Can you pass the “one-month-off” test?
One thing we’re going to try to accomplish as we think about your future is the “one-month-off” test. If you can take one month off of work, and your business continues to run well, then you have successfully created a sustainable company that can thrive without you.
Morning routines
Let’s start at the beginning of your day. It’s important to start the day off right. Have you heard the saying about getting up on the right side of the bed? I think it’s more important to get up on the right side of the head. In other words, start your day with positive thoughts.
If you research morning routines of successful people, you will see that most are simple and that most are very similar. For example, most promote starting the day by drinking a glass of cold water, taking a cold shower, meditation time, or exercise.
I do all of these some days, none of them some days, and some of them most days. You need to come up with a consistent morning routine and stick to it most of the time. I am a big believer that you should not set your alarm clock, hit snooze a few times, then roll out of bed and into the shower, then out the door to go to work. We need a little time to get set for a successful day. My advice is to research what others do and come up with your plan. Start simple and change over time to figure out what works best for you.
How much should you work?
When I was in my late twenties, my dad introduced me to a friend of his, a doctor he had admired for years. My dad told the doctor that I was very successful and I worked all the time. My dad felt that successful people worked more than unsuccessful people and that if you worked 50, 60, 70, or 80 hours a week, you would be successful. Here is the funny part about that conversation with the doctor. When my dad said “Eddie works all the time”, the doctor, in a very polite, curious, and sincere way responded: “Why?”
You see, that guy, he did not equate more hours worked to being more successful as much as he did what you were doing when you worked. I imagine he may have wondered why this young guys had to put in so many hours to get things done.
My point here is to tell you that you need to put effort into anything you want to do well, but if you put all your effort into one thing, what happens to the other important things in life like relationships, health, and your spiritual well-being?
The key to success is putting the right amount of effort into the right areas of your life, consistently.
What will you do with your 24 hours each day?
You should sleep 8 hours so that leaves you 16. If you work around 8 hours a day, that leaves you 8. You should exercise most days and let’s say that takes an hour of your time, you are still left with 7. You should spend time with friends and family. Some of that can be done on weekends but let’s say you want to spend 2-3 quality hours daily with friends or family, you are still left with 4-5 hours every day to meditate, relax, read, and improve.
This post was excerpted from The Perfect Insurance Agency by Eddie Price. For the full chapter on Marketing, you can purchase the book on Amazon.