Leadership Starts with YOU

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While it’s true some of us are born with “leader tendencies” and some of us with “follower tendencies”, leadership isn’t something that’s instilled in us from birth.

Leadership is a skill set…made up of many individual skills that take time to develop. And, like any skill, they take time and determination to develop and improve.

Today, let’s take a look at, arguably, the 3 most important skills all leaders have: productiveness, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Productiveness: getting a lot done.

Productiveness implies action. Taking action precedes results and before you can lead anyone else, you have to show you can get results. In other words, you have to lead by example. You can’t run behind your people yelling, “Wait for me; I’m your leader.” You have to be out in front leading the way – showing your team how it’s done.

Efficiency: getting stuff done with little or no wasted effort or time.

Efficiency implies speed. The faster you can get stuff done, the more value you bring to the table. Speed is important because your team will only move as fast as its slowest moving part. As a leader, you can’t slow everything down. It’s your job and responsibly to speed things up.

Effectiveness: getting the RIGHT stuff done.

Getting a lot done fast is wonderful. However, if you’re doing all the WRONG stuff, it doesn’t matter how productive or efficient you are…it’s all wrong! That’s why, as a leader, you have to learn how to be effective.

In other words, you have to learn how to identify the RIGHT things to do; and then you can be productive or efficient. The result will then, and only then, be what you intended it to be.

You, of course, want your team to possess these skills, too. However, leadership starts with you, so as you move forward and develop your leadership skill set; keep these 3 skills top of mind while you constantly work on improving your skills and developing new ones.

Time Management vs. Time Mastery?

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Ask any entrepreneur what their biggest challenge is and the majority of them will tell you: time!

Time is one of the biggest challenges all entrepreneurs face. Time to meet with clients. Time to check e-mail and voicemail. Time to put out fires. Time to communicate with employees, virtual assistants, and vendors. Time to market (the most important one). Time to sell. Time to enjoy the success the business has created!

Today, however, I don’t want to talk to you about how to manage your time. Instead, I want to walk down a different path with you. A path that will help you distinguish between time management and time mastery. A path that once understood and followed will help you get everything done fast and effortlessly.

Let’s start by looking at the difference between time management and time mastery:

Time Management – when one takes control of their time and is able to measure where each and every minute is being used.

Time management is important to an entrepreneur because a lack of control produces unproductive activities. Unproductive activities produce shoddy results.

We only have so much time in our day. Wasted minutes are gone forever. As an entrepreneur, we cannot afford to waste our time. That’s why the control and measurement of our time is so crucial.

Time Mastery – when one conditions them self to use their time wisely, productively, and effectively.

Time mastery is important to an entrepreneur because when their time is mastered they don’t have to think about it any more. It’s ingrained in them what needs done and how to do it fast.

It’s now instinctual. No time is wasted. Doing productive, effective tasks are programmed into the entrepreneur who masters their time. They can’t help doing the right things anymore.

So, what is more important, time management or time mastery? BOTH!!!

One without the other is incomplete. However, in my opinion, too many entrepreneurs focus only on taking control of their time and trying to measure where every minute goes. This will only last for so long before they get tired of tracking their time.

They forget (or are ignorant to) knowing and conditioning themselves to take the right actions without thought. It’s their lack of time mastery that hurts them in the long run…even though they know what to do.

So, now that you know the difference between time management and time mastery, it’s time to take control of your time and start conditioning yourself to doing the right actions (productive, effective actions) until you can’t help it any more.

Weston Lyon

Time: Managed or Mastered?

Ask any entrepreneur what their biggest challenge is and the majority of them will tell you: time!

Time is one of the biggest challenges all entrepreneurs face. Time to meet with clients. Time to check e-mail and voicemail. Time to put out fires. Time to communicate with employees, virtual assistants, and vendors. Time to market (the most important one). Time to sell. Time to enjoy the success the business has created!

Today, however, I don’t want to talk to you about how to manage your time. Instead, I want to walk down a different path with you. A path that will help you distinguish between time management and time mastery. A path that once understood and followed will help you get everything done fast and effortlessly.

Let’s start by looking at the difference between time management and time mastery:

Time Management – when one takes control of their time and is able to measure where each and every minute is being used.

Time management is important to an entrepreneur because a lack of control produces unproductive activities. Unproductive activities produce shotty results.

We only have so much time in our day. Wasted minutes are gone forever. As an entrepreneur, we cannot afford to waste our time. That’s why the control and measurement of our time is so crucial.

Time Mastery – when one conditions them self to use their time wisely, productively, and effectively.

Time mastery is important to an entrepreneur because when their time is mastered they don’t have to think about it any more. It’s ingrained in them what needs done and how to do it fast.

It’s now instinctual. No time is wasted. Doing productive, effective tasks are programmed into the entrepreneur who masters their time. They can’t help doing the right things anymore.

So, what is more important, time management or time mastery? BOTH!!!

One without the other is incomplete. However, in my opinion, too many entrepreneurs focus only on taking control of their time and trying to measure where every minute goes. This will only last for so long before they get tired of tracking their time.

They forget (or are ignorant to) knowing and conditioning themselves to take the right actions without thought. It’s their lack of time mastery that hurts them in the long run…even though they know what to do.

So, now that you know the difference between time management and time mastery, it’s time to take control of your time and start conditioning yourself to doing the right actions (productive, effective actions) until you can’t help it any more.

Weston Lyon

2009 Goals Revisited – 8 Months Left!

I’m not sure if you realize this yet, but 4 months of 2009 are just about history. There are only 8 more months left in this year…scary, huh?

So, with this shocking information, let’s re-visit your goals for 2009 and stay on track. Here’s what to do:

1. Pull out your 2009 Goals and Review them.

Now’s the time to pull out your 4 month old goals and take a gander.

Notice anything different about them? Are there any goals accomplished? Are there any goals you forgot about…or shouldn’t be on the list any more?

It’s important for us to review our goals frequently. Things change. We change. And goals change. If we keep them up to date there is nothing stopping us from achieving them.

The biggest mistake most entrepreneurs make, however, is that they never look at their goals once they set them. Okay, may once…in December…just before they throw them out and set new ones…but that’s all.

Successful entrepreneurs review their goals and dreams constantly. Most successful entrepreneurs review their goals monthly and weekly at a minimum. Some, even, daily.

2. Rewrite ‘em with Victory and Next indications.

Once you’ve reviewed your goals it’s time to rewrite ‘em. I like to make two lists.

The first list is my Victory List. On this list, I capture all my victories from the original 2009 goal list. By doing so, I am able to see what I’ve done so far this year.

[Take a time out for a moment here. Read your Victory List and give yourself a reward…you deserve it!]

Next, I create my second list…my New 2009 Goals List (or my Next List). This list consists of all the goals I still want to achieve this year.

Again, some goals may have been forgotten. And some shouldn’t transfer to the new list because you’re not interested in achieving them anymore…which is perfectly alright.

3. Prioritize your 2009 Goals – get ’er done!

The last thing you need to do is prioritize your NEW goals list. Remember, it’s nice to review and rewrite this list, but if you don’t prioritize your goals and take action, it’s all for naught.

Take your new list and put your goals in a logical order to finish. Here are some questions to keep in mind:

Which goals move me closer to my ideal life/situation?
Which goals make me more money…which ones do faster?
Which goals are going to be fun?

Re-visiting your goals will put things into perspective for you…especially now with the new economy upon us. Again, some will stay and some will go. Keep the goals you want to achieve in front of you as much as possible.

Celebrate all your victories and review this article again next month. Remember, successful entrepreneurs review their goals monthly at a minimum!

Weston Lyon

An Entrepreneur’s Worst Nightmare

Today is TAX DAY – ugh. And this, my friend, is/can be an entrepreneur’s worst nightmare. Let me explain:

Tax day IS an entrepreneur’s worst nightmare because today is the day the government bends us over and takes all our hard earned money. And for some reason…the more you make…the more money they take.

Personally, I think this is BS! I’ve earned the money, it’s mine to keep. Now, I understand we can’t keep it all because the government uses our hard earned cash for certain necessities, like protecting our freedom. However, I feel taking my mula is BS because they’re using it for other stuff…Unnecessary stuff!

[Deep Breath]

Okay, as I come down off my soapbox, let me tell you why Tax day CAN BE an entrepreneur’s worst nightmare and how you can make sure you have sweet dreams.

Tax day CAN BE an entrepreneur’s worst nightmare because we’re not accountants, CPA’s, or any other person who handles these concerns. We don’t know everything about the $#*@& confusing tax system. All we know and care about is how much money we made…and how much we keep.

And to top it off, since the tax code is so perplexing, doing our taxes/bookkeeping drains our energy and takes away our precious time.

So, to help us stay strong and sane, we need to bring on help. We need to utilize a bookkeeper and a CPA. FYI – the bookkeeper keeps track of your books all year long and a CPA takes care of your taxes around this time of year (and whenever else you need them, depending on the type of company you own).

I know…you’re an entrepreneur, so you can do everything yourself like usual. However, if you want to stay sane, have the energy needed to grow your biz, and make more money, allow me to suggest you get help.

This may seem like another expense you don’t want to incur, but it’s not. It’s an investment. I know that may sound trite. But hiring someone who is better at something than you are is a distinguishing trait of a successful entrepreneur.

Let me tell you a story about one of my mentors, Ali Brown, who now owns a multimillion dollar company. She started in the corporate world writing copy among other things. She soon ventured into the entrepreneurial world where she did everything for herself.

She absolutely despised bookkeeping but was bound and determined to get it right. So, she hired a bookkeeping coach and tried to learn how to do it all herself. Eventually she snapped and broke down, crying over her keyboard because she couldn’t ‘get it’.

It was then she decided to bring on a bookkeeper. Since that time, Ali has created magnificent products and courses for her clientele. She has moved from crying over her keyboard to laughing her way to the bank at her beachfront home in Cali.

You see, if Ali didn’t get help, she may have given up. If that were the case, I may not be here today. Boy I’m glad she decided to get help. Aren’t you?

It’s too late now to get a bookkeeper and a CPA for last year’s books and taxes…BUT it’s not too late for this year!

Bite the bullet and find a bookkeeper and CPA that fit your needs. Take control of your time and energy. Prevent the nightmare from happening. And have sweet dreams rolling in a field of money…at least the money you get to keep:)

Weston Lyon