I know you … You’ve got big dreams and goals for the year ahead.
But perhaps when you look back over your progress over the last weeks, months, or even years, do you feel like you’ve been busy but you’re not any closer to your goals? To the success that you want to achieve?
There’s a reason why we all get caught spinning our wheels in our life and business… we spend too much time focusing on the little things instead of the big priorities.
I get it! Life gets busy. And we get distracted!
We’re trying to build businesses while also raising families, volunteering in our communities, and squeezing in a little ‘me time’ along the way.
But how can we make time for what matters most, to us, in our business and our lives?
It all starts with getting crystal clear about your true priorities — the big rocks… and letting go of the small stuff.
This week, I’m sharing my favorite strategy that is essential to making meaningful progress on any goal you’re setting for the New Year. BTW – it’s not something new, just something borrowed and yet so important.
If you’ve ever gotten to the end of the week and realized that most of your time was spent trying to tame your unruly inbox or scrolling on Instagram instead of finding a couple hours to really focus on something important to achieving your goals, you don’t wanna miss this important lesson on making the BIG ROCKS a priority.
Steve Covey taught us the rocks, pebbles, sand analogy for time management & productivity. It’s also applicable to your business and your goal setting. The story goes something like this…
A philosophy professor once stood up before his class with a large empty mayonnaise jar. He filled the jar to the top with large rocks and asked his students if the jar was full.
The students said that yes, the jar was indeed full.
He then added small pebbles to the jar, and gave the jar a bit of a shake so the pebbles could disperse themselves among the larger rocks. Then he asked again, “Is the jar full now?”
The students agreed that the jar was still full.
The professor then poured sand into the jar to fill up any remaining empty space. The students then agreed that the jar was completely full.
The professor went on to explain that the jar represents everything that is in one’s life. The rocks are equivalent to the most important activities and things you have going on (in life this could mean such as spending time with your family and maintaining proper health; in your business rocks could be interpreted as activities that generate SALES, really great sales) . This means that if the pebbles and the sand were lost, the jar would still be full and your life would still have meaning (your business would still be profitable).
The pebbles represent the things in your life that matter, but that you could live without (things your business could do without). The pebbles are certainly things that give your life meaning (such as your job, house, hobbies, and friendships), but they are not critical for you to have a meaningful life (or a meaningful business. These things often come and go, and are not permanent or essential to your overall well-being.
Finally, the sand represents the remaining filler things in your life, and material possessions. This could be small things such as watching television or running errands. These things don’t mean much to your life as a whole, and are likely only done to waste time or get small tasks accomplished.
The metaphor here is that if you start with putting sand into the jar, you will not have room for rocks or pebbles. This holds true with the things you let into your life. If you spend all of your time on the small and insignificant things, you will run out of room for the things that are actually important.
The same holds true for your business! If you spend the vast majority of your time on activities that have a small yield in your business (i.e. tweaking your website, updating your logo) – then you don’t have time for the really important things in your business i.e. revenue-generating activities such as sales conversations, speaking, networking, etc.
So as we head full steam into 2019 – where is your focus? Where will you spend your time – rocks, pebbles, sand?
In an effort to create a meaningful and purposeful plan for 2019, with focus on those rocks, I invite you at join me at CEO Planning Retreat (learn more here). Creating a plan and then following it will be a game-changer for you and for your business!
I’ve made it super simple for you — January 25 for the virtual CEO Planning Day or January 26 for the LIVE CEO Planning Day at my home in Mallorytown – you’ll get to wear your CEO hat for the day so you can focus on the ROCKS in your business in 2019. Don’t know what those rocks will be …. No worries, I’ll be here to help you along the way!
REGISTER here today! Why – because I reward action takers!!! Those who register this week, will receive a special BONUS gift – my CLARITY MAP(value $150) which will help you design your business around the life you want to live!
Be sure to share this event with your business bestie! Sharing is caring and why keep something awesome like this to yourself. Besides – it’s much more fun to spend the day planning when you’re with friends!
Here’s to an UNSTOPPABLE year ahead!
Diana
PS If you’d rather watch this on video, here’s my video where I use my own version of rocks, pebbles, sand — https://www.youtube.com/watch?
P.P.S. Once you register (here), I’ll send you Step 1 of your plan – this part you can definitely do on your own!!! Then on January 25 or 26 – we’ll get your creative juices going!!! I’m so excited!!! (BTW – if you’re a current or past member of the Achiever’s Club, email me for your discount code!!)
