FROM THE DESK OF GRANT CARDONE: I don’t want you to be a slave anymore. I’m tired of so many people being controlled by time. You need to fill all the white space on your calendar, finish those tasks, and set even higher goals.
Time management and balance are pointless. I’m not interested in balance. I’m interested in abundance in every area of life and business and not sacrificing one in favor of another.
Successful people think in terms of ‘all’…
…where others place limits and boundaries. They believe, “If I’m rich I can’t be happy” or “If I thrive in business I won’t have time for being a father, husband, supporting my church, or community.” That old way of thinking is flawed and neither time management nor balance can fix it. Put an end to thinking in terms of either/or and change it to all/everything.
Make a commitment to success and agree to control your time and make a plan to bring all that you want into being.
These 6 steps to finish your to-do list will get you started:
1. Set Specific Priorities
You have to decide this for yourself—everyone’s priorities are different. If success is the goal you need to spend all of your time doing things that will create that success. Success must be approached from an ethical viewpoint. Success is your duty, obligation and responsibility! Your success comes from finances, family, spirituality, physical and emotional wellbeing. You can focus on one of these, or you can focus on all of them at the same time like I do.
2. Surround Yourself with Success
Anyone who minimizes the importance of success to your future has given up on his or her own chances of accomplishment and is spending his or her life trying to convince others to do the same. My schedule works because everyone in my life—from my wife and kids to the people who work with me—knows what is most important to me and knows the value of my time. Being on the same page with those around you allows you to focus on your priorities.
3. Track Your Time
Most people have no clue what they do with their time and still complain that they don’t have enough of it. If you aren’t tracking what you’re spending time on, you won’t have control over it and it will own you—you will be a slave to your time. Log your time in your 10X planner and you will see all the ways in which you are using your time. First you’ll see all the things, little habits and activities, that in no way contribute to your success. Any action that isn’t adding wood to your fire—mobile games, naps, reality shows, drinking, clubs—are taking away from your success. The media has convinced you to live like a slave. To be successful, you must dominate your time.
4. Create a Schedule for Success
When our daughter was born my wife and I build a schedule with this new priority. I decided I would get up an hour earlier in order to spend time with our daughter before I went into the office. This also gave my wife more time in the morning to sleep. When my daughter and I get back to the house I have the rest of the day for work. We can also put her to sleep earlier because she is tired earlier. This gives me more time with my wife before I go to sleep. I increase all aspects of my life with this control over my time.
5. Modify Your Priorities
Things will change throughout the course of your life. You set a goal, you achieve the goal, and you set new goals. Don’t get caught up on past success and think your money won’t get tired—if your money gets tired it will go to someone else. Look, the busier you get the more you have to manage, control and prioritize.
6. Dominate Your Time
Time is a myth. If it’s controlling you it is because you think of time as something other than a resource to be dominated like your finances or your success. People say “time is money” without even knowing what their own time is worth! You must focus on your time and control it. The three wealthiest people in the world—Warren Buffett, Carlos Slim and Bill Gates have 1,440 minutes in a day to earn their money—and so do you. The most educated man in the world has 168 hours in a week to learn—and so do you. The greatest athlete in the world has 365 days in a year to train—and so do you. Do you dominate your time, or does your time dominate you?
10X your life and take a level of action that guarantees your success.
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