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An essential skill for the 21st century is the ability to allocate limited resources to achieve the results you desire. Like a doctor doing triage in a crisis, high achievers look at their limited resources of time, energy, and money, and make skilled decisions about where to invest. We cannot "do it all." We have 24 hours a day, and a certain amount of energy and other resources. High achievers use resources wisely.
Do you have extra time on your hands? How about more energy than you need or extra money you don't know how to spend? Not likely! When was the last time you complained about having too much time or too much money?
A continuing dilemma is that while we are the richest people in history, we also run short of the most basic essentials of life. We are chronically short of time (time to read, time to sleep, time to play - what's that????) and most of us are tired all the time. We have cars and houses, and we have 500 channels to entertain us, but not enough time for a vacation with our kids. What's going on? The problem is poor resource management.
High achievers in the 21st. century will be experts at allocating scarce resources.
On a global basis, we may have shortages of raw materials, or distribution problems that cause shortages of food, fuel or even water, but on a personal level the biggest challenge of the 21st. century will be to manage the limited resources of our own lives.
We all have 24 hours a day. Successful people, the top performers in life, simply use their time more productively than the rest of us. By the end of the day, they get more done.
Similarly, high achievers have about the same amount of energy as the rest of us. They simply use it more effectively. Yes, some people seem to need less sleep or seem to be fired up all the time, but in the broad sweep of things, most healthy people work hard every day. We all get up early, work hard and go to bed tired.
The key is that given a limited amount of energy, or "go power" for each day, high achievers focus on their most significant and important activities. Given a limited amount of energy, they conserve it, manage it, and allocate it to their most important priorities. It's a skill that we all can learn by observing high achievers!
Something similar applies to money. Now, obviously we do NOT all have the same amount of money in our bank accounts, but there is a HUGE difference in how high achievers look at saving, investing, and spending. Robert Kiyosaki has helped millions of people understand the difference between spending and investing. Rich people buy assets. The rest of us simply spend money.
Regardless of how much money you have, it is a resource and how you allocate it will make a huge difference in your future.
In the 21st. century, we will all have access to vast networks of people, information, and entertainment. The opportunities are unlimited!
But, some people will take advantage of the opportunities while others will remain incredibly frustrated, watching on the sidelines and wondering what went wrong. I believe there are a few basics, the fundamentals of living a great life, and there are a few key skills that will make all the difference.
One of those key skills is the ability to allocate limited resources to achieve the results you desire. Like a doctor doing triage in a crisis, high achievers look at their limited resources of time, energy, and money, and make skilled decisions about where to invest. We cannot "do it all." We have 24 hours a day, and a certain amount of energy and other resources. We must use our resources wisely and high achievers know this. You should, too!
How we allocate our scarce personal resources will determine the outcomes we achieve.
"People begin to become successful the minute they decide to be.-- Harvey Mackay
"Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin." -- Grace Hansen
"Saying yes and no clearly builds confidence and rids us of the misconception that we are powerless." -- Marsha Sinetar
"Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest."-- Mark Twain
Last September I made my annual trip to Brazil with several other American team members to visit remote villages on the Amazon and I was reminded on this trip of the importance of good tools.
Two years ago the dentist traveling with our team was limited in the kind of dental care he could provide people living in the villages we visited because he lacked the equipment he needed to perform anything other than teeth extraction. This past year that same dentist was able to purchase a portable dental office due to a generous philanthropist. The portable dental equipment includes everything a dentist needs to perform much of the same kind of care that we in the
As you continue with this new year, what new tools do you and your business need?
For many people, a favorite category is all the high-tech gadgets we love. Of course, good communications, record-keeping and scheduling are important and a Blackberry or a new PDA can help.
But often the best tools, like a sharp kitchen knife, are less expensive, less dramatic, and a lot more practical.
Is your wardrobe up-to-date? In an age of casual fashion, many of us forget that in the market place "cloths DO make the wo/man." Always present yourself in the most positive light.
Is your car reliable, clean and comfortable? I'm not talking about buying a new car just for the fun of it, but I am saying that safe, reliable transportation is key to staying focused and doing your best.
How about your phones? As we do more and more business through distance communication, how (and how quickly) your phone is answered plays a huge role in getting the sale. With so many options in long-distance carriers, wireless systems and head-sets, make sure your equipment functions PERFECTLY - every time!
Your tools should make your life easier, not harder. They should position you as a professional and as the "obvious choice." If in doubt, ask your clients to comment on your equipment, your office and your level of service. You may be surprised by what you hear!
Here’s a trip down memory lane for those of us who are "of a certain age." For folks who were kids in the 50’s you’ll identify with the following more than others. There’s one addition (because of lawyers and because this is the 21st century): CAUTION! Some of these practices may cause severe illness, discomfort or DEATH! Be afraid; be very afraid!)
My Mom used to cut chicken, chop eggs and spread mayo on the same cutting board with the same knife and no bleach, but we didn't get food poisoning?
My Mom used to defrost hamburger on the counter and I used to eat it raw sometimes, too. Our school sandwiches were wrapped in wax paper in a brown paper bag (not in icepack coolers), but I don't remember getting E coli.
The term cell phone would have conjured up a phone in a jail cell, and a pager was the school PA system.
We all took gym, not PE... and risked injury with a pair of high top Ked's instead of having cross-training athletic shoes with air cushion soles and built in light reflectors. I can't recall any injuries but they must have happened because they tell us how much safer we are now.
Every year, someone taught the whole school a lesson by running down the halls with leather soles on linoleum tile and hitting the wet spot. How much better off would we be if we had only known we could sue the school system?
Speaking of school, we all said prayers and sang the national anthem and staying in detention after school caught all sorts of negative attention. We must have had horribly damaged psyches.
Remember school nurses? Ours wore a hat and everything.
I just can't recall how bored we were without computers, Play Station, Nintendo, X-box or 270 digital TV cable stations.
I must also be repressing the dangers as we trekked about a mile down the road to some guy's vacant lot, built forts, and fought over who got to be the Lone Ranger. What was that property owner thinking? He should have been locked up for not putting up a fence around the property, complete with a self-closing gate and an infrared intruder alarm.
Oh yeah... and where was the Benadryl and sterilization kit when I got that wasp sting? I could have been killed!
We played king of the hill on piles of gravel left on vacant lots and when we got hurt, Mom pulled out the 48- cent bottle of Mercurochrome (kids liked it better because it didn't sting like iodine did) and then we got our butt spanked. Now it's a trip to the emergency room, followed by a 10-day dose of a $49 bottle of antibiotics and then Mom sues the owner for leaving a pile of gravel where it was such a threat.
We didn't act up at the neighbor's house either because if we did, we got our butt spanked (physical abuse) and then we got spanked again when we got home! So unfair!
Summers were spent behind the push lawn mower and I didn't even know that mowers came with motors until I was 11 and we got one that didn't even have an automatic blade-stop or auto-drive. How sick were my parents?
Of course my parents weren't the only psychos. I recall as a kid in Phoenix how Gary Newkirk from next door would come over and while doing his wild and crazy tricks on our front stoops, he fell off backwards onto our concrete walkway. Little did his Mom know that she could have owned our house. Instead she picked him up and swatted him for being such a goof. It was a neighborhood run amuck.
To top it off, not a single person I knew had ever been told that they were from a dysfunctional family. How could we possibly have known that? We needed group therapy and anger management classes? Who knew?
We were obviously so duped by societal ills that we didn't notice that the entire country wasn't taking Prozac! How did we ever survive?
Rodger Blaker works with executives, small business owners and professionals who want to grow in their business and create an extraordinary life!
For info on resources for your success, visit: http://www.rodgerblaker.com or call me at 214-485-2238.
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