach to work less than professional. He came to realize that he was actually wasting around fifteen to twenty hours per week on totally unproductive activities.
By the way, I always tell things as they are: I’m blunt and get straight to the point. First, because it’s comes naturally to me—that’s just who I am. Second, because by doing this, I respect my time and yours. Third, and although it may sound harsh to some, I do so because I know my words will offend those of a feebler disposition and attract strong ones instead—people I actually want to work with.
But this is not about me, this is about you. Think of me as your trainer: I tell you what to do, I show you the way, I share my proven methods, I give you all the possible insights … And I know it works with 100% certainty. But I can’t do the pull-ups for you. You are responsible to take what we create together and make it happen.
My clients love straight-talking people. That’s usually one of the main reasons they choose to work with me: they like the intensity. Whether that be in our mastermind or on a one-to-one basis, we accomplish much more in one hour by speaking straight to each other than what we would do in a hundred hours with all the wishy-washy fluff. Let’s get results quickly! It’s not for the faint-hearted, but if you want to know more about how we can collaborate, follow the link below and book a call with my team:
8FigureWorld.com/call
Business owners need to wear the right lenses. The duration which any given employee works doesn’t necessarily correlate to output, that is, what they actually do when they’re supposed to be working. If, for any reason, you want to spend sixty hours in the office but you’re only at work for forty of them … well, that’s up to you. But don’t lie to yourself. The subject of this book is WHAT to do during those hours you really work, to grow your business.
I personally work no more than forty hours per week—because I don’t want to. These hours are crammed with useful activities: from the first minute in the morning to the last minute in the evening, I know what to work on, and there’s no time out. No newspaper reading, no useless phone calls, no binge watching. No distractions.
I want you to be fully aware of the activity you’re doing, WHEN you’re doing it. If you decide to watch TV, okay, but don’t lie to yourself. Watching TV is 100% time wasted. If you decide to play video games, at least be honest with yourself and know that it’s useless; and believe me, I have a very special affection for gamers, since I was one for a long time.
Now maybe you’re saying, “But I NEED it, to clear my head; it’s my relaxing time.” I get it, 100%. I really do. I’ve been there. But I want you to understand that those who are at the top of their game don’t need relaxing time. All right? Now, are you ready to compete with these people?
It might hurt, and I’m well aware of that, and you might hate me, but I’m telling you the truth. I’m giving you the map, so that you can spot yourself in there, and see the road that still must be traveled in order to be the person you aspire to be.
Don’t forget that the only way to work on the right things is to avoid, like the plague, wasting time on the wrong things.
YOUR NOT-TO-DO LIST
You need discipline.
My definition of discipline = giving up what I desire TODAY for what I really want TOMORROW.
Discipline is more about what NOT to do than what to do. When your alarm rings in the morning, you know that you SHOULDN’T snooze it. When you sit in front of your computer, you know what websites you SHOULDN’T go browsing—it’s time to work. When you’re starving and you pass by a fast-food restaurant, you know you SHOULDN’T stop there.
There is, of course, an extreme form of this lack of discipline: acrasy, the definition of which is when you KNOW the choice you’re making is wrong, but you still make it, either for instant gratification or to avoid pain. It’s the path of least resistance.
That’s why, as paradoxical as it may seem, DISCIPLINE is your only way to freedom and all the things you really want to achieve. There’s one thing that would be of tremendous help along the way: write up a NOT-TO-DO list, and stick it somewhere where you can see it whenever you’re working (wall, screen, notepad). That’s the forbidden list: things you won’t do at any cost (these “No-Value Activities” are enumerated in section 4).
Think about it: I’ll bet each time you’re wondering what activity you should focus on next, you refer to your TO-DO list, and you follow it, right? Well, the NOT-TO-DO list works the other way round: each time you’re tempted by an activity that you know deep inside is 100% useless, such as watching random YouTube videos, reviewing sports results, checking the news, your emails, or social media, you ought to instead refer to your NOT-TO-DO list.
Simple.
Each time you find yourself a victim of temptation, and doing something that’s not yet on your NOT-TO-DO list, you add it there. That’s what we call willpower in action. It’s about taking over your entire schedule by knowing exactly what needs to be done—and what needs to be AVOIDED.
Again, nature abhors a vacuum, so get rid of your no-value tasks. Be radical about it, and you’ll soon find yourself working on the most important activities.
THE MOVIE OF YOUR LIFE
You are the writer, the director, and the protagonist of the movie of your life. That’s the Orson Welles rule, and I’ve been using it for more than ten years.
Like the popular writer-director-actor:
That’s how you create your own world. This is critical.
People around me sometimes refer to some celebrities or pop-culture events I’ve never even heard of. Some people laugh when I tell them I don’t even know how Netflix works. Some think I’m a Martian when I tell them I didn’t know it was the Superbowl weekend. People are surprised when they see I don’t know how to wear a face mask (which side goes where?).
I let people enter my world to discover it, if they wish, but I’m not in any rush to go into theirs. It may sound crazy, but in my world there are things I don’t talk about or ever hear of. Indeed, there are things I don’t know and don’t WANT to know. I don’t want to spend any second of my valuable time thinking about something that’s not related to my grand vision—the movie of my life. And it’s playing out every second.
That’s what I call creating your own world. You, the writer of your life, are the one who decides exactly what you, the protagonist, are going to spend your time on, each minute of your life. With your particular style, you, the director, are in charge and can put a stop to anyone or anything likely to compromise the execution of the script, and make sure you, the protagonist, can deliver it consistently.
HOMEWORK
Here’s your homework, a five-step process:
All your daily activities—and I mean ALL—must be a part of your weekly plan and therefore contribute to your ninety-day plan, and ultimately your five-year vision.
If they aren’t, either you’re working on the wrong things, or there’s a mistake in your plans. In the latter case, change your plan. Just modify it if you’ve missed something important.
Let me give you an example.
Role: business owner
>> Vision as a business owner—who am I in five years? “I’m the owner of a $75m company in the medical device manufacturing industry, and I’m surrounded by subject matter experts. We’re known for providing exceptional results to our clients. My 250 employees are the happiest in the industry. We’re exploring options to open a new location in Asia, and I already have hundreds of applicants, not to mention referrals.”
>> The next ninety days—let’s assume you’ve just launched your business and you’re by yourself. What should I have accomplished in three months? Have a well-designed website with a performing funnel; have an attractive offer; have met with a tax advisor; protected my name with a trademark; defined my strategy; written a book to make known my authority in my industry; defined my main conversion tool; have a YouTube channel with at least twenty-six videos in there; get my first clients and testimonials that I’ll display on my website and my social media; join a group of valuable business owners that will make me grow; have a podcast.
>> Now your schedule for the next week—start by working on the most important thing of your ninety-day schedule. Define the strategy: how to find clients; understand who’s my target; know what’s my main product or service; if I’m utilizing ads or organic traffic; where I’ll be running my ads; if I’ll consider public speaking; what my price range is; who my potential partners are; be in the process of upgrading my knowledge with a book or a course.
>> The next twenty-four hours—start by working on the most important task of your schedule for the upcoming week, which could be something like one of the following: define my USP; carry out a competitor analysis; buy a domain name and have somebody set up my email address; contact different suppliers; create a YouTube channel.
During the first couple of weeks, or even months, you’ll probably undergo many iterations of your five-year plan. But after a few of months, you’ll have a clear vision of who you want to become and what you want your business to be, and 90% of it will be set in stone. Then you’ll work, almost exclusively, on your ninety-day, weekly, and daily plans.
By following this formula, you’re PLANNING your life.
By the way, regarding the planning of your next twenty-four hours, I urge you to do it just before the end of your workday. Take some time to write your next day’s priorities, especially the very first activity you’ll handle tomorrow morning. This way, you won’t waste time when you come back to your desk in the morning, reflecting for hours on what to work on. This is an application of Falkland’s Law: things get easier when you don’t have to make a decision.
And then the last step is all about ACTION. Follow your plan. Again, there’s a time for PLANNING your life, and there’s a time for LIVING your life (by following your plan).
At first, you spend most of your time as the writer. To make a great movie, even the best actor needs a great script. But don’t get bogged down in rewriting and editing over and over again. If you over-analyze, you’ll find yourself PARALYZED, spending most of your time PLANNING your life, instead of LIVING it, and that doesn’t make a great deal of sense. It’s like getting ready for something that’s never going to happen.
Once you’re done with your plan, DO IT! It’s time for action. Stop thinking or talking about it, because when all is said and done, unfortunately, a lot more is said than done! Once you know what needs to be done, just do it. Move forward. Don’t turn back. The time for reflection has passed.
By keeping in mind this pattern, your strength is that when you feel like you don’t want to do a task (one that you know you need to do yourself), just switch 100% into WRITER mode! The writer knows what the protagonist needs to do to move the storyline forward. Just make “him” do it. Look at your character from above and tell “him” what to do. You, the writer, know the best thing for you, the protagonist, to say and do at any point in time.
Let me summarize the method for you again. In its simplest form, there are only three main elements.
First: identify your roles in your life—you might be a business owner, a spouse, a parent, a friend.
Second: what are the most important goals you wish to achieve in each of these roles in five years?
Third: identify the tasks that will move the needle the most over the different periods of time: (1) next ninety days, (2) next week, (3) next day.
By following these three steps, you enter into the PLANNING phase of your life! In other words, that’s your life plan.
These all work in accordance with each other. One thing worth clarifying is that it’s not rare to ask the writer to tweak the script. For example, let’s say you’re having lunch and catching up with a sibling after a period of absence, and you say to yourself, “Wait, this is nowhere in my schedule and doesn’t contribute to my plan.” Then just tweak it. You have a role that you may have forgotten as a brother or sister, so simply add it in the role section and add an accompanying vision. Maybe you want to strengthen your relationship with your sibling, develop empathy towards them, be more patient, or just have more quality time with them. Whatever it is, write it down. PLAN it in.
It may seem as though I’m digressing, but I want to give the opportunity to reflection on yourself, not just your business. That’s right, I’m here to teach you business stuff, but as a business owner, you know very well that your personal life and your business life are entwined: they’re interdependent. Only employees can finish their work and resume their normal life when they get home. We business owners never switch off. We are business owners 24/7; our minds are wired to drive us towards our grand vision, and our business life overlaps with all the other aspects of our lives.
That’s the first lesson. I hope you’re learning something, LEARNING being the readiness to change something in your life.