Work on the Important as well as the Urgent

First – What is important to you?

When you lose your income (for example when you are made redundant), you may consider your most important priority is replacing that income.

However, it is more accurate to say this is your most urgent priority rather than your most important priority?

You could say this is just semantics.

However, if you can get the right perspective on the distinction between the ‘urgent’ and the ‘important’, there is a good chance you can start working on setting up a much better future.

But first what is ‘important’ to you – what would be great?

For many, their ‘important’ revolves around securing their income into the future.

Life’s too short to be existing rather than living. We are human beings not human doings!

Second – what does your ‘urgent’ look like?

An increasing number of people are suffering the tyranny of the ‘urgent’.

Constant change means that

  • Jobs are becoming shorter-term and less secure
    • Next time you are on LinkedIn look at the average length of time people now spend in a job
    • What happens to your savings ‘between jobs’?
    • How long do people typically spend trying to find another job?
    • How many job applications do you have to submit before securing another job?
    • Why are you accepting the next job – because it’s ideal or because you need to earn income?
    • How long will the next job last?
    • Is this the way you want to continue to live?
  • The plus 50 age group typically struggles to find an ideal job
    • And what if you don’t want to keep working flat out?
    • How much capital do you need to retire well given current rates of return?
  • What confidence do you have in your future income?

Third – why not set aside a small amount of time each day to set up a better future?

Yes But

“Yes But” are the 2 words that prevent most people from achieving the life they’d really like to be living in a few short years.

Typical “Yes But’s”

  • I don’t have time
  • I haven’t come up with a great idea yet
    • Thank goodness! Perfect!
    • Build your network and
      • You will discover ideas (the best starting point is often not an idea that you generate by yourself)
      • You will find mentors to run your newly discovered ideas past
    • Any idea you discover is probably going to need a network to be successful
      • So spending your time developing your asset is going to be a worthwhile investment of your time
  • I have to take care of my ‘urgent’ first. Then I’ll start thinking about how to achieve what’s important to me
    • Temporary has a nasty habit of becoming permanent!
    • With this kind of thinking you are likely to always be stuck dealing with the urgent
    • Many others have the same kind of urgent pressures as you
      • Yet they are determined to employ mini-habits to progress toward the life they really want

Fourth – what are your options?

You could jump straight out of employment into your own business – very risky and will it really help you achieve the life you are looking for?

You could put aside the time to do some extra study – say an MBA

  • How much time per week would you need to invest – and for how many years?
  • What would the financial cost be?
  • What would this ‘piece of paper’ do for you in terms of progressing you toward the way you’d like to be living in a few years?

Are you looking for pleasing methods – or pleasing results?

Begin with the end in mind

The ideal starting point is to learn how to build an exponentially growing network of influential Know Like and Trust relationships because in the process….

  • You are likely to discover leveragable ideas
  • You are likely to find ways to improve your temporary income (from your current business or job) through advocacy
  • You will have the ability to run new ideas past those you trust and respect (mentors and coaches)
  • You will learn invaluable skills suited to the current business environment
  • You will learn a great deal about what others you respect are doing and why