If you’ve seen my previous blog entry, “If You Don’t Work On Your Business, Your Business Will Stop Working,” you know I’m in the middle of a 12-day self-imposed Work Sabbatical to exclusively work ON my own businesses. We spend our days and nights immersed IN our businesses, but it’s absolutely vital that we learn to step away from the ongoing, consuming daily activity to work ON the business. THis goes well beyond “business planning.”
And oh, man, it’s work. But what an amazing progression this Work Sabbatical has been, not only for my business but for my HEAD. For the first time in years, I’ve been FULLY immersed in the blueprinting and architecture of my business dreams. It’s a powerful gift to give yourself and your business.
In the previous blog entry, I noted initial take-away lessons I’ve gotten from my Work Sabbatical. See that blog for the details of each – these are just the bulleted reminders before I continue the list below!
1. If you don’t work ON your business, your business will stop working.
2. Doing a full-time Work Sabbatical ONLY once a year can be overwhelming. Instead, scheduling one full day every two weeks to work ON the business is the smartest thing in the world you can do.
3. When you allow yourself to work on your business, you’ll find yourself reviving and getting enthused again.
4. Help is out there everywhere. Use it.
To continue the Work Sabbatical Take-Away Lessons …
5. Much like taking a vacation, it might take a few days to really settle into the “spirit” of this Work Sabbatical. Initially, I found myself doing my usual knee-jerk actions – answering emails and responding to the endless litany of programmer questions on our many client projects. I had to consciously, consciously, consciously STOP myself and move back into what I was here to do – Work ON My Business. And, it wasn’t until about Day 5, as I’ve been journaling this process, that the real creative thinking kicked in … because I was finally quiet enough, I think, to pay attention and listen.
6. Eat the Big Frogs first. Years ago, an old boss of mine, Bill Shue, used to remind me to eat the big frogs first. Yes, the phrase and the concept has been around forever, but he was a stellar and shining example of practicing what he preached. You’ve got stuff out there you want to do for your business, or KNOW you should do for your business, but it intimidates or bores or frightens you. Make those items the first to check off your Work Sabbatical list.
7. Ask for the big ideas at the beginning of the Work Sabbatical and make an absolute promise to yourself that you’ll ACT IMMEDIATELY on whatever big idea comes your way before you allow yourself to “logically” talk yourself down. When you’re working on your business and have devoted yourself to this end, you’ll find that big solutions drift in at the ready.
And, then, a final idea I committed to, based on my mentoring with Bob Proctor and Mike Dooley –
8. Act as if you’ve already achieved the result you’ve set out to achieve.
This is a doozy.
So, for instance, when I sat down at the start of this Work Sabbatical, I thought to myself, “When I have my Armitage, Inc. business at the point I wish to see it … and when my LagunaBeachBest.com is rolling along just as I’ve architected in my mind, how will I spend my days THEN? What will I do differently in my days THEN in comparison to how I spend my days now?”
Believe me, I have ALL KINDS of ideas! So, I infused each day with an activity that I’ll be doing THEN. (Does that make sense?) For example,
- I plan to be doing 2-month excursions to other resort towns around the world to write about them much like I do LagunaBeachBest.com … so, I began exploring the neighborhoods in the first 5 cities I plan to visit (so that I’m living right in the hub), and also began sending initial queries to their Chambers of Commerce and Visitors’ Bureaus.
- I created my weekly schedule for consulting, work on client projects, and work on my two businesses that I’ll begin following as soon as I’m back from this Work Sabbatical.
- I had a landscape architect come over to do initial research and bids on my expanded “writer’s den” on my side deck over the ocean.
- I set up a speaking tour of several Eastern seaboard towns with enough days in between to spend a bit of time in each city or town of choice.
- I spent one working morning trolling import furniture shops for new furniture pieces (and let me tell you, it was very difficult to make myself break away on a “working” morning in the middle of a week!).
It’s important to regularly treat yourself to the thinking and actions you will be participating in when you reach those bigger goals or find yourself with the result you seek.
By doing so, it acclimates your consciousness and subconsciousness to EXPECT this end result, and that’s the energy you want to emanate.
Again, what I’ve been doing in this Work Sabbatical is exactly what I do for my clients. My consulting packages allow you to schedule twice-a-month meetings with me (maybe even on your official “Working On The Business Day” that you’re now going to schedule!) so that you continue to work ON your business and move forward at an accelerated, highly leveraged pace.
So, if you’re starting to feel as motivated as I’ve been this last week, check out my Quantum Interview 2-Week Consulting or my ongoing support and help with my 3-Month or 6-Month Consulting packages
As soon as you sign up, I’ll be contacting you to set up dates and times for our bi-monthly talks and work together.