Lecture About Time
By Dan S. Kennedy
Having recently had another birthday click over on the odometer, time is on my mind. It's never far from it in my work-cave, because I have strategically placed more than a dozen clocks around the room and can't look in any direction without seeing one. As I describe in my book, No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs, I organize everything with start and pre-determined end times; if someone has a phone appointment with me they know in advance when it ends, not just when it starts, and it does end as scheduled even if in mid-sentence. I have trained and conditioned myself to be hyper-sensitive to time, and I train my clients to respect my hyper-sensitivity about it. Why?
In reality, time is the asset the entrepreneur owns outright and has total control over. I don't really need to follow you around and observe how you use your time to gauge how you're doing in business. I only need hear about your philosophy about time that governs your behavior and what you will tolerate or refuse to tolerate in the behavior of those around you. For example, do you have litmus tests, and what are they? One of mine: if somebody can't keep seemingly minor commitments, they can't be trusted to honor important ones either. If they are allowed to hang around, soon they'll be cause of you failing to honor your commitments to yourself and others. Or, for example, how do you relate time and goals? My hovering question is: will this use of my time move me measurably closer to my meaningful goals? Is there even a chance it will? If not, why do it? Or, a governing rule to safeguard your time and sanity.
It's difficult to find a clock in Las Vegas casinos, because those casinos are designed to separate you from as much of your money as possible; to
make you a loser, and that is best done by dulling your sensitivity to the passing of time. The same principle applies to your business life. The surest way to be a loser is to be casual or insensitive about time.
I've worked up close 'n personal with many, many entrepreneurs who've converted ideas and grit into fortunes. The difference between them and the majority of also-rans is never the originality or even the quality of their ideas. As a matter of fact, I've see fortunes manufactured from mediocre
ideas, and great ideas still-born. This is important, because far too many entrepreneurs and, candidly, those who observe them, report on them, write about them, glorify their success stories, still hold up The Great Idea as the pedestal-worthy holy grail. That is worship of a false god.
The entrepreneur has a situation encouraging of poor productivity: he is his own boss. Often this produces an unproductive employee and a lenient, dysfunctional boss. A two-fer. This is why you must create a success environment for yourself, impose strict deadlines on yourself and be ruthlessly resistant to waste of time by self and others, and hold yourself accountable hour by hour. If you aren't willing to work under such self-imposed pressure, I suggest forgetting the idea of getting and staying rich as king of your own kingdom. Every great kingdom needs a ruler with an iron-fist.
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Our RESA Jax last meeting was hosted by the design team from Pottery Barn at the Town Center. It was catered by William Sonoma. Our largest meeting so far.
We have a new FaceBook page under RESA Jax. Please "like" us. Then you will be the first to hear announcements.
Our meetings are always the first Friday of each month. Mark your calendar for June 3rd from 10:15 till 11:45AM. The cost is $5. The place is the SouthEast Branch of the library at 10599 Deerpark Blvd. 32256. It is just off Gate Parkway south of Butler. 904-996-0325
Make your reservations through Sandra Millis at scrjax@att.net.
